Paying four thousand and five hundred tokens, Percy bought a black orb with a bright pink needle that supposedly pointed toward a lesser spring with a relatively high concentration of sound mages. According to the information that the seller had shared with the Sapphire Pavilion, the ancestors of these people had once possessed the Elemental Source of that affinity, though their original planet had been discovered and conquered by a greater spring tens of thousands of years ago.
A few surviving gods had fought hard to transport some of their most talented mortals to a new world, giving them a chance to start over, hidden away from their oppressors. The pool of sound users had obviously been greatly diluted over countless generations, since the probability of inheriting a composite affinity from one’s parents was extremely small, and the refugees were no longer under the influence of the Elemental Source. However, the new planet had still given rise to a higher proportion of sound users than other worlds of that size, on top of inheriting a rich variety of spells that took advantage of that affinity from their ancestors.
Percy felt bad that the location of the lesser spring had leaked a second time, so he’d been quite happy to purchase the compass to keep it from anyone else’s hands. Still, magnanimity hadn’t been his only reason for doing that.
Once he figured out how to strengthen his mutations and wield his familiar’s acid mana safely, Percy would need to study the sound affinity as well – the final combination of Micky’s and Nephthys’ common elements. A third composite mana type wouldn’t help him much, but mastering the sound affinity was the last prerequisite that he would have to fulfil before he could practice with the storm element.
Not only was mastering a calamity affinity bound to be quite impactful, but Percy also still felt a sense of responsibility toward Ishkuria to at least embark on this project, to eventually pay her back for everything that she had given him.
For six thousand tokens, he purchased a green orb that housed a deep purple needle, pointing toward a lesser spring that specialized in alchemy. Sadly, the presenter had specifically mentioned that the world in question wasn’t Atlantis, inadvertently shooting down Percy’s hopes of reuniting with another one of his past hosts. However, the Attendant had also mentioned that the people of that planet were working hard on a way to condense their stable form of beast mana into a more potent resource. They hoped to accelerate their cleansing speed and evolve their world into a greater spring.
Percy had found it strange that the bidding war over that particular compass hadn’t been fiercer. His guess was that most potential buyers didn’t have high expectations for the lesser spring’s project, clearly doubting the ambitious alchemists’ ability to succeed. They probably weren’t the first people to try condensing beast mana into a more potent variant, yet most of their predecessors had obviously hit a dead-end.
Of course, Percy wasn’t as quick to dismiss them. He already knew that it was possible to produce a more potent cleansing resource, due to the naturally-occurring royal jelly that Nephthys and her mother had generously shared with him.
From what he had gathered, even the overwhelming majority of greater springs hadn’t come in contact with something like that, but he saw no reason why an alchemist wouldn’t be able to artificially reproduce it. Perhaps, the incomplete methods of the lesser spring, combined with samples of nectar and royal jelly would constitute enough reference points to lead Percy to a breakthrough.
Even if he was right, he remained doubtful that he would be able to brew anything better than Gloomy Dawn for himself, but mass-producing the elixirs for everyone else on Remior might not be out of the question. With any luck, he’d also register a new alchemic principle in the process, which was more than enough to entice him even at a personal level.
The third and final compass that he purchased wasn’t nearly as expensive as the other two. Bidding had begun at three thousand tokens, yet Percy won it fairly easily by spending no more than three and a half thousand. It was the only one of his purchases that wasn’t even exclusive, yet it was the one that excited him the most, since it supposedly pointed toward a greater spring.
Aje explained that the location of most greater springs was common knowledge, so people rarely bothered to sell that information at the auctions. Few even dared to, as the mere act of doing so was considered highly offensive toward the greater springs in question.
Percy would certainly like to get his hands on a complete list of coordinates, or a large collection of karmic compasses one day, though he had no idea where to even ask for such things. For now, his best bet was to attend as many auctions as possible and try to purchase the few compasses that happened to cross his path.
The rare listing in this case had been placed by one of the greater spring’s rival factions – who clearly and openly cared more about insulting their enemies and enticing third parties to annoy them than the pitiful profits from the sale. Percy wasn’t thrilled with the idea of being unleashed upon that planet like some kind of intergalactic mosquito, but it wasn’t like he would visit that world with his main body, nor would he allow himself to get involved in the dispute. As long as he knew which direction to send the clone toward, he would infiltrate the greater spring in his usual, subtle way, relying on his bloodline.
Before learning that an invitation to Mithril was going to be auctioned today, purchasing the locations of greater springs had been his main goal in this trip, as they might hold the secret to extending his life and activating his third core.
More importantly, this particular world was rumoured to possess a Ring of Sacrilege of the ice affinity. The information wasn’t confirmed, so it could just as easily be propaganda by their rivals trying to paint a target on their backs, yet Percy didn’t mind putting his new Shapeshifting Sentries spell to good use, scouring the planet from pole to pole in search of the artifact.
Glancing at the tablet in his host’s hands, Percy couldn’t help but sigh upon realizing that his balance had dropped by over seventeen thousand tokens. It was a hefty amount – one that he was convinced that he would have never managed to raise by selling less risky items than the secret of the cyan powder.
Scanning the mindset-granting plaque and the three new karmic compasses stored safely inside his spatial seal, he felt that his gamble had already paid off, and that was before even considering the main prizes that he was about to purchase. Hopefully, he had more than enough money for them too.
Before presenting the much-anticipated invitation to Mithril, the giant Attendant presiding over the event introduced the third most luxurious lot in today’s auction – which coincidentally also interested Percy greatly!
“There is a reason why our Pavilion uses the value of affinity-changing treasures as the foundation of every transaction, yet it’s not every day that you, our esteemed patrons, are given the opportunity to purchase a rare one.”
The god picked some sort of old-looking notebook from the raised platform, lifting it up for all to see. Its brown, leather cover was worn and had no title or author’s name. It only sported a couple of small holes which, along with the half-chewed bottom-right corner, revealed the glossy silver pages contained within the thin booklet.
Opening the notebook, the Attendant flipped through it slowly, showing the audience that it only contained a pair of sheets. They appeared to be in better condition than the cover, but they were completely blank as well.
Percy wasn’t surprised by the appearance of the treasure, since he knew that they didn’t always manifest as plants. It wasn’t difficult to guess which mana type consuming the silver pages would grant either.
“There isn’t much that needs to be said, since the item is pretty self-explanatory,” the Attendant agreed. “Still, for the sake of clarity, let me point out that it will grant the soul affinity to a maximum of two mortals. As a reminder, only pure cores can acquire a rare element. The notebook will last about twenty-six more days, so please ensure that it reaches its recipients in a timely manner. It would truly be a pity to let such a valuable treasure go to waste. Bidding starts at the standard twenty thousand tokens.”
Percy had already worked out that twenty-six of the Pavilion’s days were approximately equal to three weeks on Remior – which was more than enough time to deliver the resource, even after accompanying Tiberius and the Gallimians back to their planet.
He was admittedly a little disappointed that the first rare affinity-changing treasure that he had ever laid eyes upon was of the one element that he didn’t need. Even if it had been of a different mana type, he had yet to decide whether he wanted to replace his pure affinity.
His second core had served him well until now, with the pure element being an integral component of his arsenal. Percy no longer entertained the idea of getting rid of the affinity in favour of a common or composite element. Even Phoebe had warned against that, having explained that deities could acquire common elements but not the pure affinity, making it functionally similar to a rare mana type.
Still, the deities of Huehue had been considered weaker than other gods before the invention of their boosting art, and Percy hadn’t missed the fact that every single two-cored mortal in the void tournament had chosen actual rare affinities for their new organs. Clearly, there was still some major disadvantage of the pure affinity that persisted even in the Concept realm that Percy didn’t yet know about.
Either way, he didn’t hesitate to enter a bid. Even though he wouldn’t be able to personally use the thin notebook, he was pretty sure that his grandfather would be thrilled to acquire a soul affinity.
In fact, this was something that all of Remior, including the gods, would be quite interested in. If everything went well, Archibald would become the universe’s second “wanderer”, sending out soul clones and bringing back priceless treasures from every corner of the cosmos.
The auction for the notebook was a heated one, though Percy eventually managed to win it for seventy-three thousand tokens. It was only after storing the treasure inside his spatial seal that he turned to face the Gallimians. “I almost forgot. You guys are here to acquire new affinities too, aren’t you?”
“We are,” Duwa confirmed with an enthusiastic nod. “Lady Aje is planning to wait until after the auction to buy a handful of cheap treasures for us with whatever tokens we have left.”
“Any preferences?” Percy asked before offering anything, to avoid pressuring the Gallimian mortals into picking an affinity they didn’t want.
“I’d be more than grateful to obtain anything but lightning,” his former host said.
“How come?” Percy asked, genuinely confused. “Plasma is a powerful element.”
Duwa shrugged. “I’m sure that it is, but I would rather go for an affinity that will result in a more hospitable internal world if I ever become a god. Fire is already a pretty bad mana type for that purpose, so I’m hoping to obtain air, water, or earth.”
Nodding, Percy pulled the dandelion out of his spatial seal, tossing it over. The one remaining pappus had lost most of its lustre, with the majority of the green florets having visibly withered. Even the stem and leaves of the magical flower had shrivelled and rotted, indicating that it wouldn’t last much longer.
“Percy… I can’t accept anything else from y–”
Percy raised his borrowed hand to stop his former host. “If you don’t want it, just throw it away. I’ve already fed the other use to Tiberius, and I have no need for the final charge.”
Duwa gave his kinsmen an uncertain look, receiving encouraging smiles from everyone, including the goddess. Sighing, the Green-born plucked what was left of the round flower, swallowing it whole.
Peering his borrowed eyes away from his former host, Percy allowed the kid to deal with his evolving affinity by himself as he returned his attention to the oversized Attendant. It was finally time for the auction that had attracted most of today’s audience, as well as sealed Percy’s own decision to part with one of his most prized secrets.
The bidding war for the unprecedented opportunity to acquire a custom-made Focus was about to begin!