You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 26

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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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26

 

 

I left all the cleanup to Kim Jin-woo and immediately returned to the guild building.

 

Let me say it again – today I decided to rest.

 

After taking a light shower, I threw myself onto the office sofa.

 

That’s when my cell phone rang.

 

“Yeah, what is it.”

 

– Boss, this is too much.

 

It was Kim Jin-woo.

 

His thoroughly dampened voice made me chuckle.

 

“That’s what being a guild master is about.”

 

– Well, that’s true but…

 

“Where are you now?”

 

– I’m on my way out of the hospital.

 

“Are you hurt?”

 

– I’m not the one who got hurt. There wasn’t much more for me to do at the scene. I’m coming back after transporting the survivors to the hospital. Lee Seo-rin is traveling with me right now.

 

“How’s her condition?”

 

– The doctor said it was mild exhaustion. So when she regained consciousness, I gave her a bottle of Bacchus and she recovered right away.

 

“I see.”

 

– Yes…

 

“Alright. Be careful coming back.”

 

After ending the call, I tossed my cell phone down beside the sofa.

 

Now I’m really going to rest.

 

I quietly closed my eyes.

 

“…”

 

How am I supposed to rest?

 

 

I don’t really know how to rest.

 

Isn’t there a saying that even when it comes to having fun, someone who’s done it before does it better?

 

Since I jumped straight into porter work right after graduating high school, I didn’t have any hobbies that my peers might have had.

 

To begin with, the days I got to rest on weekends while doing porter work were few and far between.

 

‘Being hospitalized was what counted as resting.’

 

For now, I picked up the remote control that was within reach.

 

When I pressed the remote control button, the TV screen showed a familiar location.

 

– This is breaking news. We have the latest updates on the Nokbeon Station dungeon break incident. Currently…

 

Along with the “Breaking News” headline subtitle, the screen captured the collapsed road and Association staff moving about busily.

 

– The dungeon break has been resolved. Currently, cleanup is underway with help from the Association and Hunters.

 

– That’s all we have from the scene, now let’s meet with survivor interviews at the hospital.

 

The overall view of the scene appeared once more, then the screen switched.

 

– When I was caught, I sensed death. But while I was running away, I was able to meet that person.

 

– By that person, do you mean the Hunter from Ashin Guild who resolved this dungeon break?

 

– I don’t know if that person belongs to Ashin. But seeing the prowess that person displayed, they might be the S-rank Hunter born in South Korea this time.

 

Pretty accurate.

Though it’s questionable whether people will believe it…

 

They’ll probably just think memories from a life-threatening situation were exaggerated.

 

After those words, the survivor smiled awkwardly and added:

 

– I was too flustered at the time to say anything. If by any chance you’re watching this broadcast, not just me but all the surviving raid team members want to say thank you.

 

The screen switched back to the newsroom.

 

– Experts say that this time, the quick response of a new guild prevented the dungeon break without major damage. It’s a guild called Ashin. Particularly, attention is focused on the Ashin Hunter who appeared this time and stopped the first monster wave…

 

I pressed the remote control button firmly and turned off the TV.

 

I had grasped the situation sufficiently.

 

‘I hope they give me a decent reward.’

 

 

Asin had contributed the most to this dungeon break.

 

With that thought, I leaned back against the sofa again.

 

It was definitely an expensive sofa – the comfort was exceptional.

 

Just as my eyes were slowly beginning to close.

 

I sensed someone walking from the corridor.

 

‘Sigh, having too good Ki Sense is also a problem.’

 

“Boss, I’m here.”

 

***

 

Kim Jin-woo and Lee Seo-rin sat on the sofa across from me.

 

I looked at Seo-rin and opened my mouth.

 

“You came to sign a contract, right?”

 

There was no other reason for her to come all the way here.

 

“First, before that…”

 

Lee Seo-rin stood up from her seat and bowed her head.

 

“Thank you for saving me.”

 

I watched her for a moment and chuckled.

 

“Why are you being so formal all of a sudden.”

 

Seo-rin lifted her head with a light smile, then returned to her calm expression.

 

“Jin-woo, the contract.”

 

“Yes, here it is.”

 

As soon as I finished speaking, Jin-woo pulled out a sheet of paper from his jacket and placed it in front of Seo-rin.

 

“A contract…?”

 

Seo-rin looked at the single document in front of her with quite a bewildered expression.

 

Well, it was understandable…

 

Porters don’t sign contracts.

 

You just bring them when needed and pay them daily wages.

 

“Our guild requires contracts even for Porters.”

 

Seo-rin glanced at me briefly, then picked up the contract.

 

Then she began reading through it slowly.

 

Silence fell over the office again.

 

Originally, contracts should be examined carefully, item by item.

 

“This is my first time drafting this kind of contract too.”

 

Jin-woo, unable to bear the silence, spoke first.

 

“No, I mean this is the first time I’ve ever created a Porter contract.”

 

“Right… This is the first time I’ve seen a contract like this.”

 

Seo-rin put down the contract and spoke calmly.

 

“I’ll join Asin. But please grant me one condition.”

 

“A condition?”

 

Jin-woo’s eyes widened in surprise.

 

Seo-rin looked straight at me, not at Jin-woo.

 

“What, don’t you like it?”

 

“There’s nothing wrong with the contract itself. No, it’s ridiculously good.”

 

I nodded.

 

I completely agreed with her words.

 

First, there was a fairly high base salary plus incentives for entering dungeons.

 

Performance bonuses were also included, naturally.

 

There was a particularly unique part.

 

We had designed an organization specialized in Porter duties like supply management and resource recovery.

 

We offered Lee Seo-rin the position of Supply Team 1 leader.

 

It was quite a radical personnel decision.

 

Of course, she’s alone for now, but I’m planning to increase the number of porters going forward.

 

This is something I’ve been thinking about ever since I read the Demigod’s Diary.

 

The question of ‘What profession suits me best?’

 

This was my answer to that.

 

I was a porter from the moment I first awakened.

 

Though I stepped into the realm of S-rank hunters and demigods through the power of Golden Incense, my beginning was ultimately as a porter.

 

That’s why I came up with this idea.

 

Let’s establish a professional organizational system made up of porters.

 

Their efforts have been undervalued.

 

It’s because of them that dungeon raids and their aftermath can proceed smoothly.

 

Moreover, there were many people like Lee Seo-rin who chose to be porters for various reasons despite awakening good skills.

 

You can tell just by looking at Lee Seo-rin’s case.

 

Danger Detection.

The Nokbeon Station dungeon break was a preventable accident.

 

I offered her the position of Supply Team 1 leader for similar reasons.

 

With her abilities, she could choose safe supply routes during long-term raids.

 

I wanted to bring such people to Asin.

 

I wanted to change people’s perception of them.

 

That they too are ultimately the same hunters.

 

It would have been unthinkable in the past, but now it was entirely possible.

 

And the first step was Lee Seo-rin.

 

 

“Fine. Tell me.”

 

Jin-woo looked at me with an ‘Ehhhh?!’ expression, but I lightly ignored him.

 

“It’s nothing big. You’re going to a dungeon, so take me along too. I’ll see for myself there and decide whether to join or not.”

 

It wasn’t particularly difficult.

 

I had to take Lee Seo-rin through dungeons anyway.

 

“Alright.”

 

 

I nodded lightly.

 

“Good, let’s go right now.”

 

***

 

Seo-rin had planned to join Asin from the beginning, regardless of the Merchant’s skills or joining conditions.

 

She was quite flustered when she first received something called a contract.

 

But the content itself was fine, and everything from salary to benefits was better than most hunters.

 

Moreover, through the concrete organizational system for porters, she could vaguely guess what kind of vision the Merchant had.

 

Still, the reason she set conditions was…

 

For all of that to become reality, the corresponding ability was needed.

 

She needed to confirm whether the Merchant at least had the power to make those ideals reality.

 

It was fine up to entering the dungeon—

 

But the moment she saw the dungeon grade classification written on her documents, Seo-rin was speechless.

 

[Dungeon Grade Classification: A]

 

“…”

 

The dungeon where Seo-rin nearly lost her life just a few hours ago was B-rank.

 

No matter how much he wanted to show his skills, this didn’t make sense.

 

“Hey… are you really insane?”

 

It wasn’t the Merchant who answered, but Jin-woo who was beside him.

 

“Well, Seo-rin noona… we’ve been doing A-rank dungeons from the beginning.”

 

Jin-woo understood Seo-rin’s feelings best.

 

Because when he first entered a dungeon alone with the Merchant, he had the exact same reaction as her.

 

“At first, everyone was like…”

 

“No, Jin-woo, does this make any sense? No matter how much of an A-rank Hunter you are, who goes through an A-rank dungeon alone?”

 

She had a point.

Being an A-rank Hunter was just the minimum qualification to enter an A-rank dungeon,

not a certification that you could clear an A-rank dungeon solo.

 

There was nothing wrong with Seo-rin’s words.

But Jin-woo was equally frustrated.

He couldn’t tell her that the person creating those strange blue flames up ahead was an S-rank Hunter.

 

Jin-woo had also more or less confirmed that the Merchant was an S-rank Hunter,

but the Merchant hadn’t said so directly.

 

If he had intentions of hiding his identity, Jin-woo couldn’t ruin it with his hasty judgment.

 

In the end, Jin-woo opened his mouth in resignation.

 

“Just see for yourself. That’ll be faster.”

 

He had also shut his mouth only after seeing it directly.

 

At that moment, scorching heat engulfed the two of them.

 

Jin-woo, as if accustomed to it, drew his shield and stood in front of Seo-rin.

 

Kwaaaaang!

 

With a massive explosion, all the monsters visible before them were engulfed in blue flames.

 

Honestly, though Jin-woo didn’t say it, judging by the Merchant’s actions, he didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding.

 

He drove his shield into the ground to avoid being swept away by the aftershock.

 

While enduring with cold sweat, he heard a voice of admiration from behind.

 

“Wow…”

 

The sight of blue flames soaring was magnificent.

 

And that amazement would soon turn to shock.

 

He had experienced the same thing.

 

“H-how is that even possible…?!”

 

Kwaaaaang!

 

As the Blue Karmic Fire completely swept away the remaining monster horde, the forest was filled only with ash piles where flames had burned.

 

The scorching heat surged once more, then quietly died down at the fingertips of the Merchant who had swung Galmu.

 

Seo-rin stared blankly at the scene from behind the shield, then startled and averted her eyes when the Merchant turned his head.

 

The Merchant brushed off Galmu and walked toward Seo-rin.

 

“This much…”

 

He slowly smiled.

 

“Should be enough, right?”

 

Instead of answering, Seo-rin quietly nodded her head.

 

***

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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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