Chapter 47 Contact with a secret organization
The Alchemy Council meeting will be held in Fein City in thirteen days, and Irene does not plan to leave Nasir, so only Byrne will go there by carriage.
He has been to Fein City dozens of times in the past few years and has long been accustomed to the experience of business trips.
"Alchemy Council? This is my first time to contact those secret organizations that are not public."
After stepping on the land of Fein City, Byrne looked at the increasingly chaotic buildings around him and frowned slightly.
He quickly went to the designated bank and got a gift box from the bank's employees.
After returning to the inn, Byrne opened the gift box and took out a dark golden mask from it.
He raised the dark golden mask and looked at it very carefully.
It is made of high-quality metal materials, solid and elegant, with complex patterns carefully carved on the corners, and a layer of glimmering coating on the surface, which will be more dazzling under the light.
"Nice artwork. The creator must be a powerful person who is proficient in alchemy."
Byrne quickly realized that this was an alchemical product created by magic. The creator was probably a powerful alchemist.
Its existence was a declaration of the strength behind the Alchemy Council to all the invitees.
He carried banknotes equivalent to four hundred gold coins. Nowadays, many people use banknotes that can be exchanged for gold at any time at the bank.
As the night deepened, Byrne came to the deserted alley written in the address. The surroundings looked dark, old and dirty, completely unlike what he imagined.
"What should I do?"
He gently stroked the wall, but nothing happened.
"..."
He was silent for a moment, suddenly woke up, put on a dark golden mask, and reached out to touch the cold wall again.
The next moment, Byrne felt that the environment in front of him had completely changed.
He came to the porch inlaid with golden brass decorations in a trance. The surroundings reflected bright and warm light. The waiters all wore silver masks with smiles on their faces and looked at the new guests quietly.
"Please follow me."
The waiter led him through the porch and into the magnificent hall.
The high ceiling was hung with gorgeous crystal chandeliers, emitting shining light, illuminating the entire space, and rows of chairs were filled with guests wearing strange masks.
Just like a high-end aristocratic club, Byrne was no longer the country bumpkin. In the past few years, he and Mr. Jin occasionally came to places with similar decorations.
And through the powerful memory brought by the extraordinary characteristic "deep memory", he quickly counted that there were a total of twenty silver-faced waiters on the scene, and the number of guests who came here was thirty-two.
Byrne found something very interesting. He clearly remembered the physical characteristics of the nobles and rich people in the city, but he didn't match any of the thirty-odd people at all.
"So that's it, it seems that it is the extraordinary effect brought by the alchemical mask."
He soon realized that this was the "hidden" effect brought by the mask itself. The extraordinary power contained in the mask was hindering his cognition, and he couldn't "perceive" the true identity of the guests through normal methods.
"It seems that the auction of the Alchemy Council follows the principle of secrecy."
Thinking of this, Byrne immediately became much more relaxed, and even some shameful desires deep in his heart were relieved.
He suddenly realized something. So that's why the other meaning of the mask is to prevent people from letting go and auctioning contraband items.
Since no one can recognize each other, people's sense of morality will naturally decline after the auction begins, and they will become more unscrupulous.
The silver-faced waiter handed Byrne an auction list written on gold paper, which contained all the transactions of this auction.
Byrne didn't think much of it at first, but soon he was shocked!
There was an option for the sale of alien population on this list, and he fell into silent contemplation.
The public abolition of slavery has only a few decades of history. In fact, there are still slaves in many small places. It's not that it's incomprehensible that such places would sell slaves.
Soon, the auction began.
The host came on stage wearing a silver mask. He looked tall and thin, like a slender ghost. Every move he made while standing on the stage revealed a huge sense of weirdness.
"Auction, start."
The host's voice was emotionless, which made Byrne feel uncomfortable. He always felt that something was wrong with him.
At first, the items auctioned by the Alchemy Council were all insignificant artworks. Byrne just watched them, and he was interested but didn't dare to buy them.
It was not until the Alchemy Council auctioned books and extraordinary inheritance that Byrne finally decided to make a move.
He auctioned some books about secret history, most of which were banned books that were kept secret. It was not allowed by the church to keep them privately, and he spent a total of fifteen gold coins.
At the same time, Byrne also knew Vanessa's talent, so he bought a set of spell inheritance belonging to the summoning type caster, which cost thirty-seven gold coins and ten silver coins.
Its creator was a monarch-level caster five hundred years ago. The content includes three common summoning type spells "Summon Fireflies", "Summon Birds", "Summon Vines" and a common casting technique "Spell Expansion".
"Spell Expansion" is one of the five common general specialties of spellcasters. The effect is to consume several times the mental energy in exchange for a larger casting range and a larger number of final effects. The spellcaster who masters it to the extreme can instantly burst out terrifying spell effects.
However, only spellcasters who have successfully reached the metamorphic level can learn and master "casting skills".
Vanessa is just a talented ordinary person now, not even the weakest spellcaster, and may not become a metamorphic spellcaster in the future.
By buying this set of spellcasting inheritance, Byrne can be regarded as investing in the future.
In the military force system of each country, the second-level spellcasters can be regarded as the mainstay, and they are undoubtedly powerful extraordinary people with status and position.
"I hope she will not disappoint our expectations."
The Alchemy Council auctioned off some alchemical props again. After thinking about it, Byrne decided to make a move again.
He bought 25 portions of blood potion, intending to use it as raw materials, and also bought three special alchemical flintlocks and 50 matching bullets, and bought a lot of alchemical explosives and three powerful alchemical burning potions.
Then Byrne bought two portions of pale green alchemical poison mist potion, which looked disgusting, but the actual effect was very strong.
After they come into contact with the air, they will evaporate quickly, covering an area of tens of meters in radius, corroding the skin of all ordinary creatures in the area and causing them to ulcerate.
Although they cannot kill people immediately, most lives will suffer from it, and almost completely lose their ability to move and their will to fight.
Finally, he also got five important awakening potions, which can gradually make people with mental disorders clear up. Irene said that they are necessary when wandering in the spirit world.
The above-mentioned alchemical props cost a total of seventy-four gold coins and thirteen silver coins.
At the end of the auction, the finale of tonight finally appeared, and the silver-faced waiter handed it up on a tray.
The auction of the Alchemy Council is held every few months, and the finale of each auction must be something that is very greedy and coveted.
It looks like a blood-red ring, which contains extremely impressive power.
The voice of the tall and thin host under the mask was flat, and he introduced without joy or sadness: "The last auction item today is the treasure-level mysterious wonder 'Soul-leaving Ring'."
"Its effect is to make the wearer's consciousness temporarily leave the body in the real world, and then the consciousness can pass through obstacles such as walls and soil in an invisible state. The duration depends on the user's mental strength. The starting price is 200."
A treasure-level mysterious wonder immediately attracted the interest of many people on the scene. The starting price was 200 gold coins. Byrne bid 230 and 270 respectively, but he couldn't get it at all, so he could only make up the numbers to cheer.
Treasure-level mysterious wonders are important items worth thousands of gold coins. He watched the bidding price rise all the way, and finally it was won by a female guest sitting in the front row for 1,535 gold coins.
Byrne couldn't help but suspect one thing.
The backers of the Alchemy Council are likely to be the "pillar families" of the four eastern countries!
The four countries in the east of the continent, Syat, Rhea, Valer, and Cania.
Most of their land, wealth, and resources are completely controlled by the ten "pillar families" and the five major churches.
All other small families and organizations must bow down to their power.
The Hoven family behind the East Coast Governor, Count Hoven, also known as the "Broken Giant" family, is one of them.
The Roman family behind Duke Roman is powerful and is of course one of the ten pillar families, and their family nickname is "Angel of the Night".
Compared with them, the Fisher family is extremely small and not even worth mentioning.
But Byrne believes in his heart that with the help of the great Lord of the Lost, the Fisher family will sooner or later be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the ten pillars, and even have a future that surpasses them!
