“Starting bid: 100,000 gold coins.”
The moment the woman stammered out those words, dozens of eyes snapped toward the stage. On a white cloth-draped manual cart lay a gleaming golden axe. Yet, the bidders weren’t looking at the item—they were staring at the woman, all with expressions of disbelief.
“…Starting at 100,000 gold coins.”
Sensing the gazes, the woman quickly composed herself and repeated the announcement with a serious tone, all traces of playfulness gone. Only then did the room begin to stir.
Sure, any mid-tier clan could afford 100,000 gold coins, but strictly speaking, it wasn’t a small sum. Even if they wanted to buy it, most would try to keep their bids low to avoid drawing attention. No sane person would start with such a high bid.
That said, if a major clan got involved, the whole situation would change completely—especially if it was the leading clan of a city.
‘Right. They wouldn’t focus on just one item. Time to test the waters.’
With that thought, a man quietly brought a communication crystal to his mouth. Since he was tucked away in a corner on the first floor, no one could hear his voice.
“150,000 gold coins! 150,000 gold coins on the board!”
Moments later, the woman’s surprised shout echoed.
A small exclamation escaped from the man’s crystal. He quickly focused on the video feed inside. Kim Suhyun, who had been lying down calmly, slowly sat up and crossed his arms.
“250,000.”
Just as Kim Suhyun spoke, the man immediately countered.
“200,000! No, 250,000 gold coins!”
The woman’s voice rose with excitement. Kim Suhyun was starting to react as well.
Huh, what’s going on?
Maybe going over 300,000 is too much…
Suddenly, the man’s attention sharpened. Most participants were focused on the woman shouting the new bids, but not everyone.
Exactly five people—no, six including the man—were quietly scanning the surroundings. The man and the other five all noticed this.
“Yes, 260,000…! No, 295,000! 295,000 gold coins!”
The price climbed again. But this time, the bidder wasn’t the man in the corner. It was likely one of the five others who had been looking around earlier. Given the bid was just 5,000 less than 300,000, it was almost certain.
“Is that all? Shall we end it here?”
The woman was still dazed, her face flushed as she spun her head around nervously before finally announcing the winning bid in a trembling voice. At the same time, the man smiled quietly.
He had heard, almost by chance, that the Mercenary Clan had made a secret deal with the seller to secure the auctioned item in advance.
Two things could be inferred from this.
First, since there was a secret deal, it was highly likely that the Shin Koran Alliance had agreed to the Mercenary Clan’s request.
Second, what kind of clan was the Mercenary Clan? Over the past few years, they had swept up every ruin and relic they could find. If they were so eager to get their hands on this item, it was definitely no ordinary piece.
With that in mind, the leadership of a certain clan had sent the man to participate in the blind auction. The other five were probably in similar situations.
For now, the Mercenary Clan held the advantage. After all, auctions favored the wealthiest bidder, and information was scarce. No one knew exactly what item the Mercenary Clan was after.
Moreover, their available funds were a serious disadvantage. The Mercenary Clan was known for its abundant resources, which had only grown since becoming the leading clan. Everyone knew going head-to-head with them was a losing battle.
So, an unspoken alliance was formed. Of course, this was just speculation, but it was almost certain.
Take the golden axe, for example. Anyone would be willing to pay a fair price if the equipment’s performance was guaranteed. The real question was: “How good is this axe?” and “What’s a reasonable price?”
But the fact that Kim Suhyun, a member of the Shin Koran Alliance under the Mercenary Clan, was bidding was enough to justify the investment. Especially for the smaller factions with limited funds, it made sense to secure a sure thing rather than risk everything.
Other factions could also benefit by saving their money until the Mercenary Clan’s true target appeared. One-on-one, they stood no chance, but six against one was a different story. That was the reasoning behind their cooperation.
The man’s eyes sharpened at the muttered words. Kim Suhyun’s expression on the crystal showed him licking his lips in frustration.
‘Saving money, huh…’
Watching Kim Suhyun’s every reaction, the man was snapped back to reality by the sound of the manual cart being pulled out.
“Now, we’ll begin the fifth auction!”
The woman, visibly excited, whipped the cloth away with force. This time, the item was a pair of earrings that shimmered with dazzling, multicolored light.
Then—
Kim Suhyun suddenly pulled out a sheet of notes from his pocket. After nodding a couple of times, he spoke.
“Starting bid! 150,000 gold coins!”
Only seconds after the item was revealed, Kim Suhyun placed a bid again. It was impossible to bid so quickly without careful observation—unless you had some other advantage. One exception came to mind.
‘Good…’
As his suspicion solidified, the man smiled inwardly.
Moments later—
“200,000! 250,000!”
“Ah! 300,000 gold coins!”
“Not backing down! 400,000 gold coins!”
“W-what? 420,000?!”
After several rounds of bidding, the earrings sold for 420,000 gold coins. The winner wasn’t Kim Suhyun but someone else on the first floor—likely one of the allied factions.
Kim Suhyun’s demeanor had completely changed. No longer lying down, he was now sitting upright, watching the stage intently. His expression was calm but clearly marked by disbelief.
The man kept checking the crystal every second, watching the stage. The sixth manual cart had already been brought out. Without hesitation, the cloth was pulled back.
This time, the item was another piece of jewelry: an elegant necklace with a thin, jet-black chain and a black diamond pendant.
“…Uh, it suddenly got quiet, huh?”
But even after a full minute, no bids came. The woman smiled awkwardly.
At that moment, Kim Suhyun interrupted with a corrected bid. His previously confident attitude had turned cautious. His eyes narrowed to thin slits, as if deep in thought.
‘So he noticed after all.’
The man smiled and slowly shook his head a few times—a signal not to bid this time.
After all, if Kim Suhyun had kept the same attitude after two failed auctions, it would have seemed suspicious. He might have thought it was a trap. A user of the Mercenary Lord’s caliber would have sensed something was off.
‘Sorry, but I’m watching your reactions closely. You’re probably pretty confused.’
With that in mind, the man calmly waited for the auction to end. No more bids came, and the necklace went to Kim Suhyun for 60,000 gold coins.
But Kim Suhyun didn’t look pleased. Normally, winning an item would bring joy, but he kept tilting his head, clearly frustrated that things weren’t going as planned.
Meanwhile, a new manual cart was quietly set up. The seventh item was a small, round, purple orb. Wrapped in luxurious cloth, it radiated a strange aura. Not just one orb, but four.
A tense silence fell over the room. Orbs were often linked to elixirs or potions. If all four were related to stat-boosting elixirs, it was no wonder the Mercenary Clan wanted them. Any user or clan would go crazy for such items.
Kim Suhyun remained silent, gripping his communication crystal tightly as he stared at the stage with a calm expression. His sharp eyes didn’t stay fixed in one place but subtly scanned the first-floor audience.
‘Is he looking for us?’
“Starting bid: 10,000 gold coins!”
Someone, perhaps thinking the same, tentatively placed a bid—a probing move to gauge reactions.
Since the auction’s progress couldn’t be judged by a single response, the man focused intently on the crystal. Kim Suhyun kept his mouth tightly shut but repeatedly clenched and unclenched his left hand. The man didn’t miss this.
“20,000 gold coins!”
“30,000 gold coins!”
“40,000 gold coins!”
“50,000 gold coins!”
The price rose quickly, but this was just another test. With Kim Suhyun staying quiet, the allied factions had no choice but to proceed cautiously.
At that very moment, Kim Soo-hyun finally placed a bid.
“Fifty-five thousand.”
The man quickly adjusted his bid indicator.
“Sixty thousand.”
“Sixty-five thousand.”
“Seventy thousand.”
It was strange. The price was climbing faster than for any other item, yet it was only at seventy-five thousand gold coins.
“Sixty thousand, sixty-five thousand, seventy thousand, seventy-five thousand! Yo! I’m the wanderer on this stage, speaking in gold coins…!”
As the woman closed her eyes tightly and rapped passionately, the man quietly took a breath.
‘They seem to be holding back on reactions, probably planning for a long game…’
‘Heh. I have no intention of playing along with that plan.’
And with his bid, he finally exhaled the breath he’d been holding.
“Five hundred thousand!”
“…What? Fi-five hundred thousand?”
At the same time—
“What did you say?!”
A fierce reaction erupted from the orb. Kim Soo-hyun sprang up from the bed-sofa, staring at the stage with wide eyes and a stunned expression.
‘So this is it.’
The man clenched his fist tightly but stayed alert.
“One hundred—no! Six hundred thousand!”
Because, in fact, the real battle was just beginning.
“Seven hundred thousand.”
“Si-sixty thousand…! Ah, no, seventy thousand gold coins!”
A grinding sound came from the orb.
“Damn it, what’s going on? That’s definitely…!”
The video replay showed Kim Soo-hyun nervously biting his lip, but the man felt his throat dry up as well. They’d succeeded in identifying the target item, but the fight wasn’t over. From here on, it was a pure battle of money.
“One million! Kyaaaah!”
The woman suddenly screamed. The fact that the bid had surpassed one million threw the audience into chaos. Even more surprising, the price kept climbing. Other factions had noticed and joined the competition.
“Again! One million one hundred thousand! One million one hundred thousand!”
“Is that all? No more? Really?”
“That’s right! One million two hundred thousand!”
“Nooo! One million five hundred thooousand! One million five hundred thousand!”
Finally, after the man’s bid of one million five hundred thousand, the skyrocketing prices paused briefly.
But then—
Just as things seemed to calm down, Kim Soo-hyun quietly spoke, as if making a decision.
“Three million.”
At that moment, the man flinched.
“…What? Wh-what?”
“No, four million.”
The instant he heard that, his vision went white.
What would it feel like to be hit hard on the back of the head with a hammer? Or to have a nearly caught prey suddenly vanish right before your eyes?
Four million gold coins.
The price had doubled in an instant. Meanwhile, the man had only brought two million gold coins for the auction.
“…”
The thought that it was over flashed through his mind. He stared at the orb helplessly.
Kim Soo-hyun, standing calmly, didn’t look particularly pleased either. But his eyes shone with unwavering determination, as if certain of victory. As if to say, this was one thing he would never let go.
‘That elixir alone… is worth a million gold coins? Really?’
He had expected Soo-hyun to have a lot of funds, but this was beyond belief.
Then—
Sensing a gaze from somewhere, the man glanced up. Among the users he had locked eyes with earlier, three or four were watching him. Judging by the fact that the price wasn’t rising anymore, it seemed their funds had run dry.
“…?”
At that moment, a subtle signal caught his eye.
Three users were discreetly signaling to him. First, they folded their thumbs, showing four fingers. Then they pointed slightly at the stage, and finally, each pointed at one another.
The meaning was clear: there were four items on the stage, and the faction signaling was made up of four members.
“Ah…!”
It didn’t take long for the man to understand.
“Four million! The current bid is four million! Anyone else? No more bids?”
His mind raced. Before the three to four million bids, Soo-hyun’s final stated amount was sixty thousand gold coins. And the bids that followed were…
‘Excluding my one million five hundred thousand, the previous bids were one million, one million one hundred thousand, and one million two hundred thousand, right? Adding my two million…’
“If there are no more bids, the seventh item will be sold for four million gold coins…!”
There was no time to hesitate or think further.
As soon as he finished calculating, the man glanced at the orb one last time.
And when he saw Kim Soo-hyun place a hand on his chest and sigh in relief,
“Five million three hundred thousand gold coins!”
He shouted out loud, without a moment’s hesitation.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Racheltie / To the author: I have a question. In the previous chapter, why was the newly graduated user hanging there, about to have their organs harvested?
EndOfChaos / It seems the newly graduated user was captured to be used as experimental material by wizards and alchemists…
EndOfChaos explained it well.
To add a bit more: that woman was originally supposed to enter the Mercenary Academy. But after graduation, she demanded to be taken along with her fellow graduates who hadn’t received offers from Ko Yeon-ju, threatening not to go otherwise. As a result, she was abandoned. (This was mentioned earlier.)
After that, she was deceived by some faction and captured. Fresh graduates make prime prey.
As a side note, here’s an example. There was a user named Kang Tae-wook, the ‘Cursed Sorcerer.’ Kim Soo-hyun recalled him like this:
‘…I glanced at Kang Tae-wook.
We had some acquaintance in the past.
Not close, but we once worked together as “vagrant hunters.”
Back then, he was notorious for his cruelty—conducting live experiments and crossbreeding on captured vagrants.’