As Elric walked into the Blackstone Auction House under the watchful eyes of several guards at the entrance, he was immediately struck by the extreme luxury of the interior.
The pillars were made from high-quality materials he couldn't even recognize, and the ceiling was adorned with a magnificent mural depicting the first Duke of the Blackstone family, wearing a red cloak and exuding authority.
Elric's eyes wandered around the opulent hall, filled with awe and curiosity.
Every detail reflected the extraordinary background and history of the auction house.
Just as he was still marveling at the grandeur, Calista's voice echoed in his mind.
"Stop staring. There's nothing worth looking at.
Go to the room on the right for the appraisal."
Elric quickly collected himself, suppressing his amazement and hurried towards the room Calista had indicated.
He knew he had important business to attend to and had to follow Calista's repeated instructions carefully.
Taking a deep breath, Elric pushed open the door to the appraisal room.
The room was unexpectedly spacious, and inside, there was only a man with a goatee seated there.
Upon hearing the door, the man with the goatee looked up at Elric, who was completely hidden under a black robe.
His eyebrows furrowed slightly, but he quickly regained his professional smile.
"You're here for an appraisal, right?" the man asked politely.
"Yes," came a charming yet calm voice from under the black robe—it was Calista speaking.
Elric remained silent, letting Calista handle the conversation.
He walked forward and placed a wooden box in front of the man.
The goateed man swiftly opened the box, revealing more than a dozen neatly arranged white sigils.
He picked up one of them, carefully examining it, and his expression gradually turned serious.
"A three-star explosive sigil?" the man's voice carried disbelief.
"You don't understand," Calista calmly replied from under the robe.
The man's expression immediately became more serious.
He didn't dare take it lightly and quickly put the sigil back, preparing to take the box to a higher authority for further appraisal.
"Could you please wait for a moment?" he asked cautiously, gently placing the sigils back into the box.
"Be quick," Calista replied.
Elric found a chair and sat down as the goateed man left the room, leaving him alone.
"Mommy, what does three stars mean?" Elric asked.
"Like psychic users, sigils are also ranked by stars, from one-star to nine-star, with nine-star being the highest," Calista patiently explained.
It wasn't long before the goateed man returned, accompanied by another man.
The goateed man respectfully addressed Elric, "Madam, this is Master Rick, a three-star sigilist from our auction house."
Rick glanced at Elric briefly, showing no particular interest, then walked straight to the table and picked up one of the explosive sigils to examine it closely.
As Rick studied the sigil in greater depth, his casual demeanor slowly turned serious.
He could tell that the complexity of the sigil far exceeded that of ordinary ones, clearly the work of a highly skilled sigilist.
The atmosphere grew tense, with Elric and the goateed man closely watching Rick's every reaction.
"This is not a three-star explosive sigil. It's four-star," Rick finally said, turning to face Elric, his previously dismissive attitude now replaced by respect.
The goateed man was visibly shocked by this revelation.
He had almost never heard of a four-star explosive sigil, as even crafting a three-star explosive sigil was extremely difficult and dangerous, often resulting in failure or injury.
"Can we arrange a time for the auction?"
Calista spoke up again.
The goateed man quickly nodded, now displaying great deference.
"Of course, madam. There's an auction starting soon in Hall 4.
I can take you there," he offered.
"No need, I'll take the lady myself," Rick interjected, cutting him off.
They soon left the room, with Rick leading the way in silence.
Elric felt nervous and grateful for his robe, which concealed his anxious expression.
When they reached Hall 4, Elric paused for a moment at the entrance.
He noticed the blonde girl he had encountered earlier, being led by a middle-aged man toward a different section.
"What's wrong, madam?" Rick asked, noticing Elric had stopped.
"That's the VIP section.
Need an invitation to enter," Rick explained, thinking Elric was dissatisfied.
"It's fine," Calista replied, and they continued into the auction hall, where Rick seated Elric towards the back.
The auction had already begun.
After ensuring everything was arranged, Rick left, leaving Elric to wait for his explosive sigils to appear.
Hall 4 was quiet, with only the sound of the auctioneer's voice echoing.
A woman in a blue dress stood on the stage, her voice calm and elegant, commanding the attention of the entire audience.
The auction hall was vast, capable of accommodating hundreds, if not thousands of people.
As Elric watched the blonde woman on stage, a sense of familiarity tugged at his memory.
"Does she seem familiar to you?" Calista's voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
Elric nodded.
The woman's elegant and composed demeanor captivated the audience, and each of her movements exuded confidence, as if she was in full control of the proceedings.
In the next moment, Elric suddenly realized—the woman looked remarkably similar to the little blonde girl he had encountered earlier.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we've just received a new item for auction, and I think you'll all find it very interesting," the blonde woman said with a smile as she finished auctioning the current item.
With a wave of her hand, a servant brought forth a jade tray holding twelve white sigils.
"Four-star explosive sigils," the blonde woman announced with a smile.
Immediately, murmurs filled the hall as the audience reacted to the news.
Seeing the reactions, the blonde woman smiled warmly.
"As you all know, explosive sigils are highly valuable, whether for life-saving purposes or hunting psychic beasts," she continued.
As she spoke, her words rang true.
The higher the star rating of a sigil, the more terrifying its effect.
A four-star explosive sigil was as powerful as a Fourth Realm psychic user.
And unlike psychic users, who couldn't unleash many skills at once, twelve explosive sigils going off simultaneously could potentially overwhelm even a Fifth Realm psychic user.