The Golem Mage

While those interested in the armour were prepared and waiting for Alec to declare the starting bid, the others, who had no intention of bidding couldn’t help letting their imaginations run wild.

As they felt If the opening item was already of mid-tier caliber, what else could possibly be in store?, Many silently prayed that something matching their desires would appear next so they could make use of the corpses they had brought in their space rings.

As murmurs of speculation filled the hall, Alec stood calmly, a knowing smile on his face as he observed their expressions.

This was all part of his plan, starting strong with a high-tier item to set the tone, even if the next few items didn’t match the first in quality, the excitement would remain.

As the crowd had already been made to believe that treasures awaited them, and that momentum alone would keep their spirits high, as the eagerly awaited what’s next.

This was the power of first impressions, and Alec knew how to wield it well, but beyond the theatrics, he genuinely believed they were lucky.

As all this had only been possible due to the help of the system, Alec had transformed many spirit equipment fragments that he had laying around that were of other elements than earth into finished products, excluding elements he had no interest in strengthening, like fire.

He deliberately avoided enhancing clans such as the Raiza who dabbled in puppetry and were enemies of the Gordons or any other fire-based sects.

With the Ancient Blaze Clan, being like a progenitor to all fire clans and having branches and eyes there, it gave Alec zero intention of contributing to their growth, especially when he feels they might be used as an attack on his clan like the Fridall clan had been used.

“Now, the starting bid is ten Tier 5 corpses of any race. As long as you have ten, the bidding may begin,” Alec finally announced.

The hall fell silent, many of the clans were stunned, not because the price was high, but because it was shockingly low, far beneath the market value, but Alec didn’t care.

The more corpses he collected, the more fragments, pills, and resources he could extract to fuel the rise of the Gordons Clan.

“Fifteen Tier 5 demonic beast corpses,” a voice called out, cutting through the murmurs before most could even wrap their heads around the bidding, heads turned sharply in the direction of the voice, only to find that the bid had come from a lone mage seated at a round table, unaccompanied and completely at ease.

The room was stunned, everyone had assumed the Darkbliss Clan would claim the armour uncontested.

Most local clans had already decided not to compete, as they either feared incurring the Darkbliss Clan’s wrath or simply lacked a mage with the shadow element to make proper use of the item to the fullest potential it holds.

But this lone bidder had disrupted those expectations in an instant.

“Who is that mage?”

“So someone dares to step on the toes of the Darkbliss Clan? Foolish.”

“He must be from outside Estonia City. That would explain his ignorance.”

Whispers and judgment spread like wildfire as everyone realized the bidder was a lone cultivator, an outsider, unfamiliar with the local balance of power in Estonia city.

“Fifteen Tier 5 bodies—bid accepted. Do I hear a higher offer?” Alec’s voice rang out again, calm and professional.

It was a subtle reminder that this was not a battle of realms or reputation, but of wealth—measured in corpses, the number one rule still stood: no fighting within the auction hall, but they could fight by showing their wealth in corpses.

Alec didn’t care if the bid risked offending a major city power, in this moment, he wore the face of a businessman, and nothing more.

“Eighteen Tier 5 bodies,” came another bid, this time from the Darkbliss Patriarch himself, who had finally recovered from the shock of being challenged.

Now, the atmosphere shifted, the crowd had abandoned their earlier thoughts of the armour being under-priced, if the corpses being offered weren’t zombies but other races, then its value clearly exceeded their expectations.

But then there was a mage in the crowd who claimed otherwise, as he told them to consider the costs of acquiring other necessary resources, precious rare metals when trying to craft such an armour, the services of a forging mage also with a reliable smithy, and the time it would take to commission and receive a custom order without wasting too much effort or materials, and also be able to get a strong shadow armour and then they many stopped trying to equate the price of the corpse to the material as they just enjoy the bidding battle.

This was an auction, and while no one could read the armour’s specifics, its gleam alone made it clear that it was no ordinary piece.

The craftsmanship was pristine, and its aura exuded top-tier quality, that was exactly why Clarissa had fallen in love with it the moment she laid eyes on it.

The Darkbliss Patriarch glanced toward the lone mage seated at a standard four-seat round table, hoping his gaze alone might pressure the man into backing down, but the mage didn’t even look his way, ignoring the silent demand entirely.

“Twenty-one Tier 5 bodies,” the man announced almost instantly, drawing gasps from the crowd and even shaking the Darkbliss Patriarch.

“Woo! Now this is getting intense—twenty-one Tier 5 bodies. Do I hear a higher bid? If not, going once…” Alec’s voice rang out, his tone light, but his eyes sharp as he watched the tension build.

The Darkbliss Patriarch realized he could no longer remain passive if he truly wanted the armour.

It wasn’t for himself, as his cultivation was far beyond the armour’s limits by being in the high ranks, and wearing it might even suppress some of its benefits.

No, this was for his daughter, to help her get accustomed to high-level equipment before advancing to Tier 5.

So he resorted to what he believed was the only move left.

“Now please, show this old man some face, this is meant to be a gift for my daughter,” he said, trying to appeal to emotion rather than escalate the bidding war, as he felt it wasn’t worth exhausting their Tier 5 corpse reserves just to win a contest of pride.

But the lone mage had no intention of letting sentiment sway him, he clapped back without hesitation.

“You tell me to give you face like you’re someone I know, you seem to forget I don’t owe anything to you or your clan, so you’re not entitled to any courtesy from me,” the mage replied with a small smile.

“Unlike your prestigious clans, I worked hard for everything I have, if I had to give up every opportunity just to appease someone’s pride, I wouldn’t have made it this far.”

Seeing the lone mage’s unyielding attitude, the Darkbliss Patriarch gritted his teeth and withdrew from the bidding.

Cause no matter how much he wanted the armour, he knew better than to spend all his Tier 5 corpses on the very first item.

He believed more valuable goods would follow, and he didn’t want to regret wasting his resources early in a bidding war with a stranger whose background was still unknown.

Though it stung to let the armour go, he clung to the hope that something even better would appear, and that he wouldn’t end up regretting this decision, and so, without another word, he dropped out, refusing to reply to the dark-clad mage.

“Twenty-one Tier 5 bodies going twice… twenty-one Tier 5 bodies going thrice… and sold to the man in black,” Alec declared, concluding the first auction sale, as a loud bell rang out across the hall, struck by a Gordons mage stationed at the corner in their uniform, signalling the successful sale.

The crowd, still abuzz from the heated exchange between the Darkbliss Patriarch and the lone mage, now they turned their attention to the stage once more, eager to see what would be unveiled next and hoping the next item would be something worth spending their corpses on.