You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 112

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

112

 

 

Dawn, when the horizon was being painted by the rising sun.

 

I opened the door of the jeep and leaned back into the rear seat as if lying down.

 

“Hah… I almost died.”

 

The words flowed out without me realizing it.

 

Who said good alcohol doesn’t give you hangovers?

 

An S-rank Hunter with a hangover – even a passing dog would laugh…

The alcohol I drank yesterday was beyond the realm of drinking.

President Aiden’s drinking capacity was beyond human limits.

‘Teaching me weird techniques and all.’

I burned away all the alcohol—the culprit behind my hangover—through my fingers.

It was a “secret technique” passed down by a man with insane stamina who would drink all night and then go to work.

‘I wonder if the photos turned out well?’

Even though everyone was in poor condition, they didn’t forget to take photos for the newspaper before departure.

I think the hangover probably made me look rather solemn in the photo.

After burning off the alcohol, my body felt much lighter.

But the problem was the seat next to me.

“Sigh… I’m dying…”

 

Kim Jin-woo and the Association President,

Kim Jin-woo and the association president,

Inside the jeep, two hungover zombies sat slumped side by side in their seats, completely out of it.

Rumors had been circulating that staff from both sides had gotten together for a drinking session, bonding over their camaraderie as fellow soldiers, and it seemed those rumors weren’t unfounded.

How could there be camaraderie between people who just met yesterday…

I tossed them each one of the two bottles of Bacchus I had kept in my bag.

“Drink it, you’ll feel better.”

The two people rushed in like zombies and downed the entire bottle in one shot.

Only then did peace settle on their faces.

Meanwhile, the vehicle turned onto the desolate red earth off the road.

And the massive gorge visible to the side.

 

We passed a sign for Grand Canyon National Park and were entering the vast wilderness.

 

***

 

***

 

The massive Stone Door situated between the gorge walls.

 

The difference was that a US military outpost base had been established in front of it.

 

The tents seemed recently reinforced, with new camouflage covering layered over the faded old camouflage.

 

Well, that made sense.

 

The Giant Tribe Dungeon had its raid operations suspended until recently.

 

After the initial investigation classified it as A-rank, the US military immediately began raid operations.

 

But when two consecutive raid teams were completely wiped out, the US military changed their operational approach.

 

Instead of going in, they would wait for things to come out.

 

The US military was planning to induce a Dungeon Break.

 

There are various reasons for raiding dungeons before Dungeon Breaks occur,

There are various reasons for clearing it before a dungeon break occurs,

If I had to pick two reasons, it was because of civilian casualties and the sheer number of multiplied monsters.

there’s no need to take unnecessary risks, right?

 

Honestly, that brute force strategy was only possible because it was the United States.

 

If this had been done in Korea…

Honestly, that brute-force strategy was only possible because it was America.

but this damn Dungeon Break showed no signs of occurring.

 

After planning all the operations and countermeasures, only the people waiting were going crazy.

 

Eventually, the operation was temporarily suspended.

The person who went through all the trouble of planning strategies and countermeasures only to wait around is going crazy.

In the end, the operation was temporarily suspended.

The system changed to periodically conducting reconnaissance and monitoring the situation.

 

In such circumstances, an official document regarding the Giant Tribe Dungeon strategy arrived from an allied nation on a small peninsula across the sea?

 

President Aiden must have thought “Perfect timing!” since he had been wanting to meet the Ashin Guild leader anyway.

 

Thanks to that, everything proceeded smoothly from the agreement to the visit to America in an instant.

 

The US President wasn’t exactly a leisurely person,

so scheduling everything from the welcome ceremony to the banquet and private meetings within a week wasn’t easy.

 

‘So that’s why the staff officers threw a drinking party yesterday?’

 

To change existing schedules and prepare for a state visit befitting a head of state within a week, it would be the subordinates who’d get ground down.

 

That’s how the finalized schedule and the newly crafted strategy including me were completed.

 

Now there was just one thing left to confirm.

 

The question that had been nagging like a thorn from the beginning.

 

How did this guy know about the Giant Tribe Dungeon?

 

I could understand why Aiden had tested me.

 

The fact that Ashin had discovered information about the Giant Tribe Dungeon first was sufficiently suspicious from America’s standpoint.

 

But since I had played the ‘Lee Seo-rin’ card first in yesterday’s meeting, most doubts were resolved.

 

The ‘new prophet’ reported by the Oracle was sufficient grounds in itself.

 

Well, the purpose was obvious.

 

The Divine Artifact in the Giant Tribe Dungeon.

 

The Oracle had also used her abilities to collect artifacts,

so there was no reason Ashin couldn’t do the same.

 

The ownership rights to the Divine Artifact were also somewhat recognized.

 

You could call it compensation for providing the information?

 

When we arrived in front of the Command Headquarters tent, we got out of the jeep.

 

A man immediately walked over upon seeing me and greeted me respectfully.

 

“Mister Han.”

 

A Black man wearing combat gear instead of military uniform.

 

The colonel rank insignia indicated he was the commander of this operation.

 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Colonel Kyle Foster, leading the special operations team for this mission.”

 

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

 

I bowed my head slightly.

 

“While preparations are being made, would it be alright if I gave you a quick tour of the base camp?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Actually, that was something I wanted to request myself.

 

The supply unit trucks and equipment rapidly moving back and forth behind the base.

 

While collaboration projects with the US Department of Defense were scheduled, opportunities to see the actual scene weren’t common.

 

We quickly made a round of the outpost base following Colonel Foster.

 

“This is… a scale unimaginable in Korea.”

“That’s… called a Porter?”

 

Those were the impressions of the Association President and Kim Jin-woo.

 

Such reactions were understandable.

 

Even I found it impressive.

 

While I thought Ashin’s supply system was advanced, the US military supply unit was different in its own way.

 

That’s partly why I brought them along.

Seeing once with your eyes is faster than talking about it a hundred times.

 

‘Hmm, should I attach a rocket launcher to the Universal Cart?’

 

Regarding firepower issues for the Supply Team, the US military adopted a different approach from Ashin.

 

While Ashin’s method was to avoid danger through the Divine Protection imbued in the Universal Cart,

America chose to pour technology into enhancing the supply unit’s own combat capabilities.

 

‘I should consider modifying the Universal Cart sometime.’

 

While I was pondering how to modify the Universal Cart,

the prepared special team members approached one by one.

 

Elite soldiers of A-rank or higher from various ethnic backgrounds.

 

As the team members lined up to greet us, there was one particularly notable figure.

 

A girl with brown skin who looked like a Native American.

 

Why was she naturally mixed in here?

 

This wasn’t about racial or gender discrimination.

 

A life-threatening dungeon raid was about to begin, but her attire seemed far from suitable for the operation.

 

“This is Miss Ellie Jacobs, a gimmick expert. She’s the technician who will create a backdoor into the dungeon.”

 

‘So that’s why she’s not in combat gear?’

 

“She’s been conducting dungeon investigations with the US Military team for quite some time, so you don’t need to be suspicious.”

 

Colonel Foster introduced her naturally, but it wasn’t enough to dispel my suspicions.

 

If this were an ordinary dungeon raid, I might have easily overlooked it,

but in this raid, we couldn’t know when the Cult might intervene.

 

In such circumstances, this person who appeared as a gimmick expert was enough to arouse my suspicion.

 

‘I’ll need to keep a close eye on her for now.’

 

“Please take care of us, Miss Ellie.”

 

With her introduction, the team member introductions came to an end.

 

And then the operation began immediately.

 

Ellie approached the Stone Door as if familiar with it, drew a small door with mana, then inserted a key into it.

 

‘The ability to create backdoors. How unique.’

 

In Korea, it would have been an ability that earned lifelong treatment as a Porter.

 

The ability to create backdoors was utterly useless.

 

But perhaps because this was the United States, her ability was quite useful to the military.

 

Especially in situations like investigations or when stealth infiltration was needed.

 

When she turned the key, a small door opened with a clicking sound.

 

At the same time, a massive tremor spread through the backdoor.

 

Something strangely heavy, like atmospheric pressure, brushed against my skin.

 

“I’ll explain the rest of the operation as we move.”

 

Led by Colonel Foster, the US Military Special Team and I followed behind him into the dungeon interior.

 

***

 

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