It's My First Time at an Auction House-1
It's My First Time at an Auction House-1
"Hmm, it is a bit extreme."
A cafe located on the 1st floor of the Korea Hunter Association lobby.
Kang Yeo-ryeong, who had taken a light sip of coffee, said with a somewhat fed-up expression.
She had become an official Hunter, and she had even been to a Gate.
She had felt a bit bored just staying at home, so this was her second time visiting the Korea Hunter Association.
But somehow, scouts dispatched from various guilds had swarmed in.
From small guilds that came just to test the waters,
to scouts from large guilds that anyone would recognize just by hearing the name.
They were desperate to recruit Kang Yeo-ryeong into their guilds by any means necessary.
The competition was so fierce that if the Korea Hunter Association hadn't intervened directly to settle the situation, someone surely would have bled.
Kang Yeo-ryeong had also been able to escape the scouts thanks to the Korea Hunter Association's intervention and catch her breath at the cafe.
Of course, these weren't the kind of scouts to just give up.
Even at this very moment, the scouts were watching Kang Yeo-ryeong with burning eyes, positioned not only inside the cafe but also all around outside.
Waiting for Kang Yeo-ryeong to leave the cafe. Or rather, to leave the Korea Hunter Association building where the cafe was located.
Still, it wasn't bad.
Watching these children who were faithful to their roles.
Although they were a little... no, very aggressive.
Kang Yeo-ryeong wasn't such a narrow-minded mother that she would scold a child for acting proactively to get what they wanted.
So.
"Wouldn't it be fine if I just avoided them well?"
It would be a bit annoying, though.
Still, she couldn't just kill all these children who were merely being faithful to their roles just because they were annoying, could she?
Not that she couldn't kill them if she wanted to.
But if she really did that, it would become even more annoying than it was now.
Even if Hunter Kang Yeo-ryeong possessed pure support-type traits and skills, and thanks to that, became an A-rank Hunter as soon as she officially registered.
That didn't mean she was completely irreplaceable.
If Kang Yeo-ryeong were to actually kill one of the scouts.
Perhaps starting with the guild the scout she killed belonged to, various children would criticize and rebuke Kang Yeo-ryeong, and move to exact a price for it.
This was feedback provided by the memories of her time as a human.
The memories were just desperately providing feedback out of the thought that if she made a mistake, Kang Yeo-ryeong might erase Korea.
But when she thought about it carefully, it wasn't wrong, so Kang Yeo-ryeong readily accepted it.
Like that, had she enjoyed some leisure time drinking coffee amidst the scouts' burning gazes for a while?
The cafe had one wall made entirely of glass, allowing one to look outside from within.
Some people looked at the small garden with beautiful flowers in full bloom that could be glimpsed beyond that glass.
Kang Yeo-ryeong also quietly admired the scenery outside the window until she had emptied the cup of coffee in front of her. After drinking every last drop, she stood up from her seat.
"Come to think of it, did they say there was an auction house on the 6th floor of the Korea Hunter Association?"
An auction house.
A small battlefield where various people compete to win ownership of items uploaded by someone, a place where they fight using money instead of bullets.
Such an auction house was located on the 6th floor of the Korea Hunter Association building.
Of course, it wasn't a place anyone could enter, nor could just any item be registered for sale.
No, to be precise, not just anyone could participate in the auction.
The auction house is divided into a general auction house and a graded auction house.
The general auction house allows not only Hunters but also civilians to watch or participate.
But from the graded auction house onwards, one had to be at least a C-rank Hunter to participate.
Or belong to a guild and participate in the auction as a representative of the guild.
Kang Yeo-ryeong, who had remembered the existence of the auction house, took something out from her bosom.
What Kang Yeo-ryeong took out was a small bead. No, to be precise, it was an orb.
The name was Loyalty Offered to the Fallen Monarch.
Like other orb-type artifacts, it had the function of increasing magic power output and efficiency, or amplifying the effects or power of skills, of course.
Loyalty Offered to the Fallen Monarch also had a special skill attached to it.
The name of the skill was Undead Elite Guard.
When used, as the name suggests, an elite guard made of undead pops out to protect the user of the orb.
The number of appearing undead ranges from as few as 4 to as many as 16.
The types of undead that appear also change from time to time, so it does require a certain amount of luck.
Nevertheless, if used in an emergency, it was enough to buy some time or overcome a crisis.
"It is a gift given to me by the child called Death, but there's no need for me to keep something that I have no use or need for."
Looking at Loyalty Offered to the Fallen Monarch, which scattered a gloomy ash-colored aura, Kang Yeo-ryeong nodded.
The Room Where Death Stays.
When returning to Earth from that place called a Gate, Kang Yeo-ryeong was able to receive various gifts from Death.
Just like a young child gifting a wreath made of flowers picked from the street to an adult they like.
In reality, it was no different from a kind of bribe, asking not to be scolded when she crossed over to Earth later, once Earth had become strong enough to handle her.
Most of the gifts among them were not yet things that the children of Earth could handle.
If even Loyalty Offered to the Fallen Monarch, which had the lowest value among the gifts Death gave, was something countless children would covet, then that said it all.
As a mother, Kang Yeo-ryeong knew better than anyone how greedy the children were.
And she could fully anticipate how the children would react if she released all the gifts she received from Death onto Earth.
Therefore, Kang Yeo-ryeong intended to register Loyalty Offered to the Fallen Monarch at the auction house located on the 6th floor of the Korea Hunter Association.
It had decent performance, but.
It was to the extent that children wouldn't need to kill each other to get their hands on it.
Loyalty Offered to the Fallen Monarch, which had a somewhat ambiguous value.
Well....
"I've been making excuses, but honestly, the biggest reason among the various reasons I'm trying to put Loyalty Offered to the Fallen Monarch up for auction is, of course, money."
Humans need money to sustain their lives.
And in a society formed by humans gathering together, money was a weapon more powerful than anything else, and something worshipped more than any god.
And for Kang Yeo-ryeong to live not as 'Mother Kang Yeo-ryeong' but as 'Hunter Kang Yeo-ryeong', she naturally needed money.
Was it yesterday? The day before yesterday?
Or was it longer ago than that?
In the Dungeon-type Gate, Mansion of the Dead, which she had entered with Kang Baek-ho and his two younger siblings, Kang Yeo-ryeong hadn't been able to bring anything out.
With the sudden appearance of the Lich, Kang Baek-ho and his two younger siblings were busy running away.
The porter child who had been dying, as soon as he was revived, threw away all the luggage and moved for revenge.
Kang Yeo-ryeong had accepted Death's invitation and crossed over to The Room Where Death Stays.
Undead byproducts already had a value that was significantly lower compared to other things.
She had left even the byproducts that could have fetched a small amount of money back at the Mansion of the Dead.
Of course, she had money she had earned back when she was still a human.
"To be honest... I didn't save that much money."
As she said this, recalling the memory of squandering even the little money she had on things like coins and stocks.
The memories of her time as a human desperately shouted, 'I tried! I tried! It's this world that's wrong!' over and over again.
Kang Yeo-ryeong smiled at the memories of her human days that were desperately proclaiming their innocence, and stood up from her seat.
She left the cafe.
Since many civilians also walked around the 1st floor of the Korea Hunter Association, she put Loyalty Offered to the Fallen Monarch back into her sub-space, and Kang Yeo-ryeong moved to the 6th floor using the elevator.
The funny thing was that the scouts who were all over the place didn't move.
One of them could have followed her to the 6th floor.
Perhaps it was because they had to pass through the 1st-floor lobby to leave the Korea Hunter Association building anyway.
And it wasn't like they could offer recruitment just by following her.
The scouts waited for Kang Yeo-ryeong on the 1st floor, as if they had talked among themselves.
Of course, looking at how they glared at each other with wary eyes, it didn't seem like they had actually coordinated anything.
Meanwhile, the 6th floor, which she reached using the elevator, was bustling with various children.
A child who came to get an artifact they accidentally found in a dungeon beyond a Gate appraised.
Or a child who came to register materials needed to make weapons, armor, or artifacts for auction.
Or a child who came to participate in the auction thinking there might be an artifact they could use, and so on.
Various children were moving busily with their own goals.
Seeing the children who were faithful to their respective roles, Kang Yeo-ryeong smiled softly and moved.
She took a number ticket and waited until it was her turn.
Had she waited on a chair for about 10 minutes like that?
Soon, when the number 251 appeared on the screen hanging on the wall, Kang Yeo-ryeong finally stood up slowly and moved.
The place she arrived at was counter number 6.
Counter number 6 at the auction house located on the 6th floor.
It was a coincidence of numbers that might make a child who believes in superstition feel a bit uncomfortable.
"What brings you here?"
When she arrived at the counter, the employee sitting on the other side asked with a smile.
At the employee's question, Kang Yeo-ryeong placed Loyalty Offered to the Fallen Monarch, which she had taken out from her bosom, on the counter and said.
"I would like to sell this artifact."
"An artifact sale? Understood."
At Kang Yeo-ryeong's words, the employee nodded, typed on the keyboard, and said again.
"Could you tell me the artifact's grade, name, and effects?"
"It's an unappraised artifact, so I don't know the exact name, effects, or grade."
Kang Yeo-ryeong said, slowly shaking her head.
Artifacts must go through an appraiser's hands to confirm their information.
However, Kang Yeo-ryeong did not go through the process of checking the artifact's information through an appraiser.
Even though she knew what name the orb-type artifact had, what effects it possessed, and what skill was attached to it.
That was information she could only know because she was 'Mother Kang Yeo-ryeong'.
It was not information that 'Hunter Kang Yeo-ryeong' could know.
That was why Kang Yeo-ryeong deliberately told the employee it was an unappraised artifact.
"Unappraised artifact. Understood."
Perhaps there were cases like this often.
The employee didn't show much of a reaction even at the mention of an unappraised artifact. Instead, they just rattled off words that were so businesslike they were almost mechanical.
To summarize the employee's words, it was like this.
Unappraised artifacts can only be sold at the general auction house.
The commission is 7% of the sale price. The minimum starting price can be set by the Hunter who registers the item. Also, 10% of the minimum starting price must be paid... and so on.
"Please set the minimum starting price to 1 million won."
Handing over her card, Kang Yeo-ryeong said with a soft smile.
1 million won.
Considering the value of Loyalty Offered to the Fallen Monarch, it was practically a steal.
In fact, it was a steal.
Even if unappraised artifacts are considered a kind of lottery among Hunters.
Still, an artifact is an artifact. To set the minimum starting price for such an artifact at a mere 1 million won.
If another Hunter had seen this, they would have been unable to stop themselves from gasping in shock.
However.
'I'm fine as long as I have the minimum amount of money needed to maintain Hunter Kang Yeo-ryeong. And, perhaps there's a possibility that a Hunter who recognizes the value of that orb might appear, right?'
Kang Yeo-ryeong thought to herself.
It wasn't particularly sealed. Even at this moment, Loyalty Offered to the Fallen Monarch, which scattered a gloomy ash-colored aura, looked extraordinary at a glance.
Perhaps, due to overheated competition from being bewitched by its appearance, she might be able to get more money than expected.
However, the employee, who had maintained a businesslike attitude that seemed almost mechanical until now, was startled by the minimum starting price Kang Yeo-ryeong set and flinched.
Because she, a civilian who was not a Hunter.
And even to her, an employee belonging to the Korea Hunter Association, 1 million won was an absurdly low amount.
However, the employee soon finished the registration as if nothing was wrong.
Because setting the minimum starting price was entirely up to the Hunter who was selling it.
"Registration complete."
"Thank you."
At the employee's guidance, Kang Yeo-ryeong smiled softly once more.