Owner of the S-Rank Dungeon Campsite (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 13

Teddy stomped her feet impatiently. The skill description had clearly stated something like that.

But it really meant being forcibly bound to the campsite.

“So does that mean Teddy will be tied to this campsite for life?”

It felt unfair even to Teddy herself.

“No. Once you reach level 10, Master, you’ll be able to leave the dungeon, and I’ll also be able to come and go freely. Until then…”

What on earth was so special about level 10 that it imposed such restrictions? I wanted to protest to the system right away, but the situation wasn’t favorable.

While I was lost in thought, the monster opened its jaws wide toward the puppy.

The puppy looked as if it would be swallowed whole by the monster.

“No!”

“M-Master!”

In an instant, I stepped outside the shelter.

“Body Stealth ON!”

[‘Yubom (F)’ has used ‘Body Stealth’.] [‘Yubom (F)’s body becomes invisible.]

I activated the skill and dashed toward them as fast as I could. But once I got close, I couldn’t decide what to do.

[‘Blue Starlight Chimera (S)’ senses movement.]

At that moment, the chimera must have heard the sound I made when stepping outside the campsite and looked around.

Seeing nothing in its field of vision, it tilted its head in confusion before quickly looking away again. Beneath it, the puppy trembled violently.

‘I have to do something!’

Glancing around frantically, I spotted a stone on the ground. I picked it up and threw it with all the strength I could muster.

Thud!

“Kyaang!”

[‘Blue Starlight Chimera (S)’ is now on high alert.]

I succeeded in drawing its attention. The chimera traced the stone’s trajectory and took a step toward me.

‘But what do I do next?’

The Body Stealth skill would cancel the moment I touched the monster. I wasn’t sure if I could get close enough to rescue only the puppy.

‘I should eat a sandwich first.’

I hastily pulled a sandwich from my inventory.

[‘Yubom (F)’ has consumed a sandwich.] [‘Yubom (F)’s movement speed increases by 100%. (Duration: 20 minutes)]

I took just one bite, and the effect lasted only 20 minutes out of the usual three hours.

‘This should be enough. Distract its attention and run away with the puppy during that time…!’

I gathered several stones and threw them beyond the bushes. The rustling of leaves echoed.

It sounded almost like a beast running through the undergrowth. I intended to lure the monster away.

“Grrr…”

At first, the monster merely watched, but slowly it began walking toward the bushes where the stones had landed. Seizing the opportunity, I approached the puppy.

“Knying… Kiiing…”

“Shh. Be quiet. We’ll get caught.”

When I wrapped my invisible hands around the puppy, it let out a soft whimper, seemingly confused. Since the invisibility didn’t break upon contact, this puppy clearly wasn’t a monster.

But I couldn’t relax yet. The stealth effect didn’t extend to the puppy—if the monster turned around, we’d be discovered immediately.

Up close, I saw the puppy’s fur was stained with fresh wounds and smeared blood.

“Poor thing…”

As if understanding my words, the puppy only panted heavily and fell silent. I carefully cradled it and tiptoed away.

Moving slowly, almost crawling, I checked the distance back to the campsite. Teddy was anxiously biting her nails.

She seemed to be muttering something, but I couldn’t hear clearly. Normally, the shelter blocked outside sounds, and apparently, the campsite worked the same way.

“…!”

Suddenly, she shouted with a startled expression.

‘She must be saying something important.’

I focused intently on Teddy’s lips.

‘Be… hind…’

I barely managed to read the first syllable when—

Drip.

A shadow fell over me from above, followed by a cold liquid.

‘Is… that… saliva?’

A viscous fluid trickled down my forehead. When I turned my head, a slimy tongue licked my cheek.

“Grrr…”

The monster was right in front of me.

[‘Body Stealth (C)’ has been canceled due to contact with a monster.] [‘Blue Starlight Chimera (S)’ has targeted you.]

Apparently, the invisibility had been canceled by accidentally touching its drool. Its fierce black eyes, fixed on me, widened dramatically.

“Aaah!”

I sprinted toward the shelter with all my might.

“Kang!”

A savage beastly roar echoed behind me. My legs trembled uncontrollably from the fear of imminent death.

“Kyao!”

[‘Blue Starlight Chimera (S)’ uses ‘Slash (S)’.]

“Aaah!”

I glanced back to see the monster leaping high into the air. I still had about twenty steps to reach the shelter.

At this rate, its massive body would crush me.

“Ugh!”

To make matters worse, my legs tangled, and I tripped. Rolling on the ground, I realized—

‘This time, I’m really going to die!’

Just as I squeezed my eyes shut, a loud system alert jolted me awake.

[‘Teddy (A)’ activates ‘Berserker Mode (A)’.] [All of Teddy (A)’s stats increase dramatically.] [‘Teddy (A)’ uses ‘Throw (A)’.]

System messages flooded my vision, appearing so rapidly they filled my entire screen.

[‘Teddy (A)’ uses ‘Throw (A)’.] [‘Teddy (A)’ uses ‘Throw (A)’.] [‘Teddy (A)’ uses ‘Throw (A)’.] [‘Teddy (A)’ uses ‘Throw (A)’.] [‘Teddy (A)’ uses ‘Throw (A)’.]

Teddy grabbed nearby trees and anything else at hand, hurling them one after another.

Though the shelter’s barrier blocked sound to protect hunters, ranged attacks launched from inside toward the outside were still possible.

“Kyaaak! Guk, kek!”

The chimera deflected a few projectiles but couldn’t dodge them all. It staggered, unable to advance further.

‘This isn’t the time to freeze up…!’

I pulled myself together and stood up again. Clutching my scraped body, I ran toward the shelter.

Finally, I managed to get back inside the campsite.

The chimera, suddenly losing sight of us, looked bewildered and retreated.

“Master! I was so worried! Are you alright?”

“Yes. Thank you so much. I owe you my life.”

“You scared me half to death by suddenly dashing out like that.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even realize what I was doing…”

“What about the puppy?”

“Right here.”

I unwrapped the puppy from my clothes and held it up.

“Kiiing… Knying…”

The puppy let out a faint whimper. Though the rescue succeeded, its condition looked poor.

“We should put it in Small Tent No. 1 first. Is there any first-aid medicine here at the campsite?”

“I don’t think there’s any first-aid medicine… Ah! There’s a medicinal herb in the dungeon that works great for wounds. If you crush those yellow leaves and apply them to the injury, it should help.”

Where Teddy pointed, a plant with yellowed-looking leaves grew.

“Is that… Huangyeoncho?”

“Yes!”

Huangyeoncho was a common herb found in many dungeons. Known for its healing properties, it was even sold commercially as an ointment accessible to civilians.

“Since I just unlocked the Gathering skill today, I’ll gather it myself. Teddy, could you take the puppy to the tent?”

Small Tent No. 1 provided a stamina regeneration buff—10% per hour. Though it would take time to see significant effects, it was better than nothing.

“Yes, understood!”

I handed the puppy to Teddy and walked toward the Huangyeoncho. Normally, one would carefully dig it up with a shovel to avoid damaging the roots, but with the Gathering skill, I could harvest the herb intact in one go.

However, my Gathering skill came with a rather unusual condition.

“I saw the core (C)!”

I grabbed the stem and pulled it out in one swift motion while shouting.

[‘Yubom (F)’ has gathered ‘Huangyeoncho (F)’.]

At first, the lowest grade appeared. Slightly startled, I raised my voice even louder and repeated the same phrase.

“I saw the core (C)!!”

[‘Yubom (F)’ has gathered ‘Huangyeoncho (C)’.]

The herb’s grade increased—by three tiers, no less.

They said persistence could turn you into a golden hand, and this skill truly matched its description perfectly.

How high could it go if I kept insisting?

“I saw the core (C)!!!”

I shouted at the top of my lungs.

Please, give me a high grade! I need to save the puppy!

[Quest completed.] [Quest reward: ‘Plant Encyclopedia’ acquired.]

Not the quest notification! Just tell me the grade already!

[‘Yubom (F)’ has gathered ‘Huangyeoncho (S)’.]

“Wow! It’s S-grade!!”

Since Huangyeoncho was such a common herb, harvesting it at a high grade was extremely difficult. To obtain high-grade Huangyeoncho, hunters often had to farm hundreds of them—a notorious grind nicknamed “Huangyeoncho farming.”

Even getting an A or B grade felt like a blessing, so imagine my shock when the highest grade dropped.

S-grade Huangyeoncho could fully restore stamina within a day and was considered precious enough that only high-tier hunters used it.

Flushed with unexpected excitement, I hurried back to the tent.

“I got S-grade Huangyeoncho!”

“Masteeer…”

“But why aren’t you inside yet?”

Teddy, who was supposed to move the puppy into the tent, was still lingering outside.

“It’s just…”

[To use the tent, a ‘Rental Bracelet’ is required.]

When Teddy tried placing the puppy inside, an error message appeared.

“I guess the puppy needs to rent the tent too to use it. But since it doesn’t have coins, it can’t rent the tent…”

Coins were the currency used exclusively by Awakened individuals. The puppy obviously couldn’t be Awakened, and the system didn’t allow coin transfers.

Thus, hunters often resorted to tricks like buying useless items at inflated prices in the Hunter Market to facilitate coin trades.

‘Maybe if I enter the tent as the owner, the puppy can come in with me?’

But the puppy’s actual owner was still nowhere to be seen.

“This is serious…”

Even if we healed its wounds with the Huangyeoncho, dungeon nights brought a sharp drop in temperature. Leaving it outside might kill it.

As we fretted, the puppy struggled to breathe.

We had to find a way.

“Could you hand me the puppy?”

“Yes.”

I took the puppy back from Teddy.

Normally, I didn’t need a rental bracelet to enter a tent, but I put one on my wrist anyway.

I figured that if I pretended to be its owner, coins might be deducted from my pocket, allowing the puppy to enter with me.

[※Entry Denied※ This tent accommodates only one person.]

But an unexpected warning popped up. It seemed even animals counted toward the occupancy limit.

I walked over to the newly set up medium-sized tent.

[※Entry Denied※ Tent user must wear the bracelet.]

Yet again, entry was blocked.

[※Entry Denied※ Tent user must wear the bracelet.] [※Entry Denied※ Tent user must wear the bracelet.] [※Entry Denied※ Tent user must wear the bracelet.]

“I’m already wearing it!”