Above the mage

Chapter 362 Sudden Wealth

The city square, where the Lagos clock tower stands, is the very heart of Lagos.

Even in this economic downturn, this land is incredibly valuable.

The streets surrounding the city square are wide and clean, spotless compared to other parts of the city.

The streets are lined with tall buildings of various styles, including pointed towers and classical symmetrical styles, all of which are exquisite.

On the streets, the vehicles coming and going are mostly exquisite and luxurious private carriages of all kinds.

The carriage was made of the finest wood and painted with the finest lacquer, gleaming in the sunlight. The curtains at the windows were made of luxurious plush and inlaid with stained glass.

Moreover, although it is called a carriage, it is actually pulled by tamed beasts with the bloodline of earth vein creatures, which are extremely strong.

Those getting on and off the carriages were all nobles and wealthy merchants dressed in gorgeous clothes.

There was a considerable flow of people on both sides of the street.

crunch.

A black four-wheeled carriage, somewhat plain compared to the private carriages, stopped in front of a magnificent building at the street corner.

Of course, this is only in comparison to private carriages; the body made of fine oak and the exquisite patterns on the doors indicate that it is not cheap.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and a portly middle-aged man emerged. He slightly bent his knees and landed steadily on the stone slab with a near-perfect posture, producing a deep yet elegant sound.

Then, a woman emerged from the carriage; she must have been a servant. She carefully stepped down from the carriage, lifting her skirt with light and steady steps.

After the maid got out of the carriage, she quickly walked to the middle-aged man's side and stood slightly to his right behind him. She clasped her hands together in front of her, her fingers gently interlocked, her posture dignified. She maintained a proper distance of about two steps from the middle-aged man, while her eyes were fixed on the ground.

The maid was beautiful, which attracted the attention of some people.

The middle-aged man stood in front of the building, slightly raised his head, and followed the delicate stone carvings on the building's facade upwards, finally landing on the huge bronze signboard directly above.

Collins Auction House.

The font is beautiful and coated with gold powder, so it shimmers with a golden light when the sun shines on it.

This is the largest auction house in Lagos, belonging to the Collins Merchant Guild, the wealthiest merchant guild in the city.

Lagos's trade and commerce development is far inferior to that of Dorne, the county capital, and these two factors are precisely the basic indicators that determine the number of auction houses in a city.

Therefore, there are only five auction houses in the entire city. The title of "largest" sounds impressive, but it is actually just the largest among the five auction houses.

(Please remember the website 20 ...

At the entrance, a huge arched portico is supported by four thick stone pillars, the surfaces of which are carved with intricate and elegant vine patterns.

Three marble steps lead to a rustic and heavy double oak door, next to which stands a stone statue: a man in a top hat holding an auction gavel.

The middle-aged man, Gao De, who had disguised himself using the [Disguise+] technique, took a deep breath, straightened his collar, and, accompanied by Elsa who was impersonating his servant, walked up the steps and into the lobby of the Collins Auction House.

As soon as I entered, Gaode felt a slight brightness in front of me.

The spacious hall was ornately decorated, with exquisite crystal chandeliers hanging from the dome, and soft light filtering through the glass gaps in the dome onto the marble floor.

At this moment, a staff member dressed in a black tuxedo-like uniform quickly approached, bowed slightly, and said, "Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

"I would like to sell a valuable item to your bank. Could you please introduce me to your manager?"

The staff member glanced discreetly at Gao De's attire, then at Elsa standing behind him, before immediately returning a professional smile: "Sir, please wait a moment, I'll go and inform him."

A moment later, the staff member reappeared: "Sir, please come with me. Mr. Wilson is waiting for you in the meeting room."

Gao De nodded slightly, his "big belly" protruding, and led by the staff through a long corridor to an elegantly decorated reception room.

A carved oak table stands directly opposite the entrance. Behind the table, in a soft leather chair, a middle-aged man with meticulously combed hair is admiring the paintings on the wall with his back to Gao De.

"Mr. Wilson, the guest has arrived," the staff member said respectfully.

Then, Mr. Wilson slowly turned around, his eyes sharp, revealing a shrewdness and composure.

"We've heard you have something extremely valuable that you wish to acquire from us. What is it?"

Gaode clapped his hands lightly.

The next moment, Elsa behind him took out an exquisite ice crystal jade box from her bosom.

Elsa didn't move her feet, but simply raised her hand, and the jade box floated forward, finally stopping above the oak table.

Then, with a soft "click," the lid of the box was opened by an invisible force, and the ten crystal-clear ice jade paulownia leaves inside floated into the air and were displayed in front of Wilson.

This gesture caused Wilson's eyes to flicker slightly.

However, the next moment, he couldn't care less about anything else. He couldn't help but lean forward slightly, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the ten ice-jade parasol leaves, a hint of surprise and solemnity flashing in his eyes.

He sensed a mysterious and powerful force contained within the leaf.

"What is this?" Wilson asked.

"Ice Jade Wutong Leaves, when steeped in water and drunk, can increase a mage's maximum mental strength. A first-ring mage can increase their mental strength by about 30 points, but it is only effective the first time you drink it," Gao De said calmly.

"Raise the upper limit of a mage's mental power?" Even the usually composed Wilson couldn't help but be moved upon hearing this, and his expression changed slightly.

Although it's only a slight change, it's enough to demonstrate the extraordinary effects of the Ice Jade Wutong Leaf.

After all, as the head of Collins Auction House, Wilson had seen countless treasures on a daily basis and was very knowledgeable. Ordinary items would not cause him any ripples.

"Sir, could you please wait a moment? I need to have one of our appraisers come and examine this item," Wilson said politely, quickly regaining his composure.

"Okay, try to be quick, I'm in a hurry," Gao De said casually.

Auction houses naturally won't believe everything you say; they have their own procedures, which is perfectly reasonable.

Wilson nodded, then gave an instruction to the staff member who was still waiting nearby.

After a while, an old man with slightly gray hair, wearing a gray mage's robe, walked in.

"This is our auction house's chief appraiser, Master Harris," Wilson introduced to Gao De.

"Mage Harris," Wilson nodded to the old man and said, "This guest says these Ice Jade Wutong Leaves can increase a mage's mental power limit. Please help him appraise them."

The old man, known as the Mage Harris, raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Then, he took a few steps forward, came to the Ice Jade Wutong Leaf, reached out and touched one of the Ice Jade Wutong Leaves that was still floating in the air.

Upon seeing this, Gao De subconsciously raised his eyebrows.

In his vision, he could clearly see magical fluctuations rising, flowing from the fingertips of the mage Harris towards the Ice Jade Sycamore Leaf.

In fact, the magical fluctuations were barely perceptible, but when the mage Harris entered the room, God had already activated the Mandora's Eye, so all the energy flows were clearly visible to him.

However, he made no other move, letting the magical fluctuations flow on the ice jade parasol leaves.

Because Gao De recognized what the mage Harris was doing.

It is a rare first-level spell, [Appraisal].

Cast the [Appraisal] spell, designate an object, and remain in contact with it throughout the spell's cast. If the object is a supernatural item or other enchanted object, the mage will be able to learn its properties and how to use it.

As the spell continued, the mage Harris's expression grew increasingly grave.

After a moment, he withdrew his hand and said to Wilson in a deep voice, "What this gentleman said is true. This Ice Jade Wutong Leaf does indeed have the effect of enhancing a mage's spiritual power."

Upon hearing this, Wilson breathed a sigh of relief and then eagerly asked Gao De, "Sir, are you going to entrust our auction house to help auction these Ice Jade Wutong Leaves?"

"Don't worry, our Collins Auction House is the most authoritative auction house in Lagos City. Entrust these Ice Jade Phoenix Leaves to us, and through our operation and promotion, we will definitely help you get a high price for them. We only charge a commission of half a percent of the final price."

Upon hearing this, Gao De simply shook his head calmly.

"Sir, a 50% commission on the transaction price isn't high. After all, we'll also put in a lot of effort to help you with pre-transaction promotion, which all incurs costs."

Before Wilson could finish speaking, Gao De interrupted him.

"I have faith in Collins Auction House's capabilities, but I urgently need funds and cannot wait for the auction to begin. Therefore, I hope to sell them to your house at a fixed price."

Auction houses primarily handle commissioned auctions, but they also typically accept fixed-price purchases of valuable items, and this is not uncommon.

Some sellers, like Gaode, are in urgent need of funds or do not want to experience the uncertainty of the auction process, worrying that their treasures will not reach the expected price in the auction, so they will take the initiative to offer to sell their treasures to the auction house at a fixed price.

If an auction house assesses that the item has a certain market value and profit potential, it will consider acquiring it at a suitable price.

On the other hand, for some treasures with clear market value, easy resale and stable customer demand, auction houses are confident in selling them quickly at a price higher than the acquisition price. In order to save time and auction process costs, they will also choose to acquire them directly.

Upon hearing Gao De's words, Wilson fell into deep thought.

Treasures that can increase a mage's mental power limit will naturally sell well.

So his consideration wasn't whether to accept a fixed price, but rather what price he should offer Gaode.

After a moment, he looked at Gao De, carefully considered his words, and slowly said, "Sir, our auction house is willing to purchase your Ice Jade Wutong Leaf, but what is your opinion regarding the price?"

"3500 Golden Bird Coins." Gao De didn't play games with the other party and directly offered a price.

According to his estimate, the value of the Ice Jade Wutong leaf is 300 goldfinch flowers per leaf.

However, considering its rarity and market demand, a premium of 20% to 40% is quite normal.

However, the auction house still needs to make some profit, so Gaode set a moderate price.

Wilson's eyes flickered slightly when he heard the price. It was higher than he had expected, but still within an acceptable range.

After thinking for a moment, he finally nodded, "Okay, this price is fine."

Gao De smiled with satisfaction.

Once the price was agreed upon, the subsequent procedures were quickly followed up. After the relevant transaction documents were signed, an auction house staff member came in carrying a metal box that was about one foot long and half a foot high and wide.

"Here are your 3500 Goldfinch coins."

"Elsa." God waved.

Elsa, who was behind him, immediately stepped forward and took the metal box from the auction house staff.

The box, containing 3500 genie coins and weighing nearly 900 ounces, was easily caught by Elsa with one hand, her expression unchanged.

After quickly counting the number of gold coin coins inside the metal box, she nodded slightly to Gao De.

"It's a pleasure working with you." Gao De smiled with satisfaction, straightened his collar again, and without lingering, got up and left the room under the watchful eyes of Wilson and Harris.

Watching Gao De and Elsa disappear from sight, the mage Harris leaned closer to Wilson and whispered, "This man seems unfamiliar; he doesn't look like a local. Should we send someone to keep an eye on him?"

Wilson narrowed his eyes slightly, considered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I'd better not."

"The spell that the maid behind him just used when she displayed the Ice Jade Wutong Leaf was a second-ring spell called [Levitation]. To have a second-ring mage with such excellent looks and figure as an attendant, this person's background must be extraordinary."

"Moreover, he has a faint scent that is similar to musk, but softer and more delicate than musk, similar to sandalwood, and with a clear hint of marine plants."

"This smells like ambergris!" the mage Harris murmured.

Wilson nodded. "Ambergris is not only expensive, but also extremely rare, often impossible to buy even with money. The fact that the other person has this scent indicates that they are frequently in an environment where ambergris is burned."

"Offending someone like that is not a wise choice."

"Indeed, it's not worth taking the risk for 3500 Golden Bird Coins," Mage Harris exhaled slowly, agreeing.

God took Elsa away from the Collins auction house and got into the carriage that had been waiting outside.

The carriage started slowly, its wheels rolling on the stone road with a "gurgling" sound. After twisting and turning several times, it finally stopped in front of a secluded alley.

Gao De and Elsa jumped off the carriage, paid the fare, and then let the driver leave first.

The two then turned into the alley and quickly disappeared from sight.

In a room on the second floor of Haiyinrong Orphanage.

All eight metal boxes of various sizes were opened, and they were filled with golden bird-shaped coins.

Gao De stood in front of the box, leaned slightly forward, and gently fiddled with the gold coins. The clattering sound was particularly clear in the quiet room.

"Done." He breathed a sigh of relief.

In order to sell the Ice Jade Wutong Leaf safely, he and Elsa went through a lot of trouble, visiting several auction houses, mage organizations, and large magic material shops.

Collins Auction House was their last stop.

Fifty ice-jade parasol leaves were used in eight separate attacks.

A total of 17000 Golden Bird Coins were obtained, averaging 340 Golden Bird Coins per piece, which was 2000 more than initially expected.

(End of this chapter)