Zzzzap-!
⚙ System Notification ⚙[Goblin defeated.]
[Experience gained.]
[Level up!]
[Current Level: 3]
"Phew."
Thanks to steady mob farming, I'd hit level 3.
It'd been quite a while since I entered the dungeon, so it was about time to head back and restock.
I'd nearly reached the third hidden treasure chest spot anyway, so I'd check that out and then call it.
"Halt. Don't come any closer. Everything ahead belongs to the Dawn Guild."
Unfortunately, the Dawn Guild had this path locked down too.
From the looks of it, the major guilds were probably monopolizing all the treasure chests from underground floor 1 through 3 like this.
I considered using the Shadowveil Necklace I'd gotten yesterday to sneak through, but decided against it.
If I got too reckless and they spotted the artifact, I'd miss out on even bigger gains.
I backtracked down the corridor, searching for an empty room.
I planned to use an Emergency Escape Scroll to exit the dungeon. Buying one in town cost a pretty penny.
A whopping 500 labyrinth gold coins per scroll.
Unless you were filthy rich, it was a waste to use them on floor 1.
I could pull them endlessly from gacha, so it didn't matter to me, but others might see me as some rich fool throwing money around.
'...Is that guy loaded?'
Come to think of it, that blonde woman I'd run into earlier had escaped the dungeon with a scroll too.
Her name was... Elana, right?
The emblem on her robe marked her from one of the fallen noble houses, but she sure spent like she wasn't hurting for cash.
Well... every family's got their own secrets.
Emergency Escape ScrollWould you like to use it?
A brief sensation of floating hit me after I confirmed, and suddenly I was at the exit.
I dove through the gate before anyone nearby could notice, slipping out of the dungeon.
The entrance was still swarming with people.
It was the dead of night outside the cave, darkness having fallen, but there were even more folks than during the day.
Makes sense. Dungeons don't care about night or day, so as long as people gathered, you could dive anytime.
The bigger the crowd, though, the more clashes there were.
Whenever tempers started flaring among some of them...
Schwick.
One of the lined-up knights would silently step in front of them.
And just like that, they'd go their separate ways as if nothing happened.
Power and authority really are something else.
I was about to head straight out of the cave.
⚙ System Notification ⚙[First dungeon exploration complete.]
[Auction House unlocked.]
A window popped up, blocking my path.
"Auction House?"
This was the auction tab for trading with other players...
I opened it up first.
Auction House[Only items matching your tier can be purchased.]
[Current Tier: 1]
Tier meant the total floors you'd cleared in dungeons.
I'd only done underground floor 1 so far, so my tier was 1.
『Remaining Auction Items: 0』
As expected, nothing up for auction.
But then I spotted some fine print below.
[!] Search for items from other servers? 30% surcharge applies.
What did "other servers" even mean?
I hit the search button anyway.
『Remaining Auction Items: 1』
Exactly one item showed up.
『Primordial Tree: Eldea's Final Leaf』
—Auction ends in 1 hour.
"Huh?!"
Eldea's leaves were unique-grade magic materials, and there were only five in existence.
They ranked from strongest to weakest, first being the most powerful and the final leaf the least potent.
But staves made from any of them were all rated unique and massively boosted the power of cast spells.
No way I'd let this slip.
With only an hour left, no reason to hesitate.
—Join auction?
I hit confirm immediately.
A dizzying vertigo slammed into my mind.
At the same time, something enormous yanked my soul like a fish on a hook, a floating sensation wrapping my entire body.
My flesh stayed behind as my soul stretched out in a bizarre, chilling pull.
When I came to, I was in some dark theater-like place.
The interior was packed with countless seats filled with rippling black blobs.
No—I was one too!
My body was a faint, black, jiggling mass.
"..."
I tried to scream, but no sound came out.
No mouth, couldn't even breathe.
It was like those parts had never existed; everything below my eyes was just black slime.
Fortunately, not breathing didn't bother me.
It actually felt... comfortable.
I calmed my mind slowly and looked around again.
"..."
In the center of the silent theater, spotlights shone brightly as if demanding attention.
The massive object they illuminated was draped in black cloth.
Then, a jiggling figure beside it raised its hand high.
The black cloth slowly peeled away, revealing what was underneath.
『Primordial Tree: Eldea's Final Leaf』
That's when I realized where I was.
The Auction House.
Unlike the game version, this felt like some underground black-market deal.
The jiggling figure by the display waggled its hand up and down to draw eyes to the leaf.
Then it hoisted a big sign high.
『200,000 cash』
Starting bid: 200k cash.
That must've been the signal, because the surrounding blobs raised their hands in unison.
Each raise jacked the price on the sign higher.
『700,000 cash』
『800,000 cash』
『900,000 cash』
Past 900k, then 1 mil... 2... 3...
I'd zoned out for a second, and it was already over 10 million.
Was this the same cash I was thinking of...?
I tested by raising my hand slightly.
『10,000,000 cash』
—10 million cash pre-authorized.
[!] Winner pays additional 30% surcharge.
Cash Holdings[999,999,999,990,000,000]
I checked the popup and relaxed.
It matched what I'd used 1k on for gacha earlier—my cash was down by that amount.
Now I could bid without worry.
『20,000,000 cash』
Once it topped 20 million, the bidding firepower dropped off sharply.
Some blobs played mind games, raising slowly like they were low on funds.
But I had no need for tricks, so I raised without pause, upping the bid.
My slimy arm wobbling was kinda fun now.
"..."
The price hit 30 million before I knew it.
Most had given up by now; the explosive frenzy from the start was gone.
A few hesitated before raising, but...
『40,000,000 cash』
I refreshed the bid without a second's delay.
My cheeky raises must've felt like taunting, because a blob ahead kept glaring back.
What're you gonna do about it?
『50,000,000 cash』
At 50 million, no more challengers.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
A brief silence, then three taps echoed from above.
⚙ System Notification ⚙[Auction complete.]
[6.5 million cash (with 30% surcharge) paid.]
The item would be in my item storage like gacha pulls.
"...!!"
Auction over, the emcee blob hopped in place gleefully.
No words, but the vibe was clear: thrilled.
I waited a bit.
Shlrp...
Just like arrival, something huge hooked me and flung me back to my body.
"Hey, you alright?"
I snapped to, a guard eyeing me with concern.
...Had I just stood here frozen the whole auction?
I brushed him off with a "I'm fine" and bolted.
"Guess I'll sell first, then."
Most general stores were shuttered deep into the night; only taverns and such stayed open.
City hall would still buy mana stones, though.
My inn was right behind it anyway, so I could sell on the way.
—Mana Stone Cluster
The stones varied in size, but they'd bundled into one inventory slot—handy.
"Welcome. Check missions on the second floor."
"Here to sell mana stones."
"Oh! Right this way."
I handed over all the mana stones to the city hall clerk.
She weighed them carefully, logged everything in the ledger.
"Total... 3,800 labyrinth gold coins! Pay in full? Or we can hold it for you if it's a hassle."
"Full payment."
Goblin stones were light, 20 coins each, but the mimic ones were bigger, so higher value.
"These are neutral zone platinum coins. Each worth 100 imperial or kingdom gold. Here's 38."
She passed me a pouch of platinum coins.
Light as can be.
Just coin flakes laced with platinum scent, probably.
38 platinum at local rates... about 380,000?
Decent for one day, but for a penniless fallen noble like me without a home? Barely scraping by.
They say poverty leaks money.
Even a basic inn cost 200 gold a night.
Sweeping floor 1 wouldn't cut it.
Still, six days left on my rented room.
Grumble.
Starved all day, hadn't noticed till now.
But with cash in hand, hunger hit hard.
Grab some cheap eats first.
After six days, it'd be 200 gold nightly, so nothing fancy.
Something like stone-baked flatbread should run under 30 gold.
I stashed the platinum pouch and stepped out of city hall.
Then.
"Hey!"
A blonde woman pointed at me.
Elana. The fallen noble from the dungeon earlier.
She smiled with those puppy-dog eyes, already closing in.
"Um... Rain, right? So sorry about the dungeon..."
"No worries."
"Oh, about that apology gift—I was gonna make it up to you. Wanna head to my room first?"
Apology gift... not that I needed one.
"Stores are closed, but I stocked some Bearhog meat yesterday. Least I can do."
Bearhog meat.
Pretty premium ingredient here, not cheap.
"Lead the way."
Can't turn down a free meal.