The last day of the Month of Vitality, Holy Brilliance Calendar 1006.
The Shining Auction was held as scheduled at the Shining Tavern.
The auction was hosted by that seductive and voluptuous lady boss.
She wore revealing clothes and walked to the center, under the hungry gazes of all the brawny men.
The auction officially began.
Levi, wearing a White Wolf Mask, sat at the last row.
With his wealth of one hundred Fate Coins, he could probably buy only one item at this auction. After all, everyone coming to the Shining Tavern was a rich person from the Northern Territory, in these days when nobles are everywhere and a title is less valuable than a dog, who isn't a noble?
Every month, the auction featured ten lots, usually consigned by tavern members. As Levi knew, paying one hundred Fate Coins at once would make you a Shining Member of the tavern, valid for five years.
During the valid period, members are exempt from admission fees, and there are no handling fees for auction purchases.
Levi knew those damned wealthy great nobles—many were tavern members. For example, Levi's father was a noble Shining Member during his lifetime. It's a shame membership isn't inheritable.
The first item for auction was a knight's sword. With Levi's current level 3 forging skills, he could tell the sword was excellently crafted, far better than his own work, likely made by a Master, and its style was ancient, reminiscent of old craftsmanship.
"This is the sword once wielded by a grand knight of the Vigikode family a hundred years ago, forged by the famed Blacksmith Master 'Flaming Hammer' Hagrid Emmon. Whether for real combat or for collecting, it's extremely valuable. Starting bid is 10 Fate Coins, each raise must be at least 5 Fate Coins."
With the lady boss's charming voice, the atmosphere instantly heated up.
"Whoa, the first auction item is already this explosive."
"Flaming Hammer—one of the most famous Blacksmith Masters in the Northern Territory a century ago, once the kingdom's royal blacksmith. If it's his work, it must be top tier."
The knowledgeable blacksmiths exclaimed.
Levi was surprised, too. In the past year, besides learning forging, he had also gained some insight into the kingdom's forging history from Little Milan and some forging books. 'Flaming Hammer' was truly a remarkable blacksmith.
Essentially, blacksmiths did not have ranks like knights, but people still divided them into three levels according to reputation and the quality of their work.
Blacksmith Apprentice—currently Levi's rank. However, with his level 3 forging, he could be considered an advanced apprentice, just one step away from graduating and becoming an Official Blacksmith, which requires forging a set of armor.
Above apprentice is Official Blacksmith. Little Milan's father, Old Toby, was one such blacksmith. The armor worn by Levi and Sir Fred was forged by Old Toby. Unfortunately Old Toby got taken by the Wild Boar Gang, but Levi would get him back sooner or later.
At the peak of forging, acknowledged by kingdom nobles and knights alike, are Blacksmith Masters known as 'Blacksmith Master'.
Such individuals receive countless commissions daily; noble knights plead for them to forge weapons. Their status is revered, and in any power, they are absolutely prized assets.
The gap from Official Blacksmith to Blacksmith Master is as vast as from knight to grand knight.
In the end, this knight's sword forged by a Master was bought by a wealthy noble for 100 Fate Coins.
Although the sword was good, given the era's technical limits, its actual value was definitely less than one hundred Fate Coins. Only the Master's brand inflated the price.
Levi had resolved to keep cultivating forging. Once he reached Blacksmith Master level, he could probably achieve financial freedom.
The second lot was a set of knight's plate armor, forged from ghost iron mined at Rocky Mountain. Supposedly, a thumb-sized chunk of mithril was melted into it. Compared to ordinary iron, ghost iron performed better in every way but had a very high melting point, making it hard to forge.
Mithril, on the other hand, is a legendary material. Only at the sites where meteorites from outer space fall does mithril exist. According to Witch Gullwig, mithril is a universally acknowledged extraordinary material among wizards, and it's the most cost-effective 'Aether' conduction material.
This set of knight armor sold for four hundred and eighty Fate Coins.
"This crappy plate armor is nothing compared to my Frost Giant Magic Armor, yet it can sell for several hundred fate coins. Mine is forged entirely from mithril—its value can't be measured in mortal currency."
Finally, the auction reached the breathing techniques Levi needed.
"Everyone, the breathing techniques up for auction this time are sold as a bundle: the Frost Wolf Breathing Technique from the Frost Wolf family, and the Giant Bear Breathing Technique of the Rock Bear family. Starting bid is 100 Fate Coins, each raise must be at least 1 Fate Coin."
"Although both breathing techniques are shallow-quality Bloodline Breathing Techniques, as noble breathing arts, they still have some collectible value. If any breathing technique collectors are here, do consider it."
The lady boss evidently worried these two breathing techniques wouldn't sell, so she pushed them hard.
Hearing the lady boss, Levi's expression changed. He hadn't expected the breathing techniques being auctioned to be those of his two neighbors.
"Looks like the descendants of my neighbors, the Frost Wolf Knight and the Rock Bear Knight, after my old man died, have fallen to the point of having to sell their ancestral breathing techniques to survive. But these two breathing techniques are just shallow level, and they're Bloodline Breathing Techniques—other than me, no one else would buy them..."
Meanwhile, other nobles and knights at the auction began to discuss.
Even so, after a while, only scattered bids were made.
Finally, when Levi raised the bid to 120 Fate Coins, no one else bid.
Levi successfully bought the two Bloodline Breathing Techniques for 120 Fate Coins.
The price was reasonable.
If it had been a Non-bloodline Breathing Technique—even a shallow-level one—without several hundred fate coins, you wouldn't get it.
Bloodline Breathing Techniques are priceless treasures for disciples with the noble bloodline, but for most others, mere chicken ribs.
After all, you can't practice them unless you have the bloodline—it's only for collecting. Even nobles with money aren't reckless with spending, especially in this war era when money's better spent on weapons, armor, and essential food.
As the auction ended, Levi got the breathing techniques and hurried off. He changed into a new set of clothes and went to the Jade Chamber of Commerce to get all the other secret medicine materials ready. Apart from ambergris, everything else was easy to find. For the secret medicine's snake blood, Levi bought a basket of 'White Crystal Snakes', a snake species native to the Northern Territory's cold climate.
Additionally, Levi toured the library and bookshops in Icewind City, buying anything that might relate to wizards with heavy coin.
Afterward, Levi hit the road overnight, this time taking a more secluded mountain path—apart from running into some wolves, he didn't encounter any bandits or robbers.
Holy Brilliance Calendar 1006, the second day of the Month of Grass.
Dust-covered Levi arrived at Black Water Valley; Sir Fred in the castle looked noticeably relieved to see Levi return.