Chapter 137

Chapter 137

The White Bear Caravan threw the gates of its fortress wide open and received its guests.

“It is larger than it looked from the outside.”

“Ho! A fortress made by stacking cargo wagons. It looks fairly sturdy.”

The guests from outside voiced their admiration at the sight of the fortress interior.

“This is worth studying even in Neo Seoul.”

“If we created shelters like this when going on long-distance expeditions, it would be useful.”

Neo Seoul had endlessly attempted to expand its territory.

Its goal was to find terrain suitable for human habitation and build satellite cities. But every attempt Neo Seoul made had ended in failure.

Specially made vehicles were often ruined by the desert sand or neutralized by Sandworm attacks.

Even when they somehow succeeded in building a shelter, it collapsed under monster attacks.

Because of that, the plan to build satellite cities had effectively been abandoned.

“A fortress made from vehicles with enhanced defensive power? That is a method worth trying.”

The White Bear Caravan’s fortress inspired many Awakened.

Zeon understood their reactions.

Anyone who entered this place for the first time would be overwhelmed by the majesty of the fortress, which was far larger than expected.

That was how impressive the atmosphere inside the fortress was.

At that moment, a woman approached Zeon.

“You came too.”

The woman who spoke to Zeon was Borin, the captain of the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit.

“It has been a while.”

“I did not expect to see you here again.”

“Neither did I.”

Zeon treated Borin as if it were nothing. But Levin and Briel did not.

Levin had his fists clenched as if he might charge at any moment, and Briel was showing strong wariness.

Because Borin knew why they were reacting this way, she smiled bitterly.

“Calm down, boy. You too, little elf. You are not my target today.”

“After doing something like that, expecting us to believe you obediently is far too shameless, is it not?”

At Briel’s venomous words, Borin could not find anything to say in reply.

Regardless of the circumstances, what she had done left no room for excuses.

She looked at Zeon.

“In any case, please believe only that we are not enemies today.”

“We shall see.”

“Then......”

Borin withdrew.

At that moment, Alexandro, the leader of the White Bear Caravan, appeared.

“Thank you all very much for coming all the way here. Now, we will reveal to you the true items our White Bear Caravan has brought.”

His expression overflowed with confidence.

On the other hand, the eyes of the Awakened looking at him held both greed and suspicion.

This was the White Bear Caravan, which had thrown Neo Seoul into chaos with only the items it had released into the market so far.

The items they had released could not be called truly extraordinary, but they were certainly items that could not be easily found in Neo Seoul.

Alexandro observed the reactions of the Awakened and continued speaking.

“The items our caravan will put up for auction this time were all excavated from dungeons. There are thirty items in total, and all of them are rare items that have never been discovered anywhere before.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the Awakened began to murmur.

“Dungeon-made items?”

“You are saying there are that many items here?”

“These people came fully prepared.”

Their reactions were natural.

Dungeon-made items were not something easily obtained.

That was because not every dungeon contained items.

There were countless cases where a dungeon was successfully conquered, yet no item appeared.

Because of that, dungeon-made items were extremely precious.

Items obtained by conquering dungeons naturally did not enter the market. They were taken by the raid party or the district to which the raid party belonged.

Naturally, ordinary Awakened could not even glimpse dungeon-made items.

It was only natural they could not easily believe that these people had brought as many as thirty such precious items.

Everyone knew that dungeon-made items possessed performance far superior to workshop-made items, but because they were so difficult to obtain, ordinary Awakened could not even see them.

And thirty of those precious items were here.

Perhaps it was only natural that the emotion called greed surfaced on the faces of the Awakened.

The air inside the hall instantly heated up.

Sensing an abnormal sign, Briel whispered to Zeon,

“Are dungeon-made items that good?”

“There are probably plenty of people who would risk their lives if they could obtain one.”

“That much? In the end, it is only an item.”

“That small item can decide both life and power.”

“Human greed truly has no end.”

“Human greed was the very driving force that allowed them to build a massive city in this desert. Without that desire, humans would not have survived in this ruined world.”

“From that perspective, it is impressive. It is something elves could never imitate.”

Briel shook her head slightly.

The High Elf village where she had lived was on a cliff.

They had carved caves into the cliff and made them their dwellings.

It was said they had lived in trees in Kurayan, but on Earth, which had turned into a desert, finding trees was harder than finding a well.

Because of that, the elves too had chosen to survive by carving caves into cliffs.

If the elves had possessed a desire as intense as humans, they might have created a city comparable to Neo Seoul.

The elves had enough ability and knowledge to do so.

But the elves had stagnated, and from a certain point onward, they no longer developed at all.

That fact felt deeply regrettable to Briel.

At that moment, Alexandro spoke.

“We will now escort you to the fourth floor, where the items are located. Only those in possession of invitations may come up. All companions must remain here and wait.”

The only ones qualified to go up to the fourth floor were those who possessed invitations, like Zeon.

The rest could not go up.

From the West District came a man named Cha Jin-cheol, and from the South District came Pan Cheng-tian.

From the North District came Borin, and from the East District came Raven.

Raven’s eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses, shook.

It was because he had spotted Zeon.

‘Of all people, that monster bastard came.’

Because he had already clashed with Zeon, he knew.

He knew how powerful Zeon was.

One would not know unless one fought him directly.

How savage and destructive that handsome man was.

If he was alone, he naturally had no confidence in defeating Zeon.

But he was not alone.

There were Awakened who had been dispatched from the East District with him.

Together with them, he could deal with Zeon well enough.

Meanwhile, Pan Cheng-tian was also watching Zeon closely.

‘That man is Zeon.’

A man suspected of being involved in Tajik’s death in some way.

Although there was not a single clear piece of evidence.

‘This is interesting.’

A bitter smile appeared on Pan Cheng-tian’s lips.

Every district had sent people to attend the auction.

That was how much interest they had in the items the White Bear Caravan would put up for auction.

‘Let us see what items they prepared to make such a fuss.’

Alexandro led the people to the fourth floor.

“This is the place.”

He confidently opened the door to the fourth-floor warehouse.

At that instant, an immense energy flowed out from inside the warehouse.

The faces of the Awakened, including Borin, hardened.

“Mm!”

“This is?”

They were all high-ranking Awakened.

Naturally, they had encountered many items, and they were equally sensitive to the energy or mana that flowed out from those items.

Their skin tingled, and their hearts thudded.

That meant the purity of the mana flowing out from the items was extremely high.

Items that emitted this degree of mana were not common.

Zeon folded his arms and looked inside the warehouse.

He, too, was feeling the energy of the items like the other Awakened.

‘Look at this.’

Zeon had conquered numerous dungeons while crossing the desert.

Naturally, he had encountered many dungeon-made items.

That was why he knew.

The items inside the warehouse now were rare enough that one could not see them easily.

Zeon’s gaze suddenly turned toward Damian, who stood on one side of the warehouse.

‘This must be his work.’

Among those attending the auction, not a single person paid attention to Damian.

That was how thoroughly Damian had concealed his presence.

But Zeon knew Damian’s true nature better than anyone.

‘Damian is a Navigator. He is specialized in finding paths. If so, he must be able to find the paths to dungeons better than anyone. The items the White Bear Caravan obtained must all have come from dungeons Damian discovered.’

He could not compare to Zeon, who could freely control the sand of the desert, but Damian also possessed a fairly absurd ability in his own right.

Alexandro introduced the first item.

“This item was obtained after we barely succeeded in conquering a place called the Blue Forest Dungeon. It is Nailia’s Bow.”

“That is?”

The moment the first item was introduced, Borin reacted first.

The refreshing mana energy that could be felt from Nailia’s Bow.

‘It is an elven item.’

Because she was an elf, she could be all the more certain.

Items used by elves in Kurayan had a unique energy.

‘Nailia is one of the elven heroes. If it is a bow that bears her name, I must win it no matter what.’

She did not know why Nailia’s Bow had become the core of a dungeon. But since it was the weapon of an elven hero, she had to obtain it.

“Nailia’s Bow?”

“It somehow does not look ordinary.”

“The first item alone is unusual.”

At the murmur of the other participants, Borin’s expression turned urgent.

If competition began, securing Nailia’s Bow might become difficult.

If that bow fell into the hands of another force, it would be impossible to recover it forever.

‘Damn it! I have to overwhelm them before competition begins.’

Just as Borin steeled her resolve, Alexandro announced the starting price with a smile.

“Since this is the first item, we will begin at a low price. We will start with one ton of mana stones, 1,000 kg.”

Neo Seoul’s currency was the sol. But that was only valid within Neo Seoul.

Neo Seoul’s currency had little value in other colonies. It might be different if trade between colonies became more active, but when they met only once every several decades, there was no reason to use Neo Seoul’s currency.

That was why mana stones were used in place of currency.

Just as in Neo Seoul, mana stones were important in other colonies as well.

One ton of mana stones could be used by an ordinary colony for several months.

In Neo Seoul’s currency value, it was as much as one million sol.

It was an enormous sum.

But Borin called out that enormous amount without hesitation.

“1,000 kg of mana stones.”

“Oh! We have a bidder. Is there anyone else?”

“1,500 kg.”

A man from the West District named Cha Jin-cheol joined the auction.

That was the beginning.

“1,700 kg.”

“I bid 1,800 kg.”

The East District and South District also entered the auction.

Thanks to that, the atmosphere grew heated.

It was a bewildering development for Borin, but to the other participants, it was only natural.

They could not know how powerful Nailia’s Bow was before touching it directly, but they could guess from the energy it emitted that it was an extraordinary item.

If an item like that passed into another district, it would cause that district’s power to grow accordingly.

If things went poorly, the balance of power might collapse.

“2,200 kg.”

“2,400 kg.”

The auction price continued to rise without end.

At this rate, there would be no conclusion.

She had to make her move.

Borin shouted,

“4,000 kg!”

At a price almost twice the current amount, the remaining competitors flinched.

“Tsk! We do not know how many other good items will appear, so we cannot spend that much from the start.”

“Making the North District expend its funds is enough. We will aim for another item.”

Naturally, the mana stones each district could make available were not infinite.

Of course there was a limit.

If they poured everything into an unverified item from the beginning, they might have no mana stones left later and be unable to participate in the auction when a truly necessary item appeared.

No more competitors appeared, and Nailia’s Bow thus entered Borin’s hands.

But the true auction had only just begun.

“The next item is......”