The Orb, a magical amplifier once used by a grand mage, was invaluable even in its cracked state.

If a grand mage had used it, its purity and performance were practically guaranteed. Besides, replicating an Orb on Earth was impossible due to the lack of necessary materials and conditions.

In other words, the Orb was an incredibly rare artifact, one most people wouldn’t even get the chance to see.

Those who recognized its identity and worth couldn’t hide their excitement.

“Ooh… To think I’d see an Orb here!”

“This is definitely worth adding to a collection….”

“With that, you could perform high-tier magic even on Earth…!”

The audience buzzed with heated reactions, particularly among non-humans, who couldn’t seem to tear their eyes away from the Orb.

It made sense. Amplifying mana in Earth’s mana-deprived atmosphere was a feature with no substitute.

Even if the Orb was damaged and didn’t function at full capacity, its supplementary magical effects alone made it an irresistible item for mages.

But to find traces of Invaders in a place like this…

For me, the Orb’s rarity and value were secondary concerns. What mattered was the familiar, unsettling sensation I felt emanating from the metallic fragments embedded in it.

Why would such fragments, linked to the Invaders, of all things, be inside an item as sought-after as a grand mage’s Orb?

Though, maybe that’s not so surprising, I thought grimly.

After all, grand mages weren’t called grand mages for nothing. They were the pinnacle of magical power, capable of erasing entire armies singlehandedly. It wasn’t likely that an artifact they used would be damaged without cause.

And who else could cause such damage but the Invaders, the beings who brought about the world’s destruction?

Even if I understood the likely reason, it didn’t make things any less troubling.

The real issue was that I had no feasible way of obtaining the Orb.

The earlier auction items, even the less impressive ones, had sold for amounts I couldn’t earn in years.

But the Orb, both functional and collectible as a grand mage’s artifact? Its price would soar to unimaginable heights. Winning it through conventional bidding was out of the question.

Stealing it? Impossible, especially with Fixers crawling all over this hotel. Even if someone managed to steal it, they’d be relentlessly pursued by every means available. Just imagining it sent shivers down my spine.

“Wow, amazing. I never thought I’d see an Orb in a place like this. I wonder how much it’ll sell for?”

“It’ll probably be the most expensive item so far. Maybe enough to buy several apartments?”

“Haha… Well, since it’s cracked, it might not go for that much… right?”

Alice and Sabrina, seated next to me, whispered back and forth in amazement.

Even for them, both non-humans, seeing an Orb was an exceptionally rare occurrence.

So, even they think it’ll sell for a fortune, I thought, tapping the auction device attached to my seat lightly with my finger.

Still keeping my gaze fixed on the Orb, I quietly asked the Tesseract hanging from my neck:

“Tesseract, do you sense anything familiar about that item up there?”

[ Huh? …Nope! That’s something only you can sense! ]

“What about you, Echo?”

[ I… I’m not sure… maybe? ]

It seemed neither Tesseract nor Echo could confirm my suspicions. Was I the only one hearing the faint, whisper-like sensations emanating from the Orb?

This was strange. Not only could I hear those voices, but I had previously detected the Invader fragment that had slipped into Raven’s pocket without his knowledge.

What did this mean? Could the curse be placed on me…

“And now, let the bidding for the eighth item, the ‘Grand Mage’s Orb,’ begin! Starting bid: 100,000 credits!”

While I was lost in thought, the auction preparations had been completed.

The large screen above the stage displayed the seat numbers of the bidders and their corresponding bids.

As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, the bidding devices at each seat activated, and the numbers on the screen began climbing at a dizzying pace.

This was an anonymous auction where participants were identified only by their seat numbers, requiring all attendees to wear masks for privacy.

The frantic bidding wasn’t surprising—this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to acquire such a rare item. Non-humans with a vested interest in magic seemed ready to empty their coffers for it.

“Whoa, this is crazy. It’s already surpassed 1 million. Is everyone here just filthy rich except us?”

“At this rate, it’ll hit 10 million in no time.”

The audience murmured in awe as the numbers climbed, surpassing the highest bids from earlier auctions without pause.

When the price broke the 10-million-credit mark—the cost of a top-tier sports car—a collective gasp rippled through the crowd.

“These people have that much money to burn? Well… whatever. I need to focus on my own task.”

While the crowd’s eyes were glued to the screen, watching the bids climb higher and higher, I quietly slipped my hand into my pocket.

Pulling out Echo without drawing attention, I subtly placed it onto the auction device in front of me.

“Echo, can you hack into the system and figure out who wins the bid for the Orb?”

[ That won’t be too difficult. ]

“Be careful. Don’t get caught. Take your time and be as discreet as possible.”

[ Understood. I will proceed with caution. ]

My target was the suspicious object embedded within the Orb, not the Orb itself.

My plan was to figure out who would win the auction, then steal just the fragment while the Orb was being transferred to its new owner.

To do that, identifying the winner of the auction was crucial. Fortunately, Echo could hack into the system and uncover the identity of the anonymous bidders.

Given the high level of security in place, with hackers likely on high alert for any intrusions, I couldn’t help but be grateful once again that I’d acquired Echo from the black market.

* #276 / 26.9 million credits

* #1 / 28.5 million credits

* #33 / 30 million credits

“Wow… this is insane. If I roughly convert 1 credit to 100 won, that’s already 3 billion won. And the bidding isn’t even slowing down!”

Just how much money do these people have? Am I the only one here who’s broke?

The dizzying sums being thrown around were enough to make my head spin.

However, even money has its limits. When the bid approached 300 million credits, the frantic pace finally began to slow.

It seemed the damage to the Orb—with its embedded fragments—was enough to make bidders hesitate.

After all, no one wanted to spend a fortune on something that might break after just a few uses.

Still, 300 million credits... Were these people actual billionaires? I shook my head in disbelief and asked Echo quietly.

“Who’s bidder #33, the one who just offered 300 million credits?”

[ Searching… Found her. Lakia Olivier, age 27, female. She’s the eldest daughter of Olivier Industries, a leader in the defense industry. While she’s human rather than a non-human, her purchase is likely driven by her interest in collecting rare items. Based on her financial data, 300 million credits appears to be her spending limit. ]

So, the person spending such an exorbitant amount wasn’t a non-human but a human? And wait… Echo, you can figure out someone’s financial limit, too?

I marveled at how useful Echo was—almost as impressive as David—when the screen suddenly updated, showing a new bid that pushed the amount even higher.

* #276 / 310 million credits

“Ugh…!”

A faint sound of frustration escaped from a woman in the audience as the price jumped again.

Was this what rich people’s money fights looked like? The sheer scale of it left me in awe.

“Echo, who’s bidder #276?”

[ Yanagi Tamamo, age 17, female. She’s a first-year student at the International Academy and has already been selected as the next student council president, an unprecedented achievement. Known as the strongest mage at the academy, her abilities far surpass those of most adults. Her bid is likely motivated by her curiosity as a mage. Given her family’s wealth, she has the resources to exceed the current bid of 310 million credits. ]

“Wait, her?!”

I immediately recalled the lavender-haired girl I had seen in front of the hotel earlier.

She was Alice’s childhood friend, someone with a complicated past, and a magical prodigy whose skills ranked among the best, even in the Fixer world.

As a member of a modern aristocratic family, she had both the means and the intent to purchase the Orb.

“This is bad. If she wins the auction… how am I supposed to extract the fragment from inside the Orb?”

Tamamo’s magical prowess was terrifying, even by Fixer standards. If the winner had been someone ordinary, I might have been able to sneak into their room at night and steal the fragment.

But sneaking into the room of someone like her, the student council president of the prestigious International Academy? The difficulty was astronomically high.

“3, 2, 1… The bidding is closed! The winner of the Grand Mage’s Orb is bidder #276 with 310 million credits! Congratulations!”

Clap, clap, clap!

No surprises there. Bidder #33 had reached her financial limit, and the Orb was sold to Tamamo for 310 million credits.

The crowd erupted into applause, the noise echoing throughout the hall.

For most attendees, watching the bidding war itself was likely entertaining, even if they had no chance of winning.

But for me, knowing that a high school student could casually drop 310 million credits was staggering. Honestly, it was a little envious, too.

“Wow… amazing. That #276 person is incredible. 310 million credits… They must be ridiculously rich,” Alice murmured to herself, completely unaware that #276 was Tamamo, whom we’d seen earlier.

Meanwhile, I was grappling with the impossibility of retrieving the fragment from the Orb now that it was in her hands.

However, the situation shifted in an instant.

From the darkened floor of the auction hall, faint wisps of smoke began to rise.

At first, I thought it might be some sort of theatrical effect, but then I heard the unmistakable sounds of people collapsing in their seats.

“Ugh…! Gas?!”

“Kyahhh!”

“Everyone, get up!”

I jumped to my feet, my eyes darting around the room.

What I saw made the gravity of the situation clear.

A group of people without masks had suddenly burst into the hall, while several attendees lay motionless on the ground, likely unconscious. Those still awake were panicked, screaming as chaos erupted around them.

It didn’t take a genius to realize this was a full-blown crisis.