The dungeon with a similar environment to the horned rhinos’ dungeon wasn’t too far away.
It was roughly an hour away by helicopter.
Upon arrival, we decided to enter with Ryu Cheon and the escort team from the Iron Blood Guild.
Our target was the horned rhinos’ main food source: grass.
The Skyscraper Guild had given it the provisional name “horned rhino grass.”
“I am the one protecting you, Kyu-seong Kyu-seong!”
Ara flexed her arms to show her muscles.
Of course, all that could be seen were her chubby forearms.
“Is this dungeon being deliberately left for the horned rhinos’ food supply?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“I see. Understood for now. Let’s try collecting the seeds.”
First, we aimed to harvest the horned rhino grass in large quantities.
If possible, I wanted to turn it into seeds and bring it to the Dungeon of Gluttony.
If we searched thoroughly, we might even find the grass’s seeds.
There was no problem with cultivating it.
‘Now we’re not growing food for people, but food for monsters.’
Although I had volunteered, the situation was oddly amusing.
It seemed possible to grow grass in one corner of the dungeon, but the issue was the quantity.
Considering the scale of the monster livestock business, it seemed likely we’d be raising not just tens but hundreds of horned rhinos. Could we produce enough grass to support that number?
I decided to at least give it a try.
If it didn’t work out, the business would just go under.
‘The best scenario would be discovering or learning a technique to grow grass efficiently. If Skyscraper could cultivate and produce it directly without relying on me, that would be ideal.’
While I was lost in these thoughts, the preparations for entry were completed.
“Shall we go in?”
“Yes.”
Following Yoo Bihong’s guidance, we entered.
What greeted us was a vast, vibrant blue field.
“It’s so refreshing.”
The area was indeed wide.
Were the grasses currently growing here the horned rhino grass?
“These are the grasses in question.”
“Great.”
We began harvesting the grass alongside the Skyscraper Guild staff who had entered with us. I, of course, wasn’t an exception.
Meanwhile, the most critical tasks were being handled by the others.
Ara, Cheong, and Bokkeum.
It wasn’t easy to notice because of their usual appearances, but they were slimes. In essence, they were natural-born farmers.
Cheong, in particular, had a much greater interest in farming than the other two, wandering the fields daily to remove pests and diseases.
“What about this one?”
“This one looks good! How about this one?”
Bokkeum.
The three of them huddled together, chatting and sharing opinions in a lively manner, which was adorable to watch.
Their mission was to collect seeds.
To others, it might have looked like they were just playing, but in reality, they were carrying out the most important task.
“Munch, munch.”
Now they were even nibbling, chewing, tasting, and enjoying the grass.
People stood by, momentarily dazed, watching the children devour the grass.
“Don’t worry. It’s just a normal tasting session.”
Seeing their flabbergasted reactions to my comment gave me a strange sense of satisfaction.
Eventually, the children began carefully stacking the selected grasses they had gathered.
At the same time, Ara showed me something.
It was a seed of the horned rhino grass.
“This is a seed?”
It looked just like a grain of sand.
Its minuscule size made it easy to mistake for dust or a bit of debris.
“Take these grasses and shake them thoroughly. Then, whoosh! The seeds will fall!”
I didn’t quite understand what she meant, but it seemed the grasses they were gathering now had been chosen to produce seeds.
For a while, the process of harvesting the grass and selecting the ones to use as seeds continued.
I wondered why we couldn’t just harvest everything and sort it later, but Ara shook her head.
“This is something we have to do ourselves!”
Oh. If Ara said so, then it must be true.
As a result, the work took quite a long time.
Feeling idle, I asked Bokkeum to pull out various items.
Because I carried all sorts of things just in case, I managed to produce simple cooking tools and a table.
Noticing the curious gazes from others, I began preparing a simple meal.
Sandwiches and a light noodle dish.
I thought it would be nice to eat as if we were on a picnic.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve cooked a large batch alone.’
Thanks to the Breeding Tribe members, I hadn’t had much reason to cook recently, so I decided to see if my skills had dulled.
That said, making sandwiches was just a matter of combining pre-prepared ingredients. I even let people choose their own toppings according to their preferences.
That left me with the task of making the noodles.
I filled a large pot with water and brought it to a boil.
It was for cooking the noodles.
Next to it, I prepared broth by boiling a mix of small seafood and vegetables.
Noodles and broth were made separately.
In just 20 minutes, the dish was ready.
“If you’d like more noodles, you can soak them in this boiling water for about five minutes before serving!”
A brief break was given.
The people who had been diligently harvesting grass eagerly gathered around the table I had set up and started making their own sandwiches.
“Mmm!”
“This is delicious!”
The praises of the Skyscraper Guild staff came through clearly thanks to the translation artifact.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal, which was a relief.
The children also gathered in no time, happily eating the noodles and sandwiches I had prepared.
“This is so good!”
Ryu Cheon suddenly approached me and spoke.
It seemed to be her way of expressing gratitude, so I smiled and nodded.
“By the way, that child, she’s an Awakener, isn’t she?”
“Oh, Emily? Yes, she awakened recently.”
“Recently…”
Ryu Cheon stared blankly at Emily.
Meanwhile, Emily was happily making sandwiches with the children, completely unaware of her gaze.
“She’s strong.”
“Pardon?”
I almost spat out the noodles I was eating.
Barely managing to swallow, I looked at Ryu Cheon with uneasy eyes.
“You can sense that?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, I see.”
I felt a bit uneasy about how intently she was observing Emily.
Since the fact that Emily was an 8th-level Awakener was a secret, I was nervous that Ryu Cheon might figure it out.
“Do you live together?”
“Emily? Yes, we live together for now.”
“You said she’s your niece, right?”
“Yes… that’s correct.”
As his questions grew longer, I began to sweat. Fortunately, all the ingredients I had prepared were finally used up.
“Oh, looks like everything’s been eaten. Time to clean up.”
Speaking as if reading from a textbook, I quickly got up and started tidying.
Others joined in to help me.
“All right, everyone, take a 10-minute break, and then we’ll resume!”
“This gives me strength, real strength!”
Even as I packed everything into Bokkeum’s storage, I kept sneaking glances at Ryu Cheon.
Thankfully, her attention soon shifted back to Ara and Cheong.
‘Does she have some kind of intuition?’
Kim Tae-yang hadn’t noticed anything.
It’s rare for Awakeners to recognize the strength of others unless they have specific related abilities.
Still, Ryu Cheon was particularly sensitive to mana, so perhaps she sensed something. She wasn’t an ordinary Awakener, after all.
‘I heard recently she almost fully recovered after drinking my paprika juice… Not only recovered, but apparently, her abilities also grew stronger. Is that why she noticed Emily’s power?’
The work continued for about three more hours.
When I judged that we had done enough, everyone exited the dungeon, and the harvested grass was stored carefully.
“Is it all done?”
Ryu Wangjin, who had come to meet us at the dungeon entrance, asked.
“Yes. By the way, may I ask you something?”
“Speak.”
“Is there an infinite dungeon nearby? If there is, it would make cultivating this grass much easier.”
“I hadn’t thought of that!”
Of course, since cultivating grass wasn’t feasible before, it wouldn’t have crossed anyone’s mind.
Soon, all the nearby infinite dungeons around the Skyscraper Guild were identified.
Given the wide expanse of land, three were located.
“I’ll personally check if any of these dungeons are suitable for growing horned rhino grass.”
“You’ve been invited, yet you’re working so hard. This effort will be richly rewarded—with interest.”
“Oh no, we’re just doing our part. It’s fine.”
I replied with a smile, causing Ryu Wangjin’s lips to twitch slightly.
Of course, my words were just lip service to please him.
A reward? That would definitely be welcome!
For now, we decided to rest for the night and begin again the following morning.
Over the next three days, we worked tirelessly to resolve the horned rhinos’ issues.
Finally, a rough outline of the solution began to emerge.
The new slime recruits, summoned at the rate of one or two per day, were relocated to the new infinite dungeon.
This was the most spacious and strategically located dungeon among the three we had secured near the Skyscraper Guild.
Using the seeds gathered from the grass Ara and the children had selected, we planted the horned rhino grass.
“Hm.”
While I had to wait to see the results, I couldn’t help but feel a little anxious.
Worried that the grass wouldn’t grow? No, that wasn’t it.
What concerned me was whether this horned rhino grass would mutate as well.
‘Even if it becomes tastier or gains item effects… Will it truly benefit the horned rhinos? These were creatures already malnourished due to mutations caused by crossing over to Earth. I could only hope there wouldn’t be any issues.’
“Ah, as expected of you, Kyu-seong. Amazing work!”
I was invited to a dinner banquet, where Baek Tae-seop, the guild leader, gave me a thumbs-up.
I could only scratch my head awkwardly in response.
“There’s something I’d like to discuss.”
Ryu Wangjin, who was dining with us, initiated a conversation.
“I heard your younger sibling wishes to study at our guild. Is that true?”
“Oh, yes. She wants to become a monster veterinarian. She thought there’s much to learn at Skyscraper.”
“When it comes to monster domestication, we are indeed the best in the world. Other places don’t even attempt it because it’s not profitable.”
He added that the guild incurred enormous losses every year.
Still, their dedication to monster domestication was admirable.
“In the future, we’ll be raising even more monsters. To do that, we’ll need to train experts.”
“Of course.”
“Your sister, Lee Seon-ah, wasn’t it? Rather than just studying here, how about we hire her directly?”
Hire her?!
I was already grateful for the opportunity to study here, but the offer of employment left me stunned.
Seon-ah herself looked equally dumbfounded.
“It will be a slightly unconventional form of employment. I hope she can serve as a bridge between Korea and China.”
“Uh…”
“We’re thinking of collaborating with the Iron Blood Guild.”
This is getting too big!
Initially, I just wanted her to study here because I figured the Skyscraper Guild would have done extensive research on monster domestication.
“Well…”
For now, I waited for Seon-ah’s opinion.
She seemed a bit frozen by the sudden proposal.
“You don’t need to worry too much. You’ll have the freedom to return to Korea whenever you wish. The work will primarily involve monitoring monsters, as you expected, and with your communication skills, conversations won’t be a problem.”
“Understood.”
Seon-ah responded with a determined expression.
“I’ll do my best in whatever task is given to me!”
“Hahaha! Good to hear!”
Although I felt slightly worried, it wasn’t a bad thing to take on challenges.
‘After all, she has a dependable older brother!’
Grinning to myself, I clapped enthusiastically.
Ara and Cheong, oblivious to the situation, joined in on the applause simply because everyone else was doing so.
“Once you return to Korea, we’ll handle all the paperwork, so you can come at your convenience.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
She had been preparing to graduate, and now she even had a job lined up.
Of course, she could always work in my dungeon, but still.
Clap, clap, clap.
“Congratulations.”
“Congrats?”
The children, unaware of the specifics, simply offered their congratulations.
Thinking about how sad they might be if Seon-ah left for China made me feel a bit uneasy.
Cliche Novel 