“15 million.”

“16 million.”

“17 million.”

"20 million!"

“...The Essence of Origin has been awarded to Adonis.”

Even if Dubolong didn’t explain the Essence of Origin, all the demons had observation skills. There were no hidden options so the demons instantly wanted to buy the essence.

It was an item that would allow them to break through the limit. Everyone knew the value of it. The grand dukes followed closely to around 10 million, where it became a battle between Adonis and I.

Adonis had a lot of points that the grand dukes couldn’t match.

Adonis had no choice but to bid, despite knowing I was intentionally raising the price. As a result, the Essence of Origin was sold for the overwhelming amount of 20 million.

-20,000,000pt will be paid.

The contract was effective immediately so I received the value of the item straight away.

Kwaduduk!

The sound of teeth grinding could be heard in the auction house. Adonis was the source.

He looked at me like I was a traitor...but I didn’t care.

Anyway, he had impure intentions when he approached me in the beginning. We used each other for different purposes so there was no point feeling betrayal now. No, it wasn’t even a betrayal.

'One winner. The rest of the people in the game are losers. Doesn’t Adonis know that the difference between winning and losing is who strikes first?’

There were no eternal allies. It would be better for me to step forward first.

As the auction continued, the ‘Hyacinth’s Bow’ emerged.

“That is it. The sacred artefact that we lost.”

Kerpi told me.

In addition, she started the contract herself.

After Jives’ case, she calculated that I wouldn’t easily buy it.

It was a wise judgment.

-A contract with the high cla.s.s water spirit Kerpi has been formed.

This contract is complete only when the ‘user’ purchases the ‘Hyacinth's Bow.’

The right to use Kerpi will depend on the number of points spent on purchasing the ‘Hyacinth’s Bow.’

 The auction didn’t heat up like before.

It seemed likely to finish at seven millions but I just laughed.

“15 million.”

All the points would be recovered anyway. The fire and water spirits seemed to mistake this as ‘friends.h.i.+p’ but...

It was an illusion of freedom.

 

Slow Sword (Epic) was a skill book that I bought at the Achievements Store. A sword with a lazy name. It was a slow and frustrating sword technique.

Even so, it had an epic rating. Although there was no guarantee because the rating was high and it was  below Haien Moon’s swordsmans.h.i.+p, but I was sure that Ariel Diablo would purchase it.

Ariel was interested in weapon techniques.

Her desire to learn was very big.

And it was like I expected.

-3,500,000pt will be paid.

My method...I placed items that I knew the demons, especially the grand dukes, would want to buy. They were things that stimulated the imagination. Both skills and creatures were sold.

They were unaware that the goods they bought came from me. If they knew then they would have refused to buy them.

Thanks to that, I had over 50 million points.

50 million...!

Originally I had 40 million and I spent 30 million to buy the Great Fire Essence and Hyacinth's Bow.

I received 20 million for the Essence of Origin and another 20 million for the other items. At least six million points were acquired from each grand duke.

On the other hand, the demons were forced to use more points in the individual auctions than they thought.

‘The points seem to be focused on some demons.’

I was alone but they weren’t my match when it came to points.

"The individual auctions are over. Then we will enter the auction house after two hours.”

The deadline for the individual actions came to an end.

Dubolong bowed and the light illuminating the auction house disappeared.

 

The individual auctions were finished. The fire and water spirits could only partic.i.p.ate up to here. They needed to return and report about the auction experience.

"Will the auction items be sent back to the dungeon? Before that, I will report to the king first. Randalph Brigsiel! I will be sure to tell the king your name. We have a contract so if you call my name, I will show up wherever you are.”

Jives told me excitedly.

For the first time, they hadn’t suffered under the dark spirits.

They were now on the verge of reclaiming their G.o.d lost 20,000 years ago.

‘I’m not sure what the Fire Spirit King will choose but...’

He wouldn’t stay still. The Demon World Auction and points. Their ‘rank’ could be raised or lowered as a result. A significant number of goods were sold to the demons so it didn’t make sense to stay calm.

Using the dark spirits or becoming hostile towards them...the latter seemed more likely.

And the dark spirits knew it. The dark spirits’ original purpose had failed.

"The path won’t be flat.”

I spoke honestly.

Jives gave a small laugh and said.

"I came to this place with the elite troops. We were prepared to attack at any moment, and the fire spirits won’t be easily beaten in an all-out war. Even if they attack us, there is a sea of hope.”

"You seem confident.”

Jives shrugged.

All the fire spirits present were high cla.s.s. This power was enough to get away from the dark spirits.

Jives looked at me and declared.

"Now I will call you Contractor. Contractor! As soon as the Great Fire Essence is given to us, our contract will become fully formed. The Fire Spirit King will be pleased. I will make sure that Contractor’s name will be provided. This isn’t a small thing.”

It was important that the Fire Spirit King took my name seriously. It meant he might give special help. A favour outside the contract was what I wanted.

It would properly overturn the plates!

‘Hopefully...it is doable.’

I laughed. It wasn’t simple to gain merits in the Spirit World. I planned to cause ma.s.sive changes on Earth.

For example, what would happen if a fire or water spirit contracted with a human?

‘The strength of the humans would drastically increase.’

The spirits were strong. In my previous life, there were few humans who knew how to handle their power. However, it wouldn’t be difficult if there was a contract. It was my job to contact the spirit kings and make it possible.

‘If I can do it...’

It would be beneficial if I could increase the power of humans. I had a different status and the help of the girin.

Jives and the fire spirits bowed to me before turning away. It was safer to go with the water spirits, but it seemed like they were still stubborn about the bad relations.h.i.+p between them.

After they retreated, Kerpi and the water spirits came towards me.

“Randalph-nim. Congratulations once again on your promotion to grand duke.”

Kerpi’s hair waved in the wind as she gave a cheerful smile.

"We will be in a complete contract soon. It has been 500 years since I got a new contractor...I will wait to meet you again.”

"It is possible if you don’t die.”

I wasn’t saying this to myself.

I was talking to Kerpi.

The fire spirits had a confident att.i.tude but...the plan of the dark spirits was broken so I couldn’t see what type of action would be taken.

I had read their intentions through the auction and knew that they wanted to reduce the strength of the other spirits here.

There was a chance there might be an attack on the way back.

Kerpi didn’t lose her smile despite my words.

“Contractor-nim. Water spirits are a calm lake, but we can also be a rough sea.”

"I will keep the bow if you die.”

“...I will be sure to return alive.”

Kerpi had no choice but to be strong due to the Hyacinth’s Bow.

The fact that the situation was dangerous was a reasonable conclusion. If Jives or Kerpi died then my 30 million points would have flown away. Therefore, it was necessary to hold the items as collateral.

“Then I will go now. If I talk to you for too long then bad people might gather.”

I nodded. Kerpi laughed while covering her mouth and left the auction house.

“My Dungeon Master. The warehouse is open. Do you want to see it?”

Chrisley who was walking next to me asked.

Warehouse.

It was a place where we could preview the items to be auctioned off.

“Is it open to the public?”

"I just heard about it...”

Chrisley also didn’t know the details.

'Should I look at it?’

The fire spirits and water spirits.

A considerable number of people would have been needed to catch both at the same time.

The interior of the castle wasn’t empty...it was likely that the demons wandering around would become witnesses. The chance for a perfect crime would vanish.

It would be the worst case situation for the dark spirits.

‘From here onwards, I have to trust their talents.’

Right now, I was walking on a rope between two cliffs. If I got more deeply involved then I would fall.

And this auction was important. There was a gap of one year so I couldn’t miss it.

I made a decision and said.

"Let's go to the warehouse."

 

I wondered how much better the quality of the auction items had become after two years.

I had seen a high cla.s.s 2Lv t.i.tan so it wouldn’t be strange if there were better items and creatures.

"There aren’t that many goods.”

I muttered.

There weren’t 100 items being displayed. There were only 50.

It felt like a pretext.

“Starting from last year, they are only showing half of it.”

Ariel Diablo approached me.

"Why?"

"Let's see? Are they trying to be mysterious? There could be lots of reasons.”

They didn’t show everything. It was to cause frustration. I felt an intense curiosity towards the invisible auction items.

'It is a type of teaser.’

This was a strategy. I couldn’t complain because the dark spirits were the ones providing the goods...

“Randalph Brigsiel. I’m looking forward to seeing a great show this time."

Ariel said casually.

I briefly replied.

"The greater your expectations, the greater the disappointment.”

“What did you say? Hmm...the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment...however, I think that you will match my expectations.”

Ariel thought for a moment before shaking her head.

Ariel seemed to be antic.i.p.ating the results. She had superior eyes and the ability to see future paths.

‘There are many creatures.'

I stopped paying attention to Ariel and looked around the warehouse.

Overall, there was a lot of high ranking creatures.

Personal power was important but the power of the dungeon was also critical.

The dark spirits had captured this part well.

'Gulpin, t.i.tan. The best ones are high cla.s.s 2Lv creatures.’

The two of them seemed the best. It wasn’t bad but was it still too early for high cla.s.s 3Lv creatures?

Or maybe it was intentionally hidden...

“Randalph Brigsiel. Isn't it disappointing? But when looking at last year’s auction, it is likely they are holding back. So don’t be disappointed.”

Ariel continued staying by my side. On the other side, Chisley was looking uncomfortable but Ariel didn’t budge. She stayed even when one of her subordinates approached her.

‘I don’t know her intentions.’

I inwardly sighed.

Ariel Diablo. She could be a really difficult opponent.