You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 143

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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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143

 

The location written on the address was a remote mountain slope.

 

After pushing through the bushes and going deeper inside, my view suddenly opened up.

 

It was an abandoned quarry.

 

A massive pit that had been dug in the past to extract stone materials gaped open.

 

In the center, rainwater had collected to form a small lake.

 

In front of the artificially cut cliff face, a downward path continued.

 

I slowly walked down the path.

 

The cliff-like cut wall surface revealed the stone strata as they were.

 

Going down a bit more, I was able to reach the bottom of the pit.

 

A faded management office sign and abandoned rusty containers.

 

Around the area, materials abandoned long ago were scattered carelessly.

 

It was a place closer to a dungeon than a dungeon entrance.

 

The traces of humanity worn away by nature made the atmosphere of this place eerily desolate.

 

‘Did they say it was further inside?’

 

The entrance investigated by the Association was at the very center of the pit.

 

I slowly moved my steps toward the direction marked in the documents.

 

Then suddenly, I felt a faint presence.

 

‘A person…?’

 

It was too big to be a wild animal, but too small to be an adult.

 

Since this was a hidden place deep in the mountains, very few knew of its location.

 

Excluding myself and the Association President, what remained was the Holy Guild.

 

‘A watcher from the Holy Guild?’

 

That worked out well.

 

I had quite a few curious points anyway.

 

I pretended not to notice and continued walking.

 

And the moment that presence completely entered my Ki Sense—

 

I used my Movement Technique to reverse and catch them from behind.

 

Then I reached out and grabbed the opponent hiding in the bushes.

 

“Wh-what!”

 

The small body caught in my hand struggled.

 

‘A young child…?’

 

It was a boy who looked to be around middle school age.

 

The child looked up at me with startled eyes and desperately twisted his body.

 

He didn’t look like a watcher from the Holy Guild.

 

Where would there be such a careless watcher?

 

However, it was certain that this child was related to the Holy Guild.

 

No, perhaps even to the Vatican.

 

The child was wearing black priest robes.

 

And on his chest, the Vatican’s coat of arms was clearly engraved.

 

But I didn’t let my guard down.

 

There was one lesson I had learned in the martial world.

 

They said the people to be most careful of in the Central Plains were the elderly and young children.

 

‘Though he shows no signs of training for that to be the case.’

 

“Stay still.”

 

When I spoke in a low voice, the child hesitated for a moment.

 

“What were you doing here?”

 

“…”

 

The child closed his mouth.

 

‘I can’t just leave him and go.’

 

But for quick interrogation, among the hundreds of techniques that came to mind, none were legal.

 

“Since there’s no time, it would be best to tell the truth if you don’t want to suffer.”

 

I mixed in a bit of killing intent.

 

If it were a young child, it would be enough to make them lose their fighting spirit…

 

‘Did it bounce off?’

 

It seemed this child was not ordinary.

 

“Your identity is…”

 

“There’s no time. We need to get out of here quickly!”

 

The child checked the time and started struggling again.

 

“Mister, if you don’t want to get trapped too, you need to escape right now!”

 

The child showed me the smartphone screen.

 

As if timed, the stopwatch was rapidly counting down.

 

And when it reached 0, an alarm went off.

 

Ding ding ding~♫ Good morning~!

 

The loud alarm echoed throughout the mountain.

 

The child’s face instantly turned pale.

 

“…No way.”

 

“What’s happening…”

 

Before I could finish speaking—

 

The ground shook.

 

Thud.

 

With a short vibration, the floor disappeared.

 

“What is this?”

 

Instinctively, I drew Karmic Fire to my feet.

 

I planned to leap up and escape.

 

‘An abnormal phenomenon?’

 

I felt something massive opening below.

 

I grabbed the child by the scruff of the neck and shot up toward the sky to escape.

 

But the rising cliff became a giant maw,

 

swallowing both me and the child whole.

 

The moment the maw closed, enormous gravity pulled me downward.

 

‘Tch, an abnormal phenomenon that only activates under specific conditions.’

 

I clicked my tongue inwardly and held the panicked child in my arms.

 

Then I fell into the darkness of the gaping maw.

 

***

 

The sensation of falling downward continued.

 

At some point, I felt a strange sensation as if gravity was reversing.

 

Then, like a stretched image returning to its original form, my feet touched the ground with a noise.

 

A brief wave of motion sickness washed over me.

 

Looking around, I found myself standing on a desolate wasteland with nothing in sight.

 

And in the distance—

 

I could see an endless tower.

 

‘A dungeon…’

 

This was quite different from the entry described in the report.

 

At the same time, I understood why the Association investigation team reported it as a simple undiscovered dungeon.

 

If the conditions weren’t met, it would only reveal its existence.

 

And that condition was probably the time the child was watching.

 

‘By the way, it’s quiet.’

 

The little one who I expected to make quite a fuss was quietly nestled in my arms.

 

“Did they faint?”

 

I hoisted the child onto my shoulder.

 

I started walking toward the tower.

 

***

 

As I got closer to the tower, I could see something like a village beneath it.

 

‘There are people here.’

 

I could sense multiple human presences from what looked like a stronghold camp.

 

I quietly gripped Galmu under my sleeve.

 

As I slowly approached the village entrance, one person who appeared to be a guard came running over.

 

There was wariness, but I didn’t sense any hostility.

 

If anything, it felt closer to welcome.

 

“A newcomer?”

 

Without even waiting for my answer, he glanced over my shoulder.

 

He showed no surprise even after seeing the unconscious child.

 

“Yun Seo-won, that bastard has even started confining young children now.”

 

‘So they’re hostile toward Yun Seo-won.’

 

At least they didn’t seem to be natives of this dungeon.

 

Though their clothes looked somewhat worn, they were modern attire.

 

‘I should observe a bit more and gather information first.’

 

“Is the child injured?”

 

“Just unconscious.”

 

“Well, it would be quite difficult for a child to endure the sensation of falling.”

 

Then, as if familiar with the routine, he turned his back.

 

“Follow me for now. The Village Chief will explain the rules and accommodations of this place.”

 

I followed him as he led the way into the village.

 

After passing through a fence made of unknown materials, the village came into full view.

 

No, it was a bit ambiguous to call it a village.

 

They were closer to tents than houses.

 

Whether intentional or not, the guard was moving along the main road through the village center.

 

Having heard news of a newcomer’s arrival, the village people were poking their heads out of their tents.

 

Their gazes held a mixture of curiosity, wariness, and strange welcome.

 

From Hunters to ordinary people, and even clergy wearing priestly robes.

 

I could see people of various professions, but they all had one thing in common.

 

The priestly robes and the aura I sensed from them.

 

They were all affiliated with the Holy Guild.

 

‘Was there some kind of internal conflict within the Holy Guild?’

 

Otherwise, being isolated in this dungeon couldn’t be explained.

 

Their hostility toward Yun Seo-won, and their welcome being greater than wariness toward new people.

 

They probably thought that anyone coming here was in a similar situation or position as themselves.

 

A dungeon that was difficult to clear – perhaps this place was some kind of confinement prison that Yun Seo-won used?

 

That was my speculation.

 

When we reached the village center, there was a fairly large tent set up.

 

At a glance, it was clear that this was the Village Chief’s residence.

 

Upon entering the tent, an old man was sitting in a worn chair.

 

This must be the person called the Village Chief.

 

Though his hair was white as snow, his back was straight and his eyes were clear.

 

He chuckled softly when he saw me.

 

It wasn’t a mocking laugh.

 

“What did you do to earn Yun Seo-won’s displeasure this time?”

 

I didn’t readily answer.

 

My response to the Village Chief’s question was conditional.

 

If Yun Seo-won belonged to the cult, then my very existence would be a nuisance to him.

 

But if I was really misunderstanding him, then honestly we were just strangers.

 

As I was having these slight concerns, the Village Chief continued speaking.

 

“Well, if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”

 

While speaking, the Village Chief rose from his chair.

 

“I’m just curious how much trouble that bastard Yun Seo-won must have caused to push a young talent like you into this place, so don’t mind me.”

 

With that, he extended both hands toward me.

 

“Give me the child. I may not look it, but I was quite a capable priest.”

 

As if to prove his words, he displayed Sacred Power in both hands.

 

I handed the child from my shoulder to him.

 

The Village Chief took the child and flinched for a moment.

 

He quickly managed his expression, but I wasn’t foolish enough to miss that subtle stiffening.

 

He laid the child on the bed as if nothing had happened.

 

While infusing Sacred Power into the child’s body, he quietly opened his mouth.

 

“…You’re not a believer of the Vatican.”

 

Before I knew it, the Village People had surrounded me.

 

“There are some strange things about you. I just want to ask a few questions.”

 

In the Village Chief’s hands, Sacred Power of a different nature from what he had been using to heal the child was gathering.

 

***

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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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