The weather was exceptionally bright today. The river flowed gently, and butterflies or moths, I couldn’t tell which, fluttered about.

Before entering the dungeon, I had seen flower buds forming, so it must be full spring outside now.

The seasons in dungeons varied, but the Blue Starlight Valley seemed quite similar to the outside world.

‘It must be cherry blossom viewing season out there now.’

Here, instead of pink petals, sky-blue leaves were scattered. I might have missed cherry blossom viewing this year, but this wasn’t bad either.

No, it actually looked even more novel and special.

“Woof! Woof!”

While I was lost in thought for a moment, the dog caught my attention. It wagged its tail, circling around as if it had discovered something.

“Woof!”

“Alright, alright. I’m coming.”

I walked over to where the dog was. In front of the dog was a new plant I hadn’t collected before.

“Sim-bwat-da, Sim-bwat-da, Sim-bwat-da!”

[‘Yu Bom(F)’ has collected ‘Kirinsho(B)’.]

After collecting the Yellow Lotus, I tried using the Sim-bwat-da skill a few more times, but no S-rank appeared.

‘Maybe it’s because I’m not as desperate as before.’

The skill description clearly stated that the more desperate you are, the more it turns you into a golden hand. As Hunter Chae Dong Hwa said, the system had its quirks in strange areas.

[Plant Encyclopedia

– Kirinsho: Effective for body aches.]

The Plant Encyclopedia, received as a quest reward, added new plants as items when collected and briefly explained their effects.

[Quest

– Register items in the Plant Encyclopedia. (31/50)

– Completion Reward: Rank Up]

The current ongoing quest was to fill the Plant Encyclopedia. It seemed like a good idea to collect different types and learn about their effects, so the timing was perfect.

And the completion reward said “Rank Up,” but I wasn’t sure which rank would increase.

‘Is it the collection skill? Or does the encyclopedia itself have ranks?’

Or maybe it could be upgrading a sub-skill of my choice. It wasn’t entirely implausible, considering they had given me a Camping Market item selection before.

“No way, this couldn’t be a level up for the exclusive skill, right?”

Sometimes people do get their exclusive skill levels increased. But it’s as rare as finding a needle in a haystack, even harder than winning the lottery.

“Even if it does level up, I’d probably just go from F-rank Campsite Owner to E-rank Campsite Owner… I should take it slow.”

“Woof, woof!”

“Hm? There’s more over there?”

Still, when the quest first appeared, collecting fifty different types seemed daunting, but I’ve already gathered 31.

This was all thanks to this dog. Mysteriously, the dog could find new plants with uncanny accuracy.

‘Could the dog have received the campsite quest too?’

As I was about to attempt collection again, such a thought suddenly crossed my mind. The dog might understand the quest and be helping me.

Campsite quests often issued directives for guests to assist me.

Also, there was an incident that made me suspect this dog could understand human speech.

‘Woof!’

‘What? What’s wrong?’

On the second night at the campsite, the dog scratched at the tent it first slept in. Thinking it might want to sleep inside due to the large temperature difference in the dungeon, I gave it a bracelet.

[Medium Tent has been rented.] [‘Yu Bom(F)’ has acquired 500C.]

‘Again…?’

As soon as the dog took the bracelet in its mouth, the payment was completed, confirming that the first day’s coin transaction wasn’t a coincidence.

How did this dog know it needed a bracelet to enter the tent?

Unless it could understand human speech, how could it possibly know this…

If it could understand human speech, then it bringing the bracelet on its own and helping me now would all make sense.

“Do you perhaps understand human speech?”

“Woof!”

“Can you read letters too?”

“Woof!”

“…”

The dog kept agreeing enthusiastically. It seemed like it might understand what I was saying, but then again, maybe not.

“Oh, never mind.”

A dog that understands human speech and even completes quests? Even I thought my imagination was running wild.

Even if by some chance it had received a quest, the system would have communicated it in a way the dog could understand, not in human language.

Anyway, one thing was certain: it couldn’t speak human language like Teddy. When the owner comes, all secrets will be revealed, but the owner still hadn’t shown up.

Three days had passed like that.

“Could you have been abandoned? That would be so sad.”

“Woof!”

I looked at the dog with eyes full of sympathy, then crouched down and patted its head.

The dog wagged its tail vigorously, seeming pleased. The warm body temperature and soft fur made me feel good too.

‘If the owner doesn’t show up, maybe I could keep it at the campsite?’

I had wanted to raise an animal since I was young. My mother was allergic to dogs and cats, so we never could.

“Want to live with me, puppy?”

“Woof!”

“Aren’t you agreeing too easily? Don’t you need to think about it?”

Anyway, one small dog staying at the campsite wouldn’t change much.

To think I’d be able to fulfill my wish of having a pet only after coming to the dungeon.

“Master! Meal’s ready!”

“Coming!”

At Teddy’s voice, I immediately got up and ran to the fire pit. The dog trotted along behind me.

Lunch was laid out plentifully on the wooden folding table.

“It’s dumpling ramen! I cooked it well this time!”

For a while, Teddy had been asking me to teach him how to cook ramen whenever our eyes met. Later, perhaps feeling self-conscious, he asked me to teach him the recipe.

Since it seemed difficult for him to chop green onions or tear open seasoning packets, I prepared them in advance and registered them in the vending machine. After that, he was cooking and eating on his own.

“It looks delicious. You’re doing well on your own now, aren’t you?”

“Hehe, be careful, it’s hot.”

“Thank you for the meal.”

The noodles were perfectly chewy in the hot broth. The juices from the dumplings blended in, creating a rich flavor.

“And this is for the dog.”

The dog was beside my seat. It had pushed away the jelly slime on the log with its body and taken the spot.

The dog looked at Teddy with expectant eyes.

Teddy gave the dog some berries picked in the dungeon.

“Woof!”

The dog protested as if it didn’t want to eat them. When we just watched silently, it even swatted them away with its front paw.

“Not today…”

Whoever the owner was, they had trained this dog to prefer human food. If we took our eyes off it for a moment, it would quickly snatch our food.

Even now, it was eyeing the ramen. Its panting mouth was pooling with saliva.

“Here. This is tasty too. See, I’m eating it.”

I picked up the berry and took a bite. The texture was similar to an apple, but inside was something sticky like honey.

‘I was just going to pretend to eat it, but it’s actually delicious.’

Before I knew it, I had eaten half of it. The dog watched how much I ate and then bit into the berry.

The dog was particularly obedient to me.

“Teddy. If this dog’s owner doesn’t show up, should we just keep it here?”

While sitting, I asked for Teddy’s opinion. Teddy was a monster I had captured, but since he was helping with the campsite management, I wanted to respect his views.

“I don’t mind, but shouldn’t we give it a name then?”

“A name?”

“Yes.”

As Teddy said, giving it a name would definitely create more attachment. We couldn’t keep calling it ‘puppy’ forever.

The dog was staring at me intently, its eyes seemingly expectant.

“But what should we name it?”

I fell into contemplation.

Naming was always difficult. Hadn’t I ended up pressing the random button when trying to decide on a name for the campsite?

“There’s a saying that naming after food brings longevity… Should we use a food name?”

“Ramen?”

Teddy’s eyes sparkled.

I said food name, not specifically ramen…

It seemed Teddy wanted to name the dog Ramen.

“Grr… Yip!”

The dog growled as if disliking the idea.

“It doesn’t like it…”

“How can it not like ramen? I feel sorry for a dog that doesn’t know the taste of ramen.”

Teddy shook his head as if he couldn’t understand. He was truly obsessed with ramen.

“How about Choco since it’s brown?”

“What’s Choco?”

“It’s another outside food, a super sweet dessert. It hasn’t appeared in the vending machine yet, but it’s really delicious too.”

“Master’s world has so many delicious things! It’s so amazing!”

Seeing the excited Teddy reminded me of the past. I too had found the dungeon berries I tasted for the first time fascinating, just like Teddy.

The most representative berry was Cynthia. When I first ate it, the taste was shocking.

That was probably the turning point when my image of the dungeon started to improve. That berry must have had a big influence on me.

But now I couldn’t remember exactly what it tasted like. Maybe because it had been too long, or because I had tried to forget on purpose.

“It’s probably because you’re tasting it for the first time. It’s not particularly special.”

The fruit juice remaining in my mouth suddenly tasted bitter.

I felt like I shouldn’t come to like the dungeon. I was in the dungeon to survive, not because I liked it.

I was afraid that if I started to like it, the dungeon would betray me again.

“No, it’s really delicious.”

Teddy slurped up the remaining ramen. I put down the berry I had been eating.

Choco looked at my face intently. Then, as if to comfort me, it licked the back of my hand.

It was strange to be comforted by a dog.

* * *

The Chimera possessed extraordinary speed. This was due to its excessively developed leg muscles and special fur that reduced wind resistance.

[‘Ji Seok Hyeon(A)’ activates ‘Eagle Eye(A)’.]

However, with ‘Eagle Eye’ activated, Seok Hyeon could perceive exactly where to aim his bowstring, no matter how fast the monster moved.

As he aimed at the red target, the monster staggered.

[‘Blue Starlight Chimera(S)’ receives a critical hit.] [‘Blue Starlight Chimera(S)’ is paralyzed by poison.]

“Phew… This monster shouldn’t be here.”