Owner of the S-Rank Dungeon Campsite (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14

After several more attempts, all of them failed. It seemed the puppy absolutely had to wear the bracelet and pay the coins itself.

Feeling disappointed that this puppy probably couldn’t use the tent after all,

“Kyiing, kkyeong…”

The puppy tugged at the bracelet with its mouth.

“What are you doing?”

Since it seemed to want something, I let it go and watched what it would do.

The puppy quickly pulled the bracelet off my wrist, then lay down and placed it on its own belly.

[A Medium Tent has been rented.]

‘Yubom (F)’ has earned 500C.]

Suddenly, the rental was completed.

“Master! How did you do that!?”

“Huh? I don’t even know!”

My coins clearly hadn’t changed—no, in fact, I’d earned 500 coins and made money.

Then, an idea suddenly struck me.

“Could it be that, like Teddy, this puppy is also synchronized with its owner? It’s unlikely for an ordinary animal to wander around a dungeon—it might be a summoned creature or something similar.”

“Oh! That could be it!”

It had been strange from the start that a puppy was inside the dungeon. This place was far from the dungeon entrance, so it couldn’t have just been swept in by accident.

‘Then, did those 500 coins come from the puppy’s owner’s pocket?’

I felt guilty for using coins without permission, but if our assumption was correct, the owner would’ve seen a system notification too.

That meant the owner might come looking for the campsite. I could return the coins then.

“I’ll go in first. I just crush this and put it on the wound, right?”

“Yes! I’ll go get a cloth and some water to clean the wound!”

“Okay.”

I entered the tent and laid the puppy down. I crushed the herb, applied it to the wound, and covered it with plastic wrap. Since it was my first time doing this, I wasn’t used to it, and my fingertips had already turned yellow.

“Kyiing, kkyeong…”

The puppy kept whimpering, seemingly in pain. Its nose was dry, and it looked unwell.

“Just hold on a little longer. It’ll warm up soon. And once we put this on your wound…”

That night, I nursed the puppy until I fell asleep, praying fervently that by morning it would have regained its energy—and that its owner would have arrived.

[This is the timeline separator]

A faint soap scent filled the air. Soft hair, warm heat. Something small and squishy moved in my arms.

“Ugh…”

A pained groan sounded as I held tighter. It felt so cozy I wanted to keep sleeping.

‘Wait a second. “Ugh”? Did I just say “ugh”?’

I blinked my eyes open.

A woman. It was a woman.

Mogyeon was embracing a woman he’d never seen before in his life.

“U-uhh…!”

Mogyeon immediately pushed the woman away from his chest. She was still fast asleep.

Her pale skin, round little nose, and fine hair spread out like silk threads caught my eye one after another, followed by her bare face, oversized T-shirt, and overalls.

‘What the hell? Did I mess up?!’

Her face was completely unfamiliar. My head spun.

Mogyeon never indulged in drinking or revelry, and he had even less interest in the opposite sex. Nothing like this could possibly have happened.

‘Right, calm down first and try to recall what happened.’

Mogyeon had joined an expedition yesterday and hunted centaurs with the Hwarang Guild members.

During the mission, he’d glimpsed a fleeting shadow he suspected might be Donghwa and chased after its trail.

[‘Blue Starlight Chimera (S)’ has appeared.]

But the shadow turned out to be a monster. Yes, he’d encountered an S-rank beast-type monster.

Since Blue Starlight Chimeras dropped rare items due to their high rank, Mogyeon had thought he’d casually stretch his legs and return after a brief encounter.

But then—

“Grrroooaaar!”

“What the…!”

The chimera was incredibly fast—almost as fast as Mogyeon himself, likely because they were both beast-type.

In a moment of distraction, the chimera hiding in the bushes ambushed Mogyeon.

As he rolled on the ground, he felt his body lift into the air and looked down to see a cliff.

‘Oh, crap.’

Splash.

He fell down the cliff along with the monster. Below the waterfall flowed a swift river.

[‘Snow Hound (S)’’s skill ‘Beast’s Tail (FFF)’ has been activated. Duration: 24 hours.]

Beast’s Tail was a skill that transformed him into a beagle. It automatically triggered when his HP dropped below 5% or when he touched cold water.

Though useful for discreetly gathering information, Mogyeon rarely used this skill since he mainly participated in raids and expeditions.

Moreover, guild members always teased him mercilessly whenever he used it, so he avoided it whenever possible.

And for good reason—his stats dropped to match those of an ordinary puppy. Not just any puppy—a literal newborn pup.

Fortunately, he managed to climb ashore by clinging to a floating log. But waiting for him on land was the very chimera that had fallen with him.

“Grrr…”

‘I’ll just ignore it and head back to the expedition. All this is Chae Donghwa’s damn fault…!’

If Donghwa hadn’t constantly gotten under Mogyeon’s skin, he wouldn’t have chased after him suspiciously in the first place.

But regretting it now was pointless—it had already happened.

The chimera tapped Mogyeon lightly with its front paw.

[‘Blue Starlight Chimera (S)’ is puzzled.] [‘Blue Starlight Chimera (S)’ asks where your master went.]

The chimera clearly didn’t recognize the beagle before it as the human it had just fought.

Trying to struggle or run away would only get him caught immediately, so Mogyeon waited for the chimera’s curiosity to fade.

[‘Blue Starlight Chimera (S)’ threatens to kill you if you don’t call your master.] [‘Blue Starlight Chimera (S)’ has no intention of letting you go.]

The chimera kept poking and harassing Mogyeon without leaving.

Even these seemingly gentle taps made his insides churn as if his organs were shaking.

Right now, Mogyeon was far too weak. Even against a large dog—not a monster—he’d surely lose.

‘This is getting dangerous.’

His instincts warned him. Just then, the chimera’s jaws gaped open like an alligator’s.

“Kyaaang!”

Thud. A stone flew in from somewhere.

It hit the chimera squarely in the face.

The throw lacked power and didn’t seem to deal much damage, but it was enough to grab the chimera’s attention.

Thud, thud, thud.

Another stone flew in. The chimera tracked its trajectory.

But nothing was visible in the direction it came from.

This time, the stone was thrown toward the bushes instead of at the chimera.

[‘Blue Starlight Chimera (S)’ is curious.]

The chimera walked toward the bushes, utterly baffled.

‘What on earth is going on?’

Mogyeon’s eyes widened in confusion too—he saw nothing either.

At that moment, an invisible force lifted his body.

“Kkyeong, kyiing…”

“Shh. Be quiet. We’ll get caught.”

Startled, I wriggled, but then heard a woman’s voice. Whoever it was, she was human and seemed to be in stealth.

Trusting she’d save him, Mogyeon immediately clamped his mouth shut.

Though they were nearly caught halfway, they ultimately reached safety.

Exhausted and half-conscious, Mogyeon vaguely saw a system prompt telling him to wear the bracelet. A bracelet encircled the woman’s wrist.

‘Is that it?’

He pulled it off with his mouth and placed it on his belly. Instantly, his tension melted away, and he lost consciousness. And now, he’d woken up.

‘So this woman saved me?’

They were inside a tent. The faint scent of grass filled the air.

Mogyeon lay in a sleeping bag, while the woman slept on the ground beside him.

Suddenly noticing something strange, he looked down at his own body. Though he’d clearly suffered serious wounds, he was now fully healed.

Moreover, not only his stamina but his energy overflowed.

‘What exactly did she do to me?’

As he sat up, something dropped with a soft thud.

‘Hwangyeoncho?’

He recognized it instantly. Hwangyeoncho was a common healing herb found in dungeons.

Unlike potions, it didn’t work immediately, so it wasn’t used mid-combat—but if you had a moment to rest, it was worth using.

Given his wounds were completely healed, this must have been high-grade Hwangyeoncho.

‘Did this woman heal me?’

Mogyeon looked at her again. Up close, he noticed her fingertips were stained yellow.

Her hands were so small. When he’d been a puppy, she’d seemed huge—but now that his skill had worn off, her whole body looked tiny.

‘Since she’s in the dungeon, she’s probably a Hunter. Maybe a healer-type?’

Considering the weak strength behind yesterday’s thrown stones, she seemed no different from an ordinary person.

‘But if she were a healer, she wouldn’t have used Hwangyeoncho…’

As he pieced together these thoughts, another memory fragment suddenly surfaced.

‘Poor thing…’

Her hands had clearly trembled when she rescued him—but she’d stepped forward resolutely anyway.

It amazed him how such courage could come from such a small frame.

‘If she hadn’t come to save me back then…’

Mogyeon couldn’t take his eyes off her.

A human far weaker than him had saved his life—possibly risking her own.

She’d saved a puppy she’d never seen before.

“Mmm…”

Just then, the woman frowned slightly and showed signs of waking up.

‘No! Don’t open your eyes now!’

When ‘Beast’s Tail’ activated, all his clothes had been swept away by the river. Meaning Mogyeon was now completely naked from head to toe.

If she saw him like this, she might misunderstand. Frantically scanning his surroundings, he spotted a dipper filled with water.

He grabbed it and dumped it over his head in a panic.

[‘Snow Hound (S)’’s skill ‘Beast’s Tail (FFF)’ has been activated. Duration: 24 hours.] [‘Snow Hound (S)’’s stats have drastically decreased.]

“Puppy, are you awake?”

The woman blinked awake and asked. Apparently, he’d avoided being caught by a hair’s breadth.

“Does it still hurt?”

Mogyeon sighed inwardly with relief. Wanting to communicate somehow, he licked the back of her hand.

“Ah, that tickles.”

She giggled softly—a clear, tinkling sound like rolling glass beads.

A strange feeling spread through his body—something soft, warm, and tender.

‘Ah, it’s her.’

Mogyeon suddenly felt an intense certainty.

[Congratulations! Conditions met—you’ve acquired the sub-skill ‘Beast’s Imprint (S)’.] [‘Snow Hound (S)’ has activated ‘Beast’s Imprint (S)’.] [Affinity and loyalty toward the target have increased dramatically.]

System notifications flashed noisily, but he couldn’t see them. His entire field of vision was filled only with her, as if she were the whole world.

He felt he could trust and follow this woman for his entire life.

He resolved to protect her forever—the one who’d saved his life.

He decided he’d live only for her.

He was utterly captivated by this fateful, inevitable conviction.