No Word After Five Days
"Hey... it's already been five days, and still no word?"
The voice echoing quietly through the Dungeon Shop belonged to Brody. It was unusual for the shy guy, who normally only chatted with his lover Ariel, to speak up like that, so everyone's eyes turned to him at once.
Ariel immediately scolded him. "What do you mean no word? We got a flame letter saying it might take some time to make the weapons."
Brody bristled at that. "Sure, but five days? Doesn't it make sense they'd at least share one finished weapon by now?"
"They must have their reasons. Yesterday they even stocked some hearty food as an apology."
"That's that, and this is this!"
"Wasn't it tasty?"
"It was tasty...! But nothing super special."
Jonathan, who'd been listening to their bickering, chuckled and chimed in. "If it wasn't special, you sure wolfed it down. Who was the one grumbling, 'Bulgogi's all gone already? I only got one bowl!'?"
"Th-that was...!"
Brody was at a loss for words.
The night before, Han Ji-woo had sent a flame letter asking for just a bit more time, along with two massive bowls brimming with bulgogi, one packed tight with white rice, and another with lettuce wraps, ssamjang, and garlic.
The dungeon survivors who bought it cheered in delight. Sure, food from the Hidden Space got shared around, but without proper sauces or seasonings, it was always just grilled or eaten raw. At first, that was fine enough. But humans are fickle creatures—deep down, everyone was starting to crave something tastier.
So when properly cooked food appeared, their eyes lit up like crazy.
In truth, Brody wasn't the only one anxious about the lack of news from Han Ji-woo. But he'd never let them down before, so they held on to that trust. Then the flame letter and food arrived, washing away all their worries in an instant.
Korea's bulgogi conquered every palate there on the spot.
"Whoa, this sweet and salty combo is so good!"
"We decided to stuff ourselves till we're about to burst, so no one's stopping anyone."
"Kinda like Japan's gyudon. Tastes good, I guess."
"Not very honest, are you, Yui? That's your third bowl already."
"Ah, what a blessed meal. Hallelujah."
-How could we ever repay Ji-woo for this grace?
Those were Lisa, Jonathan, Yui, Josh, Priest Dennis, and Kayla, one after another.
The survivors were overjoyed, making bulgogi rice bowls or wrapping it in lettuce.
Watching them, Korean survivors Seol Ara and Kim Jung-min swelled with national pride to the brim.
Especially Diya, the Indian youth, who looked on the verge of tears as he ate the bulgogi. "It's delicious. The best thing I've eaten since coming here. Bulgogi, right? I'll remember it forever. If I ever get out of this dungeon, I want to visit Korea for sure."
The ripple effect of that bulgogi was massive.
A night passed, and on the fifth day at the Dungeon Shop, the survivors decided they could afford to stay a day or two longer than planned. Thanks to Han Ji-woo's food, their rations were lasting better than expected.
But something felt off.
"Weird. By now, you'd think a Dungeon Guard would've meddled at least once."
Jonathan voiced what everyone felt but hadn't said aloud. No one wanted to jinx it and summon one.
But nothing happened.
"What's their deal, really letting us hang out like this?"
Even Seol Ara cautiously asked Mitchell and Pierre.
Both deep in thought, Pierre shrugged. "No clue. She's unpredictable."
Mitchell nodded. "Exactly. Esperona's an enigma."
"You think so?"
"Ara, you see it differently?"
At Pierre's question, she gave a faint smile. "Just a hunch, but maybe she's letting it slide."
"That woman?"
"Yeah. She never struck me as fundamentally bad. The way she seemed to care about Ferrofero under the tsundere act. And how she blew up when Dungeon Guards from other dimensions tried to mess with us."
"Maybe she just hates anyone touching her stuff," Mitchell said.
Pierre mulled it over. "Overzealous possessiveness."
No real conclusion was reached. Everyone judged Esperona through their own lens.
* * *
For the past five days, Han Ji-woo's mind hadn't been at ease. He desperately wanted to share good weapons with the survivors, but he couldn't.
Among the weapons looted from common demons, there were spears, axes, hammers, whips, gauntlets—plenty of variety. But spears, axes, hammers, and whips weren't the survivors' main arms. Gauntlets were the closest, but he only had three, and synthesis failed anyway.
He considered sharing what was finished, but the Ultimate Demon Sword and Ultimate Demon Bow were so high-quality he couldn't. Recipients would expect everything to match that level. Sharing something lesser would turn high hopes to disappointment.
Conversely, the Bone Dagger's stats were too low; displaying it might make them worry later weapons would be subpar too.
Overwhelmed, Han Ji-woo ate just enough not to collapse and slept only to avoid passing out, obsessing over weapon blueprints. He loaded and unloaded materials in the Creation window all day.
He found blueprints for shovels, boomerangs, shields, helmets, spoons, chopsticks, frying pans—but nothing useful.
So focused, he even forgot to hunt the Necromancer constellation at night. At least he didn't skip Growth Acceleration on crops and pets.
With no cooking from their master, the pets fended for themselves. Pao butchered and grilled meats, even cooked rice—still a newbie, failing four out of ten times into mush or rock-hard grains, but hey, food was food. The pets ate without complaint.
Thanks to Pao, Han Ji-woo managed meals too.
The promised day arrived. As the sun hit midday, the Dimensional Gate activated, and a dwarf emerged.
"Os Gillro...?"
At first, Han Ji-woo thought it was Os Gillro walking out. But as the light faded, revealing the face, it was clearly a different dwarf. Above his head floated Granbas Garglat and a satisfaction meter.
From another dimension, huh.
Palas Laporte came to mind. He'd come from Os Gillro's dungeon. After his comrades died and he was summoned next, he'd arrived in the Hidden Space already dead—unaware of it.
Granbas was probably the same: a soul temporarily in a flesh shell.
"What trickery is this?!"
Han Ji-woo pondered how to explain as Granbas scowled, drawing twin axes.
Hard to bluntly tell someone oblivious to their death, "You're dead; rest here a day then head to the afterlife."
"Monsters everywhere! Fine! Let's fight!"
Granbas bellowed at the curiously watching pets, axes ready.
Meanwhile, Lucy and Pao looked confused at the dwarf.
"Os Gillro? You awake?"
Nyaang?
They sensed something off and stayed back.
Kyurrrrruk!
The chubby one flapped excitedly and charged, thrilled to see "Os Gillro."
Granbas startled but held ground, raising axes.
"You vermin!"
His killing intent-filled axes swung at the approaching Seibier.
Oblivious, Seibier thought it was playtime.
Kyurruk!
Even more excited, it headbutted the axes.
Result?
"Gaaah!"
Granbas flew back, tumbling far; axes soared then clattered down.
The attacker got wrecked by the "playful" charge.
Kyuruk?
Seibier rushed to the fallen dwarf, licking his cheek apologetically—didn't mean to go that hard.
Granbas glared fiercely. "Don't mock a dwarf warrior! If you're gonna eat me, do it right! No licking—chew!"
Kyurrr?
Seibier tilted its head, confused, then licked again.
"Vermin! Just eat me! Chew! I'm not candy! I won't melt! Chew, damn it! How much more will you trample my pride? Please, chew me alreadyyy!"
Han Ji-woo approached, stifling laughter. "Uh, hello."
Granbas's eyes widened at finally noticing him. "Human? You summoned here too? Wait, I don't know your face! Gah! Vermin! Why lick my mouth! Aaaah! Never held a woman's hand, and now my purity's stolen like this! Just kill me!"
"Hah. Heartbreaking story without tears. First kiss with another species—and a male? Wait, what's its gender again?"
"Shut up with the nonsense! Run while the hatchling's distracted with me!"
Before the misunderstanding worsened, Han Ji-woo pulled Seibier back. "Chubbs, stop. Not Os Gillro."
Kyurruk?
Seibier finally inspected closely, shoulders slumping as it trudged away dejectedly.
"...?"
Granbas stared at Han Ji-woo like he'd seen a ghost from the ground. A mighty hatchling obeying a mere human? And the other monsters stood behind him like loyal dogs, non-aggressive.
"You... what are you? Where are we?"
Han Ji-woo scratched his head. "It's complicated, but simply put..."
Now the tricky part. How to soften "you're dead"?
As he pondered, Toryong slithered up. "End the dilemma with a bang! I know your worry, Ji-woo~ I'll solve it!"
"Hey, wait."
Han Ji-woo tried to stop the uneasy Toryong, who whispered knowingly. "You wanna break the news gently, right?"
"You really knew?"
"One look at your face tells all~ I may not know much, but my mouth's golden. Right? Trust me once? Heh heh hot!"
Toryong did have a gift for gab—usually annoying people, but fluent as hell. Maybe good at soothing too.
Han Ji-woo decided to trust him. "Alright, go for it."
Toryong, permitted, addressed Granbas. "Dwarf guest. You're not exactly alive and breathing~ Yo ho ho ho ho!"
"...What?!"
"You idiot!"
The trusted axe chopped his own foot.