Kyururuk?! Kyuuuuwuu!
With a bewildered look on its face, the plump one scanned its surroundings before spotting its master and joyfully throwing itself at him.
The creature shoved its massive bulk against Han Ji-woo, slobbering over his face with its huge tongue.
Han Ji-woo welcomed the affectionate assault for the moment.
"Aigoo, you rascal! Even without me, you must've eaten well..."
As he spoke and checked its face from all angles, he noticed it had put on even more weight.
"Looks like you didn't skip a single meal—ate like a champ, huh."
And yet, it'd only been two hours since they'd parted. Somehow, the little glutton had scarfed down who-knows-what in that time.
"Hold on. So this is the real Plumpie? Or is this a copy that popped up?"
The Hidden Space's bathroom syncing here didn't mean the one over there vanished. So Plumpie showing up here shouldn't make the original disappear either.
A helpful message cleared up Han Ji-woo's doubts.
For pets only, sharing is replaced with the form of 'summoning'.
That meant this was the genuine article.
Han Ji-woo pinched the beaming Plumpie's chubby cheeks and clicked his tongue.
"Tsk tsk, what now? There's nothing to eat here."
Kyururuk?!
Plumpie reeled at the revelation of no food.
It glanced around frantically, sniffing the air. Sure enough, nothing edible in sight.
Kyuuuuwuu! Kyrurr!
"Crying won't help right now. Unless we get out of here fast or some food shares over..."
At those words, Plumpie suddenly headbutted Han Ji-woo upward, hoisting him onto its back, then bolted down the dungeon passage.
"Whoa whoa! There might be traps here—don't just charge ahead like that...!"
Han Ji-woo's warning came true in an instant.
Plumpie triggered every trap in its path.
But Han Ji-woo had overlooked one key fact: Plumpie was a hatchling!
Thud! When the floor collapsed, it simply took to the air with ease.
Tatata-tang! Spears shot from all sides? It smashed right through them.
Pyu-pyuu! Poison arrows bounced harmlessly off its scales and clattered to the ground.
Fwoosh! Flames erupted from below? It passed through like a casual sauna session.
And through it all, it took pains not to let a single scratch touch Han Ji-woo.
"Whoaaa!"
Hanging on for dear life atop Plumpie, Han Ji-woo was awestruck.
It felt just like snagging a legendary mount in a game and turning invincible!
From there, Plumpie tore through the trap-filled corridor at lightning speed.
It activated every single trap without fail but emerged unscathed, locating the passage to Dungeon Floor 4 in under five minutes.
Then, an achievement window popped up.
"Whoa!"
Han Ji-woo exclaimed for the umpteenth time today.
This mini-dungeon had an achievement system after all, being a dungeon at heart. It wasn't some add-on from the Hidden Space—it was built-in.
"What kinda garbage reward is this?"
Where was he supposed to spend Dungeon Coins right now? And it felt awfully stingy compared to the achievement.
The Hidden Space soothed his bitterness.
Achievement unlocked: 200 Synchronization Points acquired.
Stairs to the lower floor discovered. 50 Synchronization Points acquired.
"That's more like it!"
Achievements still netted Synchronization Points. There had been five ways listed to earn them initially, but only two were readable—the rest glitched out. One of the hidden ones must've been achievements. And a whopping 200 points to boot.
Han Ji-woo dumped all 250 Synchronization Points he'd earned on this floor. Total now sat at 463.
Investment points exceeded 400.
Synchronization commencing. Two items randomly shared from Hidden Space buildings, crafted goods, or acquired pets.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Kyuuuuwuuu-!
Han Ji-woo and Plumpie buzzed with anticipation over what would sync.
Nothing visibly changed. Instead, a message appeared.
A lake and a hearth have been shared somewhere in the dungeon.
"The lake!"
Kyuuuuwuuut!
The hearth was useless without firewood, but the lake? Massive win.
Han Ji-woo and Plumpie hugged it out, dancing a goofy jig.
"Hahaha! Turns out Plumpie showing up was a total blessing! A blessing!"
Kyruruk~
Not food itself syncing, but a bottomless pit of a stomach—maybe his luck stat was slacking?
Nah, luck was working overtime. Plumpie's summon led to the achievement, fat Synchronization Points, and now the lake.
"Unbelievable. I saw a bathroom on the way in, so synced stuff must spawn per floor."
Pets were summons, not shares, so no duplicates here.
"Dunno where the lake is, but we'll stumble on it poking around lower floors! Ready to head down, Plumpie?"
Kyuuuwuu.
"Huh? What's up?"
Plumpie ignored the order at first, then sniff sniff! and dashed off somewhere.
Han Ji-woo chased after, clueless.
Moments later, they stopped at the shared lake, shimmering invitingly.
"No way. You smelled the water?"
Kyruruk~!
Plumpie shivered with glee and dove in, gobbling up swimming fish like candy.
"Damn, you sniff out food like a ghost."
Whatever synced next, if it was edible, Plumpie would track it down. One less headache for Han Ji-woo.
* * *
Dungeon Basement Floor 15.
After feasting, boozing, bathing, and chilling, the group crashed in a spacious 30-pyeong roofless wooden mansion.
Nearby, Ferrofero sat by a campfire, peering into a crystal orb.
Normally he'd be back in his room by now, but not tonight. He couldn't stand holing up alone in that lonely closet.
Ferrofero glanced back.
Inside the Hidden Space-synced mansion, 19 people slumbered peacefully. He longed to join them but lacked the nerve—too ashamed.
After all, he'd been the one to lure them here.
His gaze returned to the crystal orb, fuzzily showing something amid heavy noise.
"The Hidden Space's power must be growing stronger, sir."
He'd been trying to check on Han Ji-woo. But rising sync between mini-dungeon and Hidden Space amplified Ibelius's will, jamming his managerial access.
"Whatcha staring at?"
As Ferrofero tapped the orb like a misbehaving TV, a small face popped up behind him.
"Eek! Y-you startled me, sir!"
"Huh? What cat's this slow?"
Seol Ara giggled as she spoke, eyeing the orb.
"What's this?"
Before, he'd have hidden it in panic, but no need now. He explained plainly.
"A crystal orb, sir. Used to watch over everyone from anywhere."
"Cool. But it's busted? Can't see squat."
Seol Ara thwack! smacked the orb.
In that instant...
The noise cleared like a sunny sky.
"...?!"
For a split second, the orb crystal-clearly showed Han Ji-woo.
Ferrofero gawked.
"J-just now, that was...!"
Before he could say more, Seol Ara lit up.
"Hey! That was Ji-woo, right? The guy in just his undies doing flips—totally Ji-woo, yeah?"
Ferrofero was baffled.
First, why was Han Ji-woo somersaulting in nothing but underwear? He didn't seem that unhinged.
More baffling: the noise vanishing on her touch.
As Hidden Space infiltrated deeper, noise worsened—no fix in sight for him.
Yet her hand cleared it instantly.
Thwack. Thwack.
"Why's the screen glitching like this?"
Now it just fizzled no matter what she did.
'Impossible, sir.'
The orb was a Creator's holy relic. Low-grade or not, interference like this needed the Creator's power to fix.
But her touch had purified it, if briefly.
"How did you do that, sir?"
Ferrofero asked blankly.
"Do what?"
"The screen cleared up just now. How?"
Seol Ara grinned.
"Old trick: smack busted appliances when they act up. Like this."
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
She tilted her head.
"This one's stubborn. Anyway, that was Ji-woo, right?"
"Y-yes, sir. That's him."
Ferrofero decided not to overthink. No answers, just headache.
"You were watching Ji-woo with this?"
"Until I came here, yes... but as you see, it's glitchy now, sir."
"Bummer. Wanted a closer look."
"The underwear flips, sir?"
"Nah~ It's Ji-woo."
"Come to think, you two share a deep bond, don't you, sir?"
Seol Ara smiled wistfully.
"Yeah. One no one could sever easily."
"Hmm..."
Ferrofero pondered how to help, then snapped his fingers.
"Ah! This might work, sir."
"What?"
"The orb picks up sound too, not just video. Normally one-way from dungeon noises, but I can enable two-way—relay my voice as manager!"
"Whoa, really?"
"But your voice won't transmit, sir. I'd have to relay for you."
"Still good. Let's try?"
"Right away, sir!"
* * *
Mini-Dungeon Basement Floor 9.
Having blasted through several floors in two hours, Han Ji-woo—down to his undies—flipped through the air.
Post-lake bath, nothing dried you faster.
"If only trees or fire flowers had synced."
Campfire or hearth-warmed drying. Pity, but ample food synced over—no more starvation fears.
He shook off the dampness, hunger gnawing, and plucked a watermelon from the synced patch to split with Plumpie.
That's when—
Ferrofero's voice rang out suddenly.