24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 240

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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 240

Episode 240. Ruin (5)

Wait, isn’t it common sense that you’d explain *why* something is impossible in situations like this?
Of course, I know there’s no time for a lengthy response with all that pounding continuing overhead.
But even if it’s impossible, knowing the reason would help me find another way through, wouldn’t it?

[Asmodeus must have other powers besides illusions.]

Even if Asmodeus only used illusions, he couldn’t possibly have illusions as his only ability.
The response came back faster than before, and shorter too.

[> New Message
– Difficult | Park Ji-woon (Dimension-Earth)]

…He didn’t even finish typing.
I glanced upward at the rapidly escalating situation above and made a careful guess.
“Ah… you mean it’s difficult, right?”
Based on the context, that had to be it…?
My initial shock faded quickly, and I reorganized my thoughts based on Park Ji-woon’s response.
There’s no way Asmodeus’s abilities are limited to just illusions.
He couldn’t have climbed that relentless Tower of Babel all the way to the top with only illusion powers.
But Park Ji-woon’s “difficult” was as definitive as “impossible.”
That meant even if Asmodeus was originally powerful, he couldn’t use all his strength here.
That was the moment.
“Wait.”
Nam Pu-reum’s eyes, whispered coldly, grew serious and sharp.
With a lowered stance and eyes darting upward, I instinctively crouched down as well.
“What?”
“Park Ji-woon’s response is a bit slow.”
…You can tell that just from the sound.
Without even time to marvel at an S-rank Hunter’s abilities, a ferocious killing intent beyond my reach consumed Nam Pu-reum’s small frame and rumbled through it.
“I have to go.”
“W-what?”
I desperately grabbed Nam Pu-reum’s small shoulder.
Nam Pu-reum blinked, expression puzzled at my reaction.
I couldn’t bring myself to voice such hopeless words and merely opened and closed my mouth.
‘Even if you go now, do you think you can actually handle it?!’
Though I maintained an outward composure, Nam Pu-reum was equally battered and bruised.
The very fact that I was coordinating this plan with Park Ji-woon and acting on it proved we’d already clashed once.
Potions could restore our health, certainly.
But Potions didn’t amplify Nam Pu-reum’s combat prowess enough to actually suppress Seo Jae-hyuk.
So then….
‘It really does come down to me.’
Not self-aggrandizement—it genuinely seemed like I was the only option left.
I met Nam Pu-reum’s gaze as he stared up at me with wide eyes, unable to break free from my grip.
For now, Nam Pu-reum had to be our vanguard, whether we liked it or not.
Beyond the title “Silent Executioner” and the fact that he possessed assassination-specialized Skills, nothing else was known about Nam Pu-reum.
Even I, who had been trapped in a Gate with him, didn’t know exactly what his Skills were.
Of course, I wasn’t going to ask Nam Pu-reum to defeat Seo Jae-hyuk.
“Do you have any Skills that could draw Seo Jae-hyuk’s attention and annoy him?”
All I needed was for Seo Jae-hyuk to break his focus on Park Ji-woon, even for a moment, and concentrate on Nam Pu-reum instead.
“Yeah, I’ve got ‘Illusory Clone’, ‘Shadow Veil’s Stroll’, ‘Virulent Toxin Manifestation’, and….”
“Hey, you know you’re not supposed to just casually reveal your Skills like that, right?”
“But you’re on my side.”
“That’s true, but don’t go around telling others. Anyway, what exactly do all these Skills do?”
“‘Illusory Clone’ creates duplicates, and ‘Shadow Veil’s Stroll’ lets me move through shadows.”
Perhaps because he’d spoken at length for the first time in a while, Nam Pu-reum swallowed once.
“‘Virulent Toxin Manifestation’ is just releasing toxins….”
“What kind of toxins?”
“There are several types… the one I use most often disrupts the flow of mana.”
“Then use that one!”
I gripped Nam Pu-reum’s shoulder firmly as I spoke.
Seo Jae-hyuk’s ultimate Skill, “Symphony of Eternity,” hadn’t appeared yet.
This meant Seo Jae-hyuk was conserving his mana.
Given that the area outside the Tower had far less mana than inside, he was likely calculating his consumption carefully with every action.
If Nam Pu-reum disrupted the flow of his mana in such a situation, Seo Jae-hyuk’s entire focus would shift to managing his mana reserves.
“And keep harassing him until the toxin fully spreads.”
If Nam Pu-reum continued stabbing and retreating without pause while the toxin took effect, it would give Park Ji-woon the opening he needed.
Of course, the two of them would need to coordinate their attacks until the toxin fully spread.
Nam Pu-reum stared at me intently before nodding.
Grateful that he responded with equal seriousness, perhaps because I wore such a determined expression.
“In exchange, tell Park Ji-woon to either respond to my message or come here within ten minutes. I’ll climb up to the 30th Floor-.”
“The 30th Floor is dangerous.”
“Then I’ll go up to the 29th Floor instead, so just buy me thirty seconds.”
“What are you planning to do?”
Nam Pu-reum’s expression made it clear he genuinely didn’t understand.
I’m just the Market owner—I don’t understand why I’m even making requests like this. That’s what Nam Pu-reum’s candid expression seemed to say.
I withdrew my hand from Nam Pu-reum’s shoulder and muttered under my breath.
“…I’m trying to formulate a plan.”
Nam Pu-reum continued staring at me with eyes that screamed incomprehension.
At that same moment, a tremendous boom erupted from above, shaking the entire building.
I hastily shoved Nam Pu-reum’s shoulder.
“Go. Now.”
Worried, Nam Pu-reum glanced back at me twice before disappearing in an instant the moment his feet touched the stairs.
So the second thing I needed to find was a way to transform Park Bo-bae into an overpowered character capable of withstanding S-rank power.
“Sam-i.”

[⁕ Yes, you called for me? :)]

“Find me an item that lets an A-rank Hunter use S-rank Hunter power, even if just for a moment.”
Our side is lacking in damage output, but the biggest problem is that we have no tank.
If Lee Hwa-yeon were here, I wouldn’t need to worry about this.
‘But she’s trapped in the Tower right now.’
I have no choice but to pin my hopes on Park Bo-bae.
After a brief wait, a window materialized before my eyes.

[Heart of Raging Currents (S)
The flame of wrath that the god of the battlefield granted only once to those weaker than himself.
Upon use, for 1 minute, all physical abilities and magical output of the wearer are elevated beyond the current rank’s upper limit.
After the effect ends, the wearer falls into extreme exhaustion, and the Fire Ember is completely extinguished.]

Single-use. One minute duration.
Even one minute is good enough.
If Park Bo-bae can block Seo Jae-hyuk’s power and Park Ji-woon and Nam Pu-reum time their attacks perfectly, one minute might not be such a short window after all.
The problem is what happens when the effect ends.
After one minute passes, exhaustion sets in, meaning we get exactly one chance.
‘Fine, whatever the cost.’
Is this really the time for me to be picky?

[⁕ That will be 96,700 Gold. :)]

It was a price I wanted to hide.
No matter how grave the situation, tears pricked my eyes at the number that made my heart ache.
But.
‘What can I do? Just buy it.’
I feigned indifference, made the purchase decision coolly, and averted my gaze with practiced ease.
This was a moment where I had to bear the vivid sensation of Gold slipping away with composure….
After confirming the item had arrived in my Inventory, I began racing down the stairs at full speed.
Nam Pu-reum would relay my message to Park Ji-woon, and poison would spread through Seo Jae-hyuk’s body in roughly ten minutes.
In that window, I had to meet Park Bo-bae, hand over the item, and explain the situation.
I prayed I wouldn’t have to descend far, and fortunately, I encountered Park Bo-bae just as he was ascending the 18th Floor.
Park Bo-bae, carrying the ominous momentum of an impending battle, felt my presence and came to an abrupt halt.
We had met once before at Laocoön, but encountering him in such a narrow, confined passage made him appear even more massive.
‘He’s still smaller than Alessandro.’
I conjured the image of Alessandro’s generous face to maintain my composure.
Park Bo-bae regarded the robed stranger who had appeared so suddenly with clear wariness.
“Park Bo-bae.”
“…Who are you?”
Park Bo-bae erased his usual kind neighbor’s gaze and fixed me with sharp, cutting eyes.
‘This man isn’t even breathing hard.’
He naturally had better lung capacity than me, but I set aside the nagging sense of defeat for now.
Yeah, fine, I admit it’s suspicious.
“I’m going to give you an item. Please use it to block Seo Jae-hyuk’s attack.”
But there’s no time to explain, so let me get straight to the point.
I abruptly thrust a rust-colored bracelet from my Inventory toward him.
Park Bo-bae, caught off guard as he received the item I offered, furrowed his brow sharply.
“Who are you?”
Of course, he hadn’t accepted it willingly.
His gaze suggested he would drive me through the wall and send me plummeting below if I didn’t reveal my identity.
But explaining who I was would require quite a bit of additional context.
So I decided to ignore his question.
“That’s an S-rank item worth 960 million won. When you activate it, you can use S-rank power for exactly one minute. Nam Pu-reum and Park Ji-woon will be able to attack—all you need to do is block Seo Jae-hyuk’s attack just once.”
“Wait, what—”
“You know his ultimate ability, right? Eternal Symphony. You absolutely must prevent him from using it.”
“I—”
“Go up now. And remember—don’t use it the moment you get there.”
‘He’s quite curious.’
He had far too many questions for such an urgent situation.
Without hesitation, I patted Park Bo-bae’s shoulders repeatedly and pushed him toward the upper floors.
Flustered, Park Bo-bae turned back to look at me, but I added firmly:
“You absolutely must block it.”
Just as Park Bo-bae, still unaware of my true identity, was about to say something.

Boom—

An ominous roar echoed from above.
The continuous rumbling, as if something were colliding in succession, was more than enough to make Park Bo-bae abandon his suspicions and grow anxious.
Park Bo-bae made his decision immediately and began running upward at full speed.
Well then.
“At least I’ve provided a shield.”
Now for the third and final piece.
‘I need to make it so Park Ji-woon can attack properly.’
In truth, I had no idea whether this would actually work.
But through various experiences, I’ve come to realize that Babel’s system permits far more than one might expect.
So if I wanted to make Park Ji-woon stronger than Seo Jae-hyuk, who had become this dimension’s calamity.
‘There must be a way.’
The dimension’s destruction is what ruins the stage.
And I am the Creator, possessing the power to orchestrate circumstances so the stage can continue.
I began walking slowly upward once more.
Only five minutes had passed since meeting Park Bo-bae and handing over the Heart of Turbulence.
Now I had five minutes to find a solution.
My lips began to dry from the tension I felt.
I moistened my lips lightly and took a deep breath.
Let me try to save this dimension properly, so that someone as insignificant as me can actually make a difference.
Then I spoke into the empty air.
“Sam-i.”
Please, let my thinking be correct.
“What’s needed to allow Park Ji-woon, a being from another dimension, to use his original power here?”
I had been planning to find a way for Asmodeus to use his original power here no matter what.

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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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