Chapter 26
“Sudden Disaster (3)”
(Easy-to-Understand English Translation)**
The meeting room was silent.
The heavy aura released by the S-rank hunters filled the air like a crushing weight.
These were the people who protected the entire country.
Whenever all of them gathered in one place, the atmosphere felt deadly.
“Guild Masters Karma and Shinrok couldn’t attend due to outside schedules.
Let’s start by sharing the materials.”
A man broke the suffocating silence.
His tone was completely flat, unaffected by the tension in the room.
A nondescript man—rimless glasses, black gloves, small and skinny with sunken cheeks and half-closed eyes.
He looked like a regular office worker, not a hunter.
But he was Korea’s only S-rank hunter in public service:
Park Jiwoon, Head of the Hunter Management Division of the Babel Management Bureau.
At his signal, trembling staff members placed report binders in front of each guild master.
[Babel Tower Floor 49 Clear Report
Clearing Guild: Wolf Fang]
As the sound of paper flipping filled the room, Park Jiwoon casually said,
“First of all, congratulations on clearing the 49th floor, Mr. Chae Geundam.”
“Thank you.”
Chae Geundam nodded quietly.
No applause followed.
This group didn’t waste time on formality.
Instead, in this room full of giant sharks, the ones suffering were the assistants—the “shrimp among whales.”
One such shrimp was Ahn Yeonseo, standing behind her guild master, Seo Jaehyuk, head lowered and motionless.
She’d been his assistant for three years and knew immediately—
Her terrifyingly picky boss was very annoyed today.
‘…I should quit. Seriously.’
She’d had this thought 37 times already today.
As a B-rank hunter, all she could do was breathe quietly and make herself invisible.
Then a man sitting across from Seo Jaehyuk opened his mouth.
“What’s with the congratulations? Shouldn’t we be demanding an explanation first? Did Babel Bureau get bribed or something? ”
It was Jung Mingoo, Guild Master of Take-in (Rank 5).
Hot-tempered, reckless, and loud.
Fans loved him.
People who met him in real life… did not.
He smirked and added:
“They all came back alive from a floor filled with instant-death traps.
Shouldn’t we ask how before we clap? ”
His words were clearly mocking, but Chae Geundam didn’t react.
Park Jiwoon stepped in again.
“Let’s move to the main topic.
This meeting was called so we can share information before the 51st-floor attempt—”
“What information sharing? This is a hearing.
And Guild Master Chae—what’s that ‘Friendly Market’ you mentioned the moment you came out of the portal? ”
This time the interrupter was Kim Seol, Guild Master of Haebing (Rank 3).
Beautiful, pale-skinned, cold-eyed—
And famously ruthless with her words.
Jung Mingoo agreed instantly.
“Yeah, well said. Hey, Wolf Fang boss, be honest.
How the hell did you clear that messed-up scenario? ”
Kim Seol clicked her tongue.
“You can’t even remember the name, and you’re not even polite. How trashy.
Anyway, Chae Geundam, you know this isn’t something you can brush off.”
“You crazy bi—”
Before Jung Mingoo could explode, Park Jiwoon slammed his binder shut.
Everyone instantly went quiet.
“This meeting was not arranged so you can pick fights.”
His voice was gentle, but the reprimand hit hard.
S-rank hunters kept peace through a delicate balance.
If a real fight broke out here, no one would escape unharmed.
So when the only neutral S-rank hunter spoke, everyone listened.
As the two troublemakers backed off, Seo Jaehyuk finally spoke.
“To obtain the ‘Fruit of Ecstasy,’ someone must get severely injured.
But according to this report, Wolf Fang had zero serious injuries.”
His tone was calm but sharp enough to cut.
Ahn Yeonseo immediately understood.
Aegis had attempted the 49th-floor scenario the most among all guilds—
They knew the subquests extremely well.
Only she, Seo Jaehyuk, and possibly Wolf Fang’s leadership knew that detail.
Seo Jaehyuk continued:
“Who defeated the Guardian in Gillerof’s Garden when you obtained the item?”
His gaze wasn’t light at all.
Chae Geundam calmly met his eyes.
“An Kyungmin.”
“He’s a mage in our guild. An A-rank.”
Deputy Guild Leader Lee Minjung added quickly.
A normal guild would accept that answer—
But Seo Jaehyuk’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Lies.”
A small smile formed on his lips.
“If you kill that Guardian, you die too.”
A direct hit.
Chae Geundam’s unshakable expression cracked slightly.
“Wow. He baited him perfectly.”
The one who reacted first wasn’t Wolf Fang—it was Lee Hwayun, Guild Master of Baekdan (Rank 2).
Charming, friendly, and annoyingly good at breaking tension.
“Mr. Chae, we might as well be honest now.
No one dying is a good thing.
We’re just curious how it happened, right?”
He asked the room for agreement.
Kim Seol scoffed and looked away.
Seo Jaehyuk ignored him.
Unbothered, Lee Hwayun continued:
“And let’s hear what Director Park has to say.
We’re not here to fight.
Take-in and Haebing, you two fight every time you meet. Act like adults, please.”
“She started—! ”
“Watch your mouth, old man.”
Jung Mingoo froze.
She hit his biggest insecurity—his age (41).
He’d even forced his guild to change his online age to 39.
Kim Seol laughed mockingly.
Right then—
The meeting room door burst open.
A terrified employee stumbled inside.
The price for interrupting this room was high.
but he held out a tablet while hiccuping under the hunters’ murderous stares.
“D-Director… You need to see this.”
“…Is it urgent?”
“Yes.”
He showed the tablet only to Park Jiwoon.
A moment later, Park Jiwoon’s brow furrowed.
“What is it?”
Kim Seol asked sharply.
Even Seo Jaehyuk opened his eyes slightly.
Park Jiwoon pointed at the large screen.
“You should all see this.”
The moment the footage appeared—
“What the hell? ”
“That’s bullshit.”
“…”
The reactions were explosive.
It was footage from the 25th floor.
The mysterious blue building now had a new sign:
“FRIENDLY MARKET.”
But the real shock was the floating message above it:
Hello, this is the Friendly Market.
A second branch has been opened on the 50th floor ahead of its release.
We are now recruiting businesses for the 50F district.
Please refer to the notice posted at ‘Yeonhee Potions’ on the 1st floor for details.
Those wishing to apply, please submit a form in the application box.
“…Is he insane? ”
Lee Hwayun muttered, completely stunned.
They expected the Friendly Market to lay low after being mentioned in the interview.
Instead, it publicly launched a branch recruitment notice.
Park Jiwoon nodded slightly, as if he expected this chaos.
“This is one of the reasons I called all of you today.
We don’t know who the Friendly Market’s administrator is.
how they helped clear the 49th floor,
or what their intentions are.
The government has no information. None at all.”
He paused.
“Except for one person who mentioned it directly.”
Everyone looked at Chae Geundam again.
Park Jiwoon spoke gently but firmly:
“Mr. Chae Geundam…
You met the owner of the Friendly Market, correct?”
Chae Geundam slowly raised his head.
The representative of society’s balance was asking for the truth.
But Chae had promised “Ihye” he’d keep their identity secret.
It wasn’t a contract—
But it was a promise, and he intended to honor it.
All he could do was exhale softly and try not to lose his composure.
***
Back to Haewon
Ssssss…
That was the sound I made—frozen with nerves.
The 25th floor, Bajanjang, was always crowded.
And right now, I was hiding and watching people swarm around my building.
I muttered weakly:
“…I feel kind of bad for Kang Yeonhee.”
She was probably at the Babel Bureau right now trying to file a noise complaint.
Or making a cursed doll of me.
Because the entrance of the Ba-man-jang branch was flooded with people.
“Excuse me! Is anyone inside?!”
“What IS the Friendly Market?! ”
“We’re from Geumhyeong Group! Please discuss business with us! ”
“Would you consider joining us in spiritual transcendence?!”
All because of the recruitment notice I floated above the building.
Good thing the market had an automatic sales function.
Thanks to that, Yeonhee didn’t have to face that mob directly.
[⁕ The biggest benefit of your Guide is that I help with Market operations! :)]
Shut up, Sam.
Not the time.
There was less than one minute left until the 50th-floor opening.
I wasn’t nervous about the crowd—
I expected that.
I was nervous about something completely different.
‘The scenario will open soon…’
If the 50th floor opens, that means the 51st floor will too.
And when the 51st-floor scenario starts—
I might finally find clues about my brother.
Then—
A blinding white light exploded in front of me.
