You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 78
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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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78
A large building on the outskirts of Seoul.
From the outside, it looked like an ordinary religious training center.
The garden had well-maintained flower beds, and believers were greeting each other with bright faces.
The scene was so ordinary and normal that it created cognitive dissonance.
That was understandable, since this was the sect branch where today’s regular worship service would be held.
“Evangelist, you’re early today.”
When we arrived at the entrance, a woman with a full smile greeted us.
An ordinary church deaconess.
That was my first impression of her.
“We achieved quite good results this time.”
Doctor also smiled as he responded.
The woman’s gaze turned toward me, standing behind Doctor with my hat pulled down low.
A slight gleam flashed in the woman’s eyes as she stared at me.
I released ghostly energy in time with that moment.
“Wow… that person is overflowing with divine grace.”
The woman couldn’t close her mouth.
‘Tsk, calling ghostly energy divine grace.’
I didn’t show it outwardly, but I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Ghostly energy is the energy of ghosts.
It’s also something humans cannot possess.
To consider such a thing divine grace was truly absurd.
“This is our most successful case. A vanguard who will advance the sect’s grand plan.”
Doctor whispered quietly to her.
“I see. The Bishop will be pleased too. But that person…”
Soon the woman’s gaze shifted to Kim Jin-woo standing beside me.
Instantly, his shoulders stiffened.
I sighed inwardly.
Both Kim Jin-woo and I were celebrities exposed in the media.
But right now, we had recognition inhibition spells cast on our hats.
Since it was sorcery cast using Sadangpae’s divine artifact, our identities wouldn’t be revealed unless faced with a considerable divine artifact.
I had explained this, but still…
“This person is that VIP.”
Before suspicion could arise, Doctor quickly intervened.
“Ah! The one you mentioned before?”
Doctor, or rather Yamyeong in Doctor’s form, nodded.
“Then I’ll guide him. Please come this way.”
“Wait—”
Yamyeong stopped me from intervening.
In the meantime, the woman grabbed Jin-woo’s wrist.
“Evangelist, I’ll see you during the service.”
“Yes.”
Jin-woo, being led away by the woman’s grip, looked at me with moistened eyes, but what could I do?
Without ghostly energy, he’d have to suffer.
Thus, Yamyeong and I were able to infiltrate inside the building without any interference.
When only Yamyeong and I remained, I casually asked.
“By the way, what did they take Jin-woo away for?”
“Nothing major. I reported that we found a test subject suitable for ghost stone implantation.”
Yamyeong answered nonchalantly.
“Oh, I see.”
It wasn’t really a big deal…
“Huh?”
But he’s neither a goblin nor a demigod, so is it okay for him to receive a ghost stone?
Whether his thoughts showed on his expression, Yamyeong’s steps quickened.
“So we must hurry. At this rate, a Grand Eunuch goblin will be born.”
***
Kim Jin-woo was led down to the basement by the woman’s hand.
“So, how old are you, student?”
“…18 years old.”
“A high school sophomore? Same age as my son.”
“Haha… Is that so?”
Kim Jin-woo gave an awkward smile.
But his inner thoughts were the complete opposite.
‘What kind of strength…?!’
Her tone was kind, but the grip on his wrist could hardly be called a woman’s strength.
Even Kim Jin-woo, who was a B-rank Hunter, found it difficult to pull his wrist free.
He was already nervous to the point of going crazy, and escaping seemed impossible too.
Knowing that if he stalled for time, the Merchant would come to rescue him, Kim Jin-woo emptied his mind.
But that composure didn’t last very long either.
“At such a young age, to receive Ghost Stone implant surgery for your faith. How admirable.”
“What? S-surgery…?”
“That’s what the Evangelist said, isn’t it? Or not?”
“Ah, ah. Ghost Stone implant surgery, right. I thought there might be another surgery. Hahaha.”
Jin-woo laughed exaggeratedly as he played along.
His heart was beyond forming tears—they were practically flowing.
‘Elder Brother… you never mentioned surgery.’
For Jin-woo, who thought he’d just do some prayers and at most a confession, this was like a bolt from the blue.
Well, the cult couldn’t have been a normal religion from the start anyway.
Would a boy who followed his mother’s hand to eat pork cutlet feel the same as now?
But the biggest problem was that surgery would require removing his hat.
“What are you doing? Are you going to have surgery wearing that hat?”
The Deaconess asked with a puzzled expression toward Jin-woo, who had only removed his shirt but was still wearing his hat.
“Oh, are you embarrassed? It’s okay. Everyone here is a mother.”
It was the moment the Deaconess smiled and removed Kim Jin-woo’s hat.
“Kuhuk…”
As his identity was revealed, the deaconess’s hand shot out like lightning to grab Kim Jin-woo’s throat.
“Why is Asin’s Guild Leader here?”
It wasn’t the same affectionate voice as before.
She wasn’t the only one.
The other two people in the operating room were already pointing scalpels at his throat.
“If you don’t want to see blood, you’d better tell the truth.”
‘…You said you were mothers!’
***
“So… this all happened because of Han Sang-in?”
“Yes…”
Kim Jin-woo answered in a crawling voice to the deaconess woman’s sharp question.
Kim Jin-woo was kneeling before them.
“Hah, really. I’m so dumbfounded.”
The deaconess woman was still cold.
“Do you know what kind of treatment I get in the guild?”
‘Elder Brother, I’m sorry.’
“I’m the Guild Leader, but the Guild Members think the Merchant is the Guild Leader!”
Contrary to his inner thoughts, resentment poured out of his mouth without hesitation.
“Do you think it’s only the Guild Members?”
Once the dam broke, there was no stopping the flood.
“Even the Association President thinks Merchant hyung is the guild master!”
Kim Jin-woo’s eyes flashed as he shot up from his seat.
“Fine. Honestly, I can understand the Association President and Guild Members doing that. Merchant hyung is an S-rank Hunter after all.”
Actually, that wasn’t acceptable either.
No matter how much of an S-rank Hunter he was, how could they confuse who the guild master was?
It happened so often that Kim Jin-woo had resigned himself to it by now.
Without Han Sang-in, Ashin never could have dreamed of growing this much.
Honestly, even Kim Jin-woo himself sometimes got confused about whether he was the guild master.
At some point, whenever someone looked for the guild master, they would naturally look toward Han Sang-in.
But recently, even the enlightened Kim Jin-woo had been wounded by an incident.
“But why are the reporters doing it too?”
When he appeared on the news about the Japan Dungeon incident, an article came out reporting Han Sang-in as the guild master.
“Daily Hunter reporter Lee Jin-seong. I had my eye on that guy since the press conference. If you’re a reporter, you should get the facts straight!”
Before he knew it, the butler woman in the room was just blinking and listening to Kim Jin-woo’s outburst.
Since it was indignation based on facts, Kim Jin-woo’s acting was sincere.
No, from the middle onward, it might not have been acting at all.
“I mean, I’m the one who created Ashin Guild, so why am I treated like a side character! No, even side characters don’t get treated this badly…”
Before he knew it, Kim Jin-woo’s eyes had grown moist.
“That’s why I want to receive the Ghost Stone Weapon Implant Surgery.”
After venting everything he had to say, he knelt down meekly again.
He didn’t forget to sniffle as if feeling wronged.
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the Surgery Room changed subtly.
The butler woman also vaguely remembered seeing that article.
And Kim Jin-woo’s eyes were too sincere to call this acting.
The butler woman quickly organized her thoughts.
‘If what he’s saying is true, then there’s sufficient reason for Doctor to bring him here.’
Doctor had never been a subject of suspicion to begin with.
Being able to harbor such Ghostly Energy was impossible without the Cult’s power.
The flawed reasoning from the wrong premise quickly reached false conclusions.
If they could make Kim Jin-woo a person of the Cult, they could get their hands on Ashin Guild.
Putting a Collar on Han Sang-in would become much easier too.
Even if they failed to convert Han Sang-in, Ashin alone with the Porter System would be valuable enough.
The public knew that Han Sang-in and Kim Jin-woo’s relationship was like sworn brothers, but that was only from the perpetrator’s perspective.
Couldn’t she see the victim’s sincere tears right there?
Before she knew it, the butler woman had been completely won over by Kim Jin-woo’s sincere testimony.
“I see. I fully understand your situation, brother.”
‘Brother…?’
He had blurted it out to buy time, but at this rate, he might actually end up joining the Sect.
“Then let’s proceed with the surgery right away without delay.”
With those words, Kim Jin-woo was lifted and placed on the Operating Table.
The woman had already put on a Mask and begun the surgery.
The Scalpel was rapidly approaching Kim Jin-woo’s solar plexus.
“What about anesthesia…?”
“Surgery without anesthesia is more effective. Brother Jin-woo, don’t worry and just lie down.”
Would not worrying automatically provide anesthesia?
With his arms being held down on both sides, it wasn’t easy to move.
The sharp Scalpel slowly approached his chest like that.
‘Ah… Elder Brother. Your younger brother is going first.’
It was the moment Kim Jin-woo was about to become a goblin while still alive.
The operating room door creaked open and a cold wind blew in.
No, it was more of a chilling aura than a cold wind.
The believers in the operating room exposed to that aura foamed at the mouth and instantly fainted.
The one who opened the door and appeared was Han Sang-in.
“Elder Brother, I really missed you.”
“A man shouldn’t cry.”
The Merchant said this while throwing Kim Jin-woo his equipment.
“I’ve neutralized all the drugs. Let’s move right away.”
“Understood.”
Jin-woo was putting on his equipment when a sudden thought made him speak up.
“Elder Brother, did you perhaps hear it?”
“Hear what?”
Han Sang-in’s eyes asked what he was talking about.
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Fortunately, it seemed his acting hadn’t been discovered.
But as they left the operating room, Han Sang-in casually threw out a remark.
“Still, Reporter Lee Jin-seong went too far.”
“E-Elder Brother, you know that was all acting, right?”
But there was no response.
“Elder Brother!”
Kim Jin-woo urgently followed behind him as they left the operating room.
***
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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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