“I’m really looking forward to this. I mean, this alone is amazing, but knowing there’s more to see is beyond my imagination.”
Listening to Young-seong’s excited words, I once again included Mark2, Poispois, and Bokkeum in our group.
When Si-young, who had just finished a farm tour with Ara, saw me with only a simple backpack, she asked curiously.
“You don’t have much luggage, Kyu-seong?”
“Yes. This guy is carrying it for me.”
Bokkeum wobbled as if to confirm my words.
Young-seong and his wife looked at Bokkeum with intrigued eyes.
“This slime…?”
“I’ll show you inside. Shall we go now?”
Ara and I led the way into the dimly lit secret space. We soon passed an altar-like area and headed down some stairs.
“Wow, this dungeon is really something else.”
“Right? I can’t believe there’s a hidden space like this in a level 1 slime dungeon…”
We could hear the couple following us as we descended the stairs until we reached a door.
[Confirming the owner of the dungeon, Ara (Gluttony).]
[Entry permitted.]
[ Remaining mana: 2/10]
Now that I think about it, the mana keeps decreasing.
I didn’t know what it meant, but the decreasing number made me uneasy.
For now, we proceeded to enter. Seeing the thin barrier, Young-seong and his wife touched it curiously.
“What is this, Kyu-seong? I thought there might be more space underground, but this is completely different?”
“Just go inside and see.”
“Dear, I’ll go first, okay?”
The brave Si-young entered first, followed by Ara, who wasn’t about to be outdone.
“It’s not dangerous, right?”
“So far, no.”
“…So far?”
“I’ll go in too. Come on, everyone.”
As we passed through the barrier, the Gluttony Dungeon revealed itself. Just like before, the dreamlike scenery spread out all around, taking my breath away.
“This is incredible! What is this place?”
Si-young, who had entered first, touched the ground and screamed in excitement, trying everything she could.
Meanwhile, Young-seong, who had just entered, froze in place.
“Brother?”
“What is this…”
Speechless, Young-seong started to look around. Then he touched the ground like his wife did, as if confirming the presence of the door we passed through.
“A double dungeon?”
“That’s right.”
After asking just one question, Young-seong resumed exploring the dungeon. I remember being equally fascinated the first time I came here.
The environment of other dungeons was different from Earth, but none had the overwhelming atmosphere of the Gluttony Dungeon.
Moreover, I had never heard of a dungeon this vast in size.
‘…Well, it is a level 9 dungeon, after all.’
It was hard to believe such a peaceful place was a level 9 dungeon, but since Ara, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, was the owner, it had to be.
…Probably?
“Wow, I can’t stop being amazed. How can a place like this exist? Kyu-seong!”
“Yes, Si-young.”
“Have you been keeping this place all to yourself? That’s greedy!”
“Haha, I guess so. It’s a really nice place.”
“But this place looks pretty spacious. How big is it? Are there any monsters?”
“I’m not sure how big it is yet. There are monsters, but I haven’t seen any dangerous ones so far.”
“Hmm.”
Si-young nodded and then smiled brightly.
“Don’t worry even if monsters show up. I used to be an 8th-rank Awakened, you know?”
“I’ll rely on you.”
I already had a rough idea of what kind of dungeon this was through Ara, so I wasn’t too worried. Of course, not knowing 100% meant I couldn’t completely let my guard down…
“So, are we setting up the tent here? Wow, the scenery really is amazing. Now I understand why you were so confident.”
“We’ll set up the tent a little further. I found an excellent spot last time.”
I led the group to a place I had noticed on my previous visit. On the way back, I had discovered a serene lake and hot spring.
“Hehehe.”
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong, you’re laughing weirdly.”
Even just imagining it made me laugh. As we walked, we observed various types of vegetation.
We found the fruit that tasted like bread again, and we also came across some unknown flowers and plants creating a strange landscape.
“Wow…”
Si-young, who enjoyed camping, was in awe for hours. She seemed to have already made up her mind to make this place her home.
“…She might not want to leave.”
“Ahem! We have to go back home eventually.”
Young-seong’s voice was subtly nervous.
Eventually, we arrived at the lake.
“Wow! This is amazing!”
Young-seong, who had been insisting on going back home, now ran towards the lake, cheering.
Watching him, Si-young whispered to me.
“He loves fishing.”
“Fishing? Oh!”
While I thought about coming here because of the beautiful lake scenery, I hadn’t considered fishing.
Thinking about it, my father also loves fishing, so let’s see if there are any fish.
As we approached the lake, an incredible view unfolded. The lake, reflecting the dreamy black sky, greeted us without a ripple.
There was a thin mist over the lake, adding to the magical atmosphere.
“Kyu-seong, this place is truly amazing.”
“It’s great, right? Last time, I only had time to pass by briefly.”
At that moment, Ara, who had followed us, started to take off her clothes. I was startled by her sudden actions, but Ara quickly jumped into the water.
Splash! Splash!
“Hehehe! It feels great!”
“Is it safe?”
Young-seong asked worriedly, watching Ara. Remembering I had asked Ara the same question during my last visit, I shook my head.
“She says it’s safe.”
“Safe? Who says?”
“Ara does.”
“Huh?”
Meanwhile, Ara, who had been swimming, dived underwater. She soon emerged, holding something in her hand.
“It’s delicious!”
“Oh, there are fish here!”
But how did she catch it with her bare hands?
Well, with the physical abilities of a Level 3 Awakened, it makes sense.
Si-young took out a towel and started drying Ara, who had come out of the water. Meanwhile, Ara tried to eat the fish raw, holding one in each hand.
“Ara?”
“Huh? Oh! Kyu-seong Kyu-seong, do you want to eat some?”
“No, I’ll grill it for you.”
“Oh! You’re going to grill it?”
Since we planned to set up the tent nearby anyway.
The hot spring wasn’t far from here, making it a perfect spot.
‘The problem is there are too many great spots for setting up the tent.’
The forest’s edge or inside the forest where we set up the tent last time also had its charm. Any spot would be a great place to set up the tent.
“Shall we set up the tent here?”
“Hmm, how about this spot, honey?”
As I watched the couple settle on a moderately flat, grassy area, I also carefully surveyed the surroundings. I then began setting up, not too far but not too close to their tent, similar to the last time.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong! I caught another one!”
Ara giggled as she continued catching fish. They didn’t seem much different from the fish on Earth, each about the size of a palm.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I hammered in the barrier stakes and organized the interior of the completed tent. Then, I unpacked and organized the supplies from Bokkeum, quickly establishing a cozy campsite.
Whoosh!
I lit the brazier and started grilling the fish Ara caught. Although I only did a rough cleaning, considering Ara could eat them raw, there should be no issues.
‘Smells good.’
I sprinkled some salt, pepper, and ember grill seasoning on the fish. Before I knew it, Ara, wrapped in a towel, was swaying back and forth next to me, waiting.
“Oh, it smells great!”
Young-seong, having finished setting up his tent, approached. Meanwhile, his wife was swimming in the lake.
“Can I check it out?”
“Huh? What’s that?”
“It’s an essential artifact for dungeon exploration. It checks whether something is edible.”
How did I not know about this?
Feeling my lack of experience, I watched as he used the artifact on the fish. It glowed blue.
“It’s edible. Blue is the best signal among the various colors.”
“Wow, how much does that cost?”
“This? A bit over a hundred million.”
“…”
There was a reason I wasn’t aware of such expensive items. Other than the tent, I never even considered them.
As I continued grilling the fish, I handed the first cooked one to Ara. Without hesitating, she started eating it whole, bones and all.
“Mmm!”
Her face showed utter satisfaction. Before that expression faded, I found myself constantly grilling fish to keep up with her appetite.
‘This is quite labor-intensive.’
I might catch up to Jae-seong’s cooking skills at this rate!
As I busily grilled fish, Si-young approached and said,
“Kyu-seong, you should eat now. I’ll take over the grilling.”
“No, no. I’ll do it. You should rest.”
Ara had gone back to the lake to catch more fish. Seizing the opportunity, I handed the grilling duty to Young-seong and grabbed a cooked fish.
“You can eat it whole, bones and all. It’s really delicious.”
Standing by the brazier, Young-seong beamed. His wife stood beside him, encouraging me to try it.
The fish in my hand was certainly not a species I had seen on Earth. However, with salt, pepper, and embergill seasoning, it couldn’t possibly taste bad.
“Thank you for the meal.”
Taking a big bite, assured that I could eat the bones, the mild flavor of the fish filled my mouth.
“Mmm?!”
It was quite good. Actually, it was much better than expected.
Of course, it couldn’t compare to the taste of the crops I grew, but it was pretty decent.
“This is good.”
“I told you, it’s delicious.”
Young-seong, who had grilled the fish, threw one to Mark2. Mark2 caught it mid-air like a dog.
“That’s cute. Maybe I should raise a slime too.”
It seemed Young-seong preferred Mark2 over Ara. Mark2, with his straw hat, was indeed quite adorable.
Time passed peacefully.
Except for Young-seong grumbling about not bringing his fishing rod, it was a wonderfully relaxing time.
“Kya-ha-ha!”
“Ara, you?”
Ara and Si-young were playing in the lake, while Young-seong and I lay down with slimes by our sides.
“I should take some pictures. Wow, how can a sky like that exist? I could look at it forever and never get tired.”
Listening to Young-seong mumble, I was starting to doze off when…
Click!
“Huh?”
Young-seong, who was taking pictures, suddenly stood up.
Wondering what was going on, I sat up and saw him showing me his phone.
“Kyu-seong, what is this?”
“Let me see.”
In the picture, besides the starry sky, there was something else. It was…
“Alfheim?”
-(꜆ᴗ͈﹏ᴗ͈)꜆
As soon as I mentioned it, I heard a cute, fairy-like voice. Turning my gaze, I saw a fairy riding a Starlight Bug, trembling and wary of Young-seong.
“What’s this, it came out here?”
“Kyu-seong, do you know this monster?”
“Well, it’s more of a fairy than a monster. A native?”
“A native!”
Shouting as if he had discovered something amazing, the fairy became even more frightened and backed away.
“Oh no.”
“Wait a moment.”
I left Young-seong and approached the fairy. It seemed to calm down a bit and came closer to me.
-(ﾉTдT)ﾉ!
“I can’t understand what it’s saying. Just a moment.”
I immediately called out to Ara, who was playing in the lake.
“Ara!”
“Why are you calling me?”
“An Alfheim fairy is here. Can you translate?”
“Oh!”
Ara quickly ran over. Si-young followed her with a curious look, and when she saw the Alfheim fairy, her eyes widened.
“A fairy?”
She had the same reaction as I did.
I asked Ara to translate the fairy’s words, and they soon started conversing.
“Oh! Amazing!”
“Why? What’s it saying?”
“There’s a war! Alfheim and the Star Bears are at war!”
“What?!”
Cliche Novel 