Chapter 554: [Extraordinary Knowledge] Fragments, Heart of Cold Wave
After Xing Anlei left, the young girl named Jiao Xiaoshuang began enthusiastically leading me through the main exhibition area, introducing various pieces of information.
And I also secretly learned about this girl named Jiao Xiaoshuang.
She is a senior several years older than me, and status is indeed a fascinating thing.
“This auction preview will last for two days. During this time, Teacher Xiao Han, you can familiarize yourself with the auction items in various ways, including but not limited to introductions, demonstrations, and even temporary trials,” Jiao Xiaoshuang explained.
“Additionally, before you enter the auction hall, you need to receive a bidding number plate that belongs to you. This will accompany you for all your bidding activities and you can also enjoy all the external services of this hotel with it…”
Jiao Xiaoshuang worked diligently to explain, quickly assisting me in obtaining some important items.
Eventually, she came back to my side with these items and handed me a not-so-large card with the number “001” written on it.
This should be my bidding number plate. Initially, I thought it would be a larger item to hold, but it turned out to be just the size of a card.
“Does this number have any significance?” I casually asked.
“This number doesn’t have much practical meaning; it might just mean that you arrived early, plus you have good luck,” Jiao Xiaoshuang quickly replied.
“I see.” I wasn’t too bothered by it. However, under the identification technique, this number revealed more information.
These numbers are also a symbol of identity for this auction. The three-digit number indicates the total number of these plates; most of them are for special guests. If it were ordinary guests, or even ordinary people among the wealthy, they would have another type of plate.
Moreover, this group of people enjoys fewer services than the ones indicated by my plate.
But I didn’t mind this at all; after all, these are just unspoken rules that no one would question. Moreover, what I was enjoying is already the top tier of services within those rules, so why care?
“Teacher Xiao Han, here is a detailed guide for this auction. It includes detailed information on all the auction items, including starting prices, bidding rules, etc. If you have any questions, you can directly ask me, and I will carefully explain,” Jiao Xiaoshuang said.
“Okay.”
I took the somewhat thick and finely bound booklet, casually flipped through it, and then used an identification technique to record all the information inside.
This gave me a general understanding of the auction items.
Among them, there were quite a few items that piqued my interest. I thought that with my perspective, I would just be looking at the items in this auction.
The items displayed first were extremely precious artworks, antiques, and other quirky items from the outside world. These could at most serve as decorations to enrich cultural heritage.
Jiao Xiaoshuang introduced each item to me, including the auction prices.
I observed these well-preserved ancient paintings and calligraphy, with estimates starting at several hundred thousand or even millions.
There were also some jewelry and jade pieces among them, and a few of which contained some gentle extraordinary energy.
The introduction said they could nurture people and improve bodily health, but according to my identification afterwards, I could tell that this gentle energy entering the body felt very pronounced and was nearly harmless. The so-called nurturing was mostly psychological.
Alright… looking at these “special effect” accessories estimated to be worth millions, I could only think… how easy it is to earn a rich person’s money.
However, I wasn’t very interested in these items; I was merely using this opportunity to identify and gather more information, especially about some ancient relics.
Past histories can provide certain references, after all, the history of a civilization truly reflects its rise and fall as well as its potential.
Though the Main World, after being invaded and occupied by extraordinary races, is doomed to have no future for independent development.
At this moment, Jiao Xiaoshuang could naturally see that I wasn’t particularly interested in the earlier auction items.
Although I didn’t know why, I still insisted on pausing briefly in front of each exhibit, and she followed this rhythm to introduce them. The content of her introductions wasn’t important; she clearly understood her position. Even if the customer wasn’t paying attention, being background noise was still good.
These ordinary items were just prepared for some special collectors and the wealthy nobles, while the main focus would still be on the later items.
After that, the items displayed here became rather mixed, ranging from extraordinary materials to plant medicinal materials, extraordinary potions, alchemical items, etc. Many of these came directly from the Witch Academy, and many were rare even there, since this auction primarily catered to extraordinary students, and no good items could be left out.
The items I had just seen weren’t particularly expensive. If a guest wanted something here, they could even place a bid directly, negotiating with the All-purpose Association or communicating with the seller. If a deal was reached, there was no need to go through the auction process.
Subsequent auction items came from various extraordinary academies, such as some holy light artifacts from the Holy Angel Academy, powerful elf magic scrolls made on animal skins from the Elf Academy, and sanctified items forged by dwarves that also felt quite powerful. I even saw some extraordinary dragon bl**d samples from the Dragon bl**d Academy!
Each of these auction items was diverse, broadening my horizons.
Using the Earth Vein Identification Technique also allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of some arts and products derived from the power systems of other academies.
I had to say that the number of attendees at this auction seemed far beyond my expectations, especially since it featured items from so many extraordinary academies. A number of students from those academies would likely be attending as well.
Wouldn’t that mean there would be thousands of people gathering here?
But thinking about this hotel… it didn’t seem surprising after all. The participants were here for the auction, not for accommodation.
Next, I arrived at an area I was particularly interested in because all the auction items displayed here were extraordinary items!
I had encountered the concept of extraordinary items before; they are different from ordinary alchemical items, possessing extraordinary effects.
These are miracles naturally formed through specific items acting as anchors, conforming to certain ceremonies.
For example, there was the “Heart of Ninglan” that could manipulate luck, which I encountered in Ninglan New City.
Another example is the one I encountered in the small world, where under the interference of the world’s will and script, a pendant acted as a material anchor, combined with [Extraordinary Knowledge], and following a certain ceremony, it ultimately generated the shackle “Tears of Madness” imposed on the Child of Fortune.
These are all extraordinary items.
I can say that both of the extraordinary items I encountered had terrifying effects and side effects. The former manipulates localized luck, draining bl**d and flesh to the extent of turning someone into a husk.
The latter insulates the Earth Vein, directly severing the shackles of the Earth Vein, and its effect is one of shared selflessness. I don’t even know if this counts as a side effect. Furthermore, this extraordinary item cannot leave that world. After severing the world’s luck, the entire extraordinary item would be destroyed; otherwise… the ability of this extraordinary item to sever the shackles of the Earth Vein could definitely be considered a very useful ability.
However, the auction items in this exhibition area told me that not every extraordinary item is such a heaven-defying existence. Some simply involved a coincidental touch of special extraordinary energy, thus transforming into extraordinary items under special circumstances.
Moreover, most of these extraordinary items exist in either single-use or limited-use forms.
Upon my observation, one extraordinary item’s identification information revealed it was “manufactured by human intervention.”
Indeed, after certain ceremonies and requirements for some extraordinary items are understood, they can be recreated by humans. However, the success rate of this human creation is extremely low, which isn’t surprising.
Seeing my interest rising upon arriving here, Jiao Xiaoshuang also let out a sigh of relief; showing interest is a good thing as it facilitates better communication with the customer.
“This is the extraordinary item classification area for this auction preview, and the extraordinary item in front of you is called ‘Touch of Glimmer.’ Its main body is a ring face made of exquisite jade, and the crimson cracks penetrating it are part of the overall extraordinary item.”
“The ring and its metal inlay were subsequently manufactured by the seller for convenience, not part of the extraordinary item’s main body; even if you later dislike this style, you can change it without affecting the extraordinary item’s effect.”
I listened carefully as Jiao Xiaoshuang explained its effects. She even lifted the display glass and took it out right in front of me!
“This extraordinary item’s effect is to be placed on the second joint of your right middle finger. When pressed by the thumb, it emits a soft glow. The light isn’t very strong, but in this state, it will continuously amplify the wearer’s recovery ability and wound healing ability. It has a very noticeable effect on minor wounds, but its effectiveness diminishes with serious injuries.”
“The cost of using it is a continuous consumption of stamina, causing fatigue accumulation. Also, during its use, resting cannot alleviate the fatigue state. According to multiple professional tests, this rapid recovery might also lead to weakened vitality, which means a reduction in lifespan. However, this reduction is very slight; for young people, recovering from a scar might consume about ten seconds of lifespan, and this is a recoverable consumption.”
“Quite lackluster,” I commented.
After all, the effect of this extraordinary item couldn’t match a Flesh Healing spell, or even some lower-level healing spells.
“Yes, the effects and side effects of extraordinary items are uncontrollable. Many extraordinary items have unknown side effects, and some can present significant side effects, with the effects remaining unclear.”
“But these still attract people like a moth to a flame, right?” I asked curiously.
“Yes.”
After all, I knew that using extraordinary items basically incurs no noteworthy cost; one just needs to pay the price to ‘trade’ for the effect, which means the entry barrier for using extraordinary items is very low. Ordinary people can use them, and this is particularly appealing to wealthy ordinary people who are drawn to the extraordinary power!
I wandered around the extraordinary item exhibition area for quite some time, and Jiao Xiaoshuang thought I was just interested in these items.
In reality, I was more fascinated by the stories behind each extraordinary item. Each extraordinary item originates from a moment of coincidence, and humans are one of the key factors that facilitate their formation.
For instance, the previously mentioned “Touch of Glimmer” originally belonged to an adventurer from the Main World. The cracks on the ring face were caused by an accidental bump, and the crimson stains are actually the adventurer’s bl**d—the bl**d from the last moment of his life which deepened into the cracks.
However, ordinary human bl**d has no extraordinary effects; it’s not extraordinary materials refined in the extraordinary domain. Its presence primarily plays the role of “a part of the ceremony,” so this extraordinary item is destructible. For instance, if that bl**d stain is completely removed, it would suffice to disrupt the ritual balance of the entire extraordinary item.
The same applies to single-use extraordinary items. Just because of the nature of the formation, each effect or side effect produced might consume a part of the ceremony’s composition, ultimately leading it to lose its extraordinary item characteristics.
Thus, theoretically, single-use extraordinary items can be repaired, but that’s just a theory, as the information contained in these rituals also requires specific treatment methods and cannot simply be repaired with specific materials for the ritual to be completed.
One can easily infer that single-use extraordinary items in the preview area cannot be tested.
Similarly, some repeatable extraordinary items with hazardous side effects are also not recommended for trial use. If a customer insists on trying, they would need to sign some liability waivers, and any losses incurred would also require compensation, etc.
Just as I was about to fully grasp the information on these extraordinary items, I was attracted by an exhibition booth in another area.
Because it was so special, it seemed as though this entire area was arranged around it, and on that enormous display stand sat a very small item.
“What’s that on the largest stand? Is it also an extraordinary item?” I inquired, turning my head slightly.
As I asked, I subconsciously used the Earth Vein Identification Technique, and quickly information about that item was presented before me.
But upon seeing the name of this item, I paused for a moment.
Because it was called “Heart of Cold Wave”!
“This item is also one of the auction items for this event. It is a key exhibit for this preview and will also be the last item in this auction. The name of this exhibit is Heart of Cold Wave. Would you like me to give you a detailed introduction to this exhibit?”
“Yes, please.” I raised my head and looked towards the Heart of Cold Wave, which resembled an ice crystal gem, and couldn’t help but walk over.
It turned out that… a fragment of that broken [Extraordinary Knowledge] was here.
