Chapter 1: I Obtained an Interdimensional Secondhand Trading Community
Sizzle—acrid smoke from burning mana filled the cramped workshop, carrying a pungent stench.
"Ugh, the smell."
I rubbed my aching back and took off my goggles. On the workbench sat the E-rank hunter gauntlets I'd just finished repairing.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Repair Complete! Proficiency increased by 0.1%.
The pitiful proficiency message popped up in front of me. I ignored it like always and called the gauntlets' owner.
"Hello? Yeah, Uncle Kim. Your gauntlets are fixed. Yep, 100,000 won."
[No way, why so expensive!?]
"Expensive? Do you know the hassle I went through to fix these?"
[Still, 100,000 is too much! Come on, just 50,000!]
"Can't do 50,000. Want me to revert them? Go to an official center then."
Always whining about the price, yet he had a conscience. A center would've charged at least 200,000 for parts alone, plus labor fees.
"Uncle, this model's discontinued, so parts were a nightmare to find. I scoured junkyards for these. Yeah, send it to my account."
I hung up with a deep sigh and checked my bank app.
Deposit: 90,000 won (Balance: 3,042,100 won)
"Ah… that old man shorted me 10,000 again. Infuriating."
My name is Kwon Daesung. Just your average F-rank hunter in Korea. I thought awakening would turn my life around, but reality was brutal. The limits of a low-tier production class, I guess? S-rank producers like blacksmiths or alchemists could craft items and rake in cash easily, but mine was different.
Repairman.
A fixer for broken junk. A passive production job that couldn't create anything new from scratch. At least I had Daesung Resources, the junkyard my dad left me, which kept my skill useful amid all the scrap and parts.
The problem? It didn't pay well. No S-rank hunter would trust an F-rank repairman with their gear. My clients were bottom-feeder hunters scraping by or neighborhood grannies with busted fans. Hell, I shouldn't have awakened as a producer at all.
"If I'd been combat class, I'd be rolling in it."
Swing a sword, blast some magic—life would be sweet. I'd pay off debts, ditch this stinking junkyard, and live large. With a bitter taste, I picked up an old radio tumbling on the bench.
Crackle—static—zzzzt. Dad's old thing, gone silent earlier.
"You too, huh?"
I sighed, lifting it. "Let's see…"
⚔ ITEM SCAN ⚔
📻 Name: Broken Radio
🛠 Grade: None
🔧 Status: Variable capacitor (tuning capacitor) faulty - rotor/stator contact oxidation
✅ Repairable: Yes
📦 Materials Needed: Aluminum 2g, Copper 1g, Mana 20p
That's how my skill worked. Item name, faults, repair feasibility, materials listed. Biggest issue? I'm a humanities guy. Philosophy major. No clue what a variable capacitor is. The skill handled the how, thank god. Philosophy grads gotta eat somehow.
I stacked another busted radio on it—unrepairable—and triggered the skill again.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Extract materials from attached item to repair?
"Yeah, duh. Stop asking every time?"
Mana drained from me, seeping into the radio. Sizzle—
Funny how the skill sound felt legit. Moments later.
⚡ REPAIR COMPLETE ⚡
Repair successful.
At first, I thought it was OP. Fix anything with mana? Game-changer. But nah. Couldn't fix everything, high-grades demanded insane materials—especially C+ with mana-infused ones that cost a fortune. Costs outweighed benefits. Stuck repairing D- junk for three years now.
Tuned the dial, and a voice crackled through.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
"...In this parliamentary session, a new bill passed to improve awakener welfare..."
"Huh, fixed nice."
Then it hit.
★ Achievement Unlocked ★
Cumulative Repairs: 1,000 Achieved!
Cumulative Trades: 1,000 Achieved!
Condition met: One Who Grants New Dreams to the Forgotten.
Hidden Piece Unlocked.
"......Huh?"
Hidden piece? That urban legend from hunter forums? Special conditions unlock secret skills or items? My heart pounded.
One Who Grants New Dreams to the Forgotten. Hell of a title. My big break? S-rank combat skill? Item?
I focused on the message, trembling.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Acquired new trait as reward.
Upper-tier community access granted in system.
"......Community access?"
A cheery chime, and instead of a shiny skillbook or S-rank item, a purple menu icon appeared in my status window corner.
Labeled: Multidimensional Secondhand Market?
Not a skill or item—disappointing—but interdimensional? Had to check.
Trembling, I tapped it.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Access Multidimensional Secondhand Market?
"Yeah."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Please set nickname. Duplicates not allowed.
"Nickname…?"
Looked just like a flea market app.
"Hmm…"
Damn, I suck at nicknames. Settled on something quick.
Philosophizing Repairman.
Nailed my philosophy-repairman vibe.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Nickname available. Set as Philosophizing Repairman?
No duplicates expected. Passed check instantly. Heart racing, I entered.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Connecting... Welcome, Philosophizing Repairman!
This is where all secondhand goods from connected dimensions are traded.
See Usage Guide board for details.
Screen lit up with a familiar community interface.
– For Sale.
– Wanted.
– Freebies.
– Events.
– Point Recharge.
– Point Exchange.
– Chit-Chat.
– Usage Guide.
Clean if generous, crappy if picky. Clicked For Sale first.
But the listings? Weird.
[For Sale] Earth Dragon Tooth for Sale – Leftover from Dragon Sword Craft! (Price Negotiable)
[For Sale] Hole-y Invisibility Cloak – Buyer Handles Patch Materials!!
[For Sale] Half-Eaten Millennium Snow Ginseng – Doesn't Vibe with Me, Selling After One Bite...
Dozens more below. I muttered, dumbfounded.
"What… the hell…"
Dragon? Invisibility cloak? Half-eaten millennium ginseng?
"What is this crap…"
Still clueless, I browsed more. Spotted a banner.
🔥 Trending Posts 🔥
Ooh, hot posts. Clicked like a moth to flame. Top one:
[Wanted] Reagent Experiment Vessel Needed (Heat-Resistant, No Mana Reaction Preferred) – Price Negotiable
Author: Royal Alchemist
I'm a kingdom-certified alchemist. My vessels keep failing during synthesis experiments, delaying research. Tried pottery, tin, silver, crystal... but they shatter from heat/cold or dissolve in reagents, ruining results. No mithril or oriharcon—mana interference skews outcomes. Seeking clear, viewable, crack-free, non-reactive vessel or flask.
Comments below.
— Friend of the Forest
Stop spamming, you bastard. No business ethics. Why's this #1?
— Cool Beard
Why bother? Just levitate with magic, dude.
↳ Royal Alchemist
Missed the "no mana reaction" part?
↳ Cool Beard
Oh, right.
— 9th Circle Archmage
Non-reactive to reagents... Dragon bone bowl maybe?
— Retired Hero
No need for dragon bone. Triple-Head Snake bones should work.
↳ Royal Alchemist
Know the habitat?
↳ Retired Hero
Killed 'em all, none left.
↳ Royal Alchemist
Then shut up, please.
— Sword of the Blue Sky
This lord has a millennial cold iron bowl. Buy?
↳ Royal Alchemist
Price?
↳ Sword of the Blue Sky
100 million points minimum.
↳ Royal Alchemist
With that, I'd buy dragon bone.
I stared blankly, muttering.
"Huh? For reagents… isn't a flask perfect?"
Slowly turned to my junkyard corner. Piles of discarded elementary school lab glassware.
Flasks galore. Heard lab glass is special—non-reactive.
Grabbed one, scanned with phone camera.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Link smartphone to Multidimensional Secondhand Market?
"Sure."
⚡ SCAN COMPLETE ⚡
Item: Lab Triangular Flask
Grade: None
Condition: Needs cleaning, light wear, no cracks
Repair: Not needed
Wiped it clean. Decent for used. Should work?
Reached for [Chat with Seller]. Nah, list it publicly first. No sense getting ghosted one-on-one.
[For Sale] Lab Glass Flask for Experiments. No Degradation, Zero Mana Reaction (Important). Please Suggest Price.
Author: Philosophizing Repairman
As titled. PM or chat if interested.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Post listing?
Confirmed. Moments later.
"Eh, plain flask won't cut it?"
Then, like clockwork—a clear chime.
⚡ NEW MESSAGE ⚡
Chat from Royal Alchemist.
PM from Tower Master.
PM from Elder of the World Tree Forest.
Phone vibrated like an earthquake, system-synced.
Royal Alchemist
Ooh! Repairman sir!! Still got it?! Sell to me, please!!
Tower Master: New ID? Item real? If legit, I'll buy.
Elder of the World Tree Forest: Hello, Repairman. Sell to me? 1 million points.
Chats and whispers exploding. I gawked.
"......Insane?"
1 million points? First, figure out what that's worth.