I WAS The Rank–1 Hero-Chapter 133: Auction House [4]

[Next up, from the land of Pyrestone—the kingdom bordering the Demon Continent—I present to you…]

Unveiling the next item, a red book adorned with golden patterns appeared inside a glass capsule.

My eyes lit up.

Finally, it's here.

[Ladies and gentlemen, have you ever wondered what ancient knowledge looks and feels like? Those technologies, those formulas that have remained hidden even from the greatest researchers of our kingdom…]

He paused, then gestured dramatically toward the book before continuing.

[I present to you the 'Codex of Realms.' This book is written in an unknown ancient script that has yet to be decrypted by any expert. The reason we've decided to present a book unreadable by anyone, alongside the other items, is precisely because of that mystery.

Since no one has been able to decipher it, we thought it might be better suited for someone who appreciates collecting rare and enigmatic artifacts.]

"Nox, why are you buying it if you can't even read what's written inside?" Ruby asked from beside me as she analyzed the book with her skill.

Chuckling lightly, I responded, "Don't worry. I know someone who might be able to read it."

"...Hm?" She tilted her head at my answer. "Who?"

"Someone I met in the black market."

"Hmm…" Seemingly convinced, she turned her attention back to the book presented on stage.

Well, I can't blame her. Reading an ancient language that may have last existed millions of years ago... it's an almost impossible task. Almost.

But I have someone inside me who can read it without even trying.

As if reading my mind, Sera chimed in.

'In return, don't forget to treat me to desserts, for a whole month.'

"..."

Yeah, I wouldn't dare forget that.

Noticing the bidding ring light up, I placed my fingers over the buttons, ready to press once the starting amount was announced.

[The bidding starts at 300,000. Let the bids begin!]

As expected, a wave of bids immediately poured in.

[Number 15 offers 300,500! Oh! Number 41 jumps in with 310,000! Don't stop, folks! Let those numbers rise! Once! Twice—Oh! Number 15 again with 350,000! What a beautiful number. Hurry up! This book is one of a kind, the only one in the world linked to ancient knowledge!]

Waiting a few seconds, I typed in my amount on the keypad and pressed the bid button.

—Beep!

A soft beep echoed through the room. Next to the control panel, the number 77 lit up.

[Oh! What's this, ladies and gentlemen! From Room 77, the standing bid is—1,000,000! That's an insane amount! Anyone up to challenge it?! Once! Tw— Oh! Room 15 counters with 1,020,000! Crazy! Will anyone go higher?!]

—Beep!

The beep rang again.

[Number

77 again with a straight-up 2,000,000! What's Number 15 gonna do now?! Don't let the bidding stop!]

Ruby smacked my shoulder.

"Oi!" she said, her tone slightly irritated. "Take it slow! You're raising the price too fast."

I turned toward her, eyes twinkling, and tilted my head in confusion.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"..." Ruby's eye twitched slightly before she muttered, "Nevermind."

I responded immediately, continuing to place my bids.

[Number 15 bids 2,050,000! Oh! It's Number 77 again with a whopping 2,500,000! Anyone else want to compete?! No one? Once? Twice? And—Sold! Congratulations to bidder Number 77!]

Hearing the announcement, I shot up from the sofa in excitement.

"Hell yeah!"

My very first win in today's auction. Believe me, after that tough competition and winning against someone in a game of money, I felt immensely satisfied.

'You sound like a spoiled brat,' Sera commented.

Shut it.

Soon after, holding the tablet and scrolling through the catalog, I made a few adjustments regarding my purchases.

I originally came here thinking I'd need to spend at most 50,000,000 on each item, but now, after my first successful bid and purchasing the remaining two items I had my eyes on, it looks like I'll have more than eighty percent of my cash left.

So far, I've spent 2,500,000 on the book Codex of Realms, 7,340,000 on the AI-integrated mask Velya that offers identity protection, and 5,000,000 on a Memory Prism. That leaves me with 135,160,000 in cash.

Now I was scrolling through a few other items, hoping to put the rest of this amount to good use. Honestly, after observing some of the listed items and the way others were bidding, I started to suspect that many participants weren't taking this auction seriously—or perhaps they were all just waiting for something else to appear.

As I browsed the catalog again, I carefully read the descriptions of the items that had yet to be presented.

"None of it seems interesting…" I murmured to myself.

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Turning to Ruby, who was doing the same beside me, I asked, "Did you find anything interesting?"

Shaking her head in disappointment, she replied, "Other than some useless weapons and weird artifacts, I don't see anything worth investing our money in."

"Is that so…" I muttered, shifting my gaze back to the list on my screen.

It was strange, now that I thought about it. I was certain there were high-ranking nobles present in this auction house. And from what I knew, nobles of that level didn't attend just any random auction—unless there was something truly remarkable worth their time and wealth.

Even the items I had bid on, while valuable, were S-Grade. No doubt powerful and rare, but noble houses usually had access to those—and even higher SS-Grade ones—in abundance.

Yet so far, nothing of that caliber had been presented.

So then… why were they here?

[Now for our next item, we have something amazing, straight from space…]

"Hm?" The words caught my attention as the auctioneer introduced the next item.

[Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great honor that we present to you the rarest item we possess in this entire event.]

After finishing his rather dramatic speech, the auctioneer smiled and finally got to the point.

A huge trolley rolled up onto the stage, pushed by two helpers. It was completely covered in a red cloth. Something big was hidden beneath it.

[Some of you might have already guessed what this is…]

No, we don't!

[But for those still unaware, the item behind this cloth is something that came from above…]

He pointed upwards before grabbing the red cloth and yanking it away—revealing what looked like a giant white rock.

"Interesting," Ruby commented beside me.

A rock?

What's so interesting about a rock?

And more importantly, why wasn't this item listed in the catalog?

That question alone made my interest spike.

If there were unlisted items like this, it meant there was even more to bid on than we had initially thought.

I was completely invested in this mysterious white rock now—especially since Ruby found it interesting too. She must've used her skill to analyze it.

[In the year 5002, two astronauts from the Terranova Kingdom were on a mission to investigate fluctuations in Elemental Essence on Planet-2002, located a few hundred thousand kilometers away from us. During their mission, they discovered that the fluctuation was pinpointed to a single location. So, they searched for it… and what they discovered was a 120cm-diameter meteorite that had impacted that specific area of the planet.]

The more he speaks, the more intrigued my mind becomes.

Wearing gloves, the auctioneer gently traced the rough surface of the white rock and continued his explanation.

[This rock is none other than that meteorite.]

He went on to describe more details—how it was brought back, how it was thoroughly inspected, and eventually, how the entire mission was terminated, leading to the meteorite being sold off in this auction. Nothing was spared in his explanation.

"Huaaamm…"

A yawn escaped my lips as I listened to all the details.

Sure, the meteorite was interesting. Despite originating from space and possessing the rare ability to hold a decent amount of Elemental Essence, nothing about it particularly stood out to me.

"What's your take on that rock?" I asked Ruby, turning to her.

"It's interesting, but after further analyzing its properties, I concluded it's nothing but a plain rock that somehow has the property to fluctuate the Essence around it," she replied bluntly.

I was so impressed by her analytical skills that I couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

I wanted a skill like that too.

Slumping back into the sofa, I decided there was no point in wasting my money on that rock.

Sensing my restlessness, Sera suddenly spoke up in my mind.

'Um, human? I think I've seen a similar skill in your possession.'

"Hm?!"

That caught me off guard.

I quickly remembered that I hadn't checked most of my skill usages the other day. With all the excitement, I had completely forgotten.

Focusing on my status panel, I finally found the skill that Sera was talking about.

— — —「Apraisal」— — —

→Rank : A

→Type : Active

→Description : Allows the user to analyze and view detailed information about objects, equipment, and living beings. The accuracy and depth of information depend on the user's level and the target's resistance.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

"Wow!" I exclaimed, surprised after reading the skill description on the Fate Interface.

It's exactly what I need right now!

Noticing my reaction, Ruby tilted her head slightly and asked, "What happened?"

Shit.

The excitement got the best of me.

Trying to play it off, I turned my attention back to the present and replied, "Nothing. I just found something interesting."

"…Um, alright," she said softly.

She smiled at me, and for a moment, I forgot everything else and smiled back.

[Alright, the bidding starts at 5,000,000! Anyone up for a challenge? Let the bid start!]

This time, the number of voices echoing in the hall was much greater than before, and the bidding amounts kept rising every second.

[Number 10, 8,000,000! Followed by number 61 with a total of 12,000,000! Ladies and gentlemen, bid more—this piece is one of its kind! Number 15 again with 15,000,000! Anyone higher? Once? Twice—Number 22 has bid 15,100,000!]

The amounts were skyrocketing in less than a minute. It must be because a few of the high-class nobles had started bidding on this particular piece of rock.

Staring at the rock, I began to wonder, what exactly about it was attracting this much attention?

Right time to check my Appraisal skill.

Fixing my eyes on the white meteorite, I activated the skill.

Moments later, a familiar purple screen popped up in front of my face.

— — —「Unnamed Meteorite Fragment」— — —

→Rank : D

→Durability : ???

→Type : Material

→Description : A mysterious fragment of extraterrestrial origin. It passively absorbs surrounding essence, increasing its density and hardness over time. Due to continuous essence absorption, the surface is nearly impossible to scratch or damage with conventional means. The total amount of absorbed essence is unknown.

※ Cannot be appraised fully at current authority level.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

Eh? What? Why?

Cannot be appraised fully at current Authority level?!

What does that even mean?

Sera, a little help here.

'Are you dumb?!' Sera snapped instantly. 'Can't you read? It's because your Authority is still in its starting phase! You need to grow stronger to fully read that freaking rock's description!'

Why was she always so mean to me?

Wait...

Stronger?

I can't read the full description of that rock.

So that means…

I'm weaker than that freaking rock?!

Hell naaa!!

I won't let a single rock decide my worth!

'Are you high on something?!' Sera snorted.

No! I'll show this rock its place!

'Please don't, idiot.'

Jokes aside… If the rock's level is above mine, it means there's definitely more to it than just elemental essence absorption.

Looking back at the stage where the bidding was still heating up, I took a deep breath and calmed my thoughts.

It seems like some of the nobles already knew about this meteorite. They were probably informed beforehand about its presence in this auction.

Let's just wait and see who ends up buying it.

Whoever does might know something I don't. And considering the appraisal said my Authority wasn't enough, that meteorite might be connected to Authority Holders.

For now, I'll just watch.

Bidding on it was out of the question. I won't take even the slightest risk.

[...It's number 15 again with a total of 118,000,000. Anyone higher? Once? Twice? Sold!]

—Ding ding!

"Number 15…" I made a mental note. I'll have to find out who that is.

[Now then, for our main event…]

The auctioneer stepped to the center of the stage.

There's more?

"There's more?" Ruby echoed my thoughts from beside me.

[It's not an item, it's not a weapon, not even a meteorite…]

This auctioneer really knew how to build suspense.

[I present to you, this—]

—Beep Beep.

All the lights focused on a single point on stage as a massive cage slowly rose from beneath.

Its silver bars gleamed under the lights… and inside of it, a little girl lay motionless.

She was injured, clothes torn, shackles around her wrists and ankles.

But then… my eyes fell on her ears.

'Human! That—!!' Sera gasped in my mind, 'But…how?!'

"...?!"

I froze.

White skin. Small round face. And those pointed ears. It was just like Sera's.

There was no doubt in my mind.

"That's an elf."

The words left my mouth before I even realized.