If anyone knew who 13168 was, it would only be the auction house owner, Old Fei. Initially, when Old Fei invited Xiao Hua, he merely thought Xiao Hua was a potential client. Unexpectedly, Xiao Hua's performance far exceeded his expectations. This auction, as advertised, featured premium items, and although the quantity was limited, Xiao Hua bid on several pieces, spending more than twice the three million he initially received!
This person truly defies appearances, where did he get all this money? Old Fei was quite surprised.
"Old Fei, who is 13168?" Amid his surprise, Old Fei suddenly received a private message from Dongfang Wentian, who sounded extremely displeased.
"Haha, Young Master Dongfang, I wouldn't know even if you asked me." Old Fei laughed it off, feigning ignorance.
"Don't beat around the bush; others might not know, but do you think I don't know you can see the owners corresponding to each number in the backend?" Dongfang Wentian said disdainfully.
"Since Young Master Dongfang knows this, you should understand the rules of our auction house. Revealing customer information is strictly forbidden; if word got out, we wouldn't be able to continue operating." Old Fei said sternly, leaving one unable to tell if he was being genuine or not.
"Hmph!" Dongfang Wentian grunted coldly. His relationship with Old Fei was casual at best, merely acquaintances with occasional business dealings, not close enough to risk revealing such sensitive information. Realizing further discussion would be futile, he remained silent.
In the auction hall, Dongfang Wentian stopped bidding, and Xiao Hua successfully purchased the "Critical Venom" skill book for five million gold coins.
After deducting five million gold coins, the "Critical Venom" skill book appeared in Xiao Hua's inventory. Upon clicking to learn it, the skill icon appeared in his free skill bar.
Looking closely at his skill bar, Xiao Hua realized he now had three toxin damage skills. At level 27, thieves could learn another toxin damage profession skill. If he continued developing these skills and upgraded them to advanced levels, he might become a poison expert someday.
Next came the auctions for two more free skill books, but their prices hovered around two to three million gold, far below that of "Critical Venom." Finally, it was time for the final highlight item.
"Now, for the final item, I'm sure everyone already knows what it is! The restricted skill book 'Icebound Land'!" The auctioneer's voice rang out as a skill book with a faint red glow appeared before the crowd. Ninety-eight percent of the audience had never seen a restricted skill book before, and many attended the auction specifically for this book. Seeing it now, they all thought, "So this is what it looks like."
"Icebound Land": Special water magic skill book. Creates a wide-range spell causing massive damage and freezing targets. Learning requirements: Water Elemental Mastery, Intelligence 200.
Following this, the skill attributes of "Icebound Land" were displayed on the magic screen.
Mages are one of the most popular classes in the game, comparable in numbers to priests. Thanks to Pot of Gold Auction House's extensive promotion, many mages participated in the auction. Seeing the skill description of "Icebound Land," their eyes glowed with intense heat!
Every elemental mage has area-of-effect attacks, but most are small range. Large-range spells are typically only found in profession-specific forbidden spells. However, learning forbidden spells requires reaching level sixty and completing a series of extremely difficult quests, leaving little hope for many. The "Icebound Land" skill, however, could rival forbidden spells if its skill attributes matched the actual skill's effectiveness!
As for the requirement of Water Elemental Mastery to learn the skill, this wasn't a problem. Skill books like Water Elemental Mastery, essentially worthless, are rarely purchased. Even if someone learned Water Elemental Mastery, they wouldn't gain profession-specific mage skills. The sole purpose is to serve as a prerequisite for learning free or restricted skills. If a typical free skill required Water Elemental Mastery, non-water mages might hesitate, but "Icebound Land" was clearly worth the investment!
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"Perhaps many of you are unfamiliar with restricted skill books. Let me briefly introduce them based on the information we've gathered. Many of you may have been misled by the skill attribute descriptions in free skill books, but restricted skill books are different. Their descriptions are straightforward and accurate! To facilitate the learning process for whoever wins the 'Icebound Land' skill book, our auction house has secured a 'Water Elemental Mastery' skill book, which will be gifted to the winning bidder!"
Old Fei is indeed thoughtful. Xiao Hua thought to himself upon hearing the auctioneer's words.
"Borrow me five million!" Piaoling observed the distinct atmosphere in the auction hall and realized that four million gold would be insufficient to win the "Icebound Land" skill book. She decided to borrow five million from Xiao Hua.
"No problem." Xiao Hua promptly replied via private chat, "But how do you plan to repay me, Piaoling? How about with your person?"
Having secured several good items, Xiao Hua was feeling great and couldn't resist teasing Piaoling.
"Stop beating around the bush, are you lending it or not?" Piaoling glared at Xiao Hua. She didn't know how to repay him either, but as long as she kept playing the game, she was confident she could repay him eventually. Worst case, she could sell her Staff of Water Guardian. The "Icebound Land" skill was immediately learnable and was worth more than the staff!
The auction officially began, and Xiao Hua chuckled, lending Piaoling the money.
The starting bid for "Icebound Land" was only one million gold coins, but it quickly escalated to over four million. Many bidders wisely withdrew, becoming spectators watching the bids soar.
In fact, only three bidders remained, pushing the price to five million gold.
"Seven million!" At five million gold, Piaoling finally made her move, adding two million on top of the current bid!
While the audience was speculating on who among the remaining bidders would secure the skill book, they were thrilled to see a new bidder enter the fray.
Upon seeing Piaoling's bid, the other three were momentarily stunned. One reluctantly withdrew, leaving the other two to consider their next move. Then another voice echoed through the hall.
"Eight million!" Dongfang Wentian bid firmly, adding one million to Piaoling's bid.
"Nine million!" Piaoling gritted her teeth and bid all her savings.
The two previously hesitating bidders decided to withdraw upon seeing this price, but Dongfang Wentian was clearly determined and countered with a new bid: "Ten million!"
"Do you want to continue? I have more money to lend if needed." Xiao Hua asked Piaoling. The "Icebound Land" skill book was stolen from the Frost Dragon and traded for "True Illusion." It was because of this skill book that Xiao Hua amassed his wealth, and he felt a special attachment to it. Initially, he considered buying it himself and gifting it to Piaoling, but knowing her personality, she would never accept it. So he brought her along, letting her decide. If she truly wanted it, lending her the money and letting her repay it gradually was a good option.
"No need, I give up. A restricted skill book isn't worth that much. And borrowing more from you, I don't know when I can repay you." Piaoling shook her head, withdrew her bid, and returned the money to Xiao Hua.
"Didn't I say repaying with your person would do!" Xiao Hua continued to tease as he accepted the money.
"Go to hell!" If Zhou Xiaoru hadn't been silently watching nearby, Piaoling would have lunged at him!
...
The auction ended, and Old Fei, seeing the high price paid for "Icebound Land," smiled broadly, feeling vindicated by his decision. He thanked Xiao Hua repeatedly and assured him that Pot of Gold's doors were always open to him!
Xiao Hua politely acknowledged his thanks and left the auction house with the two women. Upon exiting, Zhou Xiaoru and Piaoling left him behind to form a party and level up. Zhou Xiaoru was nearly level 24, while Piaoling was close to level 25. Together, they could level up faster. Xiao Hua himself was at level 26 and a bit. Initially, Xiao Hua worried whether the two women would reach level 25 by the time he hit level 27. Once they formed a party, they could enter experience dungeons together daily for faster leveling and earnings.
"Old Fei, what's the price of experience dungeon maps these days?" Experience dungeon maps were usable only by players between levels 25 and 35. Since they dropped infrequently, they were likely expensive.
"About eight to ten million gold coins. Do you need some?" Old Fei responded quickly.
"Yes, please acquire twenty to thirty for me. How much deposit do I need to pay?"
"Auction house commissions require a deposit, but given Brother Bujie's reputation, I'll waive the deposit. Let's trade every ten maps I collect for you, keeping them too long wouldn't be good." Old Fei generously offered.
"Alright, thank you, Boss Fei. Notify me when you have them." Xiao Hua responded, figuring by the time Old Fei collected ten maps, he would be nearing level 27.
With the two women abandoning him, Xiao Hua stored his excess items in the warehouse and set off for the newbie village with Hydra leather to repair his Slime King Leather Armor.