New Family Member (2)
『To fix Archeron, you have to fix the energy core!』
Energy core?
That must mean the red mana that had been flickering and burning near Archeron's heart earlier—the condensed mass of mana itself.
Okay.
So that was the problem after all.
I knew exactly what was wrong now.
Then how do we fix it?
『Kkyu! The short ones! They fix it with a little tinkering!』
"The short ones?"
『Ung. The short ones! They're good with hammers!』
Huh.
I wasn't sure what she meant at first, but as I listened, a certain race came to mind.
"Don't tell me you mean dwarves?"
『Right! Dwarves!』
『Dwarves! Short ones! Good with their hands! They fix Archeron real good!』
Oh.
So there really were dwarves among the guardians.
Nice.
It was genuinely good news.
Why?
If a dwarf shows up as a guardian, that means I can ask them to craft gear for me too, right?
Which meant I wouldn't have to worry about equipment going forward.
There were rumors that even an ordinary iron sword became a peerless treasure once it passed through a dwarf's hands.
So then…
If I bought gear from the Platinum Lounge Channel and had the dwarves work it over one more time?
I might even end up with endgame-tier equipment.
Anyway, that's a problem for later.
Right now I had to deal with Archeron.
"So without a dwarf, there's no way to fix him at all?"
『Kkyu. If you give him food, he gets a little better!』
"Food?"
By food she almost certainly meant mana.
I checked right away.
Glug, glug.
I took the leftover Taeumyangjeong from earlier and sprinkled about a mouthful over the area where his energy core sat.
Wooooong!
The response was immediate.
Faint red mana began to swirl again around the energy core that had lost its light.
『Ke…ron. Mas…ter. Good… to meet… you.』
Creak, creak-creak!
He moved like a machine thick with rust as he greeted me.
"Yeah. Good to meet you too."
『From now… the lair's… safety… is…』
Pssshhh!
Before he could finish, the red light that had returned to his eyes went out.
Whoa.
That hadn't even lasted a full minute.
This… fuel efficiency was no joke.
Even a Ferrari that supposedly poured oil straight into the ground would get better mileage than this.
Looks like I'll be burning through a lot of elixirs until a dwarf guardian shows up.
As the family grew, so did the number of mouths that needed elixirs.
I was going to have to cultivate spiritual herbs even harder from now on.
Then a thought suddenly struck me.
Wait a second. What if I put a Seondo into Archeron's energy core?
If the Seondo—the Peach of Immortality—bore proper fruit…
Couldn't it replace Archeron's power source to some degree?
I couldn't guarantee it.
But it was another flash of intuition, and it was worth hoping for.
Alright. I'll wait and see if the Seondo fruits properly.
For now, Archeron's problem was settled with a temporary fix.
"Take a rest for a bit."
I propped Archeron up beside Dania and turned my head toward Chuchu.
"Chuchu!"
Nom nom nom!
In the meantime Chuchu had piled potatoes and sweet potatoes in front of himself and was industriously gnawing away.
"Popo!"
Beside him, Popo was bouncing up and down with a ∩_∩ smile, looking at Chuchu as if to ask, Tasty, right?
"Chuchu!"
Chuchu beamed and nodded vigorously.
So the two of them could communicate somehow…?
Amazing… no, wait.
"Wow. Looks like I'll need to plant even more potatoes and sweet potatoes."
The potatoes and sweet potatoes were already nearly gone.
Popo had tilled new ground and planted more, but even that wouldn't be enough going forward.
I needed to increase the harvest.
While I'm at it, I should plant other crops too.
The list of dungeon-cultivable crops: Shine Muscat grapes, cherry tomatoes, carrots, green onions, and so on.
What I currently had were A-rank cherry tomato seeds.
I'd asked Bangbae-dong Gourmet and he'd gotten them for me right away.
He said he'd get the rest soon, so I was waiting.
Then I'll plant all the cherry tomatoes before bed tonight.
Just thinking about cherry tomatoes made my mouth water.
There was a time people had called me a cherry-tomato fiend, I loved them so much.
What would ones grown here taste like?
Obviously they're going to be insanely good.
Heh heh.
I swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth and glanced back at Chuchu.
"Chuchu!"
He must have eaten a lot in the meantime; he was patting his rounded belly with tiny hands.
Cute little guy.
"Did you eat plenty?"
"Chu!"
When I stepped closer and asked, he sprang to his feet, thrust one hand high, and cried out.
Whether it was the sweet potatoes and potatoes or pure joy, his eyes sparkled like they held stars.
Cute. So cute.
My index finger reached out of its own accord.
When I ruffled his head, he made a soft purring sound.
"But Chuchu, I've got a question."
"Chu?"
"If you're a gatherer, what kind of things can you usually bring back?"
The moment the words left my mouth, Chuchu stood on his hind legs, thrust his belly forward, planted both hands on his hips, and declared with absolute confidence:
"Chuchu!"
Then he shoved both hands straight into his belly.
Huh? What?
He had a belly pouch?
Pop!
When he pulled his hands back out, two gloves came with them.
Golden gloves the same color as his fur.
Even at a glance they looked extraordinary.
He slipped the gloves onto both hands, then dove back into the belly pouch—shook!
Next came a safety helmet.
He plopped it onto his head, then reached into the pouch again—shook!
Last of all he pulled out a vest that wrapped snugly around his body.
"Chuchu!"
Fully geared up, he wore a look of pure pride.
"Well, I'll be."
Amazing.
His belly pouch was just like the anywhere-door pocket from that old cartoon, Doraemon.
"Chu—!"
Chuchu stretched out a hand and pointed at the leftover sweet potatoes and potatoes.
Then he pointed once at his own belly pouch and looked up at me.
Hm?
"You're asking if you can take those potatoes and sweet potatoes?"
"Chuchu!"
He nodded so hard his whole body shook.
"S-sure."
The instant permission was granted he scooped up the potatoes and sweet potatoes and stuffed them into his belly pouch—plop!
Then he snapped me a crisp salute of loyalty.
"Chuchu!"
And immediately began digging into the ground.
Pabababababat!
"Uh…"
Before I could even say "wait," Chuchu had vanished into the earth.
A fist-sized tunnel had suddenly appeared in the floor of the lair.
He really was heading out somewhere to gather.
"What a fascinating little guy."
Still, I never expected him to dig a hole in the floor and disappear.
"Popo!"
When Chuchu vanished underground, Popo peered down into the hole with a worried face.
o_o.
"It's okay, it's okay."
Even under my hand I could feel him drooping.
He must have gotten attached already.
But are all the guardians meeting each other for the first time?
From the way things were going, it seemed that way.
Dania didn't seem to know them exactly either. More like she just had the knowledge.
I was starting to understand how the guardians of this lair had been arranged.
Probably some being on the level of Dania's parents had set it all up.
Then… would that parent figure eventually stop by here someday?
I was lost in idle thoughts when—
Hm?
A notification chimed from the Superhuman Net.
Taesan.
Alexei Volkov.
He closed his eyes, feeling power overflow through his entire body.
So this is what it feels like to finally reach level 80, the level I dreamed of.
The feeling that he could do anything.
The snow wolf that had led this monster wave—
He had cut it down in a single blow.
Before reaching level 80 he would have had to struggle against the creature for days on end.
I even considered retiring.
The monster waves grew stronger by the day.
Monsters on the level of that snow wolf had begun appearing with increasing frequency.
The average level of the superhumans here, himself included, was 70.
Even so, the days of hard fighting only increased.
If he hadn't broken through to level 80 this time…
He might truly have retired before long.
Thank you. Truly.
The face he had never seen—Madoje.
The man had readily granted his request.
The transparent Gongcheong Oil.
What was its true value?
I don't know, but even a mountain of gold wouldn't be enough.
A treasure that might never be obtainable again.
Simply because he was the guardian deity of the Northern Hemisphere, the man had been ready to hand it over without asking for any price.
That heart.
That sincerity.
For a moment the emotion had welled up so strongly he couldn't speak.
It was the moment he felt greater pride than ever before in having held this post for more than a decade.
Madoje. From this day forward, no matter what happens, I am on your side.
The guardian deity of the Northern Hemisphere.
He was a man who knew how to carve a debt of gratitude into his heart.
Softly.
He opened the Superhuman Net channel.
And began typing, character by character, with all his sincerity to Madoje.
That he was truly grateful.
That he would never forget this grace.
That even on this freezing land, even when moments came when he wanted to give up…
He would remember the goodwill this man had shown him, and never despair. Never surrender until the end.
"Uh…"
The private message Taesan had sent me.
A truly long, long wall of text had arrived.
A message in which I could feel, line by line, just how grateful he was.
In particular, he seemed to believe I had obtained the transparent Gongcheong Oil only with great difficulty.
And the fact that I had been ready to hand over such a treasure so readily had moved him deeply.
Truth is, that Gongcheong Oil is… overflowing to the point of spilling over.
I glanced toward the spring where the Gongcheong Oil pooled.
One fact I had discovered while using the oil lately:
The spring that had decreased from its original level…
Would slowly refill on its own if simply left alone.
As long as I didn't use it extravagantly, the spring of Gongcheong Oil would never run dry.
"It's better if Taesan never finds that out."
He seemed deeply moved.
There was no need to destroy that emotion.
"Still, this is good news."
From Taesan's message I could confirm he had reached level 80.
That settled it.
The elixirs of this Dragon's Lair—especially that special Gongcheong Oil—could serve as a breakthrough that let people smash through the level-80 wall.
Hong Seolhwa had broken the level-80 barrier with the Taeumyangjeong made by mixing Gongcheong Oil, and Taesan had broken through to level 80 by drinking the Gongcheong Oil itself.
It doesn't seem to be simply because extreme Yin energy is condensed in it.
The Dragon's Lair.
I was starting to feel there was something special about this place.
Come to think of it, even with the trait skill Elixir Master (SSS), the idea that spiritual herbs and crops would fully grow in a single day didn't make sense.
And Popo seems to have the ability to further amplify that unknown power.
There were still many secrets in the Dragon's Lair I didn't know.
I'll figure them out slowly.
I shook off the idle thoughts and checked the Gold Lounge Channel after the Superhuman Net.
So all those notifications earlier were because Taesan broke through to level 80.
The comment I had left on Hong Seolhwa's post.
A mountain of replies had piled up under it.
"Whew."
Everyone was asking how they could get their hands on Gongcheong Oil.
Most begged or pleaded, but every so often someone left a comment that basically threatened me to sell to them as well.
"What is wrong with these people?"
The attitude of someone demanding I hand over goods that had been entrusted to me.
I couldn't understand it, so I ignored them.
Even without me responding, other superhumans were already raining curses on them.
"Hmm."
I finished checking the comments and left the post—
Huh?
A nickname that caught my eye.
As if entranced, I clicked into the post.
Nickname: Gugu's WhiteSundae (S)
Title: Hello. This is Gubaek.
It's been a while since I shared an update. So many of you cheered me on… but unfortunately they say my mana circuits are beyond recovery. Haha. I thought I'd lived hard… I still can't believe something like this happened to me. I'm sorry to bring such bad news to everyone who supported me…
The post was fairly long.
Apparently the writer's mana circuits had been declared unrecoverable.
A pitiful situation, but one you saw from time to time.
What seized my attention, however, was—
Gugu's WhiteSundae.
The famous white-sundae shop in the neighborhood where I used to live.
And the owner of that white-sundae shop was—
My balls-to-the-wall friend Donghyeon.
I'd known for a while that he'd awakened as a superhuman, but could it really be him?
The way contact had grown sparse lately…
If this was the reason, everything lined up.
I tried to send him a private message, but private messages were blocked.
I left a comment on his post and exited the lounge channel.
If he checked the comments, contact would somehow be made.
And if we talked and it really was Donghyeon?
Popo's bodily fluid.
I might be able to help him with that.
From what I'd checked, as long as Popo's belly was full, it could produce as much fluid as needed.
What were friends for, after all?
I still hadn't revealed my identity to him either.
But I had received a lot from him.
Might as well clear that debt while I was at it.
"Hwaaaah."
Once everything was done, sleep crashed over me.
I needed to get some rest first.
『Kkyu-uuu…』
Dania was already in dreamland.
I lay down beside her and closed my eyes as well.
"Popo!"
Popo hop-hopped over, settled next to me, and slowly shut its eyes with a U_U expression.
Sleep well, Popo.
And so we sank into deep sleep.
······
···
·
And the next day.
"Huh…?"
The sight that unfolded before my eyes.
I could only stand there with my mouth hanging open.
Because—
Saaaah—!
Where the spiritual herbs and crops had been planted, a blue wave was rippling and swaying.