Jana Snake Bone

Old Peter's gaze landed on Arthur, carrying a heavy sense of scrutiny.

As the host of the Old Wood Ship Auction, knowing every guest was a fundamental skill of his.

Given the family background and personal history of the captain of the Great White Shark, the newly knighted Lord Arthur, it was impossible for him to know this kind of script.

According to the senior appraisers of their Old Wood Ship Auction, after careful examination, they believed this to be the bone of a marine creature.

The characters carved into the bone were even more ancient than Old Latin or the Ancient Hermetic Language.

They had originally assumed it was a writing system from the New Continent, but after asking Leo, a top student of an old professor, he denied that it belonged to any New Continent script.

Leo had stated with absolute certainty: "I am proficient in the three ancient scripts of the New Continent: Aztec, Maya, and Inca."

"The symbols on the bone have no relation to the writing systems of the New Continent."

Arthur did not trouble Arina; his relationship with her was, for the moment, still a simple one of master and servant.

It was just that, for various reasons, he had already entered Arina's inner circle as a highly trusted subordinate.

They had fought the Black Devil cult together and scuttled the Jasmine together, but some things were not yet suitable to be revealed.

He had previously hinted to Arina that he possessed a certain talent for languages, so now was the perfect time to "perform."

Furthermore, discussing this with Arina in public would be too rash and inconsistent with the behavior expected of his status.

Old Peter's gaze, like a magnifying glass under a torch, focused on Arthur as he asked in a deep voice: "Does Lord Arthur recognize these ancient characters?"

Arthur did not answer, instead jumping back to the promise Old Peter had made earlier.

"If I tell you, can I have priority to purchase it at seventy percent of the price?"

"Of course!"

Old Peter understood Arthur's concerns—pirates did not easily trust promises—and immediately gave his guarantee.

"If Lord Arthur knows the characters on it, I can guarantee that this auction item will be sold to you with priority at seventy percent of the price."

Arthur's gaze fell upon the Jana Snake Bone on the auction stage.

The content was written in the language of the Sea Race, and the meaning it conveyed was quite rich:

[Jana shall destroy the Mermaid, ## the key to opening the sanctuary.]

Because he only had a rough grasp of the Sea Race language and had not yet reached a level of proficiency, there were two characters he did not recognize.

He was so excited he nearly stood up; he wanted Arina to bid on it immediately because this collection piece held significant practical meaning.

Mr. Red Grail's bloodline originated from the Mermaids, and the history of the Mermaid race's decline had long been submerged at the dawn of the Era of Light.

This sentence was undoubtedly a supplement to the Mermaid Book, indicating that the Jana race had once waged war against the Mermaid race.

Judging by the tone of the narrative on the bone, the Jana race had likely held the upper hand.

"Jana."

Arthur's brain raced, and he immediately fabricated a piece of history.

"I have a friend whose field of study is similar to the characters on this bone, and we once asked him out of curiosity."

"He told me that the script is called 'Jana'."

"It is an ancient Sea Race, rumored to be a half-human, half-snake creature that lives in the depths of the ocean."

"Because I associated it with the ancient Mermaids, I was curious whether the Jana were human on the upper half or the lower half..."

"I have never seen a real Jana, and that friend couldn't say for sure, which is why the memory is particularly vivid for me."

As Arthur's voice faded, soft laughter rippled through the grand hall, their thoughts stirred by the image of "Jana."

If the upper body was human and the lower body was a snake, how would they reproduce?

Mr. Old Peter took the opportunity to lift the cotton cloth, covering the first character on the bone, and looked at everyone with a smile.

"Mr. Arthur's breadth of knowledge is admirable. Are there any other guests who recognize this script?"

"If not, this auction item will be sold to Lord Arthur with priority at seventy percent of the price!"

Mr. Old Peter's words did not bring forth a second scholar who recognized the Sea Race language.

The guests present focused their gazes on Arthur, weighing the value of this pirate lord in their hearts.

Arina maintained an indifferent posture, her eyes slightly narrowed as she pretended to rest.

In her heart, she had already labeled Arthur: a man like a mystery.

From the dance steps and swordsmanship on the Jasmine to his claimed linguistic talent and his knowledge of extremely rare scripts.

She couldn't help but wonder if she truly understood this servant of hers.

There was even a trace of annoyance; if he truly possessed such high linguistic talent, why hadn't he told her sooner? Wouldn't the family have spared no effort to cultivate him?

Arina thought about it again, and realized this was actually for the best.

Serving her, Arina Stuart, meant serving the Stuart Family.

But serving the Stuart Family did not necessarily mean serving her, Arina.

From a certain perspective, bidding for the Scholar Potion to let him utilize his linguistic talent seemed like the best use of her gold coins at the moment.

As her heart slowly calmed, Arena opened her eyes, looking truly indifferent as she chuckled softly:

"Carved with ancient script or not, it is still just a bone."

A common, worthless bone that wouldn't fetch much of a price.

Old Peter heard Arena's words and chuckled, saying: "Miss Arena is unaware.

After professional appraisal, this is confirmed to be the bone of a marine creature, and it now appears highly likely to be the Jana Snake Bone—a piece from a transcendent creature!"

In just two short sentences, Old Peter elevated the value of the bone in his hand to a height it did not belong.

Highly likely, professional appraisal, Jana Snake Bone—there was a high probability this would trigger the collecting obsession of some noble family.

Following Old Peter's words, Arthur immediately chimed in: "I bid 101 gold coins.

The Jana carve inscriptions onto the bones of their own kin; are you all mad, or are they?

That extra gold coin is my respect for knowledge."

After speaking, he struck an indifferent pose, waiting for others to raise the bid.

At 101 gold coins, he only needed to pay 70%, which was 70 gold and 70 silver, whereas others would have to pay the full 101 gold coins.

No one knew Arthur's bottom line, so they would not rashly bid and offend him.

Once Arthur secured the 70% priority purchase right, it was destined that this not-so-precious bone would fall into his pocket.

Arena's body suddenly stiffened; she remembered that all of Arthur's gold coins had already been packed up and given to her.

For a pirate, scraping together 100 gold coins in a short time was difficult.

In other words, this nameless bone would also require her, Arena, to front the funds.

After waiting for a while, no one spoke up.

Arthur got his wish and obtained the bone, and then the auction proceedings continued.

"The next item up for auction is an incredibly precious object, the penultimate treasure of this auction."

"After verification by multiple parties, we can confirm this is a transcendent potion, and a highly rare one at that—a Scholar Potion!"

Accompanied by Old Peter's modulated, rhythmic tone, the atmosphere in the grand hall grew heavy; this was the most valuable item of the auction.

A Scholar Potion, a precious Sequence 9 potion.

Arthur leaned back slightly, assuming a relaxed posture as if he didn't care about the "Scholar Potion."

Feeling the atmosphere all around her, Arena couldn't help but feel a headache coming on; it seemed many people had their eyes on this potion.