You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 24

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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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24

 

 

A Porter’s daily routine is always the same.

 

As always, following behind the raid party, carrying heavy and dirty bags while repeatedly bending and straightening her back.

 

Sometimes extracting by-products from stinking monster corpses, sometimes plunging her hands into sticky pools of blood to dig out bone fragments.

 

Lee Seo-rin found it annoying how her tied-back hair kept falling down to tickle her cheeks, but she had no time to use her hands.

 

The dungeon she participated in this time was the B-rank Dungeon, Orc Village.

 

Orc Village had a relatively low difficulty level for by-product collection compared to other dungeons.

 

There was nothing to gain from Orcs except Magic Stones.

 

If there had been at least an Orc Shaman, she might have obtained the race’s unique Enchanted Items, but since this was the entrance area, they only encountered scouts.

 

The environment itself was just an ordinary forest, so it was better compared to other dungeons.

 

Lee Seo-rin extracted the Magic Stone from the last corpse and then straightened her back.

 

“Whew.”

 

After roughly wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, she examined her bag.

 

Since she had only rushed to repair the torn parts, the stitched traces were haphazardly visible.

 

Enchantments like Weight Reduction couldn’t be restored, so the bag’s weight was rapidly increasing as the raid progressed.

 

It wasn’t that she lacked money.

 

Since it was already torn anyway, she had plans to replace it with somewhat better equipment.

That’s why she had only commissioned repairs to the extent that it wouldn’t interfere with usage.

 

“…”

 

Lee Seo-rin couldn’t take her eyes off the stitched part of the bag.

 

– Next time, I’ll make sure your bag doesn’t get torn.

 

The Merchant’s last words kept circling in her head.

 

‘…What would change by going to Asin?’

 

What a Porter can do within a rough raid party is ultimately the same.

 

Nothing would change…

 

Still, what might be different about Han Sang-in? That thought did cross her mind, but it ultimately returned to square one.

 

Even if Han Sang-in was different, there were limits to what he could change.

 

Seeing him easily subdue a B-rank Hunter, he seemed to have re-awakened to at least B-rank, but at most he’d be A-rank.

 

Expecting that one A-rank Hunter would change society’s perception was nothing but a pipe dream.

 

A shout from the Raid Leader came from up front.

 

“Rest is over, we’ll continue moving!”

 

Lee Seo-rin straightened her back while adjusting her bag buckle again.

 

The thread that patched over the torn marks caught on her fingertips.

 

‘For now… let’s focus on the raid.’

 

When the raid party moved, she immediately followed at the rear.

 

Before long, a small group of Orcs revealed themselves.

 

The raid party instantly charged and cut down the Orcs, and Lee Seo-rin extracted Magic Stones from the bloody scene along with the other Porters.

 

After several small battles continued like this—

It was when the village entrance appeared before their eyes.

 

That’s when it happened.

 

Tinnitus rang in Lee Seo-rin’s ears and her heart began beating rapidly.

 

It was a familiar feeling.

 

Her Danger Detection Skill had activated.

 

Like an irregular heartbeat, the skill sent gentle signals before soon ringing strongly.

 

‘This is dangerous.’

 

Danger Detection was sending a more intense signal than ever before.

 

But Lee Seo-rin hesitated.

 

In the raid just before this, and in the raid before that too, it was true that the raid party had overcome crises thanks to Seo-rin.

 

But that was a fact only Seo-rin knew.

 

Nothing had actually happened, after all.

 

In the end, the cause of all those failures was superficially because of Lee Seo-rin.

 

“Haah…”

 

Even if she received a penalty, there was nothing she could do.

 

This time it was really dangerous.

 

Not just the raid party, but even the people around the dungeon.

 

In the end, she cautiously approached the Raid Leader.

 

“Raid Leader, just a moment.”

 

The Raid Leader, who had been discussing the strategy for the village, turned his head.

 

“What is it?”

 

His expression wasn’t particularly bad.

After checking Lee Seo-rin’s appearance, a slightly annoyed look flashed in his eyes, but that level of reaction was relatively good.

 

“I have the Danger Detection Skill. There’s a reaction saying it’s dangerous to go any further.”

 

Though she was telling the truth, her voice became infinitely small.

 

“Ah, I see. There was such a skill?”

 

The Raid Leader nodded.

 

“Thanks for letting me know. I’ll keep it in mind when planning the strategy.”

 

But that was all.

He didn’t give any orders or modify their route.

 

‘If you understood, then do something about it…’

 

Seo-rin mocked herself inwardly.

 

In the end, the raid party moved their steps toward the village as planned.

 

She had expected it to some degree, but it didn’t work at all.

 

The Porter Sibling standing beside her quietly spoke up.

 

“Sister, don’t be too discouraged. The Raid Leader ignoring porters isn’t something new.”

 

“At least you shouldn’t go.”

 

Seo-rin grabbed her younger sister’s shoulder.

 

“You know my ability. This time it’s really dangerous.”

 

Her younger sister shook her head.

 

“…But sister, I got a warning from the Association last time when I dropped out. If I drop out this time too, my license will be suspended.”

 

Seo-rin closed her mouth.

 

“Besides, according to the Scout Team, it was just an ordinary Orc Village.”

 

Her younger sister smiled bitterly.

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll be in the back anyway. If it gets dangerous, I’ll run away immediately.”

 

Saying that, her younger sister ran to the rear of the raid party.

 

Though Seo-rin dropped out of the raid party’s formation, no one paid any attention.

 

Seo-rin could only watch helplessly as the raid party entered the village with her mouth shut.

 

***

 

How much time had passed?

 

The inside of the village became noisy.

 

The sound of weapons clashing echoed, then urgent screams spread.

 

They were human screams, not orc ones.

 

In the end, just as Seo-rin had worried, the raid party was in crisis.

 

At that moment,

 

“Ugh…!”

 

Seo-rin clutched both her eyes.

 

When the pain subsided a little and she opened her eyes, Seo-rin was inside the village.

 

Countless orcs were kneeling and showing reverence.

 

It appeared to be some kind of ritual, with a large altar in the center.

 

‘…What is this?’

 

And one orc standing on top of it.

 

In one hand, it was holding the Raid Leader’s head.

Appearing to be a shaman, it was offering the Raid Members as sacrifices one by one.

 

But what Seo-rin felt fear toward wasn’t the shaman.

 

The Giant Orc sitting on the throne beyond the shaman.

 

The aura it emanated far exceeded the grade of this Dungeon.

 

The moment their eyes met as her gaze followed, Seo-rin felt a powerful headache and collapsed backward.

 

“Huff huff…”

 

Before she knew it, she had returned to reality.

 

The vision shown by danger detection was etched into Seo-rin’s mind more intensely than ever before.

 

Seo-rin gasped for breath.

 

For a while, she stared blankly into empty space.

The vision was brief.

But in that short scene, she had clearly seen it.

 

The Raid Members tied up in a row beside the Altar.

 

And at the very end, Younger Sister with her head hanging down, looking haggard.

 

‘…I have to.’

 

Lee Seo-rin bit her teeth lightly.

 

Her heart pounded as if it would burst.

 

But her body was already heading into the Village.

 

Inside the Village, the scene she had seen in her vision was reproduced exactly.

 

The only difference was the number of tied-up Raid Members.

 

While Seo-rin was infiltrating, it seemed several had already become sacrifices offered to the Altar.

 

All the Orcs were already bowing, and the Orc Shaman on the Altar was absorbed in the ritual.

 

Thanks to that, it was easy for Seo-rin to approach the Raid Members.

 

Carefully, she crawled toward Younger Sister.

 

Then she took out her Dagger and cut through the Rope.

 

Younger Sister lifted her head with difficulty and looked at her.

 

“Sis, Sister…?”

 

“Shh!”

 

It was a small whisper, but that alone was enough.

 

After cutting Younger Sister’s Rope, she handed the Dagger to a Raid Member tied up nearby.

 

Seo-rin’s role ended there.

 

She grabbed Younger Sister’s arm and pulled.

 

They crossed the fence and hid in the Forest.

 

She retrieved the Porter Bag hidden in the Bushes.

 

She took out a Recovery Potion from the Bag and handed it to Younger Sister.

 

From the Altar behind them, the eerie singing of the Orcs echoed.

 

Though it felt like only a brief moment had passed, the sun was already setting.

 

Seo-rin secured the Porter Bag tightly and, without letting go of Younger Sister’s hand, hid deeper in the Forest.

 

Grass caught at their ankles, and tree branches brushed their faces.

 

They could follow the path the Raid Party had taken, but once pursuit began, they would be caught quickly.

 

The Orcs’ singing still echoed lowly from behind.

 

She knew that once that sound ended, the pursuit would begin.

 

Orcs who hold rituals sacred never let sacrifices escape.

 

Pursuing to the very end by any means necessary was the nature of Orcs.

 

Before they could even catch their breath, at the edge of the Forest, as the trees that had blocked their view parted, empty air suddenly spread out beneath their feet.

 

Fortunately, Seo-rin didn’t fall, but Younger Sister wasn’t so lucky.

 

“Kyaa…!”

 

Just as Younger Sister slipped and was about to fall down the Cliff,

Seo-rin reflexively threw down the Porter Bag.

 

Younger Sister grabbed the end of the Bag and barely managed to hang from the Cliff.

 

Seo-rin gripped the Bag Strap tightly with both hands.

 

“Hold on just a little longer! Don’t let go!”

 

Seo-rin’s fingertips turned white.

 

That’s when it happened.

 

The eerie singing that had been echoing from behind suddenly stopped with a sharp cut.

 

Her heart turned cold.

 

Seo-rin turned around to look into the forest.

 

Faint yellow eyes were moving between the dim bushes.

 

‘The chase has already begun…!’

 

Seo-rin gritted her teeth while desperately clutching the bag.

 

She tried to pull with all her might, but it wasn’t as easy as she hoped.

 

She had already been crawling through the dungeon for half a day.

 

In that state, having already exhausted her mental strength, just holding on without dropping the bag was overwhelming for Seo-rin.

 

“Sister.”

 

Younger Sister called out to Seo-rin.

 

Younger Sister knew too.

 

That the orc pursuit had begun.

And

the fact that Seo-rin couldn’t save her…

 

“I should have listened to you, Sister.”

 

“It’s okay. Just wait a little longer, I’ll save you.”

 

Seo-rin held onto Younger Sister’s hand while trying to pull the bag strap harder, but her hands kept slipping.

 

Then, an ominously chilling ‘snap snap’ sound came from the bag strap.

The sewn threads were breaking one by one.

 

Cold sweat beaded on Seo-rin’s forehead.

 

‘No… just a little more…’

 

No matter how hard she gritted her teeth, her arms trembled uncontrollably.

 

From below the cliff, Younger Sister’s weight felt increasingly heavier.

Seo-rin herself knew better than anyone that she couldn’t hold on in this state.

 

“Sister… I’m sorry.”

 

Younger Sister let go of the bag she was holding with a sad smile.

 

“No, no! Don’t let go!”

 

The moment her hand let go, Younger Sister’s scream faded into the darkness.

 

What came up over the cliff was only the torn Porter Bag that Porter Sibling had been holding onto.

 

Seo-rin stared blankly at the half-torn Porter Bag.

 

‘It tore again after all.’

 

Thud, her legs gave out.

 

Rustling sounds and low breathing came from beyond the bushes.

 

Shortly after, yellow eyes began flashing one by one in the darkness.

 

– Next time I’ll make it so the Cargo Bag won’t tear.

 

‘I should have just listened to the Merchant.’

 

As Seo-rin was staring blankly at the orcs’ shadows,

 

something hot brushed past her back.

 

And a familiar voice was heard.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

***

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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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