A Pigsty Takes Shape in the Hidden Space

A 12-pyeong pigsty had appeared in the Hidden Space. Inside, a pair of wild pigs—a male and a female—lay quietly on their bellies. Han Ji-woo's eyes burned with an odd fervor that showed no sign of cooling.

Just moments ago, he had summoned undead monsters to subdue the wild pigs. The sight of the undead—figures straight out of novels, comics, or movies—rising from the earth, obeying his command, and slaughtering the monsters had filled him with an indescribable thrill.

The ones with jagged swords and venomous claws had butchered four wild pigs before easily overpowering the remaining two. Once they had faithfully carried out Han Ji-woo's orders, he dismissed them with a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠simple command, and they dispersed like smoke.

"From entrance to exit, they were perfect. Not a single flaw."

Replaying the memory over and over, Han Ji-woo grinned to himself. His gaze shifted to the pigsty. Tomorrow's breakfast menu was set: pork belly, no question.

"Huff... huff..."

"Hngh... ughhh..."

Panting breaths echoed endlessly from all directions. In the pocket dimension created by Ferrofero's Dimensional Shovel, the 20 dungeon warriors trapped there for two straight days hadn't managed a single proper sleep. They had to fend off endless waves of monsters without respite.

While 13 people battled the monsters, the remaining 7 caught a brief rest.

"Damn cat. Is it really trying to kill us all?"

Someone resting spat curses at Ferrofero. A woman nearby caught her breath and shot back.

"Don't jinx it. We can hold out. At least no mid-grade monsters are showing up."

The moment the 27th warriors were sealed in the pocket dimension, low-grade and lower mid-grade monsters spawned in groups of thirty every ten minutes. They could handle that level now without much trouble, but enduring for 48 hours was no joke.

"Still, we've made it this far thanks to Pierre."

Irene Luker spoke up. After the first hour of chaotic fighting against monsters, Pierre had stopped everyone and organized them into rotations: ten at a time, thirty minutes each. That meant while ten fought, the other ten rested for thirty minutes.

But now it was 13 fighting and 7 resting—for good reason. Pierre gave a wry smile at Irene's glance.

"If we hadn't done that, I wouldn't have been any help at all."

"Don't say that. Your skill has made dealing with these monsters so much easier. All that data you've built up is helping us here too."

"I'm grateful you think so."

But Pierre's mind wasn't at ease. Since entering the pocket dimension, he hadn't directly confronted any monsters. His base stats were too low compared to the others. He'd only been bait, wearing one of the decent armors Han Ji-woo had shared, luring monsters so others could strike from behind when they got distracted.

"If you keep that up, it makes me uneasy too."

Irene smiled bitterly. She was in the same boat, stuck playing bait.

"Yeah, sorry. No need to drag you down with me. I'll snap out of it."

Their eyes swept over the 13 battling monsters. Everyone was utterly exhausted, beyond words. The first 24 hours in the pocket dimension had been manageable. The real ordeal started after that. Catnaps ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were all they got—no real rest—so fatigue never lifted. At this rate, they might get wiped by low-grade monsters.

Hope sprouted an hour after everyone hit their absolute limit.

As they pushed past their limits and kept fighting, base stats started rising by 1 each time. Differences varied by person—those who threw themselves into fiercer fights saw quicker gains. Ishihara Yui, for instance, who pushed her body harder than anyone in every battle, started getting stat-up messages every 20 minutes from the 25-hour mark.

Higher base stats meant more endurance. From then on, Yui fought nonstop on the front lines. Gaining stats by fighting an extra 30 minutes beat resting for the same time.

Not everyone could fight like Yui, of course. Only the Onelli twins joined her from the 27-hour mark; the rest stuck to 30-minute rotations.

Some progressed faster, some average, some slower—but steadily, they built up their stats. By the 47-hour mark, no one could even groan. Breathing hurt. Just one hour left.

"Huff! Huff! Everyone, stay sharp! We're almost there!"

Yui shouted from the front, slashing at incoming monsters. No replies. Everyone conserved energy for killing monsters.

Another 30 minutes passed. Few could still stand; even Yui's legs trembled. In this do-or-die moment, another 30 monsters respawned and closed in. Normally laughable low-grades, now they felt like grim reapers from hell.

Among the approaching horde, one person felt worse than most: 17-year-old Lisa Simpson. She was one of the lucky ones.

Lisa's awakened skill was Herbology. It let her combine various herbs into potions and remedies. The dungeon was full of unfamiliar weeds—all herbs. Collect compatible ones, grind them hard, and you get the desired potion.

The problem? Grinding was tough, and effects were minor: slight stamina recovery, minor wound healing, faint drowsiness relief. Nothing game-changing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for the group.

Still, with others' help and sheer luck, she'd made it this far. But guilt and pressure built up. To her, she was just dead weight.

That's why, even now during rest, her bloodied hands kept grinding herbs.

Grind. Grind.

She placed herbs on a flat stone, crushed them with a pebble—over and over. Wiping away tears of guilt and sweat from labor, she persisted.

"Haa... haa."

Heavy breaths escaped her. Sympathetic glances came her way, but no one stopped her. They'd tried dozens of times; her stubbornness wouldn't break. And they knew she needed this to cope.

"Here! Stamina potion!"

Lisa handed a finished one to Jonathan nearby.

"...Uh, thanks."

Even Jonathan had no jokes left. Her bandaged hands and the potion were stained red. He popped the slimy potion into his mouth and swallowed.

Fishy blood smell hit his nostrils— from the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠potion or his gut? He couldn't tell.

Lisa handed it off and resumed mixing, biting her lower lip until tears welled.

Why is my skill so useless?

Like others, she'd had chances to enhance her skill. But each time, it just added minor herb knowledge.

This won't cut it. I'll just be baggage forever.

I need to evolve it.

But how? She'd tried everything; no evolution.

Skill evolution brought revolutionary change over mere enhancement. It was her only hope.

What do I have to do?

Her hands never stopped. She finished another and passed it on. As the recipient swallowed:

Great Achievement?

Lisa's eyes widened at the message. Many had achieved feats, but "Great Achievement" was unheard of.

Lisa's gaze locked on "Ultimate Evolution." Others spoke of plain evolutions, not this.

"...!"

The rewards were insane. Base stats—HP, ATK, DEF, AGI, MP—up 20 each. Plus a new Alchemy stat at 100! It felt like catching up on every missed bonus at once.

Herbology became Alchemical Herbology. Lisa checked the details.

"Ah... aah."

Lisa choked on a sob at the upgraded info. Recipes for needed potions flooded her mind. Luckily, all materials were in her inventory.

Dead weight in combat and survival, she'd volunteered for chores: cooking, laundry, dishes, carrying gear. Her inventory brimmed with sundries and monster drops.

Suddenly, materials piled before her. She activated the skill immediately.

Alchemical Herbology!

Using all her Alchemy, she crafted 10 pills. Spoils glowed, combined, and became ten pills: five low-grade mana potions (restore 50 MP), five low-grade stamina potions (restore 30% stamina).

"Yui unni! Here!"

Lisa rushed a stamina pill to Yui first. Yui checked it curiously, swallowed—and depleted stamina recovered somewhat. Fatigue eased; mind cleared a bit.

"Where'd you get this?"

"Later!"

She distributed stamina pills to the Onelli twins and two other melee fighters. Mana pills went to Mitchell, Seol Ara, Kim Jung-min, Josh, and Jonathan. Bewildered but urgent, they downed them. Mana restored, they focused on stamina recovery.

30 minutes: melee held the line. Final 30: ranged wiped monsters.

48 hours passed.

After 48 grueling hours in the pocket dimension, the 20 returned to the Dungeon Shop. All eyes locked on the teardrop-shaped red gem in Mitchell's hand.

"Revives the dead? Can't believe it."

"It won't turn them undead, right?"

"Hey! If I die, use that on me! Got it, everyone?"

"Mitchell, inventory getting heavy? I can hold it."

"Jonathan, you planning to use it if you die?"

"Gasp! Busted?"

"...Someone else has to hold it for use on you. If you die holding it, game over."

"Oh, right?"

"...Amen."

Dennis's sign of the cross ended the Elixir chatter. Seol Ara, browsing the shop, lit up. In one corner: 14 identical white full-body armors.

She checked one info window closely, then called everyone over in shock.

"Everyone, look at this!"

The group rushed over, jaws dropping at the armor info.

"...!"

"...!"

"...!"

Absurd performance. +100 to five base stats was cheat-level; +50 fire, +20 resistances, and -30% to all monster stats? Legendary gear in game terms.

"Buy 'em quick!"

At Jonathan's urging, Mitchell purchased all 14. Then, even more shocking:

Sudden system message from thin air. And then—

A unfamiliar voice echoed through the Dungeon Shop.