Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 138

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 138

Many items were auctioned off and found new owners.

The items offered by the White Bear Caravan all possessed extraordinary capabilities.

The performance of the items made the responsible parties’ eyes widen with excitement.

The initial composure was gone, replaced by frenzied bidding.

Naturally, the auction amounts skyrocketed exponentially.

It was worrying enough to wonder if each district’s finances might collapse.

Pan Cheong-cheon shook his head at the madness.

‘This is insane!’

But he couldn’t criticize others—he was also swept up in the frenzy.

When he first arrived at the auction, he intended to observe from a distance.

However, the items offered by the White Bear Caravan were so impressive that even Pan Cheong-cheon dropped his doubts and participated in the bidding.

He secured Astro’s Flame Sword, the Crown of the Old Serpent, and the Shield of the Fallen Star.

All three were items with special properties that could become significant assets depending on their use.

Borin, Cha Jin-cheol, Pan Cheong-cheon, and Raven all actively participated in the auction and acquired items.

The Cloud Tree Necklace was also auctioned off.

Borin actively participated and managed to secure the remaining necklaces.

The auction continued fiercely.

“Wow!”

“I can’t believe such items exist. This is crazy!”

Brielle and Levin were continuously amazed by the auction items.

Being young, they had rarely seen items excavated from dungeons. The items showcased by the White Bear Caravan seemed fascinating to them.

Until then, Zeon had merely observed without participating in the auction.

The items in the White Bear Caravan’s auction were indeed valuable. However, they didn’t meet Zeon’s high standards.

Watching many items find their new owners, Zeon thought.

‘Too ordinary.’

Items emit unique waves and mana.

The higher the quality of the item, the stronger the waves it emits.

The items in the auction also emitted unique waves and presences.

However, the wave Zeon felt yesterday was far beyond this level.

He vividly remembered the intense and chilling feeling that had shaken his heart.

At that moment,

“The next item is the Warden’s Shackles, obtained with great difficulty from the Gehuls Dungeon, and its abilities are yet to be discovered.”

Alexandro brought out the last auction item.

The item was a shackle used to bind prisoners.

Zeon had never seen an item like this before.

As soon as he saw the shackles, Zeon’s brow furrowed deeply.

He felt an indescribable ominous energy.

‘What is this?’

Zeon stared intently at the shackles.

But there was nothing to discern by looking alone.

The additional effects of an item do not appear in precise numbers.

They must be discovered through direct use by the owner.

Since it was an item from a dungeon, it would naturally have various options attached.

At that moment, Zeon noticed Damien standing behind Alexandro.

Damien had a bright smile as if something amused him.

Sensing Zeon’s gaze, Damien looked over.

Damien gave a slight wave, acknowledging Zeon.

To someone who didn’t know Damien, he might appear innocent. But Zeon wasn’t deceived by Damien’s facade.

Damien was not a young boy.

Just as Zeon had grown over eight years wandering the desert, Damien had also experienced much and grown.

Eight years was a long enough time to turn a boy into a man and an innocent child into a cunning adult.

Only Damien knew what kind of adult he had become during those years.

‘Damien!’

As if hearing Zeon’s voice, Damien smiled even more brightly and nodded.

While Zeon was preoccupied with Damien, the Warden’s Shackles fell into Cha Jin-cheol’s hands.

Cha Jin-cheol’s eyes gleamed menacingly as he became the owner of the shackles for a hefty price of ten tons of Mana Stones.

‘That’s mine.’

From the moment he first saw the Warden’s Shackles, Cha Jin-cheol couldn’t take his eyes off them. He felt a strange attraction to them.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

He was the right-hand man of Kim Hyun-soo, the ruler of the West District.

Naturally, he had received Kim Hyun-soo’s favor and replaced most of his body with machinery.

Though he appeared to be an ordinary human, beneath the artificial skin, oil flowed, and gears turned.

Only his head and torso remained human.

Having replaced his limbs with powerful machinery, he had little need for additional items.

Hence, he had no reason to be interested.

But the Warden’s Shackles were different.

Though he didn’t know why, he felt a powerful, almost spiritual pull towards them from the moment he saw them.

It was questionable whether someone who had replaced his limbs with machinery still possessed a human soul, but that was how he felt.

At that moment, Pan Cheong-cheon spoke.

“Is that all the items the White Bear Caravan has prepared?”

“Of course not. We still have many items left.”

“Why not auction them all today?”

“It wouldn’t be fun to reveal everything at once, would it? Besides, the highlight is still to come.”

“Highlight?”

Pan Cheong-cheon’s eyes changed at Alexandro’s response.

The items presented so far by the White Bear Caravan had all been extraordinary.

Hearing there was an even better item piqued his curiosity.

Raven asked,

“What item is it? Will it be auctioned today?”

“Given its greatness, we plan to schedule a separate auction for it.”

“Hmph! That sounds like a boast. It can’t be that much better than the items here.”

“Of course, the items here are all excellent. We obtained them with great difficulty, and they are indeed valuable. But I can confidently say that the item on the fifth floor is on a different level. Whoever obtains it will gain power far beyond anything seen before.”

Alexandro’s words caused the auction participants to tense up.

They couldn’t know what the item was, but his confident claim suggested it was extraordinary.

Borin said,

“If it’s that remarkable, I’d like to see it.”

“We need to see it with our own eyes to determine how much Mana Stone to allocate for the next auction.”

“Yes, I’d like to see it.”

As Pan Cheong-cheon and Raven agreed with Borin, Alexandro shrugged.

“Very well, let me show you. Follow me to see the secret item the White Bear Caravan has prepared.”

Alexandro led the auction attendees to the fifth-floor storage room.

Following behind, Damien discreetly deactivated the sealing magic circle.

When Alexandro opened the storage room door, the expressions of the attendees changed dramatically.

“What is this?”

“Ugh!”

“Shit! What is this?”

Their faces turned pale.

All high-ranking Awakeneds, they immediately reacted to the ominous aura emanating from the storage room.

Zeon’s expression also grew serious.

The wave he had felt yesterday was flowing out from this storage room.

Damien approached Zeon from behind and spoke.

“Amazing, right?”

“What is this item?”

“Hehe!”

Damien responded with a mysterious smile instead of an answer.

In the center of the storage room, a crown embedded with a blue gemstone floated, radiating a mysterious aura.

Borin, Raven, Cha Jin-cheol, and Pan Cheong-cheon were all captivated by the crown.

Among them, Borin’s eyes were particularly unsettled, as if struck by an earthquake.

“This scent of mana…”

Elves in Kurayan were said to be able to smell the fragrance of mana.

The air in Kurayan was so pure and clean, and with the blessing of the World Tree, they could sense a fragrance in the mana. However, the elves who came to Earth could no longer smell the scent of mana.

The side effects of terraforming had ruined Earth.

Pure mana like that in Kurayan did not exist on Earth.

At one time, Ice Queen Serian had said she was saddened by no longer being able to smell the scent of mana.

Back then, Borin didn’t understand.

Elves born on Earth had never smelled the scent of mana.

But now, Borin understood why Serian had said that.

She felt a refreshing sensation deep in her chest, as if her crown chakra was opening wide.

No one needed to tell her; she knew this was the scent of mana.

Borin asked,

“What… what is this?”

“It’s the Crown of the Spirit King.”

“The Crown of… the Spirit King? You mean this is related to the Spirit King?”

“We don’t know. We found it in a dungeon known as the Spirit King’s Tomb. Hundreds of Awakeneds lost their lives to obtain it.”

“What are its effects?”

“We don’t know. It’s sealed. Perhaps the real Spirit King is sealed within.”

Alexandro’s words caused a stir among the crowd.

Many things had crossed over from Kurayan, including elves, dwarves, and other races, as well as monsters.

But one thing had not come to Earth: Spirits.

Earth was too damaged for spirits to survive, so there were no spirits on Earth.

Thus, elves born on Earth had no memory of interacting with spirits.

‘A crown that might have the Spirit King sealed within it. If the Spirit King revives, spirits might appear on Earth. Rebuilding Earth might not be a dream after all.’

Spirits inherently possess nature-friendly attributes.

If spirits were revived, nature would inevitably be restored.

Borin felt her heart pounding.

‘If the Spirit King is really sealed in there, we must secure it.’

The Spirit King could be a blessing or a curse.

If a good person contracted with the Spirit King, it would be a blessing for Earth. If an evil person did, it would be a global catastrophe.

Borin spoke,

“Are you really putting that up for auction?”

“Yes.”

“Selling such a dangerous item by auction—is that sane?”

“How can you be sure it’s dangerous?”

“What?”

“It’s an item that has never been used. We don’t know its capabilities. Judging an item to be dangerous just because of its name is incomprehensible.”

“If it’s really related to the Spirit King, we elves should manage it. Just sell it to us.”

“That’s not possible. We have our caravan rules.”

“Doing this won’t be good for the White Bear Caravan.”

“Are you threatening us?”

“What if I am?”

“Then the others won’t like it.”

Alexandro smiled as he glanced at the other district representatives.

Only then did Borin realize her mistake.

She had revealed her intentions too soon in front of her competitors.

Raven and others spoke.

“Rules are meant to be followed. Surely you don’t think elves are exempt from human rules?”

“The Crown of the Spirit King. Quite tempting.”

“We must secure this.”

All of them showed their greed.

The Crown of the Spirit King emitted a presence on a different level from the items they had already obtained.

They did not hide their greed.

After all, they were competitors, not allies.

They didn’t know exactly what the Crown of the Spirit King was, but they couldn’t let the North District acquire it.

‘Damn it!’

Borin bit her lip.

The situation had already deteriorated beyond repair.

There was nothing she could do now.

“You’ll regret this decision today.”

With those words, Borin stepped back.

Zeon’s eyes narrowed.

‘So, the auction was held to show this to the elves.’

Now, he finally understood what Damien’s plan was.