24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 241

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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 241

Episode 241. Annihilation (6)

I climbed the stairs slowly, muttering with careful deliberation.
“…Sam-i?”
Why was the response so delayed today of all times?
In a situation like this, I needed Sam-i to answer promptly so I could determine my next move.
As the silence stretched, my anxiety deepened.
The closer I got to the 29th Floor where I was supposed to meet Park Ji-woon, the more impatient I became—my mouth had gone completely dry.
The thunderous pounding from above continued in steady rhythm, echoing like my own heartbeat.
It meant Nam Pu-reum, Park Ji-woon, and Park Bo-bae who had joined them were holding their own, but I couldn’t know how much longer they could endure.
‘Already at the 25th Floor….’
I gripped the stair railing tightly.
I’d never waited this anxiously even for entrance exam results.
Why was Sam-i, who usually spoke before I could even open my mouth, making me sweat like this now?
Just as I was about to open my mouth to push for an answer again—

[⁕ The search took some time :)]

“Fine, just tell me.”

[⁕ Based on the description you provided, I searched for ‘a system adjustment item that temporarily nullifies a Dimensional Contract and fully unlocks all original power of the contracted target’ :)]

“Yes!”
I cried out with wide eyes.
Sam-i, who usually understood my intentions perfectly even when I spoke carelessly, had grasped my meaning completely without needing further explanation!
At the same time, an item materialized before my eyes.

[■Perpetual Mist■ ■■■■ The Sixth Finger of Eyes (??)]

My throat tightened the moment I finished reading.
As the Creator, the number of censored sections had decreased considerably, but the text was still riddled with black boxes.
Yet upon seeing the word “eye,” I instinctively grasped that this item was far from ordinary.
I remembered the Broker’s name from the 75th Floor with perfect clarity.
‘The Eye That Tasted Bitterness.’
That Broker possessed such tremendous power that he could interfere with the Dimensional Rift itself.
So this item couldn’t possibly be something as trivial as a mere finger.

[■Perpetual Mist■ ■■■■ The Sixth Finger of the Eye (??)
■Perpetual Mist■ ■■■■ A finger severed by the Eye to preserve the existence of the dimension it once gazed upon.
When used on a being bound by a dimensional contract, it temporarily nullifies the contract’s restrictions entirely.
Duration is 5 minutes, and after use, the being that employed this item must ascend the Judgment Seat of Babel.]

Just reading the description made the item’s power evident.
But that wasn’t the problem.

[⁕ This item is being traded as an ‘exchange-only item’ according to the Market Administrator’s special conditions :)]

The note Sam-i had added was the real issue.
I stopped walking entirely, staring blankly at those words.
Exchange-only item.
Reading it again—still exchange-only.
I’d only encountered exchange-only item trades twice before.
Once was the ‘Potion of Resurrection,’ which I abandoned entirely due to its conditions, and once was when I purchased ‘Clear Tears’ to save Jang So-min.
The exchange condition had been a Spirit King Summoning Circle, and I still vividly remembered the hell I endured for it.
…Wait, now that I think about it, I did that because of Seo Jae-hyuk too.
‘At this point, isn’t this a cursed connection?’
Seo Jae-hyuk really owes me his life.
What kind of suffering has this madman put me through?
I suppressed the urge to scream and read the next window Sam-i had sent.

[⁕ Requested Exchange Item: ‘Unique Skill’ :)]
[⁕ According to inquiry, ‘the trade cannot be completed unless it’s unique enough to catch the seller’s eye’ :)]

I stood there with my mouth agape, then leaned my back against the wall.
It was a finger from ‘Eye’, and since the item possessed such an effect, I’d naturally assumed the trade conditions would be extraordinary, but…
‘A unique skill…?’
The requested item for exchange didn’t change no matter how many times I read it.
I possessed a total of four unique skills tied to my title.
Dimensional Door, Repair, Item Appraisal, and Merchant’s Mark.
“Ha…”
A sigh I couldn’t quite swallow escaped my lips.
I bit down hard on my lips and shook my head.
I’d sworn I would spare no effort to save this dimension, but this was different.
To give up my unique skill for an item that would vanish after a single use?
‘Was skill transfer even possible in the first place?’
Even as I harbored such doubts and hesitated, time continued to slip away, and the thunderous roar grew closer.
As if urging me to make a decision immediately, without time to deliberate.
But.
‘How could I give up a skill?’
I closed my eyes and covered my face with my hands.
If I thought about it, among my current skills, Repair and Item Appraisal could hardly be called ‘unique skills’.
That left only two options: Dimensional Door and Merchant’s Mark.
However, Dimensional Door was directly tied to the title that allowed me to exist as a Market Administrator, so under no circumstances could I part with it.
“…That leaves Merchant’s Mark.”
Even after speaking it aloud, I couldn’t bring myself to decide.
Merchant’s Mark.
That passive skill which had been with me since the day I first opened Friendly Market.
There were countless problems I’d been able to solve thanks to that skill.
The fact that I, with merely an F-rank body, could safely navigate the Tower was all because of it…

[⁕ Your Tower entry qualification has been upgraded to the superior hidden title ‘Creator’, so you need not worry, Administrator :)]

“…Ah, really?”
Sam-i had misunderstood again in that typical blunt way.
She didn’t seem to realize that my concern extended far beyond simply whether I could enter the Tower or not.
‘But what about my immortality?’

[⁕ Immortality is included within the scope of ‘Merchant’s Mark’ :)]

See? I’m not immortal just because I’m the Creator.
I got my hopes up for nothing, only to be disappointed again.
I hesitated for a long time.
Even if I can still enter the Tower, the fact that I can now die is just the same.
With so many floors still left to climb, if I lose my trump card ability here and start playing it safe, I might not be as useful as before.
Maybe I should abandon the expedition entirely.
Countless worries bubbled up in my mind one after another.
But then.
“Get a grip, Lee Hae-won.”
I deliberately gave myself a harsh self-hypnosis.
If I abandon the deal out of fear of dying and just leave it to the Hunters up there….
‘The Dimension will collapse.’
If the Dimension collapses, I’ll die anyway.
If I hesitate here thinking it’s a waste, the absolute worst will come. That much is certain.
‘What am I hesitating about when there’s no choice?’
Hesitation is a luxury I cannot afford.
I took a short deep breath and muttered.
“I’ll put the Merchant’s Mark up as the exchange condition.”

[⁕ Once you exchange a unique Skill, it cannot be restored 🙂 Are you sure you want to proceed?]

“Yeah, stop asking before I cry!”
Don’t even smile!
I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the change that would come to me.
In that moment, one familiar sensation quietly went dark.
Like realizing something existed only after it disappeared—something so natural I barely knew it was there.
It’s nothing.
I didn’t even have it from the beginning.
‘Yeah, it’s nothing.’
I reaffirmed it once more and checked the item that arrived in my Inventory.
A small, bizarre finger-shaped object.
The desiccated finger, looking like something straight out of an anime, squeezed my heart uncomfortably just by looking at it.
I clenched the withered stick-like finger and furrowed my brow.
At that moment, I heard hurried footsteps rushing down from above.
“Lee Hae-won?”
Park Ji-woon appeared before me in an instant, breathing heavily as if he’d just come down.
He looked quite startled by the fact that I, who should have been safely confined in Karma, had made it all the way here.
Of course, I was a bit startled too.
Before I could even sink into the sadness of losing the Merchant’s Mark, Park Ji-woon’s appearance was far too unfamiliar.
His usual composed demeanor had vanished without a trace.
Not to mention the gloves that protected others from his charm.
The bare face without the prescription glasses.
Add to that the sharpened momentum from the battle just moments ago, and Park Ji-woon looked like a ferocious beast.
And that dense aura enveloping Park Ji-woon.
‘…He was hiding an aura like that?’
A thick, dark crimson aura so vivid that even my eyes—unable to read magical power—could see it clearly, flowing with every step Park Ji-woon took.
And.
“…It’s Lee Hae-won.”
Asmodeus, hovering in the empty space behind Park Ji-woon, whispered as he looked at me.
The playful glint and languid smile that usually graced Asmodeus’s gaze had vanished entirely, replaced by a completely different expression.
Over his beautifully refined face lay a cold, sharp seriousness.
Yet it didn’t appear merely serious.
Because a yearning to fight flickered through it, briefly visible.
The moment my gaze was stolen by Asmodeus and I blinked, Park Ji-woon stepped closer.
“Using Asmodeus’s power is impossible.”
That was his opening.
“Asmodeus exists as an avatar in this dimension under Babel’s surveillance. They’ve set limits on him. If you were treating Asmodeus as your last resort, then whatever it is, it’s impossible. Have you thought of another way?”
Park Ji-woon’s urgent words struck my ears.
The momentum that his reason for pulling himself from the front lines had to be to give me a definitive answer.
Park Ji-woon, who always showed me consideration, began to lose his composure and pressure me.
A suffocating pressure gripped my throat, making it hard to breathe.
But I withdrew my hand from my pocket without answering.
And slowly opened my palm.
Park Ji-woon couldn’t recognize what I was showing him.
But Asmodeus.
“…Where did you get that?”
Asmodeus leaned forward into my line of sight with a sweet fragrance of deep rose, asking in a honeyed voice.
With his face slowly drawn close to my palm, clear emotion surfaced on Asmodeus’s face.
The languidness, indifference, and composure—all stripped away.
Only a strange madness remained.
Eyes that perceived something very ancient, something that would set me ablaze merely by being observed.
“Lee Hae-won?”
His voice was different too.
Asmodeus understood.
What this was and what it meant.
I lifted the item slightly instead of answering.
“Please.”
Asmodeus looked down at me with complicated eyes.
I thought his fingers would reach for it immediately, but it was my face that his hand approached first.
Asmodeus gently cradled my head and placed a brief kiss on my forehead.
Whether it was a blessing, a greeting, or simply an expression of gratitude.
The cold sensation passed in an instant, too swift for me to even register.
Asmodeus clenched his fist.
And then.
“…Ha.”
The moment I heard Asmodeus let out a soft chuckle.
The air around us inverted.

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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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