Eternal Youth and the Salt Mine
Lucy's base stats have all increased by 20 simultaneously.
Acquired unique skills Ferocious Growl and Paw Press.
Ferocious Growl
Infuse ferocious energy to threaten the opponent, reducing their base stats by 5% for 5 minutes. Consumes 20 mana.
Paw Press
Use adorable front paws to press on the opponent, recovering external wounds. Consumes 10 mana.
“Whoa, Lucy!”
At Han Ji-woo's call, Lucy, who had been grooming herself a short distance away, came scampering over. Nyaang! He caught the little one leaping right in front of his face, hugging her tightly in both arms. Sure enough, Lucy's size had grown a bit more. She used to be just fist-sized, but now she was about the size of two fists put together. From Han Ji-woo's perspective, she was still a tiny kitten, though.
“How did you and Pao both grow at the same time?”
As that question crossed his mind, a sudden thought struck him.
'Maybe pets don't age?'
Pao might be one thing, but Lucy was clearly a baby kitten. They'd been together for quite some time now, so she should have grown at least a little, but there was no sign of it. Watching Lucy nestled in his arms and Pao striking various fighting poses to revel in his newfound strength, Han Ji-woo smiled faintly.
“It'd be great if you guys didn't age.”
He still couldn't forget the shock of finding the stray cat Lucy he'd secretly fed at the orphanage growing weaker year by year, only to discover her dead body on the back mountain one day. Even though he hadn't fully taken her in, the grief and heartache had been overwhelming.
“If you don't grow up, you won't die before me.”
Han Ji-woo hoped his hunch was right. He never wanted to go through that sadness again.
At that moment, a message appeared.
Congratulations! You have discovered one of the seven 'Easter Eggs' hidden by the 'Dungeon Master'.
“Dungeon Master?”
That was the being who had created this dungeon itself.
“And out of nowhere, an Easter Egg?”
The Dungeon Master hid seven emotions derived from their own experiences—joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, love, hate, and desire—within this dungeon upon its creation.
Joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, love, hate, desire.
You have found the emotion of 'sorrow'. The Dungeon Master could never forget the grief of losing a pet they raised. Thus, they set it so that pets tamed by heroes in the dungeon do not age.
Staring at the message, Han Ji-woo let out a wry chuckle.
“……What bullshit. The guy slaughters humans by the hundred.”
As a reward for finding the Easter Egg, you receive a Wish Seed.
A brilliant light flashed before Han Ji-woo's eyes. When it faded, a tiny yellow seed the size of a pinky nail floated there lightly.
Plant it in the soil and nurture it. During its growth, the Wish Seed will discern your deepest desire and bear fruit containing an appropriate gift.
We hope you continue your relentless contemplation to uncover more Easter Eggs.
“What the hell is that guy?”
He couldn't fathom why the so-called Dungeon Master had created this insane dungeon. Humans were kidnapped and thrown into a life-or-death struggle, suffering endlessly, yet it felt like the Dungeon Master enjoyed watching it all. From the skill and achievement systems to hidden pieces and Easter Eggs, everything screamed game.
“Some kind of god? ……Even so, playing with human lives like this?”
Unable to contain his rising anger, Han Ji-woo yelled as he grabbed the Wish Seed. Lucy, nestled in his arms, rubbed her face against him and started pawing gently, trying to soothe her owner's mood. Seeing her efforts melted his heart instantly.
“Aigoo~ Alright, alright. I'll stop. Yelling by myself just makes me angrier.”
His mood flipped in an instant thanks to Lucy. Han Ji-woo handed the Wish Seed to Pao.
“Plant that.”
“Got it, Master. Anywhere okay?”
“Yeah. Just grow it well.”
“Okay!”
Pao planted the Wish Seed near the flower bed and watered it. A growth progress immediately appeared.
Wish Flower Bloom: 0/100%
Han Ji-woo observed how fast the flower's growth progressed. But even after 10 minutes, there was no change.
“What the?”
He cast Growth Acceleration on the planted seed. Another 10 minutes passed, but the progress stayed stubbornly at 0%.
“Does this need some other way to grow?”
“Master! I'll check it out!”
“Yeah. Thanks for the hard work.”
Since Pao had the Great Harvest skill, he'd probably figure it out faster. Han Ji-woo decided to let him handle it.
“I didn't realize. I have to manually grow you guys myself.”
The Dungeon Master had added this feature out of sorrow for losing a pet and hid the message as an Easter Egg. Han Ji-woo welcomed pets not dying of old age. But they still needed some growth.
“Pao's an adult now, so I'll exclude him from Growth Acceleration going forward. Starting tomorrow, just steadily accelerate Lucy's.”
Nya~aaah~ Lucy let out a long mewl, as if understanding her master.
“Alright then~ Let's go taste what we've been neglecting while hunting that mad cow.”
Han Ji-woo's gaze, brimming with anticipation, turned to the grapevines.
* * *
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Munch munch. Gulp!
“Kyaah!”
“Ooh!”
Nyaah!
The human, goblin, and cat all exclaimed in delight as they tasted the grapes. The grapes they sampled after finishing the farm work were pure nectar.
“So sparkling. Truly sparkling.”
Han Ji-woo beamed, popping grapes into his mouth nonstop while admiring the fields. It hadn't been long since planting the seedlings, but the potatoes and watermelons were harvest-ready in 1 hour, and the rice in 2.
Han Ji-woo and his two pets savored their achievements right there, devouring a whole bunch of grapes each.
“Whew, that hit the spot. Pao, plant about 10 grape seeds.”
“Got it!”
Pao planted 10 of the collected grape seeds around the grapevine, and Han Ji-woo used Growth Acceleration. Tomorrow, this would be a grape field.
“Wait. If we have grapes, we can make wine, right?”
Not long after going independent, he'd received a box of grapes from his landlady. Back then, not big on fruit, he ate a few bunches, shoved the rest in the fridge, and when they seemed about to spoil, decided to make grape juice. He dumped the remaining grapes in a pot, squeezed them, added sugar, and mixed—it was decent. But he didn't keep going back for homemade fridge juice. He kept putting it off with “later,” and three months in, wondering if it was still good, he tasted it and was shocked. The grape juice had turned into wine.
Tasting the grapes now brought that memory flooding back.
“Hmm…… To make alcohol, you need yeast, right?”
Wild grapeskins should have plenty of wild yeast. Sugar was hard to get, but honey might work. Collecting Savior honey by sucking it out was impossible—not even a drop per effort.
He wasn't sure if it was possible without honey, but since he didn't need booze right now, he skipped the experiment. Having grapes to eat was satisfying enough.
“By the way, that spot's still the same?”
Han Ji-woo eyed where the Wish Seed was planted. The growth was still 0%.
Pao scratched the back of his head apologetically.
“Sorry, Master. Tried everything, but it won't grow a bit.”
“It's fine, it's fine. Probably some method we haven't thought of. Not your fault, so don't apologize.”
Pao's face lit up.
“Got it! Our master's the best!”
As he spoke, a loud gurgle echoed from Pao's belly.
“You little guy. Starving, huh?”
“Yeah. Hungry.”
“Makes sense. Time to fill up properly…… Huh?”
About to pull out the beef from his inventory, Han Ji-woo froze at something. His gaze fixed on the cave entrance where the mad cows had emerged.
“……Why isn't that closed?”
With the Monster Wave over, he assumed the entrance would seal again. But it remained wide open, unfilled.
Wondering if he could enter, he approached and peered in. Stairs led underground.
Gulp!
Tension dry-swallowing, Han Ji-woo stepped onto the stairs. No invisible wall blocked him; he entered freely. Curiosity gripped him, and he descended quickly.
At the bottom, an unexpectedly vast space opened up—like an ancient cave. Spotting something, Han Ji-woo shouted.
“Ah, rock salt!”
Huge rock salt formations dotted the cave—prime for mining salt.
* * *
“Everyone, don't touch the food! Stop!”
Seol Ara's words sank the mood of the group, who had just recovered from mourning the dead.
Golden-roasted fish and chicken, big fried eggs, grapes, apples, sunflower seeds—delicacies that would perfectly lift spirits. But no touching? It felt like a cold splash.
They could ignore her, but Seol Ara's influence was immense, so they shut their gaping mouths.
“Everyone. I guarantee you'll regret filling up on that now. You saw the message about the terrain change and sharing, right?”
“No way we're eating it?”
“Hopefully some beef shows up!”
“Jonathan~ Greedy much.”
“Greed's allowed, right?”
“True. Imagination's free. If I get greedy, I'd love some salt now.”
“Pfft~ Where's salt gonna come from?”
“Hahaha! You guys dream big. Beef and salt? Falling from the sky? Ridiculous, right, Ara?”
“……Yeah.”
Seol Ara hesitated, face shocked. Sensing something, the group eyed her with no way? anticipation.
After a silent pause, she spoke.
“Yes. The Usa Salt Mine has been added.”
“……Whaaat?!”
“H-how is this real?”
“Usa Salt Mine? Han Ji-woo-nim! You're my religion from now on!”
Shock and joy crossed their faces. Pleased, Seol Ara smiled brightly and led the way.
“Shall we head there?”
Another miracle courtesy of Han Ji-woo.
* * *
“No, why won't he just die already?!”
Ferrofero fumed, grinding his teeth.
Han Ji-woo, presumed dead from the Monster Wave, was alive and sharing something again? Grind!
Ferrofero made a decision.
“I hate spending money, but you've forced my hand! Opening the Dungeon Shop!”
With his shout, the space shifted. The plain room vanished, replaced by a shop brimming with items.
Ferrofero scanned the items, muttering.
“He survived the Monster Wave, so none of my items can take down that cockroach human. Even if I invest, it has to be the right one!”
His selection was more cautious than ever. The shop's currency was his very lifespan.