CH 206

Six of the seven planned days for the auction passed, and the auction entered its seventh day. As it was the last day, the atmosphere had appropriately heated up, such that it couldn’t be compared to the previous auctions.

“Congratulations!”

“Oh! It’s mine! It’s mine!”

The day was mixed with the joys and sorrows of participants, as some succeeded in their bids while others failed.

“Hand it over to me while I’m being nice!”

“Bullshit! If you’re going to be that regretful then you should have done your best in the first place!”

There were a few bloody fights here and there, but the deeper the auction progressed, the more the atmosphere heated up.

But Kim Jin-Woo was immersed in his own thoughts as he sat in his VIP room. There were too many things he wasn’t aware of going on around him. The Black Merchants were hiding the details from him, while Catherine seemed to have an idea of what was going on.

Even though it was related to him, he himself had no idea of finding out what it was. Thus, he somewhat felt a sense of self-pity for the tedious path he had walked thus far.

In the past, he had lacked strength and power, but he’d thought he had achieved a partial sense of equality with the Counts. Even when Anatolius had sent Morrigan to try and cause a strife with Parthenon, he’d managed to overcome the crisis.

In addition, many had been frantic to take down the new strongest being of the 9th Floor, but each time, Kim Jin-Woo had crushed them and raked in huge spoils of war. That was how he had always fought, and that was how he had ascended to a Highlord.

But suddenly, he felt that he was too ignorant. He came to a realization that he wasn’t very aware of what was happening in the bigger picture.

That being said, his thoughts wouldn’t have been so deep if he were a mere 9th Floor labyrinth owner, just one amongst the countless numbers of labyrinth masters. In terms of survival and combat, the experience and abilities he had built up over the years was something no one could underestimate.

However, he was now a Highlord, not just a mere labyrinth master. He was also a true Lord who had inherited the true name of the One-Eyed Lord, who possessed fragments of the Lord of Brilliance, and who had acquired the true name ‘Greed’ that couldn’t be found anywhere else in the Underworld.

Now, he could no longer focus on simply surviving and winning like before. He had to always be one step ahead of the countless monsters who were likewise looking to be several steps ahead of him, and make full use of any weaknesses they might expose. That was the only way to survive against the grand scheme of the Underworld and not be consumed by it.

It wouldn’t be easy.

Compared to many others who had existed in the Underworld for eons, he was merely a labyrinth master of a relatively new labyrinth. It was only natural that he would be disadvantaged in the information war, and understanding the complex relationships between every labyrinth was nigh impossible.

But just because it was impossible didn’t mean he could give up. He’d had no such choice in the first place. From the day he had obtained his labyrinth, he’d had to struggle with all his might against the Underworld ecosystem, which was a dog-eat-dog world.

Even if he couldn’t fully understand how the ecosystem worked, or what the monsters called the Black Merchants were thinking, or what the insidious Deep Floor Nobles had in mind, he’d had to do whatever he could to secure the foundations for his own survival.

“Phew.”

In order to do that, he had to figure out the solutions to his problems right away. His biggest problems at the moment were his incomplete awakening, and his lack of knowledge regarding the Highlords. If he had been able to properly inherit the Highlord’s memories, then he wouldn’t have been played for a fool the way he had been just now.

“Fucking Nobles,” he grumbled.

The culprits behind all of this were Anatolius and the rest of the Deep Floor Nobles. Among them, the ones who had most actively hindered his awakening were the Iron-Blooded Anatolius and the Queen of Corruption, Bryntess.

Anatolius was the one who had handed Morrigan’s Summoning Stone to him, and there were many reasons to doubt the Queen of Corruption. One of them was that Kim Jin-Woo had found out that it was her messenger, Tyrenon, who had been working with Song Jong-Chul to guide him to Ustus.

If the two Counts had intentionally intervened in his awakening, the reason was obvious.

The Deep Floor Counts would undoubtedly be concerned about the power of a Highlord, who was already stronger than they would have liked, fully blooming and eventually growing beyond their control.

In fact, Kim Jin-Woo, who had yet to inherit the One-Eyed Lord’s memories, was already on the same power level as a Deep Floor Earl. To make matters worse, he had yet to fully inherit all the Highlord’s powers, and yet he had already been intoxicated with power and filled with overconfidence without him even realizing it.

There was no opponent as easy as a careless one, so in the eyes of the sly Counts, it was as if the table had all been set, ready for them to dig in.

But now, that was no longer the case. Through his conversations with Catherine, Kim Jin-Woo had realized just how ignorant he was, and was able to identify his weaknesses. He had no intention of moving any further as the Counts intended.

Thus, he pondered over and over again what he should do after leaving the auction house. His gaze deepened as he considered the path he should take, and his aura subsided.

“Ohhh!”

While he was immersed in his thoughts, a commotion broke out in the auction house. Cheers erupted from the floor to the extent that even Kim Jin-Woo, who had been in a reverie, was jolted to attention.

“How much is it!”

“Come on!”

He could hear the excited participants clashing, but as he had been immersed in other thoughts the whole time, he had to blink as he tried to grasp the situation.

The Catfolk assistant, who seemed to have read his mind, had been silently watching the situation unfold from behind and graciously explained the situation. “An additional bid had just come in, and the amount seems rather staggering. Seeing that even the host was surprised, it must have been a huge amount that’s incomparable to all the other previous bids.”

“What?” Even Kim Jin-Woo, who hadn’t been that interested in the auction thus far, couldn’t help but take some interest. He listened to his Catfolk assistant as he looked at the situation unfolding on the floor.

“Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!”

“Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!”

The excited ordinary participants were shouting “tell us!” as if they were going crazy, and the imp host was running around the stage like a lunatic.

“The highest bid in the history of an auction organized by the Black Merchants has just been recorded!”

Perhaps the bid was higher than the Black Merchants had expected, as the host shouted loudly that it was the highest bid in their auction’s history.

“So how much is it!?”

“Stop beating about the bush and just tell us!”

There were loud shouts, gentle shouts, high-pitched voices, and low, deep voices, but they all had one thing in common. They were all curious about the bid.

“A huge sum, enough to upgrade any labyrinth to its limit and grow several labyrinths to the limit again!” the host called out.

Is this how a scream of joy sounds? Kim Jin-Woo wondered. With one sentence, the host had managed to pique the crowd’s curiosity.

“An equivalent to over one hundred highest-quality down gems! 250,000 gems have been offered for a bid!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a deafening silence fell across the auction house.

“250,000 gems! 250,000 gems! Not 25,000 gems, but a whopping 250,000 gems!

The host, who had been heated up, repeatedly shouted out the winning bid, probably bewildered by the unexpected silence.

However, the host’s concerns were in vain. The ordinary participants were dumbfounded by the huge sum and were left speechless for a moment, but soon after, they started cheering.

“Whoaaaaa!”

“That’s insane!”

The labyrinth masters, who would have revealed their pessimism or greed to be their plight if not for the insanely high price, were taken aback by the sheer financial power of the VIPs, and cheered in admiration at the ridiculous amount.

At this moment, they were simply excited as if they were participating in a festival, rather than feeling excluded from the auction. The amount of 250,000 gems was just that unfathomable.

Even a Baron’s Seal, which was incredibly precious, had been sold for less than 100,000 gems; so if something were sold for the price of 250,000 gems, it was simply unimaginable what that item could be.

Kim Jin-Woo, wanting to immediately find out the identity of this valuable auctioned item, stared hard at the direction of the stage.

“250,000 gems! Is there anyone who would like to bid higher than 250,000 gems!?” The host was holding something in his hand, but he was shaking his hand so much that it was difficult to identify the item.

“That item is a labyrinth core.” The Catfolk assistant, who had been looking at Kim Jin-Woo warily, interjected and spoke up. “It’s just a mere labyrinth core?”

Kim Jin-Woo had been expecting something out of the ordinary due to the insane bidding price, but it turned out to only be a labyrinth core. With a somewhat disappointed look, he took a step back, but the Catfolk helper continued their conversation.

“If it were the core of a generic labyrinth, the price wouldn’t be this high. However, the labyrinth core that is being put up for auction is no ordinary labyrinth core.”

“What kind of a great labyrinth must it be for it to be so expensive?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

The Catfolk assistant paused for a brief moment before speaking, “It’s a copy of a Grand Labyrinth that has been restored to reproduce the castles and fortresses of the old Lords.”

Upon hearing that it was a Grand Labyrinth, Kim Jin-Woo felt numb.

“I’m not sure how complete the restoration is, but it is certain that it’s precious and valuable in itself.”’ As soon as the host’s assistant finished speaking, cheers erupted from the stage once more.

“We have a bid at 300,000 gems! 300,000 gems!”

The host, who almost seemed out of breath, screamed. The ordinary participants jumped from their seats. He had looked completely excited when the bidding war, which he’d thought was over, resumed.

“350,000 gems!”

But that wasn’t the end. The bidding price continued to skyrocket to the moon.

“400,000 gems!”

“430,000 gems!”

“450,000 gems!”

Silence befell upon the floor in response to the endlessly soaring bidding price. The host, who had at first jumped in excitement, was now shouting the latest prices with a pale face.

“550,000 gems!”

Kim Jin-Woo, who had found out about the Grand Labyrinth at an unexpected time and place, had had no intention of joining in on the bidding. He was more focused on the restoration of a Grand Labyrinth itself, trying to comprehend the powers and intentions of the Black Merchants.

But even he couldn’t help but widen his eyes at the ever-rising bidding price. He had wiped clean the Association’s stash of down gems and earned himself a small fortune, but not even he could dare to participate at the current prices.

“Are the Dukes finally participating?”

“Even for Dukes, this is…”

The feelings of the ordinary participants weren’t too different from Kim Jin-Woo’s own.

“P-Please hold on a minute!” At that moment, the host, who seemed unsure what to do, acted on someone’s gesture and paused the auction. He said,“As the auction price has exceeded 600,000 gems, I’ll now declare the auction to be closed for a while. If you’re going to bid from now on, please indicate your intention to participate separately. Subsequent bids will only be conducted with those whose identities have been verified.”

That was what the host said, but in reality, what it truly meant was that they were checking if the bidders could actually pay for their bids. Considering the attitude of the proud Nobles, this was a proposal that normally would never have been accepted, but because the item was so valuable, nobody raised a complaint.

“Call him.” While the auction was paused, Kim Jin-Woo ordered his assistant to summon the Black Merchant.

It was highly likely that the Black Merchant wouldn’t be able to afford to pay attention to each and every VIP, considering the scale of the auction, but if Kim Jin-Woo was the one who called, the Black Merchant would definitely be unable to refuse him.

As expected, the Black Merchant arrived shortly after. “Leave us.” He sent out the Catfolk assistant and bowed his head in a respectful attitude like never before, asking, “What would you like to know?”

“Tell me, how did you get that?” Kim Jin-Woo asked. As he was the sole Highlord in his Underworld, he had to find out the source of the restored Grand Labyrinth.

To what extent the Black Merchants had approached the power of the Highlords was what Kim Jin-Woo wanted to find out. He pressed the Black Merchant with his sharp eyes.

“We didn’t receive this.” The Black Merchant lowered his head and calmly responded to Kim Jin-Woo’s words. “We made it.”

Although the Black Merchant had been taking on an excessively lowly attitude since their last meeting, this time around, he couldn’t help but hide the pride contained in his voice.

“The reason why we didn’t show ourselves for a year wasn’t simply because of the year-long war in the Underworld,” the Black Merchant explained.

“Are you saying that the Black Merchants gave their all to create this Grand Labyrinth?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

The Black Merchant nodded and continued, “We, the Black Merchants, spent a year restoring a Grand Labyrinth. And as you can see, it worked.”

Kim Jin-Woo felt conflicted.

The Black Merchants must have spent an unimaginable amount of resources and time on restoring a Grand Labyrinth. If it had gotten to the point that they had to stop their processions, which was their main source of income, one could easily imagine how much effort they had put into their work. In other words, the restoration of their Grand Labyrinth was a feat solely achieved by the Black Merchants themselves.

But what was this feeling that boiled over inside of him, as if he had just been robbed? Perhaps it was because a Grand Labyrinth was supposed to be a power granted only to the old Lords and Highlords.

Thus, Kim Jin-Woo blatantly expressed his displeasure with an icy look. “I don’t like this.”

The Black Merchant looked at him and answered, “The appearance of a restored Grand Labyrinth isn’t necessarily bad for Milord.”

Whether it was just an excuse or not, Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t tell, but the Black Merchant had a rather dignified look on his face as he continued, “Aren’t you more interested in something you can buy at a worthy price, rather than an expensive price that’s difficult to handle and is fiercely fought over?”

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