Chapter 15—Bamanjangjeom (4)
I sat there fiddling with the gold coin on the counter, lost in thought, before finally forcing my lips to move.
“Sammy.”
[⁕ Yes, do you need any assistance? :)]
“Is it true? That the Babel Tower destroys an entire dimension?”
[⁕ I’m sorry. Access to that information is restricted. :)]
“As the Open Market administrator, there’s nothing you can tell me?”
[⁕ I’m sorry. Access to that information is restricted. :)]
I already knew this dumb AI was pretending not to know, but right now, it annoyed me to no end.
Sure, Sammy was assigned to help me run the Open Market, and logically I understand it’s not its fault…
But logic and emotions aren’t friends. Right now, my emotions wanted to punch Sammy’s window.
I glared at the notification box, took a deep breath, and said,
“There’s only one answer, then.”
We have to climb the tower faster.
Finding my brother is important—of course it is. But if our whole dimension is in danger…
Even if I find him, it’s pointless if the world is gone.
If Babel wipes out this world, there’ll be nowhere for him—or me—to return to.
Before Babel crushes our dimension completely, we need to climb the Tower.
“Mya—”
— Can that man’s words be trusted?
Manti had slithered down onto the counter and was staring at me with its transparent eyes.
Even Manti—who was climbing the 64th floor in its own dimension—found that story unfamiliar.
A reasonable doubt from a being far more experienced than humans.
But I was certain.
“Yeah. He wasn’t lying.”
There was no way Alessandro lied.
Those eyes.
Those were the eyes of someone who had truly lost everything.
“My life suddenly has a massive scale…”
From “unlucky unemployed convenience-store worker”
→ “accidentally awakened E-rank Hunter”
→ and now “shoulder the fate of the entire world”?!
If someone else told me this, I’d tell them to stop talking nonsense.
“…Mya?”
— To shoulder the fate of the world, aren’t you far too weak?
This damn cat.
I spoil it one minute, and it shreds my self-esteem the next.
“I know, okay? But I’m not the one who has to fight.”
I just help from behind.
Like a proper “Open Market Administrator.”
I jumped up from my seat.
I may be tiny and weak, but since the job fell onto me…
“We have to make sure the 49th floor gets cleared ASAP.”
I can’t turn away anymore.
***
Online HunterNet Community Post—Trending #1
[Saw a crazy merchant on the 18th floor.] Is this normal??]
Hey, does the 18th floor normally spawn a merchant?
I just experienced some nightmare fuel.
I’m the mob-luring guy, so I was waiting in a corner, right?
Then suddenly the boss monster spawned early—bug?—and I almost died.
But THEN
This hooded woman with her face completely covered jumps out of nowhere, TANKS the attack for me, and asks:
“Would you like to buy a potion?”
💀💀💀
I said no, but she starts showing me detox potion, buff potion, everything.
ALL OF THEM were signed “Bamanjang Potion Nuna Maid.”
Quality was insane, so I ended up buying.
But here’s the weird part:
I retried the floor… and she wasn’t there.
Time-limited NPC?
Or some trigger condition?
Comments:
- Could be a hunter cosplaying as an NPC.
- Maybe she only spawns near the boss?
- Ngl, it sounds like foreshadowing; field-boss merchants are rumored.
- Why would an NPC save a player lmao ㅋㅋㅋ? Must be human
- Was she pretty?
- Bro, I saw someone like that on 31F too.
- Maybe a hidden shop event??
- Isn’t Bamanjang’s new building owner a girl?
- Why would a landlord run around doing door-to-door sales? ㅋㅋㅋ
- Also I tried hitting her because I thought she’d drop items but she ran away FAST
↳ LMAOOOO - ***
“Please focus, Guildmaster.”
Seo Jae-hyuk didn’t lift his eyes from the tablet—just nodded vaguely.
Half of Ahn Yeon-seo’s briefing wasn’t even reaching his ears.
The strategy meeting for the 49th floor held zero appeal to him.
Seo Jae-hyuk had a sense for these things:
“This’ll work.”
“This’ll absolutely fail.”
Instead, something else grabbed his attention—the top-recommended community post today.
If only one person saw it, he’d ignore it.
But when three or more hunters report the same thing?
That’s a real issue.
A random floor merchant, huh…
Since becoming Korea’s unbeatable rank 1, he had never seen anything like that.
But he did find a similar clue.
He remembered reading the memory of Kim Min-soo—
the B-rank hunter who cleared 36F and grabbed the Azure Ring before Aegis arrested him.
There was this one memory:
“Would you like to buy a potion?”
No other options.”
Just remembering the tone made his blood boil.
His title, [Memory Conductor], wasn’t famous just for summoning weapons and copying attacks.
There was a hidden skill: Thread,
which allowed him to pull out thin strands of someone’s memory.
Not strong enough for full mind-reading—but perfect for interrogations.
From Kim Min-soo’s memory strand, he confirmed:
- there was someone on 36F selling potions (which should be impossible),
- Min-soo was bound by a restriction and couldn’t talk about certain details.
- All he remembered was the annoying tone and long strands of hair sticking out of a hood.
This new merchant rumor connected too cleanly to past anomalies:
- A mysterious merchant appearing randomly,
- Potions sold on a floor where potions were banned,
- A sky-blue building suddenly appearing in the mid-zone.
All these threads felt connected…
and he had the gut feeling this would benefit him.
“Yeon-seo.”
“Yes?”
“That alchemist selling potions in that 25th-floor building—right?”
“… So you really didn’t hear a single thing from my briefing.”
“Investigate her.”
“I KNEW IT.”
“That alchemist isn’t the real owner.”
“…Understood.”
She grumbled and stomped off.
There was no way that merchant was just a random alchemist.
Someone else had to be behind everything.
And that someone…
—could violate Tower rules,
—freely travel between floors,
—sell potions where it should be impossible,
—and even build a structure in a no-build zone.
If that person is beyond the Tower’s system…
“Maybe a brand-new strategy for the 49th floor will come from them.”
Seo Jae-hyuk’s eyes gleamed.
***
[Awakened: Lee Ha-won—Open Market Administrator (EX)]
> New Notifications
- Title Promotion Quest (4) completed.
- Skill appraisal has leveled up.
- Skill anonymity has leveled up.
After running around the Tower nonstop for an entire month…
I finally completed the title promotion quest.
I bought the “Anonymity” skill stone because my hood kept slipping off and exposing my face, and thanks to that, I could roam freely without fear.
Between wholesaling Kang Yeon-hee’s potions and squeezing the Sacred Covenant for every coin…
I finally earned enough money to buy all 20 sub-quest items needed for Floor 49.
… And what am I doing now?
“Haaa… damn it…!”
I was crying blood.
“What? What’s wrong now?”
Kook Min-sung asked while sipping a yuzu tea topped with pearls and whipped cream—punishment for showing up late.
Face buried in the table, I muttered,
“I think… our country might be doomed…”
“What does that have to do with Aegis not being the ones attacking this time?”
“I’m an Aegis fan…”
“What are you even saying?”
He was clueless.
My original plan was simple:
Sell all quest items to Aegis, the strongest Korean guild.
Not because I hate other guilds—it’s just fact.
No one is stronger than Seo Jae-hyuk.
But the Babel Management Bureau has a stupid “fairness system”:
A guild cannot challenge the same floor twice in a row.
And Aegis had already tried two cycles ago.
The problem?
If I wait for Aegis’s turn…
Our world might not survive the remaining time.
Alessandro…
he looked at me with such soulful, tragic eyes…
And now Earth is about to explode.
I swallowed a scream and asked,
“Okay… So who’s raiding this cycle?”
“Korea’s raid team this time… I think it was ‘Wolf Fang.’”
“WHAT THE—!”
“What?! What’s wrong with you?! Are you actually crazy?!”
I wished he was joking, but his bewildered face told me he wasn’t.
Wolf Fang.
Guild Rank 7.
It’s not that they’re weak—
they’re just… not exactly Top 6 strong.
Their ace hunter is unknown.
They don’t appear much publicly.
Not enough data.
Not enough reputation.
They’re good but not “historic victory” good.
And of all times… it’s their turn??
I stared at empty space.
Nothing changed.
“Screw it.”
I sat up straight.
Time to make a decision.
If I just wait for Aegis, the world ends.
My inventory is full of 49F keys.
There’s nothing left to hesitate about.
I looked straight at Min-sung and declared,
“I have no choice.”
“What now?”
“For the next week…
I’m a Wolf Fang fan.”
“Wow. Bandwagoner.”
No time to be loyal.
If it saves the world, then so be it.
Let’s help Wolf Fang become the first in the world to clear the 49th floor.
