Chapter 135
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Auction House (2)
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The ruler of the western demon realm on the continent, 'Giant King' Iimir. But he despised the epithet 'Giant King' that humans had bestowed upon him, laced with their fear.
"Lord Iimir refers to himself as the 'Colossal God.' Be careful not to utter the word 'giant' in his presence."
A race whose innate strength rivals even the mighty half-dragonkin. No, in terms of sheer physical power, even the half-dragonkin couldn't keep up. That was the giant tribe inhabiting the western part of the continent.
As their name suggests, the giant tribe were born with physiques incomparable to other races, boasting skin tougher than most armor. With overwhelming destructive force from their massive bulk and innate magic resistance that deflected curses and spells alike, they reigned as tyrants of the west.
Born with such immense power, they were arrogant by nature, rejecting their species name 'giant tribe' and boldly prefixing it with 'god' to call themselves the colossal god tribe.
And the ruler of those giants—no, colossal gods—and the innate destroyer himself was Colossal God Iimir.
'Is that the dangerous figure Rene warned me about?'
Before entering the auction house, I'd heard from Rene about precautions for the venue and certain existences we absolutely must not antagonize. And the one she'd emphasized most was that colossal god.
"Oh...! What a mighty frame! A presence that overwhelms all!"
And then, the moment that colossal god entered, shattering the silence that had held the hall, another being spoke up.
A man with a faintly rat-like impression trembled slightly even as he smoothly showered the other with flattery, raising his voice to ensure it reached the colossal god whose height rivaled a high-rise apartment as he approached.
'That guy's...'
He might have some illusion draped over him, but my eyes could see his true form. And it was a face I'd heard described before.
One of the frail dungeons in the south. Kerdon, master of the 'Dank Rat Hole,' composed of the near-weakest ratmen race.
After subjugating Rene and the other dungeon masters under me, I'd gleaned info on the south's other dungeon masters from them. The southern dungeons were all notoriously weak, but his in particular held the title of the absolute weakest.
"It's an honor to meet you in person, Colossal God. I am..."
What was his goal? Did he think it didn't matter what he did since everyone was cloaked in illusions? Or, judging by how he approached while spewing flattery, did he hope to curry favor?
Whatever his intent, Kerdon—who'd only become a dungeon master after the great subjugation of the south—had never experienced a phantom auction or faced the true rulers of the demon realms. Oblivious that it was the worst choice, he approached the colossal god's feet, singing his praises.
"A mere worm... dares speak to a god?"
"Eh...?"
The west's environment was pure survival of the fittest. A demonic realm where only the strong were respected and survived.
And standing at its pinnacle was Iimir, who followed those western rules more faithfully than anyone. From his perspective, a creature that spotted him and immediately clung with sycophantic words was nothing more than a 'worm.'
By the time Kerdon regained his senses, a massive shadow already loomed over his head.
"Ah."
-Kwaaaaaang!!!!!!
Worm.
Just as a human casually crushes an ant and moves on, the colossal god stepped on Kerdon with a look of disgust. When he lifted his foot, surprisingly, no wounds marred his body—likely due to this illusory space's rules.
"Kuh, kugh...!!"
Leaving Kerdon gasping and unable to breathe properly, the colossal god departed the hall as if uninterested in the mingling there.
I glanced at Kerdon, sprawled like a corpse, and asked Kenchi beside me.
"...Didn't they say all combat is forbidden in the auction house?"
This was the dungeon merchant's phantom auction house. I'd heard fights were prohibited by the dungeon merchants, with immediate ejection for violators... So what was that scene?
"Oh dear, customer."
Kenchi lightly summoned other dungeon merchants to haul Kerdon away somewhere, then smirked at me.
"Was there any 'combat' in what just happened?"
"......"
"All I saw was one customer casually stepping on a 'worm' as he passed."
Right.
So it wasn't some easy, peaceful place after all, huh?
.
.
.
.
.
The bodies used here weren't one's real physical form. Injuries sustained here wouldn't affect the actual body in reality.
"But that's limited to the 'body.' The mind is a different story."
As evident from the food prepared in the waiting room, all 'sensations' here were fully felt. And that naturally included 'pain.'
'He felt the agony of being crushed like a bug under a giant foot, so it's no wonder his mind snapped.'
Kenchi elaborated that the prohibition on 'combat acts' here hinged on 'intent.'
The moment you harbored clear hostility or intent to harm, the magic of this mind-linked illusory world—via the dream demon's power—detected it and expelled you from the auction house.
'So he didn't harbor any hostility; he genuinely stepped on him like a bug?'
...I could see why Rene specifically warned me to beware of Colossal God Iimir among all the beings here. One wrong move, and you'd be squashed like a worm.
Anyway, once the dungeon merchants stepped in to clean up, the tense atmosphere quickly eased.
New entrants continued streaming in from the various doorways, and the subordinate dungeon masters who'd agreed to accompany me into the auction house arrived as well.
"Where's the master? Is that him?"
"My daughter... don't be so reckless."
You could tell who it was just from the speech as certain figures entered,
".....Ugh?!"
While others, like when the colossal god entered, put everyone on edge.
A silver-haired beauty with gleaming silvery scales and distinctive slit yellow reptilian pupils scanned the hall before heading silently with his two male and female companions to a separate prepared waiting room, unlike Iimir who caused a stir.
And as that man left the hall, several among the crowd bowed their heads like retainers following their king and trailed after him.
"Hmph. That guy's the Dragon King of the north?"
Erzsebet, watching the village drama with boredom, muttered. Kenchi, guiding us, nodded lightly in affirmation.
The one who just passed was another demon realm lord: Radon, ruler of the northern half-dragonkin and bearer of the epithet 'Dragon King.'
"Lord Radon is one of our major customers. With so many subordinates, he buys items in bulk..."
"....."
Major customer. Different from VIP, maybe?
Erzsebet, unimpressed even by Radon, scanned the auction house interior eagerly. But the one she awaited never appeared.
'....Not coming?'
Despite the western demon realm's lord and the northern one showing up, the eastern demon realm's empress had yet to reveal herself. She might be hidden by illusion, but then my eyes would see through it.
Pretending otherwise, Erzsebet showed faint disappointment. She could be in another waiting room like the colossal god or dragon king... No, given her preference for quiet, she might not participate at all. This was a bit off my expectations.
I'd heard virtually all dungeon masters attended the auction.
"M-Master! How did you recognize us...?"
"Doesn't matter."
I comforted the disappointed Erzsebet a bit and gathered my subordinate dungeon masters, plainly visible to my eyes, in one spot.
I'd already spotted the dwarves' master, located the witch leader and arachne leader in disguised forms, and added the newly arrived Rene to the group. Including the other demons they'd brought, our party had grown sizable.
Noticing we'd all assembled, Kenchi made a proposal.
"Well then, before the auction begins... If you have items you'd like to consign directly for auction, please hand them over now."
"What order do they go in if I consign now?"
"We dungeon merchants appraise the value and set the auction order ourselves."
"Hmm...."
Looking closely at the rules, you couldn't just dump all your items; each dungeon master could consign up to two, and only those deemed worthy by the dungeon merchants.
"As you read in the invitation, if you entered with items to consign, you'd still have them on you now."
"Consign this."
"Yes, then... Oh, clothing? And this?"
Kenchi's eyes widened at the plump red fruit I offered.
'Dryad bore fruit today.'
It was Dryad's gift, easing my worries about what to auction. She'd borne another rare dryad fruit—which supposedly ripened only very infrequently—and gifted it to me.
"Th-this! A dryad's fruit! The legendary elixir that rots in a single day, preserved in such perfect condition!"
Even more valuable than I'd anticipated, Kenchi took the fruit with excitement.
"That should be worthy of consignment, right?"
"Worthy?"
Kenchi echoed my question as if I'd said something absurd.
"This will be the highlight item of the auction."