My first impression of the Blue Starlight Valley was simple.

“A jungle?”

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

Unlike Mom’s description of it being like peering into a small universe, it wasn’t mysterious or beautiful, but looked like an ordinary jungle in its natural state.

However, the trees surrounding the area were much larger. So large that even when I craned my neck to look up, I couldn’t see their tops.

‘How long would it take for trees to grow this big? Hundreds of years? No, thousands…’

While the size of guerrilla gates that appear suddenly is at most as large as a city, even low-ranked dungeons are as big as continents.

People speculated that dungeon entrances act as portals connecting to other planets. That’s how vast dungeons were.

And the Blue Starlight Valley was an S-rank dungeon.

Moreover, it was the only mysterious dungeon that had not yet been conquered.

Looking around more closely, I noticed plants I had never seen before.

Mint-colored flower buds expanded and contracted repeatedly, as if they were breathing.

“Whoa…!”

Curious, I lightly touched one with my hand, and it exploded like dandelion seeds dispersing. Butterfly-like monsters burst out from inside.

“Ah, that startled me.”

They had wings with a bluish tint.

I knew that a system window should appear when monsters show up.

But there was no change in the system window, perhaps not considering them a threat.

‘Wait, did I really awaken?’

The situation unfolded so suddenly that I began to doubt whether I had actually awakened.

“Status window.”

Awakened individuals could view a status window that quantified their physical abilities. It was the surest way to determine if one had awakened.

[Name: Yu Bom

Class: Campsite Owner

Level: 1

Exclusive Skill: Pitching a Tent (F)

Stats: Vitality 5 Dexterity 5 Health 5 Charm 10 Luck 5]

It seems I did awaken after all.

“This is insane…”

I was astounded the moment I saw the status window.

From the unfamiliar class name of ‘Campsite Owner’ and the skill grade, I had a rough idea, but the stats were utter garbage.

A hunter’s rank is determined by the grade of their exclusive skill.

And as you can see, mine is F-rank…

While levels can gradually increase as experience accumulates, skill grades are difficult to improve. If levels are the result of effort, grades are the realm of innate talent.

Looking at the stats, most didn’t even reach 10, which is the limit for F-rank.

But among them, there was one stat right at the cutoff line.

‘Why is only Charm at 10? And what’s with the names of these other stats?’

Hunter stats are usually classified as Vitality, Strength, Agility, Intelligence, and Luck.

But instead of Strength, Agility, and Intelligence, there were Dexterity, Health, and Charm. These were traits I had never heard of before.

I tapped the ‘▼Details’ tab at the bottom of the status window.

[Vitality represents ‘amount of energy’

Dexterity represents ‘work speed’

Health represents ‘recovery speed’

Charm represents ‘popularity’

Luck represents ‘fortune’.]

Perhaps because the class wasn’t specialized for combat, the abilities seemed different as well.

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

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

I had no idea how to use the exclusive skill ‘Pitching a Tent’, nor why I needed to build a campsite in a dungeon.

It was a confusing situation in many ways.

‘But what should I do now?’

[Quest

− To build a campsite, you need a safe location. Establish a campsite in an area free of obstacles.

The campsite serves as a shelter.

− Completion Reward: ???]

Just then, a quest arrived.

Quests were a system that helped nurture hunters in the early stages of awakening.

However, not everyone received them. Only those chosen by the system, hunters loved by the system, received quests.

Mom had said she leveled up rapidly thanks to these quests in the beginning.

It was ironic that the system gave me a quest after awakening me as F-rank.

“But the campsite serves as a shelter? That’s amazing!”

I had heard that shelters were safe zones where hunters could rest in dungeons. Monsters couldn’t enter those areas.

Moreover, the air in dungeons contains elements that spoil outside food quickly, but staying in a shelter prevents that.

Waiting there for rescue seemed like the best option in the current situation.

And one more thing Mom told me.

‘In the Blue Starlight Valley, monsters become much stronger at night when they receive the power of starlight. That’s why people usually don’t hunt at night in that dungeon.’

I checked my wristwatch, which showed 5:32. Judging by the gradually darkening sky, the time inside the dungeon seemed similar to the outside world.

I need to establish the campsite before the sun sets.

The ‘Establish Campsite’ button at the bottom of the system window was blinking. I pressed it without hesitation.

[You cannot build a campsite here.

Reasons: Terrain too narrow, monsters present in the area, poor scenery, no trees available for logging.]

“…”

Apparently, pressing the button didn’t mean it would be established automatically. The system listed the reasons why it couldn’t be built, as if it had been waiting for this moment.

“But it says there are… monsters?”

The moment I saw that text, goosebumps covered my entire body.

Now that I was aware of it, I became too terrified to move even a single step.

If I encountered a monster in this state, I’d be dead in an instant.

“I’m dead… I’m dead.”

Ding!

As I was deeply despairing, system notifications rang out in succession.

[Congratulations! You have acquired the sub-skill ‘Body Hiding Pro (C)’ as conditions have been met.] [Congratulations! You have acquired the sub-skill ‘Bring the Basket (A)’ as conditions have been met.]

“Huh? Body Hiding Pro? Bring the Basket??”

I suddenly gained skills. One of them was even an A-rank skill.

[Body Hiding Pro (C) (ON/OFF)

− Face it. You’re a shut-in who hides their body!

We’ll increase your survival rate in exchange for your pride.

− Effect: Stealth

− Cooldown: 5 minutes

− The skill is canceled if you come into physical contact with a monster.]

The description was vaguely offensive. But the ability to hide my body…

Moreover, it was an on/off skill with no duration specified. It seemed it could be maintained indefinitely as long as I wasn’t hit…

“This is amazing…!”

It appeared the system wasn’t going to let me die just like that.

[Bring the Basket (A)

− There are many excessively cute and beautiful monsters in the world.

Try kidnapping them to your campsite by putting them in a basket!

− Effect: Capture

− Condition: 50% or higher affinity

− Capture slots: 1

− You can give orders to captured monsters by naming them.

− Captured monsters help with campsite life.

− Captured monsters share inventory and system windows with you.]

“What’s with the affinity? And what’s this about capturing…”

Affinity was an important trait for tamer hunters. I had heard that taming becomes possible when affinity reaches a certain level.

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

Of course, it would be good to capture monsters and use them as bodyguards. But that’s only if you can handle them enough to capture and raise their affinity.

For an F-rank hunter, even approaching S-rank dungeon monsters was unreasonable.

“System, I know you want to save me… But I’d rather avoid adventures if possible.”

This wasn’t a game. There’s no respawning if you die.

A realistic decision was needed.

“Body Hiding Pro ON.”

I used Body Hiding Pro, setting aside the capture skill for now. My body turned transparent, and the energy bar in the bottom left corner decreased.

Among the stats, intelligence is related to the mana used when using skills, but since I didn’t have an intelligence stat, it seemed that vitality, which represents energy, was consumed instead.

‘What an unusual class…’

I took one step at a time. Body Hiding Pro didn’t conceal footsteps, so I had to walk as stealthily as possible.

[‘Blue Starlight Harpy (B)’ has appeared.]

That’s when the first monster alert rang out in the system window. A flock of monsters made of blue feathers flew in the sky.

[‘Blue Starlight Harpy (B)’ senses a presence.] [‘Blue Starlight Harpy (B)’ is on high alert but can’t find anything.] [‘Blue Starlight Harpy (B)’ is perplexed.]

The harpy’s upper body was fairy-like, while the lower body resembled a bird.

Their talons were like hooks, so sharp that even a slight brush seemed like it would shred my body.

‘Judging by their low rank compared to the dungeon’s grade, they seem to be trash mobs…’

Even if they were trash mobs here, they were fatal to me.

They poked around my vicinity, looking around.

But they really couldn’t see me, just making kak, kak! sounds without coming closer.

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

Only now did it feel real that I had awakened. I gradually became more confident in my steps.

“Kyaak, kak, keeek!”

As my presence became more noticeable, the harpies grew excited and screeched. It was good that they couldn’t find me, but the terrible noise made my head throb.

[‘Blue Starlight Harpy (B)’ is fixated on you.] [‘Blue Starlight Harpy (B)’ is determined to find you no matter what.]

‘What determination? You can’t see me! Just give up already!’

The harpies continued to circle in the air, persistently tracking. Unable to succeed, they gradually descended to beneath the trees.

‘What if they brush against me?’

Body Hiding Pro is canceled upon contact. The harpies’ flight speed was so fast that I instinctively shrank back.

[‘Blue Starlight Harpy (B)’ senses danger.] [‘Blue Starlight Harpy (B)’ flees.]

‘What’s going on?’

The flock of harpies suddenly changed direction. They flapped their wings and disappeared into the distance, competing to get away first.

‘What danger? What kind of crisis would make even monsters flee in fear!’

I slowly stopped walking and looked around. The curiosity didn’t last long.

Soon after, a heavy presence approached with thudding footsteps.

[‘Blue Starlight Teddy Bear (A)’ has appeared.]

‘…Teddy Bear?’

True to its name, the monster looked like a stuffed toy. Its blue cloth skin seemed like it would be soft to the touch.

It wore a pink ribbon around its neck.

“Teddy…”

The monster’s ears twitched at the unconsciously muttered word.

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

‘Really?’

‘Yes. Even the teddy bear doll you’re holding is a monster from the Blue Starlight Valley.’

‘Wow. I want to see it too!’

When I was young, I said I wanted to see it during a conversation with Mom, but I didn’t expect this kind of encounter. The original form of my beloved doll Teddy was much larger than I imagined.

[‘Blue Starlight Teddy Bear (A)’ detects a voice.]

It was bigger than the surrounding trees and even taller than a three-story building.

‘It must be about 15 meters tall… Damn.’

[‘Blue Starlight Teddy Bear (A)’ can’t see anything.]

The teddy bear frowned, seemingly frustrated that it could sense the direction but couldn’t see anything. After tilting its head a few times, the teddy bear’s eyes changed.

[‘Blue Starlight Teddy Bear (A)’ activates ‘Berserker Mode (A)’.] [‘Blue Starlight Teddy Bear (A)’ begins to go berserk.]

Its eyes flashed a threatening bright red.

“Grooooooaaaar―!!”

Suddenly, a roar that seemed to split the sky erupted.

Mom, how is this cute at all…