Justice Served
Just as I was wrapping up the justice implementation, a chat popped up from Goseongji at the most hilariously perfect timing.
'He actually came through...'
It was the worst possible timing—I was swamped.
Besides, I'd only just started grasping my ether line manipulation ability. I had zero clue what it could do exactly or what penalties it might carry.
Taking the elves' request in this state would be straight-up stupid.
If talks went well and I promised something but couldn't deliver due to lacking the power, I'd just eat shit for it.
At the very least, I needed solid confidence in my abilities before entertaining any requests.
I wrapped up the chat with Joodak and let Goseongji know I'd have to decline.
Goseongji was probably in for some hassle from the clingy royal elves for a while, but oh well—couldn't be helped.
"Now, about that World Tree, hmm..."
I could sense it was a big deal for the elves, but...
"Plants don't grow normally in my dungeons to begin with."
Just look at the fruit slimes, right?
I was terrified the World Tree might turn into some colossal Trent. I'd never seen one in person, but the name alone screamed "tree world's utter fucking boss." If that thing monsterized and started moving, it'd be a walking apocalypse.
...And if the World Tree got corrupted? Couldn't even imagine the elves' meltdown. Faith levels varied, sure, but...
- Kraaaah! The World Tree is angry!!!
- Bipedal walking... oh god!!! World Tree, mercy!!!
Even imagining it was a clusterfuck waiting to happen...
"The more I think about it, reviving the World Tree in my dungeon's got way too many risks..."
Of course, it might not be like regular plants. Even I knew it was some otherworldly entity wearing plant skin, despite my ignorance of elf lore.
Rumor had it the World Tree guided the elves' path forward?
Just skimmed some info post on the gallery while scrolling—didn't dig deep.
"Hmph... Gotta research the World Tree properly later..."
World Tree aside, time to tackle priorities.
The ongoing sentence auction had confirmed participants and a date—just wait it out. Broadcast request to Goseongji was done; just post the event notice later.
Next: Adding job changes for other classes...
Couldn't fully dominate the mirror space yet, so that was on hold. Felt like I hadn't cleared some condition...
Then: Use ether line insights from the park to build a new meditation dungeon.
That required mastering the ability first, plus erecting buildings—time sink.
FYI, I planned to double it as a job change dungeon, with dedicated rooms inside.
The well's spawn condition—"no people nearby"—could be solved with sealed chambers.
If that worked, no ambushes post-job change, no hunting for wells. Solid win.
Everything boiled down to time.
So, what now?
"Time to post the notice."
Went to the park for the meditation crew issue in the first place.
Having seen park users suffer from Jeonbung-i's meditation antics firsthand, I couldn't ignore it.
Ether line manipulation for a meditation spot was fine, but not if regular users took the hit in the meantime.
I got warriors obsessing over meditation to some extent, but occupying a shared park and sparking fights crossed the line.
"...Might as well roll out a new feature."
Banning specific people from dungeons? Easy enough.
I drafted the gallery notice.
Hello, this is DungeonMaster.
Due to the recent second job change rollout, tons of explorers are meditating to build upper danjeon energy.
However, reports confirm some occupying park spots for specific breathing methods, inconveniencing others.
As a countermeasure, I'm adding a Meditation Dungeon.
It'll boost meditation effects, slashing second job change prep time dramatically.
Also, the Starlight Lake Park anomaly was just ether convergence—no harm to health, so rest easy.
On penalties: From now on, any park occupation gets an instant 30-day ban.
Uncooperative behavior toward guards or harming other users also counts. Watch it.
Event incoming soon—stay tuned.
Thanks.
ㄴ You psycho, meditate at home!!!!!!!
ㄴ Fence off Slime Hill instead...
ㄴ Jeonbung-i bust
ㄴ Where's your conscience? Not just your loss—how much time did others waste on tickets cuz of you?
ㄴ Fr;;; Can't go back to pre-DungeonBro days...
*
After posting, I cracked down on the park until auction day.
Sometimes daytime patrols with Elise...
"Hehe... unusually compliant today, no complaints?"
Evenings with Luna.
"Oppa, you know? Saw it on Goseongji's horror special—haunted spinster elves lure men into the dark at Starlight Lake Park..."
Took a rare day off shop ops to hit the hot spring dungeon with staff.
"Aigoo, boss perks like this! Lucy, thank the boss!!"
"Th-thank you..."
FYI, Lucy's the new hire—Rana's daughter, a total hikikomori NEET till her mom dragged her out.
Shop's slammed anyway; extra hands are gold.
Plus, felt a weird kinship with her.
That reluctance to leave the house? Totally got it.
Patrolled the hot spring dungeon just in case.
'No way meditation crew's here too.'
Right on cue, dungeon sync pinged a meditating group.
But they were far from the baths—in an undeveloped forest clearing, not the cave interior.
Regulars never went there, so minor enough to overlook.
"That's safe enough."
They picked meditation over elixir baths with premium hot spring tickets? And in unused outskirts? Fine.
Hot spring dungeon's quirks meant folks only used the baths—nothing else.
"Oppa, coming?"
Luna called; she'd bathed and swimsuit-ed up.
Necklace from StickyThingLover hid her burns via illusion.
She'd used elixir baths before, but they tuned the body without erasing curse-like scars.
*
Days later.
Argument brewing in a Starlight Lake Park corner. Young guy dragging a guard, pointing at Jeonbung-is.
"Hey!! Didn't you see DungeonMaster's notice? This is blatant occupation!! Meditate? Go way out there!!"
"Hey now, we're in a low-traffic spot. No biggie, right? No victims."
True, their spot was park edge—benches, no frills, rarely used.
"That's sophistry! It's still public space! Not scared of 30-day ban?"
Quiet enjoyers popped by occasionally—not unused.
"C'mon, let's be reasonable. Barely any harm—why fuss? Never seen a ban myself! Just scare tactics, right? Logically, DungeonMaster can't watch every dungeon?"
"Right! Moderate it and no issue—we yielded a suboptimal spot!"
Jeonbung-is spouting excuses. Guy clutched his head—talking to walls.
"Haa... gonna lose it..."
True, notice lacked clear guidelines.
Thick-skinned types could twist it and squat.
And yeah, DungeonMaster was human—couldn't micromanage the massive park.
Not sure reports even led to bans.
"Fine, then scram—we'll meditate and dip-."
One Jeonbung-i vanished in light swirl mid-sentence.
"What the—ticket expired? Tch, bad timing."
"Yeah... back soon? Plenty tickets le-."
Another gone.
"......?"
"Uh...?"
"N-no way..."
Watching two dissolve into light particles, the crew finally sweated.
"C-coincidence... just timed out."
"R-right... or prank? He's a joker. Right, Kuran?"
Turned to neighbor—but he was particles too.
"Ah."
That kicked it off—crew vanishing one by one like dominoes.
"Sh-shit!!! DungeonBro's watching!!!"
"F-fuuuuck-!!!!!!!! Beeeeline-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"N-nooo can't ban 30 days!!!!"
Realizing too late, they scattered like headless chickens—but got light-swallowed sequentially, booted from the park.
"S-sorry please mercy pleeease!!!!"
One grabbed the guy's pant leg, begging—poof, particles.
Guards looked spooked.
Guy patted belly, burped.
"Buuuurp-"
Face oddly serene.