Chapter 9 – Not long after, Charles found the club he was looking for. It was called the Dime Club.

He made Bel wait outside before getting out. Before getting out, Charles took out a plain white mask he had prepared in advance and put it on.

There was a shop selling masks in front of the club, so people didn’t think much of it when they saw someone wearing a mask and walking around. Charles passed by the masked people and entered the club. This era’s clubs were similar to modern cafes. While their locations and roles weren’t exactly the same, they both served as social gathering places.

A man blocked his way at the entrance. He was well-dressed in a uniform, with fair skin and an impressive smile.

"Welcome. Would you like me to guide you to a seat?"

"Guide me to a seat where the moonlight can be seen."

"This way."

The man led Charles to the entrance of a staircase leading underground. Charles followed without a word. This was the entrance to the Oracle Auction House. The club was just a facade.

The man also seemed to be a kind of spirit. From the gatekeeper to the spirits, it seemed that the Oracle Auction House had a close connection to the secret world.

'It doesn’t seem like they’ve noticed that I’m a first-timer.'

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t his first time. Charles had visited the Oracle Auction House, which had a different form but the same name, dozens of times in the game.

However, some things were the same. He usually had to wear a mask and not reveal his identity. The secrecy of customers was the most important thing in the Oracle Auction House.

After descending the stairs, the man guided Charles to a reception desk and then left. A young employee in front of the desk smiled and said,

"Hello. How may I assist you?"

"I’d like to exchange some money."

Charles’s voice was deeper than usual. It was a voice he had prepared in advance. While he couldn’t change his physique, he could completely mimic someone else by changing his voice and attitude.

His acting skills were so good that he could have been an actor. This was the role-playing skill he had honed through VR games. It was similar to how Kim Yeonsu played the role of Charles.

"One copper dalar is 5,000 pounds. One silver dalar is 50,000 pounds. One gold dalar is 500,000 pounds."

"Twenty copper dalars."

Charles took out a 100,000-pound check from his pocket. The source of this large sum of money was from Charles’s secret study.

Having grown up as a bastard of the Heksen family, Charles used the little money he inherited as capital to make a living as a mage, earning money through illegal means.

As soon as the pounds were exchanged for dalars, Paginecor started to fuss. It flew onto Charles’s shoulder and poked his cheek.

- Me! Me! Give me! Give me!

- Wait a moment.

Charles shrugged. He needed to use all these dalars. If there were any left, he could give them to Paginecor.

Beyond the exchange counter, there wasn’t an auction hall. Instead, there was a stall where expensive items that weren’t up for auction were displayed.

Inside the glass partitions, precious items from the secret world and the physical world were mixed together.

"Would you like this talisman? This pentacle was made by Glitch Norman. Yes, the great maker, Glitch."

"How much is this necklace?"

"This is a pocket watch made by the Pateks family. It’s an item imbued with a spirit’s blessing."

"Oh! I want this!"

Men and women of all ages were buying items near the stall. There were all kinds of finished products, from peculiar talismans and blessed daggers to jewelry that seemed to be made by artists, which were popular among women.

What Charles was after wasn’t a place selling finished products but a place selling materials. While materials weren’t auctioned, they were sold by a merchant at a high price in the secret world.

"Welcome."

"I’m here to look at materials."

"You’ve come at the right time. A large quantity of materials arrived yesterday."

Charles looked at the neatly dressed male merchant. He seemed to have some unease, but it didn’t seem to be related to the items.

He bought some materials there.

'Blue elderberry branches with holes, star spring extract, holy incense, parchment made from the skin of a stillborn lamb, tiger cartilage, and a piece of yew wood.'

The most expensive of these was the parchment made from the skin of a stillborn lamb. It was a versatile material with strict conditions and was in short supply. He bought it for three copper dalars. He also bought other materials.

'I’ve gathered the materials I need.'

These were items generally needed by a mage, such as samples for spell use and materials for ritual magic.

The sound of a bell signaling the start of the auction was heard. The gentlemen and ladies who were shopping left their seats and headed to the auction hall.

The preparations so far were like an appetizer for them. The items they would like were about to be available.

Charles wasn’t interested in the auction and planned to wait for the next opportunity. He would have to keep coming to the auction house in the future. After returning to his mansion by carriage, Charles went back to his study.

- Dalars! Dalars!

- Alright.

Paginecor had been pestering Charles for dalars since before. It knew how much Charles had exchanged and how much he had spent. There were seven copper dalars left.

- How many tokens can I get with seven dalars?

- Wait a moment.

Paginecor took the copper dalars and ate them with its mouth. After thinking for a moment, it said,

- About two tokens.

- That’s less.

- The more dalars you eat, the more you need.

Charles nodded. It was like a kind of tolerance. The more of the same type of dalar you ate, the higher the required amount became. Since he had only given copper dalars so far, the required amount would increase.

Charles planned to give silver dalars when the exchange rate between pounds and dalars reached a point where he wouldn’t incur significant losses.

After eating all seven dalars, Paginecor had grown to the size of a palm. It had transformed from a fairy to a doll-like form. When it received the tokens, a slot machine, as if from a fairy tale, appeared in the air.

When the tokens were inserted, the slot machine spun. The symbol of the Luminary appeared again. And again.

At this point, it was reasonable to suspect a bug. On the third try, another symbol appeared. It was a pattern of a human figure holding a spear.

This was also a symbol that Charles, who had seen many symbols of otherworldly deities, did not recognize.

- Completed!

Suppressing the urge to ask if it was a scam, Charles picked up the spell scroll that the slot machine spat out.

- This is a perfect copy of the Luminary’s Spear.

- No, it’s not.

- Hmm.

Charles stroked his chin. After naming it the Spear of the Void, Charles felt his own spirit becoming stronger. He felt his power growing as the influence of the Void spread in this world.

He inserted and spun the next token.

Ding.

This time, a familiar symbol appeared from the start. To his surprise, it was the symbol of the Luminary again. When the second symbol was also the Luminary’s, Charles’s suspicion grew even more.

- Hey, are you cheating?

- No, I’m not.

- Speak the truth, before I cut off your hand.

- No, I’m not! Eek!

In the center was a circle with a whirlpool-like pattern being sucked into it. It was the symbol of Destiny.

'This is the symbol of Destiny.'

There were not only the four major evil deities in the otherworld. The symbol of Destiny was a unique mark of the neutral deity, Samraman, known in mysticism as the deity of fate and destiny.

Three symbols were revealed, and a spell appeared. Charles glared at Paginecor without even looking at it.

- Is this still a coincidence?

- ...Maybe you’re unusually loved by the Luminary?

- That’s impossible! I don’t know anything about the Luminary.

- Honestly, I’ve never seen this before.

Paginecor shrugged and stood confidently, as if daring him to cut it open.

- I’m Paginecor! I’ve never cheated in my entire life!

- ...

Charles remained silent. Yes, it could be a coincidence. After all, the same symbol had never appeared before. However, Charles couldn’t hide his suspicion.

The continuous appearance of the Luminary’s symbol seemed too much to be a coincidence. Unless there was some kind of blessing from the Luminary on Charles, it wouldn’t have reached this level.

Since thinking about it wouldn’t help right now, Charles examined the spell scroll that had appeared.

Charles had acquired a spell again. Based on his observations, if the symbol of the Luminary appeared more than twice, there was a high probability that the previous name would be erased.

- Paginecor, store the two spells I just obtained.

- Got it.

When Paginecor stored the spell scrolls, the book disappeared, and only the text remained. Charles wanted to obtain more spells, but he had no more dalars.

He closed his eyes and entered the mental realm. There, the massive obelisk appeared before him, and the stone tablet of revelation was below it.

Charles decided to use the spells he had just obtained in this world. First, the Void Lantern spell. He didn’t need a lantern; he could make any part of his body glow.

Then, the Void Spear spell. Seeing the flame form in the air, Charles clearly recognized that this was a spell of the Luminary.

'The spells of the Luminary are correct, but they only appear that way on the surface.'

Charles could feel the power of the spells coming from the obelisk. The massive obelisk was providing the power that the Void, Charles, needed to manifest.

'Is this the effect of the fragment of the stone tablet of revelation?'

He realized he hadn’t even looked for the most important fragment of the stone tablet of revelation while wandering around this world. Charles lowered his body and approached the fragment.

The fragment of the stone tablet embedded in the obelisk didn’t seem to be coming loose. He touched it closely and felt an overwhelming spirit. An overwhelming power...

At that moment, Charles realized what he could do in this world.

He extended his hand toward the floating stones in the air. The massive floating stones began to gather and could be manipulated like clay.

Charles could form the ground and create a chair. The symbol of the Void was a throne. There were stars above his head, and making a chair from the floating stones was not difficult.

As soon as he thought about it, the throne was created on its own, a massive and ornate chair, as if for an emperor or king.

He could feel the power from the obelisk converging into the throne. This was Charles’s symbol. As soon as he opened his eyes, he could feel the increase in power.

His spirituality in the real world would only increase slightly, but in this mental realm, Charles was like a god. The effect of the throne was... to 'enhance' items brought into this mental realm.

'Hmm? Can I bring items from the physical world into this mental realm?'

He felt it might be possible but decided to try it later. Charles knew that the fragment of the stone tablet still had power