I took out the egg salad bread I had packed in my inventory. Taking a bite, I felt a fluffy yet crunchy texture.

As expected, the combination of eggs, apples, and strawberry jam couldn’t be anything but delicious.

[‘Yu Bom(F)’ has consumed ‘Egg Salad Bread’.] [‘Yu Bom(F)’s energy has recovered by 10%.]

“This will take me a while, so Hunter, please sit over there and rest a bit.”

Munching on the egg salad bread, I gestured towards a neatly organized corner where I had finished mining.

“Don’t go too far away.”

“Alright.”

He walked away without refusing. I looked at his expression, wondering if he had really been that bored, but his eyes were still fixed on me.

‘I guess he just went because I told him to.’

At first, that stoicism seemed scary, but now it didn’t feel that way at all. I knew that Hunter Chae Dong Hwa only spoke mechanically, but he was an honest and kind person.

‘A strange but kind person… Like a diligent worker ant that does whatever you tell it to… He resembles a black ant. Though he’s not small in size.’

As I repeated the work, thoughts flowed freely through my consciousness.

‘Come to think of it, didn’t he say he’d bring a gift when he returned?’

It seemed like he had been back for a while now. He had been with me the whole time, so there were plenty of opportunities to give it.

‘Was it just an empty promise? He doesn’t seem like the type to say things without meaning…’

Maybe he just forgot. He is the type to be absent-minded about certain things.

As I thought about various things while repeating the mining work, something yellow sparkled in the distance.

‘What’s that?’

As I approached, I saw a wooden box. The edges of the box were trimmed with shiny gold, and there was a small keyhole in the center.

Although the box looked old, the metal trim gleamed, giving it an expensive appearance.

No matter how I looked at it, this seemed like the treasure chest I knew about…

I had heard that if you’re lucky in a dungeon, you can get rare items from treasure chests. This looked like one of those treasure chests.

There was no lock on it.

‘Wow, jackpot! Except for no monsters, my luck is on fire today!’

With an excited heart, I grabbed the lid of the treasure chest. As I tilted it back, it opened with a creaking sound.

“Ahh!”

Black mist burst out from inside. I fell back in surprise.

The edges of the treasure chest were filled with sharp teeth. The black mist gathered and took shape, transforming into arms and legs.

The thin limbs compared to the body felt grotesque. A slimy purple flesh emerged from deep within the box.

“Uh, um… What should I…”

The purple tongue drooled as if it had seen a delicious meal. The eerie sight left me almost speechless.

Then it leapt at me, flinging the lid wide open.

“Kyaah!”

In panic, I swung the pickaxe I was holding randomly with my eyes tightly shut.

I felt the dull sensation of hitting something and it flying off.

[‘Yu Bom(F)’ uses ‘Wasn’t That a Prank?(B)’.] [‘Mimic(A)’ is bound.]

“What happened!”

Hunter Chae Dong Hwa came running belatedly. The treasure chest was buried in the ground.

‘Wasn’t That a Prank?(B)’ was an on/off skill. I had kept it on the entire time we were in the dungeon and forgot about it.

It seems the skill was automatically used when the swung pickaxe hit.

“I’m glad you’re safe. I’m sorry. I had a momentary ringing in my ears.”

He nodded after hearing the explanation, then frowned while touching his forehead as if he had a headache.

“It’s, it’s okay. I came too deep on my own.”

And even if the ‘Wasn’t That a Prank?(B)’ skill hadn’t been used, it would have been fine. I was in an invincible state thanks to the invincibility effect.

However, my startled heart still hadn’t calmed down. The monster was deeply buried, unable to even open its lid.

“This is a monster called a ‘Mimic’. It lures its prey with its treasure chest-like appearance and can also disguise itself as other monsters using black smoke. Many novice hunters fall for it. Usually there’s only one in a dungeon, so I didn’t mention it because the chances of encountering one are low. It seems this monster was in the magic stone cave because it likes shiny things.”

It was a monster that targeted hunters who innocently opened treasure chests without any caution, like me.

“Keeaak!”

Maybe because its grade was higher than my skill grade, it gradually tried to squeeze out of the ground. The purple tongue escaped and wriggled.

[‘Yu Bom(F)’ uses ‘Wasn’t That a Prank?(B)’.]

“Aack! Gross! Stay right there!”

“Keck! Keck!”

I struck it several times with the pickaxe as if hammering it in. Then it was buried even deeper than ground level.

Now it didn’t even move.

Was that too much…?

“Come to think of it, this monster is also of the dark attribute.”

“Really?”

Just earlier, Hunter Chae Dong Hwa had said that this monster likes shiny things. As it happened, I had many shiny things in my inventory that this monster would like.

Magic stones of low grade that wouldn’t be a waste to use for raising monster affinity.

“Hunter. Can you just open its lid so it can’t move? I think we can raise its affinity by feeding it magic stones.”

“Yes.”

It would be troublesome if the lid closed while feeding it magic stones. Its sharp teeth would shred my arm.

“Yes.”

Eventually, he opened only the lid of the Mimic and used his skill.

[‘Chae Dong Hwa(S)’ uses ‘Shadow Binding(S)’.]

As Hunter Chae Dong Hwa’s shadow connected with the Mimic’s shadow, the Mimic froze as if it had been petrified.

Seizing the opportunity, I poured magic stones into the Mimic’s mouth.

[♥ : 61%↑]

“Bring the net!”

[Yu Bom(F) used ‘Bring the Net(A)’ on ‘Mimic(A)’.] [Successfully captured ‘Mimic(A)’.]

“Wow! I captured it!”

I didn’t know I could capture it like this. Anyway, I achieved my goal.

I filled out the plant guide, captured a monster, and even found a magic stone cave. It was an incredible gain!

[You can give commands to captured monsters by naming them.]

Once again, a window popped up asking me to give it a name.

“We need to name it to control the monster. What should we call it?”

I asked Hunter Chae Dong Hwa for his opinion while he was here.

“Can’t we just call it Mimic?”

“Maybe…? It would be good if it’s related to the monster’s characteristics.”

“Hmm.”

Hunter Chae Dong Hwa hummed lowly, seriously considering. In the meantime, I pulled the Mimic out of the ground.

“Keeaak…”

“See, why did you suddenly attack? I swung because I was surprised.”

“Kak! Kak!”

The Mimic seemed to be trying to say something. But I couldn’t understand it at all.

I should name it soon.

“How about ‘Conman’?”

Snap!

When Hunter Chae Dong Hwa suggested a name fitting the monster’s characteristics, the Mimic roughly closed and opened its lid, baring its teeth.

Judging by its violent attitude, it didn’t seem to like the name.

“Thief?”

Snap! Snap!

The Mimic nervously opened and closed its lid. Then it expressed its dissatisfaction by thumping at Hunter Chae Dong Hwa’s feet.

“Why ‘Thief’? Does it steal?”

“Yes. Sometimes it steals items while hunters are sleeping. Most hunters wear items made of magic stones.”

“I see.”

Then it’s just a thief. What’s it complaining about?

This monster can’t seem to see itself objectively.

As I was looking down at the seemingly shameless Mimic, black smoke burst from its mouth. Soon, the smoke changed into the shape of a finger.

That finger gestured to the edge of the box.

“Gold? Gold?”

The Mimic hopped around me. It looked like it was dancing merrily.

‘It must really like shiny things. There’s no reason not to give it this name.’

[‘Mimic(A)’ has been renamed to ‘Gold(A)’.]

“Hello, Boss!”

“Huh? Boss…?”

“Yes! I’ll follow you faithfully for life!”

The Mimic spoke while opening and closing its lid. It seems even monsters have their own way of addressing me.

I suddenly felt like I had become the boss of some organization.

“Can’t you call me something else?”

“Yes, Boss!”

Is there a communication problem?

Oh well. Whatever.

It doesn’t matter what it calls me. As long as it does its job well at the campsite.

“We’re going to the campsite now. You can’t scare the guests or steal there. Understood?”

“Yes, Boss!”

The numerous teeth inside the box retracted. Maybe because I had captured it, it listened well.

Now that I’ve achieved my goal, I should return to the campsite.

Just as I was about to turn around with that thought.

“What are we going to do about the Crystal Wyvern, senior… If Hwarang finds out, he’ll pick on us.”

“How would they know I caught it? Just keep your mouth shut.”

I heard human voices from the entrance of the cave.

“I thought it went in here.”

“Could it have disguised itself as another monster? Let’s just give up. You have a lot of money anyway, right senior?”

“It’s not about the money, it’s important. Damn, where did it go!”

One woman and one man. It was the voices of two people. Light and shadows drew closer.

Hunter Chae Dong Hwa stood in front of me on guard.

“Looks like someone’s there?”

“…”

They must have seen my lantern light too, as they spoke questioningly. Their footsteps slowed, then suddenly they jumped out in front of us.

“Who’s there!”

The woman who discovered us around the corner immediately threw a punch. Her attack was blocked by Hunter Chae Dong Hwa’s longsword.

“Oh, you startled me. Why is Hunter Chae Dong Hwa here?”

While I was dazed by the situation that unfolded in an instant, the woman acted as if she knew Hunter Chae Dong Hwa.

I peeked out from behind Hunter Chae Dong Hwa at the somehow familiar voice. She was someone I knew well.

“Ga Young unnie…?”

“Bom…?”

Her face filled with shock as if she had seen a ghost.