Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: The Hidden Gold Mine
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Even as we moved to find empty seats, the commotion kept growing.
"Hey, Lee Yu-chan. You know, right?"
"Yeah, I know. I'm staying put."
Despite the unpleasant situation, the Justice Guild didn't react.
It was the result of repeated training before we left today—the twins had grumbled that their ears were going to bleed.
Golden children turn out fine depending on how you raise them.
"Did you submit the field trip form properly?"
"Yep. The homeroom teacher took it without a word."
Since the twins were still high schoolers, I had to keep an eye on things like this.
Attendance management was important.
"Looks like we can sit over there."
The seats the Justice Guild took were a bit off-center in the front row.
Truth be told, I'd wanted the dead center in the very front, but they were already taken.
"Should've brought some popcorn."
"Su-ho oppa, got any candy?"
"Didn't bring any today."
The twins and Jang Su-ho chatted idly beside me to pass the time.
Soon, the lights dimmed slightly, and the auction began right away.
Even the people who'd been talking about us finally quieted down.
"We'll be moving through the dungeons a bit quickly today since there are so many. Thank you for your understanding."
An older woman stood at the podium and spoke.
On the large screen behind her, the dungeons up for auction today scrolled up like a table of contents—over fifteen in total.
Especially many were large-scale ones guaranteed to bring in high revenue.
You could feel the tension building among the people gathered to bid.
Let's see. There it is.
The good stuff was all clustered at the end anyway.
The dungeon I was after was the sixth one, right when everyone's focus would be waning the most.
It was the one from Sejong Barrier that kept failing to sell over and over, until about five months later when the association cleared it themselves and its true value was rediscovered.
That was why I was torn.
The price would drop sharply with each failed auction, so maybe I should wait it out.
But no—this first day it hit the auction block, I was snatching it up.
Hoarding it could turn it to shit.
I knew the contents of Sejong Barrier inside and out, but I couldn't account for every variable.
What if, while I waited for the price to drop, someone else grabbed it first?
Just thinking about it made my stomach churn.
"Alright, let's start today's dungeon auction. The first dungeon, as you can see from the photos, is a cave-type..."
As expected, no one was too interested in the early lots.
Two small guilds like ours—with barely any members—snagged them, and most passed without bids.
"We don't have to bid on any?"
"That one looks decent..."
Han Ji-seong and Jang Su-ho murmured quietly beside me.
They had a point.
The early dungeons were small and mostly E- or D-rank, but their internal environments were prime.
Some were cave-types like Mansu Mountain Dungeon, others jungle-types.
Cave-types were easy for mining, and jungle-types let you gather valuable potion ingredients from the plants forming their ecosystems, beyond just mana stones.
In fact, the two that had sold so far were cave- and jungle-types.
But I kept my eyes on my phone, checking recent news, ignoring them completely.
Then, the auction for lot six—the one I'd been waiting for—began.
"Lot six is a D-rank dungeon located at Obong Mountain in Chuncheon."
"Here we go."
I shoved my phone into my pocket and looked up.
"The interior of Obong Mountain Dungeon is glacier-type."
As the screen showed nothing but snow and ice alongside the words "glacier-type," even the lingering attention scattered quickly.
Couldn't be helped.
Glacier-types, along with underwater ones, were the least desirable.
Mining was tough, and the mana stones you could extract had low demand—hardly profitable.
Sure enough, the starting price was low.
"Starting bid is 30 million won. Increments of 1 million won."
Compared to the cave-type's 60 million and the jungle-type's 70 million start, it was a steal.
Even so, competition had driven those up over 100 million before selling.
"Bidding starts now. Do I have 30 million?"
That was exactly the amount from the matured fixed deposit I'd cashed out before coming here.
But I raised my paddle without hesitation.
The auctioneer, expecting it to pass, gave me a startled look.
This is a gold mine dungeon, and no one knows.
Thrilling.
Just as I waited for an easy win—
"31 million. We have 31 million."
"What asshole?"
Who the hell was targeting this dungeon?
"Sangha Guild."
"Those losers."
The twins ground their teeth.
"They're always trash-talking us, even though they're no better."
Oh ho.
Inferiority-complex fireflies, huh.
"32 million?"
I raised my paddle right away.
The rest was predictable.
At 34 million, Sangha Guild dropped out.
They must've come for a specific target dungeon and had zero interest in this glacier one—purely bidding up to screw with us.
Thanks to them, I was out 4 million more.
Maybe go pluck 4 million won worth of their hair—but I regained my calm.
It was "a whole 4 million" now, but mining this dungeon once would make it "chump change."
Still, they'd cost me my hard-earned cash.
Sangha Guild. Remember that.
"Lot six, Obong Mountain Dungeon, sold for 34 million won."
Thud! Thud!
The auctioneer banged the gavel twice, and the Obong Mountain Dungeon clear rights were ours.
A bit more spent than planned, sure.
My gut was killing me over it.
But considering what it'd yield, it was a massive profit.
"Nayeo-ju-ssi."
Kang Han, who'd been sitting silently beside me, called out.
"You okay with this?"
The Justice Guild was broke right now.
Naturally, the payment for this clear right was my investment into the guild.
I gave him a light smile.
"We'll see when we check it out."
Tomorrow, we'd head to Chuncheon.
But to mine that dungeon, we needed some prep.
"Five hours delivery, for real?"
"You've been getting scammed your whole life."
Jang Su-ho, who'd been showing me hunter item shopping on my phone, sounded baffled.
"Never bought items online before?"
As if.
"Got it. Thanks for the tip."
I left Jang Su-ho's room—which had even less stuff than mine—and headed next door to my own.
"This beats C... whatever."
Abilities like speed boosts or short-range teleports were surprisingly common.
The big corps, pros at making money, wouldn't miss out.
Top guilds like Sama Guild and Maestro, packed with crafters, ran these ultra-fast delivery online shops.
I picked Maestro Guild's—the undisputed leader in crafting.
Regular shipping would've been cheaper, but I needed this stuff tomorrow, so Awakener delivery it was.
"Alright, let's shop."
Maestro lived up to the name.
Their online mall sold items up to over 3 billion won.
Confidence in quality and secure shipping.
"Winter gear for everyone first."
I got C-rank jacket-style cold-weather suits for the whole guild.
On special discount, but still 2 million each.
Five people besides me: 10 million won.
"...I'm cold-intolerant, so B-rank for me."
I hate the cold.
Winter gear plus mining tools: 17 million gone just like that.
"Dodged a bullet without that deposit."
Anyway.
Prep for the Obong Mountain gold mine was done.
Lots of guilds do group mining anyway?
Saw that A-rank healer post lol think before you post, that make sense? lol
Finally, the morning we departed for Chuncheon.
The guild members' jaws dropped.
"What's this?"
"We got a car?!"
Parked in the building lot—which was always empty—was a sturdy-looking black van, a bit scratched here and there.
"JUSTICE" emblazoned largely on the side.
I dangled the round key fob in front of the guild members and said,
"Sis bought a car."