Alchemy Flintlock

As one of the few transcendent beings on Paradise Island who had reached the intermediate sequence, Abigail's fame was as resounding as his strength. As soon as he dismounted from the carriage, many transcendent beings greeted him.

Abigail was indeed unpretentious, puffing on his large pipe and responding heartily.

Ian and Lia followed behind him, presenting their tickets to smoothly enter the lavishly decorated auction house.

The entrance to the auction house was a foyer, an area for attendees to wait temporarily before entering the main hall.

The Whaling Group, a powerful force in Paradise Port, had a private, semi-open room on the second floor.

The open side faced the auction hall, and the entire wall was covered by a curtain emitting faint Mana fluctuations.

From the inside of the curtain, the hall and auction stage below could be easily seen, but from the outside, the interior was invisible, effectively guaranteeing the privacy of VIPs on the second and third floors.

Guided by an attendant, Abigail, Ian, and Lia entered the second-floor room, where five members of the Whaling Group were already waiting.

Ian recognized four of them: Damir, Greg, Jill, and Uma.

The one he hadn't met before was bald and named Warren, also a whaling ship captain who had recently returned to Paradise Port.

The atmosphere in the room was quite harmonious, with everyone exchanging recent information and occasionally joking. Even the stern Damir had a slight smile on his lips.

Ian could feel that Uma was genuinely guileless and loved to joke, truly the atmosphere regulator.

Damir sat behind Abigail, generally acting as a listener, rarely offering his opinion.

Greg, Jill, and Warren's attention was clearly not fully on the conversation; they were obviously thinking about other matters.

Warren, in particular, kept glancing at Ian as if nothing was amiss.

Ian's keen Spirituality allowed him to sense any direct gaze. He didn't know if Warren was driven by curiosity or some other reason, so he could only remain vigilant.

As a loud fanfare of instruments echoed through the hall, the main hall opened, and a large number of people streamed in.

Even with Ian restraining his Spirituality, he could feel the powerful, mixed Spirituality fluctuations from below.

The hall, which could accommodate three hundred people, was packed. Including the dozen or so rooms on the second and third floors, nearly half of the attendees were transcendent beings.

There were over ten powerful individuals in the intermediate sequence, who unreservedly displayed their Spirituality fluctuations, keeping the attendees in the main hall exceptionally "well-behaved."

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to today's auction. I am Lyra, the auctioneer from Royal Auction House..."

"Today's auction is an unprecedented grand event, with many distinguished ladies and gentlemen in attendance. It is my honor to introduce them to you..."

Idres, Bishop of the God of Truth and Justice on Paradise Island; Saleh, Bishop of the God of the Sea on Paradise Island...

Andymion, Branch Master of the Alchemist Fellowship on Paradise Island; Abigail, Leader of the Whaling Group...

Deimos Poldoria, Crown Prince of the Poldoria Kingdom; Alanisse, daughter of the Emerald Duke...

The presence of bishops from the seven major deities, nobles from various kingdoms, and intermediate sequence transcendent beings made everyone present's heart pound.

Ian noticed nobles from the Bema Duchy and Winter Kingdom, which struck him as odd. Had they put aside their past grievances?!

"Thank you again to all our distinguished guests for attending today's auction. Now, the auction officially begins..."

"The first item is an alchemical equipment from Alchemist: the Bursting Flintlock."

At the auctioneer's signal, the first item was brought to the stage.

A meter-long Alchemy Flintlock was housed in an exquisite metal box, its barrel covered in intricate patterns.

Beside it were two smaller boxes: one neatly stacked with twenty special bullets, and the other containing Alchemy Gunpowder.

This flintlock could fire special explosive bullets or ordinary ones. However, it required Alchemy Gunpowder; otherwise, its power would be greatly diminished.

Alchemical equipment differed from Magic Equipment, and many ordinary people even confused the two, which was actually very dangerous.

Magic Equipment, Spirituality equipment, curious items, and even forbidden sealed objects all contained Spirituality characteristics and could only be used by transcendent beings.

Alchemical equipment, on the other hand, was ordinary equipment refined by Alchemists through alchemical means, based on their extraordinary perception and understanding of material properties, forcibly combining or reorganizing substances.

It lacked Spirituality characteristics and was similar to conventional equipment used by ordinary people, the only difference being its exceptionally high power.

High power was sometimes a drawback; for example, this Alchemy Flintlock had significant recoil, making it unusable for ordinary people.

This Alchemy Flintlock was generally used as a backup weapon for transcendent beings or as a substitute when a suitable Mana weapon was unavailable.

The auctioneer briefly introduced the flintlock's specifications and then demonstrated it in detail.

"Starting bid: 100 gold coins. Each bid increase must be no less than 10 gold. Please place your bids--"

"200 gold coins--"

"210 gold coins--"

"..."

"600 gold coins, going once..."

"600 gold coins, going three times, sold!"

This was merely an appetizer, and it didn't incite much bidding. As the auctioneer's gavel fell, the item was quickly removed.

The first item sold for 600 gold, an amount a common farm laborer couldn't afford in a lifetime. Ian couldn't help but lament that the wealth gap was exaggerated in every world.

In the Sherlock Holmes story "The Hound of the Baskervilles" from my past life, the deceased's inheritance was 740,000 pounds. At that time, a laborer earned only 10 pounds a year, meaning they would need to work for 74,000 years continuously.

Even in modern times in my past life, laborers would complain about the cost of a 3-yuan steamed bun for breakfast, yet a rich man's daughter ate 400-yuan buns and was praised for being "frugal."

On the third floor of the auction house, Alanisse reclined lazily in her chair, utterly lacking in decorum. She propped her delicate face with her right hand, her green eyes unfocused as she gazed at the ceiling decorations.

Her snow-white chin, slender neck, and exquisite collarbone formed a gentle curve, making one want to bury their face in it.

As the daughter of the Emerald Duke, she had been raised to meet the standards of a ducal heir from birth. She had attended countless banquets and auctions since childhood, and frankly, she couldn't muster any interest.

It wasn't until she had a clever younger brother that she was finally able to escape these tedious studies.

This time, coming to Paradise Island, she had pleaded for a long time before her father finally agreed to let her lead a team.

After the Alchemy Flintlock, several more items were auctioned off one after another, and the atmosphere in the hall gradually heated up.

"The next item is a curious artifact, the Activated Rope."

Two attendants carried a chest and placed it laboriously on the auction stage.

Inside the chest was a large ball of what looked like ordinary yellow hemp rope, as thick as a thumb, coiled very neatly within the box.

"This Activated Rope originates from a ghost ship. It can automatically complete operations such as raising and lowering sails and tacking into or away from the wind on a small sailboat, without any need for a sailor's assistance."

"It can also quickly bind and drag objects according to the owner's commands."

"It knows almost all the binding methods and knot-tying techniques commonly used by sailors, and it will automatically learn all rope application techniques it witnesses."