Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Chapter 1614. Pills everywhere

The safety barrier on the stage flared once more, absorbing a deep, rhythmic thrumming sound as the next item was placed upon the white-jade pedestal. It was a heavy earthenware jar sealed with runic wax, containing a thick, shimmering substance that looked like molten gold.

"From the hidden valleys of the iron-clad monoliths," the auctioneer announced, his voice ringing with theatrical gravity. "We present the Diamond Flesh-Refinement Paste. This is a rare, invasive alchemical formula designed exclusively for the true masters of body cultivation.

When applied to the skin, it will fuse with the underlying tissue to create a flawless dermal armor granting blade and sword imperviousness. We open the bidding at four thousand spirit stones!"

Seth's eyebrow rose when he appraised the epic paste. What the auctioneer said was true, even for players. According to the system appraisal, the paste would grant +20 Endurance and give the Trait 'Iron Hide'.

Although the auctioneer called it imperviousness, it obviously wasn't omnipotent; otherwise, this would have been a legendary medicine, or heaven-grade in the words of the continent. Still, the 'Iron Hide'-Trait raised base physical defense by a flat 2500, comparable to wearing a full suit of common steel armor without enchantments.

2500 was a lot, considering that few of Seth's items, even the legendary ones, could offer that much flat defense. The point was that it was base defense, so any skills and effects on the player's defense would directly profit from this.

Especially tanks like Tekar, who had many skills to multiply their defenses, would grow by leaps and bounds with a single medicine. If Alison found a way to replicate...or even mass-produce this.. The survivability of their whole player base would increase by a huge margin.

Above the stage, the display array flickered instantly, jumping as the martial artists in the lower pit began to trade furious bids.

Bidder 094: 5,100 stones.

Bidder 177: 5,200 stones.

Bidder 041: 5,500 stones.

The blacksmith’s gaze fixed on the golden jar, a look of profound intrigue crossing his features. "That stuff has huge potential," the blacksmith mumbled, and explained the effect to Mina and Fin via <Marriage Bond>. The two agreed with his assessment.

With a swift, decisive tap of his thumb against the polished jade bidding tablet, the blacksmith sent a new number flashing across the giant display array overhead. Mr. Moneybags struck again, although he didn't instantly double the price this time.

Bidder 388: 8,000 stones.

The sudden, steep jump in price instantly cut through the frantic bidding war in the lower pit. Several burly cultivators and heavily scarred martial artists turned around in their velvet seats, trying to scan the mid-tier rows to identify the wealthy outsider who was suddenly driving up the cost of a brutal body-refinement paste.

Down on the stage, the auctioneer's gavel hovered in the air, his eyes lighting up as he pointed directly toward their section. "Eight thousand spirit stones from Bidder 388! A commanding bid for a pinnacle of defensive alchemy! Anyone else?"

Although the bid had stifled the bidding war, a desperate cultivator didn't give up. The massive display array overhead flickered almost instantly as a response. Although the bids were anonymous, Seth could easily spot the burly, heavily scarred martial artist, wearing an expensive uniform, slamming his thumb against his tablet, his face flushed with desperation.

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Bidder 094: 8,100 stones.

The Tower Master didn't hesitate. Without even looking down at the jade slab on his knee, his thumb tapped the polished surface with the casual, practiced fluidity of a tablet user.

Bidder 388: 8,200 stones

The scarred warrior in the front row gripped his armrest so tightly the stone cracked under his raw physical strength. He looked up at the ceiling, ran a hand over his shaved head, and placed one final, agonizing bid that clearly drained the absolute limit of his caravan's immediate traveling funds.

Bidder 094: 8,400 stones.

Seeing the man visibly suffer under the stress and expenditure, Seth felt almost bad. Almost. With a tap to the jade tablet, he delivered the final sentence to this bidding war.

Bidder 388: 8,500 stones.

The scarred body cultivator stared at the massive neon characters, let out a heavy, defeated sigh, and tossed his bidding tablet onto the empty seat beside him. He shook his head, completely giving up. It was obvious he simply didn't have the capital needed to compete with a buyer who was throwing around thousands of spirit stones without a single flinch.

Down on the stage, the auctioneer’s brass gavel hovered in the air, his voice ringing out to seal the deal. The gavel hammered down twice, giving any remaining brave soul the chance to pick up their wallet and battle Mr. Moneybags. Nobody did.

"Sold! To Bidder 388 for eighty-five hundred stones!" Seth leaned back against the plush velvet cushions, a quiet look of satisfaction on his face as the glowing numbers faded from the screen. The blacksmith actually started getting worried that he was having too much fun throwing around money.

But it wasn't like he was doing this for fun; he was only buying what they needed. Right? By the end of the pill segment, their tab at the Grand Auction had actually doubled, as they had spotted two more pills that were worth researching.

The first was a pill that was similar in nature to the Diamond Flesh-Refinement Paste. It was called the Iron Bone Yang Elixir. Taking it gave the user the potential to gain the trait 'Iron Bones', which paired well with 'Iron Hide'.

The biggest gain from 'Iron Bones' was that it raised the phys. defense modifier for endurance by 2 and the phys. damage multiplier for strength by 1. It also increases the durability of the skeleton, making it harder to suffer from broken bones or severed limbs.

However, to gain the trait, one would have to “cultivate in an environment rich with yang energy”, or, to put it in clear words, the user had to get baked like a cake inside something like a lava cave to refine their bones. Not the worst condition.

The third pill he bought, bringing their tap to a whopping 320 high-grade spirit stones, was the Five-Element Essence Pill. This pill could grant a flat 10% affinity to the elements of wood, fire, earth, water, and metal.

While <Wood Magic> existed in the system as a synergy skill between water and earth, he had never heard of a metal wizard... wouldn't that be a blacksmith? Or would it be a demonic bard? He was interested to see what classes could be unlocked with metal affinity.

The energetic, frantic bidding wars of the alchemical segment were over, and the Grand Auction took a small break before they would finally transition into its final, most exclusive category, before the highlights of the auction would make up the climax.

"That segment went really well," Mina commented during the break.

"Yeah, a very productive afternoon," the bard agreed, a soft, warm laugh escaping his lips as he sipped a small cup of wine. They made some idle talk about the items they had seen and bought so far, until the auctioneer, Master Wen, stepped back out from behind his white-jade podium, clearing his throat as the floating amber candles overhead subtly shifted into a deeper, cooler blue tone.

"We move now to the final segment of today's auction," the auctioneer announced, his voice dropping into a solemn, respectful register that instantly recaptured the theater's drifting attention.

"The ancient artifacts, enchanted armaments, and mystical relics recovered from the deep ruins of our continent!" he pompously announced, the least interesting segment of the evening. At least it was the least interesting for Seth.

Coming up were just a bunch of earth-grade or low-tier heaven-grade weapons. Stuff that was judged rare to epic by his <Eyes of the Maestro>. The only stuff of interest to Seth would be items of legendary or special rating, but he didn't expect any to come up ahead of the final.

However, there was one blade he was looking out for: the saber said to be refined by Artificer Mo. It was the ancient blacksmith connected to his quest concerning spiritual metal. A quest he had picked up at the bazaar in Konan.

Since he had only found stuff about him in Konan, but not on the markets in Doushi, he already thought that it was a regional thing and he would have to return to Konan to work on the quest. Seeing the name come up in Doushi gave him hope that the man was not confined to the backwater region around Konan.

He really had to ask an information broker about Artificer Mo anytime soon. He kept forgetting.