Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: New Sales Outlet (3)
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[Seong Ji-yoon] 100 Billion Won
The unrealistically massive number made me doubt my own eyes for a moment.
‘...Did I see that wrong?’
I agonized over it for a good while, wondering if a zero had been tacked on by mistake or if I'd just misread the figure.
I wasn't the only one who froze. Yoo So-jeong's hand, clutching her popcorn, stopped dead too. She muttered under her breath.
"Divine Spear...?"
Divine Spear. The epithet clicked everything into place.
Korea's top-ranked Hunter. An S-Rank powerhouse who could count herself among the world's top five.
‘Divine Spear’ Seong Ji-yoon.
She'd thrown her hat into the auction ring.
The moment Seong Ji-yoon's name popped up, the auction chat went deathly silent, like a miracle. No guild dared raise the bid after that.
Competing with her on money was utterly pointless.
The auction dragged on afterward, but nothing packed the same punch as that first one. The second rocket went to Flame Dragon Guild for 25.5 billion, the third to Azure Rose Guild for 26 billion, and the final one fell to a fledgling guild backed by foreign investors for 25.7 billion.
——
Golden Mana Rocket's First Winning Bid: 100 Billion lolololol
(Auction end screen capture)
Wtf is this for real? Jumped from 28 billion to an extra zero out of nowhere?
Scam, right?
I was watching the live stream—hands were shaking so bad I had to go smoke one.
100 billion... how many A-rank gates would you have to clear? Can't even wrap my head around it.
Even if I saved every penny from part-time gigs my whole life, I'd barely scrape 0.1% of that lol.
Typo, you idiots lol.
Not a typo. The bidder's name showed up.
——
Is the bidder Seong Ji-yoon legit?
Divine Spear Seong Ji-yoon herself steps up.
Now 100 billion makes sense... nah, still doesn't wtf.
Does the #1 ranker just photocopy money? Where does she even get that much?
Instead of giving cash to Hunters, sprinkle some on us common folk.
That's all gotta be from government contracts, right?
For real, Divine Spear's loaded—why does the government keep renewing Hunter contracts? Just burning tax money.
Idiot, Divine Spear clears 20% of our gates solo—should be paying her more.
Look at them simping for Awakeners lol. Non-Awakeners aren't even human, huh?
At Divine Spear's level, she could steamroll without that thing. Why buy it?
The strong always seek to grow stronger, pleb.
Our guild master yelled at us to drop the bid after seeing that lololol.
——
Today's Popcorn Legend lololol.jpg
Azure Rose vs. Flame Dragon going at it hammer and tongs, then boom—nuke drops lololol.
Two guilds combined couldn't touch Divine Spear.
Whale fight, then Megalodon shows up lololol.
Guild pride? Whatever. Everyone's equal before #1.
Flame Dragon Guild's probably canceled their afterparty—mood's totally fucked lololol.
Seol Yu-hee snagged an S-rank weapon, so she might give Divine Spear a run for it.
S-rank weapon (presumed) vs. S-rank Hunter. Shut your trap, moron.
In an apartment complex in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
Despite having the wealth to buy hundreds of penthouses, Seong Ji-yoon lived in a modest second-floor unit in a brand-new building.
The reason was simple: ‘To get out of the house fast in an emergency.’ Her home choice was purely for rapid deployment.
Soaking in a bathtub warmed to just the right temperature, she murmured softly.
"Got lucky."
Until that morning, she'd expected to miss the auction due to an A-Rank gate raid. With no quick replacement found, she'd resigned herself to letting this item slip away.
Fortunately, discovering a hidden route in the dungeon let her clear it swiftly and rush home just ten minutes before the auction ended.
A faint smile of satisfaction crossed her lips as she leaned her head back.
‘Never thought I'd get a shot at Midas's gear.’
Golden—the descriptor alone screamed overwhelming performance. The legendary craftsman ‘Midas,’ exclusive to the U.S. Department of Defense. She had no idea how the government sourced his work, but it was a chance that wouldn't come often.
Even as an S-Rank Hunter, she was still geared in A-Rank dungeon drops—shoddy stuff laden with curses.
That the acquired item was a necklace, unlikely to get damaged, was a huge relief. Losing another A-Rank or higher piece like last time would mean an irreplaceable drop in combat power, no matter the money.
Then, her phone on the bathroom shelf buzzed.
[Awakener Management Bureau]
Recognizing the number, she picked it up.
"Yes, Seong Ji-yoon speaking."
- "Congratulations on your winning bid for the ‘Golden Mana Rocket,’ Hunter Seong Ji-yoon."
Matching his ever-polite tone, she replied kindly.
"Thank you. I want to sincerely thank the Bureau and government officials for this auction. Thanks to you, I could secure a piece from that ‘Midas.’"
- "Pardon? Midas, you say?"
The staffer faltered, sounding flustered. Puzzled, Seong Ji-yoon asked back.
"Yes. Isn't he the creator of the ‘Golden Mana Rocket’?"
- "Midas... No, that was a slip. My apologies."
The staffer hurriedly changed the subject and began explaining the item pickup process.
But throughout, her mind wandered elsewhere.
‘...Why the fluster?’
He'd started to respond about Midas but cut himself off. Like hearing about some total stranger.
Two scenarios flashed in her mind.
A. The creator isn't Midas.
B. They're trying to hide that it's Midas's work.
Neither made sense. Who else could craft something like that if not Midas? And if it was his, why conceal it?
To hide lavish overseas spending? But anyone could guess a ‘Golden’ item was Midas's.
Forgetting the cooling bathwater, Seong Ji-yoon sank into thought.
And she reached a conclusion.
‘I need to look into this.’
Dungeons would eat her time, but she'd pull strings at the Bureau if needed—this warranted investigation.
Three days after the auction, a deposit notification hit my phone.
168.34 Billion Won
Even knowing it was coming, the unbelievable figure had me rubbing my eyes.
168.34 billion.
"Heh... heh heh heh heh..."
I couldn't stop laughing. My brain felt like it was melting.
Suddenly, I wanted to turn this joy into art. I yanked the blanket off the bed.
Draped it over the chair and desk, tied it down with string to secure it. The previous tenant left a nail in the opposite wall. Hung a wall shelf bracket there and tied the blanket to that too.
After thirty minutes of grunting effort, I'd built a massive secret fort covering the entire bed. Good thing I'd bought a king-size blanket.
I lifted the edge, crawled in, hugged Yong-yong, and rolled around gleefully.
"Hee hee... I'm rich now...!"
Finally in billionaire territory. My voice echoed in the fort. I had enough to never worry about money again.
‘Student loans? What's that?’
Loans and part-time jobs had long since crumbled to dust in my memory.
As I tumbled in the blanket cocoon, the doorbell rang at the front door.
Ding-dong!
Interrupted at my peak happiness, I felt a twinge of annoyance—but the voice that followed soothed it.
"It's Yoo So-jeong. May I come in?"
"Come on in!"
Yoo So-jeong punched the door code and entered.
Tired of opening the door every time, I'd given her the code a few days back: 12345*. Rock-solid.
"Brought the settlement papers and laundry."
"Ah, got it. One sec...!"
I wriggled out from under the blanket, poking my head and body into the open. Yoo So-jeong stood there with her usual expression, phone in hand.
Click!
Getting used to the photos now. She set down the shopping bag and document case.
"New hobby?"
"Secret fort. No one's allowed in."
Only someone my size could fit. Hmm, should I craft a treasure item secret base? Seemed doable with enough materials.
Mulling it over, I signed the papers she handed me. She'd probably vetted everything already.
I grabbed the laundry and shoved it into the fort. That's when Yoo So-jeong eyed me for a moment and spoke.
"Miss Da-yoon. How about relocating your residence now?"
"Pardon? Moving?"
The suggestion caught me off guard.