24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 25

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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 25

Episode 25. Bolt from the Blue (2)

It took exactly 5 days to create the ‘shopping district’ I had envisioned.

First, two days to adapt to the unheard-of hologram technology while conceptualizing, one day to hide and observe the movements while avoiding the suddenly appearing Wolpae, and another two days to modify the building blueprints here and there.

Tomorrow was already the opening day for the 50th Floor.

Today too, after busily going out from morning to confirm whether Wolpae was conducting reconnaissance, I finally entered the 50th Floor with peace of mind.

Until now, Wolpae had consistently mentioned in interviews that ‘there’s nothing but vast grasslands on the 50th Floor,’ and I was determined to shatter the expectations of people who believed those interviews.

“Just finish this and let me go home, please.”

I muttered complaints that no one could hear into the air as I settled into position.

It had already been 5 days since I couldn’t return to my comfortable home prepared on the 25th Floor.

“Now, let’s take a look.”

In front of me was the hologram laptop I usually used for management work.

The difference from usual was that I had opened a bird’s-eye view of the shopping district instead of the market management window.

A hologram painstakingly created by someone who wasn’t even a specialist, a complete architectural novice, flickered in front of the laptop.

After examining the bird’s-eye view for a while, I looked away from the laptop and spoke with a confident voice.

“I’ll build it here, Sam-i.”

Where I stood was in front of the blue Warp Gate that allowed inter-floor movement.

This Warp Gate, which simply stood tall and shone brightly in the middle of the cave in Ba-man-jang, would become the landmark of my shopping district on the 50th Floor.

[⁕ Would you like to build the shopping district here?]

“Oh, you even ask for confirmation when I told you to confirm.”

My free AI has evolved!

“Build it here.”

As soon as I nodded and answered, everything around began to shine brightly.

Intense light that made it hard to keep my eyes open enveloped me.

Something was definitely happening.

And when I opened my eyes that I had closed.

“…Whoa?”

I was standing inside a building.

Light blue exterior walls identical to the Bamanjang Store on the 25th Floor surrounded me on all sides.

Even the open ceiling showing the clear blue sky was exactly as I had envisioned.

“This is really well done.”

I walked slowly while admiring it.

This should be enough to surprise and astound the other awakened ones entering the 50th Floor tomorrow.

Though I felt sorry for Wolpae who had unintentionally ended up lying, I was extremely satisfied with the ‘shopping district’ I had created.

The Warp Gate was positioned at the center of the shopping district.

I don’t know if there’s anyone else who thinks the same way as me, but I placed the gate right in the center of the market building.

People arriving on the 50th Floor through the gate would immediately enter the Friendly Market building.

There was no need for promotion.

With the market placed right in front of their noses, there’s no way they could miss it.

I muttered with satisfaction while looking up at the sky.

“The sunlight comes in really well too. Nice, very nice.”

I had left the ceiling open.

The square-shaped three-story building created to surround the portal like a courtyard didn’t block the open sky of the 50th Floor.

The sight of sunlight pouring into the building was incredibly peaceful.

Plus the blue light of the rippling Warp Gate.

‘It’s exactly as I imagined.’

I headed toward the stairs I had designed to be visible immediately upon exiting the Warp Gate.

I planned to have shops occupy the 1st and 2nd floors of this building.

Unlike the Bamanjang Store which was packed full with just Kang Yeon-hee’s potion stall and workshop, I built this large enough to accommodate over 50 stores.

On top of that, I even laid out roads extending in a cross pattern.

I thought they’d charge gold for laying roads, but since they said it was free, I had no choice.

The more the better, right?

‘It’s definitely not because it was free.’

I made excuses to myself as I climbed up to the rooftop.

I only built the building up to 3 floors because the open fields outside looked pretty.

Well, I did build it embarrassingly large considering how much I’d admired natural scenery until now, but what could I do about something already built?

Money makes the world go round.

This isn’t even a greenbelt area!

The stairs leading to the 3rd floor had transparent walls.

It was a restricted area I had set up so other awakened ones couldn’t enter.

Of course, there was a reason for everything.

When I saw a door at the far end after passing through the clean corridor, I smiled brightly and shouted.

“Home!”

Because this would become my new home!

Opening the door and looking around inside made my heart feel even more abundant.

A spacious and cozy three-room house, perfect for living alone.

The sunlight pouring through the living room window was almost blinding.

Though it was still empty, with good lighting and a great view, it was truly a dream house for someone like me who had barely scraped by.

“How do I move my stuff from the 25th Floor here?”

[⁕ If you wish, immediate transfer is possible. Shall I proceed? :)]

“Of course!”

As I answered while unconsciously stamping my feet, the surroundings were enveloped in blue light.

And when I opened my eyes again, my belongings full of life had filled the entire house.

The high-performance Sam-i had even organized everything in the right places.

Since I had so few possessions, it didn’t feel packed, but I was still incredibly happy.

Honestly, the house at the Bamanjang Store was cozy too, but it couldn’t compare to this place.

I felt like a child who had received a new toy as I opened doors to this room and that room.

In the largest room at the very back was the bed I had missed so much during the past 5 days when I couldn’t come home.

In the small room next to the entrance was a desk equipped for a workspace.

And…

“As expected, you left this one empty.”

[⁕ I proceeded according to the blueprint :)]

One empty room next to the kitchen.

This room had an owner.

‘I should be able to find him.’

My missing brother’s room.

I had naturally thought of Brother’s room during the design phase.

Since I had entered the 50th Floor Range, I held the expectation that I would soon find traces of Brother.

Hope shows the way to those who don’t give up.

I closed the room door.

Now, until the owner of this room returns home, I probably won’t be opening this door again.

“Come on, let’s hurry up and complete the Quest.”

Getting sentimental isn’t Lee Hae-won’s style!

I asked with forced cheerfulness.

“Sam-i, how many Quests have I completed?”

[⁕ You haven’t completed any of the 5 :)]

“…Tsk, really?”

I was getting all sentimental and emotional, but Sam-i just poured cold water all over it.

Feeling awkwardly embarrassed, I scratched my cheek and brought up the title Quest window.

[Title Quest (6)

Establish Market Branch 2 on the 50th Floor of the Tower of Babel and complete the following:

1) Put up a sign for the Offline Market.

2) Have a repair specialist business move in.

3) Have an item appraisal specialist business move in.

4) Designate a middle manager for the Offline Market store.

5) Have all stores move into the building.

Reward: Additional sales slot opening, ‘Open Market’ function unlocked]

“Right.”

I really didn’t do anything.

Even after struggling so much for 5 days.

“The sign’s already up here, and I can go put one up at the Bamanjang Store later.”

Since I had decided on the sign locations from the design stage, there wasn’t much more to do on the 50th Floor.

I looked up at the empty space beyond the living room’s glass window.

Huge arrow signs with ‘Friendly Market’ written in door-sized letters stood at every corner of the roads extending in all directions.

“Is it… too much?”

I expected it to be big, but having signs the size of the Bamanjang Store was a bit excessive.

Since I have no aesthetic sense, I never expected it would turn out like this.

After some self-reflection, I soon shook my head.

Still, it needs to be like that so everyone can immediately see it and think ‘Ah, this is Friendly Market!’

[⁕ Would you like to name Friendly Market’s ’50th Floor Intermediate Station Branch’ as well?]

After staring at the popup window for a while, I shook my head.

“Hmm… let me think about it.”

When naming the Bamanjang Store, it was easy because there were many people coming and going and there was the name ‘Bamanjang’, but this place is too much of a blank slate.

I want to take the easy way out, I don’t want to worry about this anymore.

‘I’ve struggled too much for 5 days.’

“Alright, and next.”

I stared at the Quest window again.

“The Bamanjang Store only has the building entrance for signs, and for numbers 2 and 3, I’m the owner anyway, right?”

Repair specialist business and item appraisal specialist business.

Anyone could see this meant creating shops that use my skills.

Come to think of it, unlike the ‘Dimensional Door’ skill I use consistently, I hardly had any occasion to use ‘Repair’ and ‘Item Appraisal’.

Whether it was repairing Manti’s feather or appraising Chae Geun-dam’s great sword, both times I received such heartfelt gratitude that it didn’t feel bad.

And since I’m the only one in South Korea with such skills, well…

I guess you could call it a sense of responsibility.

Even someone like me has that, however small it may be.

I quickly leaned against the railing and pointed to two shops on the 1st Floor.

“Then I’ll use those two spots that are directly visible from the Warp Gate.”

The advantage of being a building owner is being able to claim the prime locations.

These kinds of businesses need to be in high-traffic areas to spread word quickly.

Watching the two spots I pointed to get enveloped in blue light, I muttered absentmindedly.

“Do I need to name the repair shop and item appraisal business too?”

[⁕ If you’d like my recommendation, please let me know :)]

“You be quiet.”

I need to think about this more too.

Rather than leave it to someone with worse naming sense than me, it’s a hundred times better to think it through myself.

Then I looked at item 4 on the Quest window with a serious expression.

“And next is the middle manager.”

‘Middle manager.’

Just hearing it sounds like an important job.

For the 25th Floor, there’s only one person I can entrust it to.

Kang Yeon-hee, the Alchemist of the potion shop, the only business in the Bamanjang Store.

She spends much more time at the Bamanjang Store than I do, and she managed the building well while I was away.

I can’t be certain yet if she’s trustworthy, but my judgment was that she’s definitely not untrustworthy.

“What does a middle manager do?”

[⁕ They manage the Offline Market. Duties include restocking inventory, handling various inquiries, operating the Offline Market, etc. With the manager’s permission, they can also use some of the manager’s authority :)]

…They can use some authority?

This definitely isn’t something to entrust to just anyone.

But since there’s no one else I can ask for this, I ultimately decided on Kang Yeon-hee as the manager of the Bamanjang Store.

‘I should stop by the 25th Floor and tell her.’

While I’m at it, I should let her use the vacant 2nd floor apartment too.

So now the problem is the manager for the 50th Floor.

“This place is too big.”

It got big because of my greed, but this is a large building that can house over 50 businesses.

Unless someone has experience in building management or commercial operations, it would be hard to manage.

I scratched my chin with a troubled expression.

Living such an empty life with only one friend, Guk Min-seong, there’s no way I’d have anyone in mind.

I went through my short life’s memories one by one.

Did I really know so few people?

“None.”

I suddenly missed my brother even more, not even knowing where he is.

I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head.

The only trustworthy person would be family, but my one and only brother is missing.

‘Isn’t there really anyone suitable?’

Someone who seems capable and trustworthy.

After searching through my memories for a while, I suddenly opened my eyes wide at a memory that came to mind.

“…There is someone.”

Someone who was in a high position so they’d have good judgment, probably has management experience, and likely has plenty of experience with paperwork and such.

They were even someone who had nothing, so they’d never betray me.

“Hmm, but would it work?”

But if there’s a problem, they seem like they might be a bit much to handle.

I frantically racked my brain and asked Sam-i.

“Is it possible?”

[⁕ It’s possible 🙂 When designating a middle manager, some administrative privileges can be granted with limitations, so we can proceed according to your intentions. Would you like to do so?]

“No, no. I should ask them first.”

I summoned the Hologram Laptop I’d been looking at for the past few days.

What I opened was the transaction history.

The ability to send messages only to those with transaction records is really a great feature.

Finding my target among the countless accumulated transaction records, I quickly typed a message.

[Do you happen to need a job?]

The reply came quickly.

[> New Message

– Could I hear the details?]

* * *

And at that moment, at the Babel Management Bureau.

Unfortunately for Haewon, Friendly Market was being dissected in detail at a secret meeting where all the heads of the 7 major Guilds had gathered.

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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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