Round 186

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A waterfall with water crashing down powerfully. 

Surprisingly, the source of the water was a huge rock floating in the air. It was a sight straight out of a fantasy world. Below it, three small figures were neatly lined up. 

Hiccup. 

Ara, and Headbutt, along with Drunkard. They were undergoing intense training beneath the waterfall. Of course, they weren’t directly under the waterfall; they were just sitting a little distance away, meditating while listening to the sound of the falling water.

“Mm.”

Ara looked more serious than ever as she focused on her training, trying to clear her mind of distractions.

‘Stir-fried vegetables, sweet potatoes, strawberry tanghulu, curry, fries, pizza, fish…?’

Growl.

Instead, Ara’s thoughts were becoming more cluttered. But she continued her training, suppressing her distractions.

‘I must become a cool slime! A dignified slime! A serious slime!’

Shuffle shuffle.

Seven minutes into the waterfall (beside) training, Ara’s body was shaking. The Forest of Pururuk was always mysterious, no matter how many times you visited it.

‘I’d like to set up a base here too.’

Would calling it a base be too grand? Maybe just a small cabin to rest in wouldn’t be a bad idea. Now that I think of it, I should try designing a cabin.

Bark!

“Huh? Brother!”

Seon-ah, who was surrounded by Pururuks, waved cheerfully. The Pururuks had also become accustomed to her and Woofy, no longer fleeing at their approach.

“Didn’t you bring the kids?”

“Ara went to train with the slimes, and the others are taking a nap.”

“Training?”

“Well… I’m not sure what kind of training it is, but let’s go check it out together later.”

When I checked the minimap, I saw Ara’s icon at the spot near the bamboo forest where she had been before. There was a terrain feature they had named the Sky Waterfall nearby.

‘She’s already made it there?’

Ara must have been running fast to have already arrived. It would take at least 20 minutes even if she rode Woofy, so her pace was impressive.

“How’s Kongkong?”

“Nothing unusual. Everything’s fine. And since I’m spending time with them almost every day, I feel like I can tell how the kids are doing just by looking at them.”

“Oh, really?”

It’s easy to say, but who would really spend the night and observe the monsters’ habits firsthand? I could understand why she was improving so quickly.

“I’m expecting great things from you, Seon-ah.”

“What?”

“The day you go study abroad at the Skyscraper.”

“That’s still a long way off.”

Seon-ah smiled and waved her hand dismissively. To me, she seemed already quite accomplished, though she didn’t think so herself.

To be honest, I’d been busy with personal matters, but Seon-ah had surprisingly achieved a lot in the dungeon. She had conducted health check-ups on all the kids in the dungeon. Although she didn’t use any professional equipment, she managed to document their general condition as well as the specific characteristics of each child.

‘She found out that every Kkumuri has slightly different physical traits and memorized them all. Not just Kkumuris, but also the fairies and goblins.’

She had memorized all their main dietary habits, nutritional supplements, sleep patterns, and daily routines. It was clear she had a systematic and meticulous side, unlike me.

What surprised me the most recently was that she had started to communicate with the kids to some extent. While I could roughly understand the slimes’ gestures, I needed a translator for the other kids. However, Seon-ah seemed to intuitively understand what they were saying.

“What are you doing now?”

“Just checking Kongkong’s condition and investigating the insects that the Pururuks eat this time. Turns out they don’t just eat plants; they also eat insects. So I’m collecting some to analyze.”

“You’re amazing, really.”

“You’re working hard too, aren’t you? This is nothing.”

Me, working hard? Ahem! Of course! I’m working hard too. Wow, my siblings are amazing. They’re all doing great on their own!

“Oh, Seon-ah. Since you come here every day, should I build you a cabin?”

“Huh? Really? That would be great! It’s been a bit inconvenient to write or collect things without a proper place. It’d be nice to have a storage and resting area.”

I’m glad she liked the idea. Then I should get started on it right away.

“What we need are World Tree lumber, clay, and… Kkumuri?”

If there was any hard work to be done, I could handle it, and Kkumuri could take care of the design and construction.

I immediately rode back to the village on Purr and kidnapped one of the Kkumuris.

While I was gathering the building materials for the cabin with the help of Bokkeum, Gomgom and Soo approached with curious expressions.

-Kwoong.

-Sooo.

“You’re awake. Do you want to come with us?”

I asked, but they didn’t really have a choice. 

Let’s go together.

“This should be enough, right? If we need more, we can always come back.”

After gathering all the materials, I held Gomgom, Soo, and Kkumuri in my arms and headed to the Pururuk Forest, where Seon-ah greeted the kids with a bright face.

“Oh my, my babies!”

“She reacts just like my mom.”

“They’re my babies, after all.”

Gomgom and Soo were full of energy, having just woken up from a nap. 

They waddled around, playing tag with the Pururuks.

Leaving that peaceful scene behind, Kkumuri and I began the construction in earnest.

“Ooo.”

Kkumuri had improved quite a bit in construction, and the most noticeable change was in the design.

Before, it used to build structures haphazardly, but now, it drew lines on the ground, just like my father used to do.

-Heheng.

“Should we dig here?”

Following the lines Kkumuri drew, I started digging the ground. 

It seemed like we were laying the foundation here. 

Soon, Gomgom confidently joined us and began digging beside us.

“Good job, our Gomgom.”

Gomgom, digging enthusiastically, was definitely more skilled than Kkumuri and me, befitting an expert in harvesting World Tree mushrooms.

Thanks to that, we quickly prepared the ground for the foundation, leveled it, and set up the frame.

Although the plan was to build a simple wooden cabin, it was turning into something quite serious.

-Thud, thud.

“Brother? What are you making?”

Seon-ah, who had finished collecting insects with the kids and returned, asked me with wide eyes.

“Building a cabin.”

“……It’s a bit grander than I imagined.”

“I think so too. But it turned out this way as we went along.”

The structure wasn’t overly large or extravagant, but we had put a lot of effort into the foundation. 

It’s better to be sturdy, after all.

While building, we ran out of materials and had to return to the village. 

I also kidnapped a few more Kkumuris, and with the addition of more workers, the construction speed picked up significantly.

-Heheng.

“It’s done!”

We completed the cabin in just a few hours. 

However, despite the short construction time, it had a cozy and charming feel that blended beautifully with the surrounding landscape.

As expected, Kkumuri’s sense was unmatched, despite its appearance.

“Wow.”

Seon-ah seemed to like it, as she walked around the cabin several times before opening the door.

“Amazing.”

“Hehe.”

Seon-ah was left speechless with her mouth wide open. 

She soon looked at me with a deeply moved expression.

“Can I really use this?”

“Of course. Who else would use it?”

The cabin wasn’t just impressive on the outside. 

The interior was also filled with Kkumuri’s aesthetic sense, making it perfectly harmonize with the mystical Pururuk Forest.

It was a bit bare since there was no furniture, but the interior design, handled entirely by Kkumuri, was perfect.

“It would have been nice if Ara could see this too.”

“I think I’ll go check on her now. She seems to be playing longer than I thought.”

Oh, right, it’s not playing; it’s training, isn’t it? 

I got a bit confused there.

Just then, Seon-ah mentioned that she had finished everything she had planned for the day, so we took the kids and returned to the village.

“Do you know where Ara is?”

“Yes, I can see her on the minimap.”

“Minimap?”

“Since I’m the dungeon master, I can see where Ara and Mammon are.”

It would be nice if I could also track the other familiars, but that’s a bit disappointing. 

Who knows? Maybe after completing more dungeon quests, I’ll be able to track them all.

We each rode Purr and Woofy and headed in the direction where Ara was.

Soon, we could see a sight resembling a floating island, and the refreshing sound of a waterfall began to reach our ears.

“Was this place always here?!”

Although her voice was drowned out by the wind, I could clearly hear Seon-ah’s shocked exclamation in my ears.

As I slowly reduced speed and approached the waterfall, I saw our cute little ones sitting together in a cozy group.

I couldn’t bring myself to speak, nor could Seon-ah.

We had expected Ara to be playing joyfully, but instead, she was sitting with her eyes closed, meditating with a serene expression.

She looked so cute, but at the same time, she appeared so serious that I silently let out a surprised gasp.

‘So, so cute!’

How could such a tiny creature meditate so earnestly! This moment needed to be captured in a photo immediately.

It seemed that Seon-ah had the same thought, as she pulled out her camera without saying a word.

We quietly took pictures of Ara and the slimes for a while. Is she going to ascend and become a celestial being like this?

Nod.

“Hmm?”

Did I just see that wrong?

I felt like I just saw Ara’s head drop as if she couldn’t resist the pull of gravity, only for it to lift back up.

No way.

She’s meditating so seriously that I must have imagined it.

But then, before I could finish that thought, Ara’s head nodded again as if she were greeting someone.

“Pfft.”

Seon-ah couldn’t hold back and let out a small laugh.

Regardless, Ara continued to doze off, and soon her head dropped completely as she entered deep sleep mode.

“Our Ara must have been training really hard.”

“Ara, let’s go back and sleep comfortably. Come to your sister.”

Hearing our voices, Ara jolted awake, startled.

But her eyes were still dazed and unfocused.

“Is, is it Kyu-seong Kyu-seong? Seon-ah Seon-ah?!”

“Did you train hard?”

“Y-Yes! I was meditating diligently!”

Drool was running from her mouth.

And now that I looked closer, it seemed that even the slimes had fallen asleep at some point, only now coming to their senses.

Ggumul!

It was a very beneficial training session! I feel refreshed!

Hiccup.

That’s my disciple. It was an excellent training session.

I wonder what kind of training they actually did.

Sleeping training?

“As long as you’re satisfied.”

When Seon-ah cradled the sleepy Ara in her arms, Ara’s body immediately went limp as she let herself be held.

Then she murmured softly.

“Next time, I’ll do a different kind of training. There was too much distraction this time.”

“Distraction? Where did you learn that word?”

“From the Grand Lord.”

Father… What on earth are you discussing with Ara while fishing together?

I chuckled and patted Ara’s head. She promptly dozed off in my arms.

It seemed like we would have to show her the new cabin in the Pururuk Forest next time.

“You worked hard on your training, Ara.”

She must be very hungry after all that training, so I should prepare some food before she wakes up.

Sleep well, Ara.

Have sweet dreams.

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