Page 377

When the legendary fire-element staff named "Staff of Tranquility" made its appearance, it immediately drew gasps of admiration from the audience. After several appraisal masters placed their valuations at over eighty thousand gold coins, its value was further confirmed. The bidding war heated up quickly, with several buyers, clearly commissioned by major nobles or even royalty, vying for it. Ultimately, the staff was sold for a staggering three hundred and twenty thousand gold coins, thrilling the crowd and raising their price expectations.

In the private boxes above, adventurers were also astonished by the astronomical price. It wasn’t that any of them desired the staff, but the auction gave them a tangible sense of the value of their previous acquisitions. Although the items Xi Luo and his team had retrieved from the ruins were not of legendary grade, their quality was unmatched by ordinary alchemists, being products of the Twelve Sages' laboratory. By comparison, it seemed that every member of the adventuring team could become wealthy beyond measure.

Morova and Xi Luo, one a newly ascended Sword Saint and the other just a step away from becoming a Sword Emperor, were not particularly fixated on wealth. However, the others couldn’t help but show their delight, as striking it rich is one of the most cherished dreams of any adventurer.

As for Jin Luosha and Chen Xuanfeng, who controlled nearly a tenth of the western Mainland and possessed astonishing treasures, such items that they could produce themselves naturally held no allure.

The auction grew more intense, with prices skyrocketing in the heated atmosphere. Jin Luosha and the female thief Roland couldn’t resist and each purchased a set of exquisite jewelry. Jin Luosha selected a set of elven-style jewelry crafted from luminous silver diamonds, exuding an ethereal elegance, while Roland opted for a set of gold and ruby ornaments, their brilliance as fiery as flames.

The girls' choices didn’t quite align with their usual styles. Jin Luosha made her selection based on her original golden-haired image rather than her current black-haired, black-eyed appearance. The thief girl clearly chose the dazzling gold and red to complement Morova’s fiery hues, a detail that didn’t escape those familiar with them.

After several hours of auction, the event finally reached its last item.

Historically, the final item of such auctions is usually exceptional, often a highlight even in the grand finale of the auction festival. Compared to the final session where all the important figures gather, the prices, though high, wouldn’t match the frenzy of the final auction. Thus, for those who were "quite wealthy" or "very wealthy" but not "wealthy enough to rival a nation," this was their moment to shine.

"Gentlemen, perhaps you have already acquired what you desired in the previous auctions, or perhaps not. But what does it matter?" the auctioneer, a handsome middle-aged man, loudly proclaimed. "Compared to the true treasure about to be revealed, nothing else is worth boasting about. Let us behold the most precious treasure of this auction!"

Two veiled female attendants slowly unveiled the curtain behind the auctioneer, revealing a gleaming golden armor.

It was a full-body soft armor with a metallic sheen, adorned with wave-like metal plates throughout. At the waist, wrists, and elbows, where the curved plates met, were embedded bright magical gems, their power profound yet subtle, clearly imbued with permanently enchanted magic.

The audience below burst into a chorus of astonishment.

But it was not admiration—it was skepticism.

"This... this is..."

"Are you kidding? This kind of thing?"

"Hey, hey, no mistake, right? To present such an unusable item as the final treasure?"

It wasn’t that the crowd didn’t recognize the item; in fact, nine out of ten present knew the name of that golden armor.

"Adamantine Weave Armor—Mark of Lolth"

In this world, most metals are incompatible with magic, making the rare metals that can harmonize with magic exceptionally precious, known as "magic-fusing metals." Among the few "magic-fusing metals" in the prime material plane, adamantine and mithril are the most famous. They not only fully accommodate the flow of magic but also possess excellent metallic properties. Although their reserves are limited, they are not so scarce as to be completely unobtainable, hence many magical items incorporate small amounts of adamantine or mithril as magical conduits.

Of course, the world is always uneven in wealth distribution. Some can only measure these magic-fusing metals in milligrams, while others can craft large weapons and armors from pure adamantine and mithril.

This refers to the mountain dwarf kingdom, which controls the largest mithril vein on the Mainland and 90% of the world’s mithril mining, and the dark elf empire in the underground world, which controls 95% of the adamantine veins in the prime material plane.

Not to mention the dwarves, the dark elves, who control the adamantine veins, also boast lifespans of thousands of years. This gives them plenty of time to gather and refine adamantine, eventually creating magic adamantine armors infused with large amounts of adamantine. These armors are not only light and tough but also permanently enchanted with various powerful magical states. The crowning achievement, the "Mark of Lolth" grade magic weave armor with an adamantine content of up to 80%, is endowed with twelve high-level enhancement divine spells, reputed to rival epic equipment.

However, despite the dark elves' claims, adamantine armors do not feature in the rankings of epic equipment.

The reason is quite simple: these armors, crafted with the dark elves' secret techniques, cannot be exposed to sunlight.

Once under the sun, adamantine armors of any grade will instantly turn to ash. For the dark elves, who live underground year-round, this might be a minor issue. But for the vast surface world, this flaw is significant enough to downgrade adamantine armors from epic to legendary grade.