Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Phoenix's Tear
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Current time: 8 AM.
After handling some business over the past two days and doing a quick hunt in Utopia, I returned home.
This was because the auction for [Phoenix's Tear] at Taesan Auction House was scheduled for 10 AM.
After showering, I stepped out and immediately hailed a taxi to head straight to Taesan Auction House.
'Buy [Phoenix's Tear] and kill Hyeon A-rin.'
Today, I planned to wrap up both tasks.
Getting out of the taxi, I entered the lobby on the first floor of Taesan.
Current time: 9 AM.
One hour until the auction.
I took the elevator up to the fifth floor, where Hyeon A-rin was stationed.
'Not on vacation, at least.'
She was still there, wearing her professional smile as she worked. I casually joined the end of the line.
And then it was my turn.
Hyeon A-rin met my eyes and greeted me.
"Please show me your ID and proof of your cash holdings, or the cash itself."
"Ah, I'm actually here for something else."
At my words, Hyeon A-rin tilted her head slightly.
"What can I help you with?"
"I was wondering if I could extend my entry pass. There's an item I need coming up in two days, but this pass expires tomorrow."
I showed her the entry pass I had.
"I'm sorry, sir. We can't renew passes—you'll need to purchase a new one."
I already knew that.
"Oh? Really? No system for a discount on renewals or anything?"
"No, unfortunately, we don't have that yet. My apologies, sir."
"Got it. Guess I'll have to come back."
I backed off quickly to preserve my real objective.
"Yes, sir. Have a good day."
After receiving her farewell, I left the office—not heading to the elevator, but toward the end of the hallway.
I opened the door to the men's restroom and stepped inside.
I quietly checked each stall to make sure no one was there.
"Hwayeom 2. Summon."
Confirming it was empty, I summoned the one who had been the Serial Arsonist.
I'd turned him into a skeleton not just to prevent my potential allies from disappearing, but because he'd be extremely useful today.
A small flame flickered atop the black skeleton—it actually looked kind of cute.
After hitting level 20, my skeleton slots had increased to two.
Hwayeom 2 had taken the spot previously held by the one made from the Orc Shaman—Hwayeom.
His current level was 5.
"Get in an empty stall, lock the door, and when I give the signal, blow up the entire restroom."
This would be the last job for him and me.
The Serial Arsonist's trait was the Rare-grade [Chain Explosion].
The Serial Arsonist had been level 20-something.
With my magic power stats fully invested and carried over, a mere level 5 durability wouldn't hold up.
Even so, the skeleton nodded confidently.
"Alright. Good work."
I didn't feel any particular regret. There were too many skeleton candidates in the world for that to be an issue.
The only shame was having just two slots.
'Next slot opens at level 40, probably.'
Better for the Serial Arsonist to have his trait used for world salvation than rotting in prison.
Or not—whatever.
Exiting the restroom, I casually headed to the elevator.
There were no CCTV cameras inside the restroom, so no one would know about Hwayeom's presence.
Preparations to kill Hyeon A-rin were complete. Next up: [Phoenix's Tear].
I rode the elevator to the eighth floor, where the auction house was.
"I'll check your entry pass, sir."
I showed the staff my entry pass card.
"Confirmed. You're seat number 3."
The staff handed me a tag marked with the number 3.
I took it and entered the auction hall.
There were about a hundred chairs, and I sat in the very back row.
'About 20 minutes left.'
As time passed, seats filled up one by one, and soon it was 10 AM.
"Hello, everyone. Thank you for visiting Taesan today."
The auctioneer appeared at the front.
"We have twelve items up for bid today. All item grades have been certified by the 'World Item Authority.' Let's start with the first item."
Moments later, the floor beside the auctioneer opened, and a red suit of armor with elegant curves slowly rose onto the platform.
"[Red Wolf's Armor]. B-grade item. It comes equipped with the Active skill [Berserk]—an impressive A-grade skill that doubles all your stats for 10 minutes."
Sounds pretty good.
But it had a fatal flaw.
"However, it can only be used once every 24 hours, and after use, you fall into a near-death state. Still, it's valuable enough to save your life in a pinch."
Otherwise, it could have been S-grade.
"Minimum bid: 400 million. Let's begin."
The auction progressed swiftly.
The [Phoenix's Tear] I wanted was the eighth item.
"Now for the eighth item."
Finally, my turn.
A necklace embedded with a red gem appeared on the platform.
"[Phoenix's Tear]. B-grade item. It grants the skill [Flame Resistance]—a B-grade Passive that protects against all flame attacks. Tests showed it easily blocks an Orc Shaman's attacks."
Orc Shaman's fireball?
That's not all this item blocks.
'That's why the name includes "Phoenix"—its original owner learned the truth by shattering that red gem.
The phoenix is a being of resurrection.
True to its name, the shattered red gem liquefied and instantly reformed.
At the same time, the B-grade [Flame Resistance] upgraded to near S-grade.
From blocking an Orc Shaman's fireball to withstanding an ancient dragon's breath in an instant.
'I have to buy it.'
So, the true grade of [Phoenix's Tear] is S.
I had to buy it, even if it meant using all 1 billion.
"Minimum bid: 300 million. Let's begin."
The moment the auctioneer finished speaking, I raised my tag.
"Yes, bidder number 3."
The auctioneer called me.
My unbreakable ultimate weapon hadn't appeared at auction yet.
So no need to save money. I could always earn more.
"1 billion."
I bid aggressively on [Phoenix's Tear] to signal it was off-limits, keeping a relaxed expression.
Right now, I needed to look like a man with at least 10 billion to spare.
"Pardon? Ah, 1 billion. We have 1 billion."
Even the veteran auctioneer stuttered in surprise.
Who starts at 1 billion on a 300 million minimum?
The effect was tremendous.
"Who is that guy? Doesn't he know how auctions work? Starting at 1 billion—who can follow?"
"Damn, I found a hunting ground full of Orc Shamans, but 1 billion is too much."
"Look at his face. He seems ready to keep bidding past 1 billion."
"He really needs it. Can't compete."
No one dared challenge me.
Sensing this, the auctioneer pressed on.
"Any more bids? No? Then bidder number 3...! [Phoenix's Tear] is yours for 1 billion!"
He wrapped it up quickly.
Finally, [Phoenix's Tear] was mine.
After all twelve items were auctioned off.
"Bidder number 3, please follow me."
A Taesan staff member approached to guide me.
I entered an office next to the auction hall, paid, and received the box containing [Phoenix's Tear].
"Please verify the item."
Following the staff's instruction, I picked up the necklace and checked it.
⚔ ITEM ⚔ [Phoenix's Tear]
['The God of Pranks' forcibly extracted the phoenix's tears and processed them into this item.] Skill: Flame Resistance (B) Definitely the item I wanted.
"It's correct."
"Thank you for confirming, sir."
"Yeah. Thanks."
I exchanged farewells with the staff and stepped out, immediately putting on the necklace.
Then I checked the time on my phone.
11:40 AM.
Good—still before lunch.
I took the elevator not to the first floor, but back to the fifth.
The line still stretched out from the office.
I quietly took my place at the end.
Now was the time to kill Hyeon A-rin.
'I have a solid alibi. If questioned, I can say I came back to buy a new pass after the renewal was denied this morning.'
Even if CCTV caught me, there'd be no suspicion.
About five minutes passed like that.
'That should be enough time—even if he was in the middle of something big, he'd be out by now. No one's gone in.'
As the line shortened, I kept glancing toward the restroom at the end of the hall.
I only needed to kill Hyeon A-rin. No collateral from someone using the restroom. Who knew if one might be a future ally?
From now on, I was the Serial Arsonist.
'Hwayeom 2. Start.'
I mentally commanded Hwayeom, hidden in the restroom.
As if waiting for it—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions rang out one after another from the restroom.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Skeleton 'Hwayeom 2' has been destroyed.] Hwayeom 2's death appeared before my eyes.
The restroom's glass door shattered, red flames roaring into the hallway.
"What, what is it?"
"F-Fire in the restroom!"
"Anyone with water skills?!"
"Yeah! Put out that fire!"
"No barrier skills? Block the hallway!"
Meanwhile, people were shouting, trying to find solutions instead of just fleeing.
A sight I couldn't have imagined before.
With power came the will to handle it themselves instead of calling emergency services.
Of course, I had no intention of letting things play out that way.
"No. Stepping in now is dangerous."
All eyes turned to me.
"You've all seen the news, right? The Serial Arsonist with flame traits. Those explosions and this fire mean he's here."
I made them realize intervening was risky.
"If someone puts out his fire, he might attack them. They say he gets ecstasy from watching flames. I think the safest bet is for everyone to head to the emergency exit."
I even pointed out the escape route.
"That guy's right! I saw the news too. Serial Arsonist. Ignore the fire and hit the emergency exit. We can escape safely."
"Yeah, no need to mess with a psycho who loves fire."
"Everyone, evacuate!"
"Hurry!"
Success.
There might be water or barrier users, but no reason to risk their lives.
They could just flee as I suggested.
'Hurry up, Hyeon A-rin.'
Hyeon A-rin stood from her seat, looking panicked.
I subtly fell back, positioning myself beside her.
Matching her steps toward the emergency exit, I pressed the fire alarm I'd spotted earlier.
BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP!
-A fire has broken out. Please evacuate immediately.
The intense fire alarm blared throughout Taesan.
Soon, everyone in the building would swarm the emergency exits.
"Move!"
"Hurry up, ahead!"
Opening the emergency exit choked the air already.
This was the fifth floor.
People pouring from the fourth floor and below mixed in, heightening the chaos.
Plus, no CCTV here.
In this pandemonium, I fiddled with the dagger in my pocket to kill Hyeon A-rin.
'Unless her stamina is higher than mine, this poison will kill her for sure.'
Hyeon A-rin hadn't even entered Utopia much, so no high level. Any stats would be in magic for her trait.
Now I was the Serial Arsonist—no, an assassin.
The dagger was coated with poison stronger than Goblin venom, sourced from Utopia this time.
"Hurry! Heat's coming from the fifth-floor exit!"
"What are you doing up front?!"
"Shit! Stop pushing!"
Stuck, with shoving from behind.
Screaming everywhere.
I'd anticipated this, but civic awareness was lower than expected—the chaos escalated fast.
'Perfect. I can kill her without a trace.'
I glanced at Hyeon A-rin, stomping in frustration ahead.
Not yet a witch.
If my guess was right, she'd either been drugged and exploited by her aunt or gone mad.
'Influenced by her environment.'
Still, no helping it. I couldn't babysit her forever.
As I reached for the dagger—
I heard Hyeon A-rin mutter softly.
"I... don't want to die."
She grabbed the shoulder of the man in front of her.
"Huh? What?!"
The man whipped around roughly, then—as if entranced—climbed over the railing and fell.
My mistake.
'You're already a witch.'
When her life was threatened, her true nature emerged.
"Everyone, get out of my way. I need to survive."
Muttering as if she'd clear everyone ahead, she placed a hand on another man's shoulder.
This ended here. I couldn't let her continue.
I drew the dagger and, out of sight, nicked Hyeon A-rin's thigh.
"Ugh."
She gasped in shock from the sudden pain.
She tried to turn toward me, but I was faster.
"Your weakness is your eyes, Enchantress of Charm."
I pressed against her back to pin her, covering her eyes with my hand.
In case she tried charming someone nearby to attack me.
"Who are you?!"
Hyeon A-rin grabbed my hand to pry it off, but she clearly hadn't leveled up.
I hadn't invested in strength either, yet restraining her was effortless.
She kept struggling anyway.
"How do you know my trait?!"
She screamed.
Our conversation was drowned in the crowd's shouts anyway.
"Just happened to."
"Did my aunt send you? No, she wouldn't. You're from the Resurrection Church, right? Why?!"
Resurrection Church?
Must be the cult her aunt ran.
"You know, so come quietly. The pastor wants to see you."
I had no intention of announcing her death. She might freak out and draw attention.
So I calmly soothed her.
"Fine. Then take your hand off."
"Can't do that. I just saw you kill someone."
Hyeon A-rin opened her mouth indignantly.
"I had no choice to survive. Who knows when the fire would hit from behind? I need to get down."
"Fair point. Killing to survive is unavoidable."
"You get me. But why's my head spinning...?"
Only about two minutes had passed.
Her low stamina made the poison react faster than expected.
"Maybe because I'm covering your eyes."
"Then let go. Feels like my strength's draining."
"Alright."
By now, the poison should have reached her heart.
I removed my hand from her eyes.
She immediately tried turning—as if to charm me.
"Too late."
But her body wouldn't obey.
Thud.
Her legs gave out, and she collapsed, head drooping.
And then...
Starting with me, people coldly brushed past her side.