Morning Harvest and Brisong's Quest

Han Ji-woo settled his morning in the Hidden Space with a simple spread: three kinds of fruit, sunflower seeds, steamed potatoes, and seasoned radish.

Some of the crops had impressively large grains, and without fail, eating them triggered messages like these.

"Come here, my little Toryong~"

Confirming the steadily climbing stat numbers, Han Ji-woo called out to Toryong.

"Oh ho~ You've summoned me!"

Toryong slithered over to Han Ji-woo's side.

"I'm reaping the benefits of you big time."

Han Ji-woo's hand, stroking Toryong's head, was filled with genuine warmth. Thanks to this guy's abilities, some crops now came with permanent stat-boosting options.

By the end of the meal, Han Ji-woo's vitality had risen by 7, attack power by 5, and agility by 2. But there were still plenty of unharvested crops with those permanent stat options. Han Ji-woo dubbed them "stat crops."

"Too bad the stat crops don't work on the pets too."

Regrettably, they only affected Han Ji-woo. He'd tested it by sharing them with the pets, but not a single one saw any stat gains.

After breakfast, Han Ji-woo gathered the pets to harvest the overflowing crops and dump them by the Dungeon Tree. Regular crops boosted the Dungeon Tree's growth rate by 0.1% each, and the effects stacked.

So, the more the Dungeon Tree devoured them, the faster it'd hit the percentage for the final quest. They diligently picked the non-stat crops and scattered them around the tree.

"Whoa, that's fast."

After just 30 minutes of feeding the crops to the Dungeon Tree, the progress shot past 83%. Han Ji-woo muttered as he took a break with the pets.

"Ten more minutes and we'll get the quest, huh?"

Just four days ago, he'd planned to clear quests at a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leisurely pace. Not anymore. From the pattern so far, he was growing alongside the Dungeon Tree. The more it grew, the more new phenomena appeared in the Hidden Space, accelerating his own progress. To get stronger faster, boosting the Dungeon Tree was the way.

'That way, I can save even one more dungeon warrior.'

And ultimately, they needed to slay the bottom-floor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠boss to end this game. For that, Han Ji-woo had to keep powering up relentlessly. His growth was always tied to the dungeon warriors', and it helped improve their harsh environment too. He'd learned all this in detail from his chat with Ferrofero last night.

Honestly, Han Ji-woo hadn't fully grasped how much he was helping them. But Ferrofero made him realize his actions were profoundly impacting the dungeon. He couldn't afford to stand still now.

After breakfast, he had the pets handle the dishes and started the day's most crucial task.

Energy burst from Han Ji-woo's body, spreading across the entire Hidden Space. Crops surged upward in lush growth, the lake teemed with multiplied aquatic life, chicks peeped from hatched eggs in the coop, calves and piglets in the barns ballooned in size, grapevines sprawled like a small forest heavy with fruit, apple saplings Pao had planted shot up to twenty trees, and colorful flowers expanded their beds through bee pollination. The synchronized bloom of buds was a spectacular sight.

The pets, used to this daily spectacle, barely reacted. But Toryong and Ferrofero, witnessing it for the first time, were floored.

"Eek! Huh?! Ah? No way! I've never seen anything like this! A miracle's happening right in front of me, right? Right? I'm gonna faint from shock~!"

"Wh-what sorcery is this, sir? It's not a dream, is it?!"

Toryong blinked nonstop, while Ferrofero slapped his own cheeks.

Then—

Miiiaaaooow!

Lucy's long mewl carried a hint of newfound maturity. Ferrofero whipped his head around in shock. There she was, slightly larger from the Growth Acceleration, nestled in Han Ji-woo's arms.

"Whoa~ Our Lucy grew a whole head taller?"

"Pr-Princesssss!"

Ferrofero bolted over and prostrated himself on the ground.

"I offer my deepest congratulations, Your Highness! Your loyal guard knight Ferrofero is infinitely honored to witness your flourishing growth by your side!"

Han Ji-woo chuckled at Ferrofero's teary voice.

"You get all sentimental every time it involves Lucy."

"It's inevitable as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her guard knight, sir!"

Ferrofero shot up indignantly, eyes brimming with tears and cheeks flushed—hilarious.

"Hahaha!"

"This is serious, and you're laughing, sir?!"

Han Ji-woo kept giggling, ruffling his head. He'd teased on purpose, but truthfully, he was just as thrilled. Lucy was the first to share her warmth and guard his side here. Firsts mattered most. She was a bit more precious than the other pets, and her growth filled him with inexpressible joy. With eyes everywhere, though, he held back to avoid seeming sappy.

As he secretly cheered inwardly, a system message appeared.

"Whoa~!"

Han Ji-woo exclaimed in awe. All of Lucy's stats up by 100! Last growth was +20 across the board, but this was a fivefold jump. It had to be the high-concentration royal jelly from the iron-shelled pumpkin queen bee. It doubled ability gains with age. So the base +50 became +100.

Lucy was incomparably stronger now—a huge boon for Han Ji-woo too. He had Pet Physical from Ibelius in the mini-dungeon, a cheat skill copying all pet stats onto his own. Lucy's boost would supercharge him during activation. As pets grew, so did Pet Physical. Just one minute, but he became a monster in that time.

"Divine Cat Armor? Wonder what that does."

A skill info window unfolded before his curious eyes.

"Acquired but sealed? What a pain."

Han Ji-woo grumbled, though the rigorous unlock made him expect something epic.

Anyway, morning chores were done. Then he remembered something.

He called Turkan and Sasuri. "Don't you guys need to head back? It's been days already."

He'd forgotten since they hadn't asked.

"We stayed without orders from Master. Queeik!"

"We don't know how to return. You, our master, have to send us."

"Right. To send you back, I'd have to go to the Dungeon Prison and resummon you."

"But you're both tribe leaders. Okay being away this long?"

Turkan answered first. "Orc tribes united thanks to Master. No more fights. We help each other now. Queeik!"

Sasuri followed. "Griffins follow my orders, but without issues, they spend ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time independently. No problem if I stay."

"Ah."

Han Ji-woo pondered sending them back right away.

'Nah. Don't know what the final quest'll throw at us. Can't afford to lose firepower.'

He'd send them after the quest. But they didn't look thrilled—probably grown fond of the Hidden Space.

"I'll bring you back often, so cheer up."

"We trust you, queeik!"

"It's not that I hate leaving here or anything."

Their contrasting reactions were adorable. Han Ji-woo turned to the Dungeon Tree sapling.

"Alright, let's finish this today!"

On the Bryunak Continent lived a small tribe in the forests: the Logaku, who called themselves the "Tribe of Time and Space." They looked like ordinary wolves but possessed a special skill: Dimensional Gate, letting them cross dimensions.

Not all Logaku had it—only the chosen one inherited it through bloodline succession, becoming tribe leader.

The leader used it tirelessly for the tribe: fleeing unbeatable monsters, escaping doomed planets, or fleeing drought and famine. Never for selfish gain, only for their survival.

One day, they settled on Bryunak. But soon, the Creator appeared, dooming the continent. The leader with Dimensional Gate couldn't use it—he was just a one-month-old pup.

"Yes~!"

Finally at 100%. Pets circled Han Ji-woo, eyes on the Dungeon Tree sapling. The final quest arrived.

But...

The objective was vague, and the reward hidden.