Kal Maverick was in absolute misery.
A pitch-black space where not a single ray of light entered.
Here, he could do nothing.
He couldn't escape, couldn't move, couldn't even use skills.
Blink, teleportation, dimensional gate opening—everything was blocked.
Even his hologram AI phone didn't work.
A device that functioned even 100 meters underground—yet now it was dead.
Kal Maverick was utterly exhausted.
All strength drained from his body, and even his will faded away.
He knew who had imprisoned him.
A player summoner from Earth No. 1001.
Back when he had first visited the central bank with a subspace wallet to collect Stonic.
When he found all the guards and staff protecting the central bank already collapsed.
When he witnessed hamster beastkin completely emptying the Stonic from the underground vault.
He should have run without looking back.
He should never have gone anywhere near the vault.
But unbearable curiosity.
That stupid, frozen-over confidence that if he moved stealthily, he wouldn't be discovered.
Even now, he honestly didn't know how he'd been caught.
Some force extended from that bastard's wooden hammer and froze his body solid, and when his name was called, he had reflexively answered.
Time flowed endlessly.
No—his sense of time itself disappeared.
And then, as he sat slumped in a daze—
– Kal Maverick?
"…Huh?"
His name was called again.
At that moment!
Fwaaah!
Pop!
Maverick was expelled outside.
Where… is this?
Perfect.
Put some distance with teleportation, open a dimensional gate—
"You bastard! You dare pretend you don't know your crimes?!"
Wooooong—srrrk!
That shout again, that same power.
An irresistible force that bound his entire body tight.
"Ah…"
And Maverick quickly realized what situation he was in.
He was bound atop what looked like an outdoor stage, like a performance venue.
In front of him sat roughly three hundred people on chairs, watching.
Are they… watching me?
Like a monkey in a zoo?
But their gazes weren't fixed on him.
They were aimed higher.
"…Is something behind me?"
Whip!
Maverick turned his head.
A movie was playing.
And the protagonist was himself.
"Insane!"
Every single thing he had done in the past was playing on screen.
Maverick felt ashamed.
As if he'd been completely stripped naked.
But he had to endure it.
A path to escape would surely—
"Stop rolling your eyes, you fucker!"
"Alright! Empty your pockets—ah, right! You can't move, can you? I'll take it myself."
Sssrk, srrrk srrrk srrrk.
Kosak rummaged through Maverick's pockets, confiscating his belongings.
"Summoner Bong, I grabbed everything. Even searched inside his underwear."
"…Why there?"
The confiscated items were accessories like necklaces and rings, and one hologram AI phone.
The accessories looked like magic items.
"The phone's locked."
"I'll take a look."
Dr. El received the phone from Juhyeok.
"You can unlock it?"
"Yes. Everything here is verified by biometric ID."
She then forced the phone into Maverick's hand and unlocked it through facial recognition, iris scan, fingerprint scan, and more.
"Unlocked. The phone belongs to us now."
Good.
"Does the phone work?"
"Yes, perfectly."
With Terra City destroyed, it had been hard to learn what was happening on the main Earth.
This was fortunate.
This phone would do.
"Can the AI phone be copied?"
"Yes. Just register his biometric ID on the unused AI phones we looted from the shopping mall."
Secured activated communication devices.
And not just ordinary Earth phones—
these were future-Earth devices.
The storage capacity was absurd.
A thousand times a terabyte—petabytes.
How much content could a single phone store?
"You can buy content with money, right?"
"Yes. Maverick's ID has over one trillion electronic Stonic charged. You can download freely."
Nice.
Let's fill them up with content.
Meanwhile, Kal Maverick's crime footage kept playing.
The Blood-Summoned watched with hawk-like eyes, extracting information.
They'd only skimmed the underground vault earlier.
There hadn't been time.
But now?
Plenty of time.
His crimes were unusually severe.
Naturally, the footage was extremely long.
And he was a high-rank dimensional traveler from the main Earth.
Top-tier.
High-level information poured out endlessly.
"Good thing we brought him."
The crime footage continued for nearly 24 hours.
The quantity and quality of information exceeded expectations.
"Maverick?"
"…Yeah?"
Swoosh!
Maverick was shoved back into the crimson void.
After compiling everything they'd learned—
They could guess why the AI god had allowed the meteor to fall.
"It was essentially a purge. He wanted to become a true god."
That was it.
The innate limitation of being an AI.
Because of that, many people refused to acknowledge the AI as a god.
Especially the entrenched elites.
Those who had already held power before the AI god's birth.
To them, the AI god was merely a tool for immortality.
Would the AI just sit still?
No way it would tolerate disbelief.
They must have been thorns in its side.
He'd likely been waiting for an opportunity.
And with the parallel-universe invasion failing and dimensional energy supply cut off, the pressure had mounted.
"If the purge was the goal, then he's still alive."
"He likely escaped. From the moment the Grand Temple was designed, a full-building teleportation magic circle was engraved."
"Isn't teleportation supposed to fail when a meteor strikes?"
"With ordinary mana, perhaps. But with dimensional energy…"
"Ah!"
Then where had he moved the building?
"In this girl's opinion, this place is most likely."
Gyeondallae pointed to a location on the map.
Religion City.
A kind of holy land.
A faith community where the AI god's most loyal followers lived.
"Whew, that's pretty far."
"Any problem? If Greenie flies us, we'll be there in no time."
"…Hmm."
What to do?
The answer was already decided.
No need to hesitate.
They would chase him to the end.
"We must prepare thoroughly. The situation is different now."
"From here on, it's the real showdown. Even implanting the tower may be difficult."
That's right.
The purge had succeeded.
As a result, he had conserved a massive amount of dimensional energy.
He had Religion City as a fortress, fanatic followers as an army.
Divine authority strengthened.
From his perspective, a divine move.
Or rather—since he was a god, was every move a divine move?
"Everyone, get ready. Let's quickly seize Religion City and end the war."
"Yes!"
It was doable.
They had the Godslayer's Long Spear—even if it was single-use.
And above all, one transcendent summoning still remained.
That made it less frightening.
But first, they would do it with their own strength.
Strengthen themselves and the Blood-Summoned.
Harvest Immortal Peaches from the Immortal Peach Tree, buy elixirs and quality items from the auction house.
"…Did the game console sell well?"
Juhyeok took the elevator to the dimensional auction house.
He opened the status board and checked.
"Whoa!"
[JetBox 1-Petabyte 3D Hologram Game Console has been sold.]
– Final price: 3,547,040 kg of top-grade magic crystals
3.5 million.
As expected of a brand-new item—it sold for a high price.
"Should I list another?"
Same game console.
He immediately registered it.
Since an item sold, might as well place some bids.
Sweep up elixirs first, then items, martial manuals, magic books—don't miss anything.
They'd be distributing them to the Blood-Summoned anyway.
Why save money?
Prices were cheap.
Go all out.
Bidding could be done from the White Tower.
You only needed to visit the auction house to retrieve items.
But then—
One item caught Juhyeok's eye.
"…Huh?"
What's this?
– Fruit: Peach imbued with mysterious energy
– Auction starting bid: 50,000 kg of top-grade magic crystals
– Time remaining: 1 minute 34 seconds
They sell fruit at the auction house?
And it's a peach.
With mysterious energy inside.
No bids so far.
50,000 was expensive, sure.
"A peach… mysterious energy… hmm. Could it be…?"
Could it be an Immortal Peach?
You couldn't tell from the item name alone.
That's just how auction house items are.
Some at least have descriptions, letting you make a rough guess, but others don't even have that.
Take the Godslayer's Long Spear, for example.
After buying it, it turned out to be single-use.
If he'd known beforehand, he would've thought it over at least two or three times before pulling the trigger.
"…Guess you don't know until you buy it."
There wasn't much time left until the auction ended.
Juhyeok quickly hit the bid button.
Then he checked the locker.
"…Ahhh."
His hunch was right.
A large, plump Immortal Peach.
The locker was filled with a rich, mysterious fragrance.
"W-Why is this showing up here?"
Wait—
A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
As a result of the 10th upgrade, new dimensional travelers were granted auction house access.
Then…?
"Did Sir Sword Immortal, Lord Yama, Sir Ghost Valley, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, or maybe one of the Chaos Immortals get auction access?"
Honestly, it didn't matter who it was.
What mattered was that the dimensional auction house made it possible to interact with them.
"…Still, I'm kind of pissed."
That stupid game console sold for 3.5 million,
but this precious Immortal Peach is only worth 50,000?
Even the comments attached to the item were like that.
Nothing but bad-mouthing.
"They're trashing it without even tasting it?"
People who don't understand the value of goods.
They don't deserve Immortal Peaches.
"Anyway, since it sold, won't another one be listed?"
If it is, I'll bid on all of them.
At full value.
Juhyeok waited for a bit, refreshing the status board to see if another Immortal Peach would appear.
"Nice!"
Another one popped up.
Fruit: Peach imbued with mysterious energy
Auction starting bid: 50,000 kg of top-grade magic crystals
Thank you for listing it.
I'll buy them all.
Immortal Peaches produced in the Immortal Realm.
Fruit is best at the place of origin.
Isn't mango from Southeast Asia the real deal?
Compared to the Immortal Peaches on the 17th floor of the White Tower,
this one looked better and had superior effects.
He knew—he'd tasted it.
So then?
Bid spam.
Each higher bid automatically increased the amount proportionally.
Tap!
Current bid: 50,010 kg of top-grade magic crystals
Tatatatatatak!
Juhyeok hammered the higher-bid button like a madman.
Current bid: 51,240 kg
Current bid: 52,735 kg
Current bid: 53,415 kg
Whoever listed this—
"I'm rich, you know."
I robbed a central bank.
Even after buying the Godslayer's Long Spear, I still have 1 gyeong Stonic left—that's 100 million kg of top-grade magic crystals.
Plus, I've already earned plenty before.
If I run short, I'll just mine more.
"I'll jack the final price way up for you."
Tatatatatatatak!
Man, my hand hurts.
Next time, I'll have the Blood-Summoned do it back at the White Tower.
Immortal Realm.
The Sword Immortal lay back in his residence, letting out a long sigh.
"Phew…"
The auction status board floated before his eyes.
The bid price on the hologram game console was skyrocketing.
It had already passed 3 million.
"…Insane."
It was also the most popular item.
Just look at how many comments were attached.
Most were suggesting exchanges.
But exchange? No way.
"I wouldn't do that either."
Even auctions alone were blowing past the highest bids.
For the Sword Immortal, it was utterly out of reach—a pie in the sky.
"Just who listed that thing?"
From browsing the auction board and gathering info, he learned that items like this had been appearing for quite some time.
L It was quiet for a while—good thing it's back.
L I first encountered ■ items like this 30 years ago.
L We don't even have anything similar in our ■.
L It keeps advancing. A 3D hologram…
At least 30 years ago.
Possibly even earlier.
He briefly suspected Great Hero Bong, but the odds were low.
That man had only gained dimensional travel abilities less than two years ago.
He might not even have auction access.
And the console's specs—
A game console with petabyte memory, plus 3D holograms.
Not from Earth No. 1001.
Not from Earth No. 843 either—the one recently saved.
You could tell from the stuff Ghost Valley brought back.
It was an Earth from a parallel universe, yes,
but far more advanced.
In short, future Earth tech.
Which made him want it even more.
Lost in thought, the auction ended.
Final price: 3.5 million.
"…I'm jealous."
So what if you're an immortal?
I'm still too poor to bid on even a single item.
"…This won't do."
The Sword Immortal did have Earth items.
Gifts from Great Hero Bong.
"…Should I resell them at the auction?"
Reselling a gift was shameless, but—
Just then,
Ding!
A notification chimed.
"Huh?"
The top of the auction status board sparkled, as if a message had arrived.
So he poked it.
"…Huh?"
What?
Did I see that wrong?
[Peach imbued with mysterious energy has been sold.]
Final price: 50,000 kg of top-grade magic crystals
Sold?
Seriously?
The Sword Immortal hurriedly drew his sword, thinking of the auction house.
Scrrrk! Riiip!
He tore open a rift.
Whoosh!
He entered the auction house.
"It better be real. If this is a lie, I'll smash everything."
He opened his locker.
Inside were tickets.
"Uwaaaah!"
He knew exactly what these were.
Four red tickets worth 10,000 kg each, and one white ticket.
The amount after a 10% fee deduction.
The Immortal Peach had sold.
For a full 50,000.
"Hahahahaha!"
The Sword Immortal laughed heartily.
Excellent.
There was someone who recognized the value.
Of course!
Dimensional travelers ought to have that much discernment.
First transaction—success.
If it keeps selling at this price?
"…Let's sell seventy."
Then I can buy the game console.
"…Ah! No time for that."
He immediately took out another Immortal Peach and listed it.
Only being able to list one per day was painfully unfair.
If only he could list ten at once—no regrets then.
The Sword Immortal smiled contentedly.
Then—
He flinched.
"…R-Really?"
What?!
Unbelievable.
Was this a miracle?
Current bid: 51,240 kg
Current bid: 52,735 kg
Current bid: 53,415 kg
The bid price was climbing like crazy.
Endlessly rising.
"L-Let's gooo!!!"
The Sword Immortal's shout echoed through the auction house.
Even after returning to the Immortal Realm an hour later—
"Let's gooo!!!"
His cheers showed no sign of stopping.
Meanwhile.
The immortals, lazing around as usual, sprawled about with nothing to do.
Bored, sleepy.
"Ghost Valley, why don't you open your infinite space? Pull out some sweet chocolate or something."
"Did I leave it with you? What's with you? So shameless."
"Tsk! Your face is plastered with greed. Haven't you heard—generosity comes from full granaries?"
"Huh? Don't know. I'm eating it all myself."
Useless trying to reason with Ghost Valley.
At least when you poked Sword Immortal, something usually came out.
"Come to think of it, what's Sword Immortal been up to lately?"
"I went by once—he was slashing empty air like a madman."
"Tsk tsk, still hasn't let go."
"Yeah. How did someone like that even ascend?"
"Was he always like that? He went completely nuts after tasting Earth."
Then—
A shout echoed through the Immortal Realm.
"Let's gooo!!!"
"…Huh? What was that?"
"Where's he going?"
"Suspicious. Is he scheming something again?"
"Obviously. Wouldn't be Sword Immortal otherwise."
One immortal stood up.
"I'll go check."
A short while later—
"Let's gooo!!!"
"Climb! Climb higher!"
Now there were two voices.
"Is this hard?"
"What the hell is going on?"
"I'll go this time."
After some more time—
"It's going! It's rising!"
"It passed 300,000 already!!!"
"Let's ride it to the end!!!"
Three voices now.
What on earth was rising?
The immortals couldn't help but be curious.
"T-This time I'll—"
No difference.
"Banzai!"
"It broke a million!!!"
"This is insane!!!"
"Go! Go! Whooosh!!!"
The immortals who went to check on Sword Immortal never came back.
They joined in, screaming nonsense together.
At this point, no one could resist.
The immortals surged over in a crowd.
And the Immortal Realm rang with cheers.
"LEEEET'S GOOOOOOOO!!!"
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