You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 15

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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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15

 

 

Daily life didn’t change much after the remeasurement.

 

After pushing hard on dungeon conquests, I managed to promote Kim Jin-woo to B-rank Hunter in just 5 days.

 

Around the 5th day, we ran out of Bacchus and Jin-woo almost had to be carried out…

Well, what could we do? The guild master’s rank determines the guild’s rank.

And it was only then that I could hear the guild name.

 

Asin.

 

It means ‘pure and flawless.’

 

It was a name that suited Kim Jin-woo’s ambition to create a perfect guild.

 

Well, the actual meaning he intended for me was ‘Asin ‘.

Someone who would use even sprouts as dry firewood.

He lamented that he had recruited someone perfectly suited for the guild.

 

Thanks to that, the Food Set Products that Kim Jin-woo planned were selling like hotcakes with tremendous popularity.

 

Whether the strategy points worked, sales of individual products rather than sets were also trending upward.

 

Gold balance was increasing in real-time.

 

Once we earned gold, there was only one thing to do.

 

Spec upgrade.

 

I won most of the earned gold in auctions for stats.

 

Buying equipment was also an option, but…

Galmu was a special case – each weapon listed on Golden Fragrance exceeded millions.

 

Moreover, considering the competition, I might have to spend all my saved gold on a single weapon.

 

That’s why I chose stats.

 

No matter how good the luxury items you wear, you need to become a luxury person first.

 

I thoroughly followed that principle and started purchasing from the most basic stats.

 

As a result, my strength and agility had already exceeded the hundreds.

 

I wanted to invest more, but there were no F-rank stats remaining on Golden Fragrance.

 

Next, I started purchasing mana stats.

 

Hadn’t I had quite some fun with mana in the Goblin Village?

 

If that was the extent while not knowing how to use it properly, what if I learned to use it correctly?

It would be a spec upgrade incomparable to now.

 

I carefully examined the stat window displayed before my eyes.

 

I had long since surpassed most A-rank Hunters.

 

‘If things go well… S-rank might be possible?’

 

Then I let out a chuckle.

 

Was S-rank just anyone’s dog’s name?

 

A-rank could be reached if you tried hard enough to die, really hard enough to die.

 

But S-rank is different.

 

That’s not the realm of talent and effort.

No, it might not even be the realm of humans.

 

Throughout the entire world, there are only 9 S-rank Hunters.

 

Each one of them corresponds to national power level.

 

Splitting seas and blowing away mountains.

 

Each S-rank Hunter possesses power like a natural disaster.

 

Such a realm cannot be evaluated by stats alone.

 

Even if I might have approached numerically, I hadn’t set foot in that realm.

 

Their power cannot be defined by numbers.

 

Something beyond simple numbers… it might have to be called Divine Authority.

 

Well, anyway, I still have a long way to go.

 

However, there was a problem that arose while winning stat auctions.

 

I stared at the message window that appeared before my eyes for a long time.

 

[‘Mana’ stat is being integrated into Karmic Fire.]

 

Every time I bought mana stats, they kept merging into Karmic Fire.

 

What changed was that now blue flames sparked from my hands instead of mana.

 

This wasn’t a problem I could just brush off with ‘My mana has gained fire attributes!’

 

The mana from before it merged with Karmic Fire still had ways to be used.

 

Like causing powerful explosions through mana particles.

 

But the mana merged with Karmic Fire had a different nature from existing mana.

 

It didn’t settle down, nor was it unstable.

 

Couldn’t I use it as a powerful weapon by shooting fire from my hands?

 

I would have had fewer worries if that were the case.

 

The problem was that this was ‘fireworks,’ not magic or a skill.

 

It made crackling sounds while producing flashy flames, but where could I use this?

 

Moreover, it was so stable that even when sparks flew, nothing caught fire.

 

There must be a proper way to utilize Karmic Fire.

 

Eventually, I took out the papyrus-bound book again.

 

The ‘Blurred Arrow’s Training Manual’ where I had done Mind-Body Training.

 

A divine artifact that presents the most appropriate training needed for trainees.

 

As I opened the book, a familiar energy pulled at my arm.

 

Shortly after, space warped and twisted, and the world contorted with familiar dizziness.

 

When my vision returned, I was back at that Training Ground.

 

However, if there was one difference…

 

“Galmu?”

 

Galmu was gripped in my hand.

 

As if responding to being recognized, the tip of Galmu’s blade curved in a circle.

 

‘Did it just answer…?’

 

At the same time, my Sixth Sense detected a threat.

 

I instinctively swung Galmu.

 

Clang!

 

With a dull impact sound, a half-bent iron arrow fell in front of me.

 

Simultaneously, a message window appeared.

 

[Parrying Success!]

[Perfect Parrying (1/10,000)]

 

“Parrying…?”

 

Looking around, I finally noticed the training dummies surrounding me.

 

The training dummies held crossbows in their hand parts,

and dozens of such dummies were encircling me.

 

Whoosh—!

Without time to catch my breath, an arrow flew at me.

My Sixth Sense reacted and my hand moved first.

 

Clang!

 

Galmu deflected the arrow.

 

[Parrying Success!]

[Perfect Parrying (2/10,000)]

 

“Phew…”

 

I caught my breath.

 

I came to learn Karmic Fire, but a crossbow barrage was greeting me instead.

 

“Right. To learn Karmic Fire, I need to start with the basics, huh?”

 

***

 

[Parrying Success!]

[Perfect Parrying (5,841/10,000)]

 

[Parrying Success!]

[Perfect Parrying (5,842/10,000)]

 

“Phew…”

 

Sweat trickled down my spine.

 

Galmu in my grip was vibrating slightly while holding heat.

 

At first, it was just training to parry arrows shot by training dummies.

 

I thought it was training to balance body and mind, and considered it the foundation before moving on to training for handling Karmic Fire.

 

At first, arrows came one at a time, then two, three, and began pouring down simultaneously,

and at some point, I couldn’t see ahead anymore.

 

The difficulty had increased, but it was still within a range I could sufficiently cover.

 

For me, whose Sixth Sense had already expanded my Ki Sense, it wasn’t that difficult a problem.

 

Shape, direction, and speed.

I couldn’t see with my eyes, but my body was sensing it.

 

The problem was when my vision returned.

 

Countless warning indicators appeared over the incoming arrows,

 

Clang!

 

Galmu was knocked away.

 

“…!”

 

The arrow stung the hand that deflected it.

 

A new message window appeared as if the review was over.

 

[Parrying Failed!]

 

Then it kindly(?) told me the method.

 

[Wrap your sword with Karmic Fire.]

 

I had been wrong from the beginning.

 

This wasn’t simple parrying training.

 

It was training to handle Karmic Fire, which I needed most and wanted.

 

I slowly walked over and picked up the fallen Galmu.

 

The training dummy was just aiming at me with its crossbow, as if waiting for me to use Karmic Fire.

 

“Right. It was training to use Karmic Fire from the beginning, wasn’t it?”

 

Like when I released mana, I released Karmic Fire from the palm holding Galmu.

 

Sparks scattered in all directions like fireworks.

 

[Connect Karmic Fire to Galmu with a wrapping sensation.]

 

‘Wrapping…’

 

It’s flame, yet stable.

 

I focused on the feeling of broadly embracing such stable Karmic Fire.

 

Then the sparks that had been scattering wildly around smoothly spread over Galmu.

 

At the same time, an arrow flew toward me.

 

I quickly swung Galmu.

 

Bang!

 

“Hup…!”

 

I deflected the arrow, but my arm tingled.

 

[Parrying Failed – Karmic Fire Sword Energy Imbalance]

 

“That again.”

 

Like when I first entered the manual, I remembered the training of striking down the training dummy.

 

“Alright, let’s give it a try.”

 

I did it then, so why couldn’t I do it now?

 

***

 

[Parrying Success!]

[Perfect Parrying (6,842/10,000)]

 

[Parrying Failed – Karmic Fire Density Imbalance]

 

[Parrying Success!]

[Perfect Parrying (6,842/10,000)]

 

[Parrying Failed – Karmic Fire Flow Rate Imbalance]

…

 

Hundreds of times after that. No, thousands of times.

I wrapped Karmic Fire, swung my sword, failed, and swung again.

 

Blood stains appeared on my body from arrows I couldn’t deflect.

My body grew heavy from accumulating physical fatigue, but my mind remained clear.

 

It wasn’t only pain that became familiar through repetition.

At some point, from my sword and fingertips, to the movement of my feet, to the flowing Karmic Fire—

something had expanded from my existing swordsmanship.

 

As the failure messages began to decrease,

 

[Parrying Success!]

[Perfect Parrying (9,999/10,000)]

 

A vivid flame rose from the tip of the sword.

A density on a completely different level from before.

Not a flickering light, but thick and sharp heat.

 

It wasn’t a simple sword strike.

It was the first moment when the flame called Karmic Fire gained ‘form’.

 

‘This is a training method that leaves no choice but to succeed.’

 

It was a continuous series of situations where you’re pushed to death, and if you don’t want to die, you must succeed.

 

Though it does kindly inform you in the middle…

 

“Only one left now?”

 

I turned my gaze to the training dummy for the final attempt.

 

But what the training dummy held in its hands wasn’t a crossbow.

 

It was something much larger and longer than an arrow.

 

“A spear…?”

 

The training dummy’s body expanded, then bent at the waist, taking a throwing spear stance.

 

My Sixth Sense stat was frantically displaying danger warnings across my vision.

 

It wasn’t only Sixth Sense showing warning signs.

 

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

[Break the stability of Karmic Fire.]

[Release Karmic Fire at maximum output.]

 

Even the Training Manual’s messages were flashing red alarms.

 

That’s when it happened.

 

The training dummy’s body shot up into the air as if launched.

 

And—

 

Bang!

 

A massive throwing spear was hurled toward me.

 

“Damn it!”

 

I raised Galmu.

I gathered all the sensory flow I had accumulated through thousands of attempts.

My body reacted instinctively.

I took my stance, and my center of gravity shifted to my toes.

 

I poured as much Karmic Fire energy as I could muster into Galmu.

 

It was pure instinct.

 

All my senses focused on survival converged into Galmu.

 

The Karmic Fire that gathered along Galmu’s blade amplified its heat and form, transforming into a massive flaming sword.

 

I gripped the enormous sword with both hands.

 

‘This will work.’

 

I don’t know.

Whether it was Sixth Sense or just my instinct.

But the Divine Authority of Karmic Fire, perfected after ten thousand swings, whispered to me.

 

That I could do it.

 

I didn’t hesitate.

I raised the sword high.

 

My gaze fixed on the incoming spear.

 

Holding my breath,

I struck down.

 

The red flames wrapping around Galmu concentrated at the sword’s tip.

 

—Sizzle!

 

The Karmic Fire flowing along the blade contracted and exploded.

 

Kwaaaaaaaang!!!

 

The red strike cut through the air and collided with the massive spear.

 

At that moment, a tremendous explosion erupted at the point of collision.

No, it wasn’t an explosion.

It was flame.

 

Blue fire that burned, erased, and devoured.

It wasn’t flame but ‘calamity’.

 

That single strand of flame devoured the Training Dummy whole.

Its form evaporated into black ash, and even the sky beyond warped and twisted into brilliant white.

 

Silence.

 

And then.

 

[Parrying Success!]

[Perfect Parrying 10,000/10,000)]

[Training Complete]

[You have succeeded in controlling Karmic Fire.]

[You have entered the realm of demigod.]

 

‘Demigod?’

 

I felt no emotion whatsoever.

Only my fingertips, my heart, my sword…

Were trembling quietly.

 

***

 

That day, the world was in chaos.

 

A message that awakened Hunters would hear.

 

That ‘voice of god’ which was difficult to hear even once in a lifetime—

Echoed throughout the entire world.

 

[The tenth S-rank Hunter has been born.]

[May there be blessings on the path you walk…]

 

3:12 AM.

The tenth S-rank Hunter was born in Korea.

 

News articles poured out not only domestically but also from foreign media.

 

[Chosen by God? Dawn Message Rings Out… Who is the Tenth S-rank?]

[God’s Blessing Descends on Korea… Foreign Media Also Focuses on S-rank Hunter’s Appearance]

[Tenth S-rank Appears, God’s Message Echoes Throughout the World]

 

***

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————