Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Casino (6)
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I quickly spotted a few boxes on the inner shelves of the warehouse marked "For Evening Auction."
Inside them were various items along with what looked like instruction manuals.
I grabbed a few small items that seemed valuable, along with their manuals.
Some were too big or looked useless, so I left those behind.
"...Let's take these too, just in case."
I also stuffed a handful of the chips scattered across the floor into my pockets.
The corridor leading back to the auction house from the warehouse was deserted.
I wasn't sure if it was because I'd taken out so many threats or if they'd given up on this area like they did with that manager monster earlier.
As I slipped back into the auction house, the afternoon auction was still in full swing.
I cautiously made my way over to where my team was gathered.
Next to them sat a young woman I'd never seen before, trembling in fear, with a few item boxes at her feet.
It looked like they'd bid on and won her during my absence, along with a few extra items.
Team Leader Park Cheolwoo was anxiously biting his nails, his eyes darting between the auction status board up front and the chips in his hand.
Mutterings like "Ah... this isn't enough... Should we skip the next item...?" leaked from his lips.
They must have been running low on chips.
Even with all those chips they'd started with, the fierce bidding wars had burned through them fast.
"Team Leader."
As I approached quietly, the team jumped and turned to me.
"Kim Minjun! You're safe! You okay?"
"Yeah, you good?!"
Park spoke first, his voice laced with relief and worry.
Han Sora and Seo Ji-hyun looked at me with concerned eyes too.
Only the newly auctioned woman glanced back and forth between me and the team in confusion.
I nodded and handed the chips I'd grabbed from the warehouse to Park.
"Yeah, I'm fine. And... these should let us keep bidding."
Park's eyes went wide at the stack of chips I passed him.
"Wh-where did you get all these...? This'll give us some breathing room."
He nodded in astonishment.
The rest of the team let out sighs of relief.
I flashed them the bundle of items and manuals I'd stashed in my coat.
"I'll take these out for a bit."
Seeing what I'd snagged, surprise and faint smiles spread across their faces.
"Yeah, we'll wrap up our bids and meet you outside."
Park nodded with resolve at my words.
I slipped out of the auction house and listened in from just outside.
From there, the rest of the afternoon auction swung completely in our favor.
Park used the chips I'd given him, following Seo Ji-hyun's advice to jump into the bidding.
"Five thousand points! Five thousand!"
"Seven thousand!"
Park raised his paddle without hesitation.
"Seven thousand! Anyone higher? Yes, sold for seven thousand!"
Like fish in water, our team started sweeping up item after item.
I peeked inside.
High-grade armor, special exploration gear, even ancient-looking relics of unknown origin.
As we claimed lot after lot, the other bidders' faces filled with dismay and frustration.
They shot us dirty looks, but with our overwhelming funds, they had no choice—they started sighing and filing out one by one.
"Tch, guess we'll aim for the evening auction."
"Afternoon stuff's all gone. Those guys are on a roll."
Hearing their grumbled complaints, I felt a slight pang of conscience knowing I'd already pocketed the evening auction items.
But I shook it off.
It was necessary for my quest rewards and performance bonus.
Finally, the afternoon auction ended. We escorted the terrified woman out with our haul of items and quietly exited the auction house.
Fortunately, she—like us—had already met the minimum game requirement of ten rounds.
We'd spent every last chip, so we headed straight out.
We stood before that massive iron door we'd entered through.
Clunk.
Incredibly, the door that hadn't budged before slid open smoothly, revealing the gloomy hallway of the abandoned building outside.
We said nothing to each other but felt deep relief as we left the casino behind.
We rode back to headquarters in the company car, silent.
The air in the car was a strange mix of relief, exhaustion, lingering excitement, and unease.
Even amid it all, Seo Ji-hyun was furiously typing away on her tablet PC alone.
Her expression was far more serious and focused than usual.
"Ji-hyun, you look upset... Something wrong?"
Park asked worriedly.
At his question, she paused and glanced around at us.
"Team Leader, everyone.
I'm writing the mission report right now... but we need to decide how much detail to include."
"Huh? Just report everything that happened in detail, right? We crushed it this time!"
Han Sora asked, puzzled. And she wasn't wrong—we'd racked up huge results.
But Seo shook her head.
"The original mission for this monster exploration was mostly a test from HQ to see if Exploration Teams 11 through 15 could handle tougher assignments. Basically an evaluation round."
"...An evaluation?"
"Yes. But... Team 15's results are too outstanding."
She continued calmly.
"We didn't just explore—we mastered the area's rules, secured multiple items, rescued a civilian, and..."
She glanced at me before going on.
"...Kim Minjun said he infiltrated the auction warehouse alone and took down multiple monsters. This exceeds expectations by a mile."
"Is that... a problem?"
Park asked cautiously.
"If we report all this straight-up, HQ's likely to ramp up the average mission difficulty for Teams 11 through 15 way beyond current levels. Meaning our success could burden the other teams too."
The car went cold at her words about sharply increased difficulties.
"And..."
She looked at me again.
This time, complex emotions flickered in her eyes.
"With his performance, Minjun could get scouted by a top team—maybe even Teams 1 through 5.
If that happens... we'd be tackling even harder missions without him."
"No way...!"
Her final words were the knockout punch.
The smile vanished from Han Sora's face, and Park hung his head with a deep sigh.
Only the rescued woman in the back seat looked around in bewilderment at our mood.
My heart sank too. I'd just started adapting to fighting monsters and bonding with the team.
Tougher missions—and maybe a call-up to an elite squad.
We all fell into thought.
In the end, we reported to the company only the items we bid on at auction and the woman we protected.
We kept the monster kills and my infiltration under wraps.
Just that we'd gathered chips through casino games and bid at auction.
That much truth.
The evening auction items I'd snagged during my break-in—
"Leo, I'm home."
I returned home with the items.
For now, I'd hold onto them. When an item search mission came up later, we'd "find" them at my place.
I called for Leo, who approached hesitantly.
I scratched his scruff and, just in case, gave him a warning.
"Leo, don't touch these items I brought in, okay? Big trouble if you do. Got it?"
He couldn't understand words, but at my serious tone, Leo seemed to nod quickly.
Smart cat. Maybe he really did get it.
Then a window appeared before my eyes.
[Quest completed.]
[Impossible achievement accomplished.]
[Rewards increased.]
[All stats increased by 1.]
[You can now view all posts in the Monster Gallery.]
"...Got something weird."
I hadn't expected anything related to the Monster Gallery instead of stats or skills. Being able to read all posts—who knew if that'd help.
Maybe the Monster Gallery was a key game element?
The all-stats +1 was huge.
It wasn't just a simple +1 for me.
"Whew."
Even after getting home, a strange excitement lingered.
It was a first.
Fighting monsters like that.
They used to terrify me, but now it felt different.
My trust in Cheat Mode outweighed the fear.
The tension of battle and the relief of victory felt... good, somehow.
Just a bit, fighting monsters didn't scare me anymore.
To shake off the buzz, I threw a punch at the air.
"Kyrrrng-!"
Leo, nearby, startled and leaped straight up.
"Oh no, sorry... Did I scare you, Leo?"
Panicking, I comforted him as he huddled in the corner, shaking.
Come to think of it, there was a training area in the exploration team building. I should check it out next time.