Chapter 7
Potion Seller (2)**
“Uh… I’m almost out of mana. Chunja, are you sure you cast that Mana Optimization buff?”
“Oh? It didn’t go through?”
“What?!”
The ponytail mage jerked her head up, frowning hard at my calm reply.
“I definitely cast it when we entered… I even checked it….”
I lowered my gaze and spoke with the saddest, most helpless tone I could fake.
My acting must’ve been good, because instead of yelling further, she looked confused.
“But why does it feel the same as usual?”
Of course it did.
Because it was the same as usual.
Her mana really was almost gone—her lips were turning blue.
‘I knew it.’
Even though the frontliners were killing everything just fine, this girl had been screaming, “Fireball!” Fireball! nonstop.
She definitely had never done a raid or even played a game in her life.
Or she was just gullible enough to believe in my nonexistent “Mana Optimization” buff.
But the problem didn’t stop with her.
“Actually… I’m below half HP.”
The neon-green-haired kid confessed with a trembling voice.
“And I got hit by a poison needle earlier… I think the poison has spread….”
The dual-sword warrior added his own confession as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
The boar-like tank—today’s temporary guildmaster of the ‘Violent Suppression’ guild—looked more miserable by the second.
He opened his mouth like he wanted to yell, but then held it in.
“…Looks like we won’t reach our goal.”
His exhausted voice revealed all the frustration he couldn’t hide.
He had clearly dreamed big—
breaking the record, reaching 148 waves, winning the famous Jade Ring that even Seo Jaehyuk used for years, and going home triumphant.
But now, not only would they fail to break the record,
They were about to get stuck around the 100th wave.
‘Well, this is their actual skill level.’
With no time to rest or prepare, the Tower mercilessly pushed us into the next stage of hell.
***
[■ Babel System > 36th Floor Notice
– The next wave begins in 10 minutes.]
“Can everyone still hold on?”
At the tank’s weary question, everyone shook their heads.
“The fact the buff didn’t work at all is the main problem! If we can’t even feel it, that means the buff is trash!”
‘Huh?’
That arrow came flying straight at me—pretty sharply too.
The ponytail mage pointed her staff at me.
“You were completely useless! What did you even do?!”
“You’re blaming the supporter? My buff worked just fine! You just wasted your mana like crazy! I knew something was wrong when you kept spamming big AoE spells!”
The dual-sword warrior snapped back aggressively.
He even winked at me like he was being protective…
but honestly—
‘That was a weirdly vague defense.’
If he felt a buff I never cast, maybe the Tower blessed him.
The neon-green kid plopped onto the ground.
“They said the 36th floor got easier… What a total lie.”
His voice was full of annoyance and resignation.
“If you really can’t go on, we should leave.”
The tank spoke in a defeated tone.
All right, time for me to step in.
“Everyone.”
I interrupted neatly.
“I have a very tempting proposal for you.”
“… What are you talking about now…?”
Ignoring the tank’s baffled expression, I pulled out four contracts I had stored in my pocket.
“If you sign these, I’ll give you proper help. After coming this far, isn’t it a waste to leave now?”
“I knew it! You have been watching uselessly this whole time!”
The ponytail mage exploded in anger, but I ignored her and handed one contract to each person.
***
[A-rank Confidentiality Contract]
Anyone who signs this contract has the obligation to keep all information related to their transaction with E-rank Hunter “Chunja” secret.
If violated:
- The Babel System will permanently seal your Awakener abilities.
- The Babel System will permanently lower your Awakener rank by one.
Your signature confirms voluntary consent under Babel System authority.
I spent a small fortune buying these A-rank contracts from the market.
Everyone’s expression twisted as they read it.
“They told us never to sign stuff like this…”
The neon kid had at least learned proper Hunter education.
But I wasn’t here to sympathize.
I was here to sell—
literally.
“It’s simple. Just keep today’s events and whatever I do a secret. Not hard, right?”
“So what exactly are you going to do to help? So far, you’ve only cast that… useless buff.”
The tank asked, looking doubtful.
I answered cheerfully,
“I’ll tell you after you sign.”
“And why should we trust you?”
“There’s nothing weird in the contract. What could an E-rank Hunter even do? It’s up to you—sign and try a few more waves, or give up and leave.”
Funny how being “weak E-rank” worked as a selling point today.
Still, they didn’t sign right away.
‘Fine. Time for seasoning.’
“Oh, and by the way.”
I shrugged lightly.
“The Jade Ring currently sells for 280 million won.”
It dropped a lot because of me.
but it was still 280 million won.
Their eyes widened.
“And I don’t need the ring, so you can split it four ways. Wow! 70 million each~!”
The dual-sword warrior gulped loudly.
‘Got him.’
The others also looked tempted—money had a special magic after all.
They all had one thing in common:
‘They came for money, not glory.’
The tank stared at the contract for a long moment, then sighed.
“Guys… We’ve come this far. Isn’t it a waste to quit now?”
“H-how do we trust her?”
“It’s just confidentiality. Doesn’t seem dangerous.”
He said that, but he clearly wasn’t confident.
“It’s weird an E-rank even has an A-rank contract. How—”
“Alright, alright.”
I cut off the ponytail mage and dropped the final hammer.
“Are you signing or not?”
Silence.
Everyone looked at each other.
***
[The next wave begins in 5 minutes.]
“Damn it…”
The Babel notice pushed them into a corner.
Finally, the tank made his decision.
“Fine. I’ll sign. But if you trick us…”
I smiled brightly.
“Don’t worry. I’m only here to help you.”
All four reluctantly signed.
The signed contracts glowed gold and disappeared.
Yes!
I cheered internally but kept my face calm.
“So what now? ”
The neon kid asked urgently.
Less than 30 seconds remained before the wave started.
I looked at them coolly and delivered my ultimate move.
“I’m selling potions.”
“…Potions?”
“There’s a potion ban here! You can’t even open your inventory! How—how—? ”
“Don’t joke around—”
The tank stepped forward threateningly, but I stepped back and pulled a potion out of the floating “Friendly Market” window.
Dimensional Gate was a skill—not related to an inventory—
and since I was here as a merchant, not an Awakener…
I wasn’t bound by the 36th-floor restrictions.
Everyone’s eyes went wide at the suddenly materialized C-rank potion.
“I have antidotes, mana potions, HP potions—whatever you need.”
The poisoned dual-sword warrior’s face lit up.
“One bottle is 10 gold.”
“What?! That’s three times the normal price! ”
The ponytail mage shouted.
She wasn’t wrong.
“But this is the 36th floor, and potions are banned.
And in your current condition, you can’t keep fighting anyway.”
The tank opened his mouth to argue, but I cut him off again.
“But if you spend 1,000 gold here and earn a Jade Ring? Doesn’t that profit make up for it? ”
Everyone fell silent.
“If you don’t want them, that’s fine.
Just die in the next wave.”
Perfect timing—Babel interrupted.
***
■ Babel System > 36th Floor Notice
– The next wave begins in 1 minute.
Ponytail Mage cracked first.
“Fine! Three mana potions! ”
“30 gold, customer.”
“I’ll take one antidote.”
“10 gold.”
***
[> 4 Transactions received]
– Sold 3 × C-rank Mana Potions to Aria (KR)
– Sold 1 × C-rank Antidote to DualSwordWarrior (KR)
– Sold 2 × C-rank Health Potions to BeardGuy (KR)
– Sold 5 × C-rank Health Potions to ChurchIsEnglish (KR)
110 gold in one go.
Not bad at all.
But business wasn’t over yet.
“Alright! Let’s go break that record.”
■ Babel System > 36th Floor Notice
– [Wave 101 has begun.]
****
Every time a wave ended, trading resumed.
“Ten HP potions.”
“100 gold.”
“Twenty mana potions and one antidote.”
“210 gold! ”
The situation completely changed.
They were burning potions like crazy.
focused only on the Jade Ring reward.
And finally—
*
■ Babel System > 36th Floor Notice
– [Guild ‘Violent Suppression’ has broken the 36th-floor record.]
– [Issuing new record reward.]
“We did it! ”
They shouted as they surpassed the previous record and hit 148 waves.
the score Seo Jaehyuk once set.
An item box fell from above, and everyone cheered.
“It’s really the Jade Ring! ”
The dual-sword guy shouted, bangs plastered to his forehead with sweat.
“I can’t believe we actually did it…”
The tank looked emotional.
“We… we could go even farther!”
“Nope. I’m out of potions.”
Their suspicious gazes from earlier were long gone—
The neon kid now looked genuinely disappointed.
This was part of my strategy.
If the record got too high, the next challengers wouldn’t bother trying.
So I let them go just one wave beyond the old record.
“Chunja, thank you.”
“I didn’t think we’d really set a record.”
“A record! You look happy too, Chunja.”
One by one they shook my hand.
I nodded calmly.
But the real reason I was happy was—
***
[Awakener Lee Haewon – Open Market Manager (EX)]
> New Notifications
– Title Acquisition Quest (2) complete.
– 2 additional selling slots unlocked.
– Dimensional Gate skill proficiency increased.
I finally finished the exhausting 100-transaction quest!
Sweet, sweet notifications.
[Current Gold: 12,928G]
Even sweeter—money!
After repeatedly running the 36th floor and selling nonstop, I had collected quite a bit.
I grinned as I watched the celebrating guild members.
Then, a new window appeared.
***
[Title Acquisition Quest (3)]
Establish a “Friendly Market” branch in a Tower rest station.
Reward: Additional selling slot, Dimensional Gate proficiency increase
