Chapter 9

Store Opening Event (2)**

[⁕ You haven’t completed the title quest yet.
The quest will be marked complete once you open the shop and step inside :)]

Not happening.

Even I’m not shameless enough to march calmly into that building while all those people are watching.

I turned around immediately and hurried far, far away from my newly erected disaster zone.

I didn’t dare to stay anywhere near Sam’s “mass displacement of civilians” crime scene.

“Yeah… no. Absolutely not today.”

Hiding behind a pillar where the foot traffic was thinner, I realised today’s quest completion was hopeless.

Crowds had gathered tightly around the short two-story sky-blue building,
And from the rooftop came the sound of shattered potion bottles mixed with crying.

‘I can’t believe I caused trouble before even opening the store.’

I covered my face with both hands and sighed.

That’s when—

[You have a new message. Would you like to check it?]

[> New Message
– If you list it on the Market, I shall gladly purchase it.
I eagerly await the refined pleasure you will offer this time.
Ι Manti (Dimension – ■■)]

“…Wow. Even texts like this are dramatic.”

Despite the elegant wording, the voice I remembered was a pitiful meow.

It was a reply from Manti—the cat I had messaged earlier, hoping it might know something about the 50th floor.

‘Refined pleasure…? You don’t even eat churu gracefully.’

Sure, officially, I came here today to open the offline store.

But—

‘I also need to find out the truth about that griffon feather.’

Ignoring the tragic crying coming from the roof, I uploaded the churu into my Market sales slot.

*

[Open Market “Friendly Market” Ι Manager: Lee Hae]

[> Items for Sale
– Kitty Sweet-Chu (Chicken Flavour) — 1G]

Within ten seconds of posting, the churu sold out.

Right after, another reply from Manti arrived.

[- Quite different from salmon indeed.
A subtle yet intense flavour that envelops the tongue…
Most fascinating.
Your taste is, as always, exquisite.
Ι Manti (Dimension – ■■)]

“……”

Every time I received a message from this cat, I felt a new kind of shock.

Trying my best to stay calm, I typed back quickly.

[I’m curious—do you have a Babel Tower in your world too?
What’s the highest floor you’ve cleared?]

[- We are currently climbing the 64th step.
Ι Manti (Dimension – ■■)]

‘So they’re on the 64th floor?’

Humans couldn’t even get past the 49th floor for six months,
Yet cats were fighting and clearing up to the 64th?

Is species difference really that huge?

[That’s impressive.
Have you ever encountered a griffon on a floor you cleared?]

[- A griffon… I believe we met one on the 55th floor.
It was quite a troublesome foe, if memory serves.
Ι Manti (Dimension – ■■)]

So Sam was right.

I didn’t know which dimension Manti came from,
But Griffons showing up at floor 55 lined up with Sam’s info.

It’d be better to confirm this with others, too, though.

[Do you know anyone from other dimensions?]

[- Regrettably, no.
But if you wish to meet beings from other dimensions,
Why not return to the place where we previously encountered each other?
Ι Manti (Dimension – ■■)]

[You mean a Gate…?]

[- Whatever do you mean?
I speak of the Dimensional Market, of course.
Ι Manti (Dimension – ■■)]

“Oh.”

Right. I didn’t meet him only inside the Gate.

For a second, I thought he wanted to meet in a surprise Gate again—
I almost blocked him.

But Manti had a point.

The irregular Dimensional Market I visited during the tutorial had creatures I’d never seen before.

Perfect for gathering information.

[⁕ System check complete!
The next Irregular Dimensional Market will open one week from now :)]

[⁕ As an ‘Open Market Manager’, you may freely access the dimensional crossing on Floor 75 :)]

Sam actually helped at the right time.

I thought it existed only in the tutorial,
but apparently, I could access the 75th floor anytime.

One week was plenty of time.

‘I definitely need to go to the Dimensional Market next week.’

[- Should you discover a new flavor, do inform me at once.
I shall await the day eagerly.
And if I may see you again at the next Irregular Market,
nothing would please me more.
Ι Manti (Dimension – ■■)]

After sending back a short thank-you message, the cat fell silent.

“55th floor… okay.”

Nothing was confirmed yet, but the target was clearer now.

My brother owned something no Earthling should have ever seen.

And if Sam was right—that I was the only one on Earth who could buy or sell things from other dimensions—then my brother having a griffon feather was incredibly suspicious.

How did he get it?

Did he have a title that allowed dimensional trade?

… Could he have travelled to another dimension?

‘I need to reach the 50th floor somehow.’

But Korea was still stuck on the 49th floor.
And a squishy E-rank like me couldn’t just charge in myself.

I had no choice but to wait for our top-ranked Hunters to clear the path.

Which meant—

“I need to figure out why they’re stuck at the 49th floor.”

I muttered seriously, rubbing my chin.

[⁕ Manager, are you not going to complete the quest?]

“Shut up.”

I snapped and walked away.

Behind me, the alchemist’s mourning cry continued like background music.

“Hueeeh… my potions…”

I’m really sorry, unknown alchemist.

Please wait just a little longer.

When I raise my Dimensional Gate skill level…
I’ll make sure to give you exclusive shelf space in my store…

* * *

Shockingly enough, I actually had a friend.

A very close friend—
And one who knew the Tower’s situation extremely well.

“Why are you so late?”

“Oh, look, her highness has arrived.”

I sat down across from him with a dry response.

No, he didn’t actually think he was royalty—
That was my nickname.

Because of my “terrifying mouth,” people put a royal spin on it:
Princess Lee
Or in English: This Princess.

A super creative high school nickname that stuck for over a decade.

“You said you wanted something random to drink,
So I ordered yuja tea with pearls and whipped cream.”

“…Creative. I’ll give you that.”

Tanned skin from years of soccer, short hair,
And an annoying grin he showed me every time we met.

The drink was grotesque,
But it was still good to see him.

I grinned.

“So, Gookminseong—what have you been up to?”

B-rank Hunter Gook Minseong,
Strategic Planning Team member of the #1 guild, Aegis.

He once worked at the Tower Management Bureau because his name meant “national character,”
But he quit because they didn’t pay overtime.

He was my classmate for three straight years in high school,
And in university, we used to drink an entire box of soju every week.

Since today was his day off, I bribed him with coffee.

Minseong sighed heavily.

“Just overtime, what else? Hey, did you see the video?
A building popped up in Babel Plaza.”

“…Yeah. I saw.”

Ouch. That guilt stabbed me right in the soul.

I fiddled with my hair.

Playing dumb, I asked lightly,

“Uh… what is that thing?”

“We’re killing ourselves trying to figure it out.
Can’t open the door.
Attacks don’t work.
We’re debating whether Babel is running some kind of event.”

Actually… that’s my Friendly Market store…

I swallowed my saliva, pretending not to hear the accusation in his tone.

“People think Babel Plaza is chaotic, but it’s all assigned and monitored by the Bureau.
We need order.
Apparently, the alchemist who used to be in that spot
has been protesting outside the Bureau since morning.”

So… that’s what happened…

If he could just be patient,
I could build him a proper shop later…

Trying not to crumble from guilt, I changed the subject.

“So why can’t our Hunters clear the 49th floor?”

“Ha…”

His sigh was deeper this time.

This question alone seemed like a trauma trigger.

“It’s confidential, so I shouldn’t say this.”

The tower floor progress was equivalent to national power.
Any info on the 49th-floor scenario was top-secret.

Below the 25th floor, information was everywhere.
But above the 40s, everything was locked down like a national intelligence operation.

Still, he was my friend Minseong.
For over ten years.

“Come on. That’s what friends are for. Complain to me instead.”

Minseong’s fatal flaw was his loose lips.
Especially with people he trusted.

“…Fine.”

After hesitating, he snapped his fingers lightly.

Suddenly, all background noise within 100 meters vanished.

His ability allowed him to manipulate sound—
Perfect for creating a soundproof barrier.

Meaning: he was ready to spill everything.

“49th floor’s scenario is ‘Reclaim the Capital.’”

“Reclaim the capital?”

“You have to retake the fallen capital city.
Of the old kingdom of Falcone, which was conquered by a dark mage.”

“Retake it? But our Hunters are strong.
Aegis attempted it too. Why can’t they clear it?”

He sighed again.

“Problem one: Endless monster waves.
And they’re all A or B-rank monsters.
Sometimes something equivalent to S-rank shows up.”

“…Oh.”

That meant S-rank Hunters couldn’t rotate out.
And if waves had dozens of monsters,
Most of the team would be pinned down constantly.

“Second problem: Only 15 people can enter the floor.
Even handling waves is barely possible.
But the worst part is something else.”

“What is it?”

Minseong massaged his forehead.

“You have to complete 20 sub-quests from NPCs.”

“…Sub… quests?”

“And their requests are all over the place.
One wants a forgotten relic.
Another wants that relic offered to a temple and then retrieve the sword that appears.
One wants magical ingredients.
Another wants a personal escort.
They’re all a pain.”

“…Uh-huh.”

“They’re all insane.”

Yep. Completely insane.

“And last—
The monsters can absorb stats.”

“What the hell?”

“That’s the worst part.
The longer the fight goes,
The Hunters get weaker
And the monsters get stronger.
A B-rank monster that escapes can return in the next wave as an S-rank.”

What kind of cursed scenario was this?

No wonder even Seo Jaehyuk couldn’t hold the line forever.

“You can’t stay S-rank long enough to clear 20 sub-quests.”

Minseong emptied his coffee in one gulp.

My conclusion was simple.

“Yeah, that sounds impossible.”

“Exactly.”

Who knew the number 9 would curse people even inside the Tower?

After spilling all these state secrets,
Minseong continued venting.

“I mean, who cares if the kingdom fell?
How are we supposed to find something like
‘The Last Crest of Fallen Falcone’?
Seriously.”

I nodded sympathetically at his office-worker misery.

So that meant—

If we wanted to reach the 50+ floors,
Korea’s Hunters would need to grow much stronger.

Who knew how long it would be until we reached the griffon floors?

Even with my special title,
Right now, I couldn’t do anything.

Ding!

***

[⁕ The Open Market shop “Freya’s Citadel” is selling
“The Last Crest of Fallen Falcone.” :]

“…Huh?”

If Sam hadn’t just delivered this out-of-nowhere bombshell,
The story might’ve ended calmly.