I Became a Magical Genius After Regression

Chapter 50

Inn.

Usually, novice mercenaries expect that they can rest comfortably at an inn.

Of course, it was comfortable. There was a bed, after all.

But the problem was that it wasn’t a safe zone where they could just relax.

There are many madmen in the world, and even more robbers.

Some try to kill sleeping mercenaries with a stab of a knife and steal their equipment.

If you’re unlucky, the innkeeper might personally poison the inn’s food and stab you himself.

But the inn where Randel is staying now is different.

A night’s stay costs 50 gold.

Since it’s a place where nobles and wealthy merchants stay, the safety is incomparable to that of a regular inn.

Moreover, the food is delicious enough to satisfy the picky tastes of such customers, there is a large garden, and servants come running at the ring of a bell.

Literally, a paradise on earth where you can solve everything without lifting a finger.

But for Randel right now,

“Ugh…”

It wasn’t a metaphor that resonated with him.

Thud.

Randel, who had been groaning and writhing on the floor, barely got up and sat down.

His whole body was drenched in sweat, and a stream of blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth.

He looked anything but normal.

With trembling hands, Randel picked up a bottle he had prepared in advance and pressed his thumb against it.

Pop.

With a cheerful sound, the glass lid broke, and he immediately drank the contents.

Soon, the potion’s effect spread throughout his body, and Randel’s pale complexion began to flush.

It was thanks to the potion.

“Phew―”

―Is it over?

“Yeah… I somehow finished it before the auction.”

Randel said, looking at the floor in response to Aris’s question.

Transparent pebbles were rolling on the floor.

The remnants of magic stones that had absorbed all the mana.

Thanks to the large amount he had swept from the wizard’s guild, his mental world could feast for the first time in a while.

‘The biggest advantage of money… is that it can buy time more than anything else.’

Previously, it took him two long years to fill three circles.

But now, in just three days, he had filled up to 80% of his mental world, if not all of it.

Considering that Randel’s total mana is more than five or six times that of an average wizard, it was truly an amazing feat.

‘Of course, it would have been impossible without the potion.’

If you absorb magic stones excessively, it causes cracks in the mental world, and eventually, the mana backflows.

So, in the past, Randel could only absorb three or four magic stones a day at most.

‘Since I drank about three bottles a day…’

Drinking a potion that costs nearly 50 gold per bottle like water was really a proper waste of money.

As Randel gathered himself and stood up, Aris, who was floating in the air, asked curiously.

―If you fill all that up, is it the 4th circle?

“No, you need an enlightenment.”

―Enlightenment?

“To raise a wizard’s circle, you need an enlightenment that matches it.”

―What kind of enlightenment?

“I don’t really know what it is. It’s different for everyone.”

―I see. 5 hours left.

At Aris’s words, Randel looked out the window.

The sun was slowly setting.

The auction was said to take place late in the evening, so it seemed he could rest a bit until then.

“Can you wake me up in 3 hours?”

―Got it. But… you should wash up a bit.

“I’ll wash up when I get up…”

As soon as Randel lay down on the floor, he fell asleep.

* * *

When Randel woke up from his sleep, he looked down at his body.

He had sweated so much over the past few days that salt had formed a white crust on his naked body.

After washing it off in the shower and changing into a gray robe just in case, Randel examined his body.

“Looking at it like this, I think I look pretty good too? After all, the completion of fashion is the face.”

―Then, are you sick?

“Yeah…”

Randel closed his mouth sullenly.

But the reason for his bad expression was not the emotional wound Aris had given him.

Aris noticed it and asked.

―Don’t want to go?

“It’s a bit unsettling.”

―You just washed up.

“It’s not that, it’s the place.”

Randell rummaged through his pocket and took out the note again.

[Three days later. The old ruins of Delroya Plain outside the castle]

At first, he asked the servant. Where is this place?

The servant was surprised and asked.

―How did you know about that place?

―I happened to hear a rumor that there are ruins nearby.

―It’s a place that was looted and abandoned a long time ago. Now, even the locals hardly know about it, so it’s quite surprising to hear this.

According to the servant, it would take at least an hour to walk to the ruins.

Of course, there was no road, and no one went there.

‘That’s the problem.’

Naturally, a lot of money is involved in auctions.

Even in a regular auction, but this auction required an invitation, meaning it was a qualification screening auction.

That meant only high-priced items were traded, so they wouldn’t accept just anyone.

Safety was that important.

What if an auction attendee was attacked in the middle of the plain and had all their payment stolen?

After that, no one would participate in the auction.

So, logically, the auction should be held safely inside the castle.

‘But it’s being held in a place perfect for an ambush?’

Then there was only one answer.

“They have a lot to hide.”

―A lot to hide?

“It’s one of two things. Either they don’t want to pay taxes, or… they’re selling something that shouldn’t be discovered.”

―Something that shouldn’t be discovered?

“Like drugs or explosives. Those kinds of prohibited items, and… hmm.”

―Hmm?

“You’ll know when you get there. If it’s not there, that’s fine. If it is, you can see it for yourself.”

―Alright.

Knock, knock.

At that moment, there was a knock on Randel’s door.

Soon after, a servant’s voice announced the purpose.

“Sir, there’s someone who wants to see you. They said they had an appointment.”

“Yes, I’ll be right out.”

Of course, Randel had never made such an appointment, but he calmly answered and tied the laces of his leather shoes.

There was only one person who could be coming.

‘It must be the auction guide.’

* * *

‘Ruins… if you can even call them that.’

Randel looked around the plains’ ruins.

It seemed to have been a temple in the past, with half-collapsed stone pillars scattered all over the stone floor.

It had been ransacked so many times that there were pits and mounds of dirt everywhere.

And then, the entrance leading underground.

As Randel approached, two fully armed mercenaries blocked his way and held out their hands.

Randel placed the invitation on top of them.

“Confirmed. Please wear this.”

One of the mercenaries handed him a mask.

The black mask had no distinctive features, just holes for the eyes, nose, and mouth.

“Does everyone else wear these too?”

“Yes, it’s not mandatory, but everyone does.”

Upon inspection, it was a fairly high-quality item made of thin, light leather.

Wearing it, he descended the stairs to find a large cavity that had been dug out at some point.

Randel, out of habit, inspected the walls first.

Having excavated many ancient ruins, Randel could tell whether something was recently made or ancient just by looking at the state of the walls.

And no matter how he looked at it, this was…

‘This was dug out in the past few years. Well, at least there won’t be any attacks during the auction.’

Randell felt a slight sense of relief.

The guide who knew the exact location of the auction attendees, and the small carriage they had taken to get here.

And the wide-dug cavity.

With this scale, it was impossible to do it without the lord’s knowledge.

It was clear that he either condoned it or was directly involved.

‘He must be really crazy about money.’

Usually, for the lord’s dignity, it was common to just take some money without getting deeply involved in such matters.

But it seemed that the lord of this commercial city was really meticulous about taking care of things.

Randell continued to observe his surroundings.

The cavity was simple.

The chairs were arranged in a wedge shape around the central platform.

Besides that, there were a few small rooms with doors hanging down, which seemed to be storage rooms.

There were dozens of seats at a rough estimate.

Many people were already seated, but they were quietly sitting without talking to each other.

‘Well, if they were going to chat, why would they wear masks?’

Of course, it was unlikely that the sponsors would come directly to such a suspicious auction.

Still, given the amount of money involved, it was clear that their trusted aides would be here, so if they talked carelessly, their identities would be quickly exposed.

Having roughly grasped the atmosphere, Randell also took a seat.

After waiting a bit longer, the host came up to the platform.

The host, wearing a mask like the attendees, silently bowed deeply in all directions.

It seemed to say, ‘You all know how this works, right?’

Seeing that, Randell realized that this auction had been going on for quite some time.

Ding―

The host then picked up a small hammer and struck the bell on the table.

With the sound of the bell, two men appeared.

The men placed a box in front of the host.

The host then opened the box and showed it to everyone.

Inside was an antique longsword.

“The first item. Do you know the famous swordsmith Kartel? This is his last work. It doesn’t contain mithril, but it’s a masterpiece among masterpieces. Starting price, 100 gold.”

Swoosh.

As soon as the host finished speaking, someone raised a placard.

And as soon as he lowered his hand, another person raised their placard.

The faster this happened, the faster the host’s voice became.

“110 gold, 120 gold, 130 gold―”

About three people were raising the price back and forth.

Then the sword was sold for 210 gold.

‘I think I get the gist of it.’

Randel muttered as he observed the process.

It was his first auction, but the procedure was surprisingly simple, so he thought he could participate without much difficulty.

Next, an auction staff approached the winning bidder and handed over a metal token.

It seemed to be a voucher.

Randel glanced at the winner.

Although he couldn’t see the face due to the mask, the sturdy physique and simple armor suggested he was most likely a knight.

‘That silhouette looks familiar.’

Randel turned his head after observing the person.

In that short moment, the next item had already appeared.

“The next item is a circlet artifact. Not only does it have excellent aesthetic sense, but it also clears the wearer’s skin―”

…….

“This is a famous painting by Tellen Grub. He was a renowned painter formerly affiliated with the kingdom―”

…….

The auction proceeded quickly in a short time.

The items up for auction were diverse.

From artifacts to jewels, weapons, and paintings.

The expensive ones were 100 gold, and the cheap ones were 10 gold.

But the problem was.

‘When on earth is it coming out?’

The item Randel was waiting for hadn’t appeared yet.

He already felt uneasy about the auction and wanted to finish quickly and leave, but there was no sign of it appearing.

Of course, since the auction seemed to be deeply related to the lord, there shouldn’t be any major danger.

But isn’t it a universal truth that if you hang around a troublemaker, you’ll get struck by lightning together?

It was best to stay as far away as possible.

About 30 minutes passed.

The host organized the podium and said,

“Now, next is the auction of ancient relics. As you know, most of them have unknown purposes.”

……

“But! If you are esteemed guests of the kingdom, I believe you will recognize their value and gain something. Let’s start quickly as well!”

Unlike before, the host’s voice was lively.

When I looked around to see what was going on, I could feel the indifferent reactions of the people even through their masks.

‘Seeing the host babbling unusually, it seems only miscellaneous items come out in the ancient relics auction.’

Randell’s prediction was confirmed by the next item.

The lowest starting price so far appeared.

“These are documents found in an old mine in the east! Amazingly, they are still vivid thanks to the rare preservation magic. Our appraisal team believes this is a treasure map. Starting price is 50 gold!”

“……”

The auction started, but this time no one raised their paddle.

Randell enhanced his vision to examine the map.

Usually, even if you don’t know where it is, a map should at least look like a terrain.

But there were only a few unknown symbols and lines scribbled on it.

“It doesn’t look like a map……?”

The one who answered Randell’s muttering was Aris.

―It’s not a map. Why is that there?

‘Why are you so surprised?’

―It’s a Dwarven thing. It’s a weapon blueprint.

‘……!’

Randell’s eyes widened.