Chapter 6: Auction House Tyrant
Leveling up increases all stats by 1 each.
Unless it was a truly exceptional case, stats never failed to rise upon leveling up.
And raising your level was something you could always do.
‘Elixirs are different.’
Once stats reach a certain threshold, their effects vanish.
The gap between someone who maxes out all their stats with elixirs from level 1 and someone who doesn’t is insurmountable.
That was why Kim Minwoo was heading to the auction house right now.
‘First stat cap is 50. Gotta fill that up with elixirs no matter what.’
Raise them as high as possible with elixirs, then use level-ups and other methods afterward. That was the royal road.
Of course, not just anyone could pull it off.
Who could easily chug down elixirs costing tens of millions each when they’d just awakened?
That left only certain awakeners who could use this method.
People like Kim Minwoo, who could photocopy money.
Or promising talents backed by a nation or major guild.
[Awakener Auction House, Korean Branch]
A massive building loomed between the city skyscrapers.
One in every country, the Awakener Auction Houses.
In Gate Hunter world terms, they could be called mysterious byproducts created by the ‘system.’
The system’s operation came with overwhelming advantages.
Most items, excluding equipment, couldn’t be resold.
No worries about scams, and purchases went straight to your inventory—no shipping time.
Even with the steep fees, it was enough to make it somewhat acceptable.
He stepped inside the auction house.
A hologram popped up before his eyes.
[Select items to buy/sell. Fee is 10%.]
[1. Skillbooks.]
[2. Equipment.]
[3. Elixirs.]
[4. Monster Byproducts.]
[5. Miscellaneous.]
‘Elixirs.’
[Connected to Elixir Marketplace.]
[Warning: Items registered for sale cannot be withdrawn until they sell or expire.]
Thousands of listings filled his view. Elixirs at various price points. Refining the search filters brought up exactly what he wanted in a snap.
[Low-Grade Mana Pill] x200
[Price: 100 million each]
[Poster: Alchemist Choi Yuna]
[Posted: 3 hours ago.]
[Low-Grade Strength Pill] x200
[Price: 80 million each]
[Low-Grade Agility Pill] x200
[Price: 70 million each]
[Low-Grade Vitality Pill] x200
[Price: 70 million each]
“Oh. More than I thought.”
Kim Minwoo whistled.
Elixirs were hard to get even with money. They required time, manpower, and materials to produce.
Selling them wasn’t easy either.
Each one cost tens to hundreds of millions.
That kind of money could fully kit out an F-rank awakener with decent gear.
Naturally, 99 out of 100 went for the gear.
‘Some accident must’ve blown up.’
When a bulk order came in, they produced them, and then the buyer went bust.
That’s when elixirs flooded the market like this.
Choi Yuna was probably sweating bullets right now.
“Good luck, Miss Choi Yuna.”
Click.
[Warning!]
[Elixirs cannot be traded or transferred to others once purchased.]
[Purchase 800 low-grade elixirs for 64 billion total?]
Click.
[Final Warning!]
[Fee is 6.4 billion! Confirm transaction?]
He had to kill an outer god within seven years.
Time was something you couldn’t buy for any price.
Click away.
[Purchase complete.]
[6.4 billion fee deducted.]
[Items stored in inventory.]
[Share buyer info with seller?]
Click.
[Buyer info sent to Alchemist Choi Yuna!]
Now she’d know his name and identity.
‘Choi Yuna’s a pretty useful character.’
Chief researcher at the Alchemist Guild.
High status too.
Her dad was the guild master.
Solid skills.
Give her money, and she’d whip up elixirs fast and good.
When he needed even higher-grade elixirs in bulk later?
Knowing each other would make it a breeze.
She’d gotten the buyer’s info too—a nice info swap.
* * *
“Those Goldstar Group bastards!”
Choi Yuna felt like her head was splitting lately.
All because of Goldstar Group.
One of Korea’s top 100 companies.
As an alchemist who had to hustle for sales, they were usually the kind you bowed and scraped to.
Not this time.
“They order elixirs and then go bankrupt? What the hell am I supposed to do?”
They’d blabbered about new ventures training awakeners to raid gates, then crashed and burned.
Overnight, 800 low-grade elixirs lost their buyer.
Hundreds of billions tied up in limbo.
And that wasn’t all.
Those lunatics had ordered even more mid-grade elixirs on top.
The total frozen funds were unimaginable.
“We should’ve taken the deposit upfront. I said it felt shaky. Sales inflated, but operating profit was zilch…”
“Shut your trap! Who saw a top 100 company tanking?”
She glared daggers at her junior.
If they’d taken the deposit?
The order would’ve shrunk.
Already whispers of nepotism and parachute drops everywhere.
What mattered to her was results.
So she went all-in, and spectacularly bombed.
“Sigh… Any luck on the auction house listings?”
“…Nope.”
Her eyes grew forlorn.
“Oh, my hair…”
Don’t go bald…
She stared helplessly at the strands falling out.
She’d tapped every contact for buyers, but no dice.
In the end, she tearfully listed them at auction.
Not a single sale yet.
‘Even if they sell, it’s a loss…’
Low-grade elixir margins were usually 10%.
Auction fee? 10%.
Factor in labor, and it’s in the red.
“What if they expire unsold?”
“…Gotta beg Dad for help, what else.”
No choice then.
Take the cheat code, even if it meant eating shit.
“Please. Some big-spending mystery buyer keeps sweeping up all the elixirs.”
“Pfft, even then, maybe a hundred or two. No one’s digesting 800. Unless another Goldstar pops up…”
That’s when it hit.
[All low-grade mana pills listed at auction have sold.]
[All low-grade vitality pills listed at auction have sold.]
[All low-grade agility pills listed at auction have sold.]
[All low-grade strength pills listed at auction have sold.]
[90% of 64 billion sales price, minus fees, deposited.]
“…Huh?”
[Buyer has shared info.]
[Buyer Info]
[Name: Kim Minwoo]
[Identity: Ilsung Group Eldest Son]
“Huh…? H-Huh?!”
“What? What happened?”
“They s-sold.”
“How many?”
“All of them. But Kim Minwoo… he’s an awakener?”
“Kim Minwoo? That Ilsung Group playboy?”
“Yeah.”
“Never heard that.”
* * *
[Low-grade mana pill absorbed.]
[No change felt.]
[Low-grade agility pill absorbed.]
[Agility increases very slightly. More absorption might yield changes.]
[Low-grade strength pill absorbed.]
[Strength +1.]
He absorbed them one by one, like spinning a slot machine.
‘Damn, hit rate’s insane.’
Not even near the 50 cap. Around 30 stats, and dud after dud.
Kim Minwoo’s godlike talent left him dumbfounded.
Thank god for those 6 years of hands-on play. Starting fresh in this body? He’d have rage-quit into a grave.
‘Next up for purchase…’
He kept chugging elixirs and switched to the next tab.
[Connected to Skillbook Marketplace.]
[Search: Levels 1-5, Class: Necromancer. Searching…]
[Skeleton Summon (F)]
[Req: Necromancer, level 1+]
[Price: 2 million]
Skeleton Summon was the foundational skill for all summoning.
‘Plenty here.’
Skillbooks dropped randomly from gate clears or monster hunts.
Necromancer wasn’t popular, so stock was decent.
He bought every one in sight.
[Buying 42 skillbooks…]
[Multiple identical skillbooks in inventory.]
[Combine two identical skillbooks to enhance.]
[Success rate: 95%.]
[Enhance?]
This damn system drove people mad.
Couldn’t resist.
“Enhance until I can’t anymore.”
[Auto-enhance starting!]
Flash!
[Skeleton Summon (F)+1 complete…]
[Skeleton Summon (F)+1 complete…]
[Skeleton Summon (F)+1 complete…]
[Oh no. Two skillbooks lost. Unfortunate…]
Two +1s gathered.
[Combine two Skeleton Summon (F)+1.]
[Oh no. Two enhanced skillbooks lost. Unfor…]
[Skeleton Summon (F)+2 complete…]
Then two of those into +2.
‘Up to +9 possible.’
Even all successes? 512 identical skillbooks for +9.
Higher enhancements meant dropping success rates.
Money pit.
But the effects?
Around +9, nearly double potency.
Worth it.
[Enhance results!]
[Skeleton Summon (F)+4]
[Insufficient skillbooks for further enhancement.]
Still way short.
No more low-level Necro skillbooks.
Didn’t matter.
Real spending spree started now.
Remaining cash: just under 300 billion won.
“Under 5 million. level 5 or below F-rank skillbooks—all of them.”
[Buying 6,124 listings.]
[Purchase complete!]
[212.34 billion deducted…]
[10% fee deducted…]
[Massive skillbook hoard.]
[Combine two different skillbooks for random same-grade skillbook.]
[Synthesize?]
“Hold onto any Skeleton Summon, recycle the rest.”
[Conditions set.]
[Auto-synthesis starting!]
Flash!
‘Let’s see.’
6,000 books? Around 300 Skeleton Summons salvageable.
More synthesis, higher odds for desired ones.
‘Game has some probability buffs.’
At least the system wasn’t completely sadistic.
Or was it?
Was he the black sheep?
‘Nah.’
This was romance.
Rational spending too.
‘One +9 enhance with that.’
One more ace up his sleeve.
Death Lord.
Passive applying to all skills.
Double-enhanced?
Kim Minwoo was certain.
His skeletons would be invincible.
He turned on his phone and dialed.
* * *
“Yes, Father. It’s me, Minwoo. Calling because I’ve nearly burned through the first investment funds.”
―Already?
“My body’s weak, you know. Low stamina too. Elixirs ate up a ton.”
―Still, 100 billion should’ve comfortably hit stat 50…?
“Getting there, but skillbooks are the issue.”
―Don’t tell me, going for +9s?
“Have to. Death Lord’s a killer skill. Gotta see it shine, right? It’s just a basic level 1 skill anyway. Low risk.”
A brief silence followed before Chairman Kim replied.
―…Fine! What’s family for? Sending 200 billion more, plenty. Buy gear too. But do me a favor in return.
“What favor?”
―Minwoo, be our Ilsung ad model. Cool?
“Ad model?”
―Yeah. EX is too flashy, so pass as S-rank achievement awakener, build fame. Deal?
“Not bad.”
―Right?! That skeleton legion you mentioned! Blast it in ads, heavy PPL. Cool?
“PPL with skeleton legion? Fits, sure.”
―Fame means applause even for shitting.
“Fine. Deposit when?”
―Right now. Oh, need more skillbooks?
“Yeah. Sweeping auction house, but stock’s thinning.”
―Tell the crew to snag off-market ones too. Faster together.
“Thanks.”
―Ahem. Hanging up. Busy.
“Yes.”
Blood ties were mighty.
Or was it Death Lord’s power?
He pondered while downing elixirs.
‘Ad model, huh…’
Never tried it in-game.
Sounded fun.
‘Gonna get famous anyway.’
Plenty saw his awakening at Sword Sea Pavilion.
That glow was no joke—they’d guess high achievement. Word would spread.
S-rank achievement? Super rookie treatment, spotlight inevitable.
Fine by him.
S-rank was common enough.
Not world-first EX—no assassins.
‘Spotlight anyway.’
Preempt as supernova Necromancer? Smart.
Then.
Flash!
[All stats reached level 1 growth cap of 50.]
[Title acquired: ‘Rising Star.’]
[Title acquired: ‘Elixir Slaughterer.’]
‘Finally…’
No time for emotion—messages kept coming.
[Partially fulfilled Death Lord’s first trial condition! (1/2)]
[Unfulfilled conditions block Death Lord’s call!]
[No undead summon skills currently!]
[Acquire skills!]
‘Huh?’
Found one condition unexpectedly.
‘So…’
Learn undead summon skill, get dragged to some dark place?
Yeah. Hit +9, prep fully, then learn it.