Chapter 22
Translator: Roshi
There were many types of dungeons, but the global standard for ranking them was the same.
Size.
Measured mana level.
The rank of the monsters inside the dungeon.
Generally, they were categorized as S, A, B, C, D, E, and F, in the same order as hunters.
An F-rank dungeon typically required at least 10 F-rank hunters to clear.
An E-rank dungeon generally required more than 20 E-rank hunters, and the higher the dungeon rank, the more higher-ranked hunters were needed.
The highest rank that humans could clear, an S-rank dungeon, required the mobilization of hunters on a national scale.
Of course, this was just the standard. The level of hunters in a country and the structure of the dungeon could vary these requirements.
The important thing was that, regardless, an S-rank dungeon signified the most dangerous dungeon in existence.
The problem was that the dungeon listed in Ahn Soo-hwa's catalog turned out to be one of those S-rank dungeons.
"Woah... The sea... it's so pretty..."
Hanuri, who had no idea about any of this, marveled at the vast sea stretching out before her.
Kim Do-yoon didn’t know it was an S-rank dungeon either.
He could sense the strict security at the dungeon’s entrance and the intense energy radiating from the dungeon, but he didn’t think much of it.
‘It’s spacious and nice.’
That was the entirety of his impression.
The salty smell of the ocean was noticeable but not unpleasant.
The breeze was cool, and the sound of crashing waves was refreshing.
It seemed Hanuri felt the same way.
She was in high spirits, sniffing the air and hopping around him energetically.
Her excitement seemed to rub off on him, as a smile naturally formed on his lips.
"Shall we start by building a boat?"
"A boat?"
"You know, something that floats on the water."
"It can float? How?"
Perhaps it was her first time seeing the ocean, but Hanuri’s curiosity soared sky-high.
Hanuri kept asking questions while repeating his words.
Her endless curiosity was so adorable that Kim Do-yoon patiently answered every question she asked. But...
"Why does the sea go splish-splash?"
"Why is the boat..."
As Hanuri’s questions flowed endlessly like an infinite loop, Kim Do-yoon eventually surrendered with both hands in the air.
The ‘hell’ of endless questions.
It seemed Hanuri was entering that phase of childhood.
‘This is where snacks come in handy…’
He had picked up this parenting trick while researching online.
The problem was, he didn’t have any snacks with him right now, but a solution quickly came to mind.
“Krknut?”
“Huh? What’s a Krknut?”
“You see those fruits on that tree over there? The ones that look like coconuts.”
“Coconuts…?”
It wasn’t like a child who had never seen the ocean would know what a coconut was…
“Ah! Hanuri has seen that before!”
“Hmm? Where?”
“I saw Porong eating it! They ate the coconut fruit and said it was delicious!”
The unexpected benefits of cartoons, perhaps.
At least he didn’t need to explain further.
“That’s right. Those are similar, but these are even tastier.”
“Really…? Even tastier?”
“Want to try one?”
“Yeah!”
Kim Do-yoon quickly picked some Krknuts from the trees lining the beach.
They looked and were eaten similarly to coconuts.
Tok!
With a light touch, Kim Do-yoon’s finger pierced the tough shell of the Krknut, creating a small hole.
“Here, try it.”
“Okay, okay!” Kyung!
Kyup!
The sweet and refreshing aroma of the Krknut immediately attracted Kkoma and Kkomi, who had been sitting quietly, perhaps still nervous in the unfamiliar environment.
But when it came to food, no one could resist.
“Here, you two can have one as well.”
Kim Do-yoon made sure to distribute the Krknuts fairly, giving one to each of the furry little ones.
With their soft, fluffy paws, they held the nuts firmly and drank from them enthusiastically.
‘This looks like a commercial.’
Their appearance resembled a baby polar bear in a drink ad. He couldn’t resist taking out his phone to record a video of the scene.
"Ahh... so delicious... Porong is bad. Even though it's as tasty as Hanuri, eating alone. Maybe that's why Kkulong doesn't like Porong..."
Kim Do-yoon wasn’t entirely sure what she was talking about, but Hanuri seemed very satisfied.
Her reaction, especially when she said as tasty as Hanuri, was beyond adorable.
‘Now I kind of want to try it too.’
Seeing Hanuri with her cheeks full of the drink and tears welling up in her eyes made him curious about the taste, even though he already knew it.
In the end, he picked another Krknut and drank from it himself.
Refreshing.
Sweet.
Fragrant.
Those three words perfectly described the flavor of Krknut.
Even though the fruit hadn’t been stored in a refrigerator, it gave an immediate cool and refreshing sensation upon drinking.
The crisp and icy freshness flowing down his throat was electrifying.
Following the coolness, a subtle sweetness wrapped around his tongue, and lastly, a floral aroma unique to Krknut lingered in his nostrils.
It wasn’t quite a drink of the gods, but it could easily be called a national favorite.
After finishing the Krknut, he came back to his senses.
‘Time to build the boat.’
He had to get it done while the kids were quiet.
There were plenty of trees around the beach, and he quickly gathered materials using his Shadow sword.
Thud, thud, thud.
In no time, a pile of logs was neatly stacked.
For someone like him, building a boat from logs was no big deal.
Since the boat only needed to float, there was no need for overly elaborate designs.
Ssshh.
After sheathing his sword, a shadow shaped like a hand emerged this time.
The Shadow Hand grew large enough to grab the logs as if they were toothpicks.
"Woah! A goblin..."
Hanuri seemed to think he was a goblin, likely because of the shadow.
Stopping her drink halfway through, she attached herself to his side, her sparkling eyes full of anticipation.
To meet her expectations, Kim Do-yoon began constructing the boat with the Shadow Hand.
He even added elegant curves and carved a little Porong figure at the bow.
In an instant, a visually perfect sailboat was completed.
“How is it?”
"Pretty... woah... there's even Porong."
Hanuri marveled at the Porong figure carved at the bow, and Kim Do-yoon’s shoulders rose with pride. Kyup!
Kyuung!!
The Bear Siblings, Kkoma and Kkomi, seemed to love the boat too, running around excitedly.
Kkomi even started rubbing her body against the floor in delight.
‘They’re like puppies, not bears… Do they really like it that much?’
Seeing how much the kids loved it put him in a good mood.
“Alright! Shall we head out to the sea now?”
“Yeah!”
With the boat finished, it was time to depart.
It was also nearing mealtime.
He needed to hurry to catch something and prepare a meal.
Swooshhh~.
Using Shadow, he easily lifted the sailboat and placed it on the water.
Whoosh.
This boat's power source was a shadow ogre.
A Shadow Ogre emerged from under Kim Do-yoon’s feet and positioned itself beneath the boat.
Slowly, it began to rotate like a motor.
Whirr!
“Wow! It’s moving! Hanuri is floating on the sea!”
As the boat started to move, Hanuri’s excitement peaked.
She clung to the Porong figure at the bow, marveling at the moving boat, much like a curious puppy discovering something new.
‘Let’s speed it up.’
Seeing Hanuri’s reaction, Kim Do-yoon spurred the Shadow Ogre on.
The boat gradually picked up speed.
“Woooowww!”
***
One hour later.
Splash! Splash!!
Waves splashed against the boat, making soothing sounds.
Now, all they could see was the endless expanse of the sea and sky.
Kim Do-yoon glanced at Hanuri, who was sprawled out on the deck.
‘The Krknut didn’t seem to do much after all.’
The tangled energy within Hanuri remained the same.
There were still eight tightly coiled unknown energies inside her, with only one nearly untangled Energy of Affinity.
There wasn’t even a flicker of change.
‘Let’s just feed her some omega-3-rich fish.’
He had only tried the Krknut on a whim and wasn’t disappointed.
There was still plenty to eat.
“Ajosshi…”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Hanuri is hungry…”
Growwwl~.
Right on cue, her stomach growled.
Well, she had been running around the boat nonstop for nearly an hour.
She’d been marveling at the sea, looking here and there, endlessly curious.
Of course, she’d be hungry.
“Hanuri.”
“Hm?”
“Shall we go fishing?”
“Fishing?”
Kim Do-yoon gave Hanuri a simple explanation of fishing.
“Wow… Then Hanuri is going to catch a fish?”
“That’s right.”
“I want to do it! Hanuri wants to fish!”
“Alright, wait just a moment.”
Hanuri, who had been sprawled out from exhaustion just moments ago, suddenly sprang to her feet.
She looked up at Kim Do-yoon, ready to start bouncing around again.
Quickly calming her down, Do-yoon pulled out the wood he had set aside while building the boat.
It was a type of wood that was both flexible and sturdy, perfect for making a fishing rod.
After shaping it into just the right thickness for a rod, he stripped the trunk of a Krknut tree into thin strands to use as a fishing line.
The Krknut tree fibers were tough and durable, making them ideal for fishing lines.
"Here, you do it like this."
Though the fishing rod was simple, it had all the necessary parts.
For bait, he used the tough flesh attached to the Krknut’s shell.
The flesh became sticky when it touched seawater, making it difficult to fall off and perfect as a makeshift hook.
"Come on, fishy… hurry up and bite."
Squatting down with her fishing rod in hand, Hanuri muttered to herself earnestly.
She looked so serious that it seemed as though she might actually catch a fish any second.
Shhh.
Watching her quietly, Do-yoon couldn’t resist capturing the moment on his phone before tossing his own fishing rod into the water.
Fishing, after all, was simple.
All you had to do was cast the line and wait.
‘Now that I think about it, was I ever good at fishing?’
The thought crossed his mind.
Fishing was, after all, a battle against time.
But in the world he came from, he never had the luxury to sit back and fish leisurely.
Life had always been intense, requiring him to fight and struggle constantly.
Of course, in those situations, diving into the water to catch fish directly would’ve been far more efficient than wasting time fishing.
‘Nah, there’s no way.’
A hint of unease crept into his mind.
Still, he firmly believed that fishing was a game of luck.
And his luck…
“Ah! Ajosshi!!”
“Huh?”
“Hanuri caught one!”
“……”
Hanuri had already reeled in a fish before him.
It was a small fish, barely the size of her palm, but somehow the sight of it made him uneasy.
“Hehe, Hanuri did well, right?”
“Yeah, you did great.”
“Ajosshi can do it too! Because you’re a goblin, right? Oh, wait… but goblins are scared of water, aren’t they?”
Do-yoon forced a smile at her words.
But that smile didn’t last long.
30 minutes later.
Do-yoon stared at the basket full of fish, unable to laugh.
"Hehe, Hanuri's fishies..."
Out of all the fish piled in the basket, not a single one was his.
Every single fish had been caught by Hanuri.
From fish as small as a palm to ones as large as an arm, every one of them.
“Hahaha… Hanuri is really good at fishing?”
"Yes yes! Hanuri is good at catching fishies. But why can't Ajosshi catch any?"
Poke!
Her innocent question poked at a sore spot in his pride.
To make matters worse, in the entire 30 minutes, his bait had remained untouched.
Not even a nibble.
"W-well..."
“Hehe, it’s okay! Ajosshi will catch one too!”
Pat, pat.
With her short arms barely reaching his legs, Hanuri enthusiastically patted him in consolation.
Her pure and adorable gesture should’ve melted his heart, but…
A sudden competitive spirit began to stir within him.
He had never felt this way before, but spending time with this child seemed to be bringing out a younger, more playful side of him.
Determined, he cast his fishing line again.
‘Come on, just one big one.’
From his back, it almost seemed like a dark aura of determination was emanating.
Another 30 minutes later.
Nothing.
Not even a nibble.
Sigh.
Letting out a deep sigh, Do-yoon finally declared his defeat.
It had been an hour of fishing now.
The once-bright dungeon sky was beginning to glow orange with the colors of sunset.
Hanuri, so focused on fishing, hadn’t even noticed her hunger yet. But it was time to eat.
“Hanuri, how about we stop now and eat?”
“Eat? Umm…”
She seemed torn between her desire to fish and her growing hunger.
This was a moment where he, as the adult, needed to persuade her wisely.
“We can fish more after we eat, okay?”
“Okay! Got it. Hehe.”
Thankfully, Hanuri didn’t put up a fuss and agreed easily.
Was it petty of him to think Hanuri was satisfied because she had caught so many fish?
Ahem.
Kim Do-yoon cleared his throat unnecessarily as he began reeling in his fishing rod.
But then…
Kwaaaak!!
“Huh?”
A heavy sensation traveled up the rod and into his hand.
This was definitely a bite.
And not just any bite, a heavy one!
He stayed calm, giving the line a subtle tug to test it.
Kwaak! Kwaak!!
The rod jerked violently with the weight pulling against it.
This was definitely a big catch.
Focusing, he cautiously controlled the line, careful not to lose his prize.
Getting a bite might be luck, but reeling it in was all about skill.
“Alright!”
After gauging his opponent with a slight struggle, Do-yoon, with precision bordering on mastery, began reeling it in.
Swoooosh!!
A massive splash erupted, signaling that the catch was no ordinary fish. Something huge was hooked on the line and was flung onto the deck.
Flop, flop!
A large creature with an elegantly curved, flapping tail lay before them.
It was…
“Oh? Woahhh! It’s a mermaid! Ajosshi! It’s a mermaid!!”
A mermaid.
It was definitely a big catch, but Kim Do-yoon’s expression became… complicated.
*****