Magic Shop System

Chapter 65 - Artisan Hot Rod

Old Li glanced around the auction hall and smiled before speaking. "The first item that we're going to auction is…" he paused for a second and continued. "White Rosemary Flower!"

At this moment a beautiful girl walked on the stage at a slow pace and a tray in her hands. There was a wooden box placed on the tray. Old Li held the box off the tray and opened it, revealing a flower that had a fusion of white and red. It appeared to be a lily flower, but it wasn't a lily.

"It's really White Rosemary Flower," Kadyn murmured, then looked at Khrom. "Isn't it a Slave Auction? Why are they auctioning something other than slaves?"

"Though the speciality of this place is slaves, they also auction other things. After all, it's not easy to find decent slaves. Something like a dwarf is as rare as the feather of the Phoenix and the scale of the Dragon. They can't run their business just based on slavery."

Kadyn nodded in understanding and turned his attention towards the stage once more.

"Some of you may not know about the White Rosemary Flower. Let me explain it in a sentence: This herb can awaken an Elementary Star!" As soon as Old Li's words sounded in the auction hall, everyone was left stunned. The silence fell, however, it didn't last long before the chatter erupted. 

Old Li smiled satisfyingly, looking at the reaction of the audience. Then went on. "The starting price for this herb is five thousand dollars."

"Six thousand!" as soon as Old Li finished speaking, a man on the left side of the hall couldn't contain himself and shouted.

"Six thousand five hundred!" another voice resonated.

"Seven thousand!" 

"Seven thousand five hund…"

Kadyn heard the heated bidding and shook his head. "What a bunch of morons."

"What do you mean?" Elora asked in confusion when she heard him. "Isn't that herb precious if it can awaken a star of the Elementary Mage?"

"What do you know?" Kadyn shook his head. "That old man is a cunning old fox, telling only benefits but hiding the repercussions of taking that flower."

"Repercussion? What do you mean?" Khrom overheard their conversation, as he was sitting on Kadyn's other side and asked with a confused face. He was familiar with this herb, and he knew that it could awaken an Elementary Star, however, he had never heard about any side effects.

Kadyn smiled, spotting the confused look on his face. "It's normal if you don't know. After all, some knowledgeable people might not know about it as the side effect doesn't show at the start at all." He paused briefly before continuing. "This herb can awaken a star, it isn't worth the price one have to pay."

"What price?" Khrom asked.

"That person won't be able to become a high-level mage. The speed of mana absorption will decrease significantly. No matter how talented he is, he won't be able to go beyond the Elementary Mage. No matter how much of a genius someone is, he would become trash. I don't think that the old man is unaware of this fact. After all, he is an experienced auctioneer, but he hid it from everyone, for gaining some benefits. He might look gentle and benevolent, but he's a poisonous viper."

Khrom and Elora left completely stunned, especially Khrom, whose face had turned pale after his explanation. Kadyn saw this and became confused. However, it wasn't the time to ask about it. 

"Alright, next item is…"

Someone from the audience had bought the flower. After that, Old Li brought another item and the bidding started again. As for who bought the White Rosemary Flower, Kadyn didn't bother to think about it. He purchased the flower without thinking of the consequences, due to his greed. And Kadyn had no time to be the saviour of the world and become enemies with the people of the auction house. It wasn't worth his time and effort.

"Our next item is a kind of metal," Old Li said and a girl passed the tray that contained a fist-sized black metal. It seemed ordinary. Old Li peered at the audience and chuckled. "This item's useless for most of the people in the hall. However, for Artisans, it is a treasure. Let me tell you that this is not any ordinary Rank 0 metal. It is Common Rank, Black Iron."

Kadyn heard and his eyes lit up. He wanted to get his hands on a decent metal for some time, so he could add it into his Shop Ability. However, who would have thought that he could get a metal of Common Rank in this auction. That metal could be used to make a rank 1 artefact. Though Kadyn couldn't make it, yet. It was just a matter of time. Therefore, he wanted this metal! 

"The starting price is ten thousand dollars." Old Li announced.

"Eleven thousand!" a deep voice sounded from the front row. Kadyn eyed the bidder and spotted a familiar silhouette, Black Hammer. He had encountered him last time when he went to wander the city with Elora. 

"He also wants to buy it?" Kadyn said in confusion, as Black Hammer was just an ordinary blacksmith. He would just waste the metal.

"Black Hammer loves to collect all kinds of metals." Khrom, who had already recovered from his earlier shock, replied.

Kadyn nodded and didn't say any further. The hobby of collecting metals didn't sound weird to him. On Earth, many people loved to collect all kinds of things as well, like antics, coins, paintings and so on.

"Thirty thousand!"

While Kadyn had been talking with Khrom, the bid continued to climb. In the end, Black Hammer gave up unwillingly. He couldn't do anything, as he wasn't as wealthy as those VIPs. An ordinary blacksmith could never compare, not even with the lowest rank artisan.

"Thirty-five thousand," at this moment, someone increased five thousand in a single bid. Kadyn looked towards the source and realised that the voice had come from room number four. The so-called VIPs had joined the bidding. 

"Forty thousand," a hoarse voice came from room number two, then he said. "Friend from room number four. Let me have this chunk of metal, and I'll owe you a favour. This metal is quite suitable to make a dagger for my son."

"Haha, so it's an Artisan Hot Rod," the man from room number four said. "Favour from Artisan Hot Rod isn't a bad thing, huh? Alright, I give up."

"Wow that is Hot Rod from Glont City," as the people heard the conversation between the two parties, someone exclaimed. "He's a Rank 1 artisan."

"Damn, our Avibria City has no Rank 1 artisan."

"How could Avibria City compare with Glont City, one of the ten most prosperous cities in the Shado Empire?"

As the people conversed among themselves, the man from room number two said. "Then I'll thank you…"

"Forty-five thousand." However, before Hot Rod could finish his sentence, someone increased the bidding. Hot Rod's voice froze on the spot. No one knew what kind of expression was on his face at the moment. But they could imagine he must be feeling as if he had swallowed a fly. 

The audience turned towards the bidder and realised that he was a young man, sitting amongst themselves. The silence remained a few moments before clamour sounded. No one could tell where Kadyn's courage came from. How dare he compete against Hot Rod?

"Who's that kid? He dared to bid against Hot Rod."

"He looks no more than Nineteen."

"Why do I feel that he looks familiar?" someone said from the crowd in confusion.

"Damn, how could you forget him. He-he is that guy," a man sitting beside the first man said with his fearful voice.

"What do you… oh fuck!"

Those who didn't know about Kadyn became confused. However, no one bother to clear their confusion. Those who knew about Kadyn were completely terrified.

At the corner of the hall was sitting a group of youngsters. All of them turned pale, spotting Kadyn. The last time was also an auction, wasn't it? 

"What the hell is that demon doing here?" Fenon said with a panicky voice.

"He won't do anything to us, will he?" Jenna shivered, remembering Hicka's rotten self.

"We would have died a long time ago if he wanted to kill us," Shum reassured everyone. However, his face was already pale and his clothes drenched in a cold sweat. It was good that Kadyn was sitting on the other side of the hall, or else he might have already wet the floor.

Kadyn paid no attention to his surroundings and remained calm, a smile hung on his face. 

"Fifty thousand," after a brief silence, Hot Rod shouted. 

Kadyn frowned. The bidding had already crossed the standard price of the metal a long time ago. However, Hot Rod continued to bid, he could not tell why. After all, the original price of this chunk of metal wouldn't exceed thirty thousand. That was the real reason why that man from room number four stopped bidding. 

As for Kadyn, he could make good use of this metal and produce unlimited Black Iron after adding it in the shop. Why was Hot Rod trying so hard to get this chunk of metal, even after the price exceeded its real value? Though he felt something amiss, he could not pinpoint it. Therefore, he dropped the idea.

"Fifty-five thousand," Kadyn said.

"Don't go too far, boy!" Hot Rod couldn't hold himself anymore. This kid tried to embarrass him again and again. He was feeling furious. How dare this kid embarrass him in front of so many people? Even Spell Casters would try to curry favours with him in the hopes to build a good relationship. 

"I need that metal, sorry." Though he felt a headache, hearing the furious roar of the other party, he wasn't afraid of him. At the worst, he would just hide inside his shop. Furthermore, he still had three powerful bodyguards—Association Leader and the other two—who could make anyone retreat in terror. Though he hadn't used them yet. 

Kadyn peered at the VIP rooms. He knew that those three must have come in the auction. After all, a dwarf isn't something that could be auctioned every day.

"Is there anyone else who wants to bid more than this Sir?" Old Li looked towards room number two and asked. However, no one replied. The silence felt a little eerie. But Old Li didn't wait much longer.

"1...2...3...Sold! Congratulations to this gentleman for buying Black Iron." He said and passed the chunk of the metal to the girl beside him. After that, the girl brought the metal to Kadyn. He passed the money that he had prepared in advance and took the metal from her excitedly.

The auction continued and many other items appeared but nothing caught Kadyn's interest. It took almost an hour to auction all the items.

Finally Old Li looked towards the audience and grinned.

"The time that everyone was waiting with anticipation has finally arrived." Old Li glanced at the audience and a huge smile appeared on his face. "The final bidding will start now."