Chapter 858: Crystal Heart
With a gentle yellow glow enveloping them, Sein and Eileen were guided by their flower elf attendant into a spacious, oval-shaped auction hall.
This was just one of the three venues currently operating within Kristy’s Auction House.
If Sein and Eileen did not find anything that piqued their interest here, they could move to the other two venues.
Being an auction house that operated year-round, Kristy’s was well-equipped to handle large crowds.
At peak times, the starport’s branch could simultaneously host auctions in five separate venues, ensuring that the wealthiest of clientele had ample opportunities to splurge.
The yellow glow surrounding Sein and Eileen was produced by the elemental light of their auction badges.
While the badges masked their true auras, they were far from suitable for combat, as the bright glow they emitted made them far too conspicuous.
The so-called concealment merely suppressed Sein and Eileen’s real aura; it did not grant them invisibility.
Sein’s keen senses as an alchemist quickly discerned that this yellow elemental light lacked significant protective strength.
It would likely shatter under the full force of a Rank Two creature.
As such, the badges were purely functional within the auction house’s confines.
Spending five hundred magicoins solely for the badge would be akin to throwing money away.
As Sein surveyed the venue, his attention was drawn to a ring of golden mirrors surrounding the auction space.
The purpose of these mirrors was to provide a 360-degree view of the auctioned items, ensuring that even attendees, whether they had poor eyesight or lacked the enhanced vision of high-ranking beings, could still clearly see the goods.
After guiding Sein and Eileen to their seats, the flower elf attendant remained nearby, standing dutifully at their side.
Her role extended beyond just guiding them—she was there to assist with bidding, provide detailed information about the items, or handle any other requests Sein or Eileen might have during the auction.
Two drinks appeared on the armrests of their seats, glowing with a mesmerizing green shimmer and exuding a refreshing aroma.
The level of service was a cut above anything Sein and Eileen had encountered at previous auctions.
The flower elf attendant even politely reminded them that if they desired a meal, they could visit the second-floor dining area.
“Oh, this is my favorite juice flavor. This auction really knows how to impress,” Sein remarked after taking a sip of the green beverage.
“When we get back, I’m going to tell the girls all about this place!” Eileen added excitedly.
Of course, the pair had not forgotten their real purpose here. Their attention quickly shifted to the goods displayed on the distant auction table.
At the perfect moment, their attentive flower elf attendant handed Sein a catalog of the auction items.
The female attendant’s sharp instincts clearly discerned who among the pair was here to shop.
Eileen leaned closer to Sein curiously as she scanned the list of rare treasures on offer.
As expected, the items at Kristy’s Auction were far from ordinary.
The current item up for bid was a rare treasure known as the “Crystal Heart”—pure white, translucent, and roughly the size of a palm.
According to the auctioneer, it was the essence of a Melove Crystal Folk, a rare geo elemental creature from one of the Magus Alliance’s allied planes.
What made the Melovians unique was their profound reverence for romantic love—a rarity among elemental beings, who generally lacked gender and reproduced asexually, often through splitting their own forms.
Upon reaching Rank One and achieving individual forms, Melovians developed distinct genders—male and female—and formed lifelong bonds with their chosen partners.
This devotion was unwavering and would last their entire lifetime.
When one partner perished, the other would succumb to heartbreak shortly after.
From this tragic yet beautiful end came the Crystal Heart—a condensed essence of the surviving Melovian’s love and entire existence.
As such, this artifact was a symbol of fidelity among Melovian lovers.
Eileen, ever the emotional mage, sighed deeply at the moving tale of the Crystal Heart’s creation.
Sein, however, was less inclined to dwell on the sentimental aspect. His analytical mind was far more intrigued by the heart’s potential applications.
Since it embodied the essence of love and fidelity, the Crystal Heart could be externally activated to cultivate a profound connection between two unrelated creatures of the opposite sex, eventually leading to mutual affection.
This effect transcended barriers of race and even spatial distance.
If even an asexual species like the Melovians could love and remain devoted to their partners, then surely, anything was possible.
For some, the Crystal Heart might be nothing more than a tool for wooing or seduction.
However, for spellcasters of certain professions, the Crystal Heart was a priceless treasure.
One of them was summoners, who could communicate with powerful otherworldly creatures in distant star domains and summon them to fight on their behalf.
According to the laws of the Astral Realm, the more powerful the creature, the greater its pride and resistance to control.
In fact, it was pretty common for summoners to call forth a formidable being for battle, only for that creature to turn on them after the summoner had depleted their focus and mana.
Thus, summoners of the Magus World must forge solid relationships with their contracted summons before summoning them into action.
If no cooperative bond or mutual understanding existed, summoning such creatures recklessly was a recipe for disaster.
The Crystal Heart presented a game-changing opportunity for summoners, dramatically expediting the bonding process with these powerful otherworldly allies.
In Sein’s view, the Crystal Heart was akin to an enhanced version of the “Mirage’s Almanac of Souls”, but without any of its side effects.
Depending on the quality and grade of the Crystal Heart, the strength of the creature influenced by its magic also scaled upward.
The Crystal Heart being auctioned at Kristy’s was crafted from the condensed essence of a Rank Three female Crystal Folk who succumbed to heartbreak.
This meant that once the item was activated using specific techniques, it could immediately gain the favor of a male Rank Three creature from the Astral Realm.
Since demigods were peak Rank Three creatures, this Crystal Heart would also work on them!
The value of such an item is immense.
Yet, astonishingly, this Crystal Heart was not even among the highlights of Kristy’s Auction House.
On the list of auctioned goods provided by the maid, Sein noticed that information about the grand finale was conspicuously absent.
This omission did not indicate the absence of such an item; rather, it was a deliberate strategy by the organizers.
By withholding details of the final offering, they ensured attendees remained seated until the revelation.
Sein had to admit, these auction organizers were masterful at their craft.
Even a composed mage like Sein found himself drawn in, his curiosity and excitement piqued.