The First Monster Wave
For two days, nothing out of the ordinary happened to Han Ji-woo. He stuck to his daily routine, the same as always. In the morning, he'd wake up and use Growth Acceleration on the eggs, then collect the extra ones laid by the chickens at night. His three meals a day consisted of egg fried rice with apples, grilled fish, or sashimi.
Over those two nights, thanks to finding the Ogre constellation, his affinity had risen from "Friendly" to "Trust," and then to "Friend." And when it hit the Trust level, he got this message.
Affinity with the Ogre has reached its maximum. Finding more Ogre constellations will no longer change your affinity.
Friend. Han Ji-woo had become friends with the Ogre. In simple terms, buddies. At this point, he was starting to wonder how he could actually meet the damn thing.
Ogres were one of the top-grade monsters even in fantasy settings—insanely strong. "Since I tamed a goblin and formed a Friend bond, maybe I can tame an Ogre too?" His brain started spinning happy circuits with that thought.
There was one more small change. As Han Ji-woo cooked more, his Cooking stat crept up bit by bit until it hit 20. Along with that, he unlocked an unexpected effect.
Random stat buffs +5% added to cooked dishes. This effect lasts for 1 hour. If shared, the buff effect decreases proportionally.
That was it. The moment Han Ji-woo saw the added effect, he sliced up a fish into sashimi and ate it. Sure enough, a 5% Attack buff kicked in.
His current Attack, including gear, was 102. The buff added 5% to that final value, bumping it to 107.1. He'd already felt his body lighten up every time his HP ticked up by 1 from eating—that single stat point made a real difference you couldn't ignore. So a +5.1 Attack boost lasting a full hour? Pretty damn solid.
Curious, Han Ji-woo ran another test. What happened if he shared the food? He grilled some fish quick and split it with Pao and Lucy. The buff dropped to +1.6 per person, lasting just 20 minutes.
Basically, it split the effect based on the number of eaters. "Way better than no buff at all," was his verdict.
Anyway, scoring this surprise buff ability while cooking had Han Ji-woo thrilled.
Meanwhile, Pao and Lucy spent the two days without incident, faithfully handling their tasks. Pao tended the flower beds and trees, while Lucy hunted fish diligently. But one worrisome thing cropped up: the number of fish Lucy brought back dwindled day by day, and her hunting trips got longer. The fish population was running low.
They had chickens and eggs incubating, so protein wasn't an issue yet, but dwindling food still stirred anxiety.
Amid that, some good news hit last night. The Dungeon Tree sapling's growth hit 100%.
Thanks to diligently pouring food scraps at meals and Pao and Lucy doing their business nearby. But unlike when it sprouted, it didn't change right away. The second it hit 100%, a 12-hour countdown started, and it began shifting form slowly.
So Han Ji-woo hit it with Growth Acceleration and crashed. Then, this morning at dawn.
Dungeon Tree sapling has grown into a seedling. Mysterious energy flows from the Dungeon Tree, affecting the Hidden Space.
* * *
"Yes!"
The welcome message hit, and the surrounding stone walls crumbled all at once.
Rumble rumble ruuuumble!
The ground shook like a minor quake. Acrid dust billowed up like fog as the walls shattered. Han Ji-woo, Pao, and Lucy clamped their mouths and noses shut.
The dust cloud slowly settled, revealing the new vista. Han Ji-woo's jaw dropped in shock.
Snap!
"Mmph!"
Pao slammed his hand on Han Ji-woo's chin, closing it. "Master! Dust get in!"
"...Uhg thag goo(Thanks a ton)."
Han Ji-woo checked his near-severed tongue, then scanned the area again.
Beyond the fallen walls lay even wider ones enclosing a bigger space. But it didn't feel cramped. The Hidden Space had expanded by nearly 100 pyeong—bigger than three volleyball courts combined. And on one wall, a sheer cliff jutted out.
Wondering what it was, he watched as clear water trickled down. It swelled into a massive stream, then a roaring waterfall.
The cascade pounded the earth, carving out a small lake that grew and merged seamlessly with the existing mountain trout pond, like it had always been there.
"Whoaaa!"
"Ooooh!"
Nyaaoow!
Man, goblin, and cat marveled in unison at the spectacle.
But Lucy's eyes sharpened at something, and she bolted into the lake.
"Lucy?"
Instead of answering Han Ji-woo's call, fish started leaping from the water to the ground.
Plop! Plop plop! Plop plop plop!
Not just mountain trout—carp, bass, catfish, mandarin fish, all sorts. But wait, not only fish. There, scuttling sideways with claws raised and a hard shell: a crab!
"Crabs!"
Somehow, they'd scored brackish-water crabs from the lake!
"This is insane."
Overjoyed at the food bonanza, Han Ji-woo danced around. Lucy hopped out of the lake.
"Lucy!"
Nyang!
He scooped her up, rolling on the ground laughing. "Hahaha! My baby's the best, the absolute best!"
Pao's face twisted in envy. Not one to lose, he charged into the lake.
"Glub~! Glub! Goblin swim, no, can't...! Gack! Cough! H-hel...p...!"
He nearly drowned. Han Ji-woo and Lucy shook their heads.
"Guess we should save him?"
Nyang.
* * *
"Urk. Cough. Gack."
Pao, who'd gulped plenty of water, took ages to recover after rescue.
"Told you not to eye trees you can't climb."
Han Ji-woo smirked at the fish and crabs in his Inventory. Breakfast would be a seafood feast.
Catfish and mandarin fish? Perfect for spicy stew. But without other ingredients, grilling was the only option—a slight bummer.
He eyed the now-seedling Dungeon Tree. Will it give a quest with fermentation crop rewards?
If wishes were horses... The Dungeon Tree just floated its growth bar silently.
Dungeon Tree → Young Tree: 0/100%
On a whim, Han Ji-woo approached and cast Growth Acceleration.
"Not working this time either?"
No change from 0%. But then, a question mark popped up over the growth bar.
A quest! Is my wish coming true?!
Hoping so, he checked it—and his face fell.
Dungeon Tree Seedling's Request
📍 Objective: The first Monster Wave is coming soon. Repel the invading monsters and protect the Dungeon Tree seedling.
🎁 Rewards: 3 crops of your choice, Dungeon Tree growth.
"Monster Wave? The first one?"
Monster Wave. Monsters swarming like waves, obviously. And "first" implied more to come.
"Why pop up out of nowhere?"
He'd figured monsters might come from beyond the walls someday. But this was the protected Hidden Space, shielded even from Ferrofero. A massive invasion felt off.
The following system messages cleared it up.
The Hidden Space is surrounded by multiple layers of stone walls.
These walls both conceal and protect this place.
Each wall that crumbles weakens the defenses, increasing the chance Ferrofero notices this space.
When you first arrived, Ferrofero was unaware of the Hidden Space. Even when your power shared the changed terrain with the dungeon, he stayed quiet.
But after the first wall fell, he eventually found it. The dungeon system also detected something outside its framework.
"Ah... I see."
Han Ji-woo nodded as more messages followed.
The Hidden Space was forcibly hidden from the dungeon system by %$@$!#%.
Thus, the moment the dungeon system recognizes it, it flags this as an error.
In short, the Monster Wave is the dungeon system's safeguard program to eliminate errors.
Clearly programmed into the dungeon from the start. Stroking his chin, Han Ji-woo summed it up.
"So from the dungeon system's view, I shouldn't exist here. Like antivirus hunting a virus... Wait, am I the virus?"
His mood soured for a second, but he pivoted quick. "Nah! I'm a hacker! A white-hat one infiltrating a rigged scam site to smash it. Right, guys?"
"Ooooh!"
Nyang!
Pao and Lucy had no clue what he meant but played along anyway. Pumped by the response, Han Ji-woo steeled himself.
"Alright. I'll survive this and snag those rewards."
His eyes went to the quest rewards: 3 crops of your choice, Dungeon Tree growth.
The first wave probably wouldn't be too brutal. Not all walls were down yet—some protection remained. From experience, the Hidden Space weakened external threats. So the wave's difficulty should be nerfed hard.
3:00:00 until First Monster Wave.
The Monster Wave begins in three hours.
"Whew."
Han Ji-woo took a deep breath to calm down. "Hm?"
In his haste, he hadn't fully explored the expanded land. Something unexpected caught his eye.