Plop. Something Unknown Falls from the Sky

Plop. Something unknown dropped from the sky straight to the ground.

Lucy shot out faster than anyone, snatched it up in her mouth from way over there, and brought it back.

"Always so quick on the uptake and pretty as a picture."

The butler knew full well that Lucy's antics were all about earning her master's affection, so he proudly extended his hand.

"Let's see what our Lucy brought back."

Plop.

"Gaaahhh!"

Han Ji-woo recoiled in horror at the hefty creature that landed squarely in his palm. He shook his hand frantically and stumbled back a few steps.

What Lucy had fetched was none other than a yellow larva. And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not just any larva—this one was over ten times bigger than a normal one.

"Wh-wh-what the hell is that thing?"

Utterly caught off guard by the gift in his completely defenseless state, Han Ji-woo even started stammering.

Hovering above the creature was the name Ironclad Pumpkin Queen Bee Larva.

Wondering why on earth this thing had suddenly plummeted into the Hidden Space, Han Ji-woo saw a system message appear before him.

"……What the hell?"

This was a form of message he'd never seen before. He'd always thought system messages were just emotionless text output according to fixed rules.

Sure, sometimes it seemed to read his mind and provide exactly the info he needed, but he'd dismissed that as nothing special.

Yet this message clearly carried someone's distinct sense of self.

"Who's outputting these messages? If you're there, let's talk for a sec!"

Han Ji-woo blurted it out urgently, but the message gave no reply on that front.

"Hey! Message! Give me something! Who the hell are you?!"

No answer to his repeated questions. Realizing the mysterious entity had no intention of responding no matter how much he yelled, he could only sigh.

Meanwhile, the Ironclad Pumpkin Queen Bee Larva wriggled its way ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠toward Han Ji-woo.

"Ah, damn, bugs are my kryptonite."

Still, he couldn't just abandon the achievement reward willy-nilly. Clearly, good things would come if it grew up.

After some agonizing, Han Ji-woo came up with one idea.

"Won't you become a bee for me?!"

With those words, he activated Growth Acceleration on the larva. Its time sped up in a flash, forming a pupa, and from within emerged a fist-sized pumpkin bee.

The adult form bore the name Ironclad Pumpkin Queen Bee.

"Oh?"

He'd figured it'd still be creepy since it was a bug either way, larva or bee. But seeing the adult up close, it wasn't so bad.

True to its name, it was covered head to toe in a steel-like exoskeleton, flapping wings that gleamed like glittering crystal.

Rather than a living bee, it felt like admiring a finely crafted ornament of metal and jewels.

The Ironclad Pumpkin Queen Bee's appearance was beautiful, and its pudgy body compared to its short wings made it oddly cute.

Weeeeng—

It took its first flight with a wing flap. Struggling a bit on its maiden voyage, tumbling to the ground several times, the queen bee finally soared up to Han Ji-woo's head height after a few tries.

"Whoa!"

As Han Ji-woo marveled, the queen bee's triumphant glide was...

Nyaang!

Thwack!

...cut short by Lucy's sudden pounce, her front paw smacking it down.

The queen bee sprawled on the ground, legs twitching in agony.

"Lucy, it's not a bad guy—don't bully it. Be friends."

Nya?

Lucy tilted her head. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hadn't meant to torment the queen bee; it was just her cat tribe hunting instincts kicking in.

"You okay?"

Han Ji-woo poked the Ironclad ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Pumpkin Queen Bee gently. It quickly recovered, flew up again, and alighted softly on the salvia flower bed.

It started slurping up the nectar greedily.

Watching it, Han Ji-woo fell into thought.

Come to think of it, this thing definitely fell from the sky, right?

His gaze drifted to the top of the towering outer wall. For some reason, he grabbed chubby Seibier by the back.

"Chubby! Fly over that wall!"

Why hadn't he thought of this sooner?

At Han Ji-woo's command, Seibier let out a mighty roar and beat its wings.

Krawrrraaah!

In an instant, Seibier's body streamlined, its overall size growing a bit—like its fat had turned into pure muscle. The cute chub was gone, replaced by the sleek hatchling Seibier.

It rocketed into the sky like an arrow.

"Whoaaa!"

Clinging to Seibier's back, Han Ji-woo felt the wind resistance whipping his whole body as he held on tight.

In seconds, they were dizzyingly high off the ground, Seibier accelerating to vault the outer wall.

But...

Tang!

"Ugh."

They slammed into an invisible wall and stopped cold. Reaching up, Han Ji-woo felt something solid blocking the way overhead.

Looks like they couldn't go beyond the outer wall.

Just to be sure, he had Seibier fly higher alone, but the result was the same.

Neither he nor his pets could reach above the outer wall.

Back on the ground, Han Ji-woo smacked his lips in disappointment.

"Tch, so close."

Of course, it wouldn't be that easy to get over the wall. He'd known that but hoped for a lucky break anyway.

His eyes sought out the Ironclad Pumpkin Queen Bee. It was happily buzzing around the flower bed.

"Guess it didn't come from beyond the wall either."

It had fallen from the sky, but not from higher than the wall. He'd just wanted to believe the achievement reward had spawned in midair after crossing over.

"But what's this?"

Above the Ironclad Pumpkin Queen Bee's name floated a gauge.

Han Ji-woo approached for a closer look.

It seemed something would happen once the sugar charge hit 100%.

"Guys. Don't mess with the bee. It's our friend now. Especially you, Lucy. Got it?"

Nyaaaw—

"Friend? Can we play together?"

"What do you even play with a bee? Just don't poke it while eating or get stung."

Kyurruk~

"Chubby! I told you not to go!"

Han Ji-woo yanked the tail of Seibier, who was innocently heading for the flower bed.

"Huh? But... why'd you get chubby again?"

He hadn't noticed amid the excitement, but the sleek hatchling from moments ago was back to its usual plump self.

He had no idea what was up with that, but since he liked 'em pudgy anyway, he let it slide.

While Han Ji-woo bantered with his pets, the queen bee's sugar gauge had ticked up 1%.

"Man, that fills slow."

Too boring to watch, he turned his attention to his essential morning routine instead.

Energy bursts from Han Ji-woo's body seeped into every corner of the Hidden Space. The queen bee, already boosted, didn't stack.

Thanks to Growth Acceleration, the lake, paddies, and fields burst with growth.

Satisfied after surveying the fields, Han Ji-woo opened the dungeon sharing list for the first time in a while.

A ton of stuff had been shared lately.

But...

"Hm?"

Osgeelro's 30-pyeong mansion under construction wasn't on the list.

"Hm... yeah."

Incomplete or not, better than nothing, so he added it to the sharing list.

With that, his morning chores were done. Han Ji-woo called for Pao.

"Pao! Let's head to the Dungeon Prison!"

He had no real business there, but maybe he'd luck into some new veggies. While Pao helped with farming, he could wander around—bound to spot something, right?

Of course, he had no intention of trudging on foot. He had the perfect ride: the griffin leader.

This beast was a lion-eagle hybrid that flew great but was also super fast on land. Riding it was like a thrill ride—pure fun.

"Heh heh. This'll be a blast."

Pao, about to cast the prison key skill, paused at Han Ji-woo's grinning face.

"Master. That fun finding veggies?"

"Yeah. Riding griffin is total... I mean, yeah. Finding veggies is super fun."

I'm definitely going to the Dungeon Prison for veggies, not to ride the griffin, Han Ji-woo hypnotized himself.

* * *

Back from the Dungeon Prison, the Ironclad Pumpkin Queen Bee's sugar level was at 98%.

"Oh, almost full now?"

Han Ji-woo and his pets sat in a row by the flower bed, sucking on salvia petals while watching the queen bee.

A gentle breeze rustled the flowers, tickling his nose with sweet fragrance.

I was so down this morning...

He glanced at the 2-pyeong house where Osgeelro lay.

Humans were fickle creatures. Those gloomy feelings had diluted bit by bit amid busyness, and now the warm wind and sweet nectar filled him with happiness.

He almost apologized inwardly but held back. It felt like Osgeelro might never wake if he did.

"Master! Bee acting weird."

Pao's voice snapped him from his reverie. Following Pao's pointing finger, the queen bee hovered over the flower bed, emitting a bright glow.

Sugar charge: 100% achieved.

The radiant light gathered at its legs, forming a creamy hexagonal lump.

The queen bee carried it over, staring intently into Han Ji-woo's eyes.

"This for me?"

Confirming with the message, Han Ji-woo held out his hand. The queen bee placed the creamy hexagon there.

He checked its details closely.

"Oh baby."

This was an insanely good item. Half for a growing creature doubled their stat growth on level-up.

Han Ji-woo sliced the royal jelly in half and fed it to Lucy and Seibier right away.

"See? See! It just slipped and typed the nickname for Seibier! Who are you, seriously?!"

No reply this time either.

"Argh, so frustrating."

Grumbling, Han Ji-woo approached the Dungeon Tree sapling. His hand was sticky with royal jelly residue—wiping it seemed wasteful. Even a drop from this premium stuff should count for something.

So he rubbed it into the soil nearby, hoping it'd serve as fertilizer.

Then...

"Huh?"

The quest progress, barely at 50%, shot straight to 100%.

With that, the second quest for the Dungeon Tree sapling's growth began.