The Secret Auction House (1)

I stared at the message like it owed me money, silently demanding it spit out the reward already. The next instant, the system responded.

It was a bit annoying that the reward was only points, but when I thought about it, it wasn’t bad at all. After all, cash is king when it comes to gifts, right? If I could use those points to buy stuff from the cash shop, it was actually a pretty reasonable payout.

While I was quietly feeling satisfied with that logic, the students who’d been watching started murmuring among themselves.

“Wow, he actually landed a clean hit on a professor.”

“Who the hell is that guy?”

“Does that mean the blind kid is the strongest in our class?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. The last person always has the advantage. That’s probably why.”

“Yeah. And if Sir Luden or the others had actually hit him, the gauge wouldn’t have only dropped by one. It would’ve been ten or more.”

They kept sneaking glances in my direction as they talked. Wait, do these people think I’m deaf too? I was feeling utterly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dumbfounded when another message appeared.

I smiled and gave a small nod. Yeah, I guess people are allowed to assume I can’t hear. Of course they are. With that thought, Edin Academy’s first class finally came to an end.

As a side note, the rumor that I’d landed a clean hit on Professor Dale spread like wildfire.

About four days passed after that.

Unlike the first day, things had gone relatively smoothly without any major variables. Sure, the protagonist and a few other main characters occasionally spoke to me, but at this point ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that wasn’t exactly shocking.

More importantly, it was time to take a look at my current state.

Huu. Time to run a status check.

Without hesitation, I opened my status window.

The status window looked completely different from before. After the first day, I’d naturally cleared a few sub-quests and leveled up once more. As a result, I was now sitting right on the threshold of my first class change.

All my stats are finally in the double digits.

I was pretty satisfied with how fast I was growing compared to my expectations, but I couldn’t let my guard down. It was clear that my growth speed was faster than ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anyone else’s right now. That didn’t mean I was actually strong, though.

Besides, the higher my level gets, the slower the growth will become.

It was fast right now because I was still low-level. Once I reached mid-level, the pace would definitely slow down. There might even come a point where my growth hit a wall entirely.

Well, there’s no point thinking about that now.

What mattered was preparing for the future. Once I gained one more level, I would be able to undergo my first class change. That meant I needed to gather the required materials.

Come to think of it, the secret auction house opens every Friday.

The secret auction house was exactly what the name implied—a system where participants hid their faces with recognition-inhibiting items while bidding. Most of the people who used it were nobles. That said, it wasn’t restricted to nobility. If you went to the Eldorado Merchant Guild and spoke the correct password, you could participate.

It might sound too lax, but it wasn’t. Before they gave you the password, you had to sign a magical contract stating that the moment you revealed the information to anyone, you would die. Because of that, the password almost never leaked. After all, you’d drop dead from cardiac arrest before you could even speak.

Though that has nothing to do with me.

Anyway, after that slight tangent, the secret auction house was opening at the Eldorado Merchant Guild today. And I knew that the material item I needed for my class change would be appearing around this time.

Normally, there’s no way I could afford it with the money I currently have.

But I was the only one who knew the item’s true value. That was why I had to snipe it for myself.

Growth is important, but sniping the class change is even more necessary.

With that decided, it was time to head out.

After organizing my thoughts, I left the dormitory without hesitation. But the moment I stepped outside—

“Is that the guy who landed a hit on the professor?”

“They say he uses a bow even though he’s blind.”

“That’s pretty interesting.”

The passing students kept glancing my way. Their gazes were different from usual. Normally they looked at me with pity, but now several people were staring with clear jealousy in their eyes. A few of the girls were even blushing as they watched.

It’s honestly ridiculous that a face like this belongs to an extra character.

What on earth were the designers thinking when they made an extra this handsome? It was absurd, but possessing a character like this was something I should be grateful for. No matter the world, appearance was always important.

Still, I probably won’t run into Lillia, right?

She had free periods every Friday because of the secret auction house. Just in case, I planned to use a recognition-inhibiting item before entering the guild, but...

She seems like the type who would suspect something anyway.

Unlike the other main characters, she had sharp eyes. If we crossed paths, I had a feeling it would leave a bad aftertaste. We won’t run into each other.

I tried to convince myself of that as I looked around. Where was it again?

In the game, I could have just opened the map, but in reality, finding the guild wasn’t that simple. After wandering for a while, I finally arrived at my destination.

This place is annoyingly hard to find.

I equipped the recognition-inhibiting necklace I had bought with points for the secret auction. The guild provides recognition-inhibiting masks too, but better safe than sorry.

After thoroughly preparing, I headed into the building. The staff members seemed to be rushing around in a hurry.

They must be busy because of the secret auction.

Or maybe they were always this busy. I approached the employee in charge of admissions. The moment she saw me, she put on a professional smile.

“How may I help you, sir?”

“The door is always open.”

“...Please follow me.”

The instant I spoke the password, her face hardened like stone. She stood up and began leading the way. I followed her. Before long, we arrived at an ordinary-looking room.

“Please head downstairs. The auction area is below.”

I nodded as I looked at the staircase leading underground. At the same time, the employee asked carefully,

“Would you like a recognition-inhibiting mask?”

It seemed she noticed I was already under the effects of one. When I nodded, she handed me a mask. I put it on without hesitation.

“Once you go down, another employee will assign you a room. Please follow their guidance. Have a pleasant day.”

Following her instructions, I descended the stairs. If this had been the game, I would have arrived at my destination instantly. But since this was reality, I had to walk down a long flight of stairs. As I did, I looked around.

The Eldorado Merchant Guild really is filthy rich.

Even though this was meant for their most important guests, the surrounding decorations and treasures were incredibly luxurious. I wondered if anyone would dare try to steal something, but then again—

The moment they tried, they’d be the ones getting screwed.

The guild wasn’t an organization to be underestimated. Even if they bowed and scraped before nobles, if they felt like it, they could easily crush most noble houses. Unless someone wanted to make the Eldorado Merchant Guild their enemy, they wouldn’t even think about stealing.

Besides, with all the crystal orbs around, any thief would be caught immediately. No one but a complete lunatic would try to steal anything here.

“We have been expecting you, sir.”

A businesslike voice suddenly sounded beside me. I had been so lost in thought that I hadn’t noticed I’d already reached the bottom.

“Please take this key and enter Room 103.”

“Understood. Thank you.”

Accepting the key, I continued on my way. Everything was proceeding far too smoothly. As expected, nothing unexpected happens when I skip classes. I was inwardly rejoicing when—

“Excuse me for a moment.”

A suddenly familiar voice called out to me. No way. There’s no way we’d meet at this exact timing, right?

When I turned my head, I saw Lillia wearing a mask. Why is she suddenly talking to me?!

While I was internally panicking, she looked me up and down and tilted her head.

“Have we... met somewhere recently?”

It seemed the world wasn’t going to let things go that smoothly after all.