Victor let the bidding escalate. He wanted to see who was truly interested — and more importantly, who he might need to outbid.

  But when someone from a VIP room bid two hundred intermediate-grade mana crystals, not many dared to compete further. For a set of Elemental Adept–rank battle beasts, two hundred intermediate-grade mana crystals was already quite steep. Most Elemental Adept Magi didn’t even have assets exceeding a hundred. Only the top few among them could afford more.

  “Do I hear 210? No? Going once…”

  “Two hundred and fifty.” The voice came from the room of the six-sigil Elemental Adept Magus. Clearly, he was interested in these specimens.

  “An offer from VIP Room Four! Anyone else?” the elf auctioneer excitedly announced.

  The previous bidder in the other VIP room grunted but didn’t offer higher. The rest of the audience remained silent, unwilling to challenge the new high bid.

  Just as everyone was convinced that the battle beasts would be claimed by Room Four, Victor spoke.

  “Three hundred.”

  A low ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd.

  Thanks to the treasury inside the citadel, Victor possessed over two hundred thousand intermediate-grade mana crystals and at least ten thousand advanced-grade mana crystals. He could easily afford to splurge more than ten thousand here without the slightest concern for cost. But he wasn’t going to be reckless and attract unnecessary attention.

  The only reason he dared to raise the bid at all was because of the voidstone he had submitted to the auction — something that would easily fetch a fortune. That ensured his credit line was practically limitless during this event.

  Victor’s gaze turned toward the fourth VIP room as if waiting for something to happen.

  Soon enough, a voice came from there. “Young Magus. You shouldn’t be reckless. Can you even pay three hundred intermediate-grade mana crystals?”

  Though the windowpane to Victor’s room was blackened, his voice told anyone that inside was someone in his early twenties at most.

  Victor didn’t bother answering. Instead, he released a controlled burst of his mana fluctuation toward that VIP room, causing the other party to flinch.

  “What? Fifth sigil?” the voice muttered, followed by a disgruntled harrumph. After that, the room fell silent.

  No one wanted to offend a fellow Magus of similar rank — the outcome of such a conflict would be unpredictable. Especially when it came to a young Magus like Victor, who was either protected by a powerful backer or affiliated with a formidable Magus faction. In such cases, for pragmatic Magi, provoking one another was simply unwise.

  With that, the two battle beasts fell into Victor’s hands.

  The auction proceeded with the introduction of more battle slaves. Some were mutated humanoids, others were bound spirits encased in cursed armor, but none came close to the raw utility and power of the chimera beasts Victor had acquired. He thus didn’t raise his hand again.

  Finally, the voidstone that Victor had put up for auction appeared.

  The auctioneer stepped back onto the platform as she announced, “Next, we present a rare stone capable of enabling planar travel and crafting extremely useful and rare magic tools such as interspatial rings — a voidstone.”

  Gasps rippled through the audience as a shimmering purple crystal was brought out and gently placed atop a golden pedestal.

  Lillie had perfected the replication process of voidstones, making them indistinguishable from the real ones. Unless someone had personally been involved in the replica’s creation, they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, even if they compared it side by side with a genuine voidstone. After all, it functioned the same, with the only drawback being that it lasted only a third as long. That was the one flaw that still needed refinement, but these people were none the wiser.

  Victor could feel a smirk tugging at his lips as he thought about scamming these people with a counterfeit.

  “Since this is a rare item,” the elf auctioneer announced, her voice clear across the room, “the starting bid will be two hundred intermediate-grade mana crystals. Minimum increment is fifteen.”

  The moment the words left her lips, several Magi leaned forward with interest. After all, a voidstone wasn’t just valuable — it was incredibly rare. Any voidstone discovered would typically be seized by powerful Magus factions, leaving ordinary Magi with no hope of acquiring one. Since it wasn’t something that degraded over time, even weaker Magi saw it as an excellent investment piece.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Two hundred and twenty!” someone called from the main floor.

  “Two-forty.”

  “Two-seventy.”

  The bids came quickly, already surpassing what some would pay for a magic tool that had nearly reached the level of a magic artifact.

  “Three hundred,” someone shouted from one of the upper VIP rooms.

  Victor watched calmly, narrowing his eyes. The true price of a real voidstone of this size could easily reach a thousand intermediate-grade mana crystals or more, depending on its purity. If he could sell this one for even half that, it would be a tidy profit. And he had five more just like it sitting quietly in his storage.

  Of course, he had no intention of selling them all here. Doing so would attract too much attention, and if word leaked, other Magi might begin eyeing him with greed.

  The bidding price kept climbing until it reached 570, which was offered by none other than the Magus in VIP Room Four. However, Victor was still not satisfied with this amount, so he joined in on the bidding.

  “Six hundred,” Victor said in an almost bored tone.

  “Six hundred and fifty. Young Magus, give me some face,” came the voice from VIP Room Four, sounding slightly strained.

  But Victor ignored him and continued with a new offer. “Seven hundred.”

  “You…”

  “If you can offer bigger than this, then I will back out,” Victor said nonchalantly.

  “Hmph. Seven hundred and fifteen.”

  Pfft. Cheapskate, Victor thought with an inward chuckle. He could tell the other party was reaching his limit, so he didn’t press further.

  After tallying everything he had bought and sold, he found himself in the net positive. There was no need to be overly greedy and stir up unnecessary trouble — especially not in a place like this, where eyes were always watching.

  Following that, several more items were auctioned, including Victor’s own potions and elixirs. Most were basic ones that could be found anywhere. They weren’t particularly rare and fetched only a few hundred novice-grade mana crystals in total — chump change.

  But just as Victor thought the auction was nearing its end, the elf auctioneer stepped forward with a new item in hand — a sleek crystal vial filled with shimmering purple liquid.

  “This next item,” the auctioneer announced, raising the vial under a beam of soft white light, “is a long-lost elixir recovered from a collapsed ruin of the Magus Dynasty Era. Judging by the mana signature, it contains trace elements of spatial and temporal essence. Although no attempts have been made to ingest or replicate it, according to ancient records, it can improve a Magus’ mana aptitude beyond the bright grade!”

  A wave of gasps swept through the audience. Eyes of greed were plastered on the vial.

  An elixir capable of improving a Magus’ mana aptitude beyond the bright grade was unimaginably precious. Improving mana aptitude was already a very hard endeavor, let alone above the bright grade. It defined one’s limits, after all. Such treasures were said to be sealed within imperial vaults lost to the passage of time, traded only among the highest echelons of Magus society.

  Whispers filled the air like a rising tide. How did this end up in the auction of a local Magus market? What an extraordinarily rare and valuable find!

  Victor’s gaze hardened. He was determined to get this elixir at all costs.

  “The seller requested that he only accept advanced-grade mana crystals,” the auctioneer declared. “The starting bid will be five advanced-grade mana crystals, with a minimum increment of one.”

  Advanced-grade mana crystals!

  Those weren’t something an Elemental Adept Magus would typically possess. Only Nexus Temporal and above Magi dealt in such currency. A single advanced-grade mana crystal was worth a hundred intermediate-grade ones. And unlike the occasional exchange between intermediate and novice-grade crystals that was rare but possible, no one would be foolish enough to convert advanced-grade crystals into intermediates. Mining them was exceedingly difficult, and they were exceptionally rare.

  Whatever the case, it was likely that the seller was a fellow Elemental Adept Magus looking to accumulate advanced-grade mana crystals. Or… it might be a trap — a ploy to lure out certain individuals.

  “Five advanced-grade mana crystals!” someone from one of the VIP rooms shouted before she even finished speaking.

  “I offer six advanced-grade mana crystals,” a voice from VIP Room Two followed.

  “Seven!”

  No one on the lower floor dared to join the bidding. It couldn’t be helped since only those in the VIP rooms were likely to possess the advanced-grade mana crystals required to participate in this round.

  “Ten advanced-grade mana crystals,” Victor said.

  Determined to win the elixir, Victor aimed to pressure the other bidders right from the start. Ten advanced-grade mana crystals were already a hefty sum, equivalent to a thousand intermediate-grade mana crystals. That alone made the elixir more valuable than the voidstone Victor had earlier put up for auction.

  “Eleven advanced-grade mana crystals!” called the Magus from VIP Room Four again, his voice tight with greed.

  Victor wasn’t in the mood to play a drawn-out bidding game, so he immediately countered, “Twenty advanced-grade mana crystals.”

  “What? Twenty?!” The Magus in VIP Room Four was left utterly speechless.

  The rest of the auction hall was no less shocked. Only large Magus forces would dare to splurge such an amount; it was enough to make any ordinary Nexus Temporal Magus green with envy. Even Victor could hardly believe he was capable of offering such a sum — had it been four months ago, he wouldn’t have dreamed of it.

  “We have twenty advanced-grade mana crystals! Going once… going twice… Sold to the person inside VIP Room Six!” the auctioneer announced aloud.

  After completing the payment, the elixir was delivered to Victor’s room. He held the crystal vial filled with shimmering purple liquid as though cradling a newborn. Up close, the dense, volatile energy swirling inside the vial could be felt even through the glass. He was confident that the moment he unsealed it, a burst of potent essence would flood the room.

  Almost instantly, Victor sensed a wave of intense murderous intent blanketing his room.

  Uh-oh, this is dangerous.

  Clearly, there were many greedy Magi aiming for his treasures. Even though they knew that he was a fifth-sigil Elemental Adept Magus who might have a big backing, his aggressive bidding and the elixir’s value had painted a target on his back.

  Since every item and mana crystal from the auction were already stored safely in his interspatial ring, Victor swiftly opened up a crack in space and stepped through the rift, just as the faint sound of footsteps and spellcasting echoed down the corridor outside his room.

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