Chapter 149: An Offer That's Hard to Beat
Chapter 149: An Offer That’s Hard to Beat
Chairman Yu tried to lift his face. He succeeded after a lot of effort. He wanted to stop what Ji-woo was doing.
“Th-it’s the same as b-before! Kuh! W-What the hell is this!!?”
Dal-soo then chimed in after seeing Chairman Yu struggling to get up from his seat.
“H-Hyung, just stay still. N-No needs to d-do anything.”
On the other hand, the brokers, most of whom were ordinary people, could feel the tension in the room. They also became anxious seeing their mercenary hunters shaking and unable to do anything.
Dal-shik also managed to lift his face to look at Ji-woo. “Kid! W-What have you done!?!”
In-sung, on the side, expressed his anger too. “You b-bastard!!”
Gang-ho also felt something unusual in his body. He couldn’t explain what fear was running through his heart and mind. But one thing was for sure. The Mana he usually used to make magic feel alive and like it was trying to escape from his body. It was a bizarre experience and a first for him.
In-ah and Ji-soo run into a situation not much different from any other S-rank hunter. However, the two women responded to the situation differently and were calmer than the others.
In-ah managed to secure her Mana flow, and there was no chaos inside. It made her free from trembling, but fear still welled up inside her head. She seemed to get a whisper, given a warning that she would die if she took a single step.
Meanwhile, Ji-soo was in better shape. Her Mana flow was typical, and there was no fear at all. Either in her heart or inside her head. However, it all reduced her stamina and Mana. She had to counteract the invisible aura. Sweat was pouring down her cheeks, and she had no interest in moving as it would drain her Mana even more.
Ji-woo then opened his mouth after seeing the atmosphere return to calm even though it felt heavier than before.
“Why does everything have to be solved by magic? We can talk about all this, can’t we? After all, what I said and what I refused is still in line with the purpose of this event, which is to sell or offer this Spatial Bag.
“Don’t get used to using seniority based on age. We live in a superpower environment. Senior or junior doesn’t apply in the forest of strong and weak.
“Calm yourselves. There’s no need to be angry. If anyone wants a fight with me, you can schedule it at another time. However, now isn’t the time for that. Also, as this lady said before, this is my magic item, which means it’s up to me how to sell it.”
Ji-woo then withdrew his Aura of Fear after lecturing them all. It was commonplace that the owner of a unique magic item would, of course, get supported by an ability that made them dare to show it to many people. Only an incompetent person would dare to flaunt such an item without any preparation at all.
In Ji-woo’s case, he was way above S-rank hunters long before he even got his true strength. So, he knew in Korea. Nothing could threaten his existence. Even if an Apex-ranked hunter interfered, he didn’t feel the slightest bit discouraged. He believed his true strength was the highest power in this world.
For an unknown power outside South Korea, Ji-woo himself had anticipated it by giving a deadline of one day. In such a short time, those people couldn’t have time to prepare and come to their country to attend the auction of the spatial item.
As soon as the Aura of Fear disappeared, all the hunters were suddenly able to move their bodies freely. Ji-soo and In-ah let out their breaths. It was quite a lot of mental consumption of each of them.
Meanwhile, Dal-shik finally got freed and didn’t standstill. He still couldn’t accept the impoliteness and the arrogance. He emitted his Mana Presence, and a blue light instantly enveloped his entire body.
The armory shop room instantly shook, and everyone got slightly jolted by it.
Dal-shik’s hands give off dense flames. But, before he shot the magic. Instantly, Ji-woo had appeared in front of him and held both of Dal-shik’s hands, leaving the Spatial Bag on the spot.
The dense flames disappeared, and the Mana Presence subsided. That took Dal-shik by surprise. The room also stopped shaking.
In-sung, who was also beside him, swiftly used magic after seeing the incident. His right hand swung from below, and chunks of ice rose from the floor. It was about to trap Ji-woo from below.
However, Ji-woo also quickly used his left foot to hold In-sung’s hand down, stopping the ice floe from rising.
“I told you guys to calm down. We can continue this activity another time. All right!?” Ji-woo replied with a straight face. His deep and heavy tone kept the room calm even though the place almost got damaged.
In-sung could feel the death threat from Ji-woo’s eyes on him. It prevented him from continuing what he wanted to do and made him remain silent in that position.
Dal-shik was also completely unable to move his body. He couldn’t even escape Ji-woo’s grasp.
‘This boy…, so strong!’
On the other hand, Ji-soo didn’t expect Ji-woo to be able to hold off two S-rank hunters so easily. She admitted Ji-woo was strong based on the aura she didn’t understand earlier. But to face Dal-shik and In-sung simultaneously, she couldn’t do that either.
In-ah was not surprised by that and finally confirmed Dal-soo’s story was true all along after seeing what Ji-woo did. But, that alone was not enough to make his curiosity subside. The absence of Mana in every action Ji-woo took made her watch him with rapt attention.
‘What’s the secret to his power due to lack of Mana in him!!? But, how could that be!?’
On the other hand, Chairman Yu swallowed his saliva when he saw Ji-woo holding Dal-shik and In-sung together.
“Dal-soo~ya. Is this what you mean by some S-rank hunters being nothing in front of that youngster?! At this rate, he’s the closest to becoming an Apex-ranked. However, I can’t feel the slightest bit of Mana from him. Do you know why? Is it because he doesn’t need Mana to deal with two S-rank hunters!?”
Dal-soo smiled wryly at Chairman Yu’s words. It was something he didn’t know the answer to. He didn’t even have the slightest clue that could explain where Ji-woo’s power came from.
“Hyung, more than that. Isn’t it more important if this kind of power gets owned by South Korea? With Ji-woo and Hyun-bin present, the problems of Portal Gate and Red Gate will be easy to solve. The number of casualties and damage can get minimized.”
Hearing those words, Chairman Yu woke up to Dal-soo’s original intention. Getting Ji-woo to give his hand when they needed it was the right thing to do.
Chairman Yu sighed quickly. “Dal-soo~ya. I…, believe in you. Do whatever it takes to make him want to help out in the future. But, I ask you one thing. Make him want to do a re-rank check in the Hunters Association later. Promise me this one, and I’m willing to give you my fullest support from here on.”
Dal-soo was relieved and nodded his head, agreeing with Chairman Yu’s request. “Okay, Hyung.”
Returning to Ji-woo’s spot, he began to open his mouth after a long silence approached the room. “Have we reached an agreement here? We’ll save the matter of bickering for another time, while now we’ll settle this spatial item issue as soon as possible. That’s clear!?”
No one gave any response to Ji-woo’s words. They were just stunned by Ji-woo, who was still holding Dal-shik and In-sung while saying that.
Ji-woo released his grip on Dal-shik and let his left foot off In-sung. He then turned away from the two hunters. He walked casually to where the Spatial Bag was.
Dal-shik and In-sung could only grit their teeth and hold Ji-woo’s humiliating treatment to heart. They returned to their seats and clenched their hands.
“If no one makes another offer. I’ll end this event. The last offer is good, but not enough for me to let go of this magic item.”
This time, what Ji-woo said did not make the audience feel insulted. They feel Ji-woo had what it took for someone to possess such a rare magic item. No one dared to voice overbearing and haughty words to Ji-woo. Instead, they were thinking about what offers were attractive and worth the Spatial Bag.
“Seven billion won and ten tier-3 Portal Gates!”
Ji-woo raised one eyebrow. A remarkable number of Portal Gates. He had no problem releasing the Spatial Bag to the woman who voiced the proposal, Seo Ji-soo. That was If there was no other offer.
But not long after, there was a new offer that toppled Ji-soo’s offer.
“Ten billion won, ten tier-3 Portal Gates, and the Black Market.”
It was an offer from a broker who previously bid. This time, he elevated what he had to offer.
Meanwhile, Ji-soo could only click her tongue at that. ‘Damn it! Black Market access is a tough offer to beat.’