First War Spoils
Han Ji-woo picked up the items scattered across the mansion floor. They were gargoyle wings, claws, hearts, and the like.
"No way, is this war spoils?"
As he muttered to himself, he checked the info on the items he'd gathered.
◈ Can be processed with mana grass to create a potion that increases Defense for a certain duration.
◈ Can be processed with mana grass to create a potion that increases Defense for a certain duration.
◈ Can be processed with mana grass to create a potion that increases Defense for a certain duration.
"Well, look at that?"
The descriptions confirmed it—these were definitely monster war spoils. But why were they rolling around inside the mansion? As he pondered and glanced upward, the answer hit him.
"They fell from up there and died."
A few gargoyles must have clashed with Sasuri in an aerial battle, taken fatal wounds, and crashed inside to die. Three wings, four claws, one heart—that suggested war spoils dropped randomly.
"So, to get war spoils, you have to leave the bodies alone?"
Until now, he'd fed dead monsters to his pets or turned them into fertilizer for the Dungeon Tree. But the gargoyle corpses in the mansion, left untouched, had vanished completely, leaving only the spoils.
"But doesn't it take too long?"
There were surely monsters that died right at the start of the Monster Wave, yet their bodies hadn't disappeared until the wave ended. That's why he'd tossed them all to the Dungeon Tree. A system message answered his question.
Monsters that die in spaces under the Dungeon System vanish, leaving only war spoils. However, in mana-rich areas, post-mortem preservation time for bodies is extended.
The Hidden Space was richer in mana than anywhere else, so monster bodies stayed preserved longer before vanishing.
"Pretty helpful. But if I ask who you are, you won't answer anyway, right?"
As expected, the system gave only the necessary info and shut up. Han Ji-woo smacked his lips and stepped out of the mansion. He'd gotten war spoils for the first time ever, but to use them properly, he needed to process them with mana grass. Luckily, he had a convenient skill that skipped complex processing as long as he had the materials: Creation.
He activated the crafting window of his Creation skill. Placing one mana grass and one gargoyle wing on it produced the expected result.
"Oh, nice."
He eagerly tapped the synthesis button, and a small ochre pill appeared. This was the Intermediate Defense Boost Potion, which raised Defense by 20 points for 30 minutes.
"Using mid-grade monster spoils made a mid-grade potion, huh..."
The Defense boost probably came from the gargoyle's stone-like nature—earth attribute, boosting defense in typical fantasy tropes. Processing its spoils with mana grass yielded Defense potions.
While at it, Han Ji-woo threw the remaining seven spoils and seven mana grasses into the crafting window for synthesis. That netted him a total of eight Intermediate Defense Boost Potions.
'Gotta collect war spoils from now on.'
The effect was solid—too good to waste as fertilizer. In a great mood from the new info, Han Ji-woo hummed as he left the mansion. By then, Pao and the pets had planted all the new seeds in the fields.
"Done, Boss!"
Pao spotted his master and rushed over, face beaming for praise.
"You did great."
"Thanks!"
Pao grinned ear to ear in satisfaction. Then—
Nyaah~!
Not to be outdone, Lucy leaped into Han Ji-woo's arms and purred for attention.
"Our Lucy worked hard too."
Kyurruk!
The other two pets got praise, so the chubby one waddled over, shoving his head in too. Han Ji-woo kneaded its plump, fluffy cheeks.
"Chubbs... didn't do much, but good job! For you, doing nothing is helping! Yeah, yeah. You're just cute!"
Kyurrrr~
Thrilled by the pets, Chubbs rolled onto his back, belly up. Turkan and Sasuri watched the happy trio impassively.
'Those two at least keep some dignity.'
Just as Han Ji-woo thought that—
"Ahem! Hm! Quiik! Uh-hum! Quiik!"
Turkan started fake-coughing, clearly fishing for something. Curious, Han Ji-woo watched as the coughs grew louder.
"Eh-heh-hem! Quiiik! Kruk! Kek! Kkulk, kkulk! Quiiiik!"
He even choked himself forcing it. What a show.
'No way, him too?'
Suspecting, Han Ji-woo tossed casual praise. "Turkan worked hard too."
The coughs stopped dead. Turkan shook his head modestly. "Just did my duty for Master. No need for praise. Quiiiiiik!"
But pride shone through his denial. Han Ji-woo chuckled at the subtle cuteness when Sasuri kicked a pebble, muttering.
"Well, I didn't work for praise anyway."
"...Sasuri, good job."
"But refusing praise offered is rude, so I'll accept."
Despite their looks, these guys were so pure. Traits he'd never have guessed without taming them.
"Alright, time to accelerate growth on the new fields too?"
Cracking his knuckles with a pop, Han Ji-woo cast the skill.
Growth Acceleration!
Sprouts emerged from the cabbage, radish, and sugarcane fields under the skill's effect, unfurling fresh green leaves and growing noticeably. Pao's Great Harvest and Han Ji-woo's Growth Acceleration always synergized for jaw-dropping results.
His heart full from the expanding crops, Han Ji-woo was about to make lunch when—
A sudden message announced he'd found an Easter Egg.
The Dungeon Master hid seven emotions derived from personal experiences when creating this dungeon: joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, love, hate, and desire.
He already knew that. He'd previously found "sorrow". Six remained. Which one this time? The system explained kindly.
You have found the emotion of 'joy' among them. The Dungeon Master is a notorious gourmet. To him, fine food isn't just sustenance. He devours much: physical hunger with cuisine, cosmic truths to sate knowledge, high art to fill the soul's void. But what he savors most is chewing endlessly on the 'emotions of living beings'.
"...What the hell is this psycho?"
The Dungeon Master was the dungeon's creator—likely the "Creator" Ferrofero mentioned. The description alone made his skin crawl. Fitting for the maker of such a mad dungeon.
He read on.
The Dungeon Master embedded this trait one-dimensionally into the dungeon. You stocked over 30 edible items here, fulfilling the condition for the Easter Egg 'joy'. He thought no one would achieve it—he'd be impressed.
It was practically "don't find this." He'd managed thanks to the Hidden Space's conveniences; impossible in a normal dungeon. Even reaching the bottom floor offered only slim odds for 30 foods.
As reward for finding the Easter Egg, you receive a 'Wish Seed'.
Second Easter Egg, second Wish Seed. The fingernail-sized seed floated, glowing red.
"Last one was yellow... Wait."
Rainbow colors flashed in his mind: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. His first Easter Egg, "sorrow" (third emotion), was yellow (third color). This "joy" (first) was red (first).
"Obsessed with pointless details."
The Creator was unhelpful on big things, meticulous on trivia. Grumbling, Han Ji-woo gripped the seed.
Plant it in the soil. As the Wish Seed grows, it discerns your deepest desire and bears fruit with a fitting gift.
May you uncover more Easter Eggs through relentless contemplation.
"Got it."
He'd been clueless at first, but now he knew. He planted it near the field and watered it. In two days, it'd absorb his desires, bloom, and grant one feasible wish. Like the all-purpose fermenter jar.
"In that case."
Gazing at the Wish Flower, he pondered fervent wishes. Whatever it granted—if unexpected or fitting—would be quality like the jar. No loss.
'Actually a win.'
The irritating placement annoyed him, but whatever.
The 'Creator' detects anomalies in the 1983rd dungeon.
Ferrofero jumped at the system message.
'Eek! Th-the Creator detected something weird?!'
Dungeon Guards alone made his legs shake—now the Creator? The next message was more shocking.
The Creator shakes the sleeping 'Dungeon Guard' awake.