You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 22
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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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22
A week had passed.
Lee Seo-rin still hadn’t contacted me.
‘Well, she’ll figure it out herself.’
Strangely enough, I was certain she would eventually come to Asin.
Was there anyone who could understand a Porter’s heart better than me?
If she understood my last words, she would definitely knock on Asin’s door.
‘I do need her for what’s to come.’
“Boss, are you listening?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking about something.”
Kim Jin-woo set down the planned products and spoke with a worried expression.
“Boss, aren’t you pushing yourself too hard lately? Why are you helping with 3 dungeons a day? Forget the one-year evaluation – our performance is already better than most official guilds.”
He sighed and pulled out a bottle of Bacchus from the refrigerator.
“Let’s take a break for a moment.”
I chuckled as I opened the bottle cap and downed it in one shot.
The sweet taste of grapes flowing down my throat melted away all the fatigue from my body.
Every time I drank it, I felt that the miracles created by divine beings were always mysterious.
How could a grape juice-flavored carbonated drink blow away fatigue without any side effects…
But something was strange.
The surface of the Bacchus bottle in my hand gradually became cloudy,
It had faded to gray before I knew it.
‘What?’
His gaze shifted to the Bacchus bottle in Kim Jin-woo’s hand.
The thing in his hand had a strange color too.
A golden light was flowing.
“Sh-should I not eat…?”
Caught off guard by my sudden gaze, Kim Jin-woo froze with a flustered expression, having only halfway opened the lid.
‘Am I seeing things wrong?’
I shifted my gaze to the table.
Strange colors were visible among the product samples as well.
Some things blurry, some things clear.
while others had faded to a grayish color.
I pointed to a grayish sample bundle on the table.
“Jin-woo. That… the Corn Cheese and Spicy Stir-fried Noodle Set. Sales have dropped recently, right?”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“What about that one?”
This time I pointed to the New Product Bundle stacked nearby.
This time I pointed to the stack of new product bundles beside me.
It was a sample with a subtle golden hue.
“Hasn’t that been rising suddenly lately?”
Kim Jinwoo hesitated for a moment, then opened his eyes wide.
“Huh? That’s right. How did you know that, sir? I was just about to report that sales have increased…”
While I was the one who registered items with Hwanggeumhyang, analyzing them was entirely Jinwoo’s responsibility.
Developing marketing strategies and new products to match that as well.
I had a rough idea of the sales figures, but I didn’t have a complete grasp of the trends.
But… it was strange.
I didn’t even go into Hwanggeumhyang to check the sales figures, nor did I read Kim Jin-woo’s report… so why?
Do I see such things in my eyes?
To call it a hallucination, every single thing I pointed to had the exact right color.
Something had changed.
I got up from my seat.
“Increase the quantity for what I mentioned earlier, reduce those two, and don’t sell those two over there.”
I pointed to several samples.
I increased the quantity for items with golden light, and reduced the quantity for those that had changed from golden to gray light.
“Uh, hyung-nim. Those were originally selling well though?”
“Just do as I say for now. Let’s end today’s meeting here, I have something to take care of so I’ll head out first.”
“What? Hyung-nim, suddenly what—”
Kim Jin-woo’s voice faded behind me.
***
After leaving the conference room, I immediately logged into Golden Fragrance.
The familiar golden atmosphere appeared along with the auction house screen unfolding before my eyes.
But—
It was definitely a familiar screen I had seen countless times, yet today it was different.
The items visible before my eyes.
Faint streams of light flowed around each item.
Some sparkled with golden light, while others had faded to a gray hue.
Just like in the conference room earlier.
‘…It’s not a hallucination?’
I clicked on the description of an item listed on Golden Fragrance.
Sales volume data, number of bidders, competitive prices—
All the information overlapped in my field of vision,
and above it was a clearly visible ‘flow of light’.
Whether more auction bids would come in, or if it would proceed to final bidding.
That flow of value streamed into my mind.
“…!”
That was the moment.
Information seeping into my mind came rushing in like a runaway train.
“Ugh…!”
My head felt like it was about to explode.
Cold sweat poured down.
An unmanageable amount of information was flooding in like a tidal wave.
With my vision turning white, I barely managed to hold onto my consciousness and closed the Golden Fragrance window.
That was my limit.
I saw the familiar guild corridor floor and lost consciousness right there.
I opened my eyes on the office sofa.
“Ugh…”
Kim Jin-woo rushed toward me with a genuinely worried expression, flustered.
“Hyung-nim! Are you conscious! You were collapsed in the corridor—”
He held out a half-opened Bacchus drink.
“Please drink this for now.”
It was the same Bacchus from the meeting earlier.
Sometimes he was quick-witted, but other times he could be quite dense.
That sight made me chuckle.
My overloaded mind also seemed to have cleared up, becoming cool again.
“It’s fine. You’re still carrying around what I gave you to drink?”
Kim Jin-woo scratched his head sheepishly.
“How long was I out?”
“About 30 minutes, I think.”
“I see.”
That’s when it happened.
Kim Jin-woo’s voice, or should I call it a prayer?
His voice echoed inside my head.
『At least he regained consciousness quickly, but what if he had really gotten hurt…
By the way, I wonder if the Taehwa Steel stocks I bought this time will be okay…
He definitely said they would go up. Why does it keep declining…
Should I sell them off now…』
Along with that thought, I saw a red bar extending before my eyes.
“Hey, did you buy Taehwa Steel?”
“What?! Wh-what do you mean?”
Kim Jin-woo was startled and nearly dropped the bottle he was holding.
Got him.
“Don’t sell it, hold onto more. Actually, you could buy more. That’s going to rise.”
“Huh? What do you mean…”
“Never mind, get out.”
“Hyung… did you receive some divine revelation or something?”
“Shut up. I’m taking a break today. Get out.”
Kim Jin-woo left the office, still unable to shake his suspicious expression.
Even after Jin-woo left, I could still hear voices in my ears.
『Please let me win the lottery jackpot…』
『Red light? Blue light? Should I go short…』
『Should I sell this now or not…?』
It was noisy in my ears, but it wasn’t to the point where my mind would shut down like before.
Did I really receive some divine power… what is all this happening overnight.
At that moment, I was struck by a single word.
This strange phenomenon where I could see changes in the value of objects and hear people’s desperate prayers.
There was something among the recent events that happened to me.
An event that could most significantly contribute to this strange phenomenon.
“They said I ascended to the ranks of demigods, so maybe I developed Divine Power.”
That was the only possible cause for this miraculous phenomenon.
“Tsk…”
But I couldn’t just be happy about it.
An uncontrollable ability is no different from a bomb.
If my head overloaded and I fainted while conquering a dungeon…
It was a terrible accident I didn’t even want to imagine.
Most importantly, the restriction on using Golden Incense was the biggest problem.
Golden Incense is the source of all my power.
‘So I need to solve this.’
And I already knew.
Where there was a way to solve this.
I reached for Golden Incense, where I had always found answers.
***
‘Find only the target, and get out immediately.’
“Whew…”
After taking a deep breath, I quickly opened Golden Incense.
Streams of light rushed into my head again.
In an instant, waves of information pounded inside my head.
‘At this rate, my head will explode again.’
Then I unconsciously whispered to myself.
‘I just need to find a way to control it.’
That was the moment.
As soon as my purpose was clearly defined in my head, the amount of information scattered like noise decreased.
The streams of light went out one by one, leaving only a single flow before my eyes.
‘…If I set a purpose, only the desired flow remains?’
Though unintentional, I seemed to have found one way to control this power.
Before other stray thoughts could arise, I quickly followed that flow to its end.
At the end, golden threads were wrapped around a single item.
[Pioneer Hero God’s Diary + Bracelet Set][Grade: Normal / Buy It Now Price: 10G][Description: A record and control bracelet set left by a hero who suddenly ascended to the ranks of demigods for his juniors.
The diary and bracelet are enchanted with Permanent Preservation Magic.]
“…Perfect.”
There was no reason to hesitate.
I immediately pressed the purchase button.
***
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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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