Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Meanwhile, at the Black Market...
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"I'll go with this one."
When I picked the Faded Radiance Wing without hesitation, Seo Mi-na tilted her head, staring at my finger as if she couldn't comprehend it.
"Are you really choosing this? It's just a pretty wing with no effects attached. I got it as a decorative collectible when I was obsessed with angel species."
"Yeah, that's the one I want. Definitely. You're not going to back out on me, are you?"
"Of course not. You chose it. If anything, it's less of a loss for me. No take-backs after you receive it."
"Naturally."
Even as I held firm to the end, Seo Mi-na stared piercingly at the wing's photo in the list, wondering if it was really something special.
I burst out laughing at her reaction and shook my head.
"Staring at it won't reveal anything special."
"You act like you know there's something hidden in this wing."
I looked at her but neither confirmed nor denied it. I just smiled and turned my gaze to the window outside.
"Tch, better you have it and unlock its potential than me holding onto something I know nothing about. The original is common-grade anyway, so it can't be that high-level."
Seo Mi-na said that and finally let go of her lingering attachment. But inwardly, I chuckled at her words.
'If only you knew—it's way higher grade than you think.'
It was an item—no, a Sacred Relic—with mythic-grade power.
Currently, only one existed on Earth, and even before my regression, only three had ever been discovered. It was the ultimate endgame item, on par with the Sacred Relic I planned to retrieve from the hidden stage.
The arrogant fallen archangel Lucifer, born from chaos, embodying one of the seven deadly sins at its core and corrupting all creation.
One of the twelve wings left behind by him, who ranked among the top divine seats of the Abyss—even among the god-level upper echelons.
I didn't know how or why Lucifer died. Hardly anyone on Earth had even conversed with a constellation, let alone known the secrets of a constellation's death.
I'd only heard about an ancient tome discovered in the Abyss detailing this Sacred Relic, donated to a museum, and visited once to read it.
'Good thing I read it back then.'
I didn't know why Seo Mi-na hadn't used this wing before my regression, but now its owner was me.
'Of course, as a set item, a single one won't unleash its full power.'
The ancient tome I'd read recorded that all twelve originally formed one Sacred Relic. Meaning, collecting them all would grant the power of a top-tier constellation.
'One more goal in the Abyss.'
My heart raced as I eagerly awaited the wing. It didn't take long before we arrived at a massive warehouse.
"Here it is. My collection warehouse."
"You must've poured a fortune into this. Must be nice being rich."
"Yeah, it is. So hurry up and follow me."
After passing through heavy security and countless traps, a collection rivaling a museum finally revealed itself.
Countless dazzling items were on display, but only the wing mounted high above, aloof in the air, captured my attention.
Soon after, Seo Mi-na lowered the wing and handed it to me. As she did, she paused, hand hovering, and gazed at me intently.
"No regrets?"
"I told you. I'm not backing down."
Only then did she hand over the wing, promptly expelling me from the warehouse. I headed straight home.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Shin Juha, just days after he left, a commotion erupted in the Black Market.
The cause? The ten Pure Gold Ingots he'd casually registered to earn more money.
"Th-this is beyond our level to handle!"
"Didn't we appraise it? It's 100% 'pure' gold. Chunks over 10kg each!"
"We haven't even found 40% purity gold yet, and now 100%? This is a revolution—a miracle! We need to find who registered this immediately!"
"Branch chief! We have to report to the boss and prepare!"
When their turn came, appraisers evaluated the gold for its exact name and effects, then panicked and summoned the auction house branch chief.
Even the branch chief was stunned by this priceless treasure and sought out the boss, the Word Spirit Sorceress.
It was an incident that made even the boss drop her candy.
And all because of Shin Juha's foolish mistake.
Yes. Shin Juha knew only one thing about the 'pure' gold ingots and nothing else.
What he knew came from skimming a news article before his regression about a 100% purity gold ingot discovery.
Thus, he had no idea it sold for over 30 billion won to Korea's rank-one guild, Dangun Guild—or that no other 100% purity ingot had ever been found since!
Of course, this gold wasn't the same as ordinary gold we knew.
Gold from the Abyss differed from Earth's mana-infused gold; it generated its own unique mana wavelengths.
A supreme material with endless uses in alchemy, smelting, magic, and more.
Considering even elixirs and the Philosopher's Stone—alchemy's ultimate products—required this pure gold...
The ten Pure Gold Ingots Shin Juha tossed in without a thought were truly endgame treasures.
In fact, it was understandable he'd slip up.
No—dumping lowest-grade coins and magistones while giving top-grade gold ingots? Easy to mix up!
But the incident had happened, forcing the Word Spirit Sorceress to visit the auction house herself.
"Gold. Pure?"
"Yes. This is it."
"...Shocking. Tempting."
An item that stirred immense greed even in S-ranks.
"Yes, boss. As you know, Black Market cards don't store personal info, so tracking auction registrants is... Huh? The registrant is a VIP? Weird, the staff swore it was an A-rank card, so we didn't look. That bastard slacked off!"
VIPs and VVIPs were managed directly by boss Seo Ye-rin. Her approval was required to issue them.
Thus, their info was entered into codes only she could access.
"Registered just days ago. Code VIP00139."
At the branch chief's words, Seo Ye-rin crunched her candy viciously, pulled out her tablet PC, entered the code, and found the person.
Realizing it was Shin Juha, whom she'd met days ago.
"Hmm. Headache. Incoming."
"Exactly. Selling this openly would've drawn massive attention and threats, so he used our Black Market. But even we can't handle this easily."
In truth, Shin Juha had no such thoughts, but they never dreamed of that.
Naturally. It was a treasure the whole world would scramble for—mages, alchemists, and smiths especially would kill for it.
And not one or two, but ten.
"What do we do, boss? One wrong move, and Black Market's in danger."
"……."
Those coveting this gold might invade. No—they definitely would.
Even in the underworld, factions and powerhouses resented hunter-run Black Markets and hated hunters getting such items.
No matter how formidable an S-rank's domain, overwhelming enemies would prevail.
Seo Ye-rin spat out her candy stick with a ptui!, pondered deeply, then decided.
"Auction. Proceed. All ten. At once."
"...Understood."
"VVIP. SS-rank. S-rank. Famous hunters. All. Invite."
If enemy forces worried her, just invite powers that made them look laughable.
"Auction. Soon. Two days. Saturday. Evening."
Hold it fast, leaving no time for schemes.
Finally grasping her intent, the branch chief ordered invitations sent worldwide.
The boss left for the second-floor bank and commanded them to summon Shin Juha immediately.
Back home, I carefully placed the wing on my bed and began appraising it.
One of the six uncorrupted wings of the fallen archangel.
"Turning this into a Sacred Relic is simple enough."
With its divinity sealed, it had lost its power and light, becoming a gaudy chicken wing. Just contact it with divinity to unseal it, and the first seal would break, revealing basic effects.
Of course, that required sacrificing at least one unique-grade divinity item.
'Not a loss at all.'
I wasn't short on cash, and leveling up plus generating the Unyielding stat had increased my Tower of Gold ownership—no issue.
"Speaking of which, around now I should hear about the items I registered at the auction house."
No word on registration status or upcoming major auction slots. No interim reports.
That was when it happened.
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang—someone was at the door.
Checking the intercom, I was baffled by the unexpected visitor and opened the door.
'Speak of the devil.'
With a silly thought, I greeted him. He explained politely yet urgently.
Hearing everything, I clutched my forehead, wondering if this was the massive misfortune.
"So, you're holding a special auction for my gold, inviting top hunters and chaebols worldwide?"
"Yes. And regarding that, the boss requests to see you, Mr. Shin Juha."
Accepting the dizzying reality, I inwardly cursed my dumb past self and the damn gold.
'Was this really that rare?'
There was a news article about one being found before regression—I'd seen it multiple times!
I let out a deep sigh laced with complexity and confusion.
"By chance, does Black Market have any unique-grade divinity items?"
The branch chief checked his phone and nodded.
"...Yes, one in the current auction lineup. Planning to buy?"
"Yes. I need it. Let's go."
I stored the wing in my inventory, donned the cloak and mask from the branch chief, and headed back to Black Market after just three days.