Meditation Mania and the Brewing Storm
My guess that developing at least the bare minimum upper dantian was required for the well leading to the Scout Mirror Room to appear turned out to be spot on. Just a few days later, posts from Jeonbung-i types popped up claiming they'd seen results from meditation.
Of course, the numbers were still small, but it was more than enough to set the gallery's hot topic ablaze.
"With so many Jeonbung-is among explorers, it catches fire easy..."
Most explorers were Jeonbung-is, so even something relevant to just one job class rolled like wildfire.
For now, let it roll... Time to prep what I need to do.
Two things on the schedule ahead: first, the veteran explorers' evolution body pattern auction.
"Felt like this could make good content too..."
Everyone already knew I needed materials for new dungeons thanks to the elixir hot springs thing.
So running it as a big auction event didn't sound bad. Healing dungeons had been light on major content lately.
"Small shows happen daily, but yeah, lacking that punch."
An auction would bring out rare stuff civilians never see, plenty entertaining on its own. Plus, live gallery reactions would help gauge which items benefit me most.
Win-win content where I profit and viewers enjoy! Name it... Dungeon Treasures Auction!!
Early on, veterans hyped their stuff to me with prefixes like "one-of-a-kind," "never seen anywhere," "legendary," "all-in," "even the emperor would drool."
With all that packaging from the vets, it'd be a spectacle for sure.
For prep, I'd asked Granite Fist to build an auction house in Starlight Lake Park.
The park kept growing with me, so buildings were still popping up.
Ten days to the auction date we'd set.
Construction just started, but no worries.
Dungeon Company's manpower had been steadily increasing.
"Enter."
A brilliant light enveloped me.
*
Starlight Lake Park
The first dungeon made for leisure, not hunting.
These days, explorer levels were up, giant slimes less tough, more raid dungeons, golden tickets cheaper—common folk could visit easy.
"It's changed a lot here too..."
Started basic, but adding jobs turned it into a bustling district.
I headed toward the performance hall path.
Woooaaahhh-!!
Crowds cheered at the stage show.
Families enjoyed streetside fun; I veered away from the lake toward the outskirts.
Thud- Thud- Bang bang-
Construction noise grew louder.
No need to watch buildings rise, but checking in person now and then was key.
Soon at the site.
"Hm...?"
People clustered in my peripheral vision.
In a forest clearing, folks sat in a circle.
"What's that?"
Looked like... lotus position, eyes closed...
"Meditation?"
Gathering in the park's quiet spot for group meditation? Sky made it comfy, no monsters, but with all the people, wasn't it distracting? Better at home solo...
"Whatever."
I ignored them and hit the construction zone.
A massive auction house for the Treasures broadcast was going up.
Hundreds of workers, rising fast.
But upfront, someone arguing with dwarf bro Mithril Pickaxe Owner...
"Could you keep the construction quieter? It's disrupting our group big time."
"How quiet you want construction? Meditate at home alone. You rent the park exclusive?"
What now?
I watched the spat till the guy left, then approached the dwarf.
"Who was that?"
"Oh, you here? That's... one of those new meditation crews. Ha! Says construction disturbs their meditation—talk about nonsense."
...Meditation crew? Not even a running crew...
"People got all kinds."
"Ain't that the truth."
I got a rough progress report on the auction house, logged out, and searched the gallery.
Keyword: meditation
Posts regenerated so fast I'd skimmed before, missed this...
"Whoa, they really exist...?"
Meditation crews were a thing. And plenty.
Didn't take long after spilling the job condition...
Group recruit posts weren't rare—park let easy mingling across shelters, so meetups common.
Anyway, skimming: exchange meditation tips, efficiently build upper dantian, that sort...
"Hm..."
Get the intent, but the problem was...
"......"
Felt like my to-do list just grew one more.
*
Evening, Soul Han River Park Dungeon.
Mid-layer explorer Serina joined her first gallery group.
Pretty early-20s virgin, drew eyes in the group—but that attention burdened her.
She just wanted efficient upper dantian methods for second job.
Jeonbung-i second jobs needed meditation.
And super-efficient way: using feng shui.
Specific technique heavily feng shui-influenced.
But few knew it, so group leaders secretly monopolized feng shui + technique sales.
She caved to second-job temptation, paid 100k coins "dues" to the leader.
'Phew... This should get me my second job.'
"Ahem... Dues collected, let's move. Got a prime spot. I'll chant the technique formula en route for efficiency—memorize it."
They hit a riverside hill in Soul Han River Park.
Pre-planted folks blocked other passersby.
Special items laid around—feng shui tools, probably.
"...Rare meetup, let's do intros?"
At leader's nudge, awkward intros one by one.
"Cliff, 33... Ahem... Buffer hopeful."
"Dude's gunning for free ride."
"Tsk tsk... No dreams."
Cliff flushed at reactions: "Sh-shut up!! Buffer means dodging raids forever!!"
"Kuhahaha!!! Fair point."
Everyone shared second-job dreams, banter loosened the vibe.
All Jeonbung-is here. Only second-job openers needed meditation, so all warriors natural.
"Baek Soo-chan... Slime Master hopeful..."
"...Slime Master? That exist?"
"He even a warrior? Buff but... eh."
Maybe non-warriors too...
Serina's turn.
"Serina, 22, Dragon Knight hopeful."
"Ooh!! Me too, nice!!"
About 20 intros done, real explanation started.
"Our group's technique uses feng shui for hyper-efficient upper dantian growth! Way faster than solo basic mental training."
"How we verify?"
Leader pulled an item casually at the question.
"Great question. This magic tool measures upper dantian size numerically. Compare before/after meditation. Second-job cutoff's around 500 on this."
Leader pressed it to nearest member's head...
"See? This one's 120! I'll check everyone—remember yours."
One member raised hand: "Uh... leader's number?"
"Heh... Mine's 5300."
- Ooooh...
Astounded murmurs at 10x first-job baseline.
*
To probe the meditation crew issues, I started undercover.
Feng shui meditation... Explains the area blocks.
Hmm... Solving my way wouldn't be hard. Just make a meditation dungeon.
'Perfect, pondering valley add-ons—Sticky Thing Lover said temple? Yeah.'
And casually offer it to Saintess as mirror apology, let her manage.
'Hm... Not bad...'
Mid-thought, leader approached, pressed tool to my head.
Huh? Oh yeah, my upper dantian...
"Next member......? Wait, why? Numbers glitching?"
Display rocketed insanely.
"Ah, hold on...!!"
Zzt...
Tool whined ominously...
Then...
Boom-!!
Scouter shattered; silence fell.
"......Huh." "......??"