Crunch. Crunch. The Flower Paradise

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

The sound of crunching echoed simultaneously throughout the Hidden Space.

It was Han Ji-woo, Lucy, and Pao munching on sunflower seeds.

"This is seriously delicious."

Han Ji-woo savored each seed from the fistful he held, carefully picking them out one by one while admiring the vast flower field stretching out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠before him.

Originally, only the fireflower field had stood alone, while the other flower beds looked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sparse and empty by comparison.

But now, every type of flower bloomed in abundance, their numbers lush and vibrant.

This miracle, achieved in less than half a day, was all thanks to Pao's Great Harvest skill.

When limited to crops, Great Harvest promoted growth far faster than Han Ji-woo's own Growth Acceleration.

On top of that, Pao had been infused with basic farming knowledge, making pollination for the other flowers a breeze.

For the sunflowers, he rubbed dried dungeon weeds together to fray their tough fibers into fluff, then dusted them with pollen and applied it to the other flowers.

His technique was a bit clumsy, but the Great Harvest skill lived up to its name perfectly.

Soon, the sunflower blooms were heavy with seeds. Han Ji-woo harvested them, scattered them across the field, and watered them—and they shot up at an astonishing speed.

The germination and growth happened so fast it was like watching a time-lapse video; Han Ji-woo didn't even need to use his Growth Acceleration skill.

With the sunflower field complete in no time, they moved on to lavender.

"Lavender's better with cuttings than pollination."

Pao rattled off the knowledge he'd gained along with his Great Harvest skill.

"Cuttings? What's that?"

"Chop it and stick it in the ground!"

"...Am I really hearing farming advice right now?"

"Yes!"

Pao's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠limited vocabulary made his explanation sound bizarre, but cuttings meant slicing off parts like stems, roots, or leaves and planting them directly in the soil. They'd take root and grow into new plants.

For the lavender, straight stems bore flower spikes heavy with blooms. Pao snapped off one that was bending under the weight, trimmed it, and planted it in spots around the field.

Just like that, the lavender achieved a bumper crop too.

He did the same with salvia, transforming the flower beds.

The lush blooms filled the vast space with sweeter air, and the brilliant yellows, purples, and reds of the petals delighted the eyes just to look at.

And that wasn't all.

Crunch. Crunch.

The sunflower seeds grew nuttier and more savory with every bite—absolutely addictive.

Having polished off his handful, Han Ji-woo pulled out some pre-picked salvia petals and shared them with Lucy and Pao.

The three of them popped the petals in their mouths and sucked on them together.

He wondered if a cat like Lucy could even do that, but since she wasn't your average feline, it was no problem at all.

Slurp—!

Sweet nectar flowed into their mouths from the petals.

"Mmm~!"

"Ooh!"

Nyaah~!

Human, King Goblin, and catfolk marveled in unison.

"Nice."

Han Ji-woo placed a newly made cushion of dried dungeon weeds on the ground and sat on it. He couldn't make one just for himself, so he'd crafted some for Pao and Lucy too.

The two seemed to love theirs, lounging comfortably and gazing up at the night sky.

A gentle night breeze wafted in through the open ceiling, rustling the flowers and carrying the thick, ticklish scent of lavender into their noses.

That was when a system message appeared before Han Ji-woo.

Even while Pao worked the flower beds, while eating the sunflowers, and while sucking on the salvia nectar, he'd kept his eyes fixed on the sky.

He was using his Astronomy skill to hunt for constellations.

As a result, his eyesight was improving on its own.

He'd already seen the same message nearly ten times.

With each one, more stars came into crisp view.

'Guess my bad eyes were why I couldn't spot the constellations properly.'

Once his vision fully recovered, he might even find the ones that had eluded him before.

'Even if I don't find them, it's fine.'

Just not needing glasses anymore skyrocketed his life satisfaction.

Still scanning for constellations, Han Ji-woo spoke up.

"Pao."

"Yeah, Master."

"See that single sprout in the center?"

He meant the Dungeon Tree sprout.

"Yup."

"It's weird. No matter how much I water it, it won't grow. Any idea why?"

"Big bro check it out!"

"Pao, that's your name."

"Oh."

Han Ji-woo watched Pao stride toward the Dungeon Tree sprout, wondering if he'd named him wrong.

Pao closely examined the soil around the sprout.

Something was off. This patch alone was crumbly and infertile compared to the rest.

As if the Dungeon Tree sprout had sucked up all the nutrients from the soil.

Pao pondered for a moment, then sniffed around and headed somewhere else.

There lay the guts, skins, and bones from when Han Ji-woo had filleted the sweetfish.

Pao dug them up and buried them around the sprout.

The instant he did—

"Whoa!"

The growth gauge, which hadn't budged until now, finally ticked up.

Han Ji-woo rushed over.

"What happened?"

Nyang?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Lucy, who'd followed him, tilted her head too.

Pao grinned.

"Soil around this sprout was short on nutrients. So I buried stuff that could feed it. But..."

Pao trailed off and dug up the spot where he'd just planted the fish scraps.

They were gone without a trace.

"Gone. Sprout sucked 'em up right away."

So, the soil around the Dungeon Tree sprout was uniquely barren—that's why he'd added fertilizer.

And the sprout absorbed it instantly.

Impossible by normal logic, but was anywhere here normal?

"Ah, got it. Awesome!"

Then the fix was simple: bury every bit of fertilizer around the sprout.

From now on, not just fish guts—apple peels too.

"Lucy! Your bathroom's here from now on."

Nyaah!

"Pao, you share with Lucy."

"Got it! Master pee with us too!"

"No thanks. ...Wait a sec."

The toilet he'd built was completely open on all sides.

Humans weren't like monsters; too many eyes made private business awkward.

"Time for some renovations."

Han Ji-woo conjured 100 bricks and fused them into a two-pyeong building, plopping it over the toilet.

"Yes."

It reshaped into a proper enclosed toilet with just an entrance, and a new recipe unlocked.

"Upgraded from primitive to old-fashioned toilet."

Then, an unexpected achievement popped.

"Whoa!"

Han Ji-woo quickly opened the blueprint menu.

Several new ones had appeared, and the first that caught his eye was toilet-related.

The word "modern toilet" made Han Ji-woo's eyes spin. He crafted mud and made a toilet first, then gathered the rest of the materials for an immediate upgrade.

Then something amazing happened.

A toilet appeared inside. The dungeon weeds became infinite toilet paper hung on the wall. The tank behind it filled endlessly with water, no matter how much you flushed.

And a thick lavender scent masked any odors.

"Whoa! Wow!"

Indescribable joy welled up in Han Ji-woo's chest.

The rough toilet paper was a bit prickly, and no bidet was a shame, but hey—this was paradise!

And it didn't end there. He could make a wooden door with five pieces of wood.

Han Ji-woo eyed the rapidly growing apple trees.

Sacrificing just one would yield plenty of doors!

"Apple tree, you're it. Today, we restore human dignity to the end."

Dungeon Floor 3.

Fifty-eight survivors remained after the goblin battle.

Ironically, they were sharing fish and apples with the very goblins who'd taken their comrades' lives, filling their bellies.

When Han Ji-woo tamed the King Goblin, dozens of goblins suddenly dropped their weapons and prostrated themselves, pledging loyalty to the humans.

Relief and rage swirled in the survivors' hearts.

They'd lived, but could they forgive the killers?

Ishihara Yui, with her Body Enhancement skill, burned with special fury.

"You damn goblin bastards!"

She looked ready to smash their skulls.

Mitchell held her back.

He convinced her they needed to use the goblins to save even one more life.

Most agreed with Mitchell.

"Hmph!"

Yui reluctantly backed down.

She hadn't been like this at the start. Just assertive.

But realizing her power brought out her hot-blooded side.

Mitchell figured her pre-dungeon life had been oppressive.

Now, with great power, she vented what she couldn't before.

Of course, he kept that to himself.

Thus, the emaciated goblins got food from the humans.

No chit-chat at first.

But Seol Ara broke the ice.

"Why were you starving?"

"How'd you end up here?"

"Did you keep dying and respawning? That must've been hell."

"King Goblin? Your boss is gone? Where to?"

"You weren't always this brutal."

"Chased by human mages? That sounds rough."

Seol Ara tossed questions and listened to their tales.

Soon, everyone knew the goblins' side.

They hadn't chosen this. Kidnapped by chance, they'd just endlessly died to Floor 3 humans.

First time anyone showed them kindness or fed them.

Some goblins bawled like kids.

They apologized for killing people.

Hard to hate them after that.

Not like family, but like pitiful wild animals.

As the goblins ate their fill, the dungeon changed again.

Flowers bloomed around them: a pair of sunflowers, lavender, two salvia stems, and a fireflower field.

"F-Flowers!"

"Whoa! Flowers in a dungeon!"

The survivors rushed to the beauties in the barren dungeon, thrilled.

"Sunflower seeds are edible, right? Salvia nectar's sweet. Lavender? Maybe useful for something..."

The goblins, seeing flowers after ages, poked around curiously despite little interest.

Everyone was blissed out, soaking in the sights and scents—

Stab!

"Kyaaak!"

A goblin's claw sank into someone's side.