The next day, the Awakener community was in an uproar over two items newly listed at auction.
Naturally so—items that had never before been seen on the market were up for grabs.
What’s more, the auction was hosted by the Awakener Association and the items were listed via proxy by the Japan headquarters.
In other words… it wasn’t a scam. The items were guaranteed to be genuine. No matter how unbelievable the listings seemed at first glance, they were undeniably real.
And because of that, Takenaka, master of one of the Ten Great Clans, Genesis, was holding his head in his hands.
Much like the way Flash’s master Hoshizaki had reacted just days ago.
“Master, what do we do about this auction…?”
“It’s already reached a ridiculous amount…”
Even when asked by his clan members, Takenaka had no idea what the right move was.
“The Ameiva Lord’s core… that’s fine. No, it’s not fine—but the real problem is the other one.”
Two items were listed in this auction. One was the Ameiva Lord’s core—dropped by Inari.
Ameiva cores were already known as high-end magical materials, and due to their rarity and the difficulty in obtaining them, prices were always steep.
But this wasn’t just any core—it was from the Ameiva Lord, a previously unknown monster.
Who knew what incredible item could be crafted from it?
Still, that wasn’t the true cause of the chaos. Compared to the other item, even the Ameiva Lord’s core paled in significance.
“‘Staff of the Ancient Kingdom’…!? Damn it, and now a new set equipment appears out of nowhere!?”
Indeed—just like the previous Orc General Series, this item appeared to be part of a new Ancient Kingdom Series.
The matching pieces hadn’t surfaced yet, but if gathered, there was no doubt the full set would wield enormous power. More than anything, the Awakener Association had rated it as Middle Intermediate Tier—a tier above the elite Lower Intermediate tier, practically ace-level equipment. If this was just one piece, what kind of power would the whole set bring…?
As a ranged magic damage dealer, Takenaka had to get his hands on it. He was no different from the rest in that regard.
“How much of our budget can I use? Damn, we overspent on the Orc General gear last time. We can’t win this with just 4 billion. If we go over… damn it, it’ll wreck the annual plan…!”
“Ma-Master! The bid just jumped to 7 billion!”
“What!? Who would—”
“The bidder ID is… ‘bracwiti’.”
“That dumb ID… it’s the Black Witch! That woman—just because she’s a solo, she’s willing to spend that much!?”
The Black Witch. One of Japan’s top three magical damage-dealing Awakeners.
As he clenched his fist in frustration, Takenaka understood exactly what this was: a declaration of intent. A bold, high-stakes bid meant to signal to all rivals: this is mine. And knowing her, even if someone added another billion, she’d keep bidding without flinching.
“…We’re backing out of this auction. We made gains elsewhere—no need to force it here.”
After thinking it over, Takenaka made his decision. Win or lose, this auction had too much potential to destabilize the clan. He couldn’t let personal desire override clan strategy.
But that didn’t mean his job as clan master ended there.
“Gains… Master?”
“Yes. Judging by the timing of these listings, both the Orc General set from last time and this Ameiva Lord drop… they were both undoubtedly obtained by that girl who cleared the temporary Akihabara dungeon—Kogami Inari.”
“Kogami… oh, the cosplayer girl!”
Takenaka let out a small chuckle at his clan member’s nod of understanding.
How shallow, he thought.
An Awakener with that level of strength couldn’t possibly be “just cosplay.” Not only that, but she was backed by the major Awakener brand FoxPhone.
“Calling it cosplay is premature. I haven’t seen her in person either, but the fox ears, the tail, the shrine maiden outfit—they look like they were made to go together from the start. What if that isn’t just a look, but actually a set equipment FoxPhone has been keeping under wraps?”
“Eh!?”
“Wh-what do you mean, Master?!”
“Don’t you see? The way they’re releasing Lower Intermediate and even Middle Intermediate gear so freely… it suggests something.”
Takenaka believed it was only natural they had a reason to do so. After all, from the moment of clearing the dungeon to listing the items for auction, there seemed to be no sign that they even debated keeping the gear.
“In other words… her current equipment may very well be a Lower Advanced Tier set!”
“W-what!?”
“Is that true, Master!? If so, that changes everything!”
“We don’t know yet. But I think I’m close to the truth.”
While his clanmates buzzed around him, Takenaka thought silently.
He likely wasn’t the only one who’d arrived at this possibility. But if it were true, then “Kogami Inari” could be seen as someone who relied solely on her gear.
That said, if she did possess a Lower Advanced Tier set, then perhaps defeating the Ameiva Lord really had been easy for her.
“If that’s the case, there’s no point trying to recruit her. The equipment probably belongs to the clan. But if we could form a cooperative relationship with FoxPhone… No, if they’ve already made her their mascot, they won’t be handing out favors. Then perhaps the best move is to build a friendship first…?”
Whether anyone else reached the same conclusion—or the same grand miscalculation—was unclear.
What was certain, however, was that while all this wild speculation swirled…
Inari herself was at Aniki Mart, staring in wonder at a bag of furikake and going “Ooooh…!” with starry eyes.