Worthless Profession: Dragon Tamer

Chapter 153, Treasure Catalogue

Translator: Silavin

As the Senior Sister put away her Purple Orchid Card, she said. “I really don’t have anything else. Sister-in-law, I’ve given you the Item Panels of all my exceptional items, and they are already being displayed by your auction house. I’ve been staying in Dragon Capital University recently and haven’t gone out to clear Secret Realms or Dungeon Instances. In fact, how would I get anything new for you to register?”

Hearing this, the middle-aged beauty could not help but feel a bit disappointed. She smiled wryly and said. “I suppose you’re right. Oh well, just don’t forget about me when you do get any exceptional items in the future.”

“Of course not.” the Beautiful Senior Sister smiled. “You and my Sworn Brother are running this place, so I have to support you no matter what, right?”

Hearing them talk like this, Lu Fan became interested and interjected. “Senior Sister, what’s this ‘Treasure Catalogue’ you’re talking about?”

The Senior Sister smiled and said. “Oh, I forgot to explain that to you. The so-called Treasure Catalogue is actually a method used by auction houses to attract customers and build their reputation. It’s a tradition among several major auction houses in Dragon Capital, rarely imitated elsewhere.”

As she spoke, Senior Sister walked to the sofa, picked up the tablet they had used for bidding earlier. She swiped a few times, then handed it to Lu Fan, continuing to explain. “This is the Prosperous Heaven Auction House’s Treasure Catalogue. It contains the record of exactly a hundred items, displayed on a rotating basis on the big screen on the sixth floors and below.”

Lu Fan took the tablet and looked for a few moments, immediately astonished.

The items in this Treasure Catalogue were indeed all treasures. Ranked first was a Level 80 Epic weapon, described as a staff called Heaven Incinerator. The Special Effects of this staff were hidden, but its added Attributes were all displayed in the Item Panel.

This level 80 Epic weapon had extremely High Attributes, and was truly extraordinary.

Surprisingly, despite being a staff, it added many Strength and Agility Attributes, with slightly lower Mana being added. [Generally, staffs should not have such strange Attribute distribution. This weapon must have been crafted by a blacksmith, custom-made for someone specific. I heard that crafted weapons are not inferior to the drops from Secret Realms. In fact, since they are custom-made, it is said that such equipment could be made more suitable for its owner. So, for its original wonder, this level 80 Epic Grade weapon must be absolutely priceless!]

Further down were mostly Equipment, weapons, Potions, Profession Change Scrolls and so on. Each was a one of the kind of treasure that would cause a frenzy if put up for auction.

There were a total of a hundred treasures, each with incalculable value, definitely not something easily purchasable with Dragon Coins.

Even Lu Fan, who had seen his fair share of extraordinary things, could not help but marvel after looking through the Item Panels of these 100 items. He returned the tablet to the Senior Sister and asked in shock. “Are all these treasures owned by this auction house?”

Lu Fan’s question made both the Senior Sister and the middle-aged beauty laugh.

The middle-aged beauty smiled and said. “If our auction house really had so many good items, we might be the undisputed world’s number one auction house! Among these hundred treasures, about a dozen have indeed passed through our auction house and been sold. But most are just Item Panels we’ve collected. We actually don’t know who owns most of these treasures now. Even if we do know, we can’t disclose that information.”

Lu Fan did not quite understand the meaning behind this. So, the Senior Sister explained. “Actually, this is just a marketing tactic. There are many auction houses in Dragon Capital. The four largest all have a tradition of creating their own Treasure Catalogue. Auction houses will offer to buy Item Panels of rare treasures to include in their Treasure Catalogue, which will be displayed inside the auction house.”

Lu Fan asked, confused. “Just buying an Item Panel? What’s the use of that?”

“Advertising, attracting people.” She explained. “Firstly, collecting Item Panels of these treasures serves as a record. Secondly, who would not be curious about treasures worthy of being included in the Treasure Catalogue? Generally, people who come to the auction house will look at the Treasure Catalogue, and indulge in their curiosity. The Treasure Catalogue alone brings in a certain amount of traffic.”

“Also, think about it this way, the higher the value of an auction house’s Treasure Catalogue, doesn’t it also indicate that the auction items they deal with are of a higher level? It demonstrates an auction house’s deep resources. Otherwise, why would only the four major auction houses in Dragon Capital dare to create Treasure Catalogues, while other small and medium-sized auction houses don’t? It’s because they don’t have that capability and network! Who would want to make a Treasure Catalogue if they obviously fall short of their peers?”

Lu Fan nodded, somewhat understanding.

Ultimately, the so-called Treasure Catalogue was essentially an advertisement. Since the auction house could even obtain Item Panels of such treasures, they must have the means to host many exceptional items in their auction house.

Although the items in the Treasure Catalogue were at most for people to feast their eyes on, who could guarantee that the owners of these treasures would not, for some reason, consign these treasures to the auction house, and were up for sale?

This would undoubtedly make the powerful and wealthy pay more attention to this auction house, bringing in a certain amount of traffic.

[This marketing method is quite clever. But, speaking of exceptional items, I actually have some.]

However, Lu Fan was hesitant about whether he should offer them to be registered and receive what the middle-aged beauty called a ‘thank-you gift’ in return.

The middle-aged beauty caught onto Lu Fan’s hesitation, so she immediately spoke up, trying to drum up some business: “Young man, do you perhaps know someone who has even better treasures than those in our Treasure Catalogue? If so, please feel free to introduce them to us. If they provide us with Item Panels of any exceptional items, we’ll not only give them a thank-you gift for contributing, but we’ll also give you a red envelope.”

Lu Fan thought for a moment, then asked: “How much is a thank-you gift for providing you a Item Panel?”

Seeing that Lu Fan seemed to really have some connections, the middle-aged beauty’s eyes lit up. She smiled and said. “Generally, it’s 2% of the item’s estimated value. If it’s someone you introduce, given my relationship with Xian’er, I can give an extra percentage point.”

[So, three percent of the estimated value? If I could get that much for providing them an Item Panel, then it would indeed be a great deal. But, I still have some other concerns…]

Still, with the Senior Sister present, Lu Fan decided to directly speak up. “If someone shares the Item Panel of an item in your catalogue, there won’t be any future troubles, right? Although it’s a peaceful era, possessing valuables can invite danger. If you leak information about someone having them, wouldn’t that cause trouble for the owner?”

The middle-aged beauty’s smile widened as she waved her hand. “Young man, you’re overthinking this. Our industry has its own rules. If we casually leaked out our client’s information, we wouldn’t have lasted in Dragon Capital for so long, let alone stand firm for fifty years. We absolutely do not leak out any of our client’s information. Not at the Prosperous Heaven Auction House. Especially for items in the Treasure Catalogue, the owners’ information is kept top secret. Even if I died, no one would know who actually possesses these treasures.”

At this point, the Senior Sister also spoke up. “That is indeed the case. Moreover, the Prosperous Heaven Auction House has an advantage that the other three major auction houses don’t.”

Saying this, Senior Sister lowered her voice and said. “Actually, the one behind the Prosperous Heaven Auction House is a big shot from Dragon Capital. And this big shot should be familiar to you. He is Lord Northern Marquis, Tu Jing. This woman here is Tu Jing’s Niece-in-law. Everyone in Dragon Capital knows this, and they also know Lord Tu’s character. That’s why the Prosperous Heaven Auction House has always had the best reputation among all the auction houses in Dragon Capital.”

Lu Fan was surprised to hear this. [So, the Prosperous Heaven Auction House is connected to Tu Jing? The same Tu Jing who is Qin Shanhai’s teacher. The same man who had also helped me with the ‘Jin Zhu issue’.] Although Lu Fan had not met Lord Northern Marquis, they could be considered acquaintances in spirit.

[If this is true, then this auction house must be trustworthy.] Lu Fan nodded and said. “If that’s the case, I should be able to contribute a few Item Panels to your Treasure Catalogue.”

“Oh? You have exceptional items to register?” The middle-aged beauty’s eyes flashed with light, greatly interested.

Lu Fan nodded, took out the Flying Dragon King’s Bone Wings and the No Level Requirement Enchantment Scroll from his Inventory, and directly used the scroll. With a flash of light, the scroll disappeared.

As soon as Lu Fan took out the Flying Dragon King’s Bone Wings, the middle-aged beauty could tell it was definitely a Diamond Grade Item. She immediately dismissed the two casual staff members from the room, leaving only the three of them.

After Lu Fan finished enchanting the Flying Dragon King’s Bone Wings, he casually shared an Item Panel to the middle-aged beauty, saying. “This Equipment should be able to be included in the Treasure Catalogue, right?”

When the middle-aged beauty looked at the Item Panel, her beautiful eyes immediately filled with shock. “A level 60 Diamond Grade Item? And it’s an Extra Equipment, with both Additional Traits and Skills. This thing is an absolute treasure! The cream of the crop!”

The Beautiful Senior Sister glanced at the Equipment and could not help but show a surprised expression. She smiled and commented. “No wonder you wanted the No Level Requirement Enchantment Scroll. It’s for this amazing Diamond Grade Item.”

“This thing is indeed an exceptional item. It gives one the ability to fly. Now that it has No Level Requirement, its price would be several hundred million higher than before, since we would need to include the cost of the scroll as well.” The middle-aged beauty added.

Lu Fan smiled and equipped the Flying Dragon King’s Bone Wings.

Instantly, a pair of giant bone wings appeared on his back. Lu Fan could feel their presence and could easily make them flap, lifting himself into the air, as if these bone wings had always been a part of his own body.

Lu Fan clearly felt that after equipping these bone wings, not only did his Attributes skyrocket, but his overall Combat Power also had a huge increase.

Not to mention, just the Dragon Language Unsealing alone could evolve all of Lu Fan’s Skills by one grade. [I wonder if using Dragon Language Unsealing would also allow my two Second Profession Skills to evolve?]