Episode 60
Chapter 21: Tesing Underground Auction (3)

“One hundred.”

A hundred gold coins.

That was Jin’s opening bid. Not too high, not too low for an ancient spellbook. Yet, the other mages participating in the auction silently thought he was crazy.

“Who’d pay a hundred for that?”

Some were genuinely curious. After all, Jin hadn’t placed a single bid all week, and now he was suddenly buying a spellbook.

“One fifty!”

A voice called out, raising the price. The tone wasn’t serious—it was mocking. The bidder grinned broadly as he looked at Jin.

He was teasing him, mocking the foolish hope that buying a mysterious spellbook would bring fortune or great achievement. Such scenes were common at magic book auctions.

Jin ignored him and calmly raised the bid.

“One seventy.”

If this were his younger self, he might have shouted out a thousand or two just to show off and crush the provocateur’s pride.

But now, he was a seasoned man who knew better than to draw unnecessary attention.

“Any more bids? Five, four, three, two, one. Sold.”

Chenmi’s spellbook was handed over to Jin.

Murakan opened the book with a calm expression, then suddenly gripped Jin’s hand tightly beneath the chair.

“Kid, this is a historic find.”

This great Black Dragon was no fool who only knew about spiritual energy. Like other dragons, he could wield countless spells, and at his prime, his magic was above nine stars.

If even Murakan was this excited, then this spellbook was undoubtedly a treasure rivaling the legacy of O. Hensark.

But Jin’s luck didn’t end there.

“Next up, item twenty-five. This belonged to a mage named Shuziel Hister. Bidding starts now!”

Hister.

When Jin first visited Mamit’s tavern, he had asked the owner about that name. Hearing it again, Jin could hardly believe his ears.

Hister was the family name of his magic master’s lineage. Officially, the family had been wiped out centuries ago.

“Two hundred.”

Jin called out the price again, and the mages murmured among themselves. They had thought Jin was someone special, but now they saw him as a fool who only picked up trash.

“Two hundred, any higher?”

The spellbook of Shuziel Hister was quickly sold to Jin.

“Why that one, kid? Another hunch?”

“Just didn’t want to buy only one and look suspicious. And I had a good feeling.”

Murakan, who had checked the book immediately, shook his head within a minute. But Jin, who examined it alongside him, struggled to calm his pounding heart.

“It’s just a strange, crude cipher system. Nothing special.”

Of course Murakan wouldn’t recognize it.

That strange, crude cipher was known to only two people in the world—Jin and his master. Since Jin had learned it from his master, this Shuziel Hister must have been an ancestor.

Seeing those familiar codes stirred a deep longing in Jin’s chest. Managing to keep his expression neutral, he patiently watched the rest of the auction. Nothing else worth buying appeared.

The night at Tesing ended. After the auction, participants either stayed for entertainment or left immediately.

Jin usually left, but tonight he needed to stay.

“Zet.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“I need to meet Alu, the Spider’s Hand.”

Zet’s face darkened immediately, though he only replied with a simple “Yes.”

“Uh… my lord, that’s difficult. Even if you’re my guest, meeting Alu is impossible. The best I can do is introduce you to Salka. If you must meet him, you’ll need to give me a few days’ notice.”

“Tell Alu that Veradin Ziphl wants to see him.”

Zet’s eyes nearly popped out.

“Ve—Veradin Ziphl?” Jin cut off Zet’s attempt to ask.

“Understood?”

Zet blinked, nodding in response.

‘Damn it! These aren’t just the Biment Special Forces… they’re actually members of Ziphl!?’

Cold sweat broke out all over him. No matter how notorious the Biment Special Forces were, they couldn’t compare to Ziphl in the Lutero Magic Federation.

If anyone else had claimed to be Veradin Ziphl, Zet would have scoffed and cursed.

But these people were extraordinary.

Those who had spent long in Lutero never even dared to think about impersonating Ziphl.

Zet’s mind raced wildly.

‘I was wrong. Dead wrong. They’re not Biment Special Forces—they’re pureblood Ziphl! This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance.’

Just five minutes ago, Zet’s top goal was to become their informant, hoping to survive and earn more than at Tesing by showing loyalty.

But compared to becoming a Ziphl lackey?

For commoners in the Lutero Magic Federation, nothing was a greater rise than becoming Ziphl’s right hand. When Jin withdrew, Zet left with a determined look.

Passing through a few executives, he entered the auction hall through a side door.

“Ah, I don’t know. It’ll work out somehow.”

Murakan shrugged, though his eyes secretly hoped for a fight. Gilly sighed deeply, pressing his forehead.

Lunkan impersonating Ziphl.

Whether or not it worked on Alu, Gilly thought there was a bigger problem.

‘If word of this ever reaches the family—especially the head of the family—our young master won’t survive.’

It would be unprecedented in the family’s thousand-year history.

Not only that, Ziphl would surely go all out to catch the imposter. Lies always come to light eventually. What would happen after capture was obvious.

At the same time, Gilly found it amazing that the youngest master could pull off such a bold stunt so casually.

Only a mismatched violin melody drifted aimlessly in the background. As time dragged on, another member of the organization came looking for the three instead of Zet.

“You are Veradin?”

Smack!

Before anyone could stop him, Jin slapped the man hard across the face. All eyes turned to them instantly.

“Are you Alu?”

He already knew the man’s face but asked anyway. The man looked embarrassed but didn’t dare resist.

If this rude kid really was Veradin Ziphl, Tesing could vanish without a trace overnight.

“No, sir. The boss sent me to bring you three here.”

Smack! Jin slapped him again. The man immediately bowed deeply.

So far, everything was going according to plan.

“Tell him to come himself. I gave my name—how dare he send a messenger?”

A fiery red orb formed in Jin’s right hand. His mask gleamed black in the glow.

It was clearly magic of five stars or higher.

Anyone can claim to be Ziphl, but a boy still showing signs of youth wielding this level of magic? That would be impossible unless he was the real deal.

“Apologies, I’ll inform the boss immediately.”

Sensing the mood, other members quickly ushered the remaining guests out. The slapped man hurried away, but Jin wasn’t done.

“Tell your arrogant boss to crawl here. He missed his first chance, so he deserves this punishment.”

Jin extinguished his magic and looked around. The guests were gone, and the remaining members looked helpless.

They all heard Jin’s words clearly. If the boss really came crawling, they’d have to follow suit immediately.

About five minutes later.

Alu, the Spider’s Hand, was crawling toward Jin.

A heavyset middle-aged man crawling on the floor was hardly a pleasant sight. Alu’s eyes were filled with mixed emotions.

A group of subordinates accompanied him, with Zet among them.

Zet looked battered, his face bruised and swollen—apparently from being dismissed as nonsense and beaten after mentioning the name Veradin Ziphl.

The other members awkwardly pressed themselves to the floor.

‘Ziphl’s name really commands fear. The aura I sense must be at least seven stars. And they didn’t even check—he’s really crawling here?’

If things went like this, the rest would be easy. Rough him up a bit, then say you want to inspect the warehouse and quietly grab the helmet.

But Alu wasn’t an easy mark. If he sensed any weakness during talks, he’d instantly become a killing machine.

Jin said nothing as Alu crawled closer, as if this commanding attitude was second nature. It had become so during his time in Lunkan, after all.

“Stand up.”

“I am Alu, who runs Tesing. I failed to recognize the one who rules this land’s skies. Please forgive me.”

Alu rose, towering over two meters tall, as if facing a wall. Yet he kept his gaze fixed far below, unable to meet Jin’s eyes.

Having dealt only with Ziphl’s underlings before, meeting a pureblood was understandably intimidating.

“Enough with the useless talk. Look at this.”

Jin threw the spellbooks of Chenmi and Shuziel at Alu.

“What do you think this is?”

Alu opened the spellbooks and immediately turned pale.

“These are spellbooks. I’m sorry—I traded these ancient spellbooks without Jiple’s permission.”

“The two spellbooks I bought here today are considered extremely precious even within our own family. I can’t even begin to imagine how many spellbooks have been lost through dealings like this.”

“Lord Veradin, I know it’s no excuse, but I’m just a warrior. I’m ignorant of the value of spellbooks and have brought shame upon Jiple. From now on, I will do everything in my power to recover the spellbooks already traded. Please give me a chance.”

“Do you think you’ll be faster at recovering them, or will our mages be? Enough nonsense. Bring me the ledgers and customer lists immediately. Starting tomorrow, the family will conduct the search themselves.”

As Jin skillfully spun his lies, Alu realized there was no way out. If Jiple himself began the search, Tesing would be dismantled that very day.

So Alu pondered this.

“Veradin Jiple… I wonder if the main family even knows he’s here.”

If they don’t—

Maybe it would be better to just eliminate him altogether.