Training Addict Magician in a Growth-Focused Story

Chapter 57

"The Zeto trading company is holding an auction in three days."

"Zeto trading company?"

Leon asked, puzzled. Could it really be that a trading company was hosting an auction with artifacts of such high quality that even a magician would be interested?

"They specialize in magical items. The company is run by a magical family. Would you like to participate?"

The shopkeeper’s words made it clear that he was trying to actively draw Leon into the auction. Leon noticed the shopkeeper’s eagerness and instinctively raised his guard.

As Leon took a step back, the shopkeeper scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Ah... To be honest, there’s a referral fee involved, which is why I recommended it. But I assure you, I had no intention of deceiving you."

The shopkeeper’s honest admission slightly eased Leon’s suspicion, but doubt still lingered.

"You said the items are high quality. What exactly will be auctioned?"

The shopkeeper paused, deep in thought, then slowly recalled, "Last time, I heard that a rare herb capable of producing B-grade essences sold for 50,000 mana stones. Various magical artifacts are usually up for auction too, though it depends on the timing."

Hearing this, Leon’s interest was piqued. If the items were of that caliber, it was definitely worth participating.

"...I see."

Leon responded briefly, having made up his mind.

"I think I’d like to participate."

"Then please come here in the morning, three days from now!"

The shopkeeper, unable to hide his joy at Leon’s acceptance, smiled widely. With a small sigh, Leon nodded and left the store.

Upon arriving at the inn, Leon secured a room and sat cross-legged inside. Since he was waiting for news about Torin, he hesitated to enter the orb, and it wasn’t suitable to practice magic in the inn room.

In the end, Leon decided to pass the time by focusing on meditation.

Three days passed, but there was still no word about finding Torin.

Reluctantly, Leon headed to the store early in the morning.

"You’ve arrived!"

The shopkeeper, clearly excited, greeted Leon with enthusiasm, as if he had been waiting anxiously. He quickly led Leon through the narrow alleyways.

After walking for some time, an unexpectedly large plaza unfolded before them.

Many magicians had already gathered in the plaza, exuding a cautious atmosphere. Some had their robes pulled low, while others hid their faces with wide-brimmed hats. A few even wore masks, thoroughly concealing their identities.

'Most of them are stronger than me...'

Leon pulled the nomad-patterned robe he was wearing tighter, sweat forming on his brow. His current intermediate-level magical abilities weren’t particularly impressive. The magical energy in the air seemed to constantly scan him as he passed.

While Leon was trying hard not to expose his youthful face, the shopkeeper knocked on the door of a small building at one corner of the plaza.

A large man opened the door.

"This is the new guest. He wishes to participate in the auction."

The large man sized Leon up before nodding and handing a small pouch to the shopkeeper.

"Here."

"Thank you very much."

The shopkeeper glanced at Leon before quickly disappearing.

As Leon stood there awkwardly, the large man approached with a surprisingly friendly smile on his stern face.

"Thank you for attending our auction. It will begin shortly, so please wait a moment."

"Our second item is a high-capacity dimensional pouch! It dwarfs standard pouches capable of holding tens of thousands of mana stones. This pouch can store massive weapons, large magical energy crystals, battle carriages, and even mid-sized skyships! It’s a truly limitless storage item! The starting price is 5,000 mana stones!"

Unlike the Aetherwin Bow, this item caught Leon’s attention.

It was because of his golems.

Leon’s current dimensional pouch couldn’t hold more than a few golems. Whenever he needed to retrieve more golems, he had to return to the orb, which was inconvenient.

But with this high-capacity pouch, he could solve that issue in one go.

"5,100!"

Someone called out the first bid, but Leon immediately responded.

"5,500."

Without hesitation, Leon raised the price.

The magician who had first bid briefly glanced at Leon, their gaze filled with both wariness and frustration, but Leon kept his eyes forward, unfazed.

That magician quickly countered.

"5,600!" "6,000." "6,100." "6,500." "Damn it, show-off with too much money. It's yours."

Leon remained calm, showing no reaction. He continued to conceal his face, aware that revealing his young appearance might attract unwanted attention.

"6,500. Going once, twice... Sold!"

The auctioneer’s triumphant voice echoed as an attendant quietly approached Leon.

Handing over a small golden token, the attendant said, "Once the auction is over, present this token along with your payment to claim your item."

Leon nodded and accepted the token.

The auction continued smoothly. Instead of claiming items immediately, this method allowed for the auction to flow without interruption, which Leon appreciated. He had no desire to draw unnecessary attention to himself.

After that, ten more items were auctioned off one by one. As time passed, even more valuable items appeared, but none caught Leon’s interest.

At one point, a B-grade essence was auctioned off for a staggering 100,000 mana stones.

‘Essences are really expensive...’

Since higher-grade essences were difficult to produce, their prices skyrocketed. Still, Leon wasn’t particularly interested in the essence itself.

What he needed were the materials to trade for rewards, not the elixir itself. He already had plenty of essence rewards in reserve.

‘I was hoping for some herbs...’

Leon clicked his tongue in disappointment. In the end, the only thing he acquired at the auction was the high-capacity dimensional pouch for his golems.

However, he learned something important from this experience.

‘It’s clear that high-quality items do appear at auctions. I should participate whenever possible.’

The auctioneer began to introduce the final item.

"And now, the last item."

Although the auction was reaching its climax, Leon’s interest had long since faded. He waited without much expectation for the final item to be revealed.

"This item was brought from the northern Beast Forest. A wooden sword with mysterious powers! Do not be deceived by its plain appearance!"

As the cloth was pulled away, a simple wooden sword was revealed.

Its appearance was so plain and common that it seemed out of place as the final item in an auction.

The atmosphere in the auction house instantly cooled, as if cold water had been poured over the crowd. The magicians stared at the wooden sword with thinly veiled disappointment.

However, in the midst of that disinterest, only one person’s eyes widened as they fixed on the wooden sword.

‘This...?’