You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 2

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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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2

My eyes slowly closed.

 

Is this how it ends…?

 

Just as I was about to meet such a futile and miserable end,

a chilling presence approached.

 

Unable to lift my body, I barely managed to turn my gaze, and a black cloak filled my vision.

 

“…!”

 

It was a Wraith Knight.

 

Only then could I understand why the scent of blood had grown thicker.

 

‘I thought it was the smell of my own blood…’

 

“Urgh…!”

 

The creature roughly grabbed my hair and carelessly pulled out the longsword that was deeply embedded in my stomach.

 

“Kuhek―!”

 

My breathing became labored as if blood was filling my lungs.

 

As the stopper that had been preventing the bleeding was removed, blood gushed out like a fountain.

 

The Wraith Knight threw me to the ground as if annoyed.

 

Breathing began to become difficult.

 

I barely managed to turn my eyes to look at the Wraith Knight.

 

Only then could I understand why that knight had chased me with murderous intent.

 

‘Hah, since I stole the knight’s sword, of course it had to chase me.’

 

The knight’s gaze was fixed on his longsword.

 

The Wraith Knight swung the sword to shake off the blood, then turned its back as if it had no more business here.

 

That was the moment.

 

Kuuuung―

 

The cave that had been nothing but darkness suddenly became bright.

 

In an instant, the creature’s eyes visible through the helmet wavered.

The being that had been scattering murderous intent was nowhere to be found, as it frantically looked around in confusion.

 

It seemed to be muttering something, but I couldn’t understand it.

 

The creature couldn’t do anything to me and seemed flustered,

then after briefly examining me, it quickly left the area.

 

Damn it. Unlike before when I had at least maintained a proper posture, now I was face-down on the ground, collapsed forward.

 

My death had become even more miserable than before.

 

Now it was truly the end.

 

Whatever had changed, I could no longer even harbor hope.

 

I had no intention of stopping my organs from flowing out of the wound.

 

No, it would be more accurate to say I had no strength to stop them.

 

I simply gritted my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut.

 

Was it because I had lost too much blood?

My vision was blurring.

Even the heartbeat that had been echoing in my head had slowed.

 

‘So this is how I die…’

 

Perhaps because it’s the end, I can barely feel the pain anymore.

 

No matter how quickly the Rescue Team comes, it would take several hours.

Moreover, there was no telling how quickly the Association would notice something had gone wrong.

 

It would be a miracle if I stayed alive until then in my current condition.

 

Half-resigned, an unexpected message window appeared before my eyes.

 

[Gods are entering the auction house.]

 

‘…Auction?’

 

Am I seeing hallucinations from lack of blood?

 

There’s no way a message window I’d never seen in my entire life since awakening as a Hunter would appear.

 

And with such nonsensical words at that…

 

[@#$% frowns at the uninvited guest.]

[■■■ hastily grants auction house membership.]

 

It seems I’m seeing hallucinations as death approaches.

 

‘Jia is a high school student, so even part-time work won’t be easy for her…’

 

[Membership has been granted.]

[Would you like to participate in the auction?]

 

‘Mother’s hospital bills… what should I do…’

 

Still, it’s fortunate.

Since I took out life insurance…

 

The insurance premium was quite expensive because of my job as an F-rank Hunter porter, but I got it for times like this.

 

‘Still, since I joined after awakening as a Hunter, I didn’t pay much in premiums…’

 

A bitter laugh escaped me.

 

It was quite amusing that I was calculating insurance profit and loss while dying.

 

‘1.2 billion won should be enough to cover things until Jia becomes an adult.’

 

Thinking about it that way, it’s quite expensive for the worth of just one person like me.

 

[Membership has been granted.]

[Would you like to participate in the auction?]

 

Tsk, bothering someone on their final journey like this.

 

Despite being an illusion, the message window kept intrusively popping up in my head like it was forcing me.

 

‘Fine. I’ll participate. I’ll participate. So stop bothering me…’

 

With that thought—

My vision went black.

 

[The auction will begin.]

[Welcome to Golden Township.]

 

***

 

My ears were ringing.

The familiar smell of disinfectant lingered at the tip of my nose.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar ceiling.

 

A Hospital Room ceiling.

 

It was a scene I had no choice but to become familiar with after becoming a porter.

 

‘A hospital…’

 

I slowly raised my upper body.

 

I touched under my nose with my fingertips.

I faintly felt warm breath.

This wasn’t a dream.

 

‘…I’m alive?’

 

A surprisingly calm voice escaped me.

 

I lowered my head and slowly lifted my clothes.

 

‘There are no wounds.’

 

My stomach, which had been pierced by a sword, was healed without a single scar.

 

My broken leg was also fine.

My aching ribs didn’t hurt at all either.

 

‘…Everything is gone.’

 

As if I had been dreaming, all the injuries from that time had disappeared like a lie.

 

That wasn’t all.

 

‘I feel refreshed…?’

 

As if I had gotten a good night’s sleep, my body felt strangely light.

 

‘What happened…?’

 

Just then, the Hospital Room door opened.

 

“Are you conscious?”

 

The door opened, and a man with a military-like appearance entered.

Short-cropped hair.

A neat suit.

He wore a Government ID on his chest that read ‘Hunter Association’.

 

“I’m Kim Jae-hoon, section chief of the Hunter Association Investigation Department.”

 

“Ah… yes.”

 

“You just woke up so you must be disoriented, but given the situation, I need to confirm a few things.”

 

He said this while looking down at the Tablet he was holding.

 

“Han Sang-in. F-rank Hunter, you participated in this Raid Party as a porter, correct?”

 

“…”

 

The investigation began before I could even answer.

But all I could do was nod my head.

An unaffiliated F-rank porter with no connections had no right to refuse.

 

“Only Han Sang-in was rescued from the dungeon.”

 

So I was the only one who survived after all.

Well, it would be difficult for a D-rank raid party to survive a Wraith Knight.

If I hadn’t picked up that longsword from the beginning, this wouldn’t have happened…

 

“Since you’re the only survivor, we need to verify your testimony.”

 

So that’s why they visited my hospital room as soon as I regained consciousness.

 

Well, I understand.

A D-rank dungeon where all the Hunters were wiped out.

And an F-rank Hunter who survived alone from that place.

 

I survived alone in a dungeon that even the rescue team couldn’t easily break through.

 

Whether it’s suspicion or evidence, I’m at the center of it all.

 

The one problem is that I don’t know what clues I’m holding either.

 

“Could you tell us about the situation just before you lost consciousness, whatever you remember?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

For now, I told them everything truthfully except for the Raid Leader’s betrayal and the hallucination I saw at the end.

Even if they were from the Association, I couldn’t trust them carelessly.

 

“So… your last memory is being attacked by the Wraith Knight and losing consciousness?”

 

“Yes, when I came to, I was in the hospital.”

 

“…I see.”

 

Section Chief Kim Jae-hoon stroked his chin as if troubled.

 

Since I, the person involved, knew nothing, it must be frustrating.

 

But I was the one who wanted to know what happened most of all.

 

“Did the rescue team deal with the Wraith Knight before arriving?”

 

“Um… actually…”

 

Section Chief Kim Jae-hoon, who had been looking troubled, continued with difficulty.

 

“When the rescue team arrived, there was nothing there.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“There was no Wraith Knight you testified about, no armored knight, no Frost-gleaming Longsword.”

 

“What do you mean…”

 

“The dungeon was completely empty, and we found you collapsed in front of the bridge.”

 

I looked at Section Chief Kim Jae-hoon with an expression of disbelief.

 

“Honestly, I find it hard to believe too. If there were other survivors, I could at least make some guesses…”

 

He also had a bewildered expression as if this was his first time seeing such a case.

 

“This is just my personal opinion, but…”

 

Section Chief Kim Jae-hoon opened his mouth cautiously.

 

“It seems like you were caught in some kind of Mass Hallucination trap. There’s no other explanation.”

 

“…”

 

Well, if I received testimony that a Wraith Knight appeared in a D-rank dungeon,

all the Hunters were completely wiped out,

and the only survivor was an F-rank porter,

I would think the same way.

 

After that, Section Chief Kim Jae-hoon asked a few more questions formally and then left.

 

After he left, I sat on the hospital bed and stared blankly into space.

 

Was all of that really an illusion?

 

But if all of that was really false…

Then what is this window that’s glowing before my eyes right now?

 

[Would you like to enter the Auction House?]

 

Before my eyes, alone in the hospital room.

 

That window was still floating there.

 

***

—————
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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