Chapter 288
Chapter 288
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 288
Chapter Title: The Fourth Night (7)
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It was as if someone had hit the pause button.
Diamante, having laid eyes on the Easter Egg, froze in place. He did nothing but stare at it, utterly motionless.
To him, the item presented by "Participant 499,519" was nothing more than a plain old egg.
A worthless thing, barely enough for a single meager meal.
Naturally, it deserved a value of zero.
But...
"Question mark?"
His "Value Appraisal" authority had never once missed its mark.
Everything in the Abyss was assigned a "value" by default.
No matter what it was—be it object, being, or rank—this power let him discern it all. It was why he was called a heavyweight in the Demon Merchant Guild.
No one could utter a lie about value in his presence.
Yet here was a question mark.
A first.
Either the authority had malfunctioned, or this egg's value was truly beyond judgment.
"The bastard knew beforehand that I wouldn't be able to appraise it."
Participant 499,519.
The oath he'd sworn wasn't about Diamante lying or his appraisal being wrong.
-You cannot judge the value of my item.
That was it from the start.
That he wouldn't be able to appraise whatever was presented.
Diamante had assumed the oath was worded that way because the guy thought he was bluffing.
But it was the opposite.
He'd genuinely believed it couldn't be appraised.
"...If the value can't be known, even the Pact Reaper won't be able to make a distinction."
But the Pact Reaper knowing a value Diamante didn't? Unlikely.
Utterly ambiguous grounds.
Question mark.
Could be zero. Could be one hundred. Or even more.
Value was never absolute, after all.
His authority gave the most objective number possible, but circumstances could make it worth more... or less.
"Medicine fetches a high price from the wounded, but the healthy have no need for it. If this egg serves a similar purpose..."
It might not be ordinary.
Its value could shift based on how it was used.
Or it could be an egg from some unimaginable species.
Not even he knew everything in the Abyss.
...Which meant it all came down to interpretation.
The Pact Reaper would have to rule in his favor.
"No matter how I look at it, it's just a plain egg."
"What the hell is he planning?"
"Gonna throw those coins away on the floor?"
The onlookers were just as baffled.
None of them knew what an "Easter Egg" was.
"At this point, practically no one knows about Easter Eggs."
It was all going according to Park Chan-woo's plan.
No way they would.
Even scouring the entire Abyss, you could count them on one hand.
If even Transcender Rimazer didn't know what an Easter Egg was, that said it all.
No one could appraise something no one knew about.
Let alone a "God's Footprint" Easter Egg—how could some demon lord possibly judge that?
"Ask it, Diamante."
The moment the Pact Reaper was summoned, the game was over.
Diamante's only escape was to refuse the appraisal altogether.
Just stay silent until the fourth night ended.
But stalling wasn't doing him any favors.
Park Chan-woo grinned wickedly.
"Looks like that 'Value Appraisal' of yours is just for show after all."
"You didn't tamper with this egg or anything?"
"Even if I did, you'd have to detect that for it to count as an 'authority,' right?"
"...So you're admitting you tampered with it."
"Who knows. Anyway, if you can't figure it out, just admit defeat. I'll knock it down to half price."
"...You're playing a shallow game, sir."
Diamante forced a smile.
Trick him into conceding and pocket 2,500 coins?
As if.
Impossible.
Diamante had never lost an appraisal.
"No need to overthink it."
He didn't know what trick hid the value, but whoever dared challenge him would regret it.
No need to call out some inflated number.
Just as it appeared.
"This egg's value is 'zero.'"
He stated it plainly.
The egg was too cold to hatch life.
No mana, no spark of vitality.
A dead egg was worth next to nothing.
Even if it had some ability, dead was dead.
Then.
Creeeak.
Creeeak.
The weight began to rise.
The Pact Reaper's scale creaked to life, tilting bit by bit.
Gulp!
Everyone stared at it, tense as could be.
The winner would claim all 10,000 coins.
Whoosh!
The weight swung decisively.
As if the perfectly obvious answer needed no further confirmation.
It tipped in an instant.
Toward...
"N-No way! Pact Reaper! What value could that egg possibly have?!"
Precisely the side with Participant 499,519.
Diamante couldn't accept it.
The weight tipping that fast meant total failure.
A flawless defeat, no room for doubt.
And proof that the Pact Reaper knew the egg's value.
"I can't accept this. Not without you telling me its true value...!"
Diamante protested vehemently.
If it truly knew, then say it.
Of course, the Pact Reaper's judgment was final.
But in ambiguous cases or refused outcomes...
The Pact Reaper would sometimes explain its reasoning.
Something like this appeared before Diamante's eyes.
Even if you learned the answer, stay silent. Never argue.
Diamante nodded.
Then.
A single character echoed in his mind.
【None (無).】
...None?
No value? Nonexistent?
Diamante stared at the Pact Reaper, still puzzled.
In a flash, another character resounded in his head.
【Limit (限).】
"None... limit?"
What did it just say?
Infinite?
Did it possess value beyond measure? Immeasurable worth?
Diamante looked at the egg.
No matter how many times he checked, it was just an egg.
Nothing more, nothing less.
For that to be infinite?
Impossible.
They were conspiring, the two of them.
This Pact Reaper might even be a fake.
"What the hell is that egg...!"
That instant.
Slash!
The Pact Reaper swung its scythe.
He hadn't stayed silent.
Diamante's soul split in two.
Demon lord or not, no one could block the Pact Reaper's soul-reaping.
"Aaaargh...!!!"
Diamante screamed.
Only then did he realize the Pact Reaper was real—but too late.
Infuriating. Unjust.
To lose so pointlessly.
Diamante's body began crumbling to dust.
But his gaze never left the egg.
He still couldn't accept that a mere egg held infinite value.
...Yet.
Just before his soul shredded away.
Just before his entire body turned to powder.
"God (神)...!!!"
Those final words... and it was over.
Park Chan-woo swept up the pot.
A whopping 5,000 coins.
Now he held over 10,000.
"Jackpot."
The fourth night.
Coins were flowing like mad from the start.
The more desperate the Demon King of Ruin grew, the more coins Park raked in.
Overwhelming results.
He'd never gathered 10,000 coins before.
Not even 1,000, let alone 10,000.
"Might even get into the special auction at this rate."
He'd heard the rumors.
Abyss denizens with 10,000+ coins get invites to the "Special Auction."
Mostly high-ranking demon lords, but open to all races.
Only jaw-dropping treasures sold there.
Sometimes, even bankrupt creators themselves went on the block.
"Lord of the Moon Aheta" had been auctioned off to the Demon King of Ruin there, in fact.
Whether a human like him would get an invite was another story, but if not, he could just hand it to Adora.
"...What the hell are you?"
Someone broke the silence.
He turned. Han Shin was there.
Scowling, glaring right at him.
"How'd you have 5,000 coins? You were so weak... all your stats were at 1."
"Must've seen the wrong guy."
Park Chan-woo shrugged.
Looked like Han Shin remembered seeing him right after the "Rat-Hearing Dungeon."
Scanning hundreds with his Insight skill to find the thief who'd swiped the arrangements.
Surprising he'd remembered, but then again, Park had stood out.
Park Chan-woo chuckled.
"And don't get it twisted. I won it all here."
"...You expect me to buy that?"
"What if you don't? Gonna fight me over it?"
He played innocent.
Han Shin's scowl deepened—
Everyone froze at the messages.
The name was all too familiar.
"...Aheta?"
"Lord of the Moon Aheta?"
"B-But Aheta went bankrupt...!"