Chapter 935 – 935. Savior Of The Academy
A huge man approached Seong Hari and Choi Jeonghwa. He wore a black suit and a black fedora pulled low over his head. He was over 2 meters tall, and his physique was three times the size of Seong Hari’s.
“Welcome to Baekryeong Island. I am Unit 351, your guide. May I see your invitations?”
The huge man bowed politely as he spoke. No, to be precise, he wasn’t a man. His true identity was a golem made of rock and steel, not a living human.
“As expected of Baek Young-jik’s work. That’s a pretty decent golem. I’d like to buy one.”
Choi Jeonghwa said.
Baek Young-jik.
The chairman of Baekoh Group, ranked 31st in the Korean business world, and the master of the Korean black market.
He was the exceptional puppeteer and the host of the Baekryeong Auction.
“You want to buy something like that? You’re a bit strange, aren’t you?”
Seong Hari said indifferently, and Choi Jeonghwa bristled.
“It’s because you don’t have an eye for good things! At this level, it can take on a C-class hero. Since it’s a golem, there’s no need to worry about human rights or anything. Do you have any idea how valuable this golem is?”
“I don’t know. It looks like it wouldn’t even last a punch to me?”
“…That’s because you’re special.”
It was true that a golem at the level of a C-class hero wouldn’t be of much help against an A-class hero. And if Seong Hari were the opponent, it wouldn’t even last a single blow.
“Please show me your invitations.”
The golem urged. The sensor under his fedora turned red. It was clear that he was ready to fight if they ignored him.
Choi Jeonghwa and Seong Hari took out cards from their pockets.
Plain white cards. They were the invitations to the Baekryeong Auction and also wallets containing the money to be used at the auction.
The golem scanned the cards and nodded. The red sensor returned to its original color.
“Confirmed. I will guide you to the auction house. Please follow me.”
Seong Hari and Choi Jeonghwa followed the golem. They entered a building that looked like a warehouse, but inside the warehouse was an underground passage. At the end of this underground passage would be the underground auction house.
Choi Jeonghwa put up a sound barrier so the golem couldn’t hear and asked Seong Hari.
“You seem to have been waiting for this day. How much ammo did you bring?”
“Three.”
“…Thirty?”
“No, 3,000.”
The unit was, of course, 100 million.
Choi Jeonghwa opened her mouth slightly. She almost let out an exclamation. 300 billion was a sum of money that even she couldn’t easily spend.
“You’ve been working diligently with the Association lately… You’ve amassed quite a fortune. Why don’t you start a company with that money?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know how to run a company.”
“Your family runs several companies, doesn’t it? Investing in your family is also an option.”
“……”
“What is it? Are you still not on good terms with your main family? Then invest in our Geumhwa Group. We’re planning to start a new company this time… Hey. Are you listening?”
“I’m not interested.”
The golem opened a door. They entered the room and naturally sat on the sofa. The front and both sides of the room were made of glass walls. In front was the stage where the auction would take place, and around it were the glass rooms where they were. More than half of the guests were already seated.
The golem didn’t leave and stood still at the door.
“Why bother with this unnecessary isolation?”
Seong Hari grumbled. If they had completely blocked the walls and held the auction, there would have been no need to wear masks.
“Well, the organizers must have their reasons. If they block the walls and conduct the auction remotely, people might not trust the items, or there might be problems in the delivery process. But if they don’t isolate and show their faces, there could be fights between customers… The Baekryeong Auction House has devised its own optimal method.”
“…Isn’t there a catalog or something? Shouldn’t an auction house provide information about the items being auctioned?”
“There isn’t. It’s not a normal auction. But if you’re participating here, you probably know at least the general information about the items, right? You came here because you’re after something, aren’t you? Right?”
“……”
Seong Hari nodded. The biggest reason she participated in this auction was because she needed an item with the ability to undo curses.
The Spirit King’s Curse (SS) was eating away at her body. She still possessed the physical abilities of an A-class hero, but it wouldn’t be strange if her physical abilities dropped to the B-class level at any time.
‘I can’t just retire without doing anything. I need to be healthy to be a great help to Yujin.’
Just because Seong Yujin was at the academy didn’t mean she could relax. Just a few days ago, Seong Yujin had been attacked by an assassin disguised as a staff member.
‘In this harsh world, I have to endure as a mother.’
Even if she couldn’t completely undo the Spirit King’s Curse (SS), she needed to alleviate it even a little. There was a limit to how much she could endure with elixirs.
Ten minutes before the auction started. A strange atmosphere flowed through the hall.
“There are quite a few annoying bastards.”
Seong Hari muttered irritably. Those who were openly scanning them. Those who looked like villains at first glance. Those who were suspiciously hiding their appearances. There were more than one or two annoying people.
“Relax your expression, Seong Hari. You promised me. You wouldn’t cause a scene here.”
“…How do you know my expression when I’m wearing a mask?”
“Do you think I don’t know your temper? Don’t do anything and just focus on the auction.”
“That’s what I intend to do…”
Choi Jeonghwa tilted her head. Seong Hari had been staring at a corner since earlier. She followed Seong Hari’s gaze and looked at the corner.
There, like them, two participants were sitting on a sofa.
One was wearing a childish Power Ranger Red mask, and the other was wearing a ridiculous clown mask.
‘Room 217. ……The atmosphere is ordinary? Judging by the fact that they’re in the corner, they don’t seem to have much money either. I don’t know why Seong Hari is interested. Could they be people she knows?’
Perhaps it was because the masks were so ordinary and childish. The atmosphere in Room 217 seemed very light.
“Seong Hari. What’s wrong? Is there a problem over there?”
“…No. Something… feels familiar. It must be my imagination.”
Soon, the auction began.
•••
I was guided to Room 217.
Wearing a childish clown mask, I glanced at the golem standing at the door and sat comfortably on the sofa. Kim Cheonwoo, wearing a Power Ranger Red mask, sat on the sofa hesitantly.
“Hey, what’s with that mask? Look around. No one else is wearing a mask like yours.”
“Ah, no. You told me to just prepare something simple, so I did. And, well, I thought it would be a more lighthearted auction house… but the atmosphere is much heavier than I thought. And it seems very dangerous…”
Kim Cheonwoo straightened his back as if he were nervous.
“What are you doing.”
“…There’s a demon somewhere here, right? We can’t let our guard down because we don’t know when and where the demon will reveal its true colors.”
“At least not while the auction is going on. They’re not idiots either. So relax your body.”
“Okay…”
Kim Cheonwoo sat comfortably. But he still didn’t lose his nervousness.
As I was quietly waiting for the auction, I felt a gaze.
Room 351.
It was a room where two women were sitting.
A wolf mask wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and a butterfly mask wearing a fancy dress.
Just by looking at their figures, I could tell. They were both stunning beauties. Especially the figure of the wolf mask was very much my type. Big breasts, a slender waist, and developed hips. Yes. Just like Seong Hari.
‘……It’s Seong Hari.’
I’ve held Seong Hari’s body so many times, I would know. Even if she was wearing a mask and clothes, I could easily recognize her just by seeing the outline of her body.
‘And those white jeans on her thighs. Those are the jeans Seong Hari often wears.’
I activated the Heavenly Eye to see through the mask. It was definitely Seong Hari. The butterfly mask next to her was also a considerable beauty. I was curious about the identity of the butterfly mask.
‘Let’s remember her face for now.’
Soon, the auction began.
A tuxedo-clad, masked auctioneer began the auction in the center of the stage.
“The first item for auction is a Blue Drake egg. Blue Drakes are easy to tame monsters and become B-class monsters when they grow up. Their diet is simple. Just give them some pork or beef. The starting bid is 1 billion!”
The amount on the screen in the center of the stage began to rise rapidly.
“Yujin, that’s the auction amount, right? Everyone else is sitting still, so how do they do it?”
“There’s a card reader on the armrest of the sofa. You insert your card there and enter the auction amount. The armrest is covered with a lid, so you can’t see who’s bidding.”
“Ah…”
Kim Cheonwoo swallowed hard. He was penniless. He didn’t have 100 million, let alone 5 million. As a commoner, he seemed burdened by the bidding amount that exceeded 2 billion in less than a minute.
Starting with the Blue Drake egg, the auction continued.
‘Fortunately, it’s the same as the original. There are no changes in the auction items.’
In the original work, you could use the Baekryeong Auction by using a playable character with a lot of money, like Ryu Hana. There were several disadvantages, but the advantage of being able to start with powerful items from the beginning by using the auction lowered the difficulty of the game significantly.
In addition, there were special Easter eggs and items that would shine later among the items in this auction. There were a total of three items I was aiming for here.
“The next auction item is the Black Rosary!”
It was the first item I was aiming for. The auctioneer displayed information about the auction on the screen in the room. An appraisal report and the dull appearance of the Black Rosary were visible.
“It looks like a cursed rosary on the outside, but as you can see from the appraisal report, it is an S-rank holy power amplification item! Just by having this item, you can receive the protection of God. What is the protection of God! It is the ability to prevent fatal things from happening to the owner! The effect has already been proven, so you can rest assured! It blocks curses, powerful blows, and even potent poisons! It will be very reassuring to have this!”
The auctioneer said, spitting as he spoke. That’s how great the Black Rosary was. In the original work, it was considered one of the best support items for holy power user characters.
“The starting bid is 7 billion!”
However, the enthusiasm for the auction was low.
『Black Rosary
Rank: S
Amplifies holy power.
Receives the protection of God once a day.
Only those who use holy power can receive the effects of the Black Rosary.』
The disadvantage of the Black Rosary.
It was because only those who used holy power could use this Black Rosary. If it weren’t for this restriction, it would be worth at least 100 billion or more.
“12 billion! 12 billion has been bid! Is there no one else?!”
The numbers on the screen went up.
12.5 billion.
I chuckled and pressed the button to add 500 million with my finger.
13 billion.
The amount continued to rise. Kim Cheonwoo, who was watching from the side, gasped and grabbed my shoulder.
“Yu, Yujin. Do you have that much money? Even so, it’s over 10 billion! You have to stop here!”
“It’s okay. 13 billion is cheap. More than that, if you act so conspicuously, it’ll be obvious that you’re bidding.”
“Gasp!”
Kim Cheonwoo froze as he felt the gazes coming from all directions. Even if he tried to pretend otherwise, he was still an awkward high schooler. Well, it didn’t matter.
“Kim Cheonwoo. There will be a guy who’s glaring at us like he wants to kill us. Find him.”
“…I’ve found that person. Room 60. He’s wearing a skull mask and glaring at us like he wants to kill us. Maybe…”
“Keep an eye on them because they’re demons. It’s unlikely, but there’s a chance they might cause a scene.”
“……”
Kim Cheonwoo became serious. He was endlessly serious when it came to matters related to demons.
The bidding amount was already over 33 billion. It could be seen as a two-man race between me and the skull mask.
“Yujin. Are you really okay? What if the auction house asks for 33 billion right away?”
“That won’t happen. The reason they give the invitations as cards in the first place is to make the payment at the same time as the winning bid. In other words, you can’t bid if you don’t have money in your card.”
“…I see.”
Kim Cheonwoo said with a slightly detached face.
“But why are the demons after the Black Rosary? The demons can’t even use the effects of the Black Rosary.”
