Dimensional Gate Activation (0.2/100%)

"It's really open."

Han Ji-woo examined the dimensional gate formed of shimmering light. Above it floated the activation percentage.

He checked Brisong's Dimensional Gate skill again.

Han Ji-woo gazed at the man dozing on the mat. His pets crowded around, curiously observing him. Pao occasionally poked the man's cheek, while Lucy patted his head with her front paw.

"P-Princess! You mustn't do that to an injured person, meow~"

As Ferrofero tried to stop Lucy, Seibier and Brisong frantically licked the man's face. Yet the man, utterly exhausted, didn't stir.

"So what now?"

The dimensional gate had opened, and suddenly a half-dead guy popped out and passed out.

'He looked like he might actually die if left alone, so I laid him on the mat in a sunny spot...'

Mio had urgently used her Poke-Poke skill to heal his wounds, and Han Ji-woo had wiped the blood with a tissue made from dungeon weeds soaked in water. Worried about dehydration, he'd trickled some in, and the guy had swallowed it down with audible gulps before falling into a deep sleep.

He'd saved the guy's life first, but now he wondered about the true purpose of the dimensional gate. Just then, a message explained the situation.

"Satisfaction?"

At his mutter, the satisfaction window unfolded.

"Something amazing, huh."

As he pondered what that might be, a sudden memory surfaced.

"Wait. I've seen similar wording before, haven't I?"

What was it? Racking his brain, Han Ji-woo scrolled through his message log and snapped his fingers.

"Right, that was it."

He'd completely forgotten. Thanks to a quest from the Creator, Han Ji-woo had been pulled into a mini-dungeon. The Hidden Space had gradually influenced it until eventually swallowing the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whole thing.

He checked the mini-dungeon digestion progress.

"...Am I gonna escape the dungeon before this even finishes digesting?"

The digestion speed was glacially slow. No wonder it showed three decimal places.

Anyway, whether the Hidden Space finished digesting the mini-dungeon or he accumulated 10 satisfaction points from other-dimensional heroes—either way, something amazing would happen.

"The latter seems easier right now."

Then I should treat him with the utmost care.

Just as he thought that—

"Ugh..."

The man groaned and opened his eyes.

On the Adrigur continent, the survival game had begun 17 years ago. The dungeon overseeing this world was larger in scale than Earth's, abducting not 100 but 200 people at a time.

The humans, dwarves, and elves held the most influence on Adrigur, so the three races were randomly mixed in the abductions.

This fact only became public knowledge across the continent 10 years after the dungeon opened. People knew of mass disappearances for unknown reasons but had no idea where they were taken or what happened to them.

No different from Earth's situation.

Adrigur's survival game was now entering its 63rd round—meaning 200 more lives had been dragged into the dungeon as "heroes."

The best record so far was the 51st round heroes, who had reached floor 36 underground.

That didn't matter much to the 63rd round heroes. But the imp calling himself the "Dungeon Guard" Jagonya chattered excitedly about it all.

Of course, none of it registered with the 63rd round heroes.

"Then, do your best, everyone."

With those words from Jagonya, hell unfolded before the 200.

Day after day was a tightrope walk over life and death. As time passed, people grew exhausted and worn down. By floor 12 underground, everyone was on edge.

Palas Laporte was no exception.

Having acquired the Piano Sword swordsmanship skill, with his blue hair, blue eyes, and stern features, he already looked prickly. How much more now, in poor condition?

Some avoided even meeting his eyes.

Normally, they'd overlook his sharp looks and see his inner self. But no one had the mental leeway anymore.

This prevented unity among the group, leading to endless deaths.

Then Palas faced death himself.

GRRROOOAAAR!

Facing a ferocious monster three times his size, his mind went blank. His body was long soaked in blood, vision blurring.

It's over. I've done all I could.

As Palas let go of his will to live, his grip loosened on his sword. At that moment, the monster's gaping maw lunged for his head.

FWOOOSH!

Dazzling light enveloped him.

"...So you came to your senses here?"

Han Ji-woo asked, and Palas, having devoured five apples in seconds, nodded.

"Yes."

Above his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠head floated this:

'It went up.'

It had been 0 when Palas woke. But after five apples, it rose to 1.

He looked around and asked, "Where exactly is this place?"

"It's complicated to explain, but think of it as a hidden spot somewhere in the dungeon."

"A hidden place. I see. At first, I thought I'd gone to the afterlife. Then monsters appeared out of nowhere, and I couldn't make sense of it."

At that, Toryong slithered over and whispered in Palas's ear.

"Where'd you get that idea from this harmless form of mine~?"

"Eek!"

Startled by the voice piercing his eardrum, Palas flinched, and Toryong shook with laughter.

"Yohohohoho~ Not as tough as you look, are you~?"

"Try experiencing that hell yourself! I'm so on edge, I nearly collapse if someone just speaks from behind."

'Damn!'

Toryong's prank dropped the hard-earned 1 point.

'It can go down too?'

Han Ji-woo hurriedly sided with Palas to stop Toryong.

"Of course he'd react like that. Toryong, quit teasing."

"Yeees~ Yeees~"

Under Han Ji-woo's restraint, Toryong burrowed into the ground. The satisfaction rose back to 1.

"Hoo..."

Palas closed his eyes, hand on his chest, and sighed deeply. Calming himself, he opened them again.

His blue eyes slowly scanned the pets standing by Han Ji-woo.

"But these monsters are really all your pets, right?"

"Yeah. Not all monsters, though."

"Amazing. Goblins and the others, fine—but taming a hatchling? Does the dungeon even have a pet-taming system?"

"I'm not entirely sure. To be precise, this is a hidden space in a different dungeon from yours."

"...A different dungeon?"

"Yep. What continent did you say you were from?"

"Adrigur continent."

"I'm from a place called Earth. A planet in another dimension from where you were."

Palas looked genuinely shocked. Only now did he realize Han Ji-woo's language sounded unfamiliar. He'd noticed late because dungeon entry auto-translated all languages.

"How did I end up dimension-hopping?"

"Uh... it's a bit complicated to explain."

"I see. Well, something happened here that brought me?"

"You could say that."

"I knew other worlds existed in theory, but meeting someone from one directly? Never imagined."

"Yeah, me neither..."

'Yeah.' Han Ji-woo started to agree but paused.

Come to think of it, this wasn't his first encounter with someone from another dimension's dungeon. Wasn't Osgeelro Haiban sleeping in that tiny 2-pyeong house?

'Wait... Adrigur continent?'

Now he recalled—Osgeelro was from there too.

"Palas. You said your dungeon guard was an imp?"

"Not a manager—a Dungeon Guard. Jagonya's a real bastard."

"So no actual manager?"

"No. There was no position like that."

Here, Han Ji-woo realized dungeon managers weren't always necessary.

He kept asking out of curiosity.

"Your dungeon abducts 200 humans, elves, and dwarves at a time?"

"Yes."

"Did that imp ever mention a dwarf who fell into the Dungeon Prison after attacking him on floor 10?"

Palas said Jagonya loved blabbing trivial details to heroes. Hoping for a lead, he asked—and Palas looked surprised, like how do you know?

"Yes. He bragged about some dwarf from a previous round who dared strike him on floor 10 and got thrown into the Dungeon Prison... How did you know?"

As expected.

Palas was from the same continent as Osgeelro, dragged into the same dungeon.

Han Ji-woo briefly explained meeting Osgeelro in the Dungeon Prison and bringing him here.

Palas's face lit up like he'd heard hometown news.

"Where is he now?"

Instead of answering, Han Ji-woo stared at the small house with a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠heavy expression.

"I heard dwarves sleep for long periods after crafting soul-infused masterpieces. Is that true?"

"Yes. The greater the work, the longer the sleep."

"What if he made 20 incredible suits of armor from dragon bones?"

"...Dragon bones? 20 suits from that? Unimaginable, but he'd sleep forever. ...No way."

Palas's gaze followed Han Ji-woo's to the house.

"Yeah. He's sleeping in there."

"Oh no..."

Palas rubbed his dry face in dismay.

"Palas."

"...Yes."

"Any way to wake Osgeelro sooner?"

"A way... A way..."

He vaguely recalled hearing something. A group of dwarves abducted with him had discussed it.

But his mind wouldn't turn. Fresh from near-death, he lacked the energy.

Besides—

Grrrooowl!

His stomach growled fiercely.

"Apples alone won't cut it, huh."

Chuckling at the belly clock, Han Ji-woo stood.

Slurp. Slurp. Gulp!

Crunch. Crunch. Gulp!

"I can't tell if this is a dream or reality. Seafood? Pork, beef, chicken!"

Palas happily gulped down foods he'd never even seen in the dungeon.

Palas's satisfaction shot straight to 6. Good food truly brought immense joy.

As he devoured his meal, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"I remember! The story the dwarves were talking about."