Chapter 166: 166

It was a dark green flute. It looked old-fashioned, but the mana it was emanating was so strong that no one seemed to think it was fake.

‘Manpasikjeok… Almost all Koreans had heard of it at least once when they were growing up. That Manpasikjeok was real?!’

“Activate [Eye of Insight].”

[Manpasikjeok (Upper)]

[Class: A+

Type: Instrument

King Munmo, the father of King Sinmun of Silla, passed this flute down to the royal family of Silla after becoming the Dragon King of the East Sea.

It is said that playing the flute cures diseases, solves both drought and floods, and makes the enemy retreat. Unfortunately, it is now broken in half and its strength has weakened.

Function: Complete recovery of all affiliated factions once a month.

Function: Stop natural disasters once a month for the entire area controlled by the affiliated factions.]

‘Wow, this is real?! But only half of it… Still very good, though. Seeing that it says ‘Upper’, that must mean there’s another ‘Lower’ half, I guess.’

Ji-Cheok imagined that it would be a fantastic item if he found the lower part and restored it to its original shape.

«Maybe, if we restore it, it would have a similar power to the Guardian of Hope.»

‘I think even the upper part by itself is about as powerful as the Guardian of Hope. Canceling all natural disasters in the area controlled by allies sounds almost too good to be true.’

«The Complete recovery function is also very powerful.»

“Then, let the auction begin! The starting price is twenty billion won! Okay, we got twenty billion. Is there thirty billion? Okay, forty billion? Forty-five billion. Now we have forty-seven billion won!”

‘Wait… I can’t even dare to do anything with only thirty-two billion won. I might have had a chance with the items in the first part of the auction, but I can’t possibly compete with these guys.’

“Why would Ji-Han have us come here, hyung? He knows that we don’t have this kind of money,” Mu-Cheok said.

“I don’t know… It might’ve been better to buy some items at the start of the auction. That mana recovery ring seemed worth buying.”

The [Ring of Mana Recovery] had been sold for twenty billion won. Hunters could charge the ring at home and use it in case of emergency. Most Hunters tried to enter the dungeon as soon as their mana was full, but that was not always the case. They sometimes had to wait for their teammates’ mana to fill up, and they also had to reserve entry to the dungeon they wanted to go to. It was very good if they could store the surplus mana inside the ring and use it when they needed it most.

The problem was that the [Ring of Mana Recovery] was a very rare item. The overall number of rings that could be obtained from a dungeon was very small, and crafting specialists said that their skills were not enough to replicate this kind of item. That was why it was expensive.

Anyway, the Manpasikjeok wasn’t something he could buy, so he just watched the auction.

“980 billion won! Is there anyone who would like to bid higher? 980 billion once… twice…sold to the gentleman that bid 980 billion won!”

In the end, the half-broken flute was sold for a whopping 980 billion won.,

‘That’s amazing…’

The next item came out, and it did not lose at all to the flute.

“The pride of Silla! This is one of the Three Treasures of Silla, the King’s Jade Belt! It is said that during the reign of King Jinpyeong of Silla, the Jade Emperor[1] bestowed this object upon him through a fairy to signify that he would rule the country well. I don’t know if the story is genuine, but the mana in it could not be any more real!”

‘The King’s Jade Belt! I heard about it in school when I was young. If I remember correctly, the Three Treasures of Silla are the nine-story wooden pagoda of Hwangnyongsa, the Sixteen-Foot Bronze Buddha Statue, and the Jade Belt right here. Where the hell did they get this from?’

Ji-Cheok immediately used his [Eye of Insight].

[The King’s Jade Belt]

[Class: A+

Type: Waistband

A belt gifted by the Jade Emperor to King Jinpyeong of Silla. This belt imbued with the power of the legendary divine dragon has the power to keep its wearer safe.

Function: Absolute defense three times a day.

Function: Full recovery three times a day.

Function: Permanent mana barrier.]

‘This one is also terrifying…I should just give up buying this from the start. By the way, isn’t that our national treasure? Same as Manpasikjeok. How is it even legal to buy and sell things like this privately?’

Even with a sense of sadness, Ji-Cheok thought it was a good idea to come here. Now he knew the gap between the true top-tier Hunters in the world and himself. Those Hunters wore these things as if they were random jewelry. This made sense—after all, nowadays, Hunters were a nation’s defense force, and each one of these top-tier Hunters had power to contend with a nation all by themselves.

Items like Manpasikjeok, the King’s Jade Belt, and the Ring of Poison Dragon Fang were found and purchased by spending astronomical amounts of money. Either that, or the Hunters would risk their lives to enter a high-level dungeon, kill the monsters, and obtain them as loot. ‘That Hunter,’ who topped the GodTube rankings, was definitely that kind of person.

Ji-Cheok realized that this was the reason why Ji-Han had invited him to this event. After all, Ji-Cheok couldn’t even think of buying any of these things with the money he had right now.

‘And it’s not like I can raid the event and steal them.’

Thus, he came to the conclusion that Ji-Han’s intention had been for him to watch the auction itself.

“650 billion won! 650 billion once… Do we have a higher bid? 650 billion twice… Sold to the lady at the back!”

The King’s Jade Belt was sold at a lower price than Manpasikjeok, but of course, that was only in comparison. The actual sum was simply outrageous. The item went down into the floor again, and the next item came out.

“This item is the highlight of today’s auction. It’s here to brighten up your day! Everyone! It’s the Heirloom Seal of the Realm!”

This was a large seal made of jade. Ji-Cheok was almost blinded by the brilliant light and the mana behind it.

‘But that…’

“Oh my god. That’s the Heirloom Seal of the Realm! The rumors were true!”

“Guild leader, it really exists. It’s the Heirloom Seal of the Realm.”

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“Yes, I will purchase it no matter what. Yes sir. Yes. The money… Yes, sir.”

The incredible reveal made the crowd go crazy.

“I can’t believe that this thing came out as an auction item…” Mu-Cheok said in a dumbfounded tone.

“I know! That’s it, right? The one Qin Shi Huang made, right?”

“I think so.”

Qin Shi Huang was the one who established China’s first unified empire. The Heirloom Seal of the Realm was dedicated to the emperor and was made of a very large piece of jade known as Heshibi, or ‘Mr. He’s Jade,’ initially found in the country of Chu.[2] There were both legends and historical records confirming its existence, but it had been long lost, with no clues of its whereabouts.

Until now.

‘Anyway… That’s ridiculous! The King’s Jade Belt is a national treasure of Korea at least, but doesn’t the Heirloom Seal of the Realm belong to China? How can this thing be openly traded… Is this okay?’

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Another weird thing was that everyone around them seemed to know that it was coming. Ji-Han was definitely aware of it as well.

“Activate [Eye of Insight].”

He quickly used his insight skill.

[Heirloom Seal of the Realm]

[Class: S-

Type: Seal

The imperial seal created by order of Qin Shi Huang, the first ruler of a unified Chinese empire. This treasure made of Mr. He’s Jade became a symbol of the empire and was handed down to many kings and emperors of the later generations.

Function: ‘Absolute Command’ can be used once a month.

Function: Apply ‘Abundance’ to the entire faction.

Function: Apply ‘Fortitude’ to the entire faction.

Function: Increase Charm by 500.]

If he focused his mind on each function, he could see their effects in detail

[Absolute Command: The user can issue a compulsory order to summoned beasts and beings from other dimensions.]

[Abundance: Rewards in dungeons are greatly increased.]

[Fortitude: Increases physical abilities such as Defense, Stamina, and Strength.]

‘Wow, so this is the kind of item used by the top-tier guilds.’

The fact that it vastly increased the dungeon rewards was amazing even by itself, and the buffs offered by the item were nothing to scoff at. However, this was a most important national treasure of China, an item belonging to its first emperor, so were these two features what made it so special? No…that couldn’t be it.

‘Issuing absolute orders to summoned beasts and beings from other dimensions…? This is big. I wonder if I can use that on dungeon boss monsters. There are no restrictions specified.’

Ji-Cheok telepathically sent the descriptions to Mu-Cheok and Reable. Reable smirked, and Mu-Cheok had a puzzled face.

“I can’t believe this item is being sold at an auction house.”

“I know! I guess the end of time is really coming near. A national treasure of a country is just rolling around in a place like this. Now I’m wondering about the security of this palace. Wasn’t the price of the Manpasikjeok 980 billion won? I think this is going to be in the trillions…”

‘I know inflation is a thing these days, but I can’t even imagine how much this seal is going to be. Can any single person or entity even buy this? At this point, I think people are going to spend an entire government budget.’

«I believe there are several government figures involved in this, Master. Because the time has come when neither tanks nor fighter jets are needed.»

‘You’re right. The era where humans fought against humans has ended; now is the time of humans fighting dungeons.’

It was a world where such items were more valuable than nuclear bombs. That meant governments were now pouring money into buying items for dungeons instead of tanks, military planes, and missiles. Still, Ji-Cheok couldn’t believe that this was real.

“Also, considering that everyone knew about it even though it was not in the catalog, doesn’t it mean that the word got out to many people? Is that okay?”

“It will be fine~” Reable said.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. There are powerful defensive spells all over this hotel. In addition, the defensive items used on the top floor of this hotel are also top-tier. I’m sure the price to set everything up was astronomical.”

‘How much would an astronomical price be?’

«Master, I have searched for information and produced an estimation. It costs between two hundred billion and three hundred billion won to build a five-star hotel. If Secret Arts and magic spells are included, the overall cost increases sixfold.»

‘That’s crazy. I thought I was a rich man, but this is in the realm of superheroes who own an industrial conglomerate.’

“It’s better to spend the money~ After all, money will just be a printed souvenir after the Tutorial,” Reable said.

“...”

The moment Ji-Cheok opened his mouth to ask something…

BOOM!

* * *

“Madness lurks beyond the stars. Hear ye, hear ye! Zealots following the evil old gods will arrive in due season, saying ‘The time is near.’”

Thud. Thud.

He was stepping in someone’s blood.

“The sky opened, and the constellations opened their eyes, and they saw that they were many, as many as the grains of sand in the desert! The apostles sent by the stars shall bring the world shock and awe! Hear ye! Amongst them, the most fierce shall tear the very Earth apart!”

There were dead bodies everywhere. He was inside a huge closed warehouse.

Among the corpses of what had to be hundreds of people, there was a man reciting an old prophecy. It was Jung Ji-Han.

Once again, he was doing a secret mission.

“It was impossible to handle two missions at once, so I always put the auction house mission aside, but…”

He thought of Um Ji-Cheok, and then thought about Reable next to him. He looked at the watch on his wrist.

“It’s about time. Can we prevent both incidents this time? If so, this time…”

An illusory cogwheel rose behind Ji-Han’s back. As it rotated, all the corpses around him turned into particles of light and were sucked into it. Soon, there was nothing left around except for one thing. It was a mask.

A mask that floated in the sky and exuded ominous energy. It looked as if it was laughing, but it also looked as if it was screaming. It could only be described as bizarre, perhaps even…not something from this world.

Then, the mask’s mouth moved.

[An insignificant mortal is interfering with my plans.]

“Your petty plans are destined to fail.”

[Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. That is funny. Do you dare to laugh at I, ■■■ the Mocker?]

“Why the hell not? Deloc the Mocker.”

[Hyaaaa! How dare you call me my true name? You will be punished… Wait!]

1. The Jade Emperor is considered to be the ruler of Heaven in East Asian mythology. ☜

2. The jade was allegedly named after its finder, the jeweler Bian He, and it was first fashioned into a bi, which is a kind of jade disk used as regalia. According to some records, it was acquired by the country of Qin and carved into the Heirloom Seal of the Realm for the first Emperor of China. ☜

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