Good Stuff

"Huh? What's this?"

A girl dressed in a dark blue robe and wearing a pearl bracelet was captivated by the items on display at the auction house.

Heather looked at the items on display in the auction house, and the Short Sword with an amethyst blade caught her eye.

"This must be the main item for the next auction. I didn't expect to see something like this."

The purple Short Sword itself didn't attract her attention, but once she saw the Short Sword on it, she couldn't take her eyes off it.

It was a giant bear standing up, surrounded by frost. Judging from the technique used, it was a rune.

"I've never seen this kind of rune before. Is it an image of Frost Behemoth? Why would imprinting an image of a god on it become a rune?"

Just then, a woman next to her, wearing a light blue robe with her head covered by a hood, only her gray hair visible through the gaps, spoke:

"Your Highness, these might be Ancient Rune."

"Ancient Rune?"

"That's right, the origin of runes comes from the Gods. When humans carved the images of the gods onto their weapons and equipment, they discovered that they possessed great power."

"So after a series of simplifications, it looks something like this, using runes to obtain power."

"This rune format is relatively new. I remember that runes that truly depicted the entire image of a god could unleash the power of a third-tier rune."

"That's amazing?!" Heather's mouth dropped open, shocked by the information her companion had revealed.

"That's right, but Your Highness should just take this as an anecdote, because it's impossible to find Artisan who can carve those kinds of runes now. At most, the current runes can only be carved with content like the one in front of us."

"Why is that?" Heather asked curiously.

"Firstly, the mages of the Alliance, who mastered the Arts enchanting, launched a campaign thousands of years ago to eradicate this runic Arts, scrutinizing the contents of various enchantments. I heard that the Alliance's enchanting School even disbanded because of this."

"The specific reasons are unknown, and it all happened a long time ago. However, what I am certain of is that even the runes on this Short Sword have been screened before they were passed down, and they don't have any ability that can reach the third tier."

"Ah?! I see... It's those damned mages again. Just how many interesting things are they trying to destroy...?"

Heather said with some dissatisfaction, then adjusted Heather mindset slightly and asked:

"Are there any other reasons? Didn't you just say one?"

The woman smiled and continued:

"Secondly, it's because the Deity have all gone to the Astral Realm. As I just mentioned, in ancient times, humans created runes by depicting the likenesses of the gods, back when the Gods still roamed the earth."

"No matter how advanced the Runology are now, they cannot reproduce the runes of the ancient times, because they cannot truly see the appearance of the Gods."

"It's not enough to just look at the Divine Statue of Deity; you have to truly see the face of the Deity before you can apply that understanding to runes."

Heather stroked her chin, thought for a moment, and then said:

"Then I've seen a Deity, haven't I? Can I carve out a real Ancient Rune?"

Heather's words startled the woman. She looked around, but seeing no movement, she breathed a sigh of relief and continued:

"Your Highness, please don't make such jokes again. You are the Proxy of the Deity, so naturally you have seen the Deity."

"It's good that you're telling me. If the elders in the church heard this, you'd probably be locked up for several years."

Heather realized that her previous remark was somewhat inappropriate, and she said apologetically:

"I'm sorry, Valerie, I've noted that down..." Heather's face showed curiosity again. "Then can you tell me if it's possible?"

Valerie sighed, then said:

"Very well, Your Highness, but you really should remember this."

"Your idea is completely unacceptable. You've only met one condition for carving Ancient Rune; there's an even more important condition you haven't met."

"What is it?" Heather asked curiously.

"That's the Arts of enchanting. Your Highness, you don't actually know how to carve runes, do you?"

"To inscribe Ancient Rune, seeing the face of a true god is only one condition; one must also possess a high level of skill in runes."

Heather seemed thoughtful, and then said,

"In that case, if there were a Artisan was very skilled in inscribing runes, and she also became Proxy of the gods, then she would be able to inscribe Ancient Rune."

"Theoretically, that's true, but the probability is too low. It's very difficult for someone to excel in both aspects. Moreover, if he's Artisan, becoming Proxy of God would be an even greater challenge."

The present era is vastly different from ancient times. Artisan, whose enchanting skills can only be used on low-level weapons and equipment, have seen their status decline further and further. In some places, people of this status don't even have the status of free citizens.

Even within their church, such Artisan are only accepted as believers, but when it comes to developing them into Priest, Church Warrior, and other important positions, Artisan and their descendants are never considered.

"If Your Highness is truly interested, we can study at the Construct School of the Alliance, where they developed a new application of runes approximately a hundred years ago."

"These Ancient Rune are still too old. Various reasons have made the research on Ancient Rune difficult. Your Highness should not get bogged down in this."

Upon hearing this, Heather turned her gaze to the Purple Shortsword, her eyes revealing a desire to possess it.

Valerie shook her head, then said:

"Alright, Your Highness, we actually have some Spirit Crystal left. We can just bid on this Short Sword during the auction later."

Valerie also looked at the Purple Shortsword, thinking that such a sword was nothing to the entire church, so she might as well buy it.

Heather immediately showed a happy expression, then seemed to think of something and showed a conflicted look.

"Um, since we're holding the auction here, won't anyone try to steal what we win?"

When she was in the Material Realm, she had participated in several auctions, and those auctions completely broadened her understanding of what it was like.

She also recalled how chaotic and disorderly the scene was when she attended an auction.

Back then, those people were fighting outside before the auction even started, all vying for a weapon made from materials from First Order Magic Creature.

During the auction, someone even broke into the auction house's storeroom, attempting to steal the weapon.

After the auction ended, a group of dozens of people followed behind those who wanted the weapon.

That experience left her physically and mentally exhausted; she never imagined that attending such an auction would involve so much.

And this wasn't a one-off occurrence; she had experienced the same thing at several auctions.

Valerie smiled and then said:

"Your Highness need not worry about these things at all. What you should be worried about now is that we didn't bring enough Spirit Crystal and we couldn't compete with the other side."

"Auction houses in the Spirit Realm are much safer than those in the Material Realm."

"Here, even if you acquire the auction item without going through the ritual, the weapon won't accompany you out of the central area."

"This is the special nature of the Spirit Realm Market. Protected by the Spirit Realm, you might be able to get what you want through various means of deception, but you absolutely cannot rely on brute force."

"Your Highness has likely attended low-end auctions in the Material Realm before; the truly high-end auctions are all held in the Spirit Realm."

"Just like the Emerald Market here, which is specifically for low-level Profession, the Spirit Realm also has a market for high-level Profession, and there are similar auctions there."

"With the blessing of the Spirit Realm, the auction process here is absolutely safe."

"Furthermore, only Profession below the third rank are allowed to enter the Emerald Market, so Your Highness need not worry about anyone suddenly calling out your elders."

"Here, only through rituals in the Spirit Realm can you truly obtain those things."

"Even those Profession from the Spirit Realm can only obediently participate in this process; they can't do anything about it."

Hearing Valerie say these words, Heather felt slightly relieved and immediately said:

"Let's go then, let's see what else is in this auction."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The two started walking almost simultaneously, leaving the exhibition area where the Purple Shortsword was kept.

Just then, Fran and Nora walked over. When Nora came over, she looked up and saw the Purple Shortsword that Fran had put up for sale.

"This is the one you sold. Where did you get it from?"

"Made by myself."

"???"

"It's like this, my advisor..."

After Fran's explanation, Nora realized that Fran was also an excellent Artisan, whose Arts were passed down from her mentor, and who could even create Spell Ring.

This made Nora quite envious, after all, with this kind of production Arts, she would never lack money.

"But why does her mentor's description sound so much like that Harbos?" Nora glanced at Fran, having some guesses in her mind.

Fran didn't look at Nora or the purple Short Sword in the exhibit; instead, she looked at the backs of Heather and the other woman.

She sensed something indescribable about Heather, but she didn't understand what it was, so Heather caught her attention.

What caught Fran's attention even more were the robes worn by Heather and Valerie.

"How come I keep running into them even in the Spirit Realm?"

Heather and Valerie were wearing Priest robes that Fran recognized very well; they were Priest robes from the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents.

Heather was wearing a modified version of First Order Priest 'Priest robe, while Valerie was wearing a bishop's robe, which made Fran take notice.