Chapter 82: Mask Auction (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 82: Mask Auction (4)
"...One person?"
I furrowed my brow.
They would give me this for the life of just one person? A Legendary tier Skill Stone?
"If you accept the offer, you may use the Skill Stone immediately. One life will then be deducted."
"..."
I remained silent.
Thoughts raced through my mind. The very first thing I felt upon hearing the price of a Legendary skill was a single life was...
Is that it?
Honestly, that was my genuine reaction.
I wasn't the selfless hero people made me out to be. They called me a savior, a messiah, but I was no saint.
Not ten thousand people. Not even a thousand. Just one.
Some might ask how I could dare to quantify the value of a human life. They would be right; human lives are precious. But by my standards, that value wasn't absolute. If necessary, it was something I could weigh against other things.
And this wasn't just anything. It was a Legendary tier skill—a rank even higher than Epic.
The Epic+ skill, Destruction Ray, was already absurdly powerful. How incredible would a Legendary tier be? How much would it help in clearing future Nightmares?
If I sacrificed just one person out of a population of eight billion, I could obtain a massive boost in combat power. It would just be one person dying somewhere on Earth—one more soul added to the hundreds of thousands who die every day.
I couldn't help but think it was a perfectly acceptable deal.
I remembered the person during the auction who had screamed at me to take the stone. Honestly, wouldn't ninety-nine out of a hundred people tell me to choose the skill?
It was tempting. A sweet, poisonous temptation.
But on the other hand...
My mind began to cool. The one making this offer was none other than the Tower.
What are you trying to do?
What was the Tower’s goal? To break my conscience? To mock me and see if I would fold?
Somehow, that didn't feel right. Would the Tower—which desperately wanted me to fail and die—really try to enhance my combat power so significantly just for a petty moral victory?
This felt different from the penalty on the 4th Floor or the offer on the 6th. No matter how I looked at it, this was an overwhelmingly favorable deal. All I had to do was surrender a sliver of my humanity.
"What's the reason for this offer?" I asked the Auctioneer directly. "It’s suspicious as hell. Did you really think I’d just swallow the bait?"
The Auctioneer didn't open his mouth. He clearly had no intention of answering.
I stopped time.
After a long period of contemplation, I reached a conclusion. I resumed time.
"I have two conditions."
"..."
"Accept them, and I’ll take the deal. Otherwise, it’s off."
"What are they?"
I thought he would ignore me again, but the Auctioneer actually responded.
I stated my first condition. "Let me choose the non-climber who dies. No random selection."
I didn't know the Tower’s intent, but I trusted its malice. I suspected it wasn't random at all—that it was rigged to target my family. Because of that, I was already leaning toward rejection. I threw out an unreasonable condition, thinking if they took it, fine; if not, whatever.
But surprisingly, the Auctioneer paused for only a moment before answering.
"My master says he will accept your condition."
"..."
They were accepting this? They weren't targeting my family?
The Tower’s willingness to comply actually made me feel even more uneasy.
[Legendary Tier Skill Stone]
Upon use, one Legendary tier skill can be acquired.
"Please state your remaining condition."
I stared intently at the stone before speaking. "Instead of this one, give me a Legendary Skill Stone where I can see the skill name and description. Like the ones given for clearing a floor."
"..."
"Whether I use this one or you bring me another, it’s a random drop for me either way, right? So give me one where the description is visible."
Compared to the first condition, this wasn't even that demanding. However, the Auctioneer remained silent.
"...No answer, huh?"
I stared him down. It was a long while before he spoke again.
"He says that condition cannot be accepted."
"...Why? Is that such a difficult request?"
"He says that condition cannot be accepted," the Auctioneer repeated.
Ha... this son of a bitch.
I looked back and forth between the Auctioneer and the Skill Stone before letting out a dry laugh.
"This isn't random, is it?"
"..."
"What skill were you trying to force on me?"
Among the Rare tier skills, there is one called 'Heaviness.' It greatly increases physical durability but permanently slows movement speed. The problem is that it’s a passive skill—once acquired, it can never be turned off or deleted.
The thought had flashed through my mind while I was agonizing over the choice. What if the skill inside this stone wasn't random, but predetermined by the Tower? What if it was a passive skill that offered a benefit while carrying a fatal demerit?
I was almost certain now. They accepted the "bullshit" condition of letting me choose the victim, but refused to show the skill description?
It reeked. It was a foul, dirty trick.
I slammed the lid of the box shut.
"If you won't accept the terms, take it back. I wouldn't touch that thing even if you begged me."
The Auctioneer stood there, blank and unresponsive. He simply stared at me. I glared right back.
Suddenly, the box vanished.
The Auctioneer collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
"..."
I looked down at him. The figure lay motionless, like a machine that had run out of power, before dissolving into smoke and scattering into the air.
I stood in the silence for a moment before muttering to the empty room.
"...Hello?"
What now? If it's over, send me back—
"Oh."
The scenery shifted. I was back in my room. The mask on my face had vanished.
I let out a long, heavy sigh. "Phew..."
I sat in my chair, processing what had just happened. Was it really a cursed skill? Almost certainly. Even the price of "one person" felt like a trap. If they had offered a Legendary skill for free, I would have suspected it instantly. They likely set the price at one life to fixate my focus on the moral dilemma.
They wanted me to think, The Tower is trying to corrupt me, while they hid the real trap in the skill itself.
The Tower was a filthy bastard.
This incident made it clear: I could never let my guard down when the Tower offered a "gift."
Well, regardless... the event ended safely. No one died, except for Number 41.
I was exhausted. I threw myself onto the bed and closed my eyes.
*
After the climbers invited to the Mask Auction returned, the Communication Window exploded.
[Receipt: Do you have any idea what happened there? It was insane.]
[Hecti: Why? Tell us! What happened?]
[Receipt: First, we were moved to an auction house, and everyone was wearing masks...]
The participants were itching to talk. They spilled everything: how the auction traded in the lives of civilians, how every item was Rare tier or higher, and how an Epic tier skill had appeared.
But above all, they talked about Saram123.
They described how he had handled the horrific event and how he had stopped the sacrifice of millions. The public was stunned.
[GuardDog: Is this for real? Saram123 was there too?]
[Viper: Saram123 killed a bidder to nullify the auction? Seriously?]
[Davin: Wait, what’s this about shaking hands with him? Explain!]
While the Communication Window blazed, the real world was in an uproar. Eyewitness accounts of Saram123 were the most sensational topic of the century.
Unlike the Wang Kai incident, where the Security Force and Black Star Society kept details classified, the auction participants were talking. Media outlets scrambled to cast anyone who had been there.
A podcast aired almost immediately.
"There are all sorts of rumors flying around about the Mask Auction. Isn't that right, Mr. Brooks?"
"Indeed. That’s why I’m here—to set the record straight."
The show was The Jude Noise, a famous podcast. Brooks, a 7th-floor Easy Difficulty climber and Participant #27, sat across from the host.
"Let’s get into it," Jude said. "What on earth happened at that auction?"
Brooks took a deep breath, his face turning serious. "When we were transported, we found ourselves in a dark theater. A hundred of us, all masked and numbered. Then, the Auctioneer stepped onto the stage..."
He explained the currency: one million lives given to each participant.
"I couldn't believe my ears," Brooks said. "They gave us 100 million lives to use as bidding credits."
"My god, that’s horrific," Jude whispered.
"The auction started, and a climber named Shin Su-jin—an executive from the 5th Floor Security Force—immediately stood up. She took off her mask and begged everyone not to bid. But then... Number 41 appeared."
Brooks’s expression darkened. "That bastard was insane. He started inciting the crowd, saying we needed the skills to save the world and that it didn't matter if people died because millions die every year anyway."
"Whoa..."
"But right then! Saram123 made his move." Brooks’s voice rose with excitement. "He told us not to play into the Tower’s hands. He asked us not to bid. He said he believed in us."
Jude nodded. "He revealed himself because he was worried people would be swayed by Number 41, right? If one person started, the rest would follow."
"Exactly. But Number 41 wouldn't stop. He eventually bid a thousand lives."
"Oh no...!"
"He was mocking us, asking if anyone else wanted to join the 'fun.' A few others actually started to break. The bid hit five thousand. It was going to spiral out of control. But then..."
Jude leaned in. He knew what was coming.
Brooks raised his hand. "Amidst the chaos, Saram123 calmly raised his hand. He didn't bid. He just asked the Auctioneer a question: What happens to the auction if the last bidder dies?"
"..."
"The Auctioneer said the bid would be void. And as soon as he said that..."
Pew—
Brooks mimicked a gun with his fingers.
"Number 41 evaporated. It was that ability from the rumors."
"...The black beam."
"It was... chillingly silent. He just ceased to exist. I only realized he was dead when the Auctioneer announced the bid was void. Then, Saram123 walked to the front of the stage. In a room where no one dared to breathe, he declared that no one was to bid. He said he would kill anyone who did."
Jude swallowed hard.
"He made the hard choice," Brooks continued. "If he hadn't, thousands, maybe millions, would have died. After that, no one dared to open their mouth. Who would?"
"No one could."
"The items passed one by one until the final lot: an Epic tier skill called Lion’s Roar. Someone actually stood up and told Saram123 he should take it—that even if ten thousand died, it was worth it for him to have that power to save humanity."
"And?"
"Saram123 didn't even hesitate. He shook his head. It wasn't even worth considering. The auction ended right there."
Jude finally caught his breath. He knew this episode would shatter every viewership record they had.
"And the rumors about the handshakes? Is that true?"
Brooks grinned with pride. "It’s a fact. He accepted my handshake. I held his hand with this very right hand."
"Tell us everything!"
Brooks described the small banquet after the auction and how Saram123 had personally greeted everyone.
The Mask Auction incident was over, but the fire it lit was just beginning.
[Saram123 Saves 100 Million Lives at Mask Auction...]
[The Resolute Mercy of Saram123...]
[How the Savior of Humanity Stopped a Massacre...]
[Chris: Again? Seriously? Is there anything this guy can't do?]
[Cheese: The Great Saram123... how far will he go to protect us?]
[Trimidibi: Killing the bidder to void the bid is a pro gamer move.]
[Sobo: 'If you bid, I will kill you.' I would have wet my pants.]
[JumpRope: I’m so jealous of the guys who were there.]
[HeavySnow: He was terrifying when he killed Number 41, but so warm afterward. He really is a savior.]
Not long after clearing the 6th Floor, the world once again bowed its head to the name Saram123.