The Auction Begins!!!
Elise, who had barged into my room, snatched Kkomangi from me and started kneading him like dough as she said,
"Get ready to head out. Quick."
"Elise, can't we just chill today...? That auction event is just for gawking at weird stuff, right? Do we really need to go? We can just watch Goseongji's stream from home."
"What the hell are you talking about?! How often does the Shelter even get events like this? You gotta go to share the hype with everyone—it's way more fun that way!! There's this electric vibe you can only feel on-site, not through a screen."
Maybe it was backlash from ten years of holing up alone, only practicing magic or raiding dungeons—Elise had a real thing for events.
"I hate crowds... Feels suffocating. We can just watch Goseongji's broadcast."
"It's fine! You can use flight magic now, can't you? Just fly around and you'll be good!"
Thanks to diligently attending Elise's magic lessons every day, I could now pull off mid-lower layer level magic in the real world.
Elise had bragged that my magic was progressing at an freakishly fast rate—proof she was a genius teacher, or whatever.
According to her, I had this weird knack for handling mental images. Probably because the feel for casting in dungeons carried over to reality.
My spells weren't precise or efficient, but pinning down and drawing out mental images? That one skill was way above my level.
Which meant I could manage float spells... if not full-on flight.
Well, flying in a dungeon ain't hard anyway...
But... wouldn't flying draw tons of aggro...?
"Hmmm..."
I was lying on the bed, hands clasped behind my head, lost in thought, when Elise climbed on and straddled me.
She grabbed my head with both hands and shoved her face right up close.
From a distance where I could feel her breath, she spat out each word deliberately.
"You. Are. Going. Right?"
"......"
...No room for refusal. Sigh... It wasn't like I couldn't go... Yeomje and Goseongji were handling the auction as my proxies anyway. I'd just watch reactions on stream, pick what I wanted, and chat it to Yeomje.
But seeing Elise's gaze chill over as she stared me down, I caved.
"...Fine. Let's go."
"Good choice! I'll be outside—get ready and come out!"
Clack—
Elise left, and I let out a sigh.
"Hoo... This is gonna be an exhausting day."
Every time there was an event, Elise dragged me along. A homebody like me was getting dragged all over, totally against my constitution.
And now she was making me run every morning, saying mages needed stamina too...
Not that it was bad for me. Lazy types like me wouldn't do jack without someone kicking our asses.
Wait a sec... Come to think of it...
...Is my health being kept in check by Elise?
Who knows.
I gave Kkomangi a good knead and finished getting ready to head out.
"Kkomangi, bro's gonna score tons of tasty stuff for ya."
"Hek hek...!!"
*
Lenia, the archer in Dragon Slayer Kerres's party, gaped at the massive crowd swarming Starlight Lake Park.
"Whoa... How does a single auction draw this many people?"
Just as she said, countless folks packed the lake park.
It was still morning, far from the 1 PM auction start, but golden particles kept gathering at the entrance, swelling the horde.
It felt like stepping into an overcrowded amusement park, with chatter buzzing everywhere.
- Damn, so many people... No way we're seeing the auction up close.
- Let's hit up an event cafe instead.
- I'm here for Silence Phil's special performance!!!
Always on the front lines farming resources, Lenia couldn't believe the scene.
The lively yet utterly peaceful vibe reminded her of childhood festivals with her parents.
Was this really possible in a world on the brink?
Shelter folk enjoyed these perks, but deep-layer raiders like her spent so long in dungeons they missed events and crowds like this.
Her heart was pounding after so long?
"...Kerres, what do we do...? I can't hold back...! Can I just wander till the auction starts!?"
"Sure, I'll check things out with Bella and Kun too."
Mage Bella looked around in horror.
"...Too... many... people..."
Starlight Lake Park was seized by the moment—shops running events, stages packed with celebs.
Not planned by the Dungeon Master, but everyone anticipated the crowds and prepped accordingly.
Turning the park into an impromptu mega-festival.
As they strolled and snacked, Jeonbung-i types occasionally recognized Kerres, the celeb warrior, and chatted him up.
"They say 4th job changers can cleave the sky. Someday I'll surpass you, Kerres."
"...Hasn't 3rd job even dropped yet?"
Most were random Jeonbung-i nonsense, but they knew Kerres's alt as Dragon Slayer from the gallery, so it was just excited ribbing.
Come to think of it, since 2nd jobs hit, warriors seemed... different. More swagger.
Not just vibe...
"Hey, you!! How're we supposed to handle you bringing a dragon?! Personal rides go around to the stables at the entrance!!!"
"Ah... Sorry. My kid begged to ride his baby dragon..."
...Everything had just shifted. People casually mounting rhino-sized mini-dragons.
That's the upper dantian awakening from job change...? As a transmigrator, guess I can't job change then...
She already had her own upper dantian power, so no job perks for her.
Ticket dungeons... Never dug deep, but monsters and people changed big-time inside.
At the center of it all. Fate flowed around the Dungeon Master.
Definitely another Dimensional Transferee, but leagues above.
"Is this the Dungeon Master's influence..."
Then she felt eyes on her from somewhere.
"...?"
Turning, a black-haired young man in the crowd stared.
She was used to fans, but...
What was this feeling? Couldn't look away from him.
Among the gawkers, he stood out. Stirred something primal...
Survival instinct?
Like something hunted her, but direction unknown—putting her on edge.
Felt like first meeting Bullkan.
But not that strong, and a total stranger.
Some hidden powerhouse...?
As she stared back, he averted his eyes. Then got dragged off by a platinum blonde who seemed with him.
"Just my imagination...?"
*
"Hey, what're you doing? Don't just stand there—let's hit that stage!"
Dragged by Elise, I thought.
The park teemed with deep-layer heavy-hitters.
Powerhouses leagues beyond normies.
Hard not to notice 'em.
Dungeon sync made their presence feel off—super heavy, like swallowing a boulder. Gut-churning.
Or their auras were just weird?
They all feel... different.
Some like rocks, some rotten fruit. One so cold sensing it nearly froze me.
That blond dude earlier? His surroundings were a total blank.
No clue on that power...
Wonder if I'd lose up close? Not that I could even close the gap.
Anyway, stronger than Yeomje or Dragon Mask Padak. I kept scanning with dungeon sync, soaking in the novel sensations.
...If these guys lost and got Shelter-trapped, what's the surface like...?
Whatever. Elise dragged me around, and we enjoyed the park...
Afternoon hit. Auction time neared.
*
A colossal colosseum-like structure.
Audience seats packed solid.
At center, a chubby guy twisted like wringing out his whole body and bellowed the opener.
"Suuuuuuuuck...!!! Alright then!! The Dun~geon Ge~nuine Mas~terpiece Auc~tion BEGINS NooooooOWWWWW-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"WAAAAAAAAAAHHHH-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "KYAAAAAAAAAAHHHH-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Goseongji eyed the Magic Tower commentator beside him in disbelief.
"That commentator...? I was supposed to MC..."
"You'd drone on stiffly—better to hype it up fresh!? Let's go wild!!"
Goseongji, the commentator, and Yeomje's event intro wrapped up...
They whipped the cloth off one item on stage.
The star first item intro began.
"And now, the first item we'll reveal...!!! From the famed party 'Gerrun'—Bolites's crew!!!"
"Wait... I'm the MC... Haa..."
"An intact Abyssal Giant's testicle from the deep layers' rare spawns!!!!!!!!!!!!! The ultimate tonic once offered to emperors—its effects on men are..."
The crowd's cheers died mid-roar at the intro.
"Ooo... Oh? Ah..."
"Ahem..."
"Ugh... So gross..."
"And the key effect? Size increase!!!! Records say elixirs refined specially from this boost men's size by average 2~3cm..."
""WAAAAAAAAAAHHHH-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!""
The first item's reveal shook the entire auction house with roars.