Chapter 21
“We’ll have our team wait here. We’ll finish clearing it and come back, so please don’t move.”
Lee Sang-hyeok spoke after guiding the customers behind a large rock.
This place was a shelter created by the Administration for beginner hunters, a space protected by a fixed shield.
“Especially, beyond that door is the dungeon core and the boss monster, so absolutely do not go in. Understood?”
After leaving a few warnings with the huddled customers, Lee Sang-hyeok moved again.
As penguin dolls fluttered along behind him, soft bursts of laughter erupted here and there.
“Isn’t that insanely cute?”
“I thought we came to a dungeon, not KidZania.”
They were trainee hunters who had steeled themselves before entering.
Having imagined the ecosystem inside a dungeon they had only seen in videos, they had been tense—but round slimes, teddy bears, and penguin toys dulled that tension.
Once the laughter started, the atmosphere among the trainees quickly became warm.
“I was honestly really nervous. Even if it’s F-rank, it’s still a dungeon.”
“Who isn’t? Everyone’s the same.”
“Me too. I thought dungeons would be full of big burly men, but I’m relieved everyone’s a woman, hehe.”
“Not all male hunters are burly, you know. Like On Jurim or Gidan.”
At the familiar names, Gru’s ears perked up.
“Come on, those guys are top-tier. I used to work at a convenience store next to a C-rank dungeon, and only huge buff guys came in. Always bragging because they’re hunters. Showing off their strength, breaking stuff.”
“Ugh, gross.”
“That’s seriously awful. They smell like sweat too… On Jurim and Gidan aren’t exactly common in the real world.”
“Ahhh, now that I’m a hunter, I really want to see On Jurim in person. They say he looks amazing.”
“There is one good way. Join Hyeonak.”
“Hmm… maybe if I reawaken like five more times?”
“Reincarnating would be faster.”
The trainee hunters burst into giggles together.
‘Hmmm…’
Thinking of On Jurim and Gidan, Gru wiggled their fingers.
The people they’d been with just that morning suddenly felt like celebrities, making Gru’s mouth and chest tingle.
Proud.
Hehe—Gru grinned widely.
The topic soon shifted to guilds and employment.
Mid-sized guilds subcontracting from large ones were fine, support roles at insurance companies were stable jobs—while information was being exchanged, the woman who had introduced herself as Yejin spoke carefully.
“Um… aren’t you hungry? My mom’s kind of overbearing, so she even signed us up for the bus… and she told me to bring these to share.”
Blushing, she pulled out a bag of muffins from her backpack.
“Wow, they look delicious.”
“Thank you, we’ll enjoy them.”
“My mom baked them herself. They’re really good.”
As she handed out the bread, she stopped in front of Half-Made Bear.
Why did she stop?
Gru, who had been full of anticipation, blinked.
‘Don’t tell me… I’m not getting one…!’
Just as he started to feel a bit dejected, she hesitantly held it out.
“You can’t eat it here, right…? You can take it home. I baked them this morning, so they’ll be good until tomorrow.”
Ah—she’d hesitated because she thought Gru couldn’t eat it.
Nod, nod.
Gru nodded enthusiastically after receiving the muffin.
—Thank you.
Then he opened the mascot head wide and swiftly stuffed the muffin inside.
“…!”
Yejin blinked in shock, then awkwardly smiled and returned to her seat.
Inside the bear costume, Gru chewed happily.
‘Soft and sweet! So good!’
He finished it in an instant and smacked his lips.
‘A nice person who gives bread…’
His chest felt warm at the small kindness from a stranger.
Next time, Gru would bring bread too and share it.
He was savoring that happiness when—
Thump.
For an instant, it felt like his heart had been slashed by a blade.
Rustle, rustle.
The slimes gathered at a distance whimpered and shrank back, as if frightened by something.
That wasn’t all.
‘Something feels wrong.’
The air had changed—only for a moment, but clearly.
‘Ugh…’
It felt like sudden motion sickness.
They said this sensation came from being overwhelmed by a monster’s demonic energy, but it wasn’t something you’d expect from slimes in an F-rank dungeon.
Looking around just in case, it seemed only Gru had noticed anything unusual.
The trainee hunters were too busy chatting to notice.
‘The guild leader said you never know what might happen in a dungeon.’
He had said there was nothing to worry about since this was a well-maintained, government-owned dungeon—but still.
If something happened now, separated from even the bus driver…
They were all F-rank, huddled together like baby birds in a nest. It would be a disaster.
‘Gru has to protect them.’
After all, Gru was the strongest here—an S-rank.
Half-Made Bear Mk.1’s eyebrows lifted resolutely.
Clutching the duck clip tightly, Gru tensed—and then, suddenly, a diagonal line appeared across the door leading to the boss room.
‘What?!’
The line split open sideways, revealing a glimpse of what lay beyond the door.
‘A zipper?’
Just as Gru thought it looked like a zipper opening in the door, he pedaled his bike toward it.
‘I should zip it closed.’
That was the moment he reached the door.
‘Huh?!’
As if sucked in by something, Gru and his bike were pulled through the doorway.
He hurriedly turned back—
‘The door… it’s gone…’
Standing before where the door had vanished like a mirage, Gru stared blankly with his mouth open.
‘Scroll!’
Remembering he’d been told to tear a scroll in emergencies, Gru pulled one out of his hip pouch.
But instead of tearing, a warning message appeared.
[Cannot be used within the boss’s territory.]
Boom—!
It felt like lightning striking his head.
Pale-faced, Gru turned toward the inside of the room.
‘Eek!’
Four slimes about three times the size of normal ones surrounded the core, glaring at Gru.
‘W-what do I do?!’
Holding the duck clip with both hands, Gru backed away.
‘It’s okay. The guild leader said slimes aren’t aggressive monsters…’
If he didn’t provoke them, they wouldn’t attack first.
If he waited quietly, maybe the bus driver would notice Half-Made Bear Mk.1 was missing and come get him.
‘Alright. I can endure this. Gru is S-rank!’
Just in case, he gripped the duck clip tightly and stood his ground.
Despite Gru’s defiant posture, the giant slimes didn’t attack.
‘Gru is brave.’
He snorted confidently. Seeing they wouldn’t attack, his confidence grew.
‘Is that the core?’
Gru toddled past the giant slimes toward the core.
[Core of the Frost Bloodline Cradle]
[???]
‘So pretty!’
The core was spherical, glowing brilliantly like a crystal.
Looking closely, it resembled a snow globe filled with a swirling blizzard.
After a moment’s thought, Gru opened his status window.
[Mana Consumption -50%]
[Skill Accuracy +100%]
Perhaps because it was a beginner dungeon, buffs were active.
‘Hmm.’
If he took it outright, the giant slimes would get angry.
‘That would be bad.’
One body slam and he’d be finished.
But what if he used the skill “Pluck It Out!” to extract the core?
He might be able to take it without them noticing.
‘Gru is smart.’
The top elite of Chick Class praised himself and activated the skill.
[Activating skill ‘Pluck It Out!’]
[You have obtained ‘Fragment of Mephisto’]
[Fragment of Mephisto (Bound)]
Within the Frost Bloodline’s territory, a specific target’s defense decreases by 50%.
Within the Frost Bloodline’s territory, the owner’s attack power increases by 100%.
One hundred percent?
Gru’s mouth fell open at the enormous number.
And since it affected attack power, it seemed perfect to attach to a weapon.
‘Gru’s duck clip… might become a powerful weapon.’
Looking down at the duck clip, Gru repeatedly snapped it open and shut.
