Blacksmith: The Tempering Begins With One’s Flesh - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Up the Ante

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lin Feng’s voice echoed throughout the silent auction hall.

Even Andera’s gaze turned serious. He opened his mouth slightly and then narrowed his eyes a little at Lin Feng, saying,

“Four thousand… and one hundred gold…”

However, before Andera could finish, Lin Feng continued, his expression unchanging as he held up five fingers above his head.

“Five thousand!”

There was a loud gasp throughout the auction hall.

Even the host standing at the very front of the hall was a little shellshocked.

That was ten times the asking price!

The blue crystal had started off at only five hundred gold pieces, but now it was going for ten times that!

Auctions had an unspoken rule.

No matter how valuable an item, its final price was usually only three to five times its starting price.

To be honest, five thousand gold pieces could buy three or five crystals of exactly the same quality in the major cities.

In all his life as an auctioneer, it was his first time seeing an item reach ten times its original price.

“Are you determined to fight me for this?”

Andera was a little angry now too. He glared at Lin Feng, but the latter was unfazed.

“No, you misunderstand me… I just want to buy that ore so I can forge something new.”

His calm tone sounded just the opposite to the furious Andera.

‘This man is determined to fight me…

‘Everyone in Whitestar knows that I’m on the verge of becoming a Grade-4 blacksmith. With this blue crystal ore, I can start making a Grade-4 weapon. I need this to break through my limits!’

Andera clenched his teeth and raised his finger slightly. His lips trembled, but he could not get a single word past them.

Five thousand gold pieces was no paltry sum, even among noble families.

Andera may be a Grade-3 blacksmith, but all he had done these past few years was complete the orders as requested by the city defense corp and the regional guard. He did not have that much saved up.

When the auctioneer saw Andera sit down in a fit, he finally recovered from his shock. The former cleared his throat and picked up his gavel, saying with a smile,

“Five thousand gold pieces! Anyone want to go higher than five thousand?

“Going once…

“Going twice…

“Three times, and it’s gone!

“Congratulations, Master Lin Feng! You have a new Grade-3 blue crystal ore!”

Andera frowned abruptly when he heard the words ‘Master Lin Feng’. He gave Lin Feng a subtle glance but then his head drooped, and he sighed.

“Everyone, please calm down!

“I said this before, but while the blue crystal ore is valuable, it pales in comparison to our final item!

“This! Is our pièce de résistance!”

The moment the host’s powerful words echoed, the lights on the stage suddenly went off.

In their place, a longsword with a bright black blade and shining with a purple light gradually rose onto the stage.

“This is the Obsidian Sword!

“A Grade-3 weapon!”

As soon as the Obsidian Sword rose onto the stage, Lin Feng could clearly hear the entire hall go silent again for just a split second. The next moment, it burst into whispers.

Even Andera, who had been competing against him for a bid just a while ago, leaped to his feet.

As a Grade-3 blacksmith, Andera had the most authority when it came to appraising this Grade-3 weapon.

As expected, before the host could say anything, a few of Andera’s closer acquaintances piped up.

“Master Andera, that sword… What do you think?”

Andera’s eyes shone with a strange light. At first he was stunned, and then he was critical, but then he turned shocked again, and finally… he looked on in admiration.

“All I can say is… the creator of that sword… is no less skill than I am.”

In truth, Andera knew very well that even he would need an immeasurable amount of effort and resources to create a Grade-3 weapon.

Even if he did manage to forge one in the end, he could not guarantee that it would be as high-quality as this Obsidian Sword before him.

He only phrased it the way he did as to not embarrass himself too much.

Nevertheless, that was enough. Andera had long since made his name as a blacksmith in Whitestar, and with his approval, the other guests turned their equally-shining eyes onto the Obsidian Sword once more.

The auctioneer could not help a chuckle when he read the atmosphere in the room.

He held the Obsidian Sword in his hand and said with a smile,

“Patience, my friends. When our appraisers were appraising this sword, we noticed a few other fascinating things about it. For example… behold.”

As soon as he said that, a dummy appeared in front of him abruptly, and then the auctioneer swung the sword through the air.

The air in front of the dummy suddenly shifted eerily.

As the space there distorted, a few sparkles of purple starlight erupted out of nowhere.

Although the stars were small, they burst into a rain of intense sparks when they hit the dummy.

A rough estimate showed that the power of the stars as invoked by this sword was at least as powerful as a full-strength strike from a normal Grade-2 fighter.

“This is…”

The guests in the auction hall stared, their eyes wide. Even Andera’s jaw had fallen open.

Grade-3 weapons were naturally razor-sharp. 

However, it was unheard of a Grade-3 weapon to invoke the power of the stars with just a simple swing.

“This item will start at… two thousand gold pieces, and increments go at a minimum of five hundred. Now… let the bidding begin!”

As soon as the host spoke, the guests erupted into a frenzy of activity.

They offered up the gold pieces they had been saving up for a variety of reasons like it was nothing.

Within a few seconds, the Obsidian Sword was going for four thousand five hundred gold pieces.

Just then, Andera suddenly stood from his chair.

His wavy beard and hair were trembling, and he held his hand up high, just like Lin Feng did earlier, shouting at the top of his lungs,

“Six thousand! I offer six thousand gold pieces!”

Lin Feng looked at Andera, startled as well. He knew that Andera was a Grade-3 blacksmith, but he did not know why the latter would be so interested in his Obsidian Sword.

“Six thousand five hundred!”

“Six thousand eight hundred!”

Lin Feng rubbed his ears, turning his gaze across the frenzied crowd. Their constant price-calling left him somewhat in a daze.

Just then, however, an auction employee sought him out.

“Master Lin Feng… Master Andera approached us earlier, asking for the owner of the Obsidian Sword. If he made a deal with you directly, would you be willing to part with your sword for eight thousand gold pieces?”