The Auction

As night fell, Donald, having successfully hoodwinked Head Steward Bert and his two companions, sat inside a VIP room prepared by the Gold Sol Auction House for clients and mysterious guests who preferred anonymity. He enjoyed the exquisite food and fine wine reserved exclusively for VIPs while watching the special auction already underway in the hall below.

This auction had been organized specifically by Head Steward Bert for Donald's "ancestral treasure," with invitations hastily sent out to the various nobles and bigwigs currently staying in the city.

Not only did most of the nobles already in the city accept the invitation, but others who had heard rumors of a mysterious treasure being auctioned also made special trips to attend.

When Donald had first introduced his ancestral treasure, he had added quite a few fabricated details. To his surprise, the chief appraiser, Orchi, had agreed with Donald's claims and even praised the item to the skies to inflate its value, completely ignoring the fact that Head Steward Bert's face beside him had turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

Originally, Head Steward Bert had intended to downplay the treasure to purchase it at a reasonable price, settle the transaction, and then have the auction house organize a grand event to sell it, pocketing the massive difference. That way, no matter how high the final auction price went, it would have nothing to do with the original owner, and he could have earned a hefty commission for himself.

He hadn't expected Orchi to immediately hype up the knight sword as if it were a divine artifact, making it difficult for him to offer a low price in front of the owner. He had no choice but to abandon his original plan and agree to let the other party consign the item to the auction house, settling for a mere five percent commission.

Of course, besides the ancestral treasure Donald had fabricated, the auction house had prepared several other lots as filler; merchants value profit, and they would take any opportunity to earn a little extra!

Giant Stone City was merely a second-rate, remote border city in Selt, incomparable to a major metropolis like the Royal Capital, so the auctions held here by the Gold Sol Auction House were generally not very complex in their variety.

After a series of artworks and luxury goods sought after by nobles and wealthy merchants made their appearances, the time quickly arrived for the auction's grand finale: the mysterious treasure.

The ornate Knight Greatsword was carried onto the display stand by two burly auction house guards, flashing with a dazzling, brilliant luster under the bright lights.

The moment the greatsword, measuring five feet—or 1.524 meters—in length, appeared, it drew gasps of astonishment from all the guests present.

"What a beautiful sword! Is it a ceremonial sword meant for decoration?"

"Shut up! If you don't know what you're talking about, don't spout nonsense. This is a real weapon for killing!"

"I've seen plenty of longswords, but a greatsword of this size weighs almost as much as a knight's lance. Who could possibly wield such a weapon? Is it meant for a giant?"

"Ignorant! This is a rare Knight Greatsword, a weapon used by fully armored high-ranking knights on the battlefield. It relies on the charging force of a warhorse to swing. Those with little experience have never even heard of it!"

Once the high-status guests ceased their discussion, the auctioneer finally found the opportunity to introduce the origin of the item.

"This Knight Greatsword is named Wind of Glory. It was the weapon used by the ancestor of a knightly family when he followed our great Selt I into the founding wars of the Kingdom of Selt. It is an heirloom that the family has cherished for nearly a thousand years. It is forged entirely from the hardest steel and infused with mysterious materials, making the blade sturdier and resistant to snapping. Even after a thousand years, it remains uncorroded and retains its astonishing sharpness."

Then, materials like wood and stone were brought out to test the true quality of the auction item. Anything produced by the Book of Truth was bound to be a masterpiece; naturally, it sliced through the test objects with ease, suffering not a single scratch itself. This performance triggered another wave of gasps from the guests below.

The auctioneer's introduction made Donald, the culprit behind it all, feel amused.

He hadn't expected the backstory of this knight sword to be embellished even further. Recalling the records in the history books he had read, the Kingdom of Selt had been established for over five hundred years. The original Celt Royal Family were nobles under the Bannai Empire, which had once unified the continent.

During the years of the Demon Calamity a thousand years ago, when the Abyss demons invaded in full force, the wrath of the gods and the ravages of the demons caused the once-mighty Ancient Magic Empire of Bannai to collapse completely, and many great powerhouses fell like shooting stars.

The Selt family was forced to migrate to this barren land in the north of the continent, but they escaped the chaos of war and successfully survived that destructive catastrophe.

From then on, the Selt family claimed the vast lands of the north as their own. Without competition from other forces, they developed step by step from a village into a town, and eventually into the current kingdom.

Over five hundred years ago, the wars on the continent had basically subsided, and land resources had been divided by various factions. No one would abandon the vast, fertile center and the southeastern parts of the continent to fight the Selt family and the Orcs for the cold, harsh Western Wasteland and Northern Woodlands. This allowed the Orcs to recuperate, and the Selt family successfully established the Kingdom of Selt without obstruction.

It wasn't until after the kingdom was founded that the Kingdom of Selt, which had been isolated from the powerful forces of the continent for hundreds of years, gradually became known to the world.

Although the climate was harsh, the vast land, rich resources, and the magical beasts in the mountains and forests made many countries want a piece of the pie, even if their own lands were more fertile than Selt's. Consequently, various factions turned their eyes toward this kingdom, which bordered the Orc territories.

However, apart from a few foreign merchant guilds and the consistently low-key and benevolent Church of the Goddess of Agriculture, other forces could not intervene in this isolated and united remote kingdom.

The ancestors of House Merlinar had indeed followed Selt I to fight in the north, but their status was merely that of a cavalryman in the army at the time, not even having earned the title of knight. It wasn't until that ancestor passed away that he received a symbolic posthumous title from the royal family, being named an Honorary Knight. Only then could House Merlinar barely be called a knightly family, though they held no fief and the title was not hereditary.

At that time, there were over five hundred people in the cavalry troop—later the cavalry regiment—who were enfeoffed alongside their ancestor. Most of them died on the battlefield, and the number of their descendants who survived to become nobles and enjoy wealth to this day was likely very small. This illustrated the cruelty of war and the difficulty of gaining power and status in this world.

It was only through the merits earned during the war against the Orcs three hundred years ago that House Merlinar was granted the status of Hereditary Knight and a fief the size of two villages on the border. After thirteen generations and three hundred years of development, they had gradually expanded the territory to a size comparable to a barony, making the fief prosperous and strong.

Yet, in the span of just a few decades, they had lost most of their territory and wealth, ending up with nothing but a house.

This undoubtedly proved an old saying from Donald's past life: "It is easy to start a business, but difficult to maintain it!"

That terrifying Knight Greatsword, nearly as tall as a man, might be somewhat unwieldy for individual duels, but it was absolutely a lethal weapon on the battlefield.

This sword was a clever money-making scheme Donald had devised. Compared to the standardized infantry longsword—which was of excellent quality but plain in appearance—the greatsword worn by the human Tier 4 unit, the Knight, was a powerful weapon that combined magnificence with lethality. Although it lacked magical effects, the Knight Greatsword, forged purely from refined steel, was not only gorgeous in appearance but also designed with an elegance that carried a cold, ruthless edge. It was a genuine weapon of the killing fields.

Even without an auction, Donald estimated that this Knight Greatsword could sell for at least three thousand Gold Sol, which was already equivalent to the value of an estate owned by a wealthy noble. Even the annual tax revenue of Giant Stone City was only about five thousand Gold Sol.

However, if one wanted to make money, one should go for the big score. Donald believed that after the auction, this price could be increased by at least two thousand. That was why he had come to the auction house today.

The Knight Greatsword, manifested directly by the Book of Truth, possessed quality superior to anything meticulously crafted by a master blacksmith; every attribute had reached the perfect level the item itself could attain.

Such a divine weapon made the few nobles of orthodox knightly descent particularly envious.

Moreover, as an heirloom passed down through a family for hundreds of years, even if one couldn't carry it onto the battlefield, it was definitely a grand collectible worth showing off.

Therefore, the wealthy merchants and rich nobles also had a great deal of interest in this knight sword.

Seeing that the desire of the crowd to purchase this Knight Greatsword had been thoroughly ignited, the auctioneer felt the time was right and quickly said:

"According to our auction house's verification, this Wind of Glory is likely the work of an unknown master craftsman of the Dwarf race. The starting bid is five hundred Gold Sol. The auction begins now!"

Five hundred Gold Sol was far below the true value of this Knight Greatsword. Such a low starting price caused many guests who had originally thought they couldn't afford this treasure to start bidding one after another.

The price quickly rose from five hundred Gold Sol to the three-thousand-Gold-Sol floor Donald had in mind, and it continued to climb at a rate of at least two hundred Gold Sol per minute.

In the private room, Donald, the mastermind behind it all, smiled like a little fox that had stolen a fat chicken, his mouth unable to close. Beside him, Code watched the price climb step by step; while feeling nervous, he couldn't help but have a strange thought: how had his originally kind young master suddenly become so cunning and treacherous?

In the end, the "thousand-year-old heirloom" Knight Greatsword was sold for a high price of seven thousand three hundred Gold Sol to the owner of a large shop from the Royal Capital. He laughed heartily and ordered the two warriors beside him to carry it over, saying he intended to take it back to the Royal Capital to present to His Majesty the King.

As for Donald, having received the chest containing over seven thousand one hundred Gold Sol, he was extremely happy.

As for who gained and who lost, only they themselves knew.

Donald did feel a twinge of guilt for deceiving the indigenous people of this world with this auction, but as he looked at the piles of glittering gold coins, that bit of remorse quickly vanished without a trace.

Whether for his own mage cultivation or for summoning, money was a necessity. Since this small Giant Stone City was filled with so many wealthy nobles, it would be a waste not to fleece them—especially when there were plenty of poor folk outside who couldn't even afford a meal!

Once the Gold Sol coins were in hand, Donald immediately had the auction house staff count out two thousand, exchanging them at market rates for ten units of mid-grade Elemental Crystals and two hundred units of low-grade Elemental Crystals. The result nearly wiped out the auction house's entire inventory.

Elemental Crystal veins were inherently rare. Mid-grade crystals generally contained over ten times the energy of low-grade ones and possessed purer attributes. Low-grade crystals only promoted to mid- or high-grade status if they accumulated to a certain concentration in an energy-rich environment; otherwise, they would remain low-grade even after ten million years. Thus, the value of mid-grade Elemental Crystals had always been high, with most being bought up by various factions, leaving only a small amount to trickle into the market.

As for high-grade crystals, it wasn't that Donald didn't want to exchange for a couple, but the auction house simply didn't have any, and they were hard to find in commercial shops. It was uncertain if even a few could be found in a backwater place like Giant Stone City.

Crystals were treated as strategic reserves in every nation, and they only circulated widely in the hands of mages. That the Gold Sol Auction House could collect this many was already a testament to their capability. Furthermore, their willingness to sell them all to Donald at once was due to their regard for the future potential of this noble Apprentice Mage.

If one didn't build a connection while he was still an apprentice, when would one? Although this world didn't have the saying "adding flowers to embroidery is not as good as sending charcoal in the snow," smart people understood the sentiment. Besides, his single auction had brought the house at least several hundred Gold Sol in profit—a result that usually required a large-scale auction held only once every six months!

Two thousand Gold Sol had only bought a small box and ten tiny, glittering stones, making Donald feel that money came fast but went even faster.

Waiting until the guests had dispersed and nearly cleared out, Donald finally bid farewell to the Head Steward, Bert. This was to avoid being targeted by those with envious eyes; although he didn't fear any threats given his strength, it was better to avoid trouble if possible.

Clinton and the other two loaded the large and small wooden boxes onto the carriage, while Donald tucked the ten units of mid-grade Elemental Crystals into his own robes. With a command from Donald, they departed the auction house under the respectful send-off of Head Steward Bert and the others.

The city gates had already closed after nightfall. Seeing that he couldn't return to his home in Red Maple Town, Donald simply waved his hand and headed straight for the highest-end inn in the city. Having earned over seven thousand Gold Sol—more than a third of Giant Stone City's annual tax revenue—a high-spirited Donald ignored Steward Code's heartache and rented a courtyard that cost two Gold Sol a day, a place only wealthy nobles and rich merchants could afford.

In a room more luxurious than the average rural noble's mansion, Donald had the attendants move the two boxes into his master suite before dismissing them to rest in the servants' quarters.

Then, in front of Code, Donald opened the Book of Truth and summoned the Space Mark, a storage equipment he had long yearned for. Of course, as an artifact, the images displayed by the Book of Truth were invisible to others.

Within the Warcraft series, while there were no storage rings like other space equipment, every hero possessed a Space Mark. Combined with the spatial laws of this world, the Space Mark granted by the Book of Truth was a micro-spatial rift bound to the user's spirit. It was a small, stable space condensed through divine power, existing in the spatial gap between the main world and other planes, allowing the user to summon stored items at will.

Of course, there were also Space Packages that could be granted to primary units like peasants or acolytes, allowing them to carry items. However, those could only open two spaces at most, each only one cubic meter in size, and the schoolbag-sized packs were inconvenient to carry, so Donald had discarded that option at the time.

The lowest-level Space Mark, which opened a one-cubic-meter private space, required thirty units of low-grade Elemental Crystals to summon. Previously, this had been out of Donald's reach, but now, he could pay it effortlessly in a single day.

Theoretically, Space Marks could be stacked infinitely as long as one could pay the energy cost. However, considering the stability of the spatial structure, it was impossible to expand a private Space Mark to the size of a country; otherwise, the structure of this world might not be able to contain such an alien space, and the frequent opening between the main world and the spatial gap might even cause a disturbance in spatial forces.

Regardless, he didn't need such a large space for now. Spending thirty units of low-grade Elemental Crystals for a one-cubic-meter Space Mark was sufficient for his needs.

One cubic meter sounded small, but it could hold much more than one might imagine. Aside from leaving twenty gold coins with the steward, he stuffed the rest of the gold and the crystal boxes into his private space. He discovered that they only occupied a portion of the area, with enough remaining space to fit several more boxes of that size.

Not long after, the inn attendants delivered dinner for five. As the master, Donald's portion was naturally the most sumptuous, richer and more delicious than any meal he had eaten in this world—truly worthy of the two-gold-coin-per-night expense.

After dinner, with a massive fortune on his person, Donald felt uneasy. He simply spent a Tier 1 Magic Core to summon an Owl of the Night Elf Huntress and released it to perch on a tree in the courtyard for reconnaissance. Still feeling restless, he spent another unit of low-grade Elemental Crystal to exchange for a Sentry Ward, planting it in a hidden corner of the courtyard.

With such double preparation, even if a powerful assassin above the Bronze rank were to arrive, they likely wouldn't be able to sneak into the courtyard successfully. Even if they evaded the owl outside, once they entered the observation range, they would be promptly detected by the Sentry Ward, which could reveal invisibility.

Unlike the short-lived effect in the game, the Sentry Ward Donald exchanged could monitor all movements within a one-kilometer radius and detect all invisible units entering the hundred-meter surveillance range. It would last for three days. Once any creature or object of unknown origin moved into the surveillance range, it would form an image in Donald's mind, pinpointing the target's location and issuing a warning.

This was the effect formed by the Book of Truth combining game settings with the rules of this world, sufficient to guard against all ill-intentioned enemies.

Donald, who slept soundly through the night, did not know that shortly after he drove his carriage away from the Gold Sol Auction House with his haul, a dossier had been placed on the bedside tables of the heads of every major faction in Giant Stone City.

The Gold Sol Auction House, having received the news earliest, had been the fastest to present the intelligence to their owner.

Head Steward Bert stood respectfully in the study, waiting for the person behind the desk to finish browsing the documents and issue instructions.

In a precious soft-leather chair, an elderly man dressed as a noble looked at the paper in his hand, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

"Interesting! To think he is an Apprentice Mage; such a figure appearing in a place like Giant Stone City!"

"Continue to keep watch. Report any news to me immediately!"

Head Steward Bert nodded repeatedly before bowing and retreating.

After Bert left, the old man squeezed his hand, and the paper turned into fine powder. Then, a barely audible voice drifted through the study.

"I have managed the business in Giant Stone City for that person for decades. Now that this old man's lifespan is running short, it is time to plan for myself!"

Donald was naturally unaware of the investigations these factions were conducting on him, and even if he knew, he wouldn't care. He had long considered that once he made a move, it would be difficult to avoid the notice of outsiders—at the very least, the Lord of Red Maple Town and the Viscount of Giant Stone City, the two largest powers within a hundred miles, would certainly know immediately.

After all, he still held the identity of a hereditary knight's heir, and he lived on the territory of one of them.

What Donald knew was that as long as he grew strong quickly, then by the time that happened, those factions wouldn't be able to threaten him even if they harbored ulterior motives. Thus, he didn't dwell on it and simply ate and slept in peace. Rather than worrying needlessly all day, it was better to clear his mind, enjoy life, and make a fortune in silence!