Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 46

Dungeon Journal – 46th Entry

# 46

Dungeon Journal

Chapter 47

The presenter paused, glancing up at the second floor where the hall and VIP rooms were located, drawing out the moment. He seemed very confident about the value of this item, judging by how long he was stalling.

“Right nowwwww!”

But only for a moment. Some impatient dungeon lords were already shouting, so he hurriedly pulled off the black cloth covering the box.

“It’s a vampire!”

With hair as smooth and lustrous as if coated in honey, a pale complexion, and an unrealistically beautiful appearance, the vampire in the box calmly gazed out at the hall.

“Ooh!”

“A vampire!”

If not for her extraordinary beauty, the participants wondered what made her different from the products that had been presented so far, causing a stir. Among them were many dungeon lords who had been maintaining a dignified demeanor until now.

“As you know, vampires in the underground are very rare. And even those few are mostly under the control of the esteemed ones in the deep layers. Such a vampire is the product of this auction!”

It was a grand introduction, but the participants weren’t listening to the presenter. They were all standing up, craning their necks to look at the vampire in the box.

“Unfortunately, the vampire being offered as a product this time has a greatly diluted bloodline. But even so, I have no doubt that no one will question her rarity and preciousness!”

As if to prove his point, the participants were already urging their attendants, trying to estimate the maximum amount they could bid.

“The starting bid for this item will be 4,000 Gems.”

The starting bid was on a different level. A starting bid equivalent to two top-grade Down Gems. One couldn’t even imagine how high it would soar later.

“Oh, and one thing I should mention in advance is that even if you bid the highest price, if she doesn’t choose you as her master, the auction will be canceled. Of course, you won’t be charged.”

The words he spoke while gauging the atmosphere were surprising. But whether that surprise leaned toward pleasantness or unpleasantness, the participants were furious.

“How presumptuous. A fake vampire who isn’t even a pureblood.”

“A product choosing its master? The Black Merchant has gone mad.”

Perhaps anticipating this situation, the presenter added another word without yielding to the fierce momentum of the participants.

“This is the first time we at the Black Merchant have had an auction of this unique format. But please keep in mind that the person who entrusted this item is one of the masters from the deepest part of the deep layers. We will gladly accept your criticism of the Black Merchant, but I hope things don’t get too heated. I’m already worried that it might disturb that person’s judgment.”

The moment they heard the words ‘master from the deepest part of the deep layers,’ the atmosphere inside the hall turned cold.

The sight of the participants, who had been confidently chattering until now, shutting their mouths was a comedy in itself.

‘It can’t be helped. The esteemed ones in the deep layers are powerful masters, at least at the count level or higher. No matter how much the dungeon lords reign like kings in their own territories, they can’t be safe if they go against their sensibilities. Moreover, most of the people in that hall are just mediocre beings.’

Dominique’s explanation was even faster this time. Kim Jin-woo turned his head at her subdued voice, and she carefully pointed to the second floor.

She emphasized, looking at the window of the VIP room, which was darkly shadowed.

‘Perhaps this auction was aimed at the nobles from the start. An ordinary person wouldn’t catch the vampire’s eye.’

As she said, the vampire held her head high and looked at each of the VIP rooms on the second floor.

“Once she chooses a master, she will never withdraw her loyalty and devotion, and the vampire, with her versatile abilities, is a precious being that anyone in the underground would want to have.”

The beastman assistant gave an explanation about the vampire that Dominique had left out.

“Hmm……”

Kim Jin-woo was also intrigued. If it were a slave, he wouldn’t care, but the fact that she chose her own master made him feel less resistant to the auction.

“Is she much different from a vampire demon?”

He had encountered underground vampire demons several times, who rushed in, screaming and clawing, to suck blood.

They were just monsters, but the vampire, different by only one character [in name], seemed like a completely different being.

“Vampire demons are just the lowest kind of vampires, with only instinct remaining rather than reason. No one in the underground wants to be the master of a vampire demon.”

Indeed, it would be almost rude to compare that hideous monster to the vampire sitting in that glass box with her chin raised.

“But even so, I would like to dissuade the Baron from joining the bidding competition for the vampire. Vampires, who give eternal life to the master they have sworn loyalty to, are revered beings that even the esteemed ones of the underground covet. Of course, I’m not sure if she, whose pure blood is diluted to almost nothing, has such abilities.”

“Well, I didn’t expect it anyway.”

Kim Jin-woo shrugged at the beastman assistant’s cautious advice. Just looking at the already overheated atmosphere of the participants, he could tell how fierce this auction would be.

“Now, let’s start the auction!”

***

In the end, the vampire auction failed.

The vampire didn’t even acknowledge the participant who called out a bid of 23,000 Gems and drove away the competitors.

The sight of the participant’s face, which had been gleeful, completely distorted was quite a sight to see.

“Hoo, I’m tired.”

Sitting down and looking down all day made my whole body ache, no matter how luxurious the sofa was.

“If you wish, would you give me the honor of touching that esteemed body? I know a few ways to relieve fatigue, though I’m not very good at it.”

Kim Jin-woo shook his head at the beastman assistant’s words.

“No. I just want to rest. I heard there’s accommodation prepared.”

Since it was a week-long auction, it was natural that everything from accommodation to convenience facilities was fully equipped.

Moreover, he was participating in the auction as a noble, not just a regular participant. If they had the sincerity to prepare a VIP room, they would have prepared the accommodation properly as well.

“Yes. A specially prepared accommodation is assigned to the Baron, which our Black Merchant has taken special care to prepare. We have made every preparation to ensure that you can rest peacefully without being disturbed by anyone.”

At her words, Kim Jin-woo got up from the sofa where he had been sitting all day and looked at the scene of the hall spread out below the window.

The last auction item, which was touted as today’s highlight, was of a kind that didn’t interest him at all as a human.

It was quite enjoyable to watch the participants screaming and causing a ruckus, but today he wanted to rest.

“Let’s do that.”

The beastman assistant bowed her head at Kim Jin-woo’s slow reply and opened the door to the VIP room.

***

As expected of a regular event confidently organized by the Black Merchant, the convenience facilities for the participants were perfect. There was nothing lacking for staying during the auction period.

“The problem is that I haven’t gotten anything yet.”

‘Items useful to the master are also useful to others. But I can’t just grab something useless.’

The items at the auction were excellent. On the first day, they mainly auctioned off living beings, but from the second day, weapons, armor, and top-grade Down Gems with rare powers were traded.

Among them were items that Kim Jin-woo thought were useful, and he tried to bid several times, but he gave up halfway because he couldn’t keep up with the astronomically soaring auction prices.

Indeed, he was being treated as a VIP because he had risen to the position of Baron, but realistically, Kim Jin-woo was just one of the dungeon lords who had just settled on the 9th floor.

He didn’t have the financial power to recklessly participate in the bidding competition just because he was suddenly invited to the auction.

“Still, it’s a bit of a shame.”

He smacked his lips, recalling the top-grade Down Gem with the power of ‘Momentary Amplification’ that was put up for auction on the 4th day.

He thought that it would exert quite a bit of power if it overlapped with the dungeon owner’s amplification effect, so he tried to bid, but he had to give up after seeing the rapidly soaring bid price that far exceeded his financial resources.

He couldn’t help but feel bitter.

But he didn’t regret participating in the auction. He felt bad seeing the slaves that were put up for auction on the first day, but it wasn’t difficult to adapt.

It was almost funny to expect anything else, since the underground was like this from the beginning.

Once he relaxed, it was quite enjoyable to watch the items being put up for auction.

Moreover, it was perfect for him, who had far less knowledge than the other dungeon lords, to grasp the atmosphere of the underground.

He could gauge the power of others by looking at the items that were being put up, and he could learn about the bizarre and desolate tastes of the underground.

In addition, it was a great gain to discover ‘King of the Dead’ Valishus, who was enthusiastically participating in the bidding competition in the hall.

Thanks to that, he could know what Valishus was absorbed in now and what he needed.

Valishus was now immersed in ‘Chimera Manufacturing.’ Seeing him bid on every creature that was put up for auction, it seemed that he was trying to create something even more powerful by synthesizing ferocious creatures.

And that fact became an opportunity for Kim Jin-woo to not let his guard down against Valishus.

The 5th day of the auction was over.

Kim Jin-woo was able to make a few small gains from the auction on the 5th day. He obtained a sharp sword and several pieces of equipment at a low price.

From the beginning, the lords of the underground used their bodies as weapons, and their physiques didn’t match, so the bidding competition couldn’t be fierce, and the demi-humans who participated in the bidding didn’t show much enthusiasm, so he was able to win the items at an almost free price.

And on the 6th day, the atmosphere of the hall where the auction was held was hotter than ever.

“4,200 Gems! 4,200 Gems! Is there anyone who wants to bid more!”

Another item was sold for a whopping auction price equivalent to two top-grade Down Gems, but Kim Jin-woo was now somewhat accustomed to it.

Since such large sums of money were being exchanged at the auction, his sense of money had become dull.

But even so, Kim Jin-woo couldn’t help but be surprised this time. That’s because the items that were mainly put up for auction on the 6th day were from the surface [the human world].

“Participant number 22 has won the ‘Surface Fire-Breathing Stick’! It is thought that the value of preservation will be great because it is a rare item with a well-preserved original form! Congratulations again!”

A rifle, commonly seen in the military, was sold for a whopping 4,200 Gems.

He couldn’t understand the absurd situation, but the other participants looked enviously at participant number 22, who had obtained the rifle.

“Are surface items originally treated this preciously?”

“First of all, it is true that the item that was just sold was used during the war, so historical value was added and it was traded at a particularly high price, but most items are actually valued.”

Kim Jin-woo’s eyes flashed at the beastman assistant’s words.

The thought that a new way to make money might arise made his head spin busily from the start.

“Well, the time has come again today! The vampire, who was sold for 32,000 Gems the day before but was unfortunately returned as an unsold item, is looking for a master again today!”

In the meantime, the vampire who had been processed as an unsold item due to not choosing a master for the past few days was put up for auction again.

Now, apart from the value of the vampire, the participants, whose interest in who would be chosen as the master had grown, quietly waited for the presenter’s next words.

Knowing the situation well, the Black Merchant was now using the vampire auction as an event to liven up the atmosphere before the last item came out.

“The vampire who has been unsold several times! If she is unsold again, we will have to put her up for auction again tomorrow, but with only one day left in the auction period, I think she may not be able to find a master! Thinking of the esteemed underground noble who entrusted the item, our Black Merchant can only feel sorry!”

For some reason, the vampire woman was not in the box today. Wearing a fluttering dress, she surprisingly walked onto the stage on her own feet.

“So, I was wondering if we should let her choose her master without the participants bidding today! For reference, the original owner of the item has also agreed!”

What kind of bizarre behavior is this, and what’s even more absurd is that the participants are enthusiastic. The presenter raised the heated atmosphere again.

“Of course, in case the person who is chosen by the vampire does not want to purchase, our Black Merchant will not charge for the item!”

In the midst of the participants shouting wildly in a frenzy, the vampire began to move silently. Her eyes soon turned to the second floor.

“Huh?”

Kim Jin-woo tilted his head, feeling like the vampire’s red eyes were somehow looking at him. Dominique whispered to him.

‘Master, somehow that vampire seems to be looking this way?’

As she said, the vampire’s eyes were facing the VIP room where he was. With a feeling of disbelief, he looked at the vampire, and the vampire smiled brightly, curving her eyes.