Breaking Up with the Heroine of the Female-Oriented Game - Chapter 113

Chapter 113

The Auction House and the Thieves (3)

***

“Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Ato Auction House for this season’s Life & Auction event!”

The audience murmured, their whispers filling the air.

Wealthy tycoons, famous celebrities, influencers, sports stars, pro heroes, and maniacal collectors—people from all walks of life had gathered.

This was A Hall, the central hall of the largest auction house in Busan: the Ato Auction House.

Countless seats, including VIP sections, were packed with people. All eyes were on the host and the auctioneer, who stood at the front.

As one of the largest annual auction events, it attracted remarkable public attention.

Moreover, rumors had spread that this year’s auction would feature various items from high-ranked dungeons.

Among them were even relics—rare treasures that were said to be included in the listings.

“So, what kind of auction items await you this year?”

Relics.

Mysteries that defy human understanding.

And at the same time, divine artifacts capable of performing miracles.

In a country with a population of tens of millions, the number of relics directly excavated from South Korea could be counted in the double digits.

Which meant that only an extremely small, elite group possessed them.

In other words, obtaining a relic was a way of proving one’s wealth, honor, and value.

“Is everyone ready?”

Thus, the majority of the attendees here had come with high hopes of acquiring one of these relics.

“Great! Then, let’s begin! The first auction of the Ato Auction House starts now!”

While the specific conditions for using this relic had yet to be revealed, and its exact nature was still unknown, the fact that it was labeled as a relic was enough to guarantee its value.

“And our first auction item is…”

People waited in eager anticipation.

Everyone was yearning for the highlight of this auction—a mysterious, unidentified relic.

“A mystical Ice Crystal infused with pure, cold energy!”
T h i s w a s c o p i ed f ro m ki ng m tl.o r g

And with that, the largest event of the Busan summer season, the Ato Auction, had officially begun.

***

“Everyone seems excited about the auction.”

In the temporary storage room behind the auction house.

“But… too bad for them. Most of the items have already been swapped out with fakes.”

A woman, appearing to be in her mid-twenties, chuckled softly as she watched the CCTV footage of the auction hall.

“The first auction item is the Ice Crystal, huh?”

Her name was So Yuyeong.

She was one of the three thieves assigned to steal the auction items, and she possessed a rather useful supernatural ability.

Her ability was duplication.

She could almost perfectly replicate any inanimate object she touched for a certain period of time.

Whether the object was living or non-living, she could duplicate it. However, if the object contained mystical properties, she couldn’t replicate its original functions.

And in the case of living things, her duplicates couldn’t move.

They became like lifeless corpses, devoid of any will or soul.

Additionally, So Yuyeong wasn’t a combatant by nature.

Compared to an average hero, she was fairly weak. But her supernatural ability was incredibly useful. It was thanks to this ability that she had been able to join a group like Rebellion.

“Here’s the Ice Crystal. Take it.”

“…”

John Carter, who had been standing nearby, silently accepted the crystal.

With a flick of his finger, he handed the Ice Crystal to one of his duplicates.

Disguised as an auction house employee, the duplicate walked toward the auction stage, carrying the Ice Crystal.

“No matter how many times I see it, your duplication ability is really convenient.”

“…Hmm.”

John Carter was a duplication ability user as well, but his power worked differently.

T hi s w a s co p i e d f ro m k i ng m t l.o r g
Using shadows as a medium, he could create physical duplicates of himself.

His duplicates were capable of nearly the same strength as the original, making him far more powerful than the average duplication user.

Furthermore, John could summon more than 100 duplicates simultaneously.

Most duplication ability users could only summon about a dozen at most, but John was on an entirely different level in terms of numbers and strength.

As a result, his ability was considered incredibly powerful.

There was no one else in South Korea with a duplication ability as potent as his.

If John decided to overwhelm his enemies with sheer numbers, not even someone as formidable as Yoo Dahee could easily defeat him.

Of course, such a powerful ability came with a severe weakness.

But no one knew about his weakness.

Not even the other members of Rebellion.

“Ah… I’ve used my duplication ability too much today. I’m exhausted…”

Having duplicated so many auction items, So Yuyeong was feeling the weight of exhaustion.

Not only had she replicated the items, but she had also duplicated the appearances of several auction house employees.

As previously mentioned, So Yuyeong was a master of duplication.

Not only could she replicate objects, but she could also overlay those duplications on other objects.

In other words, she was able to copy the appearances of various employees—guards, attendants, auctioneers, even the host—and overlay them onto John’s duplicates.

As a result, most of the guards, staff, cleaners, and even the auctioneers and presenters in this auction house had already been replaced by John’s duplicates.

The real employees had all been knocked out and locked away in a storage room.

They were probably sound asleep by now, unaware of their fate.

Honestly, it would have been easier to just kill them.

But they couldn’t do that.

If the original person was killed or damaged, the duplication would be undone.

“So Yuyeong, how many items have you replicated so far?”

“Stop rushing me, will you? I’ve pretty much finished everything.”

Geez, this guy…

Always so impatient.

What was the point of replicating all the auction items in the first place?

Wouldn’t it be quicker to just steal them and run?

All of this was thanks to Alex’s unnecessary vanity. His pride was the real issue here.

Alex had planned to wait until all the fake items were sold at auction, only for them to suddenly disappear, thus spreading his reputation as a notorious thief.

He had even placed calling cards inside each fake item in advance.

A few days after the auction, the real items would mysteriously vanish, and only the thief’s calling card would remain in the hands of the buyers.

How would people react to that?

If they discovered that the rare and expensive items they had fought so hard to acquire were fakes, they would be absolutely furious.

It would be quite entertaining to see their reactions when they realized a famous thief had stolen everything right out from under them.

…Considering how much she was looking forward to those reactions, So Yuyeong was probably just as much of a villain as Alex.

“Are we almost done?”

“I told you, I’m nearly finished.”

So Yuyeong pouted in response to Alex’s impatient prodding.

Since yesterday, they had been busy kidnapping and imprisoning some of the auction house employees, extracting information, replicating their appearances, taking hostages, seizing control of the control room, and stealthily raiding the storage room.

Security around the auction items had been tighter than expected, making their job harder than they had anticipated.

Th i s w as c o pi e d fr om ki ng mt l . o r g
Not to mention, the level of the guards was incredibly high.

Many of them were skilled at the mid-grade hero level.

There were even a few top-grade hero mercenaries, which meant they had to proceed cautiously.

While they could use their duplication abilities to get close and launch surprise attacks, they had to be careful not to get caught. One wrong move could expose their entire operation.

So it had taken them longer than expected.

“This is the last one… Done. All finished.”

“Really?”

Having completed the final duplication, So Yuyeong stood up.

Alex, looking satisfied, pulled out a small leather pouch that looked like it belonged in the Middle Ages.

Without warning, Alex opened the pouch and began sweeping all the original items into it.

One by one, the countless items disappeared into the small, seemingly bottomless leather pouch.

That pouch was one of the relics Alex possessed.

It was a Space Pouch.

As befitting his reputation as a notorious thief, Alex possessed several valuable items, including a few relics.

Of course, most of them had been stolen.

“Got everything?”

“Yeah.”

They had collected all the auction items.

Now, all that remained was to make a clean escape from Busan.

The auction’s affairs would be handled by the duplicates disguised as employees.
T h is w a s c op i e d f r o m k i n g m tl . or g

They had already extracted most of the necessary information and knowledge from the real employees.

So, as long as the auction was still ongoing, they would be safe. Even if someone noticed that the items were fakes midway through, it wouldn’t matter.

Th i s w a s c o p ie d fr o m ki ng m t l. o r g
By the time anyone realized, Alex and his team would be long gone.

“Alright, let’s get out of Busan.”

“Looks like everything went smoothly this time.”

“John? You know that saying something like that is a flag, right? Don’t let your guard down until we’re completely out.”

Alex, John, and So Yuyeong.

The three, still in disguise, quietly slipped out of the auction house.
T his wa s c o p ie d f r om k i n g m tl . o rg

They walked leisurely, leaving behind the bustling auction that was still full of heat and excitement.

They moved cautiously, their steps careful, always on guard against potential tails or surveillance.

Alex was particularly sensitive.

His animal-like instincts had kept him alive until now.
Th i s w a s c o p i e d fr o m k in g m tl.or g

Especially when it came to detecting murderous intent, gazes, and mystical energies—Alex was highly attuned to all of these.

Given his heightened state of alert, if anyone were tailing or watching him, he would surely notice.

And Alex had a relic that prevented him from being observed.

While not the most powerful relic, it was still enough to block most observation abilities. Only someone with extraordinary observation skills, like Isabelle, might be able to track him. But with ordinary abilities, no one would be able to watch Alex and his crew.

So, Alex and his team would be… wait, what?

“…!”

Suddenly.

“…What is this?”

Everyone was gone.

In the blink of an eye.

The bustling street, once crowded with people, had vanished as if swallowed by the earth.

The busy scene of the Busan streets had disappeared, leaving nothing but an eerie emptiness.

It was like a ghost town.

Not a single person was in sight. The deserted street stood as the only witness to Alex and his crew.

In this confusing turn of events, Alex heightened his vigilance to the max.

What on earth was happening? This wasn’t normal. Clearly, someone was behind this.

It was most likely some kind of barrier.

A barrier that separated reality and space. A spatial separation barrier, perhaps.

But who, and why? What was the purpose of trapping them in this barrier? And how had it been set up without them sensing anything? Alex hadn’t detected any signs—no gazes, no killing intent, no hints whatsoever.
T h is wa s c op ie d f ro m ki ngm t l .o r g

“John!”

“Yeah.”

Alex called for John.

He didn’t know what was going on, but considering the possibility of a trap, they needed to buy time to find a solution.

He called for John because he was the most versatile in both offense and defense, making him invaluable in any situation.

John’s ability was incredibly useful for attacks, defense, or even escape.

“Even though I’ve used my ability quite a lot today… well, no choice.”

John immediately activated his ability.

His shadow rippled and surged upward like a liquid.

The sticky shadow gathered together and began to take on human forms.

One, two, three, four…

More than thirty duplicates of John were created.

John, by himself, was powerful enough to take down a top-grade hero.

And now, more than thirty duplicates with similar strength?

Even a high-ranker would have no choice but to retreat.

Surrounded by a wall of duplicates, Alex felt reassured.

No matter what kind of attack came their way, no one would be able to break through so many duplicates at once.

And then, it happened.

A flashbang rolled between John’s duplicates.

Bang! With a deafening explosion, a blinding light flooded the area, illuminating everything in every direction.

John’s duplicates, struck by the sudden flash, lost their form and began to melt away.

T hi s wa s co p i e d f rom k i n g m tl .or g
Like mud soaked with water, their bodies crumbled into formless shadows.

John was shocked by what he saw.

The only weakness of John’s shadow duplication ability—light.

When exposed to intense light, his duplicates lost their strength and reverted to shadows. It was a critical flaw.

But how did they know about John’s weakness?

No… could it be that they just threw a flashbang to blind them, and it happened by coincidence?

But the precision with which the flashbang was thrown made it seem like they knew. But who could possibly know? Even the other Rebellion members didn’t know about John’s weakness…

Thi s w a s co pi e d f r o m k i ngm t l.org
“Alex, John, So Yuyeong… am I right?”

End of Chapter.