Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Chapter 21 - Saint Elena Island #4
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[Special waves detected.]
[It seems like some kind of detection magic.]
The moment they entered the room, Luther nodded slightly at Integra's words.
Searching for magical devices using detection magic.
From the auction house's perspective, it was only natural to suspect foul play when someone suddenly swept up all the Super Special Rares and Super Rares on their own.
[Heh heh heh, sorry to say, but it's pointless.]
[This is the power of science!]
Integra flashed a confident smile, drawing a V-sign with her fingers.
'Something about invoking the power of science in a place like this feels like an insult to science itself, but facts are facts.'
Luther smiled wryly and, instead of showing irritation at the detection magic, looked around the room.
The well-decorated room wasn't particularly large, but the rectangular table in the center and the leather sofas gave it the feel of a consultation room.
"Have a seat."
At the manager's invitation, they took their places, and the men in black suits closed the door, standing at attention behind them.
[There's about 15% bewilderment mixed into the manager's expression.]
[He seems flustered that no magical devices were detected on Master. Heh heh.]
As expected of a grand auction house manager, he was skilled at masking his expressions, but given the circumstances, he couldn't completely hide his agitation.
'No magical devices at all? Then it really was luck?'
'Is that even possible?'
It was obvious they were thinking the same thing.
In any case, the manager quickly composed himself, sat across from Luther, and said with a smile.
"Please wait a moment, and we'll deliver the prizes."
"Yes, we'll wait."
After completely dismantling that evil civilization, what was a short wait?
Luther smiled warmly in response, and the manager, still smiling, began his explanation.
"As you know, the prizes awarded based on the orb grades from the boxes are random. This is due to the nature of our auction house, where new items arrive constantly, so I hope you'll understand."
[What? Random again here?]
[Random my foot—they could just give whatever they want, right?]
[This really is an evil civilization.]
As Integra fumed in disbelief, Luther quickly interjected.
'It's true, but it'll be fine.'
[Fine?]
'Yeah.'
And that answer came from the manager himself.
"I assume you've already checked the prize pools for each grade, but allow me to guide you through them once more."
With that, he handed over a catalog detailing the prizes available for each grade.
[There are 9 items for Super Rare.]
[Are they all around the same level?]
'Yeah, similar. They've grouped things with roughly equivalent cash value.'
A Super Rare was generally worth about 2,000 gold.
Directly comparing it to the real world was tricky, but if he had to convert it, it would be worth tens of millions of won.
'And then Super Special Rare.'
That was worth about 50,000 gold in general.
Luther was brimming with anticipation over what it might be.
"The prizes have arrived."
The moment the manager pressed the magical device in his ear, the door opened, and hand carts rolled in one after another.
Five silver carts and one golden one.
Each topped with boxes matching their cart's color.
[I don't know who owns the Bruno Auction House, but they really love boxes.]
'Yeah.'
In the old days, he might have raged about it being a gacha addict, but not anymore.
No matter what the auction house did—even if bunny girls wore boxes on their heads instead of rabbit ears—he could just chuckle and think, "They sure love boxes," with magnanimity.
"Then, we'll open them one by one."
A hint of excitement showed on the manager's face too.
From her perspective, this was probably the first time seeing so many boxes opened in succession.
"Please do."
Luther masked his own excitement as best he could, and the manager clapped lightly.
The black-suited men who had wheeled in the carts began opening the boxes one by one.
[Scroll book, ring, bracelet, necklace, elixir.]
[Are they good?]
Luther nodded immediately at Integra's question.
In truth, three out of the five were luxury items unrelated to combat—valuable, but pricey. Considering each had cost just 1 gold to enter, hitting 2,000 gold worth already made it a jackpot.
'But the other two are quite to my liking.'
The scroll book with about 30 spells would be perfect for making Integra's "Magic Missiles." It even included spells hard to find in regular shops.
[We can make several useful missiles.]
[I like it too.]
And the elixir.
An alchemical potion that permanently boosted overall physical abilities upon consumption. The boost wasn't massive, but the "permanent" part was key.
[Master, instead of taking the elixir right away, may I study it?]
[We might figure out the recipe.]
[Even if not now, gathering more fragments and unlocking more tech could allow mass production.]
'Sounds good.'
It was an investment for the future—no regrets.
And finally, the grand prize.
Turning to the glittering golden box befitting its Super Special Rare name, the manager nodded excitedly to one of the black-suited men.
"Then, we'll open it."
The tense black-suited man opened the box, and a warm golden light filled the dimly lit room.
A golden gem radiating brilliant light.
The beautiful glow reminiscent of morning glory left the black-suited men—and even the manager—entranced.
Luther was no different.
'Sunstone! The Super Special Rare prize is a Sunstone!'
[Is it impressive?]
[It seems impressive.]
[The light it emits is nearly identical to real sunlight.]
[It's practically a fragment of the sun.]
Just as Integra said.
A Sunstone was a gem that emitted sunlight, indistinguishable from the real thing. With it, you could even farm deep underground.
Of course, no one in Dragon Hunter Origin used Sunstones for farming.
Its true value.
'Sun Maiden Anne Rose.'
In the mid-to-late game of Dragon Hunter Origin, upon truly awakening as the Sun Maiden, Anne Rose gained a special ability: boundless vitality under the sun, but weakened at night.
But with a Sunstone, that changed.
She could get the sun buff anytime, anywhere.
'Of course, Anne Rose gets the most out of it, but it has other uses.'
Artifacts, magic, and rituals borrowing the power of the "sun" were plentiful.
Hearing Luther's explanation, Integra examined the Sunstone anew and smiled.
[In that case, Master, I have a great use for it.]
[Remember when I told you about Clairheim Morr?]
The star-cleaving sword, Clairheim Morr.
It had solar power generation, but after over a century buried underground, its energy had depleted—a sword of misfortune.
'Can we inject the Sunstone into Clairheim Morr?'
[Yes. It won't shine forever, but short-term, it means infinite recharging day and night.]
Of course, recharge speed wouldn't increase, so not truly infinite energy, but doubling the recharge time was valuable.
And the Sunstone's value didn't end there.
[Per current calculations, attaching the Sunstone will extend the ultravibration blade usage by 2 seconds.]
'2 seconds!'
Short.
Absurdly short.
But 2 seconds' value was immense.
'One more.'
One more swing.
Possibly two, depending.
Plus, it bumped the base from 9 to 11 seconds.
From single to double digits.
[Higher unlock rate on Clairheim Morr will improve energy efficiency further.]
As Integra beamed, Luther beamed back.
Just imagining it felt great.
'Sure, spec-ups are the best.'
Not for nothing did web novels and comics have status screens.
That constant growth feeling was euphoric.
'And actually useful.'
Smiling again, Luther turned to the manager.
"So, can I take possession now?"
"Yes, just sign these transfer documents."
The papers were dense with legalese, as contracts often were, but it was no issue for Luther.
[No problematic clauses.]
[Sign away.]
With Integra able to scan and analyze the entire contract at a glance, it was effortless.
[Master, why are you grinning like that?]
[You look like a pervert, as always.]
"Heh heh heh."
Ignoring her, Luther signed with another chuckle.
"Thank you. And congratulations again on your luck. Will you be attending today's main auction?"
Luther nodded readily at the manager's question.
"Yes, not sure about the main auction, but I plan to spend the day here."
"Any prizes you'd like to auction off?"
[Master, better to hold onto them and cash in later.]
[The currency here is too bulky and heavy.]
'Yeah, good call.'
Agreeing with Integra, Luther politely declined and left the room with the prize bag.
[Master, I sense eyes on us.]
[Mostly admiration or envy, but some are eyeing your bag.]
'Should be fine inside the auction house.'
No thief bold enough to mess around in Bruno Auction House, the south's finest.
The issue would be after leaving—specifically, exiting the Ivory Tower—but Luther wasn't worried.
'Let 'em come.'
He now had confidence against even army-scale attacks from riffraff.
[Overconfidence invites trouble, but I like the manly mindset.]
With that, Integra slyly hugged his arm again.
Once every 15 minutes, just 7 seconds—but the difference was huge.
Luther blushed unwittingly and looked away; Integra smirked mischievously.
And a few hours passed.
After thoroughly exploring the auction house, Luther skipped the main auction.
He'd made decent money lately, but the sums in the main auction were beyond "decent"—astronomical.
If the proxy priest had attended, at least observing him would have purpose, but after lunch at the restaurant, he'd holed up in his hotel room again.
[Still, it was fun.]
[Shall we head back now?]
"Yeah, let's go embed that Sunstone in Clairheim Morr quick."
[Yes, and make some new Magic Missiles too.]
Back at the inn, Luther laid Clairheim Morr vertically on the bed and picked up the fist-sized Sunstone.
[Push it into the hilt.]
"Like this?"
[Yes, just like that.]
Placing it where hilt met blade and pressing firmly, the Sunstone sank in like into thick liquid.
The maid-outfitted Integra closed her eyes softly and said.
[Absorbing Sunstone.]
[Linking Sunstone to Clairheim Morr's energy source.]
[Dismantling obsolete solar panels.]
[Optimization starting.]
[Low unlock rate extending optimization time.]
[1%]
[...]
[...]
[.]
[Estimated time to completion: 7 hours, 12 minutes, 7 seconds.]
[Attempting unlock during optimization.]
[Mobilizing full computational power.]
[Good night, Master.]
[See you tomorrow.]
With that, Integra vanished.
She was going all-out on the Sunstone install and unlocking Clairheim Morr.
"Hmm... Good night, Integra."
Bidding the sword goodnight, Luther took a quick bath and went to bed.
The next morning.
[Good morning, Master.]
[Time to get up, okay?]
At the gentle voice, Luther slowly opened his eyes.
Integra smiled warmly, as always.
[Sleep well?]
"Yeah, feels like it."
As Luther rose, a drone brought a basin of wash water.
[Wash up.]
"Thanks."
Since absorbing the third fragment, Integra could handle far more tasks.
Once washed and seated, Integra served coffee via drone.
[Sunstone installation in Clairheim Morr complete.]
[As expected, ultravibration blade usage extended from 9 to 11 seconds.]
[Clairheim Morr unlock rate up to 15%. 'Boy's Journal' info partially revealed.]
[Estimated thousands of entries in the sword's Boy's Journal.]
[Sword Emperor Clausewitz's records—sure to aid Master's journey.]
"Oh, nice?"
He'd expected the Sunstone effect, but Sword Emperor's journal?
That sounded hugely helpful.
"By the way, how's Astral Deva?"
The galactic federation swordsmanship bequeathed by the Sword Angel to Sword Emperor Clausewitz.
Integra furrowed her brow slightly.
[Found Level 2, but low unlock rate prevents download. It's only a matter of time—please wait.]
"Got it. I believe in you. Go, Integra!"
[Master, that's so dad-joke.]
[Don't do that, okay?]
"Y-Yeah."
Still, seeing her face made him happy.
Grinning at Integra's beaming joy, Luther sipped coffee and asked.
"Drone?"
[Retrieval at noon.]
[Relax until then.]
"Got it."
Such downtime might not come again soon.
Once in Malkuth Kingdom, he'd pour everything into averting the tidal disaster.
'Southern tidal disaster.'
In the original, an inevitable event even if spotting the spy.
But in reality, it was different.
Like the west, he could change the south's fate.
'First step.'
The proxy priest Matriel's true identity.
Time passed.
Just past noon, confirming the proxy priest exit via drone, Luther retrieved it and swallowed hard.
Drone comms off to evade detection magic—no records yet, not even for him or Integra.
[Shall we watch together?]
"Yeah."
Sitting side by side, footage played before Luther and Integra.
From yesterday afternoon to this morning.
Proxy Priest Matriel's movements began.