Chapter 76
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Auction House (2)
At the center of the brightly lit auditorium, a massive object draped in black cloth loomed.
A small figure, apparently the auctioneer, stepped forward and raised its hand high.
[Grade: Mythic]
—Bonds with an item to mimic its properties.
The auction for the first item had begun.
Formless Fragment.
This bound to an item and mimicked its special effects.
There were no grade restrictions on bonding, so it could even amplify the special effects of powerful items.
And there was one more special effect.
For damaged items, it repaired the broken parts.
Therefore...
[Grade: Mythic]
—A fragment of the heart of the ancient dragon Rafni. Even this small piece radiates terrifying mana.
The fragment of the ancient dragon's heart from the previous auction—only a tenth remained.
Bonding this would repair all the remaining damage.
By the time I glanced at the auction, the price had already approached 11 million cash.
The Formless Fragment held special meaning for those with many powerful items.
But as a support item, the fervor had died down somewhat.
I raised my hand to join the bidding.
The moment I raised the bid, the auction hall froze.
...What?
I exchanged a few more bids.
The first auction ended at 18 million cash.
Then the auditorium lights dimmed, gathering again at the center.
[Grade: Hero]
—Sap from the Primordial Tree. Increases mana upon consumption.
The second auction item appeared.
Sap of the Life Source referred to the sap from the Primordial Tree: Eldea.
Consuming it raised mana stats by about 20—an elixir of the highest grade.
However... compared to the other items at this auction, it felt a bit lacking.
Still, if it was worth buying, I had to buy it.
I secured the sap for 2 million cash.
After a short wait, the auction hall darkened again, then lit up.
[Grade: Mythic]
—Reconstructs the body upon use.
The third auction item revealed itself.
The Body Reconstruction Rune allowed recreating a character's appearance upon use.
It permitted recustomization, reselection of physical stats, traits, and more, so it had steady demand.
Above all, it could be used even after death, targeting hardcore server players more than casual ones.
On hardcore servers, death deleted the character, but with this rune, you could reconstruct a new body and continue.
Essentially, a one-time revival item.
With only one produced per year on average, even hardcore players accepted it.
Before I knew it, the price had surpassed 40 million cash.
It was pricier than expected... but not burdensome.
I casually raised my arm to bid.
Then...
The rune's price climbed rapidly past 80 million cash.
Still, the bidding showed no signs of stopping.
It easily exceeded 100 million.
The previous Dragon Heart auction had topped out at 100 million, so its value had soared.
Well... buying an extra life made sense.
I naturally raised my hand to bid higher.
At the outrageous price, only one bidder remained.
The ones below the VIP rooms had long given up.
It felt like other VIPs were competing.
VIP rooms had their own hierarchy, it seemed—these folks had deep pockets.
The price kept rising.
Once it hit 150 million, no further bids came.
Then...
Thud. Thud. Thud.
With a crisp sound, the Body Reconstruction Rune was sold.
At the center of the auction hall stood a black figure bouncing with uncontainable excitement.
It seemed this auction was over.
I slowly looked around.
'Still holding up okay...?'
Strangely, unlike before, I could endure it here too.
In that case... maybe stick around a bit longer.
I shoved the floating status window to the corner and left the VIP room.
One by one, black figures emerged from other rooms.
Including the one I'd competed with, they headed out.
Since everyone was descending the auction hall, I blended in and went down the stairs with them.
The lower floor was more chaotic.
The black figures exiting the auction all moved in one direction.
I followed them through the auction house.
I passed countless unique paintings, sculptures, and other artworks, soon reaching the exit.
Like the others, I left the auction house.
"......"
Outside felt like empty space—void like the cosmos.
Stepping into the nothingness, I floated forward as if walking on air.
After a couple steps...
- .....
Something was watching me.
The VIP from the competing room.
But unlike before, a massive eye peered at me through his black mist.
An enormous presence slowly extended toward me.
"......"
It was staring at me.
An eye watching me from the formless void.
Suddenly, a sharp pain tore through my head like my brain was being ripped apart.
It extended what seemed like a hand toward me.
At the same time, it initiated trades I couldn't comprehend.
Each time, something inside me leaked out bit by bit.
I raised my arm to ward it off and backed away.
But it ignored me and stepped closer.
Every trade window drained something from me.
The piercing headache faded, as if I'd grown accustomed.
No more pain. Nothing.
The place felt increasingly comfortable.
At the same time, my body seemed larger—my viewpoint rose.
That was odd.
Didn't mental exhaustion force you out of the auction house?
I turned back toward the auction house.
One step, and I was there.
My body had doubled in size.
But nothing changed.
The gaze followed me.
It extended its hand again, offering something.
"Huh?"
Why could I see this...?
I stared straight ahead.
But the being there... had taken on a form.
It opened its mouth.
As if to speak.
That's when.
"Child. Did I not tell you? Your current body cannot withstand its vastness."
Someone pulled me from behind.
A voice I'd heard in the mage tower before.
At the same time...
The Exit button activated on its own, against my will.
Whumm—
A floating sensation enveloped me.
My black misty body rippled, then scattered into the void.
My formless mind expanded infinitely before collapsing into a single point.
Thus, I exited the auction house.
I came to in my mansion.
Just thinking Exit had activated it, pulling me out.
But it was too late.
—Ah.
Something was happening to my body.
My flesh and mind both crumbled.
All the mansion's information flooded my head.
My physical form tore apart.
From the worthless shell, something immense arose.
My vast mind began escaping the flesh.
My mind started devouring the mansion.
As it expanded, maintaining consciousness grew harder.
Unimaginable agony shook my body and mind.
I sensed my existence collapsing.
That's when.
Messages floated before my eyes.
In agony, I reached for one.
Using the rune, my consciousness blurred for a moment.
Crunch. Crunch—
My crumbling body reconstructed.
With no changes, it fully restored, and my mind settled inside.
"......Hah."
I looked down at my fully reconstructed body and sighed in relief.
...That was a horrific experience.
"What the hell was that......"
Only then did I check the status window.
Like any RPG, this game had its share of scammers.
The developers implemented safeguards accordingly.
One was having the game system hold the target's items during trade proposals.
But this had side effects.
You could spam trades on an AFK character to scout their items or cash.
So, that entity from the auction house had basically trade-terrorized me.
Brutally, to the tune of 15 quadrillion.
But... if so, why did my mind escape my body?
"......No way."
I stared blankly at the status window.
If this was the cause...
Then... what the hell was this cash amount?
"......"
I wrestled with the question through a sleepless night.
This incident was too serious to brush off.