Ancient Relics at the Auction

Suren emptied his savings and won the Eight-Armed Spider God Spear Implant Blueprint.

Despite his elation, he also found it rather strange.

This Alchemical Implant Blueprint was practically tailor-made for his "Abomination Puppeteer" profession. Whether it was the stringent usage requirements or its effects, it matched him almost perfectly.

There was indeed such a thing as a "profession-exclusive Implant Blueprint" in this world. These blueprints had been improved and perfected by countless generations of alchemists to achieve the greatest possible compatibility between the Implant and the profession.

Generally speaking, however, the combination of a professional and an exclusive Implant was something only the great families of the Inner City paid attention to.

For people from the Outer City, merely changing professions already made them exceptional among ten thousand. Finding an Alchemical Implant that was reasonably compatible was good enough. Why would they ask for an exclusive blueprint as well?

Besides, a Golden Blueprint might not appear in the black market even once in several months, yet he had happened to run into one. Wasn't that far too coincidental?

However, it did not take long for him to realize that it was not because he was lucky. It was because this black-market auction really had brought out a huge batch of astonishing treasures.

The golden blueprint he had won, which was rather useless to others, was merely an appetizer.

Suren was still aching over his eight hundred thousand when the next auction item was projected onto the rock wall.

It was a section of a blackened hand bone.

The item description stated that this was an Excellent Silver Quality Cursed Object, Flamedeer's Hand Bone, as well as the Job Advancement Material for the rare spellcasting profession "Dark Fire Sorcerer." It was also an Ancient Relic that had just been unearthed.

The moment this item appeared, it immediately provoked fierce bidding among everyone in the black market. In the end, it fell into the hands of a mysterious buyer for the exorbitant price of over four million.

Yet this was still not the climax.

The next item was another Gold Grade blueprint: the Melee Type Diamond Skeleton Implant Blueprint. Its auction price was 1.9 million.

The next item was a volume of the "Alchemy Grimoire" excavated from an ancient relic. Its contents had not yet been deciphered, but it was suspected of recording Elemental Conversion Techniques and Seal Methods above the Second Tier. Its auction price was 2.1 million.

The next item was an antique Alchemical Scroll made from animal hide. It had likewise not been deciphered, but its appraisal suggested that it recorded advanced Rune Knowledge. Its final auction price was 1.3 million.

One rare treasure after another made its appearance, and the prices climbed higher and higher.

The atmosphere in the dark underground black-market auction house had also been whipped into a fever pitch.

It seemed that certain wealthy bigshots had received some news in advance and prepared large amounts of cash to wait for this batch of fine goods. They spent lavishly, bidding without hesitation whenever they saw an item they liked.

While marveling that the Outer City actually had so many hidden tycoons, Suren also understood that most of today's treasures were Wilderness Hunter spoils from the same relic.

He immediately realized that a brand-new large-scale ancient relic had probably been discovered.

Clearly, the truth was just as he had guessed. Suren was not the only one to have this idea.

So many Ancient Relics had appeared at this black-market auction that everyone guessed a large-scale ancient relic must have been discovered. Fine whispers of people discussing it could also be heard throughout the black-market streets.

"A large-scale ancient relic?"

For some reason, Suren suddenly thought of the ruined city he had seen deep underground when he crossed over, concealed within the fog.

Thinking about it again, could someone have discovered that city?

Although the auction had not explained where this batch of items had come from, and Suren had no way to confirm his suspicion, there was no shortage of powerful figures with far-reaching influence in the Outer City. Since these were Ancient Relics, they must have been brought back by a Wilderness Hunter Group. There were no walls without ears. After this auction, a large number of people would become wealthy overnight, and information would probably emerge soon.

This was a rare auction. Even the black-market shopkeepers watched it with tsking amazement.

If he left now, he would certainly be treated as a fat sheep and followed by the vagrants lurking outside the black market.

So after winning the blueprint, Suren did not hurry to leave.

The black-market shopkeepers generally had better-informed channels than ordinary people.

Perhaps because he had sold materials there before, the owner of Gerson Alchemy Shop had also made a small profit. At this moment, he generously gave Suren some news for free.

The old man said, "There's a rumor that this batch of goods was brought out from an ancient relic discovered underground in the 'D33 Wasteland Zone' by the Inner City's Crimson Ge Wilderness Hunter Group. However, before that Wilderness Hunter Group could enter the city, they were ambushed by a group of mysterious raiders and wiped out to the last man. The goods were naturally stolen property. That's why they couldn't be put up for auction at the Inner City auction house."

"Raiders" were actually professional bandits. They chose to ambush Wilderness Hunters on their way back to the city.

Usually, those people were professionals—perhaps mercenaries, members of gangs, or other Wilderness Hunters.

When Suren heard the old man say this, a look of realization appeared on his face.

As expected, these items could clearly have sold for a better price in the Inner City, yet they had appeared in the Outer City black market instead. Only illicit stolen goods could explain it.

However, when Suren heard this, he slightly furrowed his brows and thought, D33 Wasteland Zone? If it was around there, then these things really could have come from that relic city.

After hearing this news, he even felt that the Eight-Armed Spider God Spear Implant Blueprint might truly be the profession-exclusive Alchemical Implant Blueprint for his "Abomination Puppeteer" profession.

If his guess was correct, then the place where this blueprint had been found might very well have been that "Storm Manor."

Could Wilderness Hunters have gone to clear out that "Cursed Space" in Storm Manor after I left?

No, that doesn't make sense. Pestoya was clearly very strong too.

In Suren's view, she had at least the combat power of a cadre-level fighter. She was also an exceptionally troublesome "Phantom Species." An ordinary Wilderness Hunter team could not possibly do anything to her.

As for that "Crimson Ge Wilderness Hunter Group," from what the shopkeeper had said, it seemed to consist of only a few veteran Tier 1 Professionals, without even a single Tier 2 Professional. Otherwise, they would not have been intercepted so easily and wiped out to the last man.

Could they have found it somewhere else?

Did those people go into the city?

Suren's thoughts drifted farther and farther, yet he felt that possibility was even less likely.

He still clearly remembered that even more terrifying Mutated Monsters roamed that ruined ancient relic city.

At this moment, the shopkeeper spoke again. "Although news of the relic's exact location hasn't spread yet, it probably won't be long before a Wilderness Hunter craze sweeps through Old Lindun. Business will be good for quite a while."

After saying this, the little old man added a sentence that sounded rather wistful: "But it's a pity. A lot of people will die too."

"..."

As Suren listened, his thoughts raced.

The more he learned about this world, the less he felt that he understood it. Instead, it seemed increasingly mysterious.

The relic had left behind so many treasures, which meant that the underground city had once possessed a highly glorious civilization, as well as very powerful alchemists.

Since it had possessed such a powerful civilization, how had that city been destroyed?

The succession of civilizations was bound to involve great disasters and calamities.

Suren's instincts told him that the ancient relic city was definitely not simple.

Something doesn't seem right. Why does it feel as though someone deliberately spread news of the relic through the auction, hoping to draw people into searching for it?

A conspiratorial possibility instinctively surfaced in Suren's mind.

But he did not dwell on it for long.

If someone really used such a deadly "bait," the Wilderness Hunters would still rush forward one after another even knowing the mortality rate was high.

In Old Lindun, human lives were not worth that much.