*Gao!*
Mago woke up from her sleep with a small yawn. She seemed to be in a good mood, perhaps because she had fallen asleep after feasting on the small magic crystals Leon had sent last night.
“Are you awake?”
I smiled, lightly stroking Mago’s head.
*Gao!*
Mago rubbed her face against my hand to show she liked it. Then, she immediately flew toward the cupboard, acting as if she wanted me to open the door. The cupboard was a sort of giant feeder where I kept the mana stones that Mago ate.
“Already?”
I checked the time. It was 8:00 AM. If I thought of it as an early breakfast, it wasn’t impossible to give her some, but the problem was that Mago’s last meal had been at 11:00 PM last night.
“You ate right before bed yesterday, too.”
“Gao! Gao!”
However, Mago had already climbed onto my lap and started begging. She tapped my arm with her small front paws, urging me. I let out a sigh and stood up.
“You’re taking care of Mago’s food as soon as you wake up.”
“Guardian, are you going to feed Mago?”
Aria, who had been tending to the World Tree, poked her head out from the living room and asked.
“If I don’t, I think she’ll keep pestering me.”
“Won’t she get an upset stomach?”
“She’s a Zel Dragon. Since when do they get upset stomachs?”
I took out various grades of mana stones and brilliant crystals from the cupboard. From my inventory, I also pulled out the minerals I received regularly from Kajlak.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Gao! Gao!”
Mago waited, wagging her tail in excitement.
“Right, I gave you crystals yesterday. Mana stones today?”
I pulled out a Grade 9 mana stone. However, Mago’s reaction was lukewarm.
*Pfft — *
“Why? You ate these happily at first, saying they were delicious.”
*Gao!*
Mago shook her head from side to side, refusing it.
“… Are you being picky?”
“Since she’s grown more than when she was a baby, maybe her tastes have changed?”
“Then how about this?”
This time, I took out a Grade 8 mana stone. Mago sniffed it and shook her head again.
*Pfft.*
“What do you want?”
*Gao!*
“This one?”
When I pulled out the Grade 7 mana stone Mago pointed to, her eyes sparkled and shone.
*Gao!*
“Ah, you wanted this.”
“Guardian, feeding Mago is secretly quite tiring, isn’t it?” Aria asked as she sat down beside me.
“Well… it’s because she doesn’t have a set mealtime.”
“She woke you up at 3:00 AM yesterday to beg for food, too.”
“That’s why I lost some sleep…”
I frowned in concern as I watched Mago crunch down on the entire mana stone.
“Should I try free-feeding, like with a cat?”
“Free-feeding?”
“Yeah. I’ll put minerals, mana stones, and magic crystals in a single bin and let Mago eat on her own whenever she wants.”
“Ah! That’s a great idea.”
“Right? Then it’ll be easier for me, too…”
“But.”
“Yeah?”
“Can Mago control her greed?”
I looked at Mago again. She had already finished one mana stone and was begging for another.
“Gao! Gao!”
“… Probably not, right?”
“No. I don’t think it’ll work.” Aria chuckled. “She’ll definitely eat everything at once.”
“There’s also that… but a balanced diet is important, too.”
“A balanced diet?”
“Yeah. I don’t think it’s good if she only eats one thing.”
It wasn’t for nothing that I had asked Kajlak and the Association to provide various grades of mana stones and magic gems.
“But will Mago eat a variety of things?”
“…… I wonder.”
“Still, Mago isn’t human. Could nutritional imbalances really be a problem for her?”
“You think so?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ll ask the Dryads later! Among the older Dryads, there might be some who know about the ecology of dragons.”
“Really? Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Before having breakfast, I took a sip of coffee and turned on the TV. As soon as I turned on the news, interesting information appeared on the main screen.
**[Arrival of Advance Teams and Item Demonstrations]**
**[Information on the Entry of Pre-Participants for the Selection Trials]**
The anchor delivered the news with a serious expression.
— Influential hunters from various countries, including the United States, China, Japan, and Germany, are arriving in Korea one after another to participate in the Selection Trials. Under the pretext of pre-adaptation and cultural experience, they will enter the country one week before the trials to have time to adjust to the Korean environment.
The screen changed to show Incheon International Airport. Advance hunters of various ethnicities representing their respective countries waved at the press.
— The Association plans to provide accommodations and guidance for them, and it is expected that these Selection Trials will become a venue for international exchange.
“Wow, they’re already here?”
“They’re the advance team. There’s a special reason why they came so early.”
“A special reason?”
I recalled the message I had received from Yun Tae-seong earlier.
“It’s so the advance team can pre-test and select the items they’ll buy from the Rocket Store.”
“Ah… so that’s why they came in a whole week early?”
“Yeah. Overseas hunters can’t use the Rocket Store directly. So, the Association decided to provide samples instead.”
Aria nodded.
“I see.”
*Ding!*
Just then, a message arrived from Yun Tae-seong.
**[Yun Tae-seong: Preparations for the Selection Trials are proceeding smoothly. The overseas hunters have arrived safely, and the Association is providing guidance.]**
— It seems to be going well.
**[Yun Tae-seong: Yes. However, interest in the Rocket Store among the overseas hunters is quite high. We plan to start the Rocket Store product experience at the demonstration site starting today.]**
— Already?
**[Yun Tae-seong: Yes. After all, they are hunters dispatched on a national level. Some countries even asked if they could take a look before they even unpacked their bags.]**
— That’s good.
**[Yun Tae-seong: Yes. As there is much interest, if they realize the utility of the items the Rocket Store provides, the reputation of the Rocket Store and Korea will likely rise together.]**
— I’ll look forward to it.
After finishing the message, I turned back to the TV.
*Gao!*
In the meantime, Mago had finished the minerals and let out a satisfied burp. Then, she spat out a small gem.
“Your specialty is definitely this.”
I picked up the mana crystal Mago had spat out. It was small, but the quality was perfect.
***
In the exhibition hall prepared by the Korean Association for the representative hunters of each country, various items purchased from the Rocket Store were on display.
“These are the main products handled by the Rocket Store.”
As the Association employee began the explanation, the Japanese hunters examined the items with curiosity. Halfling lunchboxes, bread made of Silver Wheat, and various potions. However, some of them had lukewarm reactions.
“Is there a need to work as soon as we arrive? We have a whole week anyway.”
“That’s true. I want to play a bit more, too.”
While the Japanese hunters were murmuring, one hunter spoke up coldly.
“We aren’t here to play.”
Her voice was low but sharp. The eyes of her colleagues immediately shifted to her.
“Ah, Ms. Ayaka…”
“Did you forget the reason Director Fuse sent us here?”
Ayaka continued, examining the displayed items one by one.
“We have to properly filter out which of these will actually be helpful for the Tower’s conquest and report it to the higher-ups. Other local hunters will be using these as well. If we don’t choose carefully, it will affect the efficiency of all Japanese hunters.”
“Understood.”
Her colleagues nodded and began to examine the items again with serious expressions. Ayaka picked up a Halfling lunchbox and asked the Association employee, “How long is the buff duration for this lunchbox?”
“It’s 6 hours.”
She began to take notes in her notebook. Ayaka’s gaze moved to the next item. Demon Obsidian.
“How much does the purification for this cost?”
“You must use at least a mid-grade curse removal scroll.”
“The maintenance cost is higher than the item itself… however.”
Ayaka recalled a video she had recently seen from an American YouTuber. The explosive power was at the level of mid-grade magic.
‘It could be efficient against swarms of monsters.’
“Record this one too.”
The Association employee offered a piece of Silver Wheat bread.
“It would be best to try this yourself. It has a mana recovery effect.”
Ayaka put a piece of bread in her mouth. Along with the soft texture, she felt her mana recovering. What was particularly surprising was that one of her permanent health stats had increased.
“It definitely has an effect.”
She added a note to her notebook. A colleague pointed to the next block and asked, “Ms. Ayaka, do you see the American team over there?”
Turning her gaze, she saw the American hunters in another exhibition room, laughing and looking at the items comfortably.
“The atmosphere over there is a bit lighter.”
“And?”
“I’m just saying we should take it easy, too.”
“What other countries do is none of our business.”
Ayaka focused on checking the items again. After 1 hour, Ayaka’s notebook was filled with detailed analysis.
**[War Paint — Essential for power increase as it provides a buff separate from existing ones. Needs to be purchased in large quantities for many hunters. High priority due to competition with other countries.]**
**[Halfling Lunchbox — Time-limited buff. Confirmed to grant small but permanent stat increases for some local specialties. Needs to be sampled more than once. Substitutes exist but cannot perfectly replace it. Medium priority.]**
“Is everyone finished with the organizing?”
“Yes!”
“Then let’s go back and write the report. The Director will be waiting.”
An Association employee, seeing the Japanese team leaving the exhibition room, muttered, “The Japanese team is really serious.”
***
In the evening, after time had passed idly, I was sitting on the sofa watching TV. On the table lay a lunchbox delivered from Lee Jun-ho Company.
“Mr. Lee Jun-ho’s food is delicious as expected!”
Aria took a bite of the bread made of Silver Wheat and wore a happy expression. Mago was sleeping soundly on my lap. It was a peaceful evening. The evening news was playing on the TV.
— Next is economic news. Recently, the growth rate of the hunter-related industry has…
Suddenly, the screen cut off.
— We have an emergency news flash.
The anchor’s expression stiffened abruptly.
— A sign of a Dungeon Break was just detected in the northern Gyeonggi-do area.
“?”
I put down the lunchbox and focused on the TV. The anchor’s voice was filled with tension.
— Currently, mobile strike teams and Association hunters have been dispatched in preparation for the disaster, and an evacuation order has been issued for nearby residents. We will connect with a reporter on-site for more details.
The screen changed to show satellite imagery of northern Gyeonggi-do. There was a crack where space was distorting, and more importantly, monsters were pouring out of the gate.
“Guardian, that…” Aria’s voice trembled.
“A Dungeon Break happened. Just like that Miracle Department Store incident last time… they said the frequency of strange cracks has been increasing lately.”
In the meantime, the TV screen changed again.
— Currently, the Association is prioritizing the evacuation of civilians. Due to the scale of this Dungeon Break being much larger than expected, damage to buildings and facilities appears inevitable.
A map was displayed on the screen. The danger zone was marked with a red circle. What especially caught my eye was Bukhansan National Park, which was included within it.
“That’s…”
Bukhansan National Park was where my parents’ memorial stone was located.
— In particular, the Bukhansan Tragedy Memorial is located within Bukhansan Park, leading to great concern among the bereaved families. However, the Association has stated that they have no choice but to focus all their capabilities on preventing casualties.
My heart sank. This meant the memorial stone could be destroyed. The place where my parents rested.
The TV screen changed to another emergency flash.
**[Large-scale Crack Occurs at Bukhansan]**
— Currently, an evacuation order has been issued for residents in the affected area, and the Hunter Association is preparing for an emergency deployment. We repeat. Residents in the Bukhansan area, please evacuate immediately. The scale of this crack is…
I couldn’t listen anymore. I jumped up from my seat. Mago opened her eyes in surprise, but I didn’t have the room to care. On the screen, the surroundings were starting to turn into a mess due to the monsters pouring out of the crack.
“… A Dungeon Break in the very place where my parents’ memorial stone is located, of all places.”
But it was too early to be discouraged. I couldn’t go out there myself, but I had a way to protect it.
Because I had the Rocket Store.
‘I need to issue an emergency quest to the Rocket Store members.’