24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 31

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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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Dimensional Item Specialty 24-Hour Friendly Market Episode 31

Episode 31. Floor 51 (1)

Inside a dark room with not a single light turned on.

In Aegis’s CEO Office, Seo Jae-hyuk sat in his usual uncomfortable mood, silently staring out the window.

Seoul’s night was as bright and brilliant as always, but the dazzling lights only cast deeper shadows in Seo Jae-hyuk’s heart.

There was only one thing that made Seo Jae-hyuk worry so much.

It was Floor 51, which he had recently set foot on.

He didn’t know how his life had come to be proven by climbing the Tower of Babel, but it was something he had to do.

However, Floor 51 made him question that sense of responsibility and duty.

‘Damn it.’

Seo Jae-hyuk frowned, holding back the curse that was about to escape his lips.

He had expected to make up for the sluggish progress he’d had so far, but Floor 51, which he entered with such expectations, was very different from what he anticipated.

[■ Babel System > Floor 51 Notification

– Main scenario ‘Such Desperate Peace’ has been opened.]

Yes, it was fine when he first entered Floor 51.

When he was left alone in the grayish-brown wasteland landscape with no signs of life, nothing seemed strange.

Unlike the scenarios with simple names he’d encountered so far, it was somewhat interesting that this title clearly had some kind of story, but that was all he felt.

However, the notification that appeared soon after completely overturned Seo Jae-hyuk’s expectations.

[■ Babel System > Scenario Notification

– The number of scenario participants assigned to scenario ‘Such Desperate Peace’ is ’10 people’.

– From Floor 51 onwards, scenarios will not reset even after clearing, and the number of floors opened afterwards will randomly vary according to the scenario’s progression.

– From Floor 51 onwards, mid-scenario withdrawal is impossible.

– It is recommended to deploy awakened individuals with appropriate abilities for each floor to clear them.]

The feeling when that unfamiliar ‘Scenario Notification’ appeared in that barren field.

Not only the guild members who were nervously facing Floor 51, but even Seo Jae-hyuk, who usually never panicked, froze.

The fact that scenarios wouldn’t reset could be interpreted to mean that floors would be fixed in the state they were in when new fields or scenarios were completed.

The fact that the number of floors opened after clearing varied could also be interpreted to mean that multiple floors could be skipped at once.

It was guidance clearly different from previous scenarios.

Most of all, the main scenario that appeared as soon as he finished reading the scenario notification surprised Seo Jae-hyuk.

[Main Scenario ‘Such Desperate Peace’ (Zone-Prorovel Ι Dimension-Ganashia)

+

The Beastkin and Human races of Ganashia waged a bloody war for a thousand years.

Through the ‘Kantana Peace Agreement’ made after countless sacrifices, the two races came to coexist for the next hundred years.

However, ten years ago, ‘Agemor’s Erosion’ suddenly spread and began slowly devouring the continent.

Green fields turned into gray wastelands, and clear river water rotted black.

The land blessed with life continues to shrink moment by moment even now.

Over the last land permitted for survival, the sanctuary Prorovel, the two races drew their swords again.

Peace became a luxury, and survival became the only truth.

+

Scenario Objective: Seek a meeting between the two races and stop ‘Agemor’s Erosion’.

+

Scenario Hints:

1) ‘Agemor’s Erosion’ is effective against awakened individuals as well.

2) A gatekeeper is needed to revive the ancient oath.

3) There exists a sprout that does not wither.]

A main scenario with a volume unlike anything he’d ever seen.

The moment he saw the specific yet ambiguous content of the scenario, Seo Jae-hyuk realized he was facing something more complex and difficult than any scenario he had experienced before.

If it had simply been about hunting down all the monsters, he wouldn’t have been this flustered.

Seo Jae-hyuk had an intuition.

Floor 51’s scenario couldn’t be cleared with strength alone.

In the end, Seo Jae-hyuk gave up on reconnaissance.

He even had to make the painful choice of having guild members attack each other to follow Babel’s rule that all hunters who entered a floor could only leave when they were in a near-death state.

Recalling the situation where comrades who fought back-to-back had to shed each other’s blood just to escape that space, Seo Jae-hyuk’s temples throbbed.

Knock knock knock-

At the small knocking sound, Seo Jae-hyuk broke from his thoughts and looked up.

“Come in.”

The one who opened the door was his long-time secretary, Ahn Yeon-seo.

Ahn Yeon-seo’s expression was rigidly hardened.

From her unusually serious appearance, Seo Jae-hyuk intuited that the results weren’t good.

“CEO, the analysis is complete.”

“How did the results turn out?”

Ahn Yeon-seo quietly closed the door and took a step inside.

As Ahn Yeon-seo, holding a tablet, quietly muttered something, her eyes began to turn white.

The reason he chose Ahn Yeon-seo, a B-rank hunter, as his secretary was precisely because of that skill, ‘Idea Analysis’.

When a target result is set, Ahn Yeon-seo’s skill compiles all available information to find the optimal path.

The analysis data projected from Ahn Yeon-seo’s whitened eyes filled the center of the CEO office.

The complex charts and figures represented Floor 51’s information, scenario content, Aegis’s personnel data, and past scenario clear patterns.

‘Idea Analysis’ converged those thousands of pieces of information through complex calculations into one conclusion.

[Scenario Clear Probability: 0.021%]

An abysmal probability that would become 0 when rounded.

He had expected it, but seeing the actual numbers made it even more devastating.

As Seo Jae-hyuk let out a groan while looking at the hologram, Ahn Yeon-seo spoke with a resolute voice.

“It seems difficult to form an attack team with only our guild’s personnel. No, it’s impossible.”

“Is it absolutely impossible even with high-rank rankers?”

“Yes, it can only be interpreted as requiring the best combination that South Korea can offer. In other words, we must work together with hunters from other guilds. No matter how I calculate it, it cannot be resolved with only Aegis guild members.”

Seo Jae-hyuk looked at Ahn Yeon-seo quietly without answering.

Normally, it would be cooperation that could never be achieved due to guild pride and complexly intertwined interests.

The seven major guilds were competitors and targets of mutual restraint at the same time.

However, no matter how long he thought about it, Seo Jae-hyuk had no other options.

‘This isn’t the time to worry about pride.’

Seo Jae-hyuk smiled bitterly to himself.

“Then what are the results when including other guilds?”

As if she had already completed the analysis including other guilds’ forces, Ahn Yeon-seo immediately displayed the next hologram without answering.

The new hologram Ahn Yeon-seo displayed revealed a narrow path that had been hidden.

[Scenario Clear Probability: 12.903%]

“It’s not particularly high, but there’s a clear difference. If it could be resolved through combat power, there would be no problem with Aegis’s solo conquest, but the 51st Floor seems to require ‘completion of the story.'”

Ahn Yeon-seo was particularly good at making painful but accurate points today.

Seo Jae-hyuk knew it too.

If the condition were to stop ‘Agemor’s erosion,’ that would be one thing, but harmony between Beastkin and humans—he had no idea where to even begin.

It was definitely not the simple structure they had experienced so far.

The Tower of Babel, where he had thought only the strong could reach the highest places.

However, Babel no longer demanded only strength.

It presented complex and cunning conditions, mocking Seo Jae-hyuk who stood at the forefront of an order built on power.

Ahn Yeon-seo looked directly into Seo Jae-hyuk’s eyes and spoke resolutely.

“Babel is demanding something from us.”

“…….”

“South Korea’s ‘cooperation.'”

Ahn Yeon-seo had never said “100 percent” even with that capable skill of hers.

Given that, there must be a clear reason for Ahn Yeon-seo’s resolute reaction.

Seo Jae-hyuk realized that further internal discussion was unnecessary.

“Let’s immediately deliver the analysis to the Babel Management Bureau and send cooperation requests to each guild.”

“What date should we set?”

“Three days from now.”

Three days from now was neither too late nor too early.

It would be enough time for other guilds who didn’t know the situation to approach with questions about what the 51st Floor actually was.

“Understood.”

Seo Jae-hyuk watched Ahn Yeon-seo quietly fidgeting with her tablet and swallowed a sigh.

If necessary, he should be able to use other guilds as weapons too.

That was the sense of duty of Seo Jae-hyuk, who was rated number one.

But at the same time, he knew this was the first moment he had encountered his own limitations.

Outside the window, Seoul’s night view still sparkled, but Seo Jae-hyuk didn’t have the leisure to look at it.

* * *

Finally!

“50th Floor store opening complete!”

Behind me as I roared while throwing the documents on the table, Alessandro, who had been sitting there blankly, muttered.

“Could I possibly take a vacation?”

“What did you say?”

“A vacation……”

Alessandro couldn’t even finish his words and just stared at me blankly.

“Rest well until tomorrow, I’ll post the store opening confirmation notice myself.”

As soon as I said that, Alessandro collapsed with a thud.

Thousands of store opening applications that had made even a royal knight commander collapse.

As soon as the opening permits were issued, translucent signs appeared at the entrances of the 47 previously empty stores.

And!

[Awakener Lee Hae-won – Open Market Manager (EX)

> New Notification

– Title Achievement Quest (6) has been completed.

– Some functions of the Open Market have been unlocked.

> ‘Friendly Appraisal’ inquiries: 5 cases

> ‘Friendly Repair’ inquiries: 2 cases]

“……Ah, more inquiries came in.”

I was trying to check the achievement quest completion notification when I unluckily ended up seeing the work requests too.

Word of mouth must have spread, because requests kept coming in occasionally even though I hadn’t done any separate promotion.

There weren’t any requests with as tremendous an impact as Lee Hwa-yeon’s though.

Anyway, after handling various unremarkable repair and appraisal requests in my spare time, I successfully leveled up my Appraisal skill.

I wondered where this would be useful, but since the level went up, it didn’t feel bad.

“I have to go…… work……”

I sluggishly got up from my seat.

Having work was a good thing, but maybe because I was completely drained from the store opening reviews.

‘I want to postpone it.’

But that was the fastest way for a novice self-employed person to hear “Do you want to close your business?”

Being tied up with these damn documents and stuck here without being able to do anything was already eating away at my image.

I should set specific inquiry hours and post a notice or something.

I let out a deep sigh and stood up.

“Alessandro, I’m going downstairs for a bit.”

“Where are you…… going……?”

Alessandro answered in a voice that sounded like he was about to breathe his last.

Did I make someone from another dimension work too hard?

I felt sorry, but if that man hadn’t been there, I would probably still be crying while flipping through documents.

The documents wouldn’t even turn properly, soaked with tears.

I looked pitifully at Alessandro’s haggard appearance after a week and opened my mouth.

“Just handle the inquiries that came to the ‘Information Desk.’ I’ll process a few appraisal and repair cases and visit the Bamanjang Store.”

“Alright, don’t worry and go……”

It wasn’t a very reliable voice, but I obediently waved my hand and got up from the table.

The meeting room set up on the 3rd floor, which was a restricted access area.

When I left the meeting room set up on the 3rd floor, which was a restricted access area, and looked at the blue grassland outside, I finally felt the reality that everything was finished.

Well then.

‘Should I visit the 25th Floor first?’

I should briefly visit Ba-man-jang to replenish supplies for Kang Yeon-hee’s potion shop Babel Square branch.

Of course, my light expectation of returning home quickly was completely wrong.

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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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