Chapter 270 Find a Great Deal
It was a fiery red stone.
Chester introduced, "We obtained this during an adventure. We don't know what it is yet, but we can feel that it contains a lot of heat. It might be useful for certain professionals. Let's start the auction with this."
After he finished speaking, everyone started discussing it. Basically, no one recognized the item, so no one bid for it immediately.
A voice said, "You know what this is."
Sasha sat next to William as soon as she came in, drawing a lot of attention. She had keenly observed that William's eyes lit up, guessing that he recognized the fiery red stone.
"The starting price is two hundred Level 1 Magic Crystals, or two bottles of One-Star Evolution Elixir. Is no one interested at this price?" Chester spoke.
He shrugged, not appearing too disappointed. After all, each faction could only offer what they didn't need. Since the Mercy Vanguard warband had no use for it, other teams probably didn't either. However, the heat contained in the stone was immense, so he decided to try his luck.
"Bid," William said softly. Basil, who was beside him, immediately raised his hand.
Chester nodded. "Basil has placed a bid. Anyone else? Any higher offers?"
Everyone continued to discuss, but no one else bid. Even the Kiel Knights, who had some grudges with the Burning Fury warband, didn't cause trouble. After all, Magic Crystals weren't money; they were earned with great effort and couldn't be wasted.
Chester announced, "Alright, this stone containing strange energy goes to the Burning Fury Squad."
William's lips curled up; today had gone exactly as he had imagined. With his superior knowledge, he had found something valuable.
The fiery red stone he bid was a fire-type Natural Crystal, similar to the water and ice crystals he had previously acquired.
While most survivors found Natural Crystals of various attributes useless now, William was an exception. His Staff of Nature allowed him to fully utilize the abilities of Natural Crystals.
Though he wasn't sure what skill the fire-type crystal would activate, he knew that attributes like ice, fire, and lightning were offensive skills, which could fill the gap left by his lack of an ice-type Natural Crystal.
A consumable, yes, but at the cost of two bottles of Evolution Elixir, a small price needed to pay.
William had a unique advantage due to his basic Exclusion Spell, which required fewer Magic Crystals to spin the wheel. Therefore, his odds of landing on Evolution Elixir increased; he needed fewer Level 1 Magic Crystals compared to others. While others needed about two hundred Magic Crystals to buy a Natural Crystal, William needed fifty fewer.
"What is this?" Sasha asked, curious about the stone.
William pursed his lips, finding it troublesome to explain. He doubted Sasha would find the information useful.
"Stingy!" Sasha huffed, crossing her arms in frustration, drawing unwanted attention.
"Next," Chester announced, surprised that the stone had sold. He didn't think two bottles of Evolution Elixir were cheap. He knew the stone wasn't useful to him now, so exchanging it for something useful was worth it.
The next item was a shining key.
The moment William saw it, his blood boiled. It was a Secret Realm Key! He had obtained one on the first day of the apocalypse, still stored in his space. He hadn't expected to see another one here today.
The Secret Realm was one of the most mysterious items in the apocalypse. Even ten years later, only keyholders knew about it, and they were among the most powerful people. William knew that opening the Secret Realm Key would lead to unknown dangers, which was why he hadn't used his yet. With his current strength, he wasn't confident he could escape from a Secret Realm.
Now, another Secret Realm Key had appeared. It was clearly a key to an opened Secret Realm. Could it be resealed? Who previously owned this? Why were they selling it?
"This is a Secret Realm Key. Although I know its use, I can't unlock its secrets," Chester said with regret. "You probably know about the Blue Bay warband, which was stronger than the Mercy Vanguard warband. But they disappeared overnight."
Most people knew about the incident. The Blue Bay warband was once the top group in Accraville City. They had risen quickly and fallen just as fast. It was said they were attacked, with most members killed or injured.
"Some of their members joined my team, and this item belonged to them," Chester explained, looking at the Secret Realm Key with a different expression than when he looked at the Essence Stone. Clearly, he was reluctant to sell it.
He continued, "Frankly, this is the reason for the Blue Bay warband's downfall. They opened a Secret Realm with the key but couldn't handle the monsters inside. Less than one percent of those who went in came out alive."
Many were stunned by this news. Even William, who had lived two lives, was hearing about the Secret Realm for the first time.
"Mr. White, isn't this thing dangerous? And you're selling it?" a faction leader shouted, gaining agreement from others.
Chester had anticipated this. "High risk represents high reward. This item is dangerous, and even I don't dare to enter. But what if you succeed? What treasures await within this Secret Realm? A higher-grade Evolution Elixir? A more powerful Career Scroll? Skills beyond your wildest imagination?"
Spreading his hands, he continued, "The apocalypse, the wheel... it's all a gamble. We gamble with our lives, with our evolution. Why not gamble on this?"
He declared loudly, "I'm selling this item to the brave at a steep price. If you want to take a chance, it will cost you two bottles of two-star elixir!"
