The Arcadia System - Chapter 230

“Why don’t you cement your name in the list of its possessors? Who knows, maybe you might be the one to decipher it and attain sacred knowledge?”

“The starting price is 100 gold coins!”

The audience was silent for a while. Everyone was thinking about the item.

Kimon too had his fair share of pondering, ‘Is that Arcanites?’

‘Of course, the writer had coded everything in Wiccan King Galahad’s innate language. For him to know of it, he might be a morrite just like the wiccan king…this is interesting, but what exactly does it contain?’

Kimon only saw value in it as a relic related to the wiccan king. He was not concerned about any of its actual content since he was tutored by a legendary being. He didn’t need teachings from another entity.

That was not to say that he looked down on the wiccan king, but instead, the two teachings might be conflicting in nature.

Kimon watched as the first guest spoke up. He easily dropped a bid of 110 gold coins.

Then, the other hesitant guests gained confidence and began bidding higher.

It seemed they had gathered the resolve they needed to acquire the item.

Meanwhile, Kimon was faced with another dilemma.

‘Should I buy it or should I not? Buying it is immensely risky. I risk the possibility of being unveiled. After all, people like Daniel have never seen me perform magic. No matter the case, I should hide my identity as a mage.’

Kimon quickly joined the bidding with a high price, “I bid 250 gold coins!”

He wasn’t worried about money.

Kimon was wealthy. Circe had made sure he wasn’t lacking money before he left, but he was in possession of his own natural wealth.

Yet, it would have been stupid to spend it in an auction. However, since his endeavors were bound to pool in a lot of money into his pocket, he saw no need to restrict himself.

“300 gold coins!”

Kimon sighed and upped his previous bid, “400 gold coins.”

“700 gold coins,” arrogantly said one of the guests.

Kimon wondered just why the person was bidding so fiercely. Was this the way rich people behaved?

Just drop a price on something that has only stationary value?

He refused to believe that the person could decode the texts.

A look of annoyance flashed on his face as he said loudly, “750 gold coins.”

“850 gold!”

The other party declared with the bearing of a tyrant.

“900 gold coins!”

“9–”

The other party stopped his erratic action just before he could doom himself.

After his forfeit, Serene’s soothing voice sounded, “Is there anyone willing to challenge the bid of 900 gold coins? Five….four…three..one!”

“Since there is no one, the item shall now belong to Mr. One!”

Mr.One referred to Kimon’s auction number.

Everytime he raised a bid, he would flash a card that revealed his number to everyone. This was his form of identity throughout the auction.

After Serene took note of his number, she moved on with the other items. Towards the conclusion of the auction, his purchased item would be given to him by her helpers.

As Kimon wondered just what he might find after he decoded the papers, a voice found its way to him.

“I didn’t take you as a mage.”

Kimon jerked his body to face his new buddy, The Alchemist, “Well, I like to collect things, especially objects I’m familiar with.”

His quick response saved him.

‘Damn, I almost broke form. I should have realized that something was wrong. Kimon is not a mage. He shouldn’t be interested in treasures of mages.’

His current persona, Kimon, gave no magical aura and no indication of mana. It was easy to dissociate him with a magic user. It was just as he planned.

The Alchemist said, “Oh, you are a collector. I understand. I also collect things here and there. Pray tell, what path do you follow? You do not have the bearing of a mage nor does your body permeate with the scent of ki.”

“Well, if I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret, would it?”

“Keeping yourself mysterious, I see. It’s a good tactic. In this present time, only the wise will survive,” The Alchemist dropped his queries and switched to words of praise.

“I could say the same for you,” replied Kimon.

Wasn’t The Alchemist even more mysterious than him?

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The night was getting brighter.

Tapping on this feeling of closure, Seren brought out the last item, or better said, the last group of items.

“Haven’t you been waiting for this moment?” she smiled.

“Lately, there have been rumors of a miracle drug surfacing all around Starhold. Most of you, esteemed guests, followed the trails of the rumor, which led you to this place. I am happy to announce that your efforts are not in vain. We have just what you came here for.”

Signaling her men with a pointed hand, another table replaced the old one. This time, nothing was concealed.

The golden light belonging to the items on the table quickly attracted the eyes of the audience. They strained their eyes to see beyond the sharp light.

On the table were multiple gold chests. Only one was open among the multitudes. If one peeked further, they would notice that two rows of blue vials sat on the cushioned interior.

“It is understandable that some of you don’t believe the claims of dragontail. So, to those who are unbelievers, I welcome you to test the vials yourself,” lightly bowed Seren.

The instant she said that, one of the guests jumped to the stage. His eyes locked on the vial as the world before him disappeared.

Seren smiled, “Dear Sir, please go ahead.”

Offering him one of the vials, she stood at the side and allowed the guest to drink to his heart’s content.

In one gulp, the guest gulped everything. He crushed the vial as a red electric snake danced in his eyes.

After a couple of seconds, a fierce roar came out of the man’s mouth. Wisp of fire coalesced around him as his frenzy state couldn’t be stopped.

Suddenly, every mystical effect receded and the man was back to normal

Seren took advantage of this moment, “Those that truly paid attention would detect the difference in strength from this esteemed guest’s aura. I only offered him a diluted vial so as to speed up things. Now, what effect would an undiluted vial bring about?”

“The starting price is 50 gold coins per chest.. Please take note that we only have a limited number of chests.”