You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 13

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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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13

 

 

“Hyung, are we really going to be okay with just the two of us?”

 

Kim Jin-woo looked around with anxious eyes.

 

We headed to the dungeon as soon as we left the cafe.

 

If I had been alone, I wouldn’t have even gotten permission for a C-rank dungeon request,

With Kim Jinwoo there, the process went smoothly.

“Hey, don’t worry. I’m just here to meet my quota.”

I absentmindedly pulled out my sickle and looked around.

It was a Lizardman, the master of this swampland.

It was a lizardman, the master of this swamp.

He held a spear and shield, and the spear tip was stained with purple poison.

“Remember what you did on that abandoned subway? Just do it like you did then.”

“Yes! I understand… AAAAHHH?!”

Before Kim Jinwoo could even finish his answer, the lizardman’s spear came flying toward him.

Kim Jinwoo hastily raised his shield and deflected the spear.

Still, being a C-rank Hunter, he seems to know how to unconsciously let his power flow.

Seeing things like this makes me realize how unfair the world really is.

Some people swing their sword thousands of times just to master a single parry…

“Good job. Just keep doing that.”

I gripped my spear tightly and charged toward the lizardman.

***

When I sliced open the lizardman’s belly, a blue stone fragment came out.

I took out the stone fragment and put it in the porter’s bag.

A magic stone created from C-grade or higher monsters.

It’s loot that’s more valuable than most byproducts.

He may not look like it, but this guy sparked the 6th Industrial Revolution.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that it opened a new era of electricity generation.

For this reason, the state purchases demon stones as its highest priority.

“It’s over.”

As soon as I spoke, Kim Jinwoo collapsed to the ground.

“Hnngh…”

A quick glance showed that Kim Jin-woo was in terrible shape.

The shield that had gleamed when they first entered now bore scorched marks, and the armor was caked with mud.

Kim Jinwoo asked, breathing heavily.

“Now it’s really over…?”

When I checked the time, it was a little past 3 o’clock.

At this pace, we could have done two or three more.

“This is just the beginning.”

“Hyung, I can’t even move my fingers anymore…”

“I’m going to eat this and head out right away.”

He handed over a glass bottle with a reddish glow from his luggage.

The ultimate fatigue recovery remedy, said to be made by a god who loved drinking, dancing, and revelry,

A recovery potion purchased from Hwanggeumhyang.

The ultimate fatigue recovery remedy, said to be created by a god who loves drinking and dancing and is masterful at stirring up excitement,

It’s a potion called Bacchus.

I bought it by the box for 20 gold.

Kim Jinwoo lowered his head as if giving up on saying something.

***

By the time I finished settling accounts at the association and left, it was already dawn.

I ran 3 more rounds even after clearing the swamp dungeon.

The schedule was tighter than expected, but conquering the dungeon itself was easy.

It was also thanks to Kim Jinwoo following along without any complaints.

Well, if it weren’t for the Bacchus, I would have collapsed long ago…

 

“Hyung-nim, who made this potion? It’s absolutely incredible!”

 

Kim Jin-woo, who had poured the last remaining Bacchus into his mouth, sparkled with bright eyes.

 

“Do you know the contact information of whoever made this? I’d like to recruit them to our guild immediately.”

 

I shook my head at those words.

 

Come on, it’s not just any god, but one of the Twelve Gods of Olympus.

 

If you try to recruit them to a guild that hasn’t even been formed yet, you’d be lucky not to get struck by lightning.

 

Perhaps sensing my lukewarm reaction, Kim Jin-woo quickly corrected himself.

 

“Or how about we get exclusive selling rights?”

 

“That’s not something I can control…”

 

It’s not like I haven’t tried.

 

When I was exploring Golden Fragrance, the first thing I thought of was the pharmaceutical field.

 

As you can see with Bacchus, most potions sold at Golden Fragrance were practically miracle drugs without side effects.

 

But…

 

‘Strangely, even when I had the ingredients tested, I only got the answer that it was just red wine.’

 

It’s just ordinary red wine, but the moment you drink it, all fatigue washes away.

 

So what else could this be but a divine miracle?

 

However, that miracle couldn’t produce a Food and Drug Administration certification mark.

 

And even if it did get FDA certification, supplying stable quantities would be difficult.

 

Since I wasn’t buying goods from suppliers, but obtaining them through auctions.

 

Moreover, I could see that product sales were gradually declining lately.

 

‘I’m even controlling the supply, but I don’t understand the reason…’

 

At first, curiosity about new products served as marketing itself, but you can’t keep eating the same products forever.

 

Anyone would get sick of eating pork cutlet for every meal.

 

‘I need some kind of groundbreaking new approach…’

 

“Ah… that’s disappointing. I’m a marketing expert, you know?”

 

“You studied marketing…?”

 

“Yes. Hyung-nim, I may not look it, but I’m the son of Hanwoori. I also handled the overseas marketing for Spicy Stir-fried Noodles. If it weren’t for the dungeon business, I was planning to continue in marketing.”

 

In this stagnating situation, Kim Jin-woo’s words couldn’t help but catch my interest.

 

“Jin-woo.”

 

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

 

“Let’s do some business together.”

 

***

 

The next day, I went to work not at the dungeon, but at that cafe from before.

 

That emotional cafe, I mean…

 

“Hyung-nim, please don’t look at me with that expression. The guild building construction will be finished soon, so just bear with it until this week.”

 

“Stop the nonsense and show me what you prepared.”

 

“I did some customer analysis based on the purchasing patterns you told me about.”

 

Kim Jin-woo slightly turned his laptop monitor toward me.

 

“Among customers who actively purchase food, there are people like ‘Whetstone that Sharpens Fire’ and ‘Stone Monkey of Flower Fruit Mountain’. These customers mainly prefer spicy ramen varieties.”

 

I nodded at Kim Jin-woo’s fluent presentation.

 

“But with only Poo Ramen and Spicy Stir-fried Noodles, the choices are limited.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“In cases like this, there are two solutions. The first is to increase the options.”

 

It’s the simplest solution.

If there are few choices, just increase the choices.

But that’s only possible when you have a diverse customer base.

 

“That method won’t work because there are too few buyers.”

 

“Exactly. The second one is the real solution.”

 

Kim Jin-woo moved to the next slide.

 

“We increase the ways to eat them.”

 

 

 

The screen showed familiar food items along with foods that would go well together in combinations.

 

Kimchi, cold rice, soft-boiled eggs, corn cheese, mayonnaise, and so on

 

“Set menus…?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“This approach could not only offer slightly different flavors but also expand our customer base. Also…”

 

“We could also draw them into the foods we’re selling together.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

It wasn’t wrong.

No, actually when I thought about it, it was simple but seemed like it would be effective.

 

Plus, it was possible to guide customers not just to spicy ramen but to other products as well.

 

“Not bad.”

 

“For now, I’ve brought several products from the company. Let’s try selling them first and analyze the results again.”

 

***

 

An empty office with a few conference tables and chairs.

 

This was the building that would be used as the guild building.

 

I was leaning back in my chair, looking at the continuously rising message windows.

 

[‘Spicy Stir-fried Noodles + Spicy Kimchi Set’ has been sold to ‘Forge That Tempers Fire’.]

[‘Spicy Stir-fried Noodles + Spicy Kimchi Set’ has been sold to ‘Stone Monkey of Flower Fruit Mountain’.]

[‘Spicy Stir-fried Noodles + Corn Cheese Set’ has been sold to ‘Moon Shooting Silver Arrows’.]

[‘Poo Ramen + Soft-boiled Egg Set’ has been sold to ‘Lion Wielding a Club’.]

[‘Extra Moist Mask Pack + Greek Yogurt Set’ has been sold to ‘Breath Embracing Spring’.]

 

“Boss, how did it go?”

 

Unable to endure the continuously vibrating smartphone, Kim Jin-woo finally asked.

 

“Everything’s sold out.”

 

“As expected…!”

 

Kim Jin-woo clenched his fist tightly.

 

“Next time, I think we could add individual products instead of bundles.”

 

“Is that so.”

 

I couldn’t help but chuckle at Kim Jin-woo’s enthusiastic appearance.

 

He definitely seems to have talent for marketing.

 

“More importantly, when will the furniture and such arrive? The office is too empty.”

 

The building was quite well-built, sturdy and in a good location.

 

But the office was far too empty.

 

“Furniture? This is everything. The guild funds are all gone.”

 

“Huh?”

 

What kind of nonsense is that?

 

Where did all the capital we received from Hanwoori go, and he’s saying this vast building only has one table and five chairs?

 

“Didn’t we receive guild capital?”

 

“Oh, that? We put everything into the building, and used the rest entirely for your contract fee. Clean and simple!”

 

“…”

 

No wonder the building was so nice…

 

“Boss, people need a home to return to. After grinding through dungeons until you’re bleeding, there should be a cozy home sweet home waiting.”

 

There were many things to point out, but I’ll just mention two.

 

A guild building isn’t a home sweet home, it’s a ‘workplace’.

And the guild members—it’s just me and him, only two of us.

 

“Anyway, it’s just you and me, so use the remaining floors as lodging. There are plenty of extra floors, so your younger sister could even move in too.”

 

Well, that’s not a bad idea.

I was already looking for a place to move with my sister anyway.

Using the extra floors of the guild building would be convenient from a security standpoint.

 

“Is there money left for interior design?”

 

“Well, we can just earn it from now on, right? Haha.”

 

“Haah…”

 

I pressed my forehead at his carefree attitude.

 

‘First, I need to pull some capital together…’

 

I opened Golden Fragrance and checked my accumulated Gold.

 

Gold Owned: 420,534G

 

400,000 Gold.

 

‘I should use half as capital, and the rest for ability enhancement.’

 

***

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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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