24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 232

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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 232

Episode 232. Records of Observation on Ruin (1)

My name, written at the top of a paper folded neatly in half twice.
Upon seeing that letter, unmistakably in Brother’s handwriting, I neither laughed with joy nor burst into tears.
“Huh?”
All that escaped me was a hollow laugh.
Setting aside the sense of accomplishment at finally discovering the clue Brother had left behind.
‘He hid it on the 100th Floor?’
It was absurd that he deliberately concealed it here, forcing me to take such a roundabout journey.
He could have simply placed it in a drawer at our home.
As I gazed down at the letter, swallowing my frustration, Manti let out a small sound.

-Has something gone wrong?

I was torn between whether to rage at the fact that Brother was the one who had inflicted such a tremendous ordeal upon me.
Though I wanted to confess those feelings, I instead gently scratched the soft crown of Manti’s head and let my anger subside.
“It’s nothing like that.”
Reassured, Manti closed its eyes again and purred softly, and listening to that sound, I carefully unfolded the letter.
My heart was racing for some reason.
I had firmly believed Brother was alive and had told others as much, yet I had never actually found proof that he was.
This was the first time.
But the moment I saw the first sentence, my lips pressed shut.

[You’re probably resenting me right now, wondering why I made you go through such lengths to find this.]

‘Lee Hae-on, you perceptive bastard.’
Perhaps because we share blood, he possessed the talent to perfectly grasp my psychology without even seeing me.
The tension I had felt at discovering a trace left by Brother evaporated entirely.
I twisted my lips and read the next line.

[But there was a reason it had to be this way. You don’t particularly like receiving things for free, do you?]

I’m certain of one thing: this isn’t it.
I’ve become the epitome of modern humanity—someone who gets excited over handouts.
I let out a dry laugh and traced back through my memories.
Perhaps Brother’s data on me is outdated.
Back when Brother used to feed me… yes, I never liked it when he’d carelessly toss something at me out of pity.
I had always possessed a stubborn nature—I’d rather seize what I needed than accept charity.
‘But that’s all in the past now.’

[I need to tell you this first. I’m not sure how much you’ve figured out, but regarding the roles we’ve been given. We were designated from the beginning to protect the Dimension. Lee Hae-on, you won’t remember this, but long before the Tower of Babel came into existence, we were destined to become the Creator and the Director.
If you hadn’t discovered this much, would these characters appear as blank squares to you?]
If you haven’t figured it out by now, does this character look like a square to you?

That’s precisely why my mind felt even more troubled.
When I couldn’t remember.
Was my suspicion really correct—that this situation connected to that old incident?
I struggled to steady my turbulent thoughts and forced my gaze down to the next line.
I forced myself to pull my gaze down to the next line, struggling to steady my unsettled mind.

The stories of countless Dimensions placed upon the stage, and how they all ended.
At some point, I came to realize something. Climbing the Tower to the very top doesn’t actually set us free.]
At some point, I came to realize that climbing the Tower all the way to the top doesn’t mean we become free.

But as if Brother knew I would doubt, the next line spoke to me once more.
As if knowing I would suspect this, the next line spoke to me once more.

That’s right, even if we climb to the 100th Floor, the Dimension won’t be liberated from Babel.

My admiration for Brother’s foresight was brief. I stared blankly at the sentence, reading it twice.
This is… quite a serious matter, isn’t it?
No, there’s no room for doubt. It’s definitely serious.
All the enormous effort I’ve invested in clearing the Scenario amounts to nothing.
Then what in the world does a 100-Floor Tower even exist for…?
I blinked, trying my best to maintain composure.
Brother wasn’t the type to simply throw a problem at me and end the conversation without thought.
‘There has to be something more.’
There’s definitely something more to it.

[Dimensions that have climbed all the way to the 100th Floor don’t perish. But that doesn’t mean they become safe. Every single person protecting that dimension vanishes into the Tower.
Even after clearing the entire Tower, the Sudden Gates never disappear.
You don’t need me to spell out what happens to a dimension abandoned by its Awakened, do you?]

I understood perfectly.
So the Tower of Babel never disappears even after reaching the 100th Floor, Sudden Gates keep appearing, and dimensions gradually perish on their own without a savior….
‘It’s an apocalypse, basically.’
I began rereading the letter with a heavy heart.

[But I discovered a dimension that survived without even reaching the top of the Tower.]

“…!”
I’ve been receiving shocks far too frequently today, and this one hit me just as hard.
Now that I’m convinced Tower clearance means survival, this is truly a glimmer of hope.
Of course—Brother wouldn’t leave behind a letter filled with nothing but despair.

[That place was strange. You should already know about the grace period for Scenario clearance, right?
That dimension stopped progressing at the 54th Floor, and even after two years, it never perished. And it wasn’t the only one like that.
I spent an extraordinarily long time traveling through multiple dimensions searching for ones that survived without clearing the Scenario.]

‘So that’s why.’
I bit my lip hard.
This was the reason Brother, a D-rank Hunter, frequented the Tower so relentlessly.
Perhaps because of his title as Director, Brother possessed some method to move between dimensions.
That’s why he was away from home so often….

[I’m leaving you a book I obtained during my travels. Read it slowly from the beginning. It might become the key to saving our dimension.]

To find a way to save our dimension.
I looked down at the book Brother had left behind.
‘Observation Records of Ruin’.
Could this be the key to overcoming dimensional collapse that Brother had envisioned?
The letter was nearing its end.

[However… obtaining this might mean I’ll be away for a very long time. Since you haven’t Awakened yet, Lee Hae-on, I’m sorry for leaving without telling you anything.
Let’s see each other again.
Take care of yourself and eat well.]

The final message was brief and concise.
I read the short sentences “See you again” and “Take care of yourself and eat well” multiple times.
“…Sigh, I know you’re sorry, at least.”
Then I deliberately turned my gaze away from the letter, muttering under my breath.
I don’t know what emotion Brother was drowning in when he wrote this letter, but my heart feels strangely unsettled.
Gratitude, longing, resentment at why he tried to shoulder everything alone.
So many emotions are welling up that my mind can barely contain them all.
One thing is certain: this could be a clue to saving our Dimension.
The book with its ominous name and the contents of the letter.
And on top of that, “the price paid for obtaining this.”
‘Could it be that he made a deal with the Broker?’
Of course, there’s not a shred of evidence for that, but falling into the Lost World as a Fallen One couldn’t just happen by chance.
I gently brushed the worn leather cover that carried the distinctive musty smell of age.
It must be an extraordinary item, so he must have paid a considerable price for it.
“…Could this possibly be an item on the forbidden trade list?”
Saying it aloud makes it sound more plausible.
Since I’m the Creator and serve as Market Administrator, I can view it and even purchase it “with restrictions.”
But Brother might not have such functions with his title.
I carefully repositioned the peacefully sleeping Manti in my arms and sat down cautiously on the ground.
The water that had submerged my ankles now soaked my thighs and knees, but I didn’t mind.
For now… all I need to do is read this book.

* * *

I never thought I’d find myself savoring a book word by word like this.
An ancient tome so worn that the paper crumbles at the slightest touch.
But that made sense, because there wasn’t a single sentence in the book that could be easily skipped over.
The preface itself was like that.

[I am Biwet Fobinum, the Director of ‘Sonara.’
The reason I wrote this book is simple.
For all beings who believe that climbing the Tower is the only way to escape destruction.
There exist worlds in this universe that survived precisely because they were destroyed.
More precisely, worlds that survived because they failed to climb the Tower to its end.]

It took a moment to process those words.
Even thinking about it again, it’s truly ironic.
A world that survived because it was destroyed—it doesn’t make sense logically.

[Babel always extracts a fair price.
To halt the apocalypse, Babel expends tremendous power, and to maintain balance, it demands something from the Dimension.
If the reader of this book is an existence seeking to save the Dimension from apocalypse, you must understand this well.]

Okay, noted.
That transaction, that price.
It’s a story I’m sick of hearing by now, but since it’s supposedly important, I need to keep it in mind.
I carefully turned the half-torn page.
Beyond that were countless cautions and warnings from the author, and I meticulously absorbed each detail into my mind.
To become Earth’s deus ex machina… though I lack the power.
I understand I must play a similar role.
Mustering concentration after so long, I stopped at a certain page.

[Method One. Ten beings counted among the Dimension’s strongest renounce all their power and promise to be forgotten.]

I crumpled my expression and sighed.
“Huh?”
The moment I read it, I immediately grasped it was an impossible method.
Though Seo Jae-hyuk, ranked first on Earth’s rankings, is from our country, below him are people from other nations aplenty.
In the first place, clearing Babel Tower directly correlates to national power.
On top of that, if I went around saying “If you surrender your lives, the apocalypse won’t happen!” who would even listen?
Below that were accounts of cases where this method allowed escape from apocalypse, but they were all terrifying anecdotes.
I realized I needed to find the next method.

[Method Two. Open a Dimensional Door and evacuate all beings.]

‘…You’re joking.’
There was an additional note that it was only possible when the number of lifeforms remaining in the Dimension was absurdly small.
Only the Creator and the Director can open a Dimensional Door.
‘I can’t do it right now.’
Could it become possible if my Skill level rises?
Clinging to that sliver of hope, I continued reading, but the more I read, the more negative it became.
Looking at the cases, they were only instances where the Creator was born with tremendous ability—a genius prodigy.
Some dragon or other, an Archmage.
I immediately gave up and turned the page to find the next method.
And.

[Method Three. Eliminate the cause of the apocalypse and halt its progression.]

Upon seeing the third method, I froze as though entranced.
I knew all too well who would become the cause of our dimension’s destruction.
“…Seo Jae-hyuk.”

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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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