Owner of the S-Rank Dungeon Campsite (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16

The Chimera of Blue Starlight inhabits densely forested jungles. It dislikes water and never comes down this far.

This place was also a jungle, but there was a river nearby.

‘How did it end up all the way down here?’

When guild members decided to proceed with the expedition despite Mogyeon’s absence, Seokhyun chose to follow Mogyeon’s trail alone, hoping to find him first.

Yet, he couldn’t find any trace of Mogyeon anywhere in the jungle.

So he came down here, suspecting Mogyeon might have been swept away by the river below the cliff—but it was the same here too. Mogyeon was nowhere to be found.

‘Could it be…?’

Seokhyun looked at the Chimera lying collapsed on the ground. The Chimera was paralyzed by poison, stiff as a board.

Mogyeon had clearly mentioned seeing a black shadow before chasing after it. If Mogyeon mistook this monster for Hunter Chae Donghwa and gave chase…

If they’d fallen off the cliff together during the fight…

And if Mogyeon, transformed into a puppy, had encountered this Chimera again…

“Snow Hound… you’re not in there, are you?”

Seokhyun spoke while staring intently at the Chimera’s belly. In puppy form, Mogyeon stood no chance against the Chimera.

If Seokhyun’s assumption was correct, Mogyeon must have been eaten by the Chimera. A chilling premonition sent shivers down his spine.

“It can’t be… surely not… Damn it. Snow Hound, don’t you dare joke around.”

Convinced it was absurd but desperate to find a body if Mogyeon had been swallowed, Seokhyun drew his dagger and sliced open the Chimera’s belly.

Fortunately, the Chimera’s stomach was completely empty. Seokhyun felt a slight wave of relief.

‘Then where are you…?’

After that, Seokhyun wandered aimlessly through the dungeon. Honestly, when he first set out to find Mogyeon, he’d expected to locate him quickly.

Mogyeon’s fighting style was always loud and flashy, and Seokhyun never imagined he’d have been taken down so easily.

The first time Seokhyun met Mogyeon, he’d had a feeling: though he himself might never become a king, he could certainly be a kingmaker.

He’d first encountered Mogyeon while serving as a mercenary for a certain guild. At the time, Mogyeon was a rookie who’d awakened less than three months prior, while Seokhyun, having awakened early, was already a three-year veteran Hunter.

“Eeek!”

“Everyone, run!”

A smoothly progressing raid faced total annihilation when they failed to stop the boss monster’s rampage. When monsters go berserk, their combat power increases tenfold—and this one had become SS-rank.

“Hey, rookie! Get over here quick! Do you want to die?!”

While everyone was fleeing, one person remained standing his ground.

“Why? It’s just starting to get fun.”

That person was Snow Hound.

In the end, though it was a close call, he defeated the monster. It was impressive enough that a rookie had stopped a rampaging boss monster—but even more astonishing was that he showed no awareness of the danger, treating the whole battle as nothing more than an entertaining game.

Mogyeon was that bold and fearless in combat. Seokhyun recruited him and founded their own guild.

He firmly believed that, with proper guidance, Mogyeon could help build a guild powerful enough to dominate the entire peninsula.

He stayed by Mogyeon’s side, instilling a sense of seriousness about Hunter duties and supporting him wherever he fell short.

As a result, Hwarang rose to third place in the national guild rankings within just three years of its founding, inching ever closer to their dream.

There was no way someone like Mogyeon could have died so pointlessly.

‘What’s that?’

It was nearly sunset. In the distance, a red glow appeared.

As he drew closer, a blue light glowed between the trees.

‘A lightbulb…?’

Squinting for a better look, he spotted a signboard.

Passing by the incomprehensible sign, something suddenly appeared.

“Wow! A new Hunter! Welcome! Master! We have a guest!”

“Aaah!”

Before him stood a giant bear—a monster he knew well.

‘If Doldori appeared, why didn’t the system notification pop up? And why is it so small now?’

He briefly wondered if it might be a different individual, but aside from its size, the heart-shaped nose and pink ribbon unmistakably belonged to the Bear of Blue Starlight.

Yet Doldori was speaking human words.

“What the hell!”

Seokhyun immediately drew his bow, assuming a combat stance. The bear froze in place and took a few steps backward.

“W-wait! Calm down, Hunter. I’m a captured monster.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Why are you here?!”

“Teddy! I told you not to go out alone—it’s dangerous!”

While they were locked in standoff, another voice called out from afar. It was a woman’s voice.

“Oh? We really do have a guest. Welcome.”

There was a person—a tiny woman, only half the bear’s height.

“This is both a campground and a shelter. Attacking is prohibited. Please put away your weapon.”

“A shelter…?”

[Shelter Time Limit: Unlimited

Owner: Yubom (F)]

Checking the system window confirmed it truly was a shelter. That meant the bear posed no threat.

But something seemed odd, raising his suspicions.

Naturally, shelters had no time limits.

‘And what’s with the owner? Is the system broken?’

Shelters never had owners. Since the system had never malfunctioned before, Seokhyun was baffled. Reopening the window showed the same information.

“If you’d like to stay at the campground, you’ll need to rent a tent. We have various buff items ready—would you like to rest here for the day?”

Though the woman spoke kindly, Seokhyun was even more incredulous.

A campground inside a dungeon? That was absurd. More importantly, shelters were public areas.

Just as he was about to question her, a familiar sound reached him from afar.

“Woof! Woof!”

“Choco, we have a new guest. Say hello?”

“You bastard!”

He recognized it instantly. The very Mogyeon he’d been searching for appeared—in the form of a puppy.

“Woof….”

Hearing Seokhyun’s sharp tone, Mogyeon shrank back timidly, glancing up at him with wary eyes.

Seokhyun was furious inside—after all the trouble he’d gone through, Mogyeon had been hiding out here?

“Are you Choco’s owner by any chance?”

“Choco?”

The woman had called Mogyeon by a strange name.

“Oh. I guess you really are the owner then. I thought he was an abandoned puppy and gave him that name on my own. Sorry about that.”

Mogyeon had even been given a new name and was living happily.

More than that, the woman genuinely seemed to believe Mogyeon was just an ordinary puppy.

“This guy…”

[‘Snow Hound (S)’ growls, telling you not to speak.] [‘Snow Hound (S)’ asks why you came looking for him and whether the expedition is over.]

“Are you really curious about that?”

“Huh?”

“No. This guy—no, Choco. Sigh…”

Calling this burly man by such a cutesy name gave him a slight reality check.

“How did Choco end up here?”

Seokhyun composed himself and asked for the full story.

“Well… a few days ago, I found him being attacked by a monster right outside the campground. He looked like he’d die if I didn’t help, so I brought him in.”

“…You fought the monster yourself?”

“Not exactly—I just grabbed him while the monster was distracted and ran away. I planned to keep him only until his owner showed up, but no one came, so I assumed he’d been abandoned. Maybe his Summoner summoned him and forgot…”

“Keeeng…”

Beside him, Mogyeon gazed at the woman with wistful, glistening eyes—as if reliving the touching moment from that day.

Seokhyun found Mogyeon utterly infuriating.

‘What on earth is this guy doing here?’

Even in puppy form, it was obvious. Mogyeon was acting completely unlike himself.

His front paws were neatly tucked together, and his tail spun like a propeller, whirling so vigorously it seemed like you could feel the breeze if you stood close enough.

He was expressing his affection for the woman with his entire body. Witnessing his friend’s uncharacteristically awkward behavior made Seokhyun’s skin crawl.

“He really is a Summoned creature, isn’t he? He seemed a bit different from an ordinary puppy.”

[‘Snow Hound (S)’ threatens you to play along.] [‘Snow Hound (S)’ appoints Seokhyun as his Summoner effective immediately.]

‘Damn… does it really have to come to this?’

Seokhyun hesitated briefly—should he go along with this charade or expose the truth right now?

“…Yes, that’s right. I’m a Summoner.”

After a moment’s thought, fearing Mogyeon’s retaliation if he refused to cooperate—given how utterly unreasonable the guy was—he decided to play along.

“So you’ve been temporarily taking care of our Choco all this time. Thank you. I’ll take him with me now. Choco, come here—”

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

“Good boy, just come back with me and—”

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

“No, I said come here!”

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

“Damn it! What am I supposed to do?!”

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

[‘Snow Hound (S)’ tells you to go back without him.] [‘Snow Hound (S)’ flops down dramatically, saying he wants to rest.] [‘Snow Hound (S)’ scratches his belly, asking if you couldn’t finish the expedition just fine without him anyway.] [‘Snow Hound (S)’ insists he’s never taken a vacation and demands to use all his leave at once.] [‘Snow Hound (S)’ has absolutely no intention of returning with ‘Ji Seokhyun (A)’.]

“You damn mutt!”

“Wait, hold on! Are you really his owner?”

Finally, driven by Mogyeon’s shameless behavior, Seokhyun lunged forward—but the woman stepped protectively in front of Mogyeon, eyeing Seokhyun warily.

From behind her, Mogyeon’s mouth curled into a smug grin, his red gums fully exposed in a wide, human-like smile.

It was a grotesque sight—this dog grinning like a person. Seokhyun was speechless.

“What did you do to him? What did you do to make him act like this?!”

“Huh? I just saved him, treated his wounds, and fed him. He bathed himself in the river—I really didn’t do anything else!”

“No, that’s not what I meant…! Why would you save him, treat him, and feed him in the first place?!”

Now he understood.

The reason was obvious. That simpleton had clearly fallen for this woman.

She’d saved his life—that was probably all it took.

“Ugh… I’m going crazy.”

Mogyeon had caused countless troubles before, but never over a woman. Seokhyun hadn’t anticipated this scenario at all.

“Do I really deserve this after doing a good deed?”

Right. The woman wasn’t at fault—it was all because of that stubborn idiot who went all out once he set his mind on something.

Mogyeon claimed he’d return after a short rest, but Seokhyun didn’t believe him for a second. Judging by his attitude, it wouldn’t surprise him if Mogyeon decided to settle here permanently.

It was obvious from how he’d concealed his identity this whole time. To maintain his puppy form, he’d have to douse himself in cold water regularly—so he must have been jumping into the river by himself every time.

Seokhyun couldn’t afford to lose Hwarang’s Guild Master like this, just as their momentum was building.

“Look, I got overly excited just now. Thank you for saving Mo—no, Choco. You mentioned this is a campground—can I stay here too?”

“You named him Choco yourself. Are you really his Summoner?”

His earlier outburst had made the woman suspicious. He needed to fix his image immediately.

“The Summoned creature’s name doesn’t matter—whether it’s Choco or Tail. His summoning duration is so long that I spent ages searching for him.”

As Hwarang’s representative for external affairs, Seokhyun quickly slipped into his practiced business smile.

“He should have a heart-shaped spot on his rear. If you’re doubtful, go ahead and check.”

The woman immediately picked up Mogyeon with both arms and checked his backside.

[‘Snow Hound (S)’ is deeply embarrassed.] [‘Snow Hound (S)’ threatens to kill ‘Ji Seokhyun (A)’.] [‘Snow Hound (S)’ spits at ‘Ji Seokhyun (A)’, telling him to get lost.]

No way. After everything I’ve done for you?