Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Auction (1)
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The meeting spot was the same officetel as last time.
I hauled the massive contrabass case with one hand.
Even without a single muscle on my body, this much weight wasn't a big deal.
Thanks to all the all-stat bonuses I'd steadily stacked up so far.
The reason I was using just one hand now was simple.
This broker thought I didn't have one hand.
If the deceased came back to life at a funeral home, it'd be awkward for everyone.
I'd turned my hand into sand ahead of time and tucked it neatly into my pocket.
Ding-dong—
Not long after I rang the doorbell, the steel door swung open.
Behind the door stood the broker, his face as fierce as ever.
Broad shoulders like rice cakes, tattooed forearms. Even sunglasses covering his eyes.
The broker scowled the moment he saw me.
"Come in."
A cold, dry voice.
There was no trace of the friendly uncle who'd spammed emojis on Telegram.
The stark difference in temperature was enough to make me dizzy.
"So, what dangerous crap did you get into this time?"
His hard-boiled tone continued.
He looked like a gangster, but his speech was like a detective interrogating a criminal.
I shrugged.
"Nothing dangerous at all."
"Then what's that?"
The broker's gaze shifted to the massive case in my hand.
I opened the case and showed him the contents.
"...."
The moment the battle axe came into view, the broker's expression hardened.
A sinister aura leaked faintly from it.
He could tell at a glance this was no ordinary item.
***
'This is....'
The broker clicked his tongue inwardly.
A battle axe with ominous energy pouring out in streams.
From what she'd said, sure enough, it was a Unique-grade item.
How the hell did this kid get her hands on something like this?
The broker fell silent for a moment, then asked in a voice even lower than before.
"Where'd you get this?"
"Got it from beating the 10th-floor boss. Why?"
The girl in front of him answered curtly, like it was no big deal.
He didn't ask anything more after that.
'The 10th-floor boss, huh....'
As far as he could tell, it seemed true that this kid had entered the Tower.
No one could steal an item like this.
But even if she was really a hunter, that created problems.
There's no way this kid took down the 10th-floor boss solo.
No, no one could, no matter who.
'But there's no way she got priority claim on the item in a party....'
The broker's worries deepened.
No party would willingly hand a Unique item to a kid like this.
He knew hunters well.
Superhuman thugs who would do anything for money.
If you couldn't protect yourself? Forget item distribution—you'd be lucky not to get robbed of what you had and killed.
Die in the Tower, and no corpse is left behind. The perfect spot for murder without a trace.
'I get the picture. What went down.'
Soon, his mind arrived at one conclusion.
This kid must have lucked into—or unluckily stumbled into—a 10th-floor raid party.
'They never planned to share the rewards from the start. Probably just meant to use her as cannon fodder.'
But Tower raids don't always go as planned.
Especially on boss floors.
'And that party probably got wiped out.'
Party wipes could happen for any reason.
Or maybe they cleared it normally, but item distribution caused infighting, leading to slaughter.
The broker inwardly guessed the latter was more likely.
'Either way, it looks certain they beat the boss.... Then infighting broke out after. Yeah, that must be it.'
A Unique item.
For small-time C-rank or D-rank hunters, it was like hitting the jackpot.
Would a party dragging along a kid like this divvy things up fairly?
The broker shook his head.
She barely survived the boss fight, only to face a brutal scene of mutual slaughter.
What had this kid thought and felt in that moment?
'She thought she had to survive.'
A vivid picture formed in the broker's mind.
A civil war that ended in mutual destruction.
This kid was a hunter too. She'd seen all kinds of ugly shit climbing to the 10th floor.
In that final moment when only one was left, she must have realized there was only one way to live.
With her one remaining hand, she'd gripped a dagger carefully, crept up, and stabbed that back.
Then looted her comrades' bodies and grabbed this axe.
'Horrible stuff.'
He eyed the girl from behind his sunglasses.
Deep dark circles like she hadn't slept in days. Cold, curt attitude. The recklessness to seek out someone like him, steeped in illegality.
Definitely the aftereffects of going through all that.
A flicker of pity and sorrow passed through his eyes, hidden by the shades.
He let out a heavy sigh and changed the subject.
"Let's appraise it first."
The broker began carefully evaluating the axe.
The girl sat on the sofa, waiting for the assessment.
Not long after, he shook his head and spoke.
"It's Unique-grade, as expected. Good options too.... This isn't something I can price right here."
Item grades went Common, Rare, Unique, Legendary.
A Unique-grade item was something even top hunters would drool over.
"You saying you can't buy it?"
"No, leave it with me. Auctioning it off will net more money."
Auction.
Sure, that would probably fetch a higher price.
But the girl didn't answer right away.
How could she trust this rough-looking uncle with an item worth tens of millions?
Meeting the girl's distrustful gaze, the broker felt pity well up inside again.
'How much hell has she been through at such a young age... to not trust people like this.'
He read deep wounds and traces of betrayal in her unchildlike demeanor.
He spoke in a serious tone.
"I'll keep your identity completely secret. Promise.
And I'll give you an advance. 50 million won. How's that?"
"What? Fifty...?"
An amount she couldn't have imagined. The kid's eyes went wide.
She tried to play it cool, but couldn't stop her mouth from twitching upward.
Seeing that, the broker smiled inwardly.
'Still a kid, after all.'
What if he'd planned to lowball her?
Kids need adults around. Solid adults like him.
The broker reaffirmed his sense of mission in his role.
***
The next day, at the VIP item auction house.
I was watching the auction live through the real-time feed the broker sent.
The auction house on screen was packed with top hunters and guild reps.
All big shots, decked out in expensive suits and flashy accessories.
The auction was already in full swing.
"Next up! A Stone Golem core from the 20th-floor zone! Rare-grade material item! Starting bid, 10 million won!"
With the auctioneer's shout, a rough stone chunk rose onto the platform.
Paddles shot up immediately from here and there.
"Twelve million!"
"Fifteen million!"
I watched the scene without much interest.
I didn't even have equipment items yet.
Material items were still a distant dream for me.
The auction progressed quickly. The Stone Golem core went for 20 million to a tank.
Various items followed onto the stage.
A Rare-grade cloak with invisibility. Potions that boosted stats for a time.
Even a rare contract scroll to tame monsters like pets.
But none caught my eye.
"This next one's for the mages out there! The 'Silent Sage's Robe'!"
"What? Mage?"
The auctioneer's words made my eyes light up.
Rising onto the platform was a cloak shimmering with faint blue light.
"Rare-grade armor! With a very rare option that slightly boosts mana recovery speed!"
'Mana recovery, huh....'
I wanted it the moment I saw it.
After opening my eyes, my mana pool had grown several times over.
But in the fight with the Orc Warlord, I'd burned through all my MP on the final blow.
What if the Orc Warlord had a Phase 2?
Exhausted with no mana left to flee, I'd have been done for.
With something like that, I could handle fights much more stably.
"Actually, screw the options...."
To be honest.
Maybe I just wanted a mage item.
How long was I supposed to climb bare-skinned?
Plain clothes were best to avoid attention, but couldn't I just stuff it in my bag?
I wanted to rock a cool robe billowing around me, swing a big staff, and strike a pose.
...There's romance in that.
"Starting bid, 50 million won!"
"Fifty-five million!"
"Eighty million!"
But the price shot past my expectations.
In an instant, it surpassed my entire fortune.
I muttered in disbelief.
"Wait, there are only five mages, so why's the bidding this fierce...."
Just because it's rare?
Curious, I searched online and found another reason.
There was a superstition that wearing mage gear raised your chances of awakening as a mage.
"It's not completely impossible...."
Well, people have awakened eating dirt, so who knows.
Just as the bidding heated up, one woman casually raised her paddle.
"300 million."
Her words from the blonde woman silenced the competitors.
In the end, the robe went to her for the whopping sum of 300 million won.
"Huh? That person's here too...?"
The face of the woman on screen was familiar to me. I widened my eyes.