Chapter 281 Restarting the Auction <TOC> Chapter 283 Awakening
Translator: SumTLMan
“Number 19 bids 150,000 magic crystals!”
“Number 177 bids 180,000 magic crystals!”
“Number 19 bids 190,000 magic crystals!”
As the prices continued to soar, Flora floated behind Sanders and whispered, “Mentor, it’s just a gourmet apprentice. Is it really worth spending money on? If we have time, we can just go to Fairytale Town and find one.”
What Flora meant by “find” was to spot someone they liked, knock them out, and take them away without any fuss or delay.
Sanders didn’t directly respond to Flora’s words but instead asked with an inexplicable tone, “Do you think Gloria is really dead?”
“Number 327 bids 200,000 magic crystals!”
Sanders glanced at the price that had just increased by another 10,000 magic crystals, as the bid from the No Eyed Man had now reached 210,000.
Flora hesitated, “Gloria should be dead, right? Time in the Nightmare Plane is almost completely still… If she could have come out, she would have already. Unless she left through another exit without anyone knowing; but the odds of that are too small.”
“Moreover, even if she really left the Nightmare Plane, she should have contacted her subordinates or the Candy House,” Flora scoffed, “Anyway, I think she’s probably dead.”
“Then let’s assume she’s dead,” Sanders didn’t make any further evaluations, as if his previous question had no hidden meaning.
Flora narrowed her eyes, “Judging by the tone of Mentor, is there any hidden story behind this?”
Sanders remained silent for a while before he said, “The people of the Candy House, though they appear whimsical and unrestrained, actually have a stronger cohesion than we imagined. For such a cohesive wizard organization, they haven’t shown any reaction to Gloria’s incident. Even her subordinates have been captured and sold by various parties, but no one has come forward to rescue them. Don’t you find it strange?”
Flora tilted her head, “Mentor, are you suggesting… Gloria is not really dead?”
Sanders shook his head, “I’m not sure about that, but I’ve heard a rumor.”
“What rumor?”
Sanders’ eyes were dark, “Felicia went to the Radiant Realm some time ago and later brought back an old man with a crescent-shaped woven hairstyle and a beard adorned with sun decorations. Together, they went to the Majestic Plane.”
A crescent-shaped woven hairstyle and a beard adorned with sun decorations—An image formed in Flora’s mind.
“The Radiant Realm, huh?” Flora murmured softly, “That is indeed a bit suspicious.”
The Radiant Realm is a subsidiary plane of the Wizarding World.
A subsidiary plane is a manifestation of a successful plane fusion, detached from all the characteristics of the Main Plane, with all its rules and properties expressed by the merging party. However, it exists independently outside of the greater world.
For example, it’s like the relationship between a nearshore island and a large continent. Even though the island may appear isolated in the ocean, not connected to the continent, from the perspective of the continent, the island is actually just an extension of the continent, ultimately still part of the same whole, but with an independent form.
In this case, the Radiant Realm is the nearshore island, and the Wizarding World is the large continent.
There are many such subsidiary planes of varying sizes in the Southern Wizarding World. Due to the vast gap between wizards and ordinary people, most wizarding organizations are established within subsidiary planes to avoid interacting with ordinary people. Among these subsidiary planes, the Radiant Realm is a very special existence.
The vastness of the subsidiary planes is beyond imagination. Some subsidiary planes even have an area larger than the continent. The Radiant Realm is special because, among such vast subsidiary planes, the entire Radiant Realm has only one wizarding organization, which is rarely seen in other subsidiary planes.
This organization, which single handedly occupies a subsidiary plane, is the Crown Star Cathedral.
The sacred land of prophecy-based wizards.
The figure that emerged in Flora’s mind was also a famous prophecy-based wizard: Prada the Star Gazer.
The reason Sanders only described his appearance and didn’t reveal his real name is that prophecy-based wizards can sense anyone who speaks their name directly.
Like Abyssal Demons, their true names are their medium; discussing their true name allows their thoughts to sense you across countless planes.
Sanders didn’t reveal his name to avoid unnecessary trouble.
“Felicia has invited a great prophecy-based wizard, but she didn’t go to the Cold World to find Gloria ; instead, she went to the Cold World’s neighbor, the Majestic Plane. This is quite intriguing.” Perhaps women are inherently sensitive to gossip; Flora found it strange, but her mind had already imagined several scenarios.
Maybe Gloria is indeed not dead. But…
“But is this the reason why the mentor wants to take him in? To do Gloria a favor?” Flora pointed to the No Eyed Man on the auction stage.
Sanders shook his head: “No, it’s just that I haven’t tasted the food cooked by a gourmet wizard in a long time, and I’m craving it.”
Flora snorted: “Do you think I would believe that?”
Sanders rarely smiled: “Believe it or not, it’s up to you.”
……
Ultimately, Sanders failed to acquire the No Eyed Man.
As Twilight struck the gavel to signify the deal, a voice filled with lingering affection echoed throughout the venue: “Mr. Sanders, how about having dinner together tonight? Let the man in the cage cook for us.”
Sanders did not respond.
“I bought him just to have him cook for us,” she paused, “Anyway, it’s not much different whether you bought him or I did. After all, he’ll be… your man.”
Before she could finish, Flora retorted: “What do you mean ‘not much different’? Lydia, don’t overstep your bounds.”
It was Lydia who had purchased the No Eyed Man. She smiled charmingly: “What’s the matter? Flora, are you a bit jealous today?”
Flora wanted to refute, but a deep male voice interrupted: “Red Lotus, let’s not continue this here. If Lord Phantom Master does not wish to speak with you, don’t make yourself uncomfortable.”
Lydia’s face darkened: “Who is it? Ah, it’s Shore Sick Lion, Daedweia.”
As Lydia’s words fell, laughter emerged from the crowd. Daring to confront Daedweia directly and changing Shore Brave Lion to Shore Sick Lion, Lydia truly lived up to her reputation as the fiery Red Lotus.
Daedweia snorted coldly.
Lydia: “What? Want to have a go at it? Then come on.”
Daedweia did not respond but said to Twilight: “Continue the auction.”
Twilight nodded and addressed booth number one: “There’s no need to be angry, Red Lotus. Perhaps you might be interested in our final auction item.”
As Twilight spoke, the magical array inside the venue emitted intense light, operating at full capacity, consuming hundreds of magic crystals per minute.
At the same time, more than ten official wizards appeared on the stage. Some were floating, some were hidden, some were leaning casually, and others were sitting upright, surrounding the auction stage tightly.
Such a grand display showed how much importance Twilight placed on the final item!
The tense atmosphere made all the wizards present eager to see the outcome. Even Lydia narrowed her eyes and ceased arguing.
Hadn’t they heard that this year’s grand auction would have some great items? However, Twilight’s current display gave the impression of an unparalleled treasure about to be revealed.
There was something strange about this situation.
Daedweia was also helpless. Just before the grand auction began, someone submitted this item for auction. He initially wanted to acquire it internally, but the consignor insisted on proceeding with the auction. Thinking of postponing it to the year-end auction, perhaps there would be a chance; even if there was no chance, there would be more publicity and greater benefits. But the consignor remained unmoved, insisting on auctioning it mid-year, so he had no choice but to agree.
Upon Sanders’ arrival this time, it was actually due to an urgent invitation from Daedweia.
“Everyone, please take a look.” Twilight waved a hand, and a sealed glass cabinet appeared on the stage.
A gloomy and obscure-looking puppet doll hung inside the glass cabinet.
The puppet doll was not large, only about half an arm’s length. From a distance, it resembled a weather doll that ordinary people would use to pray for clear skies, with a simple round head, a few strands of black hair, and a long cloth wire that allowed it to be hung anywhere.
However, upon closer inspection, one would realize that the puppet doll was filled with a sinister and terrifying aura. The few strands of black hair on its head drooped, unable to cover its eyes. Its eyes were concentric circles of black and red, closely packed together, emitting a subtle, eerie glow.
When the puppet doll was unveiled, all the wizards, including Sanders, gasped in surprise!
They had thought that the Twilight Auction’s finale would feature high-end alchemical tools or other items of equal value. However, they never expected it to be something like this!
This was undoubtedly the biggest move the Twilight Auction had made in the past decade!
Regardless of whether they could acquire this item or not, almost all of the official wizards harbored the thought that their trip was not in vain.
For wizard apprentices, this puppet doll didn’t seem to have many special features; it just appeared somewhat terrifying and gloomy.
Only official wizards could see the secret hidden within this small puppet—
When the puppet doll was revealed, the entire inner hall seemed to darken for the official wizards. A shadow that shrieked with laughter emerged from the puppet doll, covering the entire inner hall. They then saw a pair of horrifying red eyes appear on the shadow, along with an ever-upturned bloody mouth.
Even the magic-repelling glass cabinet couldn’t block the seemingly tangible, terrifying blood-shadow.
This was a world that the wizard apprentices couldn’t see.
……
“It’s undeniable; this is undoubtedly a… mysterious item!” An impassioned wizard stood up, his eyes filled with astonishment, his demeanor suggesting he wished he could rush onto the stage for a closer inspection.
“A mysterious item?” The wizard’s excitement quickly spread to the others present.
The vast majority of wizard apprentices had only a vague understanding of the concept of “mysterious items.” Even if they were unaware of the idea of “mystery,” the impassioned expression on the wizard’s face made it clear that the final auction item on stage might not be as simple as it appeared to their eyes.
“Yes, it is a mysterious item that has never been seen before in this world.” Twilight, wearing a faint smile, looked at the wizards admiring the rag doll and slowly revealed, “Its name: Grudge Rag Doll.”
Twilight only mentioned the name, without providing any other details.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to; she simply didn’t know. The seller was secretive, and the item was extraordinarily mysterious. The seller didn’t even allow them to perform the routine tests before the auction, threatening to withdraw the item otherwise.
A mysterious item, an untamed mysterious item.
Even at the Sky Mechanical City’s auction, it would be a showstopper!
For their small wizard bazaar’s routine auction, acquiring such an item would significantly boost their reputation and popularity. Despite the seller’s stringent conditions, they accepted in order not to miss this opportunity.
“No more idle chatter. The starting bid for this item is 100,000 magic crystals, and each increment must be no less than… 100,000 magic crystals!”
Chapter 281 Restarting the Auction <TOC> Chapter 283 Awakening