Breakfast Eggs and Blueprints
The next morning.
“Ughhhjaaa!”
“Uuuuum!”
Nyaah~!
The human, goblin, and cat who had woken up early stretched vigorously. In truth, none of them had fallen asleep easily the night before. The anticipation of chicken for breakfast upon waking had excited them like kids the day before a picnic.
“First things first, let's get our chores done before eating.”
Han Ji-woo had instructed Pao and Lucy the night before on what to do upon rising. The two nodded and sprang into action.
Pao shook an apple tree, harvesting a few apples and placing them on a plate made of dungeon weeds. He tore up some dried dungeon weeds and added them in. Then Lucy approached, raising her front paw with claws extended, and began mashing the apples and weeds.
Nyanyanyanyaaang!
Her cat punches, striking the target four or five times per second, unleashed in a flurry until the food in the plate was finely chopped. Pao took it to the chicken coop and returned.
Next up: watering the flower beds and trees. As Pao filled a wooden basin with lake water, Lucy hopped onto his head. Pao diligently watered everything while Lucy scanned for missed spots, tapping his head lightly with her paw like a cotton swab.
Meanwhile, Han Ji-woo finished a quick wash-up and pulled eggs from his Inventory.
He lit a fire in the hearth and placed a stone slab on top. After a bit of time, at the perfect moment when the slab was nicely heated—
Crack! Splat!
Han Ji-woo's hands moved nimbly as he cracked the eggs. About four eggs' worth formed a generous-sized fry sizzling on the slab.
“Ah, but no spatula. Eh, sunny side up it is.”
Sunny side up. Just cook the whites firm and leave the yolk runny—plenty tasty that way.
As the eggs cooked, Pao and Lucy finished their tasks and approached.
“Good work. Now let's eat!”
Han Ji-woo divided the egg fry into three portions with wooden chopsticks. The yolk bursting and flowing smoothly over the springy whites was a sight as fantastical as a work of art.
Gulp!
His bobbing Adam's apple captured his pounding excitement perfectly.
He placed the portions on three dungeon weed plates and handed two to his pets.
“Itadakimasu!”
Nyaang~!
“Master eats, egg! No, egg, master eats! No no no! Pao eats, master!”
“What the heck, man?”
Excited before the egg, Pao's brain couldn't output his intended words properly. What he meant was, Pao will eat the egg well, master.
The fumbling Pao ended up taking a pre-meal slap from Lucy.
After the minor commotion, the meal began.
Han Ji-woo scooped up yolk-smeared whites and brought them to his mouth.
Nom. Nom.
“Aaaah.”
Insane. The chewy, clean whites paired with the rich, nutty yolk delivered unmatched satisfaction. Especially the yolk's nuttiness—it was more intense than anything he'd eaten since arriving here.
Eyes rolling back after the first bite, Han Ji-woo devoured the egg fry like it was breathing.
“A fantastic appetizer.”
Pao and Lucy nodded in agreement at his words.
Now for the main course. As the one-horned chicken carcass from his Inventory appeared, the pets cheered.
“Chicken! Eat more!”
Nyaaa~!
“Yeah. Let's eat our fill today.”
A chicken was dismantled in Han Ji-woo's hands in seconds. Having done it once yesterday, his butchering skills had already improved.
Sizzle—!
The nutty aroma rose once more from the slab.
* * *
As dusk fell, Han Ji-woo tinkered in the Creation window, uploading materials to hunt for blueprints. He'd spent the whole day at it and found three: stone axe, fishing rod, and wooden shovel. The recipes were as follows.
Stone Axe = Stone + Wood
Fishing Rod = Thick Branch + Dried Dungeon Weed + Thorn (Any thorn)
Wooden Shovel = Wood x2
The stone axe and wooden shovel blueprints were straightforward, but the fishing rod was a lucky find—like stepping on a rat while backing up behind a cow.
He used rose thorns for the fishing rod's hook.
“Do I even need a fishing rod with Lucy around?”
Same for the stone axe and shovel. Right now, Han Ji-woo's fist could dig pits and snap trees without them. Still, discovering upgradable recipes meant potential evolution with reinforcements, so he pocketed them.
“That's it for today! Time to rest.”
Finishing his daily routine, Han Ji-woo peeked into the chicken coop and cheered.
“Oh! Eggs!”
No eggs until evening, but now there were three. Rubbing his hands with a grin, he said,
“I'll take one for now.”
He used Growth Acceleration on the other two—these were for raising and eating later.
Storing the egg in his Inventory as he left the coop filled him with a fresh sense of emotion. On his first day here, he had chewed dungeon weeds just to survive. Now, his food options had grown considerably.
Today alone: egg fry and chicken for breakfast; grilled mountain trout and apples for lunch and dinner. He planted the chicken scraps, eggshells, apple peels, and seeds near the Dungeon Tree, boosting its growth to 67.1%.
“Two days, and it'll be a sapling.”
He wondered what would happen once the Dungeon Tree fully matured into a great tree.
“Now, back to hunting that ogre constellation.”
Once again, he spotted the twinkling ogre constellation in the night sky.
Affinity with ogres increases. Relationship with ogres changes from Neutral to Favorable.
“Ogre's favor, huh. That's rare.”
Not like he'd meet an ogre anytime soon. But if he did someday, it might save his life once.
With the constellation found, Han Ji-woo's day was finally done.
* * *
The 58 people and 31 goblins were preparing to descend from the stairs to Floor 6.
“Everyone~ You know where the bathrooms, lake, and apple trees are, right? If you need anything before we go, hurry up~”
At Seol Ara's call, they scattered busily toward the bathrooms, lake, and apple trees.
After a good night's rest, everyone looked refreshed. When they entered Floor 5, weapons were just daggers; now they had spears, longswords, greatswords, maces—spoils from hunting jungle monsters.
Some had thick hides, which Jonathan Yombi from Congo skinned with his Wind Cutter skill. Stronger and more practiced now, it was a breeze for him.
Irene Luker from Greece turned those hides into various armors, thanks to her Armor Crafting skill—upgraded from Clothing Crafting via some achievement.
She prioritized gear for frontline melee fighters. They'd gotten good armor from the dwarf chest, but nothing full-body. Well, one piece was: the Black Hatchling Slough Armor, gone to Han Ji-woo—the best in the chest stat-wise.
Irene's creations lagged behind the dwarf gear but beat going naked.
Unlike Han Ji-woo, all dungeon entrants had Observation Eye active—not as a designated skill, just naturally viewing item names and info.
Irene was crafting shoulder guards from monster hide right now.
“Unnie Irene, you work so hard every time.”
Seol Ara approached warmly. Irene, with her alluring droopy eyes and waist-length blonde hair, tidied it and smiled.
“Compared to you, Ara, this is nothing. Warriors on the front lines are amazing, but without you, way more people would've died.”
“Heehee, thanks for the praise.”
“Perfect timing. Try these on?”
Irene handed over the finished leather shoulder guards.
“For me?”
“Yes. My way of saying thanks.”
“Wooow~ Thank you!”
Seol Ara equipped them on both shoulders. Not flashy, but +7 defense? Who cared.
“How's it look? Suits me?”
“Perfect.”
As thrilled Seol Ara struck poses for a mini fashion show, others prepped to descend—especially a long line at the bathrooms.
“Phew~ Feels good. Glad the place keeps improving.”
Someone emerging from the toilet said so. Who'd expect flush toilets with seats in a dungeon? Infinite TP too—bonus.
The man clutched a wad of rolled-up TP. Resources like this? More the better; everyone stocked up.
Meanwhile, apple tree folks bustled picking fruit.
“Hey, weren't there eleven trees? Down to ten now?”
“That Han Ji-woo guy probably ate one. Or used it for firewood.”
“Cold over there?”
“Dunno.”
Near the flower beds, a woman deeply inhaled the scent, blissful.
“Snuuuff~ Haaa. I love this flower bed. Without it, after all those horrors, my eyes would've rotted. Flowers purify the soul.”
Mitchell beside her diligently plucked fiery petals for his Inventory. Knowing their fire affinity, they'd synergize with his Fireball. Smart use could amp its power.
Soon, all gathered at the stairs, fully prepped. Leader Mitchell about to lead the descent—
“Wait!”
Seol Ara, checking the map, shouted in shock. Staring incredulously at one spot, she said,
“...Everyone, did you see a message overnight about something shared thanks to Han Ji-woo?”
Heads shook.
Seol Ara eyed the map, muttering,
“But why's there a chicken coop added?”
...Sorry. Dozed off for a bit.
Due to Han Ji-woonimi's activities, the dungeon terrain has changed. Changed terrain is now shared.
“Han Ji-woonimi?”
...Minor typo in the Korean translation.
Seol Ara immediately spoke up.
“Hey! Who are you? Not Ferrofero? You've been watching us? Were you sending all the system messages?”
No reply.
“Ara, what's up?”
The Korean typo message showed only to Koreans like Seol Ara, so others asked. She explained, sparking murmurs.
“A separate entity outputting system messages?”
“What's its deal?”
No answers. Attention shifted quickly.
“Ara. Chicken coop on the map, right?”
“System said the coop was shared, yeah?”
“That means!”
Seol Ara voiced what everyone thought, turning to Mitchell.
“Leader. Don't you want chicken?”
“...Wipe your drool first.”
“You too, leader.”
“Ah.”
* * *
Two days later, at dawn.
Dungeon Tree → Sapling: 00:00:00
“Yes!”
The Dungeon Tree sprout had finally become a sapling.
The Dungeon Tree has grown into a sapling. Mysterious energy flows from the Dungeon Tree, affecting the Hidden Space.