After a brief respite of a few minutes, the auction house staff announced Entariel's arrival to the guests and bidders. She ascended the stage, now clad in an elegant one-piece dress of green and blue.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Thank you for your patience, as we have a special surprise addition to our auction lineup! The Prosperity Auction House, with the generosity of the Stenmark clan, presents to you the Atlantean Artifact, a special highlight bidding item!" Entariel's upbeat tone, coupled with the exciting music and her charming personality, captivated the audience's attention.
As Entariel announced the surprise addition, the guests and bidders murmured among themselves, intrigued by the unexpected turn of events. Some raised eyebrows in anticipation, while others shifted in their seats, hoping for something truly extraordinary.
Soon, a staff member appeared on stage, carrying a small, intricately designed buckler. To everyone's surprise, Ragnar, a well-known figure of the Curtained World, followed close behind. Entariel couldn't help but feel a twinge of nervousness as she watched him approach.
Without a word, Ragnar took the mic from Entariel's outstretched hand, and a hush fell over the audience. All eyes were on him as he began to speak, his deep voice echoing throughout the hall.
"Test test…" Ragnar checked the mic to see if the sound was okay.
"Okay, as this lovely elven lady said, I decided to partner with a genius artificer who made all of the artifacts in the highlight section today." As Ragnar spoke, many of the influential people among the guests and bidders began to clamor, hoping to get a chance at these exclusive items.
ραndαsΝοvεl ƈοm Even though many knew that Ragnar might resort to deceit from time to time, they believed this was an announcement made under the watchful eyes of the masses and could not afford to deceive them.
However, this announcement led to much dissatisfaction amongst the middle to large factions who had come to bid.
They had assumed that the Atlantean artifacts were Montgomerty's discovery from some ruins or some desperate noble who sold them to Montgomery, not something made by an artificer that they had no chance of negotiating with.
They felt sore for missing such an opportunity.
"This is not fair, Lord Stenmark! I request a meeting with the artificer who made the artifact!" One of the influential mages from the middle-size faction shouted in indignation.
Ragnar smiled fearlessly as he answered, "Hah! Have you ever seen a lion give back what it already ate? Dream on, kid!"
"Okay, let's continue. I'll use the most destructive spell on the poor guy who wears that buckler, and you can see for yourselves the awesome quality of these artifacts." Ragnar pointed at the auction staff, who started to regret his life choice as to why he had decided to work here, and why he is the one to bring this damn buckler onto the stage!
He never thought that he would be the one to receive a full-powered spell from Ragnar. The staff gulped audibly as he realized his unfortunate fate.
The staff's heart pounded as Ragnar pulled out the red runestones. He never imagined that he would be on the receiving end of a full-powered spell from the notorious wizard. Audibly gulping, he tried to seek solace from Entariel, who gave him a wry smile and wished him "good luck" with a wave of her hand.
"Are you ready, kid?" Ragnar asked, holding out the runestones.
The staff looked at the buckler in his hand, uncertain of what to do next. Ragnar noticed his confusion and said, "Input your mana into the shield and we'll start!"
The staff nodded and quickly focused his thoughts, pouring his mana into the buckler. He knew that his life depended on this little shield and his ability to use it. As he finished inputting his mana, the buckler began to glow faintly, emanating a protective aura around him.
Despite feeling a little more secure with the shield, the staff still couldn't shake off his unease. He was just a nobody, and if something went wrong, the auction house would probably compensate him with some measly amount before sweeping his case under the rug. He couldn't afford a homunculus body like the wealthy elites, so he had no choice but to do his best to survive.
Ragnar let out a mighty roar before activating his insignia tattoo, increasing his power to the maximum. In his hand, he held five red runestones with destruction enhancement runes, which magnified the spell's potency almost fivefold.
Boooooom!!
A blazing red beam, as large as a car, shot out from Ragnar's outstretched hand, searing everything in its path and melting everything it could. The staff watched in terror as the beam approached him, but just as it was about to hit his shield, a magical void appeared, protecting him.
After the red beam subsided, the employee emerged unscathed, and the buckler was still intact with no signs of damage. The ground beneath him remained untouched by the destructive power of Ragnar's magic. In contrast to the ground that is a little further away from him, its surface had disappeared like a giant spoon had cleanly gauged its surface off.
Overwhelmed with relief, the employee let out a long sigh before collapsing to the ground, his strength leaving him as the adrenaline wore off. He had survived the full-powered spell from Ragnar, and he knew he had the shield to thank for it.
After witnessing the demonstration, the guests' clamor grew louder and louder.
What they had just witnessed was something that could only be achieved if Ragnar had fired his full-powered spell at the Hightower HQ magic shield, or at a grand counselor who specializes in protective magic.
If it were an artifact, only a shield generator the size of a small building could achieve such a feat. And yet, this small buckler had done the same thing as those cumbersome shield generators used by the HQ.
"A million Origold for the buckler!" exclaimed one of the influential mages.
"Heh! A miser, as expected of humans. Two million Origold!" shouted a red-headed dwarf from the dwarven community's seat, clearly with a fiery temper.
The atmosphere in the auction hall grew tense as the bids for the buckler continued to escalate.
"Hmph, how uncouth…" a voice exclaimed. "Three million Origold, and if the maker of this buckler is interested in joining our elven clan, we can prepare a suitable partner who is ten times more beautiful than this auctioneer lady."
The voice was beautiful and elegant, emanating from the section reserved for the elven community. Entariel gritted her teeth, forced to endure the insult from the elven big shot who looked down on her beauty. Did this hag not realize how many suitors she had refused in order to pursue her career?
The bidding war continued, with more and more influential mages and magical creatures throwing their hats into the ring.
As the commotion grew and people were on the verge of fighting, Ragnar felt a sense of satisfaction. He knew he was the only one who stood to gain from this chaos.
"Calm down, everyone!" Ragnar shouted, and the crowd fell silent. "I'm not here to offer you this buckler. I have something even more amazing to present to you!"
With that, Ragnar produced a custom order card and displayed it to the guests and bidders. The camera zoomed in on the card, revealing the name of the workshop and the artisan who would be making the artifact: Astral Atelier and Magitek, respectively.
The name caused a stir among those who were familiar with the Magitek conflict with the Tessia royal family. While many people were not aware of the conflict, those who held significant influence in the Curtained World knew who Magitek was. This revelation confirmed that Magitek was the creator of the remarkable artifact on display.
Despite the clause in the custom order card, none of the bidders cared. They were willing to overlook any possible repercussions in exchange for a chance to acquire a weapon or invention created by Magitek.
After seeing that everyone was focused on the customized order card, Ragnar spoke up in his usual blunt manner.
"Listen up, folks! We've got three order cards up for grabs today that guarantee you a custom artifact of the same quality as that buckler you saw earlier. We're starting the auction for one of them right here, right now. The other two will be up for grabs in today's highlight section."
With that, Ragnar handed the mic back to Entariel and made his way back to his VIP room, leaving her to face the expectant crowd. The guests and bidders were all looking at her with sharp eyes, clearly eager for the bidding to begin.
Entariel couldn't help but feel uneasy under the intense scrutiny of the guests and bidders. But she took a deep breath and composed herself, determined to maintain her professionalism.
"Ladies and gentlemen, as Lord Stenmark just announced, we will now begin the bidding for a three-star custom order card," Entariel declared in a lively tone, trying to lift the mood in the room.
As soon as she finished speaking, an influential mage immediately shouted his bid. "3.5 million Origold!"
The bidding started at an astronomical price, that amount was even greater than some small annual budget!
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