A Donut of Starlight

That night, Minhyuk once again led his unit toward the bear's cave. The roster, however, had changed.

"Whoa! It's my first time coming out at night!"

Elia, in. The Monkey Scout Squad, out.

He had already memorized the lay of the land, so a guide was no longer necessary.

"Aren't you tired?"

"Mm-mm! Picnics are the besht!"

Elia clutched Minhyuk's hand and bounced along in high spirits. Maybe all that napping had done it—she looked even perkier than she had that morning.

"All units, halt."

Chk—!

Before they knew it, the cliff.

"Kkureung, you can handle this, right?"

"Kkureung—!"

"Good. I'm counting on you."

After leaving Kkureung with the critical mission, Minhyuk slung both Elia and the subspace backpack over one arm and climbed down the cliff. Thanks to the skill Climbing (LV. 1), even a single arm was more than enough.

"You know the drill from here, right? No noise. Shh—!"

"Mm…… shhhh……."

Elia pressed a finger to her lips and gave a meek little nod. Minhyuk drew the Blink Lizard Hide from the subspace backpack, draped it over himself, then scooped her up in both arms and held her to his chest the way one might wear a schoolbag turned frontward.

This way, both of them could receive the transparency effect—and it also removed any chance that Elia might make a footfall.

Soft as a breath, Minhyuk slipped into the cave.

Kurururuung…….

The giant bear lay sprawled flat on its back, snoring. Covering his mouth with one hand, Minhyuk whispered.

"Elia…… that's the bear…… use your skill on that one……."

"Mm…… okaaay……."

Oh, right. Buffs first.

"Here…… open up……."

"Aaaah……."

Munch, munch—

A bright shimmer—

Elia's mana—born of bananas, and raised on Minhyuk's buffs—finally shone.

"Hnn—!"

Hmm. So I can't knock it out and then wail on it?

Anyway. Mission clear.

"Nice work, Elia. You can look at the bear-bear all you want now."

"Waaah! Bear-bear!"

While Elia admired the giant bear, Minhyuk called in the legion standing by through the magic-stone comm.

"Kkureung, you can come into the cave now."

"—Kkureung!"

Call it insurance, just in case. To keep the picnic mood, he spread an enormous leaf mat and laid out every one of Elia's favorite foods with a cheerful rustle.

"Round taters, crispy taters, honey popcorn, bananya……!"

Right, right. He hadn't known what she'd want, so he'd brought the lot.

"Whew. Shall we get in a little moonlight calisthenics?"

Hup-two, hup-two. After loosening up, Minhyuk took the monkey-brand pickaxe and headed deeper in, toward the SS-rank vein. A bewitching blue light rippled across it.

If I can just have you, I'll smash you to pieces.

Minhyuk brought the pickaxe down on the vein.

Clang—! Clang—!

The crash rang through the cave. It left nothing but scratches; the ore ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would not yield. There was always a method for times like this.

Crunch, crunch—

After cramming a handful of honey popcorn into his mouth, he swung again.

Clang—! Clang—! Clang—! Crack—!

Before long a crisp critical hit burst, and an Astro Sapphire went tumbling across the floor.

"Ooh……!"

The mining had succeeded.

Ding—!

Message windows cascaded up after it.

The Safe Zone shot upward and hit level 35 in an instant. He had obtained the hidden special reward as well, of course. But that was not what mattered right now.

The Safe Zone had finally surpassed a hundred pyeong. Minhyuk swallowed dryly and watched the messages pouring upward.

Ding—!

Step Up……?

Diririring—!

The festival of message windows went on without end.

"Whoa……."

The rewards were substantial enough to make both eyes go wide. Even so, Minhyuk forced himself to shake his head.

No. Get a grip. This is no time to lounge around marveling at my good fortune.

The giant bear hung frozen, as if time and space had stopped for it alone. There was no telling when it might wake. The moment Seal (S) came undone, the genre would flip.

Clang—! Clang—! Crack—! Clang—!

Swing after swing, Minhyuk mined a hefty store of Astro Sapphires and packed them into the subspace backpack. Deeper in the cave, multicolored light flashed—there seemed to be other minerals too—but greed looked like a fine way to get himself killed, so he gave it up cleanly.

"Having fun?"

"Mm-mm! I was lookin' at the Kkureungs and the bear-bear!"

No wonder it had gone quiet. Elia had been stacking pebbles on the faces of the meerkats and the giant bear. She had piled up quite a tower in that short while.

"Shall we head out?"

"Mm, yay!"

"Men, all of you—back to the Safe Zone."

And that was the moment Minhyuk stepped out of the cave.

A quest window had popped up out of nowhere. What was this random quest? No—wait. Was it a hidden quest precisely because it appeared out of nowhere?

Come to think of it, there were cows tied with rope on the plain in front of the cave. Minhyuk stole a glance that way.

"Moooe……."

Two cows gazed at Minhyuk with bright, glittering eyes. Ah…… damn it. He had met their eyes again. He was weak to this sort of thing.

Truth is, it bothered me the first time I went into the cave, too.

Back then, the restrictions had left him no choice.

They were tied with a special rope like that, after all. But the giant bear was sealed now. Letting them go shouldn't matter, should it?

Swish—

Minhyuk undid the snares binding the cows.

Hm. New Safe Zone members?

"All right. Come along."

Minhyuk accepted them without fuss. Handy beasts, you might say. He gently lifted Elia and set her on a cow's back.

"Giddyup! Giddyup!"

"Mooo~"

See? Two more members added to the co-parenting roster.

Day ninety of being cast away.

"Hwaaaahm—"

Minhyuk woke and stretched, feeling clear-headed. Condition: excellent again today. The chronic fatigue that used to leave his whole body sagging like a zombie's had been cured long ago.

Sleeping soundly, without a worry in the world—so this was how important it really was.

Time to start another vigorous day. Minhyuk checked the rewards he had gained the night before.

First, the hidden special reward he had put off.

"Hoooh……."

What was this peculiar feeling? It was like receiving a fat year-end bonus. The thrill of capitalism, briefly forgotten, you might say.

"……Even in the jungle, money really is the best."

He murmured it under his breath, then checked the rest of the rewards. Safe Zone traits and his own skills, every last one of them raised to LV. 2.

If he singled out only the substantial ones—

The two traits hauling his deserted-island life along. Of them, the one he liked best was Fertile Soil (LV. 2).

A thirty percent chance means thirty out of every hundred crops, doesn't it?

A higher grade? An improved base effect? Or would the special effects increase to two?

He wasn't sure, but for Minhyuk it was welcome news.

The taste ought to get better too, right?

Obviously. Soil nutrients were up by thirty percent, and an even more special energy would take root in them.

"Guess I'll farm again today."

Minhyuk had just gathered up his wooden hoe and was about to head for the field.

Tok—

Something brushed softly against his lower back. He turned, and the two cows were staring straight at him.

"What? What's the matter?"

"Mooo~"

"……Huh?"

Minhyuk understood before long. Since ancient times, cows had been famous as diligent livestock. And yet, caught by that vicious bear, they had been left with nothing to do but eat grass.

Yeah. Their bodies were bound to be itching for something to do.

But work. There wasn't exactly anything worth assigning them…….

"Ah, that's it!"

Plow the fields!

On top of that, the Safe Zone had just grown by a whole twenty-one pyeong. Make a plow and leave it to the cows—perfect.

"Wait right there!"

Minhyuk took up his carving knife and headed for the temporary storehouse. From among the logs, he chose one that was sturdy, had some weight to it, and split into a Y.

Scrape— scrape—

He smoothed the outer surface, then shaped a handle and a body. And then the most important piece: the plowshare. The part at the very bottom of a plow that tears up the earth—the piece that does a shovel's job.

Shk— shk—

He took a large stone lying nearby and sharpened it to a point with the carving knife. Carve stone with a carving knife? How?

It had become possible the moment Crafting reached level 2. He fitted the stone-carved share onto the wooden body, and—

A sturdy wooden plow, complete. Using leftover rope, he hitched it to the cows.

"See the empty field? Walk around over there and plow it."

"Mooo~"

The cows dipped their heads as if in thanks and set off toward the newly widened Safe Zone.

Grrrk— grrrk—

Mmm. Born for the work. No two ways about it.

"I'll rest until the field's all turned."

Minhyuk sat on the wooden sofa, eating cherry tomatoes and looking up at a sky fat with billowing clouds. The mood was peaceful beyond measure.

Even at a hundred pyeong, it doesn't really feel that wide.

Strictly speaking, it was 105. Was there no end to human greed?

The moment he actually passed a hundred pyeong, the urge for a two-hundred-pyeong Safe Zone welled up. With more furniture and a bigger household, it genuinely felt cramped besides.

Take down a magical beast, and it jumps up all at once.

The colossal wild boar that had hogged all the corn. The thrill when he felled that thing and the Safe Zone's level climbed and climbed and climbed—he would never forget it.

……No. Even so, I can't hunt the giant bear.

When it came to reading a situation, Minhyuk was second to none. A skill picked up, you might say, from a hellish life at the company.

Workplace or jungle, if you meant to survive, knowing your limits came first.

Anyway, where am I supposed to use this new SS-rank mineral…….

In that instant, a syllogism clicked through his head, one clean step after another.

……Wait.

Legion Manufacture (LV. 2) could make soldiers not only from wood, but from rock. Crafting (LV. 2) could shape rock with a carving knife. And Minhyuk was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠holding an SS-rank mineral: Astro Sapphire.

Which meant…….

"……Bingo."

Minhyuk immediately set to carving the Astro Sapphire with his knife.

Shk— shk—

The mineral parted as smoothly as if he were peeling fruit. Once he had roughed out a shape…….

Huh? Two thousand coins? Why is this so expensive?

He hesitated for a moment. But he had gotten 3,079 coins for free anyway, so he spent them with a flourish.

A radiance seemed to flash—and then—

SS-rank, no less. A terrifying cosmic mercenary—one that fired a pulse gun condensed from the energy of the stars—appeared before Minhyuk.

"Kiyo—?"

It had come out small and darling, like a donut bobbing in empty air.

"……Huh?"