The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 265

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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 265
Chapter 265
The auction participants had bid so generously on my items that I found myself with far more liquid funds than I’d anticipated.
Thanks to that, I was able to acquire the Black Eye without any complications.
– Master, thank you.
“Don’t mention it. It’s only natural. Just wait a bit longer. The Black Eye won’t be transferred until the auction is completely finished.”
– Considering the years I’ve lived without a body, even this wait feels like merely a fleeting moment to me.
With this, I’ve achieved my objective.
However, the auction was far from over.
‘Truth be told, I don’t really have anything worthwhile to do with this money.’
It was certainly a substantial sum.
But in reality, I already owned a house and had completed all the interior work.
I could buy expensive cars and dine at fancy restaurants if I wanted, but honestly, none of it appealed to me.
I was too busy playing games at home—any expensive car would just gather dust in the garage.
Fancy dining meant traveling far away, and it was far more efficient to just order delivery and get back to gaming in that time.
So, for the most part.
‘Might as well spend it.’
I decided to purchase some decent items from the auction.
Since the truly worthwhile pieces typically came later, there was no harm in focusing from this point onward.
First, I would bid on materials that nobles and wealthy merchants didn’t particularly favor—whenever the opportunity arose.
“Marquis Mir, sold!”
“Marquis Mir again….”
“What’s going on?”
“How does a mere Marquis have so much money?”
“And he’s an adventurer by origin, no less.”
“Is he just bidding recklessly without any funds?”
“If that were the case, the Auction House wouldn’t just stand by.”
“Where on earth did all this money come from….”
I began acquiring every item I deemed useful.
Since there was no need to overpay, I would quietly withdraw whenever bidding competition arose.
I enjoyed the auction more than anyone else.
And then.
“Now, the Starfall Crystal—Astra Flora—which was originally meant to be the highlight of this Grand Auction!”
“Ooh, a crystal indeed.”
“It’s as beautiful as I’d heard.”
“The epithet ‘Starfall Crystal’ wasn’t given for nothing.”
A remarkable item had appeared.
The nobles seemed captivated by the crystal’s appearance, but I was not.
‘That looks like an elixir ingredient.’
It was an item I’d never seen in First.
However, even if this is an item I’ve never seen before and I cannot check its Item Information, my discernment remains sharp.
Having handled hundreds and thousands of materials, I can infer the utility of even unfamiliar resources.
In that sense, this star-descending crystal is no mere gemstone—it is a spirit essence.
Moreover.
‘A legendary-grade spirit essence material.’
It appears to be a legendary-grade spirit essence material.
And among legendary grades, the finest tier.
There was no way I could abstain from participating.
“One hundred million Gold.”
“Ah, starting at one hundred million Gold! As expected of the star-descending crystal! Truly, how much will this magnificent treasure be auctioned for! I am utterly thrilled!”
At that, I placed my own bid.
Since I had sufficient funds, I harbored no doubt that I would secure it.
* * *
The great city of Labelt.
The capital of the Baltika Empire, the mightiest empire on the Continent.
As such, countless people had flocked here.
And among them….
“The Marquis Damas’s commission—is it complete?”
“It has been handled cleanly.”
“You left no traces?”
“It has been disguised as an accident. The work was thorough, so there is no risk of discovery.”
“Well done.”
Criminal organizations operating in the shadows were equally abundant.
A prime example would be Moon’s Scream, an assassination syndicate that accepted contracts to kill on behalf of others.
No Shadow, a band of thieves gathered around a master thief.
The Doll Warehouse, a human trafficking ring that abducted children and the elderly for distribution.
These were merely representative examples; counting the smaller factions would be endless.
Yet.
“Damn it, patrols again?”
“Curse those imperial bastards. Why do they have to come stirring up trouble in the alleys?”
“Did you hear? The Crimson Fragrance Society was annihilated.”
“The Crimson Fragrance Society? How could the Continent’s largest drug smugglers fall? They’re the shadow economy’s greatest capitalists—their mercenaries must be formidable.”
“The Imperial Knights themselves mobilized. Word is the Red Wolf Knights took the field.”
“Good heavens….”
“This is only the beginning. The Emperor declared he would exterminate all shadow forces and restructure the alleys into legitimate districts.”
Recent political direction had shifted drastically.
The Emperor had taken an active role, implementing adventurer-friendly policies, and now he had begun moving to eradicate shadow organizations entirely.
“What of the nobles?”
“Duke Winchilsey is under heavy attack from the Emperor, isn’t he? Because of that, the entire Aristocratic Faction is powerless.”
“Damn it, how much have we been feeding them all this time?”
Ordinarily, the nobles would have prevented this.
But this time, they could not.
As the nobles withdrew and the Emperor began to take direct action, the Empire’s underworld forces gradually vanished.
The shadow factions could not simply remain idle.
“Who would have thought we’d ever gather in one place without drawing our blades?”
The Empire’s underworld forces began to unite.
The problem came next.
Even if they assembled, there was no way to breach the Knight Order and strike at the Emperor.
So how could they possibly survive?
There were two methods.
“The first method is to demonstrate our power across the entire Continent.”
“How?”
“There are many ways. Assassination of influential figures, terrorism, economic collapse, and so on.”
“I disagree. Doing such things would only heighten vigilance. The Emperor would pursue us with even greater fervor.”
“What about the second?”
“The second is to make one grand score and vanish.”
“…Are you saying we abandon Labelt?”
“What choice do we have? Think about it—it’s not a bad idea. Once we slip away from Labelt, the Emperor’s restraint will weaken considerably.”
“But then our profits would also diminish.”
“That’s exactly why. What if we execute both methods simultaneously?”
One of the assembled factions.
The one called the leader of No Shadow.
The man known as the Empire’s greatest thief slowly opened his mouth.
“We rob the Grand Auction House.”
“The Grand Auction House?”
“The merchandise arriving this time is extraordinary. All of us will have more than enough capital to start anew after leaving Labelt.”
“Hmm….”
“Moreover, this Grand Auction House will attract every noble, influential figure, and wealthy person in existence. Essentially, everyone except the Emperor will attend.”
“I’ve heard that.”
“So it’s perfect for demonstrating our power, just as your first proposal suggested.”
“Won’t it be dangerous?”
“Is there anyone here who does anything without danger? And if we properly demonstrate our power here, even if we’re driven to foreign lands, our strength will remain. We might even become legend.”
“Hmm.”
“Not a bad proposal.”
“What about intelligence?”
“Silver Veil is cooperating.”
The shadow factions nodded at his proposal.
After that, preparations proceeded rapidly.
The most notorious underworld forces in Labelt gathered, consolidating countless shadow factions into the worst criminal operation ever conceived.
The operation would begin when the Grand Auction House’s bidding reached its peak.
In the seating area of the Grand Auction House.
Specifically, in the section where nobles had gathered in particularly large numbers.
BOOM!!
It all began with a sudden explosion.
* * *
While the auction was in full swing.
– Master.
“Show me as well.”
I began to sense countless presences gathering around the Grand Auction House.
The Grand Auction House itself was so crowded and loud that it was difficult to notice them until they drew this close.
Still, once their numbers became excessive, even I, who had been concentrating on the auction, couldn’t help but sense them.
At that moment.
BOOM!
An explosion erupted from one side of the auction house.
“Argh!”
“Cough!”
“Explosion!”
“Wh-what!”
“Guard Captain! Guard Captain!”
Especially since this was where many nobles were seated, their screams were quite loud.
Who on earth had planted the bomb, and why?
The answer came quickly.
The perpetrator had no intention of hiding themselves.
Rather, it seemed they wanted to make themselves known.
“Why should we stay silent after receiving our payment? We need to fulfill our role in proportion to the money we were given.”
“Y-you all!”
“You ignored our contact so thoroughly—have you finally remembered us?”
“Moon’s Scream!”
“That’s right. I am White Moon, the boss of Moon’s Scream.”
But that wasn’t all.
“Kahahaha! Fire, fire! Kill them all!”
“You brought this upon yourselves! Kyahahaha!”
Enemies poured in from all sides of the Grand Auction House.
From the sounds of it, not only assassination forces but all the underworld factions of Labelt had mobilized.
Under any other circumstances, I might have observed this chaos calmly, but with my items being auctioned and having won the bids on many pieces, I couldn’t simply watch this unfold.
“Luke.”
– Yes, Master.
I rose from my seat and immediately drew upon Luke’s power.
[ Dragon Fear ]
I unleashed the roar of a dragon.
– Kroooooooooo!!
Under normal circumstances, I could have controlled the range of my oppressive aura to distinguish between allies and enemies.
But the situation was far from ideal.
The shadowy forces that had emerged throughout the Grand Auction House were already intermingled with the nobles, wielding spears and blades.
I couldn’t distinguish them one by one, and since the participants weren’t my allies, I had no way to identify the enemy.
“Cough!”
“What, what is this!”
I unleashed my oppressive aura indiscriminately—friend and foe alike.
Some of the weaker-willed participants lost consciousness along with the enemies, but it didn’t matter.
If I left things as they were, the Guard Captain and his forces would arrive soon to clean up the situation.
However, that wasn’t the real problem.
‘My items.’
These fools wouldn’t have attacked the spectator stands so thoughtlessly without a plan.
The true target they were after was almost certainly the items up for auction at the Grand Auction House.
Among them were both items I had crafted and items I had won bids on.
Whoosh!
I dashed forward while maintaining my Black Flame transformation.
I didn’t know where the Grand Auction House’s warehouse was located.
– Using 4-Circle Fire Magic ‘Rune Flare’.
Boom!!
The place where items were brought up.
I blasted open the center of the platform.
It wasn’t a proper entrance, but fortunately I discovered a passage connected to the items.
As I entered inside.
“Kahahaha! Mythic-grade accessories! This is jackpot!”
“And there are three of them!”
“That’s not all! Look at these!”
“I’ve never seen an auction of this scale in all the Grand Auctions! Come on, no time to waste! Grab everything!”
As expected.
The ones ransacking the warehouse came into view.
They were all wearing pitch-black masks, as if they were proudly announcing ‘I’m a thief!’
Since there were quite a few of them, I used magic to reduce their numbers.
When facing multiple enemies, magic was far superior to conventional weapons.
[ Resonant Thunder Staff ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Form: Staff
Grade: Epic
Of course, to increase my magical attack power, I drew out a staff.
– Using 4-Circle Lightning Magic ‘Chain Lightning’.
I cast the spell.
Chain Lightning is fundamentally a third-circle spell, but during my visit to the Blue Moon Grand Library, I discovered an advanced grimoire that elevated Chain Lightning’s power and range to fourth-circle standards.
Unlike other spells, Chain Lightning is an area-of-effect technique that doesn’t inflict collateral damage on the surroundings, making it perfectly suited for subduing enemies in confined spaces like this.
Crackle!
“Ahhhhhhhhh!”
The thieves shrieked and dropped whatever they were holding.
I wasn’t certain how skilled they were, but they clearly lacked the fortitude to withstand a direct hit from fourth-circle lightning magic.
Besides, this spell had been amplified by the Thundering Staff, enhancing my electrical attack power.
Without significant magical resistance, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
– Using fourth-circle lightning spell ‘Chain Lightning’.
– Using fourth-circle lightning spell ‘Chain Lightning’.
….
Crackle crackle!
“Ahhhhh!”
“A mage!”
“Run for your lives!”
I unleashed the spell repeatedly, its effectiveness undeniable as I swiftly incapacitated the warehouse thieves.
The Thundering Staff didn’t merely amplify electrical magic—it also reduced mana consumption and shortened cooldown times.
With my wisdom and intellect enhanced by Black Flame, I was dispatching them with remarkable speed.
“So you’re the one they call Marquis Mir?”
A voice called out from behind me.
Along with it came a palpable sense of danger.
I reacted instinctively.
– Using skill ‘White Fish Swimming’.
I activated my movement skill and shifted my body just as several sharp daggers whistled past where I’d been standing.
Had my reaction been even a moment slower, those poison-coated blades would have found their mark in my back.
“Impressive speed.”
Turning around, I saw a man cloaked entirely in black fabric.
Between the dark cloth, only his eyes and mouth were visible, and he wore a sinister smile as he continued speaking.
“Tell me—can you move faster than me, the world’s swiftest and most elusive man, the master thief Jesper?”

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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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