You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 122
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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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122
[Entrusted education begins.]
[May you achieve the results you desire…]
With that message, my vision, which had gone dark, returned.
Along with the sensation of my body sinking downward, there was nothing beneath my feet.
This wasn’t a metaphor for the typical feeling of being transported somewhere.
Literally, there was no ground beneath my feet.
To be precise, the ground was too far away.
The only reason I wasn’t falling was simple.
I was standing on a thin rope that swayed in the wind.
“What the hell…”
Looking down at the floor below, rusty spears were densely embedded.
When I looked around, an even more absurd scene unfolded.
Dozens of ropes were densely connected between cliff and cliff,
and on top of them, children wearing black training clothes were staggering as they moved.
Above them, children dressed in black martial arts uniforms were staggering as they moved.
“Young children?”
“A little child?”
Only then did the surrounding air rush in.
Only then did the surrounding air rush in.
Damp and humid air.
Damp and humid air.
Through the water vapor that clung stickily to my skin, I could guess this was inside a massive cave.
Through the water vapor that clung stickily to the skin, one could sense that this place was inside a massive cave.
It was strange that young children were doing such dangerous training,
It was strange that young children were doing such dangerous training,
but an indescribable sense of unease had been following me since earlier.
An inexplicable sense of unease had been following me for a while now.
That’s when it happened.
That was when it happened.
– Save me!!
– Save me!!
A scream erupted from the rope on the opposite side.
A scream erupted from the rope on the opposite side.
One child lost their balance and was falling straight down.
The screams that had been growing distant suddenly went quiet with a sickening crack.
“…”
But not a single person showed any sign of being shaken.
The other children seemed accustomed to it, simply focusing silently on crossing the rope.
‘What the hell is going on here?’
I couldn’t understand any of this situation.
‘This is supposed to be foster education?’
But before I could grasp the situation, something approached me.
“If you’re just going to stand there, get out of the way!”
A child running from behind pushed my shoulder.
Instinctively, I twisted my body and leaped to the rope beside me.
“…?”
The child who had pushed me regained their balance on the swaying rope, then looked back at me.
They had a large build and fierce eyes for a child.
“Tsk…”
After confirming that I hadn’t fallen, the child clicked their tongue and moved forward.
“Hah, really…”
I was dumbfounded.
‘Did they just click their tongue because they were disappointed I didn’t fall?’
What kind of world is this where even a young child’s nature is so twisted?
At the same time, I could vaguely guess the source of my unease.
“Young master.”
My line of sight was lower than a child who appeared to be around 14 years old.
I looked down at my hands.
I repeatedly clenched and unclenched my fists.
They were those of a soft, young child.
A suddenly lowered field of vision.
Though there was some muscle built up, my strength was clearly weaker than before.
‘I’ve become a young child.’
It wasn’t a hallucination.
The sensations I felt were 100% vivid.
My body had shrunk, but my mind remained the same…
I let out a brief incredulous laugh and began moving forward.
More kids were already pushing from behind.
‘I need to get out of here first, then assess the situation.’
***
‘My body is definitely lighter.’
It couldn’t compare to my original body, but perhaps because I’d undergone such training?
Some basic Strength remained.
The disappointing part was that my Divine Authority was sealed.
The foundation of my techniques was Karmic Fire, after all.
What consoled me was that I could faintly feel Ghostly Energy in my lower abdomen.
As I moved my body, I could feel the Ghostly Energy naturally circulating.
It was a different feeling from manifesting Karmic Fire or Ghostly Energy before.
The energy flowing through my blood vessels alone could somewhat compensate for my lacking strength.
‘The essence is similar to the martial arts that Zhang Qingye taught.’
As I ran along the rope like that, I could see the end of the cliff.
There stood a man whose face immediately brought the word ‘instructor’ to mind.
The man with a face covered in scars and sword marks stood with his arms crossed, counting the kids who passed through.
‘Do all the people in this world have eyes like that?’
The aura I briefly sensed was that of a D-rank Hunter, but his gaze was utterly chilling.
Most of all, there wasn’t a trace of humanity in his eyes as he looked at the passing kids.
He wasn’t looking at the children as people, but as products to be evaluated.
As I came down from the rope, the Instructor opened his mouth with an expressionless face.
“Number 32, 12th place.”
With those words, a number ticket that looked like a wooden piece fell in front of me.
It had the rank 12 written on it.
I glanced around briefly and joined the ranks of the kids who had arrived earlier.
During the waiting time, I checked my condition one by one.
Karmic Fire was sealed, and the Ghostly Energy I could use was weak.
Drawing circuits with Ghostly Energy was possible, but five was the maximum limit.
It was possible to draw circuits with demonic energy, but five was the maximum limit.
I couldn’t tell if it was because I had become a child, or if this world itself was imposing restrictions on me.
I couldn’t tell if it was because I had become a child, or if this world itself was imposing restrictions on me.
Looking at Chiron’s curriculum so far, it was probably the latter.
Looking at Keiron’s curriculum so far, the latter would be correct.
Either way, it meant I had to survive here with just the ‘basics.’
In any case, it meant that in this place, one had to survive on ‘fundamentals’ alone.
Chiron had said that what I needed now was a ‘catalyst.’
Keiron said that what I need right now is a ‘catalyst’.
‘Thinking about it that way makes it even more unclear.’
‘Now that I think about it that way, I’m even more confused.’
I had no idea what kind of ‘catalyst’ I was supposed to obtain here.
I had no idea what kind of ‘opportunity’ I was supposed to find here.
I decided not to think about the reason any further.
I decided not to think about the reason any further.
Surely if Chiron sent me to this place, there must be a reason.
Besides, while the situation itself was close to hellish, I had just discovered a new way to utilize Ghostly Energy while running on the rope.
I decided to find meaning in having a means to improve rather than just passing time.
While I was organizing my thoughts, quite a long line had formed behind me.
“Number 67, 50th place.”
With those words, the Instructor who had been standing at attention slowly walked toward the cliff.
“Cut them.”
A calm voice, neither low nor high, echoed throughout the entire cave.
Following his orders, the subordinates who had been waiting rushed toward the ropes.
“What…?”
For a moment, I doubted my ears.
There were still many kids left on the ropes, running toward this place.
What was visible to me couldn’t possibly be invisible to those people.
But the subordinates who received the order cut the ropes without hesitation.
“Aaaahhh!!”
“Save, save me!”
In an instant, screams echoed inside the cave.
And there was one child running on the last rope.
It was the rope placed in front of the Instructor.
Breathing as if about to collapse.
Precarious leaping.
But the Instructor seemed not to care about such a sight.
No, rather, he slowly swung his sword as if to show off.
With a cutting sound, the rope was severed.
The child desperately threw their body forward to avoid falling.
But it wasn’t enough to land on top of the cliff.
“…”
The Instructor was about to turn away but stopped.
His gaze was directed toward the edge of the cliff.
‘They haven’t fallen yet.’
Frail fingers could be seen at the edge of the cliff.
At that moment, the Instructor slowly moved his steps and raised his foot.
Then he stomped down without any hesitation.
I too moved without hesitation.
No, to be precise, my body moved first without time to think.
I was able to push the back of my hand between them before the Instructor’s foot could break the child’s fingers.
“Number 32. What do you think you’re doing?”
The Instructor’s cold voice struck my ears.
After a moment of silence, the Instructor lifted his foot.
My expectation that he would remove his foot was wishful thinking.
Then he stomped down again.
The back of my hand swelled up red.
Even so, the Instructor didn’t stop.
‘It’s broken.’
But I didn’t pull my hand away.
His foot slowly began to crush my hand.
With a cracking sound, my hand screamed in pain.
The Instructor’s gaze slowly descended to me.
And paused for a moment.
After that brief silence ended, the Instructor removed his foot and roughly pulled up the arm of the Child hanging over the cliff.
“Number 128. 51st place.”
I couldn’t read the Instructor’s thoughts.
“We’re one Tag short.”
The Instructor wore a sinister smile.
Then he called for another Child.
“Number 67.”
It was the Child who had come in 50th place.
The Instructor tore off the Tag hanging around Number 67’s neck and threw it to Number 128.
Then he threw Number 67, now without a Tag, straight down Below the Cliff.
‘Crazy bastard…’
There wasn’t even time to stop him.
A scream.
A brief fall.
And silence after being pierced by the Spear.
No one reacted.
“Today’s training ends here. You may rest after receiving your rations.”
The Instructor glanced at me and Number 128, then left.
Only then could I understand the Instructor’s purpose.
‘So they’re testing me.’
It seemed like they were expecting to see when I would abandon Number 128.
Whether I could get through the upcoming training that would be overwhelming even for a child alone, while carrying dead weight.
If things went according to the Instructor’s thinking, they could certainly send a clear message to all the children here.
‘What kind of fucked up world is this…’
It seemed like this training would boast an unprecedented level of difficulty.
***
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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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