Chapter 88 The Spirit
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! My name is Boswell Cummings! I will be your auctioneer for the 97th annual Summer Solstice Auction!” The man announced at the podium.
“For those of you new to us to bid, you simply press the button on the device provided to all registered bidders. Each time you press the button, you will bid in increments set by me for the current lot. If there is no new bid for ten seconds, the highest bid will be the winner of that lot!” Boswell explained in an enthusiastic tone.
After a momentary delay Boswell announced, “We have 30 lots for tonight. If you lose out, you will have plenty of chances!”
Boswell performed a discrete hand signal before continuing with enthusiasm. “The first lot of tonight’s event is a special one! For those of you who live in Minea, you will know how hard it is to buy an estate! They simply do not go on the market often, and when they do, they sell privately. Today is your chance to have your own estate just a couple kilometers down the road from here!”
Behind Boswell, on the stage, a large projector screen displayed pictures of a large mansion settled on a beautifully maintained grass yard with multiple gigantic trees that appeared to be hundreds of years old. The mansion itself had a medieval look to it, with a gray stone exterior.
Boswell continued as pictures shifted behind him, displaying every part inside and out of the estate. “This beautiful estate was built in 1895, but don’t worry, the previous owners completed an extensive restoration just last year. This estate offers a fifteen hundred square meter mansion with six bedrooms, four bathrooms, an indoor theater, a state-of-the-art kitchen, an attached four-car garage, and much, much more! The mansion occupies a large eighty-one hundred square meter lot with an enclosable entertaining area, including a heated pool and hot tub in the backyard! As a bonus, this estate will come fully furnished with the displayed furnishings! Bidding will start at five million crystals going up in increments of one hundred thousand!”
The moment the lot opened to bidding, the theater exploded in a flurry of bids quickly, eclipsing the ten million crystal mark before finally slowing down.
“We have 11.1 million! Do I hear 11.2!?” Boswell Exclaimed.
After a monetary silence, Boswell continued, “This is a beautiful estate could be yours for as little as 11.2 million crystals!”
Silence descended on the crowd for ten seconds before Boswell announced, “Lot number one, 11.1 million crystals going once!… Going twice!… Sold! To bidder VIP7!”
Next, the screen switched to display a glass case being rolled out onto the stage by two beautiful attendants. Inside the case was a large silvery-blue greatsword.
“Our next lot is a great sword made of Mithril, but that isn’t its most outstanding attribute! The elf enchantress Meira enchanted this sword herself! The enchantments include Tier 3 amplify, tier 2 frost, tier 2 sharpness, and tier 2 durability! This sword is perfect for an ice mage with a thirty percent boost to your control and a potent weapon in close range! Plus, As with all items enchanted by Meira, she offers free repair if the enchantments become damaged! With centuries of experience under her belt, you know enchantress Meira makes quality enchantments! Bidding will start at fifty thousand crystals going up in increments of one thousand!” Boswell announced, sending the lower crowd into a frenzy of bidding.
“Who did you make that sword for? It is huge! At least two meters long.” Evernya questioned, while staring at the giant sword.
“Some kid wanted the biggest sword I could find because he thought bigger the better. When he showed up to pay for and pick up the sword, he refused to buy it, stating it was too big. I don’t know why he thought he could handle a sword this large when he was maybe 170 centimeters tall and scrawny. Mithril is a light metal, but weight isn’t everything. The length alone was too long for him to handle. All I ask for is proof they can afford my enchantment. I don’t see the person unless they come in person, but he ordered online with what I think was his father’s card. I ended up selling him another much cheaper steel longsword I had lying around enchanted with durability and sharpness.” Meira replied.
“I’m sure his father’s bank account was thankful,” Evernya commented
Reminded by Evernya’s comment, Meira added, “Oh yeah, his father called a day later apologizing for his son and thanking me for steering him towards a much cheaper quality sword.”
The bidding slowed down around the eighty thousand crystal mark but continued to creep up as two people fought over the sword. “Hey, isn’t that one of your friends?” Evernya asked, pointing at one of the bidders.
Aiden glanced up from his smartphone, wincing at the current bidding war. “Yeah, I would describe him very similar to the original orderer of the sword. He is an ice sorcerer, but there’s no way he could handle an oversized great sword.” Aiden turned toward Meira, asking, “Meira, do you mind if I set him straight, or do you want the bidding to rise further?”
“Feel free to stop him. I'm already making a good profit on the sword. I originally charged sixty-eight thousand for it. If he really wants an enchanted weapon, send him my way after the auction if they have any money left. I recently restocked, so I should have a weapon he will be happy with.” Meira offered.
“She definitely restocked all right. They needed a flatbed to move all her purchases.” Evernya added.
“How much do you think a similar quality long sword would cost him?” Aiden inquired while rapidly texting his friend.
“If he wants those exact enchantments around sixty-two to sixty-five thousand. I even have a Mithril longsword I purchased today which I would consider higher-quality than that sword.” Meira replied.
Aiden sent multiple texts, but his friend continued to bid, forcing Aiden to text the friend next to him, who grabbed his bidding friend’s attention. Unfortunately, he already put a bid in, raising the price to eighty-two thousand. A tense couple of seconds followed before the other bidder finally bid.
“Lot number 2 83,000 going once, going twice, sold to bidder 687!” Boswell announced.
With the crisis averted, Aiden said, “I told him to set aside 70,000 for himself to custom order a sword from you. Hopefully, he listens. I would hate for him to miss out on this opportunity.”
“Well, if he doesn’t, it’s his own fault. The winner looks better suited for the sword anyway. He looks like he could rip me in half with all those muscles bulging under his suit.” Evernya commented.
“Oh, is that your type?” Meira teased
“No.” Evernya instantly rejected.
The group fell into silence for a half-hour, watching items come and go. After yet another enchanted sword, Evernya became bored. An idea popped into her head, prompting her to turn toward the equally bored Aiden. “Hey, Aiden, so you wanted to see my mana bound artifact? I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”
Damn it, why did I have to word it like that! Evernya thought upon catching Aiden’s reddened expression. “No, not that sword! Your mana bound artifact, unless it isn’t a sword?” Evernya quickly corrected, causing a snicker from a certain elf.
Aiden’s mouth formed into an O before replying, “It is a sword, a long sword, to be exact and sure I’ll take that deal. We will need to move to a more open space, though I don’t want to burn something accidentally.”
“Oh, so yours is a fire sword?” Evernya inquired, as she ignored the still giggling elf.
“Not quite, but it is extremely hot. You will see what I mean,” Aiden replied, standing up from his recliner and walking to the open area behind the seating.
Evernya reluctantly strapped her heels back on to avoid tripping over her dress before following.
“I’ll go first, since mine will probably be the boring one. From what I’ve researched, my sword isn’t unique. My family alone owns a few of these, but it is still better than most swords created today.” Aiden volunteered.
Aiden lifted his right hand in the air to summon his sword. The temperature in the room increased by 10-degree Celsius as a glowing red sword appeared in Aiden’s hand. The glowing double-edged red blade of the sword was over a meter long. A black leather wrapped hilt separated by a glowing red crossguard and equally hot red pommel finished off the beautiful sword.
Evernya stared at the sword in awe for several seconds before gushing. “How is that sword boring? It’s summoning alone is cooler than mine, well more like hotter.”
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
“It’s boring because it is one of the most common fire or heat-based Mana Bound Artifacts. They all throw off like this and glow. All it does is cauterize cuts similar to a lazar with increased durability and minor repair capabilities.” Aiden explained with a disappointed tone, despite looking at his sword lovingly.
Meira added from the couch, “He’s right about them being common for a Mana Bound Artifact. When I say common, I mean we have discovered around a hundred fifty in Sespina. If I remember right, its enchantment should be tier 4 heat, Tier 3 amplify, Tier 3 repair, tier 2 durability, and tier 2 sharpness. It’s on the lower end with its amount of enchantments, but it has three-tier three and above enchantments to make up for it. With modern materials and enchanting, we can almost replicate this sword, so its primary advantage is it is a mana bound artifact. As with all mana bound artifacts, no one can steal the artifact from the owner and the owner can store it at will without a storage device.”
“That doesn’t seem that much weaker than mine. So what if it’s more common than other types it’s still cool.” Evernya argued.
Meira shook her head at her kitten as she commented, “There is an enormous difference between yours and his in presence alone.”
“Your turn, I want to see this artifact Meira keeps praising.” Aiden directed.
I don’t know if I can top a red-hot sword. Maybe when I unlock its full potential, but I doubt a black spider like thing compares to his pretty sword. Evernya thought as she copied Aiden’s motion, raising her right hand as her translucent black Neko materialized into existence. The moment her artifact came to be, the lights darkened as the temperature returned to normal. A few seconds longer, Aiden’s sword dimmed until it dematerialized itself, unable to handle the presence of a far superior artifact.
Pale from shock and fear, Aiden exclaimed, “Holy shit! What are you talking about!? Your artifact is off the charts! It smothered my sword! What is that thing!? I’ve felt high-grade mana bound weapons before, but that thing is on another level!”
Also frozen in surprise, Evernya took a few seconds to respond, “I don’t feel anything from my artifact, nothing like the heat change yours caused.”
“How can’t you feel it? Your artifact is a literal black hole of mana.” Aiden commented, confused before adding, “just like its owner, are you what I think you are?”
Fortunately, before Evernya could answer, Elizabeth shouted frantically while pointing at the stage, “Meira, quick look! Please, please buy it for me! I’ll find some way to pay you back.”
Evernya gave a silent thank you to Elizabeth, who was pressing her face against the window like a kid staring into a toy store. Before Aiden could ask any other questions, Evernya dematerialized her Neko and returned to her seat, followed by Aiden staring at Evernya with interest.
Meira dragged her friend back to the couch before turning her attention to the stage. “Calm down, Elizabeth. I’ll try my best to buy it for you. I know how long you’ve been searching for one of those. Let’s just hope a bidding war doesn’t happen. If one of the water families decide they want it at all cost, then there’s no way I’ll win.”
The group watched Boswell announce the next lot as a cloth-covered box resting on a cart rolled onto the stage. “This next lot is for all of you water mages out there! Lot 15 is an elemental water core! Elemental cores are special in that when you absorb the core, you have a very high chance of obtaining a familiar spirit of that element! This familiar will help you in battle and function as a portable well to draw your element from, in this case, water. You may say that you can already draw your element anytime you want, but that’s not always the case. Imagine finding yourself stranded in the desert with no water. I know some of you are talented enough to draw water from the air, but that’s hardly efficient. With an elemental familiar, the element you draw from it is much purer. Of course, this is not the only benefit of having your own familiar. Depending on your mana grade, you could boost your mana grade by up to one entire grade! Having a familiar will also drastically improve your affinity for your element! Starting bid on this lot starts at 500,000 going up in increments of 10,000!”
Meira scowled at the description, grumbling, “Crap, I was hoping he would announce the drawbacks now this will be much harder. Let’s hope people know enough to avoid it when they aren’t compatible.”
As soon as the cloth lifted away to reveal a melon-sized deep blue mana core, bidding started in a frenzy. The bidding quickly skyrocketed to 800,000 crystals within a minute. Elizabeth became increasingly nervous as the price continued to rise as Meira just sat and waited. After hitting the 1 million mark, the bidding drastically slowed down as people dropped out. When it hit 1.25 million, it was down to three people before Meira finally made her move.
“1.25 million! Do I hear 1.26!?” Boswell yelled.
“1.5 million! Do I hear 1.51 million!?” Boswell announced a second later, stunning the three current bidders causing one to drop out.
“1.51 million! Do I hear 1.52 million!?” Boswell asked.
“Damn, I hoped that would get rid of them,” Meira commented as she inputted her next bid.
Boswell paused for a second after glancing down at his tablet on the podium displaying the current bid before announcing, “2 million!! Do I hear 2.01million!?”
After ten seconds of silence, Boswell continued, “2 million! Going once!… Going twice!… Sold!… Congratulations to bidder VIP16 for winning Lot 15!”
At the announcement, Elizabeth froze solid as her brain shut down from shock.
Evernya broke the silence of the room, commenting with wide eyes, “Holy shit, did you really have to spend that much?”
While staring warmly at her frozen friend, Meira answered, “No, but it was worth it. Elizabeth has been searching for a familiar spirit since our college days. With its drawbacks, this would’ve been her last chance to use it with how close she is to the arisen stage.”
Before Meira could speak further, a constricting hug engulfed her. “Thank you! Thank you! I promise I’ll pay you back even if I have to sell all my possessions to do it!” Elizabeth proclaimed with tears in her eyes, voice muffled by Meira’s chest.
Meira shook her head in denial as she asserted, “I said I would pay for tonight, and I meant it.”
“Still, that’s 2 million crystals! I can’t accept such an expensive gift without doing something for you.” Elizabeth exclaimed as she pulled her head out of her friend’s cleavage.
Again, Meira shook her head, refusing to budge. “Just seeing you finally obtain one of your dreams is enough for me. When you lost out on the last core back in college, I vowed if another chance presented itself, I would make sure you got it.”
Elizabeth looked up into Meira’s eyes with an expression of pure admiration. “Thank you, if you ever need anything, and I mean anything, I will do everything in my power to make it happen.” Elizabeth proclaimed before she went in for another, even more constricting hug, which Meira returned.
“I know you would, and so would I. You are one of the few people I trust. Now could you please let go? I need to transfer more money so I can pay for it.” Meira requested, causing Elizabeth to unlatch herself from her elf hug pillow.
After unlatching herself, Elizabeth finally returned to earth, causing her to apologize with a tomato face. “Sorry, I got a little carried away.”
“Don’t apologize. Anyone would be emotional in your situation.” Meira comforted before fishing her cell phone out of her handbag to transfer money over. “I transferred about ten million over just in case something else pops up.”
After the next lot, an enchanted mithril shield rolled out and the booth calmed down, prompting Evernya to ask, unable to rein in her curiosity any longer, “I don’t mean to be insensitive, but what are these drawbacks you keep mentioning?”
With Elizabeth leaning into her left side with Meira’s left arm wrapped around her shoulders, Meira explained, “That’s okay, the auction house should have disclosed the drawbacks themselves, probably to drive the price higher. He said you could raise your mana grade by one, maybe even more if you successfully create a familiar, but he didn’t mention that to get close to that improvement, you need to be upper awakened Grade 8.”
“Now the part they really should’ve mentioned is you can only absorb an elemental core between mana grades 6 to 8.99. If you were to try outside that range, there is a high chance of destroying your mana core. Even if your mana core survives, it would take decades for it to recover. As your mana grade increases, your mana core becomes denser and stronger to handle the denser, more potent mana.”
“A familiar has a symbiotic relationship with you, but it can only be born at a certain stage of your mana core’s evolution. If you try to form a familiar too early, your mana core cannot handle the strain causing it to break or become crippled. Now, if your mana core is too strong, the elemental core won’t be able to take root properly, causing instability in your mana core effectively crippling it.”
“Your Mana Bound Artifact functions similarly, but with a bit more leeway. I don’t know the exact range for your particular weapon, but most can’t handle the binding process under grade 5 and it is almost impossible to bind with a weapon above arisen grade five. Regular brands will still work if applied strongly, but anything that lives or stored inside a mana core needs to connect much deeper, which is impossible when the mana core becomes too strong.”
“No wonder you were open to spend that much,” Evernya commented, finally understanding the urgency.
“I may have even gone higher if those bidders didn’t give up,” Meira added, causing Elizabeth to nestle herself deeper into her side.
A knock on the door interrupted Evernya before she could comment on Meira’s ridiculous spending habits. After receiving a notification on her tablet, Meira stood up to open the door, revealing Alexa holding an ornate, dark blue wooden box. She handed Meira the box, who set it down on a small table next to the door before opening it.
Inside the box, nestled into a cushion, was a transparent glasslike bright blue sphere. As soon as the box opened, a powerful mana presence permeated the room, causing a certain shifter to drool. After glancing back at her mesmerized fanged kitten, Meira slammed the box shut, concealing the elemental mana core’s mana presence.
“Not bad, an arisen grade three water elemental mana core. I was expecting a grade 9 core barely capable of forming a familiar.” Meira commented after appraising the core.
Meira paid for the mana core by scanning a platinum card on a tablet provided by Alexa. “Thank you for your business, Enchantress Meira. Is there anything else I can do for you?” Alexa inquired.
“No, that will be all for now,” Meira replied.
After Alexa left the room, Meira carried the box over to Elizabeth with her ravenous kitten watching her every move, appearing ready to pounce at any second. Meira handed the box to Elizabeth, who protectively cradled it like a baby. She then turned around and bonked her sneaking kitten on the head.
Tears formed in Evernya’s eyes as one of her fangs pierced her tongue.
After pushing mana to her tongue, Evernya recovered from her mana induced craze. She returned to her seat before apologizing, “Sorry about that I lost myself for a second there. That mana core just smelled so good.”
“I’m sure it did. This core is many times more potent than the last one you gobbled down. If you overdosed on that one, I don’t even want to think about what would happen. Spirit inhabited mana cores can be quite unruly.” Meira commented.
"I'm missing something here. Why would a mana core affect Evernya, especially a water element one?” Aiden inquired, causing the three women to freeze