“Which way should I go…?”
Sang-woong turned slowly in place, as if lost.
The dense forest stretched endlessly, making it impossible to tell one direction from another.
“That’s strange. Why can’t I sense any energy from the dungeon core?”
Normally, a dungeon core emanated a powerful energy.
Hunters could follow that energy to locate the dungeon’s center.
This was the basic method for conquering a dungeon.
But no matter how carefully he searched, he couldn’t feel any strong energy.
Even for Sang-woong, with his vast dungeon exploration experience, this bizarre situation was a first, leaving him utterly bewildered.
The dungeon seemed so vast that its size was impossible to gauge.
Not knowing even the location of the dungeon’s center made him feel lost about what to do next.
“This is getting complicated.”
He muttered bitterly to himself.
He had thought he’d finally escaped the grueling hunter life and found peace, only to be confronted with an unexpected problem.
His chest felt heavy, but getting angry wouldn’t solve anything.
Sang-woong chose a random direction and started walking.
Then, from a distance, he saw a glimmering light.
A bright light, like a fragment of the sun, was rapidly approaching him.
“What… what is that?”
Despite his extensive experience in countless dungeons, Sang-woong had never seen such a strange phenomenon, and tension surged through his body.
In dangerous dungeons, he had learned one critical lesson.
The moment you let your guard down, even briefly, you could lose your life.
No one could predict when a terrifying monster might appear or when an unimaginable anomaly might occur.
In fact, he had once nearly died from a sudden attack by a grotesque monster he’d never seen before and had faced countless crises due to unpredictable weather changes or sudden shifts in the dungeon’s environment.
Without hesitation, Sang-woong swiftly drew the sword at his waist.
It was the first time he’d held a sword since quitting his hunter life, but his body, honed over decades of fighting monsters, hadn’t forgotten how to wield it.
There was no trace of awkwardness.
As the blinding light drew closer, its form finally became faintly visible.
“That… that’s… no way…”
Sang-woong’s eyes widened at the sight of a wondrous creature, completely unlike anything he’d expected.
It was tiny, about 30 centimeters tall.
Far from a ferocious monster, it had a cute and lovable appearance.
With small, transparent wings flapping vigorously on its back, it emitted a mystical light as it slowly flew toward him.
The area around it seemed to brighten, as if purified by its presence.
“Could it be… a fairy or a spirit…?”
Mesmerized by its breathtaking beauty, Sang-woong stared in silence, momentarily entranced.
Unlike the terrifying and dangerous monsters, this being radiated a pure, clean energy.
It was like a beautiful spirit straight out of a novel.
“Hello, Master. I’m so thrilled to finally meet you like this. I’ve been waiting for you for such a long time.”
Astonishingly, the tiny creature stopped right in front of Sang-woong and spoke in a clear voice.
And it spoke in Korean, addressing him by name.
Its pure, clear eyes, gazing at him warmly, were filled with joy and affection, as if it had finally fulfilled a long-awaited wish.
As if it had been born solely for this moment.
“You… who… what are you?”
Sang-woong, startled yet cautious, took a small step back.
“I am Aria, the spirit of the land.”
Aria introduced herself with a bright, childlike smile.
Her radiant smile seemed to light up even the dark forest around them, conveying how long she had yearned to meet Sang-woong.
“You… waited for me? Why? For how long?”
Flustered by the sudden appearance and words of the spirit, Sang-woong asked a flurry of questions.
In response, Aria blinked her large, clear eyes and made a cute expression.
“Why did I wait for you, Master? It’s like my destiny. The sole reason I was born into this world was to meet you. As for how long I’ve waited…”
Aria fidgeted with her tiny fingers, as if struggling to calculate, then made another adorable expression.
She sighed softly and answered honestly.
“I don’t know. Just… really, really long. It was so lonely and hard. If you had come just a little later… I might have run out of strength and disappeared.”
Aria’s sincere words sparked a realization in Sang-woong.
Perhaps his regression was deeply connected to this encounter with the small, mystical spirit.
Though not certain, his instincts, honed by years of experience, strongly suggested it.
“Now that you’re here, Master, let’s hurry to our precious land.”
“…Land?”
Sang-woong’s eyes widened again in shock.
The idea of owning land inside an unfamiliar dungeon was utterly absurd and hard to believe.
But looking into Aria’s clear, pure eyes, he knew it wasn’t a lie.
As if entranced, he followed the small Aria, who radiated a mystical blue light.
The place Aria led him to was near the dungeon gate, a quiet spot in the forest.
The moment he set foot on that mystical land, a message appeared before his eyes.
- Identifying the Great Master. –
- Welcome, Master of the Land. –
- Initiating synchronization. –
- 1%… 15%… 35%… 62%… 85%… 98%… 100%! –
“Whoa.”
As the synchronization completed, a small gasp escaped Sang-woong’s lips.
He felt a wondrous sensation, as if he and this space were becoming one.
He naturally accepted that this was truly his land and that his fate was now tied to its growth.
It was a strange feeling, but not unpleasant.
Even though it was land inside a dungeon, having his own land for free felt great.
And meeting the lovely Aria was a bonus.
Just as he accepted the land, he could naturally accept Aria, the spirit of the land.
Sang-woong walked to the center of the land.
There, a land core floated in the air, resembling a dungeon core.
It looked like a transparent orb, with a faint energy swirling inside.
- The land’s energy is recovering, albeit faintly. –
With the message, a soft blue light briefly glowed at the center of the transparent core.
The land’s core seemed to respond as it connected with Sang-woong.
“The land must be happy to meet you, Master.”
Aria beamed brightly as the land’s energy recovered slightly.
But Sang-woong’s expression, as he gazed at the core, was deeply serious.
“If this land’s core breaks, both the land and I are done for. I’ll protect it with everything I’ve got.”
He made a silent vow as he looked at the core.
He would protect this land and Aria at all costs.
Another message appeared.
- You can now use the Shop Window. You can purchase various items through the Shop Window. –
Sang-woong tilted his head at the message.
“The Shop Window?”
As he thought about it, a related message appeared.
- Level 1 Shop. First Visit Event: 2,000 points awarded. –
“A first visit event?”
Though surprised by the sudden event, free points naturally felt good.
The Shop Window appeared before him like a hologram.
It had a simple interface with only a few items.
But even those few items were enough to astonish Sang-woong.
The first item was a skill.
Level 1 Inventory Skill.
While hunters possessed countless skills, the Inventory Skill was something that existed only in imagination.
The fact that it actually existed left Sang-woong in awe.
- Grants access to a 2×2 meter storage space. Cost: 500 points. –
Sang-woong turned to Aria, who was looking at the message with him.
“500 points…? Aria, how do you earn points?”
“You can earn points by defeating monsters or selling certain plants that grow on the land.”
“Defeating monsters? How many points does a goblin give?”
Sang-woong tried to gauge the value of points using goblins, one of the weakest monsters.
“Goblins give 1 point.”
Aria’s explanation made him pause.
2,000 points meant 2,000 goblins.
For a Rank 8 hunter like him, it didn’t seem too difficult.
Having roughly grasped the value of points, he checked the next item.
Level 1 Appraisal Skill.
Cost: 300 points.
- Allows you to know information about everything on the land. –
“The Appraisal Skill is definitely essential here.”
The next item was a Land Elixir.
Cost: 1,000 points.
- Restores the land’s energy. Once the energy reaches a certain level, the land can be expanded. –
According to the message, the land had shrunk as its energy weakened.
The current land was roughly 200 pyeong (about 660 square meters).
He suddenly grew curious about how large the land had been before.
When he asked Aria, she furrowed her tiny brow in thought.
Then, waving her short arms widely, she said,
“As big as the sky and the earth!”
It was hard to grasp, but her wide eyes and vigorous arm-waving conveyed that it had been enormous.
The fourth item was a Wood Golem.
Cost: 200 points.
- Defends the land from intruders seeking to destroy it. –
From the Wood Golem’s description, Sang-woong realized there were entities trying to destroy this land.
“Aria, why would someone want to destroy this land?”
“The energy of this land and the energy outside clash with each other. Plus, this land has plants that purify the bad air outside. That bad air is essential to those trying to destroy this land.”
In short, it was a matter of incompatible destinies.
“So that’s why it almost got destroyed.”
“I’m so happy you came, Master, even now.”
“Thank you, Aria! It must have been tough, but you held on so bravely.”
Sang-woong expressed his heartfelt gratitude.
The fifth item was Flower Seeds.
Cost: 30 points.
- Seeds of the Purificans Flower. Purificans Flowers purify bad air in the atmosphere. To expand the land, you must first plant 100 Purificans Flowers to fully purify the air within the land. –
“I wish I could plant these on Earth. They could reduce dungeon disease patients.”
Purifying the bad air from dungeons spreading across Earth could, as Sang-woong said, reduce dungeon disease patients.
No, it might even prevent the disease altogether.
Dungeon disease only affected non-hunters, so he hadn’t paid much attention to it before.
But many of his restaurant’s customers were staff from the dungeon disease hospital.
Through them, he had vividly heard about the suffering of dungeon disease patients, naturally leading to such thoughts.
The final item was Spirit Food, costing 100 points.
- An essential nutrient source for spirits. Regular consumption restores strength and enables various abilities. –
Reading the message, Sang-woong’s first thought was how hungry Aria must have been.
As the land shrank, Aria must have gone hungry for a long time.
He immediately decided to buy the Spirit Food first.
- To purchase items from the Shop Window, an Inventory is required. Would you like to purchase the Inventory Skill? –
Since he had already planned to buy it, Sang-woong purchased it immediately.
500 points were deducted, and an Inventory was created.
He noticed that the Spirit Food he had just bought was already in the Inventory.
He naturally took the Spirit Food out and offered it to Aria.
Seeing the sudden appearance of food, Aria blinked in disbelief.
Her expression was as if she were dreaming.
Then, transparent tears welled up in her small eyes, and her trembling voice poured out, as if her pent-up emotions had burst.
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