You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 44
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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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44
As I emerged from the dungeon, all the notifications that had piled up came flooding in at once.
Dozens of missed calls.
The Association President’s and Kim Jin-woo’s names were repeatedly displayed.
Only then did I realize I had left without my radio.
‘Did something urgent happen?’
I immediately called Jin-woo.
The call connected before the ringtone even finished.
– Hyung-nim—!
Jin-woo’s urgent voice poured through the receiver.
“What’s wrong?”
– An S-rank Gate has opened!
“Oh, really?”
My response was indifferent.
I wondered if that was really worth calling so urgently about.
While an S-rank Gate appearing was indeed a crisis situation,
I wasn’t the only S-rank Hunter in South Korea.
“Isn’t there one more S-rank Hunter besides me?”
– Th-that’s… two of them appeared in succession.
That was indeed a big problem.
“Send available Guild Members to the scene immediately with emergency supplies loaded up. I’ll head there right now too.”
I launched myself into motion before Jin-woo’s response even finished.
If an S-rank dungeon break occurred, that would truly be a catastrophe.
Korea was fortunate to have S-rank Hunters, but for countries without such chosen individuals, the appearance of an S-rank Gate was a disaster.
How quickly they could borrow S-rank Hunters from other countries.
That could determine the very survival of a nation.
It wasn’t for nothing that the presence or absence of S-rank Hunters served as an indicator of national power.
But something felt unsettling.
Were S-rank dungeons really something that could appear this easily?
And two of them in succession, no less.
But what had already happened couldn’t be helped.
The fortunate thing was that Korea had one more S-rank Hunter besides me.
If that person handled one, I could manage the remaining one well enough on my own.
I tried calling the Association President on the way, but it didn’t connect.
‘Tch, I hope it hasn’t escalated to a dungeon break.’
Hoping that nothing serious had happened, I put more force into my rushing steps.
***
The scene I arrived at was more serious than I had thought.
Sirens were wailing from the distance, and gray smoke was rising from various places.
Within that chaos, the metallic sounds of clashing weapons mixed with monster roars.
‘So a dungeon break did occur after all.’
On the nearby roads, Association Staff and Guild Members from nearby areas who had been urgently deployed were moving busily.
Though it was the rearmost defense line, everyone was frantic transporting the wounded.
I entered what appeared to be the command control room barracks.
The inside of the barracks was no different from outside.
Association Staff were frantically exchanging communications.
Then one staff member spotted me.
“Outsiders aren’t allowed in here… Hunter Han Sang-in?!”
The surprised staff member quickly approached me.
“Where is the Association President?”
“He’s currently at the front lines.”
“What…?”
What was the point of the Association President fighting at the front line like some hot-blooded youngster?
“He rushed out saying he was the only one who could hold back the break until Merchant arrived.”
The Staff Member answered in a crawling voice.
“I understand for now. How long has it been since the break occurred?”
“About 30 minutes.”
“Got it.”
I answered briefly, planning to leave immediately, and came out of the barracks.
From inside the barracks, I could hear them sending a radio message that I had arrived.
As I came outside, I heard a familiar engine sound in the distance.
From across the road, Guild Members riding Universal Carts were approaching.
It was a Supply Team of about 10 people, led by Kim Jin-woo and including Park Ju-yong and Shin In-seon.
‘Perfect timing.’
“Boss—!”
Jin-woo, who spotted me, jumped off the cart and ran over.
“You came quickly.”
“As soon as the call ended, I brought all the Guild Members who were at the Guild Building and rushed here.”
Following behind Jin-woo, Porters including Park Ju-yong and Shin In-seon came running.
I quickly assessed the personnel and divided them into teams in my head.
“Ms. Shin In-seon, how many people do you need for medical support?”
“I just need 2 assistants.”
We continued the conversation quickly without time for greetings.
“Understood. Then Si-yeon and Seung-hoon, please assist her.”
They were Guild Members who had worked with In-seon several times before.
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
With that response, In-seon gathered Medical Supplies and headed to the Casualty Tent.
“The remaining personnel will go to the Front Lines.”
Everyone nodded at my words.
“Ju-yong, please lead them well.”
“Understood.”
“What about you, boss?”
Jin-woo looked at me with eyes that said he would assist me to the end.
“Me? I need to clear the path for you guys. And…”
I wrapped Karmic Fire around my legs.
“That old man from the Association’s back room has good strength and is rampaging at the Front Lines.”
“What? The Association President?”
“Yeah. So I need to go before it’s too late.”
With those words, I shot toward the Front Line where gray smoke was rising.
***
Korean Hunter Association President Han Ki-cheol.
For the first time since becoming Association President, he was having peaceful days.
Because South Korea now had two S-rank Hunters.
Even on a global scale, it was the third-highest number after the United States and China.
Moreover, Han Sang-in, who had recently become an S-rank Hunter, was different somehow.
Perhaps because he had climbed up steadily from the bottom, his tenacity was remarkable.
Above all, he was a person who fit the word ‘hero,’ possessing not just strength but also a sense of justice.
Though he himself didn’t seem to realize this fact yet…
His character, skills, and even his broad perspective on the world were impressive.
You could tell just by how he solved the Porter-related problems that had been giving them headaches.
Did he just solve them?
The system he created presented a paradigm that changed not only dungeon conquest but the entire emergency response framework.
Association President Han Ki-cheol felt proud whenever he thought of Han Sang-in.
Although some unpleasant incidents had occurred recently, they had actually become opportunities.
It provided sufficient justification to clean up the stagnant interior of the Association.
Although they hadn’t caught any clues about the organization called the ‘Sect,’ just gaining a faint sense of crisis about the existence of such forces was a sufficiently satisfactory result.
Could there be another such blessing in this world?
If his daughter hadn’t been married, he would have wanted to make him his son-in-law—such talent.
‘Didn’t he say his granddaughter would enter university next year?’
Right, if not his daughter, there was his granddaughter who was the apple of his eye.
Han Ki-cheol was immersed in such happy fantasies.
…At least, until that incident struck.
***
Wasn’t there a saying about life’s ups and downs being like the old man of the frontier and his horse?
Something hard to see even once in a lifetime is an S-rank Gate.
The kind of Gate where the nation’s survival hangs in the balance when it appears.
Even Han Ki-cheol himself never dreamed that such a disaster would strike twice in succession.
Han Ki-cheol cut down monsters one after another, breaking through the smoke-filled battlefield.
“These bastards…!”
Han Ki-cheol screamed and swung his great sword again.
It had been almost fifteen years since his retirement.
But among the combat-capable personnel, he was the only one who had experienced an S-rank Gate.
That’s why he had no choice but to grip his great sword again—the one that had been standing like decoration in a corner of the Association President’s Office.
Still, perhaps because he had maintained it consistently, he could still hold out.
No, perhaps he had to hold out.
If this place fell, there would be no rear guard.
The civilian evacuation was already complete, but hunters and wounded who couldn’t retreat remained.
Han Ki-cheol hadn’t been sitting in the Association President’s chair for over ten years for nothing.
Moreover, it was because of his decades of experience that the front line could be maintained until now.
Knowing this, the Association staff and hunters couldn’t readily tell him to retreat.
Even during that fierce battle, Han Ki-cheol’s gaze kept turning to his watch.
‘If I’ve held out this much, shouldn’t he be arriving soon?’
If there had been no hope, he wouldn’t have held out this long.
He knew well that if he could just buy time until his arrival, they would ultimately achieve victory.
At that moment—
A familiar scent of fire brushed past his nose.
Simultaneously, blue flames separated monsters and people like a massive wall.
Bang!
A single silhouette racing along the blue wall, riding the flames.
The hope Han Ki-cheol had been waiting for so desperately had arrived.
“…You came.”
Han Ki-cheol thrust his sword into the ground and straightened his back while catching his breath.
Before he knew it, Han Sang-in was standing in the middle of the battlefield.
“You’re late, young man.”
He chuckled in response to Han Ki-cheol’s words instead of giving a proper answer.
“Old Master, aren’t you pushing yourself too hard at your age?”
“I’m still far from done, you brat.”
Soon after, familiar engine sounds accompanied commotion behind where Han Ki-cheol had been defending.
“Please hand over the wounded.”
“Emergency supplies for anyone who needs them!”
It was Ashin’s supply team.
Han Ki-cheol found them more welcome and reassuring than anyone else.
“You brought all your subordinates with you.”
“Subordinates? They are strictly my Guild Members.”
He spoke indifferently and then turned around.
“Rest here. I’ll resolve this quickly and return.”
With those final words, he began walking toward the Dungeon.
***
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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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