Chapter 53 – The Head Of Ataraxia (2)

“100 million… 100 million?”

“Does it make sense to spend 100 million on that?”

“Stupid.”

Those who had been somewhat interested in the bidding were just surprised now.

They could understand if this had been one of the auction’s undisclosed items, but 100 million dollars was an absurd amount to spend on this chessboard.

“Kuak!”

Cadrick let out a sigh. Right. That should be that.

Cadrick had been confident of victory when he had discovered Jin-hyuk’s money balance.

All that had been left was to take away the junk item he wanted and use it as leverage for information.

Right. That was how it should have gone.

But this little kid clearly didn’t even think of that.

‘Does this mean she isn’t a normal human?’

There was no way she could be normal. Just looking at the bid of 100 million dollars, he was sure of it. However, no matter who or what the opponent was, he couldn’t give up now.

He had already spent 70 million on trash. If he stopped now, then it would have been all for nothing.

Never.

That could never happen.

“100 and 10 million!”

“100 and 50 million”

“Kuk!!”

Insane.

Raising the bid by 40 million in one go. What kind of auction was that kid bidding in?

As the price was jumping up too high, Cadrick’s expression became dark.

It was because reality was diverging wildly from what he had imagined would happen.

“160 million…”

“200 million.”

While he worked hard to catch up, the distance was created again in one go. Such a price was hard to follow.

“T-teacher! We cannot…”

“Shut it! If we lose to him, do you know what will happen?”

There was no way he could back down. Failure in this mission would be as if he was personally smearing shit on the association’s name.

“Fine! 210 million!”

“300 million.”

“310 million!”

“500 million.”

“You are saying 500 million like it is 5 dollars. Do you really have the 500 million to pay it with!”

Cadrick had finally reached the limit of his patience and jumped up with a flushed face and heart pounding from anger.

‘This is a whole popcorn angle.’

Jin-hyuk, who was watching the whole scene happen, was holding back his laughter. He had actually been somewhat confident of winning the auction without Elise.

‘It would have been a pity, but selling the Fragment of Merlin’s Staff from the Corridor of the Fallen would have been enough.’

Just a single relic.

Merlin’s staff would have made everyone here go crazy. Still, it was a preference of his to see other people spending their money.

Just for this, he had let Elise join in this fight. She would do anything to piss off her opponent if it was her.

And Cadrick wasn’t the type to stand still at an opponent’s provocation.

So he simply decided to let the two fight it out, resulting in the current situation. His prediction had been proven correct.

The Demonic Human Association was capable and had a lot of money, but…

Well.

Do they have more capital than the head of the Ataraxia family, who were known to be the rulers of the night?

Jin-hyuk crossed his legs as the staff intervened.

“Kuak! Like the gentleman said, could you please prove that you have the required cash balance? I do not doubt the lady, but I want a smooth-running auction.”

Five hundred million dollars was a significant amount that even executives at well-known companies wouldn’t readily have. Even with the best intentions, it was difficult to believe that this middle-school-looking girl would be able to spend such a sum.

“Proof?”

“Yes.”

“Kuak. How difficult can it be?”

Elise waved her hand.

And…

Woong!

Suddenly, the space above Elise’s head began to distort, and the air began to fluctuate.

“Subspace… inventory?”

Correct. Universal storage.

“That girl. She is a player?”

“Doesn’t she look like a high-ranked one?”

“I knew she was a rare kind.”

The other guests were all shocked at this sight. Moments later, Elise pulled something out of her subspace inventory.

It was a crown adorned with splendid jewels.

“Didn’t you say you also take precious metals and not just dollars?”

“That is true, but…”

The host looked at the crown with a dubious look at its authenticity.

“For now, let’s get it analyzed first,”

In preparation for such an event, the black market had prepared an appraiser capable of using magic for analysis.

The appraiser activated his skill. As he did, his eyes began to tremble from shock.

“T-this cannot be…”

His voice vibrated violently, and even his hands were trembling.

“Why? Is it fake?”

The auctioneer asked.

“No. It… is genuine.”

“Thank you. So how much is the crown, in your opinion? Do you think it is worth 500 million?”

“That is difficult to answer.”

The appraiser shook his head while looking troubled.

“What? Is it tough to answer? What do you mean?”

“The craftsmanship used to craft this crown isn’t something done with modern technology. None of our current techs can even imitate it.”

Not able to replicate it? Then…

“It’s from the Tower…?”

“Yes. In addition, the crowned tooth and the seven winged eagles. It is a spiritual beast which symbolizes the Felstian Kingdom.”

The fact that the crown was genuine sent the whole auction hall into chaos.

“It is from the Tower?”

“That thing?”

“No, if it is the Felstian Kingdom, then isn’t it the most hidden ruin in the Tower of Trials?”

Since information about the Tower had become profitable, everyone began collecting bits of information from various sources.

Or at least those with money did.

“It’s a ruin that can only be entered when in possession of a treasure that symbolizes the royal family. I’ve heard of it before. An archeologist who had previously played Tower of Trials had discovered relevant documents.”

The Forgotten Kingdom, Felstian.

Due to the curse of the gods, the entire kingdom had vanished into the sands along with its treasures.

Because it was located on the Tower’s lower floors, it was widely rumored to be a hidden jackpot. It was one of the more popular locations players had tried to discover.

But clues about the kingdom were now appearing here.

“V-value of it? How much is it worth?”

The host was urging his appraiser to give a price.

His laid-back way of talking had disappeared and was replaced with stiff nervousness.

“At a rough estimate… 3 billion would probably be a good price.”

“Huh!”

“3-3 billion?”

“Insane. A crown without a kingdom or a man is worth that much!?”

“Oh my…”

The evaluation had far exceeded expectations. With this, the owner of the chessboard was decided.

“Eik!”

Cadrick’s face became stiff. Who the hell thought this small kid would become such a hurdle to his path?

If the appraiser’s words were correct, they wouldn’t be able to win this. All the money he had access to only amounted to 700 million dollars.

‘I was wrong.’

A fatal mistake.

His habit of looking down on his opponents had resulted in this.

‘But more dangerous than the girl is Kang Jin-hyuk, who treats her like a subordinate.’

He looked at Kang Jin-hyuk, who was stroking the girl’s hair with a proud face.

Perhaps.

Perhaps…

He was a more annoying enemy than the masked player.

“C-congratulations! We will hand the First Chessboard to the lady with the crown!”

The host congratulated Elise.

Ddd!

And the black market employees in their black suits delivered the chessboard, which had been sealed in a glass case.

“Not me, give to him.”

“Yes.”

Jin-hyuk ended up being the recipient. He tried to maintain a calm facade as he took it into his possession.

If he wanted to maintain good social and life skills, he needed to act nice in front of other people.

“I am grateful, but isn’t this too much? I feel bad.”

Ahem!

That look.

He was sure he had nailed it with a score of 95/100.

He bit lightly on his lip to show slight desperation as he bowed his head.

“It is a pity that this collection of mine is ruined, but I still have several treasures of that kingdom. Besides, I can’t bear to see smiles on the faces of people who dared to act rudely to my contractor, even if it meant death!”

“…”

This kid.

She sure knows how to say strange things.

‘Even if she pretends to not care, she puts up her treasured item for my sake.’

To be honest, he felt touched.

In the future, he would have to improve his treatment of Elise. Maybe put a cushion inside the ring.

And while Jin-hyuk was smiling.

His head was filled with thoughts as he wondered how to fix this situation but could not find any solution.

Cadrick’s hand rested on Alex’s shoulder.

“We must go there because we need to prepare for the attack on the boss.”

They had come here to initiate contact with Jin-hyuk, but could not stay much longer.

So…

“As soon as the auction is done. Kidnap Kang Jin-hyuk.’

“Me…?”

“Right, you can do it. Besides, can’t you make a lot of corpses?”

Even if the opponent was an S class, how could he go up against a necromancer? He will be powerless in front of the black magic, which released legions of undead.

Before the Tower had appeared, Alex was a surgeon who had a unique sense when handling the human body.

Of course, it would be a massive blow if it became known that many influential people around the world had been turned undead by his hands.

But since everyone knew that the dead could not speak, the truth would never come out.

“And the woman?”

“Remove her.”

“I was waiting for those words.”

Alex smiled.

Finally, an opportunity had come for him to repay the humiliation.

After about three hours, the final item was finally sold. In many ways, it was a very successful auction.

No matter what anyone else said, the 175th round of auctions would be remembered by history for a long time.

“Thank you for having joined us for this event tonight. When you leave the premises, please follow the same procedure using the cars that we… uh?”

At the moment, the host was about to end proceedings and bow to his guests.

Kukukuku!

A large wave of energy crashed through the venue.

Bang! Bang!

Cracks appeared in the ceiling as the building’s pillars collapsed.

“Kuak!”

“S-save me!”

“What kind of madness is this!”

“Avoid it! Just avoid it!”

No one could understand what just happened. On the surface, their casual relationships had been good, but everyone was focusing on their survival right now.

They needed to get out.

Just one second faster than others!

All of them were desperately trying to stay alive, but…

There was no place to escape. Instead, they were closer to hell.

Slash!

A flash of light was accompanied by splatters of blood.

“Kuak! Kua…?”

A man at the front of the crowd grabbed his neck as a hole appeared in it.

“Where are you going in such a hurry? You are my precious sacrifices.”

Alex stood at the entrance as he greeted the people warmly. Next to him were monsters of horrifying shapes and forms.

“Kiiik!”

“Kuaak!”