I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 12

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

Chapter 12
This is such a pain.
My mind was completely steeped in annoyance at this point.
But there was no getting around it.

[Auction has been temporarily suspended.]
What does this mean? My auction is blocked? I need to sell this, Hunket.
I pressed back and reopened the window.
Of course, the popup on the screen didn’t change.
In the end, it meant I had to take this Long Sword to Hunket Headquarters.
I flopped back onto the bed.
“All right, while I’m out, I might as well grab something good to eat.”
Once I framed hauling heavy things back and forth as an excuse for a good meal, my reluctance loosened its grip a little.
I grabbed the sword and the Magic Stones and stuffed them both into my eco bag.
All the Magic Stones had sold within a single night, so I needed to get them to the post office.
I wouldn’t receive the money until the package arrived at the buyer’s end and the purchase was confirmed, so the sooner the better.
When I slung the eco bag over my shoulder, nearly half the sword stuck out above it.
I tied my shoes with admirable determination.
* * *
I really didn’t know.
Well, how would I know if I’d never done it before?
“So you can’t take a real sword on the Subway.”
Kitchen knives were fine because I bought them already wrapped and could put them in a shopping bag, but a Long Sword was different.
When I heard that at the Subway turnstile, I was taken aback and shuffled my feet around in confusion.
It suddenly struck me how inconvenient it must be for Hunters who use Long Swords or saber blades, but fortunately a taxi would work.
The taxi driver made me promise solemnly never to take it out of the bag and drove me there anyway.
Perhaps because I was carrying a Long Sword, the driver kept glancing at me sideways but didn’t try to make conversation.
Arriving quietly at Hunket Headquarters, I looked up at the towering building.
While it was called headquarters, it was really more like a large-scale department store exclusive to Hunters.
The atmosphere was more familiar than I’d expected, so I stepped inside comfortably.
The moment I entered the lobby on the first floor, an information desk was the first thing I saw.
Naturally, I walked straight toward it.
“Excuse me, could I ask you something?”
“Of course, what can I help you with?”
“I’m trying to sell an item, and the Hunket app said the Auction price got too high and asked me to visit headquarters.”
The information desk employee glanced at the Long Sword inside my eco bag, then nodded.
“If you want to register your item for Auction, go to the Auction Service Support Center on the ninth floor. Just follow this corridor and you’ll see the elevator right away—take it up and you’ll see the signs.”
“Ah, thank you so much.”
“Yes, please enjoy your visit with us.”
I bowed politely, and the information desk employee sent me off with a smile.
I hurried along as the employee had directed.
True to Hunket’s nature, the area was filled with Hunters who had come to buy or sell items.
In keeping with the look of an ordinary department store, the Hunters wore normal civilian clothes without weapons.
There were some people carrying weapons here and there, but that degree was still considered normal attire.
Ding!
While I waited, glancing around, the elevator arrived.
I got in and diligently rode up to the ninth floor.
—Ninth floor.
The doors opened with the elevator’s mechanical chime.
A desk came into view beyond the opening doors.
The employee seated at the desk stood up and spoke to me.
“Welcome to Hunket Auction Services. What brings you in today?”
I took out my phone and pulled up the notification from Hunket.
“It’s this. That’s why I came.”
The employee leaned forward to look at the phone screen.
Then they sat back down, typed something into their computer for a moment, and looked up again.
“Do you have a Hunter Registration Number?”
“Oh, is there a separate registration process?”
When I asked that foolishly, the employee laughed lightly.
“It’s a voluntary system where Hunters visit the Hunter Association to register, so if you don’t have one, that’s fine. There are a lot of Hunters who don’t register, so many people don’t even know it exists.”
“Oh, is that so?”
At least I wasn’t the only one in the dark—there was some comfort in that.
I’d assumed that once you underwent an Awakening, you could move about freely, but it seemed the state was keeping close tabs on Hunters after all.
“What bothers most people, though, is having to register all their Skills and Stats honestly.”
“Ah…….”
That was more than just bothersome for me—it was agonizing.
“If you proceed without a Hunter Registration Number, the commission is eighteen percent. If you register and go through the auction, it drops to fifteen percent.”
“I’ll proceed without the registration number.”
Of course I wouldn’t be getting a Hunter Registration Number.
I’d rather pay three percent extra than have my dark history exposed.
“Then, just head to Consultation Room 3. You’ll fill out the paperwork there, and we’ll have the item appraised.”
A long corridor stretched out on either side of the information desk.
Among the rooms lining it, one with a nameplate reading “Consultation Room 3” caught my eye.
I quickly retrieved my phone, slipped it into my pocket, and gave the staff member a bow of thanks.
“Yes, thank you.”
“Yes, have a good day.”
I left the staff member’s parting words behind and hurried toward the consultation room.
My mind was filled with nothing but joy at the thought of finally setting down this heavy sword.
An office worker’s strength was pitifully weak, so I was desperate to put it down as soon as possible.
Inside the consultation room, the staff member welcomed me with a smile, as expected.
“Welcome, sir. Please, have a seat.”
“Oh, yes!”
As I sat down awkwardly and set my bag on the desk, the staff member glanced at the computer screen and spoke to me.
“I see you posted an auction on the Hunket app, but the bid went up and it got blocked, didn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Just a moment. The auction you posted is still up, right? Let me take a look.”
As the staff member clicked the mouse, the item auction page I’d posted appeared on the computer screen.
The staff member scrolled down to examine all the details, then withdrew their hand from the mouse.
“It’s an item with a special effect for dealing with Undead. For a B-rank Item of this grade with such a special effect, prices do tend to run high. If you’d sold it for twenty million won, you’d have taken a massive loss.”
I’d been planning to sell it at the average price of B-rank Items posted as individual sales on Hunket, so it was truly fortunate I hadn’t gone through with it.
I felt a surge of gratitude toward the Mage and the Melee Dealer who’d talked me out of it.
“First, the item will go through appraisal before it can be listed on the auction. The appraisal typically takes about three days. Once it’s complete, we’ll send you a message, so please fill out this paperwork.”
“Yes.”
A tablet was slid across to me.
The form had only the sections I needed to fill in left blank. After I entered my personal information and signed, the staff member took the tablet back.
“Then, do I need to come back when the appraisal is complete?”
“If you’d like, we can send you an auction agreement form by email. Once you authenticate yourself and consent, we can proceed without a visit. Would you prefer that?”
“Yes!”
The place was pretty far from home. I really didn’t feel like making another trip.
At my enthusiastic response, the staff member smiled and tapped the tablet a few times before nodding.
“Everything’s all set now. The auction hall is on the tenth floor. If you’d like to look around, you can head outside and take the escalator up.”
“Oh, is there an auction happening right now?”
“Just a moment.”
The staff member checked the computer again and nodded with a smile.
“As it happens, today’s auction starts in five minutes. If you’d like, you could watch it right now. If you want to attend, I can issue you an entrance ticket right here. We provide sellers with one complimentary ticket.”
“Oh, thank you. Then I’ll take it and have a look.”
Hearing the staff member’s words, curiosity sparked in me.
Since I’d come this far, it seemed worthwhile to stay and watch instead of just heading home.
As I stood up, the staff member clicked the mouse.
The staff member then pulled out a ticket from below and handed it to me.
“We hope you have a wonderful day, sir.”
I gave a light nod and quickly slipped out of the consultation room.

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