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The door installed in the temporary wall was locked with a padlock. The padlock was a truly ordinary analog-type object.
But it was not truly as ordinary as it looked. When Hyeonseong examined it through the Interstellar Network, item information appeared.
The output information showed the rank A. And as a special effect, it possessed high resistance to physical destruction.
‘At this point, I feel like we could just break it and go in…….’
Just in case, Hyeonseong checked whether she could also confirm the information on the temporary wall and door.
As a result, unfortunately, she could confirm that the wall and door were also items.
‘And S-rank at that……. There’s no destruction resistance, but if the rank is like this, I’d run out of energy hitting it even without an effect like that.’
With Hyeonyeong’s ability, she might be able to break it, but they could not waste strength on something unnecessary. And there was not yet a reason to go out of their way to break it either.
“Haesu-ssi.”
“Yes?”
“Do you think you can open this?”
Hyeonseong asked while pointing at the padlock.
“W-well……. If it’s A-rank, the rank is too high…….”
“You opened up to B-rank well enough.”
“That’s true, but…… still, up to that point is within the range I can somehow open if I have my tools. But from A-rank onward…….”
Haesu trailed off as if troubled.
“Still, try it once. You never know.”
Until just a little earlier, Haesu had kept opening locks. Since she had opened even objects at a higher level than her own skill level several times, whether she knew it or not, her skill proficiency must have accumulated quite a bit.
‘At that level, if there’s just one trigger, she could immediately raise her skill level.’
There was naturally only one trigger that could rapidly raise a skill level. It was challenging something beyond one’s limits.
‘At Haesu-ssi’s rank, most of her high-ranking skills are probably C-rank…… an A-rank assignment is the perfect rank for breaking through limits.’
“Should I……?”
Haesu still looked at the padlock as if she was hesitating.
“It isn’t the kind of item that gives a separate penalty when you fail. There’s nothing for Haesu-ssi to lose by touching it. If anything, there could only be a gain.”
This time, Hyeonseong’s gaze turned toward the Constellation messages.
Constellations connected to bad hand habits, locks, and magic, including ‘Hands Faster Than Eyes,’ were still showing interest in Haesu.
If Haesu showed just a little more performance here, at least one Constellation would definitely give Haesu something.
“Ugh…… Then I’ll try it once, assuming I’ve been tricked…….”
Haesu eventually took out a lockpick and stood before the padlock.
“It won’t be my fault if I fail.”
After saying that, Haesu began picking the lock. The way she carefully moved the lockpick inserted into the keyhole looked fairly convincing, at least in appearance.
When Haesu attempted to pick the lock, the Constellations sent messages again this time too. Judging by it, most of them seemed to be hoping for Haesu’s success.
‘Though that guy doesn’t seem to be.’
Once again cursing quietly only in her heart, Hyeonseong took her gaze away from the messages.
“Ugh…… This is really hard, you know? Just when I think I’ve loosened it a little, I have to go back again……. At this level, I really think I need special equipment…….”
Haesu, who had been wrestling with the padlock, spoke in a troubled voice.
“Have you received any separate messages?”
“Messages?”
At Hyeonseong’s words, Haesu asked in a puzzled voice.
“Messages from the Stars.”
“W-well. I’ve been busy doing this…….”
Haesu’s head moved toward one corner of the air. It seemed she was checking the messages as Hyeonseong had said.
“Uh…… there are some? Normally, I’d barely get a few lines all day.”
“It is a situation that would be fun to watch. So is there anything about helping you?”
“There isn’t anything like that. There is talk of giving me something if I succeed…….”
Unfortunately, it seemed there were no Constellations active in sponsorship.
“Is what they say they’ll give in quest form? Or just a message?”
“They’re all just messages. If it’s a quest, a separate window appears, doesn’t it?”
‘Stingy bastards…….’
Hyeonseong glared at her own Constellation message window.
‘Fine, so quests cost money, but backseat advice is free, is that it?’
It was just as Hyeonseong was about to turn her attention away from the Constellation messages again.
The unidentified Constellation sent another message.
‘It was quiet for a while, and now it’s back. Was it aiming for this timing?’
“Uh, uh?”
While unfamiliar Constellations were having a strange conversation, Haesu flinched in surprise.
“T-this suddenly evolved?”
Haesu held out the lockpick she was holding to Hyeonseong and Hyeonyeong. The lockpick had changed in appearance from the one Haesu had been using until just now.
‘First, it became clean, the material changed…… did the shape of the tip change a little? Its rank also went up from C to B.’
Hyeonseong immediately checked the information on the lockpick first. Just as Haesu had described, it had indeed evolved.
“……Do you think you can do it with that?”
“I-I’ll try.”
At Hyeonseong’s question, Haesu attempted to pick the padlock again. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but the clicking sounds seemed to have become lighter than before.
‘She’s hesitating much less than earlier. Then it looks like that side will be done if we wait…….’
Hyeonseong turned her gaze back toward the Constellation messages. The conversation that had passed when Haesu’s lockpick evolved kept bothering her.
‘……Is that Constellation possibly the owner of this auction house?’
At the conversation that continued, Hyeonseong frowned.
She quickly skimmed even the conversations she had missed in the middle. Then it became even more certain.
The Constellation called ‘Eye Beneath the Surface’ was definitely the Constellation behind this Heukwol Auction House.
‘Judging by what they’re saying, the rest are either partners or investors of that ‘Eye Beneath the Surface’……. Or bastards who were watching and enjoying this place.’
The content of the messages protesting to ‘Eye Beneath the Surface’ was uniformly asking why it was overturning the board and ruining the fun.
It was impossible to know how many partners or investors there were. But at the very least, it was clear that all the Constellations who joined the conversation were bastards who had been watching and enjoying the incidents happening in the auction house.
“It’s d-done!”
Soon, Haesu shouted in a bright voice.
“Look at this. It opens now. Ah, and all my lockpicking-related skills rose by one rank each. Maybe because I’m lacking in stats, my comprehensive rank is still the same, but…….”
Haesu opened the door and showed them.
“Just having your skill levels rise is already a good thing. As for stats, there are plenty of places to find ways to raise them. Anyway, good work.”
Hyeonseong lightly patted Haesu’s shoulder. Hyeonyeong also followed Hyeonseong and told Haesu she had worked hard.
“Now then, shall we go in and check?”
“……Do we have to check?”
At Hyeonseong’s following words, Haesu asked with a serious face, as if the cheer from just now had never happened.
“Yes. There really might be people inside.”
“Are you going to let them out?”
“If we can.”
“Well…… this is the place that advertised selling a child who had been sold over because of debt, right? If we can get them out, we should.”
Haesu agreed with Hyeonseong’s words as if there was nothing else to be done.
“Let’s talk about the rest after we go in.”
Hyeonseong entered beyond the temporary wall first. Hyeonyeong and Haesu also immediately followed her in.
“Oh…….”
As soon as she entered, Hyeonseong could see several large cages. They were cages containing large experimental creatures or monsters.
‘An A-rank sphinx and wendigo, a B-rank Abyss Wolf, a tiger-based chimera…….’
There were monsters she had heard about in conversations exchanged among the guests, and there was also a chimera whose explanation she had seen in the exhibition hall.
‘That means all the talk about monsters and chimeras was true…….’
Next, Hyeonseong’s gaze lowered. This time, what her gaze headed toward were box-like objects covered with thick, dull cloth.
‘The size…… objectively speaking, they probably aren’t small, but maybe they look small after seeing the large ones. They look like just the right size to put medium-sized or smaller monsters…… or people in.’
It was only natural that Hyeonseong’s eyes narrowed sharply.
‘Checking will be faster.’
Hyeonseong approached the nearest thing that might be a box or a cage. Then she grabbed the edge of the cloth covering the object and lifted it upward.
“……!”
As soon as she pulled away the cloth, Hyeonseong met eyes with the person trapped inside the cage. The person trapped inside looked like a teenager.
‘……I didn’t expect to find one in a single try.’
Hyeonseong let out a deep sigh.
“……!”
The child trapped inside opened and closed their mouth. They looked like they wanted to say something. But no voice came from the child’s mouth.
‘It must be because of that.’
Hyeonseong’s gaze turned toward the child’s neck. A restraint device was fastened around it.
‘That’s also an A-rank item. It prevents them from speaking and keeps them from properly using their strength.’
It was certain that the key displayed in the exhibition hall was an item connected to the device around the neck.
As Hyeonseong examined the child’s appearance like that, the trapped child came closer to her. The way they grabbed and shook the bars made it seem like they wanted to appeal for something.
‘I’m not good at lip-reading or anything like that. From the feeling, it seems like they’re asking to be saved, but…….’
Hyeonseong turned her gaze toward Hyeonyeong. For things like this, it was enough to leave it to an expert.
“They’re asking us to save them.”
Hyeonyeong immediately gave her the answer. It was exactly as expected.
“What do you think their condition is like? They don’t seem injured on the outside.”
“Hard to say……. Their heartbeat and pupil condition look within the normal range. But even I can’t tell status abnormalities just by looking like this.”
“That means we’ll only know if that side shares their status window.”
Hyeonseong tried to think about how to ask the child. But there was no need to do that.
“……!”
Probably silently shouting that they would show it, the child showed the status section of their status window. Hyeonseong immediately checked the information.
‘A special-state poisoning……?’
A status abnormality that was generally divided by state from weakest to strongest was classified as special. Hyeonseong opened the detailed information.
‘A poison that activates when its trigger is fulfilled……. It’s a poison they injected to keep them from carelessly running away.’
Hyeonseong clicked her tongue.
According to the information, the poisoning status on the child would change to an active state if they left the auction house. To take the child outside the auction house, they had to find the antidote paired with that special poison.
‘The antidote is definitely inside this auction house. That way, when they hand them over to the winning bidder, they can remove the poison and hand them over…….’
After thinking that far, Hyeonseong hurriedly looked around.
There was not only one cage covered with cloth inside this warehouse.
‘……If there are other people, they’re probably all in this state, right?’
It was certain that there was a Constellation behind the auction house. She thought there was no way such a Constellation could not obtain at least one special poison.
‘Still, inside this place, they can move around as much as they want. And other than the poison, the other status abnormalities should be resolved if we can release that.’
All status abnormalities other than the poison, such as silence, stat reduction, and skill sealing, were caused by the restraint device fastened to the child’s body. So they only had to release the device.
‘The problem is that it doesn’t look like we have the time to find the key for this prison or that thing.’
Hyeonseong’s gaze naturally turned toward Haesu.
“Haesu-ssi, can you open this prison and that thing on their neck?”
“Uh…….”
Haesu alternately looked at the lockpick in her hand, the prison, and the restraint device.
“I’ll try once.”
Haesu approached the prison. Fortunately, the prison’s locking device also used a key, so she could receive the lockpick item’s help.
‘I’ll leave freeing them to Haesu-ssi…….’
Hyeonseong decided to check the remaining prisons as well. She entrusted Hyeonyeong with protecting Haesu and began examining the cloth-covered prisons one by one.
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