Chapter 296

< Day 2: Tokyo Artifact Auction >

The waiting hall had been noisy since morning. Japan had tried to keep the situation quiet, but with foreign guests attending the event and unrestricted internet access available, how could they possibly expect to keep everything under wraps?

"Did you hear? Apparently, there was an explosion somewhere in this building before we even got here."

"Oh, that."

"Where?"

"It's probably the east section. The area marked 'exhibition closed.'"

It was currently around 3 PM, shortly before the start of the highly anticipated highlight auction in Tokyo.

"Anyway, I don't care as long as there's no problem with [Triana]."

France. China. India. And others.

In a sense, the items being traded possessed abilities more dangerous than a tank, so today's auction operated under a direct collection policy.

As a result, 5-rank hunters from all over the world had begun pouring into Haneda Airport around lunchtime on the second day, unwilling to waste any time.

And contrary to Japan's concerns, quite a few 5-ranks had chosen to participate.

"So there are three competitors in total."

Compared to an ordinary market, the number of bidders might seem small, but...

"I really hope I can manage to buy something... Still, for some reason, that Chinese hunter I saw at the airport keeps bothering me."

"Chinese?"

"Officially, they've drawn a line and claimed that their guilds have nothing to do with each other."

Energy was money.

In a society driven by energy, how could an Awakener who constantly obtained magic stones—a newly discovered resource—possibly be poor?

Every 5-rank hunter was effectively a capitalist with enormous assets at their disposal. There was no chance an auction involving them would end at some trivial sum.

"Friend, isn't it obvious? That's boring. That hunter from China is probably acting as Zhan's proxy, and once she gets home, she'll hand whatever equipment she buys over to the Heavenly Demon."

"Hahaha."

The young French hunter burst into loud laughter as he spoke with the acquaintances who had entered Japan alongside him.

"You know it as well as I do. China's IHT was obviously rigged with all kinds of setups."

"Oh, right. That reminds me of that necklace—the one that wouldn't break no matter how many times it was hit."

"But even after manipulating things that far, they still lost to Enzo Ciano. So even if Zhan needed that item, she probably couldn't bring herself to come and buy it personally. Her pride wouldn't allow it."

Since Japan had announced that one of the main items being put up for trade was [Triana], it was only natural that a particular subject kept resurfacing in conversations among the foreign hunters gathered at the venue.

"This really has turned into a ridiculous mess, hasn't it?"

The French hunter passed the time with idle chatter while waiting for the auction to begin.

And as the conversation drifted from one subject to another, the same question that had once crossed the mind of a certain Japanese hunter naturally came up again.

"By the way, if Hunter Enzo likes drinking [God's Droplet] that much, why did he go out of his way to take first place?"

Everyone knew that the American from the Spectrum Guild was a notorious heavy drinker.

Considering that the second-place prize had been an astonishing twenty bottles of [God's Droplet], it did seem strange that he had deliberately fought his way to first place.

"Hmm."

Of course, Enzo Ciano himself had never once said, "My goal is second place."

And if he possessed the skill to win first place anyway, then from a purely capitalist perspective, selling the first-place prize and using the money to buy alcohol would certainly be more profitable.

"..."

Could it really have been because of Spectrum's boss after all?

That was the most obvious conclusion, but without any concrete evidence, it remained nothing more than a rumor.

A baseless story claiming that the United States, its prestige damaged after losing Brooklyn Morgan, had pressured its own guilds into producing results.

But really, what was the point of paying attention to gossip like that?

Just then, an announcement came over the venue speakers, informing everyone that the auction was about to begin.

At once, the hopeful participants began rising from their seats one after another, preparing to enter the auction hall.

.

.

.

A few minutes later—

Inside the auction hall, which had now been fully prepared for the event.

"Namaste (Hello!)"

Those who had already taken their seats were checking the minimum bids and bidding increments displayed on the monitors when somewhat stiff Hindi suddenly sounded from one corner of the room.

"I apologize for greeting you so late. I only just heard that you'd arrived in Tokyo."

It was Hunter Iori, speaking through a PolyCorp translator.

Until only moments ago, Iori had been tense and wholly focused on guarding the epic-grade items.

But now that another 5-rank hunter had finally arrived to relieve him, he figured there was no harm in relaxing for a moment and exchanging greetings with a few familiar faces.

"Sonakshi, have you been well?"

"Yes. I've been well every day."

An older woman calmly returned his greeting.

The person Iori had addressed was none other than a 5-rank hunter from India.

"I'm glad to hear you're doing well. It was a rare connection we made all the way over at that party in the U.S. I hope we can both stay healthy and keep seeing each other for many years to come!"

"Haha."

Incidentally, the auction hall could comfortably accommodate around two hundred people.

And yet only four hunters were actually going to compete for the items?

"By the way, I don't know whether you've already heard, but there's something we need to apologize for..."

Iori was about to bring up a certain matter when the Indian hunter gently interrupted him.

"You mean the cancellation of one of the epic-grade items from the auction, correct?"

"Ah, yes."

"We never actually saw it in person to begin with. But yes, we've already been informed that the artifact went berserk yesterday afternoon and was withdrawn from the sale... so please don't worry about it."

"But Hunter-nim, you came here specifically because you were planning to buy that unreleased item..."

"Again, there's no need to apologize. I simply came out for some fresh air because I was feeling a little lonely."

Both her tone and her appearance gave the Indian hunter an unmistakably melancholy air.

"I came to watch the auction of my own free will, so please don't refund my plane ticket... Oh. It's starting."

Before Iori could respond, the cheerful voice of the auctioneer standing at the front of the hall rang out.

The special event within the event was finally beginning.

It was the long-awaited auction for [Triana].

"We will now begin accepting bids!"

However, barely a minute had passed since the auction began.

"Excuse me..."

The Indian hunter, seated at the very back of the dimly lit hall, turned around.

She intended to speak to one of the event staff standing against the wall.

"Yes, Ms. Sonakshi. Is something the matter?"

"Seeing how quickly the bidding price is rising, I realize I was mistaken. If I join this battle, my precious fortune will simply be trampled beneath those people's weed-like wealth."

"Ah."

"It seems I won't be buying anything after all, so I'd rather just chat with you."

That was a remarkably quick decision.

Then again, the item had started at an opening bid of 20 billion KRW and doubled in price within mere seconds.

Anyone would probably lose the will to compete after witnessing something like that.

Hunter Iori glanced toward the Chinese and French hunters, who were fiercely trading bids as though sparks were flying between them.

Then, wearing an understanding expression, he nodded and took a seat beside the Indian hunter.

"Yamasaka."

However, he hadn't expected the middle-aged woman's chosen topic of small talk to be something like this.

"This may be a rude question, but is that person still inside the Tokyo event venue?"

"Yes?"

"I mean the 5-rank from an Asian country who appeared last year."

The Indian hunter named Sonakshi turned on her phone and pulled up someone's profile.

The result of her private search displayed a familiar-looking hunter.

Golden hair.

Sanpaku eyes, with the whites clearly visible beneath the irises.

The person she was searching for was a Korean who wasn't present.

"So you're talking about Mr. Kim Giryeo."

For reference, the current minimum bid in the [Triana] auction had already reached 200 billion KRW.

Someone had already dropped out.

"Mr. Kim Giryeo is probably still in Japan, although he isn't participating in the auction."

As in the previous day's conversation, the Imaban side still found it difficult to approach the Korean hunter casually.

After all, following the Dragon Raid, the security guard terror incident had caused him considerable trouble.

Because of that, the Japanese never even considered that Kim Giryeo might have withdrawn because he lacked the money.

Instead, just as when he had first entered the country, they assumed that he simply "wasn't interested in Triana."

"Is that so..."

However, the moment she heard that Kim Giryeo was still in Tokyo, the Indian hunter showed an unusual reaction.

"Why do you ask?"

Was something wrong?

When Iori questioned her, the Indian hunter hesitated for a moment.

Even then, the hunters in the front rows continued fiercely bidding against one another.

At the far end of the exhibition hall stood Moritake Ito, personally guarding Triana from close range.

Like someone who had just secured an extremely lucrative deal, Japan's representative hunter had been proudly glancing down at his own pocket for some time.

"Yamasaka."

After a brief silence, the Indian hunter spoke again.

"We recently completed a transaction between two equally ranked 5-class hunters."

"Yes?"

"Beast. We've become acquainted with each other. We promised that if either of us learned anything about that Beast, we would share the information..."

It was a name he hadn't heard in quite some time.

But the promise itself remained vivid in Iori's memory.

Back when the "Beast" had been rampaging across the world, countless hunters, afraid that they might become its next target, had launched full-scale searches to track it down.

"Oh, yes. We certainly did."

The two hunters who had reunited at this auction had found themselves in remarkably similar situations.

Iori had pursued the Beast out of concern for Japan's highest-ranking Awakener talents.

The Indian hunter, meanwhile, had remained wary of the Beast as a precaution to protect her beloved family.

However, now that the mysterious Awakener had completely ceased all activity, it seemed that some results had finally begun to emerge.

After considerable hesitation, the Indian woman revealed what she had learned.

"A new research paper was recently published in India."

"What kind of paper?"

To be precise, the Awakener they feared was already dead.

"After compiling various statistics on Awakeners, researchers discovered that most hunters with an aptitude for 'Teleportation' also display an aptitude for 'Telekinesis.'"

"...?"

"'Telekinesis' is notoriously difficult to control. Even if someone obtains the appropriate skill stone, using it properly is nearly impossible without sufficient talent. Yet within one particular group, the success rate is nearly 99%. That strongly suggests the fundamental aptitudes required by the two abilities overlap."

"...?"

"What ability do you think both 'Teleportation' and 'Telekinesis' require?"

"..."

"The answer is superhuman depth perception."

Neither the Indian nor the Japanese hunter involved in this conversation had any way of knowing the truth behind the incident.

To the public, Brooklyn Morgan had officially been declared missing.

As far as the world knew, the Beast was still very much alive.

Therefore,

"At this point, something begins to seem suspicious, doesn't it, Yamasaka? I didn't hear this from you, but some time ago, I purchased information that was circulating through certain channels."

"What kind of information...?"

"I heard that during the Black Dragon raid, a Korean hunter used [Binding]."

"...?"

"[Binding]... It's an ability that restrains a target freely using bands of light, and it has already been established that telekinesis plays a role in controlling it. And, as it happens, the person who used that power during the raid was that powerful figure from Asia whose awakened attribute remains unknown." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The atmosphere between them quickly grew serious.

"Can all of this truly be dismissed as mere coincidence?"

At that very moment, the hall erupted with the announcement that the Chinese female 5-rank hunter had won the bid.

Incidentally, the research findings that had prompted this entire conversation really were nothing more than coincidences.

***

...How much time had passed since then?

"Kim Giryeo is the Beast? That's ridiculous."

Gulp.

Instead of a caffeinated drink, Iori sipped a stamina recovery potion through a straw.

"Of course, there are plenty of people in this world who change their attitude depending on who they're dealing with. But that Korean hunter never struck me as someone that two-faced."

It was the second night of the event, after the highlight auction had come to an end.

'Probably not. After all, everything we accomplished today was thanks to Kim Giryeo. No matter how many times I think about it, if the incident in Building A had escalated any further, the entire auction would've been cancelled...'

But although it was already time for everyone else to go to bed, Iori still had quite a bit of work left.

In fact, for Iori, who had spent most of the day rooted in place guarding the artifacts, his real work was only just beginning.

"Maybe I should start by contacting that awakened errand center."

He didn't want to rely solely on the authorities.

He genuinely intended to investigate the previous day's attack using whatever resources he could muster himself.

"If someone higher up is involved, will the police try to bury the information again, like last time...?"

Iori opened his phone and began composing a formal business email.

But as he sat there alone through the night, his gaze suddenly drifted toward his item box.

[???]

[Rank:???]

[Function:???]

In a way, the legendary item was at the root of all this trouble.

And yet, in his hands, it was completely useless.

No different from an ornamental object.

The treasure from the neighboring country remained utterly unresponsive, with none of its functions revealed.

All it amounted to was another burden sitting in his pocket.

"Haa."

As a member of the Imaban Guild, Iori had obtained the right to borrow the item through a contract with its original owner, Moritake.

And now, with so many 5-rank hunters gathered in the country for the event, carrying it around had been relatively safe.

Besides, it was a legendary item.

The chances of it being damaged were negligible.

For that reason, he had kept it with him throughout the entire epic-grade security mission.

"This thing is basically... just an unbreakable club, isn't it...?"

Anyway, merely looking at it was enough to make his blood boil.

They couldn't even figure out how the thing worked, which meant it was practically nothing more than a decoration.

And yet Japan had gone to extraordinary lengths to prevent anyone from taking it, suffering all kinds of losses in the process.

'Come to think of it, Mr. Kim Giryeo once said he wanted this.'

"Ah."

'Now that I think about it, after arriving at the venue, he never mentioned the word "Legendary" even once...'

It was only a passing thought, but...

Could the Korean hunter have realized from the very beginning that this item was useless?

'Nah. No way.'

Iori allowed himself a moment of hesitation before turning his attention back to the email.

After all, the Korean hunter was scheduled to leave tomorrow.

He needed to finish everything quickly.

There were still preparations to make if they wanted to send him off properly.

'That person and I are about the same when it comes to [Appraisal] skills.'

But this time, his judgment wasn't a misunderstanding.

In truth, from the very first moment Kim Giryeo laid eyes on the item, he had vaguely sensed that the Legendary artifact itself was producing vibrations.

[Master, Master, Master, I'm running low on magic power.]

[I think you need to sharpen the blade with a magic stone.]

[ㅇ�ㅇ]

[Seriously, it's far too dull now. Isn't it long overdue for a proper sharpening?]

[Master, what are you doing?]

[Master, I'm telling you, the magic power inside that cylinder is completely gone!]

[Master, it appears the durability of your auditory system has significantly deteriorated. If you issue the command, I will proceed with the removal of any unused organs.]

And so, Japan passed another quiet night while unknowingly holding a treasure that was little different from a ticking time bomb.