Chapter 123: End of Semester (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 123: End of Semester (4)
“You all worked hard this semester. I'll see you next term.”
The moment Instructor Do Han-seong’s voice faded, the students poured out of the classroom all at once.
The semester was now officially over.
Not that its end would change much for me.
I’d be sticking around the dorms anyway.
As for the others… well, they’d figure it out, go home, whatever.
I naturally fell into step with Yoon Chae-ha, and we started walking down the hall together.
“Where will you be during the break? Gaon? The Magic Tower? Or home?”
Originally, Yoon Chae-ha would have entered the Magic Tower as an apprentice to learn various forms of magic.
But since she hadn't chosen that path this time, there was a high chance things would be different.
Yoon Chae-ha held my gaze for a long moment before tilting her head slightly.
“What about you?”
An unexpected counter-question.
I smiled and replied, “Me? The dorms.”
Yoon Chae-ha answered immediately.
“Oh, me too.”
Hmm, what was this?
This feeling…
Sensing something was off, I changed my story.
“Ah, actually, I might go back to Vanquisher. A room might open up.”
Before I could even finish, Yoon Chae-ha flinched.
A brief silence passed before she spoke again.
“Ah… I might actually stay at home, too…?”
Her voice trailed off strangely.
She twisted a strand of hair with her fingertips.
Her eyes met mine for a moment before she quickly looked away.
I suddenly recalled that Yoon Chae-ha’s house was close to the Vanquisher headquarters.
Her family was rich, after all.
“……”
I watched her in silence.
That settled it.
Yoon Chae-ha was trying to follow me. It seemed she’d completely singled me out as her source of entertainment.
She wasn’t usually this reckless.
When Yoon Chae-ha noticed me staring, she quickly averted her gaze.
“Jeez.”
I let out a small, exasperated sigh.
*
I had lunch with Yoon Chae-ha and Cheon Yeo-wool.
The two of them left first. Cheon Yeo-wool said she had business with The Cult, and Yoon Chae-ha just wanted to take a nap.
Instead of heading back to the dorms, I found a corner in a cafe and started tapping away at my laptop.
I’d worked at a cafe a few days ago, and the atmosphere wasn’t bad. It was easy to concentrate.
I figured this was better than my dreary dorm room.
Click-clack.
“Hmm…”
Taking a sip of coffee, I focused on clicking the mouse again.
Today was a little different from usual.
Click-clack-click-clack.
For the first time in a while, I was browsing the Hero Auction.
The first reason was that I simply had too much money.
I briefly turned on my watch screen to check my balance.
“…Wow.”
I turned it off immediately.
The dividends from Glory, the compensation from the Association, and the various awards from Gaon.
I was rich—not just for my age, but plain rich.
I planned to give some serious thought today to what I should do with all that money.
There were also things I needed to prepare before entering Bulgaram's Workshop.
The problem, however…
[Excalibur (replica)]
[Cup of Dionysus (replica)]
Most of the search results were like this.
Every item that caught my eye was a replica. In other words, they were all labeled as copies.
Of course, even these were quite expensive and considered high-grade equipment, but they didn't meet my standards.
[Jehyung Sword]
[Thunder Axe]
Scrolling down further didn’t change anything.
There weren't any artisan-crafted items, either. Just standard, factory-made equipment.
Overall… it just felt a little disappointing.
It wasn't this bad in the past.
Back then, if you browsed long enough, you’d find at least one amazing item. Just one. I remember how fun it was just to look.
But lately, any good item that appeared was being snatched up instantly.
For example, something like this.
[Ring of Justice]
[SOLD]
As the name suggests, it was a ring with various benefits for men.
It had some embarrassing effects I'd rather not mention, but in the end, it was a ring that greatly helped with mana activation.
And it sold in ten minutes.
This wasn't the only item that had sold like that.
“Ancient Dragon's Rope… Martial King's Belt… Sulking Frog Statue…?”
The last one was a bit weird, but anyway, any item that looked even remotely decent was sold immediately.
As I looked through the list of sold items, a thought flashed through my mind.
Wait a minute… could it be a collector?
One person suddenly came to mind.
The auction's infamous collector, who snatched up every rare, authentic item in sight.
If that bastard had swept them all up, it would make some sense… but the collector at this point in time shouldn't have had the funds.
So it was highly unlikely.
Then who could it be?
“Sigh.”
In conclusion, I had plenty of money to spend, but the number of things worth spending it on was dwindling.
It was then.
“Something on your mind?”
A coffee cup slid gently across the table toward me.
Someone sitting across from me was watching me.
I wasn't actually alone at the cafe today.
I had run into her right after I arrived.
She said she had urgent work to take care of and came to the cafe to sort it out.
She’s so busy.
So, somehow, Kang A-rin ended up with me.
She also seemed a little more pissed off than usual. I hoped her company business was going well.
“No, not really…”
I vaguely mumbled, slightly turning my monitor away.
But wait a second.
What was I even worrying about?
The person sitting in front of me, Kang A-rin, was the heiress to South Korea’s biggest conglomerate and the next-in-line to lead a guild.
Items that couldn't be traded on the Hero Auction were handled at a so-called private auction house.
The tickets to participate in those auctions were sold on the Hero Auction, but getting one was like picking stars from the sky.
Usually, only influential guild figures or well-connected people could go, so I hadn't been able to attend yet.
The Old Man never relied on equipment, so he had no reason to go.
But I was different. I was extremely interested.
I wasn't in a position to be picky about gear or anything else.
So, I carefully opened my mouth.
“A-rin.”
“Yeah.”
She answered nonchalantly.
She definitely didn't seem to be in a good mood.
I hesitated for a moment, then turned my laptop and pointed to a black banner at the bottom of the auction site.
[ARCHIVE]
The highest-tier auction house, managed directly by the Hero Auction.
“Can you… take me here sometime?” I asked cautiously.
At that moment, Kang A-rin’s eyes lit up.
“Of course…!”
Just as a wide smile was about to spread across her face, her expression suddenly hardened again.
“…Hmm, but it might be a little difficult?”
Ah, so it was a bit difficult.
It seemed there were complications in bringing a student like me along.
After all, I was still completely unknown.
I had no intention of causing trouble for Kang A-rin.
“Ah, then it’s fine. Thanks for letting me know.”
I nodded and immediately backed off.
But in that instant, Kang A-rin jolted in her seat as if she’d been spooked.
“No, no! I never said it was impossible. It might work out.”
I smiled and shook my head.
“I feel like I’d just be a nuisance. It’s okay.”
Then, uncharacteristically, Kang A-rin waved her hands frantically.
“We can definitely go, definitely. Pleeease—I was just kiiidding.”
She dragged out her words in a cute, pleading voice.
Her face was red all the way to the tips of her ears.
It seemed it really was fine.
I let out a soft chuckle at the sight and added a quiet word.
“…If you’re really sure it’s okay, I’d appreciate it.”
Kang A-rin shot me a sidelong glance and nodded.
“…Yeah, leave it to me.”
After her short reply, she needlessly lifted her cup to wet her lips.
Even so, her eyes kept darting toward me.
Then, Kang A-rin added in a small whisper.
“Well… I’ll contact you soon. Be ready.”
“Okay.”
I smiled quietly and nodded.
*
Jung Hae-in left.
It seemed he was done with his business and headed for the dorms.
“I almost blew it by playing hard to get.”
Kang A-rin grinned, looking as if she’d just dodged a bullet.
She’d only done it because she was feeling a bit pouty… From now on, no more of this dangerous push-and-pull.
It wasn't her style, anyway.
Unfortunately, the Pentagon had sealed the Fragment's gate for the duration of the break.
That would have ruined everything. Jung Hae-in would never push himself unnecessarily.
If she had her way, she would have smashed the Pentagon to bits, but since that wasn't an option, she had given up…
She never expected such a golden opportunity to fall into her lap.
“Hee hee~”
So rewarding.
She hummed a little tune as she looked at her laptop.
In truth, the one buying up items from the auction house like a madman was none other than Kang A-rin herself.
She had been buying up anything that seemed like it would be good for Jung Hae-in.
Because she wanted to be the one to give them to him someday.
The problem was that lately, she wasn't the only one doing it.
The bidding competition had become extremely intense.
I think there are two, no, three of them…
The situation had forced her to constantly monitor the auction house's trends.
She wanted to know who on earth was trying to buy up items so recklessly, so she eventually planted a spy code in the auction site.
[Sulking Frog Statue]
[Origin: Hokkaido, Japan]
[Seller's Description: This is a frog statue. It has been verified to bring good fortune to its owner. This applies to all fields.]
[Selling Price: 100,000,000 KRW]
[Buyout Price: 260,000,000 KRW]
The buyout price was set much higher than the selling price.
There had been dozens of bids; the competition was fierce.
It flat-out increased one's luck.
This was a rather rare item.
So she had put this item on the auction herself to track the bidders.
The only catch was that its effect was temporary.
“Heh.”
Exactly three people had participated in this auction.
So those fools were competing to buy a temporary item.
With a look full of anticipation, Kang A-rin clicked on the list of names.
“Let's see who you are~”
Who could they be?
She opened the list, curious, but the next moment, her lips twitched subtly.
She couldn't help but make a strange face.
[1000_y]
[OnE]
[Sion]
“…Ha.”
She wasn't the only one.
It seemed everyone had the same idea.
Kang A-rin closed her laptop for a moment and sighed.
Then she immediately picked up her watch.
Tap-tap-tap.
[RIN]: (Image)
[RIN]: Thanks for the 250 million, I'll put it to good use~
She casually sent a screenshot of the auction list with the names to the group chat room.
“Ahaha!”
Then, with a thoroughly pleased expression, she smiled and closed her watch.
All she could do was thank the person she had a pretty good idea was [OnE].