You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 128

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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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128

 

The Heavenly Demon is fucking insane.

 

Honestly, I had often thought the Training Manual’s curriculum was crazy.

 

Shooting arrows from all directions,

 

throwing building-sized spears at people,

 

shoving people into furnaces exceeding 4,000℃.

 

But that was, at the very least, appropriate difficulty adjustment after analyzing the trainee’s growth level.

 

The Heavenly Demon… surpassed that level.

 

The Heavenly Demon’s cultivation premise was the complete opposite of the Training Manual.

 

If the Training Manual was “grow and survive,”

 

the Heavenly Demon’s premise was “you must grow to survive.”

 

Similar? Not at all.

 

“If you don’t grow, you die” and

 

“grow to overcome the crisis of death” cannot be on the same level from the start.

 

Cultivation with the Heavenly Demon was literally hell itself.

 

No, honestly, I was a bit confused whether it was cultivation or her human experimentation.

 

“Disciple. Can you spew that fire underwater too?”

 

First of all, I don’t know when I became a disciple.

 

She just started speaking casually at some point, and now I was being treated as a test subject called disciple.

 

As soon as she finished speaking, iron weights were attached to my feet,

 

and the next moment I was thrown into the North Sea Deep Waters.

 

Removing the iron weights imbued with the Heavenly Demon’s power was not an easy task.

 

Especially when I had to struggle not to sink while spewing Karmic Fire with my feet fixed in place…

 

In the end, only after injecting Karmic Fire until the shackles came loose could I break free from the iron weights.

 

As I climbed up onto the ice sheet, her voice came down from above, utterly indifferent.

 

“Since you survived, let’s move on to the next stage.”

 

Since when did surviving become the ‘passing standard’?

 

But do you know what’s even more frustrating?

 

That insane cultivation actually had effects.

 

I could use my Divine Authority even in the Deep Sea, and my proficiency with Karmic Fire increased as I unleashed it while simultaneously breaking the seals on my shackles.

 

If I had one complaint…

 

Why throw me into the freezing North Sea?

 

Wait, doesn’t the Mediterranean Sea have a deep sea?

 

On top of that, she kept attempting assassinations,

 

and even held life-or-death battles disguised as sparring matches.

 

Thanks to that, I’ve now mastered the method of keeping my senses sharp even while sleeping.

 

Now I can automatically activate Fire Eyes Golden Clarity, so that says it all.

 

Since I awakened the power of a demigod, shouldn’t I at least be able to win in a direct confrontation?

 

I thought so at first too.

 

The sword made from Demonic Energy That Erases Existence that the Heavenly Demon used when I awakened.

 

Imagine her swinging that Sword Technique, which I thought was her ultimate move, right in front of me like it was a basic skill.

 

If that touches you, your existence gets erased.

 

As the days of training passed by without me noticing the time,

 

I was able to become a complete demigod.

 

No, I had to become a complete demigod.

 

Because only then would this damned cultivation end.

 

Now that it’s all over, I can say it was an experiment—no, training—from which I gained quite a lot.

 

Power to See Value.

 

That was the essence of the Divine Authority I had awakened.

 

Finding the choice with the highest value for me.

 

That was the power I had awakened.

 

At first glance, it seemed far removed from combat.

 

But with the Heavenly Demon’s cultivation, there was no need to worry.

 

If moments requiring me to utilize and understand my power unfolded 24 hours a day, humans, being creatures of adaptation, would inevitably evolve somehow.

 

In combat, it showed me the Sword Path that could deal the most damage.

 

Which Sword Technique to use, which Circuit to burst, what power would be the most valuable choice for dealing damage.

 

Optimal movement routes, hidden weaknesses, everything.

 

It was similar in nature to the Sixth Sense stat, but this was an ability several levels above.

 

It could create the Miracle of landing critical hits even when critical hit probability was 0.

 

It was quite useful outside of combat as well.

 

I could identify who the spies were, escape routes, supply routes, and so on.

 

This was why I had a love-hate relationship with the Heavenly Demon’s training.

 

Beyond mindless combat, she made me experience the diverse lives of people through virtual Escort Agency work and Infiltration missions created in her world.

 

In the Heavenly Demon’s world, I was a centurion of the Demonic Sect, a junior flag bearer of the Orthodox Sects, and also a King of an Escort Agency.

 

Of course, my opponent was always the Heavenly Demon.

 

Honestly, when I became the Green Forest King, I once argued that it didn’t make sense for the Heavenly Demon to become the martial alliance leader and come to subjugate me personally,

 

but she was never a Master who accepted healthy feedback from her Disciple.

 

And in the final training, I finally achieved a draw with her.

 

“2049 battles, 1024 wins, 1024 losses, 1 draw…”

 

These numbers recorded the count of life-and-death battles with her, wins and losses, and even the results of the lives I lived in those worlds.

 

“Honestly, shouldn’t we exclude the loss when I was the Green Forest King?”

 

“If you’re upset about it, then exclude when you were the martial alliance leader too.”

 

I closed my mouth at her words.

 

A brief silence passed.

 

Hyeonmu-wol was the first to speak.

 

“This is my final gift.”

 

She threw the sword she had been wearing at her waist to Galmu.

 

Galmu’s blade split open and swallowed the Heavenly Demon’s sword whole.

 

Galmu transformed to take the form of the sword she had given.

 

A Black Sword Engraved with Black Dragon.

 

“Is it alright for you to give me your beloved sword?”

 

“I have long since transcended the realm of the sword.”

 

That’s right, she had already surpassed the level of a demigod and was looking beyond even that.

 

“And this is a gift for my disciple.”

 

She pulled something small from her sleeve and threw it to me.

 

It was an identity plaque with her name engraved on it.

 

“This plaque shows that you are a disciple of the 32nd Generation Heavenly Demon Hyeonmu-wol.”

 

“Truly a commemorative item.”

 

“It is also proof that I have acknowledged you as my disciple.”

 

“The bar for discipleship is quite high. Did you ever have disciples while you were alive?”

 

“You are my first disciple, so take pride in that.”

 

“…”

 

I stared at her blankly for a moment, then cupped my fists in salute.

 

“Thanks to you, I have learned much.”

 

She also cupped her fists in return.

 

“Yes. Let us meet again next time.”

 

This was sincere.

 

It was cultivation that felt like death, where dying might have been better, but I had gained so much.

 

The power of a demigod, martial arts, swordsmanship, and… countless lives.

 

I stepped into the portal.

 

Then a final message appeared before my eyes.

 

[Commissioned education has ended.]

 

[We sincerely welcome your safe return. Nobody.]

 

Now it was time to return to reality again.

 

***

 

As soon as I returned to the office, the door burst open.

 

“Elder Brotherrrrr!!!”

 

‘I didn’t expect such a warm welcome…’

 

Kim Jin-woo rushed at me, not just sniffling but practically wailing.

 

I skillfully twisted my body slightly.

 

“Huh…?”

 

Kim Jin-woo staggered and regained his balance, then immediately looked hurt.

 

“Elder Brother… where on earth did you go for 2 weeks without any contact? I really…”

 

‘2 weeks…’

 

The time I was away was shorter than I thought.

 

The time I spent in the Heavenly Demon’s world was decades.

 

“Sigh… Anyway, I’m glad you’re back now.”

 

‘Looking at his expression, it doesn’t seem to be anything too serious.’

 

“You remember I mentioned that our 1-year evaluation is next week, right?”

 

I think that might have been the case.

 

But that wasn’t something worth Kim Jin-woo making such a fuss over.

 

The evaluation conducted one year after registering a guild.

 

This would determine the guild’s survival,

 

and I recalled the early days when Kim Jin-woo recruited me to pass that evaluation.

 

‘It’s already been almost a full year.’

 

So many things had happened during that time.

 

But I wasn’t worried.

 

After all, passing the one-year evaluation was practically guaranteed.

 

Asin’s performance was higher than any other guild in South Korea, and we were a guild with two S-rank Hunters.

 

Fail our guild in the one-year evaluation?

 

Unless the Association President had lost his mind, that would never happen.

 

I threw myself onto the sofa.

 

‘Nice.’

 

The comfort of modern times that I was experiencing for the first time in over half a century…

 

“Then we just need to prepare.”

 

“Um… Elder Brother, I’m still a B-rank Hunter.”

 

Only then did I understand Kim Jin-woo’s fuss.

 

Originally, there were two conditions for me joining Asin.

 

Raise the guild rank to B, and pass the one-year evaluation as A-rank.

 

Since the Guild Master’s rank greatly influences the guild rank, it was understandable that Kim Jin-woo would be anxious.

 

One year should have been more than enough time for Kim Jin-woo to reach A-rank,

 

but was Kim Jin-woo an ordinary Guild Master?

 

Just managing Porter duties would be overwhelming enough, yet cleaning up after me was just the basics for him.

 

Moreover, with Dungeon Pepper and Cowbell Farm being converted into research institutes, all connections with the Magic Tower were also going through Kim Jin-woo.

 

In addition to that, from Golden Fragrance product development to marketing,

 

coordinating and carrying out my external schedules – Kim Jin-woo was handling everything.

 

So of course he doesn’t have time for dungeon runs.

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll never leave Ashin.”

 

“Right?”

 

Kim Jin-woo’s expression relaxed slightly.

 

“Well, there’s no one better than me for serving Elder Brother—”

 

“Still, with two S-rank Hunters around, the Guild Master can’t stay B-rank.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Do you remember when we first met?”

 

“Yes, at That Cafe… you were trying to make me B-rank…”

 

The more Kim Jin-woo recalled the memory, the paler his face became.

 

“Dungeon grinding…?”

 

I was already standing at the door.

 

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to get ready for the dungeon?”

 

“Elder, Elder Brotherrrrr!!!”

 

I could hear Kim Jin-woo’s anguished cry from behind, but I lightly ignored it.

 

‘Jin-woo, your elder brother is going to make you an A-rank Hunter.’

 

Contract terms must always be honored.

 

***

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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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