Chapter 187: Titan Attack
And a little while later.
"We will proceed to the next auction."
Auctions for other elixirs followed.
But like the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal, they could only be taken by people of specific attributes, so Walfred tuned out and simply waited for the next category.
After a not insignificant stretch of time.
"This concludes the auction for elixirs. After a ten-minute break, we will proceed with the auction for skill books."
The elixir auction was finally over.
Everyone who’d bought an elixir wore a broad smile, while those who hadn’t wore expressions of unmistakable disappointment.
From that, Walfred realized something.
’Guess the elixir auction is the most popular one.’
The reaction really had been much hotter than for the artifact auction. Having learned something new, Walfred nodded, oddly impressed.
And about ten minutes later.
The skill book auction began.
"The first item registered is..."
Letting Root’s voice go in one ear and out the other.
Walfred recalled the information Elma had given him before he entered the auction house.
’She told me to buy a universal skill book.’
Unlike ordinary skill books, these already had a skill registered in them, so he needed to be as careful as possible.
Walfred focused right in on the auction.
But despite his expectations, a skill book that caught his eye stubbornly refused to appear. Just as he was letting out a bored yawn.
"We will now begin the next auction!"
Not until the sixth item.
A skill book that finally caught his attention appeared.
-----
[Universal: Titan Attack (Lv.1)]
[Strengthens and expands the range of all forms of attack.]
[Attack range and power increase according to the mana charged, and it can be charged for up to 30 seconds. At full charge, power and range are doubled.]
▷Mana cost: 1% per second
▷Attack power: +20% per second
▷Attack range: 32-foot radius per second
▶Cooldown: 1 minute
-----
The moment he saw the skill’s detailed effects.
Walfred thought of a skill much like it.
’Frozen Weapon’s ice hammer.’
Like that one, this skill amplified its power through charging. The difference was that it didn’t just raise power, it raised range enormously as well.
’If I pull off a full charge...’
The attack range alone would be nearly 2,000 feet in every direction.
That was enough to wipe out an entire district. It was a truly terrifying range, one that lived up to the name Titan Attack.
’This would work on the White Whale hunt too.’
If he could manage a full charge, he could definitely land a meaningful blow. The White Whale was a colossal beast well over 4,000 feet long.
’If there’s a problem, it’s that the mana cost is no joke, but...’
One percent of his mana per second.
The mana cost was higher than any skill he’d learned so far, but there was no need to worry.
If he took the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal he’d just bought and drank the mana recovery potions he’d purchased at the Dimensional Exchange, he’d be able to hold out for a decent stretch.
’I’ll buy it.’
Just as he made up his mind.
The auction proper began.
"The starting bid is 100,000 coins, with a minimum bid increment of 5,000 coins. We will now begin the auction for [Skill Book: Titan Attack]!"
"One hundred and ten thousand."
"I’ll go one hundred and twenty thousand."
"I call one hundred and fifty thousand."
Maybe it was because it was a universal skill book with no acquisition requirements. The moment bidding opened, fierce competition broke out from all sides.
Walfred jumped right into the fray.
And a little while later.
The bids, which had been climbing like crazy, lost some steam once they passed 250,000 coins.
"Two hundred and sixty thousand."
"I’ll say two hundred and seventy thousand."
"Two hundred and ninety thousand."
Two bidders remained at the end.
One was Walfred, of course, and the other was the humanoid robot that had bought the [Legion Commander’s Baton] he’d put up in the first auction.
"Three hundred and ten thou..."
The robot kept bidding in an emotionless voice. Right then, Walfred cut it off and made his decisive move.
"Four hundred thousand."
The instant he pushed it into a new bracket.
The robot, which had been repeating its bids mechanically, froze mid-motion. A moment later, it shook its head side to side and murmured.
"That exceeds the maximum bid permitted to us. We will withdraw at this point."
The robot bowed out cleanly.
With its biggest competitor gone, no further bidders stepped up.
And as a result.
"As no additional bids have been placed in the minute since the last one, the [Universal Skill Book: Titan Attack] goes to customer number 202. Congratulations!"
Ding!
-----
[The item you bid on has been won.]
[Final winning bid]: 400,000 coins
[Auction-registered item acquired.]
▷Universal Skill Book: Titan Attack
-----
He’d landed his second win of the day.
Just then, Li Xiaoqing, who’d been watching from the seat beside him, spoke up casually.
"Is that for the White Whale hunt, by any chance...?"
"That’s right."
"...You really are Walfred?"
Li Xiaoqing’s eyes went wide.
What, she hadn’t believed him? Walfred narrowed his eyes and shot back.
"Who did you think I was?"
"I thought you were an impostor. Seeing you bid on that lump of ice earlier made me suspicious."
At that, Walfred realized something.
He hadn’t mentioned his attribute during the introductions earlier. Which meant they’d assumed he was a light or fire attribute.
As if to prove the point, the young man presumed to be the SSS-rankProfessor spoke up, making no effort to hide his skepticism.
"So why did you actually buy that thing?"
"To eat it."
"What? That? Why?"
"Because I’m frost attribute."
"...Say that again?"
The young man’s face went blank for a second.
But only for a second, and then he looked at Walfred like he was spouting nonsense. Li Xiaoqing, sitting nearby, snorted too.
"Come on, what a joke. There’s no way, right?"
"I’m serious."
"Cut the crap. How the hell would a frost attribute hunter take down the Frost Spirit King? Matchup-wise that’s flat-out impossible."
The young man’s face twisted up.
Li Xiaoqing nodded right along with him.
"He’s right. It’d be a lot more believable to say you bought it for some frost attribute hunter friend of yours than to claim you’re frost attribute yourself."
"Oh, that does sound far more plausible."
Julian, who had been quiet until then, chimed in to back Li Xiaoqing up. Faced with the reaction of all three of them, Walfred could only stare in disbelief.
He’d told them the truth and this was what he got.
If they didn’t want to believe it, fine. Walfred saw no value in continuing the conversation and clamped his mouth shut.
"We will now begin the next auction!"
The auction went on after that, but nothing else came up that caught Walfred’s eye the way the [Thousand-Year Ice Crystal] and the [Skill Book: Titan Attack] had.
The same went for the marks and runes that followed.
Time simply drifted on, and when the last item, the [Mark of the Grassland], was sold, the long auction finally came to an end.
"This concludes the 1,742nd Dimensional Auction. Our sincere thanks to everyone who accepted our invitation."
The moment the auction was recognized as over.
Root stepped out in front of the platform and swept into a low bow. Then a dark blue curtain descended from midair, cutting the platform off from the seats.
And a little while later.
A brief system notification appeared before Walfred and every other participant.
[Notice: 1,742nd Dimensional Auction concluded]
[The Dimensional Auction House will close in one minute.]
As if to make the end of the auction perfectly clear.
Walfred wore a satisfied smile as he looked back on the day’s proceedings.
’All in all, I got lucky.’
He’d unloaded the [Legion Commander’s Baton] at a high price and picked up one useful elixir and one useful skill book.
Now he just had to get back where he came from.
Take the elixir, learn the skill, and then throw himself straight into the White Whale hunt.
As he was running through his to-do list one item at a time.
"I’ve still got plenty of questions, but..."
"Anyway, I’ll be rooting for you to pull off that White Whale hunt. If you can’t stop it, something tells me it’ll come our way next."
"See you around, friend."
The young man, Li Xiaoqing, and Julian rose from their seats and waved at Walfred.
After the brief goodbyes.
Their bodies were wrapped in pure white light all at once and scattered into the air like mist.
And it wasn’t just them.
"If you’ll excuse me."
"I hope we meet again someday."
The humanoid robot that had bought the [Legion Commander’s Baton] and the white-haired martial artist who had sold the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal both bid Walfred farewell and dissolved into light.
As he watched everyone return to their own dimensions.
[Departing the Dimensional Auction House.]
Along with the brief notification message.
Walfred’s body was likewise wrapped in pure white light in the blink of an eye. Then came a sensation much like the one he’d felt entering the auction house.
Whooosh!
The howl of fierce wind snapped him back to his senses.
When he opened his eyes, a snow-white field greeted him, along with a blizzard whipping violently through the air.
As if welcoming him back to his own world, out of the Dimensional Auction House.