The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood – Chapter 80

Ch 80: Auction （2）

“Don’t bid?”

It was impossible not to question it. So, Esther couldn’t help but ask why.

“That book is meaningless even if you get it.”

Following that, Giryeo revealed the secret of the auction item.

“At best, it’s just for display, but you’re saying you’d pay billions for something like that?”

“For display?”

“To be more precise, it’s kindling.”

He pointed to the book on the platform.

“That item is already a waste product that has been used up.”

『Sealed Magic Book』….

The final auction item was a quintessential rare item.

It had the function of slightly increasing one’s awakening power just by reading it.

The increase wasn’t that high, but why were all the hunters so desperate for this item?

The effects of the magic book were permanent.

In short, this book was one of the few means to change one’s innate awakening power.

“A waste product, you say?”

As such, the sealed magic book was a strictly one-time-use item.

In other words, once used, it was destined for the trash can.

“That’s certainly true. If it’s a used magic book, there’s no reason to buy it at all…”

Esther lowered her hand with a serious expression.

However, the guild appraiser she brought seemed unable to accept Giryeo’s opinion.

“What? A used magic book? What on earth is that person basing their statement on?”

What followed was a simple debate.

“What am I basing it on? You can tell just by looking…”

“Are you sure about this information?”

“Yes?”

“Excuse me, but what is the rank of your analysis skill?”

Kim Giryeo hesitated but answered without difficulty.

He had done some research on analysis-type awakened ones in advance for situations like this.

“Rank 2.”

When Giryeo revealed his skill level, the appraiser from the Korean Magic Tower shrugged.

“Guild Master-nim, did you hear that? This person is a Rank 2 appraiser.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“My analysis skill shows that there’s nothing wrong with the item. Whether it’s been used or not isn’t even something that shows up in our abilities.”

A confident voice.

As Kim Giryeo stood there quietly, not understanding the situation, Esther, unable to watch any longer, opened her mouth.

“Ah, I’m late with the introductions, aren’t I? This person is our guild’s chief appraiser. They have a Rank 1 analysis qualification.”

The measure of an appraiser’s skill was their ability to identify the function of an item.

And among the many appraisers, those who could identify the hidden functions of top-tier items were called Rank 1 appraisers.

General < Rare < Unique < Epic Rank 4 < Rank 3 < Rank 2 < Rank 1 In this way, the level of analysis awakened ones was divided according to the international standards of items. Well, the 'Legendary' grade item that was newly added last year hadn't been analyzed by any appraiser yet, so it wasn't mentioned here. 'Oh no, of all people, a Rank 1 is tackling me.' Should I have just said that I was top-tier too? Giryeo briefly regretted it but soon stopped. Appraisers were already few in number, and if he went around saying he was Rank 1, he would attract too much attention in this small industry. "Rank 1, that's amazing. But, just this once, could you please follow my suggestion?" "Yes?" "That's definitely a used magic book. It's hard to provide proof right now, but..." Kim Giryeo sincerely tried to persuade the other party, thinking that he couldn't let them waste billions of won. "Hmm." Hearing that, the appraiser narrowed their eyes and whispered to the guild master. "Guild Master-nim, that... to me, it seems like a tactic to reduce the competition for the auction." "Really?" "Otherwise, why would they try to stop others from bidding on a magic book?" There was no way that item management would be so lax as to put a used item up for auction in a national exchange like this. Their top-tier analysis skill hadn't found anything wrong. So how could they give up a rare item based on just a few words from that mysterious hunter? 'Someone with no skills is just showing off.' Ahem. The appraiser from the Magic Tower Guild showed their displeasure. Anyway, there's nothing more annoying than a nobody showing off with inaccurate information. Besides, a top-tier appraiser is saying they're wrong, but they're still insisting on their own opinion... 'That guy, he's trying so hard to get noticed by an S-rank hunter.' Ha. The appraiser scoffed as if there was nothing more to hear. "Oh, right." But then. Esther, who had been watching the appraiser's attitude, suddenly began to lead the conversation. "Come to think of it, our Appraiser Park wasn't in the analysis room when we were examining the cursed sword, was he?" "Yes?" "You know, when I had you on that separate errand." "Ah, yes, yes." "Right. So that's why you didn't recognize Giryeo-ssi." Esther smiled gently. "Shall I tell you now? This handsome hunter here is actually a traverser of our Magic Tower Maze." However, the conversation that followed was far from gentle. Even though she was smiling, a chilling coldness was emanating from her eyes. "The very person who cleared the maze that you wasted 20 minutes on in just 3 minutes and 32 seconds." The guild's appraiser was so shocked by the news that they couldn't speak for a while, but Esther calmly continued. "Thanks to that, I'm trying very hard to impress this hunter these days." "Ah." "I wonder if there was some misunderstanding. Appraiser Park has been a bit prickly with Giryeo-ssi since earlier?" "G-Guild Master-nim." Ssssk. The eerie mana that an S-rank hunter possessed momentarily enveloped the auction house. However, no one in the auction house could express their dissatisfaction. The S-rank awakening grade was like a predator's mark. "Appraiser Park, I'd appreciate it if you were a bit more careful when dealing with Kim Giryeo Hunter in the future." Just as the employee's face was turning pale. The purple-haired predator sitting in the shaded seat raised their snow-white hand. "Well, anyway. I guess you understand. Now, all that's left is the matter of that magic book." "Esther-ssi, could it be..." "Since the two appraisers' opinions are different, I'm getting curious~ Should we just open it up?" Following that, her cheerful voice echoed through the auction house. "5 billion!" "...5 billion has been bid. Any more bids? 5 billion, 5 billion. ...Yes. The sealed magic book has been successfully bid to number 38." ◈◈◈ ◈◈◈ ◈◈◈ After the auction ended. Korean Hunter Auction House G1 Corridor. 'Is she crazy?' Giryeo was currently walking down a long corridor. To receive the successfully bid item, he had to move to another place. "This is the room! If you wait here, the staff will bring the successfully bid items." Esther's explanation flowed after that, but he didn't hear it. Giryeo gently rubbed his nose bridge to alleviate his rising headache. 'I warned her not to buy it, but she's spending 5 billion just because she's curious about the result?' From a commoner's perspective, this situation was quite shocking. 'If you have that much money to waste, just donate it to me! Please!' But no matter how much he grumbled in his head, the result wouldn't change. Esther had spent over 10 billion won in this auction, and in the end, she had gotten her hands on these items. "Hunter-nim, here are the two items you successfully bid on." "Oh!" Soon, the successfully bid items appeared. Drrrrrrr. On the transport device that the exchange staff had brought, two blue boxes were placed. They removed the seals from the boxes in front of Esther. In case high-value items were stolen or damaged, they had put up a barrier until the transaction was completed. "Phew, I finally bought the 『White Bird』." Esther first checked the transportation magic tool. However, no problems were found with this item. It was even in perfect condition without even a small scratch. "I was completely hooked after seeing Jeong Haseong use it, I'm so glad I got it safely!" Esther stroked the white dove-shaped item before belatedly turning her gaze to the second item. "Let's see." Now, this is where the problem starts. The sealed magic book. It looked good in terms of management, just like the White Bird. But the important thing was the content, wasn't it? Thump. Esther held the magic book in her hand and spoke to the staff. "Excuse me. This is mine now, so it's okay to use it right here, right?" The staff readily nodded. "Okay, then." Esther opened the book wide and began to turn the pages. Whirrrrr. But that bold action didn't last long. Soon, Esther had taken in all the pages and was left with only the last page of the book. "Hmm." Flip. "Okay." Only after neatly closing the book that she had finished reading did Esther open her mouth. "...Giryeo-ssi is right. This really is a used magic book!" It was a bombshell. A product that she had paid a whopping 5 billion for had actually already lost its function? The appraiser from the Korean Magic Tower stood there, frozen with wide eyes. But there were others who were even more shocked than them. "What did you say?" The staff at the auction house asked back in surprise. "Used, you say?" "Exactly as I said. This magic book was already opened once before it was sold to me." "That can't be..." "I'm sure of it. I've used a magic book before, and it didn't feel like this. It felt like something was 'whoosh!' coming at you?" Esther immediately pointed out the abnormality of the magic book. However, the staff didn't easily accept this. "No, that really can't be. We manage high-value items like magic books especially thoroughly." "That's right. And if you look here, the red wax seal on the book cover was perfectly intact until you opened it, Hunter-nim..." It seemed that there was a way to check whether a magic book had been opened even on Earth. "So, are you saying that I'm lying right now?" "No, Esther Hunter-nim. That's..." "A used magic book was put up for auction, but you're not even thinking about checking the facts and you've been saying that your work process has been perfect since earlier, right?" Just as the voices were rising in real time. Giryeo watched quietly from behind with his arms crossed. 'Ah, I should have just shut up during the auction.' He couldn't rashly step forward. He was certainly the first to notice that this magic book was useless, but the way he did it was what it was. 'It's tiring when I actually have to explain it.' The usage status of the magic book was actually quite easy to figure out. No, in this case, it was too easy, which was the problem. 『~Usage Complete~』 When that magic book had used up its function, these letters appeared on the cover. 'Alpha Uri language!' That's why Giryeo immediately recognized that the book was kindling. The round gold mark drawn on the book cover was none other than a traditional Alpha Uri hieroglyph. At first glance, it could be mistaken for a magic circle, but the two had clearly different structures. The lines were very thick, or it was made up of only simple curves. 'It's not a modern language, but an ancient script that was used in the distant past, but I learned that much as a basic when I was in school.' Anyway, Giryeo was able to read the cover of the magic book with his past life's knowledge. The identity of the book that he had found out this way was even more ridiculous. 'It's a textbook for kids...!' A magic book worth 5 billion was actually just an old-fashioned learning tool for immature children! 'That's... a magic book?' Giryeo pressed his forehead, remembering the 5 billion value attached to that useless book. It was absurd. Out of all the Alpha Uri civilization, a textbook was selected as a treasure? At this rate, even the gates are completely bogus...