24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 17

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

24-Hour Friendly Market Specializing in Dimensional Items Episode 17

Episode 17. I’m Just an Ordinary Merchant, But in Babel?! (2)

I just wanted to open the path for Wolpae to conquer the 49th Floor.

“Wow, as soon as we mentioned supply shortages in the meeting, a merchant shows up!”

“Our situation was really dire. It must be a blessing from hell!”

“He’s a benefactor, a benefactor!”

I became a benefactor.

And a benefactor to Dark Mages who each had some part of their body rotting away…

The man who introduced himself as Necros suddenly wrapped me in Black Mist and brought me to this chaotic place.

And now, I’m at a loss, overwhelmed by the goodwill of Dark Mages who are rotting in various places.

Guk Min-seong clearly said that Dark Mages were full of murderous intent and hostile, making communication impossible…

“What’s your name?”

“Lee Hae… sir.”

“Right, Lee Hae! What an exciting name! Really glad to meet you!”

This Dark Mage, putting his arm around my shoulder with his rotting, festering hand, felt like an Early Morning Soccer Club president full of expectations for young blood transfusion.

Even family wouldn’t welcome me this warmly.

“You must be thirsty, have a drink. It’s our special beverage.”

Necros held out a cup filled with sticky black liquid of unknown origin, grinning widely.

“Drink up, drink up.”

“Chug it down!”

Other Dark Mages’ rotting hands urged me to drink quickly.

I was genuinely confused.

‘This isn’t exactly a mineral spring…’

I had never even considered this kind of development.

The Meeting Room, thick with the Dark Mages’ characteristic Black Mist, was dark and eerie.

A dark Underground prison without a single ray of light.

In contrast, the friendly gazes of Dark Mages holding worn cups, sitting in a circle and staring intently at me.

I deliberately ignored the smiles blooming on their rotting faces and naturally set down the cup while changing the subject.

“Do, do Dark Mages originally live Underground?”

“Not really, but we are ‘Dark’ Mages after all.”

‘…Are you saying it’s a racial trait right now?’

What am I even listening to right now.

I barely managed to close my mouth that was about to gape open in disbelief and asked with feigned composure.

“Then since you’re ‘Dark’ Mages, do you only work at night?”

“You! I could tell from the start, but you’re quite perceptive, aren’t you? Well, not exactly, but everyone does prefer working at night. During the day, we usually leave things to the Puppets we’ve created.”

“Wo, wow.”

I blurted out an exclamation and even clapped awkwardly.

Perhaps moved by my soulless response, Necros puffed out his chest with a proud expression.

‘Aren’t they too trusting?’

For enemies of the 49th Floor who had Korean Hunters struggling for 6 months, they’re too cheerful, causing cognitive dissonance the more I look at them.

If I stay here any longer, I feel like I’ll become a strange person too.

“Well then, since you’ve found a merchant, please give me a list of items you want.”

“Why are you in such a hurry? We have plenty of time.”

Why would I want to spend that spare time with you?

…Since I couldn’t answer that, I poked Necros’s arm with a cheeky expression.

“A merchant can’t make money doing business in just one place.”

“Such big dreams, such big dreams!”

The Dark Mages sitting on the opposite side laughed cheerfully.

“This is Palenicus, our supply officer. And here is our benefactor, merchant Lee Hae.”

“Mm!”

The man called Palenicus nodded lightly, then grabbed and shook my hand just like Necros had done earlier.

“Please take care of us!”

“…Uh, yes, what do you need?”

There’s no way an ordinary citizen like me would know what Dark Mages need.

Maybe they want Dark Magic Stones like what the Sacred Covenant believer, Guide of Transcendence, bought?

However, an order came from a completely unexpected direction.

“We need Health Potions, Mana Potions, and Antidotes. The more the better.”

So Dark Mages also cure poison with Antidotes…

But I can’t sell Potions to them.

Because I’m thoroughly on Wolpae’s side!

If I provide items that would help them, that would be treason, and as a result, Earth would be destroyed when the 49th Floor isn’t cleared.

I answered shamelessly.

“All Potions are sold out.”

“What?!”

Behind Palenicus, whose eyes widened in disbelief at my answer, the Dark Mages murmured.

Actually, it is pretty ridiculous for a merchant who appeared in a place like this to have no Potions.

I put on a regretful expression and clasped my hands together.

“I’ll look for similar items. Please wait a moment.”

‘Sam-i, among health recovery items, show me three that are either really expensive or have ambiguous effects.’

[⁕ What do you mean by ‘ambiguous effects’?]

Ah, right. This one doesn’t understand implications.

‘Things that don’t noticeably raise stats but might make them think they feel energized.’

About 5 seconds after I gave fairly specific instructions, a window appeared before my eyes.

[> Available Items for Purchase

– Blood of Panacea 731,040G

– Essence of Ecstasy 3,900G

– Vita100 (10 bottles) 1G]

“…”

“Why do you look like that? Are there no items?”

“No, there’s something quite suitable…”

I stared at the window with a dubious expression for a while.

The prices of the top two items aren’t surprising.

‘Vita100?’

That Vita100 that sells for 1,000 won each at Convenience Stores?

No, I’m the only person on Earth with a Dimensional Market, so where on earth did Vita100 flow in from?

“Lee Hae, show us the items.”

Palenicus didn’t give me time to resolve my questions and urged me to show the items.

I suppressed my bewilderment and purchased 10 packs of Vita100.

Soon, the Vita100 I took out from my Inventory looked exactly as I’d seen it at Convenience Stores.

“Ooh, what’s this?”

“It’s a golden potion that enhances vitality. Please try one bottle to confirm.”

At Palenicus’s suspicious expression as he narrowed his eyes and looked back at me doubtfully, I decided to lead by example.

The cheerful sound of opening a Vita100 cap.

I drank the liquid in one gulp and shrugged my shoulders.

Palenicus, who had been hesitating for a while, began to sip the Vita100 following my lead.

“Do you feel that distinctive sour taste?”

“…The sourness is surprisingly delicious.”

I nodded seriously and began spouting nonsense.

“According to ancient alchemical texts, strong sourness awakens the nervous system and purifies the flow of mana. This is a potion made using recipes found in the ancient books of high-ranking mages and great sages.”

“Ooh…?”

“But the past and present are different. This is a potion that the great alchemist ‘Kaan Yeo-ni’ has advanced one step further with more developed modern alchemy.”

I also promoted Kang Yeon-hee’s name a bit.

“But it doesn’t seem like the effects appear immediately?”

“Of course.”

Palenicus flinched at my firm answer.

“This potion is on a different level from cheap potions. It’s a potion that works slowly from the very depths of the user’s core. While it’s impossible to reach the highest level in a single day, isn’t it possible to reach the highest level through long trials?”

“Is, is that so…?”

“Of course. Moreover, a recent paper from the Magic Tower has proven that consistently consuming ‘Vita100’ increases Mana Condensation Power. There are even research results showing the same effect occurs for Dark Mages.”

Palenicus seemed completely lost, but after I rambled on with impressive-sounding words for a while.

“I see…”

Before I knew it, Palenicus had the expression of a victim who had taken one step into a multi-level pyramid scheme.

I grabbed Palenicus’s hand with an even more serious face.

“However, the unfortunate thing is…”

I could feel crumbling skin falling from his rotting hand, but I pretended not to notice and gripped the sucker’s hand even tighter.

“I’m the sole distributor of this potion. Moreover, this potion takes a long time to make each one, so I don’t know when I’ll be able to sell ‘Vita100’ again.”

“What?”

Palenicus’s innocent eyes wavered.

I looked down at Palenicus with a truly apologetic expression.

“You seem to be the only one who truly appreciates the value of this potion, Palenicus… How about it? The quantity isn’t that large, but I’m sure you could use it effectively.”

I could see Palenicus gulp at my serious bullshit.

“What will you do?”

After a very brief silence swept through the Underground Prison.

Palenicus suddenly pulled out gleaming Gold Coins and shouted.

“I’ll buy them!”

The Dark Mages behind him, who had been listening from who knows when, also shouted competitively.

“Hey, Palenicus! Let’s buy all of that!”

“If it’s Mana Condensation Power, doesn’t that mean our dark magic condensation power will increase?!”

Jackpot.

I didn’t know what to do with myself at their enthusiastic reaction.

“How much is it?”

“It’s priced at 100 Gold per bottle, but since you’re all so kind… I’ll give you 98 bottles for a clean 7,000 Gold.”

“Lee Hae, you! You know how to do business!”

Palenicus beamed and began pulling out more Gold Coins.

I counted the numerous Gold Coins piled on my hand one by one and sighed.

It’s not like I’m that smooth a talker either.

‘How did such naive kids survive for 6 months.’

At this point, I couldn’t understand why Falcon had been taken over by these guys.

Alessandro, what exactly were you fighting against…

After finishing the exact Gold Coin count, I finally remembered what I had forgotten.

‘But how do I sell items to NPCs?’

As a Dimensional Market manager, all the targets I had traded with were Awakened.

Since I can’t trade with NPCs, do I have to take everything out and do physical transactions?

Just as I was thinking it would be a bit troublesome and was about to take out 98 bottles of Vita100 from my Inventory.

[> Trade Notification 1 item

– 100 ‘Vita100’ have been sold. Ι Buyer: Palenicus (Dimension-Earth I Zone-South Korea I 49th Floor Performer)]

At the same time, 98 bottles of Vita100 appeared neatly on the table beside me.

“Thank you! Now, everyone drink one bottle of this ‘Vita100’!”

Wait, NPCs count as Dimensional Market buyers too?

‘Is this right?’

That wasn’t the only strange thing.

‘Performer?’

Behind Palenicus’s name in the trade notification was the word ‘Performer’.

Is it called Performer because he’s an actor in the scenario?

Just how far does this Dimensional Market’s authority extend?

Just as I was continuing my quite serious contemplation, someone suddenly grabbed my hand.

It was Palenicus with his rotting forehead and Necros with his rotting left face.

Very clear emotions were rising on their faces.

“Thank you so much, Lee Hae. You’ve been a great help to us!”

Palenicus and Necros each grabbed my hands and expressed their gratitude.

Looking at their faces, I answered seriously.

I don’t dislike this heartwarming atmosphere.

“I’m truly grateful as well.”

This is sincere.

* * *

“We couldn’t even welcome you properly, but you’re leaving. Come visit us again next time.”

“Of course!”

I answered with the most energy I’d had since entering this Underground Prison.

I’m finally getting out of here.

Without providing much help, making a hefty profit, and completely safely at that.

I did something morally questionable, but it couldn’t be helped.

Well, anyway, next time I come, Wolpae will have taken over the 49th Floor and the scenario will be reset, so they won’t even remember me!

I packed the items I had laid out into my Bag and asked casually.

“Don’t you have monster waves here? It’s quiet.”

It was just a comment I threw out without any particular intention.

Well, maybe I had some hope that Wolpae would hold out well since the monster waves keep getting stronger.

“Ah, we go out once every hour. We sent the first unit earlier, so the second unit will depart soon.”

As soon as Necros’s casual answer ended, a bell rang.

Clang-

When I frowned at the heavy bell sound that could be heard even underground, Necros added with another unsettling bright half-smile.

“They’ve departed?”

And the next moment, I covered my ears.

Rumble rumble rumble-

A thunderous roar as if the ceiling had collapsed.

Unidentifiable bizarre howls mixed chaotically and leaked down to the underground.

Due to countless monsters advancing across the Surface, shaking the ground, dirt and dust were visibly falling as if an earthquake had occurred.

‘This is unsettling.’

“How many… are going out?”

Necros answered lightly with his still unadapted, bright face.

“Probably a thousand?”

Holy crap.

Save our Wolpae.

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