24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 115

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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 115

Episode 115. A Stroke of Luck (5)

“Please take care of it.”

“Yes, of course.”

I flapped my wings in greeting.

After viewing all the memories, I explained to Kim Ji-won that there might be a problem with the item preventing proper appraisal.

Then I asked her to entrust me with the item for a repair request, adding that she should come to the Babel Square branch later.

I carefully placed the Gatekeeper’s Cry in my inventory.

Since it came into my hands as a direct family member of the owner, I thought it might be considered returned, but the other party seemed too anxious, so I gave her some reassuring words.

After Kim Ji-won, who had been bowing deeply for a while, went outside, Yoon Seo-yoon immediately entered.

Yoon Seo-yoon, carrying a huge bag full of the frappuccino and snacks I had requested, looked visibly tired.

“Were you waiting outside?”

“Yes, well…”

So she had tactfully stepped aside.

Yoon Seo-yoon placed the items she bought on the table and sat back in the same spot as before, starting to space out in the exact same position.

“Thank you…?”

She only gave a half-hearted smile to my response, showing no other reaction.

It bothered me that she bought everything I suddenly demanded without complaint, and it also bothered me that she’d been sitting in the same position for two days straight.

‘Isn’t she tired?’

Yoon Seo-yoon muttered without turning her head toward me.

“The next person is in 10 minutes…”

It was somewhat amusing that she still dutifully performed her role as a time reminder.

But that wasn’t immediately important.

Whether the next customer came or not, there was something I needed to think about first.

Specifically, Brother’s last movements that I saw through the Gatekeeper’s Cry.

I pushed my restless feelings aside and sent a message.

I had a subordinate who could confirm whether what I saw was indeed a Dimensional Rift.

[Do you remember what it looked like inside when you fell into the Dimensional Rift?]

I didn’t even wait a few seconds before getting a quick reply.

[> Middle Manager Message

– It was a space that was white yet black at the same time, I guess. It looked like a black and white realm where only light and shadow existed. But why are you asking about that? Ι Alessandro Hale (Babel Square Branch)]

Alessandro’s message confirmed that it was indeed a Dimensional Rift.

The possibility that Brother had fallen into a Dimensional Rift was just one hypothesis.

But it turned out to be true.

The moment Brother blew the ivory horn, the blue sky cracked slightly.

The strange energy that seeped through the crack was both black and white simultaneously.

If I had to describe it, it was like a perfectly drawn sketch left unfinished without proper coloring.

The moment that crack opened its maw toward Brother, a wyvern that had flown over upon hearing the horn sound quickly snatched him up.

It seemed to sense the danger before it with keen instincts, looking extremely tense.

That was exactly when the horn was dropped.

The memories readable after the Gatekeeper’s Cry fell to the ground showed the wyvern’s retreating figure.

And the crack slowly widening as if devouring the sky, chasing the fleeing wyvern.

I returned to reality after reading that far.

I tried appraising again, but all the memories that followed were Kim Ji-won’s.

Now there’s only one question left.

‘Did Brother safely escape the crack?’

After Nam Pu-reum defeated the Bloody Wyvern, the Gate apparently didn’t last very long.

It’s possible to assume that the wyvern took Brother somewhere too far for the Rescue Team to notice, preventing him from getting out.

But something seems off.

Brother has skills similar to mine.

It’s even a superior version that can reach unopened floors, so there’s no way he couldn’t find a way out.

Then my hypothesis has to flow in a different direction.

‘The Dimensional Rift really did chase after Brother.’

At the end of the memory, the dimensional crack was chasing Brother, gradually devouring the sky as if it were alive.

His mention of danger before blowing the horn probably wasn’t about the wyvern.

Brother must have known about the danger of the crack too.

‘But because of that kind-hearted personality, he chose to blow the horn.’

Brother is consistently meddlesome to a fault, so there’s no way he would have just watched people caught up in the Gate.

There was a high probability he made that decision knowing he would be in danger.

I know this well, having lived under Brother’s care.

As stated in its description, the Gatekeeper’s Cry causes reality’s cracks to open slightly.

If the cracks mean Dimensional Rifts, and Brother kept disturbing the dimensional boundaries.

And if the ancient energies and forgotten beings lurking within noticed Brother.

‘Did he become a person of interest to Babel?’

Trying to piece things together with the given information made the worldview increasingly vast, causing my head to throb.

Now that the hypothesis that Brother isn’t dead has become a conviction, I need to do something, but I can’t exactly blow the horn myself.

If that leads to Earth’s destruction day, what would all my efforts so far amount to?

‘If I visit all the Sudden Gates like Brother did…’

Since he was a D-rank Hunter who went around looking for Gates like that, he must have had a skill to get out of Gates too.

Wouldn’t raising my Dimensional Door skill level create a breakthrough?

‘Then I should finish the Quest first.’

My skills require grinding to level up.

Just then, I heard a rustling sound.

Yoon Seo-yoon, who had been sitting like a decoration in the isolation room without making a sound, was slowly getting up.

“It’s time…”

Ten minutes had passed while I was thinking.

I made a solemn wing gesture to bring in the next challenger.

Once this is done, it’s time to get off work!

No matter how complicated my thoughts are, I can’t help but welcome the approaching end of the workday.

Looking toward the entrance with a light heart, I froze in place.

Lee Hwa-yeon was entering.

* * *

“You thought it was strange that I didn’t come, right?”

I swear I never waited for Lee Hwa-yeon, but I couldn’t easily answer no to that question.

‘I really did wonder why she wasn’t coming.’

After showing such curiosity toward me, I thought about why she wasn’t coming every day.

“Something like that.”

“I was going to come tomorrow, but my schedule didn’t work out, so I came today. How was it? The guild members seemed to really like it.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Even with my clearly intentional short answers to avoid conversation, Lee Hwa-yeon seemed unbothered.

She just smiles and leans back comfortably in her chair.

A white cotton t-shirt with loose-fitting training pants, her short hair casually tied back.

Unlike her usual sleek armor, she’s dressed comfortably, but her attitude is no different from before.

Lee Hwa-yeon asked playfully with a face full of laughter.

“Don’t you have that weird skill that pushes people away today? Can I try attacking you?”

“Would that be okay?”

When I answered while barely hiding my irritation, Lee Hwa-yeon raised an eyebrow.

‘Am I some kind of punching bag, seriously.’

I know she’s joking, but Lee Hwa-yeon should understand that from my position, I can’t take it as a joke.

No, it’s not just Lee Hwa-yeon’s problem.

All S-rank Hunters need to develop the habit of caring about how their words sound to others.

“Even that Seo Jae-hyuk can’t push me away, so I’m curious how you did it.”

“Right, that’s strange.”

Of course, I wouldn’t be scared even if she really attacked.

I came prepared with proper safety measures.

It’s only natural.

There’s no way I’d come carelessly into the stronghold of someone who’s constantly targeting me.

I hadn’t thought to buy Skill Stones since they all said ‘uses mana’, but I searched the market all night and finally found a Skill Stone that doesn’t use mana.

[Patala’s Call (P)]

Once every 7 days, you can move to a designated location.

Once a location is designated, it cannot be changed, and if damage occurs at the designated location, the skill is automatically canceled.]

It’s literally a return skill.

I considered various safety measures outside the Tower of Babel, but a skill that lets me escape home was the best option.

Items like the Guardian’s Mirror Brooch only reflect or block attacks, so they can’t guarantee what happens after.

I also confirmed that I can move from outside the Tower of Babel to inside.

So I now have a skill that lets me return whenever I want.

Since passive skills usually aren’t affected by rank, it will activate without problems even if Lee Hwa-yeon tries to suppress me with S-rank power.

That’s why I can answer so nonchalantly even in front of Lee Hwa-yeon.

“What item would you like appraised?”

Enough to ignore that smile and just say what I need to say.

Lee Hwa-yeon shrugged as if she expected this and pulled something from her pocket.

“This.”

What was placed on the table was a stiff, cream-colored cloth about the size of a handkerchief.

It looked rough and didn’t seem particularly expensive, but since Lee Hwa-yeon brought it out, it couldn’t be something she just picked up randomly.

Without me having to ask, Lee Hwa-yeon spoke first.

“I picked this up after clearing a scenario before, but I didn’t know what it was so I just stored it away.”

I nodded and placed my hand on it.

Well, if it’s from a scenario, there’s a high chance it’s an item…

[Self-Purifying Cloth (D)

A standard-issue handkerchief invented by Mage J, who believes cleanliness is the reason for existence.

Wipes away blood, dust, and everything the user perceives as ‘dirty’.

Limited to wiping non-living things, and when the cloth becomes stained with all impurities, it cannot be used for 6 hours after use.]

The description doesn’t seem particularly special, but the second sentence caught my attention.

Everything the user perceives as ‘dirty’.

It would be a useful item for Hunters who are constantly covered in dust and blood.

I spoke calmly.

“The name is Self-Purifying Cloth, it’s just a cloth that cleans dirty things. It has no special Hidden Ability.”

“That’s all?”

“When the cloth gets dirty, it can’t be used for 6 hours.”

“I thought there would be something more special.”

Lee Hwa-yeon shook her head disappointedly.

As the head of a major guild, she seems to think it’s nothing special, but this is actually a pretty good item.

Just as I was thinking about what I could do with this, Lee Hwa-yeon asked in a strange voice.

“…Your expression looks a bit odd?”

There’s no way she could see my expression under the feather, so how wickedly must I have been smiling for Lee Hwa-yeon to make that uncomfortable face.

I covered my beak and answered in a much brighter voice.

“Just thinking.”

The number one problem at the top of my Title Quest: ‘Import and sell 100 items from other dimensions’.

My first item to sell has just been decided.

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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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