Chapter 75
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Auction House (1)
After defeating the boss and finishing my hunt on the 6th floor, I returned to the city.
I stopped by a furniture shop afterward and picked out a few pieces to furnish my mansion.
"Welcome!"
The furniture shop owner was a burly man who looked like a bandit.
From what he told me, he sourced the wood himself and crafted the furniture.
I slowly browsed the interior of the shop, checking out what they had...
But everything was overly ornate, focused on flashy patterns.
I told him what I was looking for.
"A pond out front, you say?"
"Yes."
The pond I'd had built in the mansion's backyard.
I needed furniture to sit in front of it and enjoy the view.
Since it'd be outdoors, I didn't want anything flashy—just a simple design that blended with the surroundings.
The shop owner told me to follow him and led me inside the shop.
He took me to his workshop.
In one corner of the workshop, he showed me a neatly arranged, elongated bench.
Big enough for four adults to sit side by side.
"How about one of these long types? No backrest, so it won't block the view much. Plus, it's made of oak—very sturdy."
"I'll take it."
Oak was one of the premium woods, so the price was accordingly high.
80 platinum coins.
I immediately pulled the platinum from my inventory and handed it over.
"Much obliged! I'll call my guys to move the bench, so just wait a bit."
"It's fine."
I picked up the oak bench and shoved it into my inventory.
【 Inventory 】 34/37
『 Portable Magic Stone Pouch 4 Slots 』
『 Bottomless Glutton Bag 16 Slots 』
『 Giant of the Forest Bag 12 Slots 』
『 Empty 』
『 Empty 』
― Oak Bench (22 Slots in use)
Items stored in inventories or sub-dimensional pouches take up multiple slots proportional to their size and weight.
Pouches that exceed 22 slots are especially rare, so most people wouldn't dream of cramming large furniture into them.
But in my case, all registered sub-dimensional pouches in my inventory are tallied together, making this possible.
"Whoa... Just how massive is your sub-dimensional space...? In my 25 years as a carpenter, you're the first to store furniture in one."
The shop owner subtly pried about the origin of my sub-dimensional pouch but didn't push it.
Instead, he saw me out of the shop, saying to come back anytime if I wanted part-time work.
After leaving the shop, I stopped by the Dawn Guild before heading back to the mansion.
The 5th floor boss was already down, so word would spread, and other guilds would join the boss fights from now on.
The EXP gains were starting to feel lackluster anyway, so I planned to bow out.
"Ah, Mr. Rain. I've heard the story."
Humphrey greeted me warmly as soon as I stepped into the guild building.
He'd already heard about the 5th floor boss.
I gave him the rundown on the boss.
"Puppeteer... Got it."
"Yes."
The 5th floor boss: the Corrupted Giant Garda, and the puppeteer Mäl controlling it.
Besides the maggots and corpse flies pouring from the giant's body, we had to watch out for Mäl's strings too.
If you got tangled in those strings, Mäl took control of your body.
You even stopped breathing, so allies had to cut the strings fast before it was too late.
Humphrey listened intently and jotted down the patterns.
"You got all this from just one fight?"
Humphrey sounded genuinely impressed.
...Did I say too much?
I'd rattled off the patterns without thinking, but I played it cool with a casual smile and wrapped it up.
"Thank you, Mr. Rain. We'll send the info fee over soon."
"Yep. See you."
I left the Dawn Guild and used a Return Scroll to head back to my mansion.
There, standing in front of the mansion and blankly staring at me, was a woman who evoked the image of softly piled snow.
It was Sia.
"......"
"......"
I nodded toward the mansion door, and she naturally followed me inside.
I led her to the backyard.
Then I pulled the bench I'd bought today from my inventory and set it down by the pond.
I gestured for her to sit, and Sia settled onto it, staring vacantly at the spirits.
"You don't go to the Dawn Guild?"
"...They get scared if I'm there."
Sia said flatly.
Labyrinth Lords were objects of fear to those around them, whether they liked it or not.
The gap between mage circles was a wall few could cross.
Especially between 4th and 5th Circle—the difference was on another level.
To most people, Labyrinth Lords were incomprehensible beings.
There were other reasons too.
Labyrinth Lords were generally poor at expressing emotions, and each had their own priorities.
Without building affinity, even conversation was impossible.
That said, it seemed to have been tweaked with the offline update.
Beth had shown some flexibility when we first met.
We sat there, gazing at the spirits and resting.
Undine had grown somewhat accustomed and was tentatively approaching Sia.
Sylph and Ifrit weren't hiding anymore either.
"This is good enough. I'm off."
Sia left the mansion, apparently satisfied.
I saw her out.
"Won't be around for a while."
Her vacation from before was over, and she was heading back into the dungeon.
As she walked away, her form gradually faded into snowflakes and vanished.
She was practically a mana-based lifeform now.
"Not long left, huh."
The massive tremors that had rippled from the dungeon not long ago.
Those only happened when a new floor opened, so Sia and the other Labyrinth Lords must've reached the 9th floor.
If there were no major issues, hitting the 10th wouldn't take much longer.
After seeing her off, I returned to the mansion for some rest.
For a while, I stuck to commuting between the dungeon's 6th floor and my mansion.
In between, I met Beth to coordinate alley cleanups and eavesdrop on kingdom gossip.
"Word is black mages are spilling into kingdom territory. Not even hiding anymore."
"...Is that so."
We were supposed to whittle them down steadily via the kingdom rebel quests, but we hadn't, so the kingdom's situation was dire.
The black mages had filled the void left by the second prince's massacre.
They were puppeteering him to control the kingdom.
But... something was off.
In the game, the second prince had become a shut-in.
He'd learned something he shouldn't have, lost his mind, and withered away in his room.
By contrast, Beth said the current second prince was up and about the kingdom just fine.
"So watch yourself. You're from the kingdom, right?"
"Yeah."
She'd looked into my background already and tossed it out casually.
After parting with her, I headed to the dungeon.
A week passed like that.
[You can only purchase items matching your current floor.]
― Current Floor: 6
『 Remaining Auction Items: 0 』
[!] Search other servers' items? 30% markup applies.
The auction was finally open.
I immediately selected the other servers' items search.
Then.
Woooong—
A bizarre sensation washed over me, like my body and soul were separating.
It felt like my soul was being yanked out, stretching long, then hurtling through the air at tremendous speed.
When I came to...
"......"
The familiar auction house came into view.
Unlike before, where darkness shrouded my vision like a veil,
The interior was now brightly lit.
That wasn't the only change.
My form had changed too—from mere rippling black smoke without limbs, sleek tentacles now extended smoothly from where my arms and legs should be.
The overall rippling black smoke remained the same, though.
I headed straight for the upper level with the VIP rooms.
Unlike last time, other presences were visible here and there in the auction house.
Whenever my gaze met theirs, a sharp pain stabbed my head.
The same symptom as when mental power drained—the one I'd felt before.
But with my mental power at 500, it wasn't too bad as long as I didn't look directly.
Eyes fixed on the floor, I searched for the stairs to the VIP rooms.
Woooong—
I bumped into something.
I looked up.
"......"
The black smoke form I'd collided with rippled violently.
It spewed smoke around like it was furious.
I extended a hand in apology, but...
"...!!"
Kwak—
The black smoke it exhaled enveloped me, and pressure crushed my body.
It vented its rage without a sound.
Instead...
『 -3280 Cash charged. 』
『 -1760 Cash charged. 』
『 -3510 Cash charged. 』
Cash trickled away bit by bit.
The amounts were small, but it was unpleasant.
I shoved my tentacle-arm forward with all my might to shake it off.
Then...
"...?"
Whoosh—
The thing's face rippled hugely where my tentacle touched.
"...!!!!!!!"
It writhed like it was screaming.
At the same time...
I'd made a little money.
...What was that?
I reached out again toward it, but...
"■■ ■!"
The familiar small form hopped toward me.
It bounced indignantly at the one in front of me.
The offender released me and slunk away.
I extended a tentacle to the head of the child-sized black smoke figure—a head shorter than my eye level—and patted it lightly in thanks.
It lingered under my touch for a moment, then led me to the VIP room.
As I entered, the auction house darkened on cue.
Light soon gathered in the center.
The auction was beginning.