Even though I had been here before, the scenery was still overwhelming.
The pale yellow grass, the gigantic trees, the star-studded waterfall-like night sky, and the faint sun replacing the moon all contributed to the dreamlike atmosphere. A cool breeze embraced my face as I stood there.
“Shall we go?”
“Let’s go!”
We headed towards the sparkling tree in front of us. There was a shallow forest around the tree, and our goal for today was to reach that forest.
“Mark2 what do you think? Can we farm here too?”
Gurgle!
Mark2 gave a positive gesture, and I nodded. Since winter was coming, we needed to quickly check the dungeon and return to plant the crops.
“Oh! It’s been a while!”
“What is that?”
While we were walking, Ara found something and showed it to me.
“It’s for eating!”
“For eating?”
I looked at what Ara brought; it was a small, berry-like plant. Examining it closer, I saw a small cluster of plants where Ara found it.
“We used to eat these when we lived here! We ate so many that they disappeared eventually!”
“Really?”
Could that be why we almost starved?
They ate so much they nearly drove the species to extinction.
Anyway, I took the berry from Ara and sniffed it.
‘No smell at all.’
I was about to ask how to eat it when I saw Ara already eating a handful.
“You can eat it with the skin!”
It was about the size of a pinky nail.
I put it in my mouth and bit into it, feeling the seeds inside as the skin broke.
‘It’s nutty.’
It felt like biting into a hearty bread.
As I kept chewing, a sweetness emerged, reminiscent of rice.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong ! Can we grow this too?”
“Hmm, should we try?”
It seemed possible.
If it grew so well in the wild, proper cultivation might yield good results.
Of course, the slimes would do the farming, not me.
‘In times like this, slimes are incredibly useful for farming.’
It was like cheating, being able to grow any plant without understanding its needs.
No need to research watering schedules, sunlight requirements, soil types, or optimal temperatures.
While others might spend years studying and experimenting, I could skip all that.
“Ara, gather all those berries instead of eating them. We’ll plant them later.”
“Ugh. Got it.”
Ara pouted, disappointed that she couldn’t eat more. To console her, I gave her some sweet potato candies that Jae-seong had packed.
“Yay, sweet potato candies!”
Ara, now cheerful, led the way with sweet potato candies in both hands. A little further ahead, we came across a trickling stream.
“Interesting.”
It was strange not to see any animals in such a lush environment. Ara had said something lived here, but we hadn’t encountered anything yet, making the place eerily quiet.
I scooped some water to save it.
Though unsure if it was safe to drink, Ara eagerly gulped it down, thirsty from the candies.
“Ahhh!”
“You look like you drank beer.”
Ara had no worries.
Her ability to eat anything allowed her to digest whatever she consumed.
As we continued walking, more unfamiliar plants caught my eye. Various flowers were blooming here and there.
‘Plants, especially flowers, blooming like this means there’s pollination happening…’
It indicated the presence of bees, butterflies, birds, or other pollinators.
As I followed Ara, fascinated by the dungeon’s ecology, we finally spotted something moving.
Fluff?
“Oh! This is the first time I’ve seen one!”
“What? You’ve never seen one before either?”
It was an animal, or rather, a monster resembling a deer.
Just in case, I brought out the carrot juice that let me see monsters’ abilities.
Gulp
Ara drooled as she watched me drink the fruit and vegetable juice. In the end, I drank only as much as I needed to use the ability and gave the rest to Ara. While Ara drank the juice, I used my activated ability to check the information about the deer.
[?? LV.2]
A four-legged animal with growing antlers.
It mainly eats the leaves of ??? trees and the flowers of ???.
It is sensitive but has a gentle temperament.
When in a group, its colors become more vibrant. It is weak against fire.
“Wow, it shows up like this.”
The effect of the juice, which I used for the first time, exceeded my expectations. The best part was that the monster wasn’t dangerous.
“It’s delicious!”
“Ara, is this really your first time seeing that animal?”
“Yes! It seems new creatures have moved in while I was gone!”
Could they really move in? I didn’t quite understand, but I let it go.
We stood facing the deer for a while. It glowed with a faint blue light and was small, perhaps because it was young or naturally small.
Fluff!
Suddenly, Ara approached the deer, which startled and took a step back but then sniffed the air curiously.
“Come here, good one.”
Muttering like she was casting a spell, Ara slowly approached. Surprisingly, the deer didn’t run away but continued to sniff and then cautiously approached her.
“Good one!”
She sounded just like my mother. Ara had picked up some strange habits. She gently petted the deer, which seemed to enjoy it.
“Hehehe! It’s so soft!”
“Why isn’t it running away? Is it because it’s a curious young one?”
Although the description said it was sensitive, perhaps it wasn’t as sensitive as I thought.
Seeing Ara having fun made me want to pet it too. The deer wasn’t as cute as Ara, but it was still pretty adorable.
Fluff!
However, when I approached, the deer got scared and backed away. Why was it so friendly with Ara but not with me?
I was a bit annoyed but understood. Ara was cute, but I was just an adult man. Even though I never felt unattractive, compared to Ara, I looked like a squid.
“Now even monsters care about appearances.”
I sighed, but it was too late. The moment I approached, the deer hopped away towards the distant forest.
“It’s okay, Kyu-seong Kyu-seong . There will be more in that forest.”
“Yeah. Let’s go quickly.”
After walking for several hours, we finally got closer to the forest. It looked even more mystical up close than it did from afar.
“Bugs!”
Lights were flying around near the forest. They were clearly flying insects.
This dungeon indeed had creatures other than plants. While this was evident from the deer, seeing numerous glowing insects flying around felt different.
“Have those bugs always been here?”
“Yes! And they were delicious!”
“…Have you eaten them?”
I erased the rest of the conversation from my memory. While it wasn’t surprising that Ara could eat anything, imagining her eating bugs was a bit…
‘It is possible.’
Even now, I could see Ara happily picking flowers and putting them in her mouth.
Even in a dungeon, flowers seemed to have some nectar.
“How long have we been walking?”
I checked my watch and saw that we had been walking for nine hours. Since we were almost at the forest, we decided to set up camp and rest nearby.
“Alright, let’s set up the tent.”
“Tent! Tent!”
I took out the magic stone from my pocket. As I infused mana into the stone, it began to glow faintly.
“Just place this on the ground like this…”
As I placed the glowing magic stone on the grass, it slowly transformed into a tent, assembling itself automatically.
“Wow!”
Ara was astonished, unable to close her mouth in amazement. After about three minutes, the magic stone had turned into a tent big enough for ten people.
“It’s worth the high price.”
I immediately commanded Bokkeum to unload our belongings. After organizing the items neatly, I set up alarms around the area.
“What is this?”
“These are barrier sticks. When we stick them around the tent, weak monsters can’t get in.”
While I hammered the barrier sticks into the ground, I asked Ara to prepare the stove. She had seen one displayed at the store, so she should have an idea of how to set it up.
Bang! Bang!
I hammered the sticks into the ground. I placed all sixteen sticks in a circle with a 50-meter radius around the tent.
Glancing over, I saw Ara huddled with the slimes, brainstorming together.
‘What an adorable sight.’
I wanted to rush over and hug her, but I held back and continued setting up the barrier sticks. Once all sixteen were installed, a faint barrier formed around the tent.
“All done. Ara, how’s it going over there?”
“It’s perfect!”
Except for the upside-down pot on the stove, Ara had indeed done a perfect job. I praised her and spread out the sheets and bedding inside the tent.
“What’s this?”
“A sleeping bag. You sleep inside it.”
“Oh!”
Ara wriggled into the sleeping bag and looked like a squirming caterpillar.
“Hehehe! This is fun.”
“Isn’t it warm?”
“Yeah! It’s warm!”
I set up chairs outside the tent and lit the stove. Despite the sun, the night sky made the stove’s fire feel fitting.
“It feels just like camping.”
It was like the best campsite ever. Who would think this place was a dangerous dungeon?
Looking around, gentle hills and wildflowers filled the landscape. Nearby, firefly-like insects flitted around the mystical forest.
“It would be perfect if there was a stream right here.”
When I looked up, the sky, different from Earth’s, greeted me beautifully. The dreamy atmosphere was largely thanks to that sky.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a starry night sky before.’
Crackle, crackle.
The sound of burning logs quietly echoed. Ara wobbled out of the tent in her sleeping bag.
“Ara, are you hungry?”
“I’m always hungry!”
“Then let’s eat something.”
Ara plopped down on a chair next to me, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
I decided to make curry using the cherry tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes we brought from the dungeon, along with the herb Embergrill.
‘Jae-seong made this for me once. But the ingredients are a bit different this time.’
I poured the prepared water into a pot and placed it on the stove. While the water boiled, I prepared the ingredients. They were already prepped before our departure. Apart from the Embergrill, tomatoes, potatoes, and carrots, everything else was store-bought. I planned to grow onions and garlic myself later.
I sautéed the onions and tomatoes, then added the meat. After cooking the meat for a while, I added the potatoes and carrots. I poured in the pre-boiled water and added the curry powder, filling the air with its aroma. Finally, I sprinkled a bit of Embergrill on top…
Gulp!
I could hear Ara swallowing her saliva. Even the slimes, which had been rolling around, gathered to watch the cooking.
“The rice is instant.”
I heated the instant rice in hot water. Soon, the large pot of curry was ready, and we prepared our bowls.
“Time to serve.”
Blub, blub!
The slimes and Ara had such hearty appetites that their bowls were enormous. Each slime received ten portions of rice with plenty of curry. Ara needed twenty portions of rice with her curry.
“Wow!”
Even though I made the curry, it smelled quite good. I was worried I might mess up the proportions making such a large batch, but it turned out well.
‘The ingredients are amazing.’
These were ingredients that could save even failed dishes.
With everyone’s portions ready, we all took up our spoons.
“Let’s eat.”
“Let’s eat!”
Swoosh! Blub, blub!
Cliche Novel 
cute
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