Chapter 340: Auction House of the Gods (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 340: Auction House of the Gods (1)
"...You."
A low, sinking voice escaped Shub-Niggurath's lips.
It was only natural.
The target who should have been dead was standing there, alive and breathing perfectly fine.
Furthermore, the other humans she thought she had killed just moments ago had vanished like smoke.
"That was a really close call."
Jinhyuk smiled brightly.
His wound-covered body had returned to normal, as if it had never been injured in the first place.
At the same time,
Crack! Crunch!
The world surrounding them began to collapse.
Debris fractured like a turtle's shell.
This place was not reality.
At least, it hadn't been reality until just now.
"You created... a mental realm?"
Shub-Niggurath scanned her surroundings in disbelief.
This wasn't just copying a part of it.
He had completely replicated this entire world.
Everything around the seven gates.
"How... on earth... did you create a world of this caliber?"
It was an unbelievably exquisite landscape.
Sophisticated enough to deceive even her, who governed all worlds.
"I did have to go through a lot of trouble. There was so much to prepare."
Through the 'Soul Stone of Longing' received from High Administrator Bendivia, he had pushed his barrier abilities' potential to the absolute limit.
He shattered a yellow moonstone into four pieces and established bases in the four most mana-rich locations on Earth.
Siberia in Russia, the salt flats of Bolivia, the Grand Canyon in the United States, and Cairo, the capital of Egypt.
It took a long time, but the effort was well worth it.
Because he had actually completed a Great Barrier capable of deceiving Shub-Niggurath.
"Nonsense. If there were any disharmony in the surrounding mana... I... would have noticed."
'Of course you would.'
An ancient being highly sensitive to mana reactions would never miss such a thing.
That was why he had prepared a proper countermeasure.
"I wasn't the one who activated this barrier. I only did the groundwork, and left the actual activation to someone I trust."
Right then,
– Oppa, I did everything you asked.
– Hyung, this is seriously amazing! The damage is way less than we expected.
Status windows containing the voices of Yu Yeon-hwa and Lee Tae-min popped up.
He had handed over the key materials to the two of them and made them master the entire process of activating the barrier.
Over and over, for days on end.
"Outside help, is it...?"
Shub-Niggurath's voice pitched slightly higher.
Though her tone remained laced with irritation, a hint of amusement was beginning to seep through.
It was only natural.
Had she not always played games with predetermined endings?
Victory was an established premise, and her entire existence consisted of processes that were mere formalities to fulfill that premise.
But now,
That premise was shaking.
Starting from this very moment.
"No matter how great of a deity you are, I figured you'd have at least one blind spot. Replicating a mental realm isn't perfect, either. Especially when you're under the system's constraints."
The Zodiac Aquarius was an illusion-type ability.
However, there was a hidden secret to this ability.
Namely, when activated alongside two opposing elemental abilities, it could create an illusion with an absolute judgment effect.
His master's Black Heaven Demonic Emperor Art and Teresa's Call of the Stars.
With these two abilities, he had subtly interfered with Shub-Niggurath's senses.
"The more certain you are of your own perfection, the less prepared you are for unexpected variables. Well, thanks to that, I was able to buy plenty of time."
"...You speak as if... you already knew my abilities. Even though this is our very first meeting."
"I got lucky."
"Luck, is it...?"
Shub-Niggurath's body slowly began to crumble into dust and scatter.
Her time to manifest in the mortal realm had expired, and she was beginning to return to the 50th Floor where she belonged.
"That foolish administrator... warned me to watch out for a certain human. It seems he wasn't entirely talking nonsense."
She recalled Hastings bowing his head when she asked if she really had to worry about a mere insect.
At the time, she had found it absurd and insolent, but...
Only now did she understand the true meaning behind his advice.
A human who had successfully toyed with her, a being who had existed since the dawn of time.
She had never met anyone so bold and sly.
Therefore,
Shub-Niggurath spoke one last time.
"Do not... let yourself be defeated by the foolish residents of the Tower. Climb up."
To where she was.
To the place where one could reach the summit of the Tower.
Reach it.
So they could settle their unfinished business.
"I shall be waiting... for you there."
Zzzzt!
Shub-Niggurath's body completely dissolved into dust and scattered.
Finally, he had survived the worst threat imaginable.
"Whew."
Jinhyuk let out a long sigh of relief.
At the same time,
Ring! Ring! Ring!
[The entity of the 50th Floor retreats.]
[You have achieved an astonishing feat!]
[This achievement will be listed in the 'Hall of Fame' all day tomorrow.]
[Numerous deities in the upper floors of the Tower express deep interest in your existence.]
[Giant forces are beginning to move in earnest.]
Multiple status windows popped up in rapid succession.
And of course,
[You have completed a Hidden Quest.]
[A reward for succeeding in an impossible task is granted.]
[The fourth privilege for the First to Conquer the Tower has been unlocked.]
The corresponding rewards were also incredibly generous.
'This is... seriously insane.'
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth twitched upward.
Just when his body and mind were growing exhausted from rushing around non-stop since his time in the Murim, it felt like a welcome rain during a drought, washing away all his fatigue in an instant.
It was only natural.
The rewards appearing before him far exceeded his wildest expectations.
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled...]
[You have acquired an admission ticket to the 'Auction House of the Gods'. (Subscription-type: This product is free for one month from the time of acquisition. It will convert to a paid subscription after one month.)]
[Due to the privilege of the First to Conquer the Tower, you will have the highest priority bidding right in one auction session.]
[You have acquired a 'Lucky Random Box (Purple)'.]
[You have acquired 5,000,000 Coins!]
A whopping 18-level jump.
Gaining this many levels from a single raid when already in the three-digit range was practically unheard of.
Furthermore, the admission ticket to the Auction House of the Gods was a reward that was absolutely unobtainable at this stage.
While others were working their butts off just to get slightly rare items from the Coin Exchange,
'I get to monopolize opportunities in a completely different league.'
His heart pounded with excitement.
Like a child receiving multiple presents at once, he was at a loss as to which one to open first.
But first things first...
Jinhyuk opened his personal status window.
——————————————————
Name: Kang Jinhyuk
Gender: Male
Age: 28
Level: 144
Strength: 109 | Agility: 67 | Stamina: 67 | Mana: 372 | Gap: 100 | Luck: 10 | Adaptive: 78 | Essence: 101.38
Available Stat Points: 54
Owned Coins: 16,743,550
Class: Ruler of Runes
Unique Abilities: 'Fusion', 'Grave of Swords', 'Blessing of the Stars', 'Judgment of Anubis', 'Blood Demon Qi', 'Mandala', '1-Second Invincibility', 'Thousand Poisons', 'White Beast', 'Universal Sharing', 'Sanctuary of the Sun', 'Black Heaven Demonic Emperor Art', 'Triple Magic', 'Colossus Strike', 'Fire Dragon's Breath', 'High-Speed Sword', 'Tombgrave's Right Arm', 'Berserker', 'Domain of Wind', 'Shadow Extreme Kill', 'Blood Explosion', 'Black Tears', 'Tombgrave's Leg', 'Supernatural Strength', 'Core of the Legion', 'Ancient Barrier', 'Heavenly Demon Great Art', 'Mentra Taming', 'Nihilism'
Skills: Too many skills to display; switched to 'Collapsed' view.
——————————————————
Before he knew it, his level had reached 144.
This was a level that placed him in the upper ranks even among the residents.
Of course, if he factored in the corrections from various stats, including the Gap stat, his actual combat power would be equivalent to a much higher level.
'Even my Essence stat, which usually barely budged, shot up exponentially thanks to this fight.'
He had gained a great deal from his battle with Shub-Niggurath.
[Mana increases from 372 to 402!]
[Agility increases from 67 to 91!]
The stats he invested in were Mana and Agility.
Mana was, after all, his most heavily consumed stat.
And Agility was incredibly efficient when dealing with multiple fast-moving enemies.
'If I want to dodge all those branches later on, I'd better raise it in advance.'
With that, his stats were neatly sorted out.
Now, for the next thing...
Jinhyuk's gaze shifted to the golden parchment in his hand.
It was the ticket to enter the Auction House of the Gods.
The Association staff and the other players would still need some time before they could reach this place.
'I wonder what kind of things are traded here?'
Jinhyuk tore the ticket to the 'Auction House of the Gods'.
Whirrrrr!
Along with a bright flash of light, his surroundings completely transformed.
* * *
A grand structure reminiscent of a Greek temple.
Soft, fluffy clouds drifted lazily between its pillars.
A lake reflecting the bright moonlight and birds with four wings also caught his eye.
It was a dreamlike, beautiful place, making him feel as though he had truly stepped into the dwelling of the gods.
Right then, with a soft pop, a pure white fairy appeared.
She was a humanoid being with tiny wings and a cute appearance, resembling Tinkerbell from fairy tales.
"Wow! This is the very first time a human has visited our auction house! Oh my gosh, and you're a Player, too? Unbelievable! Ah, I'm Setilda. Pretty name, right? Hehehe. Actually, some angels came by today too, and we had a long chat."
If nothing else, she was definitely a chatterbox.
And a loose tongue meant she would be easy to pry information from.
'If they're attending the auction, does that mean Powers-class angels have come?'
"I'm Kang Jinhyuk."
"Yes, yes! Welcome, Lord Jinhyuk! Is there anything in particular you're looking for? I shouldn't brag, but we have absolutely everything here."
"Since it's my first time, I don't have anything specific in mind... I just wanted to look around and see what kind of place this is."
"Ah! I see. Yes, please take your time, and feel free to call me whenever you need anything!"
Setilda flew around him with a bright smile.
She was truly a dizzying fairy in more ways than one.
Well, despite her appearance, she was actually an Intermediate Administrator of the same rank as Rick.
Parting ways with Setilda, Jinhyuk walked straight into the auction house.
Whoosh!
Glass display cases came into view between the torches lining both sides.
These were the items put up for auction in this session.
[Roots of Yggdrasil]
Acquisition Difficulty: Unmeasurable
Details: ????
Starting Bid: 12,585,000,000
[Pandora's Box]
Acquisition Difficulty: Unmeasurable
Details: ????
Starting Bid: 33,210,000,000
Even with 'Gluttony's Eye', he couldn't see the details.
That meant the items traded here were of an entirely different caliber.
'I'll need some luck to make good use of this highest priority bidding right.'
No matter how guaranteed the bid was, if the items in this session were lackluster, his hard-earned trump card would go to waste.
Just as he was pondering this,
Thud!
Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet shook violently.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Someone was approaching.
And it was a being possessing an absolutely monstrous amount of mana.