The item box errands have been completed, and the profits earned through Red Gate have finally been deposited, so why delay any longer?

I will say it bluntly, I came out today to go shopping.

‘It’s still very clean.’

The Hunter Market, which I visited after a long time, was not much different from before. It was a newly constructed building with a wide horizontal structure. Awakeners were coming and going, and traces of magic could be felt here and there. There’s no place more interesting for an alien magician than this.

‘Hmm.’

However, I headed straight for the second floor without even glancing at the stalls near the entrance. This time, I had already decided what I was going to buy.

‘I need a magic tool to use when resisting Kang Changho.’

I currently have around 54 million won in my bank account. Of course, this includes the amount earned from the external appraisal of the Magic Tower, but even considering that, isn’t it an incredible amount? In just 5 days, and even after deducting Ahn Yoonseung’s share, I still have this much money left!

‘Thank you, everyone!’

At this moment, the main players of the hunt come to mind again. After all, the Red Gate raid over the past 5 days was the result of collaboration between Ahn Yoonseung and an S-class.

‘To be honest, Kang Changho’s help was also quite great.’

The last S-class hunter of Korea. Thanks to him acting as a safety net, I was able to challenge even a B-class Gate solo.

Well, but that’s it.

‘Death threats are a different matter.’

Kang Changho was a dangerous individual who would try to break my neck even at the slightest mistake. To avoid the worst-case scenario, I’ll have to prepare myself to a certain extent as well.

‘Oh.’

After looking around at several stores, I finally found a tool that met my needs.

[Pyromancer Necklace]

[Grade: Rare]

[Effect: A necklace that allows the user to freely create flames. It can unleash attacks up to C-class in power.]

The magic imbued within is suitable, and the price is good too.

Right. Since it’s a necklace, it won’t be too strange to carry it around with me.

‘Can I somehow hide it if I put it under my shirt?’

I happily called the store staff.

“Excuse me. I’d like to buy one of these Pyromancer necklaces.”

However, it turned out that I had read the price tag on the display case.

“Ah~ Hunter-nim. This 4.5 million won is the price of the Black Ring next to it. The price of the necklace is on the card below.”

Then the employee gently points to a specific spot.

[59,800,000]

One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand…

Damn it.

“60 million won just to imitate a C-Class fire skill?”

I was so dumbfounded that I blurted out a question without realizing it. However, the reaction from the returning employee was beyond comprehension. freew𝚎bn𝐨𝘃𝐞𝗹.𝗰𝚘𝗺

“Oh my, Hunter-nim. This is a really good price. It’s actually considered to be very cost-effective compared to similar items.”

“Something like this…?”

“Having one of these would make things so much easier at the Gate. It’s different from the Water attribute ones, so you can light up the path as well.”

This piece of junk that can only produce a C-Class fire once and takes 24 hours to fully charge, all for 60 million won.

I’m getting a headache. Oh, I was prepared, but I never thought it would actually exceed the budget.

‘Even if I give all my money, I can’t buy it….’

With a hopeful heart, I meticulously searched through the remaining stores, but in the end, I couldn’t find anything more suitable than that necklace.

“Darn it! It’s urgent, and it’s not like I’m short a few pennies.”

I left the store helpless.

But what is this? It certainly wasn’t this loud until just a moment ago. Suddenly, the shopping mall lobby is buzzing with activity.

“Uhm?”

It wasn’t difficult to find the cause of the commotion. That’s because the person at the center of the incident had an appearance that stood out even from afar.

“Kya~ It’s Esther!”

“Do you think she’d give me an autograph if I asked?”

“Hey, hey, what do you mean by autographs between fellow hunters!”

A dress with a gorgeous pattern that reveals wine-colored hair and the silhouette of the body. But above all, the most reliable proof of identity is that vast magical power.

‘Aha, Ah, it seems everyone’s going crazy because an S-Class appeared.’

I spotted the guild leader of the Korean Magic Tower. She was coming down the moving walkway waving her hand to the hunters around her.

‘Should I pretend to know?’

I don’t know why, but Esther has often contacted me to check on me since the last request as an external appraisal. I decided to say hello to Esther in return for her kind attention. Perhaps due to the pressure of the S-Class, there were fewer hunters approaching than I expected, so I was able to close the distance quickly.

“Hello, Esther-ssi.”

Before we know it, we come face to face.

“It’s nice to see you here. Are you here to check out some items?”

But… somehow Esther’s reaction wasn’t what I imagined.

Whoosh.

As soon as she heard my greeting, she stopped smiling and turned her head.

‘Huh?’

Esther then pouted and made an openly displeased expression. Seeing this, I swallowed dry saliva frantically.

‘D, d, did I make a mistake? No, but I’ve been diligently replying to her greeting texts all this time!’

It’s quite embarrassing to see someone I thought I had a good relationship with come out like this.

****

‘Hmph!’

Esther remained silent for a while. And of course, the cause of this situation was provided by a certain alien.

[Hunter Kim Kiryeo! What are you up to today~~? You wouldn’t already have had dinner at this hour, would you???]

[Yes, I’m eating pork ribs with my acquaintance.]

Yeah, Kiryeo has turned down the suggestion of an S-Class dinner three times already…!

Of course, he didn’t mean to reject them on purpose. It was just that his schedule didn’t work out each time by sheer coincidence.

‘You’re eating dinner at 4pm?’

Not realizing this, Esther might just feel like the other party is drawing a line.

‘Hmph!’

However, in truth, she didn’t have much complaint about this treatment itself. That awakener is cold, not for a day or two. What is there to be gained by struggling alone with something like this?

‘How could he completely ignore a hunter like me, who’s both skilled and attractive, when I invited him to have a meal together?’

Seo Esther closed her mouth tightly and pondered.

‘I guess you don’t like the pushy type after all!’

That’s right. This was the real reason she had hardened her expression. She had tried to take the initiative to build a friendship, but Kim Kiryeo didn’t seem to appreciate it very much.

Esther decided to change her approach now. She intentionally kept her distance from the F-Class to pique his interest.

“Hello. Esther-ssi, it’s nice to see you here. Are you here to check out some items?”

However, when she actually came face to face with him, her actions didn’t go as planned.

‘Huh? T, this guy is greeting me first?’

It feels somewhat pleasant when someone who is usually difficult to strike up a conversation with greets her first. It made her think that if she just ignored this, she would just be wasting a valuable opportunity for conversation.

“I, I’m… I just stopped by here for a moment. Actually, I came to see the auction house.”

Esther ended up giving an answer no different from usual.

“Finally, [White Bird] is up for auction!”

“White bird?”

“As an S-Class, shouldn’t I have at least one mobility item? So, I’m going to participate in the auction today.”

What are the benefits of Hunter Ranking? Esther was still ranked second in Korea’s hunter rankings. So she receives various benefits from the association.

“At least in Korea, I’m the second-in-command. I’m a priority negotiation partner for bids.”

One of them was the various preferential treatment options for auctions. She could participate in any auction she wanted or be exempt from fees.

“Aha.”

Kiryeo showed great interest in the story. It was his first time hearing about this system.

“By the auction house, you mean the building across the intersection, right?”

Esther said in response.

“Oh, come to think of it, you’re F-Class, so you probably haven’t been able to participate in auctions because of your low rank.”

It seems that grade correction is heavily involved in calculating a hunter’s ranking.

“Kiryeo-ssi, then how about you come with me to the auction house and take a look around while you’re at it?”

Esther made a casual suggestion without much expectation. So, she didn’t expect this kind of response to come back.

“Yes.”

“Uhm?”

“I’d appreciate it if you could.”

The fact that the other person accepted so readily! This was an opportunity. When would the chance come again that Kim Ki4yeo, the hunter, would have free time?

“Oh my, really?”

Esther couldn’t hide her joy and took the lead with a smile.

-?~??~

“Oh, I need to take a call for a moment.”

“Yes!”

And this wasn’t the only thing to laugh about. Even in the phone call that followed right after, there was good news that was enough to make the corners of her mouth twitch with excitement.

‘No, the Neo Sisters Guild did something crazy by leaving Kim Kiryeo alone in the lobby for 6 hours?’

Puahahaha!

She was able to participate in the auction in her best mood.

***

“I received 180 million, 180 million. Is that all?”

“195 hundred, 200 million, 200 million, 500. From now on, the bid will increase by billions.”

“280 million. The bid is successful.”

Soon, they arrived at the auction house. In the solemn atmosphere, the voice of the professional auctioneer resonated.

‘Oho…’

Sitting down, Kim Kiryeo couldn’t help but notice how oddly similar this place looked to a movie theater. The large screen in front, the dim lighting. If only the chairs weren’t so uncomfortable, it would have been almost identical.

‘Is what’s displayed on the screen the current bidding price and basic information about the item?’

Kiryeo sat back in the chair with his arms crossed. Even at this moment, the auction house was bidding on a new product, but honestly, he wasn’t very interested. This place just went through an auction with a completely different unit.

“Hunter Esther, by the way, where do you exchange the items once you win the bid?”

“As soon as the auction is over, there will be a separate announcement.”

Kim Kiryeo briefly recalled the auction of the white bird items he had previously experienced.

-Ugh! 5.1 billion!

-6 billion.

-66, 66 billion!

-7 billion

-Argh!

-Ugh…

The last auction was a real bloodbath. Esther kept casually raising the bids by hundreds of millions whenever a new bidder emerged, and she eventually secured the item.

‘Guild leader sure has a lot of money.’

One F-Class hunter in this seat is likely to be seen as cold-blooded, but when they opened his head, he often had a meaningless thought.

‘I envy you very much.’

Could it be that Kim Kiryeo was jealous of Esther’s wealth at that time?

“Let me introduce you to the next product.”

Before long, a new item came up on the front stage.

A hardcover book covered in gold. As soon as the book appears, the place becomes noisy.

“What? It’s ‘Sealed Grimoire’!”

“They didn’t say that it would come out, right?”

“Hey, if I knew this would happen, I shouldn’t have bid for it earlier…!”

Besides, it wasn’t just the hunters who were making a fuss.

“What do you think about that item?”

As soon as the last auction item was revealed, Esther immediately sought advice from the staff. She always brought a guild appraiser with her whenever she participated in her auctions.

“That’s awesome! It’s a rare [Sealed Grimoire]. There are no other big hands today, so I guess you can take it relatively easily, right?”

At the words of the professional appraiser accompanying her, Esther raised the corners of her mouth satisfactorily. And shortly after, the auction for the last item began.

“The auction will start at 2.3 billion and increase by 10 million won each bid.”

At the auctioneer’s words, hands shot up all around, and bidding prices skyrocketed fiercely.

However, Esther didn’t think it mattered how much the ants raised the price. After all, there was no one here who could beat the financial power of the large guild known as Korean Magic Tower.

‘Rather than just raising the price from the beginning, I should go in once the excitement has cooled down.’

Esther was enjoying her time by tapping her feet, and then raised her hand a beat late. However, there is a person here who stops the Master of Magic Tower’s bid.

Tuk.

“Wait a minute.”

As soon as Kim Kiryeo saw her raising her hand, he spoke quietly.

“Don’t bid.”