You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 142
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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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142
“The place where the Patriarch was attacked is the Holy Guild.”
The meeting began with a report from a Sadangpae goblin.
The beam projector displayed the emblem of the Holy Guild, the Korean branch of the Vatican.
“Are you certain of the Holy Guild’s involvement?”
The Magic Tower Master asked cautiously.
“That’s the only place in Korea that can use sacred power.”
“I see…”
The Magic Tower Master let out a contemplative murmur.
The Association President also made a low groaning sound.
It wasn’t that the Magic Tower Master didn’t know this and asked the question.
He had a duty to confirm.
Having problems with the Holy Guild could, in a way, lead to a dispute with the Vatican.
The Vatican was a global power on the same level as the Magic Tower.
If the Magic Tower was the order of mages,
the Vatican was faith under the name of sacred power.
A guild that originated from religion.
It was a religious force that had rapidly risen under the name of sacred power.
The number of hunters who used sacred power wasn’t that many.
However, sacred power was something that could produce several times superior strength compared to hunters of the same rank with just that one thing.
But it wasn’t just a matter of elite few either.
Countless believers who supported the Vatican.
From ordinary people to hunters, political and business circles, and international organizations – there were even more hidden connections not revealed on the surface.
Their faith was the hidden power that made the Vatican a force comparable to the Magic Tower.
The Holy Guild was the Korean branch of that Vatican.
In other words, making enemies with the Holy Guild meant,
to exaggerate a bit, you needed to be prepared to turn all the clergy and believers worldwide into enemies.
“We’re not talking about making enemies with the entire Vatican.”
Breaking the silence, I opened my mouth.
“Those of you here have probably already guessed what kind of enemy Ashin has been fighting for quite some time.”
At my words, the Former Magic Tower Master and Association President nodded.
Though not openly discussed, working together naturally led to knowing things even when you didn’t want to.
Besides, weren’t those two essentially honorary guild members of Ashin?
Former Magic Tower Master Jin Young-heon was the director of Ashin’s dungeon crop research institute,
and the Association President had worked with me to erase traces of the cult remaining in Korea.
It was a story everyone gathered here knew.
Except for the Magic Tower Master.
‘From his expression, it seems Jin Young-heon didn’t give him any hints.’
“It’s not at a stage where I can speak definitively yet… but let’s just say they’re a crazy pseudo-religious group that threatens humanity.”
Actually, bringing this up was for definitive confirmation.
“So let’s make this clear before we proceed. Will you come with us?”
I looked directly at the three people.
“Even if you step back from this matter, it won’t affect our cooperative relationship with Ashin at all.”
This was sincere.
I might seem to treat them casually, but these three people were hardly ordinary.
The Association President was a retired early-generation hunter, and the Former Magic Tower Master was a true hero.
And the Magic Tower Master.
At a young age, he had become the master of one of the few towers in the world.
I heard he used to be active as a combat mage called a warlock.
It would be reassuring if they became allies of Ashin, but it wouldn’t be a problem if they didn’t.
The air in the conference room subtly stiffened.
The first to break the silence was Former Magic Tower Master Jin Young-heon.
Jin Young-heon looked straight at me.
“Kid. Is the enemy you’re talking about the place where Kang Mu-heon belonged?”
This wasn’t the usual playful old man’s appearance.
His eyes were truly deep, as befitting a former generation hero.
When the hero Kang Mu-heon’s name came up, the Association President and Magic Tower Master flinched.
“That’s correct.”
“I see… So that’s how Kang Mu-heon ended up that way…”
After being lost in thought for a moment, Kang Mu-heon burst into laughter.
“Heh heh heh, came to research and got my ankle caught.”
“Master?”
The Magic Tower Master’s eyes widened as he understood the meaning behind the laughter.
“It would be ridiculous to back out now. Besides, I can’t say I’m without fault either.”
After Jin Young-heon’s choice was made, it became the Magic Tower Master’s turn.
“Haah… As Master said, backing out now would indeed look ridiculous. I’ll go with you as well.”
The Magic Tower Master let out a deep sigh.
“However, I’d appreciate it if you could make it clear that this is my personal position, not the Magic Tower’s.”
“Of course.”
Even just having the Magic Tower Master join would be tremendous help.
And with the Tower Master moving, the Magic Tower wouldn’t just sit still either.
Then everyone in the conference room’s gaze turned to the last remaining person.
“Ah, do I have to do this too?”
Perhaps feeling burdened by those gazes, Association President Han Ki-cheol scratched his head.
“Really?”
I made an expression asking if he couldn’t read the atmosphere.
“No… I already went with Liu Chen and even to the Giant Tribe Dungeon…”
“Did you go to the United States because of this too?”
At the Association President’s words, the Magic Tower Master made an astonished expression.
“Let’s just say the Association President is joining us.”
I sighed and held out a sheet of paper to each of the three people.
“Employment Contract…?”
After checking the contents, the Magic Tower Master looked back and forth between me and the contract with a dumbfounded expression.
“I’m the type who believes in contracts more than words.”
Everyone should have a position at Ashin.
I’m not enough of a scoundrel to ask for help for free.
Labor should naturally be accompanied by compensation.
That’s the rule of me, Han Sang-in the serial contractor.
***
After the contract writing was finished, the full-scale briefing continued.
The screen switched and a photo of a man appeared.
“This is Yun Seo-won, who became the guild leader of the Holy Guild.”
A neat black formal suit.
He was a man in his mid-thirties wearing glasses.
“Wasn’t Father Matthew the guild leader?”
The Magic Tower Master expressed his doubt.
“It’s been confirmed that there was a recent power change within the Holy Guild.”
Additional information appeared below the photo.
That the guild leader was replaced when the existing Father Matthew returned to the Vatican.
But that wasn’t the truth.
Father Matthew didn’t return to the Vatican.
No, would it be more accurate to say he couldn’t?
After Yun Seo-won’s inauguration ceremony, Father Matthew’s whereabouts disappeared without a trace.
And—
Naturally, my gaze turned to the weapon Yun Seo-won was holding.
Because it was a holy relic.
The Holy Blood Spear Longinus.
It couldn’t escape my discerning eye, honed by daily Golden Township shopping.
I couldn’t tell from just a photo whether it was a real holy relic or a replica.
The probability of it being a replica was higher.
Longinus was the weapon of the Holy Knight Order Director, an S-rank Hunter belonging to the Vatican.
But regardless of which it was, one thing was certain.
The cult was involved.
The only person I could think of who could obtain a replica of a holy relic that was hard to find even in Golden Township was the Cult Leader.
He was also the one who had given Gungnir to Noh Hyun-seong.
“Yun Seo-won recently re-awakened as an A-rank Hunter. And it’s been confirmed that he proceeded with the inauguration ceremony immediately after.”
The pattern was exactly the same.
Noh Hyun-seong had also obtained Gungnir and re-awakened after being isolated in a dungeon.
However, the difference was that Noh Hyun-seong’s case was a disguised coincidence,
while Yun Seo-won’s case was a plan from the beginning.
Moreover, no matter how much of a replica it was, if the model was Longinus, one would need to be at least an S-rank Hunter.
In other words, a message announcing the birth of an S-rank Hunter worldwide should have echoed.
But since me, there had been no more messages about the birth of S-rank Hunters.
Well, applying the standards of rankings to the cult was meaningless.
They had ways to bypass that process.
Just looking at the cult executives so far proved that.
“I’ll set his combat power based on S-rank standards.”
It would have been an absurd statement without knowing the internal circumstances, but no one could refute it.
If the information about the spear was true, it was entirely possible.
“For now, we’ll proceed in the direction of gathering more information.”
After the goblin’s report ended, I summarized the situation.
“Magic Tower Masters, please take charge of information about the holy spear.”
The two scholars who studied academics would be able to deeply understand information about the holy spear.
“Four Devas will proceed with information gathering as conservatively as possible.”
The Four Devas goblin bowed his head at my words.
Until Yamyeong recovered, we couldn’t overdo it.
Next, I instructed Dolsoe to strengthen guild security and provide marking escorts for individual Guild Members,
and assigned Zhang Qingye the task of further strengthening movement techniques in the essential martial arts.
Kim Jin-woo made an expression asking me to give him a mission too, but I quickly moved on to the next person.
‘Come on, if I give you more work, you’ll die from overwork.’
Right now, he was just enduring with the infinite energy of being a teenager.
The last place my gaze turned to was the Association President.
“The ownership of the dungeon at that address has been transferred to Ashin, right?”
The Association President nodded at my words.
I couldn’t understand why he was making a disappointed expression.
Ashin was naturally my Guild Member, so that was understandable,
and the Magic Tower Master and Jin Yeong-heon were also in cooperative relationships with me, so that was fine too.
But the Association President wasn’t.
Although he had formed a cooperative relationship with Ashin,
he was ultimately the head of the Korea Hunter Association.
Wasn’t it quite ridiculous for me to give work instructions to someone like him?
“When I went to the address, it turned out to be an undiscovered dungeon. Since ownership goes to the first discoverer anyway, ownership legally transferred to Ashin.”
“That worked out well.”
At those words, I stood up from my seat.
“Let’s end today’s meeting here. Well then, I’m counting on all of you.”
“Where are you planning to go, Elder Brother?”
“What else? I have to make up for it with my body.”
The undiscovered dungeon at the address Yamyeong had brought.
I was planning to deal with that first.
***
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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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