A S-Class Hunter With Great Agility - Chapter 104
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 104: Illegal Auction House (4)
It was a bewildering scene.
Clank, clang.
Bang!
In front of the box seat where I stood, an iron cage containing a monster was also suspended in the air and lowered down.
‘What the hell is all this…’
I glanced down at the audience seats below. Even in this situation, the voices of the audience who seemed unfazed pierced my ears.
“Oh, looks like they brought in more than last time? There are quite a few cages.”
“What matters is the quality. Who knows if they just increased quantity without caring about quality?”
“Come on, you people. Have you only done business once or twice? You know this place is the most trustworthy, don’t you?”
Monotone conversation, as if they were discussing everyday matters. I also spotted several people I had seen at the earlier auction house. Back then, they seemed to just sit quietly without making any bids.
‘So this was their real purpose…’
“That’s why everyone’s desperate to get tickets. I almost couldn’t come this time, but I was lucky.”
“If you get a good one, what are you planning to use it for?”
“Well. Maybe I’ll release it in the front yard of that Hunter bastard who ignored me last time.”
Saying that, the audience burst into laughter among themselves.
“They look like nothing special when they’re caged up. But the guys who catch these things make so much money.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Tsk, the world’s turned upside down these days.”
“Acting like they do such amazing things… In the end, they’re just beasts that can be bought and sold with money!”
By now, anyone who wasn’t an idiot would understand. I quietly covered my mouth.
…This is the beginning of another ‘auction.’
“Are you… thinking of bidding?”
I barely managed to squeeze out my voice to ask. If Hong I-jo’s ‘business’ was something like this, then what the hell…
“….”
However, he didn’t answer. I couldn’t determine his intentions from silence alone.
I eventually composed my expression and slumped down into my seat.
‘…A monster auction. Damn it.’
I had absolutely no intention of getting involved in something like this. Faced with this absurd scene, even the earlier windfall of 8 billion was forgotten from my mind.
Ah, I shouldn’t have followed along. I should have clung to Sister Yu-kyung or Jung Su-hyuk and escaped home!
‘Anyone can see this is shady as hell…!’
I glanced at Hong I-jo. His silent expression was difficult to read.
‘I’ve never even heard of something like this.’
I clenched my fists, lamenting that I had unknowingly stepped into the shadows of the Hunter World.
However, even in the chaotic situation, the auction began. The auctioneer’s shouts, like a theater actor, could be heard from the stage.
“The first item!”
Item?
Calling something that bared its teeth and acted like it would kill everyone an item. It was an excessively tame designation.
“Do you know the gatekeeper of Hell?”
Clang.
Red stage lighting turned on above one of the suspended iron cages.
Grrrowl…
What was inside that iron cage was a dog with three heads. Pointed ears and drool flowing between its sharp teeth. Cerberus, said to be the gatekeeper of the underworld.
It was outside the dungeon.
‘Its rank is… B-grade, I think.’
I inhaled with a miserable feeling.
‘What the hell could this possibly be useful for…’
Growl, bark! Bark!
Cerberus howled savagely.
The auctioneer, as if he had heard my question, casually rested his arm on the iron cage.
“You can see, right? It’s a very fierce one. Perfect for placing in front of a vault where precious items are sleeping, or for training private soldiers!”
“….”
“Besides that, if you use this for handling personal grudges, it’s very clean… Hey, you all know what I mean!”
…Right.
Uses can be created if you make them.
‘Normal people can’t come up with such ideas, so they find it questionable.’
That type always exceeded imagination.
“So the starting price is 400 million! Let’s see who will be the one to obtain this loyal pet dog?”
I let out a hollow laugh.
‘A pet dog.’
Do they really think that thing could become a pet dog? Unless they’re complete idiots…
“500 million.”
“Here, 600 million!”
All the idiots have gathered here…
I could hear the voices of people responding to the bidding from the audience seats below.
“Damn it, 900 million!”
“No more. 1.05 billion.”
The masked people continuously raised their paddles. The auctioneer confirmed the bids with an excited face.
“Yes, we have 1.05 billion! Are there no more bids?”
When no more paddles were raised. The auctioneer hmm’d, nodded dramatically, and pulled out a gavel from inside his flashy suit.
“Good. Very good. 1.05 billion… Sold!”
The auctioneer struck the iron bars containing Cerberus with his gavel.
Clang!
A sharp sound. At the same time, the monster barked at the auctioneer.
“Oh my. Quite a wild friend. But don’t worry! We provide this specially made iron cage along with various restraint devices that can calm this fellow as a service.”
‘Restraint devices? As if that would work.’
It was nonsense. If modern technology could handle monsters in the first place, why would the profession of Hunter exist?
Once a monster comes out of a dungeon, it’s no longer safe. No matter what you use to control it, it will always be a threat.
‘Even Lee Cheong-ryu failed at this.’
I recalled the Azure Dragon’s Underground Training Ground. I can’t believe there are others with similar ideas.
“Ho, then there shouldn’t be any problem, right?”
“Tsk, what could those beast cubs do anyway.”
However, the participants who had been hesitant seemed reassured by those words and applauded.
“Good, excellent! Thank you for your enthusiasm.”
The auctioneer bowed like an actor receiving a curtain call, then introduced the second item.
“Now, shall we move on to the next corner?”
I bit my lips hard. The iron cage that had been hanging in front of me began to slowly descend.
Grrrr…
The young monster, tense with anxiety, kept looking around in all directions. It was a pup with three heads, but its ears were still folded.
“…”
Hong I-jo’s eyebrows twitched.
“Amazing, isn’t it? This is a very young one that was just born! Originally, to put a collar on them, you have to make them recognize their owner the moment they open their eyes.”
The small Cerberus scratched at its neck. It twisted its body trying to get out of the iron cage, but it was futile.
The auctioneer pretended to soothe the puppy, then called out the starting price again.
“Then starting at 500 million! Please show us your sincerity!”
Paddles went up competitively. The parade of numbers visible from above was getting quite tiresome now.
“600 million!”
“800 million.”
“900 million here.”
Their loud shouting could be heard all the way up here.
“I’m glad we came. If you train it properly, there’s no weapon like that.”
“Aren’t they the most useful ones these days? Hunters just won’t listen at all.”
“When we try to change even one law, they make such a fuss. Those things that aren’t even human just run their mouths.”
I furrowed my brow. Then I activated Spiritual Sight toward them.
‘As expected…’
They’re ordinary people who have never even set foot in a dungeon and know nothing. Looking around, all the audience members were the same.
Do they even know the danger of B-grade monsters? Ordinary people would be sliced up like dead mosquitoes the moment they stand before one.
But…
‘…Prison Calamity Star ?’
The Four Pillars section caught my eye. No way. I turned my gaze toward Hong I-jo.
The man who had been watching the auction all along raises one hand.
“…Hey.”
“Yes, you there, sir?”
The auctioneer smiled broadly and pointed at Hong I-jo. Then Hong I-jo opened his mouth in a bored tone.
“Something else.”
“….”
“Don’t you have any?”
A moment of silence fell.
And soon after.
“Ahh…!”
The auctioneer smiled brightly.
“What a greedy customer you are! But that’s excellent. We’ve been waiting for customers like you every day!”
The corners of his mouth visible beneath the mask curved into a deep arc.
“Then how about this!”
The auctioneer clapped his palms together once more.
Clank.
Rummmmmble.
“…! Oh ho, that is…!”
“You were hiding something like that?”
“That gentleman is quite the distinguished guest. A distinguished guest indeed!”
A red iron cage rose from the center of the stage.
“Ah, you have no idea how much trouble we went through to catch this one.”
The auctioneer pointed at the monster inside the iron cage and pretended to wipe away tears.
What was inside was….
“Let me introduce you. This is an A-grade monster! And among them, it’s a boss mob specimen.”
It was a fighting dog with four heads.
【Grrrowl…. Grr, woof!】
Cerberus opened its mouth toward the iron cage. Crack, crunch. It bit down fiercely as if it would tear apart the iron bars.
“Now then, everyone. We’ll start at 1.5 billion! Please participate actively!”
The auctioneer spread both arms to welcome bids from the audience.
“1.6 billion!”
“1.7 billion.”
“Here, going for 1.9 billion!”
In response, people quickly raised their paddles.
“2 billion.”
“2.1 billion!”
“Damn it, 2.5 billion!”
A bizarre and alien scene. This spectacle that was surely illegal, dominated by twisted moral concepts and all kinds of complacency.
Hong I-jo was quietly observing it all.
“….”
Only then did I smile.
“…Haha.”
Click, and. It felt like something was being released inside. My uncomfortable feelings finally became at ease.
I stood up from my seat and approached Hong I-jo, who was leaning against the wall.
“Are you thinking of bidding?”
The question was thrown once again. But now I knew. I knew what answer would follow this question.
The man from Red Wings.
No, the man with a very ordinary appearance shook his head.
“….”
Slowly and quietly.
“Then….”
I laughed as if joking.
“If you’re not even going to buy anything, why are you here.”
“….”
“It’s not polite to the other people.”
“…Is that so?”
At Hong I-jo’s serious question, I answered briefly in affirmation.
“Of course.”
The man finally stood up from his seat.
He brought his hand up to his face, and after a moment… removed his mask.
Slide.
A scar running across his face appeared.
Flutter.
Next, red feathers revealed their distinct presence.
“Yes, 2.5 billion is good! You have won the bid…”
Hong I-jo, having revealed his true form, looked down at the stage. It was natural that his eyes met with the auctioneer’s.
“…!”
The auctioneer hesitated and stepped backward. People continued to raise their paddles again and again.
However, the auctioneer couldn’t confirm any of it.
Clank—
Hong I-jo extended his hand. From his palm, pitch-black chains were generated.
The black chains advanced toward the stage. And those chains.
Clang!
Struck down the arm of the auctioneer holding the gavel.
“Aaah!”
The auctioneer immediately rolled across the stage in pain as if his arm would be severed.
“Wh-what?!”
“What just happened? What on earth…!”
“Who…? N-no way.”
Flutter.
Hong I-jo moved his wings a couple of times. Then he flew up to the ceiling of the opera theater.
“Gasp, Ho-Hong I-jo…”
“An S-rank Hunter? That person?”
“Don’t talk nonsense! How could that guy come here!”
Among the panic-stricken people, the auctioneer shouted in shock.
“Wh-what are you! Why, why are you here…!”
Right. I had been curious about that too.
Why would the leader of Red Dog, who mainly hunts down criminals, be at an illegal auction house?
‘There’s only one answer, isn’t there?’
Illegal auction house suppression.
In other words, catching criminals.
“Damn it…! What are the security guards doing?”
“Th-that’s right. Security! Call them right now!”
“I just radioed them! They’re entering now!”
Simultaneously with the audience’s shouts, the theater doors burst open.
From there, a large number of masked Awakened rushed in. They were the staff members who had been checking tickets earlier.
‘As expected. They were security guards after all.’
Since they were doing this kind of business inside, they would need security.
I brought my hand to my face. And removed my mask.
“Really now…”
The grayish-brown curly hair turned jet black. The drooping eyes returned to their proper place. Emotionless black pupils were revealed beneath the mask.
“If this is the kind of ‘business’ we’re doing, please at least tell your companion beforehand.”
I cast Divine Descent Ritual and leaped out of the box seat.
The show was just beginning.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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