148 -) The Golden Spree (2)
When the crowd cooled down, Afrasiab moved to the side of the sword and shield. The people understood that he was about to go into more details, so they quieted down completely.
“Let me give you an explanation about the sword first. The sword has 4 skill crystals, and all of them are enhanced. The first one is the centipede skill crystal that increases durability by 60%. The second one is the slime skill crystal that makes the sword slowly repair itself over time. The third one is the mantis skill crystal that increases slash damage by 30%. The fourth and last one is the therianthrope skill crystal that reduces the recoil of an attack by 30%.” He counted every ability of every skill crystal one by one and added, “The sword itself is made by Bastion, so it is already adamant, and with the skill crystals supporting it, the durability is increased even more. It fixes the little damage it takes over time. The usage is less taxing thanks to the recoil reduction. And it has the sharpness of both the sword itself and the skill crystal. It is definitely a fine weapon with balanced skill crystals.”
***
Bastion Long Sword ◙+◙+◙+◙+
- Centipede skill crystal (Enhanced): Durability enhancement 60%
- Slime skill crystal (Enhanced): Repair over time slowly
- Mantis skill crystal (Enhanced): Increase slash damage by 30%
- Therianthrope skill crystal (Enhanced): Reduce the recoil of an attack by 30%
“The shield beside it is also an item with 4 enhanced skill crystals embedded in it.” He then pointed toward the shield and started to explain, “The first and second skill crystals are the same as the sword, as they both are prone to being damaged naturally. Its durability, which is already quite high thanks to its material, that is bastion, is increased with a centipede skill crystal, and it gained recovery ability with a slime skill crystal. The third skill crystal is the turtle skill crystal, and it decreases the impact power by 60%. It doesn’t decrease the damage, but you can think of it as the impact you are getting to push you back would be less. That is how the turtle skill crystals would work. The last one is the Golem Skill Crystal. The combinations of these crystals are quite clever. The golem skill crystal makes you mirror about 15% of the damage you would get if you are hit by the attack.”
***
Bastion Shield ◙+◙+◙+◙+
- Centipede skill crystal (Enhanced): Durability enhancement 60%
- Slime skill crystal (Enhanced): Repair over time slowly
- Turtle skill crystal (Enhanced): Decrease the impact power by 60%
- Golem skill crystal (Enhanced): Mirror 15% of the damage
After finishing his explanation of the shield’s features, Afrasiab moved toward the spear. “The third piece of equipment I will now explain is a bastion spear.” He said and pointed toward the spear beside him. “This spear also has the very same first two skill crystals, the centipede and the slime skill crystals. It seems like its maker prioritizes their durability. The third one is the wasp skill crystal that increases the piercing damage by 30%. That is a very fitting ability for a spear. The last one is the imp skill crystal that would be found more commonly in the empire. It gives a 15% chance to cause continuous bleeding, an effect that might cause death unless treated.”
***
Bastion-Tipped Spear ◙+◙+◙+◙+
- Centipede skill crystal (Enhanced): Durability enhancement 60%
- Slime skill crystal (Enhanced): Repair over time slowly
- Wasp skill crystal (Enhanced): Increase piercing damage by 30%
- Imp skill crystal (Enhanced): Bleeding effect chance by 15%
Then he stopped in front of the biggest cart and half turned his body toward it before explaining, “This time, allow me to explain the other four pieces of equipment that are placed on the armor stand. The helmet was made of Bastion metal, while its interior is softened with leather and wool. This one doesn’t have a centipede skill crystal like the previous three. It may be because it doesn’t take much damage during an attack. The skill crystals are slime, turtle, and lightning skill crystals that increase resistance against shock-based attacks, and the bear skill crystal that protects against sudden bloodlust and losing your focus by increasing your resistance by 60%.”
***
Bastion Helmet ◙+◙+◙+◙+
- Slime skill crystal (Enhanced): Repair over time slowly
- Turtle skill crystal (Enhanced): Decrease the impact power by 60%
- Lightning skill crystal (Enhanced): Increase resistance against shock by 60%
- Bear skill crystal (Enhanced): Increase resistance against bloodlust by 60%
He then pointed to the gloves and continued, “As you can see, the gloves are made with similar materials to the helmet, so it had a high content of Bastion as well. The skill crystals embedded in it are slime, the beetle skill crystal that increases the grip strength by 60%, the kangaroo skill crystal that increases the attack speed by 15%, and the skeleton skill crystal that increases the endurance stat by 15%. As you can see, it focuses more on supporting its users than giving bonuses focused on fist fights.”
***
Bastion Gloves ◙+◙+◙+◙+
- Slime skill crystal (Enhanced): Repair over time slowly
- Beetle skill crystal (Enhanced): Increase grip strength by 60%
- Kangaroo skill crystal (Enhanced): Increase attack speed by 15%
- Skeleton skill crystal (Enhanced): Increase endurance stat by 15%
Afrasiab then pointed toward the bottom of the armor stand as he said, “This one is protective footwear made with the same materials. The skill crystals are slime, the wolf skill crystal that increases the movement speed by 30%, the insect skill crystal that reduces the item’s weight by 60%, and the rabbit skill crystal that increases the jumping force by 30%. This gear is designed to free it from the cumbersome nature of heavy armor in the set.”
***
Bastion Footwear ◙+◙+◙+◙+
- Slime skill crystal (Enhanced): Repair over time slowly
- Wolf skill crystal (Enhanced): Increase movement speed by 30%
- Insect skill crystal (Enhanced): Weight reduction by 60%
- Rabbit skill crystal (Enhanced): Increase jump force by 30%
“Last but not least is the bastion breastplate.” He pointed toward the armor in the middle of the armor stand, where a breastplate that takes up most of the space among the armors. “It was designed to provide the best possible protection. The four skill crystals embedded within it were the centipede, slime, turtle, and the feline skill crystal that increases the vitality stat by 15%.”
***
Bastion Breastplate ◙+◙+◙+◙+
- Centipede skill crystal (Enhanced): Durability enhancement 60%
- Slime skill crystal (Enhanced): Repair over time slowly
- Turtle skill crystal (Enhanced): Decrease the impact power by 60%
- Feline skill crystal (Enhanced): Vitality stat increase by 15%
As soon as he finished giving information about the set, he turned toward the audience again and took a few steps forward before saying, “The equipment set is made to turn any warrior into an unsurpassable wall. It can also be used as a family heirloom since it can stay in the best condition thanks to the slime crystals added in every one of them.”
After he finished his explanation, he announced the starting bid, “The starting bid for the whole set will be 1,200 platinum coins. You can increase by 10 platinum coins at a minimum.”
“1,400” “1,500” “1,600”
“1,650” “1,750” “1,900”
In an instant, people started to race among themselves to bid a higher amount. The price that started with a whopping 1,200 platinum coins jumped close to 2,000 coins. At that point, even VIPs and VVIPs started to get involved.
“Room 15 is bidding 2,000 Hazaroth platinum coins. Thank you for your participation.”
“Room 30 is bidding 2,100 platinum coins.”
“Madam number 27 is increasing the bid by 50 platinum coins, so it reaches 2,150 platinum coins.”
Even after the VIPs and VVIPs became involved, the people sitting at the central seats continued to participate, even though just a few of them remained.
“Room 12 is bidding 2,200 platinum coins.”
“Sir number 13 is bidding 2,250 platinum coins.”
“His Highness the Crown Prince is making his wish to bid 2,400 platinum coins.”
At some point, even the Crown Prince showed interest in the set of equipment I brought. After his participation, the VIPs and people in the middle seats stopped their already wavering bidding. Only VVVIPs and a few VVIPs remained.
“Whoa! I did not expect you to be showered with this much money for these items.” Sarya said excitedly. Despite the money not going to her, it was natural to be enthusiastic to be able to see this much money move at once, especially toward a place close to you. “You really made it, huh?” She added as if she meant that I don’t need to work anymore from now on.
“You are saying that because equipment trading is not your forte,” I said to point out why she could not understand the value of the items currently auctioned. “Since there is this much profit to be gained this way, I have no intention of stopping here.”
“Hmm… You are being so greedy.” She said and turned her head toward the auction again.
It was true that being greedy is not a good thing if you can’t control it, so I must be careful. Regardless, as long as I keep being rational, it should be fine. At least, I hope it would.
“Room 4 is bidding 2,500 Hazaroth platinum coins.”
“His Highness is bidding 2,550 platinum coins.”
“Room 12 is bidding 2,600 platinum coins.”
“Room 5 is bidding 2,650 platinum coins.”
“Room 4 is bidding 2,700 platinum coins.”
“His Highness increased the bidding amount to 2,800 platinum coins.”
Despite it being nearing the 3,000 Hazaroth platinum coins, there were still a few people continuing to increase the amount.
“Is there anyone who wants to increase the bid?” Afrasiab looked around to see if there was anyone who wanted to bid more. “Is there anyone… Oh, room 4 is bidding 3,000 Hazaroth platinum coins.” Just as he was speaking, room 4 increased the bid to 3,000 platinum coins.
“The 3,000 platinum coins are the last bid made by room 4. Is there anyone else? No one? Then, the set of equipment is sold for 3,000 platinum coins to the gentleman in room 4.”
This time, a VVVIP managed to buy the item despite the fact that he had to compete against the Crown Prince. The Union is indeed the land of businesses. Here, as long as you follow the rules, you can freely conduct any business you want.