Chapter 106: Moving Fortress (3)

"We'll begin the bidding."

The second VIP auction was underway. As before, all manner of goods had been put up for sale, yet nothing among them particularly caught Hanseong's interest.

All familiar stuff.

There was equipment for one-to-one communication over long distances, potions that steadily restored ether, special modification kits that enhanced modern firearms, and the like. Everything was either something he already owned or something he could get his hands on without much trouble. The others, of course, did not see it that way.

"Six thousand five hundred coins!"

"I'll bid seven thousand."

The lots so far had been trading, on average, somewhere between five and ten thousand coins, and the ether-recovery potions had sold for the most of all. In raw effect they were about on par with the low-grade energy recovery potions Jihye brewed.

Which is another way of saying...

He was being supplied with goods of that value essentially for free. Thinking of Jihye, Minjae, and Subin, Hanseong smiled without a word. All over again, it struck him how reassuring it was to have them.

"Then we'll begin the next auction."

Jet's voice followed at once, announcing the start of the fifth lot. Shaking free of his thoughts, Hanseong looked to the dais where the item waited, hoping that something useful might finally turn up.

"This lot is a special material, difficult to obtain. Alchemists, shamans, and spiritists in particular should find it very much to their liking."

"Huh? A material?"

"And if there's a class restriction on top of that..."

"I'll sit this round out."

At the word material, some of the participants made no effort to hide their disappointment. For an instant Hanseong's reaction was the same, but he soon thought better of it. A material an alchemist would want had stirred his curiosity. A flicker of expectation on his face, he opened the detailed information—and his eyes went wide.

Dimensional essence!

The core material of the elixir Jihye had told him about. He had already given her the other core material, the ether crystals, so if he secured this, he could have one more elixir made. Hanseong's eyes lit up.

"The opening bid for this item is 5,000 coins, and the minimum increment is 500 coins. We will now begin the bidding."

The contest started at once. The price shot past ten thousand coins and climbed out of the early bids into the middle range. Just as the competition was beginning to taper off, Kotori, in the seat beside him, raised her hand.

"I'll bid 20,000 coins."

"Number 28 bids 20,000 coins. From this point, the minimum increment rises to 2,000 coins."

In an instant, the leading bid had changed hands. The rivals who had been watching one another dropped out one by one, and Kotori wore a triumphant smile, as if the victory were already hers.

Right. This one was a shaman, too.

He had no idea which skill the essence served as a material for, but if she would spend twenty thousand coins without hesitation, it had to be worth at least that much. Jet's voice followed.

"If there are no further bids, the countdown will—"

"Thirty thousand coins."

Hanseong raised his hand. Perhaps it was the ten thousand coins he had added in a single stroke. Kotori started, and so did the participants around them. A moment later she spoke to him in a tone that said she couldn't make sense of it.

"Why would you want that..."

"I've got a use ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for it."

Hanseong's reply was simple. At a loss for words, she nibbled at a fingernail as if weighing it. The essence, however, was not worth more than thirty thousand coins to her, and she soon abandoned the bid.

And so—

"As there have been no further bids for one minute since the last, this item is sold to customer number 27. Congratulations."

The dimensional essence was his. It was a steep price for a material rather than a piece of equipment, but if he counted it as gaining a single elixir, it was hardly a bad trade. With the fifth auction over, Jet moved on.

"The sixth item we present is one that could fairly be called the thing you need most at this very moment."

The line was meant to stoke their anticipation. The lot was revealed at once.

"A Purified Rift Stone."

…!

Hanseong's eyes widened. The instant he heard Jet, the rift fragments he had recently received as an achievement reward came back to him.

Collect seven fragments, and I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was supposed to be able to obtain a Purified Rift Stone.

He had never been told what a Purified Rift Stone actually was, or what effect it held. He certainly hadn't imagined one would turn up as merchandise like this. Expectation bright in his eyes, he opened its detailed information.

What a Purified Rift Stone was, and what it did, could be summed up in a single line: the power to rule a rift. Even so, a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠question remained.

But what's the good of that?

A rift was a kind of passage the Fallen God's creations used to invade. What was there to gain by ruling something like that? He was quietly tilting his head when Haeun, seated in front of him, suddenly shot her hand into the air.

"If you seize a rift, what's the advantage?"

The question everyone wanted answered. At her words, every gaze—including Hanseong's—turned to Jet, who went on in an even tone.

"You become free to use the various passages that exist within each rift."

"Th-then that means...?"

"If you rule a rift with many passages, you can use those passages to move in a single step to places that are physically far away."

…!?

In other words, through a rift one ruled, a person could travel the world. Everyone who grasped Jet's meaning went wide-eyed. Hanseong was no exception.

"The opening bid for this item is 30,000 coins, and the minimum increment is 1,000 coins. We will now begin the bidding."

A starting price nothing like the ones before. It was expensive enough to warrant it. With ships, aircraft, and every other means of transport gone, the power to move freely across the world was worth a great deal. And yet what unfolded was rather unexpected.

…?

Not a single person bid. A dead silence hung over the auction house, and at the unexpected sight Hanseong tilted his head.

What? Don't tell me it's the price.

But for the people here, it shouldn't have been that burdensome a sum. Even as the question formed, he suddenly felt a great many eyes on him. Everyone in the auction house had, all at once, turned to stare at him. He still couldn't quite make sense of it when Kotori let out a soft laugh, as if she had understood perfectly.

"Heh. I see."

"Looks like everyone means to give up on bidding."

"…What? Why?"

"They don't have a choice. To install that, you have to clear a liberated rift, and right now you're the only one who can."

At her words, Hanseong closed his mouth. Now that he heard it, the condition for installing a Purified Rift Stone was certainly strict. He nodded and turned to her.

"Then you, too..."

"Yes. I won't be bidding."

She lifted both hands and smiled brightly. Even his strongest rival had withdrawn. Then there was no reason left to hesitate.

"I'll bid 30,000 coins."

"Confirmed. Customer number 27 bids 30,000 coins. Are there any further bids?"

All that came back was an empty echo. In the end, until the one-minute limit passed, no one raised the price. The Purified Rift Stone was Hanseong's.

The auction went on after that, but only items he had no interest in appeared, and the fierce bidding that had raged until then eased somewhat. There was only one reason.

Eden's arrangement.

The tenth item: a Hidden Piece of System Eden. Everyone was waiting for that, and Hanseong was no different. He was hoping the turns would pass quickly when the ninth auction began.

"This item is a weapon."

What Jet brought out was a black orb. No matter how one looked at it, the thing did not resemble a weapon, and everyone tilted their heads. The moment he took the orb in hand, their reactions changed.

Whirr! Clack!

The orb in Jet's grip writhed and moved like a living creature, then began transforming into weapons of every shape—a dagger, a spear, a bow, even a modern firearm like a rifle. It was like a magic show, and everyone watched, spellbound. A short while later, the weapon's information was revealed.

This is...

A weapon made for Haeun alone. She was an assassin who had received the Blessing of Shadow. Haeun, too, read the information, and color rose in her face.

"The opening bid for the Shadow Weapon is 10,000 coins, and the minimum increment is 1,000 coins. Please begin the bidding."

The contest began at once. Was it the demonstration Jet had just given, or was there an assassin among those taking part?

"Eighteen thousand coins!"

"I'll bid 20,000!"

The price climbed fast. Haeun, of course, kept raising without yielding, and in the overheated contest the bid soon broke past fifty thousand coins. Unease began to settle on her face. Her funds were likely reaching their limit. Not long after—

"Sixty thousand coins from seat 91. Will anyone bid higher?"

The moment the price hit sixty thousand, Haeun gave up. She let out a sigh, her face fallen, and still could not take her eyes off the weapon, as if she couldn't quite let it go. Hanseong watched her in silence.

Seo Haeun, the shadow assassin.

In name and in fact, the greatest fighting strength of the Special Mission Battalion. The stronger she became, the higher the battalion's rate of survival rose with her, and it would do a great deal for the strength of the Suwon Air Wing as well. He didn't know the precise reason, but she was unusually well-disposed toward him—enough that her tone and manner made it easy to tell.

And lately I've only been on the receiving end.

He and she had done a great deal of business. The mage-exclusive skill books Haeun had brought him alone numbered more than ten. Up to a point he had paid her in return, but recently he had only been taking.

And her future looks promising, too.

Among the combat classes Hanseong had seen, she ranked easily in the top three for talent and skill.

So I might as well show her some goodwill while I can.

He had coins to spare, in any case—and it would make the bond between them firmer still. He had just settled on that decision when Jet's voice reached him.

"If there are no further bids..."

"Seventy thousand coins."

Just before the countdown could begin, Hanseong put in a higher bid. Haeun's eyes went wide, and so did those of the participant in seat 91, who had competed with her to the end.

…!?

"Mage, why would you..."

Why butt in when he wasn't even an assassin? The look from seat 91 asked exactly that. Hanseong answered with nothing at all.

"Customer number 27 has bid 70,000 coins. From this point, the minimum increment will be raised to 5,000 coins."

"Th-then 75,000..."

"Eighty thousand coins."

"Add another five thousand to that..."

"Ninety thousand coins."

It was settled before long. Faced with Hanseong raising the bid as if by machine, the participant in 91 seemed to lose the will to fight and shut their mouth tight. The moment his only rival withdrew, the Shadow Weapon was his. Hanseong immediately held it out to Haeun in the seat ahead.

"Please, take ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it."

"…Yes?"

"I'm giving it to you."

Was she startled by how sudden it was? Her eyes went wide.

"Y-you're giving this to me?"

"That's why I bought it."

"B-but why...?"

"It's repayment for what I've received."

He answered as if it were nothing much, though he didn't forget to add that he was looking forward to her work from here on, and to her cooperation. Haeun, who had taken the weapon almost without realizing, stared at him in a daze.

"E-even so, this is far too much..."

"If it really weighs on you, you can pay me back little by little later. I can't return it anyway."

In coins, or in skill books. At his words her eyes went round as a startled rabbit's. A moment later she nodded, a brilliant smile on her face.

"Yes. I'll do that. Thank you!"

Haeun hugged the Shadow Weapon to her chest, promising she would treasure it.

Just as his conversation with her came to an end, the lights in the hall dimmed all at once. Jet spoke in a low voice.

"Thank you for waiting. We will now begin the final lot of this auction—an arrangement of System Eden."

The moment they had been waiting for had come at last. What Jet produced next was a scroll of parchment, and the participants checked its information at once, as if they had been waiting for nothing else.

And yet...

"Huh? What is that?"

"That is supposed to be Eden's arrangement?"

"…This is a joke, right?"

The participants' reactions were somehow off. Kotori and Seo Haeun were no different.

What? Why is everyone acting like that?

Curiosity stirred, and Hanseong opened the final lot's detailed information. A moment later, his expression matched everyone else's.