At that moment, Huang Yi’s voice was like a thunderclap, exploding in the calm auction hall!
Everyone in the hall was stunned for a moment before they, as if by some unspoken agreement, all looked up towards Huang Yi’s private box on the second floor!
Those glances held a medley of emotions: confusion, fear, derision, and more. No one could believe that someone was able to conquer the plague—a disease that had ravaged the entire continent, which at best could only be prevented by vaccinations instead of being cured!
Preventable but incurable! Such was the nature of the plague. Once contracted, death was the only outcome!
"May I ask, respected sir, are you truly certain that you wish to bid 10,000 Gold Coins for this Plague Rune?"
"Yes," Huang Yi affirmed decisively.
"Alright! 10,000 Gold Coins for the first time... the second time... the third time! Sold!" The auctioneer’s pace quickened noticeably, as if aware that no one else was willing to bid, and after rapidly calling it three times, he hammered down the gavel.
Now that the auction was complete, Huang Yi’s heart finally settled down; he had finally acquired a rune suitable for himself!
To others, the plague might have been synonymous with death, but for him, it wasn’t necessarily the case, because his Rare Class was that of a Judge!
This Judge Class possessed a Class Talent known as "Legal Protection": when subjected to various types of damage, it would only sustain the ten highest instances of damage every second!
The lethal mechanism of the plague was the simultaneous outbreak of countless viruses throughout the body, each causing minimal damage hardly worth noting, but fatal when attacked en masse. This principle relied on numbers to overwhelm, allowing the small to accumulate into a deadly force.
Huang Yi’s talent "Legal Protection" enabled him to only endure the top ten instances of damage per second, thereby directly thwarting the fatal mechanic of the plague!
However, all these were still Huang Yi’s speculations, not certainties; but the chances were high enough for him to warrant taking a risk. Sometimes, risk, and opportunity coexist—the greater the risk, the greater the potential reward might be.
It was only after deep deliberation that he finally decided to secure the rune, not on a mere impulse.
"Now, we come to the highlight of the auction! There are a total of five flawless High-level Runes and one legendary Top-level Rune!" At this moment, the auctioneer’s voice, tinged with excitement, stirred up the atmosphere once again.
"Top-level Rune!" a cry of amazement rose from the crowd below. What had preceded were ordinary runes and some High-level Runes with defects, but what was coming up for auction was the real treasure—flawless runes, particularly the legendary Top-level Rune. Such runes drove all the bidders completely wild every time they appeared at an auction; fortunes would be entirely laid bare, with nothing held back!
"The first High-level Rune we have is called the Winter Rune, which can increase the damage of any Ice Skill below level 100 by 30%! The starting bid is 100,000 Gold Coins, with each subsequent bid increasing by no less than 10,000 Gold Coins!" said the auctioneer, holding up an ice-blue rune stone and introducing it to the crowd.
"110,000!" A woman’s voice from the VIP area on the second floor kicked off the bidding.
"120,000!"
"150,000!"
From the VIP area, bids emanated from one private box after another; for now, only those in the VIP area had the financial power to compete, while the players seated below could only watch the excitement.
"250,000 Gold Coins!" This time, that mysterious person in the box next to Huang Yi spoke up again, securing all the Ice Runes that had appeared thus far! And he was not about to miss out on this High-level Ice Rune either.
"260,000!" After a moment of silence, the VIP area erupted once more with bids, with the same woman’s voice as the first bid.
"350,000!" The mysterious person raised the bid significantly again.
"360,000!" Yet, the woman’s voice persisted, unwilling to give up.
"500,000!" The mysterious person appeared to be losing patience, substantially hiking up the bid.
The VIP area fell utterly silent, and the woman’s voice went quiet as well, evidently reluctant to follow any further, especially since the Top-level Rune had yet to appear. They had to consider the overall situation.
In the end, the Ice Rune was once again claimed by the mysterious person.
"Next up, we have the second High-level Rune, known as the Silence Rune. This rune can add a two-second Silence effect to a single-target skill, but professions that already possess silence-type abilities cannot enjoy this effect again. The starting bid is 100,000 Gold Coins, with each bid increasing by no less than 10,000 Gold Coins!"
"110,000"
"130,000"
...
Bidding voices surged again within the VIP area.
Huang Yi was actually interested in obtaining this rune, as he only had one control skill called Disarm, which prevented opponents from using their weapons for 10 seconds. However, some skills didn’t require weapons to cast—some could be invoked by simply chanting a Spell, saying the skill’s name, or gesturing. For instance, the Undead Mage on the 20th floor of the Tower of Pantheons could still use "Status Reversal" after losing its weapon. Possessing a Silence ability would undoubtedly enhance his control over enemies.
But Huang Yi only had so much Gold Coins, and if better runes appeared later, he would have no chance to compete. This was a real dilemma.
Just then, an idea struck Huang Yi as he thought of the Eye of Time.