24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 66

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

24-Hour Friendly Market Specializing in Dimensional Items Episode 66

Episode 66. Who is ‘Lee Hae’? (5)

Yeah, honestly, it’s been almost 10 years since the Babel Management Bureau was established, and their operations have been somewhat haphazard.

No matter how much it was blocked and scrapped by opposition from various human rights protection committees, the fact that they haven’t collected information on awakened individuals until now is absurd.

If they had recorded the titles of all hunters down to E-rank, they wouldn’t be so desperate to uncover my identity.

Previously, even Tower of Babel entry management was limited to face-to-face verification by staff.

Strict standards were only applied to upper guilds and high-rank hunters.

Excluding them… honestly, it was no different from an open world where everyone could freely enter and exit.

That doesn’t mean everyone didn’t feel the need for change.

Most people have consistently demanded improvements to Babel’s operational methods.

The argument was that given the life-threatening nature of entering the Tower of Babel, they should be more vigilant.

Of course, Babel wasn’t just sitting idle either, always skillfully evading with responses like they’d reflect any areas for improvement.

Well, they must have been aware of the seriousness to some extent.

So strengthening the security procedures that people criticized so much is only natural.

‘But why does it have to be now!’

I struck my thigh with my fist, filled with resentment I couldn’t voice.

If they were going to run things haphazardly until now, they should have continued doing so, but why introduce advanced equipment right after I became a building owner?

I rubbed my stinging thigh and started walking.

Let me run through some expected scenarios.

‘Hunter Lee Hae-won has an entry record but no exit record?’

It’s just a minor situation I’m imagining, but I’m already breathless.

…I can’t exactly threaten them asking if they’ve never seen someone living inside Babel before.

I finally made a home inside the Tower of Babel and was enjoying my home sweet home, but those iris and fingerprint recognition terminals are about to ruin everything.

‘So do I have to repeatedly go out and come back in every single time?’

Such a bothersome thing?

Just to hide one identity?

As my thoughts wandered freely, I gradually reached the complacent conclusion that it might be better to reveal my identity and be officially recognized as South Korea’s mascot.

Originally, I’m the type who prepares not because I’m thorough, but because I hate when things become troublesome.

The reason I tried to hide my identity in the first place was because I found ‘the attention that would pour onto an unheard-of title’ bothersome.

Ahn Yeon-seo’s suspicious attitude toward me was already stressful, and now I have to worry about Tower of Babel entry issues too.

Negative thoughts led to more negative thoughts.

I soon shook my head with difficulty.

“…No.”

The conclusion is to maintain my original stance.

The life of a building owner pretending to be an ordinary citizen living modestly is too appealing to give up.

Honestly, if I had to choose between everyone knowing me and having a cool title, versus no one knowing me but having a cool title, wouldn’t it be the latter?

Originally, hidden powerhouses are cooler and more hip.

Commuting daily?

I did it when I had a part-time job, so what’s stopping me now?

‘Stop complaining, Lee Hae-won.’

Scolding myself and activating my hope circuit made me feel somewhat relieved.

‘Of course, whether things will actually flow according to that hope circuit is uncertain.’

Even clinging desperately to a thread of hope is more helpful in life.

I pulled up the corners of my mouth into a smile and shouted energetically.

“Let’s go check out the 52nd Floor for now.”

First, I took out the knight order’s robe that I still frequently use from my inventory and wrapped it around myself carefully.

There’s one homework assignment I’ve been putting off.

The Tower of Babel on the Ganashia continent that I couldn’t even see because I was kidnapped by the scenario on the 51st Floor.

Today is finally the starting point of the great journey where I’ll take my first step into that unknown place.

* * *

I never considered the possibility that the great journey would be noisy and chaotic.

Originally, didn’t characters like Frodo and others start their first journeys in somewhat solemn and serious atmospheres?

‘But why am I the only one…?’

This is… almost like a marketplace, really.

I thought there would be many people since the 52nd Floor opened simultaneously, but I didn’t know there would be this many.

Of course, it’s not as crowded as the Sacred Covenant’s illegal protest, but the population density was higher than I expected, which was a bit startling.

The familiar village where I was captured by knights and dragged to prison.

Setting aside the heartwarming scenery filled with fond memories of selling my non-existent father, I kept noticing incongruous things here and there.

Staff wearing Babel Management Bureau uniforms were busily moving about.

People wearing uniforms from guilds that had solved the 51st Floor scenario were also gathered, discussing something.

Their conversation partners were even people dressed in Casabl clothing.

‘Oh, isn’t that Anton over there?’

Anton, the partner of Clara the swan beastkin, along with several humans I met in Casabl, were having serious discussions with hunters.

Momentarily dazed by the sight of worldviews colliding, I finally realized the situation on the 52nd Floor.

It was a reconnaissance period to assess the resources of the 51st and 52nd Floors before opening the 53rd Floor.

Since they said floors don’t reset starting from the 51st Floor, coordinating with the natives living here would be natural.

In modern society, cleared floors are no different from treasure islands.

Our country, along with all nations where the Tower of Babel is located, operates entirely on byproducts from the tower.

Each floor’s natural environment varies greatly, and their value differs drastically depending on what resources they contain.

The Ganashia continent, which serves as the stage for the 51st and 52nd Floors, was covered by Agemor’s erosion and couldn’t be properly observed, so naturally it requires more effort in reconnaissance than other floors.

I didn’t know because I hadn’t revisited after clearing the 49th Floor.

‘Tsk.’

It’s a bit awkward to walk around openly in a place overflowing with Koreans like this.

I took out the mask that had been quietly stored in my inventory.

The 4.9 billion won ‘Mask of All Forms’ that can transform me into my brother’s face.

Although I’m concealing my presence with the robe, it’s also somewhat difficult to keep wearing the robe all the time.

And there might be high-rank hunters in the reconnaissance team who could see through this robe’s presence.

Well, as long as it’s not my original face, I’m safe.

Then I maintain the image of a cool building owner with a title that no one knows the identity of.

I grinned and slowly headed toward the Casabl camp.

Only after going quite far in did I take off the robe behind a building and mount my old friend, the Green River Thousand.

“Where did they say the Tower of Babel was located…?”

Maybe because I heard it during a chaotic situation, my memory was hazy.

But I’m not an anxious person who relies on vague memories.

I have precious materials I stole from the Magic Tower during the scenario!

After randomly pulling out all the documents I had thrown into my inventory, I started flipping through them one by one, looking for useful information.

[Report on Magic Tower Mages’ Room Sizes: Focusing on the Significance of Research Results]

Ah, not this kind of thing.

[Report and Analysis on the Appearance of Unidentified Structure ‘Tower of Babel’ within the Ganashia Continent]

Finding something suitable, I adjusted my posture to sit more comfortably.

Whether Nocturne Garth had considered this situation or not, the saddle had the perfect cushioning for sitting and reading something.

[1. Overview

This report summarizes the investigation results of an unidentified structure that suddenly appeared in the eastern region of the Ganashia continent. This structure was named the ‘Tower of Babel’ by local residents, and the timing and cause of its appearance have not been clearly determined.

2. Basic Structure Information (recorded based on Ganashia calendar year 1247)

Name: Tower of Babel (named by local residents)

Location: About 1 hour by carriage east of Casabl, center of the Sacred Pillar ruins

…]

“Hmm.”

This is exactly what I was looking for.

It seems to be a report written right after the Tower of Babel first appeared.

I found the location.

As I flipped through the documents to see if there was anything else helpful, I discovered a title that seemed significant.

[Tower of Babel 36th Floor Exploration Failure Report]

Onak had said that.

He had heard that humans could only climb up to the 36th floor of the Tower of Babel.

Probably the average combat power of the Ganashia continent wasn’t that high, and being at war with the beastkin, they couldn’t form an optimal raid team.

Setting that aside, examining records of failure would be very helpful.

I began reading the report quite seriously.

[1. Exploration Overview

The 19th attempt to enter the 36th floor of the Tower of Babel ended in complete failure, with only 1 recorder surviving.

Exploration Date: Ganashia calendar year 1253, month X, day X

Exploration Personnel: 7 people (1 light attribute mage, 1 fire attribute mage, 1 space attribute mage, 1 holy knight, 1 swordsman, 1 healer, 1 recorder)

Exploration Result: Failure – deemed impossible to break through

…]

“…How did only 1 person survive?”

The fact that only the recorder, who had no combat or healing abilities whatsoever, survived was quite intriguing.

For some reason, my concentration seemed to surge.

[3. Withdrawal Decision Process

…

3.6 Exploration Day 6.

Space mage Ernia Tilt went missing after leaving the camp saying she would find the exit of the maze.

Ernia Tilt’s corpse was found 30 minutes after her departure, dried and stuck to the maze ceiling.

Fire attribute mage Palia Chrome encountered the hunter.

3.7 Exploration Day 7.

Recorder Heinrich Rabov, who had been hiding, went out to find Palia Chrome and discovered Palia Chrome’s corpse in the middle of the maze.

The hunter who found Heinrich Rabov, the sole survivor, said “This is boring, bring someone who fights well” and spared Heinrich Rabov’s life.

When Heinrich Rabov raised his head, the maze had disappeared, and he escaped through the exit directly in front of him.]

For focused reading, it was quite a brutal survival record.

Judging by the occasional cruel descriptions, the trauma of the recorder who survived to the end must have been enormous.

‘I would survive.’

I was confident that I excelled beyond this recorder in terms of lacking physical abilities.

Anyway, this 36th floor failure report contained a lot of useful information in various ways.

Since there was no mention of the maze changing midway, it seemed to be just an enormously huge dark maze.

And there was a boss called the ‘hunter’ who freely roamed around inside it.

It’s a floor that hasn’t appeared yet in Korea’s Tower of Babel, but having seen this, it would be easier to deal with if I ever go there later.

‘In a pinch, couldn’t I just turn on Merchant’s Mark and wander around the maze I came from?’

As I was again thinking of uselessly extending a helping hand, I immediately shook my head vigorously.

First, I needed to visit since I found the location of the Tower of Babel.

Besides, if I delayed here any longer and drew the attention of Babel Kingdom, it would be really troublesome.

I roughly gathered the remaining materials and shoved them into my inventory, then stepped on the pedal of the Nokgacheon.

The handlebar direction was east.

Leaving behind the noisy scenery of Casabl bustling with reconnaissance, I enjoyed the cool wind brushing against my face as I rode.

I found myself smiling without realizing it.

The clear and clean Ganashia continent with Agemor’s erosion gone.

I shouldn’t be doing this, but somehow I felt like I was on a trip.

And.

While I was unknowingly enjoying a drive on the Nokgacheon in high spirits.

“…I need to report to Executive Director Park Ji-woon immediately.”

A Babel Kingdom employee holding a composite sketch of Lee Hae-on shared within Babel Kingdom was watching the suspicious man riding the Nokgacheon.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————