You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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1

 

An unaffiliated low-rank Hunter is just a handyman.

 

It sounds nice to call them Hunters. In reality, they’re either porters or corpse searchers.

Still, just having the ‘Hunter’ label attached makes the daily wage jump tenfold.

 

Isn’t it dangerous, you ask?

 

Of course it is. It’s work where dying at any moment wouldn’t be strange.

 

The daily wage isn’t ten times higher for nothing.

95% of it is hazard pay.

It sounds nice calling it an allowance, but it’s essentially the price of your life.

 

Is only the work dangerous?

You do all sorts of dirty work, and being cursed at and ignored is just daily routine.

 

So why do such work, you ask?

 

It’s not like I’m doing porter work because I enjoy it.

 

Having just graduated high school,

with nothing exceptional about me,

the only way I could afford my mother’s hospital bills was this porter work with decent pay.

 

Oh, my mother’s illness is also Hunter-related.

 

Something called Magic Stone disease that occurred when Gates appeared?

 

I’ve only recounted a tiny part of my short life, but I’m already letting out bitter laughter.

 

Really… what a fucked up life.

 

But do you know what’s even more unfair?

 

Even working that hard.

 

Porters are beings that can be abandoned at any time.

 

“Kugh!”

 

A handful of blood burst from my mouth.

 

While gasping for breath, I stretched out both arms and barely managed to lean my back against the wall.

 

I had no feeling in my legs.

 

From the impact of falling, both legs seemed to be completely shattered.

 

Blood gushed out gurgling from where the Dagger was embedded in my stomach.

 

I clutched my stomach trying to survive, but blood just flowed lukewarmly between my fingers.

 

“Ha…”

 

A long sigh mixed with blood flowed out.

 

“Hehehe…”

 

Even thinking about it again, it’s absurd.

 

This wasn’t even betrayal.

You have to be on the same side for it to be betrayal.

I was just sacrificed out of necessity.

 

Could I get out alive?

 

At that moment, my stomach made a growling sound.

 

I guess I still want to live after all.

 

Even with a hole in my stomach and shattered legs after falling off a cliff, I’m still hungry.

 

I lifted my head and looked up.

Far above, faint light was seeping in through the bridge.

 

And then screams could be heard.

 

It’s the Raid Party that abandoned me.

 

“See, I told you it was meaningless.”

 

Would a Dungeon boss really think of some bleeding prey as bait?

 

My eyelids gradually grew heavy.

 

‘No wonder the daily wage was high for a D-rank Dungeon.’

 

Beyond my collapsed eyelids, I could feel something approaching.

 

The boss monster that finished off the Raid Party must have come to retrieve the sword embedded in my stomach.

 

Even that last hope of waiting for the Rescue Team was now meaningless.

 

If I had known this would happen…

I should have taken the day off…

 

***

 

A few hours ago, inside the Banpo Station Dungeon.

 

“Hey, porter, are you done yet?”

 

At the raid leader’s shout, I finished the butchering work and straightened my back.

 

“Just finished.”

 

In my blood-soaked hands was a single small magic stone.

 

In this dungeon’s case, the other byproducts had no value.

 

We had gone through all that trouble just to obtain this one thing.

 

I roughly wiped it on my clothes before putting it in my bag.

 

“Cleanup’s done. Now it’s the boss room, so everyone stay sharp.”

 

The party members stirred at the raid leader’s voice.

 

I silently organized my equipment and roughly brushed off my bloodstained hands.

 

Shortly after, we arrived at the boss room.

 

A massive stone door appeared at the end of the enormous cave.

 

When the raid leader pushed the door with all his strength, it opened with a stiff grinding sound.

 

Everyone gripped their weapons and moved forward cautiously.

 

But then—

 

“…It’s not here?”

 

Someone muttered.

 

Where the boss should have been, there wasn’t even a shadow, let alone a monster.

 

Instead, a massive coffin sat alone in the center.

 

The coffin was open, and the inside was completely empty.

 

It wasn’t a good sign.

 

“Hah…”

 

The raid leader sighed.

 

“We got screwed. Is this all there is?”

 

His irritated voice echoed through the spacious room.

 

That’s when it happened.

 

“There’s something here?”

 

One of the raid party members who was searching lifted something from the debris on the floor.

It was a longsword with a blue glow.

 

Even though I was clueless about artifacts, I could tell this was no ordinary item.

 

A smooth blade with an elegant handle embedded with high-quality patterns.

Geometric designs were carved into the blade.

 

Even I, barely qualifying as a hunter, could sense that those patterns were made of mana.

 

But it felt equally ominous.

 

An empty coffin, and an artifact longsword found beside it.

 

This was clearly a signal that “something was wrong.”

 

“Raid Leader, this could sell for quite a lot, right?”

 

At those words, several members’ eyes flashed with greed.

 

“Let’s just go back.”

 

The words came out unconsciously from my ominous premonition.

 

But having already spoken, I held onto the hope that maybe they would listen…

 

All I got back was mockery.

 

“What does a porter know to be speaking up?”

 

“Acting like a real hunter.”

 

“If you don’t want to make money, don’t. Just means less shares for us, which is better for us.”

 

The raid leader snatched the sword and swung it around carelessly.

 

Suddenly, the entire room vibrated and a metallic scraping sound rang out.

 

“Whoa! This is the real deal.”

 

The raid leader fastened the longsword to his waist.

 

“Let’s head out. There’s nothing else to loot.”

 

With those words, the raid party moved out of the boss room.

 

I couldn’t easily follow them, staring at the now-empty coffin for a long while before offering a brief silent bow and following the raid party.

 

But my ominous premonition proved correct.

 

The moment we left the boss room, goosebumps rose all over my body.

 

Beyond the open doorway, a pair of blue glowing eyes pierced through us from the silent darkness.

 

My instincts were ringing alarm bells of danger.

 

But my body wouldn’t move.

 

Soon after—

 

Grrrrrr— With a heavy sound like metal scraping, something awakened in the darkness.

 

A silhouette slowly walking out from the shadows.

 

Clanking sounds accompanied dull vibrations that shook the floor.

 

With each step of that being, frost formed on the ground.

 

Beside him walked out a spectral horse, snorting and breathing cold vapor.

 

When he fully revealed himself, an irresistible massive pressure weighed down on my shoulders.

 

‘A wraith knight…?’

 

It was a Wraith Knight, said to lead armies among the undead.

 

But this wasn’t an ordinary wraith knight.

 

It was several levels higher in rank.

 

At the same time, questions surged through my mind.

 

‘Why is there a wraith knight in a D-rank dungeon?’

 

Facing him, I froze like a rabbit before a predator.

 

‘I’m going to die.’

 

Before my thoughts could continue, the Raid Leader struggled to open his mouth.

 

“R-run!”

 

The Raid Leader’s barely uttered cry struck my ears.

 

Only then did my senses return.

I had to survive.

 

With the single-minded determination to live, I ran frantically through the cave.

 

After running like that for a while, I could see the bridge leading to the exit.

 

My breath was caught up to my throat, but I couldn’t stop.

 

The closer I got to the exit, the stronger the smell of blood became.

 

“At this rate, won’t we get caught?”

 

One of the raid party members asked the Raid Leader with an anxious voice.

 

The Raid Leader stopped in front of the bridge.

 

Then he drew the longsword from his waist.

 

That longsword… that sword was the culprit behind this entire situation.

 

The very item I had screamed we absolutely shouldn’t take.

 

If we hadn’t taken it from the boss room, this situation wouldn’t have happened,

but if we abandoned it even now, the raid party’s chances of survival would increase.

 

The Raid Leader hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth.

 

Right, no matter how much you love money, it can’t compare to your life.

 

But then the Raid Leader walked toward me.

 

Why, toward me?

 

“Raid Leader…?”

 

Suddenly, a hot sensation surged from within my stomach.

 

“Kugh!”

 

Hot blood that had risen up my throat burst from my mouth.

 

I looked down with an expression of complete bewilderment.

 

The Blue Frost Sword—

It was already buried deep in my stomach.

 

“Why…?”

 

“Someone has to be the bait.”

 

“B-bait…?”

 

I couldn’t understand.

 

If we just gave up the artifact, it would all be over.

 

“If someone from the Raid Party has to be sacrificed, it’s only natural for the porter to do it.”

 

The Raid Leader’s words rang out coldly.

 

“Damn it, we don’t have time, so let’s deal with this quickly and go.”

 

At that moment, someone’s hand roughly shoved my back.

 

“Huh…?”

 

My body fell helplessly beneath the bridge.

 

Only then could I understand my situation.

 

Pathetic fool.

 

After working as a porter for years, it was about time I realized.

 

Wind swept past my ears in a rush.

 

As the light above grew distant, I gradually fell into the darkness.

 

***

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