Chapter 9
Translator: Roshi
Taegeuk Guild, Fire Goblin Team.
“Team Leader, there's a summon for the guild-wide meeting. They said you must attend.”
“Huh? Why?”
“A dungeon explosion occurred over in the Gangwon Province area.”
“Again? Why are dungeon explosions happening so frequently these days?”
Team Leader Oh Ju-hyuk frowned.
“They’re probably going to form an investigation team, but this time, we’ll be able to sit it out, right?”
The team member, frowning along with him, chimed in.
“We should. Ki-ho needs to get re-evaluated and trained, and Ho-seok isn’t fully recovered either.”
Listening quietly to the conversation between Team Leader Oh Ju-hyuk and the team member, Park Ki-ho made up his mind.
“Team Leader, if they start recruiting for the investigation team at the meeting, could you recommend me?”
“Huh? What?”
“I’d appreciate it. My body is fine anyway, and I could just join as a porter, couldn’t I?”
“Well...”
Team Leader Oh Ju-hyuk trailed off at Park Ki-ho’s sudden request.
It wasn’t an impossible favor.
They had confirmed that Park Ki-ho’s body was in good shape, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable.
In fact, he was in better shape than before, so if he wanted to join as a porter, recommending him might be just fine.
“But why?”
“There’s something I need to check out over there.”
“Over there? That dungeon’s been overrun, there’s nothing left there.”
Park Ki-ho couldn’t give a precise answer to the Team Leader’s question.
For some reason, as soon as he’d heard news about the wyvern, he felt a persistent urge to go in that direction.
Even Park Ki-ho didn’t know why.
It just felt like someone was constantly calling him.
“If you really want it, I could arrange it, but you understand it’s dangerous, right?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… Alright then. If they bring up the investigation team at the meeting, I’ll put in a word.”
“Thank you.”
Park Ki-ho bowed his head in gratitude at Team Leader Oh Ju-hyuk’s response.
*
Meanwhile, something strange happened at Do-yoon and Hanuri’s home.
Chuchu that the child had planted had grown up to knee height.
Naturally, he had thought it would die soon.
‘The stone look a little different too.’
There's no way it could have changed like this just from rain.
He still needed to watch it for a bit longer, but it was clear that the friends the child had brought home were not just any ordinary flower and stone.
Could it be related to the child?
He suddenly remembered Hanuri’s words about talking to Chuchu and Ddugi.
Swoosh.
He squatted down in front of Chuchu and Ddugi and quietly looked down at the two.
It was a kind of warning.
The moment they tried anything funny with the child, he would erase them from this world without a trace.
He stared at them like that for a while before standing up.
That was that, but now it was time to worry about breakfast again.
‘Maybe I should make some jam.’
For breakfast today, toast seemed like a good idea.
For that, he would need to buy some bread...
He glanced over at the child, who was sleeping, hugging her Porong doll.
She was sound asleep and didn’t look like she would wake up anytime soon.
Still, since he didn’t know when she might wake, he figured he’d better quickly go to the store and come back.
This was the hassle of living in the countryside.
Swoosh.
He disappeared into the Shadow.
Buzz!!
An inexplicable vibration echoed in the yard outside the house.
But it was only for a brief moment.
As if nothing had happened, the yard returned to silence, filled only with the sounds of nature greeting the morning.
*
Since he was at the store, he ended up picking up various items.
Sausages, eggs, milk—the things the child liked.
He paused for a moment in front of the chocolate snacks, but in the end, he picked up a few.
And then, liquor.
Yesterday’s makgeolli hadn’t been enough.
He grabbed an assortment of beer, soju, wine, and other drinks.
Feeling somehow more secure with his stash, he turned toward the section where they sold seedlings and seeds.
Today’s plan was to tend to the vegetable garden.
He decided to buy some simple seedlings and seeds.
Peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, napa cabbage, lettuce.
As he added items, he thought he’d end up making wraps with them.
Once these grew, it would be nice to grill some meat to go along with them.
“Excuse me, it says you’re short on balance. Do you have another card?”
“Hm.”
While he was checking out with the seeds, an unexpected hurdle arose.
The reward money he’d received wasn’t enough.
Of course, he didn’t have another card...
Do-yoon pondered for a moment.
The first thing his eyes landed on was the snacks.
But eventually, his hand moved toward the liquor.
The wine, the beer...
When he removed everything except for one bottle of soju, the payment finally went through.
‘Maybe I should earn some money.’
In a world full of monsters and dungeons, making money wasn’t particularly difficult for him.
Bzzz! Bzzz!!
-Grade A Dungeon Explosion near Soyang Lake in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province-
Just then, a message popped up on his phone.
It was an emergency alert about the dungeon explosion.
"Tsk tsk. Another dungeon explosion."
“Right? You never know when one of these things is going to blow up, it’s nerve-wracking.”
“Since it’s in Chuncheon, it shouldn’t affect us much. That area’s basically a dungeon paradise anyway. Let them fight it out among themselves.”
“But what if something like a wyvern pops out and suddenly shows up in Seoul like yesterday? Wouldn’t that cause chaos?”
“Seoul’s fine. Do you know how many hunters are here?”
“True, it’s the rural areas that are the real problem.”
People around him glanced at their emergency alerts and commented casually.
This had become such an everyday occurrence that no one seemed particularly fazed.
‘Chuncheon?’
But Do-yoon was different.
As soon as he saw the message, he opened a void and stowed all his belongings inside.
Then, he immediately returned home through the Shadow.
The same familiar scene from before greeted him.
Hanuri was still sound asleep.
With only the chirping of insects and morning birds filling the yard, he confirmed once more that everything was in order before quietly unpacking his things.
He then spread a gentle aura around to ensure that the child wouldn’t wake up.
‘It’s over there.’
Before long, he sensed a particularly unstable energy nearby.
As he’d expected, it wasn’t too far from his house.
It seemed like he had enough time to prepare breakfast before the child woke up.
After all, the dungeon was less important than Hanuri’s breakfast.
“I’ll start by making some jam.”
He took out the dragon tree fruit he’d put in refrigerator yesterday.
Come to think of it, this fruit had a rather unique effect.
Aside from its ability to untangle Hanuri’s tangled aura…
“Ah.”
It dawned on him.
The dragon tree fruit has the power to elevate talent by one level.
For hunters, it was essentially equivalent to upgrading one’s ability grade.
Of course, this effect didn’t apply to him.
As for Hanuri, he wasn’t sure.
She hadn’t awakened any abilities, nor had she shown any particular talent in anything yet.
Regardless, it was enough that it could ease her tangled aura without causing any harm.
‘Sugar… I wonder if this much will be enough.’
Do-yoon poured in almost an equal amount of sugar to fruit juice, then started simmering it over a gentle flame.
Now all that was left was to keep stirring until it thickened. The process itself was simple, but it required a surprising amount of time and attention.
Ten minutes.
Twenty minutes.
Even with his abilities, there was no way to speed up the jam-making process.
All he could do was watch and keep stirring.
Bubble! Plop! Plop!
As the liquid reduced, a sweet aroma began to fill the air.
It seemed ready.
He removed it from the heat, let it cool, and poured it into a sterilized glass jar. The child was still sleeping peacefully.
‘Looks like it’s time to head out.’
Do-yoon swiftly moved towards Soyang Lake through the Shadow.
After passing through dense forests and deep valleys, he soon arrived at a vast body of water.
It was the site of Soyang Lake.
Now, it felt more like an ocean than a lake, given how it had expanded.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!!
But the normally calm surroundings of the lake were now filled with clouds of dust.
The energy was unstable, and though the lake itself was still, there was a chaotic feeling in the air.
Do-yoon headed towards the source of the dust cloud.
Priority number one was to deal with the creatures that had emerged from the dungeon explosion.
Thud, thud, thud!
Squeeeeek!!
The closer he got, the louder the noise became.
“Point Boars?”
He peered through the dust cloud and tilted his head.
Monsters covered in spotted patterns.
They looked like enlarged wild boars.
‘Come to think of it, these monsters from the dungeon look similar to the ones I’ve seen before.’
Not just the dragon tree, but the other monsters seemed familiar as well.
The monsters he had seen in that other world, the one he’d fallen into through the dimensional rift, were almost identical to the monsters emerging from the dungeon here.
He hadn’t thought much about it, but seeing even the Point Boar made it seem like there was some kind of connection between the two worlds.
‘Maybe… it could help untangle Hanuri’s energy…’
It felt like he’d received a small hint after the dragon tree fruit.
‘Let’s check it out.’
Do-yoon glared at the Point Boar, which was destroying everything in its path.
These creatures, often called 'spotted pigs', were known to be quite tasty.
They had a flavor similar to Earth’s pork, making them perfect for recreating that taste here as well.
He’d eaten them often when his sense of taste was still intact.
He’d grilled them, boiled them, stir-fried them...
Recalling the flavor made him smack his lips in anticipation.
Since he needed to verify the hint anyway, he drew his sword to capture a plump Point Boar.
Just as he was about to swing his sword, he suddenly frowned and turned his head.
From his house, he sensed a presence other than Hanuri’s.
In an instant, he disappeared from where he was.
“Ahhhh!!”
When he arrived in the yard, someone was screaming as they fell through the air.
“Ajosshi…”
The child, possibly woken by the scream, ran toward him as soon as she saw him.
He hugged her and, while holding her, extended a hand toward the falling human and the wyvern.
*
“Park Ki-ho, you’re part of the dungeon explosion investigation team?”
“Yes! That’s correct!”
“But why are you here?”
“I’m not entirely sure! A wyvern suddenly charged at me, and… the next thing I knew, I was falling here!”
In response to the man named Park Ki-ho, Do-yoon glanced over at the wyvern.
It was the same one she’d named Yongyong yesterday.
How it had found its way out of the dungeon and all the way here was a mystery.
Not only that, but why had it brought along this guy named Park Ki-ho?
He recognized this man as well.
‘The guy I saw by the dragon tree.’
He was the one whom Hanuri had fed kimbap to.
It seemed he’d somehow managed to survive back then…
“Uh… but where exactly is this place?”
Relieved to still be alive, Park Ki-ho cautiously looked at Do-yoon for a response.
But Do-yoon had no reason to answer his question.
The only reason he’d caught him mid-fall was for Hanuri’s emotional well-being.
“Yongyong! Hehe.”
Do-yoon’s gaze remained fixed on the child and the wyvern.
‘Was the wyvern always this tame?’
Even accounting for his presence, the wyvern’s behavior seemed strangely out of character.
It was letting the child pet its head.
It wasn’t a puppy, after all. This shouldn’t be happening.
His gaze briefly shifted to Chuchu and Ddugi.
“Ajosshi.”
At that moment, the child, who was laughing as she petted Yongyong’s head, called out to him.
When he looked at her, she beamed up at him and said,
“Hanuri is hungry… hehe.”
“Oh.”
She’d slept in late, and with everything that had just happened, breakfast was delayed.
Judging by the time, it was closer to brunch than breakfast.
“I’ll make you some toast. Sound good?”
“Wow! Toast! Yay!”
It was a dish the child couldn’t possibly dislike.
He put everything else on hold and focused on preparing brunch.
He could deal with the Point Boars later since he had already checked on them.
For now, filling their stomachs was the priority.
The jam, which took the longest, was already prepared…
He glanced over to see Hanuri bouncing around in excitement.
With her face still puffy from just waking up, she looked even cuter.
And it seemed he wasn’t the only one who thought so.
‘S-so cute.’
Park Ki-ho, who was staring blankly at Hanuri, quickly snapped out of it.
‘What’s going on? What is this place?’
It had only been a few hours since he’d been assigned as a porter for the investigation team, thanks to his team leader’s recommendation.
And the investigation team had set off just an hour ago.
This place, where he had landed after the wyvern’s sudden abduction, felt strange to Park Ki-ho.
The people, the location.
Everything was... off.
Woong!!
Just then, an inexplicable vibration echoed in Park Ki-ho’s mind.
It was loud and clear, yet no one else seemed to hear it—only Park Ki-ho reacted.
“Huh?”
Mesmerized by the vibration, Park Ki-ho stood up as if in a trance.
Then he slowly began to walk forward.
Swoosh… Thud!
“…!?”
As he walked forward, as if possessed, his outstretched hand was blocked by a dark shadow.
That snapped him out of his trance, and he jumped back in shock, halting abruptly.
Behind him, he heard a chilling sound.
“This was it.”
Park Ki-ho froze completely at the sound of that cold voice.