24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 219

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. 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 219

Episode 219. A Ray of Sunlight (7)

Memory was closer to sensation than image.
The rustling sounds and rain obscured other noises, but more than that, most of the necklace’s memories seemed obscured by something, preventing me from seeing them clearly.
The damp, cool scent of earth and the musty air peculiar to underground spaces were vivid.
It seemed Kaem hadn’t worn the necklace outside his clothes.
Through the thin priestly robes, I could faintly make out what lay ahead…
“Ugh.”
I grumbled with distaste.
I had forcibly tried to forget that the chest portion of Kaem’s priestly robes was made of mesh.
Han Ro-mi, who had been walking beside me, looked up with a puzzled expression.
In any case, the necklace hadn’t shown memories in pristine full HD clarity, but it seemed to be around 240P quality.
The place where God slept could be accessed through a small statue positioned behind the Temple.
Opening a small door on the ground behind the statue revealed a staircase descending underground.
Since it was underground, of course it wouldn’t appear on the map.
If the detection pen had been S-rank, would it have drawn everything, underground and all?
I quickened my pace while entertaining these meaningless thoughts.
“Here it is.”
“Underground? Then it would’ve been submerged in water.”
Kim Seol murmured in a lukewarm tone upon seeing the small wooden door revealed as I tore away the vines.
I ignored her words and quietly grasped the handle.

Creak—

It seemed Kaem hadn’t visited recently either, for the door was quite stiff.
“…Would you mind lending a hand?”
Lee Taek-ju rolled up his sleeves and pressed against it, and only after we both exerted ourselves for several minutes could we finally open the door leading underground.
A narrow stone staircase, unmarred by even a trace of moss, stretched endlessly into the darkness.
A warm breeze of unclear origin seeped from within, but there were no guiding marks to speak of.
“I’ll illuminate the interior…”
Han Ro-mi, who had remained silent and merely breathing until now, released her distinctive jade-green mana inward.
Han Ro-mi’s mana illuminated the space beyond the door with a soft glow, yet all I could see were stairs descending endlessly downward.
“Something feels rather eerie about this, doesn’t it?”
“Let’s finish this quickly and leave.”
Her homing instinct apparently fierce enough to pierce the heavens, Kim Seol strode boldly into the passage.
After descending the stairs for some time, I realized something remarkable: no rain was seeping inside.
Above, a terribly heavy downpour was falling, yet the moment we passed through the door, the sound of rain ceased as if it were a lie.
What was even more remarkable was the complete absence of moisture.
Unlike the temple floor above, which despite being cleaned remained damp and even had muddy water flowing across it, the underground sanctuary’s air felt dry—almost pleasantly warm.
‘Where is this warmth coming from in an underground space?’
Perhaps there was some special mechanism since this was a holy temple, but the stark difference between outside and inside felt distinctly alien.
Had some kind of barrier been erected at the threshold from the start?
Moreover, despite being a fairly spacious and isolated underground chamber, the space was eerily quiet, as if sound itself were being absorbed.
Was it because everyone in our assault team walked silently and wordlessly through this suspicious space?
Yet even our footsteps barely made a sound.
‘Ugh, this is unsettling.’
We stopped walking after traversing for quite some time, arriving at an enormous hall.
A hall connected to a long staircase—the structure was so utterly typical it was almost absurd.
“That must be God, I suppose?”
Lee Taek-ju murmured with curiosity in his voice.
True to Lee Taek-ju’s words, there was indeed a God in the center of the hall.
But it wasn’t quite the grand spectacle one might expect.
“For a holy temple, this is rather…”
“There’s nothing here at all…”
Kim Seol and Han Ro-mi criticized sharply, and I could only agree with them.
I had assumed that since the temple above was quite magnificent and impressive, the underground sanctuary would be equally befitting—a space radiating holiness.
There was no ornate altar, no divine resting place, just an empty cavern.
Yet there was one thing that made it possible to accept this place as a holy temple.
Namely, the figure hovering in mid-air at the very center of the hall.
Though perhaps not a person, strictly speaking.
‘Could that be Nianusu?’
I stepped forward.
The God, bearing the form of an adult man, emanated a soft white light across his entire body.
A face with delicate features and gently closed eyes, framed by long lemon-colored hair that covered half the face.
An off-shoulder Robe that looked like something an ancient Greek god might have worn flowed down her lean frame, following every contour, and her hair cascaded in the same elegant manner.
At first glance, she radiated such sanctity that it was as if she were proclaiming, “I am divine.”
“Quite the sacred countenance, I must say.”
Lee Taek-ju added his own words of admiration.
Nianusu floated in the void with her knees drawn up to her chest, her body curled into a perfect sphere.
Like a child lost in peaceful slumber within the womb.
Her serene face, unmarred by any worry or concern, left all of us speechless—we could only stare.
I’d encountered gods quite frequently while clearing Scenarios, but never one so approachable as this.
I carefully approached, leaving the Assault Team members to ponder their next move.
Then I extended one arm and swept it smoothly beneath Nianusu.
“Oh!”
She really was floating.
Kim Seol, witnessing my flailing arm, suddenly furrowed her brow and cried out.
“What are you doing!”
“I was curious whether she was really floating.”
Kim Seol looked at me with utter exasperation.
Well, given the circumstances, it was certain that the man floating without any support whatsoever was Nianusu.
“We need to wake her now.”
At Kim Seol’s composed words, Lee Taek-ju and Han Ro-mi shifted their gaze.
If waking this sleeping god was the final step of this Scenario, we were on the verge of clearing it.
But the problem was that this god remained asleep despite all the commotion surrounding her.
“Hey there—!?”
Lee Taek-ju called out in a booming voice several times, but to no avail.
Lee Taek-ju, coughing in the dry air of the Underground Sanctuary, soon threw up both hands and feet in surrender.
“Do gods not experience REM sleep? Why is she sleeping so deeply?”
“Sound sleep helps relieve stress.”
“Both of you, stop spouting useless nonsense.”
At the cold rebuke, I pressed my lips firmly shut.
Lee Taek-ju, accustomed to the guild leader’s irritation as a member of Haebing, continued without concern.
“Seeing how she doesn’t wake even with all this noise, it seems like there must be another method.”
“Hmm, are you saying we should just collide with her?”
I hadn’t meant it seriously, but it was Han Ro-mi who reacted to my words.
“Then….”
Han Ro-mi moved her hands gently, then summoned the Book of Life from thin air.
Her pure white hair rippled, and a jade-green mana enveloped Han Ro-mi’s surroundings, shimmering softly.
Right—she was a Dimension with mana resistance who could summon rain, so perhaps mana itself could be the key.
Han Ro-mi extracted several Emblems from within the jade-green glowing book.
The Emblems that floated into the air illuminated the Holy Temple brilliantly, and at that same moment, Han Ro-mi opened her mouth toward Nianusu, but.
“…It’s not working.”
Nothing happened—it was simply beautiful, nothing more.
Han Ro-mi blinked slowly and quietly retreated backward.
Even though she acted embarrassed, it somehow didn’t show on her face.
The next to step forward was Lee Taek-ju, who had already dusted himself off and stood up.
“Then shall we try shaking things up physically?”
Lee Taek-ju, who had been boasting with an oddly triumphant tone, soon brought his hands together.
At the same time, soil bubbling up from the cracks in the floor began to gather into one mass.
The soil churned and frothed as it took shape, soon transforming into a colossal hand.
A massive earthen hand that looked to be roughly three meters tall.
Lee Taek-ju stretched his hand forward with a confident grin, as if to say trust only in him.
And with his fist firmly clenched, Lee Taek-ju soon threw a decisive punch through the empty air.
The earthen hand followed Lee Taek-ju’s motion and hurtled toward Nianusu.
But then.
“Wow, what the—!”
The colossal earthen hand shattered against something invisible, and the soil scattered chaotically in all directions.
“Ugh, ptooey.”
That the soil splattered onto me and Kim Seol, who were standing in front, hardly needs explanation.
“I-I’m so sorry. How was I to know it would spray in that direction?”
Lee Taek-ju scratched the back of his neck with an awkward expression, then flinched upon seeing Kim Seol.
I had only gotten a little splattered here and there, but Kim Seol—
“…Kim Seol, are you okay?”
She was covered head to toe in an enormous mud mask.
Kim Seol’s expression, having been subjected to this unexpected mud treatment, had hardened into something so frigid and rigid it sent chills down one’s spine.
Lee Taek-ju, sensing he was about to receive a scolding, brought his hands together respectfully with a resigned expression.
But instead of lashing out at Lee Taek-ju, Kim Seol stepped forward.
“Fine. One hit should break it.”
With that, she swept her right hand to the side, and Winterfrost materialized.
The sickle gleamed with a chilling aura cold enough to freeze even the dry, warm air within the holy temple.
The massive scythe’s imposing visage, combined with the murderous intent she radiated, made Kim Seol look as though she could strike Nianusu down at any moment.
Regardless of my concerns, Kim Seol hoisted Winterfrost without the slightest hesitation.
“Wait, Kim Seol!”
In the urgent moment I tried to stop her, the sharp blade flew with precision directly above the sleeping God’s head.
But then.

Clang—

A dull, thunderous roar reverberated through the entire space.
The shockwave from the barrier erupted, sending Kim Seol flying through the air.
Defenseless, Kim Seol crashed ungracefully into the wall.
“Did you know this would happen?”
Kim Seol, completely disheveled, brushed her hair back with a bewildered expression.
“I mean, we’re trying to awaken a god here, but charging at him like you’re trying to kill him seems a bit… morally questionable, don’t you think?”
“….”
“Anyway, it’s clear that attacking won’t even scratch the barrier.”
I ignored Kim Seol’s intense gaze and stared quietly at Nianusu.
‘How am I supposed to wake him?’
Lee Taek-ju didn’t work, Han Ro-mi didn’t work, Kim Seol didn’t work.
Was it never about using magical power in the first place?
I scratched my chin and slowly approached Nianusu.
“What are you doing?”
“Just trying to wake him.”
“You can’t get close. You saw the barrier.”
“Come on, you can’t just trust what you see.”
Kim Seol didn’t bother responding, apparently deciding I wasn’t worth her time.
‘People are so consistent.’
It was amusing how she could confess something so awkwardly to me yet maintain that same attitude.
Either way, I didn’t want to end up like Kim Seol crammed into a corner, so I deliberately approached with caution.
First, I needed to figure out how far the barrier extended.
One step, two steps, three steps.
It didn’t block me for quite a distance.
I kept walking without stopping.
“…Huh?”
Lee Taek-ju gasped in surprise.
I stopped after seventeen steps and turned around.
“Kim Seol, look at this.”
“What.”
“You were wrong?”
Kim Seol frowned, looking bewildered.
But she really was wrong.
I was now standing close enough to Nianusu that I could have carried him like a princess!
Up close, the god looked incredibly frail.
Perhaps it was his pale face, so colorless that he barely seemed to breathe.
Perhaps it was his gaunt frame, despite his adult male appearance.
He had gone far beyond merely thin—he looked starved.
“So what do we do now?”
Kim Seol asked calmly without acknowledging her mistake.
I carefully raised my hand and grasped Nianusu’s shoulder.
As my hand made contact without any obstruction, the sound of three failures inhaling sharply came from behind me.
I began to gently shake his shoulder and whisper softly.
“The… the round sun has risen. Won’t you get up from your seat…?”
From behind, where I glanced back, Kim Seol was staring at me as if I’d lost my mind.
No, I hadn’t thought about how to wake him up at all!

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