Chapter 52: The Head of House Ataraxia (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 52: The Head of House Ataraxia (1)
A threat that, with the financial power of the Demonic Human Association, they could completely monopolize this entire auction.
No, it wasn't just a threat.
Because they actually had the power to back it up.
Jinhyuk bit his lip.
‘Are they planning to pressure me even if it means taking a loss?’
This was going to be a headache.
If they were determined to come at him, even the 30 million dollars he had won in Las Vegas wouldn't guarantee peace of mind.
But then.
"They don't look like anything special. Why are these guys speaking so rudely to you?"
Alice tilted her head, looking genuinely puzzled.
It was a comment made without much thought.
But those words made Cadric's face contort with rage.
Jinhyuk was holding back because he had his reasons, but...
...the girl he had never seen before was an exception.
"What do you mean, 'nothing special'?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. Why is a mere human—who mistakenly believes he owns the entire world just because he holds a handful of gold dust from the vast ocean—babbling so insolently to my contractor?"
...Savage.
As expected, the concept of "calculating the consequences" did not exist in Alice's dictionary.
Of course, Cadric wasn't one to hold back either.
"Haha. This is absurd. Player Kang Jinhyuk. I don't know where you picked up such an ill-mannered brat, but you'd better keep her tongue in check."
Again, words spoken without passing through any brain filter.
But the repercussions were massive.
"A... brat?"
Alice chewed on the word she had just heard.
Very slowly.
And in that moment, a small spark ignited in Alice's eyes.
"A brat?!"
If she had viewed him as a mere annoying insect until now, from this moment on, he was an enemy to be crushed and killed.
"Don't butt in when adults are talking. There's a limit to how much childish behavior I can tolerate."
"You bastard, I'll kill—"
Just as Alice was about to extend her claws,
"Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for waiting. We will now begin the 175th Black Market Auction!"
The amplified voice echoed loudly throughout the amphitheater.
"Ooh!"
"It's finally starting!"
The guests erupted into applause.
Everyone waited for the first item with expectant faces.
Thanks to that, the battle of nerves between Alice and Cadric came to a halt.
"Player Kang Jinhyuk. Well then, I'll see you in a bit. Though, by then, you'll probably be begging me to hand over the items."
Cadric gave a brief nod and returned to his seat.
The auction proceeded.
"Before we introduce the items, please note that in addition to the auction list distributed with your invitations, we have prepared five additional items. We advise you to manage your balances wisely."
Five unrevealed surprise items!
The host, wearing a bow tie, hyped up the crowd.
"Now, our first item is a meteorite that fell in Arizona, USA. Not only is it in pristine condition, but due to the mana emanating from the Tower of Trials, it can also be crafted into weapons or armor. We will start the bidding at 1 million dollars!"
An item infused with mana right from the very first bid.
Weapons or armor. Weren't those the most popular keywords these days?
"1.5 million!"
"2 million!"
"2.5 million!"
"This one's mine. 5 million!"
The price skyrocketed in an instant.
It was only natural for the atmosphere to heat up.
‘Idiots.’
Watching this, Jinhyuk clicked his tongue inwardly.
Even if it's a mana-infused meteorite, it's completely useless without smelting technology. To pay 5 million dollars for that...
Unless they had a hobby of collecting trash, they were just throwing money away.
‘Because at this point in time, there isn't a single blacksmith who can work with meteoric iron.’
Yet, Jinhyuk decided to play along with this absurd money-wasting game.
"6 million."
A price that instantly broke the previous record.
"Are you going to buy that?"
Alice asked immediately.
It was only natural for her to be skeptical, seeing him try to buy something that looked terrible at a glance.
"Just wait. I'm not actually trying to buy it."
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
If I spend money on this, then surely...
"6.5 million."
Cadric raised the bid even further.
Just as expected.
‘Since they don't know what I'm actually after, they have no choice but to blindly outbid me on whatever I bet on.’
No matter how much money they had, there had to be a limit.
If he kept playing tug-of-war like this to slowly chip away at their funds, he would hold the upper hand when that item finally appeared.
"7 million."
"7.5 million!"
Jinhyuk raised the price once more, and when Cadric immediately gave chase, Jinhyuk gently raised both hands.
It was a gesture of surrender.
"Sold for 7.5 million dollars!"
"..."
Cadric's brow furrowed slightly.
He had realized what Jinhyuk was up to.
But it was too late.
He had already thrown away 7.5 million dollars.
Besides, as long as he didn't know what his opponent's true target was, he had no choice but to keep following along.
‘I'll pray that your balance is nice and deep.’
Jinhyuk flashed a bright smile at Cadric, whose face looked as if he had just chewed on a piece of crap.
"Our next item is also spectacular! It's the logbook written by Columbus when he discovered the New World!"
Befitting an auction hosted by the Black Market, a torrent of rare treasures and historically valuable relics poured out.
A mysterious bowl of unknown age, a Rafflesia contaminated with mana, torture devices used during medieval witch hunts, and so on.
Among them, Jinhyuk threw out bait, focusing on relics that were infused with mana or looked particularly special.
Very appetizing bait, at that.
Furthermore, by playing a masterful psychological game of appearing to give up and then not, he continuously drove the auction prices to new heights.
It was a devilish talent, arguably the worst nightmare for any gentlemanly auction.
As a result, Cadric had to spend over 70 million dollars on completely useless, random items.
* * *
Grind!
Cadric ground his teeth hard enough to shatter them.
"That... slippery bastard."
His face, flushed red with anger and humiliation, held nothing but a burning desire to tear Jinhyuk to shreds.
It wasn't because of the money.
While 70 million dollars was no small sum, the budget authorized by the Demonic Human Association far exceeded that.
It was just...
...that his opponent's petty, underhanded tactics were driving him absolutely mad with irritation.
"Master. Why don't we let one go? From what I can see, his own capital doesn't seem to be that large. We could just bankrupt him instead."
Once a bid is won, the money must be paid.
This meant that making excuses afterward about bidding by mistake wouldn't fly.
"Fool! What if he easily gets what he wants because of that?"
"T-that..."
"This mess happened because you failed to recruit him properly in the first place, so shut your mouth. We might lose some money, but I will be the ultimate winner anyway."
Yes.
Whether it was 70 million dollars or hundreds of millions.
In the end, the one who would have the last laugh was already decided.
Because an auction was, ultimately, a game won by the one with the most capital.
Right then.
"Next is an item for the collectors. Introducing... the 'First Chessboard'!"
The host introduced the new item.
An old, crude-looking chessboard was revealed.
"Hmm."
"Doesn't really appeal to me."
"It doesn't even have any chess pieces. I play occasionally as a hobby, but that..."
"Exactly. If it were carved from high-quality hardwood, maybe."
"The 'Heart of the Fish Dragon' will be up soon anyway. Let's save our ammunition for that."
"True. That's the main event of this auction."
The heated atmosphere cooled down instantly.
Compared to the treasures shown so far, it was far too mundane.
It was so plain that even the host had to dress it up as an item "for the collectors."
Of course, it was bound to appeal to a few collectors, but most of the crowd remained indifferent.
"The starting bid is 50,000 dollars. Please begin bidding if you are interested."
"100 dollars. I'll use it as a mat for my bathroom slippers."
"Pfft, hahaha! I'll go 150 dollars. My cute little cat, Alexander, happens to need a wooden board to scratch his claws on."
"Here's 200 dollars."
"What a sucker. There won't be any bids higher than 200 dollars."
Snickers and chuckles rippled through the crowd.
But there was one person.
Only Jinhyuk clenched his fists to calm his racing heart.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
‘It's finally here.’
The core material for clearing the 3rd-floor boss.
The very reason he had attended this auction!
Jinhyuk glanced subtly behind him.
Cadric and Alex also seemed to have little interest.
‘I hope all the bait I've laid out does its job...’
There was only one way to find out if his efforts so far would bear fruit.
"50,000."
Jinhyuk started the bidding.
"What?"
"50,000 for that?"
"Is he out of his mind?"
A flurry of bewildered reactions erupted.
What kind of idiot would spend 50,000 dollars on something like that?
But the mockery vanished instantly at the sound of the next voice.
"100,000."
Cadric jumped into the bidding war.
"150,000."
"500,000."
Jinhyuk raised the price immediately, but Cadric followed suit without a second's hesitation.
Damn it. That look on Cadric's face.
He was half-doubtful, but his determination to never back down was clear.
"1 million."
When Jinhyuk raised it again,
"10 million."
This time, the scale of the bid changed entirely.
This was a testing move.
A question asking if he would still follow even after the price had jumped this high.
And if he didn't give up, it would give his opponent certainty.
The certainty that this was indeed the item he was targeting.
"This is insane. Who spends 10 million dollars on a chessboard?"
"Is there something about it we don't know?"
"This is crazy. There's no way we can match that price."
The crowd buzzed with excitement.
The situation had completely flipped from earlier.
Before long, all the guests gathered in the amphitheater began focusing entirely on this bid.
"15 million."
Jinhyuk spoke, his voice heavy.
He had already reached half of his total funds.
But Cadric continued to raise the bid to absurd heights.
"30 million."
When those words were spoken,
Jinhyuk could no longer open his mouth.
Because anything beyond this exceeded the maximum limit of his balance.
"Heh. So that amount was your limit."
Cadric crossed his arms with an air of leisure.
The host, snapping out of his daze a few seconds late, hurriedly grabbed the microphone.
"30 million! Are there no bids higher than 30 million?"
With a 10% commission fee, a whopping 3 million dollars in profit would go to the Black Market.
When they first listed this item, they thought they'd be lucky to get even 5,000 dollars in commission,
but 3 million dollars was a staggering 600 times that amount.
There was no need to wait any longer.
No higher bids would come anyway.
"Then, the 56th auction item, the 'First Chessboard,' is sold for 30 million dollars to—"
But just as the host was about to declare the sale closed,
"100 million."
A voice that hadn't participated in the bidding even once until now cut in.
And it came from right next to Jinhyuk.
"Alice?"
Jinhyuk's pupils dilated rapidly.