Chapter 550: Auction and Box of Books
In the end, the reception concluded with Vice President Xing Anlei’s hasty departure.
She left in a rush, perhaps realizing that interrupting our conversation was more complicated than she had anticipated.
After a hurried goodbye, she left with another girl who had come to explain the situation.
Her rushed exit was naturally related to the girl who had just been resurrected.
This girl had been killed for no reason, tortured before her d*ath, and may have even witnessed her family perish before her eyes; she had lost her identity as the Child of Fortune…
Whichever way you look at it, it’s a tremendous blow for her. To be unable to recover may even be the best outcome; if her mind were to be pushed to insanity, that would be a tragedy.
If she still wished to ask the academy to resurrect her parents and family, the academy would probably be very unlikely to assist her, but obviously, these matters were not mine to worry about.
Moreover… this incident seemed to be spreading even faster than I expected. When I opened up some discussion threads or topics on the academy forum, I found that news of the girl killed off-campus had already begun to circulate.
If soon after, the All-purpose Association released a report on this incident, guided by some hatred, they’d likely garner free help from many to confront those players.
But that didn’t concern me much; after all, in the end, those players were the unfortunate ones.
It was about time to let those players taste some hardship; daring to target students from the Witch Academy, it was beyond me how they didn’t know the meaning of d*ath.
And it was quite possible that during this timeframe, not only our Witch Academy’s students were being attacked and harassed.
But the real big trouble… was definitely still ahead.
After saying goodbye to Daphne and the others, I planned to leave the All-purpose Association. They had some matters to attend to while they were here, which I didn’t want to pry into.
However… if there was one person I might miss, it would probably be Qiu Ruxin?
She seemed to have many things she wanted to say to me, but didn’t cling too tightly.
In the end, when saying farewell, she only symbolically mentioned, “I hope to see you at the upcoming auction,” as she too would be participating.
This pre-auction exhibition was merely an appetizer, a preview of the auction items, while the subsequent auction would be the main course. As for the banquet after the auction, it was really optional.
The auction… being an event I had never participated in, I was naturally full of curiosity, and I remembered the Witch Academy also held such auctions, right?
And quite a few of them too…
When I first started to show promise, many groups from the academy had extended their goodwill towards me, including many auction houses…
It was said that many rare spellbooks and other items would appear at these auctions; I wondered what would be available this time.
After leaving, I flipped through the invitation. Since Xing Anlei hadn’t given me much of an introduction, the invitation should detail everything.
After a brief glance, I realized that this auction was not a last-minute affair, but rather a tradition.
It seemed to be held twice a year, during a brief period before each semester starts, which roughly coincided with the back-to-school timeframe.
The location was a hotel in the Magic Capital… this hotel also belonged to the Witch Academy’s assets; I heard it was founded by a previous senior, who later joined the All-purpose Association along with her partner. Most of the time, the organization of this regular auction was handled by people from the All-purpose Association, according to the information I found on the academy forum, which I didn’t purposely search for.
The auction primarily invited students and teaching assistants from other Extraordinary Academies. If someone was capable, they could even invite Extraordinary Mentors, but they rarely participated in such events.
Of course, aside from some Extraordinary students, this auction was famous among various wealthy circles in the world, where even ordinary non-extraordinary people would try to find connections to get in, as even just witnessing this extravagance was worthwhile.
After all, this was an event where one could connect with Extraordinary beings, and those who were invited to participate were certainly top-tier experts or geniuses from each Extraordinary Academy, right?
Extraordinary beings were not uncommon in this world; the number of Extraordinary Academies here was significant, but most students ultimately became mediocre.
For those people, an Extraordinary being’s peak period, the most valuable time, was during their school years; thus, forming connections with Extraordinary beings was an ongoing process that couldn’t be severed.
Ultimately, whether those students graduated or failed to graduate, their worst outcomes were still better than an average ordinary person.
However, even so, an Extraordinary student who left the extraordinary world to become an ordinary person could still accumulate significant wealth.
After all, they were trading extraordinary-level resources for ordinary currency and assets from the outside world; it was a form of downward social mobility. As long as they didn’t care about other matters, they could live quite comfortably.
If somewhat capable students graduated, they might even secure a stable position under an Extraordinary Academy, along with the extraordinary connections they formed. How could such individuals fail to thrive?
After all, this world was controlled by Extraordinary beings, with ordinary people merely serving as cogs to keep society running, and the wealthy were no exception.
To escape this comfort zone, one needed to become an Extraordinary being.
But all of this hinged on… gaining entry to an Extraordinary Academy, and particularly one of the Four Great Academies.
This was indeed a threshold.
Though the outside world spoke of three top-tier academies, the family systems that had persevered in the Main World for countless generations naturally recognized the patterns, coming to understand that the three top-tier academies plus the Witch Academy formed a combination where even the worst who were forced to leave without graduating would still fare well.
As for other academies, even the Beast Academy, those were seen as inferior choices in their eyes. Some of their enrollment standards were genuinely low; for those families, even attending an ordinary academy and returning to inherit a family business was considered better than being stuck in those academies… which they regarded as unreasonable hellholes!
At least that’s what they believed; this should qualify as a consistent experience handed down through generations.
However, these experiences were not publicized to ordinary people, so most ordinary families in the Main World still fantasized about entering an Extraordinary Academy to turn their fate around and leap across social classes… but most ended up jumping into a hellhole.
This situation could persist, reliant on the Main World’s encouragement of reproduction and birth subsidies. With many children, ordinary families couldn’t manage them all; even if they were leaping into a hellhole, they were doing so in queues, and the vast majority wanted to jump but found no opportunity. Perhaps the Main World was simply that distorted…
At this moment, I closed the invitation.
After reviewing the information on the invitation, I activated the Earth Vein Identification Technique to examine any additional information linked with this invitation.
The primary goal was to gain further insight into this auction.
These series of activities could last for a few days, so that hotel would also provide accommodation and meals, as it gathered students from Extraordinary Academies worldwide and affluent individuals, which indeed needed to be considered.
The current holiday was already more than half over, and this auction was set to start in just a few days.
I indeed needed to prepare some things, such as… perhaps getting myself a well-fitting outfit?
After all, this was my first time participating in such an event. If I were to customize one, it would be too late; it would be better to just buy a set…
However, I knew nothing about these matters. I didn’t even know where to buy high-end dresses within the Witch Academy; maybe… I should ask Sister Bai?
But even if it wasn’t a high-end dress, I could actually accept that. At worst, I could use my alchemical skills to enchant the outfit a bit.
Just as I was contemplating how to turn back to find Sister Bai regarding this, I suddenly received a communication.
I tried to access the academy’s network connected to the Great Knowledge Tree and check my phone, and it turned out to be a call from Natalie.
“Hello~ Sister Natalie, is there something you need my cooperation with?” I asked as soon as the connection was made.
After all, Natalie had previously said she’d try to finish the weapon-making for the Box of Books before the new semester began, and with this holiday coming to an end, I was also regularly receiving calls from her for the final adjustment stage.
“Xiao Han, are you free now? If you are, come by my place; you can try your weapon now.”
“Ah? Sister Natalie, is it completed?” I widened my eyes in disbelief. That speed… seemed too fast.
“It’s only a preliminary completion, but it will still need some adjustments based on the user’s habits, which is called weapon refinement. During this time, it’s best you use this weapon as much as possible. Don’t worry about damaging it; I’ll help maintain it, and you can provide me with feedback on any issues or suggestions. I’ll continue to follow up to help you make adjustments. If you have any inspirations, I’ll try my best to implement them within the existing framework.”
Natalie spoke to me at length, and I listened seriously.
I understood the general idea; it meant the weapon was now in the final adjustment and refinement stage. It was no wonder a master alchemist was involved in custom-making the weapon; the service was thorough.
“Okay, okay, so should I come over now?”
Hearing how considerate she was, I got straight to the point.
“Of course, it’s fine to come over now; I’ll wait for you for a bit.”
“Mm hmm, I’ll be there right away.”
After agreeing, I directly hung up the phone.
I calmed my slightly excited emotions; regarding the auction and invitation, I decided to set those aside for now as I had a few days left.
My weapon was a higher priority.
While I already had an idea of what my weapon might look like, the final product would certainly differ from the initial concept.
That sense of surprise was like opening a blind box; I had to try it out to see what kind of unexpected delight the witch who crafted it would bring me.
So… I appeared outside Natalie’s alchemy room at the fastest speed.
Under the guidance of the intelligent butler here, I entered, and there hadn’t been too many changes in Natalie’s alchemy room’s arrangement.
This time, we didn’t go to the reception area but directly arrived at the core alchemy zone of the alchemy room.
“Xiao Han, you came so quickly? That’s so efficient.” Upon seeing me, Natalie immediately took off her professional attire used during alchemy.
“Well… it’s just that I’m really looking forward to it, but speaking of efficiency, I have to hand it to you, Sister Natalie; you nearly got it all sorted out so fast.” I responded excitedly, but at that moment, my attention was drawn to something on one side of the alchemy experiment area.
It was a palm-sized crown resting on a pedestal-like base, with countless sealed runes seemingly pinning it in this space, floating in mid-air.
“Oh? Are you curious about this? Isn’t this what you mentioned to me previously, the material that carries [Extraordinary Knowledge]? I must say I admire this palm-sized crown; it is indeed an artificially alchemical item, and it has perfectly carried [Extraordinary Knowledge]…”
“Is the technique required for this very difficult?” I unconsciously asked.
“I haven’t tried it, but this crown is in a damaged state, so I’ve done some minor research… the alchemic technique it employed is indeed remarkable; it should not be one found in the Main World. However, currently, I am confident I can replicate it… ah, let’s not get into that; anyway, those two who brought this over don’t want me to repair or replicate it, so let them be.”
While talking, Natalie held a delicate box with a side opening in her hands. The opening had a clasp, revealing the spine of the book inside.
“Here, give it a try; I’ve combined my previous inspirations with your requirements, plus the precious extraordinary materials sponsored by Mei Linde! I think even if this book cannot be called the strongest, its functionality will certainly be the broadest!”
“Well, I’m looking forward to it.” I happily took the box of books; the first feeling of holding it was… solid!
The books within the box made no noise when shaken, and upon opening the clasp, a beautifully bound book smoothly slid into my hands.
Looking at the exquisite book cover, the wooden book shell was wrapped in deep-colored leather material, excellent in texture, adorned with gold and silver runic patterns, seemingly carved from Aoqin and Secret Silver blended with other materials. This was not just decoration but also a manifestation of its power.
The spine of the book on the side I held was made of the same material, and the connection with the cover was very natural, with metal strips bearing my name engraved on them.
“You can imprint many things on it, anything you want, be it patterns, badges, or numbers; it’s all up to you. I’ve temporarily engraved your name; you can erase it anytime.”
“Really? That’s so convenient.” I looked at the central position on the book cover, where an embossed image depicted an outline of a figure. From certain features, it seemed to depict me, and embedded slightly lower in the center was a transparent gem that flickered with waves of extraordinary energy, suggesting it was not just a purely decorative gem.
The corners of the book were bound with an unknown metallic material, showing a dark golden color, perfectly matching the overall dark-toned book.
Finally, I held the spine of the book and waved it a few times; the feel was excellent. The special structure of the spine indeed connected perfectly with the design of the cover!
“What do you think? Isn’t it very handy? I made some small modifications according to your requests. Open the book and take a look; the most valuable part of this book is its inner pages. Each page’s material was uniformly crafted by me, with anti-corrosion, durability, and compatibility with sealing spells being simply perfect! You could say each page’s material is cut from Mei Linde’s heart!”
“Is that so exaggerated?”
“Of course! Want to come to my testing ground and try out its effects?”
“Sure, sure!” My eyes lit up, and I immediately agreed. Given how satisfied I was with its appearance, the next step was to see what practical benefits it could bring me.
