Ex-level Player With the Greatest Civilization of All Time - Chapter 39

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 39

Not just Baek Jin-seong, but the other participants in the auction hall seemed taken aback. All eyes turned toward the bidder.
He was an elderly man with the air of a scholar—bearing an uncanny resemblance to some distinguished professor.
But interest ended there.
People dismissed him as just another eccentric; the mood cooled almost instantly.
Everyone assumed he would win the lot.
“One million one hundred thousand. If anyone else is interested, please raise your bid.”
Baek Jin-seong was calling out the figure in steady rhythm when it happened.
Someone from elsewhere in the hall raised the price.
“Two million.”
A young man in a black raincoat.
The attention he drew was far greater than when the bidding had first started.
No one had expected competition for this item at all.

– What the—?
– Two hundred billion??
– Is it some kind of historic record or something?

Baek Jin-seong, unmoved by the stirring crowd, glanced toward the corner of the stage.
There stood the person assisting with the auction’s proceedings.
He gave a nod.
They had verified the capital of all serious bidders beforehand to ensure a smooth auction, and according to that data, this man possessed liquid assets exceeding two hundred billion.
Baek Jin-seong trusted the assessment and continued.
“Two million going once. Any further bids?”
“Three million!”
Just as Baek Jin-seong was about to count down.
The price jumped again.
The one who bid higher was the elderly man who had opened the bidding.
The man in the raincoat showed no sign of hesitation whatsoever—he simply raised his hand and pushed the bid higher again.
“Five million.”
“Six million.”
“Ten million.”
“Eleven million.”
For the first time, the man did something other than simply raise his hand and call out a price.
He shot the old man a sidelong glance and let out a thin laugh.
Had ten billion been the old man’s limit?

『Bidder 121, congratulations on winning the Ancient Stone Tablet.』

The gavel fell at last.
Unexpectedly, fierce competition had erupted over the very first lot.
Perhaps for that reason, the atmosphere in the auction hall had grown noticeably more electric than before.

– So is that mysterious tablet really worth a hundred billion?
– Who is that old man—some tycoon?
– Isn’t he just a professor or something?

“Quite the wealthy fellow, isn’t he.”
“A collector, perhaps?”
“Well, at least Neia made a name for himself.”
“So what’s the next item?”
Baek Jin-seong moved quickly to the next lot, refusing to let the momentum die.
He noticed the man in the raincoat leaving the hall, but paid it no mind.

『The second lot is the World Tree Branch.』

The branch too opened at a steep price from the start.
A staggering five billion.
But the auction performance fell short of expectations.
The final hammer price settled at eight billion.
That it sold for less than the Ancient Stone Tablet was enough to make many observers pause.

— Well, that’s actually normal.
— We don’t know what kind of equipment will come out.
— Is crafting equipment just difficult?

The auction proceeded without interruption, flowing seamlessly onward.
The third lot drew far more interest from the participants than the previous items.

【Spirit’s Dew】

A vitality elixir had come up for sale.

* * *

A man emerged from the auction house and made his way down a quiet, sparsely-populated street.
One of Feronta’s most desolate alleyways—a place where a person or two could die without anyone taking notice.
When the man arrived, another figure was waiting for him.
“By the look of things, it seems you failed.”
“My apologies, Berdon.”
The man fell to his knees before Berdon.
Through the opening of Berdon’s coat, a crimson lining was visible.
Upon it was embroidered a black serpent with seven heads.
A Seven-headed Snake, no less.
Eclipse.
Within the organization, to bear the Seven-headed Snake was to hold a rank nearly at the highest echelon of command.
Somewhere around the top ten in the hierarchy.
“Enough. Raise your head. We are Eclipse. By our nature, it suits us better to take what we need by force.”
Berdon spoke to the man, who slowly lifted his head.
“…Though there is one thing that troubles me. Was there someone who understood the value?”
“I believe so. Otherwise, they would never have paid such a sum.”
Berdon called to someone who had been waiting behind him.
“Katrick.”
He too was an executive of Eclipse.
A significant rank, at that.
A Six-headed Snake executive, no less.
He spoke with deference.
“Yes, Berdon.”
“Are preparations complete?”
“Upon your command, we can retrieve it immediately.”
“Excellent. Go and bring it. If necessary, shield yourselves with the Fragment of Gluttony.”
“As you command!”
As Katrick disappeared, Berdon gazed toward the auction house and smiled.
“It’s been a while since I’ve heard screams.”

* * *

Life is an endless sequence of events.
Scarcely any of them can be predicted.
The present situation was no exception.
“Bidder number 85, congratulations!”
The Spirit’s Dew had sold for a sum of six million gold—an extraordinary amount.
For a moment, you find yourself scanning the room, wondering if this is some kind of prank.
But it’s not… it’s not a prank….
The thing is, the Spirit’s Dew had been appraised at roughly three million gold beforehand.
About thirty billion won in local currency.
Yet once the bidding began, it doubled.
The viewers—and the communities streaming live commentary—had similarly explosive reactions.

[Six million gold for a single elixir? Are you kidding?]
[They really hit the jackpot!]
[But they said they’d drink it themselves. Did they bow to money after all? ㅋㅋㅋ]
[Neia’s capitulation is inevitable, truly.]

Of course, talk didn’t center only on the elixir and the winning bid.
All manner of reactions flooded in.

[I’m genuinely jealous…]
└ Six million gold… you can’t even fathom it.
└ I’d retire on the spot with that kind of money.

[I took the Awakening Test around the same time as Neia.]
└ What’s your level?
└ A whopping 3!
└ We awakened the same day and I’m this broke!
└ Your poverty aura is quite strong in the comments section too.

[Can’t Neia just give me 100 million gold?]
└ If you’re going to ask anyway, why not ask for a billion?
└ └ At that point, rebuilding your portfolio is call it a learning experience.
└ └ You lost 100 million?
└ └ Yeah, treating it as tuition for life lessons.
└ └ But here’s what I don’t get—people who lost money never learn a thing, so why do they keep spouting this “life lesson” garbage?
└ └ So you’re saying they just lost it all? They should at least claim they learned *something*, right?

Anyway, six million gold.
Add in the amount from the previous bid, and we’re already at roughly eight million gold, aren’t we?
Now that the auction is actually underway, the results keep exceeding what we expected—consistently beating the estimates.
“Is this going to keep happening?”
The next item is the Goddess’s Tear, no less.
Five years ago it sold for two hundred billion; but since we’re anticipating bids in the trillions at minimum, the anticipation is building.
How much will it go for?
Twenty million gold?
Thirty million?
Fifty million might be pushing it, though?

– So it’s the Goddess’s Tear now?
– Info: Apart from Japan and the UK, no other nation has even put in a bid yet.
– Is it really coming? For real?

The highlight auction was beginning.

『The opening bid for the Goddess’s Tear is two million gold. Bidding begins.』

Korea’s Player Association opened with the first bid.

『Five million!』

That face looked familiar.
Byeon Gi-hyeok, the official who’d settled the contract with Baek Jin-seong and me a few days ago.
But wouldn’t he be from a different department….
Did he get promoted?

– Wow, starting strong right out of the gate?
– But does the Association have that much money? They got completely fleeced by Neia just days ago.
– Still, at least they’re showing some backbone.

Of course, the bidding war erupted instantly.

‘Six million!’
‘Seven million!’

Byeon Gi-hyeok watched the price climb without making a move.
Yet he didn’t seem to have surrendered—he appeared to be timing when to rebid.

‘Ten million!’
‘Eleven million.’

The viewers, especially those from Korea, watched Byeon Gi-hyeok with anticipation.

– Is he going big?
– But he’s been just watching for over a minute now?
– What amount will actually make him move?

The moment the price, which had been climbing sharply, hesitated, Byeon Gi-hyeok raised his paddle as if he’d been waiting for this.

‘Eighteen million!’

But in a heartbeat, he was outbid.

‘Twenty million….’

Byeon Gi-hyeok’s gaze turned toward the one who’d surpassed him.
And simultaneously toward whoever was updating the new bid.
Cold sweat trickled down his cheek.
Soon after, he lowered his paddle.
A clear gesture of surrender.

– Did he give up already?
– He acted like he had plenty, then just quits?
– Must be because of Neia’s contract—the Association burned through the budget appeasing the other players?

“Because of me?”
The Association’s massive expenditure.
I’d overturned the existing contract framework with my own deal, so they had to allocate an unplanned budget.
But I didn’t dwell on it much.
Even if they hadn’t wasted money, I didn’t think Korea would’ve had a chance in a pure spending war with those nations anyway.
“Look at that.”
Led by the United States and China, bidders backed by major national powers were throwing money around recklessly.
Korea smashing them with cash in this situation? That made no sense.
The logic simply didn’t hold.
In reality, Korea wasn’t the only nation dropping out of the bidding war.
As the price kept surging at a vicious pace, many participants grimaced and began withdrawing their bids.
One by one they fell away until finally a three-way contest formed.

‘Thirty million.’
‘Thirty-two million.’

The United States, China, and Japan.
Britain, which had been pursuing them until just moments before, conceded, leaving only three.
James glanced at Shun Lei, the Chinese Hero Association’s secretary.
The latest bid was James outbidding Japan’s thirty-two million, but he knew as well.
The real opponent in this race, in the end, would be China—would be him.

‘Thirty-five million.’

Right on cue.
China follows immediately.
Japan is out from the previous bid.
The moment it became a one-on-one race between James and Shun Lei, James raised his stakes.

『50 million』

A move to gauge his reaction.
The classic gambit: “Just how much do you already know?”
Silence fell across the auditorium.
Both the stragglers in their seats and the viewers at home held their breath, waiting for Shun Lei’s response.
It was clear that James’s psychological play wasn’t without effect.

『60 million.』

The bid came just as Baek Jin-seong, who was conducting the auction, began his count.
Hearing it, Baek Jin-seong called out.
“60 million gold!”
And immediately after, James opened his mouth again.
He was sticking with it, just as expected.

『70 million.』

Ten million gold equaled a trillion won.
Yet the bids kept leaping upward in trillion-won increments.
This was a battle between the real players.
Regardless of my curiosity about who would win, my breath had caught in my throat.

– Wait, 70 trillion?
– So the Goddess’s Tear was worth this much…
– I heard the supply was limited, but still.

The viewers gasped at the astronomical price.
It was an item that hadn’t appeared officially since five years ago.
This price, being determined in front of everyone,
was essentially the new official price for a Goddess’s Tear, which only heightened public interest.
Of course, I was sitting there with my heart pounding, overwhelmed by those sheer “trillion-won” figures.
Could the final bid possibly reach 100 trillion?

『100 million…』

The price spoken through James’s lips.
And that became the final hammer price and the new price tag for a Goddess’s Tear.
Shun Lei’s face, clicking his tongue with a sharp “tsk,” was captured clearly on screen along with the sound.
This would likely be the headline of tomorrow’s news.

* * *

“100 trillion….”
Honestly, I was left stunned.
After opening my trait
and beginning to climb the tower in earnest,
my sense of money had been steadily destroyed.
But I wasn’t sure I could even adapt to this.
From the moment I first obtained Kynol’s Lightning Flute from a box,
forgotten sacred relics
and the Goddess’s Tear—
every time my financial sense grew numb, the unit would shift again….
“I never thought I’d make it this far.”
And once more, I was simply rationalizing it to myself.
After all, I’m running a city.
‘At least it has to be this good,’
“This is enough to completely overturn the existing plan.”
Previously, the revenue from this auction had been estimated conservatively.
But now that a lineup close to best had emerged.
Surely the plan would need to change as well?
Whether Longhale Turtles or Storm Hammers — I’d need to produce them in bulk.

“Those who have won bids, please come up to the stage to collect your items—”

At Baek Jin-seong’s words, those who had graced today’s gathering began ascending the stage one by one.
It was almost as though they gleamed with golden light.
The protagonists placing such substantial sums in my hands.
Item collection proceeded in reverse order of the auction.
Thus, James was the first to receive his item.
He took possession of the Goddess’s Tear.
“Next would be us, then.”
The Spirit’s Dew had gone to the Japanese delegation.
Had they perhaps been more interested in this from the start than in the Goddess’s Tear?
Followed by the British delegation, who took the World Tree Branch.
And then came the moment to hand over the Ancient Stone Tablet.
Crash. Bang—
Someone wrenched the conference room door open violently and burst in.
The very next moment.
Boom—
An explosion of such force erupted centered on Baek Jin-seong that it made the ears of everyone watching the broadcast ring.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————