Convenience Store 24: The Tower of the End 1st - Chapter 96



Only Krnovel

Episode 96, Floor 52, The Void Zone… … Already Cleared?

“… … .”

Lee Ji-soo bit her lips and looked at the twenty bottles of Sky Dew.

‘it’s crazy…….’

That something on the 28th floor would be beamed exactly in front of her on the 45th floor in just a few seconds.

Who would have dared to predict this?

Mulberry-

She opened the cork of the Sky Dew and took a sip of its contents.

It was in its original condition, with no change in taste or aroma.

‘How is this possible?’

Clearly, this special stamp is the skill of the shop owner.

It is also likely that this is an ability that was acquired relatively recently.

Otherwise, there would have been no reason to keep this special stamp hidden until now.

‘Or maybe he’s really the manager… … That’s more convincing.’

At that time, Lee Ji-soo was laughing as if she was laughing.

Rattling-

Someone opened the door and came inside.

It was Sylvia.

“What are you doing? Everyone is waiting for you.”

Was it because I received a call from the secret agent during the meeting and hurriedly went into the room?

Sylvia looked at her questioningly.

“Did something happen?”

“Oh, sorry. I’m just going to have to gather my thoughts for a moment. Let’s go.”

As she left the room with Sylvia.

The pioneers, the colleagues look at her.

Lee Ji-soo apologized to them after seeing them like that.

“Sorry for interrupting the flow. How far were we talking?”

“I was just about to talk about ‘Is there a way to clear the 52nd floor?’, and ‘If there is, is there a good way?’”

“Oh right, that’s right.”

She thanked Alter for his answer and continued the conversation.

“As you all know, we have already failed twice.”

“But wasn’t it a problem of environmental factors rather than our lack of ability?”

When Sylvia asked a question.

“Sylvia is right. The conditions were terrible.”

“I wonder if there are places like that… … .”

Everyone, without exception, expressed their dissatisfaction with the environment on the 52nd floor.

52nd floor, commonly known as the border of emptiness.

It was the worst there.

The moment you cross the border and enter the void.

Because so many Voidlings were rushing towards them that they filled the ground.

“No matter how many times I kill them, their numbers don’t seem to decrease, and if I rely on the ‘Chungmanseok’, the maintenance time is short. I don’t know what to do with them.”

It’s just like my colleague said.

It is said that if you have a fullness stone, the creatures of the void will not recognize you.

The problem was its retention time.

“Can it last only 30 minutes?”

“Then what do you do? You can only carry 5 per person! And it’s not like you can use them all together! And if you don’t put them in your subspace ability or subspace pocket, they’ll be consumed the moment you enter the boundary?”

“When I saw it, it would never end like this! When did you sit around hunting monsters in the Void and gathering materials? You just have to beat up the undead, the full-stone, and the Nabal? How can you believe the words of a guy who has been living in the Void for hundreds of years?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. There’s no good in messing with the natives! All I can do is follow his advice and continue hunting in the Void to gather materials. I’ll collect clues to clear the dungeon and level up. It won’t be bad, right?”

As my colleagues began to offer their opinions,

The inside of the clan house quickly turned into a market place.

Opinions were largely divided into two.

The first is to follow the words of the undead at the edge of the void and slowly gather the necessary materials by catching void creatures.

The second was to fight the Immortal and make him vomit out all the information he had.

“So when are you going to move on to the next floor! You’re saying that because I’m right?!”

“Oh my! You told me to go back when we were in a hurry! Don’t you know that all of this might be to make us impatient!”

“Ouch, it’s noisy.”

Sylvia slams the mace she was holding onto the shelf.

“I know what you think, but let’s hear Hongyeon’s thoughts first.”

“That’s right! Clan Leader! What do you think would be a better way to do it?”

To be honest, the most standard route was to catch void creatures and collect materials.

There wasn’t really a good way right away.

“I am…….”

The moment Lee Ji-soo was about to open her mouth.

‘wait for a sec.’

Suddenly, a possibility flashed through her mind.

She met her colleagues’ gaze and slowly opened her mouth.

“There is one method I would like to try.”

“……experiment?”

* * *

Two weeks later.

52nd floor, the edge of emptiness.

[Grrrrrrr… … .]

A giant insect wiggles its hundreds of legs and then quickly leaves.

“Ugh, this is so gross I could die.”

The saint sighs as if sighing.

“I can honestly say that this is the worst floor I’ve ever been on.”

“Why? They seem cute to me. Do you just hate bugs?”

At Alter’s question next to her, Sylvia looks at him as if she saw something she shouldn’t have seen.

“You think that’s cute? Your taste is really unique and dirty.”

“Even the name is Void, isn’t it cute? It’s my style. Respect that.”

“Uh, um… … well, okay.”

Let Alter speak firmly.

Sylvia nodded reluctantly and looked around.

Kkirik, kirikiririk-

Red bugs and grotesque chunks of flesh that seem to be living things are everywhere.

And there are giant plants everywhere that look like they’ll swallow you up in one bite at any moment.

If I stayed in this alien space, which was dark and purple, I felt like I was going crazy.

“Why can’t we just kill them all? It would be so much more satisfying if we just burned them all.”

Sylvia slyly tries to open her eyes as if to let Lee Ji-soo hear.

However, Lee Ji-soo ignores her words and quietly asks a colleague next to him.

“I think I’ve seen almost all of this area. What do you think?”

“Just wait. There’s still a lot of space left to fill… … .”

A man who had been looking down at the map with a frown suddenly points in one direction.

“Considering that there were so many Voidlings over there, isn’t there something over there?”

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the direction he pointed to was the area where the Voidlings were gathered.

It was a place swarming with countless bugs.

“……okay?”

She looked down at the round barrel she was carrying.

There was a purple stone inside the barrel.

[Full capacity – 40% remaining]

The remaining amount was written on the surface of the can.

“Then let’s go over there. There’s still room in the Manchungseok.”

“Are you sure you have enough space? It doesn’t seem like there’s much left.”

My colleague is right.

40%. That’s enough remaining battery to last about 12 minutes.

After all of the energy of the full stone has been exhausted.

From then on, those creatures of the void will recognize them.

“There’s not much left. But that doesn’t matter. It’s perfect for experimenting.”

At Lee Ji-soo’s assertion, Alter, who was watching the void worm, slightly turns his head.

“But is that really a feasible experiment?”

He asked in a skeptical voice.

Sylvia, who was standing next to him, responded curtly.

“You like the Void Creeper?”

“It’s good to watch, but it’s not good to become the excrement of a Void Beast.”

Alter’s body trembled.

Lee Ji-soo smiles brightly.

“Let’s go.”

“Ugh… … .”

So they made their way through the Void, passing through countless Void creatures.

[Chungmanseok – 10% remaining]

.

.

.

[Full capacity – 5% remaining]

As they advanced, the remaining amount of stone gradually decreased.

“It’ll be okay… right?”

At that moment, the colleague in charge of mapping continued talking while looking at the remaining amount of stone with anxious eyes.

Tiring-

[You have entered the depths of the void.]

[The balance is disturbed by the intense energy of the void.]

[The effectiveness of some items and abilities is limited.]

A message looms before them.

Lee Ji-soo thought as she looked at the message that came to mind.

‘… Will it actually succeed?’

I had already figured out in advance that I would not be able to use my space-related abilities once I entered the depths of this void.

Even subspace pockets.

That is why this experiment had great significance.

‘I’m ready.’

Now all you have to do is witness the results of the experiment with your own eyes.

But somehow, even after the promised time had passed, there was no significant change.

Tiring-

[The remaining capacity of the full stone is less than 3%.]

[If the energy of the full stone is completely depleted, you may be in great danger.]

“Shouldn’t it be time to come? What are these lazy kids doing… .”

Before I knew it, the remaining energy of the full stone had run out.

Even Sylvia seemed anxious and tried to raise her voice.

At that time.

“You came just in time.”

Lee Ji-soo smiled slowly as she looked at the message that appeared before her eyes.

[Amgui has sent you mail. Would you like to receive it?]

[The contents are as follows.]

[Chungmanseok x 15]

* * *

The next day.

‘hmm…….’

I sipped the coffee I ordered and looked at my phone.

[My life is divided into before and after I learned about special stamps.]

[This stamp is really convenient.]

I chuckled while watching the video.

‘It’s all praise.’

I understand.

Because they were accustomed to analog trading methods.

At that time, I was watching a video for a long time.

[Sir, I’m done now. I finished it neatly and I’ll take the documents with me.]

A text message from a lawyer appears on the screen.

‘Oh! Is this pretty much the end?’

Two weeks ago, after expressing his intention to purchase the building from Grandma Okja.

The transaction was quick and swift.

Is it because I paid the deposit, down payment, and finally the final payment quickly?

[Oh my, sir, you must have a lot of liquid assets. Hohohoho! You’re amazing for being young!]

The middle-aged woman who had been looking at me with suspicious eyes soon changed her attitude.

‘Honestly, if a young guy said he wanted to buy a building, even I would look at him like he was a weirdo. Well, anyway, when will he come…?’

About an hour later.

As the lawyer who had been entrusted with the work entered the cafe.

I quickly waved at him.

“This way!”

“Oh, boss! You’re here.”

The lawyer sitting across the table takes out a file and hands it to me.

“I don’t think that will happen, but please check to see if there is anything unusual.”

“yes.”

‘Whew, whoosh… … .’

My heart is pounding.

My heart was pounding just as hard as when I first entered the tower, but it was almost as fast as when I first entered.

I went through the documents carefully, one by one.

and.

[Owner Kim In-seong – Hanseong Building, XX-gu, Seoul]

The moment I saw my name clearly written on the documents.

‘ah…….’

I felt something indescribable.

Why is it that in such a good moment like this, painful memories come to mind?

Kkaduk-

I bit my lip hard to suppress my emotions that were about to flare up.

“I checked… … I checked. You did a great job.”

“Haha, don’t mention it.”

“Please come to our cafe sometime. It may be a bit odd to say this, but our cafe’s coffee is pretty good.”

“Haha, I know that! In fact, I don’t think there’s anyone in this neighborhood who doesn’t know Insung Cafe, but anyway, I’ve been there a few times! Everything was delicious, but I especially liked the turret-ade!”

So I talked about this and that with the lawyer.

* * *

That night.

“… … .”

Among people living their daily lives without fail.

I blankly looked up at the building.

‘It’s pretty.’

It feels like I’m surrounded by bright lights.

I feel like the bright neon signs are blessing me today.

‘It took a long time.’

Losing two pillars on which I could rely.

Up until now, I had to judge and decide everything myself.

And here I am, standing now.

‘Building owner Kim In-seong. Ugh… … .’

I barely managed to suppress the urge to scream at that moment.

‘Let’s calm down. Just because we bought the building doesn’t mean it’s over, right?’

Buying the building is just the beginning.

In order to convert the entire building into a cafe, it was necessary to negotiate again with the existing tenants.

Because the interior design also had to be completely remodeled.

“Ugh… … .”

‘I try to calm down, but I can’t calm down!’

At that time, I was barely able to control the corners of my mouth that kept twitching.

“It looks good.”

“… …Huh? Grandma!”

I don’t know when she came, but Grandma Okja came up to me and started talking.

“What are you doing here?”

“What brings you here? I came to see President Kim.”

“ha ha ha.”

She followed me and looked up at the building without saying a word.

“Are you going to finish it?”

“yes?”

“It’s a feeling. It’s like you own the world.”

I didn’t deny what my grandmother said.

“It’s definitely a great finish.”

“Take good care of it.”

“Of course it should be. Use it sparingly and keep it clean like a new building… … Ugh.”

Her cane struck my back.

“It was a message to take good care of your assets. Just as there is a flow in life, the flow of wealth is also important. Even if it seems like it will last forever, if that flow is blocked, it will fall in an instant.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Here, take it.”

Grandma suddenly hands me something.

“This is… … .”

“It’s a congratulatory gift.”

What she held out was a small box.

“Can I open it?”

“Okay.”

When you open the box, you see a faded gold watch inside.

“This is… … .”

“Your father left it to me.”

“yes?”

“In the past, when I was behind on my rent, I temporarily held it as collateral.”

I looked down at my watch in silence and then slowly opened my mouth.

“… … Would you mind giving it to me as a gift?”

“I thought you’d be better off with it than with me, but if you don’t like it, I’ll give it back to you.”

“No, how could I not like it?”

I quickly put the watch on my wrist.

It’s quite heavy and has a nice weight to it.

I feel like my father, who is not here right now, is congratulating me on my success.

‘… … It’s not so bad.’

At that moment, I was looking down at my watch, lost in emotion.

[We safely escaped the void and reached our destination.]

[You have successfully completed the quest ‘Never-ending Terror’.]

[You have cleared the 52nd floor, the boundary of the void, for the first time.]

A message indicating clear appeared before my eyes.