Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Auction
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After finishing off the Bone Golem, I swiped the floating Status Window aside for the moment and pretended to pick up the mana stone.
"......"
No tail after all?
I'd deliberately moved a bit away from the entrance and even gone through a fight, but there were still no signs of anyone nearby.
Return scrolls become unusable starting from Underground Floor 4.
So if anyone was going to make a move, they would've done it by now.
Not a single ant in sight around me.
"Hmm."
Just to be safe, I activated Clairvoyance to scan the area once more.
No one around, as expected.
I glanced at the Designated Return Scroll in my inventory, which I'd left open in the corner of my vision.
The one return scroll that works even in the deep layers of the Underground Labyrinth Dungeon.
If things got out of hand, I planned to escape with this.
But nothing happened.
Had I been overthinking it?
"Guess I'll head back for now."
No notable peculiarities on Floor 4, so it seemed best to return to my lodging and wait out the auction time.
I considered using the Designated Return Scroll... but instead, I closed my inventory without activating it.
The fact that instant teleportation works below Underground Floor 4 was something I wanted to keep hidden as much as possible.
Even if no presences were felt, you never know.
Besides, the distance back to the Floor 4 starting point wasn't that far.
I retraced my steps along the path I'd taken.
Then, passing through the gate, I used a return scroll in the Floor 3 boss room to exit the dungeon.
"Whew."
Back at my lodging, I first checked out my updated magic.
【3rd Circle: Black Point Massive Explosion】
【3rd Circle: Void】
->
4th Circle legendary magic: Black Hole.
Fusing two 3rd Circle spells via the Magic Fusion Rune yields this 4th Circle legendary magic.
The Magic Fusion Rune is drawn from the gacha in the 4th Circle Shop.
It's essentially a substitute for the 1st~3rd Circle Magic Awakening Runes, used to obtain 4th Circle magic.
As such, Magic Awakening Runes don't exist in the 4th Circle Shop.
"This thing drew a ton of hate too."
About a month before the 4th Circle Shop update.
Once people caught on to the new shop opening, they all hoarded their resources.
For the same price, higher-circle magic was better.
Even if prices differed, higher circles were always superior.
But then the devs released magic runes needing 1st~3rd Circle spells right in the 4th Circle Shop.
Back then, legendary magic holders were few and far between, so the blatant nerf drew massive backlash.
Because of that, the 4th Circle Shop uniquely added a special achievement.
The so-called pity system.
Hit 1,000 total gacha pulls, get a free Magic Fusion Rune.
At 1,000 cash per pull, full price would've been a million, but...
Free gacha tickets and package pulls counted toward it too.
Even just buying packages got you to 1,000 pulls for around 100k.
"It's been used, huh."
The Magic Fusion Rune reward had already been claimed and used by the time I checked.
I looked for differences from the game, but aside from it auto-claiming and using itself, nothing else had changed.
【Would you like to undo the Black Hole magic fusion?】
- Undoing returns the Magic Fusion Rune.
『Undo: 100,000 Cash』
"No way."
I had no idea why it fused ahead of time... but no need to undo it.
Fusing doesn't lock you out of the base spells.
Plus, even restricted, having a 4th Circle spell early was a huge boon.
I cleared all the Status Windows and flopped onto the bed.
16 hours left until the auction.
I'd rest easy until then.
The next day.
I thoroughly cleaned the still-messy lodging interior and stocked up on plenty of food.
Then, I quietly waited it out.
"Perfect!"
I immediately opened the auction house and checked the items.
【Only items matching your floor can be purchased.】
- Current Floor: 4
『Remaining Auction Items: 0』
"Hmm."
As expected, no items in the auction house this time either.
Same as last time.
However...
[!] Search other servers' items? 30% surcharge applied.
Just like before, the prompt for other servers' items popped up.
Originally, the auction house integrated all servers, so no such message existed.
With the shift to offline, the server concept should've vanished entirely.
"Eh, whatever."
I pushed aside the rising doubts.
No issues last time.
I hit search, and it pulled up other servers' items.
Then...
"...Huh?"
Unlike last time—before I'd even selected an item—a massive presence hooked into my soul alone, wrapping around my body.
When I came to...
"......"
I was in that familiar dark theater-like space from my memories.
My body had turned into a wobbly black mist again.
But there was one difference from before.
'Visibility's better than last time.'
Unlike the pitch blackness where I couldn't see an inch ahead, this time the surroundings were a bit clearer.
And the spot where I awoke was different too.
I scanned around first.
What caught my eye immediately was a wide hallway.
Unlike last time, where I'd come to right inside the auction hall, this time I could see a long corridor outside the auction house.
Massive doors lined the corridor.
Those insides must be the auction halls.
Next were the decorations along the corridor.
Twisted statues were placed here and there.
I wasn't into art or anything... but these felt off, like no human could have sculpted them—the aesthetic sense was all wrong.
As I stared at them...
Zzzing—
A sharp pain lanced around my head.
This happens when gazing at things that drain mental power.
No way... my increased mental strength is letting me see around?
I averted my eyes from the statues.
That's when.
"......!!"
Something hopped right up to me, bouncing playfully.
A childlike form made of black mist, a handspan shorter than my eye level.
A quick glance showed it holding a placard in its right hand—like the kid who hosted the auction last time.
"...!"
The kid blocked my path and pinned a name tag to my chest.
VIP
'VIP, huh?'
Trying to read the tag made my head throb again.
The letters were warped, but... it looked like VIP.
"■■!!"
The kid who attached the tag grabbed what passed for my hand in this misty body and led me upstairs.
Following it up the stairs...
"......"
A corridor appeared, atmosphere utterly different from below.
Doors lined the long hall here too.
But much smaller than the ones downstairs.
The statues along the walls seemed double those below.
Incomprehensible paintings hung ostentatiously at intervals.
A quick look suggested even higher floors above.
But when I tried to go there, the kid blocked me.
"¿"
Tilting its head as if to say no, it gestured for me to follow and walked into the corridor.
Not long after.
'Is this the room?'
The kid stopped in front of a small door.
It silently opened the door and beckoned me inside.
As I entered the room...
"......"
From within, I had a bird's-eye view of the dark auditorium where the previous auction had taken place.
A small space, just a step or so across, but unlike the crowded lower floor last time, this felt like VIP treatment.
Inside: a plush-looking small chair and a little table in front.
On the table sat a stack of paper with an odd texture.
I sat down and checked the paper first.
'Auction items?'
The contents looked like this auction's listings.
Five items total, and fortunately, none were unreadable.
'Can only buy one, probably?'
No mention of buying multiples.
Better to assume just one again.
I was about to slowly scan the listed auction items.
"......"
The auditorium went pitch black.
At the same time, light gathered at the center.
The black form that guided me now stood at the auditorium's heart.
The auction was starting.
I quickly skimmed for what to buy.
'Dragon Heart it is.'
Among the five items, there was a Dragon Heart.
It said shattered, only a tenth remaining... but for a mage, nothing beat it.
"...!"
As I finalized my thoughts, the first auction began.
I quietly focused on it.