24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 81

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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 81

Episode 81. A Damn Unlucky Day (4)

The day the great journey to conquer the 53rd floor begins.

“Is it true that Aegis has S-grade magic stones?”

“That’s right. I heard they’ve been rotting away for years in some storage room on who knows which underground floor. How can they not use something like that?”

“Don’t they usually make equipment with those kinds of magic stones?”

“Maybe because they don’t have S-grade craftsmen. We’re also low-grade, so we’re stuck handling slime mucus like this.”

“How is that the same thing!”

I was mechanically moving my hands in the sorting room while listening to the ladies’ banter.

After coming to work a whopping 8 times in ten days, I even received applause from the ladies for becoming remarkably faster.

On my days off, I just collapsed and slept, then instinctively woke up and went to work.

I resolved to respect all the simple repetitive laborers in this world.

I, who had lived confidently in my physical strength, felt like a frog in a well.

I opened my mouth wide and yawned loudly.

When would be a natural time to say I’m quitting?

[> Middle Manager Message

– Inquiries have piled up tremendously at the information desk, repair shop, and appraisal company. How should I handle them? | Alessandro Hale (Babel Square Branch)]

I almost teared up at the message that rang at just the right moment.

On the day of Nam Pureum’s intrusion incident, I had said “I’m just going out for a bit.”

‘And I haven’t been able to go back for over ten days.’

Of course, the fact that this person sent a message about work issues was a bit of a minus, but since he was someone related to my ordinary daily life, I was incredibly happy to hear from him.

[Please just write something like “Closed due to urgent matters” and stick it on the door]

Both the appraisal company and the repair shop were among the things I quite enjoyed because I could handle all sorts of rare items.

I’m not a workaholic, but if I find work fun, maybe it’s my calling?

Anyway, my shops “Friendly Appraisal” and “Friendly Repair” were spreading through word of mouth.

They weren’t exactly known as famous restaurants, but it seemed like small verification posts were being uploaded on communities.

You should row when the tide comes in, but it’s useless since I’m stuck here.

[> Middle Manager Message

– But when are you coming home? | Alessandro Hale (Babel Square Branch)]

So he was aware that I hadn’t come home.

Suddenly, this man’s thick and burdensome torso and bushy beard came to mind, making me feel wistful.

But…

[I’m on my way]

[> Middle Manager Message

– How long will it take? I’ll make some warm stew. | Alessandro Hale (Babel Square Branch)]

[It’ll take about… 20 days]

[> Middle Manager Message

– What | Alessandro Hale (Babel Square Branch)

– What are you saying, that you’re not coming? Why didn’t you tell me this beforehand? | Alessandro Hale (Babel Square Branch)]

Oh, the old man got flustered.

‘The stew was delicious though.’

I need to get back to my daily life as soon as possible.

[I can’t go, enjoy your stew]

I sent a rough reply and avoided the gaze of Ms. Jang Kyung-hwa, who was staring at my stopped hands.

I only stopped for a minute, but this person has vision like a Mongolian or something.

I busily moved my hands.

About an hour or two passed like that.

“Let’s eat lunch~!”

At the welcome sound, I raised my head.

Today’s lunch was special since Guk Min-seong was treating us, so we were planning to go to a nearby soup restaurant.

Even if I can’t have stew, soup rice will comfort my wounded soul.

Ever since I started this job, the amount I eat has increased.

I just sit still and only move my hands, but why I digest so quickly is beyond me.

As I quickly took off my gloves and shot up from my seat, the big sister with the orange name tag looked at me and scolded.

“Hae-won, you should finish what you were doing before you go!”

“I’ll do it when I get back!”

Behind me as I rushed out, Ms. Jang Kyung-hwa’s booming reprimand fell.

“Lee Hae-won-!”

* * *

Maybe because we were past mid-November, it was now full winter.

Rubbing my frozen hands to forcibly warm them, I complained to Aegis’s lackey.

“The gloves they give us for work are terrible.”

“Gloves? Why?”

“They do give us work gloves, but moisture seeps through and they get damp quickly. They don’t dry well either.”

“Then just get new ones.”

“Can you just use supplies like that?”

Guk Min-seong shook his head as if to say forget it.

It was the expression of a B-grade hunter who couldn’t understand that they were expensive because they weren’t just regular gloves but had skill processing done on them.

As expected, being a B-grade hunter, he can’t understand life in the sorting room.

He’s probably never experienced how long it takes to dry when slime mucus seeps in.

‘They say the well-off are worse.’

Just as I was seriously shaking my head, worried about my only friend’s economic sense, I saw a television behind Guk Min-seong.

The morning-filmed scene of the conquest team entering the Tower was playing.

Kim Seol with her cold expression and Park Ji-woon with his usual expressionless face were completely ignoring the reporters as they headed toward the Tower of Babel.

Hearing that they were really entering the 53rd floor made me start to worry a little.

‘All I told them about was the shipwreck, the sea, and the kraken.’

Would that really be helpful?

What if the area I was in turns out to be completely unrelated to the scenario, and the information I gave is utterly useless for the conquest?

Well, that wouldn’t invalidate the contract between Park Ji-woon and me, but.

This is just a matter of human decency.

Too much to call it responsibility, and a bit different in nature to call it conscience.

It’s more like a desire for the information I gathered to not be useless.

“Hey.”

At the sound of a spoon hitting the soup bowl, I startled and looked up.

Guk Min-seong was looking at me with a displeased expression.

“What are you thinking about that you can’t hear me? I asked if you want to add seasoning paste.”

“I’ll add it while eating.”

“Zero cider?”

I nodded my head.

Watching Guk Min-seong order without hesitation, I casually muttered.

“I wonder when this raid team will come out…”

“Who knows. What are you going to do with that information? And didn’t you say you were a Wolpae fan? There’s no one from Wolpae there.”

“That was ages ago. I quit being a fan.”

I answered halfheartedly while mixing rice into the steaming stone pot.

Throughout stirring with my spoon so the broth would soak well between the rice grains, I could feel Guk Min-seong’s subtle gaze.

Just when I was deliberately ignoring him, thinking he might bring up another annoying topic, Guk Min-seong spoke first.

“But aren’t you asking anything this time?”

“What would I ask?”

“You used to be really curious before. You wanted to know everything related to Babel. Like with the 49th Floor too.”

This bastard, he can give such perceptive looks too?

‘He unexpectedly hit the nail on the head?’

It seems he remembered everything I had casually asked him whenever we met.

Don’t tell me he suspects me…

“You’re a Babel fanboy.”

Nope.

‘Of course.’

I’m an idiot for suspecting my friend might be smart.

I took a sip of the cider that had just arrived and shrugged my shoulders.

“I am curious, but I’m tired. Did you hear anything?”

If he’s going to volunteer information, I welcome it.

It’s definitely not because Guk Min-seong has a loose mouth, but you don’t know how thrilling it is whenever he thoughtlessly spills something.

“I think 5 people went in this time.”

“Oh, really?”

“You didn’t know?”

“I have to focus on Slime classification, where would I have time to watch TV, you white-collar worker.”

“You have a talent for pissing people off. Do you know that?”

“It’s a gift, what can I say.”

Ignoring Guk Min-seong who scrunched up his face at my answer, I took a spoonful of soup.

As the hot broth moistened my throat, my body that had been feeling chilly shivered.

But 5 people, huh.

‘That’s surprisingly few.’

Following the order of the list announced by the Babel Management Bureau, the members are 2 S-rank and 3 A-rank.

Kim Seol from Haebing, Park Ji-woon, the Hunter Management Director of the Babel Management Bureau.

Park Bo-bae, the White Shield of Baekdan, who had come to meet me the day I got caught up in a Gate.

Lee Ja-gyeom from Shinrok, who was the nation’s top healer before Han Ro-mi awakened.

Hong Jae-in, a supporter from Take-in, who has several decent buff skills and gets dispatched to various guilds often.

It’s a decent combination for a regular raid, but I’m someone who has already seen the Kraken that might be the boss of the 53rd Floor.

That very giant Kraken with eyes the size of the air bubble I was trapped in.

“…Isn’t it insufficient?”

“What is?”

It was just a small mutter to myself, but Guk Min-seong asked back.

“Just the number of people?”

“Is it? I don’t know. If it’s 5 people, maybe it’s a scenario they can clear sufficiently, so that’s how they assigned it?”

Must be nice to be so positive, Guk Min-seong.

I opened the Market to send Park Ji-woon a kind message saying to let me know if he needed help.

While people in the middle of a scenario can’t send contact outside, I’m the only one exempt from that rule.

If there’s a purchase history in the Market, I can exchange contact in any situation.

I’m the only one in the world who can do that.

‘He’s an S-rank Hunter so he’ll handle it well on his own.’

Since I’ve decided to help, shouldn’t I at least provide A/S service even if it’s bothersome?

It was the moment I was feeling proud of myself.

Beep- Beep- Beep-

An alarm sound loud enough to drown out the noisy soup restaurant during lunch time began blaring.

My phone, Guk Min-seong’s phone, and all the customers’ phones were sounding the alarm, making everyone jump and look around in surprise.

“What is it?”

Guk Min-seong muttered in a flustered tone.

Seeing his expression that completely failed to grasp the situation, I hurriedly grabbed Guk Min-seong and pulled him up.

“What do you mean what, it’s a Gate! We need to run!”

It was a very familiar sound I had heard 4 months ago when I got caught up in a Sudden Gate.

The soup restaurant quickly became chaos.

Sudden Gates don’t occur often, but I’m experienced.

Guk Min-seong still seemed unable to grasp the situation and was fumbling to put on his outer clothes with a confused face.

“There’s no time to put it on! Just grab it and run!”

I grabbed Guk Min-seong’s wrist and rushed out of the soup restaurant.

Last time, the disaster alarm sounded and I opened my eyes inside a Gate exactly 3 minutes later.

The academic consensus is that the entire area gets completely engulfed within a minimum of 3 to 10 minutes after Gate detection.

So we had at least 2 minutes to spare.

However, as soon as Guk Min-seong and I stepped foot to cross the crosswalk in front of the store.

Whoooosh-

The scene before my eyes changed to a pure white snowfield.

I stood there as if nailed to the spot.

Fierce wind that stung my entire body, snow piled up to my ankles, and a blizzard falling so heavily I couldn’t see anything.

It had only been 1 minute.

But we got caught up in the Gate.

No matter how much I blinked, the vast snowfield before my eyes didn’t disappear.

When I belatedly checked my phone, reality was there.

[Babel Management Bureau] 11.15 12:47, A-rank Sudden Gate occurred in Yeonseong-dong, Seoul.

Due to Gate expansion risk, please evacuate Yeonseong-dong area immediately.

Access and entry to nearby areas prohibited.

At the top of my phone was the cruel indication that this was not a service area.

I couldn’t hold back and muttered desperately.

“Ah shit, we’re fucked.”

But this time it seemed I wasn’t the only one who wanted to curse.

Guk Min-seong, who had been standing there blankly beside me, recited in a very small voice.

“Ah, we’re really fucked…”

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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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