Chapter 77

The time was September 10, 2031. It was the early morning of the day the Hunter Auction was to take place. After thoroughly investigating numerous NEVER blog posts about the Hunter Auction, Eunha had arrived here at 3 AM, following the advice of a blogger. She had been warned that otherwise, she would waste an entire day waiting for her authentication badge.

Fortunately, she managed to get her badge before noon, but she soon encountered an unexpected obstacle.

"I'd like to exchange some chips."

It was the harsh reality of capitalism. A moment ago, as soon as she entered, Eunha had headed straight for the exchange booth.

"Welcome. How much would you like to exchange?"

Faced with the attendant's polite, professional smile, Eunha hesitated for a moment. Thanks to her thorough preparation, she knew that chips were necessary for the auction and that they could be purchased with coins, cash, or even credit cards at the exchange booth. However, she had no sense of how many she should get.

Since the person in front of her had exchanged several thousand chips... it would be better to have a generous amount if she wanted to bid on relic items.

After some thought, Eunha calmly spoke.

"Ten thousand chips."

She had heard that exchanging for chips came with a significant fee, but she didn't care.

However, unlike Eunha's bold declaration, the attendant looked a bit uncomfortable as she glanced over Eunha's appearance and spoke cautiously.

"Um, I'm sorry, but could I see your badge for a moment?"

Eunha handed over the badge she had received that morning. The badge was white, indicating a Hunter of C-rank or lower.

"Thank you for your confirmation. I'm sorry, but with a white badge, the maximum number of chips you can exchange is 1,500."

"1,500 chips?"

"Yes, that's correct."

Eunha froze, and the attendant smiled gently.

"If you'd like to exchange the maximum, I can assist you with that. If you need more chips, you can sell items to other Hunters at the flea market before the main auction begins. Would you like me to show you where to rent a booth?"

"..."

Leaving the information desk, Eunha stood there, stunned. Goodness, the number of chips you could exchange varied by rank. This was a stark reminder of how crucial a Hunter's rank was in the modern world.

'Do I have any items to sell?'

She decided to check first. Tapping the air lightly, several icons activated in mid-air. Hesitantly, she touched the bag icon at the bottom right.

Ding.

Loading inventory.