I Became the Youngest Disciple of the Martial God-Chapter 199

As I sat waiting in the room, I noticed a strange scent in the air. It felt oddly relaxing, like the tension in my body was melting away. My body and mind grew sluggish like I was sinking into a nice hot bath.

Come to think of it, how was I supposed to contact the Lord of Blood and Iron?

Since he hadn’t said much, I supposed... I would just jump into action when things started breaking.

But... what exactly am I supposed to do?

I was just here as bait. I didn’t really need to help tear this place apart... but crashing this shady place might be fun, so I figured I’d lend a hand.

It was then...

Rumble...

My heart sank, and I felt a sudden change in the air. Literally.

I didn’t know how to describe it. It felt like all the air was being sucked toward a single point. Is it magic?

I could feel the movement of mana. I drew up a bit of my internal energy, just in case, but nothing happened.

Click.

The door swung open, and a man in a wolf mask stepped inside. He wore a sleek black suit, complete with a rose on his breast pocket—no doubt fake.

“Thank you for your patience,” he said, his voice distorted. “This way, participants. I will show you the way.”

The others sluggishly rose, and we followed suit.

As soon as we left the room, I realized the place had changed. We were no longer in the tower hallways we had walked through earlier. The walls were different, and the corridor itself felt wider.

That must have been a teleportation spell.

We couldn’t have gone far. Moving this many people at once required the skill of an archmage, and even then, it would be inefficient. There was no way an archmage would waste precious mana on something like this.

Anyway, up ahead was a table covered with dozens of different masks. The guy in the wolf mask smiled and said, “Pick one, please.”

I thought for a moment and decided on a pig mask. Hallo grabbed a dolphin mask, and Ashol chose a bull.

This... is kinda lame.

A single mask to hide our identities? The whole secrecy thing felt half-baked.

For a big name like the Abyss Auction, this was underwhelming.

Furthermore, the masks barely covered anything. They were designed to cover only the area around the eyes—definitely not great for anonymity.

I felt like a fool walking down the dimly lit hallway with the mask on.

All of a sudden, a woman in a bee mask came up to me. “You are Black Opal-tier, correct?” she asked. “Please come this way.”

Her words caused murmurs to go through the crowd. Even the waddling pig guy, who had ironically picked a tiger mask, looked over in surprise.

So that’s how they rank us, by the gems on the pendants.

Judging by the reactions around me, I had to be some kind of VIP.

But I decided to mess with the pig before I left. I made a pig nose by pressing a finger to the tip of my nose, and I made pig noises. “Oink oink.” Then I followed the woman in the bee mask.

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We were led to a private seating area that overlooked the stage. It was so high up that we had to take a separate staircase to get there. Walls and curtains enclosed the area; even if someone died here, no one would notice.

The overall shape of the stage reminded me of the imperial theater. You know, the kind of place where the empire’s finest theater companies and orchestras would play, perform, and sing.

Why do people in power always want to sit high up?

But that was a pointless question considering my first reaction to being seated here was Now that’s how you treat a guest.

Maybe it was all about creating that sense of exclusivity.

Whatever the case, we were quite far from the stage, but with my eyesight, I could make out everything on it. If I really tried, I could even make out what was behind the curtains.

In our private seating area, there was a table. As I took my seat, the bee mask woman leaned down and asked, “Do you need anything?”

“I could use a snack right now. Got anything to chew on?”

“I'll have it brought to you right away.”

While she was gone, I took the chance to look around. From my vantage point, I had a good view of the other bidders, and seeing them all in their ridiculous masks was very funny.

Ah, that reminds me. I need to find the pig. After all, if I wanted to outbid him, I needed to know where he was.

I scanned around for a moment before noticing something odd.

“Huh?”

I spotted someone in a tiger mask sitting below me... but their body shape was completely different. The guy who had been barely able to walk was now a petite girl.

Had they switched masks?

That was my first guess, but my gut told me that they were the same person.

After a moment's hesitation, I activated golden fire eyes.

Aha.

It was the mask.

The masks we’d been handed were magic items, each with a built-in ability to conceal the wearer's appearance.

They were different from my Linchal Tribe mask, though. Unlike the Linchal Tribe masks, which physically altered the wearer’s body, these simply refracted light, messing with the viewer's visual perception.

The reason something felt off was that everything except their appearance was unchanged. Not that it mattered much since I had already memorized everyone’s faces back in the waiting room.

In fact, now that I thought about it, the strange aroma from earlier probably caused hallucinations. Anyone without mental training would have trouble remembering details.

By tomorrow, they'd have forgotten what anyone in that room had looked like.

So this is how they ensure anonymity.

I’d thought it was lax at first, but turned out it was pretty damn thorough.

The bee-masked woman returned with refreshments. “Here you go,” she said.

She had brought tea and cookies. After taking a bite of one, I couldn’t help but ask, “Is this cookie from De Marlene’s Refreshments?”

“That is correct. You are well informed.”

“It’s pretty good. The owner must have good taste.”

The bee lady gave a slightly awkward smile. “...They do.”

Her smile was plain to see because the mask only covered her eyes.

I asked, “Do you have a bag or something?”

“...A bag?”

“Yeah. And bring me more cookies.”

“R-right away.”

The bee lady glanced around before disappearing, then reappeared shortly after with bags and more cookies in hand.

“Thanks.”

“...Don’t mention it.”

I stuffed the majority of the cookies into the bag.

All right. With this, the bribe is secured...

I munched on the leftover cookies as I viewed the auction room below. The lights started to dim, and a man wearing a turtle mask stepped onto the stage.

[Ladies and gentlemen! I welcome you all!] His voice carried effortlessly even though he didn’t seem to be using anything to amplify it. [My name is Turtle, and I will be your host today! May the blessings of the gods be with everyone here tonight.]

I scoffed. “Classic.”

These kinds of guys always brought up the gods. Too bad they would only meet the Lord of Blood and Iron and the Sky-Sundering Sword tonight...

* * * * *

* * * * *

Anyway, since this was the opening, it wouldn’t have been strange for the Abyss Auction’s owner, Raizen Bednicker, to make an appearance.

Instead, though, the host, Turtle, busied himself by showering the stage with his own spit as he rambled endlessly. He mostly spouted flattery for the guests and over-the-top praise about the history and prestige of the Abyss Auction.

What a waste of time...

I yawned and looked down at the stage with half-closed eyes. It was past midnight—I would have been asleep by now were I still bedridden. No wonder I was getting drowsy.

Come to think of it, I heard each auction has its own etiquette, like using hand gestures to place bids gracefully or something.

Finally, the lights dimmed again, signaling the auction was going to start for real.

[All right, now let’s get started right away! We have our first item here, the extreme fire herb!]

“Oho...?” A familiar item right off the bat.

[It's of high quality, harvested straight from the Gem Mountains by expert hands! Just look at the dirt clinging to its roots! Doesn't it remind you of a freshly caught fish? Of course, you'll want to clean it off before you use it! Haha! Or perhaps the soil holds some mystical power we don’t know about!]

I rested my chin on my head, ignoring the host’s pathetic joke.

The extreme fire herb from the Gem Mountains. I’d thought the cult had already gotten their hands on it. I’d certainly never thought I would see it in a place like this. Of course, it could be a fake... or it could just be a different herb than the one the cult found.

I turned to the bumblebee next to me and asked, “How do I place a bid?”

“Oh... This must be your first time at an auction?”

“Yeah. I'm here in my dad’s place.”

“...”

Behind the mask, her expression changed.

I knew that look all too well: the judgemental stare people gave you when they thought you were just a spoiled brat.

“...Normally, you’d raise your hand and call out your bid, but since you are in a private room, you can tell me directly.”

“I see. Then I want that one,” I said, grinning slyly.

The bee nodded.

[Oh...! Someone bid before I even finished explaining! Five hundred gold from B-3!]

“Da fuck?”

In the blink of an eye, an amount equivalent to a tenth of my wealth was gone.

I mean, they say you get what you pay for with elixirs, but 500 gold is a bit much.

I felt a little uncomfortable, but when I reminded myself that this wasn’t my money, I quickly felt peace.

Anyway, 500 gold was not pocket change, so nobody dared to jump in after me. I felt like I might have overpaid a bit, but I shook off the feeling.

“If you guys want anything, go ahead and buy it,” I said, looking at Hallo and Ashol, who had gotten unusually quiet since entering the auction.

“I-I’m good.”

“...Me too.”

Hallo looked super tense, and Ashol looked lost in thought.

What a waste, letting go of such a valuable opportunity.

Since the Abyss Auction was likely to go under today, this would be their first and last time here. Of course, I wasn’t going to start begging them to buy something. I just kept my mouth shut.

Time passed and more items were shown and sold, but as I mentioned earlier, I didn’t have an eye for appraising. I simply bought whatever the pig showed interest in.

[100 gold! 110 gold! 120 gold! Oh! Oh! B-3 followed right behind with 200 gold! “Randal's Rag,” sold!]

[200 gold! 250 gold! Oh! 300 gold! The Giant's Backbone goes to its new owner!]

Grind.

I could hear the pig grinding his teeth and glaring my way. I only offered him a wave and a sly grin.

I probably looked different, but thanks to my very visible pig mask, he should still know exactly who I was.

“Hey, how do I get the items I bought?”

“You will receive them after the auction is over, after you pay for them.”

“I see.”

Payment had to be all at once, then.

Bidding continued, and I ended up buying a couple dozen items. By this point, I could feel the attention of not just the other participants but also the bee attendant standing next to me and even the host on stage.

“Th-there seem to be quite a few things that suit your taste.”

I smiled and replied, “I'm a bit greedy. Also, get me more cookies.”

“...Understood.”

At this moment, the lights on the stage dimmed, and the host left with some closing words. Then soft music started playing from somewhere.

“What? It’s over?”

“Part one is over. Part two will begin in about an hour.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Would you like me to prepare a meal?”

“Hm... No thanks.”

I'd had such a hearty dinner earlier, and I’d been scarfing down cookies here, so my stomach was satisfied.

“All right. If you need anything, just call me.”

“By the way...”

“Yes?”

“Do you have a catalog or something? I'd like to check out the auction items in advance.”

“Oh... did you not receive it beforehand?”

“I told you, I’m just covering for my dad.”

“R-right. Please wait just a moment.”

Bee walked away, looking flustered, but quickly returned with a catalog.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

“Of course. Then I will see you in part two.”

“Yeah.”

I opened the catalog and flipped through it. Since part one had already ended, I skipped ahead.

As with most events like this, the really expensive stuff was packed into the second half.

Part two focused mainly on the slave auction.

...Come to think of it, there hadn’t been a single slave in part one.

In addition to the seven races, which included humans, fairies, dwarves, giants, beastfolk... there were monsters like goblins and trolls along with wild beast cubs and rare, mystical creatures’ eggs.

Then I came across the final listing. I expected it to be the grand finale of this auction, and sure enough, I couldn’t help but laugh dryly when I saw it.

“...Are these damn lunatics for real?”

They’re actually selling this shit?

It turned out that trafficking slaves wasn’t even the worst thing Abyss Auction was doing.

Now I understood why the Lord of Blood and Iron was set on wiping this place out. It wasn’t like that guy would go so far over some slave trading. He might not ignore it, but he’d just send his men or pull some strings... There were plenty of ways to crush an auction house like this.

Suddenly, someone approached me. “Excuse me.”

I glanced over and recognized the wolf mask that had guided us in.

“My name is Wolf. I trust you are enjoying the auction?”

“The cookies are very polite and the auction is delicious.”

“...Yes, De Marlene’s Refreshments never disappoint,” Wolf Mask said, smoothly acknowledging my nonsense before getting straight to the point. “The organizer requests your presence. Do you have a moment?”

They had finally taken the bait. It looked like this reunion would happen sooner than expected.

Come to think of it, I never got off to a good start with my so-called brothers.

It had been a mess with Hero, and also with Hector.

Would Raizen be any different?

With that question in mind, I stood up. “Let's go. Lead the way.”

____