Endless Plains and the Penguin Merchant

Riding their skeleton warhorses, they traveled for about thirty minutes.

"This place is insanely wide."

Mu-hyuk's casual remark, tossed out like an afterthought, hit the nail on the head.

It was wide—too wide.

The end of the plains still wasn't in sight.

The real problem, though, was that even without monsters showing up, they couldn't let their guard down. It was mentally exhausting.

What would happen next in these plains?

Would something completely unexpected pop up like in the Ghost Forest, or would monsters finally appear?

"Ha. Come on, monsters—show yourselves already."

At this point, they were almost missing the monsters. The Ghost Forest had been solvable once the keywords "child" and "allure" clicked, but after that, his memories got fuzzy.

He'd watched too many videos, so the details tangled up, and he wasn't sharp enough to remember footage from years ago perfectly.

Still, one guess felt solid: there probably wouldn't be another bizarre space like the Ghost Forest ahead. If there was, it would've connected somehow, jogging his memory even faintly.

Monsters would come, though.

But what type?

And when?

"Huh? O-over there!"

"What? Monsters?"

Mu-hyuk and Sung Min-woo followed Yerin's pointing finger. There, a penguin with a bundle slung over its shoulder waddled into view.

"A... penguin?"

Sung Min-woo's mutter reached his ears, but Mu-hyuk brushed it off.

He already knew what it was.

Penguin Merchant!

It looked different from the one he'd met before, but this was definitely a Penguin Merchant.

"S-so cute!"

"Is that thing really a monster? Should we kill it?"

Their reactions couldn't have been more opposite.

Mu-hyuk stepped forward and raised a hand.

"Hold up. I've seen one before in a dungeon."

"For real?"

"Yeah."

"Monster?"

"Nah, Penguin Merchant."

"Penguin Merchant?"

"Yeah, think of 'em as a race that wanders dungeons selling stuff."

"Ohhh."

As they talked, the Penguin Merchant drew closer.

It was definitely a penguin.

The waddling was undeniably adorable.

"Kyaaah!"

Yerin couldn't hold back and dashed out. If it were a monster, that'd be trouble, but since it was a merchant, Mu-hyuk let her go.

"So cute, so cute!"

The Penguin Merchant furrowed its brow at Yerin's fussing. In that instant, she reached out and scooped it up in her arms.

"Haa... humans..."

The penguin spoke.

In human language.

"Eek!"

Startled, Yerin dropped it. The penguin flapped its wings and landed lightly, then shot her a displeased glare.

"Tsk."

It waddled past her.

"Pfft. That penguin's hilarious."

"Totally."

Mu-hyuk agreed and approached the merchant.

"Hey, wait."

"What, human?"

"I wanna see the goods."

"Oh, a trader, eh?"

"Yeah."

"Fine by me. Take a look."

It set down its bundle and slowly unpacked it. After an agonizing wait, the bundle finally opened fully.

"Hmm."

Mu-hyuk squatted to inspect the items.

Sung Min-woo and Yerin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠joined him.

"Lots of stuff."

"So cool."

The penguin nodded at their admiration.

"You humans have an eye for quality. As a special favor, I'll explain. Starting with the red potion. This is a super rare one that boosts stamina instantly..."

Unfortunately, no one paid attention to the penguin's spiel. Seeing was believing, after all.

He reached out and touched a potion.

Info check.

Drinking this before tackling a dangerous monster would be handy.

Points, though.

He had a whopping 100.

Probably earned crossing the Ghost Forest.

Best to spend wisely. He checked the other items.

"If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I told you how I got this potion, you'd be shocked. Curious, human? See, I..."

He ignored the penguin completely.

This one's decent too.

Plenty of good items, but nothing screaming "must-buy."

Hmm.

His hand paused on one.

It felt like a hammer to the head.

The sudden Penguin Merchant.

The endless plains.

The potion.

Everything pointed to one scenario. Not certain yet, he scanned the rest.

Sure enough.

The others just boosted strength, attack power, magic attack, speed, or debuffed monster stats. Simple descriptions.

Only this one mentioned the plains—and that ambiguous "path."

High chance.

Stealthed monsters here.

But did he have to buy it?

Could he just push through?

He shook his head.

This was an Ancient Dungeon.

No way it was that easy.

"Whoa, this one's good."

"Oppa, can I buy one with points?"

Mu-hyuk snapped back and shook his head.

"Hold on."

"Huh? Why?"

"Gotta be careful."

Sung Min-woo tilted his head.

"Something off?"

"Yeah."

"What?"

"Check this."

"Special Stealth Reveal Potion..."

"Weird, right?"

"How?"

"The description. Others are generic, but this one's all about the plains. 'Forged a path' too."

"That's suspicious?"

"What if it's hinting at stealth monsters ambushing from blind spots? And we gotta kill 'em to escape?"

"Whoa...!"

Sung Min-woo and even Yerin looked stunned—they'd never considered it. But they nodded soon after.

"Could be..."

"Ancient Dungeon and all."

"So, I think we buy this."

"All of us?"

"Nah, just me first."

"Why?"

"Test it."

"Ah, use one and scout."

"Exactly."

"Cool, then."

"Don't buy anything else. Wait."

"OK."

"Got it, oppa."

Mu-hyuk bought one for 25 points.

He used it immediately.

He scanned the surroundings.

1,000-meter radius.

Not a small area.

"L-look over there...!"

And there it was.

A monster with its stealth broken.

*

They rushed to buy up the potions.

"4."

"Me too, 4."

"3 more."

The penguin repacked its bundle.

"Points all spent. No more business—I'm off, humans."

Slinging the bundle over its shoulder, it waddled past them.

Mu-hyuk watched its back for a moment, then shook his head and turned to the others.

"It's coming. Get ready."

"Yeah."

The duration was ticking down.

"Skeleton Warhorse summon."

They charged on horseback.

Closing in on the massive monster in the distance.

"Ugh...!"

The closer it got, the grosser it seemed.

Its entire face was one huge mouth—the grotesque Big Mouth.

Shoulders, elbows, sides, thighs—everywhere, massive mouths drooling saliva.

Even its fists and feet were mouths. Approaching felt repulsive. One bite, and it'd chunk you bad. A creeping dread and disgust welled up.

Luckily, they had proxies to fight.

And new skills.

Dismounting, Mu-hyuk activated one.

Revive.

Mu-hyuk frowned.

Zero?

First entry here—no dead monsters yet.

"Tch."

No choice. He summoned skeletons.

Kiririk.

Sung Min-woo and Yerin called their summons too.

Staring at the 12 spirits, 32 chipmunks, and countless skeletons, he used the new buffs.

Strength Increase.

Stamina Increase.

Summons' strength and stamina rose by 10.

Weakness.

On the approaching Big Mouth, he used the last one.

Now, just fight.

"Gross—let's end it quick."

"Right."

"Yes, oppa!"

They poured on focused attacks.

Boom! Kwagwang!

Ancient Dungeon monster?

Big Mouth was strong—beyond norms.

Five meters tall, yet agile.

Mouths everywhere—summons got shredded up close.

It looked like they were being devoured. Mu-hyuk grimaced instinctively.

Bone Sword gone in seconds. Armor Knight didn't last long.

"It's insanely tough!"

Sung Min-woo, blasting melee attacks, sounded strained.

"Damage barely scratches!"

"Who'd it scratch?"

"Oppa, the chipmunks are so pitiful. What do we..."

"Hmm."

There was a way.

"Overwhelm with numbers!"

Skeletons, chipmunks, spirits vanishing one by one? Fine.

Still over 100 summons swarmed everywhere.

"Just chip away at HP steadily!"

"Got it!"

Mage cooldown up.

"Magic incoming!"

Pulled summons back, ordered mages. Multicolored spells hammered Big Mouth.

Kwagwang!

Arrows followed.

Advance!

Melee closed in again, attacking relentlessly. Just as they thought they'd whittled a good chunk...

------!

Big Mouth let out a eerie cry.

Oh no.

Mu-hyuk knew the skill—but no counter. It was a ally-summoning howl.

How many?

Kill this one first? That decided the fight.

Transform, transform.

Smeared confusion potion on his longsword.

Wind Step.

Dashed at Big Mouth.