Chapter 11 – Store Opening Event (4)
I decided to pretend the whole 36th floor thing never happened.
Yep. Just erase it from existence.
Staying off the radar is important for survival, after all.
Of course, the people who were excited about breaking the speed-run record called me trash, deserter, failure, and several more colorful names…
But I, Lee Haewon, have a very strong mental fortitude.
In the end, nothing happened afterward, and right now I’m sitting on a bench in front of a grocery store eating ice cream.
“It’s pretty good.”
Coming for Churu and ending up buying ice cream was definitely overspending, but July’s sun was ruthless.
A month ago, I never would’ve imagined myself being this relaxed.
But today? Today I can afford to relax.
Because I realized making money isn’t limited to the 36th floor.
I checked my watch and yawned.
The meeting was at 10:30.
He said he was almost there, so he should be arriving any moment now—
“‘Friend Lee’ nim?”
Hearing my Carrot Market username out loud for the first time in a while, I jerked my head up in surprise.
A small, skinny man wearing thick horn-rimmed glasses was looking at me nervously.
“Ah—yes. Are you the ‘Guide of Transcendence’?”
He nodded very slowly.
“What exactly is the item you’re selling?”
He stared at me with an intense, unsettling eagerness.
‘What kind of creepy stare is that?’
Even though I wore a baseball cap, a mask, and sunglasses—everything to hide my face—his weirdly unfocused gaze made me uncomfortable.
“I don’t know how you got in contact with our group, but… may I check the item first? I have a skill called ‘Eye of Truth.’ If you intend to scam me, that would be a problem. I can see the true nature of objects.”
“Ah, no… I’m not scamming you.”
“I’ll confirm that myself.”
The “group” he mentioned was exactly the money-making opportunity I was referring to.
Modern-day awakened individuals are generally divided into three groups:
First, hunters who climb the tower and challenge the highest floors.
All the famous names Koreans know belong here.
But only seven guilds are even attempting the 49th floor right now, and only their strongest members can enter—so in truth, less than 1% of all hunters qualify.
Second, the strategy teams who farm resources by repeatedly clearing lower floors’ resettable scenarios.
Most hunters fall into this group.
Third, awakened people who do not climb the tower at all.
Like the one who stole my comfortable convenience-store job.
And then… there’s an unofficial fourth group.
A group that doesn’t fit anywhere.
“This is it.”
I lifted the shopping bag from the ground.
As soon as I pulled the item out, the man’s eyes widened dramatically.
“O-oh… this is…!”
He trembled so hard he could barely speak.
Very different from the stiff, suspicious attitude he had just seconds ago.
In front of the small horn-shaped figurine I had taken out, the man dropped to his knees and raised both hands above his head in reverence.
“This must truly be a holy relic bestowed by God…!”
‘Bro… this costs 10 gold.’
It was common, too—every dimensional market had at least 100 of them in stock.
This “Eye of Truth” skill of his… Was it actually just trash?
To check, I used my Appraisal skill.
[Gab’s Horn Figurine (F)]
A figurine carved from the horn of the monster “Gab,” native to ■■.
/Potential Ability/ None.
Nothing. Not even a hidden effect.
Who knows what world that censored dimension is, but apparently “Gab” monsters walk around like alley cats there.
“You wanted an item that has never been found in Earth’s Tower, yes?”
“Yes! Yes, exactly…!”
He was practically crying.
He gently stroked the figurine with trembling hands.
“This rough yet sacred beauty… and this faint flow of pure mana…! Never has the Covenant Order possessed anything so noble!”
This man belonged to a cult-like extremist group called The Covenant Order.
And today I was here to scam—no, “sell”—something to one of them.
The Covenant Order is a fanatic group that worships the Babel Tower as a divine test given by God.
They’re too small to be considered a guild but too noisy to ignore.
They insist that clearing all floors will open God’s kingdom.
Very doomsday-like.
They look down on non-awakened people as “unchosen.”
and claim awakened ones undergo “spiritual ascension.”
‘They’re insane.’
Before the Tower existed, how did they even live? The entire group seems mentally gone.
What caught my interest was that they treated Tower items as holy relics.
What if an item was something Earth’s Tower had never produced before?
They’d go crazy for it.
This made them the perfect target.
“I must offer this to our Vow Master! Name your price—anything; I can provide it!”
Apparently that’s one of their high-ranking officials.
I carefully placed the figurine back into the shopping bag and said,
“I’m sorry, but… it’s quite expensive.”
“That’s perfectly fine! One cannot hesitate before a sacred relic!”
Dude. It’s not sacred; it’s poorly carved junk.
But since I smelled money, I shamelessly continued:
“Normally, this would go for at least 2,800… but since I can feel your passion, I’ll give it to you for 2,500.”
(I bought it for 10 gold.)
“How can you be so generous…!”
The man covered his mouth in awe.
How brainwashed did someone have to be to join this group? He was exhausting to watch.
Before he wasted more time praising me, I moved on.
“And also—as I said earlier, since this can’t be obtained in the Babel Tower, I must insist on receiving cash—”
“Yes, I brought it.”
He hurriedly opened his backpack.
‘Holy—’
He pulled out five bundles of 50,000-won bills and handed them over without hesitation.
“Please check. Exactly 500 bills.”
I didn’t need to.
Saemi immediately popped up:
***
[⁕ Would you like to convert 25 million won into 2,500 gold?]
I needed around 5,000 gold to buy the Veil of the Fifth Shadow.
Good thing reverse exchange worked!
I kept 5 million won as emergency funds and exchanged the rest into gold.
[Current Gold: 2,928G]
Delicious.
So this is the sweetness of a full bank account.
Thank you, mysterious manager □□ from some dimensional market, for selling me “Gab’s Horn Figurine.”
I hid my smug grin, but then the man asked with a breathless, trembling voice:
“How… how did you obtain something like this…?”
‘Ugh, cult members are really hard to deal with.’
His flared nostrils and overly excited eyes made me instinctively step back.
Creepy.
But the plan wasn’t over yet, so I calmly replied:
“That’s a business secret.”
“As expected… you must be one of the ‘Ascenders’…!”
What?
What’s that supposed to be?
Whatever. I leaned in and whispered seriously:
“I don’t tell just anyone. But since you seem trustworthy, and you have a good eye for relics… I’ll let you know something.”
“Yes?”
“I actually have… a few more items like this.”
His head snapped up instantly.
His expression said exactly one thing:
‘SELL THEM TO ME. ALL OF THEM. NO MATTER THE COST.’
Seeing that, I swallowed a laugh and added:
“Are you interested?”
The cult guide nodded violently.
‘Gotcha.’
A sucker—no, customer—secured.
Later…
[Current Gold: 5,728G]
I even sold an unprocessed low-grade dark-mana stone.
Total earnings: 5,300 gold.
Even after keeping 5 million won as emergency savings, I earned 4,800 gold!
“Insane.”
Running the 36th floor twice took an entire day of physical hell.
Selling two items to a cultist took thirty minutes.
Sure, I could’ve sold more, but he started subtly trying to recruit me into the cult with those crazy eyes, so I decided not to risk getting dragged in.
Plus, money isn’t my main goal—finding clues about my brother is.
“Saemi, buy the veil we found earlier.”
[Transaction complete.]
[Current Gold: 738G]
“…”
It hurts.
My gold evaporated in under 30 minutes, returning me to poor-person mode.
Still, I stayed strong and opened my inventory.
I bought a pitch-black robe.
The fabric was nice—soft and smooth.
I used Appraisal:
[Veil of the Fifth Shadow (B)]
A robe used by the Shadow Knights to hide their presence from others.
Note: If you make physical contact with someone while wearing it, you may be exposed.
/Potential Ability/ While in darkness, physical contact does not reveal your presence.
“Whoa.”
I wasn’t expecting something this good.
It might not help top hunters, but in normal areas at night?
I’d be basically invisible.
No wonder it cost almost 5,000 gold.
With preparations complete, I had no reason to hesitate anymore.
I put on the robe and headed toward the Babel Tower.
People walking by didn’t seem to notice me at all, and even the glass windows of buildings didn’t reflect me.
This was my first time experiencing a strong effect from an item sold at a dimensional market.
The entrance of the Babel Tower glowed faintly blue.
Without hesitation, I stepped inside.
[You have entered the 25th floor’s mid-station.]
When I opened my eyes, I was already at the mid-station in the tower.
Still packed with crowds, loud noises everywhere, and—
“What the…?”
Five stern-looking people were standing guard right in front of my building.
‘The Babel Management Bureau.’
Their intimidating expressions stood out sharply against the bright sky-blue building.
All of them wore uniforms with the Bureau’s logo stamped on their chests.
I swallowed nervously.
“Okay… okay…”
As long as I didn’t get caught, everything would be fine.
I held my breath and crept forward.
As long as I didn’t touch them, they would never notice me—the robe guaranteed it.
And it was a B-rank item!
I practically limbo-danced under the caution tape that made my place look like a crime scene.
Finally, I reached the door and let out my held breath.
Then, the moment I grabbed the doorknob—
A bright blue window popped up.
You are currently in ‘Dimension – Earth Ⅰ Zone – Republic of Korea,’ 25th Floor Mid-Station.
Would you like to open ‘Friendly Market’?]
