Chapter 136
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Auction House (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Contrary to my expectation of a grand, boisterous affair, the actual auction proceeded in eerie silence.
"Who would've thought they'd assign us a private room."
"It's for the protection of our esteemed buyers. We always put our customers first..."
Just moments ago, they'd let that ratman Dungeon Master get trampled by a giant without batting an eye, calling it no rules violation. And now they're spouting this nonsense.
The others would handle things within their budgets, right? Thanks to the heads-up I gave them in advance, they'd scraped together every last soul to fund their capital... They'd manage on their own. We'd meet up again at the exchange fair once the auction wrapped up...
"Auction item details will appear on this wall here. If you'd like to bid, simply place your hand on the crystal orb in front of you and call out your price."
"If my item sells, can I receive the payment right away?"
"Unfortunately, no. All payments and deliveries are handled in bulk after the auction concludes."
In other words, even if you put up something valuable, you could only buy within the funds you already had on hand.
Whatever. It didn't matter to me anyway. The item I'd submitted was bound to come up pretty late.
"Then if that's all..."
After running through the rules one more time, Kenchi excused himself, and Erzsebet let out a frustrated sigh.
"Haah... This is so boring."
"They still haven't found the empress after all this time. Wasn't she presumed to be one of your kind?"
"Assuming that hero wasn't lying back then."
Tsk... I knew that much, but I hadn't realized Erzsebet was taking it this seriously. She'd always seemed utterly indifferent to everything, yet here she was, fixated on this one topic for so long...
'Should I send her off to the east on her own sometime?'
I still couldn't fully relax, so I had to keep her tied to the ruins for now. But once news of Lumen's death spread and depending on how the humans reacted, if things loosened up, I might let her take a trip east.
Thank you for waiting so long! This Fantasy Auction is possible only thanks to the cooperation of all you Dungeon Masters...
'That guy's hosting?'
As I chatted idly with Erzsebet, Kenchi's image appeared on the wall, overseeing the auction.
That's why he'd stepped out so suddenly... He was the host? Wait, wasn't he the owner of the Dungeon Merchant Guild? Do owners usually greet guests personally and run the auction themselves? It was like he wasn't really the boss at all...
16th Participant: Master. It's not too late. Please reconsider. Selling the Dryad's fruit and the divine tree seed inside it...
And as the auction kicked off, a message arrived from participant 16... the high elf Rene. It even had a messenger function? No wonder she'd asked for my participant number...
'I get that the divine tree is important.'
Ever since I'd handed the Dryad's fruit to Kenchi earlier, she'd been gazing at it with overflowing regret, begging me not to sell and offering any price to buy it herself. Sorry, but selling at auction would net me more than whatever she could offer right now.
If Dri bore fruit again later, maybe I'd sell to Rene then... Nah, might be a waste. I'd think about it when the time came.
Alright! No more delays—let's get started! And to kick things off...
'Ooh, stylish.'
I silenced the incessantly buzzing messenger and immersed myself in the auction scene on the wall. This was more fun than I'd expected.
The items up for bid were incredibly diverse. Most common were standard magic tools, followed by rare elixirs that were useless to me but precious to others. Even all sorts of magical beasts rarely seen in everyday life hit the block.
And among them, the most bizarre was this...
This one's... incredibly unique! Ten Holy Relics used by heroes!
"...Holy Relics?"
Someone had bundled ten Holy Relics for auction. Curious why anyone would sell such things, Erzsebet explained indifferently from beside me.
"Probably for show."
"For show?"
"Those things once belonged to so-called heroes, right? Holy Relics are proof of having slain those heroes."
...Ah. I'd heard something similar from Alfred.
To Dungeon Masters, Holy Relics were worthless junk, but they couldn't let them fall back into human hands, so they just stored them in their dungeons. The sheer number accumulated became a symbol of strength.
Even so, putting them up for auction like that? And the guild approving it, recognizing their value? When I'd tried selling directly to the Dungeon Merchant, they'd refused to handle them.
-Beep.
"3,000 gold."
...Of course, I'd buy them anyway.
'How much would I get if I decomposed the whole lot?'
Holy Relics were useless to demonkin, but I had [Decompose]. Through it, I could earn massive points, get equipment enhancement materials, and if I ever got another [Tool Designation] chance, maybe even repurpose the other relics.
Apparently worthless beyond bragging rights, I snagged the bundle for the bargain price of 3,000 gold.
'Do other dungeon owners treat their Holy Relics as hot potatoes too?'
If so, I might scoop them all up for a fortune in points... Fighting Lumen had taught me points were weapons in themselves, so my greed for them had only grown.
I'd have to see if I could grab more Holy Relics.
After that, I scored several more great deals at rock-bottom prices.
Next up: Moonlight Grass seeds. Incredibly hard to cultivate—even for elves—but an outstanding elixir ingredient if successful...
"7,000 gold."
I even bought seeds of a plant so tough to grow that even elves struggled with it.
A cursed magic sword under an intense hex! Tough for personal use, but perfect for slaves or beasts under your command...!
"8,000 gold."
A cursed sword so powerfully hexed that ordinary folk couldn't even grip it.
Hydra venom base mixed with over twenty deadly poisons—the ultimate toxin! Minor flaw: corrodes even mithril containers in a day...
"4,500 gold."
I snapped up an ultra-potent poison too vicious to store easily.
16th Participant: Master. That buyer snatching up items left and right since earlier... isn't that you? Why those kinds of things...
Rene, unable to stand by as I kept buying seemingly useless junk, sent a worried message. But I was thrilled.
'Leave the plant to Dri. Curses like on Pandora? A [Robot Vacuum] handles it. The poison I can collect separately for points or store in proper cleaning tools—no container worries...'
Useless or awkwardly applicable to others, but perfect for me. I focused on those.
Not that I could buy everything.
A mask infused with the magic of the extinct 'Shapeshifters' goes to participant 17...!
"Tsk... such a shame."
A suspicious mask midway through that could alter not just appearance but even hair color. I bid, but fierce competition from others forced me to drop out.
'Thought it might let me change this black hair...'
In a world full of magic, strangely no dyeing spells or potions existed. I'd wanted something to hide or alter this black hair... But with plenty left to buy, it wasn't worth that price.
Shaking off the regret, I shifted focus to the magical beasts now appearing.
The tyrant of the mountains—an ogre! No, a twin-headed ogre variant! Even regular ogres are upper-grade beasts, but this...
Upper-grade beasts and above, unavailable even in the Dungeon Merchant catalog—special specimens nearing top-tier—poured onto the block.
A few caught my eye, so I bid...
Elder Treant to participant 2...!
Snow Drake! That mighty beast's owner is participant 2!
Ultimate slime! Gluttony Slime also to participant 2...!
"No way."
Not just the ones I targeted—every type of beast went to a single bidder.
'Who the hell is this guy?'
Participant 2. Ignored all prior items, but pounced on beasts like a hawk. Thanks to him, I hadn't snagged a single one contrary to my plans.
"Some northern demonkin?"
Recalling the Dungeon Merchant's tales of northerners monopolizing beasts at premium prices lately, I refocused to snag at least one more.
And then he appeared.
Now for a top-grade beast! An ultra-rare specimen! Never appeared more than once in Fantasy Auction history...!
"What's taking so long...?"
"A unicorn!"
"What?"
Hearing the shocking identity from the Dungeon Merchant, I stared at the wall, eyes nearly popping out.
'Holy crap. A horse with a horn.'
A horse with a freaking horn. Was this even a real creature? Straight out of myth... Earth had memes about egg-laying mammals existing but horned horses not—and here one was!
Symbol of purity and purification! Tricky to tame even with a submission contract due to its nature... but its abilities are top-notch! Starting bid: 100,000 gold...!
"100,000 gold!"
The moment I laid eyes on the pure white horned horse, I bid as if entranced. Even the watchful participant 2 joined the fray along with others, but I kept raising the price.
'Purification... purification, huh...'
The unicorn itself was tempting, and so were the abilities Kenchi mentioned.
As the bidding skyrocketed endlessly...
The bidding's getting too heated, so note this: the next item is our highlight of the day!
"...!!"
Declaring the very next item the auction's highlight—like timely backup for me—cooled the frenzy the instant Kenchi finished speaking.
Even the aggressive participant 2 halted.
'If it's the highlight...'
Knowing exactly what it was, I upped my bid on the unicorn without hesitation. At that moment, the orb I'd been raising vibrated.
"What now. Rene again...? Hm?"
2nd Participant:Give up the bid.
...What the hell is this punk?