Perhaps to ease the overly intense atmosphere a little, the next few lots returned to the usual fare.
Several Extraordinary Sequence class imprints followed, including those for Sword Dancer, Guardian Knight, Illusionist, and Alchemist.
Extraordinary Sequence class imprints were magical items that recorded the core abilities of an Extraordinary Sequence and allowed people to learn them. They were single-use items, and only those who had awakened their spirituality could use them.
To Ian's surprise, the Alchemist Fellowship had brought out Extraordinary Sequence imprints, and was selling imprints from both the Original Tree and Tree of Knowledge factions.
It wasn't that Alchemist Extraordinary Sequences were particularly rare. The main reason was that the Alchemist Fellowship had always given them away based on "looks," so it was rare to see an Alchemist Extraordinary Sequence outside the Fellowship.
A thought struck Ian. Could he pretend to be a newly initiated Alchemist, join the Fellowship, and learn new things?
If not, he couldn't stay stuck at Sequence 9 forever. It was a little risky, but he wanted to try.
Besides, the Alchemist Fellowship had always remained neutral, judging people on their merits rather than their status. Even if they learned his real identity, they probably wouldn't do anything.
"The next lot is a Fourth-rate Ship, a two-deck, three-masted square-rigged sailing ship. It's in good condition, 45.8 meters long, and equipped with twenty-two 24-pound cannons and thirty 18-pound cannons. Its standard crew is 350..."
"The ship is currently berthed at the Second Fleet's base in Paradise Port. The winning bidder can take it away at any time..."
"The bidding starts at 30,000 gold coins, with a minimum increment of 100 gold coins."
As bidding began for the Fourth-rate Ship, the buzz of conversation in the hall grew even louder.
Since ships of the line weren't suited to ocean voyages, Fourth-rate Ships were usually used as flagships for overseas patrols. The Whaling Group's flagship and the Kingdom's Third Fleet flagship were both Fourth-rate Ships.
As bids rose and fell around her, Alanisse sat up straight and smiled like a little fox.
This sailing ship was bait the Emerald Duke had deliberately put up for auction.
Ever since steam engines had been installed on sailing ships, the Emerald Duke had been certain that the age of sailing warships was drawing to a close.
Future warships would inevitably be powered by steam engines. Only some merchant vessels would keep using sails to save costs.
The Emerald Duchy's research into steam power had already outpaced the rest of the Eastern Continent. The Empire of Divine Grace's new Steam Battleships had only further proved his foresight.
Selling an outdated secondhand sailing warship would bring in a wealth of resources, which could then be invested in the development and construction of Steam Battleships. It was a very worthwhile deal.
In the end, the Bema Duchy, unwilling to spare any expense, won the Fourth-rate Ship. The final price was 65,000 gold coins, more than twice its actual construction cost.
There was no helping it. As the weakest naval power among the parties cooperating in this venture, the Bema Duchy had come specifically for that ship.
The prices of the lots that followed weren't any higher, but they were clearly of increasing strategic value.
A wondrous item that could produce fresh water continuously, a large quantity of high-quality teak, slaves, bulk grain, and more—the people in the hall had mostly become spectators.
The much-anticipated Sequence 5 potion for the Mind Witch sequence soon went up for auction as well.
The Crown Prince of the Poldoria Kingdom won it for the high price of 74,000 gold coins.
The people of the Whaling Group were thrilled. After all, they were entitled to thirty percent of the proceeds.
The final headline lot was four Alchemy Cannons. They had a maximum range of over 5,000 meters and were far more powerful than ordinary 32-pound cannons, but they also had heavy recoil and consumed a great deal of ammunition.
These were coastal defense cannons, mainly used to defend ports and coastal bases. Ordinary sailing warships couldn't carry or operate them.
The Poldoria Kingdom ultimately bought all four Alchemy Cannons, along with a large stock of Alchemy Cannon ammunition, for 110,000 gold coins. There was no denying that the Poldoria Kingdom had a natural advantage when it came to wealth.
Ian left the hall carrying a large box, alongside the excited members of the Whaling Group. The cold wind blew, and the lively atmosphere gradually faded.
Though he'd only bought an Activated Rope on this outing, he'd gained a great deal.
The major powers had most likely formed an alliance. He still wasn't sure how this might hinder his revenge against the Second Prince, but one thing was clear: he had to pick up the pace.
It was already the early hours of the morning by the time Ian said goodbye to Lia and returned to the tower.
The moment he stepped inside, he sensed that something was wrong. There wasn't a single light on in the tower.
Milta was stubborn. He'd promised to watch the place until Ian returned, and wouldn't go to bed before then.
Ian carefully set down the box, suppressed his spirituality, and slowly approached.
His expression grew more and more grave. He couldn't sense Wawa's spirituality or any trace of Milta.
Ian stopped and didn't go any closer. He focused and examined the tower.
Then he suddenly realized that the spire was gone?!
Just as Ian tensed up, ready to defend himself, a gigantic creature "rose" from the top floor. In the dim moonlight, he could make out a dozen or so short "tentacles" extending from its body, covering most of the tower's upper level.
It seemed to have noticed Ian. Its "tentacles" slid along the tower as it came rushing toward him with a thunderous "trot."
Ian turned, ready to run as fast as he could, when a familiar ripple of spirituality reached him.
"Wawa..."
Ian stopped and turned back, standing there with a strange look on his face as he waited for the "monster" to approach.
Just as it was about to reach him, the "monster" suddenly drew in all its "tentacles" and flattened itself against the ground, gliding toward him.
A gust of wind rushed over him, accompanied by a deep, grinding sound. The massive creature stopped with perfect precision less than half a meter in front of Ian. Two tiny green-bean-sized eyes suddenly appeared on the surface of its silver-gray body and met Ian's gaze.
"Wawa..."
"Ah... So this is Wawa!"
Ian laughed helplessly and patted Wawa's body, soothing it after it had gone so long without a response.
Ian had gone to check on Wawa that morning. Though Wawa had been covered with Magical Cloth and burlap, making it hard to see clearly, it definitely hadn't been this big.
It had grown so much in a single day, and those strange tentacles... Seeing it in the middle of the night was enough to make anyone's sanity plummet.
Ian communicated with Wawa through their spirituality. Compared with a few days ago, Wawa's intelligence had clearly improved a lot. It seemed about as smart as a seven- or eight-year-old child, and its "speech" was much more coherent.
A few days earlier, Wawa had swallowed a drop of Life Water and fallen asleep. It had finally finished "digesting" it today, and its physical strength and ultimate potential had leapt to a whole new level.
When Wawa woke up, Ian wasn't there. The formation at the auction hall had blocked their connection, so although Wawa could sense Ian through their contract, it had trouble locating him.
Thinking it had been abandoned, Wawa had grown anxious. It "stood" up, intending to go out and look for Ian. Unfortunately, it had no sense of its own size and had smashed straight through the observation deck's spire.
Hearing the commotion, Milta saw the "monster" appear and froze in shock. His first instinct was that a monster had invaded.
Then the two of them, neither of whom had ever seen the other before, tried to communicate to no avail. In its anxiety, Wawa directly "ate" Milta.
Ian looked helpless. "Milta's our friend. You can't do that again. Let him out."
Wawa answered with a dejected sound, then flipped over. Milta tumbled out through a door that suddenly opened on its upper surface.
Even after he got out, Milta was still terrified. The moment he saw Ian, he shouted, "There's a monster! Run!"
Ian quickly calmed him down again and explained that this was their ship. After all that, Ian felt like he'd had more than enough excitement for one night.
Ian sent Milta, still looking incredulous and badly shaken, back to bed.
Then he headed straight for the coast with Wawa. After seeing Wawa's full form, he could hardly wait to board his ship.
Before you continue