"Where Do You Mean When You Say Come With Me?"
Osgeelro tilted his head.
"To where I am."
"Where you are? That Hidden Space or whatever you mentioned...?"
"Yes."
While walking in search of the Ogre King, Han Ji-woo and Osgeelro had shared various stories. In the process, Han Ji-woo had roughly explained his own situation.
Osgeelro, lost in thought for a moment, let out a deep sigh.
"I know that place is special. Since you're not conquering the dungeon, we should be able to go there. But what does that even mean? The people who were with me are all gone now."
"So you're just going to give up on everything?"
"It's not giving up—it's that it means nothing! That's your dimension's dungeon, isn't it? Even if we help people clear it from the Hidden Space, what good does that do me!"
He had a point. Clearing Han Ji-woo's dungeon wouldn't save Osgeelro's world. People would just keep getting kidnapped until the dungeon he was conquering was cleared.
But.
"What if you stay here? Does that have any meaning?"
"......"
Osgeelro had no answer. The news of his comrades' deaths had stirred his emotions, clouding his rational judgment. He probably realized it himself.
Han Ji-woo waited until he could cool his head.
"Hoo. Alright, you're right. Staying here is meaningless too."
Osgeelro glanced at the Dimensional Gate. In that brief moment, a flurry of emotions crossed his face.
"Hidden Space. If it's a place that makes the impossible possible in a normal dungeon... maybe another miracle could happen."
Having made up his mind, Osgeelro nodded vigorously.
"I'll follow you!"
There was nothing more he could do here. But the Hidden Space might offer new possibilities.
"Good choice."
Han Ji-woo smiled, taking the lead, with Osgeelro following behind.
Before crossing the Dimensional Gate, Han Ji-woo exchanged a final glance with Turkan.
"Thank you so much, Master!"
Turkan shouted loudly, bowing his head, and the 300 orcs bowed in unison to show their respect.
"Live happily!"
Han Ji-woo's voice echoed from the darkness that had swallowed one human and one dwarf.
Soon, the Dimensional Gate closed, and the prison key clattered to the ground.
The Ogre King picked it up and tucked it into his ear.
In a somewhat sorrowful murmur, he whispered,
"If monsters... could use... the key too......"
He swallowed the unspoken ending: 'I'd visit my friend from time to time.'
As the Ogre King slowly moved away, the other monsters began to disperse.
But the orcs lingered in place for a while.
Raising their bowed heads, they waved toward Han Ji-woo, now out of sight.
Then.
"......?"
Turkan's eyes caught a strange sight.
* * *
The only place Han Ji-woo and Osgeelro can go to is 'Hidden Space'.
Would you like to go there?
In the pitch-black darkness, the system message posed its question.
He briefly wondered what would happen if he said no, but it was wise not to test useless things.
"Yes."
"Sure!"
Han Ji-woo and Osgeelro answered simultaneously.
The door on the opposite side of the dimension opens.
With the message, the Dimensional Gate opened, revealing a deeply familiar sight.
The chicken coops and barns built with tidy precision. The hearth on one side and, far off, ten apple trees growing lushly. The vast lake and curving waterfall.
Han Ji-woo dashed out of the Dimensional Gate with the feelings of a traveler returning home after a long journey.
Osgeelro followed, looking around curiously.
At the same time, Han Ji-woo's soul seeped back into his body.
"Mm......"
With a low groan, he opened his closed eyes.
Slowly rising, a small, cute creature came toddling over—totototototo!—and flung itself into his arms.
Nya~a~a~a~a~a~a~ng!
It was Lucy.
"Lucy! Hahahahaha!"
Han Ji-woo scooped her up and spun around in circles.
Nya~a~a~a! Nya~a~! Nya~a~a~a! Nya~a~! Nya~a~a~a~a~a!
Lucy wailed nonstop. Just like a cat scolding her butler for coming home late.
"Aigoo, okay, okay, sorry. I was too late."
Han Ji-woo apologized, but Lucy's nagging continued for quite a while.
"That damn kitten sure is noisy!"
Osgeelro, watching this, plugged his ears and shouted.
Lucy's fierce glare turned toward him.
Haaak!
Until moments ago, in her joy at seeing Han Ji-woo, she hadn't cared about the dwarf. But when he picked a fight first, Lucy—with her fiery temper—wouldn't let it slide.
"Watch out, Osgeelro. If you mess with her, even Pao gets smacked hard... Huh?"
Mid-sentence, Han Ji-woo finally realized something was off.
Only he and Osgeelro had crossed the Dimensional Gate into the Hidden Space.
Pao hadn't followed.
"Aigoo, you brain-dead idiot."
* * *
Turkan spotted Pao waving tearfully beside the orc crowd.
"Master, goodbye! Sniff."
Turkan approached Pao and asked,
"Why didn't you follow? Kwiik!"
"......Huh?"
Come to think of it, even he didn't know why he hadn't followed Han Ji-woo.
He'd just gotten swept up in the mood of everyone seeing off their master and done the same.
"Uwaaaah?!"
Realizing too late, Pao clutched his head in agony.
Turkan looked at him pitifully.
"Wait. You were summoned here by master. Kwiik! Master will call you again. Kwiieeeek!"
"Y-Yeah?"
"Probably."
Pao gnawed his nails, praying Han Ji-woo would call him back.
The orcs watching him buzzed.
"First orc dumber than you. Kwiik!"
"That's a goblin. You're dumber. Kwiieeeek!"
"For dumbness, I'm the best! Kwiieeeek!"
"E-Envy! Kwiik!"
Suddenly, a "dumbness bragging contest" broke out among the orcs. They really just let conversations flow stream-of-consciousness style.
Amid it all, Pao looked enlightened, deeply moved by their words.
Then.
Poof!
Pao suddenly vanished.
* * *
"Wooaah! I'm back!"
Pao cheered, raising his arms in victory.
Han Ji-woo bonked him on the head.
"Ow!"
"Dude. When your master leaves, you follow. What were you doing playing dead there?"
"No! Pao see off master with other orcs!"
"That's even more brainless!"
"S-Sorry!"
Osgeelro, watching the scene, clicked his tongue.
"Tsk tsk. You must have your hands full with him."
"He has his screwball moments, but he's good-hearted and super capable. You saw it at the orc village, right? The crops growing like crazy."
"Mm. True enough."
As the two discussed Pao,
"Aaaah!"
Pao suddenly yelled.
"What's up?"
"M-Master. Something appeared!"
"Huh?"
Pao's eyes darted around in the air—some kind of message, apparently—but Han Ji-woo couldn't see it.
"Read what it says."
"Pao... no good at letters."
"Ah."
"But someone talks in head instead."
"Oh?"
For illiterates who couldn't read, the messages echoed in their minds, it seemed.
"Achievement unlocked! And... forgot. Talks too long."
"Sheesh."
Pao had unlocked an achievement. Han Ji-woo was dying to know what, but since Pao forgot, there was no way to find out.
"No sharing of pet message logs?"
If he could summon pets, maybe this too. His guess hit the mark.
Sharing the pet's recent message log.
'Yes!'
Pao's achievement window appeared in the air.
◈ Once per day, travel to and from the Dungeon Prison alone.
Han Ji-woo's jaw dropped as he checked the message log.
He'd achieved many feats so far, but an Impossible Achievement only once—recognized as 101 people upon dungeon entry, earning Uninvited Guest and dropping into the Hidden Space.
After that, only normal achievements. Yet Pao had pulled off one of those ultra-rare ones.
"Pao."
"Yeah!"
"You can go to the prison once a day now. What does that mean?"
Pao shook his head.
"More land for farming!"
He could help with prison farming, visiting occasionally and taking just 10% of the mature crops—what a steal. Han Ji-woo already considered all the Dungeon Prison land his fields.
"Farm even harder from now on, Pao!"
Facing his master's blazing eyes, Pao had a bad feeling he'd be the one suffering.
* * *
Dungeon Basement Level 7.
A quest window with reduced difficulty floated before the group.
Goal: Only 36 can descend to the next floor.
Time Limit: 1 day.
Who stays and who goes?
🎁 Rewards: Food Box, 9 Skill Enhancement Tickets.
"......This."
Someone closed their eyes tightly and groaned.
The quest difficulty had indeed dropped. Initially, only half the survivors could proceed; now it was two-thirds—saving 9 more lives.
Still, no one could rejoice. 18 had to stay behind. Leaving 8 goblins meant 10 people would fall behind.
And with lower difficulty, rewards shrank too. Originally 27 Skill Enhancement Tickets—one per survivor—now just 9.
'Not sure if this is right.'
Jonathan thought inwardly.
He was confident he'd survive regardless. So why not send only elites down for max tickets? But voicing that would earn a beating, so he kept it to himself.
In the heavy mood, a soft voice rang out.
"Ara, thank you. Thanks to you, we can save more lives."
Irene grasped Seol Ara's hand tightly.
Dennis nodded along.
"Exactly. We owe her our thanks."
Only then did people realize they'd been too negative and offered Seol Ara their gratitude.
But Seol Ara's face remained dark. She couldn't shake the regret of not saving everyone.
Ishihara Yui approached Mitchell, watching from a distance.
"What now?"
Pressure as leader to decide.
Mitchell knew no one else could bear this burden. Time for him to play the villain.
Clap clap!
Having resolved himself, Mitchell clapped to draw attention.
"Let's decide who goes down."