Chapter 157 Fat Goose Auction House
Making sure to find all peak-tier spells available, Jack made his way through the aisles. He didn"t find too many, but Jack was still satisfied that he at least found something.
There were only two peak-tier spells at the moment. One was Lightning Verdict, the same spell that Tarnel from the Lyre Family specialized in. The second spell was an ice type spell called Glacial Prison, but Jack was going to give it to Maura instead.
He also grabbed a few high-tier spells for himself, including Fireball, Stunning Blow, Lightning Bolt, and Feather Walk.
Fireball was a cla.s.sic that Jack would be able to spam more often than Flame Burst. Though Flame Burst was more explosive, it also costed a lot more mana.
Stunning Blow was a lightning type spell that coated a weapon or a fist in an enormous amount of static electricity. This wasn"t a commonly used spell, but for any spell sword with lightning type spells it was an absolute must. In fact, Maynard chose the Thundercat as his beast companion in order to mimic this very spell.
Lightning Bolt was exactly like it sounded. It was a strong bolt of electricity and gave Jack another strong ranged attack. It was more powerful than Fireball and was more difficult to dodge, but it also costed more mana. Jack just wanted it just in case.
Feather Walk was a silent wind type spell that would be used to enhance one"s speed. It was an easy spell and was common among enchanters to use in parties. Also, it was very hard to detect so Jack could use it and people wouldn"t know that he could use wind type spells.
Jack didn"t want people knowing that he could use all types of spells, so he decided to stick with two types for the time being.
If Jack"s enemies knew that he could use all types of spells, they would plot to kill him even earlier. But that didn"t matter too much to Jack since he already had plenty of secrets anyway.
He didn"t worry about finding Keela spells since she had come from a cleric family and already had more than enough spells at the moment. Maybe after lv. 40 she"d need new spells, but till then Jack thought they"d be fine.
By the time he came up to the front, Lilly was already there with what Jack had requested. "Here"s your two books and your quill and ink. It"s some of the best in town, outside of the auctions of course."
"How much?"
"For all this, including the discount, it"ll cost you at least six thousand gold."
"That much?!" Maura was on her way to the counter when she heard the price.
"Like I said, it"s the best in the city. And that"s after the discount," Lilly laughed and saw the books in Jack"s arm. Her eyes twinkled as she smiled. "But if you include what he"s holding, the price will more than double."
"Just add these to it and whatever she chose as well," said Jack as he placed his books on the counter. "What"s the final cost?"
Getting a better look at what Jack put in front of her, Lilly was speechless.
"Three spell types and both of my peak-tier spellbooks? I hope you"re made of money if you want all this."
"Just give me a price."
"Well… For all this, the lowest I can go is twenty thousand gold…"Lilly shook her head in disbelief. Only the wealthiest of n.o.ble families or the major organizations ever bought her peak-tier spells, let alone two of them and her highest quality quills and inks.
"Okay."
Suddenly, Jack raised his hand and a large chest appeared at his side. "This should cover it."
Lilly was blown away, unsure if she should believe him or not, while Maura recognized the chest and suddenly felt a lot better.
"Take a look," stated Jack. Lifting the lid for Lilly, Jack ran his hands through the thousands of resplendent gold coins inside. "Here"s a little over twenty thousand gold, but I want all of my transactions kept secret. You can publicize that I exclusively shop here and like fire and lightning type spells, but nothing more."
"Yeah… That"s fine…" Overwhelmed by the sheer amount of gold in front of her, Lilly slowly came back to her senses.
She was over lv. 40 and could guarantee the safety fo her goods, but how could she not be surprised to see Jack whip out twenty thousand gold like it was just spare change? It made her wonder just how rich he was.
"Also, if you find any peak-tier spells, let me know. And if you ever find any mythic-tier spells, I will purchase them all with no questions asked, no matter the price, so long as you don"t let others know about it. I don"t like compet.i.tive pricing for such items. If I wanted that, I"d go to the auction house," explained Jack. "How does that sound?"
"You"ve got a deal!"
Lilly shook Jack"s hand and pushed everything his way. To find such a customer was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so Lilly had to take advantage and accept Jack"s terms. With such a dedicated customer she could aggressively search for better spells without worrying if no one would buy them.
"Here"s my contact crystal, let"s link them up," added Jack.
"Let me have it for a second. In the back, I have a mid-tier contact crystal, that way I can even inform you while you"re in neighboring countries. You won"t be able to contact me, but I can give you a heads up about any new spells I find."
Quickly linking their contact crystals, Lilly rushed to the back and returned to give back his crystal. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Sure, which auction house do you recommend?"
Smiling even wider, Lilly took a deep breath. She would get paid a tiny commission for every buyer she sent to the auction house she partnered with, and stumbling into a money-bags like Jack was like accidentally finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.
"There are three main auction houses, but I"d recommend the Fat Goose." Lilly reached under the counter to grab something to hand to Jack. "Here, with this, they"ll let you in and give you the VIP treatment."
"Thanks, Lilly! I"ll see you next time you get something good."
"Bye Lilly, and thank you!"
Jack handed Maura the Glacial Prison spell and they stored their things before the said goodbye and left.
Maura already knew where the Fat Goose Auction House was, so it wasn"t long until they were at its front steps.
Admiring the lavish golden ornament decorating the building, Jack could easily tell that the Fat Goose was a financial powerhouse, even compared to the Adventurers a.s.sociation.
When they neared the entrance, one of the guards looked at them and politely asked, "What business do you have here? Do you already have an emblem?"
"You mean this?" Jack held up the symbol that Lilly had given him.
Instantly recognizing the significance of that symbol, the guard bowed to Jack. "Young master, please forgive my impoliteness. Allow me to guide you inside and lead you to one of our lovely escorts."
Startled, Jack looked at Maura but she was just as confused. Since the man kept bowing, Jack finally responded, "Thank you, please lead the way."
"May I ask the young master"s name?"
"It"s Jack."
"Very well, please follow me, Jack." The guard straightened his back and motioned for them to follow him.
As they pa.s.sed through the entrance, the other guards bowed in unison, showing great respect to Jack wherever he went. Soon they reached the main hall with many different people attending to the vast reception counter.
Walking toward one end of the counter, the guard bowed to a woman on the other side. "Miss, Young Master Jack has come to partic.i.p.ate in today"s auctions."
Having finished speaking, the guard turned and bowed toward Jack one last time before returning to his post outside.
The woman behind the counter showed a friendly smile and gave Jack a once over. "Young Master Jack, my name is Eliza and I"ll be your attendant today. Please, follow me to the third floor."
When she mentioned the third floor, Maura started to understand what was going on. Jack wouldn"t know enough to understand, but Maura knew a few things about the auction houses.
Usually, there was a fee that had to be paid to enter an auction house unless one of the auction houses partners offers an emblem to a well-known customer. However, Maura didn"t know what kind of emblems meant what.
There were three floors used to view the main auction hall, and the first floor was for common people who paid the fee or received the most basic white emblems. Also, near the back of the first floor were booths for people with a bronze emblem. The second floor was reserved for wealthy n.o.bles that had a silver emblem.
Unknown to Jack, he was given a gold emblem, which meant he was a customer of the same caliber as a major organization and he would get a private room on the third floor. There he could see everything but no one from the outside could see him.
Of course, Lilly had good reason to do so considering Jack"s willingness to part with twenty thousand gold. But Jack had no clue that she had given him a fast pa.s.s to the top of the social hierarchy within the auction house.