Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Black Market (3)
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1.
The High Elf standing on the stage spoke in a voice that was serene yet carried an eerie lilt at the same time.
What the hell is this sudden bolt from the blue?
She could barely stand with those restraints on, yet not only did she cast magic, she snapped the chains like they were nothing.
The people in the black market could do nothing but huddle on the ground in panic.
"Wh-what are the guards doing?!"
"Th-they're all bound by the High Elf's magic! We... we can't move at all!"
The black market guards were in the same boat.
No matter how renowned they were in the trade, could they really respond to high-level magic unfolding right in front of them?
Moreover, this auction house was designed with an environment similar to the Spirit Forest, where magic use is suppressed—or even outright impossible.
Hundreds of artificial spirits were absorbing mana here.
That's why others couldn't cast spells in this place, but the High Elf before them used magic without a hitch.
Even accounting for her being a High Elf, it was hard to believe.
-Thud. Thud. Thud.
Footsteps echoed.
The High Elf slowly descended from the stage and walked toward the entrance without a word.
The people in the auction house watched her in silence.
Up close, her beauty felt even more vivid.
Thoughts arose unbidden: how satisfying it would be to take those plump, snow-white fruits into one's mouth.
"Ooh..."
Even though the High Elf had been freed, people stared at her as if entranced.
The masked men around swallowed hard at the sight of her smooth thighs revealed with each step.
They were surely soft to the point of enchantment.
Many lost themselves in fantasies of being enveloped by those ample breasts and legs.
But the High Elf paid no mind to those repulsive gazes directed at her.
-Creak!
She simply vanished leisurely from the auction house.
"?"
As the High Elf disappeared from the auction house, people soon felt the magic pinning them down lift as well.
They could stand properly again, their bodies feeling light once more.
It was probably because she had left the range of her magic upon departing. Despite the atmosphere suggesting slaughter, she vanished without harming anyone.
The only injuries were from people who had fallen and bumped into things.
No one could tell if it was the High Elf's mercy or mere whim, and they all tilted their heads in confusion...
-Crack! Crackle!
An ominous sound rang out.
"...No wonder my luck felt too good today."
They realized it wasn't mercy at all—that their fates had already been sealed.
Cracks began spreading across the auction house pillars.
"Th-the ceiling's collapsing—"
-Boom!
The man pointing at the ceiling was crushed by debris before he could finish.
A massive roar followed, and soon the entire auction house came crashing down.
...Once the rumbling ended, only silent stillness remained in the ruins.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
I had collapsed the auction house.
The people inside were probably all dead.
It was originally meant to be the rampaging dragon's doing, but I got ahead of it and acted first.
In the original story, it would explode in rage at being mocked by humans once its turn came.
That's one of the dragon's racial traits.
Dragons rampage when their "reverse scale" is touched. In the game, dragonkin would temporarily triple all their stats when HP dropped below 10%—a insane trait.
If players had access to that, the balance would have gone completely haywire.
Luckily, only monsters had it, so no "invincibility spam at low HP" disasters occurred.
But the dragon in this quest retained that trait, making it a pain.
A rampaging one would destroy everything around it blindly, becoming a total maniac.
'I handled it first, so it's fine. The fool will wreck the entire black market without realizing it's getting caught up too.'
That's why players had to deal with it.
A monster with tripled attack and defense—even if HP was low—forcing level 70-ish users to take down a level 150 boss.
There was a debuff halving stats, but even then, it was impossible with mediocre specs.
"Killing people and not feeling a thing, huh."
I turned my head toward the auction house.
Some presences lingered.
But they were faint—most would be dead within minutes.
Plus, this place was built 20 meters underground.
Unless it was that dragon, ordinary humans would die instantly or be left barely alive at best.
In other words, I had just killed all 200 people in that auction house.
"Hmm."
I clenched and unclenched my fists.
No guilt whatsoever.
No sense of sin or remorse despite killing people—normal thinking says that's not right.
Because they were trash who deserved to die? No, it felt slightly different.
Somehow familiar.
Like hunting monsters in a game.
In short, no emotions at all.
"...Doesn't matter anyway."
To me, those trash were no different from monsters.
The adventurers I met before felt similar, except for one person...
I'll sort those thoughts later.
The quest is far from cleared, and monsters are 'spawning' everywhere.
"Over there! The High Elf who ran that way!"
⚔ STATUS ⚔ [Black Market Guards – Lv.65]
As expected, they're armed with daggers and swarming in.
The black market corridors aren't wide, so longswords aren't ideal.
They're opting for daggers to leverage numbers and minimize terrain issues.
Basic combat tactics.
But they forgot something even more fundamental.
That would be their cause of death.
So, it's their own fault—they're committing suicide. Don't blame me.
"Boss's orders: don't capture the High Elf alive—just kill her!"
One guard raised his sword and charged me.
Of course, coated with deadly poison.
A mere graze would kill a human; even an elf would be fully paralyzed.
They weren't underestimating a High Elf—professional mindset.
...Though they won't be doing this work anymore.
-Clang!
"What?!"
With a clear ring, the man's dagger snapped.
'As expected.'
His shock was natural.
The broken blade spun through the air.
The reason? The sword thrust at me didn't even tear skin or draw blood—instead, it shattered.
From his perspective, absurd. A High Elf's physical prowess isn't much above human, yet it felt like striking steel.
'Bare body durability isn't bad.'
I'm unequipped right now.
Literally naked.
The market clothes I wore to the auction were stripped off—no choice.
Parts of my body are exposed, but fortunately, my current defense shrugs off their weapons.
⚙ COMMAND ⚙ [Kneel.]
-Thud!
"Gahk!"
I subdued all the ones rushing to grab me.
I don't know my remaining mana, so I'm sticking to the most efficient graviton spells.
In the game, spamming 6-star magic wouldn't drain it, but better safe than sorry.
Boss fight's coming up anyway.
'It should be around here somewhere.'
I keep walking the black market corridors.
No minimap or easy map like in the game, so searching takes time.
The black market's scale rivals three or four schools combined—like a maze.
'Can call it superior architecture to Earth—building such a massive facility underground.'
Built 20 meters underground to evade eyes, it's the grandest black market here.
Practically a small village.
Guards keep swarming endlessly, no matter how many I clear.
Feels like infinite respawns in a game.
Every room I enter has useless junk or guys toying with slaves—wasting time.
About 30 minutes pass like this.
Starting to get irritating.
"Walking around like this will take forever."
Constant gravitons have left the underground structure precarious.
-Rumble...!
Dust falls from the ceiling.
I've been controlling power, but auction-house level force would really bring it down.
'Delay more, and I'll be buried too.'
Need a way.
Find the 'owner's' spot or someone who knows it.
Stran's location unknown, and even he might not know.
'Someone who might... ah.'
One comes to mind.
'The handler who took me from Stran.'
The masked man, loose-lipped like a screw was missing, dragging me to jail.
Not a game NPC I recall, but seemed mid-level exec—likely knows.
I've walked too far; better teleport.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Teleport – Movement Magic ※Attribute: None / Range: ??? / Max Targets: ???
>A spell that moves to designated coordinates or visible locations. Distance and number depend on user's mana.
Coordinates here aren't fixed.
"Teleport is a spell created by the Space's Transcendent to travel the world. But to use it, the caster's mind must hold that scenery." If asked what exists everywhere in this world, I'd say 'mana'.
Mana is everywhere and nowhere.
All beings produce their own, but usually borrow from the world due to insufficient personal reserves.
Teleport applies that.
Pinpoint mana worldwide, swap with your own instantly—a cringey setting.
'Whatever, convenient spell.'
I close my eyes, searching coordinates.
Infuse consciousness into mana, pinpointing a memory-matched spot.
【 -1839 / -27 / 1532 】 'Found it.'
The rest is simple.
Wrap body in mana, amplify flow to tear space rift or whatever...
Don't care—just teleport already.
Spirit-like things sucking mana everywhere are annoying, but manageable.
-Flash!
Vision whites out.
Air changes.
Teleport successful.
Vision and senses return. This is the room with that masked guy from memory.
'...Escaped, huh.'
Too late—he bolted fast. No handler here.
Still, look around for anything useful.
Hoped for a transfer scroll, but no dice...
-Rustle.
"This... a map?"
Found something else.
A black market interior map—more like blueprints—on the desk.
A red-marked spot kindly labeled 'Boss here'.
"...That guy's doing?"