“Hunter Chae Dong Hwa. There’s something I’d like to ask you.”

“Yes.”

I spoke casually while guiding Hunter Chae Dong Hwa to the tent.

“Actually, it’s strange that you’re the only guest at the campsite. Have you not seen any other hunters around here?”

“…..”

Hunter Chae Dong Hwa, who had been walking straight ahead, suddenly looked in my direction. The way one of his eyebrows curved seemed to ask if I was really unaware.

“Of course not. As you may know, the Blue Starlight Valley gets deeper as you go west. With less than 60% of the subjugation complete, this campsite near the center is dangerous for hunters to visit. Except for periodic expeditions to eliminate monsters, they don’t pass through here.”

“What…? What did you say?”

This place is near the center…

For other dungeons, I might have attempted conquest at least once, so the center wouldn’t be that dangerous, but the Blue Starlight Valley was different.

As Hunter Chae Dong Hwa said, less than 60% of the Blue Starlight Valley had been subjugated.

In other words, the campsite was precariously situated on the borderline of the unconquered area.

“You didn’t know?”

Hunter Chae Dong Hwa looked at me with even more puzzled eyes.

He doesn’t know that I warped into the dungeon. I had only told him that I couldn’t leave the dungeon due to certain circumstances.

He seemed to have thought that since I came here on my own, I would naturally know how deep this place was.

“The truth is, I was warped here. I didn’t come in of my own volition…”

After hearing a brief explanation, he nodded.

“I see. This is the midpoint between the Giant’s Forest and the Dragon’s Forest.”

“Gasp. Giants and dragons?”

Now that I think about it, encountering the harpy earlier was nothing. If I had met a giant or a dragon, I wouldn’t have been able to move due to their intimidating presence.

“I didn’t know this place was so dangerous… Then, when are the hunters participating in the expedition expected to arrive?”

“It usually takes about 3 weeks for the association to assign the dungeon to the requested guild and complete the expedition preparation process. Most go on expeditions at the end of the month, but that varies by guild, so it’s not exact.”

If it was the end of the month, it wasn’t that far away. That was fortunate in the midst of misfortune.

“Then are there no lone hunters roaming the dungeon like you, Hunter Chae Dong Hwa?”

“There might be people hunting alone near the dungeon entrance, but they usually don’t come this deep. Especially alone, since there’s a rumor spreading about this dungeon.”

“…..”

I knew about that rumor too.

The gate within the dungeon that supposedly swallows hunters in an instant.

Both my mother and brother were swept away by that gate.

It was no longer just a rumor, but a fact.

“Then why do you travel alone?”

I couldn’t help but wonder. Until now, all those who had disappeared after being caught up in that gate were S-rank hunters or above.

So the Dungeon Research Center speculated that the higher the hunter’s rank, the higher the probability of being sucked in.

If that was the case, Hunter Chae Dong Hwa was currently engaging in extremely dangerous behavior more than anyone else.

“I’m trying to contribute to that rumor too.”

“What?”

Surprised by his words, I turned my face sharply. His face showed no emotion as usual.

Is he joking?

“Can I rent small tent number 1 again today?”

“Yes, of course.”

He made an ambiguous statement and then changed the subject as if nothing had happened.

‘I guess it was a joke after all.’

Seeing his nonchalant attitude, I also brushed it off lightly and followed him.

“Here’s the bracelet for tent number 1.”

“Thank you.”

I handed over the small tent number 1 bracelet that I had prepared in advance.

“Then, rest well.”

“And this.”

As I was about to turn around after greeting him, Hunter Chae Dong Hwa took something out of his inventory.

[‘Chae Dong Hwa (S)’ transfers ‘Blue-horned Cow’s Hind Leg Meat (S)’ to ‘Yu Bom (F)’.

Accept / Reject]

What he handed over was meat with artistic marbling. It seemed to be from a dungeon monster.

When receiving an A-rank or higher item, a system window like this pops up, and this was an S-rank item.

When hunting monsters, there’s a slim chance of getting high-grade cooking ingredients. Naturally, being rare, they sell for high prices.

“I got this while hunting monsters. It’s meat that’s used in restaurants outside, so it should suit people’s tastes if you just cook it.”

“Oh, you should eat this, Hunter. I’m fine!”

“No. I’m giving it to you because of the campsite quest. You need to accept it for me to get the buff.”

“Then I’ll gratefully accept it. Hehe.”

I quickly accepted it and put it in my inventory.

Since starting the business, a campsite quest system had been created.

At first, I thought it only appeared for me, but it turned out to be a rare system that also appears for campsite guests.

The quest contents are usually related to camping.

There are quests like staring into the fire, chopping firewood, or playing with the ethereal monsters wandering around the campsite.

The rewards give buffs needed by each hunter and also drop experience points for me. Occasionally, amazing buffs are created, but I haven’t figured out the principle behind it.

I asked Teddy, but Teddy said he didn’t know either. It seemed like there was some set rule, so I planned to figure it out step by step.

[☀Spring Campsite Quest

– You’ve obtained a high-grade ingredient from a guest. Try hosting a barbecue party together.

– Completion Reward: Work Speed +5%]

“Hunter Chae Dong Hwa. Shall we have a barbecue party with this today? I just got a quest too.”

But this quest gives sweeter rewards when it’s a quest to be done with a guest, even though it also appears when I’m alone.

I looked at Hunter Chae Dong Hwa with hopeful eyes.

“I just got one too. Let’s do it. I’ll just change my clothes and come out.”

“Okay.”

So these days, I’ve been frantically completing quests with Hunter Chae Dong Hwa. The fact that my level increased by 2 stages in a short period was largely thanks to these quests.

A barbecue party would require a lot of work, but I can’t resist a percentage buff.

Soon after, a hazy smoke rose from the campsite.

* * *

“This won’t do. I need to ask Dong Hwa.”

A long time had passed since Bom went missing. If she had fallen into the river and died, they tried to at least find her body, but even that failed.

Unable to bear it any longer, Myung Hyun decided to ask Dong Hwa for help. Even if it meant breaking the promise he made with Tae Rim, he was in no position to worry about promises now.

With the skill Dong Hwa possessed, he might not be able to determine if Bom was alive or dead, but he could at least figure out if she had awakened as a hunter.

Now, if Bom hadn’t awakened as a hunter, there was no hope left.

“Where is Dong Hwa now?”

“He still hasn’t returned from the dungeon.”

Ga Young, who was standing nearby, answered.

“Still? It seems like it’s been 3 months since he entered the dungeon, and he still hasn’t come out?”

“Yes. He usually comes out to report every quarter, but he’s a bit late this time.”

“So how long has it been?”

“About 4 months now.”

“He must have run out of food by now.”

Dong Hwa wasn’t the type to report regularly, but he did come out of the dungeon once every quarter.

This was the first time he had stayed in the dungeon for such a long period.

Even if he really ran out of food, there are things to eat in the dungeon, so he would survive somehow…

“Did something happen to him?”

Perhaps because of Bom’s situation, Myung Hyun’s thoughts turned negative.

Even without the guerrilla gate, dungeons are dangerous places.

Especially the Blue Starlight Valley, which is an S-rank dungeon.

If monsters attack in hordes or if he’s ambushed while sleeping deeply outside a shelter, even Dong Hwa couldn’t guarantee his safety.

“Should I go look for him?”

“Alone?”

Myung Hyun and Ga Young’s gazes crossed.

“No. I’ll need to gather a team, of course.”

“Which guild is going on the Blue Starlight Valley expedition this month?”

“Hwarang.”

“Beagle’s guild, huh.”

Hwarang is a rising new guild. For a newly formed guild to secure an S-rank dungeon expedition was no small feat.

There was a clear difference between them and other guilds. First of all, Hwarang employs a small number of elite, young, high-ranked hunters.

The core members are actually friends with the guild master, so their cohesion is strong.

Moreover, Hwarang’s guild master, ‘Seol Mo Gyeon’, is famous for his mischievous personality, earning him the nickname ‘Beagle’.

If we were to send a large team from Reconnaissance Team 7 and encounter them, there might be complaints about interfering with their expedition.

“The timing is not good.”

Myung Hyun fell into deep thought. If it weren’t for Bom’s situation, he wouldn’t have been so concerned about Dong Hwa being a few weeks late.

But he couldn’t just sit still, feeling anxious. He wasn’t sure if he was missing the golden time to save Bom.

“If it’s just two people including me, it should be fine even if we encounter Hwarang. We only need to do reconnaissance anyway, so we don’t need a large team.”

“But the Blue Starlight Valley is…”

Ga Young was no low-ranked hunter either. She was an A-rank combat hunter.

It was speculated that the higher the rank, the higher the probability of being sucked into the guerrilla gate of the Blue Starlight Valley.

Moreover, since Tae Rim’s disappearance, there had been no more missing persons. So internally, they thought that the guerrilla gate might only open when there were one or two people, which is why they always allowed reconnaissance with at least three people.

Seeing Dong Hwa, who wasn’t swept away even when going alone, made him wonder if it was an unnecessary worry, but to Myung Hyun, Ga Young was like family.

She grew up like sisters with Bom and was also close friends with Tae Rim. He worried that Ga Young might bring back bad news.

“Uncle. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

“It’s still too dangerous.”

“If people find out that you allowed Chae Dong Hwa to go alone but won’t let me go, they’ll think you’re favoring me, you know?”

Ga Young said in a playful voice.

“It’s not like I came to this team hoping for that. How can a hunter be afraid of dungeons?”

“…..”

Myung Hyun could no longer stop Ga Young.

“I’ll go with Hunter Han Ryeo Un. With him, we should be able to cover up to the center and be back in less than two weeks.”

Hunter Han Ryeo Un was the representative supporter of Reconnaissance Team 7. With him, they could not only halve the reconnaissance time but also ensure safety.

“Alright. Be careful.”

“Yes.”

“Just do the reconnaissance and come back if you can’t find him. You might miss each other.”

“Yes. I understand.”

* * *

To start a fire, the base fire is important.

The base fire is the fire that becomes the spark, and outdoors, charcoal or alcohol-treated corn cobs are often used.

Among natural fire starters, pine cones are a typical example.

‘We can’t get pine cones here though.’

Instead, there was something similar to pine cones.

In the Blue Starlight dungeon, there’s a peculiar tree with leaves arranged in a spiral shape, and it drops ‘Inita’s Fruit’.

‘Inita’s Fruit’ looks similar to the spiral potatoes sold at rest stops, only blue in color.

So all the hunters called them ‘spiral balls’.

‘It’s fortunate that there are many Inita trees within the campsite grounds. I can use them freely for a while.’

I had already collected a whole bag full by gathering them whenever I remembered. That should be enough material for the base fire, and now it was time to actually ‘light’ the fire.

The method Hunter Chae Dong Hwa taught me was to carve a groove in a wooden board and create friction by rubbing a stick over it to start a fire.

It required quite a bit of strength, to the extent that even if taught, an ordinary person would have difficulty following.

However, perhaps because hunters have better physical strength than ordinary people, I got used to it after a few tries.

After confirming that the base fire was well lit, I placed dry firewood on top. Starting with small pieces one by one, because if you pile them all at once, the fire will go out.

“You’re good at lighting fires now. Looks like I won’t need to help you anymore.”

By the time Hunter Chae Dong Hwa had changed his clothes and returned, I had finished lighting the fire.

The campsite quest always gave a fire-lighting quest once a day. I tended to complete it without fail to gain even a little experience.

“Thanks to you. Was there a quest related to lighting fires for you?”

“No. Just participating in the barbecue party. What should I do?”

Hunter Chae Dong Hwa asked as he approached the folding wood table he had bought from the vending machine.

Various vegetables that I had prepared in advance were ready on the table.

“Hmm, for you, Hunter…”