I followed Aidan to the auction house. I was able to hear his explanation as we walked. The auction house at the black market was different from the outside auction houses. The quality of the items was different. In any case, I got one important piece of information. More users were using this place than I thought.
“In any case, it is the flower of the black market. Last year, a second-grade Star Fruit was sold for a huge $50 million. I"m sorry I can"t eat a Star Fruit because I"m not an immortal human. Haha.”
Oh my G.o.d. $50 million...
Then how much was the zero-grade Star Fruit that I ate?
“You can"t eat a Star Fruit if you"re not an immortal human?”
“That"s right. You didn"t know? Those who existed in the world from the beginning, like us, will be "Cursed by the Stars" if we eat it. This happened recently...”
He went on and on. He had been pretending to be very close to me since I said I drove out the resident of Garbage Village. I just listened to what I wanted to hear while letting the rest go in one ear and out the other.
“In short, the Star Fruit gives the Curse of the Stars or the G.o.d"s Curse. There are various theories... Ah, do you know?”
“What is it?”
“My cousin Kaidan built the Colosseum. He told me that the Star Fruit will be given to the winner of the Colosseum battle. Haha. That crazy guy. It would be a huge amount if he sold it.”
This was also new information. It was a prize given to the winner of the Colosseum battle. This was interesting. “Thank you for the good information.”
“Haha, it"s nothing. Ah, we"re here. This is the place.”
I followed his gaze and saw a medium-sized, dome-shaped building. It wasn"t as big as I had expected but it was around the size of a medium-sized supermarket. It seemed a lot of money had been invested so the gorgeous appearance was wonderful. It was huge.
Just then, someone came up to us. It was a person selling tickets at the entrance. “Welcome, Sir Aidan.”
“I came to see the auction.”
“I"ll take you to the VIP seat.”
He released the rope that prevented reckless entry and guided Aidan and I. I could feel the users" stinging gaze behind me.
“Who is that? A n.o.ble?”
“Che, I have to wait an hour to get in.”
“I should"ve been a merchant.”
After a brief grumbling, they turned their heads away again. Perhaps this wasn"t an unusual event. After a while, we were able to arrive at the VIP seats on the second floor.
“Haha. Sit back and relax. I occasionally come here with n.o.bles.”
At Aidan"s words, I sat down in a suitable chair. It was the seat where the stage was most visible. He handed me something.
“Use this. They are gla.s.ses with magnification magic. You can"t see the stage very well from here so it is better to use this.”
Magnification magic? I didn"t think I needed it. My vision was now enhanced with super sensitivity. The stage was quite far away but if I focused, I could see it like it was right in front of me.
“No, my eyes are usually very good so it looks clear.”
“Will it really be okay?”
“It"s fine.”
He offered it to me again a few more times but I kept refusing. He let out a sigh.
“It can"t be helped. Ah, you can"t take off that mask? It doesn"t matter if you take it off here.”
I momentarily flinched. Things would go out of control if I took off my mask here. Looking back, there were still Aidan"s guards. They were NPCs but they were all above level 200. Considering that they were NPCs with intelligence instead of monsters, their ability would definitely be higher.
“Cough. I have burns on my face.”
“Ah, I see. I"m sorry.”
“No, it"s fine.”
Phew. I thought it went well. He still didn"t recognize me even though I only changed my voice a bit. At this point, I was wondering if my acting was just that good or if Aidan was just that stupid.
-We"ll finally start today"s auction. All guests, please be seated.
A captivating female voice rang in the hall. It was the woman who came with Aidan when I got a jackpot. I slowly s.h.i.+fted my gaze toward the stage.
“I"m going to the bathroom for a second.”
“Ah, yes.”
Once Aidan disappeared, I immediately opened my inventory. I pulled out a skewer I had bought from the freckled girl and took a bite. The meat melted in my mouth and its seasoning was excellent.
“Yum, I was starving.”
[Your satiety is rising.]
* * *
Reina, Damian, and Reinhardt immediately sat down once the auction began. They were currently sitting at the rearmost seats reserved for sellers. They gazed at the stage with the magnification gla.s.ses given to them. However, Reina was looking at something else. It wasn"t the stage but a man.
“Huhut. I like it very much. There is a refres.h.i.+ng feeling.”
She was currently gazing at an employee NPC on stage. For reference, she liked handsome men. The younger the target, the better.
"Hahaha! Reina! Your fiery heart is really refres.h.i.+ng!” Next to her, Reinhardt laughed. It seemed this muscular idiot mistakenly thought she was looking at the stage with a fiery heart.
"Hah. He has a good body but his face is ugly."
This was why she couldn"t like Reinhardt. Looking closely at the face, it was worth looking at, just... his bald head was the problem. Reina hated baldness. It was because her father was bald.
"Uhh, I really hate it."
She hated it whenever her father came to school. Her friends kept taunting her because her father was bald. Reina"s trauma of baldness still lingered, and it was also a very intense one.
“Sigh. Hair loss treatment should be developed soon...”
“Huh? Reina! What did you say to me?”
“Nothing. Just that you"re too cool.”
“Kuhaha! Thank you! Reina! I love you!”
“Hah. I"ll think about it.”
They were having a strange conversation when Damian spoke from where he was sitting behind them, “Reina, you really won"t regret it? It isn"t too late now.”
“No, it is better to sell it. This is what I"ve decided.”
“Okay, then I won"t ask anymore.”
In fact, she was a bit confused at the beginning. She held the blazing heart and agonized over it for a few minutes. However, there were too many drawbacks.
"It would be nice to randomly get one of Minotaur"s powers but my attribute will be permanently fixed to the fire type. And..."
There was one major drawback. The one who ate the heart wouldn"t be able to eat a Star Fruit. The system message had clearly told her so, even if she didn"t know the reason.
"In any case, it is better to sell it. I want a Star Fruit ability."
-Let"s start the auction. This is the first item.
The woman who was broadcasting early stepped forward and brought an item to the center. Then exclamations burst from the crowd. As expected, the first batter of the auction was a heroic grade weapon. There was just something that had been annoying Reina from the beginning. It was the upper body of the woman who was the auctioneer and the rich dress that emphasized it.
“I think I have that.”
Reina gently placed a hand on her chest.
“...I"m annoyed.”
* * *
At this time, Supreme Fire Dragon was in the center of the auction house. He looked around and saw that many people had come. Perhaps most of them were aiming for Minotaur"s Blazing Heart. As an item dropped from a monster who was a hot topic, Minotaur"s Blazing Heart created a huge sensation. The A.S.L community was in an uproar when it was first registered on the auction house.
"s.h.i.+t. It is a bit annoying to have all the information on the item."
Originally, the auction house would release most of the information on the item before the auction began. This was so it could attract a lot of people. This made it possible for him to come here but it also meant that the number of enemies would increase. Many of these people were his enemies.
"I can never let it be taken away. I took out some of my secret funds for today"s business. I absolutely can"t give it to you."
Supreme Fire Dragon was firmly determined. The first auction was about to begin.
-The first item is Dark Moon Executioner"s Axe. This is the axe of the executioner who moved around Dark Moon, the vampire"s estate. It"s performance is...The auctioneer"s words continued.
Supreme Fire Dragon knew the woman well. She was Madam Lanya. She was a woman who quickly supported the recently registered a.s.sa.s.sin"s Guild and ran it behind the scenes. She was working as an auctioneer here in the black market. She was a pretty famous woman in the community. Her photos came up often and her fan base was very high.
"She is really beautiful. Wow, that dress is really..."
Supreme Fire Dragon wiped his flowing saliva. The people around him started to raise their number paddles.
-1 coin. 1 coin has been bid.
-2 coins have come out. Is there any more?
-Thank you for the three coins.
-Now, let"s go to 4 coins. Does anyone want to bid 4 coins?
Many people wrote down the number of coins and raised their number paddles. Indeed, the auction house here was different from the outside. The bidding went up by $100,000.
-Now it is 10 coins. Does anyone want to bid 11 coins? No more? Then it is sold.
Lanya slammed down the wooden hammer. The buyer immediately came to the stage and the seller also came forward. After shaking hands, they exchanged coins and supplies. This was said to be an old tradition of the black market and it was said to be for trust. He just didn"t know if it built trust.
-The second auction will begin. The item is...
The auction lasted quite a long time. Finally, the fifth and final item. It was time for the things he had been waiting for. Supreme Fire Dragon was really looking forward to this. He currently had a huge 150 coins in his hand. He had previously received $10 million from Aidan and there were $5 million in secret funds from his cigarette business. It was all for today.
"Huhu. There is probably no one here with more money than me."
Of course, sometimes Fortren"s n.o.bles would get involved but their only interest was money. In a place where capital was power, things like powerful weapons, armor, and miscellaneous items were useless.
"Sigh. There are still people who collect it as a hobby. I hope they aren"t here today."
At the end of the intermission, people started to gather. Supreme Fire Dragon looked at the stage with a trembling heart.
-We"ll finally start the long-awaited final auction. I think that many people have come to see this.
Madam Lanya"s shoes made noises as she walked and pulled over the item. People"s cries were heard.
“Ohh! This is the heart of Minotaur who the Zeus Guild and Dark Wolf killed!”
“Amazing. It is worthy of the name.”
“I want to win it today.”
“Huhu. I"m looking forward to it.”
In the midst of the other people"s cries, Supreme Fire Dragon checked the information window.
[Minotaur"s Blazing Heart]
[Rating: Legend
Usage Restrictions: More than 50% flame resistance
The son of the Bull Demon King, who is one of the pillars of the Demon World—this is the heart where the "Scorching Heat" power of Minotaur is condensed.
You will have to pay a corresponding price to gain this power.
-You will randomly acquire one of Minotaur"s powers.
-Your default attack is permanently fixed to the fire attribute.
-Increases fire resistance by 100%.]
"It is truly worthy of its reputation."
The auction started quickly.
-Then let"s start the bidding. The lowest price that the seller wants is 50 coins. Now, is there 51 coins?
It was truly an expensive item. 50 coins was $5 million. This was 25 million won in cash.
By the way, Ifrit"s Bracelet that was previously stolen from him cost 20 million won.
"d.a.m.n, my Ifrit"s Bracelet... I"m angry again just thinking about it."
-Now, 51 coins have come out. Is there 52 coins?
-55 coins have been bid! Let"s start with 55 coins.
-56 coins! 57 coins! 58 coins!
The number of coins kept rising but it was a miniscule number for Supreme Fire Dragon. He wrote a price on the number paddle with the pen provided. Then there was a flash.
-...1-100 coins! 100 coins have come out!
At the same time, people started to stir. Supreme Fire Dragon"s two shoulders were raised high like mountains.
"Huhu. You don"t have this much money?"
A higher bid probably wouldn"t come out. Even if it did, he had 50 more coins.
-100 coins. Is there any more?
There didn"t seem to be any n.o.bles interested in it. Supreme Fire Dragon was glad. It seemed to be his victory. Just then, one of the staff members came to the stage and whispered in Madam Lanya"s ear. She nodded a few times and spoke.
-Uh... A guest in the VIP room has made a bid. 110 coins.
“What?!”
Supreme Fire Dragon"s heart sank.