As the news of the mysterious sorcerer challenging the 'Path of Glory' gradually spread in Duriel, Houdini had already started to sell the 'canned food' that Rody had transported at the pier with great efficiency.
Although the canned food was not very technologically advanced, and it would not take long for someone to figure out the theory behind it, it was the only one in Lachman that could preserve food for a long period of time. One had to know that not all ships had the Freezing Spell Formation of the Boradini. Ninety-nine percent of the ships in the port were normal ships, and the food that the fishermen and sailors ate when they went out to sea was similar to what Merlinsera had said …
Biscuits that were as hard as stone, and bread that was full of maggots. These people who lived at the bottom of society did not even have clean water at sea because the water in wooden barrels would quickly turn green and emit a rancid smell. Therefore, they could only carry that strange tasting ale with them all year round.
Ordinary fishing boats could only replenish their supplies once every three to ten days, and ships sailing at sea could only replenish their supplies once every month or two. Many sailors who did not have fruits and vegetables as food had died of septicemia. If there was a technology on the market that could preserve food for a long period of time, it would definitely be a blessing for them!
Houdini knew this better than anyone else. Because of this, he specifically chose to set up a stall near the ships that were preparing to fish at sea. In the chaotic port, anything could be done as long as one had money. Besides, Houdini did not intend to sell the canned food for a long period of time. He just followed Roddy's instructions and used magic to brand the canned food with the words "Made in the Kingdom of Karen". Then, he found a banner and wrote the characteristics and price of the canned food. After that, he hired a few people to sell the canned food.
The sailors in charge of purchasing the canned food were attracted by the banner and the shouting. After asking around for a long time, they saw that the canned food was beautifully packaged and cheap. Regardless of whether it could preserve food or not, the price was enough to buy fruits and meat of the same weight. So, they quickly made the purchase decision.
There were nearly a hundred canned food in total, and they were all sold out in a few hours. Houdini deliberately controlled the number of canned food he sold so that he could sell the canned food to all kinds of ships. After that, he closed the stall and left. Anyway, the canned food was not good for now. Everything had to wait for the fishing boats to come back before it could be praised.
Houdini did not feel tired after working until the afternoon. He took a shower and had a simple dinner. He took a wooden box, called a carriage, and went straight to the Barafar Street District in the center of Duriel.
This street could be said to be the "holy land" that all the Wizards of Lassman had to visit at least once. It was no more than 400 meters long and was located in front of the Colomier magic tower. Standing in the middle of the street and looking north, one could see the huge front gate of the magic tower. This was the most comprehensive magic material supplier in the country, and the quality was guaranteed to be the best.
Most Magic Towers had a relatively complete set of magic tools and supplies stores outside. For example, the Magic Tower of Crohn, the Crown of Ice, only had three magic stores outside, and the materials they sold overlapped with each other. However, in the "Balafar Street District", one could see "specialty shops" that sold scroll materials, puppet materials, magic circle stones, and all kinds of Magic crystal.
The things here were not even close to being "cheap", so mages who did not have a rich family could only look at them. There was no upper limit to "expensive", because many of them were unique but priceless. Among them, most of the most precious ones would be auctioned regularly in the gorgeously decorated "Noggenfogger Auction House" in the middle of the street.
This was Houdini's destination. He got off the carriage, carried the box, and walked directly into the auction house. Because of the "magus" emblem on his chest, the guards at the door did not stop him. The attendant, Kris, was an exquisite beauty. Not only did she have a good figure and temperament, but she could also call out the names of the magi in Lassman one by one.
The "Noggenfogger Auction House" had a profound background, so even though she knew that Houdini's reputation was not good recently, she did not speak ill of him like the person who accepted the manuscript from "Deep Blue". Instead, she acted as usual and led Houdini to the VIP room on the first floor.
"It would be best if these two items can be auctioned in the near future."
Houdini did not waste any time and directly opened the box in his hand. Kris only took a glance and respectfully said, "This … Magister Houdini, please wait for a moment. I will invite Lord Broy to discuss it with you personally. I hope you can go upstairs."
The auction house was also divided into different ranks. The higher one went from the fourth floor, the more expensive one's status was. Houdini only showed the items in the box and was invited to the second floor. He knew that this was because there was an eight kilogram "cobalt ore" in the auction house.
"Cobalt ore" was a strategic resource in Lassman. In other words, it was something controlled by the country and could not be bought on the market. Once someone sold it privately, it would often attract the attention of the "law enforcement team". This was because the parliament needed to confirm the origin and use of the item and strictly control the identity of the buyer.
Therefore, it was not impossible to auction it, but this item had a lot of implications and could easily cause trouble. Strictly speaking, the "Noggenfogger Auction House" was basically the only place in Lassman that had the right to auction the "cobalt ore". Therefore, the following matters were quickly handled by a supervisor and he had Houdini fill out a long and detailed form with ease.
However, when he saw the content that Houdini filled out, he could not help but ask, "Are you sure you want to auction it anonymously? If the "cobalt ore" is auctioned anonymously, you should have heard that the "Noggenfogger Auction House" will charge an additional 20% processing fee. "
The original processing fee was 10%. For ordinary items, "anonymous auctions" usually did not require additional fees, but "cobalt ore" was definitely an exception. This was similar to people in modern society going to an auction house to sell tactical nuclear bombs. How many people would dare to bear the cost?
"No problem."
Houdini was a man of few words. He did not care how much the processing fee was. The purpose of the auction was not to make money. Eight kilograms of cobalt ore was indeed big news in Lassman, but compared to the remaining tonne of cobalt ore in the backyard, Houdini had enough confidence to show them what it meant to be naive.
After a series of procedures, Supervisor Broy planned to send Houdini to the door and leave. Unexpectedly, when he stood up, Houdini did not get up. This magus calmly took out the other four Rechargeable Magic crystal from the box. "This is the second item that I wish to auction."
"Err … Mage Houdini, although the" Noggenfogger Auction House "also auctions Magic crystal, the lowest quality is" flawless "high-grade goods. This one of yours …"
Supervisor Broy glanced at the small Rechargeable Crystal and continued, "For this Intermediate Magic crystal, we can contact other auction houses for you to auction it on your behalf. What do you think?"
Naturally, he would not reject it. With eight kilograms of cobalt ore in front of him, who knew what good things Houdini would bring out in the future? Therefore, Supervisor Broy decided to do him a favor and personally make a trip to settle it.
"Do you have a crystal analyzer?"
Houdini ignored his suggestion and asked such a question instead. The latter was stunned for a moment and immediately took down a metal instrument embedded with a magic circle from the shelf beside him. This was the instrument that Mage Lachman used to determine the attributes of Magic crystal. After activation, the Magic Crystal that was being tested would display a unique pattern on the "display board" of the instrument. Mages would then classify the Magic Crystal according to the pattern. If they wanted to find a similar Magic Crystal, they would try to choose the one with the most similar pattern.
However, Magic crystal was like snowflakes. There would never be two identical pieces. This was the common understanding of all mages.
Houdini was very familiar with this instrument and quickly activated the first crystal to test it. He then used a piece of paper that he carried with him to make a rubbing of it with magic. Supervisor Broy did not understand why he did this. He only watched strangely as Houdini picked up the remaining crystals and repeated the previous actions.
"Mage Houdini, you are …"
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Houdini stack the four pieces of paper that he had just made a rubbing of. Then, he used an "Illumination Spell" to illuminate them from below.
There was no difference between the four overlapping patterns. Broy's words came to an abrupt halt. He opened his mouth wide and was stunned for a full ten seconds before he regained his senses.
"Mage Houdini, please go upstairs. We can talk in private."
This time, Houdini was directly invited to the highest floor of the "Noggenfogger Auction House" to face the general manager of the auction house. The conversation after that was carried out under the protection of many magic circles. Houdini calmly signed another stack of agreements and once again requested for an "anonymous auction".
When he left, Houdini did not leave through the main entrance. Instead, he walked along a secret passage in the auction house to a nearby tavern. He then boarded a sealed carriage from the tavern's stable. After making a long detour, he returned to his residence.
From this point, it could be seen that the "Noggenfogger Auction House" was not just for show. It was able to establish itself in front of the Colomier Magic Tower.
There were probably less than a hundred people in the whole of Lessiman who could sign an auction agreement on the top floor of the auction house. However, Houdini did not feel the slightest bit of honor or excitement. He did not know when it started, but he had completely broken away from his previous way of thinking. Now, he felt relaxed and calm, as if he was "not in the game".
No one cleaned the dilapidated courtyard, and he had no interest in caring about it. After his routine meditation, Houdini went straight to sleep. He had no worries and fell asleep peacefully.
The next day. He got up, washed up, and went out to eat breakfast in the academy's canteen. Ignoring the disdainful looks of the teachers and students, Houdini hired a carriage and two porters. He began to visit the few "magic grocery stores" that were distributed in the various academies in Duriel City.
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