A Wizard’s Secret

In the luxury suite, Wizard Darknight, Lady Phillie, and the rest did not speak. They held their breaths in rapt attention, and the mood was tense.

Merlin’s eyes were shut lightly, but a chill still pervaded the room, causing them to tremble.

“Go and make a bid of seven million and twenty thousand!”

There was an icy edge in Merlin’s voice. He was clearly meeting his opponent measure for measure, countering the Whirlwind Lord’s bid. Merlin did not care whether his opponent would fly into a rage because the Whirlwind Lord was already a dead man in his eyes.

“Seven million and twenty thousand. The distinguished guest in number twenty-eight has bid seven million and twenty thousand. Is there a higher bid?”

The beautiful and charming female Wizard swept her gaze across the crowd of Spell Casters. She predicted that this was the final outcome. If the Whirlwind Lord had not made a bid of seven million and ten thousand elemental crystal stones which carried a clear sense of “threat”, the Hallucinatory Heart might fetch an even higher price.

However, with the tit-for-tat conflict between the Whirlwind Lord and the guest in number twenty-eight, the price could not go any higher because no one else would bid further.

Otherwise, they would have to face the furious retaliation of the Whirlwind Lord after the auction. The Whirlwind Lord was this sort of person, where slaughtering was second nature to him. If one provoked him without having the adequate capabilities, it was akin to a death wish.

“Very well, seven million and twenty thousand. Congratulations to the distinguished guest in number twenty-eight for obtaining the Hallucinatory Heart!”

Finally, the Hallucinatory Heart was won by Merlin but many Spell Casters did not think that the guest in number twenty-right was lucky. Conversely, they shook their heads one by one.

“What a shame. Having offended the Whirlwind Lord, they’re in danger!”

“Number twenty-eight – I’ve heard that it’s the suite of Wizard Tambert of Bisque City. Tsk tsk, we’re about to get a good show… Although killing is second nature to the Whirlwind Lord, his powers are too fearsome. Based on the Whirlwind Lord’s past behavior, the entire Bisque City is facing misfortune now.”

Most Spell Casters knew that suite number thirteen was the room of the Whirlwind Lord who was savage by nature. This time, Tambert had provoked the Whirlwind Lord, and things would surely not end well for him.

Of course, there were those who were puzzled as well. In the past, Tambert was not someone who was flashy or excessive, much less someone who would make unwise decisions. Could Tambert really contend against the Whirlwind Lord?

Within luxury suite number thirteen, the Whirlwind Lord’s face was ashen. He did not bid any further and instead allowed “Tambert” to get the Hallucinatory Heart.

“Heh heh, Tambert’s really bold now… Very well, I’ve not slaughtered an entire city for a long time. This time, I’ll go to Bisque City!”

Tyrannical energy flickered all over the Whirlwind Lord, and the flirty female Wizard who was lying in his embrace frowned faintly as if she was suffering.

…

In luxury suite number twenty-eight, the maidservant of the auction carried a tray and came into the room.

“Honorable distinguished guest, here’s your Hallucinatory Heart!”

“Swoosh.”

Merlin’s eyes fixed upon the crystal tray instantly. In one swipe of his hand, he grabbed the crystal tray from the maidservant’s grasp, after which he uncovered the tray. It really was the Hallucinatory Heart, so he indicated to Lady Phillie to hand the elemental crystal stones to the maidservant.

Lady Phillie immediately retrieved a ring and said, “The seven million and twenty thousand elemental crystal stones are inside, please check and see it’s correct!”

The maidservant smiled demurely. “There’s no need for we have faith in our distinguished guests! However, as for the distinguished guest in number thirteen, there may be a bit of trouble. Our president has asked me to convey to you that as long as we’re in this auction, no one would dare make any attacks.”

Merlin discerned the implicit meaning of her words. During the auction, Wizard Dara was able to guarantee Merlin’s safety because this was Wizard Dara’s home turf. No one was allowed to fight during the auction, and even the Whirlwind Lord would take note of that.

After all, Wizard Dara was a powerful Wizard who could escape unscathed from the attacks of Ninth-level Glorious Wizards!

This was a kind reminder, and Merlin nodded. “Give my thanks to your president. I’ll keep this in mind.”

Having finished speaking, the maidservant respectfully took her leave. There were only Merlin, Darknight, Lady Phillie, and the rest in the luxury suite.

Darknight, Lady Phillie, and the rest paid no mind to that Whirlwind Lord. In their perspective, even Wizard Dara was not a big deal. Perhaps only the Glorious Wizards would rouse Merlin’s serious attention.

After all, in their eyes, Merlin was a Spell Caster from beyond the heavens, a being comparable to a Great Wizard. Even if he was slightly inferior to a Great Wizard, he was on par with those Ninth-level Glorious Wizards!

Merlin was currently focusing all his attention on this Hallucinatory Heart which gleamed with vivid colors. It was mesmerizing indeed, especially in the darkness. Its beauty was breathtaking, almost making one unwilling to absorb it.

This item had a hallucinatory effect, which was one of the natural abilities of hallucinatory beasts. Even a Hallucinatory Heart which had been excavated would still carry its natural hallucinatory properties. Spell Casters who had weak Mind Power and wobbly willpower might actually become enthralled.

Nevertheless, to Merlin, this bit of hallucinatory effect was not of much use although this Hallucinatory Heart was not a Darkness-type treasure. It meant that his Darkness Heart served no purpose in this sense, and his tremendous Mind Power could still easily resist this minor hallucinatory effect.

Merlin was more focused on the peculiar fluctuations within the Hallucinatory Heart. It was these mystical fluctuations of energy which made him feel uncommonly pure as if his soul was about to be purified.

This was the wondrous power which could increase Mind Power, the core of those formidable hallucinatory beasts!

“Master, you’re going to absorb the Hallucinatory Heart now?”

Darknight saw that Merlin was staring unwaveringly at the Hallucinatory Heart, and asked cautiously.

“Oh? In fact, I’m in no rush for now!”

Merlin raised his head and kept the Hallucinatory Heart. Absorbing the Hallucinatory Heart was not that simple. Although the power of the Hallucinatory Heart was very pure, and having almost no side effects, it would still take some time. Although Merlin was highly satisfied having accomplished his objective in coming to Dara City, he still wanted to see the treasures which were even more precious than a Hallucinatory Heart in this auction.

After the explosive round of competitive bidding over the Hallucinatory Heart, many Spell Casters were looking forward to the next treasure up for auction. The Hallucinatory Heart was merely the first premium auction item. Following that, there were even better, more mystical treasures!

“Creak creak.”

Soon enough, a puppet that was about two meters high and incomparably sturdy slowly walked onto the podium.

This was an alchemy puppet which had a blank face as if it was controlled to walk onto the podium. Many people were mystified. Were they auctioning off this alchemy puppet?

Although this alchemy puppet looked extremely formidable, it was rare to see puppets in the auction. Furthermore, most alchemy puppets could only reach the level of Seventh-level Spell Casters. This was nearly their peak, and there were very few puppets that could break through past the Seventh-level.

Just as all the Spell Casters were steeped in puzzlement, intense Fire Elemental fluctuations flared up around the female Wizard. This was a Seventh-level spell, and the blaze further contained a trace of white light, indicating that it was merged with a Pandora Demon Ability.

With this spell combined with Pandora Demon Ability, its might would increase many times over and become frightening. The wide-ranging flames immediately engulfed the puppet, beginning to rage and burn.

After a long moment, the female Wizard withdrew the flames, allowing the audience to look. The puppet’s clothes had been reduced to ashes by the flame, thus revealing the puppet’s sturdy frame.

However, if one took a closer look, one would discover in surprise that the puppet’s skin was sparkling and crystalline, like jade. There were no signs of scorching. If this was due to astounding regenerative properties, this would be too terrifying.

Nonetheless, the more prevalent assumption was that this puppet might be equipped with formidable defensive capabilities. To be more precise, it must have extremely high resistance against Fire-type spells.

As if she could read the thoughts of the spectating Spell Casters, the female Wizard snapped her fingers and pointed. Instantly, thick layers of ice crystals rapidly formed around the puppet’s body.

“Crack crack.”

The ice crystals formed unceasingly, solidifying in a pristine, white layer of ice.

“Crack.”

At this moment, the puppet moved, the muscles rippling all over its body. As it shook its body fiercely, the solid ice crystals were immediately shattered, becoming flakes of ice that filled the air as they flew in all directions.

It was not that the ice crystals were not solid enough or that the Ice-type spell was too weak. It must be known that this was a Seventh-level Wizard, who was almost at the peak of her level. How could her spell be an average one?

Even so, this puppet was still able to easily escape from the binding of the ice crystals. In no time, a Spell Caster had confirmed that this was a rarely seen Eighth-level puppet!

“It’s an Eighth-level puppet. Dara City had really pulled off an impressive feat. To think that they produced a puppet that exceeds the limits. It’s really inconceivable!”

“This is too crazy – an Eighth-level puppet! This is an Eighth-level puppet that anyone can control. If one obtains it, isn’t it equivalent to having an Eighth-level Wizard as a personal bodyguard?”

An ardent look burned in the eyes of many Spell Casters. Since it was a puppet, even if it was an Eighth-level one, it was surely no match for a Wizard at the peak of the Eighth-level in a real fight.

However, a puppet that was able to crush every Seventh-level Wizard and contend against Eighth-level Wizards was very powerful indeed. This was a puppet that had surpassed the usual limits. Even an Eighth-level Wizard would go mad for it.

The Seventh-level female Wizard looked in satisfaction at the reactions of the Spell Casters below. Nonetheless, she shifted the topic of discussion. “Fellow Wizards, I’m sorry to say that the current premium item which is up for auction is not this puppet!

“It’s true that this puppet is at the Eighth-level, transfigured successfully by a noble Great Alchemist of Dara City. What we’re auctioning off today is the alchemy formula for transfiguring this puppet!

“This limit-breaking alchemy formula will guarantee success in transfiguration as long as it’s a Spell Caster with a relatively high mastery of alchemy! The value of this is far greater than the alchemy puppet. Therefore, the starting bid is at two million elemental crystal stones, and every subsequent bid must increase by no less than ten thousand elemental crystal stones!”

As soon as she spoke, the entire venue of the auction was dead silent. There seemed to be no one bidding as they were still digesting the earth-shattering implications of her words.

An alchemy formula which surpassed the limits of puppet transfiguration? Moreover, based on Dara City’s reputation, it must be authentic if it was up for auction. The value of such an alchemy formula was almost hard to imagine.

Of course, there were also Spell Casters who had thought of a special factor. The alchemy formula would surely yield more puppets which surpassed the limits, but what if the materials for this puppet transfigurations were extremely hard to find? Would that not limit the practicality of the formula?

There was a high possibility that this was the case, which was why Dara City was willing to auction it off. However, even so, it was a priceless treasure, and countless Spell Casters would go insane for it. This was a puppet, not just an Alchemy Creature, and could be transfigured endlessly.

If one transfigured ten such Eighth-level puppets, one could even forcibly overwhelm a powerful Eighth-level Wizard. In greater numbers, not even a Wizard at the peak of the Eighth-level would be a match for them.

This limit-breaking alchemy formula was indeed worthy of being one of the premium auction items. Moreover, the competition between the distinguished guests was only just beginning…