24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 102

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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24-Hour Friendly Market Specializing in Dimensional Items Episode 102

Episode 102. Cold Faith (1)

To summarize, the situation is as follows.

The kraken was friends with Sonia, the captain of a pirate ship.

But when sirens enchanted the pirate ship, Sonia died.

The kraken, having lost his friend, was furious at the sirens, but due to his kind nature, he couldn’t kill them and chose to drive them away from the sea instead.

But for some reason, the sirens who had been driven away secretly came up to the surface.

The navy, who had set out to subjugate the kraken after hearing he had appeared, discovered the sirens and massacred them all.

The kraken, who had only intended to drive the sirens away, witnessed the entire scene and met Atari, the last survivor of the sirens.

The kraken became friends with Atari, but Atari was also killed by humans.

And in that process, the only thing Atari left behind, a magic harp, disappeared…

After retracing the kraken’s life, I let out a deep sigh and muttered.

“You’re really unlucky.”

I never thought I’d end up sympathizing with a kraken in my life.

Perhaps not understanding what I meant by unlucky, the kraken just stared at me blankly without any particular reaction.

‘Then the story sleeping in the depths of the sea must mean the harp.’

The difficulty level is brutal.

How are awakened ones without Item Appraisal supposed to clear this scenario?

Well, there must be ways, but there’s probably no one who can figure out the whole story more easily than me.

I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head.

I felt like I might suffocate from my own greatness.

Of course, just because I was lucky Hae-won doesn’t mean any of the problems are solved.

“Where could the magic harp be?”

The magic harp that disappeared after Atari’s death.

The kraken seems to suspect that the humans took it.

Including not only Laoko but also the unknown waters where the navy was dispatched, the area to search is wider than expected.

But since the scenario mentioned ‘a story sleeping deep in the sea,’ it’s more likely to be in the ocean than on land.

“The problem is that the sea is ridiculously vast…”

The magnificent majesty of nature that makes you realize anew how small humans are.

Now that we’ve come so far that Laoko’s dock is no longer visible, all that’s around me is a kind-hearted giant squid, a wooden plank, and the unconscious Kim Seol.

‘Isn’t this too harsh?’

The saying about finding a needle in a desert – from today on, it might as well be finding a harp in the sea.

However, I’m someone more familiar with shortcuts than straightforward methods.

So what if it’s a shortcut? This isn’t the college entrance exam – I just need to get the right answer!

‘And even on the entrance exam, they don’t mark you wrong for guessing.’

I had a sneaky plan that had been gradually invading my mind.

It seems like a difficult problem, but it’s a situation I’ve seen many times before.

I cheered in triumph.

‘How is this different from Falkon?’

It’s exactly the same as the 49th Floor.

Who was it that brought hope to South Korea when they couldn’t even get close to the main quest because they couldn’t obtain the 20 sub-quest items?

It was me, Lee Hae-won, the Friendly Market administrator.

“I can just buy a magic harp!”

I shouted like a sage who had achieved enlightenment.

I don’t even need to look for it separately this time!

The magic harp that wasn’t selling and was just taking up space at the stall across from the Irregular Dimensional Market!

That blue-eyed guy might be scared when he sees me, but if I say I’m buying that expensive thing, he’ll bow deeply saying ‘Oh, dear customer!’

I cackled like a scheming merchant and opened a warp gate.

No, to be precise, I tried to open one.

[⁕ Today is not an operating day for the Irregular Dimensional Market :)]

If only Sam-i hadn’t blocked me like this, I would have jumped right into the warp gate.

“Damn it!”

Of all the many days, today had to be a holiday.

At such an important moment!

“Then when does it open?!”

[⁕ Since the Irregular Dimensional Market opens irregularly, business days are undetermined :)]

I barely held back from cursing.

‘Last time you gave me notice that it would be in a few days, you crazy AI…!’

[⁕ The Irregular Dimensional Market’s schedule is usually set with about 2 weeks’ notice. Therefore, there are no business plans within 2 weeks :)]

This is maddening.

I don’t have the luxury of waiting for a market that might not open for who knows how long.

Then let me search the market at least.

[⁕ The corresponding product does not exist in the market :)]

Okay, what a day to pick.

‘Then I have no choice but to find it myself.’

Fortunately, I have a very appropriate item!

[Discoverer’s Eye (B)

An eye that helps find desired objects. Can search by name or appearance.

However, clairvoyance is impossible, and it’s difficult to find things that are hidden or protected.

When an object is found, it alerts the location with a loud alarm sound.]

As soon as a small eyeball appeared floating in the air, I quickly whispered.

“Find a ‘magic harp.'”

Watching the Discoverer’s Eye move away toward the village, I let out a sigh of relief.

I never thought I’d use an item I bought to use just once so efficiently.

But there must be limits to finding objects with the Discoverer’s Eye.

So far I’ve been lucky that no hidden or protected items have appeared, but the situation could worsen at any time.

Beep- Beeep-

Not today, it seems!

A muffled alarm sound coming from somewhere.

I thought it wouldn’t find anything quickly since the search area was so vast, but my lips curved up at the faster discovery than expected.

The clear alarm sound echoing across this vast sea is definitely not far away.

“…But where is it coming from?”

I turned my head this way and that.

‘Surely not, right?’

When I enthusiastically shook my head, the kraken followed my lead and turned its gaze here and there.

I was hoping that maybe an island had suddenly appeared somewhere without my knowledge.

Though doing so wouldn’t change the calm and quiet sea.

Then the place where this kind alarm sound is coming from is…

“Damn, it’s the sea again?”

It’s the dark depths of the sea, dyed pitch black as night deepened.

‘What kind of grudge did I have against water in my past life!’

Must I bear the fate of constantly entering water when I can’t even swim?

When I get out of here, I should at least learn to swim.

I shuddered and roughly tousled my hair.

“Let’s just go and see.”

I can see the answer, so I can’t not go.

* * *

I found the place where the alarm was ringing surprisingly easily.

The entrance to Sminac that Dolipina had guided us to.

Surprisingly, the alarm sound was coming from inside there.

Well, these are descendants of Atari the siren, so if it’s a magic harp left by Atari, it would be an extremely precious relic.

‘And they put such a thing out in the open instead of hiding it?’

Survivors may be strong, but they don’t seem very smart.

Actually, you can tell the mermaids aren’t very smart just by looking at Sminac’s entrance.

If the Discoverer’s Eye has limitations, then you can’t enter hidden places.

But what I thought was hidden Sminac, I just walked right into and it’s beeping away inside.

In other words, the entrance to Sminac that said ‘only those with scales can enter’ was actually just a gap between rocks.

These mermaids really have no sense of security.

“What was that about needing scales to enter?”

“The water filling Sminac isn’t just seawater. You need scales to breathe freely inside Sminac.”

Dolipina, who seemed to have noticed my arrival and came to greet me, replied curtly.

In short, it was meant to be kindness.

It’s utterly absurd.

‘Did their magical abilities disappear as time passed after the sirens went extinct?’

Usually living creatures evolve focusing on survival abilities.

How on earth did they achieve racial prosperity and survive safely?

I was walking slowly, lost in questions incomprehensible by modern thinking, when—

“Human, this way.”

Dolipina called me curtly.

While some mermaids seemed expectant, thinking I had kept my promise to ‘come when I found clues,’ Dolipina seemed to purely dislike me.

Maybe she’s being more prickly because she knows I’m the cause of that noisy alarm sound.

‘Sorry.’

I decided to maintain shamelessness and only apologized inwardly.

I properly lifted the drooping Kim Seol onto my back again.

Kim Seol, who had been making groaning sounds as if about to wake up earlier, still showed no signs of awakening.

‘Kang Yeon-hee really makes potions well.’

I’ll have to ask about her title when I go to Ba-man-jang.

“Human!”

Dolipina urged me with fierce eyes.

The deeper we went inside, the closer the alarm sound became.

Soon, far away, I could see the Discoverer’s Eye floating in the middle of the corridor, looking at something and making squawking sounds.

The corridor of the colosseum decorated with various corals and shells.

Atari’s magic harp was embedded like decoration in a wall corner that was hard to see clearly.

‘Well, this is really…’

I wasn’t expecting a museum, but isn’t this too obviously placed?

If it’s a scenario item, shouldn’t it be discovered with more difficulty to be believable?

As I stood still looking at the harp, Dolipina coldly snapped.

“Take that noisy thing and leave here immediately. Before the kraken comes.”

“Geez, I said I got it.”

When I put the Discoverer’s Eye into my inventory, Dolipina left without lingering as if her job was done.

Look at that, leaving first even though the stranger hasn’t left yet.

‘These mermaids really do have no sense of security.’

I expressed regret for Nasmith’s leadership and carefully set down Kim Seol, who I’d been carrying on my back.

Looking at Kim Seol sleeping soundly, I felt a bit guilty, but that wasn’t important right now.

“Now, shall we take it out?”

Atari’s magic harp embedded in the wall.

The body shining in five colors and the strings made of glittering silver thread looked no different from what I’d seen at the Dimensional Market before.

Though it was in perfect condition without a single scratch, being embedded like an exhibit might make it difficult to remove.

‘Well, if it breaks while removing it, I can just use the Repair skill.’

I carefully touched the harp while mentally organizing the items I could use right now.

Thunk-

Making my resolve meaningless, the magic harp came into my grasp far too easily.

“…This is really absurd.”

There seem to be too many absurd things happening today.

[Magic Harp (??)

A harp made by a mermaid mage

Made by the younger sibling of a pretty mermaid who sings well

/Hidden Ability/ A harp with sleep well magic]

The appraisal result was identical too.

The only difference was that there was no grade marking, probably because it was an item from a scenario.

‘So if I give this to the kraken, it’s over?’

By my standards, it doesn’t seem like a difficult task, but somehow it feels subtle.

…Isn’t this easier than expected for one of Babel’s scenarios?

“Was that what you needed?”

“Eek, you scared me!”

I was startled and pressed myself against the wall.

There was no sign of anyone at all!

Nasmith Sminac, who had appeared at some point, was gazing at the harp with curious eyes without even apologizing for startling me.

For a moment I lost my fighting spirit at his innocent-looking eyes for a leader of a race.

“Was this the relic that would fulfill the prophecy?”

Nasmith asked with an expectant voice.

I roughly nodded and answered.

“Well, something like that. It’s also something to comfort the kraken.”

Strictly speaking, it’s likely a scenario item for the strategy team, but it’s not a wrong answer in the end.

If the kraken receives this and softens its heart, won’t the mermaids face the moon again too?

“That was merely a relic needed by those seeking sleep…”

To think we didn’t know that, how lamentable.

Nasmith’s expression had become slightly gloomy as if thinking that.

True, how could the mermaids who were busy hiding from the kraken’s eyes possibly know such facts.

Even if they had realized it belatedly, the kraken influenced by the Tower would have destroyed everything in this dimension.

That was the moment.

“Ugh….”

Kim Seol, who had been seated, let out a shallow groan.

A sleeping drug potent enough to put an S-rank Hunter to sleep for just 30 minutes – what incredible efficacy.

Kim Seol frowned and slowly opened her eyes.

‘Ah, I feel a bit sorry.’

I had no choice but to put her to sleep since my Skill couldn’t be discovered, but from Kim Seol’s perspective, this was the second time she’d fainted on the 53rd floor.

I could understand if she got angry about feeling bad.

‘But if she really gets angry, I’m the only one who loses.’

I lowered my eyes and put on an apologetic expression.

Then I thrust today’s greatest achievement, the magic Harp, in front of Kim Seol’s eyes and spoke rapidly like a machine gun.

“Kim Seol, you’re awake? Sorry about earlier. But I got the scenario item….”

“I’ll kill you.”

My thoughts stopped for a moment.

Kill what?

‘Me?’

As I was just staring at Kim Seol in a daze.

With eyes that had sunk dark like the deep sea, Kim Seol summoned a weapon she had never brought out before.

Something I’d seen many times somewhere… that weapon I’d only seen in media.

I lost my words and stepped back.

What dwelled in Kim Seol’s eyes was unmistakable killing intent.

Holding a massive scythe tinged with deep blue light in her hand, Kim Seol muttered in a low voice.

“I’m going to kill you.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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