Thinking of this, Colin felt a renewed sense of vigor.
After all, once he advanced to the Second Rank, as the difficulty of cultivation increased, the gains brought by his Superbrain and the Crown of Spirit Awakening significantly decreased.
Though he was still faster than the average wizard, like lightning, the prospect of repeating his previous rapid successions of advancement within just a few short months seemed difficult.
To enhance his combat power, he would have to start with witchcraft!
Time flew by quickly.
At noon, Colin stopped practicing and sat at his experimental table for lunch.
Nobody came to disturb his meal, and Shelley hadn't returned yet… It was unclear how much longer it would be.
After lunch, Colin didn't continue practicing, instead heading to Copper Rose Street.
Wate Auction House.
Despite its ordinary name, this auction house was one of the top-ranked in Neustadt City.
Six days prior, he had entrusted them with the auctioning of the Extreme Cold Crystal.
Colin stepped inside and, after showing his credentials and the Tin Saint School Badge, a waiter quickly led him to a private room.
"Sir, please wait here momentarily. The auction will begin in about thirty minutes."
"Mhm," Colin nodded, still feeling some anticipation.
Without any suitable witchcraft commissions to take, he could only earn forty to sixty thousand Magic Stones at most per month by selling Zeroth Rank Upper witchcraft, without affecting his daily cultivation.
That piece of Extreme Cold Crystal could sell for at least one hundred thousand Magic Stones, and if a suitable buyer was found, perhaps even more.
Compared to selling practiced Limit Breaking Zeroth Rank Upper witchcraft, this was truly like picking up Magic Stones for nothing!
Colin even thought that, if he ever found himself short on Magic Stones, he could consider taking a trip to places like the Extreme North—using Anando's Dice to pick up some treasures to sell.
But this was just a thought. If really in need of Magic Stones and with spare time, he might give it a try, but doing so every week wouldn't be feasible.
After all, the Extreme North was a far-off journey that would take at least a day and a night, and the cost of the Transmission Array couldn't be reimbursed... Exotic treasures were often found in distant and dangerous places, and even if it weren't the Extreme North, other locations wouldn't be much different.
Moreover, the main thing was that no one could be sure what kind of treasures one might find with Anando's Dice...
Time passed silently amidst the clutter of thoughts.
Suddenly, the Bright Crystal above the auction stage lit up, and a wizard in a neat white robe slowly walked to the front of the stage, gently tapped the gavel, and officially announced the start of the auction.
"The first item up for auction, Mermaid's Tears, starting price five hundred Magic Stones, with each bid increment no less than ten Magic Stones..."
Colin watched the items on the stage with interest. He was here as a spectator and had no intention of purchasing anything—simply to broaden his knowledge.
"The fifty-ninth item up for auction, the Extreme Cold Crystal, has a starting bid of eighty thousand Magic Stones, with each increment no less than one thousand Magic Stones."
Colin straightened up a little, as it was finally the turn for his Extreme Cold Crystal.
"Ninety thousand Magic Stones!"
As soon as the auctioneer spoke, a mechanical bidding voice followed, raising the price by a hefty ten thousand Magic Stones!
Colin felt a surge of joy, this undoubtedly meant that someone in the room had taken a fancy to this Extreme Cold Crystal!
"Ninety-five thousand Magic Stones."
The Extreme Cold Crystals were quite rare, and a mere bid of ninety thousand Magic Stones was not enough to scare off other wizards.
"Ninety-six thousand Magic Stones!"
"Ninety-seven thousand Magic Stones!"
"One hundred thousand Magic Stones…"
"..."
After a fierce bidding war, the final hammer price for the Extreme Cold Crystal settled at one hundred sixty thousand Magic Stones.
This price was nine thousand higher than the previous bid of one hundred fifty-one thousand!
It was precisely this bid that finally deterred the remaining competitors.
Although all the bidding voices were the same mechanical tone, indistinguishable from each other.
Yet Colin felt that the buyer who spent one hundred sixty thousand Magic Stones for the Extreme Cold Crystal probably was the same wizard who had eagerly bid ninety thousand at the start.
One hundred sixty thousand Magic Stones... Not bad, a satisfied smile appeared on Colin's face.
But the next second, a strange and unexpected fragrance wafted in, interrupting his thoughts. He instinctively followed the unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar scent towards the auction stage.
There, he saw a dragon eye-sized white fruit displayed in the open box, causing him to swallow his saliva unintentionally.
The auctioneer struck the golden gavel in his hand and announced loudly:
"The sixtieth item for auction, Snow Fruit, starting bid eighty thousand Magic Stones, with each increment no less than one thousand Magic Stones."