You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 3
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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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3
[Would you like to enter the Auction House?]
I crossed my arms and looked around at the golden rectangular window floating before my eyes.
Bold gothic font with a glittering border.
It was a system window you’d only see in games.
‘Do I just… press this?’
Muttering to myself, I carefully reached out my hand.
Tap—
But my finger only brushed through empty air, and the window showed no change whatsoever.
I tried once more, but the result was the same.
‘Maybe it’s not a touching method?’
I quietly stared at the window and spoke aloud.
“Enter the… Auction House.”
Only my hollow cry echoed in the empty Hospital Room.
Next, I started taking action instead of speaking.
I slowly nodded my head in front of the message window.
[Would you like to enter the Auction House?]
Even after nodding two or three times, there was no change.
‘Maybe… it needs to react to specific keywords?’
“…I will enter.”
“…May I go in?”
“…I’ll enter?”
“…Let me in?”
Then suddenly, my reflection in the window caught my eye.
At that moment, all my actions up until now flashed quickly through my mind, and reality hit me hard.
Me muttering to myself in the middle of the Hospital Room.
Me nodding at thin air like a crazy person…
‘Really, at this point I might actually be insane.’
My face flushed hot.
It was lucky no one was around, but if someone else had seen me like this…
“Brother…”
Damn… I heard a familiar voice.
“You didn’t hurt your head too, did you?”
My younger sister Han Jia was standing stopped at the door, looking at me with a serious expression.
“How much did you see?”
Han Jia slowly approached.
“From when you said ‘I will enter’ to thin air.”
“Damn it…”
That meant she saw everything.
“They said it was because of hallucinations, but didn’t you hurt your head badly?”
“No…”
I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly and turned my gaze toward the window.
“You’re really okay, right?”
“I told you I am.”
Jia looked at me for a long time with a doubtful expression.
“You almost really died this time.”
“But I was lucky enough to come back alive.”
“That luck won’t follow you every time.”
Jia’s tone became slightly stiff.
“If it’s because of mom’s Hospital bills, I’ll work as a Hunter too after I graduate.”
“What kind of Hunter can you be when you can’t even Awaken?”
“Brother, you’re F-rank too. There’s not much difference from ordinary people.”
Han Jia shot back without backing down.
Seeing her voice tremble slightly at the end, it seemed like worry was taking precedence over anger.
“Still, I did awaken at least.”
“That doesn’t change the fact you almost died.”
“Hey, who do you think I’m doing this work for right now.”
I stopped talking for a moment.
I was afraid it might turn into a fight if I continued.
More than anything, I hated this kind of atmosphere.
Mother’s hospital bills aside, I wanted my younger sister to live doing what she wanted to do.
“Never mind. Did you eat?”
Jia started rummaging through her bag as if forcibly changing the subject.
“You kept complaining about how bad the hospital food tastes, so I packed a lunch box.”
She took out the lunch box and placed it on the desk with a thud.
“When does a student have time to pack lunch boxes? Use that time to study hard instead.”
“Yes, yes, big brother who doesn’t know what it’s like being a senior with 200 days left until the college entrance exam should stop complaining about side dishes and just eat.”
“Who said I was complaining…”
I grumbled as I opened the lunch box.
“I have to go to the academy now. And really don’t do dangerous work.”
Han Jia sighed and got up from her seat.
“Don’t worry.”
“I’m serious. Don’t overdo it. A porter just needs to carry luggage, don’t go sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“I got it.”
Han Jia looked over my condition one last time, let out a small sigh, and opened the hospital room door.
“Finish your meal and get some rest. Don’t do anything weird.”
“Okay.”
The door closed, and the hospital room became quiet again.
I picked up my chopsticks and took a bite of the lunch box.
The familiar taste spreading throughout my mouth with the warm broth.
It was a brief moment when everything became peaceful.
Perhaps that’s why.
The golden window in front of my eyes appeared clearly, as if breaking that peacefulness.
[Would you like to enter the Auction House?]
“You’re really persistent too.”
Just ignoring it somehow bothered me strangely.
As if that small window was the only passage to escape my life.
‘What would really be there if I entered?’
Half doubt, half expectation.
I put down my chopsticks and slowly opened my mouth.
“…Enter.”
At my carelessly spoken words, the window ‘shook’ for the first time.
“Huh…?”
The system window that started shaking rapidly split apart as if dividing,
[Membership has been confirmed.]
[Information entry is not complete.]
[Searching for member’s alias.]
[Searching…]
[No applicable alias found.]
[Alias has been fixed as Nobody .]
…
System windows that appeared like bamboo shoots after rain filled my vision.
“What, what is this?”
My confusion was brief, as all the system windows merged into one, then returned to a single message window.
[Entering the Auction House.]
At that moment, everything in front of my eyes flashed white.
Light covered my vision,
and I felt a hollow, muffled sensation in my ears—
“….”
Before I knew it, I was standing in a completely different space, not in the hospital.
***
“…Where is this place now.”
The place where I opened my eyes was not the Hospital Room.
A small, quiet room.
The square-shaped walls were smooth without any patterns or windows, and the floor was covered with cloth like a luxurious carpet.
A single-person sofa that could seat exactly one person and a round table in front of it.
There was nothing else besides that.
But strangely, it wasn’t unpleasant.
Rather, it was a silence that calmed the mind.
This was… close to comfort.
‘Is this like a waiting room?’
That’s when it happened.
[Anonymous! Welcome to the Golden Land.]
Along with those words, a large window appeared before my vision.
An Auction House interface that you’d only see in games.
With golden borders and a search window with a scroll bar spread out before my eyes.
[Member Name : Nobody]
[Member Grade : Bronze]
[Gold Held : 10G]
[Items Being Bid On : None.]
The screen operated according to the movement of my eyes and hands.
I scrolled down as if entranced.
[Phoenix Heart (Grade : E)] Starting Price : 400G]
[Shadow Lord Set (Grade : C)] Starting Price : 14,000G]
[Fire Eye Golden Crystal (Grade : D)] Starting Price : 5,800G]
They were all absurdly incredible items.
That Phoenix Heart marked as E grade is an item you couldn’t obtain even with money in reality.
Yet such an item was listed in the Auction House as merely high-grade…
I couldn’t tell what value 400G held, but I could guess it wasn’t particularly expensive here.
‘My gold held is 10G…’
Of course, compared to the gold I had, it was an outrageous price…
After scrolling down for a while, items I could actually buy began to catch my eye.
[Basic Stat: Strength +1 (Grade : F)] Starting Price : 1G
After hesitating slightly, I selected the stat item.
[Would you like to bid 1G for ‘Basic Stat: Strength +1’?]
“…Yes.”
I nodded my head.
[‘Basic Stat: Strength +1’ has been bid on.]
[Gold will be deducted and the effect will be applied immediately.]
[Gold Held : 10G -> 9G]
They called it an Auction House, but seeing how it was bid on immediately upon purchase, there must not have been many bidders.
‘Well, gods wouldn’t need strength stats anyway.’
They’re omnipotent beings, so what would they do with Strength +1?
[Strength increases by +1.]
Along with the voice, my body momentarily became hot.
“What, what’s this?”
My fingertips tingled slightly.
You know those days, don’t you?
The stiffness when your muscles are pumping hard after exercising for the first time in a while.
That kind of stiffness swept through my entire body and disappeared.
‘Did it really increase?’
Along with doubt, a strange sense of anticipation bloomed somewhere in my chest.
Then suddenly, one thought crossed my mind.
‘The Phoenix Heart was only E-rank.’
Items that would be unimaginable in reality overflow in this place.
Then—
‘Perhaps… might there also be an item that could cure Mother’s illness?’
I carefully entered the word ‘Elixir’ into the search bar.
‘It exists…!’
[Elixir]
[Grade: A]
[Starting Price: TBD]
[Description: Any illness can be…]
A legendary potion that could cure any disease.
But soon after, a message window appeared.
[Your current membership grade cannot bid on this item.]
[Required membership grade: Diamond]
I couldn’t even participate in the bidding with my membership grade to begin with.
‘Well, even if I could participate, it’s not like I could actually bid.’
With 10G, no, 9G, it was completely out of reach.
But strangely, I wasn’t disappointed.
As long as these items existed, I had a goal to strive for.
The miracle that could cure Mother’s illness was far away,
but the method to get closer to that miracle was right before my eyes.
‘If I can buy stats, I can become stronger too.’
If I could become a true Hunter instead of an F-rank porter.
Mother, Jia, and I too.
Couldn’t we reclaim a happy life?
I stared at the Elixir displayed in the auction window for a while, then pressed the exit button.
[Would you like to leave Golden Township?]
“Yes, for now.”
As I blinked, my vision flashed white again.
“…!”
When I opened my eyes again, I was on the hospital bed.
Had I really returned?
Everything felt like a dream.
I took a deep breath and calmed my racing heart.
‘Alright, let’s give it a try.’
After all, there was no other path forward from here.
After organizing my thoughts, I grabbed the railing to get up from the bed.
Steel Railing.
The moment I gripped the sturdy hospital bed railing—
Crack.
The Steel Railing dented in the exact shape of my hand.
“…This is the power of just 1 stat point?”
It seemed I had obtained an absurd ability.
***
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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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