A faintly unsettling chill hung in the air inside the dim auction hall.
Of course, considering it was winter, this place was still way warmer than outside.
But compared to the hotel where you could wear thin clothes anywhere and still feel cozy, the temperature here felt unusually low.
‘Did they intentionally lower the heating? Come to think of it, I vaguely remember hearing that malls or casinos sometimes lower the temperature on purpose to make people make quicker decisions.’
When you feel cold, your emotions become more sensitive, and psychological tension naturally rises.
If this was part of the organizers’ plan… well, it made sense.
Anyway. I came wearing light clothes thinking my coat would be too warm.
I should’ve at least brought a light jacket just in case.
Trying not to be obvious, I tucked my hands under my arms to endure the creeping chill.
“Yuria, are you cold?”
“…”
“Here, wear this. I’m fine.”
But of course, Alice sitting right next to me noticed.
With a light laugh, she took off her thin cardigan and handed it to me.
That left her in a sleeveless dress that exposed much of her skin.
But maybe because she naturally ran hot, she didn’t seem bothered by the cold at all.
I didn’t refuse her kind gesture—why stubbornly risk catching a cold? Besides, I wanted something to cover up with anyway.
As I secretly enjoyed the lingering warmth of Alice’s cardigan, the emcee on stage cleared his throat and lifted the mic.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Enigma Auction hosted by Saint Maria Hotel!”
Clap clap clap!
The eagle-masked emcee barely finished his sentence before thunderous applause erupted from the audience.
As the noise slowly died down, the emcee smoothly continued.
“Today, legendary treasures, one-of-a-kind in this world, will be revealed! Who will seize this opportunity and claim the glorious inheritance? No need to wait any longer! Let’s dive straight into our first auction item!”
Skipping all the boring introductions and jumping straight into it?
Honestly, I appreciated the brisk pace.
Legendary treasures, huh?
What kind of items could justify such bold claims?
If this turns out to be fake, I’ll sneak onto Saint Maria Hotel’s homepage and mess with it.
Feeling rebellious, I carefully observed the staff bringing out the auction item.
The item on stage was wrapped in a silky thin cloth.
Judging by how the fabric draped vertically, it seemed to be sitting atop a square case.
Once the staff member who brought the item stepped down, the emcee dramatically yanked off the cloth covering the case.
“Ooh, beautiful!”
“What is that…?”
As the identity of the first auction item was revealed, gasps spread through the audience.
Even I, who hadn’t expected much, couldn’t help but widen my eyes in shock.
Underneath the cloth was a wooden necklace adorned with dazzling gemstones in vivid colors.
No matter how you looked at it… it was clearly related to elves.
And as if confirming my suspicions, the emcee placed his hand on the case, smirked beneath his mask, and declared confidently:
“I see quite a few of you already recognize its value! Yes, this is an artifact pendant from another world—the Silvarien Moonlight! Verified by appraisers to have been used by a high-ranking elf… an undeniable authentic treasure!”
Wait, not just a regular necklace, but a magical elven artifact?!
I couldn’t help but gasp audibly at the emcee’s words.
Were others feeling similarly?
Whispers of excitement began rippling through the audience.
“A high-ranking elf’s artifact?”
“No way!”
“This is absurd. If true, calling it a treasure wouldn’t be an exaggeration.”
Everyone reacted as though they hadn’t seen this coming.
After all, we’d only been told this was an auction for rare items, not specifics. Honestly, who could’ve guessed?
Still, artifacts’ prices varied wildly depending on their functions.
Curious about what secrets this pendant held, I quietly watched the emcee.
“This Silvarien Moonlight has the remarkable ability to cleanse the wearer’s skin! Even scars and permanent tattoos can be erased, restoring your skin to its pristine state… For those who need it, this pendant is simply irresistible!”
Eh, the performance itself was mediocre.
Skin-beautifying effects? Not something I need.
But being a magical artifact used by high-ranking elves to purify skin magically…
Some women found it incredibly appealing, and the atmosphere grew heated instantly.
When the emcee called up a woman with scars and demonstrated how the pendant blurred them within moments, the reaction exploded.
“Then let’s begin the bidding! The starting price is 10,000 credits. Tap your authentication bracelet to your seat to participate!”
Ding ding ding…!
People staying at expensive hotels must all be loaded, huh?
Once its functionality was proven, the price skyrocketed amidst countless notifications.
10,000… 100,000… then 1 million in the blink of an eye!
It finally settled at 1.77 million credits—enough to buy a decent sports car.
Just a skin-beautifying pendant selling for that much… Ridiculous.
I stared in disbelief as astronomical sums were casually tossed around.
But the shocking part was that the auction had only just begun.
After the first item found its buyer and left the stage, new auction items kept appearing.
The second item was a rope that forced bound individuals to lie constantly—obviously an artifact.
The third was an ancient glowing doll—again, obviously an artifact.
The fourth was an old dull knife that couldn’t cut cake but could support an elephant—still, obviously an artifact.
By now, it was clear what the auction’s main theme was.
‘An auction centered around artifacts… Now I understand why Victor, a top-tier pixie, was guarding the goods.’
Artifacts were magical items from a now-extinct otherworld.
Depending on their use, they could change someone’s life entirely.
More people might want to overpower the guards and steal these items rather than bid for them.
No matter how tight security was, nothing beat walking biological weapons like pixies.
Hiring Victor, an elite among elites, was undoubtedly worth every penny.
Yet, despite the steady flow of items, even by the seventh auction piece, nothing truly impressive had appeared.
They were artifacts, sure—but closer to knick-knacks.
Nothing extraordinary like Greg’s appraisal glasses or Lexi’s flesh-tearing snake.
‘Well, it makes sense to save the main event for later… Plus, they mentioned Days 2 and 3. It’s understandable if Day 1 starts with lighter stuff.’
At this rate, no major commotion seemed likely.
Just as I relaxed, an eerie sensation emanated from the cloth covering the eighth auction item.
A faint voice whispered incomprehensible sounds into my ear.
It felt similar to encountering a Tesseract or Echo—my senses sharpened instinctively.
“Now, let’s unveil the eighth auction item!”
Whoosh!
Without hesitation, the emcee tore off the cloth covering the case.
Beneath it lay a cracked glass orb embedded with metal fragments.
Its purpose was completely unclear at a glance.
Confused bidders stared at the stage as the emcee cleared his throat and began explaining.
“This is a mana amplification device once used by a great mage, commonly called an Orb. It enhances mana circulation and allows for more precise spellcasting… Unfortunately, the embedded metal shards have rendered it highly unstable. Please keep that in mind while bidding!”
A damaged orb from a great mage.
Clearly, its value was far lower than its original state.
But since it retained some semblance of its form, it could still be used somehow.
Surely, this item would spark fierce competition like the previous ones…
But what caught my attention wasn’t that it belonged to a great mage.
It was the fact that the shard embedded in the orb wasn’t just metal—it was definitely connected to the Invader.
My expression hardened as I stared at the stage.
This was shaping up to be quite the headache.
