Owner of the S-Rank Dungeon Campsite (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 2

My first impression of the Valley of Blue Starlight was singular.

“Jungle?”

Mom had told me many stories about dungeons, but she spoke most often about the Valley of Blue Starlight.

Unlike Mom’s description—comparing it to gazing into a miniature universe—it wasn’t mystical or beautiful at all; it simply resembled an ordinary jungle, untouched and raw.

Only the trees surrounding me were vastly larger—so tall that even craning my neck upward for a long while, I couldn’t see their tops.

‘How many hundreds of years would it take to grow this big? No… maybe even thousands…’

Guerrilla Gates, no matter how wide, spanned at most a single city, but even low-tier dungeons covered entire continents.

People speculated that dungeon entrances functioned as portals linked to other planets—the dungeons were that immense.

Yet the Valley of Blue Starlight was an S-rank dungeon.

Moreover, it was the only mysterious dungeon that remained unconquered.

As I examined my surroundings more closely, unfamiliar plants caught my eye.

Mint-colored flower buds rhythmically expanded and contracted as if breathing.

“Ugh…!”

When I curiously brushed them lightly with my hand, they exploded like dandelion seeds, releasing butterfly-shaped monsters.

“Oh! You startled me.”

Their wings shimmered with a bluish hue.

I knew that a system window should appear whenever a monster spawned.

But since it apparently wasn’t deemed threatening, the system window showed no change whatsoever.

‘Wait… am I really awakened?’

Given how abruptly everything had happened, I started doubting whether I’d truly awakened.

“Status window.”

Awakened individuals could view a status window quantifying their physical attributes—the surest way to confirm awakening.

[Name: Yubom

Class: Campground Owner

Level: 1

Exclusive Skill: Tent Setup (F)

Stats: Stamina 5, Dexterity 5, Health 5, Charm 10, Luck 5]

So I was indeed awakened.

“Damn it…”

I couldn’t suppress my shock upon seeing the status window.

Though I’d vaguely anticipated an unfamiliar class name like “Campground Owner” and a low-tier skill, the stats were utterly pathetic.

A Hunter’s rank was determined by their exclusive skill’s grade.

And mine was clearly F-rank…

Level could gradually increase with accumulated experience, but skill grade was hard to raise—level reflected effort, whereas grade reflected innate talent.

Most of my stats hadn’t even reached the F-rank cap of 10.

Except for one stat, precisely hitting the cutoff.

‘Why is Charm exactly 10? And why are the other stat names like this?’

Hunter stats were typically categorized as Stamina, Strength, Agility, Intelligence, and Luck.

But instead of Strength, Agility, and Intelligence, I had Dexterity, Health, and Charm—attributes I’d never heard of before.

I tapped the “▼Detailed Explanation” tab at the bottom of the status window.

[Stamina represents “Amount of Energy.”

Dexterity represents “Work Speed.”

Health represents “Recovery Speed.”

Charm represents “Popularity.”

Luck represents “Fortune.”]

Apparently, because my class wasn’t combat-oriented, my attributes differed.

‘But of all things, why is Charm high…?’

Charm didn’t seem particularly helpful for my class either.

I had no idea how to even use my exclusive skill, Tent Setup—and why on earth would I need to build a campground inside a dungeon?

It was all deeply confusing.

‘But what do I do now?’

[Quest

– To build a campground, you need a safe location. Establish your campground in an area free of obstacles.

The campground serves as a shelter.

– Completion Reward: ???]

Just then, a quest notification arrived.

Quests were a system feature designed to assist Hunters during the early stages of awakening.

Not everyone received them, though—I’d heard only those “chosen by the system,” or “favored by the system,” got quests.

Mom once said she’d leveled up explosively early on thanks to such a quest.

It felt ironic—the system had given me an F-rank awakening yet still granted me a quest.

“But if the campground acts as a shelter… that’s amazing!”

I’d heard shelters were safe zones within dungeons where Hunters could rest. Monsters couldn’t enter those areas.

Moreover, dungeon air contained substances that spoiled outside food quickly, but shelters blocked those substances.

Staying there and waiting for rescue seemed the best option under the circumstances.

And one more thing Mom had mentioned:

‘In the Valley of Blue Starlight, monsters grow significantly stronger at night due to the starlight’s energy. That’s why hunting there at night is generally avoided.’

I checked my wristwatch—it read 5:32 PM. Judging by the gradually darkening sky, dungeon time seemed synchronized with the outside world.

I had to establish the campground before sunset.

The “Establish Campground” button at the bottom of the system window blinked. Without hesitation, I pressed it.

[You cannot build a campground here.

Reasons: Terrain too narrow, monsters present on site, scenery unappealing, no trees available for logging.]

“…”

Apparently, pressing the button didn’t automatically build it. The system promptly listed all the reasons why construction was impossible, as if it had been waiting.

“But there’s… a monster…?”

Reading that text sent chills down my spine.

Once I became aware of it, fear paralyzed me—I couldn’t even take a single step.

If I encountered a monster in this state, I’d be obliterated in one second.

“I’m dead… I’m already dead.”

Ding!

Just as I sank into despair, another system alert chimed.

[Congratulations! Conditions met—you’ve acquired the sub-skill “Body Hider (C).”] [Congratulations! Conditions met—you’ve acquired the sub-skill “Bring Basket (A).”]

“Huh? Body Hider? Bring Basket??”

I’d suddenly gained skills—one of them even A-rank.

[Body Hider (C) (ON/OFF)

– Admit it. You’re a true hider of your body!

Sacrifice your pride for enhanced survivability.

– Effect: Invisibility

– Cooldown: 5 minutes

– Skill deactivates upon physical contact with a monster.]

The description oddly annoyed me—but I could turn invisible.

Plus, it was an ON/OFF skill with no listed duration, seemingly lasting indefinitely as long as I avoided hits…

“Awesome…!”

Apparently, the system didn’t intend to let me die just yet.

[Bring Basket (A)

– The world is full of excessively cute and adorable monsters.

Capture them in your basket and kidnap them to your campground!

– Effect: Capture

– Condition: Affection ≥ 50%

– Capture Slot: 1

– Naming a captured monster allows you to issue commands.

– Captured monsters assist with campground life.

– Captured monsters share your inventory and system window.]

“What’s with the affection requirement? And what’s ‘capture’…?”

Affection was crucial for Tamer Hunters—I’d heard taming became possible once affection reached a certain threshold.

“So is this skill similar to taming? But I really don’t want to capture any monsters…”

Of course, having a captured monster as a bodyguard would be helpful—but only if I could handle them well enough to raise their affection.

For an F-rank Hunter, even approaching an S-rank dungeon monster was impossible.

“System, I get that you want to save me… but I’d really rather not go on any adventures.”

This wasn’t a game—death here was permanent.

A realistic decision was necessary.

“Body Hider ON.”

I ignored the capture skill and activated Body Hider. My body turned transparent, and the energy bar in the bottom-left corner began depleting.

Intelligence usually governed magic usage for skills, but since I lacked Intelligence, my Stamina—representing energy—was consumed instead.

‘Seriously, what a weird class…’

I took a step forward. Body Hider didn’t mask footsteps, so I had to tread as silently as possible.

[“Blue Starlight Harpy (B)” has appeared.]

For the first time, a monster alert popped up in my system window. A flock of blue-feathered monsters soared through the sky.

[“Blue Starlight Harpy (B)” senses a presence.] [“Blue Starlight Harpy (B)” tenses but detects nothing.] [“Blue Starlight Harpy (B)” is puzzled.]

The harpies had fairy-like upper bodies and avian lower bodies.

Their talons resembled sharp hooks—just a graze would shred me to pieces.

‘Given their low rank relative to the dungeon, they’re probably just mobs…’

But even “mobs” here would be lethal to me.

They circled around me, scanning restlessly.

Yet they truly couldn’t see me—they merely cawed “Kak! Kak!” without drawing closer.

‘This is amazing. They really can’t see me!’

Now I finally felt like I’d truly awakened. My steps grew more confident.

“Kyaaak! Kak! Keeeek!”

The louder my presence became, the more excitedly the harpies shrieked. Not finding me was good, but their ear-splitting cries gave me a headache.

[“Blue Starlight Harpy (B)” becomes fixated on you.] [“Blue Starlight Harpy (B)” vows to find you at all costs.]

‘Why make a vow? You can’t see me! Just give up already!’

The harpies kept circling overhead, persistently tracking me. Frustrated, they gradually descended toward the treetops.

‘What if we accidentally touch?’

Body Hider deactivated upon contact. The harpies’ flight speed was so fast I instinctively shrank back.

[“Blue Starlight Harpy (B)” senses danger.] [“Blue Starlight Harpy (B)” flees.]

‘Huh?’

The harpy flock abruptly changed direction, flapping away into the distance.

‘What danger? What threat could scare monsters themselves into fleeing!’

I slowly halted and scanned my surroundings. My curiosity didn’t last long.

Soon, heavy footsteps—thud… thud…—approached with immense presence.

[“Blue Starlight Teddy Bear (A)” has appeared.]

‘…Teddy Bear?’

True to its name, the monster resembled a plush toy. Its blue fabric-like hide looked soft enough to sink into.

A pink ribbon was tied around its neck.

“Teddy…”

At my absentminded murmur, the monster’s ears perked up.

‘There are so many cute monsters in the Valley of Blue Starlight.’

‘Really?’

‘Yep. The teddy bear Bom is hugging is also a monster from the Valley of Blue Starlight.’

‘Wow! I want to see one too!’

As a child, I’d told Mom I wanted to see one—but I hadn’t expected to meet it like this. My beloved plush Teddy’s real form was far larger than I’d imagined.

[“Blue Starlight Teddy Bear (A)” detects sound.]

It towered over the surrounding trees and dwarfed a three-story building.

‘Is it… 15 meters tall? Damn.’

[“Blue Starlight Teddy Bear (A)” sees nothing.]

It seemed to know my direction but couldn’t see me, leaving the teddy bear frustrated. After tilting its head a few times, its eyes changed.

[“Blue Starlight Teddy Bear (A)” activates “Berserker Mode (A).”] [“Blue Starlight Teddy Bear (A)” begins rampaging.]

Its eyes glowed a menacing crimson.

“ROOOOOOOOOOAAAR—!!”

Suddenly, a roar split the sky.

Mom… just where exactly is this supposed to be cute…?