The Exploding Gauge and the Radiant Han River
There was a brief silence after the sudden mishap with the upper dantian gauge exploding, but the group leader quickly pulled himself together.
He checked on Soo-chan's condition with a flustered expression.
"A-are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"
"Ah, yeah... I'm fine, but the magic tool..."
The magic tool that had burst with a loud bang was spewing black smoke.
"I'm glad you're not hurt. This is a tool made by the Magic Tower, but why on earth did it explode...? It's never happened before..."
He didn't show much outward panic, but inwardly, he was quite shaken.
This upper dantian measurement tool was made using materials from the Soul Eater, a monster that exists in the upper layers of dungeons and beyond.
A tool crafted by processing the core of a Soul Eater, which devours the mental energy of living beings.
'This thing isn't supposed to break under normal design specs...'
The group leader stared at the broken gauge with a serious gaze. Even at a glance, he could tell the processed Soul Eater core—the key component—had gone haywire.
He had originally been involved in making these exact magic tools, so he could spot the issue at once.
That's right—the leader of this meditation crew wasn't actually an explorer.
More precisely, he hadn't been one until coming to the Shelter.
He'd been a Magic Tower worker, but as Shelter jobs dried up, he'd naturally become an explorer to support his family.
Of course, with the recent emergence of the Dungeon Master placing bulk orders for magic tools to supply healing dungeons like the park, he'd been able to return to tool-making to meet demand.
The reason he'd started this meditation crew on top of that? A acquaintance had tipped him off that it was a lucrative side gig.
He'd lived as a religious person for a long time, so he had some real expertise in meditation.
Warriors quickly met their second job change conditions, he made money—win-win, right?
He'd been raking in decent cash for a few days like that, but...
Something unexpected happened.
"...Measurement impossible... That doesn't make sense.... Coincidence...?"
This magic tool had been made back when the surface was still intact, to distinguish Dimensional Transferees.
Designed to measure freaks with upper dantians like monsters, its tolerance far exceeded human limits.
So...
'It shouldn't break so easily...?'
The group leader pulled out his spare gauge.
"Ahaha... This one's old and must've malfunctioned... No worries, though. I brought extras just in case!!"
"Ah, no... You don't need to measure me... Magic tools don't work well on my constitution anyway..."
"Haha! Don't worry! This one's in perfect condition!"
Confident, the group leader placed it on Soo-chan's head, but...
Pssh...
Boom-
Another ridiculous failure.
With two malfunctions in a row, there had to be some reason, but since he was just here to earn pocket money in his spare time, the leader didn't dig deeper.
He wasn't the researcher type anyway, and he knew overthinking minor issues just made life annoying...
"......We'll skip Soo-chan."
Unable to measure, they skipped Soo-chan and pulled out the spare-of-the-spare, successfully finishing measurements for the rest of the explorers.
Most explorers' upper dantian readings hovered around 100.
Calibrated to an average of 100 for ordinary people, it was normal to be near 100 without specific efforts to develop the upper dantian.
"Alright! Measurements done—now I'll teach you meditation methods using special breathing techniques!"
And so... the group's meditation began.
*
Soo-chan had joined the meeting to check on the meditation crew's bad rep, but since he was here, he decided to focus on meditating for once.
The method wasn't much different from modern society.
The key was ultimately inner contemplation.
Hooooooo-
Just following the incantation and breathing the group leader taught cleared his mind.
Plus, the various ritual items placed around seemed to carry shamanistic meaning, providing additional meditation benefits via his dungeon sync sense.
A 'flow' that ordinary people couldn't feel, perhaps?
This unique flow linked with the meditation breathing technique, stimulating the upper dantian.
'I see—that's why these folks are so stubborn about this spot.'
Even at Han River Park, this hilly area mysteriously concentrated the flow.
A place where lines connected to form a point.
It felt similar to ley lines.
'Amazing...'
He'd only learned today that such a 'flow' even existed in the world.
Even more amazing: this space was inside Kkomangi's body—the dungeon world—not reality.
'If it were reality, fine, but a dungeon having this flow too...'
His own dungeons vaguely copied the real world—no animals or insects, plants lifeless like models.
His dungeon world was an imperfect one.
Yet this 'flow' matched reality...
'No, maybe this flow is pretty crucial to constituting a world...'
He had a hunch it might be something more fundamental than material things, key to building a world.
Perhaps a world needed this exact flow to exist, just like reality?
He pondered that during meditation, but...
That wasn't important now.
More crucial was...
That he had noticed this flow's existence.
'Maybe... I could manipulate the dungeon to create spots concentrating this flow...?'
He'd been thinking of making a separate meditation dungeon anyway, thanks to rowdy explorers at the park...
If he could control the flow regardless of feng shui or item placement, he might craft a double meditation EXP dungeon.
That'd speed up explorers' job changes even more...
Only worry: Kkomangi might get tired. Though he seemed full of energy lately.
Plus, this 'flow' felt like it had other uses.
From learning magic with Elise, he'd picked up shamanism history—priests always scouted good land before rituals.
Probably related to this flow. Definitely.
This feng shui meditation was basically shamanistic anyway...
He understood magic as optimized shamanism, shamanism as magic's origin.
Surely ancient shamans used this 'flow' often.
Now, magic replaced all shamanism elements with body and imagery alone, no externals...
Conversely, if controllable at will, this 'flow' would be a hugely useful resource...
He didn't know its exact effects yet.
But... he didn't want to lose this strong sensation during meditation.
He vaguely felt he could detach and reattach flow channels...
And this sensation would fade soon.
'...Should I try?'
He couldn't let the sudden inspiration slip.
Meditation had him oddly exhilarated.
He knew tampering with variables rashly was unwise.
But... isn't there a saying that missing rare enlightenment brings big regrets?
Just a tiny bit... a fleeting moment handling the flow?
Touching it once might get the feel.
So, concentrate the flow for 1 second then release.
No, even 1 second's too long—shorter.
He grabbed multiple flow channels in the dungeon simultaneously... linked them to Soul Han River Park, then detached instantly.
Practice handling the flow without affecting the dungeon...
A true all-or-nothing 0.2-second deployment.
'Did it work?'
Eyes closed in meditation, but no reactions yet, so...
"Okay, everyone—30 minutes up. Open your eyes... Gah!! Everyone, open your eyes! Now!!!"
At the leader's urgent shout, explorers opened their eyes, panicking at the unexpected change.
"What? Sudd... Nooo!!! What the hell is this!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Emergency-!!!!!!!!! The Dungeon Master's screwing around again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Calm down!!! No monsters here, so it should be fine!!!!!"
Amid the growing commotion, Soo-chan opened his eyes too.
"...Phew, was 0.2 seconds too much?"
It was evening, yet Han River Park glowed like midday.
*
[Isekai Survival Gallery]
Whoa... ffs can you see this? This view can't even fit on screen it's that insane, come see quick;;; But the vibe here's weird too? Why's my head so clear?
ㄴ But what's this event?
ㄴ ??]
ㄴ Don't try to understand... Dunbungi might not even know
ㄴ DunExpert agrees]
No disaster occurred, but this event would later be known as the 'Han River Incident'.