Chapter 6: The Black Market Auction & The Ossuary Fragment
[Beneath the Surface]
Seoul, city of light and progress, was built on a lie. Beneath the towering skyscrapers owned by the Stellar Halo and the neon glow of legitimate commerce, a secondary economy thrived on the dark residue of the Gate system. This was the Black Market, a volatile nexus where forbidden skills, illegal monster materials, and dangerous artifacts were exchanged.
Rudraunsh followed Sera's coded map to a location beneath an abandoned subway terminal near Gangnam. The air here was thicker, laced not just with cold mana, but with the cloying scent of cheap tobacco, ambition, and desperation. The entrance was guarded by two hulking men with visible Tattoo Magic—a clear sign that the law, and the Stellar Halo, were unwelcome.
He pulled the hood of his dark cloak low, masking the angular planes of his face. He looked like any other lower-tier, anonymity-seeking Hunter.
He approached the guards, using the coded phrase Sera had supplied: "I seek the Deathless Whisper."
The guards barely glanced at him, but the phrase was the currency of entry. One of them pointed a thick finger at a dark stairwell descending into the earth. "Bottom floor. Don't cause trouble, kid. You break a chair, we break your bones."
The descent was long, leading to a sprawling underground complex where dozens of private stalls and booths were doing furious, whispered business. Here, Necromancy was not illegal; it was merely another commodity.
Rudraunsh walked past a stall selling preserved Chimera Eyes and another trading in illegal Mind-Control Talismans. He saw Hunters of every rank—C-Ranks seeking cheap, restricted upgrades, and shadowy figures in expensive robes, clearly higher-ranked, trading in truly catastrophic-level goods.
He located the auction hall, a large, sunken chamber filled with over a hundred cloaked figures seated around a central, raised platform. He found a seat in the back, near the entrance, a position that offered both a quick exit and a clear view.
He checked the burner phone. Sera's warning was still the primary thought: Get in, get the catalyst, and get out.
[The Ossuary Fragment]
The auction proceeded with brutal efficiency. Mana crystals, specialized poison glands, a salvaged B-Rank Dimensional Orb—each item was snapped up by fierce, silent bidding. Rudraunsh conserved his mana, his eyes fixed on the catalogue item he was after.
Finally, the auctioneer, a wiry man with a permanently manic grin, clapped his hands together.
"Now, our final piece for this evening's main run! We call this lot The Graveyard's Heirloom."
Two assistants wheeled out a small, glass-cased pedestal. Resting within was an object that looked utterly insignificant: a chunk of bone, perhaps the size of a human femur, but petrified into the color of obsidian, swirling with faint, silver streaks. It wasn't flashy or powerful-looking, but the energy radiating from it was chillingly familiar.
It hummed with the purest form of Necrotic Earth Mana Rudraunsh had ever sensed—the same core element that fueled his Undying Authority.
"This piece," the auctioneer announced, his voice dropping in reverence, "is a fragment salvaged from a recently unearthed Ancient Ossuary Gate in the Russian Steppes. Estimated origin: pre-Awakening era. Current analysis shows that the bone's density is five times that of standard Steelbone material, and it holds a passive charge of death essence. Guaranteed Grade 3 Necrotic Catalyst. Starting bid: 500,000 won."
Rudraunsh's breath hitched. A Grade 3 catalyst was far beyond his expectations. This was enough to propel his Rusted Bone Skeletons past the Steelbone Warrior stage and straight into something infinitely stronger.
He immediately input a bid using the untraceable terminal in front of him: 700,000 won.
Bidding was instant and fierce. The dark goods were always competitive.
"850,000!"
"1,000,000!"
"1,200,000!"
Rudraunsh calmly entered his maximum limit: 2,000,000 won.
A silence descended over the room. Two million won was a huge sum for a single, low-profile catalyst, usually reserved for large-scale production.
Rudraunsh felt a flicker of hope, but it was immediately dashed.
[The Rival Necromancer]
From the front row, a voice, reedy and self-important, cut through the silence.
"Two million won for that peasant bone? Insulting. I offer 2,500,000 won."
Rudraunsh focused on the bidder. It was a man cloaked in deep purple robes, seated with an air of arrogant entitlement. He was older, perhaps an actual D- or C-Rank Necromancer, and clearly a regular in this market.
"Who do you think you are, little phantom?" the man sneered, not bothering to look back. "Go back to summoning rats."
Rudraunsh had no more money. His only currency now was his Undying Authority.
He focused his mind, sending a coded, silent surge of mana toward the Ossuary Fragment. He was not trying to steal it; he was testing its compatibility.
The fragment, encased in its glass prison, subtly responded. It didn't flash or vibrate; it simply recognized the power. The silver streaks on the black bone glowed faintly, connecting to Rudraunsh's nascent Immortal Sepulchre with an almost familial bond.
The powerful Necrotic Earth Mana within the fragment was being drawn out by the Undying Authority. The glass case began to haze, condensing with moisture as the ambient energy of the auction hall was pulled toward the catalyst.
The purple-robed Necromancer—who clearly wasn't using the full, Catastrophic Dao power—suddenly shivered, looking around frantically.
"What is that cold? Did someone open a freezer?" he complained.
The auctioneer, smelling trouble and a potentially unstable artifact, hastily declared: "Going once at 2,500,000… going twice…"
Rudraunsh knew the moment he was about to lose it. He couldn't outbid the man, but he could make the price too high.
He slammed a single point of dark, focused mana onto the floor of the auction hall, not near the Necromancer, but near the two guards at the entrance.
Immediate Directive: Summon, Stabilize, and Store.
[The Unexpected Terror]
In the darkness beneath the entrance stairs, two crude, heavily-repaired skeletons instantly materialized. They didn't move or make a sound. They simply stood there for a split second, radiating the deep, sickening power of Undying Authority, before Rudraunsh instantly commanded them back into his Immortal Sepulchre.
The action lasted less than half a second. But the two guards at the entrance—Hunters far more sensitive to Necromancy than the crowd focused on the auctioneer—froze instantly, feeling the fleeting, absolute chill of a high-tier summoning skill. They recognized the unique, terrifying mana spike of a Deathless summon.
"Intruder!" one of the guards shouted, his voice echoing violently across the packed room. "High-Grade Dark Mage detected at the rear!"
Chaos erupted. The Black Market thrived on secrecy, and the presence of a powerful, unknown Dark Mage meant a potential raid from the Stellar Halo or a rival criminal organization. People scrambled for the exits, knocking over chairs and bidding terminals.
The auctioneer, panicking, slammed his gavel down. "SOLD! To the last bidder—2,500,000 won! Collect immediately!"
The purple-robed Necromancer stood up, confused and annoyed, but focused on collecting his prize before the place was overrun.
Rudraunsh moved, not toward the exit, but directly toward the auctioneer's table. He was weak, but he was fast. He grabbed the chaos as cover.
The purple-robed Necromancer was just signing his documents when Rudraunsh arrived. He used the chaos, brushing past the man while planting a single, powerful surge of Undying Authority mana directly onto the glass case holding the Ossuary Fragment.
It's mine, Rudraunsh willed. It belongs to the Dao of Immortality.
The surge of power was like a brand. The Ossuary Fragment, now deeply resonant with the Catastrophe's energy, became magnetically tied to Rudraunsh. As he vanished into the crowd, the purple-robed Necromancer reached for his prize.
But when the Necromancer grabbed the case, the Ossuary Fragment inside pulsed violently and jumped. It didn't teleport; it was physically pulled by the massive, concentrated mana draw of Rudraunsh's Immortal Sepulchre.
The Ossuary Fragment shattered the glass case and flew directly through the air, piercing the frantic crowd, and landed perfectly into the outstretched, cloaked hand of Rudraunsh Kurozan.
He gripped the obsidian bone, feeling the raw, ancient Necrotic Earth Mana surging into him, immediately fighting the fatigue from his brief, distracting summons.
The purple-robed Necromancer stared at the empty, shattered case, his mouth agape.
"He stole it! The intruder stole my fragment!"
But Rudraunsh was already gone, melting into the chaos, his prize secured. His first major catalyst was in hand, and he hadn't spent a single won.
[The Road to Evolution]
Rudraunsh raced out of the tunnels and into the night, the Ossuary Fragment burning cold in his grip. He was not just stealing power; he was claiming an artifact that had recognized the supremacy of the Undying Authority.
He accessed the burner phone.
[R.K.] : Item secured. Catalyst found.
[S.S.] : (Response, 1 second later) : I heard the alarm. Get to the safe house I mapped. Use the tunnels. DO NOT USE YOUR POWER. Officer Kang's team will be mobilized and scanning the upper-city mana networks now.
Rudraunsh smiled darkly beneath his hood. He had the catalyst, he had the resources, and he had secured his future. Now came the most important step: the evolution.