Chapter 6: Soul Items

"This beautiful miss, may I have the honor of knowing you're name?"

"You are?"

"This one is humbly called William Cuttlescar. It is my fortune to meet fairy on this wonderful day."

William replied as he bowed with one hand behind his back and the other stretched out. He was expecting Isabella to reciprocate the gesture and hold her hand out.

"Cuttlescar, huh..."

Alas, it was all William's wishful thinking. Isabella simply waved her hand to stop the servants behind them from bothering with the situation, then paid no more attention to him. She continued walking with Joseph into the auction hall.

William was left hanging, awkwardly staying in his pose for a few seconds before realizing that he just got ignored.

However, even before William could voice his displeasure or anything for that matter, one of his lackeys that was in the back already confronted Isabella.

"Miss, did you not hear the Young Master? He is the heir to the Cuttlescar Family! You better be mindful of what yo–"

Just that, even before the lackey could finish his speech, he was turned into a block of ice. William and the people around were shocked at such a daring attack. After all, the Cuttlescar Family were not ones you want to mess with.

At this time, Isabella's voice sounded, "William or whatever, if you continue to bug me, I'll pay that Tamond a visit and make him unable to spawn more trash like you."

William was dumbfounded again, just after he recovered from his previous shock. Tamond was his father's name, and from how this lady talked about his father, it seems like she knew him personally.

He now realized that he had kicked an iron board. Although the Cuttlescar Family was influential and was the second biggest family in Emerald Green City, they were not invincible.

Soon, Isabella and Joseph disappeared from his sight as they entered inside the auction hall, leaving the shocked and confused crowd behind.

What looked to be chaos involving a big family ended just like that.

After the guards of the auction house closed the doors, the mother and son duo were guided by a staff member to their private room.

"Mother is really pretty, that guy had hearts in his eyes! Mother is also cool and strong back there!!"

Joseph complimented his mother as soon as the staff left the room. Kissing his mother's as– nevermind. Getting some affection points from his mother and making her smile was never a bad thing. Especially now that they were at an auction, he might be able to use that additional points to get an extra budget to spend.

To be fair, Isabella indeed looked too beautiful and young. No one would think she had already given birth to two children. Her figure was top tier and William calling her a fairy was surprisingly not just flattery. Joseph by her side just look like her younger brother.

Isabella chuckled at her son's kind words, even feeling proud. Hearing these from her son was 100x times more meaningful than any man, except for her husband.

"Hehe~ Thank you for that my dear Joseph. Don't worry, you'll grow up to be as dashing as your father, girls would also approach you!"

"I'm still young, my priority is to get strong and protect mother and father first!"

"..."

'Ahh~ I really have such a good son!' Isabella thought to herself, as she blinked her eyes in surprise. She even felt like tearing up.

At this time, the auction was also finally starting.

"Eherm~ Welcome and a pleasant morning to dear guests! To briefly outline today's auction, think of the word, 'special.' Yes, you heard me right! The items today are much more special than normal so get your bids ready!"

"Let's just say that the special items were found in an ancient ruin at the very claw of the Giant Claw Mountain. Their value could be imagined, don't you think so?"

"Anyways, I know you're all very eager, so without further ado, I now officially start the auction! I pray that you obtain the item you want!"

"Bring in the first item!"

Hearing what the auctioneer had said about items being from an ancient ruin, the crowd boiled in discussion. Naturally, they were excited of the prospects of obtaining an inheritance, an ancient one at that!

"Of course, we're not going to bring out the heavy hitters right off the bat. However, it doesn't mean that these items are of no value, no?"

"First item, a bottle of Beginner Mana Circulation Pills, 5 pills in total!"

"Upon intake, as the name suggests, one's mana circulation would be much smoother, thereby increasing the circulation speed by 2 times!"

"Starting price is 10 silver coins!"

"I bid 15 silver coins!"

"20 silver coins!"

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.

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And so the battle began, as various bidders tried one upping each other in price. Of course, the ones competing for the Beginner Mana Circulation Pills were the low-leveled people and/or rogues without a big family or affiliation. Those that do have the above two were indifferent towards the pills, Joseph was the same. He didn't need to compete for pills, his mother could acquire them for him and ensure that they're of quality and safe.

For perspective, the "normal" people sat in the hall with the stage in front, while the "big shots" were in their private rooms. Of course, there's always exceptions like there could be an old hermit blending in among the crowd.

The same scenario played out as items were auctioned off one after another. The ordinary people compete for each other while those with power waited for what actually mattered – the items from the ancient ruin.

After the seventh "normal" item was sold, the auctioneer finally announced the start of the auction's climax.

"We have now come to the great reveal, the ancient ruin items! I guarantee dear guests that your time and patience is not wasted."

"The first item from the ancient ruin, a 10 Star Gray Rank weapon – the Wind Waker Staff!"

"Anyone who wields the staff will naturally confirm whether the name we have given to you is real. Its name is carved into its body using an Name Inscription, which would activate upon receiving the flow of mana. I guarantee its authenticity."

"More importantly, the Wind Waker Staff is a Soul Item!"

Hearing this, the crowd had mixed reactions. Some had excited and agitated looks, while some just looked confused. Joseph was part of the latter group of people while Isabella was in the former.

Though, Joseph and the others that were confused didn't need to wait for long, as the auctioneer answered their questions.

"I know some of you may not be aware of what Soul Items are. Although not a secret, information about Soul Items is rare knowledge for most people, no one blames you. Especially so if you haven't lingered in the capital cities for a long time. Now, allow me to explain and clear your doubts."

"Soul Items are items that are compatible to the person and could be bound by blood. They could range from grimores, weapons, etc. Since they are bound to you, you can also store them into your Soul Space and nurture it with your mana, like you would to a battle pet. Of course, if you have the money, you could just buy a higher ranked Soul Item weapon instead of slowly refining a low ranked one."

"Take the Wind Waker Staff as an example. It is of the Wind Element so those with a high affinity for the Wind Element would most likely resonate with it. It is also originally a Green Rank weapon, and although it degraded with the advent of time, if given proper care, it could regain its former glory! The nurturing process would be much faster than normal since it's of a higher rank to begin with. Who wouldn't want a weapon with not only ancient, but also great craftsmanship?"

"With that said, the starting price is 50 gold coins!"

Soon, the price easily climbed to a 100 gold coins now that the top dogs have finally started bidding. Those in the private rooms had begun to make moves, this includes William who was in one of the rooms.

After he recovered from all the shock he was given by that mysterious fairy, he ordered some of his lackeys to take care of their frozen comrade while he only took two lackeys with him.

Although he was curious about the unexpectedly ruthless fairy, that could wait later. He would ask his father once he gets home. For now, his priority was obtaining one of the items from the ancient ruin. As a Young Master of a big family in Emerald Green City, how could he be short of information? He knew about the ancient items beforehand.

This Wind Waker Staff was best suited for him as he was a dual element – wind and fire – Caster. At age 17, he was already a Rank 65 Mortal Phase expert. He got looks and talent, girls wouldn't reject his advances. The only thing that went wrong was that he approached the wrong person, Isabella.

"200 gold coins, sold! Guest from Room 6 can claim the staff right after the auction in the exchange area."

William won the staff in the end, though he may have paid a bit more than he intended because of the meddling of a certain someone from Room 5. Although the rooms have tinted glasses, he could recognize that voice in an instant. It was Aiden Oberhelm, his rival and was the Young Master of the Oberhelm Family which rules Emerald Green City.

Like William, Aiden was also a Rank 65 Mortal Phase expert, but the latter was an Enhancer. He was obviously bidding to just raise the price as he didn't need the staff at all. Though, he only increased it enough and not excessive, so no faults have been induced.

The rivalry between the two families was well-known to everyone in the city so after the smaller families and individuals noticed that the two were competing for the staff, they stopped bidding. Anyways, there's still other items, there's no need to poke their noses in someone else's business. The possible risk was not worth it for a staff. Also, they knew that William was a Wind Caster so he would for sure outbid them to get his hands on it.

"The second item from the ancient ruin, also a 10 Star Gray Rank weapon and a Soul Item – Mighty Claw Broadsword! It is of the ice element to those who couldn't feel any resonance and are curious."

"Starting price is 50 gold coins!"

At this time, the tables had turned and it was William that made Aiden pay a bit more. A back and forth sort of deal, but nothing major that could spark any serious conflict. Again, the smaller families and individuals just let the big shots poke at each other's butts. Though there was one rogue Enhancer that also bid, he eventually gave up. He didn't get threatened or anything since it's forbidden in the auction house, and Aiden also wouldn't stoop himself to that level. The rogue simply gave up when the price went past 100 gold coins. Even with his life savings, he couldn't compete with the deep pockets of a big merchant family.

"The third item..."

On the next few items, the two Young Masters weren't interested so the smaller families and rogue experts immediately started to aggressively bid.

Meanwhile, Joseph only watched from their room, without any intention of participating. Isabella also just thought that her son didn't like any of the items auctioned and didn't push him to bid. However, near the end of the auction, something finally caught Joseph's eye.

"Third to the last item from the ancient ruin, a Soul Magic spell book – Unlocking The Soul! Since it has missing pages, it's rank went down to 4 Star Gray Rank. Nonetheless, it had the beginning pages and some of the middle pages so it's very useful to those who are interested in starting Soul Magic or soul seals like a Slave Seal."

"Starting price is 10 gold coins!"

Some people bid on it, but it was not as aggressive as the biddings for ancient weapons and battle spell books. No one was really interested in "unlocking the soul" nor wanted to be a slaver. If anything, these people just want to get something from the auction. Most were the small families, as they could pass this to their future generations that might need it.

At this time, Isabella was surprised by an unexpected request.

"Mother, can I have this one?"

[Author's Note: A comment and a review can go a long way! Vote if you like the story. Also, comment if you have any suggestions/request for events while it's still early.]