Chapter 25: Auction Results
As soon as the tower door opened, something caught my senses. It was a presence—tiny, weak, and pathetic—but I was startled by the fact that someone other than myself was here.
Maybe that’s why?
Thud!
I hadn’t anticipated that such a small, insignificant presence would attack me.
“Who are you?!”
With glittering skin, a height that didn’t even reach my waist, clumsy pronunciation, and a surprisingly cute appearance despite being called a goblin—it was a baby Golden Goblin that had attacked me.
“That hurts.”
Its trembling hands, shaking pupils, and obviously terrified appearance stabbed a sword into my thigh. It even spoke in human language.
Thunk! Splat!
Feeling both surprise and annoyance, I pulled the knife from my thigh and grabbed the tiny, thin hand, lifting the creature up.
“Stop! This is my home!”
The little one flailed its remaining hand and legs in a frantic struggle, but I just nodded as I observed it.
‘So, this is what it looks like.’
Before my regression, when the first Golden Goblin was discovered, half-mad scholars entered the Abyss, desperate to learn even a shred of information about them.
But all they managed to discover was that, despite its name, the Golden Goblin was entirely different from the green monsters we knew. They also found parts of a research journal from another dimension that studied them.
They were truly a mystery—a race with no records, origins, or precise name. That was the Golden Goblin.
‘They won’t appear again in this lifetime.’
They were all definitely dead. The fact that the ownership of this tower came to me was proof of that.
Of course, it was purely an accident. It was a trivial yet monumental mishap that happened while I was desperately struggling to survive.
“Well, it’s a monster anyway.”
I immediately drew my fire sword and aimed it at the little creature struggling in my grip.
“Eek!”
It squealed and shut its eyes tightly, trembling in fear. I almost felt a pang of guilt, but it wasn’t a situation where I could let it live.
What if it grew bigger and ran away with the treasures of the Golden Tower? Plus, it was unsettling to think about a monster living in a place that had now become my territory, possibly waiting to stab me in the back.
“Spare me… please…!”
But the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Judging by the traces, there was no way anyone could survive that explosion. As I mentioned before, the ownership had already transferred to me. So, how was this little one alive?
‘Or did it come into existence after the bomb exploded?’
I couldn’t be sure. Feeling a growing unease, I let out a deep sigh and released my grip on the little creature.
Once free from my grasp, it scurried away, hiding behind a rock, and peeked out to keep an eye on me. Its timid and wary demeanor was… well, pathetic.
“What should I do?”
That small, weak, and insignificant creature couldn’t possibly kill me. Honestly, I could decapitate an adult Golden Goblin with just one hand right now.
In terms of the mystical abilities of their kind, their combat power was lacking. No wonder the one who hunted the Golden Goblin had given it the nickname of the weakest monster.
“Should I kill it or not?”
That was the question. I pondered for a while, thinking that staying here any longer might invite misunderstandings, and I was about to make a decision.
At that moment—
“But… who are you?”
The little one cautiously approached me and asked. When it showed a friendly attitude towards me, everything became clear.
〚A new resident has been born in your territory!〛
〚Individual: None Race: Golden Goblin – Special Variant Rank: Mythical Grade: ??〛
〚Would you like to accept them as a resident?〛
〚Yes/No〛
The message floating before me suggested accepting this child as a resident. It even had the status of a mythical-grade being!
‘Wait, are Golden Goblins actually mythical-grade beings?’
Not exactly. It’s just that this child was special and unique, labeled as a special variant among the Golden Goblins.
“What benefits do I get from accepting a resident?”
〚Residents cannot defy the orders of their lord.〛
Seeing that message, I hesitated no more and accepted the child as my resident.
As soon as I pressed YES, surprisingly, nothing seemed to change. The only difference was that the little creature, who had been wary and fearful, now smiled brightly and approached me.
Impressed by the change in its demeanor, I patted its head gently.
“From now on, your name is Golden. And you’re the manager here.”
After naming it, I provided various supplies, including food, in its space and returned to reality.
***
When I returned to the same spot through the portal, time had passed, and it was already night.
To be honest, after spending days in the darkness of the pyramid, I had grown tired of the dark. I slowly got up and turned on the lights in the hospital room…
“Ahhh!”
I saw a familiar face wearing a black suit, biting into a freshly washed red apple. Startled, I screamed, and he calmly stood up and greeted me.
“It’s been a while. Have you been well? From the looks of it, you seem to have caused quite a stir.”
“Why are you… here?”
Did he see it? No, he didn’t. He wouldn’t be so calm if he had.
“Did you come because of the auction?”
“Yes, I came for the auction.”
I calmed my racing heart, sat back on the bed, and looked at him as if telling him to give his report.
“The auction was prepared and conducted as scheduled. However, there was an issue in the middle.”
“An issue?”
When I first heard about the plan, I thought that with so many high-ranking hunters gathered, who would be crazy enough to attempt a terror attack… but did someone really try?
But my guess was wrong.
“Out of the 10 items, 9 were purchased by a single family—the Rothschilds. Because of that, everyone is clamoring for the items to be put up for sale again.”
Wow, they bought as many as 9 of those expensive items! But why only 9?
“The last one was bought by a crown prince from the Middle East, saying he found it intriguing.”
“That’s interesting. So, how much did we earn in total?”
In the end, what matters most is the money. After all, wasn’t the auction initiated by taking risks to gain wealth and reputation?
“The average price per item was around 350 billion won. We earned about 4 trillion won in total.”
“…4 trillion won?”
That was precisely ten times more than I had expected. No, 4 trillion won is the kind of money that moves nations, isn’t it?
From what I heard, the government invested about that much in the hunter training project. They established a facility called the Academy with that money.
“As expected, it’s best to keep this money stored in our Black Money. You understand why, right?”
“Yes, it could be tracked. Even a secure account is not foolproof.”
“Correct. Among those who seek your gold, there are people who scoff at the security of such accounts.”
The director laughed heartily, took another bite of the apple, and then, as if finishing his work, relaxed into the sofa.
“By the way, it seems like you caused quite a big incident. They say you completely obliterated the tutorial.”
“Me? No, I didn’t.”
“Haha! Then what is that sun I see above your head? It’s floating up there quite splendidly. It’s a divine relic. Even my eyes can’t fully appraise it. Shin Juha, you’ve changed a lot. You’re no longer at a level that can be confined by the letter F.”
I felt a shiver run down my spine from the director’s keen gaze that seemed to see through everything about me, but I pretended not to notice and turned my head away.
‘Come to think of it, can he see the abilities of this divine relic?’
Without appraisal skills, there’s no way to know what powers it holds. Since it’s supposed to grow alongside my authority, I want to understand its exact effects.
“So, it looks like your report is done. What’s the real reason you’re here?”
After taking a bite of a new apple and shaking off my stray thoughts, I turned to the director and got straight to the point.
The director paused, returning the apple he was about to bite back to the table and adjusting his posture.
“There’s more gold, isn’t there?”
“Yes, there is.”
“How much?”
“Well, who knows? How much could it be?”
There’s an infinite amount. Enough to lavishly spend for the rest of my life without ever running out.
With my vague response, the director abandoned his attempt to maintain a serious demeanor, letting out a chuckle, before finally getting to the point.
“It seems we’ll have to hold another auction. There are too many people who want the gold. There’s even a lunatic threatening to destroy the Black Market unless they get their hands on it immediately.”
“That’s ridiculous. They couldn’t buy it because they didn’t have the money, so they’re taking out their anger like that?”
“That’s the mindset of high-ranking hunters and officials. They believe their existence itself is power, and their words are law.”
I was at a loss for words. I had only met three high-ranking hunters in my life.
My parents, who were once hailed as brave, honorable, and righteous heroes by the entire nation. And Seo Ye-rin, the Word Spirit Master.
“Of course, not all of them are like that. About half, maybe? The thing is, they know how rare and valuable the item is, which is why they’re making such a fuss. They’re not going to stage a physical protest just because they can’t get the gold. After all, they have their pride and reputation to maintain.”
“But if there’s more, there’s no reason to lie about not having it and refuse to sell.”
“Exactly. They see it as an opportunity to make more money and attract big players to the Black Market.”
“And what do I get out of it?”
That’s all well and good, but what do I gain from it?
“For starters, you’ll make a lot of money!”
“With what I’ve already earned, I think I could live comfortably for several generations.”
“…You need a lot of money to continue being a hunter! You’ll need equipment and skill books!”
“I have other ways to obtain those.”
The second floor of the Golden Tower is an armory, and the first floor is stocked with consumables. Who knows if the third floor holds skill books?
“Hmm… You’re not budging, I see. But I expected that. So, we’ve prepared three special benefits for you! First! We’ll create a special tier just for Shin Juha and reduce our commission to just 3%!”
“With the money I bring in, that’s only fair.”
“Second! If there’s an item you want, we’ll secure it for you as quickly as possible!”
“Isn’t that just part of your job?”
“Th-Third! We’ll offer you the chance to learn a skill from our Black Market’s very own Word Spirit Master!”
“Oh~! Now that’s tempting.”
The lure of a skill from the Word Spirit Master is sweet indeed…
“But I don’t know if I can even learn it, and it’s a big risk. Even if I do learn it, who’s to say I’ll be able to use it?”
I’ve never even tried using magic before. What makes them think I could use a Word Spirit Master’s skill?
As each offer fell through, the director’s face grew despondent, looking like an employee who just lost a huge contract and feared facing their boss.
Seeing his expression, I quietly clicked my tongue, opened my inventory, and handed him 30 bars of pure gold.
“Add one more condition to your terms.”
“What is it? Just say the word.”
“There’s some information I’d like. It’s extremely dangerous and difficult to obtain.”
“Ha! You’re underestimating us. What information is it?”
I shook my head at the director’s confidence and then spoke.
“Fifteen years ago, two individuals became humanity’s traitors. Min Seo-ra and Shin Ki-jun. I want information about them. Why did they become traitors to humanity? What trap ensnared them and led to their downfall?”
“…You’re asking for extremely difficult and dangerous information.”
The director seemed to recognize the names, pausing to contemplate the matter.
“I see. Those two were your parents, weren’t they? But did you know? Any and all information related to them has been ‘erased.’ The few surviving records are all classified under Zero-grade security.”
“Zero-grade?”
“It means that unless every single requester for the information agrees, not even a god could access it.”
“So, it’s impossible?”
“…But nothing is ever truly perfect. I’ll try to scrape together whatever I can find. But don’t expect too much. It might be impossible to obtain any information at all.”
“That will be sufficient.”
With those words, the director took the gold and disappeared. And just like that, another day at the hospital flew by.
—
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