Chapter 5

Supernatural Survival Method (4)**

About four or five hours had passed while I was doing the tutorial quest—or at least that’s how it felt.
But when I came out, only 30 minutes had gone by.

Apparently, I finished pretty quickly compared to others.

All thanks to Manti, the cat who won “Good Cat of the Year.”
As soon as he tasted one bite of Churu, his eyes rolled back, and he begged to buy everything.

I don’t know which dimension sells it, but there was a 10-pack of “Nyangyi Sweet Churu” for 1 gold per pack.
I sold them to him for 1 gold each.
And Manti didn’t even care—he bought all 10 on the spot.

“Yep. That guy definitely had money.”

I started with the base 100 gold, and when I came out, I had 108 gold.

Eight gold… that’s around 80,000 won.
Not a huge profit, but at least I wasn’t in the negative.
Honestly, the start wasn’t bad.

I still don’t know what exactly a “Dimension Market Manager” is…

‘But the start isn’t bad.’

Anyway, I successfully finished one job, so my steps felt lighter.

I don’t like that I have to spend money to activate skills instead of using stats.
but it does make me feel different from other people.

‘Let me check the other skills too.’

Since this title is something I’ve never heard of before, there’s zero information on it.

I also hadn’t checked the other skills properly because I was too busy ripping off the cat at the dimension market.

I was about to open the skill window when Saemi spoke first.

[⁕ When you gain proficiency in a skill, the skill level increases, and you can use more features. :)]

“Proficiency?”

Normally, you get stat points from quests, and you use those points to raise stats and skill levels.

But since I have no stats, that doesn’t apply to me.

Basically, do it a lot and get better.
Exactly like real life.

I muttered to myself as I walked past the Tower and toward home.

“I’ll check the other skills first.”

I already checked the Repair skill, so I needed to look at the other three.

[Item Appraisal Lv 1]

You can appraise an item’s basic information and hidden potential.

[⁕ Some items from Babel Tower and Gates have unappreciated hidden abilities. They appear as unidentified items. :)]

Saemi added the explanation right away.

But something didn’t make sense.

“I’ve never heard of unidentified items before.”

Ten years of Awakeners, and mountains of data collected…
Yet nothing about hidden abilities on items?

[⁕ Without the appraisal skill, you can’t confirm them.
So people probably have no idea that hidden abilities even exist. :)]

“…Okay, that does make sense.”

Even if something is hidden, it’s meaningless if no one knows it’s there.

“Show me the next skill.”

[Dimensional Gate Lv 1]

You can open a gate to another dimension.
In the Babel system, you can use additional functions.
Only non-living items can be traded.

“A dimensional gate… well, that’s straightforward.”

I scratched my chin while crossing the street.

This would probably be the skill I used the most.

It fit perfectly with my title—being able to bring items from other dimensions and sell them.

Like the 75th-floor dimension market I saw during the tutorial.

‘If the level goes up, I guess I can trade other things too.’

I swallowed greedily, thinking about today’s profit.

Currently, I only have three selling slots, and the items available for purchase were things like spring water, sparks, and leaves…

But if I leveled up, I could buy more things, more valuable things.
Maybe even make a fortune quickly.

Just imagining that bright future made me excited.

[⁕ The ‘Dimensional Gate’ skill is extremely important for an Open Market Manager.
We recommend levelling it first.
At Level 2, you can receive items directly from creators and sell them exclusively. :)]

“Oh, like wholesale? Nice. Then what’s the next level?”

[⁕ With your current permission, that information is hidden. :)]

“…Are you kidding me?”

If you’re going to tell me, tell me properly.

I clicked my tongue.

Anyway, the most in-demand item inside the Tower was potions.

To earn more gold with only three selling slots, I needed more slots…
and that meant completing quests.

‘So I should raise the Dimensional Gate level first.’

…However.

“Hey Saemi, but—”

I just remembered something important.

To level up, I needed proficiency.
To gain proficiency, I needed to use the Dimensional Gate often.

Since it can only be used “inside the Babel system”—
That means I probably have to go inside the Tower or Gate.

[⁕ Correct. As your level increases, you’ll eventually be able to open the market outside the Tower as well. :)]

That’s not even the issue!

“I’m super weak, okay?”

I have no stats.

If I go onto any floor right now, I’ll die in one hit.

Actually, forget one hit—I might die from a monster’s sneeze…

[⁕ Don’t worry.
Awakeners with the Open Market Manager title don’t need stats.
Please check your passive skill, ‘Merchant’s Mark’. :)]

Saemi sounded so confident that I couldn’t even argue.

Right, I did have one more skill.

[Merchant’s Mark (P)]

You are registered in the Babel system as a non-combat merchant.
Merchants may enter any open or opening floor in their zone.
You can communicate with all beings inside the Tower,
and none of them can attack you.

I read it carefully—and my jaw dropped.

“No way.”

I read it again and again.

‘This is… OP.’

I’m basically a side character NPC—
But the invincible kind.

A perfectly pickled radish—
something that’s inside the combat zone but can’t be touched.

[⁕ The reason your Awakener rank is locked is that the passive skill ‘Merchant’s Mark’ is currently active. :)]

“…Tch. Really?”

‘Okay, that’s slightly disappointing.’

For a moment, I wondered if maybe I could level up like normal.
Guess not.

Still, not dying inside the Tower is very good news.

I hate dying.

Even if life is harsh, I want to grow old and die comfortably—
not disappear inside a Gate like my brother…

I shook off the useless thoughts.

“Then… does getting hit still hurt?”

[⁕ Yes :)]

“Why do you sound so cheerful?”

Pain is also something I absolutely hate.

As I swallowed my irritation and walked faster, I noticed I’d arrived home.

The place where I struggled to pay rent after my brother died.
Now the contract was ending, and I needed to move out.

Maybe the house itself was my brother’s last trace.

I sighed and opened the door.

‘Anyway, I guess I have to go into the Tower.’

If I had stats, I’d just get a normal job instead of entering that death trap…

“Haa…”

Just thinking about entering the Tower made me tired.

That was when—

Ding!

***

[Title Acquisition Quest (2)]

Conduct 100 trades inside the Tower.
Duplicate sales do not count.
Rest stations are excluded.
Reward: Additional selling slot, increased Dimensional Gate proficiency.

The Babel system was asking for something outrageous.

“Are you serious?”

I frowned deeply.

Seriously, shouldn’t the first quest be something like
“Do 1 trade → Yay! Congrats!”?

I’ve been awake for less than a week.
I’m basically a newborn!
A newborn gets applause for rolling over once.
Taking their first step gets applause, too.

So shouldn’t my first sale get applause as well?!

You give me a merchant title, then demand 100 trades?!
Are you insane?!

“You might as well tell me to buy the whole Tower!”

[⁕ The Tower is not a purchasable item. :)]

I showed the notification the middle finger.

“I’m not doing it! No! Never!”

If I don’t do the quest, then there’s no problem!

***