I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 54

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

Chapter 54. Black Market Auction (2)
Xiao Ling—daughter of Spear Emperor, one of the three SS-rank Hunters bestowed the title of “Emperor” in China, and herself an S-rank Hunter wielding the Snow Flower Spear.
She was renowned as one of China’s seven most beautiful women, and her popularity had earned her considerable media presence, making it impossible for me not to recognize her.
She, too, recognized that I had identified her, offering a subtle smile in acknowledgment.
‘Hmm… why is she here?’
The reason was obvious enough—to cultivate a connection with me, and perhaps to analyze and understand me better.
The way she referred to me as the owner of Golden suggested the Branch Director had already leaked information. It hadn’t even been a few minutes since I left, yet word traveled fast.
Her clear, crystalline eyes fixed upon me. Beneath her smiling expression, I sensed an unmistakable coldness she could not conceal.
Though she earned the epithet “Snow Flower Spear” for her graceful mastery of ice-attribute spear techniques, she was known by another name far more frequently.
Frozen Blossom—a beautiful flower bearing the chill of ice itself.
She possessed beauty beyond measure, yet harbored a heart as cold as ice; a woman of ruthless calculation and sharp intellect.
That smile, that warmth—all of it was calculated performance.
I glanced at her profile displayed on the tablet screen before me. Those marked as beneficial to me showed a green background, while potential enemies displayed red, but hers…
…was split evenly between green and red.
Even the Branch Director could not predict her. Whether she would become enemy or ally. More precisely, even he could not fathom her true intentions.
Was it because she was capricious? Or because she was unpredictable?
Neither. She was a woman of ice-cold rationality and logic, befitting a frozen blossom. Depending on how one handled her, she could become either adversary or ally.
The rumors spoke of how the frozen blossom treated those who entered her domain with extraordinary kindness.
‘Before my regression, it was a famous anecdote that she personally killed an S-rank Hunter to avenge a subordinate whose family was brutally murdered in China.’
That was when her father had become an SSS-rank Hunter and earned the title Spear Heaven, and she had inherited his position to become the second Spear Emperor. Naturally, she faced no punishment whatsoever.
No force in all of China possessed the strength to punish an SS-rank Hunter, and none dared ignore Spear Heaven standing firmly behind her.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Flower as cold as snow. You may simply call me Golden Master.”
At my response, she smiled and stepped fully into the room.
“I was so curious about who would claim Room 3… but Golden Master makes perfect sense. Only someone willing to casually throw ten of such impossible items into a small black market of a minor nation would qualify.”
To call it small was misleading—this place dominated more than half of Korea’s underworld. While it hadn’t expanded overseas, its connections were substantial.
Finding a black market of this scale in China would be difficult, so her comment was clearly a probe.
“Is that so? My assessment differs. I find no place more satisfactory than here. The scale is hardly too small to handle my inventory, and above all, there’s the unique advantage of utilizing the Abyss’s territory.”
At my words, Xiao Ling simply laughed.
“Moreover, it’s difficult to find a trading partner as accommodating as this place.”
I spoke calmly and turned my gaze away from her. I harbored no intention of becoming her enemy, but this confident approach was absolutely necessary.
Once underestimated, one continues to be underestimated, and she might come to view me as beneath her.
We needed to establish an equal relationship, not one of superior and subordinate. There could be no dynamic where one led and the other followed.
At minimum, we must become mutual users of one another—much like the Association Chairman and I.
“Hmm~~our Golden Master has a cute side, doesn’t he?”
I reflexively furrowed my brow. What was that supposed to mean?
Hehehehe.
Xiao Ling began observing me with eyes brimming with curiosity, as though she intended to dissect me piece by piece.
How long did this exchange of incomprehensible glances continue between us?
“What are you trying to—”
Finally, my frustration mounting, I opened my mouth to address her.
Bang, bang, bang.
Someone pounded on the door roughly, and it swung open violently, revealing a man.
“Who are you? You? How dare someone like you get assigned this room?”
He didn’t even bother hiding his face. Usually, those who participated in Black Market auctions—especially VIPs—were few enough that they knew each other, but it was rare for someone to reveal themselves so brazenly like this.
Either way, the Black Market was a place of shadows, not light, where illegal dealings happened far more often than legitimate ones.
With so much at stake—reputation, trust, and more—it was surprising.
“Oh my? Who is this? Isn’t this our spoiled young master? What brings you here today? After being humiliated last time, I’d think you’d have the sense not to show your face. Either you’re shameless or you’ve got nerves of steel.”
At Xiao Ling’s sarcasm, the man who had been glaring at me turned to her and flinched in surprise, instinctively taking a step back.
‘Not a particularly high-ranked Awakener.’
That didn’t mean he was weaker than me, though. Even from appearances, he seemed to be at least C-rank, comparable to that bastard Lee Ji-yong.
How much money must he have squandered to be a Hunter who flinches at the slightest intimidation?
I quietly flipped through the documents and checked the page with this man’s face on it.
‘Red.’
It meant someone whose connections could harm me. Or rather, just from first impressions, he didn’t seem like he’d be of any use to me.
Just as Xiao Ling said, he seemed like nothing more than a spoiled young master who’d lived his entire life doing whatever he pleased.
“You… why are you here?”
“Oh? Am I not allowed to be here? But young master, are you speaking informally to your elder sister right now? Want another lesson like last time? What trouble are you causing now?”
The young master—no, Hallus Rockefeller of the Rockefeller Family, one of America’s largest corporate and magical families—bit his lip and retreated further.
Even as he did, he continued glaring at me.
“Damn you Asian bastards! Ptui!”
With that pathetic parting shot, he fled.
“That was annoying. Thank you for your help.”
“Hehe. Don’t mention it. I don’t like that guy much either. I’m honestly surprised he showed up at this auction after being so thoroughly humiliated last time. In a way, he’s consistent; in another way, he’s just stupid. Anyway, the fact that he came looking for you suggests he didn’t get a VVIP room assigned.”
What on earth had happened? If humiliation was being mentioned, it must have been truly embarrassing.
‘Judging by appearances, it looks like he acted recklessly without thinking and got properly disciplined…’
But the conversation couldn’t continue. An announcement came through that the auction was beginning.
“Hehe. It was nice meeting you, Golden. I have a feeling you’ll be the winner of this auction, but let’s have a good competition anyway.”
She stood up and gave her bodyguard a signal. The bodyguard immediately pulled out a business card from his pocket and handed it to me.
“It’s a business card for a small company my father set up in Korea. Since I’ll be staying in Korea for a while, feel free to contact me there if you need my help. You can also call if you need someone to talk to. Well then, I’ll be going.”
Once Xiao Ling left the room, I removed the suffocating mask and buried my tense body into the sofa.
“I’m already tired.”
I rubbed my eyes with my hands and checked the business card she’d given me.
-Taesan Group. Executive Director—Xiao Ling
A small company, she’d said, yet it was ranked in the top ten in terms of assets?
“The scale is insane.”
Taesan Group, which started as Taesan Trading, was a case of quietly but rapidly expanding its influence while displaying overwhelming capital and market power.
And all of it was possible thanks to support from China.
Well, Xiao Ling was technically a third-generation chaebol herself. Her grandfather—Spear Emperor’s father—was one of China’s most prominent billionaires.
In other words, befriending her meant having a wealthy friend who could only be an asset. Beyond money, she possessed tremendous influence and power that no one could ignore—an important connection indeed.
With that thought, I placed the business card in my pocket and turned my attention to the auction that had begun.
Two of the VVIPs sought me out. Even though they hadn’t been assigned a room, seeing that none of the other VVIPs—each wielding considerable influence—came to meet me was disappointing, in a way.
But if I’d made a connection with even one of them, that was more of a gain than I’d anticipated.
-Now then! Let us commence today’s auction!
The auctioneer appeared. She wore a rabbit mask of a different design from the rabbit-masked staff member I’d seen earlier.
The proceedings flowed smoothly. The auctioneer, speaking with practiced ease and deft command, began bringing out the auction items one by one, introducing and selling them.
-Now! This item is none other than a Demonic artifact! Oh my! We have quite the unique piece right from the start! A rare curse-type item among Demonic artifacts, no less. Uniqueness: Singular! Grade: S-! Opening bid is 100 million won! Increment: 10 million won! The auction begins!
And the item I wanted appeared from the very beginning of the auction. I participated without hesitation.
It was one of the two items I absolutely had to obtain at today’s auction. There was no question of giving up.
‘Being a curse-type item, the competition will be fiercer.’
Curses on Demonic artifacts were far more potent and vicious than those on ordinary items. Particularly, curses related to the dark magic of the Demonic race held tremendous value.
Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to involve the dark magic of the Demonic race. At best, it was merely a crude curse, but even so, it possessed value worthy of the Singular grade.
Well, I wasn’t planning to use that item as a curse anyway, so its capabilities were irrelevant.
-The price climbs rapidly! 250 million! 280 million! We’ve reached 350 million! Changing the increment to 5 million! 400 million! We have 400 million!
Everyone participated in the auction. Those bidding at this level were asset holders with at least tens of billions in wealth, so this amount of money was nothing to them.
I too didn’t mind in the slightest and continued raising the bid. I could have simply crushed them with an overwhelming sum, but experiencing this kind of competition wasn’t bad, so I simply focused and participated earnestly in the auction.
-1.75 billion won! Does anyone bid higher? Three, two, one! No further bids? Then I shall declare the sale final! Congratulations! The Singular-grade Demonic artifact goes to Bidder Number 3!
In the end, the Demonic artifact fell into my hands.

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