Chapter 204: Auction, Sky-High Scroll, Potent Poison

Chapter 204: Auction, Sky-High Scroll, Potent Poison

Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding

Today I left earlier than usual, so when I stepped out from Shop No.11 it was only about nine in the morning.

Lin Mo walked straight toward the auction house not far away.

When he arrived, he found the auction surprisingly crowded; people coming and going, the bustle almost rivaling Cat Fairy Street.

It seemed that after the recent tense period everyone had bottled-up emotions to release. Now that the goblin army had finally been driven back and life was returning to normal, people naturally wanted to celebrate a little.

Hence the unusually large number of shoppers and consumers—these shops were likely to enjoy a boom in business for a while.

“Hello, may I help you?”

Although the auction was packed, just like at Shop No.11, Lin Mo’s Bronze-rank adventurer status made him stand out. He didn’t have to queue like ordinary people; the auction house quickly assigned staff to greet him.

“I consigned two skill scrolls to your auction earlier. Have they sold yet?”

“All right, sir, please follow me...”

The staff led Lin Mo to a parlor and then went off to find the responsible personnel.

A short while later he returned, wearing an embarrassed expression. “Sorry, sir. Due to recent special circumstances, only one of the scrolls you consigned has been sold so far... the other one will be put up for bidding in today’s auction.”

“I see.”

Lin Mo nodded. Though surprised, he could understand—after the goblin siege and the undead incidents, the city had been tense and commercial activity had suffered. While many adventurers came from afar, fewer merchants were willing to come to Silverstream City under the unstable conditions.

“This is the proceeds from the scroll that sold. It went for 700 gold; your net is 679 gold. Please take it.”

The staff handed Lin Mo a cloth bag filled with coins. Lin Mo opened it and glanced inside—the amount seemed correct. The auction house was reputable and had ties to the City Lord’s Mansion, so there was little chance of foul play over such a sum.

Judging by the sale, the scroll that had sold was likely the green excellent-grade Knight skill scroll, Taunt. That meant the unsold one must be the green excellent-grade Mage skill scroll, Frost Guard.

This was hardly surprising. Mage skill scrolls command much higher prices than most other classes—at least three times, sometimes five or six times more. Such prices are beyond what most adventurers can afford. Also, Mages themselves are rare in Silverstream City, and elemental-specialist Mages—especially Ice Mages—are even rarer. Finding an Ice Mage who could afford an excellent-grade spell scroll would be a tall order for the whole city.

But now that merchants and trade guilds were pouring back into Silverstream City, magical scrolls like that wouldn’t have trouble selling.

“The auction will begin shortly. Would you like to participate?”

Lin Mo figured he had the time; it wouldn’t hurt to check out the auction and maybe pick up something useful. He nodded. “Sure, take me there.”

“All right, sir. We’ll arrange a private room for you right away.”

The staff bowed and motioned him along. A short while later an older attendant led him through a VIP-like side passage—not the main crowded entrance—so they bypassed most people. They entered the auction area from a side door and soon reached the auction house’s private parlor.

The parlor was lavishly furnished: a huge sofa faced a low table laden with delicate tea snacks. From the sofa, a magical projection displayed the central auction stage with crystal clarity. Not bad...

Lin Mo relaxed into the sofa. The girl who had guided him stepped forward and began kneading his shoulders.

Lin Mo looked at her in surprise—he’d assumed she was only guiding him, not providing this kind of service. Indeed, wealth and influence brought perks.

“Is... is something wrong, sir?”

The girl met his gaze and suddenly looked nervous; her hands froze. She thought she’d made a mistake.

“It’s fine, carry on.”

Lin Mo shook his head and turned his attention back to the projection. Truth be told, she wasn’t as skilled as Sherfilia. Then again, she was just an ordinary attendant, not specially trained. Skill differences were to be expected—and her strength was definitely lacking.

Right on schedule, after Lin Mo had settled, the auction officially began. On the projection, a well-dressed young woman walked out and gracefully addressed the audience. “Welcome to today’s auction. First, please allow me—”

A round of formalities followed that nearly put Lin Mo to sleep, but it was short—two or three minutes—and then they moved on to the items.

“First up is today’s lot: an excellent-grade one-handed sword...”

Because this was a local auction held weekly rather than a rare grand event, most items were excellent-grade gear, alchemical reagents, or uncommon medicinal materials. Lin Mo had little interest.

Next came skill scrolls for Warriors and Knights—common and excellent-grade—but mostly conventional, so Lin Mo didn’t bid.

Then appeared a blue exceptional-grade Assassin skill, offensive in nature. Had this been earlier he might have been intrigued, but he’d recently gained many new skills from the goblin siege rewards and didn’t have time to train another offensive technique. Besides, the starting price was high—1,500 gold—and it finally sold for 3,200 gold, above market. Post-disaster buyers apparently indulged in splurge purchases.

Finally it was time for the Mage-related scrolls. Mostly these were Mage scrolls; Priest scrolls were even rarer and pricier. Initially there were common-grade spells; Lin Mo already owned the usual ones like Water Orb and Fireball, so he passed.

Then a particular scroll piqued his interest.

“Next lot: a basic, well-known utility spell—Light. No need for me to explain too much. It can be cast on an object to make it emanate a faint light for a limited time. Very useful in dark environments.”

Light was useful. In the past Lin Mo had relied on Fire and Light element spells for illumination, but those consumed more mana and required sustained output—distracting in battle. A Light spell could spare him trouble in dark combat zones. Perhaps because Light was too basic it never made it into the City Lord’s library, so Lin Mo had never encountered it.

The attendees seemed indifferent; Light had strategic value in some scenarios, but most adventurers worked in daylight and rarely fought in caverns. Low-rank Mages wouldn’t waste the time to study such a basic utility when offensive spells like Fireball or Water Bullet would yield more combat value. High-ranking Mages would already know Light.

“All right, Light scroll starting bid: 180 gold.”

The auctioneer knew expectations and set a low opening price. Normally a common-grade scroll would go for 300 gold or more; rare and powerful spells could fetch seven or eight hundred. Even so, after half a minute there were only a few scattered bids.

“180.”

“190.”

“I’ll go 200...”

This scroll was among the least valuable common-grade ones; merchants buying it would have to consider resale difficulty. Once the bidding stalled at 200, Lin Mo knew it was his moment.

“220 gold.”

As expected, silence fell. The auctioneer tapped his gavel and recited the usual. “Any more bids?”

“220, once.”

“220, twice.”

“220, three times. Congratulations to the guest in the private parlor—this Light scroll is sold.”

With that, the auction continued, but nothing else caught Lin Mo’s interest. About ten minutes later someone delivered the Light scroll to his parlor. Lin Mo paid and unrolled it.

Light, as a common spell, proved easy to learn. In no time Lin Mo had mapped the skill circuit.

“Learned skill: Light. Mana +1!”

One point of mana wasn’t much, but it was something. Lin Mo was more curious about what Light would evolve into at max level. From prior evolution patterns, evolved skills usually remained related to their base functions. What could a utility illumination spell evolve into—wider range, longer duration? That would only require more mana. He let the thought drift.

Then the auctioneer announced the final Mage scroll of the session. “Next, the last spell scroll of today: an excellent-grade ice-element defensive spell—Frost Guard! Opening bid 1,200 gold!”

The hall erupted. Defensive spell scrolls are valued higher than offensive ones because attacks are abundant while defensive spells are scarce and critical for fragile Mages. For Mages who lack survivability, a defensive survival spell is priceless. Bids poured in.

“1,200.”

“I’ll go 1,300!”

“1,500!”

“Who’s so bold? This scroll is indeed valuable—1,800!”

So high? Even Lin Mo, the seller, was surprised by the intensity of the bidding. That was good—more competition meant a higher price and more profit for him.

“1,850...”

“1,900!”

As the price climbed, increments became smaller. “2,000! Come on everyone, let’s stop fighting over this.”

“A good item should go to the worthy. Fair bidding—no need to back down. I offer 2,100!”

“2,150.”

“2,200!”

This kept escalating. Lin Mo had underestimated the scroll’s worth. His own perspective was skewed: he had trained as a Warrior and Knight before becoming a Mage, had high Constitution and solid gear, and even had absurd defensive skills like Shadow Split and Flash—so he couldn’t empathize with Mages obsessed with survival. For them, defensive spells mean life and death. The bidding grew fierce.

“2,300!”

“2,310...”

“2,400!!!”

Two thousand four hundred was already near the ceiling for an excellent-grade scroll. Lin Mo and many others assumed bidding would stop. But as the auctioneer poised to tap the gavel, another voice rang out:

“2,500!”

“2,600!”

“2,601!”

“2,700!”

“2,701!”

“Insane—completely insane!”

“They’re seriously overbidding...”

“This surpasses the usual limit for excellent-grade scrolls.”

“Almost—there was once a scroll made by a Heroic Realm powerhouse that sold for 3,300. This scroll’s description didn’t name the creator; if it was made by an ordinary transcendent, this price is already at least 300 gold over its true value.”

“3,000!”

Finally, someone shouted a figure that stunned the crowd. The would-be winner who had nearly secured it went silent—any further increase would be too much, a bad deal even for prestige. Even to save face, they had to concede.

“Fine, you win!” the other bidder spat and withdrew. The fight ended with Lin Mo and the auction house as big winners. The house only took a small fee on the final sale; Lin Mo pocketed the lion’s share. With the scroll sold for 3,000 gold and the house taking a 3% cut, Lin Mo received 2,910 gold. His savings swelled past 8,000 gold. But too much coin sitting idle is just a number—he needed to convert wealth into strength or useful assets.

So he paid attention to the remaining lots. After the usual items sold, things got more eclectic: odd collectibles, rare materials, even slaves—human beings—were up for sale. Most of it didn’t interest Lin Mo. He was about to leave, bored, when the auctioneer produced a small vial.

“The next lot is extremely special...” Her voice trembled as she spoke. “This poison was personally concocted by an alchemy master using the venom of the Lord-level monster ‘Venom Scorpion King’ as its primary ingredient, combined with a silver-grade poisonous herb called ‘Spider King Saliva Grass’ and many other auxiliaries. It is called ‘Twin Spider-Scorpion Draught.’”

“The alchemist claims that once this toxin enters the body, even Elite-level professionals or monsters will be severely affected—unable to act properly in a short time, with both qi and mana seriously restricted.”

“And if used on Veteran-level or lower professionals, it may be life-threatening!”

So potent? Lin Mo’s eyes lit up. This was precisely what he needed. Just yesterday he’d learned the exceptional-grade Assassin skill, Poison Coating, which allows him to coat weapons with poison quickly and increases toxin potency. He’d been planning to buy powerful poisons. Ordinary poisons were awkward for him—they only cripple lesser foes he could already defeat without toxins. But a poison that could cripple Elites—monsters and professionals above level 10—would be invaluable. If the price wasn’t ridiculous, he would buy it.

“All right, this vial, the Twin Spider-Scorpion Draught, opens at 1,800 gold.”

Given the expensive ingredients and staggering effects, the opening price was reasonable. Bidders included many Assassins, some merchants, and others with grudges—reasons for wanting such a poison were obvious. Also, some high-tier professionals near Veteran rank might consider using it to take down Lord-level monsters. But as the price climbed, many conservative buyers dropped out; if the vial cost too much, a successful takedown might not justify the investment.

“1,800.”

“1,850.”

“I’ll go 1,900!”

These bids were mostly Assassins. Then prices rose: “2,000!” “2,050!” “2,060...”

Poison is a consumable, and the apparent supply seemed limited; once the price neared two thousand gold, further increases became harder. Lin Mo seized the moment and raised the bid by nearly a hundred. Sure enough, the hall quieted—no one answered.

“2,150 gold.”

“2,150, once.”

“2,150, twice.”

“2,150, three times... sold. Congratulations to this esteemed guest for winning the coveted item!”