Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 76
Flutter—
A giant placard flapped before her eyes.
<The 27th Sejong City Hunter Auction>
Ayeon took off her pink baseball cap and took a deep, pleased breath.
'Ah, the smell of money.'
In the distance, she could see a line of people.
What looked like an ATM at first glance was an automatic license identification machine.
It was so crowded that the queue to receive an authentication badge stretched almost to the entrance of the auction hall.
'If I wait my turn honestly, the day will be over.'
Money and time are proportional.
Ayeon strode confidently to the very front of the queue without hesitation.
And then,
"Waited long? Sorry, sorry."
She approached a hunter waiting at the very front of the line and casually tapped his shoulder.
The man, glancing back, suddenly looked puzzled.
It was understandable, as a complete stranger was acting familiar.
"Huh, who..."
"My stomach suddenly started hurting really bad. Is it our turn yet?"
"No, you've mistaken me for someone else—"
The hunter gasped, clamping his mouth shut.
Something heavy had been slipped into his pocket.
A bundle of 50,000 won bills.
The hunter's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.
"Oh, it's our turn already? Let's go, friend."
"Uh, uhh..."
Hooray, for the 21st-century capitalist era.
It was a world where, if you had money, you could become best friends in 5 seconds.
Guilt?
There was none of that.
After all, for the 'auction veterans', such paid line-cutting was practically an unwritten rule.
'It's wise.'
Those guys waiting for badge issuance from dawn till the next morning were the real fools.
Beep.
As she lightly touched the identifier with her hunter license,
[Identifying. Please wait a moment.]
[Identification complete. Thank you.]
Along with the voice, a badge rolled out from beneath the machine.
An authentication badge in the shape of intertwined alphabets 'H' and 'A'.
It was an item given to official hunters who had paid the participation fee, according to their rank.
Just by possessing it, one could use the automatic translation function within designated areas.
'Exchanged for chips too, so next is...'
Chips.
If coins were the system currency used by hunters worldwide, then chips were disposable currency issued by the auction organizers specifically for the Hunter Auction.
They were necessary for pre-bidding on auction items, perhaps even more important currency than coins.
'If I don't earn enough chips on the first and second days, then no matter how good an item appears on the third day's auction, and even if I have coins, it'll just be a pie in the sky.'
Let's see.
Pop.
Ayeon, bursting a bubblegum bubble, reached her hand into the air.
[Loading Inventory.]
[Loading]
Soon, an inventory window filled her vision.
After setting the translucency to 40% and tapping 'Sort Items by Grade'...
An item list extending down to her toes.
These were the darlings Ayeon had diligently accumulated over the past year.
112 Heroic-grade items, 338 Rare-grade items.
With this much, she should be able to easily earn about 10,000 chips.
Ah, I wish the 12th would come quickly!
Ayeon, with great anticipation, neatly arranged her stall.
However.
"..."
Whoooosh.
In one hour, a total of 3 customers visited her stall.
Total items sold: 0.
'Seriously?'
Looking around, there was definitely a swarm of hunters.
At a glance, a much larger crowd than last year.
But among those many hunters, not a single one was Ayeon's customer.
Ayeon fell into deep thought.
Something was wrong.
Were the prices too high?
No, for this quality, this price was appropriate.
Was the location bad?
No. This was clearly the best spot.
In that case...
'There's a competitor.'
And close by, too.
Ayeon's eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.
And soon, she found her target.
Setting up a stall in such a corner and stealing all my customers...!
Whoever the seller was, they must be a very meticulous and cunning fellow.
She had to see for herself.
Ayeon, temporarily pausing her sales, strode towards the competitor's stall.
But then.
"Huh."
Black tiger hide.
Sharp fangs.
Sturdy beast bones.
The items displayed on the modest stall were far more shabby than she had expected.
'And here I was wondering what amazing things they were selling.'
What, it's nothing special.
It was embarrassing to have gotten worked up over such junk items.
Ayeon, her enthusiasm deflated, uncrossed her arms.
Just as she was about to leave—
"Crazy. 15 'Black Tiger Hides' for 1 chip?"
"I just traded one 'Red Crystal' for 2 chips over there earlier."
"Where, where?"
Not only that, but she heard fangs were 20 for 1 chip.
Even 25 bones for 1 chip?!
This was almost at the level of 'Our boss has gone mad'.
'No way.'
Considering the effort and time it takes to win gate subjugation rights, and the manpower, resources, and hazard pay consumed in raiding monsters after entering a gate, even for junk items, 15 hides for 1 chip was truly an absurd price.
A novice hunter who doesn't even know item market prices?
No, such a novice hunter would find it difficult to even participate in this massive auction where the participation fee alone exceeded 300 coins.
That many coins would be a distant dream for a novice.
In that case... an 'heir with a contract spoon', comparable to someone born with a silver spoon?
Ayeon's gaze, filled with curiosity, darted around.
She wanted to see the seller's face beyond the swarming crowd.
"Looking for a particular item?"
Dark eyes, with an indifferent air, glanced this way.
'This person...'
Ayeon's eyes widened.
Somehow, she looked familiar.
A white t-shirt and jeans.
An unremarkable attire, but...
Ayeon, who had been loitering in front of the stall, noticed an overly ornate black parasol placed in the corner of the stall.
Simultaneously, a memory flashed through her mind.
'Huh. Jagalchi Market? Unnie, you're not seriously planning to go into an Unknown Gate, are you? Just asking to be sure, but what's your rank, Unnie?'
'F-Class.'
Right, she remembered now.
She was the crazy... no, brave concept hunter who had sat next to her on the KTX that day.
"No way! Unnie, don't you remember me? From the KTX back then!"
"...?"
Her eyes, now narrowed, held a flicker of question.
It seemed she didn't remember Ayeon.
"Huh, disappointing. You don't know me? I even gave you candy."
Eunha, her gaze darting around, reacted a beat later.
"...Ah."
It seemed she finally remembered.
Well, what did it matter?
Ayeon smiled brightly and naturally stood beside Eunha.
"Wow, they say even a brush of sleeves creates a bond, but I never thought we'd meet again in a place like this."
"Indeed."
"You ended up going to Busan back then, I see? I saw it on the internet. Is it true you fought the Monkey King? No, right?"
"..."
Eunha closed her mouth.
The surroundings began to murmur.
Ayeon's voice must have been too loud.
The gazes of hunters passing by, hunters browsing items at nearby stalls, all instantly focused on Eunha.
"Oops."
Ayeon lightly covered her mouth.
Current time: 2 PM.
Due to the 3-day Hunter Auction being held at Sejong Central Park, nearby restaurants were bustling with ant-like swarms of hunters wherever one went.
Ayeon, as an apology for ruining her business, had brought Eunha to this cafe, offering to treat her to lunch.
"Unnie, really sorry. I didn't mean to. I just naturally have a loud voice."
Ayeon smiled awkwardly, fiddling with her straw.
"It's fine. Just consider it free publicity."
Eunha replied nonchalantly, unwrapping her sandwich.
Judging by her tone, manner of speech, and expression, she didn't seem angry.
"..."
Pink eyes stared intently at Eunha.
She had expected her to get angry and demand responsibility, but to let it go with just a sandwich.
Her attitude was quite different from the adults Ayeon had known.
'She seems like a pretty decent person.'
Ayeon smiled sheepishly, personally putting a straw in Eunha's drink.
Eunha looked at Ayeon with a puzzled expression but didn't say anything.
Just as she was about to finish her sandwich, Ayeon noticed the black parasol Eunha had neatly placed beside her.
"...Unnie, where on earth did you get that parasol? It looks like a design you couldn't buy even if you tried."
"Found it."
Eunha replied monotonously.
The more I see her, the stranger she is.
'All those ridiculous rumors about fighting the Monkey King or being the true subjugator of the Unknown Gate, and the fact that she's casually participating in an auction where the entry fee alone is over 300 coins...'
Is she really F-Class?
Ayeon thought, stirring her drink in front of Eunha.
That wasn't the only strange thing.
Usually, the concept hunters or hunter BJs Ayeon had seen were largely divided into two types.
First, those who were simply 'attention seekers'.
'She doesn't seem like that.'
Attention seekers usually recounted their own stories like heroic tales, even when unasked.
However, Eunha, both when they met on the KTX and today, only answered briefly when asked, not elaborating on her own stories.
Moreover, though they weren't close yet, it was obvious this Unnie wasn't the type to enjoy people's attention.
Then the second type.
Hunters with non-combat unique abilities who were forced to choose the path of a concept hunter to make a living.
Right, that seemed more plausible.
If that were the case, it would somewhat explain why she engaged in hunter activities wearing such an uncomfortable dress, and why she was trying to scrape together chips even at a loss.
"Unnie, you said you're a free hunter too, right? Is the pay from your contracted place a bit tight?"
Dark eyes turn this way.
After a moment of silence, Eunha slowly parted her lips.
"The contract was terminated midway."
Huh.
"Why?"
For a free hunter, a contract was their lifeline, their bread and butter.
"Then do you have a client?"
"..."
Eunha didn't answer.
Ayeon, resting her chin on the table and staring blankly at Eunha, tapped her foot and fell into thought for a moment.
And a little later, Ayeon slammed the table!
"Alright. Then, as an apology and as an auction senior, I'll give you a few tips. Specially for Unnie."
Tips?
Eunha, who was about to pick up her cola glass, lifted her head.
"First, forget everything else and raise your item prices starting this afternoon. 15 hides for 1 chip is truly insane. Unless you have tens of thousands of hides, that is."
"I do."
Slurp. The sound of her sipping her drink through a straw was particularly loud.
Ayeon, who was about to continue her advice with gusto, froze like stone on the spot.
Eunha added with a detached face.
"At least 50,000."
"..."
"..."
...Pardon?
