24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 213

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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 213

Episode 213. A Ray of Sunlight (1)

But there’s one problem left to think about.

Why did Nianus, who was supposedly so benevolent, just leave the drought alone?

This seems like a dimension where gods interfere quite well, so it bothers me that he did nothing while his followers suffered from thirst.

Too many lives were at stake for it to be an impulsive decision made in a bad mood.

And if he were that kind of god, there’s no way the last remaining ascetic, Kaem, would still be here.

The most likely hypothesis is…

“External interference, right?”

I muttered casually while meaninglessly flipping through Rowena’s diary that seemed to have nothing more to offer.

I’ve already met Oerisa, a god whose power was sealed on the Ganaesia Continent.

Of course, that one was unfairly treated because of Agemor, who had no trace of familial affection.

This place might have ended up like this due to the influence of dimensional destruction too.

If not that, it could be the work of humans who couldn’t endure the scorching sunlight.

Having observed scenarios for a while, I’ve learned that humans are the most frightening thing.

‘And Babel only stages stories that can definitely be solved.’

I put on my raincoat again and pushed the back door of the prayer hall.

The entire door fell out and hit the ground with a thud.

And what appeared before my eyes was a pile of stones.

A pile of stones appearing out of nowhere in a place with almost no stone buildings – there must be some clue here.

Approaching with anticipation, I immediately recognized what the pile of stones was.

“…Huh, it must have been a bell tower.”

A bell tower behind the prayer hall’s back door.

‘It fits so well that I didn’t even think to suspect it.’

I carefully looked around the mossy and slippery bell tower area.

The bell was nowhere to be seen, and only two pillars stood tall toward the sky in the middle of the stone pile.

Always suspecting and examining everything is a detective’s virtue.

After wandering around the stone pile for a while and slipping twice, I finally discovered another piece of reading material.

There were engraved letters carved into what seemed to be the largest rectangular stone slab that would have served as a base.

I slowly read the content, tracing the grooves between the flowing rainwater with my finger.

“Ring the bell three times at noon.”

For something old, it remained quite clearly visible.

Whether the stone was hard or someone had carved it with care.

But since there was nothing where the bell should have been hanging, my thoughts naturally led to the next conclusion.

I muttered in a dubious tone.

“Then… should I try ringing the bell once?”

An ordinary person would have just passed by thinking it was a collapsed bell tower, but I happen to be someone who knows that even such trivial things can be clues.

‘It’s like being at an escape room cafe.’

When you go to an escape room cafe, you’re supposed to suspect even doors marked “Exit.”

There must be a reason why that phrase was carved into stone instead of paper.

Fortunately, behind the stone pile, among the weeds and collapsed debris, I could see something large and roundish gleaming.

Thank goodness I don’t need to go far.

The bell buried under thick vines was rusted in places, and the rope that would have hung the bell was rotted and frayed.

I grabbed one side of the bell with both hands and pulled with all my might.

“Whoa, damn.”

I didn’t expect it to be this heavy.

The muddy ground made it even harder, and I missed Alessandro who would be at Babel Square, and felt sorry for my body that lacked magical power.

I used to not understand why people who only do strength training at the gym get out of breath and pant.

‘I understand it too well now.’

It’s bound to be tiring when you exert yourself like this.

Even after awakening, my body didn’t particularly improve, so maybe I should try going to the gym with this opportunity…?

After struggling in the rain for a while, I succeeded in bringing the bell under the bell tower, and only then did I catch my breath that had risen to my chin.

The broken bell tower and bell.

Standing before them, I opened my skill window for the first time in a while.

[Using ‘Repair’ skill on ‘Nianus’s Voice’.]

Soon after, a sad notification appeared that 3,200 gold would be decomposed into thin air.

No, why does repair cost money when appraisal is free within scenarios?

No matter how I think about it, this is unfair.

I grumbled while watching the aura of money rising from my fingertips.

Golden aura enveloped the bell tower and bell as they rose, and the surrounding stones clattered.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve never repaired something this big before.’

I observed the repair scene with a sense of novelty.

The floating stone fragments fit perfectly into their proper places by themselves.

The weeds and moss stuck between the pillars were swept away by the golden aura and disappeared.

Who else but me would have repaired and rung this?

…Could it be that Brother designed this scenario with me in mind?

“Nah, no way.”

My brother wouldn’t go that far and still not leave me a single message.

‘…Right?’

No, I trust him, but why do I feel so uneasy?

While I was frowning, the bell slowly rose into the air as the final touch.

The sight of the bell slowly rotating in the rain as it found its place was both eerie and elegant.

I clearly heard the click of the bell catching on the ring.

Clang- Clang-

“…Ugh, so loud!”

Actually, the noise from the rain hitting the bell was even louder.

I covered one ear and hurriedly grabbed the rope hanging down below.

When I pulled the rope, a low and heavy sound echoed over the ruined village of Panco.

Dong—

Surprisingly loud enough to penetrate through the sound of rain.

I put all my weight into it and rang the bell two more times.

That was the moment.

“I knew there would be something!”

While the heavy sound lingered in the air, something fell from inside the bell.

I picked up what had fallen under the bell with a pleased expression.

Whether it was repaired along with the bell tower, it was a clean wooden box without a single corroded part.

The small wooden box, about the size of my palm, had a lock but wasn’t locked.

The first thing that caught my eye was the text carved in elegant script on the inside of the lid that opened obediently.

[Sacred Tears of God]

And at the bottom inside, there was a groove precisely carved in the shape of a teardrop.

Of course, it’s empty now.

“It’s not here?”

Of course it’s not.

If it were there, I wouldn’t have a reason to flip the box over like a madman and check again.

I stood in the rain and stared intently at the groove inside the box.

A box hidden inside a bell that must be rung exactly three times at noon, and the missing tears of Nianus.

Anyone would suspect what should have been in here.

It’s practically telling me to find this.

“If this is the case, it’s really an escape room…?”

I don’t know what role this plays in the scenario, but it must be connected to this situation.

I immediately rummaged through my inventory and pulled out an item that had been quietly sleeping all this time.

The legendary detective item that could find anything if you knew its name – the Finder’s Eye!

I briefly pondered whether to call it ‘sacred god’s tears’ or ‘Nianus’s tears.’

“Sacred divine relic of the eye, no wait, sacred god’s tears, go find it.”

I decided to follow what was written on the box.

When you don’t know something, following clues is the standard rule.

The eyeball that came out into the world after a long time briefly darted its gaze around in the air, then suddenly began flying off in one direction.

I was dumbfounded that it was running off without caring about its owner who was standing here without even taking out the Emerald Skywalk.

“Right, so I need to go to Gontawaro anyway, is that it?”

The Finder’s Eye was heading straight toward Gontawa.

Well, it must have flown that way because it found something anyway.

I hadn’t particularly planned to stop by Gontawa, but it seemed like I had to go there.

‘Guess I’ll go then.’

I climbed onto the Emerald Skywalk without hesitation.

* * *

At that moment.

Lee Taek-ju and Kim Seol had safely entered Gontawa with the help of a mage named Temi.

Of course, they failed to gather information through conversation due to the closed-off atmosphere.

They said they wanted to meet the village chief who led the village, but the chief already had a prior appointment.

Moreover, Temi, who had willingly let them into the village, introduced them to an empty house and then mysteriously departed.

They only learned later that it was Temi who had the prior appointment with the village chief.

Well, anyway, among the Gontawa people who weren’t hostile but weren’t particularly friendly either, Kim Seol and Lee Taek-ju chose to first assess their surroundings.

Under that pretext, they climbed the cliff on the rear mountain, but.

“Huff, wheeze, gasp.”

Lee Taek-ju was sitting collapsed on the muddy ground, panting heavily as soon as he climbed the cliff.

Given Lee Taek-ju’s characteristic of handling earth, climbing a cliff like this should have been a piece of cake.

However, Kim Seol had scolded him that as a guild leader, he shouldn’t easily expose his skills, so he had no choice but to use his body.

Due to his poor lung capacity for an awakened person, it took him over 5 minutes just to catch his breath.

‘It’s not even that high!’

An awakened person who couldn’t speak for 5 minutes after climbing a neighborhood rear mountain – how embarrassing.

Since he was an awakened person, he never thought about exercise, but should he really go to a gym?

Thinking this, Lee Taek-ju noticed Kim Seol frowning and staring into the air.

“What are you doing?”

“…Is that an eye?”

“It’s raining!”

“No, I’m asking if that’s an eye!”

Kim Seol irritably pointed somewhere.

In the direction Kim Seol was pointing, there was a round thing flying toward them…

“…An eye is coming.”

An eyeball…?

Lee Taek-ju thought ‘What the hell is that?’ and said.

“What the hell is that?”

Kim Seol was equally dumbfounded by the eyeball suddenly flying toward them.

Thinking it might be an attack flying toward the two of them, Kim Seol tried to instantly draw up her mana, but.

“…Where the hell is it going?”

The eyeball ignored the two people and flew swiftly toward the back.

Unable to even dispel the ice gathered at her fingertips, Kim Seol stared blankly in that direction.

The eyeball, now so far away it was no longer visible, dropped right into the middle of the jungle, and only then did Kim Seol mutter in a flustered tone.

“What the hell was that really?”

“Isn’t it something that only appears here? Like a monster?”

“Something like that…?”

Monsters were originally strange-looking, but could they really look like that?

It was at that moment when Kim Seol was looking incredulously in the direction where the eyeball had disappeared.

Beep- Beep- Beep-

A sound loud enough to pierce through the harsh rain noise.

Lee Taek-ju frowned at the alarm sound that was noisy enough for everyone in Gontawa to hear.

At the same time, Kim Seol muttered.

“…Now I know whose eye that was.”

“Whose eye was it?”

“Let’s go.”

Instead of kindly answering, Kim Seol immediately drew up her mana.

In this scenario, the only person who would send something that strange flying was Lee Hae-won.

‘That must be the clue.’

She must have discovered something at the temple and sent them a signal.

Of course, she didn’t expect such a loud assist that would draw the attention of everyone in Gontawa.

Still, considering how she had helped with scenarios so far, there must be a clear reason for that eye too.

“We need to get there first.”

Kim Seol gave a concise instruction and leaped toward the air.

Whatever that clue was, since it made such a loud noise, it would have drawn the attention of the Gontawa people.

Kim Seol began rapidly crossing through the air while freezing the rain.

Lee Taek-ju stared blankly at Kim Seol’s figure getting smaller and smaller in an instant, then belatedly shouted.

“I don’t have skills like that-!”

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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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