Chapter 425
Chapter 425
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 425
>Chapter Title: Spoils of the Auction
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Creak...
As soon as the door opened, Gael removed his derby hat and greeted them.
"Hello, little miss?"
"I'm Tansia!"
"I'm your big brother Gael."
"Mister... Gael?"
"...Anyway. Investigator Kang Seol. I made some time because I wanted to talk."
His words about making time sounded a bit arrogant, but in the literal sense, it was accurate.
He must be going through hell right now.
"Have a seat."
"Whew... Pardon me."
No sooner had Gael sat down than he looked at Kang Seol's face without catching his breath and said,
"I'm sorry things turned out this way."
"So what happened with the auction in the end?"
"The organizers declared bankruptcy and vanished, and the nobles are furious. No, furious doesn't even begin to cover it. They're extremely angry."
Gael grimaced, as if recalling something horrific, and added,
"They've even called in their private mercenaries."
"Private mercenaries?"
"You know, the so-called mercenaries. The kind who step up diligently as long as you pay them fairly. They're determined to find whoever's behind this mess."
"Anything turn up?"
"Nothing yet... but that's why they're bombarding me with the same questions."
Gael scratched at his unkempt beard and asked,
"By any chance, do you know anything at all?"
Kang Seol briefly met eyes with Ur beside him, then relayed the conversation they'd had earlier to Gael.
"So you're saying the ones scattering horme around the city might be connected to this incident?"
"Not necessarily, but... it needs looking into..."
"No! This is crucial! Even a sliver of suspicion—that's exactly what we need right now! Thank you... really, thank you so much!"
"...Pardon?"
"All I have to do now is drop this tidbit to the nobles who got hit the hardest. Then I'm off the hook..."
Gael muttered with bloodshot eyes.
"...I'll be going then."
"What happens next?"
"Depends on how the nobles react. They won't just let the spilled blood go unavenged... Whether they judge the culprits themselves, hand over the blade to someone else, or... maybe even the Investigation Bureau gets involved..."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. I'll be off. Little one... er, Tan... anyway, take care."
"Bye, mister!"
Gael waved his hand and left.
The spacious living room filled up with the members of the Veil.
Karen and Karuna held Tansia and sat in chairs.
The space soon transformed into the Void.
Whoosh...
[This is the Void.]
[The Void is Snowman's independent space.]
Crackle...
Static...
As a powerful aura gathered in one place, the surrounding air currents shifted dramatically.
"Kang Seol, what's your plan?"
Ur asked Kang Seol.
"Hm?"
"These guys seem to be in cahoots with the ones we wiped out on the train last time."
"Probably. To think the ones pulling the strings are just trash like this... Kinda takes the wind out of my sails."
Groan...
Tansia wriggled out of Karen's arms and clung to Kang Seol.
With all the recent chaos keeping him apart from her, she seemed starved for affection.
"Truth be told, they're not even worth the effort... but this drug they cooked up has piqued my interest."
"......"
"Ur, you..."
All the Veil members stared at Ur oddly.
"You're already a lost cause, but don't go touching that stuff!"
"...Shut up. I'm talking about the drug's components."
"That thing you mentioned earlier?"
"Yeah. It's unusual, but I can't pin down what it is. If my hunch is right... they're not just peddling this stuff for pocket change..."
Kang Seol recalled the underlings of the fiend he'd met in the Star Graveyard. The ones who'd grotesquely bulked up their muscles to fight.
"...Bad vibes, huh?"
"In this case, it's not just a bad vibe."
"...Yeah."
Ur was a being who craved stimulation.
To him, "bad vibes" only applied to things that got annoying or more boring than expected.
"Master, we're always ready."
Karuna's words.
They were reassuring on their own, but the beings around him now were asymmetrical forces in their own right.
Dropping just one of them could annihilate an entire organization without raising eyebrows.
The moment their opponents realized they were up against the Veil, they'd flee into the distant darkness.
Kang Seol's gaze drifted far away.
"Let's watch for now. Cleaning them up will only take a second anyway."
The Veil exuded a profound aura, like some council of darkness.
Bitan glanced around nervously and muttered,
【Is that so... heh heh... Have we ultimately become a band of villains? Oh dear... Bitan has already turned into an utterly absurd sea urchin.】
"......"
"......"
Bitan buzzed with excitement like a kid reliving childhood dreams, then deflated.
He occasionally showed glimpses of his old self, but now his soul was hardly different from Tansia's.
Still, he seemed to enjoy playing the part of a villainous crew.
【A bit more! Say it even meaner! It's making me feel better!】
Hearing Bitan, Kang Seol replied in the exact opposite tone.
"Alright, shall we check out the loot we got this time?"
"Yeah, yeah! Tansia wants to too!"
Here, Karen, Karuna, and Jamad had nothing new. Their equipment slots were already filled with optimally efficient gear.
New equipment seemed to fill the most urgently needed slots based on the Void's judgment.
That left Ur, Kang Seol, and Tansia.
Kang Seol first checked the auction items, which were essentially stolen goods.
Creak...
"...Hm."
His eyes cooled like he'd spotted a childhood toy gathering dust.
The auction gear was too low-level for Kang Seol to use.
Slide...
He kicked the box into storage with his foot.
It probably wouldn't see the light of day again. It'd end up like the treasures scattered in the cave Aladdin entered to fetch the lamp—a mere warehouse fixture.
Next up: the Disaster Jar they'd acquired this time.
Kang Seol opened the box with a pleased heart.
Clunk...
Creak...
[You are extremely wise.]
[High wisdom instantly comprehends the locking mechanism's principle.]
[Inject mana to unlock it.]
[Inspecting the Disaster Jar.]
[Level up.]
[Level up.]
[Acquired ability points.]
[Acquired ability points.]
[Albuja's special ability activates.]
[Acquired additional ability points.]
[Acquired additional ability points.]
[Cunning Blood Snake activates.]
[Acquired additional ability points.]
[Acquired additional ability points.]
[Acquired additional ability points.]
[I Am That Bastard's special ability activates.]
[Acquired additional ability points.]
[Acquired additional ability points.]
[Acquired additional ability points.]
[Acquired Gloves of Dividing Time.]
[Acquired Boots of Cynicism.]
[Acquired Ring of Ashes.]
[Acquired Wildflower.]
[Acquired 62 platinum coins.]
[Acquired 3 keys of unknown purpose.]
...
The bursting light was a different color from what Kang Seol had expected.
"...Jackpot."
Kang Seol had hoped for peerless items galore, but the box held just one peerless and a bunch of treasures.
"Want too much, and your suffering grows accordingly."
Ur offered Kang Seol some advice. Kang Seol nodded and inspected the items.
[Gloves of Dividing Time]
Grade: Treasure
Appropriate Level: 60–67
Defense: 150
Durability: 120/120
Weight: 0.1kg
Gloves made from an unfamiliar material. They appear to be artifacts from ancient times. They give the faint illusion of being able to control time.
Basic Stats: Intelligence +66, Wisdom +20, Vitality +35
Special Ability: Receive 50% of incoming damage slowly over 10 seconds. When the target accumulating damage dies, recover the accumulated damage instead.
Celestial gloves.
The special ability had a puzzling effect.
It overlapped slightly with the special ability of Jamad's peerless item 'Prosperity.'
'Such cases are common enough...'
The 'Celestial' prefix decided its owner instantly.
"The gloves are a bit uncomfortable... but I'll get used to them soon enough."
Slide...
Ur's movements were anything but awkward.
Next, the boots.
Slide...
The moment Kang Seol lifted the boots, he felt their soft texture.
But it only brought him displeasure.
"Was just needing new shoes anyway."
Ur claimed the boots.
Ur had played a huge role in this adventure, and their bond had deepened, but loot was loot.
"...Shouldn't you at least let me check the stats?"
"They're Celestial."
"...Fair enough."
Confirming the next item was a ring, Kang Seol handed it straight to Ur without even glancing at the stats.
Kang Seol already had a ring, so this one was better off with Ur.
"Oh, efficient as always. I like it."
For a moment, Kang Seol thought it might be best if Ur just equipped everything as fast as possible. At least then the irksome sight of gear vanishing before his eyes would end.
'Still, the real prize is this one.'
The boots radiated an excessive presence with unnecessary light.
As he touched them, hot tears nearly welled in Kang Seol's eyes.
"...Leather."
Ur clicked his tongue at the words and returned to his seat.
And in the vacated spot, someone else enormous stepped up.
"...Jamad?"
"Check it."
- For fuck's sake, stop already...
- Independent summon... not a bad idea?
- Jamad, shouldn't you head off to revive the trolls soon?
Kang Seol checked the boots' stats.
Peerless: Wildflower
Grade: Peerless
Appropriate Level: 60–70
Defense: 270
Durability: 300/300
Weight: 0.1kg
Boots adorned with floral patterns.
They provide unparalleled satisfaction to those who love nature.
Basic Stats: All stats +34
Special Abilities: Nature's Protection (Unique), Pointy Thorn (Unique), Myriad Changes (Unique). When transforming, additional stats from Wildflower's base become doubled.
[Nature's Protection]
- Grants high resistance to bladed weapons.
[Pointy Thorn]
- Under Pointy Thorn's influence, attackers get thorns attached upon hitting you. Attacking a thorned target deals extra damage.
[Myriad Changes]
- Slightly increases resistance to all status ailments when transforming.
"...Hm?"
"...Uh?"
Kang Seol and Jamad eyed each other.
"Could it be..."
"No, you..."
"Not me either."
Neither could transform.
That left...
"Pretty! So pretty!"
Tansia.
Kang Seol tilted his head but slipped the boots onto Tansia anyway.
"Eehee... hee hee hee..."
They fit perfectly.
"Tansia, can you... transform by any chance?"
There were more than a few transformation jobs in the Eternal World, but if Tansia could change forms, she'd be close to a druid.
"Transform? Me?"
"Yeah. Like turning into a dragon or something..."
"Dragon? I'm a dragon! Dragon!"
So, she had no clue.
'No, maybe Tansia just hasn't realized yet?'
Kang Seol probed further.
"Wings sprouting, or a tail growing..."
"I have wings right now! Here!"
Tansia pointed, and sure enough, there were wings.
Tiny ones, smaller than Kang Seol's palm.
- Teacher, you can't fly with those.
- Even Icarus who plummeted laughing his ass off.
- Shut up all of you! Tansia just can't fly yet, but when she does, she'll soar to space!
- Tansia of Darkness Unit! Domehwangcha!
Kang Seol sank into deep thought.
He wasn't a dragon himself, so he couldn't teach her. All he could do was hypothesize it might tie into the legend system.
'She'll transform someday, right? Since she's a dragon.'
But dragons had overwhelming lifespans.
Kang Seol quickly banished the thought that he might no longer be of this world by the time she did.
Karen approached Tansia and said,
"Daddy seems curious. Wanna show him that thing you practiced while he was away?"
"That thing?"
"Yeah! Show him that."
The knight of defeat was an excellent nanny for the dragon. She'd taught Tansia something.
Tansia clasped her hands and started straining.
"Eeee..."
Crackle...
'...Huh?'
A black bolt of lightning flickered briefly.
From Tansia's wings.
A sense that something was about to change.
The Veil members crowded around to watch.
"Eeee... uuuu..."
【You can do it, Tansia! You're a member of the black organization, the Veil!】
"You got this!"
Boosted by Bitan and Karen's cheers, her wings seemed to gradually grow.
"Ooh..."
"The wings..."
Tansia closed her eyes and mustered her final strength.
"Grrrrrr..."
And then.
Crackle... crack...
The wings shrank back.
Tansia's face crumpled.
"...Bathroom."
"......"
Karen scooped up Tansia and rushed to the bathroom.