Chapter 186: Thousand-Year Ice Crystal
A lump slightly smaller than a fist.
The thing looked like a packed snowball, and it was blasting out a brilliant blue light. At that familiar sight, Walfred’s eyes went wide before he even realized it.
’Pure Mana Snow?’
No, looking closer, it was shaped more like a chunk of ice than snow. Either way, both its appearance and its distinctive feel closely resembled Pure Mana Snow.
Just as he was feeling an odd flicker of familiarity.
The elixir’s detailed information appeared.
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[Name]: Thousand-Year Ice Crystal
[Rank]: Legend
[Type]: Elixir
[One of the treasures of the North Sea Ice Palace.]
[If the conditions are met after consumption, the user acquires the [Cold Absorption] skill, and the power of all frost attribute skills is further strengthened.]
[However, due to its yin-cold energy, there is a chance the body will freeze upon consumption, so only those with high frost/cold resistance are advised to take it.]
▷Frost attribute skill boost: +200%
▷Mana recovery: 1.5% per 10 seconds
▷Base mana increase: x500%
▶Consumption requirement: Frost/cold resistance of 70% or higher
-----
"...!?"
The instant he finished reading the elixir’s information.
Walfred’s eyes went wide all over again.
A frost attribute skill boost, mana recovery, and on top of that, an increase to his maximum base mana.
An elixir tailor-made for Walfred.
’I have to buy that, no matter what!’
Even if he had to stretch himself to do it.
Walfred’s eyes glinted fiercely, like a hunter closing in on prey. The reactions around him, on the other hand, were noticeably chilly.
"Tch, a dud this time."
"Mana recovery and a base mana increase are decent options, but the requirement to take it is way too strict."
"Something like that shows up every once in a while."
"Whew, guess this is our break."
Disappointed sighs went up here and there.
The Thousand-Year Ice Crystal’s consumption requirement alone was in the extremely demanding category. And if you failed to absorb it, your body froze solid as a side effect.
Maybe that was why?
Most people looked at the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal the way they’d look at a worthless piece of junk. Then the auctioneer Root’s voice continued.
"The starting bid for this item is 1,000,000 coins, and the minimum bid increment is 50,000 coins."
"...!?"
The moment Root finished speaking.
Every single person in the auction house wore the same look of flat disbelief.
"What? A starting bid of a million?"
"A million for an elixir with an attribute restriction..."
"Who the hell registered that thing?"
"I don’t know who the seller is, but he’s got no shame and nothing but greed."
Snorts of laughter and open sneers.
Then a martial artist seated a little way off from Walfred, a man who looked like he’d just stepped out of a martial arts movie, began trembling from head to toe.
"Foolish creatures. Ignorant wretches who cannot even recognize its value dare to..."
A martial artist with a full head of white hair.
Judging by his reaction, that man was most likely the one who’d put up the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal.
Walfred took in the mood of the auction house for a moment, and gradually his composure returned. Then he looked at the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal with a far more level-headed eye.
’By the looks of it...’
Judging from everyone’s reactions, there didn’t seem to be anyone besides Walfred willing to buy it.
An item’s value is decided by demand.
No matter how Legend-rank the elixir was, if nobody wanted it, it was nothing but junk loot. So he decided to quietly bide his time.
’Let’s let it go unsold.’
If no one bid, the price dropped 20% every time the item passed. And if he waited until the second pass before starting to bid?
Then he could buy the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal for close to half the starting price.
"We will now begin the auction!"
With Root’s voice ringing out.
The bidding on the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal officially began.
However.
"..."
The response from the crowd was ice cold.
Not a single person placed a bid.
Compared to the elixir offered earlier, the Young Dragon’s Heart, it was a complete reversal. Walfred’s prediction was hitting the mark exactly.
’Now I just have to wait.’
Walfred leaned back in his chair and settled in to wait it out. A little while later, once more time had passed, Root spoke again.
"As no initial bid was placed within five minutes of the auction’s start, this item is declared unsold. The first pass reduces the starting bid to 800,000, and we will begin from there!"
Two hundred thousand coins knocked off in one shot.
But there were no bids this time either, and so Root announced the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal’s second pass.
"Due to time expiring, the item has passed a second time. Should it pass once more, the item’s sale registration will be canceled."
The instant that announcement ended.
The white-haired martial artist presumed to be the seller of the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal shot up from his seat.
"I beg you, with my head bowed!"
His voice boomed through the hall.
The white-haired martial artist lowered his head to the beings from other dimensions. Biting his lip hard enough to draw blood, he cried out in desperation.
"To stand against the monstrous fiends that have appeared in the martial world, I must sell it. Please, I implore you, buy the treasure of the Ice Palace!"
Not long after his earnest plea ended.
Cold responses came from every direction.
"Ha, that isn’t even funny."
"Who here isn’t desperate?"
"You’re not the only one who needs help."
Cold as it sounded, all of it was true.
An auction wasn’t a charity drive.
The white-haired martial artist presumed to be the seller squeezed his eyes shut, as if the cold reality had finally sunk in. Then he sat back down like a man resigned to his fate.
And at that moment.
"We will now begin the auction for the item that has passed twice. Starting bid, 600,000, with a minimum bid increment of..."
Along with Root’s words.
The final auction for the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal began.
And at that exact instant.
"Six hundred thousand."
Walfred, who had watched the whole thing play out from start to finish, placed his bid like he’d been waiting for it. The quiet hall broke into a sudden buzz.
"What? He’s bidding on that?"
"No, seriously, why...?"
Most of them clearly couldn’t make sense of it.
And the most shocked of all were the hunters from Walfred’s own dimension, from Earth.
Li Xiaoqing, who had won the first elixir, stared at Walfred with her eyes round.
"I kept my promise not to bid, you know."
She said it with a bright, beaming smile.
Li Xiaoqing turned a triumphant look on Julian and the young man. As if to say, look, didn’t I keep my word?
At that, the young man let out a cold laugh.
"Bullshit. Only because it’s a junk item."
"Oh, come on!"
He picked a fight over every little thing and never let anything slide, and Li Xiaoqing’s face scrunched up in irritation.
While the two of them were bickering.
"As no additional bids have been placed in the minute since the last one, the [Thousand-Year Ice Crystal] goes to customer number 202. Congratulations!"
Ding!
-----
[The item you bid on has been won.]
[Final winning bid]: 600,000 coins
[Auction-registered item acquired.]
▷Thousand-Year Ice Crystal
-----
Along with the notification confirming the win.
The Thousand-Year Ice Crystal appeared before his eyes, radiating a terrifying chill.
’Basically got it for half price.’
A million coins had come down to 600,000.
Walfred snatched up the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal with a satisfied smile.
And then.
Thud!
Along with a heavy footstep.
He suddenly felt an unfamiliar presence behind him. A moment later a shadow fell over him, and Walfred looked up.
His eyes widened slightly.
"You’re..."
The seller of the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal, the white-haired martial artist.
What was this? Was he planning to buy it back since it hadn’t sold for the price he wanted? The thought struck him, and Walfred eyed the man warily.
But this time his guess was off.
"You have my deepest thanks, fellow daoist."
The white-haired martial artist seized both of Walfred’s hands. Then he bowed his head over and over, as though he’d just met the man who saved his life.
"I shall never forget the kindness you have shown me."
"...?"
"If we meet again someday, I will repay you without fail. I swear it on the name of the previous Palace Master."
Walfred had no idea how someone living in a whole other dimension planned to repay anything.
But he didn’t want to get dragged into some awkward exchange by answering, so he just nodded vaguely as if to say he understood.