Ironforge Auction (Part 2)

The auction continued until eight in the evening. By then, purple-grade items had begun appearing on the stage.

Although most of them were materials and blueprints, the value of such items varied from person to person. Some rare materials were worth even more than finished purple-grade equipment.

"The next items up for auction are some rare materials, starting with those related to blacksmithing. Please don't miss this opportunity."

"First up are Guardian Stones. This high-grade forging material only drops from Earth elemental monsters above level fifty, making it quite rare. There are twenty stones in this auction, with a starting bid of 2,000 Gold Coins. Bidding begins now!"

Sun Busong wanted this material too, but at his current level, he would not be able to equip any weapon he forged with it.

I'll hold back and see what other materials come up later.

After Sun Busong gave up on bidding, the Guardian Stones were quickly bought by a Dwarf race forging master.

Several of the following items tempted Sun Busong greatly. Though he joined the bidding a few times, they ultimately went to someone else.

He would need those things in the future, but none of them were urgently needed right now.

It was not until Mai Dang had someone wheel out a pile of materials glowing with golden light that Sun Busong lost his composure.

"The next item is Ogin Ingots! Yes, you heard correctly—Ogin Ingots, an indispensable material for forging top-grade equipment. This Auction House has put up twenty sets of Ogin Ingots today, at 1,000 Gold Coins per set. Raise your paddles and shout out your bids!"

"Fifty thousand! I bid 50,000 Gold Coins!"

"Sixty thousand!"

"Eighty thousand!"

"One hundred thousand! I'll take them all!"

"You can't do this! You can't buy them all! Leave one set for those of us without money! I only want one set! Six thousand per set! Leave me one set of Ogin Ingots!"

Every forging master wanted to use Ogin Ingots to forge a powerful weapon bearing their own name. It was a matter of bringing honor to their ancestors; no one was willing to back down.

"150,000!" Sun Busong shouted a sky-high price!

That bid drove many people present into despair.

In a secluded corner on the second floor.

"Master, is that black-robed man who just bid the same one who argued with you over the Deception Orb?"

A woman wrapped tightly from head to toe, though unable to conceal her voluptuous figure, whispered to a young man.

"Hehe! Yes, it's him. A very strange fellow. He dared threaten me over an accessory worth just over five hundred Gold Coins, yet now he's throwing out 150,000 without even blinking."

"Then shall I go—"

The young man shook his head and cut her off. "Ogin Ingots are the obsession of every forging master. If he can spend 150,000 on them, then either he is buying them for someone else, or he is a forging master himself. Whichever it is, there is no need for us to offend him."

"Yes, Master. I understand!"

After saying that, the woman retreated behind the young man. Then, with a flicker, she vanished.

At that moment, Sun Busong was getting desperate.

"170,000!!! I bid 170,000!"

He had thought his bid of 150,000 would scare everyone else off, but there were truly far too many wealthy people at this auction. Before long, someone else had raised the price to 168,000.

"172,000!"

"175,000!"

"180,000!"

This would not do. He had to get the Ogin Ingots. This material did not drop from slain monsters, nor could it be mined from mining sites.

It was created when an Alchemy Master transmuted Arcane Crystals and Silver Ore Ingots in a certain ratio. Moreover, each Alchemy Master could only perform the transmutation once a year—one ingot at a time!

For this auction to offer twenty sets of Ogin Ingots was absolutely unprecedented and would never be seen again. At the very least, there would definitely not be this many Ogin Ingots appearing again over the next twenty years.

Each set contained twenty Ogin Ingots, meaning twenty sets totaled four hundred ingots. There were not even five hundred Alchemy Masters across the entire Azeroth Continent, and Ironforge only had twenty Alchemy Masters.

"250,000!"

Sun Busong suddenly shouted the highest price he had been prepared to pay. The enormous Auction House instantly fell deathly silent!

Time seemed to freeze. For an entire minute, no one made a sound; it was as if even breathing had stopped.

"250,000! Going once!"

In the end, host Mai Dang was the first to react.

The price was unbelievably high. It had already shattered the highest price ever paid for Ogin Ingots, and she was so excited she nearly convulsed.

"250,000! Going twice!"

"Any higher bids!"

Although there was absolutely no chance of a higher bid appearing, she still had to call for one.

"250,000! Going three times! Sold!"

"Congratulations to this guest on winning the rights to these twenty sets of Ogin Ingots!"

When the hammer fell, Sun Busong heard not only countless sighs and cries of regret, but even sobbing. How many forging masters had their hearts broken the moment that hammer came down?

But what did that have to do with Sun Busong? Hahahaha! He would send one set to Old Man so he could show off, and the rest would all belong to yours truly, Sun!

The auction continued. After obtaining the Ogin Ingot, Sun Busong lost all interest in blacksmithing materials, because he had discovered today that only those Magic Professionals were willing to spend money—they were the real big spenders.

He had already decided that unless he needed something for himself or someone came begging him for help, he would never again waste time crafting equipment for Warrior Professionals!

Weren't the Gold Coins of Magic Professionals far more appealing?

Next, he went on a buying spree for rare materials, especially Mooncloth made by tailors. This material was just like Ogin Ingots—each Tailoring Master could only produce it once a year.

Only at the end did the Auction Hall bring out the finale: alcoholic items. This was Ironforge, after all, the domain of the Dwarf race, and dwarves loved their drink.

The competition was incredibly fierce, ranging from cheap beer that could be bought for five Copper Coins a bottle to Black Label Delicious Rum that required a hundred Gold Coins per bottle.

There were also Cherry Wine, Dwarven Liquor, and Strong Rum sold by Drunkard Trampler Craig of Dire Maul, available only after killing the original Ogre King.

The sheer variety of alcohol was dazzling. By the end, the Auction Hall had turned into a tavern. Sun Busong even saw the host, Miss Mai Dang, drunk and ballroom dancing with a Gnome Rogue!

When it came to alcohol, no matter how rich Sun Busong was, he did not dare monopolize it. Those old men who loved drinking as much as life itself would beat him up. To fulfill his promise to Master Hammer, he spent ten thousand Gold Coins outright to buy twenty different varieties of liquor, then had someone deliver them to the master.

He still had something else to take care of himself.

First was that Undead race infiltrator. When the Auction Hall entered its final stage of auctioning alcohol, that undead had already been preparing to leave. Sun Busong had been watching it the whole time.

He spent three Gold Coins to bribe a waiter and told him to keep an eye on the person ahead of them, no matter where he went.

After buying the liquor and having it sent away, he went to find Master Eye of the Storm in the Arcane District. This gnome master truly cared for and looked after him. Even though Sun Busong had stood him up and chosen the Warrior Profession instead, the master had not blamed or resented him. Instead, he had done everything in his power to help him.

"Is there anything I can help you with, my friend? Have you grown taller again recently?"

Master Eye of the Storm happily walked over when he saw Sun Busong.

"I'm very happy to see you, Master Eye of the Storm. I'll be setting out in a few days. I've troubled you many times this past year, and I came today to ask you for a favor!"

"Hahaha, my friend, I'd be happy to help you. What do you need me to do?"

Master Eye of the Storm had always been this helpful.

"Before that, I'd like to leave this Backpack with you. Then I'll need you to call a Priest Professional for me."

"Oh? You need a priest too? All right, I'll go invite one now. You can leave your things in the room. They won't be lost."

With that, Master Eye of the Storm went upstairs to invite a priest.

Sun Busong had come to Master Eye of the Storm to capture that undead. At first, he had thought he only needed to report it to Ironforge's guards. But then he realized that discovering an undead and capturing it would be a great achievement. Naturally, he had to make good use of such an opportunity.

So he thought of Master Eye of the Storm. He would give the undead to the master as a parting gift. And in the Backpack he had just set down were many kinds of food, along with some bombs he had made while practicing. He intended to give all of them to the master as thanks for taking care of him over the past year.

Because materials were limited and Master Eye of the Storm was of such a high level, Sun Busong could not produce equipment or weapons the master could use. But just because he could not do so now did not mean he never would.

Very soon, Master Eye of the Storm came downstairs with an Elite Priest.

"All right, Busong, we're ready."

The master smiled at Sun Busong. Though he still opposed Sun Busong choosing the Warrior Profession, everyone had their own aspirations. What if Sun Busong made a name for himself in the field of warriors someday?

"Master, the two of you come with me. It's not far ahead."

"Then let's go."

Before long, the three of them arrived at an inn within Ironforge.

At the waiter's meaningful glance, Sun Busong confirmed the target's location, then quietly told Master Eye of the Storm something.

"Really?" The master was shocked. This was Ironforge—how could the Undead race possibly have infiltrated it?

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

Master Eye of the Storm certainly believed Sun Busong. His question had merely come from his disbelief that the other party could be so bold.

"Don't worry. With me here, it won't get away."

Then Master Eye of the Storm led the priest up to the third floor.

Not long after, a piercing howl rang out from the third floor. This was the Undead race's unique attack, Soul Shriek. If Sun Busong had been up there, that alone would have left him bedridden for many days.

After the shriek, magical power began surging wildly throughout the area, and white holy light appeared as well.

By the time the nearby guards were drawn over by the commotion, the battle on the third floor had already ended.

"Brave Lord Eye of the Storm, did you capture this undead? You are truly magnificent!"

"Yes, I captured it. But I'm not the greatest contributor." After saying that, Master Eye of the Storm began searching the crowd for Sun Busong, but Sun Busong had already boarded a Gryphon and was on his way to Coldridge Mountain.

After returning to Anweimar Fortress, Old Man Hanyi was already asleep. Sun Busong reached out and took the beer mug from his hand, then silently looked at the old dwarf, who was drunk beyond recognition.

Without this old man, he would not exist. This was his first family member and benefactor in this world of Light Fantasy.

"Drinking every day isn't much of a solution. But dwarves are strange—the more they drink, the healthier they become, and the faster their strength improves!"

After briefly tidying up the room, Sun Busong lay down beside Old Man Hanyi and fell asleep.

"Son! When did you get back?!"

Early the next morning, a voice loud enough to shatter the sky jolted him awake from his pleasant dream.

Old Man was overjoyed to see him, so happy that he wanted to open another bottle of liquor to celebrate.

"Hey, hey, Old Man, don't drink today. I came to talk to you about something. If you get drunk, we won't be able to talk." Sun Busong hurriedly snatched away the bottle.

"Just one sip. I'm so happy to see my son back. Just one sip!" Uncle Hanyi cheerfully negotiated with Sun Busong.

"No! But once we're done talking, I can bring out even better wine for you to drink!"

Dealing with Old Man was what he did best.

"Hahaha, good! Hurry up and tell me."

Sun Busong smiled as he took out a stack of Ogin Ingots from his Backpack, along with several blueprints he had drawn over the past few days.

"Ogin Ingots! They really are Ogin Ingots!"

How could Old Man not recognize Ogin Ingots? The moment Sun Busong took them out, the old man cried out.

"Shh! Keep your voice down. Do you want everyone else to know you have a stack of Ogin Ingots?" Sun Busong said to Old Man in a lowered voice.

"I have a stack? These Ogin Ingots are mine?" Old Man was stunned, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"They're definitely yours. Could they belong to Grendel or that old man Hajin instead?"

"Hahaha, he can't afford something like this. These are mine!"

Old Man's voice started rising again.

For the entire following day, Uncle Hanyi stayed with Sun Busong and never left the forge.

Sun Busong had found those blueprints in his own Blacksmithing Skill. They were several pieces of equipment well suited for Old Man to forge, and the materials were easy to buy as well.

Sun Busong explained the techniques for forging those pieces of equipment to Old Man in detail. He also left Old Man one hundred thousand Gold Coins and enough Fine Wine to last an entire year.

Old Man did not shed any tears when they parted. Seeing Old Man drunk, wearing a silly grin and still clutching an Ogin Ingot in his hand, Sun Busong smiled faintly.

After returning to Ironforge, Sun Busong bought some supplies, then quietly went to visit Master Hammer and Master Eye of the Storm. He merely looked at the two old men who had helped him from afar.

His next goal was to travel across every part of Azeroth Continent, make a few friends, and then offend a few enemies. Hahaha, what was the point of life without enemies?

But just as he was about to take a Gryphon out of Ironforge, he spotted someone—the young man who had bid against him for the Deception Orb.

There were also two bodyguards beside him. One was a female rogue with a hood over her head and herself wrapped up tightly from head to toe?

The other was a human Paladin!

"This guy's identity must be anything but ordinary. Anyone who can use a Paladin as a bodyguard is at least a baron, right?"

Perhaps the other party sensed him. He raised his head and looked toward Sun Busong. At the moment, Sun Busong was not wearing his black robe.

Yet the other man seemed to see right through him. He nodded at him with a smile and even waved!

"Hehehe, this guy's interesting. Playing anywhere is still playing. I'll play with him first this time!"

Sun Busong gave a sly grin and reached the young man's side in a few steps.

"What? Do you know me?"

"I wasn't completely sure it was you just now, but now I'm certain. It really is you, hahaha—the one who bought twenty stacks of Ogin Ingots!"

Please keep reading, please invest. What have the editors been doing lately? Can someone give me an editor's contact information? It feels like Qidian's editors are even harder to find than American biological weapons experts.

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