“It’s a bit nerve-wracking.”
Orie muttered, trying hard to calm her excited heart.
Next to her, Ino Junichi was bowing his head politely with his hands clasped together.
“Gulp.”
He was so nervous that he couldn’t even open his mouth.
Seeing them like this, Jae-seong smiled warmly.
“You don’t have to be so nervous.”
“I can’t believe I’m entering Mr. Lee Kyu-seong’s dungeon, no, nest? No, workspace? Anyway, such a precious place.”
At Junichi’s flustered state, Jae-seong realized once again how amazing his brother was.
‘My brother is incredible.’
These days, living in Japan, he was truly feeling Ino Junichi’s reputation.
But seeing such an important figure being intimidated by his brother was bewildering.
Who wouldn’t feel that way?
Discovering that a seemingly ordinary family member you’ve lived with all your life is actually extraordinary isn’t easy to accept immediately.
Of course, he always respected him as a brother, but his social status was another story.
“Oh? He’s coming out!”
Orie pointed to the dungeon entrance covered by a curtain.
Peeking out from behind the curtain was Ara.
“Hahaha. Ara!”
When Jae-seong called out warmly, Ara popped out.
The sight made Orie and Junichi clutch their hearts.
“Eek.”
“W-What is that outfit! It’s so cute… hic.”
Ara was wearing the full body armor of the Tiger King.
Leaving the two in shock behind, Jae-seong squatted down with his arms open.
Ara ran up to him without saying a word and hugged him tightly.
“Have you been well?”
“Yes!”
As Ara rubbed her face against him, she looked up with sparkling eyes and said,
“Will you cook for us?”
“Of course!”
“Yay!”
“Where is Kyu-seong?”
“He’ll be out soon!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Kyu-seong came out, drawing back the curtain.
Until then, everyone who had been focused on Ara turned to greet Kyu-seong.
“Ah, Mr. Kyu-seong! It’s been a while. How have you been?”
Junichi quickly ran over to greet Kyu-seong, who flinched slightly at the sight of the huge man but greeted him nonetheless.
“Yes, I’ve been well. How about you, Junichi?”
“Absolutely! I’ve been enjoying my days researching alcohol with the ingredients you sent. I’ve even completed my next creation and brought it here!”
Ah, so that was a pocket of subspace.
Kyu-seong was more surprised by the pocket than the alcohol coming out of Junichi’s pocket.
‘As expected, a level 8 awakener.’
Seeing the alcohol, Kyu-seong just nodded awkwardly.
“Thank you as always. I only send ingredients, though…”
“Those ingredients make up 90%, no, 99.9% of this alcohol!”
“…Junichi, your Korean is quite good.”
It was rare to hear a Japanese person use Korean fractions and decimals correctly.
“Mr. Kyu-seong.”
Orie approached and bowed.
“Thank you very much for inviting us today.”
“No problem!”
Speaking awkwardly in each other’s languages, Jae-seong laughed heartily like a bear.
“Well, let’s go in now.”
“Let’s go! Delicious food awaits!”
At Kyu-seong’s gesture, Ara took the lead and guided them.
Jae-seong and Orie found her cute, while Junichi followed with a tense expression.
Grrrr.
Surrounded by Junichi’s aura, Orie finally spoke up.
“Mr. Junichi, please restrain yourself a bit…”
“Kyu-seong’s dungeon! Aaah!”
***
The Infinite Dungeon.
Most of this place had already been organized, leaving little to see. The only things left were a garden on the first floor and three Rookie slimes.
“Oh? It’s quite empty now. What happened, brother?”
“There was something I couldn’t tell you. I’ll show you today.”
Jae-seong, who had left for Japan before visiting the Dungeon of Gluttony, looked at Kyu-seong in surprise.
‘Where were all the crops he had been sending coming from?’
Junichi and Orie were also amazed by the existence of the Infinite Dungeon, but the scenery was different from what they had expected, causing them to tilt their heads in confusion.
“Hmm, the garden is smaller than I thought.”
“It’s amazing that so many crops came from such a place.”
In response to Junichi and Orie’s remarks, Ara stepped forward proudly.
“This is not the end!”
“Not the end?”
Seeing Ara speak proudly with her hands on her hips, Jae-seong tilted his head in confusion while Orie was at a loss.
“What is she saying? Does she want to be held?”
“She says this is not the end.”
As they interpreted her words, Ara began to walk forward confidently.
“Follow me!”
Her tail, attached to her tiger pajamas, swayed as if it were alive. Orie, once again at a loss, followed her, while Junichi examined the dungeon carefully, full of admiration.
“Mr. Kyu-seong.”
“Yes, yes.”
“From my experience, Mr. Kyu-seong’s crop yield has been quite substantial. I’ve always wondered about the labor involved. It seemed mysterious that you managed to cultivate so many crops by yourself…”
“You’ll understand once you see it.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Finally, they arrived at the entrance to the Dungeon of Gluttony. The sudden appearance of the door surprised Junichi, Orie, and Jae-seong.
“Let’s go!”
Kyu-seong and Ara opened the door and entered first. The group that followed was momentarily frozen by the drastically changed scenery.
“Was this place always here? Wow.”
Jae-seong bent down and touched the grass calmly. Junichi and Orie, regaining their composure, spoke up.
“Is this what a dungeon usually looks like?”
“…No. This place is special.”
A dual dungeon.
Even Junichi, a first-generation awakener, had only experienced such a place once. This was the first time it had appeared inside the Infinite Dungeon.
“A dual dungeon that maintains itself infinitely?!”
Normally, dungeons disappear after being cleared. However, this dual dungeon, existing within the Infinite Dungeon, was a result of a series of special circumstances, creating an extraordinary situation.
“This is our home!”
“Welcome. This is the real deal. It’s Jae-seong’s first time too, right?”
At Kyu-seong and Ara’s words, Junichi, breaking free from his thoughts, looked around.
The dreamlike dark purple sky filled with stars, the unfamiliar plants, and the trees in the distance made it feel like they had entered a dream.
Moreover, what about the weather?
It was a cozy temperature, neither hot nor cold. It seemed like it would be perfectly fine to just lie down on the grass and take a nap.
“It’s fortunate that winter just ended.”
“…Does this dungeon have seasons?”
“Yes. I’ve only experienced winter, but they say it also has summer.”
“When you say ‘they say,’ does that mean you heard it from someone else?”
“That’s right. There are also natives here.”
Junichi, who was roughly estimating the size, was slightly surprised by Kyu-seong’s words that there were seasons and even natives here.
He looked around again but didn’t see any monsters. Of course, as a level 8 awakener, he had nothing to fear from monsters, but he was increasingly curious about how Kyu-seong was farming.
-Bark!
A dog ran up, and a wolf approached cautiously. Seeing his familiars greeting them as always, Kyu-seong welcomed them, and Jae-seong asked,
“Are these new guys, brother?”
“Yeah. You liked dogs, right? Come play with Woofy sometimes.”
“Is the dog’s name Woffy?”
“Yeah. Ara named it.”
Orie and Jae-seong, who knew nothing, petted the playful Woffy happily. However, Junichi was just staring blankly at the increasingly incomprehensible situation.
‘A ghost horse, a fire wolf… So, Mr. Kyu-seong’s ability wasn’t related to farming but taming!’
Although everything seemed natural, Ara was also a familiar. Moreover, there were always slimes by Kyu-seong’s side.
In the end, Junichi could only conclude that Kyu-seong’s ability was related to monster taming.
‘So, he’s using monsters for farming too!’
While coming up with plausible deductions, the group started walking somewhere. After walking for about ten minutes, they soon discovered a village.
Squish?
Dozens of slimes were wandering around like villagers. And they welcomed the new visitors to their village.
Squish!
Gloop!
“This, this is…”
Numerous slimes, each with a different appearance.
The village didn’t only have slimes.
There were also sluggishly moving slimes and, for some reason, a few Alfheim visitors.
The beautifully maintained village scenery and all these situations captivated the group’s attention and minds.
“Welcome. This is our slime village. Most of my crops are also farmed here.”
“Are these the natives?”
“No. We created this village. If you’re asking if the slimes are natives, that’s not it either. They are my familiars.”
Jae-seong eagerly translated for Orie. Then, Orie, who didn’t know much about the awakening industry, just kept nodding and admiring.
But Junichi was different.
“Is this… paradise?”
“It’s not such a grand place.”
“Are there any dangerous monsters…”
“No. It’s a safe place.”
Having worked in the awakening industry for almost 30 years, Junichi, who had spent more than half of his life in this field, let out a hollow laugh at this unprecedented experience.
“Dungeons are indeed full of mysteries. No matter how much you explore, there’s always more.”
“That’s their charm.”
“I’m truly at a loss for words to express my gratitude to Mr. Kyu-seong for showing and inviting us to such a place. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Just take good care of Jae-seong for us.”
Meanwhile, Ara stepped forward and beckoned everyone to follow.
“I will guide you through the village!”
Having done this several times before, Ara began the tour quite skillfully. Meanwhile, Jae-seong, Junichi, and Orie were thoroughly enjoying this unique experience, exclaiming in admiration.
“Wow! It feels like a theme park! Did you create all of this yourself?”
“Each building has its own purpose. This one is a hat storage?”
“Wow! A crop storage! This should be designated a national treasure!”
After touring all the buildings, including the storage and living spaces for the slimes, they all looked at Kyu-seong and Ara with excitement.
“Ha! Ha! Ha! How do you like it?”
“It’s amazing!”
At first, Jae-seong didn’t understand why the remarkable Junichi was so cautious around Kyu-seong, but now he understood clearly.
‘An enormous amount of harvest!’
Since becoming an awakener, Jae-seong could see the effects of items directly and realized their rarity. Yet, here, those precious items were scattered around in storage.
“And over there is the final stop: our field.”
“A field!!”
Junichi’s excitement peaked.
The field, once covered with leaf houses and metal frames, was now clear, with lush crops and those ready for harvest spread out beautifully.
“Wow…”
“…It’s so vast…”
The expansive field struck the three with awe. As a chef, a gourmet, and an awakener, this was a breathtaking sight.
“Shall we take a look around the field?”
“Yes!!”
They had completely forgotten the original purpose of their visit and were just enjoying themselves. However, Kyu-seong felt proud seeing their delighted faces.
There’s a saying, “Even Mount Geumgang looks better after a meal,” but honestly, food tastes best when you’re hungry.
“Since you’re all here, why not experience farming too?”
Kyu-seong planned to make use of his visitors, or rather guests, to help with the harvest. After all, food tastes even better after hard work, right?
Cliche Novel 
Putting them right to work
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