Close Combat Mage

Chapter 65 – Faerie’s Soul

The first items put up for auction were weapons and other equipment designed for warriors. There were multiple warrior armors with strange designs, and each were sold at jaw-dropping prices due to the fierce competition of the auction house. Suo Jia knew that these were not even the most precious items the auction had; generally speaking, the more precious the item, the later it would be put up for auction. The last item auctioned was usually the main attraction of the auction.

“To our distinguished guests, we are about to auction off the last two items of this auction. The first of the two is an Ideal-ranked fire elemental staff, Vulcan’s Roar. It can raise the power of fire magic by 100%. The starting bid is 60,000,000 gold; honored guests, please begin your bids now!” The auctioneer’s voice rang out from above the platform.

Seeing the flame red staff on display next to the auctioneer, Suo Jia had found it difficult to breath. There were many strange patterns engraved upon the staff, and it was about two meters long. It had a crude grip, and on the tip there was a fist-sized red crystal. The crystal shone with a fiery red radiance, and it gave off the feeling as if it would suddenly ignite and combust.

60,000,000… 70,000,000… 75,000,000…

Together with the shouts within the auction, the staff’s price continued to soar until it reached a staggering 120,000,000 gold before the final hammer sounded. Although he could not use this staff, when they removed the fiery staff from the display, Suo Jia could not help but want to run down and snatch it away.

Seeing the staff finally being removed from the display, Suo Jia finally realized that he was still very far from being considered “wealthy”. How could anyone possibly say he was rich, when he couldn’t even gather the money required to afford an admired staff’s original price? It was still very early before he would reach the point of being truly wealthy.

Although Suo Jia could be called rich when compared to the average citizen, he was still at the level of being in poverty when compared to the truly wealthy, and he was part of the group of people that still required the material assistance of others.

In his disappointment, the auctioneer’s voice suddenly rose from the auction platform, “To our distinguished guests, the next item being auctioned is the final auction good!”

While speaking, the auctioneer picked up a small embroidered case, and gently opened it. The next moment….a bright glow shone out from within the case, which illuminated the entire auction platform.

Sighing in admiration at the good within the case, the auctioneer shook his head, “The distinguished guests who have attended today’s auction are really quite lucky. Our humble auction has managed to collect a Legendary-ranked magical item, and it is exactly this item that is stored within this case.”

As he spoke, the auctioneer turned the case towards the audience. At the same time, he continued, “This is a magic necklace; it’s name is Faerie’s Soul. I believe that everyone sitting in the audience has heard of this name before. Although…..it is not an Epic-ranked magical item, it still has certain abilities that can be considered better than those of an Epic-ranked item’s!”

“Huh?” Hearing the auctioneer’s words, Suo Jia wrinkled his brows in doubt. In confusion, he asked Wen Ya, “His words are so strange. Could it be….that a Legendary-ranked magical item could actually be stronger than an Epic-ranked magical item?”

Hearing Suo Jia’s words, Wen Ya showed an expression of astonishment. In confusion, she looked at Suo Jia and asked in a strange tone, “Your words are the strange ones. Who ever dictated that a Legendary-ranked item had to be weaker than an Epic-ranked item?”

Suo Jia grew even more confused after Wen Ya’s words, “If a Legendary-ranked item is even stronger than an Epic-ranked item, then how come Legendary-ranked items are always graded behind Epic-ranked items?”

Hearing Suo Jia’s question, Wen Ya finally realized that even though Suo Jia was a mage, he knew even less than the average person when it came to magical items.

Wen Ya whispered into Suo Jia’s years, “The greatest difference between Legendary-ranked and Epic-ranked magical items are that Legendary-ranked magical items are singular, but Epic-ranked magical items come in sets!”

For example, normally, a Legendary-ranked item’s power is higher than an Epic-ranked magical item’s, unless the Epic-ranked equipment are combined into a set. Otherwise, its true power cannot be utilized. Moreover…..Epic-level magical items have larger historical value, and are thus ranked above Legendary-ranked magical items.

Legendary-ranked magical items had generally originated from rulers from ancient times. They borrowed the power of the item, and ran amok with it, thus creating so many legends. That’s why these magical items had been deemed as “Legendary”.

On the other hand, Epic-ranked magical items are normally created by undefeatable monarchs, whose magical equipment were always combined into sets. In addition….compared to Legendary-ranked items, Epic-level magical items can form a set that addresses all aspects, making its wearer invincible.

In summary, Legendary-ranked items are individual, while Epic-ranked items come in sets. When comparing singular items, Legendary-ranked items are stronger. However, their largest downside is that they cannot be combined as a set. They can only exist alone.

A set of Epic-ranked magical items are all-around: attack, defense, recovery, and improvement aspects are all covered. It doesn’t have any particular strengths or weaknesses. However, Legendary-ranked items only boost one aspect. Any other aspect will obviously have holes and defects in them, so those that use Legendary-ranked items have never been unrivaled.

“This….” Hesitantly looking at Wen Ya, Suo Jia asked in confusion, “I don’t understand that though. If this was true, then wouldn’t a set of Legendary-ranked equipment make up for their respective defects?”

Helplessly looking at Suo Jia, Wen Ya patiently explained, “I’ll give an example. If the Vulcan’s Roar from before was a Legendary-ranked magical items, it could improve the user by 120%. However, an Epic-ranked magical item could only boost by 100%.”

At this point, Wen Ya ran some mental calculations, then continued, “If we exclude the effects of being in a set, an entire set of Legendary-ranked equipment would be stronger than a set of Epic-ranked equipment by 20 – 50%. However, once the Epic-ranked equipment are combined as a set, its overall effects and power are raised by 100%. This makes it two times more effective than a set of Legendary-ranked equipment.”

Generally, Epic-ranked equipment can interconnect, and make up for their individual weaknesses. It could also boost these defects. This means that one can utilize two times more of each equipment’s power and effects in the set. Thus, when including the factor of a set, Epic-ranked equipment are far stronger than Legendary-ranked sets; they are practically incomparable.

Suo Jia finally understood after hearing Wen Ya’s explanation. This was the exact same as comparing teams at sporting events. The five most powerful individuals was not necessarily the most formidable team. Another group of five that had weaker individuals, if they were experts in teamwork and cooperation, could easily defeat those 5 powerful individuals.

The so-called “five and five being greater than one” was based off of this reasoning. No matter how powerful Legendary-ranked items were, they could not interconnect with each other. Even though they complement each other’s deficiencies, they could not boost each other’s effects. This was why in terms of power, a set of Legendary-ranked items were nowhere close to the formidability of a set of Epic-ranked items.

Thinking up to this point, Suo Jia finally completely understood the situation. He once again glanced back at the platform; after such a long time, the auctioneer was still chattering away about its abilities, “This Faerie’s Soul, besides being able to adjust your inner magic power, it can also help boost your magic recovery rate by 100%, and increase your magic growth rate by 100%!”

“Motherf*cker! Are you kidding? There’s no way it can be so extreme!” Hearing the auctioneer’s words, Suo Jia shouted strangely as he jumped up.

Seeing Suo Jia’s frantic appearance, Wen Ya giggled, “Look at yourself, what have you become? Did you think that the people qualified to come here were ordinary people? No matter how daring the auctioneer is, he would not risk tricking people. After all…this Faerie’s Soul is also a very famous Legendary-ranked magical item, so everyone knows about its effects. Nobody would be stupid enough to lie in a situation like this.”

Speaking up to this point, Wen Ya’s eyes reflected a sentimental light as she looked at the magic necklace on the platform. Sorrowfully, she said, “That Faerie’s Soul has a very sad and beautiful legend behind it.”

While speaking, Wen Ya’s eyes looked off into the distance, as she murmured, “Legend says that a prince fell in love with a faerie princess. However, their families were enemies, and their love was not accepted by the faerie king or the human king. Thus, for the sake of thwarting their affair, the two kings simultaneously dispatched assassins to kill the prince and the faerie princess.”

At this point, Suo Jia was already completely engrossed in Wen Ya’s story. She continued, “After being on the run for a very long time, finally….the prince and the princess were no longer able to escape their fates. At the Faerie’s Spring, they simultaneously encountered both of their pursuing assassins, and a major battle eventually began.”