Owner of the S-Rank Dungeon Campsite - Chapter 26

It’s been 3 years since I started following Ga Young around. Now we’re heading into the 4th year.

“Alone again today… Ah, life…”

One day, Ga Young suddenly said we needed to go to the dungeon to find Hunter Chae Dong Hwa, whom she usually didn’t pay attention to.

When I asked if we could go with the strategy team, she shut me up by saying there was nothing to get caught for by the Hwarang, so I had no choice but to follow.

And sure enough, this is how it turned out.

“Next year, I’m really quitting this damn Reconnaissance Team 7!”

I’ve saved enough money anyway. For the past 3 years, when the contract was about to end, the association chairman would bring rare equipment I couldn’t even imagine, making me stay, but this time I will definitely leave.

‘This time for sure…!’

I was determined to leave the association as soon as this year’s contract ended.

“But how far has she gone? Senior Moon Ga Young!”

The surroundings were quiet. No matter how far I went, there was no trace of Ga Young.

“Ga Young, you! You’re in trouble!”

“…”

Normally, she should pop out and scold me for being cheeky if I speak informally like this, even if she was doing something else.

There was only the sound of flying insects, nothing but silence itself.

“Just how far did she go…”

Ryeoun became increasingly anxious. Naturally, his steps quickened.

* * *

As I entered the cave, I felt a slight chill. The deeper I went, the dimmer the light became.

Feeling a bit eerie, my body shrank. I immediately took out a portable lantern from my backpack to illuminate the surroundings.

“Can’t you see well?”

“Yes, a little…”

No, I couldn’t see much at all.

On the other hand, Hunter Chae Dong Hwa walked without hesitation, as if he had memorized the entire path.

‘Is his night vision good or what…’

Hunter Chae Dong Hwa nodded and then opened his palm. Soon, a round, bright light like a light bulb was created above his hand.

Black smoke flowed gently from the outside.

“What’s this?”

“It’s mana drawn out from within the body. Among hunters, we call it a mana sphere.”

“Can I do it too?”

All hunter skills are based on mana. Classes that use fists also use ki along with it, but mana was the base for everything.

Ah. Since I use energy instead of mana, is it impossible for me?

Like agility, it was a stat that hunters should naturally have, but I didn’t.

“You could do it if you wanted to. But I don’t recommend it if you have little mana. It will be depleted quickly.”

Hunter Chae Dong Hwa, unaware of my situation, continued his explanation. I couldn’t do it anyway.

“Then I think you can make it a bit smaller since I have a lantern.”

“Alright.”

The light dimmed a little. We started walking again, relying on the light from the lantern and the mana sphere.

The sound of water dripping from stalactites seemed particularly loud. I walked tensely, feeling like something might jump out at any moment, but we soon reached the end of the cave.

“Looks like this cave is a bust.”

Despite my tension, we didn’t encounter a single monster.

“I guess I’ll have to do some gathering.”

At the end of the cave, there were flowers with spotted patterns blooming. It was a plant I had never seen before.

‘Even if there are no monsters, I can fill up the plant encyclopedia.’

However, there was one problem.

I hesitated for a moment before speaking to him.

“I can’t have people nearby when I’m gathering, so could you step away a few paces?”

“Is that so.”

He took one step back.

“More.”

He took three steps back. When I shook my head as if to say move back further, he checked for any signs of people around and then moved back more than ten steps.

‘This should be far enough not to hear.’

Even F-rank hunters have a sense of shame. To use the gathering skill, I had to shout “I see the heart” loudly, which would echo throughout the cave due to its characteristics.

I didn’t want to show such an embarrassing sight in front of Hunter Chae Dong Hwa.

“I see the heart, I see the heart, I see the heart.”

I whispered quietly to the plant, bowing my head.

[‘Yu Bom (F)’ has gathered ‘Stone Eye Flower (F)’.]

“…”

Maybe because I spoke too quietly, even after reciting it three times, the grade was still poor.

‘Well… At least I avoided an embarrassing situation.’

I tried to console myself and focused only on the increased number of plants.

“Are you finished?”

“Yes.”

He approached again. Since everyone’s method of using the gathering skill was different, he didn’t seem to think it strange that I asked him to stay far away.

“Let’s move on to the next one.”

“Okay.”

After that, we scouted the caves in order, as if completing homework. But there were no monsters in the next cave either.

Nor in the one after that. Or the one after that.

We just kept gathering endlessly without capturing anything.

“This isn’t normal. It’s strange.”

Hunter Chae Dong Hwa muttered as if talking to himself. Unintentionally, I got to experience firsthand how few and rare dark attribute monsters were in the Blue Starlight Valley.

‘I’ve gathered more for the encyclopedia than I expected. Since we’re out here, I’d like to capture some monsters too…’

Somehow, today seemed off. The sun was already setting.

[Invincible Backpacking Quest

− Find a safe campsite and pitch a tent.

− Reward: 6 hours of invincibility]

Just then, a quest popped up.

There was a quest to walk 10,000 steps in the middle, so this was the third quest.

[Invincible Backpacking Quest

− Disinfect and drink water dripping from stalactites.

− Reward: 4 hours of invincibility] [Invincible Backpacking Quest

− Make a fire reflector with wood or stone.

− Reward: 4 hours of invincibility]

The fourth and fifth quests also appeared in succession. It seemed like even the system was saying that’s enough for today and to pitch a tent.

“Suddenly, a lot of backpacking quests have appeared.”

“What kind?”

“Finding a safe campsite and pitching a tent, disinfecting and drinking water dripping from stalactites, and making a fire reflector? It says to make a fire reflector with wood or stone.”

The others were fine, but ‘fire reflector’ was a term I’d never heard before.

“It seems like the Invincible Backpacking Quest mixes backpacking with bushcraft.”

“Bushcraft?”

“It refers to a style of camping where you make tools from natural materials and enjoy nature more closely. Fire-making is also a kind of bushcraft.”

“Ah, I see.”

Coming to the dungeon, I learned about more diverse camping methods than I had thought. Bushcraft seems to be about intentionally enjoying camping in a more primitive way.

“Then let’s move to a cave where we can pitch the tent.”

“We’re pitching the tent in a cave?”

“Yes. If we go up a bit further, there’s a small cave. Since there’s a possibility of monsters appearing in larger caves, I think it would be better to set up there.”

“Okay.”

Following his guidance, we climbed the rocky mountain. There really was a small cave about 10 pyeong in size.

It was quite high up, offering a panoramic view of the dungeon.

The view was good, and it seemed safe with few long stalactites. Plus, the entrance was close, so it would ventilate well if we made a fire.

“This place is nice. I’ll pitch the tent, you can rest.”

“No, I’ll go gather firewood.”

“Okay. Sounds good.”

We decided on our tasks and started moving busily. I rummaged through my backpack and took out the tent.

[Lightweight Backpacking Tent

− Suitable for 2 people

− Setup Instructions (Expand▼)

1. Spread out the tent skin and insert 2 poles in an X shape

2. Push the poles in while pulling the skin to make it stand

3. Attach the rings to the pole positions

4. Drive steel pegs into the ground]

The backpacking tent was dome-shaped. Although the instructions said to drive in pegs, it could stand on its own just by connecting the poles.

Suddenly, I remembered the seven LNT ethical guidelines I had read for a previous quest. I could use the newly acquired ‘Wasn’t it a peg?(B)’ skill to drive pegs into rocks, but I didn’t want to use it unnecessarily.

Hunter Chae Dong Hwa said that the seven LNT ethical guidelines aim to leave no trace when visiting nature.

After just making it stand, I attached the rings to the pole positions. I wondered if it would be completed even without following the last setup instruction, but fortunately, the system marked the quest as complete on its own.

[Yu Bom (F) has completed the quest.] [Gained 6 hours of invincibility effect.]

“But this really is for two people…”

It was much smaller compared to the medium-sized 2-person tents at campsites. It was just enough space for two adults to lie down. I thought it would be fine, but seeing it like this made me a bit worried.

“Hmm… But I can’t make the person who helped me sleep outside.”

“Is there a problem?”

Just then, I heard the voice of Hunter Chae Dong Hwa, who had gone to gather firewood.

“No! You’re back already?”

“Yes.”

In his hands were various sizes and thicknesses of firewood.

He briefly glanced at the tent behind me, and seemingly finding no issue, he started preparing to make a fire a little distance from the tent.

“Hunter. The fire reflector. How do you make that?”

Mentioning fire reminded me of the quest. I should quickly complete the quest related to fire.

“A fire reflector is a tool that reflects the heat of a campfire to prevent heat loss. Simply put, it’s a reflector.”

He took out several flat stones he had brought along with the firewood.

“The simplest way to make one is to drive four stakes into the ground and put wood between them, but since we can’t drive stakes here, it would be better to stack stones to make a reflector.”

There were many large and small stones inside the cave. He lifted some of the stones he brought and a few large rocks to block the front of the campfire.

Thanks to the fire reflector, the fire didn’t flicker in the wind and caught well. It felt like the heat of the fire was gently gathering inside.

It definitely seemed to have the effect of preventing heat loss.

[Yu Bom (F) has completed the quest.] [Gained 4 hours of invincibility effect.]

‘Bushcraft is no big deal!’

I completed two quests in an instant.

I thought I might have to do some kind of carving when they said to make something with natural materials, but it was very easy if all I had to do was stack stones.