Chapter 54
Ding―
[The auction has begun.]
Before the notification had even disappeared from the screen.
Ding― Ding― Diiing―
[A new bid has been registered.]
[A new bid has been registered.]
[A new bid has……]
Notifications began piling up like crazy.
"Mr. Do-hyeon!! Look at this! The numbers, the numbers……!!"
On-screen, the seller management tab.
Three product pages Seo Ji-an had opened side by side.
[Elemental Sealing Keychain ― Deep-Sea Whale (Water)]
[Elemental Sealing Keychain ― Incandescent Tiger (Fire)]
[Elemental Sealing Keychain ― Thunderous Hawk (Lightning)]
Beneath them, the highest bids were spinning and shooting upward like slot-machine reels.
Kya… This is it!
Since it was the seller tab, there wasn't even any need to press refresh.
The dizzying spectacle of those numbers changing units and shooting upward in real time!
Whoever designed that UI, they must have known what they were doing.
'Heh heh…….'
Dopamine dripped down as if someone had hooked an IV straight into my head.
Besides, right in front of me sat freshly fried, crispy chicken and a cold can of beer Ji-an had prepared.
I popped open the can of beer and took a refreshing sip.
Gulp. Gulp.
Krrr…!
This is what life is about.
A full-course dopamine feast I'd waited a whole week for.
This was only the appetizer.
***
[Daily] Wow, the first digit changes every time I refresh;;;
└ No, whenever I try to press the bid button, it kicks me out because there's already a higher bidder lol
└ But with this chaos, there isn't even any lag? Gyeongseong Auction crashed over a single necklace lol
└ Smooth~
└ There's a rumor that one of the Cheonoe Yucheon runs this place.
└ What's Cheonoe Yucheon?
└ You know, like the Seven Warlords the supervising bureau gave honorary titles to after giving up on controlling them.
└ Holy shit lol, out-of-spec monsters who manage servers as a hobby lol
└ Ah, even the Cheonoe Yucheon can't resist browsing the boards~
└ They're probably gathered together right now, tearing into chicken while watching Do-hwang's auction live.
[Chatter] LOL, the current state of the Best Items
(Screenshot)
[Best Items in Real Time]
1st. Elemental Sealing Keychain ― Deep-Sea Whale (Water)
2nd. Elemental Sealing Keychain ― Incandescent Tiger (Fire)
3rd. Elemental Sealing Keychain ― Thunderous Hawk (Lightning)
└ They took first, second, and third place within one minute of being listed ㄷㄷㄷ
└ It's fucking hilarious that Do-hwang's budget keychains still occupy fourth through tenth place lol
└ At this point, isn't the Best ranking just Do-hwang's personal display case?
└ Kya……! Superstar Do-hwang.
[Chatter] Wow, is that speed at which the price is rising for real?
└ I threw in my entire life savings after scraping together everything I could, and it was updated again one second later.
└ I even broke my overdraft account and housing savings, but it was already gg the moment I pressed it lol
└ Why would you break those, you crazy bastard lololol
└ Kya…… This is dopamine.
Buyers and spectators alike gathered, each for their own reasons.
Forty minutes after opening, with the message boards becoming completely plastered with auction talk.
The first incident occurred.
[Breaking] The whale sold holy shit holy shit holy shit
└ ?? It hasn't even been an hour since it started??
└ No trolling.
└ What's with you lazy people? Just go check it yourselves lol
└ Ah, watching the live updates on the message board is more funnn~
└ I just saw it too. The page says Sold.
└ Wasn't the deadline midnight? How did it end already?
└ Buy It Now appeared.
└ Buy It Now?? What's that?
└ Press it and you win immediately. It was added in this Dokkaebibul update.
└ So how much is it?
└ (Screenshot.jpg)
└ ???????
└ What kind of crazy bastard is this;;;
***
“……”
[Deep-Sea Whale (Water) ― Sold]
Just forty minutes earlier.
Right before the auction listing went live, Ji-an had asked me,
‘Mr. Do-hyeon, what should we set for the Buy It Now price?’
‘There’s a thing like that in the auction tab too?’
‘It was updated recently. I guess the site received a lot of complaints because everyone was setting auction periods of six months by default, or even one or two years in extreme cases, and using them as billboards. So starting this time, entering a Buy It Now price is mandatory.’
At that point, I briefly considered it.
‘Buy It Now, huh.’
The moment someone pressed something like that, my six-hour dopamine feast would end early.
Absolutely not.
‘……I’ll put one in.’
At a price nobody could ever press.
I casually punched in an amount no sane person would dare even consider.
Ji-an nearly spat out the water she was drinking when she saw the number.
“You didn’t press the wrong button, did you?”
“Come on, it’s only six hours. Who would actually press it?”
.
.
.
It had been a half-joking price I'd set.
And someone had pressed it within forty minutes.
"D-Do-hyeon."
Seo Ji-an, who had been tearing into chicken across from me, slid her tablet over.
"The deposit…… it's already come in?"
'…….'
I looked down at the bottom comment on the message board again.
└ What kind of crazy bastard is this;;;
'……Exactly.'
That was what I wanted to ask.
***
At the same time.
In the middle of the vast open sea off Namhae.
On that black water, with no boat in sight, a man sat there all alone.
He sat cross-legged, calmly mending a fishing net.
Ding―
[You won the auction.]
The man took a phone from inside his shirt and glanced down at it.
His face was utterly indifferent, as though the number he'd just pressed himself meant nothing at all.
The phone went back inside his shirt.
His hand returned to the net.
Then it happened.
[Gwooooooo―]
A low cry rose from deep beneath the water, piercing the surface.
"……."
The water lurched―
The surface began to churn violently.
"……All right, all right."
The man set down the net and patted the thing he was sitting on.
"You like it that much?"
[Gwoooo―]
"Behave yourself for a little while. I just bought your new home."
Swoooosh―
Eventually, the thing carrying the man began cutting through the dark current.
***
Meanwhile.
There was a man glaring at the frenzied bidding window with bloodshot eyes.
“These bastards….!”
The director of the Daegu Woongbi Exorcism Office.
A Grade-1 familiar sorcerer, Im Cheol-ung.
*
Familiar sorcerers were sorcerers who fought by commanding spirit beasts.
A close-knit community had formed among them since ancient times.
You didn't really need an entire community to raise a dog or a cat.
You just fed it, changed its water, and took it to the vet when it got sick.
……But what if it was a giant centipede? Or a giant lizard. Or a bear.
There was no hospital you could take it to even if it got sick right away. Searching wouldn't even tell you what to feed it or where to let it sleep.
That was why people who commanded special animals as spirit beasts had banded together desperately.
Every tiny piece of information was a lifeline for their babies.
There were no clan members or non-clan members there. If your baby had gone three days without eating, what did its background matter?
When people who raised the same beasts or beasts of the same attribute met, exchanged tips, and shared drinks, they naturally ended up calling one another big brother and little brother.
That was how the [Familiar Sorcerer Tab] in one corner of Dokkaebibul came into being, along with the dozens of group chats that branched off from it.
*
And Cheol-ung was now staring at one of them.
The Fire-Attribute Familiar Owners' Gathering.
The group chat for [Fiery Fellowship (火氣愛愛)].
More precisely, he was staring at the conversation that had taken place right before the auction began.
[Dong-geon (Busan)]: Is everyone joining in today?
[Park (Gumi)]: Nah~ I'm just gonna watch. There haven't been any commissions lately, so I'm just sitting around with flies buzzing.
[Shin (Gyeryong)]: Heh heh, I'll quietly watch too.
[Dong-geon (Busan)]: I'm passing too. I had new armor made last month, so my bank account's completely empty.
……Right. Everyone had said they weren't buying.
Cheol-ung had answered the same way.
[Cheol-ung]: I'm not interested either. I've got a truck, so what's the problem? I can just use that.
'……It was a lie, of course.'
Cheol-ung's partner was Jang-gun, a Grade-1 fire-attribute brown bear.
They had met when it was a palm-sized cub, and now it had grown to about the size of a passenger van.
These days, perhaps because it felt cramped, it refused to get into the small delivery truck bed Cheol-ung had bought when it was young.
While everyone else lived in an age where they could pull spirit beasts out of their belts, Jang-gun needed a five-ton wing-body truck summoned every time they went on a commission.
Just as he was licking his fingers and envying them, that item appeared.
· Incandescent Tiger (Fire)
―When the attributes match, can seal up to Grade 1.
―Additional effect: Fire-energy enhancement.
‘…What?!’
A crazy ritual implement had appeared, one that made you stronger every time you went in and came back out?
And it was limited edition, meaning no one knew when it would be available again if he missed it this time!
‘Damn…. I absolutely have to buy this.'
So Cheol-ung had secretly scraped together every last bit of money he had and stocked up on a hefty deposit.
'Seeing everyone back out like that…… the competition should be pretty easy.'
……But then.
*
He watched leisurely for the first hour.
But unlike what he had expected, bids kept piling on and the price began shooting up frighteningly fast.
[Chatter] Ah, there are seriously so many resellers.
└ For real, they're fucking annoying. There are people who actually need this.
└ How do you know they're resellers?
└ If you're going to do it, at least be quiet. They keep posting about it on the message board.
└ The noisy ones are just trolls.
Even so, it was still fine up to that point. He was within his budget.
The Woongbi Office had already established itself well enough to have accumulated quite a lot of money.
He had expected resellers to swarm an item with such insane performance that was also limited edition.
And after a little more time passed.
[Daily] Wow, how high is this really going to go?
└ It's starting to get scary;;;
[Breaking] LOL, the resellers are starting to back out.
The ones who had planned to win the auction and flip it for a markup were all pulling out.
If they bought it at the current price, there'd be nothing left to make by reselling it.
└ No, this is seriously fucking insane.
└ Then what kind of people are still throwing money at it?
That was exactly right.
Even if they resold it with a limited-edition premium, the price had reached the point where they couldn't guarantee they'd even break even.
The bubble had burst, leaving only the genuine buyers.
The sort of people who would stay to the end despite having to pay this price.
Either a major spender from one of the few great families.
Or―
'……They'd have to be Grade-1 familiar sorcerers.'
The people who desperately needed this item in the first place were those who commanded house-sized spirit beasts of a particular attribute.
Grade-1 familiar sorcerers.
You could count them on one hand even after searching the entire country, and there were even fewer if you narrowed it down to fire attributes.
And those few were all gathered in the same group chat.
'These damn bastards.'
[BusanTigerDad has updated the highest bid.]
'……Ha Dong-geon, this bastard?'
A Grade-1 sorcerer in Busan who commanded a fire tiger.
Hadn't he said his bank account was filled with nothing but dust after getting new armor made?
Cheol-ung called him with a hand trembling violently.
―……Yes, hyung.
"Hey!! You said you weren't buying!!"
―……What are you talking about all of a sudden?
"BusanTigerDad!! That's you, isn't it!! I know it's you!!"
―Heh heh, hyung, come on. Am I really the only person in Busan raising a fire tiger?
"You are!!!"
―I'm telling you, it isn't me.
Click.
"Th-this bastard……!"
Before the huffing Cheol-ung could even catch his breath.
[Hwarureung has updated the highest bid.]
[GyeryongFireCentipede has updated the highest bid.]
They were all familiar usernames that regularly shared tips in the Familiar Sorcerer Tab.
Besides, people usually used the names of the spirit beasts they raised as their usernames, so there was no way he wouldn't know them.
'……Hwarureung? GyeryongFireCentipede?'
Just from the usernames, faces began appearing one after another before his eyes.
Park from Gumi, who had said there were no commissions and he was just sitting around with flies buzzing.
Shin from Gyeryong, who had said he would quietly watch.
'These crazy bastards…….'
Every last one of them had joined in.
***
[Live] The current tiger bidding lineup lol
BusanTigerDad / Hwarureung / GyeryongFireCentipede / Woong-i the General
└ Wait. Why does this lineup look so familiar?
└ Aren't all of those famous regulars from the Familiar Sorcerer Tab? lol
└ To people raising fire attributes, they're all basically fathers lol
└ Woong-i the General is the Daegu bear office guy.
└ Anonymous message board (everyone's identity can be verified)
└ No, it's fucking hilarious that you can tell who everyone is just from their usernames….
*
Around nine o'clock that night.
A message was belatedly posted in the quiet [Fiery Fellowship] chat, pretending to sound calm.
[Park (Gumi)]: Good grief, these bids are insane. Is everyone watching? Hehe (Screenshot.jpg)
[Shin (Gyeryong)]: Indeed. There sure are a lot of rich people in this world. Hehe
[Dong-geon (Busan)]: Indeed. Heh heh.
[Cheol-ung]: Park.
[Park (Gumi)]: Yes, hyung.
[Cheol-ung]: In the upper-left corner of your screenshot.
[Cheol-ung]: Your username is showing.
[Dong-geon (Busan)]: LOLLLLLLLLL
'……Good grief, where did these bastards get all that money?'
*
[Woong-i the General has updated the highest bid.]
After pressing the button one more time.
Cheol-ung's deposit had begun to run dry.
'……This won't do.'
There was no answer at this rate.
Cheol-ung took a deep breath and posted in the chat.
[Cheol-ung]: Everyone stop for a minute.
[Cheol-ung]: Don't pretend you don't know each other. We've all revealed our faces already. What's the point of fighting among people who know one another? This is a game of chicken. A game of chicken.
[Cheol-ung]: If we keep raising the price among ourselves, the only ones who benefit are the spectators. Everyone freeze the bids until midnight. I'll win it at the current price, then we can meet separately later and discuss it among ourselves. What do you think?
Of course, Cheol-ung had no intention whatsoever of keeping his promise.
'Once I win it, I'll just keep my mouth shut.'
[Dong-geon (Busan)]: ……Hyung's right.
[Park (Gumi)]: Hear, hear.
[Shin (Gyeryong)]: A man's promise.
[Cheol-ung]: Good. Man to man.
'……That's more like it.'
Even so, he couldn't relax. You never knew who might stab you in the back right before the deadline.
Just in case, he needed more ammunition.
Cheol-ung quietly took the office safe key and documents, then picked up his car keys.
And sure enough.
[BusanTigerDad has updated the highest bid.]
[Dong-geon (Busan)]: Oops, my hand slipped.
[Hwarureung has updated the highest bid.]
[Park (Gumi)]: I accidentally pressed it while putting my phone in my pocket.
[GyeryongFireCentipede has updated the highest bid.]
[Shin (Gyeryong)]: Oh dear, I put on Pororo for my youngest, and I guess the little rascal pressed it by mistake~
“You fucking bastards!!!”
Vroom―
***
Inside a moving car.
'……Think calmly.'
The night air blowing in through the open window helped clear his head.
He thought it over calmly.
Was this really worth paying such an enormous price for, even if it meant putting the office up as collateral?
……Then.
In the rearview mirror, he saw Jang-gun slumped in the truck bed, always suffering from motion sickness.
His baby, groaning every time it rode in a car no matter how much motion-sickness medicine he gave it.
'……I'll do it.'
Cheol-ung stomped on the accelerator.
'No matter what.'
*
Dokkaebi Bank in the middle of the night.
The banks in the arcade never closed, even at night.
After all, ghost-catching work usually took place at night.
And at this hour, it was the only place in all of Yeongnam that could hand out a large loan on the same day.
"A loan with the office as collateral. Give me the maximum amount."
He stamped the documents with a heavy thump and was just turning around when—
Jingle―
The door opened.
"……."
"……."
"……."
Ha Dong-geon and Park from Gumi stood side by side.
"Hyung?"
"……Dong-geon. Park. What brings you here?"
"Haha, we ran into each other on the way. We just…… came to open a savings account! What about you, hyung?"
"……Me too. Savings."
The three men smiled at one another with perfectly innocent smiles.
Then they passed each other and calmly went their separate ways.
A little while later.
Cheol-ung hurried back to the counter.
"How much did those guys just borrow?"
The banker frantically waved both hands.
"Oh my~ We make our living on our customers' trust, you know. Our customers' information is more precious than life itself~"
"……Tsk."
***
[Live] The tiger still isn't over?? lol
└ The pride battle of the fire-attribute old-timers……
└ It's almost blind bidding. The bid status will be hidden starting at 11:55.
└ What the hell is that?
└ It completely blocks any last-minute battle of nerves.
└ That's fucking ruthless lol
└ Whoever added this update is a straight-up demon.
***
Eleven fifty-five p.m.
[Notice: Bidding status will become private five minutes before the deadline.]
From now on, no one could know how much anyone else had bid.
They could only stake everything they had and keep throwing money in.
Even the noisy group chat had gone silent.
“….”
Cheol-ung scraped together every last bit of the loan and put the entire deposit into his bid.
His trembling finger hovered over the confirmation button.
Thump, thump.
“Please….”
'……Jang-gun.'
Press.
[Your bid has been completed.]
11:59 p.m.
Tick. Tick.
And midnight.
[The auction has ended.]
[Congratulations. The final winner of ‘Elemental Sealing Keychain ― Incandescent Tiger (Fire)’ is ―]
.
.
.
[Woong-i the General.]
"……!"
"I did ittttttt!!!"
[Grrrr……?]
Jang-gun, who had been sleeping in the backyard, raised its head in surprise.
“Jang-gun!!”
Cheol-ung ran barefoot into the yard, grabbed Jang-gun's front paws, and hopped up and down for a long while.
"You don't have to ride in a truck anymore!!!"
[Grr, grrr…?]
“You won't get carsick anymore!!”
“Yaaahoooooo-!”
He savored the electric thrill spreading through his entire body for a brief moment.
“Hah, hah…….”
As the dopamine peaked and began to fall, his reason slowly raised its head again.
“Sss.”
'……But how am I supposed to pay back all this debt?'
The moment he thought of the amount he'd borrowed, his hands began trembling again.
'……Ah, whatever!'
Jang-gun would earn it back!
“Jang-gun! Three commissions a day starting tomorrow! Got it?”
[Grrr―?]
***
[12:00 a.m.]
[The auction has ended.]
Stamps appeared side by side over the three product pages.
[Deep-Sea Whale (Water) ― Sold]
[Incandescent Tiger (Fire) ― Sold]
[Thunderous Hawk (Lightning) ― Sold]
"It's…… over……."
Ji-an, who had watched all six hours from start to finish, melted down beside the cold chicken.
The message board was still burning.
[Breaking] Situation over. Today's wrap-up.
― Whale: Buy It Now after forty minutes.
― Tiger: Woong-i the General, winner of the throne battle among the fire-attribute old-timers.
― Hawk: Last-minute sniping success just before midnight.
└ The dopamine was insane….
└ This is seriously going down in Dokkaebibul history.
└ Six hours vanished in an instant. I'm dizzy.
└ But seriously, what the hell are these crazy bastards?
I stared blankly at that last comment.
'……Crazy bastards, huh.'
Grin.
They were all our precious customers.