Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: The Elixir Reveal
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The auction had begun.
Every single item put up for auction was a top-tier product of exceptional value.
There wasn't a single Rare-grade item in sight—the minimum was Unique grade.
Only a few showed any interest.
Most of them were...
'As expected.'
...drawn by the presence of the legendary-grade item expected to make an appearance.
But even amid that, there were items capable of drawing people's attention.
"You all might already know this."
The auctioneer introduced it with a sleazy smile.
"There are items circulating in secret that haven't yet been revealed to the world. Items expected to turn the Player world upside down."
"Ooh!"
Some seemed to already have a sense of what the auctioneer was introducing.
"It's..."
Whoosh.
What emerged from behind the drawn-back curtain were pills nestled in an ornate jewel box.
"Elixirs."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"Elixirs? What's that?"
"Could that really be..."
Some knew of elixirs, others didn't.
Most gathered here had access even to top-secret information hidden from the public, so the fact that something was still shrouded in such mystery spoke volumes.
And the auctioneer's next words turned the auction house upside down.
"Items that raise a Player's base stats."
"What?"
"Does that even make sense?"
Base stats.
Pure stats independent of level, where the difference might not seem huge in low-level ranges.
Gulp.
But at high levels, each single stat point could determine victory or defeat.
It was known that base stats could be increased through training, but those who actually did so were exceedingly rare.
The efficiency was absurdly poor.
The time investment required to raise even one stat grew exponentially, and it was said that raising just five stats took a full year.
The bigger problem was that you couldn't level up during that time.
"Of course, some of you may not know, but the elixirs that circulated in secret raised a Player's base stats across the board by 1 point each."
"Crazy!"
Japan's Ryujin Guild's Samawoo spat curses without regard for his dignity.
"Insane."
The reaction from America's ranker Greus was no different.
Just the value of the elixir mentioned put it at minimum Unique grade.
No—since it enhanced the Player themselves permanently, its worth surpassed that.
"That's an F-grade elixir."
"......?"
"And the item being introduced today is a C-grade elixir."
"C-grade?"
The auctioneer smiled in satisfaction.
It was exactly the reaction he'd anticipated.
"It's an item that raises all base stats by a massive 5 points each."
No more gasps or exclamations could be heard.
"......"
Perhaps it could even rival the legendary-grade item about to appear.
"Where the hell did they get it?"
"Is it safe?"
"Is there some kind of issue?"
All sorts of questions flew out.
"That's..."
A voice rang out then.
"I'll stake my entire fortune to guarantee it."
"Greed!"
It was Greed—Yi Ha-yeon.
If she were just some unknown girl, it might be different, but now that her identity as Greed was known, her words carried trust.
It was as good as Richard vouching for her first.
"Yes, as you said, the elixir was provided by Greed herself."
"My God."
"So that's how that girl Greed accumulated such wealth..."
"Who knew there was a secret like this."
The response was explosive.
Voices shouted that they should buy the elixir over the legendary item, and bids climbed beyond hundreds of billions.
There was one fact those still reeling in shock had overlooked.
'C-grade.'
That the elixir was merely C-grade.
-I used A-grade elixirs for production. Thanks to Gluttony's hard work.
Leaves from the world tree in Travania, reproduced through alchemy by Gluttony.
The elixir sold for over 100 billion to a Middle Eastern tycoon.
The auction was now reaching its final stages.
Swoosh.
Go Yohan rose from his seat.
"Shall we go together?"
Yi Ha-yeon asked.
"I'm good."
Go Yohan refused.
He couldn't leave everything solely to the Apostles.
And.
"You need to stay here."
"Got it."
Someone had to guard this place.
Amid the auction's feverish heat, most people didn't even notice Go Yohan had vanished.
*
*
*
While the auction proceeded amid blazing excitement.
Go Yohan slipped out to the back of the auction house.
Sam-an's guards were there, tense from the earlier incident, along with Goldian's guild members.
Step.
Even as Go Yohan walked among them, no one noticed.
"...What the hell is Go Yohan, anyway?"
Yi Geon-hu was there too, among them.
"...Still, damn it... I owe him. If it failed again this time... Sigh."
Go Yohan chuckled at the sight and passed even Yi Geon-hu by.
"You might regret thinking that."
What appeared was a staircase, guarded with ironclad security.
No Sam-an, only Goldian.
Even they seemed shrouded in some invisible barrier item.
Tap.
Go Yohan lightly kicked off the ground and leaped over the Goldian guild members.
Ripple.
The barrier rippled, sending a signal and trying to push him back, but.
Swoosh.
Go Yohan slipped inside the barrier like water.
"Really, I've become a full-fledged thief."
Go Yohan said with a wry chuckle.
After ascending one full flight.
"Hm?"
A Goldian guard finally spotted Go Yohan and let out a groan-like sound.
"How did you get in?"
It wasn't that he'd been spotted.
More precisely.
"...He really showed up."
Go Yohan had revealed himself.
The Goldian guards who spotted him stepped back, clearing a path.
Step.
Go Yohan strode forward boldly through them, as if he were Richard himself.
And at the door that appeared.
"......"
He came face-to-face with Samuel, Richard's personal bodyguard.
"...You said no invitation needed, and it's true."
Samuel's eyes twitched—he rarely showed emotion.
"The Chairman is waiting. Please, come in."
The door opened, and Go Yohan and Samuel entered.
Richard sat on a golden chair that seemed to have appeared from nowhere, overlooking the auction house.
Without even looking at Go Yohan, he spoke.
"I'd like to hear what you have to say first."
Shing.
"Depending on that, your treatment will change. Yohan."
Samuel drew his sword.
*
*
*
"The main event is coming up soon."
Richard said.
"If you have nothing to say, would you like to sit and watch together?"
His voice seemed to suppress some excitement.
"Or..."
Samuel's sword reached Go Yohan's throat.
"Have you noticed something?"
"Greed said so."
Go Yohan finally spoke.
"There'll be an attack during the main event."
"Attacks are routine. It's natural for bugs to swarm gold. No need to worry."
"And that you'll be leading that attack, Richard."
Flinch.
Richard trembled, and Samuel's sword pressed in deeper.
One more inch, and it would sever his throat.
"You're deliberately letting the legendary item get stolen to claim massive insurance from Sam-an and Korea."
"...Greed, after all."
Richard was sensitive about Goldian's shares.
How shocked had he been to learn that some shares had gone to an unknown young Eastern girl without his knowledge.
"I don't get it. If so, why try to drive out Sam-an?"
Go Yohan asked.
Richard rose from his seat.
"Wouldn't it be more advantageous if the Association failed security instead of Sam-an?"
Earlier, Richard had clearly said.
'Drive out Sam-an and request support from the Association.'
Then the one liable for compensation wouldn't be Sam-an, but the Association—practically a national government body.
The amount would differ too.
Since the stolen item was a legendary-grade one.
"Complicated."
Go Yohan said.
"Truth is, this isn't my expertise, and it's always given me headaches."
"So what are you trying to say? Trying to stop it? Become a hero in your home country?"
"No."
As Go Yohan took one more step forward, Samuel's sword finally sliced his throat.
No.
"......!"
He thought it had.
A Unique-grade item, infused with a ranker's mana as a mere threat, yet it couldn't even leave a scratch.
"Greed said you'd ultimately fend off the attack. It looks like you're after insurance, but you're really drawing out a specific target. The insurance is just a small bonus—what you truly want is something else."
"......"
"Temple."
That was the moment.
Flash!
Smiles spread across Samuel's face and Richard's.
"...So?"
"Richard."
Go Yohan said.
"No."
That instant.
Crunch.
Go Yohan's hand gripped Samuel's sword.
The Unique item, laden with a ranker's mana.
Crack!
It shattered into fragments that scattered.
"Samuel."
"......!"
"The attack should proceed as planned. The reason you're not recovering the legendary item is..."
Go Yohan passed them and went to the window.
"...because you need a warning."
"...A warning?"
It was Samuel, not Richard, who spoke.
"Black Gate."
"......!"
"What demons—residents of hell—are, what abominations are. What happens when you play into their schemes. That's..."
That instant.
-The moment we've waited for!
The auctioneer pulled back the curtain, unveiling the item for the main event.
-A legendary-grade item! Vermouth's Claw!
"...something even you haven't grasped yet."
Boom!