< Dungeon+Water Mill >

Peace's training on the second day of skill application also went smoothly.

"2nd Rank Unicorn subspecies Horned Flame Lion juvenile. Currently, it is magic beast rearing skill application 2nd day, 4:39 pm. With the growth time required cut down through training, he grew from body length 41cm, body weight 2.8kg to body length 51cm, body weight 5.6kg."

Turning off the camcorder, I looked at Peace, who was sitting with his chest thrust out.

The guy who was about the size of a small cat, quickly grew in one day. If it stayed like this, after the 3 days of training was over, wouldn't he grow from the size of an extra-large cat to that of a large dog at maximum?

'Soon, I should find a separate place for Peace to stay.'

I should be able to take him to my house up to this month, but starting from next month, it would probably be impossible. At the least, he would probably become the size of a tiger. I was already starting to feel sad.

'I can't show the suddenly grown appearance either so the travel would have to be done secretly too.'

I would have to borrow a cage and move with a cloth covering it. It would be annoying going back and forth, so let's just spend the remaining two days here too. The theory training too, well, would I even need to get more of it?

I told Yoo Myeongwoo to rest for the two days while getting the training. Yerim said she would go straight into a dungeon after the class ended, so I wouldn't need to worry about her.

She said this time, she got a proper team and was going to attack a C-Rank dungeon. They were Haeyeon Guild Hunters so they were people who went into B-Ranks and higher, so they would clear it within two to three days.

'From now on, the guild would raise her nicely… It seems Yerim is out of my hands now.'

Later I should advise her about her skill and then I would have nothing else to help her with. It was refreshing and sad.

After organizing my thoughts, a yawn came out as if it was waiting. Hm, I'm sleepy. I had stayed up straight through the night, so my eyelids were heavy.

"Peace, aren't you sleepy? Let's take a nap for a bit."

I held the Peace who came bounding over, and went toward the lounge. I should sleep just one hour.

While I was sleeping, Yoo Myeongwoo had come over and given the food he packed for me. That guy's food was still tasty. It was to the extent that he could sell it.

Right after that, Yerim had come over to see me before going into the dungeon, and now it was night.

"Wahhhh, I lost! Waa!"

The Dokkaebi was sitting flopped down on the floor and wailed.

This time, they must have thoroughly prepared, because it felt like watching a horror movie in realistic 4D. Even so, it ended with the Fear Resistance skill popping up 'coercion nullification'.

It seemed like the Fear Resistance skill's message window only popped up when you felt an above average overwhelming feeling. It seemed like it only gave a calming effect normally, and the message window only popped up when it was 100% nullification.

Then again, if overwhelming feelings, dread, uneasiness, etc. were completely nullified in everyday life, you wouldn't be able to feel normal emotions. Since emotions were interdependent.

"I can't go home! I won't go!"

Shrieking, they actually lied down and threw a tantrum. Rather than being upset over losing the bet, it seemed more like they were scared of being scolded. Were they really a kid? If that was an act, it was worthy of an entertainment grand award.

I placed Peace, who had become heavier than yesterday, on my lap, and watched that spectacle before suddenly asking.

"Dokkaebi, just how old are you?"

"Age? I haven't counted after passing one hundred years."

…Hundred years? Not ten years? Were they joking?

"If you don't want to reveal it, just tell me if you're a minor or not."

"Good! The bet was a bet, so you have the qualification to hear! Even if I get scolded I'll tell you!"

The Dokkaebi floated up in place. At some point, what they were wearing on their face was changed to a widely smiling Hahoe Mask. Was it a Yangban Mask[1]? It was a long time since I learned it so I couldn't remember well.

"Does Boss[2] think there are dokkaebi?"

"…What?"

So.

"...You wouldn't be talking about real dokkaebi, right?"

"Of course real ones, would I mean fake ones?"

What nonsense.

"There aren't things like dokkaebi in the world."

The Dokkaebi was turning around in the air.

"Even though there are dungeons and Awakened People? Boss' dongsaeng controls fire and Boss' guardee sprays ice fog!"

"That, that's… the system…"

"The system what?"

The system, um.

Thinking about it, dokkaebi and ghosts being real seemed more realistic than dungeons suddenly popping up and Awakened People appearing.

Things like dokkaebi at least had stories that were conveyed down, but the system was out of the blue.

Still, saying that there were dokkaebi was a little, absurd.

"…But you're an Awakened Person."

It was weird, but they definitely had a name too.

The Dokkaebi laughed. It was a laugh like a soap bubble floating around.

"Boss Mr. Kim[3], my age is over a hundred, my age is three!"

Three years old. Three years.

When dungeons, Awakened People first appeared was exactly three years ago. They were born with the system. One guess suddenly popped into my mind.

"...Were they mixed with the dungeon's energy?"

At my mumbling, the Dokkaebi pricked their ears.

"You know? How? You know? Really?"

Of course it wasn't the present's knowledge. And me too, I didn't know that well either.

The mixing phenomenon appeared rarely, and after frequent dungeon breaks, so even 5 years later, it couldn't be properly investigated into.

But why already… No, if it was three years ago, it was when the first dungeons burst open in a row. They were low rank dungeons, so the energy that leaked out was weak, but it was a circumstance where one or two somethings that were mixed with it could appear.

"So in the end, you mean that you're not a real dokkaebi."

At my words, the Dokkaebi grinned.

"I really am a dokkaebi though?!"

"Right, right. Yoon-ssi's household must be something like an old water mill."

Since they're Yoon Yoon. Wouldn't the first one be the surname and the last one the wheel 'yoon'[4] character? If not a water mill, then a wheelbarrow. Or, exactly like it says, they could be a wheel.

"H-how did you know?!"

The Dokkaebi froze in midair. They seemed incredibly shocked.

"Is Boss maybe, a shaman's golden bell or something…"

"I'm one hundred percent pure human."

If a shaman's golden bell was mixed with the dungeons' energy and became an Awakened Person, would they get something like a prophecy ability? …It was a little captivating. Though there was no method to artificially make things like dokkaebi.

"Do you happen to know anything about the system? A memory or information could have been mixed in."

"No, I don't know?"

As expected, they didn't.

Anyways, I understood the Dokkaebi's unusual personality and unique special skills. As expected, it seemed like you couldn't earn a scam-like skill like teleportation with a normal aptitude.

'Dungeon energy could be said to be a gate that connects to a different world and a space that contains that world, so it makes sense that that kind of special skill could be earned.'

So that was why there wasn't anything related to teleportation in the optimized skills. Floating around and hiding were the self-styled dokkaebi-like optimized skills.

'What exactly were these dungeons?'

Why did they make things like that and scatter them around this world, and how come they made it so we attack those dungeons through the Awakened People system?

Before the regression, I hadn't thought deeply about it.

But now, I couldn't just pass it over like that. Above all, the system approached me first.

'Looks like I really do have to go into a dungeon.'

I couldn't continue to pretend not to know and avoid it. Now I even had the Dokkaebi, so I could go safely.

"Can you use teleportation in dungeons too?"

"Hm?"

"To outside the dungeon, I mean. Or applying hiding to me too so that I can avoid monsters is okay too. To what rank of dungeons have you gone in?"

"I haven't gone into any."

What?

"You haven't gone into a dungeon before? Not even once?"

"Yeah. Can't go in. I can't, I mean."

This was something new.

"I tried going in, but there was a resistance? With a bang, I was thrown out!"

"Resistance? Was it because you had dungeon energy?"

Did it mean that you couldn't put a dungeon inside a dungeon? If you treated them as something similar to a type of dungeon…

"What, why are you looking at me like that? It's shady!"

"It's a gaze that means that you're so valuable and precious."

"Well that's true, but!"

Let's somehow investigate this. The problem was that there was no method to.

Wait, if they were similar to a dungeon.

I lowered Peace from my lap and stood from my seat. Then, I spread both my arms toward the Dokkaebi.

"Dokkaebi."

"Yeah?"

"Let's hug once."

Just in case, to see if the person who made the dungeon would contact through the analogous dungeon.

"Huh? Why?! No!"

The Dokkaebi, who I thought would just come over without thinking and hug, shook their head and shot up in the air. Strangely, it was an oversentitive reaction. Even though they embraced Suk Hayan.

"There's something I need to check. I don't have evil intentions toward someone whose species isn't even clear."

"Still no! I promised I wouldn't wrestle!"

Wrestle? Before scaring people, did they go around wrestling? They were really a dokkaebi faithful to dokkaebi.

"Then come around me and hug me from behind."

"…I have to hug you?"

"It's important."

"But if I hug you, I'll want to hook your legs and throw you."

"Just put up with it for a bit."

After hesitating, the Dokkaebi went behind me. Then they pulled me into their arms from behind.

"Good enough?"

"Wait."

I quickly checked the Status Window but there was no change.

"Try teleporting over there while holding me."

"You're already starting to work me hard."

What, I hadn't even started yet. Complaining, the Dokkaebi took me and teleported. It was definitely a similar feeling to going through a dungeon gate. It was different from a mini portal.

When I opened the Status Window, I saw a different part.

[Drageon Slayer(L)←]

This time, it was a simple arrow. Did they not have time to use an emoticon? Continuing,

[Poison Resistance(L)←]

And,

[Poison Resistance(L) – Complete immunity to poisons less than Legendary Grade

Definitely detoxifies you.

From poisons that are harmful to the human body.

Finally medicine also detoxif]

This time also had an explanation attached. But what was this.

Checking done[5]?

…They checked by themself and then checking done? In the end, were you telling me to come and go from a dungeon just to check? Or because the time was too insufficient? Seeing how they couldn't finish the last part, it seemed like they wrote really quickly.

"Good enough right? I'm letting you go? I can't put up with it any longer!"

"Wait. One more time, no several more times, teleport."

"Don't want to! It's hard teleporting with someone! The distance decreases and I can't do it in succession!"

The Dokkaebi got far away from me and yelled. It looked like they could teleport several times by themself, but it seemed like it was hard with another person.

"You can't make portals yet?"

"Portals?"

As expected, they didn't have it yet. It was three to four years later when they got the ultra-long-distance portal skill. They couldn't even go into dungeons so their growth could only be slow. To level up outside, you had to buy monsters and hunt them or aim for a dungeon break.

It couldn't be helped, I had to apply the keyword to them and raise them.

"Dokkaebi."

"Yeah?"

"My subordinate-nim who I love, take care of me from now on."

Carrying agape for all people, I will do a love ballad[6]. Diligently, steadily, every time I see you, I love you[7].

Then, the Dokkaebi let out a shriek and ran away. Why?

"Here is the camcorder that has the growth record documented."

I handed over the camcorder to Suk Simyeong, who couldn't hide his lips quirking up. Yoohyun was gone, preparing for the dungeon attack, so Suk Simyeong took the record instead and checked it.

"I am so sincerely in awe that I feel deeply moved, Han Yoojin-ssi."

Suk Simyeong said in a voice that was soft and sticky like a rich chocolate drink. His voice really was good. I was jealous. Like he could date and then even marry someone he completely didn't know, just through over the phone.

"It is to the extent that I would like to lower my head and apologize for not being a good judge of character. I should have stamped a contract with you earlier, 3 years ago."

Saying so, his gaze seemed like he wanted to grab my fingers and pull me over at least now. No, I said I wouldn't contract.

"You might have heard from Yoohyun, but I am thinking of staying unaffiliated for some time."

"Yes. He told me that you will contract once Haeyeon has become the best in the country. Could I confirm this one more time?"

"That's…"

I was about to speak when I stopped and closed my mouth. Something was kind of icky.

"...Are you recording this?"

"Oh dear, you are not an ordinary person, as expected."

Suk Simyeong laughed 'hahaha' and didn't turn off the recorder. He was trying to stealthily move past it.

"You should turn it off?"

"Isn't the recording necessary for adjusting the contract details?"

Despite saying that, Suk Simyeong obediently turned the recorder off.

"There's nothing else, right?"

"For Han Yoojin-ssi's trust, at least, there is not."

Then don't record in the first place. Anyways, this ahjussi definitely was a snake with jet-black scales in a past life.

"The negotiations about familiars with the 3 big guilds are planned to take place at a place provided by the Hunter Association. I will also likely accompany you but the main spokesperson[8] will be Guild Leader. Still, you will not need to worry. I have taught him well."

No, the fact that you taught him was more worrying. Don't infect my kind Yoohyun, snake.

"It is a new dungeon attack with no information, but as Guild Leader will participte, it will not take long. If it is indeed a slime dungeon, the attack will end within three days."

Slimes' weak point was fire. Though if you burned them, you couldn't use them as materials, but a new dungeon attack prioritized safety and gathering information over materials supply and demand so they would quickly attack.

"If the negotiations safely come to a conclusion, why don't you make an appearance in a broadcast?"

"...Excuse me?"

Make an appearance where?

[1] type of hahoe (pronounced more like hah-hweh tbh) mask (masks worn during the hahoe byeolsingut talnori). Each hahoe mask represents a stock character and 'yangban' means 'noble, aristocrat'

[2] actually, it's more like 'leader, commander' but they're boss & subordinate now and anyways these words all means similar things so I'll be using 'boss'

[3] ok so I was confused abt this part but my dad thought they might be just calling yj 'mr. kim' for laughs? Like calling him 'john doe' or sth like that? But later I looked up dokkaebi on wikipedia on a whim and apparently most dokkaebi have the surname 'kim' in folktales, so it might be related to that. On a particular note, the 'mr.' used here is specifically suhbang/seobang, which nowadays is only used to call & refer to your son-in-law or brother-in-law by adding it to their surname (or by itself for a wife to refer to her husband in a casual way, which isn't the usage here bc it's placed after 'kim'). The krn dict also said 'used to refer to people without government positions' which is bc, according to my dad, historically, most noblemen had govt jobs and thus titles they could be called by and so the few who didn't needed sth to be called by. Also, to give some context to what's being implied throughout the ch, wikipedia also said dokkaebi are formed from spiritual possession of inanimate objects. Up to u if u believe wiki. The surname Kim thing didn't have a reference footnote, though the inanimate object thing did, to an encylcopedia in eng. But my one (1) direct krn source (aka my dad) was like 'idk' to both things, so… For what it's worth, both things are also written in the krn wiki, though neither of them had a reference footnote.

[4] he is talking about hanja 윤/륜(輪). He also actually says 'wheel ryoon character' but that's because it was originally pronounced 'ryoon' but it is also pronounced 'yoon', depending. I might be wrong, but p sure that words that originally/historically started w the 'r' sound tend to lose it and start w 'y' or a vowel, though sometimes it's retained and they switch based on spelling rules.

[5] vertical wordplay again, from the 3 lines of explanation

[6] well, a traditional krn ballad

[7] not really relevant but he said this in eng transliterated to krn lmao

[8] actually, he just says 'main' in eng transliterated to krn so I'm just guessing w 'spokesperson'