Episode 9 – Shortly after, Charles, who found the club, located the place he was going to. It was written “Dimo Club.”
He got off there and waited for Bonnie. Before getting off, Charles took out a plain white mask he had prepared and put it on.
There was a store selling masks in front of the club, so people didn’t think much of it even if they saw someone walking around wearing a mask. Charles moved past people wearing masks.
Charles glanced at the theater next to the club and then went inside the club. Clubs in this era were similar to modern cafes. While their location and role weren’t completely the same, the fact that people gathered and socialized was similar.
A man blocked his way in front. He was wearing a well-dressed uniform and had an impressive smile on his fair-skinned face.
“Welcome. May I guide you to your seat?”
“Please guide me to a seat where I can see the moonlight.”
“This way.”
The man guided him to the entrance of a staircase leading underground, not to a table. Charles followed without a word. This was the entrance to the Oracle Auction House. The club was just a façade.
This man also seemed to be a kind of spiritual being. Knowing that even the gatekeeper had spiritual powers, it was clear how deeply the Oracle Auction House was connected to the secret world.
‘It seems they didn’t notice that I’m a first-timer here.’
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t exactly his first time either. Charles had visited a place called the Oracle Auction House, though in a different form, dozens of times in the game.
However, some things were the same. Usually, a mask had to be worn when visiting, and identity was not revealed. The secrecy of the clients was the most crucial aspect at the Oracle Auction House.
After descending the stairs, the man led Charles to the front desk and then left. The young employee in front of him smiled and said.
“Hello. How can I assist you?”
“I would like to exchange some currency.”
Charles’ voice was deeper than usual. It was a prepared voice. Although he couldn’t change his body shape, he could impersonate someone completely different by changing his voice and attitude.
This acting skill was something Charles had learned while playing VR games. It was in the same vein as Kim Yeon-soo playing the role of Charles.
“A bronze talent is 5,000 pounds. A silver talent is 50,000 pounds. A gold talent is 500,000 pounds.”
“Twenty bronze, please.”
Charles took out a check for 100,000 pounds from his bosom. This money had been discovered in Charles’ secret study.
Growing up as the illegitimate child of the Hexen family, Charles had used the small amount of money he inherited as seed money and earned money over the years through illegal activities while working as a magician.
As soon as he exchanged the pounds for talents, Fanginarecore made a fuss. It flew over Charles’ shoulder and tapped his cheek while speaking.
-Give me! Give me! Give me!
-Just a moment.
Charles shrugged his shoulders. He had plans for these talents. If any were left over, he could give them to Fanginarecore.
Beyond the exchange office was not the auction house. In a slightly removed area from the auction house, there were stalls where expensive items that weren’t put up for auction were always organized.
Through the glass partitions, precious items from the secret world and the physical world were mixed.
“How about this talisman? This talisman is a pentacle made by Glitch Norman. Yes, that’s right. Glitch the great maker.”
“How much is this necklace?”
“This is a pocket watch made by the Patex family, an item imbued with the blessing of a spiritual being.”
“Oh my! Darling, I want this!”
People of all ages and genders were buying things near the stalls. Complete items like uniquely shaped talismans or consecrated daggers, as well as accessories that seemed to be made by artists, were popular among women.
Charles was targeting not the place selling these complete items but the place selling materials. The materials weren’t up for auction, but they were being sold by one merchant at a high price in the secret world.
“Welcome.”
“I came to see the materials.”
“You’re right on time. A large number of materials arrived just yesterday.”
Charles looked at a neat-looking male merchant. He showed some uneasiness, but it didn’t seem to be about the items.
He bought some materials there.
‘Branches of the blue gunpowder elder tree, star spring primrose extract, crusade incense, sheepskin parchment made from a stillborn lamb, tiger cartilage, yew ring wood fragment.’
The most expensive one was the sheepskin parchment made from a stillborn lamb. It was a material with strict conditions and was versatile enough to be used as a material for spellbooks, so the supply was short. He bought it for three bronze talents. He also bought this and that material.
‘I roughly got the materials.’
The samples needed for spell use, ritual magic materials, and overall things a magician would need.
The sound of the auction’s start bell rang. The gentlemen and ladies who had been enjoying their shopping left their spots and headed to the auction house.
The preparations so far were just appetizers for them. They could get the items they liked from now on.
Charles had no interest in the auction, so he planned to look for another opportunity. Anyway, the auction house would be a place he would have to come to continuously in the future. After returning to the mansion by carriage, Charles returned to his study.
-Talents! Talents!
-Here you go.
Fanginarecore had been asking for talents since a while ago. Charles knew how much he had exchanged and spent. The remaining talents were seven bronze ones.
-How many tokens can you make from seven?
-Hold on a moment.
Fanginarecore picked up the bronze talents and put them in its mouth. Then, after thinking, it said.
-They’ll make roughly two tokens.
-That’s decreased.
-The more you keep consuming talents, the more you need.
Charles nodded. It was like a kind of tolerance. The more of the same kind of talent was consumed, the higher the required amount. He had been given bronze talents so far, so the required amount would further increase.
Charles was planning to give silver talents when it reached the limit where he wouldn’t lose much according to the current exchange rate between pounds and talents.
After eating all seven talents, Fanginarecore had grown to about the size of a palm. It had transformed from a fairy to a doll-like size. When it received the tokens, a slot machine that one would see in fairy tales appeared in the air.
When he inserted the token, it spun round and round. This time, too, the mark of the Radiant One appeared. And again, the mark of the Radiant One.
At this point, it was almost suspicious like a bug. On the third turn, a different mark appeared. It was a pattern depicting a human holding a spear in a throwing posture.
This was also a mark that even Charles, who had seen many symbols of otherworldly gods, did not recognize.
-Complete!
Suppressing the urge to ask if this was a scam, he picked up the spell that the slot machine spat out.
[Spear of ■■■]
[Generate a spear of high heat in the void. It takes the shape of a spear and has three functions: explosion, heating, and ignition. It can cause greater damage to the otherworldly.]
-This is just like the Radiant One’s spear.
-I told you, it’s not.
-Hmm.
Charles stroked his chin with his hand. Naming it the Spear of the Dezired One, he felt his spirituality strengthen. He felt like his power increased whenever the influence of the Dezired One spread in this world.
He put in the next token and spun it.
Ding.
This time, from the start, a familiar symbol appeared. As expected, it was the Radiant One’s mark again. As the second Radiant One’s mark came out, Charles’ suspicion grew even more.
-Hey, did you scam me?
-I told you, no.
-Tell me the truth, before I cut off your hand.
-I really didn’t!
A design with a circle in the center and something like a vortex being drawn into the circle. It was the symbol of fate.
‘It’s the symbol of fate.’
In the other world, there weren’t just the four great evil gods. The mark of fate was a unique emblem of the neutral god called All Things in the Universe. In mysticism, this god is called the god of fate and destiny.
As the three emblems revealed, the spell popped out. Charles didn’t even look at it and glared at Fanginarecore.
-Now what?
-Maybe you are unusually beloved by the Radiant One?
-There’s no way! I know nothing about the Radiant One.
-To be honest, this is also my first time seeing something like this.
Shrugging once, Fanginarecore confidently stood up and placed its hands on its hips as if to say try cracking its belly open.
-I, Fanginarecore, have never scammed anyone in my life!
-…
Charles remained silent. Well, it could be a coincidence. Anyway, the same emblem had never appeared more than once. However, Charles couldn’t help but think it was strange.
It wasn’t just a coincidence that the Radiant One’s emblem kept appearing. Unless the Radiant One’s blessings were attached to Charles, this wouldn’t have happened to this extent.
Since there was no point in thinking about this issue right now, Charles decided to examine the spell that appeared.
[Summoning Butterflies of ■■■]
[Summon butterflies made of flames. They can cause illusions or hypnosis. The more skilled you get, the more the illusion will take on substance. Once you get used to summoning the butterflies, you can use them to summon more powerful beings.]
Charles acquired the spell again. He predicted that if two or more Radiant One’s emblems appeared, the name in front would likely be erased.
-Fang, store the two spells we just got.
-Okay.
When Fanginarecore stored the spells, the book disappeared, and only the letters were transferred. Charles wanted to obtain more spells, but he had no more talents.
Closing his eyes, he entered the imaginary world. Then the gigantic obelisk appeared in front of him, and beneath it, he saw the tablet of revelation.
Charles decided to use the spells he had just acquired in this world. First, the spell of the Dezired One’s Lantern. Without needing a lantern, he could shine from anywhere on his body.
And the spell of the Dezired One’s Spear. Seeing the flames forming in the void, Charles could be sure this spell belonged to the Radiant One.
‘It’s definitely the Radiant One’s spell. But only in appearance.’
Charles could feel directly that the power of these spells was being transmitted from the obelisk. This giant obelisk was instead producing the power that was supposed to be generated by Charles, the Dezired One.
‘Is this also the effect of the tablet of revelation fragment?’
Come to think of it, while wandering around this world, he hadn’t actually looked for the most important tablet of revelation fragment. Charles moved his body down toward the tablet of revelation fragment.
The tablet of revelation buried in the obelisk didn’t seem to be coming off. He approached closer and touched it. An immense spiritual power was felt there. An overwhelming force…
At that moment, Charles realized what he could do in this world.
He reached out toward the floating boulder in the void, and the massive floating rocks began to gather around him, allowing him to mold them as he wished like clay.
Charles could form the ground and make a chair there. The symbol of the Dezired One was a constellation. There were starlights above his head, and it wasn’t difficult to make a chair from these floating rocks.
As soon as he thought so, the constellation was created without Charles having to do anything. It was a massive and splendid chair, suitable for an emperor or king.
Charles could feel how much of the power from the obelisk was gathering to that constellation. That symbol represented Charles. As soon as he opened his eyes, Charles could feel the increase in his power.
The spirituality in reality would only increase slightly, but in this imaginary world, Charles was like a god. The effect of that constellation was… It would ‘enhance’ the items brought into this imaginary world.
‘Hmm? Can I bring physical world items into this imaginary world?’
He had a feeling it would be possible, but he decided to try it out later. Charles knew that there was still more power left in the tablet of revelation fragment.
