The Midnight Honey Raid

In the dead of night, Ji Minhyuk led the Little Wooden Soldiers and the Monkey Recon Squad in a silent march on the bear's cave, their passage through the pitch-black jungle little more than a soft rustle, rustle.

He didn't so much as consider a torch. They were, after all, on their way to rob someone else's stronghold, and lighting the path would have been no better than hanging out a sign that read Thieves coming through!

Ugh... I can't see a damn thing.

Minhyuk scowled at nothing in particular. The jungle at night truly didn't offer so much as an inch of visibility ahead.

Kkureung and the monkeys were wild animals, so the dark meant nothing to them, and the Little Wooden Soldiers pressed on as if they were wearing night-vision goggles. Minhyuk alone was the exception. It felt as though his field of view and his future had gone dark at the same time.

At least the jungle has moonlight.

The inside of the cave would be far darker than this. At this rate, would he even be able to find the honey jar?

Not that he could have come in broad daylight—

Oh, nice.

Now I can actually see something.

His vision opened wide, and the cliff came into reach far more easily than before.

"All right, everyone wait here."

With the subspace bag he'd borrowed from Elia slung over his shoulder, Minhyuk started down the face of the cliff.

He placed each foot with care so he wouldn't slip, descending one steady step at a time, as if he were climbing down a ladder.

I kind of feel like Spider-Man.

If he ever picked up a skill that shot webs from his hands, it might actually be possible. Was there a skill like that anywhere?

Anyway.

Thud.

Minhyuk reached the bottom of the cliff without incident. The plan from here was simple.

"Ah, ah—you reading me? Over."

"Ook-ook, ook. (Loud and clear, over.)"

Magic-stone comms. Carrying the radio the monkey doctor had built, he would slip quietly into the bear's cave.

And if the bear caught wind of him?

He would signal at once. The Little Wooden Soldiers would lay down indiscriminate fire into the air, and the monkeys would shriek at the top of their lungs to draw the bear's attention.

Bears, as everyone knew, were sensitive to sound. Rather ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than hunt for some invisible mystery intruder, it would react immediately to a sudden commotion outside. Nine times out of ten it would roar and charge straight out of the cave.

Slip away in the meantime, and that would be that.

Call it the bare minimum of a safety measure, so he wouldn't get gruesomely murdered by a bear. Of course, never being discovered at all was still the best plan.

"All right. Time to get started."

Minhyuk rummaged through the subspace pack and pulled out his preparations one by one.

Gulp, gulp.

Full doping first. Food stat buffs, for the record, did not stack. Eating both the potato-tomato soup and the corn-potato salad did not amplify Strength by thirty-five percent. Only the stronger of the two applied—the twenty percent.

Slither.

After that, he wrapped Blink Lizard Hide around his entire body.

His body turned transparent in an instant. Okay. Ready.

Rustle. Rustle.

Minhyuk moved carefully toward the bear's cave, the way a thief creeps, heels lifted, one slow step at a time.

Is this thanks to the cherry tomatoes I grew myself?

His footsteps made no sound at all. Even the cows tethered in the field failed to notice his approach and slept on in perfect stillness. Every nerve in his body seemed to gather in the tips of his toes, and his presence erased itself completely.

No way.

It was the cherry tomatoes' special effect: Physical Sense Enhancement ++ Boost. He'd only been nibbling them because they tasted good. He hadn't expected them to help like this.

Tiptoe, tiptoe.

Before long he reached the cave, and his mouth fell open.

Whoa... it's huge.

It was far wider than it had looked from outside. If he had to guess, the cavern connected to somewhere deep underground.

Krrrrrrrumble...

Fortunately, the bear was fast asleep, its enormous belly rising and falling.

Tiptoe, tiptoe.

Minhyuk set each foot down with the utmost caution, and when he passed beside the giant bear he even held his breath.

One mistake here and it's a disaster...

Terrified he might step on so much as a straw, the way people always did in movies, he placed every step with exquisite care.

And then, at last—

He found the honey jar deeper inside the cave. Had it been custom-made to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fit a bear? The thing was enormous, half again the size of a storage crock.

But that wasn't the end of it.

"...?"

Set here and there in the cave wall were ores shimmering with a soft blue light, like an aurora.

Minhyuk's eyes went perfectly round.

A v-vein...? SS-rank...?

Good heavens. An SS-rank vein. This was an item that couldn't even be compared to a honey jar.

Could this be the unexpected reward the quest window had mentioned?

...No. Get a grip. Focus on the honey jar.

Minhyuk gave a small shake of his head. Too much was as bad as too little. Chase two rabbits and you lose them both. Right now, the original goal came first.

Hup...!

He hoisted the giant honey jar. It had weight to it, but not enough to make him stagger, though the sheer size of the thing blocked his view.

Anyway. All that remained was to get out of the cave in one piece.

Careful... careful...

He had just turned back the way he'd come and was about to take a step when it happened.

Flinch.

Goosebumps raced over his whole body. His honed Sense was telling him to stop. Right now.

What is this chilly feeling...?

He glanced down at his feet.

Dun—!

A tree branch ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lay on the ground. The giant honey jar had blocked his view, and he hadn't seen it.

Whew. That was almost a disaster.

Minhyuk stepped around the branch and set his feet down with care once more.

Tiptoe, tiptoe.

Before something actually went wrong, he needed to get out.

He'd done it...!

From that terrifying monster, which could barely even be called a bear, he had safely reclaimed the honey jar.

As a result, he gained 150 experience, and the Safe Zone grew wider still.

Ook—! Ook-ook-ook—! Ook—! Ook—!

The people of the jungle acknowledged him as a true sage-king. The monkeys' fervent cheers and thanks poured over him.

Heh. A little strength crept into his shoulders. So a bit of thieving in the dead of night had been worth it after all.

"Yeah, yeah. If you need anything else from now on, just say so."

Minhyuk answered with a light nod, then dipped a finger into the honey he'd carried out himself and tasted it.

"Kkuh—now that's the stuff."

The depth of the flavor was untouchable. If the fruit of the deserted island was a bright, sweet-tart sugar, the honey was a heavy, glossy sweetness, like fine caramel. They weren't even in the same weight class.

And that wasn't all.

Just put it in a dish and a buff stuck to the food. Strictly speaking, even if he made a chaotic cucumber-and-banana pancake, slipping in a little honey would still grant an additional buff.

Hiss... I don't think I could eat that.

Ji Minhyuk. Weaker of stomach than he looked.

Now that he thought about it again, a cucumber-and-banana pancake might be a bit much.

"Take half the honey—no. Take two-thirds, and eat it."

He generously handed the monkeys more than half. The remainder alone was easily enough to last a year.

Ook—! Ook-ook—!

"Yeah. Enjoy. I'm gonna rest a bit."

Minhyuk lay down on the soft wooden bed. A faint fatigue still clung to him from the all-night theft, so he'd meant to take a peaceful nap, and yet...

...Ah. It keeps flickering in my head.

The SS-rank mineral he'd seen in the cave. That aloof, magnificent figure kept rising in his mind, the way those fish-shaped pastries had all winter—the ones he could never buy, for lack of cash.

If it's SS-rank... it has to be insanely good, right...?

He had already felt, through the Guardian's Sanctuary Bracelet (SS), just how broken SS-rank could be. He couldn't shake the lingering regret no matter how he tried.

E-rank potato-tomato soup was already good. How broken would an SS-rank mineral be?

And on top of that, a sub-quest had appeared.

And it came with a very solid success reward.

Four hundred experience alone, I could make that work somehow... No. No matter how I think about it, it's impossible.

There was no way. He'd barely managed to steal the honey jar. Common sense said you could not mine ore inside a cave that still had a bear in it.

I could borrow a pickaxe from the monkeys, sure.

Right beside a sleeping bear? That noisy a job?

Even a dead bear would come back to life from the earache.

Just forget it. Be satisfied with the honey jar. I never saw any ore.

He tossed and turned, doing his best to shake off the regret, when a familiar voice drifted into his ear.

"Boss!"

He cracked his eyes open, and there, with the dazzling sunlight, was Elia's bright, healthy grin.

Oh, right. His little cutie was here. Sold out again this time?

"Hehe, of course!"

Cucumbers, potatoes, and cherry tomatoes besides. He'd scraped together every last bit of soul he had to sell, and the income was pretty substantial. Minhyuk shot upright in bed.

"Hup—"

He wasn't getting any sleep anyway. The least he could do was feed the kid who'd worked so hard.

"Elia, anything you feel like eating? Want me to make you some round potatoes?"

"I already ate."

"Huh? What do you—"

Nom, nom, nom.

Elia was sitting on the sofa, eating a banana and kicking her feet, tap-tap-tap-tap. Was it because he'd fed her so many cucumbers? She'd gotten considerably Agile.

"Bananas again?"

"Mm."

"You like bananas that much?"

"Mm-hm, they're the best."

Well... if the kid liked them, and they were good for her besides, he didn't have much to say.

"Hang on. I got honey today. Try dipping it. It'll taste even better."

"Okay."

Minhyuk was just about to portion some honey for dipping into a wooden bowl when it happened.

A message window floated up over Elia's head. That one appeared every time she ate a banana, so it didn't matter, but—

...Huh?

A skill? An S-rank skill, at that?!

Whoa... incredible. If it sealed souls, that meant she could seal that big lump of a bear, didn't it?

"E-Elia. Think you can use that skill?"

"Mm. I think I can?"

"Try it once."

Minhyuk went straight over to Elia and asked.

"Here...?"

"Yeah. It's fine, so just once?"

"Mmm. Okay."

Elia took a step back, clenched both fists tight, and let out a breath.

"Hnngh—!"

The message window rose with grave solemnity.

And then—

"...?"

As if it had all been a lie, nothing happened. Not so much as a speck of change touched the Safe Zone. Minhyuk's eyes narrowed on reflex.

...Huh? She used the skill, right? The message window even popped up. Shouldn't there at least be an effect the size of a bean?

It wasn't only Minhyuk. Kkureung and the Meerkat Brothers, who had been watching nearby, tilted their heads in bewilderment. The Little Wooden Soldiers waited with an air of so when is this skill actually going to activate?

"B-Boss... waaah..."

Was it those disappointed looks? All at once Elia spilled great fat tears, drop after drop.

"N-no! It's okay. You don't need a skill or anything..."

Minhyuk, rushing to comfort her, looked blankly up at the sky.

"...Huh?"

Something was wrong. It had definitely been broad daylight.

When had it gotten this dark?