I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 25
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 25. Auction Results
The moment the tower’s door swung open, something snagged against my senses. It was impossibly small, pathetically weak, utterly insignificant—yet I found myself startled by the mere fact that someone else existed in this place besides me.
Was that why?
Thwack!
I never imagined that such a trivial, contemptible presence would dare attack me.
-Joo-gwae! You who-gung-ya!
Gleaming skin, a height that didn’t even reach my waist, clumsy pronunciation, and finally—a cute appearance utterly unbecoming of the name “goblin.”
Astonishingly, the creature that had attacked me was a young Golden Goblin.
“That stings.”
With trembling, frail hands and pupils quivering like an earthquake, looking terrified beyond measure, it had driven its blade into my thigh. And it had even spoken in human language while doing so.
Squelch! Splash!
Surprise and irritation flooded through me simultaneously. I yanked the sword from my thigh and seized the creature’s small, thin hand, hoisting it into the air.
-Eek! Nyoo-gweng-ya! Yogi! My jebi-ya!
Watching the creature thrash wildly, flailing its remaining hand and legs in a frenzy, I nodded to myself.
‘So this is what they look like.’
Before my regression, when the first Golden Goblin was discovered, scholars half-mad with obsession over this new species had thrown themselves into the Abyss itself, desperately seeking even the slightest information about them.
Yet all they had found was the single fact that Golden Goblins were goblins in name only—completely different lifeforms from the green monsters we knew—and fragments of research journals from those who had studied them in another dimension.
A truly mysterious race with no records, no etymology, no accurate designation. That was the Golden Goblin.
‘In this life, they will never appear again.’
They had all died. The fact that ownership of this tower had passed to me was proof of that.
Of course, it had been an accident—a trivial yet catastrophic mishap born from desperate struggle for survival.
“Well, what does it matter? It’s just a monster anyway.”
I immediately drew my flame sword and aimed it at the young creature I held captive.
-Hiiiiieeeek!!!
Watching the creature squeeze its eyes shut and tremble in terror, my resolve wavered—but I couldn’t afford to let it live.
If it grew larger and fled with treasures from the Golden Tower, what then? And the thought of a demon that might strike at the back of my head at any moment living in what was now my domain was deeply unpleasant.
-Please… spare me… Whooooaaa!!
Yet no matter how I thought about it, something felt wrong. Judging by those scorch marks, that explosion was nowhere near a level anyone could have survived. The ownership had transferred to me, just as I’d said. So why was this child still alive?
‘Or was it born from the explosion itself?’
I had no idea. As unease doubled within me, I exhaled a long sigh and finally released my grip on the creature.
The moment it escaped my hand, it scurried away and hid behind a boulder. Peeking its head out cautiously and watching me warily—the sight was utterly pathetic.
“What should I do?”
This young, weak, insignificant lifeform could never kill me. To be honest, with my current strength, I could sever the neck of an adult Golden Goblin using only one hand.
Given the mysterious abilities of the Golden Goblin race, their martial prowess was utterly pathetic. No wonder those who hunted Golden Goblins had given them the epithet of “weakest monster.”
“Kill it? Or not?”
That was the dilemma. After deliberating for a long while, I thought that remaining here any longer might invite misunderstandings, so I rose to make a decision.
In that moment.
-Gron-de? Who-gung-yang?
The creature cautiously took a step toward me and asked. The instant it showed me goodwill, everything became clear.
〚Your domain has gained its first citizen!〛
〚Entity Name: None | Species: Golden Goblin—Special Variant | Rank: Mythic | Grade: ??〛
〚Will you accept this as a Territory Inhabitant?〛
〚Y/N〛
The message that appeared before me was saying this: accept this child as a Territory Inhabitant. A being that possessed a rank reaching all the way to Mythic!
‘So Golden Goblins were Mythic-ranked lifeforms?’
No, that wasn’t it. This child was simply extraordinary and unique. After all, it was described as a special variant even among Golden Goblins.
“What effect does accepting them as a Territory Inhabitant have?”
〚Territory Inhabitants cannot refuse the commands of their Lord.〛
At that message, I hesitated no longer and accepted the creature as my Territory Inhabitant.
The moment I pressed the YES button, surprisingly nothing changed. The young one who had been wary and fearful of me simply approached with a broad smile.
I marveled at the creature’s transformation and gently stroked its head.
“From now on, you are Golden. And you are the caretaker of this place.”
After giving it that name, I placed food and various other supplies into its space before returning to reality.
***
Upon returning through the portal to where I had been, time had already passed and night had fallen.
To be honest, after rolling around in the darkness of the Pyramid for several days, I had grown to despise the dark. I slowly rose from my spot, turned on the light in the Hospital Room, and….
“Ahhhhh!!”
A familiar face appeared, dressed in a black suit and biting into a freshly washed red apple. As I cried out in shock, he rose calmly from his seat and greeted me warmly.
“It has been quite some time. I trust you have been well? It appears you have caused quite the incident.”
“What brings you here?”
Did he see? No, he didn’t. Given that he said nothing about it.
“Have you come because of the auction?”
“Indeed. I have come because of the auction.”
I calmed my startled heart and returned to sit on the bed, casting my gaze toward him as if to say, go ahead and report.
“First, the auction was prepared and conducted as scheduled. However, a problem arose in the middle.”
“A problem?”
When I first heard the plan, I thought—with all those high-ranking Hunters gathered, what madman would actually attempt a terrorist attack? And yet, they actually did?
But my suspicion was wrong.
“Of the ten items for sale, nine fell into the hands of a single family. The Rothschild House. As a result, everyone is now clamoring for the items to be put up for auction again.”
Wow, they purchased nine of those expensive items! But why did they only buy nine?
“One was purchased by the Middle Eastern Prince, who found it intriguing.”
“How interesting. So how much did we earn in total?”
In the end, money is what matters most. After all, wasn’t this auction undertaken to gain both wealth and prestige by taking on the risk?
“They sold at an average of approximately 350 billion. In total, we earned about 4 trillion.”
“…4 trillion?”
I earned exactly ten times more than I had anticipated. No, 4 trillion—isn’t that the kind of money that moves at the national level?
From what I understand, the government had invested that amount into Hunter development projects. They established a facility called an Academy with that money.
“Of course, it would be safest to keep this money stored with us at Black Money. You understand the reason without my having to explain it, yes?”
“Yes, because it could be traced. No matter how secure a bank account claims to be, there is no such thing as perfect security.”
“Correct. Among those who covet your Golden assets, there are those who regard the security of such accounts as trivial.”
The Branch Director chuckled, took another bite of his apple, and then leaned back comfortably on the sofa as if his business was concluded.
“By the way, you caused quite a major incident. I heard you completely annihilated the Tutorial.”
“Me? That’s not true.”
“Hahaha! Then what is that sun I see floating so majestically above your head? What a divine artifact. I can’t even fully perceive it with my own eyes. Shin Ju-ha, you’ve changed quite a bit. You’re now at a level that can’t be confined by the letter F anymore.”
A chill ran down my spine at the Branch Director’s gleaming eyes that seemed to perceive everything about me, but I deliberately turned my head away, feigning ignorance.
‘Regardless, can this divine artifact’s abilities be perceived?’
Since I lack the ability to perceive, I need to know what abilities it has. It was said to grow alongside my authority, so I wanted to know its exact effects.
“So it seems your report is finished. What’s your real purpose here?”
I set aside my idle thoughts, put a fresh apple in my mouth, and looked at the Branch Director as I got to the point.
He paused.
The Branch Director also withdrew the apple he was bringing to his mouth and adjusted his posture.
“Golden… you have more, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“How much do you have?”
“…Well, how much do you think I have?”
I have an infinite amount. Even if I spent it lavishly until the day I died, I’d have more than enough left over.
At my ambiguous answer, the Branch Director gave up trying to be serious and chuckled before finally getting to the main point.
“It seems we need to reopen the auction. There are far too many people who want Golden. There are even madmen threatening to destroy the Black Market if they can’t obtain Golden immediately.”
“That’s ridiculous. They’re throwing a tantrum just because they lack the funds to purchase it themselves?”
“That’s the mindset of high-ranking Hunters and high-ranking officials. They believe their very existence is power and their words are force.”
I was at a loss for words. I’ve only ever met three high-ranking Hunters.
My parents—those brave, confident, and righteous individuals who were once called heroes by the entire nation. And the Spell Caster Seo Ye-rin.
“Of course, not all of them are like that. Maybe about half? The truth is, they know how rare and precious these items are, which is why they’re causing such a fuss. They wouldn’t resort to violent protests over the absence of Golden. After all, they have their pride and reputation to maintain.”
“But there’s no reason not to sell if you have it, even if you claim you don’t.”
“Exactly right. They see it as an opportunity to make money and attract big spenders to the Black Market.”
“What do I gain from this?”
Everything sounds good. Everything sounds fine, but what do I get out of it?
“First of all, you can earn a tremendous amount of money!”
“With the money I’ve already earned, it seems like I could live comfortably for generations without working.”
“…Being a Hunter requires a lot of money! You’ll need equipment and Skill Books!”
“I have other ways to obtain those.”
The 2nd Floor of the Golden Tower is equipment and the 1st Floor is consumables. Who knows if the 3rd Floor contains Skill Books?
“Hmm… I see you’re not swayed. But I anticipated this. So we’ve prepared three benefits! First! We’ll create a special tier exclusively for you, Shin Ju-ha, and take only a 3% commission!”
“Given how much money I’m bringing in, that should be standard.”
“Second! If there’s any merchandise you desire, we’ll procure it as quickly as possible!”
“Isn’t that something you should naturally be doing?”
“Th-third! We’ll give you the opportunity to learn one skill from our Black Market’s Boss, the Spell Caster!”
“Oho~! Now that’s tempting.”
A Spell Caster’s skill is certainly a sweet bait, but…
“I don’t even know if I can learn it or not. The risk is too great. Even if I do learn it, I’m not sure I’d be able to use it.”
I’ve never even used basic magic, so how could I possibly use an Incantation Mage’s skill just by learning it?
As all proposals fell through, the Branch Director’s face grew despondent—like an employee worried about being scolded by the Boss for failing to land a major contract.
Watching him, I clicked my tongue quietly, opened my inventory, and handed over thirty pure Golden nuggets.
“Let me add just one more condition to what you’ve offered.”
“What is it! Please, just tell me.”
“I want to know one piece of information. It will likely be very dangerous and difficult to obtain.”
“Ha! You’re underestimating us. What information?”
I shook my head at the overconfident Branch Director and opened my mouth.
“Fifteen years ago, two people who became humanity’s traitors—Min Seo-ra and Shin Ki-jun. I want information about them. Why they had to become humanity’s traitors, what circumstances led them to such a fall.”
“…My, you’re asking for some truly difficult and dangerous information.”
The Branch Director closed his eyes for a moment, wondering if he’d ever heard anything about those two people.
“I see. So those two were Shin Ju-ha’s parents. But did you know? All information related to those two has been ‘erased,’ and whatever fragments barely survived have all been classified as Zero-Grade Confidential.”
“Zero-Grade?”
“It means information that cannot be seen even by God unless all parties who requested its protection consent to it.”
“Then it’s impossible?”
“…But nothing in this world is perfect. I’ll do my best to scrape together whatever information I can. However, don’t expect too much. It’s possible that finding the information might be impossible.”
“That’s sufficient.”
With those words, the Branch Director took the Golden and disappeared. And so, my day at the Hospital passed in an instant.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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