Chapter 25: A Truly Valuable Artwork

"No need," Kaios said, withdrawing his gaze. "Which lot number is my painting?"

"The third one in the art category," Xiao Zhuo'an replied.

"Alright, let's go. The auction is about to begin."

The auction was set up in the main hall of the theater. In addition to the existing high-altitude VIP boxes, temporary semi-enclosed boxes were arranged. Longitudinally, they were separated every three rows, and horizontally, they were bounded by the two main aisles. Each row contained three of these temporary boxes. They only had an opening facing the stage, while the back, top, left, and right sides were all completely enclosed.

This layout basically ensured that the nobles attending the auction could only see the auctioneer on the stage from their respective boxes, preventing them from seeing or being seen by other nobles.

Kaios naturally did not have the qualifications to sit in those high-altitude VIP boxes, but his and Xiao Zhuo'an's seats were quite good. Being situated toward the back, their position was naturally higher up. From this vantage point, they had a relative overview of the entire venue. Although they could not see the people in the boxes below, they could guess which box was bidding based on the auctioneer's gestures and eye movements. This was highly beneficial for judging the overall situation.

The first batch of lots belonged to the equipment category. The very first item was a Magic Robe with certain anti-tear properties, resistance to Spiritual Energy Waves, and defense against Fire Magic. Since it was crafted by a top-tier fashion designer, the starting bid was 1,200 Magic Coupons, and it eventually sold for 3,600.

According to Xiao Zhuo'an, out of those 3,600, at least 3,300 were purely for the designer's fame. Based on the Magic Robe's actual performance, its rating could only reach the Excellent Level, making it barely worth 300.

Kaios's purpose for coming this time wasn't just to "broaden his horizons," experience noble socialization, and see how many Magic Coupons his painting could fetch. In truth, he had also brought quite a bit of money himself, hoping to win a few items.

During the bidding for the fourth lot, Kaios raised his paddle.

"Black Gold Saint Armor": A full-body armor boasting extremely strong Spiritual Qi resistance, Magic Resistance, and physical defense. The equipment rating was Fine, and it did not include a helmet.

This suit of armor did not come from a renowned designer. Normally, an armor with an overall performance rating of Fine wouldn't qualify for an auction of this caliber. However, its material was "Extreme Tower Black Gold," which was exceptionally Rare. Compared to most metals with equivalent physical defense, this material was significantly lighter. Aside from having a lower Enchantment capacity than some top-tier materials, it possessed very few weaknesses.

The starting price was 700 Magic Coupons. Kaios slowly followed the bids up to 860 Magic Coupons and successfully secured it.

The equipment ratings of the Holy Protection Alliance progressed as follows: Qualified Level, Excellent Level, Fine, Rare, and Perfect Level.

Any piece of Enchanted Equipment with a single strong functional Enchantment could be evaluated as meeting the Qualified Level standard. However, the majority of Qualified Level Enchanted Equipment used by Contracted Servants were weapons. When it came to armor, the vast majority of Spiritual Energy Warriors guarding manors or residences used Light Armor or Heavy Armor with No Enchantment. Only in the Northern Realm or Western Realm—places with pioneering missions that required going to the battlefield—would Spiritual Energy Warriors at the Great Guard Level use Qualified Level or even Excellent Level armor. Naturally, the grade of the weapons they wielded would be much higher.

Take the three people Kaios brought out this time, for instance. All of them were Spiritual Energy Warriors, but only Lu Hao's armor was a Qualified Level Enchanted Armor. Harvey and Sharvella both wore ordinary armor with No Enchantment. When Kaios found out, he had Sharvella try on a Qualified Level Enchanted Armor. However, upon seeing Sharvella wearing Heavy Armor like a Heavy Armor Guard, he instantly regretted it and made her change back.

Above the Perfect Level, there was Certified Equipment, as well as non-standard ratings that mostly existed in legends—Divine Artifacts.

Divine Artifacts naturally went without saying; very few people had actually seen one. "Certification Level," on the other hand, referred to Perfect Level equipment certified by the Daoist Holy Protection Palace. The Holy Protection Palace would place an Enchantment mark on them. If two or more pieces of "Certification Level" equipment were used simultaneously, it would trigger a "Holy Protection Effect," providing divine protection or a special attack.

Rare and Perfect Level equipment were mostly things one could only come across by chance but never actively seek out. Items that could be brute-forced into existence by "stacking materials" and were commonly seen in the circulation market basically fell into the Qualified Level, Excellent Level, and Fine ratings.

At auctions or other high-end circulation channels, the selling price of a Mage's equipment, such as a Magic Robe, would generally be higher than that of Spiritual Energy Warrior equipment of the same grade. Take the Magic Robe that just sold for 3,600, for instance. Its rating was actually only Excellent Level, but since many nobles also liked to wear Magic Robes in their daily lives, those crafted by famous designers often became luxury goods highly sought after by the aristocracy.

Among Spiritual Energy Warrior equipment, weapons were also more expensive than defensive gear like armor and Shields. The fact that this "Black Gold Saint Armor" made it into this auction was actually because the auctioneers hoped to leverage its scarce material and lightweight characteristics to sell it to nobles for recreational wear, thereby driving up the price.

Following that, Kaios made a few more moves, purchasing some equipment with a relatively high cost-performance ratio. Of course, this was only relative to this specific auction. In terms of market value, the prices were definitely on the high side. However, these pieces of equipment lacked stable retail channels, meaning they weren't things one could just buy immediately on a normal day.

After the equipment category auction concluded, it was time for the art category.

The very first lot was a half-human-tall wood carving, depicting a half-naked woman bathing in a tub. It had No Enchantment and lacked any special functions. It was purely a work of art, but because it was crafted by a master woodcarver, the Double-leaf Earl Jonathan Feimeng, its starting bid was a staggering 8,000.

One had to know that in the entire equipment category just prior, the highest transaction price had only been 6,800 Magic Coupons. As the bids rolled in one after another, this wood carving's final transaction price reached 23,000 Magic Coupons. This single wood carving was equivalent to six to eight times the annual profit of a relatively large and highly profitable factory!

Next up was a stringed instrument that somewhat resembled a lute. It was also the work of a master, and that "master" happened to be a Marquis.

To Kaios's shock, while the instrument was being introduced, a massive, moving image actually appeared behind the stage. It even had synchronized audio demonstrating the use of the instrument, looking exactly like a movie from his past life. Of course, the resolution was far from comparable to the cinematic visuals of Kaios's previous life, but it was already enough to leave him astounded.

Just what level was the Magic Technology in this world at?

Ultimately, this exquisite-looking musical instrument sold for a staggering 32,000 Magic Coupons.

The third lot in the art category happened to be Kaios's painting, with a starting bid of 8,000.

Due to the auction's rules, Kaios could not bid on his own item. Naturally, this was merely a gentleman's agreement. If someone truly wanted to drive up the price of their own goods, they could arrange for others to help, but he obviously wouldn't do such a thing. However, to his surprise, the frequency of bids for his painting was much higher than the first two art lots combined. Although the final transaction price was 14,300—lower than both of the previous lots—the competition was vastly more intense.

Xiao Zhuo'an whispered to him from the side, "The first two lots sold for high prices mainly due to the premium of their creators' noble titles. Kaios, yours is entirely a reflection of its true value. If you squeeze out the inflation, yours is worth much more than those two combined."

Kaios simply smiled and said nothing. If he were to truly measure it by his own value system, his painting shouldn't have sold for such a high price either. Of course, he was still very happy that it fetched such a great sum. Now, he had a large pile of money to freely dispose of. Even though he had to pay a 10% transaction fee, the remaining amount was still substantial.

The subsequent fourth and fifth lots were also paintings by famous masters. Naturally, Kaios didn't bid, but when he saw the fifth painting, he actually felt the same sensation as when he looked at that pile of "Red Paintings" in the original owner's studio—he could trigger his Emotion Perception and feel as if he were personally on the scene.

The painting depicted a continuous stretch of mountains and rivers viewed from a high vantage point. After looking at it, he felt an intense sense of exhilaration and heroism. He even felt as though the roof of the auction house had been blown off, the surrounding people had vanished, and he was the only one left in the world.

He wondered what was going on. Could it be that the primary reason for the various emotions he had sensed in the studio previously wasn't the original owner's paintings, but his own Superpower? That Superpower capable of sensing the emotional changes in others?

During the ensuing auction, several more lots in the art category allowed Kaios to trigger his Emotion Perception. And it wasn't just limited to paintings; he could even sense the emotions from a magnificent evening gown adorned with ornaments. When creating it, the maker hadn't felt joy, but rather sorrow and depression.

Furthermore, Kaios discovered that works capable of triggering a strong Emotion Perception in him generally incited fierce bidding. These were clearly what Xiao Zhuo'an referred to as "artworks with true value."

Just as Kaios was pondering whether he should bid on a cheaper work with Emotion Perception to bring back and study, the art category auction came to an end.

Next up was the auction for potential Contracted Servants.