After walking with Seo Ye-in for a while, a large building resembling a shopping mall came into view.
It was the same building that had been used as a marketplace during the first semester, now transformed into an auction house.
As expected, the first part of the auction was already underway when we stepped inside.
There are hundreds of items up for auction around this time.
Bidding on each of them one by one in a single location would be ridiculously inefficient.
Even if it went on all day, you’d wonder if they’d ever get through them all and they couldn’t exactly keep the guests seated for that long.
That’s why the truly valuable stuff is separated out.
Items that had been thoroughly examined.
Things everyone wanted. Items that would fetch over a hundred thousand points even without bidding.
All of those would be saved for the second part of the auction, held in the evening.
Everything else ends up in part one.
Items with uncertain value or those less popular despite their performance.
And a whole lot of junk.
All of it was displayed in the name of an auction to scam gullible students.
The administration seemed to consider it a sort of test of discernment, so they didn’t really intervene.
Still, it’s worth taking a look.
Like gems hidden in the mud, every now and then something worthwhile shows up for cheap.
If you can snag it, it’s a win. So there’s no reason not to try.
Though, it did take a sharp eye.
“Who am I?”
“A playboy.”
“No, the one that starts with ‘con’.”
“Con artist.”
“That’s right. And who are you?”
“A bundle of light.”
A con artist with stagnant water eyes and a bundle of light.
Together, they make a con artist couple.
“Shall we go treasure hunting?”
“Treasure hunting.”
“Let’s go.”
The first auction hall was divided into several sections.
Even after moving all the good items to part 2, there were still hundreds left.
To handle them efficiently, there was no choice but to run multiple auctions at once.
Of course, they weren’t divided randomly; for convenience, they were categorized by item type.
The signs posted at each entrance read:
[Close Combat]
[Ranged]
[Magic]
[Consumables]
[Life]
…….
Since we planned to check out all the sections eventually, the order didn’t really matter to us.
So for our first stop, I decided to trust Lucky Charm Radar.
“Where do you want to start?”
Seo Ye-in silently looked between the signs for a moment, then slowly pointed to one.
Her finger landed on the [Life] sign.
Personally, I’d never had much to do with Life items. They were too cute and too impractical. I was all about efficiency. But still, there was always a chance something valuable might pop up.
So I followed her lead and headed that way without complaint.
The moment we stepped into the Life section, an auction was already in progress.
A group of participants was gathered in front of a platform, where the auctioneer stood holding a sleek, stylish umbrella.
That was probably the item up for bidding.
A few students were taking turns raising their hands and shouting out offers.
“2,300 points.”
“2,400.”
“2,450.”
Watching the numbers creep up slowly, it looked like the bidding was nearing its end.
Sure enough, after a few more rounds, the room went silent, and the auctioneer made a final call.
“The highest bid is 2,700 points. Any more?”
“……”
“3, 2, 1… Sold!”
The student who had made the final bid walked up to the side of the platform, paid the points, then slipped the umbrella into their inventory and returned to their seat.
Looked like they were planning to stick around for more.
Before long, the auctioneer introduced the next item.
It looked like a sleeping mask made out of a bunch of cucumber slices strung together.
Just looking at it made me lose any desire to buy it, but I knew better than to judge an item by its appearance.
“Next up, we have the [Cucumber Sleeping Mask]! For uninterrupted sleep free from morning sunlight and improved skin care. Kill two birds with one stone! Starting at 1,000 points.”
The moment he finished his pitch, hands flew up across the crowd.
“1,200.”
“1,500 points!”
“1,700!”
The price was climbing fast.
Even if someone only cared about sleep or beauty, it was still a pretty useful item.
And if it really delivered on both, like the auctioneer claimed, then it was even more valuable.
“……!”
Seo Ye-in seemed very interested too and was slowly beginning to raise her hand.
But at the last moment, I grabbed it and gently lowered it.
Then I spoke in a soft tone.
“Young miss, what did the butler say?”
“……?”
“She told you to use your points wisely, didn’t she?”
“……Mhmm.”
“Would you say this is a necessary purchase?”
“……Sort of?”
“Let’s hear your reasoning.”
If she could convince me with a valid reason, a sleeping mask wouldn’t be a problem.
Though it wouldn’t be easy.
Seo Ye-in paused in thought for a moment, then opened her mouth.
“It helps me sleep.”
“You sleep just fine without it. The moment you lie down, you’re out in three seconds like a sloth.”
“……That’s not true.”
Seo Ye-in looked away, avoiding my gaze.
Then, as if something else occurred to her, she spoke again.
“Skin care.”
“Mhmm, you’re already pretty without it.”
“That makes me happy.”
“And yet you’re still trying to sneak your hand up, aren’t you?”
“……Caught me.”
“Let’s put that hand back down.”
While we were bickering like that, the sleeping mask was sold off to another bidder.
Seo Ye-in looked a little downcast, but it didn’t last long.
That was thanks to the next item the host presented.
“Next up, we have the cute Panda Cushion! But of course, it’s not just cute.”
As soon as mana was infused into it, the panda that was small enough to fit in one arm began to inflate like a balloon until it was nearly the size of a small child.
“Adjustable from arm-size to extra-large at will! And on top of that, it comes with a sleep enhancement option, making it perfect to cuddle while sleeping. Starting at 1,000 points.”
“……!”
Seo Ye-in tugged at my sleeve repeatedly with her eyes pleading for permission.
Her gray pupils stared right through me.
But my defense wasn’t going down so easily.
“Looks like anything with ‘sleep’ in the name is good to you.”
“Sleep is important.”
“You make it too important. That’s the problem. And you already have a tiger plush at home.”
An item made by combining a B-rank [Feather Cushion] with a Transformation Scroll.
It was covered in all sorts of sleep-type and beneficial effects.
Though it slipped down in the rankings recently, it still held a spot in the Top 3 favorite items, alongside the Immortal Pot.
For reference, the last spot was taken by the Fluffy Cloud Bracelet.
Even so, Seo Ye-in continued trying to persuade me.
“More is better.”
“There’s a saying that too much is as bad as too little. Even if you buy a bunch, you’ll only end up using the Kim Ho Pillow.”
“……”
Seo Ye-in nodded as if to say I wasn’t wrong.
Meanwhile, the panda plush had also been snatched up by another participant, and Seo Ye-in watched it go with eyes full of lingering regret.
“A shame……”
“This place is no good. Too many temptations.”
Useless but tempting items kept popping up.
To avoid temptation, it seemed better to move to a different auction zone.
I mean, we could buy it if we wanted to.
Seo Ye-in currently had about 380,000 points.
Losing a few thousand points here or there wouldn’t be a problem.
But if we kept buying one or two things like that, we could suddenly be down tens of thousands, leaving us short on funds for the second auction phase.
So it was best to give up on everything except what was truly necessary or highly valuable.
I added a final word.
“Besides, stuff like that…. you don’t need an auction to get it.”
“Mhmm……”
“Next time, we’ll get something even better. Deal?”
“Deal.”
With the negotiation finished, we stepped into the adjacent [Close Combat] corner.
An auction was already in progress here, too.
A crowd of participants and a host up on the platform.
But maybe because it was filled with stocky close-combat types, the atmosphere felt a little heavier.
“2,000. I bid.”
“2,200.”
“Hmm, I’ll raise it to 2,300.”
Among the group, a familiar face stood out. It was Shin Byeong-cheol, with extremely thick hair.
The alchemy club had been handing out hair-lengthening potions lately. Looks like he drank one.
But what’s he doing here?
A guy who’s always just tossing chopsticks is trying to buy a close-combat item?
And to top it off, Shin Byeong-cheol was participating in the auction with surprising enthusiasm.
He kept raising his hand high and shouting:
“4,000! I’ll pay 4,000!”
……
The other bidders lowered their hands with reluctant expressions.
When no one else raised a hand for quite some time, the host began the countdown.
“3, 2, 1… Sold!”
With a victor’s grin, Shin Byeong-cheol proceeded to pay the points.
I had wondered why he was even in the close-combat section, but it seemed he was also trying to find pearls in the mud, just like us.
The problem was, the longsword he had just won wasn’t quite pearl material.
That thing’s nowhere near worth 4,000 points.
At best, maybe around 2,000.
I asked Seo Ye-in too.
“What do you think about that one?”
……
After looking at the longsword for a few seconds, Seo Ye-in shook her head.
That meant, in short, it was trash.
Unfortunate news for Shin Byeong-cheol.
Still, for some reason, he kept spending points without hesitation, sweeping up all kinds of weapons like he was full of confidence.
From our point of view, though, he was losing thousands of points in real time.
Just then, the host held up the next item.
It was a broad double-headed axe, gleaming silver from the handle to the blade.
“This axe, let me tell you, was specially crafted through a unique process just for magic swordsmen! It boasts excellent mana conductivity and has an effect that amplifies magical power! Starting at 1,000 points!”
– ……
– ……
But the room fell completely silent.
Even Shin Byeong-cheol, who had been poking at everything so far, hesitated and stood at attention.
He had quickly caught on to the fact that it wouldn’t sell.
Because it’s hard to find a buyer.
In reality, magic swordsmen themselves are extremely rare.
Whether it was swordsmanship or magic, there were plenty of heroes who couldn’t even reach A-rank despite devoting themselves to just one path.
So how many people would even attempt to master both?
A magic swordsman who uses an axe as their main weapon? Probably none.
Mana conductivity and magical amplification were decent, sure. But those kinds of effects were standard on most staffs or wands.
And most of all, it just looks awful.
The silver gleam was so excessive. It felt tacky.
Like it’s been wrapped in cooking foil. No one would want to buy that, not even for decoration.
No wonder participation was so low.
Meanwhile, I had been keeping an eye on the axe from the moment the host brought it out.
Just to be sure, I checked with Seo Ye-in.
“That one looks pretty good, right?”
“Mhmm.”
And for the first time since entering the auction, I raised my hand.
“1,200 points.”
A flashy, high-conductivity metal?
The Crows were going to love this. Caw.
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