The Salt Slab Letter
Osgeelro Haiban woke up from dozing off with a nod, and Han Ji-woo urgently addressed him.
"Make me a chisel! A sturdy, sharp steel one."
"A chisel? What the hell d'ya need that for outta nowhere? I told ya, I ain't makin' no more cookin' tools!"
"It's not for cookin'!"
Han Ji-woo absolutely denied Osgeelro's guess and pulled a sword from his Inventory.
"Now ya gonna threaten me with a weapon?"
"Aigoo, no! What do ya take me for."
Muttering complaints, Han Ji-woo sliced into a nearby rock with his blade.
Scrrrt! Thunk!
The rock, carved by the single-horned steel sword, turned into a long, rectangular slab.
"What're ya plannin' to do with that?"
"Gonna write a letter."
"A letter?"
"Yeah. You see the message about the Dungeon Shop openin'?"
"What's that now?"
"Well... "
Han Ji-woo explained the Dungeon Shop info and what he planned to do.
Only after hearing it did Osgeelro nod in understanding, pulling out a lump of metal and his hammer.
"I'll make it right now!"
Clangclangclangclang!
His hammer moved like lightning.
The battered metal lump soon became a chisel the size of a pencil.
No, it was a metal pencil.
It looked just like one, and the grip felt perfect snug against his fingers.
"Perfect."
Satisfied, Han Ji-woo engraved letters into the salt slab like etching with a steel pencil.
Scraaatch. Scratch.
Entering the Dungeon Shop, Seol Ara was browsing various items when she spotted a stone slab by chance.
It was a fairly large rectangular slab, priced at 1 Dungeon Coin.
So cheap—what could it be?—she picked it up, and an info window popped up right away.
◈ Someone wrote a letter on a lump of salt rock.
"Salt Slab Letter?"
It wasn't a stone slab—it was a salt rock lump.
Closing the info window, she examined it closely, and surprisingly, Korean text was engraved on it.
Seol Ara quickly read the letter.
The further her eyes traveled down, the greater the shock on her face.
"Everyone! Look at this!"
An excited voice burst from Seol Ara's mouth.
Most of the dungeon warriors gathered around her.
"Han Ji-woo wrote a letter here."
"What?"
"Lemme see! Me too!"
As the dungeon warriors crowded to read the salt slab letter, Seol Ara held them back.
"I'll read it for everyone. Ahem! Ahem!"
Clearing her throat, she read the letter aloud with clear pronunciation.
"Hello, fellow dungeon warriors. I'm Han Ji-woo. I've never met any of you, but I've learned through various channels that there are people conquering the dungeon. Ah, where I am is a place called Hidden Space. By now, you might be wondering how I ended up alone in a different spot. There are complicated circumstances, but to sum it up simply..."
The rest detailed why Han Ji-woo ended up in Hidden Space, what clothes he wore when entering the dungeon, how he'd survived alone so far, what was shared and not shared via the shared ability, when he'd felt the loneliest and hardest, and what thoughts had gotten him through those times. It went on at great, un-simple length.
"This guy's got a lot to say, huh?"
"Said it was a letter, but he dumped his whole diary."
Jonathan Yombi and Ishihara Yui's comments drew laughter from those around.
Waiting for the chuckles to die down, Seol Ara continued reading.
"...So now I can use the Dungeon Shop too. But I can't buy items myself. I can only price and display items I made or that are in this space. You probably get it's thanks to the shared ability by now, so I won't explain."
"Said he wouldn't explain, but did anyway?"
"Korean humor?"
Hoakin Onelli and Vivien Onelli traded quips, making Lisa Simpson—still with some teenage girl vibes—giggle.
Her flow constantly interrupted, Seol Ara ignored them and focused on reading.
"Now the important part. As I mentioned, I'm living with a dwarf named Osgeelro. With his help, I plan to craft equipment and weapons for you all and share them via the Dungeon Shop. All items will cost 1 Dungeon Coin exactly. I'd love to give 'em free, but the shop won't let me."
"Dwarf-made weapons and armor? That's tempting for sure."
It was Josh McConnell speaking, a man with perfectly sculpted features straight out of an American beauty ideal.
"Lately, even protecting myself with this skill is getting tough."
His skill was Fast and Slow. He could speed up or slow down his own or others' movements.
Up to floor 8, it'd saved many lives.
But from floor 9, monster grades skyrocketed, quest difficulties rose, and he hit limits every moment, barely surviving.
Even Josh, who never lost his humor no matter how dire, had been a bit down lately.
Ishihara Yui sidled up, throwing an arm around his shoulders with a smirk.
"If you're scared shitless, be my bitch. Big sis'll save ya anytime. Good? Bad?"
"Lord almighty, worst joke I've heard lately."
"Keep tensing that arm and your neck snaps."
"Scariest threat I've heard lately."
Seol Ara smiled faintly at their banter.
Not just because Josh relaxed a bit.
As she read Han Ji-woo's letter, a long-lost leisure and hope bloomed on everyone's faces.
How is this possible?
It was amazing.
The 27th Heroes had never seen Han Ji-woo even once.
Yet everyone who'd survived this far owed him big time.
Without his shared ability providing food, altered terrain, buildings, and more, they'd have wiped long ago.
So at some point, the name Han Ji-woo became an icon of hope for dungeon conquerors.
Thus, right now, just reading his letter was shifting the mood fast.
Satisfied with the positive change, Seol Ara read the final paragraph.
"So, everyone. If you can hold out in the Dungeon Shop for three days, please buy this salt slab letter. I'll assume you're staying there for three days and push Osgeelro hard to make as much gear as possible. I always wish you victory. And if there's a chance, I'd love to meet you all. ...That's the end of the letter."
As Seol Ara finished, people murmured and chatted.
"Wish we could go to wherever Han Ji-woo's stuck alone."
"Just communicating one-way like this is a miracle. Don't ask for too much."
"Ha... dunno what this feeling is. Heart fluttering for a guy I've never met."
Praise for Han Ji-woo rose here and there, but not everyone felt the same.
"Um... if I may speak my mind, yeah, we've gotten tons of help from Han Ji-woo, but everyone's hyping him up like a god. He's just a person. Overdo it and you'll be disappointed when you meet him. Better to just be grateful without getting too excited."
"Agreed. That's how cults start. Next thing, we'll be killing ourselves if Han Ji-woo says so."
Josh slyly soothed them.
"Who doesn't know that? Just pumpin' the mood."
Even Jonathan Yombi, who always went with the majority, chimed in.
"Don't pour cold water!"
With complaints quelled, they started reminiscing about past help from Han Ji-woo.
"First shared thing was a bathroom, right?"
"I remember. Lisa was whining she couldn't go without one. Haha."
"Eek! Forget it, please!"
"We had zero food back then. Now the lake's full of fish, chicken coops, pigsties, fruits everywhere."
"Rice appearing was the best for me. Right, Duduk-i?"
Quaaack-!
"Mitchell! We can last three days, right?"
"Yes. Everyone's Inventory has plenty of food and water. The common area is wide enough to summon barracks without issue."
"No worries then."
"Let's camp here three days! Rest body and mind while we're at it—sounds great, yeah?"
"Not bad."
Han Ji-woo's name alone made the mood warm and lively.
Seol Ara, watching, held up the salt slab letter high.
"So, we buyin' this letter?"
Most nodded with smiles.
But there was one issue.
"...How do we buy it?"
At Seol Ara's innocent question, a system message appeared.
The Dungeon Coins can be managed jointly by the 27th Heroes or entrusted to one person.
If managed jointly, anyone can purchase items. If entrusted to one, purchases go through them only.
Currently, the 27th Heroes are set to joint management of Dungeon Coins. To change, a majority must say simultaneously: 'Appoint [Name] as Dungeon Coin Manager.'
To revert to joint: A majority must say simultaneously: 'Manage Dungeon Coins jointly.'
Everyone's eyes turned to Mitchell Hoff as they read the floating message.
As expected, in situations like this, the leader always stepped up.
"Got it. I'll manage the Dungeon Coins."
With Mitchell's okay, the dungeon warriors shouted in unison.
"Appoint Mitchell as Dungeon Coin Manager!"
Some mouthed it embarrassedly, others barely whispered.
But one smirked silently without moving his lips: Andra Marshall, the suspicious hypnotist skill user.
Mitchell, now manager, took the salt slab letter from Seol Ara to buy it.
Then Andra raised his hand.
"...What?"
"You really trust Han Ji-woo's words?"
"What do you mean?"
"No offense. Just feels like we're all hypnotized, blindly following. No guarantee it's true, or even that Han Ji-woo wrote it. What if it's a dungeon trap..."
Thwack!
A sudden impact echoed, and Andra collapsed mid-sentence.
Thud!
Ishihara Yui stood before the limp Andra, flexing her fist.
"Rebel crushed. Just buy it."
"Yui, as expected!"
"Ah, feels refreshin'."
Mitchell glanced between Yui and Andra, then turned sharply.
"Purchasing the salt slab letter."
They successfully bought Han Ji-woo's shared item.
Purchased Salt Slab Letter for 1 Dungeon Coin.
The dungeon warriors smiled at the system message, some especially hyped cheering.
But Ishihara Yui eyed Mitchell oddly.
She'd caught it: Before he spun around, his lips had twitched.
Definitely holdin' back a laugh.
Guess Andra passing out tickled him.
Salt Slab Letter sold. Acquired 1 Dungeon Coin.
"They bought it!"
Han Ji-woo jumped up, pumping his fist in victory.
The dungeon warriors had responded to his letter.
Beaming with joy, he turned to Osgeelro.
"Get to work, Osgeelro!"
"Ya think I'm yer servant?!"
"Please!"
"Hmph! Ain't doin' it 'cause ya begged, mind ya!"