24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 11
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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 11
Episode 11. Store Opening Event (4)
I decided to pretend the 36th Floor never happened.
Yes, very cleanly!
Well, I don’t want to become a fugitive, so it’s only natural.
Of course, the people who were excited with expectations of breaking new records did call me trash, a coward, a failure, and various other harsh and blunt titles.
But I’m Lee Hae-won with very strong mental fortitude.
In conclusion, nothing happened after that, and I’m now sitting on a bench in front of the mart eating ice cream.
“It’s delicious.”
Buying ice cream when I came to buy churu is overspending, but July’s blazing sun is no joke.
A month ago, I never could have imagined this.
But today, I can afford to be a little relaxed.
The 36th Floor isn’t the only way to make money.
I checked my watch and yawned leisurely.
The appointment time is 10:30.
He said he was almost here earlier, so it should be about time…
“‘Friend Lee’?”
At the Carrot Market nickname I hadn’t heard in a while, I looked up in surprise.
A small man wearing thick horn-rimmed glasses was looking at me with an anxious face.
“Oh, yes. Are you ‘Guide of Transcendence’?”
The man nodded very slowly.
“What exactly is this item you’re selling?”
The man stared at me intently with eyes filled with strange longing.
‘That’s an uncomfortable gaze.’
I had covered everything I could with a baseball cap pulled down low, a mask, and even sunglasses, but his strangely unfocused gaze made me feel uneasy.
“I don’t know how you found out about our group, but can I check the item first? I have a skill called ‘Eye of Truth,’ so if you’re trying to scam us, that would be troublesome. I can see through to an item’s true nature.”
“Uh, yes… it’s not a scam.”
“I’ll check it first.”
The ‘our group’ the man mentioned is the other way to make money I was talking about.
Awakened individuals in the current era can be divided into three categories.
First, hunters who climb the Tower and consistently challenge the highest floors.
All the names that any South Korean would have heard at least once belong here.
There are currently seven guilds challenging the 49th Floor, and since only those considered the strongest within their guilds can challenge uncleared floors, it’s such a small number that it doesn’t even amount to 1% of the total hunter population.
Second are the raid teams who enter to clear scenarios that reset periodically on each floor and obtain resources.
Excluding the highest floors, the absolute majority of hunters belong to this group.
Lastly, there are awakened individuals who don’t climb the Tower.
Like how they took away my comfortable convenience store job, these are people who don’t engage in hunter activities despite being awakened.
And there’s a group that’s ambiguous to include here… one that’s considered outside the norm.
“This is it.”
I picked up the shopping bag I had placed on the ground.
And the moment I took the item out of the shopping bag, the man’s eyes widened.
“Oh, this is…!”
The man trembled and couldn’t even speak properly.
It was quite different from his stiff attitude when he told me not to even think about scamming.
In front of the horn-shaped statue I took out of the shopping bag, the man knelt down and raised both hands high above his head in worship, sighing.
“This is truly a sacred relic bestowed by God…!”
‘No, this is a 10 Gold item.’
And it’s so common that every market sells about 100 of them.
That Eye of Truth skill might not be much after all.
Just in case, I tried using my ‘Appraisal’ skill.
[Gab’s Horn Statue (F)
A statue crafted from the horn of the monster ‘Gab’ that inhabits ■■.
/Hidden Ability/ None.]
There was absolutely nothing, making my skill use feel pointless.
I don’t know which dimension is hidden by the squares, but it seems monsters called Gab roam the streets there.
“You found an item that has never once been discovered in the Tower, didn’t you?”
“Of course, of course…!”
His tearful appearance is quite a sight.
The man made gestures as if stroking the statue with trembling hands.
“This rough yet sacred beauty, and the pure mana flowing out subtly…! The Sacred Covenant has no item with such noble bearing…”
This person is a member of the cult fanatic group 【Sacred Covenant】.
The person I’m going to skillfully scam today.
The fanatic group 【Sacred Covenant】 that regards the Tower of Babel like a gift from God.
It’s too small to be called a guild, but it’s an ambiguous size to completely ignore.
They spout nonsense about the Tower of Babel being God’s final test sent for humanity’s salvation, claiming that God’s Kingdom will open when all floors are conquered.
Truly apocalyptic statements.
They look down on non-awakened as unchosen and primitive, and claim awakened individuals undergo a process of spiritual transcendence.
‘They’re crazy.’
It’s funny how they all went mad together, wondering how they lived in a world without the Tower of Babel.
What I focused on here was that they regard Tower of Babel items as sacred relics.
They were the perfect target since they would desperately approach any rare item not found in Earth’s Tower of Babel.
“I must definitely offer this to the Covenant Officer. Whatever price you name… I can provide it all!”
The Covenant Officer is apparently their executive or something.
I carefully put the statue back in the shopping bag and muttered.
“I’m sorry, but the price is quite steep.”
“That’s fine. I can’t give up with a sacred relic right before my eyes!”
So even if I told him it’s not a sacred relic but just a crude statue.
But having luckily caught the scent of money, I had no choice but to be shameless.
“Originally I’d have to charge around 2,800, but seeing ‘Guide of Transcendence’s’ passion, I’ll give it to you for 2,500.”
‘Though I bought it for 100,000 won.’
“How can you be so generous…!”
The man seemed moved and clamped his mouth shut.
I wonder how much madness one needs to be steeped in to join the Sacred Covenant – watching him is getting tiresome.
I cut off the pointless praise time and brought up the main point.
“Um, and as I mentioned earlier, since this is an item that can’t be obtained from the Tower of Babel, the payment must be made in cash…”
“Yes, I have it prepared.”
The man hurriedly opened the bag he was carrying.
‘Crazy.’
The man took out five bundles of 50,000 won bills and held them out to me without hesitation.
“Please check. It’s exactly 500 bills.”
There’s no need to check.
As soon as I received the money, Sam-i confirmed it right away.
[⁕ Would you like to exchange 25,000,000 won for 2,500G?]
The amount needed to buy the Fifth Shadow’s Veil was about 5,000 Gold.
What’s really fortunate is that reverse exchange is possible!
First, I set aside 5 million won as emergency funds for my withering self, then exchanged all the rest into Gold.
[Gold in possession: 2,928G]
Sweet.
So this is how sweet a full bank account feels.
Mr. Square, the dimensional market manager who sold me the ‘Gab’s Horn Statue’, thank you so much.
I barely managed to pull down my twitching lips.
Then the man breathed heavily and asked with unusual intensity.
“By any chance… how did you… how did you obtain such a thing…!”
‘Ah, dealing with cultists is really difficult.’
At the sight of the man’s gleaming eyes and flaring nostrils, I unconsciously stepped back.
He seemed a bit perverted.
But since the plan didn’t end here, I answered calmly.
“That’s a trade secret.”
“As expected, you’re an ‘Ascending One’…!”
Excuse me?
What’s that supposed to be?
Whatever, I seriously lowered my voice and whispered.
“I don’t usually tell this to just anyone. But ‘Guide of Transcendence’ seems like someone trustworthy, and you have a good eye for items, so I’m telling you.”
“Yes?”
“Actually, I have a few more things like this.”
As soon as I finished speaking, the man’s head shot up.
The emotion revealed in the man’s eyes was very clear and firm.
‘That thing, whatever the price, sell it to me.’
As soon as I read that meaning, I swallowed my laughter and added.
“How about it, are you interested?”
The cultist guide nodded vigorously as if he’d been waiting for this.
‘Yes!’
I caught a sucker, no, a customer… no wait, a customer.
* * *
[Gold in possession: 5,728G]
The total income from selling even the Unrefined Rough Black Mana Stone was 5,300 Gold.
Even after setting aside 5 million won as emergency funds, I made a whopping 4,800 Gold!
“This is insane.”
Running the 36th Floor twice required pushing my body hard all day, but this was just selling two items to a cultist follower and done.
I achieved my target in exactly 30 minutes.
Actually, I thought about selling more for even sweeter income, but I gave up because the cultist guide started recommending membership with subtly crazed eyes.
Well, there’s nothing good about getting more involved with cultist followers anyway.
Besides, my goal wasn’t to make lots of money, but to follow Brother’s traces.
“Sam-i, I’ll buy that Veil you found earlier.”
[Transaction completed.]
[Gold in possession: 738G]
“…”
It hurts.
I shed tears of blood at the Gold that returned to its original state in less than 30 minutes.
Still, I endured it steadfastly and opened my inventory.
Today’s purchase was a robe with an ordinary appearance in jet black color.
The fabric was quite soft, so it seemed like it wouldn’t feel bad to wear.
‘If I use the Appraisal skill here.’
[Fifth Shadow’s Veil (B)
A robe of the Shadow Knight Order that can hide one’s presence from others. However, there’s a possibility of being detected if you make contact with others while wearing the robe.
/Hidden Ability/ Contact nullification when used in darkness]
“Whoa.”
An exclamation naturally burst out at the unexpectedly spectacular effect.
It might not be very useful to high-grade Hunters, but it basically means near invincibility when used in ordinary areas at midnight.
Since it was B-Grade, I thought it might have a decent Hidden Ability attached.
‘It might be more useful than I thought.’
There was a reason it sold for 4,990 Gold.
Anyway, now that preparations were complete, there was no need to hesitate anymore.
As soon as I put on the robe, I headed toward the Tower of Babel.
When I briefly checked, not only did passing pedestrians fail to notice me, but my appearance wasn’t reflected in the glass of building exteriors either.
This was the first time I was getting such effective results from an item purchased at the Dimensional Market, so it was fascinating.
The entrance to the Tower of Babel with its blue glow.
I stepped inside without hesitation.
[You have entered the 25th Floor Intermediate Station.]
I briefly closed my eyes and when I opened them, I had already arrived at Ba-man-jang.
Still countless people like ants, noisy sounds, and.
“What’s that.”
Five people standing guard in suspicious positions in front of my building.
‘That’s the Babel Management Bureau.’
People with fierce expressions that contrasted greatly with the sky blue building.
All of them wore uniforms with the Babel Management Bureau logo emblazoned on their chests.
I gulped at the sight.
“Phew…”
I let out a deep sigh.
I just need to not get caught.
I held my breath tightly and moved my steps carefully.
As long as I don’t bump into those people, they absolutely won’t be able to recognize me, so it should definitely be fine.
Besides, this cloak is a B-Grade item!
I crossed the tape line that was set up like some crime scene, practically doing limbo, and only after standing in front of the door did I exhale the breath I’d been holding.
And the moment I grabbed the door handle, a bright blue notification window appeared before my eyes.
[Your current location is ‘Dimension-Earth I Zone-South Korea’ 25th Floor Intermediate Station. Would you like to open ‘Friendly Market’?]
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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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