Owner of the S-Rank Dungeon Campsite - Chapter 49

The reporter frowned, seemingly unaware that I knew about the rumors. His face turning red and blue like an angry goblin was quite comical.

“You’ll regret this.”

He soon went into his tent with an angry expression. I could hear him telling others inside to leave the campsite now.

I should have done this from the start. It felt so satisfying.

“Ms. Bom… I’m sorry for causing a disturbance. Because of me…”

Hunter Seol Mo Gyeon, who had been watching from the side, apologized with a dejected look.

“No, that person caused the disturbance. Why did you just put up with it? I heard you knew that person was strange too.”

“Well…”

His expression darkened even more. It seemed there was some other circumstance.

“I promised not to cause any more trouble. I was afraid you might tell me not to do anything again…”

What? Just because of that?

I felt like I’d been hit on the head.

“Do you think I lack that much flexibility?”

Surely if he had acted according to his usual personality, it wouldn’t have ended with just a loud argument. As someone who’s broken a camera before, being a fellow hunter, he could have even gotten into a fistfight.

Still, wasn’t this a special situation? I didn’t mean he should endure unfairness to the point of not causing any disturbance.

“But a promise is a promise.”

Once again, I was reminded of what Hunter Ji Seok Hyeon had said before he left. That he was a simple but kind guy.

Now I saw that there was no description more fitting for Hunter Seol Mo Gyeon. It seemed I had greatly misunderstood him.

“Hunter. You don’t need to follow my words unconditionally.”

“But it’s your campsite, isn’t it?”

“I still have a lot to learn and there’s much I don’t know about hunters and dungeons. Hunter Seol Mo Gyeon, you’re the leader of a large guild, so you have more experience and better judgment than me.”

“No. I should listen to you, Ms. Bom.”

I had stated an objective fact, but his thinking was firm.

Honestly, this was a bit uncomfortable. It’s as if he still blindly trusted and followed me like a puppy.

Could it be because of the skill?

“Hunter Seol Mo Gyeon, what’s the current status of the Beast’s Mark skill relationship?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.”

Seol Mo Gyeon looked puzzled at the sudden question. He soon checked his status window and told me.

“It’s campsite owner and employee status. In an unstable period.”

The relationship had changed without me noticing. But this too couldn’t be considered an equal relationship.

I don’t act oppressively towards employees, but he seemed to be unnecessarily cautious around me.

Originally, I thought it might be okay if he continued like this to become the campsite owner and employee, but somehow this didn’t feel right either.

If it continues like this, I think I’ll keep feeling uncomfortable too.

“About your Mark skill relationship. I’ve been thinking about what kind of relationship I’d like to have with you.”

“Yes.”

That was the only option left. We’re also around the same age.

“I think it would be good if we were friends.”

If we were friends, I could treat him more comfortably.

“Friends…?”

“Yes.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Yes. What? No, a male friend! A friend who is male!”

I nodded naturally at first, then was surprised. It was because Seol Mo Gyeon had said it in a way that could be easily misunderstood.

I quickly corrected my words to make sure he didn’t think strangely.

“Ah… a male friend…”

“Do you not like that…?”

His expression brightened briefly, then darkened rapidly. Did I say something wrong?

“No? I like it. I want to be friends with you too, Bom.”

His tension seemed to drop for a moment, but then he smiled again with crescent eyes.

“So don’t be so cautious around me. If you want something, just say it, and if there’s a problem, you can handle it according to your judgment. From what I’ve seen of your work these past few days, you do so well that I think I can trust and leave things to you?”

“Haha, it’s not that much…”

I added some words of praise along with what I wanted to say. Seol Mo Gyeon scratched the back of his head shyly.

“And could we change that ‘Ms. Bom’ title too?”

“Then what should I call you?”

I thought this was the chance to change that burdensome title.

“How old are you?”

“24.”

“I’m 26.”

“What? 26 you say?”

“Yes.”

Seol Mo Gyeon covered his mouth and opened his eyes wide. He seemed quite surprised.

I had heard that Hwarang was mostly made up of people in their early 20s, so I had roughly guessed his age. That’s why I was puzzled when the Hwarang guild members treated me like a younger sibling.

I didn’t tell them my age because there was no need to, but I thought it would be better to be open with Seol Mo Gyeon since we’d be seeing each other for a long time.

“Are you uncomfortable because I’m older?”

“Ah, no. It’s just so unexpected. You look so young that I thought you were definitely younger than me.”

When he remained silent for a while, I carefully asked, and he waved his hands as he answered.

“We’re not that far apart in age, so let’s just be friends. You can call me Bom.”

“Is that really okay?”

“Yes. From now on, let’s speak casually to each other. I’ll call you by your name too.”

Maybe because I don’t have a close younger brother, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him to call me ‘noona’.

Just thinking about it made me feel itchy. It was also hard to imagine being called ‘noona’ by someone much bigger and scarier-looking than me.

“Okay, Bom.”

Much better. Now he finally felt less burdensome.

“Yeah, okay. Mo Gyeon. Let’s get along well from now on!”

Mo Gyeon’s earlobes turned red.

[This is the timeline separator]

Today, it rained after a long time. It was a fine drizzle falling silently. The campsite had a damp yet peaceful atmosphere.

Also, because of the rain, a new buff appeared.

[Campsite Name: Spring

Level: 5

Campsite Reputation: Campsite with delicious ice cream, Campsite with a kind owner, Campsite with fun movies

Campsite Status: Clean

Campsite Weather: Rainy

Campsite Effects: Mana recovery speed +10%, Ice attribute resistance +5%, Buff duration +10%, Dark attribute resistance +5%

※Campsite effects are influenced by reputation, status, and weather.

※Effects gained from the campsite are maintained for 24 hours after leaving the campsite. (Excluding recovery speed buff)]

Before I knew it, I could receive four buffs just from the campsite area effect.

“If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I should go hunting. It’s a waste to stay in the campsite with these buffs.”

On rainy days, there’s a mana recovery speed +10% buff, and the mage classes, who consume the most mana, seemed particularly excited.

When it rains, not only are there buffs, but the way people enjoy camping also changes a bit.

People who wanted to be quiet went into their tents and enjoyed watching the rain through the urethane windows, while the midnight theater, which had an automatic protective barrier, showed horror movies to match the weather.

“Aah!”

“Ah, you startled me. I was more surprised because of you.”

“Watching outside on a rainy day really makes you focus.”

The guests jumped and flinched when a ghost popped out. The gloomy air created quite an eerie atmosphere.

They whispered among themselves, teasing each other about being cowards.

‘Whew, I was startled too.’

Even though I had seen it before and was prepared, I was still surprised because Mo Gyeon next to me jumped up.

“Choco. Are you not good with scary things?”

Mo Gyeon had gone out in the morning to catch monster meat and fish but got soaked in the rain. So today he’s in his dog state.

It’s a secret known to those who should know among hunters that he turns into a beagle, but it’s not information that can be casually spread around, so when he’s in his dog state, I call him ‘Choco’ again.

[‘Seol Mo Gyeon (S)’ says he is a brave Choco.] [‘Seol Mo Gyeon (S)’ snorts, saying that such ghost graphics are cute compared to dungeon monsters.]

However, the area around his bottom was trembling. If he’s scared, he could wear the ‘I Don’t Like Scary Things Glasses (D)’ which automatically cover scary scenes.

Many guests were wearing those glasses now. For some reason, I felt like Mo Gyeon didn’t want to be caught being scared, so I pretended not to notice.

Instead, I put Mo Gyeon on my lap and covered his eyes when scary scenes were about to come. At first, Mo Gyeon seemed embarrassed and wanted to get down, but soon he hid behind my hand and got absorbed in the movie.

“Master, Master!”

Just then, Teddy came running, splashing and wearing a large leaf.

That leaf is a ‘Lafnas Leaf’, which is large and round, often used as an umbrella substitute in dungeons.

“What’s the matter?”

“A guest asked if we don’t make buchimgae here. What’s buchimgae?”

“Buchimgae?”

It was indeed weather that made you think of buchimgae with the drizzling rain. But suddenly I wasn’t sure how to explain this.

“Korean-style pizza? Ah, you don’t know pizza either. It’s like bread that’s made by mixing flour with vegetables or meat and frying it flat.”

“Bread…?”

Teddy didn’t know bread either. Teddy often asked about new foods, but because he knew so little about outside food, I felt like I was hitting a limit in how to express it.

‘Hmm, does vocabulary also deteriorate in dungeons?’

I blamed the dungeon unnecessarily and checked the system window to see if we had buchimgae ingredients. It was well past lunchtime, just when you might start feeling peckish.

How nice would it be to eat buchimgae and makgeolli while watching the rain at a time like this? I suddenly started craving it too.

“We have the ingredients, so I’ll make it for you. Since we don’t have kimchi, seafood green onion pancake should work.”

“Great! Seafood green onion pancake! That’s buchimgae too, right?”

“Yes.”

“Boss! Don’t forget mine!”

“Yes, I’ll make Gold’s portion and bring it too.”

With many guests in the midnight theater, Gold couldn’t leave his post. Gold looked like he really wanted to come along but was disappointed.

As I walked to the kitchen, Mo Gyeon and Teddy followed in a line.