The Scales That Never Tilt
The coffee slid smoothly down my throat with a quiet glug.
The woman wearing a pure white blindfold set her cup down without the slightest hint of discomfort, even though her eyes were completely covered.
“Is that sword one of the new auction items?”
“Yes, Madam.”
Blood Demon Sword Yamaoka.
It was the weapon created by feeding True Blood to the drop item of the 8th-floor boss monster, the Evil Spirit, thereby awakening its true power.
The item Yu Jinho had consigned to the auction house now rested before the master of the Black Market.
The woman slowly ran her slender fingers along the blade.
A faint blue glow shimmered across her hand.
The Blood Demon Sword trembled violently, as if resisting that energy.
The sinister aura dwelling within the blade surged, threatening to explode—
“Shh.”
At that tiny whisper, the crimson current instantly subsided.
The woman lifted her hand from the blade, caught a fragment of the red energy in her fingers, and brought it to her lips.
She inhaled it with a soft slurp, savoring the taste, then let out a sigh of admiration.
“Magnificent.”
“Is it worthy of such high praise from you, Madam?”
“Its grade is Unique, yet its actual potential far exceeds that.”
Just because two items shared the same grade didn’t mean they possessed identical power.
Some weapons, like the Blood Demon Sword, broke the mold entirely.
“Since I’ve already examined it, I might as well take a deeper look.”
Her secretary flinched in surprise.
“You’re going to use your ability on it?”
“It’s the fastest way to accurately determine an artifact’s true value.”
The woman raised her hand.
Unbiased Scales of Justice
A silver scale materialized in the air.
She placed the blade’s aura onto the perfectly balanced scales.
The left side immediately dipped.
The woman began adding small weights, one by one.
With each weight, the scale crept closer to equilibrium.
The moment she placed the fifth weight, the left side—which had been sinking—rose slightly as the right side dipped.
“Quasi-Legendary…!”
“Its potential exceeds even my expectations.”
The ability to see beyond what the Tower System displayed.
It was a mighty power gained in exchange for sealing her sight upon contracting with a constellation.
The woman gently stroked the tilted scale and spoke.
“A sword that grows stronger the more it drinks the blood of living beings. It has conditions, but if fully strengthened to its limit, it possesses potential rivaling Legend-grade items.”
“Your insight is truly remarkable, Madam.”
“List it as a hidden item for tomorrow.”
“If it appears in the auction, the reaction will be enormous.”
The woman gave her secretary a mysterious smile in response to his admiration.
“I’m curious about its origin.”
“It was vouched for by Davy Smith.”
“The Black Casino manager.”
“I’ll summon him immediately.”
“No need. Let’s observe for a while.”
The Black Network possessed an overwhelming amount of information.
After the appearance of the Tower of Babel, it had rapidly expanded, absorbing the mafia, triads, gangs, and countless other criminal organizations.
Even so, an artifact like the Blood Demon Sword was completely unheard of.
This artifact… there’s something more to it.
The master of the Black Market—Madam—let her covered eyes sparkle beneath the blindfold.
The next day.
I arrived at the auction house right on time.
“Going again today?”
“I’ll be coming for a while.”
“It seems you have something specific you’re after.”
“Whether it shows up or not is another matter.”
Sinister.
If the evil-aligned constellations had begun moving in earnest, they would cleverly distribute that artifact.
And there was no place better suited to leaking artifacts all over the world than an underground auction house.
If my prediction was correct, I might be able to see it here.
Or rather—
“It would actually be better if my prediction was wrong.”
Earth’s players were, on average, far weaker than those of other dimensions.
A dimension that received little attention from the constellations.
In my previous life, Sinister only began showing serious interest in Earth after 2030.
Set was currently watching all of my guild members.
If Sinister was moving four years earlier than in the original timeline…
The only possible cause was me.
Did I draw too much aggro from the constellations?
I sat down in an auction seat with an indifferent expression.
“Once again, we thank all our distinguished guests for visiting today. We will now begin the auction.”
Auction items were brought onto the stage one after another.
I had hoped something useful would appear yesterday, but the second day of the auction was rather dull.
“Three and a half million!”
“Five million!”
While others were shouting themselves hoarse—
“Are you not going to bid?”
“There’s nothing I need.”
I had already experienced every kind of hell in my previous life.
Ordinary items no longer caught my eye.
And thanks to my Devour ability, I had even less reason to use armor or weapons.
Unless it was a support artifact like a ring, necklace, or earring.
Even then, at this point in time, their prices were excessively high compared to their performance.
It would be far better to gather raw materials and commission Mors instead.
Securing Seraph’s Feather and the Blood King’s Orb had also been an investment for the future rather than immediate use.
Then, at that moment—
“The next item is a rare piece whose origin even our auction house cannot trace.”
The moment the host finished speaking, a single sword appeared on stage.
An item that had awakened its true form by consuming True Blood.
It was the Blood Demon Sword Yamaoka.
“This sword is Unique-grade and contains two built-in skills. Moreover, it grows stronger the more blood it drinks, allowing it to reach performance rivaling Legend-grade!”
“Quasi-Legendary?”
“No way. I’ve never heard of an item like this.”
“It even has a life-force absorption option? Even setting the built-in skills aside—”
“It’s a powerful option that allows stable performance in both close-range tanking and dealing.”
“Our guild has to get that sword!”
The atmosphere in the hall instantly heated up.
It was an entirely different reaction from when True Blood had appeared yesterday.
“Bidding will start at ten million dollars.”
“Twenty million.”
“Forty million.”
“Fifty million!”
The price skyrocketed in an instant.
“As expected. Every action you take has meaning.”
“What are you talking about now?”
“That sword still carries the scent of blood.”
I pressed a finger to my lips.
If you spill the beans on my little business venture, we’re going to have a problem.
I had spoken so quietly that no one else could have heard, yet my heart still sank for a second.
“You can even smell it?”
“More precisely, it is the trace of a soul.”
“You really can do anything, can’t you?”
Strengthening the Worn-Out Yamaoka’s Tooth was knowledge from the future.
I had gone all the way to the bathroom so no one would see, yet Nyx had figured it out with a single glance.
“Hehe, worry not. This one’s lips are sealed tight.”
Nyx winked.
She really knew how to toy with people’s hearts.
A total vixen. An absolute vixen.
While we were having this pointless conversation—
“One hundred and fifty million dollars. Any further bids?”
The Blood Demon Sword, which had started at twenty million dollars—roughly twenty billion won—had now climbed past one hundred and fifty billion.
It was double the capital I had prepared with Nyx’s help.
Damn. Knowing the future really is this powerful.
I was reminded of it once again.
After Laurent revealed the sword’s secret in the future, it had traded for around sixty million dollars.
The reason the Blood Demon Sword Yamaoka was selling for nearly three times that price wasn’t just its performance—it was because its origin remained unknown.
Once I’m done with the Black Market, I should seriously consider investing the profits into promising companies.
“The Blood Demon Sword Yamaoka is sold for one hundred and fifty million dollars!”
Bang— Bang— Bang—!
The sound of the wooden gavel had never sounded so sweet.
I continued watching the auction afterward, but nothing else caught my eye.
Still, I had gained something.
“How boring.”
“I agree.”
“Then how about visiting the casino?”
“No. I still have business here.”
How could she sound so carefree without knowing what was at stake?
I was glaring at Nyx when—
“Sir, we are ready to settle the item you consigned to our auction house.”
“Oh, already?”
“Yes. The Black Market places credit and rules above all else.”
They gather criminals under one roof and then talk about credit?
Still, it wasn’t entirely wrong.
The one who founded the Black Market was frighteningly thorough when it came to rules.
In fact, ever since the Black Market—the heart of the Black Network—had established itself, global crime rates had actually decreased.
That was future information unknown to the public at this point in time.
“Lead the way.”
Following the staff member, I headed to the VIP room.
“Please wait a moment. The person in charge will arrive shortly.”
I sat on a sofa made of supple calf leather, enjoying its texture, when the door opened.
A woman in a crimson dress entered, leaning on a cane.
“Thank you for entrusting your item to our auction house, sir.”
Well, well.
I frowned.
She was a familiar face I had encountered multiple times in my previous life.
I had never expected to see her here.
Things just got interesting.
“My apologies. My eyes are inconvenient, as you can see.”
Tap. Tap.
The woman walked forward, tapping the floor with her cane.
She soon sat across from me and offered a gentle smile.
“Though it may be presumptuous, I am the one responsible for the overall management of this auction house. Please call me Madam.”
“Madam. That’s not your real name, is it?”
“Hohoho, everyone is allowed at least one secret, aren’t they?”
“If it’s a secret that must be kept even in the Black Market, you must be no ordinary person.”
“Oh my. You flatter me too much.”
Quite the smooth talker.
I had only come to collect the dividend from the Blood Demon Sword, but a far bigger fish had appeared than expected.
Madam.
The ruler of the Black Market and one of the central figures of the Black Network.
The blindfold was a penalty incurred from contracting with the Goddess of Justice, Themis, as her constellation.
Though her vision was sealed, she could perceive things far better than people with two working eyes.
The way she tapped the floor with her cane was nothing more than a light deception.
“So. I doubt the person in charge came all this way just to hand over dividends.”
“You don’t seem to like long introductions, Jinho.”
“You’ve already dug up my personal information. There’s no need to drag this out, is there?”
“Hoho, it’s nothing serious. I simply felt a peculiar aura from you and wanted to see your face in person.”
Even with her eyes covered by the blindfold, I could feel her ‘gaze’ fixed on me.
It was the power of a constellation.
Themis’s blessing, which allowed her to discern anything.
I subtly shifted the Polar Night settled at the top of my head.
“Ah!”
Madam let out a small gasp.
If the interference came from divine power, it could be repelled with divine power or blessings in turn.
If she had used Themis’s blessing directly, she wouldn’t have been neutralized so easily.
But an indirect manifestation like this could be severed without much difficulty.
“Staring at me like that doesn’t seem very polite.”
“You have sharp senses, Jinho.”
“I’m not in the mood to accept that as a compliment.”
“Hoho, very well. Then what kind of compensation would you like?”
Madam accepted my words without resistance.
If she hadn’t been interested in me from the start, she wouldn’t have appeared here.
I had taken a gamble based on memories from my previous life, and it had worked.
This meeting might let me skip the tedious auction process entirely.
“If you give me the list of items for the 80th auction, I’ll consider this never happened.”
I spoke with a grin, dropping a bombshell.