Chapter 44: The Second Horn

‘Wow’

The moment the Dungeon Shine Muscat popped in my mouth.

Fresh, sweet juice overflowed, filling my mouth and spreading a soft, rich sweetness across my tongue.

A hint of tartness hidden within the sweetness sparkled on the tip of my tongue, creating a perfect harmony.

「Stellar Growth Acceleration increases for 45 minutes.」

At the same time, a System Message floated before my eyes.

But I barely paid attention to the System Message.

I was completely entranced by the taste of the Dungeon Shine Muscat itself.

[Kyuu!!! Seojun!! This is too delicious!!』

“Chuchuchu~!!”

“Popo!!”

“Wow! This is easily one of the top three fruits I’ve ever tasted!!”

“Awoong—”

@Grrrrrrrr—

Dania, Chuchu, and Popo all let out exclamations of delight one after another.

Vellerin’s cheeks turned rosy as she smiled in happiness.

Even Fenrir was busily licking the Dungeon Shine Muscat with his tongue.

Mandrian also snuck over, rooting itself into the Dungeon Shine Muscat to savor the flavor.

‘When did that guy get here again…’

I chuckled at Mandrian, shaking off my idle thoughts.

Crunch, crunch!

With the taste of the Dungeon Shine Muscat filling my mouth, I couldn’t think about anything else.

Gulp!

As the juice slid down my throat, its lingering sweetness left a subtle, long-lasting aftertaste that filled my mouth.

It was like a brief but intense spell—one bite of the Dungeon Shine Muscat made my senses unite to experience that electrifying, vibrant sweetness in full dimension.

‘This is insane.’

Truly.

I’ve always loved sweets, and even before getting trapped in the lair, the Shine Muscat was one of my favorite fruits.

So, it completely stole my heart.

Pop, crunch!

The pile of Dungeon Shine Muscat was quickly dwindling.

Not just me—everyone was utterly absorbed in the Shine Muscat.

‘Phew!’

By the time I came to my senses, the heap I’d picked had already been halved.

‘Stellar Growth Acceleration… I need to check this effect.’

In my hand now was a Seondo.

I hadn’t fully digested the Internal Energy Core yet, so my stomach was still full, but I figured I could manage one slice.

Crunch!

The moment I bit into a piece of Seondo, my eyes widened.

‘Ahh…!’

It had been a while since I last tasted Seondo, and I’d almost forgotten the flavor.

No wonder it’s called a heavenly fruit.

Normally, after eating Dungeon Shine Muscat, no other fruit’s flavor would register properly.

But Seondo was the exception.

Its soft juice burst in my mouth, spreading a refreshing sweetness and coolness.

It was on a whole different level from ordinary peaches—a subtle yet powerful sweetness lingered, swirling at the tip of my tongue, boldly declaring, ‘I am Seondo!’

‘Hm?’

After eating a piece of Seondo, I felt a change begin inside my body.

My eyes sparkled in surprise.

Why?

Because the flow of mana within me was clearly different from before.

「Stored mana greatly increases.」

「Your Level has Increased!.」

「Your Level has Increased!.」

‘Whoa.’

I could feel it, without a doubt.

More mana was being absorbed into my body than before.

It wasn’t an overwhelming difference, but it was definitely significant.

‘It has to be the effect of the Dungeon Shine Muscat.’

Stellar Growth Acceleration.

Just as I’d guessed, it was an ability that sped up Level Up.

‘I should pick these up and eat them as often as possible.’

Even if the acceleration was slight, if Stellar Growth Acceleration kept stacking, my Level Up speed would skyrocket.

Anyway—

With this, my level reached 46.

Just a bit more, and I’d break through the 50Lv mark.

My goal of hitting 100Lv before leaving the lair felt a little more tangible now.

‘I should check what effect the Kiwi has, too.’

The mana I hadn’t digested yet was swirling inside me, making me feel like my stomach would burst—I probably couldn’t eat any more.

Still, I wanted to check the Kiwi’s effect, so I picked one up.

「Dungeon Kiwi, Lv 100」

A mighty presence lingers within.

Upon consumption, Mana Digestion increases for 45 minutes.

Afterward, Mana Digestion permanently increases slightly.

‘Oh…!’

The Kiwi had the effect of increasing Mana Digestion.

‘Could it be?’

With a sudden thought, I immediately took a bite of the Kiwi.

Crunch!

As I bit into it, a fresh sweetness and tangy sourness spread in perfect harmony through my mouth.

It wasn’t just the sweetness and tartness of a fruit—there was an unknown, mystical power that left a pleasant tingle and lingering aftertaste for a long time.

Gulp!

Normally, I’d have trouble swallowing anything with mana right now, but strangely, the Kiwi went down easily.

Vmmm—

A faint tremor ran through me, and my stomach felt comfortable.

‘Oh!’

The mana that had been up to my throat settled down a little.

I could sum up this Kiwi in one word.

‘Mana Digestive.’

Yeah, this really was like a digestive aid.

‘This is amazing…’

Dungeon Shine Muscat boosts Stellar Growth Acceleration, and Kiwi boosts Mana Digestion.

The synergy is incredible.

If these crops were released to the world, they’d cause a huge sensation.

“If only the efficiency was a bit higher, though.”

The only downside was that Stellar Growth Acceleration and Magic Absorption Rate only increased <Slightly>.

For some reason, I felt an urgent need to get stronger, so it was a little disappointing that it would take time to see the effects.

“If you want to raise the crop efficiency, you just need to bring in an Arbo Slime!”

“What?”

As I muttered my regret, Vellerin responded.

“There are these creatures called Arbo Slimes that maximize crop efficiency! With their help, you could raise these crops to levels even higher than 100!”

Oh.

So such creatures exist?

“Where do we get them?”

“Um… I’m not exactly sure, but… maybe if we explore outside the lair, we’ll run into them!”

Oh, is that so?

“Then we need to explore outside the lair as soon as possible. Please prioritize making the Exploration Drone.”

“Yes! I’ll do my best!”

Vellerin.

I’m counting on you!

“Awooong…!”

Just then, Fenrir, who’d been munching and licking the Dungeon Shine Muscat, let out a low whine.

And then—

Flash!

A brilliant light burst from his body.

「Shadow Wolf <Fenrir> has leveled up!」

[3LV ➜4LV]

Just from eating Dungeon Shine Muscat, Fenrir’s level increased.

It seems that, since he’s low-level, even eating a crop with a little mana lets him Level Up easily.

‘If that’s the case…’

Fenrir should also have the Stellar Growth Acceleration buff right now.

“Want to try this too?”

I cut the Seondo into small pieces and set them in front of Fenrir.

“Awooong…!”

Sniff, sniff!

Chomp! Crunch, crunch!

Fenrir sniffed the Seondo in front of him, then quickly gobbled it up.

Chomp, chomp!

With his few remaining teeth, Fenrir chewed the Seondo with effort.

“Awoowoong…!”

He let out a happy, satisfied whine.

Looks like he really liked the taste of Seondo.

Once he finished the piece—

「Shadow Wolf <Fenrir> has leveled up!」

「Shadow Wolf <Fenrir> has leveled up!」

「Shadow Wolf <Fenrir>has leveled up!」

[Shadow Wolf ’s <Fenrir> level…]

「4LV➜21LV」

He jumped a whopping 17 levels in an instant.

An astonishing Level Up speed.

‘Huh. As expected of Eight-Star Potential.’

Even for a low-level, this kind of rapid Level Up is rare.

But Fenrir, with his Eight-Star Potential, possessed incredible growth.

And with the Stellar Growth Acceleration buff from the Dungeon Shine Muscat, he leveled up as if sprouting wings.

‘At this rate, he’ll surpass my level soon.’

While I marveled quietly,

Fenrir’s body began to change.

Vmmm—

The little guy, once the size of two fists together, suddenly grew to the size of a forearm.

[Wow! The wolf got bigger!』

Dania exclaimed in awe at the sight.

“Ah! I can sense divine power from this child! He really is a special being.”

Vellerin also seemed to sense something unique about Fenrir.

A ripple of admiration flickered in her lake-like eyes.

“Awoowoong…!”

Having finished growing, Fenrir gave me a dog-like grin, rubbing his face against the back of my hand.

It was as if he was saying thank you.

I stroked Fenrir once and asked,

“Want some more?”

“Awoong…!”

I offered another piece of Seondo, but he just opened and closed his mouth, then drooped his head.

He was signaling that he couldn’t eat anymore.

“He’s still not fully recovered, so his digestion is weak.”

Hmm.

I considered feeding him a Kiwi first, then more Seondo, but… I let it go.

Pushing too hard might cause problems.

Once Fenrir’s body fully recovers, I’ll feed him as much as he can eat.

“Let’s work hard and grow like Fenrir, Dania?”

[Mmm…]

At my words, Dania, who’d been munching on Shine Muscat, tilted her head and looked at me.

“You haven’t finished eating Nagattara’s Core yet. Hurry and eat that too.”

Earlier, Popo, Chuchu, Vellerin, Mandrian, and I had all eaten Nagatarra Core.

I gained 7 levels, and Popo, Chuchu, and Vellerin each gained a level.

Mandrian’s body grew a bit bigger.

When I looked at Mandrian again,

@Grrrrrrr!

After finishing the Shine Muscat, he was off to the side doing push-ups.

‘Heh.’

Watching Mandrian, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Sometimes I wondered if he was really a mandragora, or maybe a fairy in disguise.

‘Could Mandrian evolve someday… or even become a Guardian?’

Nah.

No way.

I dismissed the silly thought and turned back to Dania.

Unlike us, Dania had been so absorbed in eating the Ice Cold Fruit earlier that she hadn’t eaten the Core yet.

[I’ll eat the Core too!』

With that, Dania immediately bit into the Core.

Chomp, chomp, crunch, crunch!

Then—

[Yay!!]

With Dania’s joyful shout, a brilliant light burst from her body.

「Elemental Dragon <Dania> has leveled up!」

「Elemental Dragon <Dania> has leveled up!」

「Elemental Dragon <Dania> has leveled up!」

「127LV➜130LV」

Dania’s level jumped three stages at once!

As expected.

A Ten-Star Rank being is on another level.

To grow this fast even above level 100…

“You really are our D…”

Just as I reached out to pat Dania’s head in praise—

「Elemental Dragon, Dania’s Second Horn (Amplification) has sprouted.」

Pop!

A horn about the length of two joints of my finger, tinged blue, popped out atop Dania’s head.

And then—

「Amplification Authority of the Second Horn activates.」

The second horn immediately began scattering multicolored light.

「Stellar Growth Acceleration buff is amplified.」

‘…?’

For a moment, I couldn’t understand the messages popping up in succession.

「Elemental Dragon <Dania> has leveled up!」

「Elemental Dragon <Dania> has leveled up!」

「Elemental Dragon <Dania> has leveled up!」

「Elemental Dragon <Dania> has leveled up!」

「Elemental Dragon ’s level…」

Dania’s level soared like crazy.