Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 203

Dungeon Journal – Episode 204

# 203

Dungeon Journal

Episode 204

“Now?”

The host’s demeanor as he presented the new item was too nonchalant. Kim Jin-woo wasn’t sure if it was worth the effort to win the bid, even if it meant pushing himself.

If the item was even slightly special, they wouldn’t introduce it so casually.

“Yes, now.”

His attitude was unreadable, but the black marketeer’s voice was firm. At this point, he had to ask about the item’s identity again.

“What makes you so insistent?”

Instead of answering, the black marketeer countered with a question.

“Have I ever made a suggestion that was detrimental to you, my lord?”

There were times when he tried to benefit himself, but ultimately, the black marketeer had always made suggestions that benefited him.

He had never been this insistent before, which made him even more curious about the item.

However, it didn’t seem easy to get the black marketeer, who had his lips tightly sealed, to reveal the item’s identity.

While he was pondering, the host casually presented the item he had received.

“This item has quite a mysterious history!” The host held up a gem that had lost its luster.

“It’s an ancient, unused summoning stone! No one knows when it was made or what’s inside! But like all summoning stones discovered so far, it’s presumed to contain something quite extraordinary!”

The item that the black marketeer had been so insistent about was an ancient summoning stone. Kim Jin-woo, who had used summoning stones several times through various channels, could immediately recognize the dull-colored gem.

“Hmm.”

Kim Jin-woo glanced at the black marketeer with somewhat subdued eyes.

He didn’t want to underestimate the value of summoning stones, as he had obtained Morrigan, Heimdall, and the Underworld Trees through them. However, he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed compared to the black marketeer’s hype.

“It’s too early to be disappointed.”

The black marketeer gave him a meaningful look.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

He shrugged at the black marketeer’s unchanging attitude and turned his gaze to the stage.

The general seat participants didn’t seem very interested in the ancient summoning stone, watching the host’s spiel with indifferent faces.

Indeed, the heroes that came from ancient summoning stones were undoubtedly powerful. However, they rarely obeyed the summoner’s commands, so it wasn’t surprising that they had such expressions.

“If you’re lucky, there might be an incredible being inside the summoning stone! I’m already looking forward to seeing who will test their luck!”

Despite his words, the imp host’s attitude was quite mechanical.

Perhaps sensing the auction house’s lack of interest in the troublesome ancient summoning stone, the host seemed eager to wrap up this auction and introduce the next item.

“The starting price will be 5,000 Gems!”

It was a rather low price for an auction that had been introduced with such grand words like luck and fortune.

“5,100 Gems.”

“5,200 Gems.”

The auction price slowly rose. The general seat participants bid at a snail’s pace, with not a hint of enthusiasm on their faces.

The host added some spice to their passive attitude, which clearly showed that they were indifferent to whether they won or not.

“Let me reiterate, the summoning stone before you is completely new and has never been used by anyone! We don’t know if it contains great luck or misfortune, but it’s definitely rare in itself!”

It was a pointless statement. If the barons of the destroyed 10th floor, who were obsessed with decorating their labyrinths, had participated in the auction, it might have been different. But no one was willing to invest a large sum of money in a troublesome item whose contents were unknown, just because it was rare.

“5,800 Gems! 5,800 Gems! Any higher bids? If there are no more bids by the time I count to ten, this item will be….”

“My lord.”

Kim Jin-woo, who had been watching the situation on the stage without participating in the auction, glanced at the black marketeer.

“I hope you won’t disappoint me.”

He gestured to get the attention of the catfolk female assistant.

“6,500 Gems.”

The catfolk woman looked at him with a somewhat dazed expression, as he had never bid before. Then, she was startled and grabbed the tube installed in the VIP room.

“Eight! Nine!”

In the meantime, the host was counting closer to ten.

“6,500 Gems!”

The catfolk woman breathed a sigh of relief as she called out the bid just before the auction was about to end.

“Oh! 6,500 Gems!”

The host’s expression became complicated as he made a fuss. It was good that the auction price had risen, but he seemed a little embarrassed that the auction, which he wanted to finish quickly, was being delayed.

“6,500 Gems! Any bids higher than 6,500 Gems!”

“7,000 Gems!”

The host, who was about to start counting, widened his eyes at the new bid.

“8,000 Gems.”

Kim Jin-woo frowned at the unexpected interference and instructed to bid again. The catfolk woman, who had already become a skilled auction assistant, raised the auction price in a clear voice.

“Oh! It seems that this item has attracted the attention of some distinguished guests!”

The host, now getting excited, turned his head from side to side, looking for additional bidders in a lively tone.

“10,000 Gems!”

Once again, someone from the VIP seats tried to bid.

“11,000 Gems!”

Kim Jin-woo, not wanting to be outdone, added 1,000 Gems and bid again. However, the opponent seemed determined and quickly raised the price again.

“Oh, who is it?”

“Do the nobles have some secret to tame ancient heroes?”

The atmosphere of the auction house, which had been somewhat subdued, was heating up again. Most of the participants were watching the VIPs’ competition with interest, rather than being interested in the item itself.

“13,000 Gems!”

“14,000 Gems!”

The auction price was rising rapidly. It was now on the verge of exceeding the price of a typical popular item.

“19,000 Gems!”

“20,000 Gems!”

Kim Jin-woo frowned. The value of the ancient summoning stone that he had in mind was exactly 20,000 Gems. He had no intention of wasting his precious Down Gems [currency used in the dungeon] on a summoning stone whose contents were unknown.

“Tell me why I should show more sincerity in fulfilling my promise to you.”

So, he pressured the black marketeer, who was unusually silent.

“20,000 Gems! 20,000 Gems! Any higher bids?”

The host, with a flushed face, subtly raised his head and looked at the second floor where the VIP rooms were located.

“I believe that distinguished guests know the value of this summoning stone!”

As if telling them to bid higher if they had any sense, the general seat participants watched the situation with interest at his subtle tone.

“Tell me why I should continue to play along with this pointless battle of pride.”

Kim Jin-woo didn’t think that the unknown competitor was participating in the auction because they needed the summoning stone. He vaguely guessed that it was out of curiosity at first, and now it was a matter of pride. Or perhaps it was just spite.

The black marketeer didn’t answer Kim Jin-woo. He simply met his gaze with an unwavering look.

“Hmph.”

Kim Jin-woo snorted, feeling annoyed by the sight, and gestured to the catfolk assistant.

“25,000 Gems.”

The catfolk assistant looked somewhat surprised, but quickly regained her composure and conveyed the new bid over the tube.

“It seems that the distinguished guests can see the hidden value of the summoning stone!”

His tone subtly stimulated their pride, as if trying to encourage competition, hoping that other nobles would also participate.

However, no one other than Kim Jin-woo and the unknown competitor showed any interest in bidding.

The participants simply watched the nobles’ battle of pride over a useless summoning stone with amusement.

“30,000 Gems….”

“30,000! 30,000 Gems! 30,000 Gems!”

Kim Jin-woo frowned. At this point, he wanted to see the face of the person who was so desperately trying to obstruct the bidding.

He scanned the VIP rooms here and there with cold eyes, but he couldn’t tell who was behind the opaque windows of the specially designed VIP rooms.

“What should we do?”

The catfolk assistant asked for his instructions. She seemed a little surprised at the ridiculously high auction price.

“Continue.”

“If they intend to continue obstructing the bidding, it might be better to be a little more daring.”

However, surprised as she was, the catfolk woman, as expected of an auction assistant carefully placed by the black marketeer, advised him to make a bold move.

“I was planning to do that anyway.”

Kim Jin-woo readily agreed with the assistant’s words.

“50,000 Gems.”

He raised the auction price to an almost excessive level. It was an absurd amount, as if daring them to follow if they could. This time, even the persistent opponent couldn’t easily bid and remained silent.

“Any higher bids? If there are no more bids, we will conclude this auction!”

The host counted down. But even as the count reached ten, there were no additional bids.

“Congratulations to the noble who has won the ancient summoning stone! I hope that as much luck follows as your boldness!”

The host seemed to be in a good mood, perhaps because the item that he thought was a throwaway had been sold for a higher price than the noble’s seal, which could be considered the highlight of the auction. He gave some uncharacteristic well wishes with a gleeful face.

However, Kim Jin-woo’s expression, who had won the item, wasn’t very good. He had succeeded in winning the bid by boldly raising the price, but the cost was higher than necessary. So, there was no way he could feel good about it, as he didn’t even know the item’s identity.

“Thank you.”

The black marketeer, who would normally have been fussing over such things, simply bowed his head in a composed manner. Kim Jin-woo’s face softened slightly at the unusual sight.

It was because he saw a bit of sincerity in his taciturn attitude. Now that he thought he had put the black marketeer in his debt, the sum of 50,000 Gems didn’t seem so wasteful. The black marketeer, who was good with numbers, would surely repay him in some way.

“Here….”

The catfolk woman, who had left her seat for a moment while he was talking to the black marketeer, handed him a well-sealed box.

“I would advise you to use the summoning stone in a safe place, not here, if possible.”

Kim Jin-woo, who was about to check what was inside the summoning stone that he had bought for 50,000 Gems, frowned at the black marketeer’s words.

“You’re asking for too much.”

“I’m not saying this for my sake, but for yours, my lord.”

His voice somehow made him feel uneasy, so he eventually put the summoning stone back in the box.

***

“Where is it?”

Catherine appeared as soon as the black marketeer disappeared and asked abruptly.

“What?”

“The summoning stone. Where is it?”

Kim Jin-woo frowned.

“Was it you?”

It seemed that she was the culprit who had caused him to spend 50,000 Gems.

“Isn’t that the fun of auctions?”

Her face, shamelessly spouting nonsense without even apologizing, was just hateful.

“More importantly, where is it?”

He snapped at her, seeing her urging him without a hint of apology. She widened her eyes at his irritated expression and asked.

“You’re not seriously getting annoyed just because you spent a mere 50,000 Gems, are you?”

He felt foolish for getting angry, seeing her scoff at him for being so petty about a few Down Gems, even though he was a High Lord.

Since he had an enormous amount of Down Gems in his possession from raiding the Association on Earth, it wasn’t a big expense for him.

He was just being petty because he felt like he had been ripped off.

Catherine gave him a strange look.

“You don’t seriously mean you were so worked up without even knowing what it was, do you?”

What was this situation? She seemed to know the identity of the summoning stone.

“Do you know what this is?”

He inadvertently took out the box from his chest and asked. Her expression changed. He reflexively stepped back at the look of greed in her sparkling eyes.

Whether he did or not, Catherine couldn’t take her eyes off the box.

“You….”

Kim Jin-woo raised his guard with a wary expression.

“We will now conclude today’s auction! We will see you all tomorrow with even more fruitful items!”

The host’s cheerful voice announcing the end of the auction could be heard through the window. But the atmosphere in the VIP room, which was filled with a sense of impending crisis, was precarious.

“This is driving me crazy. Is it just good intuition, or does she have someone helping her?”

Catherine, who had been silent for a long time, pushed the catfolk woman aside and plopped down in her seat.

“That’s not just any summoning stone.”