The Auction Begins
The auction house employee bowed deeply toward Hyunseong and Hyeonji, his apology so sincere that his forehead nearly touched the floor.
Hyunseong marveled at the man’s flexibility and core strength before speaking.
“It’s fine. So the item can still be registered for auction, right?”
“Well, something of this caliber requires a direct conversation with the branch manager.”
Now the piece was apparently too extraordinary for immediate registration.
Hyunseong briefly considered just selling it to Seolhee in a quick private deal, but curiosity about how the auction would unfold and what price it might fetch won out. He nodded.
“Lead the way.”
“Yes, sir. Please wait just a moment.”
The employee disappeared into an elevator, leaving Hyunseong and Hyeonji standing awkwardly in the middle of the auction floor.
Hyunseong turned to his sister.
“Why does everything have to get so complicated?”
“You’ll just have to deal with it. The items you make would leave even the world’s greatest craftsmen speechless.”
“That good?”
“That good. You said it was Epic rank, right? There aren’t any crafted Epic items on the market yet. Some have dropped from dungeons, but none have been made by hand.”
Listening to Hyeonji made him genuinely curious about these so-called drop items.
“You mean byproducts?”
“In a way, yes. The most famous example is the item obtained after defeating the boss of an S-class dungeon in the United States years ago.”
“What was it?”
“I don’t remember the exact name… it was really weird…”
Hyeonji bit her lip in thought, then her face lit up.
“Oh! It was the Spear of Numbra’s Feather. I remembered because the dungeon was called Numbra’s Citadel.”
“What?”
“Numbra’s Feather…”
“Are you serious?!”
“Hey, you scared me! Of course I’m serious. Why would I lie?”
While she recovered from the surprise, Hyunseong’s intense reaction came from something else entirely.
Numbra… one of the Four Heavenly Kings’ subordinates that I dealt with in the other world…
He had been a demon archduke granted territory under one of the Four Heavenly Kings who served the Demon Lord. The archduke had raised an army and invaded human nations.
It didn’t feel like a coincidence that the name had come from her lips.
So the dungeons are connected to that world after all.
He didn’t know the reason.
The Great Cataclysm that had begun ten years ago, right before he was transferred to the other world.
Looking back now, it couldn’t have been mere coincidence.
As Hyunseong fell deep into thought, Hyeonji waved her hand in front of his face.
“Hello? Choi Hyunseong. What are you thinking about so hard?”
“Nothing. The name just sounded familiar.”
“What, Numbra or whatever? Maybe you saw it while browsing the internet. It’s pretty famous.”
“Maybe.”
He couldn’t exactly tell her that the name belonged to an archduke from the world he had lived in. When he had tried explaining everything to their mother with the “it was all a dream” story, she had scolded him for mixing in too many lies. Although almost nothing he said had been false, the fact that she refused to believe him proved she was the type of person who wouldn’t believe him no matter what.
“Ahem. Sorry for the long wait.”
Right then, the auction house employee returned via elevator.
“The branch manager is waiting. Please follow me.”
“Upstairs?” Hyeonji asked.
“Yes. Most people think the auction house ends on this floor, but there’s actually one more level. It’s the branch manager’s office.”
The employee swiped his ID card inside the elevator, pressed the sixth floor button, then the first floor button. A seventh floor button suddenly appeared beside the sixth and began to glow.
“Oh, is it okay to show us something like this?” Hyunseong asked, fascinated by the new technology.
“Even if you see it, you can’t reach the seventh floor without an employee ID. And even with an ID, certain conditions must be met.”
“So those conditions are the important part.”
“Ah, that information is normally confidential, but since the two of you will become VVIPs of our Hunter Market Korea branch today, it’s fine to tell you.”
Hyunseong nodded at the pleasant news. He also found it amusing that even the Hunter Market had its own set of troubles.
They reached the seventh floor directly from the sixth, and the elevator doors opened.
“This way, please.”
The office they entered was almost identical in size and luxury to the Hunter Association president’s office.
And there, waiting for them, was a woman.
“Hello—ah, this is Korea. Nice to meet you. I am Rachel, branch manager of the Hunter Market Korea branch. It’s a pleasure.”
She was clearly a Westerner at first glance.
Rachel did not rush them.
Instead, she served tea and treated them with utmost politeness, clearly trying to ease the atmosphere through conversation. Thanks to that, Hyunseong—who had been trying to read her intentions—relaxed, thinking she simply enjoyed chatting.
“Even though Hunter Market is a global corporation, I never imagined the branch manager herself wouldn’t be Korean.”
“Is that so? But I’ve already been in Korea for over five years. I practically consider myself Korean at this point.”
“Wow, I keep getting surprised. Your Korean is amazing, Branch Manager!”
Every time Hyeonji spoke with Rachel, she reacted as if she were meeting a foreigner for the first time.
“Thank you. They say praise can make even a whale dance. I feel wonderful.”
Rachel never took offense at Hyeonji’s reactions and instead maintained her uniquely comfortable demeanor.
When the tea in their cups had cooled, Hyunseong finally brought up the main topic.
“So, according to the employee, I need to meet with the branch manager to register an item for auction. What exactly does that mean?”
“Before that, may I see the item?”
The moment business was mentioned, Rachel’s aura changed instantly. It was surprising, but not unpleasant.
“Of course.”
Hyunseong took out the Koram’s Boots and showed them to her.
Rachel’s purple eyes sparkled.
So that’s what it was.
Hyunseong knew exactly what that sparkle meant.
She’s an Appraiser.
It was a class he frequently chose and used himself, so he recognized it immediately. She had just used the Appraiser skill, Appraisal, to examine the Koram’s Boots.
Of course, Hyunseong had nothing to worry about. If anything, having the detailed stats verified and proven would only increase the item’s value.
Clap, clap, clap.
Having finished her appraisal, Rachel welcomed the boots with laughter and applause.
“Magnificent. Let’s proceed with the auction registration.”
“Yes. By the way…”
“You don’t want to reveal that you’re the creator, correct?”
“That’s right.”
“We will of course process it anonymously and thoroughly protect the registrant’s identity. If any problems arise, we will waive the auction commission—provided that the fault lies with Hunter Market.”
“That’s more than enough.”
Rachel rubbed her hands together so vigorously that her eyes seemed to transform into dollar signs. She swallowed hard and asked,
“Then, what should we set as the starting bid?”
Rachel’s money talk had only just begun.
Hyunseong and Hyeonji could only nod blankly as her words swept over them like a storm. By the end, they had agreed to register the item for auction, signed the documents, and left the Hunter Market.
“What just happened?”
The only things he remembered were that the auction was in three days and the starting price was twenty billion won.
“I don’t know, but it seems like it went well, right?”
Just as Hyeonji said, everything seemed to have gone well, so he decided to let it go.
There was no disagreement that the undisputed number one guild in South Korea was the Red Dragon Guild. Their consistent defense against monster waves and successful dungeon raids over the past ten years had become an inspiration not only to Awakened but to ordinary citizens as well.
Park Wonho, the guild master leading the Red Dragon Guild, was naturally an S-class Hunter. Even on the global stage, his skills were world-class.
Thud! Rip!
His massive lance pierced deep into flesh, then tore through hide with tremendous force.
He was currently inside the B-class dungeon Beast Forest.
After easily dispatching an owl bear amid the buzzing of insects, he wiped the blood from his lance and waited for something.
Then it came.
Boom!
Something massive burst through the dense trees and bushes.
Park Wonho stopped cleaning his lance and turned toward the approaching presence with a welcoming smile.
Kraaaaaaaaang!
The creature let out a roar powerful enough to shake the air. It had crimson scales, razor-sharp teeth, massive wings connected to its forelimbs, and piercing eyes—a dragon…
No, a wyvern.
Wonho gently stroked the wyvern’s head and neck.
Grrrrrr.
“Red, you’re back? If you’re done playing, let’s go.”
He climbed onto the wyvern’s back.
“Shall we find the boss?”
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—
After a few powerful wingbeats, they were already high above the dense forest, overlooking everything.
With sharp eyes, he scanned the area, searching for the dungeon’s boss, the manticore.
“Where are you hiding…”
At that moment—
Swoosh!
The wyvern began a steep dive.
“Found it!”
As expected, the wyvern’s eyes were far more accurate than a human’s. Red had understood Wonho’s words and located the manticore.
Swooooosh!
“Let’s end this quickly.”
Striking with a lance while diving was Red and Wonho’s signature move.
Crunch! Crack!
The manticore—with a lion’s head, snake’s tail, and bat wings—never got the chance to fight in the air. It died instantly.
Whoong!
A moment later, the exit gate appeared.
Red and Wonho flew straight through it, soaring between the skyscrapers of the city.
They soon arrived at the Red Dragon Guild building, which had a dedicated wyvern landing pad on its roof.
Whoosh!
Red landed safely, kicking up wind strong enough to rival a helicopter. Wonho dismounted.
A large dome immediately unfolded over the landing pad, creating a resting space for Red.
“Get some rest.”
Grr!
After giving the wyvern one last pat, Wonho headed to his office connected to the rooftop.
The moment he entered, staff swarmed him, eager to take the dungeon-conquering equipment. He handed over his lance and flight helmet.
In higher-rank dungeons he would have worn heavy armor and accessories, but there was no need for that in a mere B-class dungeon.
Thump.
Wonho sank into his office chair.
“Did your walk go well?”
“As you can see.”
His secretary approached with a professional greeting and handed him a tablet.
“What is it?”
“The list of items for the upcoming Hunter Market auction.”
“Was there something I wanted to buy?”
“A new item has been added. You really need to see this.”
Since she insisted so strongly, he took the tablet and read the contents.
“Type: Leather Boots. Rank… Epic?! Is this real?”
“Yes. The starting bid is twenty billion won. It can be worn from size 250mm to 300mm, so it would fit you as well, Guild Master.”
“The stat increase is ridiculous. And what’s this special effect? It raises stats again?”
Park Wonho’s eyes burned with intensity as he spoke to his secretary.
“Prepare a lot of money. We’re buying this.”
His determination wasn’t simply because it was a good item.
Drop items don’t come in my size, and crafted ones never had performance like this…
It was practically advertising itself to him.
After all, Park Wonho’s foot size was a whopping 300mm.
***
On the day of the auction, the Hunter Market sent Hyunseong a specially assigned website address and recommended he watch the auction from home.
It was to avoid any risk of his identity being traced.
Thanks to that, Hyunseong lay on the sofa while Hyeonji sat on the floor below him.
“It’s about to start. Looks like a ton of famous people showed up.”
They had connected the site to the TV, allowing them to see the faces of the auction participants on a crisp 40-inch screen.
“Seolhee unnie came too, after all.”
“I told her I’d sell her one privately later.”
Seolhee already knew the auction item was one of Hyunseong’s creations. It hadn’t been leaked; she simply had excellent employees who discovered he had a crafting class and had even produced Unique-grade items before.
That was why he had no choice but to answer her call the same day he registered the item.
“Hello? What the hell are you? How did you make something like that so easily?”
“How did you know it was me?”
“Who else could it be?”
As usual, they had traded light insults before ending the call.
Still, she must really want it.
With that thought, the host appeared on screen and announced the start of the auction.
Since Hyunseong’s item was the main event, several smaller items were auctioned first to warm up the crowd.
I wonder how much it’ll sell for.
As time passed, his anticipation only grew stronger.
The auction for the Epic-grade item Koram’s Boots is about to begin.
