Mixed Blessing System

"Soul bone!" Viktoria stood up from her armchair as she identified that, speaking out loud. But due to the formations in that VIP room, only her mother could hear her.

Mabel then nodded in agreement and said in a tone charged with interest. "Indeed, that is a soul bone compatible with the left femur!"

Soul Bones were a type of unique cultivation item produced when a matured demon died in natural ways or was killed without the chance to self-destruct.

There were two kinds of beings in this world. One was those of pure bloodline, or instead of the same species. The other was of half-breeds created by the mixtures of two or more species. The demons in question were members of a pure humanoid species of the same category as humans and animals.

In any case, a unique reaction would be triggered within a demon's corpse at the moment of their death. Such an event would concentrate the laws and energies remaining in the corpse into one of the many bones in its body. That resulted in what became known in this world as Soul Bones!

Soul Bones were items compatible among pure species only with humans and could provide passive abilities to those who successfully absorbed them.

Because of this, and also because demons could strengthen themselves by drinking human blood and devouring human flesh, those two kinds were natural enemies who hunted each other!

And so, when Martin presented that blue and red Soul Bone, reactions like Viktoria's immediately arose in the surroundings.

"It's a Soul Bone!" An old man stood up in the middle of the armchairs on the first floor with an expression of astonishment on his face.

"Unbelievable! I never thought I would have the chance to see one of these at an auction!"

"It's truly our luck to find such a thing here!"

"Is that a Soul Bone sold by a demon hunter? Is someone like that in our city?" A young woman in one of the VIP rooms on the second floor commented on this with a tone full of admiration and interest.

Humans and demons naturally hated each other. So, demon hunters were highly valued and respected in human society!

"But I wonder why the owner of this is auctioning off something like this? Maybe he is an expert who already has the complete set of Soul Bones?"

"If that is the case, that person must be a Saint at the very least!" Someone said with a look full of admiration and respect.

There was a limit to how many Soul Bones a human could absorb.

In short, each human could absorb one bone in the head area, four in the legs, four in the arms, and one in the torso area. No matter the type of bone, these were the limits for each part of the body, and ten bones in total were the maximum that a human could absorb.

Precisely because of this, the idea that there was a person with a complete set of Soul Bones was simply fantastic. Since only those strongest in the world could achieve this, many in the surrounding area soon thought that there was some senior cultivator in the city!

...

As loud comments spread throughout the first two floors of that auction house, Annaliese and Lothur were also shocked to see that being auctioned off.

After all, in addition to demons being powerful and having extremely high vitality, which made it difficult to kill one of them, the number of these beings was not significant!

To get an idea, if there were 500 million humans in Concordia, then the demon population should not even reach 10 million. Because of this, any Soul Bone could be considered rare, even those from beings of weaker lineages.

"A Soul Bone..."

"Unbelievable!"

"I didn't think people were willing to sell their Soul Bones!" Annaliese commented in a vibrant tone to Lothur, full of interest to know what the ability of that bone would be.

The Frost family had three Soul Bones as they could be removed from human bodies sometime after the death of their former owner. Aiken had two of these three, and Viktoria had the third.

Mabel also had two soul bones, which she had obtained before joining the Frost family.

And knowing how powerful such an item could be, Annaliese was full of curiosity, already hoping that her family would acquire the item.

Lothur then agreed with her as he stared with wide eyes and mouth at that red and blue bone. "It's a shame I don't have enough coins. Otherwise, I would try to compete for it."

"With something like that, gaining a passive ability or even an immediate strength increase would be like a walk in the park!"

Lothur naturally already knew about Soul Bones due to his studies over the past few weeks at the Morning Star Academy. As such, he understood perfectly well how valuable a bone like that could be.

Even the lowest quality bones, those of Iron-grade, could help those who absorbed them significantly. That was because, although there was no possibility of removing a Soul Bone without the death or crippling of its owner, it could grow along with the cultivator who had it!

Knowing this, Lothur was more than interested in that item!

"Hmmm." She nodded at him.

In general, Soul Bones inherited one of the abilities of the demon who generated it. But there was also the possibility that such a resource could transform into an energy form highly compatible with humans.

Because of this, even talent enhancement or vitality increases were not impossible to achieve by absorbing a Soul Bone!

Martin's voice then sounded after the initial moment of agitation. "I present you with this Femur Soul Bone, previously belonging to a Servant Demon who has reached the 2nd stage of cultivation."

The purity of bloodline ranked demons, ranging from those with the minor talent, Servants, through Lord, General, Monarch and finally, the most talented, Emperor.

As for the cultivation level, the relevance of this to the Soul Bone was that the more powerful the demon, the more mature the ability left. But, of course, this had no bearing on the quality of the bone since what truly mattered regarding this characteristic was the purity of the demon's bloodline.

One of those beings with a purer bloodline would naturally leave behind a Soul Bone with a more powerful ability. On the other hand, individuals of the same bloodline rank could leave their skill more mature if it was of a higher level.

The auctioneer then said. "The senior selling this Soul Bone informed us that while alive, the demon who generated this item had a mind control ability. So, we judge that whoever absorbs it will probably gain a passive ability of the same kind."

...

"Mind control?"

"That's interesting... But it's a pity that Soul Bone is only from a Servant demon." An old man with his head full of white hair said this in a low voice to the people next to him in one of the VIP rooms on the third floor.

"An Iron-grade soul bone doesn't seem that relevant to my family."

"Hmm, finding one of those would be great. But paying for it might not be worth the cost... It's not for nothing that the demon hunter behind it is selling it." A man with black hair and a relatively young face said this to the old man at his side.

"Let's see what happens..."

...

"Vicky, what do you think about this?" Mabel asked her daughter, still looking with interest at that Soul Bone.

It was true that bones could develop with their owners. Still, it was much better to develop something that was already powerful. Considering that, it was not strange that the interest of many of the most powerful in that place waned after that man's description.

"Well, a Soul Bone is still a Soul Bone."

"If the price isn't exaggerated, I think it's worth trying to buy it. But, of course, that won't do for me, as I already had a femur bone. But it might be useful for Anna, who doesn't have one."

"In the best-case scenario, that Soul Bone can turn into energy to improve her talent without even taking up one of the slots she has for absorbing Soul Bones. At worst, she might gain a valuable skill."

"Oh?" Mabel smiled.

She already knew all that. The reason for her question was actually to test her daughter's decisions, to test the future heir to the Frost family!

And with that in mind, Mabel turned her attention to Martin, who was finishing his presentation.

"... With all that said, I announce that the starting bid for this Soul Bone is 15,000 silver coins, with a minimum increase of 500!"

And then, soon, several bids began to emerge in that place.

"15.000!"

"15.500!"

"20.000!" A voice broke from Lothur's VIP room, momentarily drawing the attention of many people in that place.

...