Making a Move

In the heart of the Emerald Market, at the center of the Emerald Rockery, a bell tolls, its sound echoing throughout the entire Emerald Market.

This is the signal that the auction is about to begin, reminding everyone that if they are interested, they can come to the central area.

This reminder is for those who can afford to buy a central area pass; those who have neither the money nor the interest will completely ignore this bell.

Little did they know, as they were engrossed in their own tasks, that the sound of the bell would haunt them for the rest of their lives.

The moment the bells rang, Fran and Nora entered the auction house.

Actually, she didn't want to go in, because the Emerald Market's warehouse was inside the Emerald Rockery, and if she wanted to get there, she would have to take another route.

However, Fran received a message from the Lord of Radiance: there was still one and a half hours before the operation began.

With so much time to spare, she had to find a way to kill time, otherwise just waiting there would be too boring.

So she followed them in. All she had to do was go out and prepare beforehand; people could come and go freely at the auction.

The moment Fran stepped into the auction, she was praying that her Short Sword would last for the next hour and a half and not be actually bought by someone else.

Although she may not need the Short Sword now, losing this weapon she forged herself still makes her somewhat unhappy.

"As long as the other party doesn't redeem it in time, even if they buy my Short Sword, I can still get it back from the storeroom," Fran thought to herself.

There were no private boxes or similar facilities in the auction hall, and the venue itself wasn't very large, only enough to seat about a hundred people.

But thinking about it, it makes sense; not everyone has time to come to the central area and slowly pick out what they want to buy.

Most Profession search for what they need in external areas, then filter through them step by step. This way, they can always find what they need, and if all else fails, there are many alternatives.

Those who come to the central area are probably all Profession with both money and time.

Fran sat in a back seat, a convenient spot for a later escape, which puzzled Nora.

"Aren't there still seats available up ahead?"

"I'm used to sitting in the back; I feel uncomfortable if I don't sit in the back."

Nora raised an eyebrow, then sat down as well.

"So, what are you looking to buy? What brings you here?"

Fran looked at the seated crowd and the undrawn curtain on the stage, feeling somewhat bored, and then asked.

She was also a little Nora as to why Nora was here; perhaps there was something she wanted to buy.

"That's not it. It's just that there are too many different kinds of things outside, and I was too lazy to distinguish them, so I came here to see what I could buy."

"Oh... I see."

Although the area outside the central area has almost everything, there might even be some better items sold here.

However, not everyone has the patience to slowly select from a selection, and Nora is clearly one of them.

Nora had a little money and some time, so she wanted to see what she could buy.

But she also felt that there were too many different kinds of things outside, and she couldn't find anything good to choose from in a short time.

So she went to the central area, where everything for sale had been appraised and was generally up to standard. Now Nora didn't have to worry about the quality of the items when she was choosing them.

While waiting, Fran saw the two people who had been wearing Priest robes from the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents sitting in the front row.

After a while, the curtain on the stage was drawn back, signaling the start of the auction.

"Welcome everyone to the Emerald Market auction. I guarantee you won't be disappointed."

When the curtain was drawn back, an elderly man in magnificent attire appeared on the stage. His face had only a few wrinkles, and the skin exposed under his sleeves and gloves was a deep white with hardly any wrinkles.

The old man looked very capable, with a bright and energetic appearance and shining eyes.

"Without further ado, let's take a look at today's first item."

Several waiters pushed in a square display stand with a glass window, through which Fran could see the illusory bottles displayed.

The illusory appearance of the bottle piqued Fran's curiosity. She felt that the bottle wasn't actually there; it seemed to be using some kind of projection method to make it appear there.

In other words, the bottle is actually still in the warehouse; what's appearing now is just a projection of it. Fran looked at the bottle thoughtfully.

"This is a 100ml Life Replenishment Potion that appears at every auction, with a starting price of 200g Spirit Crystal... It's a very useful item, isn't it?"

Fran was somewhat surprised to see that it was Life Replenishment Potion, while Nora beside her said:

"These were made by an Alchemist organization connected to the Emerald Market; they send over a batch every time an auction begins..."

"270 Spirit Crystal." As soon as the Life Replenishment Potion appeared on the stage, someone immediately raised their sign, which made Fran blink.

270 grams of Spirit Crystal would be worth about nine Gold Coin, but here, the price would be far more than that.

Although Fran learned that 100 milliliters of Life Replenishment Potion cost nine Gold Coin, that was the market price.

Normally, auction houses sell for higher prices, and the potions available through auction houses are generally safer, so a premium is quite normal.

After all, you wouldn't want someone to poison the potion you drink, would you? Although the Alchemist who made it might not have any ulterior motives, the person who sells it might.

Therefore, it is perfectly normal for auctions to have some premiums, as they are a relatively safe channel.

Moreover, Fran estimated that even if she were to take out the Life Replenishment Potion she had refined, the auction house would not allow her to put it up for auction.

The initial Life Replenishment Potion are mostly the auction house's signature items, used to attract people; they wouldn't risk their reputation for safety and security for a few Gold Coin.

"360 grams of Spirit Crystal sold!!!"

Finally, the Life Replenishment Potion from the auction was sold for twelve Gold Coin. The elderly man hosting the event looked radiant and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the scene.

Nora, standing next to Fran, seemed to have seen this scene many times before. When the price was announced, she showed no reaction and simply relaxed back in her chair.

"Let's look at the next item for auction, a page from a book obtained from an unknown place in the Spirit Realm, with a starting price of 100 grams of Spirit Crystal."

Fran looked at the illusory glass object, inside which appeared a page with a bluish glow at the edge, which did not look like a normal page.

"I advise you not to buy them. These things are all scavenged by those Spirit Realm Profession from who-knows-where in the Spirit Realm. They take the good stuff themselves, while the things they don't know what they are, but which look impressive, are dumped here to be sold."

"While sometimes those Spirit Realm Profession do misjudge these things, in most cases, all you'll get is a piece of waste paper."

Seeing Fran's gaze fall on the bluish-green paper, Nora quickly spoke up to remind her, afraid of arousing the curiosity of this little one again.

"Don't worry, I still need to add Spirit Crystal to the Magic Creature's materials, so I don't have that many Spirit Crystal..."

This auction item, which was purely for lottery purposes, didn't elicit much reaction from the audience below; after all, nobody's money grows on trees.

Finally, two people sitting in the first row, dressed in the robes of Priest from the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents, used 130 grams of Spirit Crystal to obtain the page.

This made Fran take another look at the two people, thinking that they were really rich, actually buying something of unknown purpose.

"Let's take a look at the next item for auction..."

The next items up for auction didn't interest Fran; they were probably materials from some kind of Magic Creature and finished weapons.

However, these things are useless to Fran, because what she needs more are living Magic Creature. If she has the materials, she can forge a better weapon herself, so there's no need to spend a lot of money buying these things.

Even Nora, who was sitting next to Fran, showed little interest, because she hadn't been to any places related to mages, Nora had come here just to see if they had any such things.

Although there are almost no large-scale mage organizations outside the Alliance, and the Alliance discriminates against mages from the Spirit Realm, believing that they cannot be called mages.

However, quite a few people become Spirit Realm Mage through the Spirit Realm, and they still make up a large part of the Profession in the Spirit Realm. Nora had seen related things here before.

However, it was clear that none of the mages' items were included in this auction, so Nora couldn't hide her disappointment.

Fran calculated the time and felt it was about right, then said:

"I'm leaving now. There probably won't be anything good left."

"Why don't you come here and see how much your Short Sword costs?"

"No, I'm too lazy to look. I'll just walk out now and I can get my Spirit Crystal at the reception desk outside."

"Okay, goodbye."

So Fran tiptoed out of the auction house. After leaving, she didn't head straight for the central area, but instead turned a corner and walked towards the Emerald Rockery.

Inside the auction hall, two members of the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents in the front row were engaged in a heated discussion:

"Your Highness, you've bought a bit too much... this..."

"What's the big deal? We're going to buy that Short Sword later, which will cost at least a hundred kilograms of Spirit Crystal. What's a little something like this?"

"Uh... this looks different."

If Heather only bought that special Short Sword Short Sword, it could be said that she was interested in it. However, if she also bought a bunch of things that she didn't need at all, the elders would think that Heather spent so many Spirit Crystal but only bought a Short Sword that was of some value.

In this situation, it would be difficult for Heather to escape punishment.

BOOM!!!

Just as she was about to try to persuade Heather again, the entire auction house suddenly went dark, accompanied by a huge explosion outside.