Ferrofero's Sudden Visit
Ferrofero, gazing into the crystal orb, suddenly had a thought. 'I wonder what Master Han Ji-woo is up to right now, siriyo. He's surely taking good care of our princess, isn't he? Of course he is, siriyo.'
The crystal orb reflected Ferrofero's will, showing scenes from the places he desired. In essence, Ferrofero's will acted like a remote control for the orb. Of course, it couldn't peer into places thoroughly hidden within the dungeon, like the Hidden Space.
But then.
"……?"
The scene in the crystal orb, having read Ferrofero's will, suddenly shifted.
Inside it, astonishingly, Han Ji-woo was wandering alone in some unknown place.
"……What in the world is this, siriyo?"
Ferrofero peered closely into the crystal orb.
The place where Han Ji-woo was didn't seem to be the Hidden Space.
"Could it be?"
With a thought of 'Is this even possible?', he willed himself to go to Han Ji-woo's location.
The crystal orb could access anywhere except the Dungeon Prison.
And then.
Whoosh!
Ferrofero vanished completely from the small room.
* * *
"Huh? How'd you get here?"
Descending the stairs toward the second underground floor, Han Ji-woo was greatly startled by the sudden appearance of Ferrofero.
"Argh! M-Me, I'm the one wondering, siriyo! Just what is this place, siriyo?!"
"Huh?"
"Yes?"
"……?"
"……?"
The two stared blankly at each other's faces for a long while.
Then Han Ji-woo was the first to sort out the situation.
"Seems like we're both totally out of it, so let me start by telling you what I know. This guy called the Creator showed up."
"Th-The Creator even went to the Hidden Space, siriyo?!"
"You met him too?"
"Yes, siriyo! He came to me and made the deeply slumbering Dungeon Guard wake up three days from now, then left, siriyo!"
"What a spiteful bastard. That's why I'm stuck like this too—because of his little prank."
"What exactly happened, siriyo?"
"He popped up out of nowhere, made this dungeon for me? Calls it a mini dungeon."
"A mini dungeon means it's a scaled-down version of an existing dungeon, right, siriyo?"
"Guess so. Says I have to beat the boss on the lowest floor to get out."
"If he wanted to kill you, why not just do it cleanly instead of this tiresome crap, siriyo?"
"……Are you telling me to just die cleanly right now?"
"N-No, that's not what I meant, siriyo! Sorry, siriyo!"
"Anyway, I don't know much either. Looks like he's the type who treats human lives like some game for fun. Said something about my life getting more valuable if I get stronger."
"……Hmm."
"You listening?"
"Yes? Oh, sorry, siriyo! I was thinking about something and missed the end, siriyo! But anyway, I figured out one key fact, siriyo!"
"What?"
"This space is a virtual dungeon made by the Creator, right, siriyo?"
"Yeah."
"Master was pulled from the Hidden Space and thrown in here, siriyo!"
"Yup, yup."
"So that's why I could check where you were with the crystal orb and come here, siriyo! This place is ruled by the Creator's energy, not the Hidden Space's, siriyo! My crystal orb can show scenes anywhere in a dungeon under the Creator's energy and even transport me there, siriyo!"
"Ah, got it. ……So, can you get me out of here too?"
Ferrofero shook his head.
"That's impossible, siriyo. Using the orb to travel through dungeons is a privilege granted only to administrators, siriyo!"
At the end, Ferrofero subtly puffed up with pride.
"Why are you looking so smug? Is this really the time? Huh?"
"Eek! It just slipped out as a habit, siriyo! Ah, anyway, even in this situation, being able to communicate with you is a huge stroke of luck, siriyo!"
"True that. I've got a ton of questions for you too."
"Can I ask one first, siriyo?"
Han Ji-woo easily guessed what this guy was curious about.
"Lucy's doing fine, so don't worry."
"Really, siriyo? She's not feeling lonely, siriyo?"
"She's getting along great with her friends."
"Then, no one's bullying her, or treating her like a slave, or harassing her for no reason……!"
"And that 'someone' is me, right?"
"……No, siriyo."
"Look me straight in the eye when you answer, you mangy cat."
"Anyway, it's a huge relief she's doing well, siriyo."
Ferrofero sighed in relief, stroking his chest. Han Ji-woo found the sight subtly cute and patted his head while asking,
"What about the dungeon survivors? Twenty made it to the Dungeon Shop. Everyone okay?"
Ferrofero shook his head.
"One died recently, siriyo."
"……Right."
Seeing Han Ji-woo's bitter response, Ferrofero quickly added,
"No need to grieve, siriyo! That human deserved to die even sooner, siriyo. Apparently, he was a serial killer who murdered seven people back on Earth, siriyo!"
"What? That scum was still alive and traveling with you guys?"
"Yes, siriyo."
"Well, good riddance then. So the others are safe?"
"For now, yes, siriyo. They've gone down to the fifteenth underground floor, siriyo."
"The Dungeon Shop was between the tenth and eleventh floors, right? Whoa, that's some express train clearing speed."
"All thanks to the gear Master shared at the shop, siriyo. It helped us a ton, siriyo!"
"Haha, makes me proud. Glad it was useful."
Hearing about Osgeelro Haiban would've made him happy too—or so Han Ji-woo thought, souring his mood a bit.
"But is it okay for you to chat so openly with me like this? You were super cautious before."
"Now that the Creator knows everything, who cares, siriyo? Anyway, once the Dungeon Guard wakes up in three days, she'll know I'm a traitor, siriyo."
"Pfft. You're just going all out now, huh. Still, you got a plan?"
"I've got it all figured out, so no worries, siriyo."
"But if you do that, it won't hurt the dungeon folks at all?"
"I'll just stop giving indirect help. Nothing major changes, siriyo. The Dungeon Guard will just take over the administrator duties instead of me, siriyo."
"I see. ……But you look kinda rough."
Ferrofero's face crumpled up in the middle of their conversation.
Han Ji-woo looked at him worriedly, as if he'd turned into an ugly stray cat.
"Th-That is…… At first I didn't notice, but now it's getting hard to breathe, and there's this pressure closing in from all sides. It's weird, siriyo."
At that moment, a system message appeared.
The will of the Hidden Space, which has slightly seeped into this area, rejects the existence of the 'Dungeon Administrator'.
Han Ji-woo and Ferrofero both checked it at the same time.
"Ugh, the Hidden Space's will? It infiltrated even this virtual dungeon made by the Creator, siriyo?"
No matter that it was a mini dungeon—this was an enormous event.
Ferrofero was struck anew by just how incredible the Hidden Space was.
"Yeah. Looks like the Hidden Space is trying to isolate me from the dungeon and protect me. You're the thorn in its side as the appointed Dungeon Administrator."
"Seems that way, siriyo. Urk! Ah, I don't think I can stay much longer, siriyo! If there's any last request, please tell me, siriyo!"
"Request? Hmm……."
After a brief ponder, Han Ji-woo gave a short reply.
"Just tell everyone I'm doing fine. Especially tell Ara thanks…… And that this time, she saved me. Can you make sure to pass that on?"
"Got it, siriyo. Then I'll be off, siriyo!"
As breathing grew harder, Ferrofero spat out his final words in agony and vanished completely.
* * *
The fifteenth underground floor of the dungeon was a vast forest blanketed in undergrowth.
The nineteen people wandering it showed signs of fatigue.
It wasn't just from the mental strain of the previous floor.
The fifteenth floor's quest was the issue, along with the tougher monsters.
The monster before the group was a troll.
A hulking brute over two meters tall, ripping up tree trunks to swing as clubs.
Trolls had disproportionately long arms for their build and exceptional regeneration.
Ordinary wounds healed almost instantly, so to kill them for sure, you had to sever the neck.
Pierre had confirmed this info from his Monster Encyclopedia skill and shared it with the group.
The fifteenth floor quest read as follows.
Find the Key!
📍 Goal: A door to the sixteenth underground floor is sealed at the forest's center. Find the hidden crystal key somewhere in the forest and unseal the door.
🎁 Rewards: Entrance to the sixteenth underground floor, food box, mid-grade random potion box, mid-grade random item box.
Trolls respawned every few minutes after one was killed—practically a troll field in this vast forest.
Finding a tiny key here was like hunting for a needle in a haystack.
"It's tiring physically, but this quest wears on the mind even more."
Irene Luker's words drew agreement from all.
How were they supposed to find a key smaller than a palm?
As everyone grew exhausted, a half-dead, cheese-patterned tabby cat appeared.
It was Ferrofero.
"Hahk. Hahk. Hello there, siriyo?"
The people murmured at Ferrofero, panting with his face twisted in pain from the lingering mini dungeon damage.
"Who're you?!"
"That cat's face got wrecked bad."
"Whoa, ugly."
"Ug-Ugly's kinda cute~ My type…… But a naughty cat."
Jonathan Yombi, Ishihara Yui, Josh McConnell, and Lisa Simpson, in order.
"……Could you respect catkind a bit, siriyo?"
Then Seol Ara stepped forward to the weary Ferrofero.
"What brings you here this time, kitty?"
Ferrofero's heart warmed at Seol Ara's voice, always calling him "kitty."
Unthinkingly, he spread his arms and charged at her.
"As expected, only you welcome me, Lady Ara, siriyo!"
But Seol Ara jabbed his forehead with her index finger and pushed him back.
"We're not that close yet, okay? Tell me why you're here first?"
"……Master Han Ji-woo asked me to pass on a message, siriyo."
"……Huh? Ji-woo?"
Han Ji-woo.
At the mention of that name, everyone's gaze focused on Ferrofero.
"Yes. Master Ji-woo says he's safe and sound, so no worries, siriyo. Especially to you, Lady Ara—he's grateful, and says this time you saved him, siriyo!"
Hearing that, Seol Ara grabbed Ferrofero's shoulders and shook him vigorously.
"Really? He really said that?"
"Yes, siriyo. And Master Ji-woo is always thinking of you all, siriyo."
A massive shift rippled through the group at Ferrofero's words.
Until moments ago, their weary hearts brightened.
Han Ji-woo had become that significant to the dungeon survivors.
His single message chased away the lingering gloom, replaced by joy, excitement, and delight.
With their crumbling morale restored, Pierre's long-dormant brain started spinning again.
"Everyone. About the key. We don't need to find it ourselves. Let's make the trolls do it."