You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 49

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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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49

 

 

 

At my words, Ahn Hyeon-su slowly raised her head.

 

It was the first time I had faced her directly.

 

‘She’s younger than I thought.’

 

Her speech and attitude carried the weight of experience, but she looked surprisingly youthful.

She also had quite a beautiful face.

 

Ahn Hyeon-su looked me up and down, then spoke with a slight smile.

 

“You’re not an ordinary person, are you?”

 

No.

 

Although I had become a member of the Auction House that only gods frequented, that was an accident.

 

Of course, it was true that I was an S-rank Hunter and had risen to the ranks of demigods.

 

Moreover, without the Control Device, I could see the Flow of Value and hear Praying Voices.

 

But just because such things were possible didn’t mean I had stepped outside the bounds of humanity.

 

 

Probably… not yet.

 

So my answer was clear.

 

“I’m an extremely ordinary human.”

 

I’ll be honest.

I’m not ordinary.

But I am human, aren’t I?

 

At my answer, Ahn Hyeon-su snorted and turned away.

 

“No. An ordinary person couldn’t possibly have Ghostly Energy.”

 

I was momentarily speechless.

 

It was surprising that the word Ghostly Energy suddenly came up,

but her attitude of speaking as if she already knew was even more bewildering.

 

‘She knows about Ghostly Energy?’

 

Ahn Hyeon-su turned her head back toward me.

 

“Am I wrong?”

 

“…”

 

“I’m right.”

 

She nodded with certainty.

 

“I’ll cooperate. But later, do one job with me.”

 

Ahn Hyeon-su looked at me with one corner of her mouth twisted up.

 

‘I thought she was a naive sculptor working alone in her Workshop…’

 

I quickly revised my assessment of her.

 

My expectation that unprocessed Raw Stone Ghost Stones would be sufficient had been wrong.

 

She was a cunning fox who had experienced all the world’s hardships.

 

“There won’t be any loss for you either.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Ghostly Energy… you don’t know how to handle it properly yet, do you?”

 

“…”

 

It was a direct hit.

 

Apart from letting it scatter like Killing Intent, I couldn’t use it actively yet.

 

‘I couldn’t even enter the Training Manual, so maybe this worked out well.’

 

For reasons unknown, the Blurred Arrow’s Training Manual hadn’t opened at some point.

 

I quickly organized my thoughts.

 

Eventually, I would naturally be able to use Ghostly Energy as time passed anyway.

 

But the conditions she offered were quite tempting.

 

She held the only clue that could track the traces of the Sect.

 

“Anyway, to fulfill my request, you need to know how to handle Ghostly Energy properly.”

 

‘Only someone who knows how to handle Ghostly Energy can fulfill the request…’

 

She probably meant it as a way to pressure me into deciding, but it gave me quite a few hints.

 

There are hardly any people who possess Ghostly Energy.

No, in the first place, is there even anyone on Earth besides me who can handle Ghostly Energy?

Even if there were, the chances of Ahn Hyeon-su encountering them would be close to a Miracle.

 

Just as I needed her ability to track the Sect,

I was the only one who could fulfill her request.

 

The answer was decided from the beginning.

 

My Sixth Sense was sending signals to accept her proposal.

 

But while I was at it, I thought I could secure at least one more thing I wanted.

 

“Fine. But I’ll also set one condition.”

 

“A condition? Let’s hear it.”

 

“If I fulfill your request, you’ll also fulfill one request of mine.”

 

“Ha, you’re the one in a hurry, aren’t you? Didn’t you say the Ghost Stone is the only clue to track the Sect?”

 

As expected…

She already knew other information.

I had never mentioned anything about the Sect to her.

 

‘The Association President or Hae-in must have told her.’

 

“It won’t be an unreasonable request. No, rather, there won’t be any loss for you.”

 

Ahn Hyeon-su stared at me for a long time before letting out a rough sigh.

 

“Ha, I didn’t expect to be outmaneuvered like this.”

 

She glared at me with sharp eyes.

 

“Fine. But if you fail to keep your promise, you’d better be prepared.”

 

Suddenly, goosebumps rose on my back.

 

It wasn’t Killing Intent, but some unidentifiable energy pressed in on me from all directions.

 

I discreetly wrapped myself in Karmic Fire and deflected the energy.

 

“…Of course.”

 

“Follow me.”

 

Ahn Hyeon-su looked at me with interest,

then turned around and headed toward the Workshop.

 

***

 

Contrary to its exterior appearance, the interior of the Workshop was quite spacious.

 

Well, since it was surrounded by sculptures, it was impossible to guess its size from the beginning.

 

It was after walking for quite a long time.

 

“How do you know about Ghostly Energy?”

 

I broke the silence first and spoke up.

 

“I’ve seen it exactly once. It was about 40 years ago…”

 

After hesitating for a moment, she spoke as if retrieving an old memory.

 

More shocking than the fact that she had seen someone who handled Ghostly Energy was that it was 40 years ago.

 

‘Just how old is she?’

 

No matter how generously I estimated, she looked to be in her mid-twenties.

 

“You… just how old…”

 

“How old am I?”

 

Ahn Hyeon-su answered immediately, as if my question was familiar to her.

 

“It’s rude to ask a lady her age. Still… just know that I’m much older than the Association President.”

 

“…”

 

I was momentarily speechless at her answer.

 

If my memory is correct, I know the Association President to be 62 years old.

 

If she’s older than him, doesn’t that mean she’s at least over sixty with that appearance?

 

There are people who appear on TV for looking super young for their age, but there should be limits to looking young.

 

“… Are you human?”

 

“Who? Me? Or the guy who used Ghostly Energy?”

 

Honestly, I’m curious about both.

 

Containing Ghostly Energy in a human body wasn’t such an easy task.

 

And also the identity of Ahn Hyeon-su, who maintains the appearance of someone in their twenties despite being at least over sixty.

 

“Hey, I thought you were joking, but you seem serious?”

 

At my unfiltered question, she burst into light laughter.

 

“First of all, I’m obviously human.”

 

She stopped walking and glared at me.

 

“Why? Don’t you believe me?”

 

“… No. I believe you.”

 

Ahn Hyeon-su rolled her eyes once and then resumed walking.

 

“And that guy was a goblin.”

 

“A goblin?”

 

“How could a human possibly harbor Ghostly Energy in the first place?”

 

But I’m human though?

 

“You’re the unusual one.”

 

As if reading my thoughts, she answered.

 

“My request is simple. Just help me when I sculpt the Ghost Stone.”

 

It was a simpler request than I had expected.

 

I just needed to help her with her sculpting.

 

And I could guess why she needed Ghostly Energy.

 

“You sculpted with that goblin and Ghost Stone.”

 

“That’s right. It’s the only work in my entire life that I could call a masterpiece.”

 

A wistful longing flickered in her eyes.

 

“Except for one flaw.”

 

“A flaw?”

 

“Yes. One single flaw.”

 

What could have been so flawed that it became her regret?

 

She took a breath and continued.

 

“Me.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“I was too inexperienced back then. I can only see it now, 40 years later.”

 

She smiled bitterly.

 

“Then couldn’t you just sculpt it again?”

 

Ahn Hyeon-su looked at me with pity for a moment.

 

“That would require a being who can handle Ghostly Energy, let alone Ghost Stone.”

 

“But then I appeared.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

With those words, silence fell again.

 

We were now descending into the basement along a narrow staircase.

 

And at the end, a massive space for sculptures revealed itself.

 

The dome-shaped cavern ceiling had a small skylight, through which a single beam of light descended.

 

And beneath that light stood a sculpture covered with black velvet cloth.

 

She pulled away the cloth.

 

“This is…”

 

I couldn’t continue speaking.

 

A horned, otherworldly being carved from black obsidian.

 

I could immediately tell that this sculpture was the goblin she had mentioned.

 

Looking at the sculpture made from Ghost Stone, goosebumps rose all over my body.

 

I understood why she had covered the sculpture with black velvet cloth.

 

The sculpture revealed when the cloth was removed seemed so lifelike it was almost an illusion.

 

A single sculpture sitting alone in the middle of the massive cavern.

 

As the sculpture revealed itself, the empty cavern was instantly filled.

 

I could tell that even this cavern was part of that sculpture.

 

“To say this has flaws after seeing it…”

 

I looked at Ahn Hyeon-su with an incredulous expression.

 

“That’s deception.”

 

“No.”

 

She shook her head firmly.

 

“This is an incomplete work. So to fulfill the promise…”

 

She pushed against the wall near the Entrance.

 

Rumble. With that sound, the massive Stone Door slowly began to close.

 

“You’ll need to complete the Ghostly Energy, right?”

 

“How exactly?”

 

“I don’t know either.”

 

She shrugged her shoulders.

 

“According to the Previous Owner, if you stay inside there, you’ll naturally come to understand it.”

 

What kind of irresponsible words are those.

 

“Once you master the Ghostly Energy, you should be able to open the door yourself.”

 

“What if I can’t master it?”

 

“You’ll probably die.”

 

Is it okay to speak so lightly when it’s not her own life at stake?

 

Now I was beyond being flabbergasted.

 

“Well then, good luck.”

 

Thud.

 

With those final words, the Stone Door closed completely.

 

***

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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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