The Salt Mine's Hidden Chamber
At Turkan's request to see the Salt Mine, Han Ji-woo and his pets all set off together. But then, an unexpected welcome message crashed in without warning.
Discovered hidden piece 'Dungeon Guard's Lost Bag' on Dungeon Floor 12.
Part of the hidden piece reward is shared.
Dungeon Guard's favorability toward you has increased.
"Whoa! Another hidden piece! ...But the reward's kinda weird?"
He had no idea what "Dungeon Guard's favorability increased" even meant.
'It's gotta be something good since it's a hidden piece reward...'
From what Ferrofero had told him, the Dungeon Guard was the true manager protecting this dungeon. Ferrofero was just filling in as a proxy.
In other words, he'd bought some goodwill from the ultimate enemy.
'Wait... thinking about it that way, it might actually be pretty great.'
If he kept stacking favor like this with the final boss, maybe the enlightened Dungeon Guard would just send everyone back to Earth someday? Han Ji-woo chuckled at the thought.
'Nah, even that's a stretch.'
Way too optimistic. But even if it didn't go that far, something beneficial was bound to come from it. Like maybe an extra chance if he failed to clear the final floor.
Lost in such idle musings, he'd arrived inside the Salt Mine before he knew it.
Turkan took the lead, scouting the interior. He scanned every corner with sharp eyes, nodding to himself as if he'd noticed something.
"Indeed... Queek!"
That's when Han Ji-woo spotted the change too and approached.
Wasn't there a massive hole punched into one side of the mine? An arch-shaped opening at least two meters high and a meter wide led to another cavern beyond.
"What's this?"
The cavern was vast—several times larger than the Salt Mine. The floor was fine soil, surrounded by solid stone walls, and strange plants grew in abundance. Lush green leaves fanned out like feather plumes.
Han Ji-woo plucked one labeled Mana Grass and checked its info window.
◈ A grass that grows by absorbing mana. Thrives without care in mana-rich areas but dies in mana-poor ones.
◈ Rich in mana, it replenishes vital life energy. The only grass monsters eat when exhausted or starving.
◈ Processing with monster trophies yields special potions.
◈ Consumes: Restores 50 MP.
"Oh, this is good stuff?"
Reading the description reminded him of what Osgeelro Haiban had said. The Hidden Space was overflowing with mana. That's why the chubby hatchling didn't need extra feeding.
Quurrrk?
The little guy purred happily as his owner stared—though he'd already sailed past chubby into full-on plump territory.
Anyway, with the Hidden Space brimming with mana, these Mana Grass plants would thrive on their own. Items that restored 50 MP on consumption? Way better than nothing.
"But... processing with monster trophies makes special potions?"
Tempting, but two problems. First, he'd never gotten "monster trophies"—he'd eaten or fertilized them all with the Dungeon Tree.
Second, no details on how to process them. Useless without that.
Regretfully, he pocketed about twenty stalks and moved on.
"Still, why'd a space like this suddenly appear?"
Turkan had the answer.
"The monsters that popped out of the Salt Mine earlier? They were trapped here. Queek!"
"Huh? How do you know?"
Turkan glanced at the chubby one.
"That hatchling. Said it hatched in the Salt Mine. Queek!"
"Yeah."
"On the Bryunak Continent, dragons mostly lay eggs in salt mines. Quuueeeek!"
"Why?"
Turkan's explanation boiled down to this:
Salt Mines were crawling with herds of Mad Cows everywhere. Salt was their staple diet. They bred fast and in huge numbers—hundreds per herd.
This led to an interesting phenomenon. Dragons started laying eggs there. It ensured food for the hatchlings from birth while teaching them to hunt.
Mad Cows became the perfect first prey.
Why? Because they were half-mad, as the name implied. Other monsters would flee at the scent of a dragon egg, but Mad Cows charged blindly. Rage-fueled idiots that attacked even as their heads flew off—weak low-grade monsters, but fearless.
Thus, Salt Mines became dragons' "nurseries." Some even renovated them, carving caverns to trap mid-grade monsters alongside Mana Grass for further growth.
Once hatchlings leveled up on Mad Cows, the cavern door opened, unleashing mid-grade foes. The hatchling hunted and grew stronger.
Han Ji-woo nodded at the end of Turkan's long tale.
"Mana Grass is the only grass monsters eat, huh."
Trapped ones grazed on it endlessly until release—only to become hatchling chow.
"Bear Woman at least had two menu items. These guys have it worse."
In the Dangun myth, the bear-turned-woman ate garlic and mugwort for 100 days in a cave. But these monsters? No end date, just eternal Mana Grass—straight to the food chain.
"Wouldn't the monsters have made a racket in there? It was dead quiet."
"Dragons' magic... magnificent. Quuueeek!"
"Ah."
Perfect soundproofing, then. And probably anti-infighting spells too.
With Turkan clearing up his questions, something clicked in Han Ji-woo's mind.
'Looks like the Hidden Space swapped the Monster Wave for a dragon egg-laying Salt Mine.'
The original system waves probably just dumped monsters—no Salt Mine.
'Straightforward mob rush.'
This place catered to him ridiculously well. Cat tribe? Check. Goblin? Check. Even hatchlings on tap!
'Wait. Hatchling?'
Come to think of it, taming the chubby one worked because of the Black Hatchling Shell Armor. Without it, he'd have been lunch when it hatched.
'Nah. Then the wave wouldn't have been a Salt Mine.'
The Hidden Space wouldn't screw him like that.
Snapping out of it, Han Ji-woo patted Turkan's shoulder.
"You cleared up my head. Thanks."
"Thank you, Master. Queeek!"
"Nothing else?"
"Told you everything I know. Queek."
"Got it."
Then Sasuri approached.
"So... where are we?"
"Where I live."
"Escaping the Dungeon Prison... What are you?"
Awe filled Sasuri's eyes at his new master. Far beyond what he'd imagined—a human of immense power.
"Anyway, thanks for the help. Head back now."
Han Ji-woo dismissed them, but the two pets stayed put.
"Why aren't you going?"
They exchanged glances and replied in unison.
"How do we go? Queek!"
"We don't know the way."
"Oh."
Right—they'd been summoned as his pets, not come on their own.
Only one way back: reverse summon from the Dungeon Prison.
He'd already gone there early with Pao, and Prison Key was once-a-day.
No return till midnight.
Han Ji-woo grinned sheepishly.
"Guess you guys crash here for the day."
"Fine by me. Queek! By Master's side."
"No more dung-hauling. Thanks."
The pair ended up spending the day in the Hidden Space with Han Ji-woo.
"Decided. Cabbage, radish, and sugarcane."
Even after leaving the Salt Mine, Han Ji-woo pondered long before picking his quest rewards.
Rewards have been delivered to your Inventory.
He opened his Inventory right away. It brimmed with assorted ingredients, cooking tools, and crafting materials—plus his new rewards at the end.
Fifty each of cabbage seeds, radish seeds, and sugarcane seeds. Han Ji-woo's grin stretched ear to ear.
Cabbage especially—he'd swapped it post-first wave, figuring few Koreans among the dungeon folk. But now they had plenty to eat, so he picked for himself: kimchi cravings.
"Radish means spicy fish stew ASAP."
Lake fish piled up; grilling or sashimi got old. With miso, gochujang, onions, and peppers abundant, sliced radish would make perfect stew.
Sugarcane? Maybe craft-mode it into MSG. Korea's classic umami came from fermented sugarcane—a natural flavor bomb. A pinch turned rough meals silky-smooth.
Extract that, and meal quality leaped tiers. Buoyed by hope, he handed seeds to Pao.
Farming pro Pao expanded the field—
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Turkan, hoe in hand from monster fights, jumped in to till.
Eased up, Pao planted effortlessly. Lucy paw-poked holes; chubby trailed, freeloading shamelessly.
Then Sasuri aerial-dropped fertilizer from a basket.
"Didn't think I'd be hauling dung here too."
His face screamed reality check, but...
"Aigoo, my kids are doing great."
Han Ji-woo beamed warmly—until his chest twinged.
Osgeelro's ghost flickered among the pets. The one who'd love new food most.
Bitter taste in his mouth, he stood before the unfinished wooden mansion.
"Never been inside."
No roof, and he'd never even considered opening the door.
Curiosity struck; he gripped the handle and pulled gently.
The massive wooden door swung smooth as butter.
Amazed, he stepped in.
But...
"...?"
Strange, unseen things filled the mansion.