Chapter 69
I froze right then and there.
’Cook a dragon...?’
In the true ending of S2P, the Fire Dragon Infernum fights the player as the final boss.
The story went that once the player drove out Infernum, who had reigned as a tyrant, the twins would become the new masters of the dungeon and peace would be restored.
But I had only ever seen the defeated Infernum flee; I swore I had never once killed him, captured him, or cooked him.
"I leave the recipe to your discretion, Roasted Chestnut. However, I would like the eyes and the heart delivered intact, without any parts being discarded."
"...."
"Mr. Roasted Chestnut. Please do not worry too much. Hunting a Fire Dragon will not be difficult. Am I not your companion?"
He seemed to have interpreted my frozen reaction in a different way.
He encouraged me, saying he would help with the hunt and that even a young, Roasted Chestnut could pull it off.
Listening to him, I carefully chose my words.
’I can’t refuse.’
In my heart, I wanted to ask if he really had to eat a Fire Dragon, or if he couldn’t just eat whatever was given to him.
But if I did that, there was no telling what Dominic who was already displeased due to the Fire Dragon’s seal-
The option I could choose was practically predetermined.
"I’m not confident... but I will do my best, Mr. Dominic."
The only problem was how I was going to resolve this moving forward.
I reached out my hand to tell him to climb up, but Dominic remained standing still even after hearing my answer.
Wondering why, I realized the Fire Dragon’s seal was engraved on the hand I had extended.
It seemed he didn’t even want to touch a place marked with someone else’s seal.
I extended my other hand, and only then did the pudding slime settle onto my palm.
Feeling the squishy sensation against my palm, I regained my peace of mind.
I thought about buying something soft like this once I left S2P.
As soon as it hit six, a black shadow slid out from the stairs.
Je Hyeon-oh, who trudged down the stairs two or three steps at a time, came to a dead stop the moment he stepped onto the first floor.
"Lieutenant Colonel Je, did you sleep wel-"
Before I could even finish my morning greeting, he was in front of me in an instant.
Sensing where his gaze was directed, I proactively showed him the back of my hand stamped with the Fire Dragon’s seal.
Shortly after, Kwak Han-mook and Mo Hae-in also came down to the first floor.
Kwak Han-mook checked today’s slime first.
"It’s still there, fuck."
After checking the morning slime, he spat out a curse and muttered as if he had finally given up.
"Maybe I’ll check the infection level again once we get out. I doubt there’s a cure, though..."
While he was lamenting whether he was destined to live forever as the only person who could see slimes, Mo Hae-in discovered the Fire Dragons seal.
"Trainee. What’s this? When did the restaurant owner visit?"
"There might have been an error, but I woke up about 30 minutes early and met the owner first."
"Uh-huh, you little sprout."
Kwak Han-mook nudged me with a loud thud.
"Let’s do the walkthrough together. You keep doing it alone, huh?"
’I’m sorry. I was in a hurry."
"Yeah, you should be sorry."
Kwak Han-mook looked down at me and warned, "Goyo, don’t forget that anomalies tend to trigger for you."
"Yes. I’ll be careful."
I didn’t bother mentioning the fact that Infernum was waiting for me to climb onto his dining table.
Why?
Because that was absolutely never going to happen.
With three members of the Special Task Team and one pudding slime backing me up, I felt incredibly emboldened.
’Ah, the hologram badge!’
Samra had asked me to wear the hologram badge once I entered S2P.
But with so many things weighing on my conscience, it seemed like it would be difficult.
Since I wouldn’t be able to speak comfortably with Dominic if the communication was connected, I planned to live as if I had simply forgotten about it for the time being.
I explained to Je Hyeon-oh and the captains that because our party’s combat power was high, Infernum had opened the Day Dungeon for us, and that the Day Dungeon was far more difficult than the Night Dungeon.
The captains didn’t know well under what conditions the Day Dungeon opened, and it was their first time entering with a team of this level.
They had no choice but to accept my explanation.
Mo Hae-in muttered with arms crossed.
"So the dungeon opens during the day too. Do you have to meet a certain combat power threshold?"
"Yes. That’s correct."
Kwak Han-mook spoke while munching on an apple he had gathered from the fruit trees around the village yesterday.
"Since it’s come to this, we might as well clear up to the 99th floor today."
Mo Hae-in agreed with the idea that it would be convenient to wipe out the dungeon.
"I don’t know what the Day Dungeon difficulty is like, but I think it won’t be hard with our current strength."
"Captains, however, there’s no need to go up to the 99th floor right now."
The goals of S2P are restaurant management and dungeon conquest. Conquering the dungeon alone is meaningless.
I briefed the captains on my plan.
After hearing my strategy, the captains were silent for a moment.
Mo Hae-in looked at Kwak Han-mook and asked, "Did you sell the leaf tea like that yesterday too?"
"Captain Mo. That money was earned fair and square."
Upon hearing that I had received money by putting on a play for the dungeon gatekeepers, Mo Hae-in’s face looked as if she had reached a state of nirvana.
"Fine... let’s give it a try."
Having received Mo Hae-in’s permission, I asked Je Hyeon-oh for final approval.
"What do you think, Lieutenant Colonel Je?"
OK
"Ah, since the minimum entry requirement for today’s target floor is two people, I plan to split the team into two for the conquest."
He pointed at me with his metallic hand.
"The teams will be Captain Kwak and Lieutenant Colonel Je.."
The metallic hand was still pointing at me.
"As one team..."
He clinked his metallic hand. The smooth blade shone particularly bright.
"I was going to say that, but as expected, I want to go with the Lieutenant Colonel."
A cute emoticon appeared above his goggles.
0 <
Having made an involuntary decision, I tried my best to maintain a positive mindset.
’Maybe Lieutenant Colonel Je will let me off work early, like Deadzone!’
If not, I thought about committing insubordination against my superior this time... but then I realized there was nothing I could actually do and gave up.
Since the entire party gains entry qualification as long as one member has the Fire Dragon’s seal, everyone immediately began preparing for the dungeon.
I paused while trying to check my inventory.
Could Dominic possibly see my inventory window too?
There was an item in my inventory that he must not see.
I cautiously opened the window, but there was no particular reaction from Dominic.
’Does he really only see the quest window?’
I wondered why it had to be the quest window.
I looked at Dominic, who was still emitting a displeased shimmer.
’I’m also curious about what he talked about with Infernum earlier’
I felt I should ask tactfully when the opportunity arose.
While pondering how to get more information out of Dominic, I set off for the dungeon.
Upon arriving at the dungeon, the Fire Dragon twins appeared. I thrust the back of my hand toward them.
As soon as Ella saw the mark, she screamed.
"Impossible! That the Lord would grant day entry to something as weak as you!"
She then grabbed my hand to verify the mark.
Confirming it was real, she screamed again that it made no sense.
Elun, who peeked from behind Ella to check the mark, muttered to himself.
"It will be dangerous."
Then, looking at me, he replied with a slight smile.
"I’ll be entering with my companions, so it’s fine."
Hearing my words, Elun finally shifted his gaze backward.
His reptilian eyes scanned Je Hyeon-oh and the captains half-heartedly.
"..Still, be careful."
Elun warned once more as he opened the door.
Rumble. As soon as the stone door opened, I quickly entered the dungeon.
A giant Fire Dragon statue standing in the dungeon lobby looked down upon the adventurers.
[You have entered the Fire Dragon’s Dungeon!]
[My goodness, it’s a midday dungeon where the sun blazes.]
[It will be dangerous... will you be able to handle it?]
[Let’s explore carefully starting from the 1st floor!]
The dungeons in S2P are structured as a tower climb.
Once all the normal monsters are defeated, the boss monster appears, and defeating the boss allows you to move to the next floor.
Additionally, in the Day Dungeon, hidden bosses appear on floors where the same number repeats.
Normal monsters and boss monsters drop ingredients upon death, and hidden bosses leave behind ingredients and flee upon defeat.
’The normal monsters of the 32nd floor, Fire Lizards, and the boss monster, Lava Golem.’
And the hidden boss of the 44th floor, the Fire Mage, were today’s targets.
Crack. Kwak Han-mook cracked his knuckles and said, "Let’s push through to the 44th floor quickly."
Then he turned to Je Hyeon-oh and shouted, "Fighting, Lieutenant Colonel Je!"
The plan was to clear quickly with Je Hyeon-oh in the lead, with Kwak Han-mook and Mo Hae-in farming on the 32nd floor, and myself and Je Hyeon-oh farming on the 44th.
₩ ₩
Je Hyeon-oh displayed a strange symbol on his goggles and trudged forward.
He opened the door and entered the Ist floor of the tower.
[This is the 1st floor of the dungeon.]
Before the entire party could even enter the Ist-floor area, Je Hyeon-oh spread six wings.
Metallic feathers flew silently, ending the normal monsters the moment they appeared.
The boss monster that appeared afterward met the same fate.
Up until the 10th floor, Je Hyeon-oh didn’t lift a finger, moving only his metallic feathers.
I followed diligently, enjoying the ’Je Hyeon-oh cheat’.
Items were scattered all over the floor, but I didn’t pick them all up. I only pointed out the necessary ones to the captains.
"Ah, you don’t need to pick that up. Just this one."
Since bag space was limited, we farmed only valuable or important items and advanced upward without hesitation.
Starting from the 20th floor, Je Hyeon-oh began using his hands, pushing through the tower at an even faster pace than when he only used his wings.
And finally, the 32nd floor.
[Fire Lizard Tail: A chewy, juicy tail. It holds heat, so it doesn’t cool down when cooked.]
[Lava Salt: Red salt crystallized as lava cools. It has a popping texture when placed in the mouth.]
Checking the items dropped by the Fire Lizards and the Lava Golem, I smiled.
"Then, Captains, I’ll leave this to you."
"See you later, Goyo."
"Trainee. Be careful."
Leaving the 32nd floor to them, I ascended to the 44th.
Around the 44th floor of the Day Dungeon, it took Je Hyeon-oh a bit of time to kill the monsters.
Of course, it was literally ’a bit’.
It didn’t even take a few minutes to handle the boss monster.
Following that, the hidden boss appeared.
Thick smoke blanketed the floor, and the smell of sulfur spread.
The skeleton mage wore a robe made of black flames and held a staff embedded with large rubies here and there.
The hem of the robe flickered constantly with fire, emitting a heat that would cause burns just by approaching.
"Mortals... the hour of judgment, urgh!"
However, before the Fire Mage could finish his cool line, Je Hyeon-oh lunged.
Dominic, who had been quietly watching from my shoulder until now, spoke for the first time.
"Roasted Chestnut. Wasn’t it the manner of your home planet to wait during a self-introduction?"
I whispered while glancing at Je Hyeon-oh, who was slicing through the skeleton mage.
"It’s because he’s a Berserker."
"A class trait, I see. Understood." The Fire Mage let out a pitiful scream.
"Aaaagh!"
Dominic hummed, watching Je Hyeon-oh’s one-sided battle, and said to me, "That Berserker might need a bit of suppression."
"I shall try using magic."
"No, no, Mr. Dominic. It’s fine. He looks like that, but he’s still sane."
While I was whispering with the pudding slime, Je Hyeon-oh had already shredded the Fire Mage’s health.
His metallic hands were practically performing a sword dance.
I thought he had become a bit calmer with his non-violent hobbies, but I was completely wrong.
Before long, the Fire Mage declared defeat.
"Kugh... I was merely careless! On the day I return, I shall make you pay for insulting the flames!"
Clatter.
The Fire Mage threw a crystal bottle and vanished.
[Volcanic Ash Spice: Pure mana ash that falls when a Fire Mage chants a spell. A top-grade spice that adds a spicy taste and smoky aroma to food.]
After checking the item, I quickly put it in my inventory.
"I’ll be back, Lieutenant Colonel Je." Now, the real conquest began.
Je Hyeon-oh waved his hand.
I stood upon the teleportation magic circle in the corner.
Floors that had been cleared once could be accessed freely via the magic circle.
When I went down to the 1st floor and exited the dungeon, the twins looked at me in surprise and acknowledged me.
"You’re alive."
"Impressive! Your ability is quite..."
"Thank you."
I quickly tossed them a greeting and entered the dungeon again.
And a short while later.
"Hey, little lamb! You didn’t die this time ei-"
"Thank you."
And again a short while later.
"What are you doing now? Your companions have been doing the same since a while ago."
"Thank you."
And once again a short while later.
"Little lamb! You’ve lost your mind!!"
"Thank.., ah, no. I’m sorry."
The captains and I were repeating entries infinitely for monster respawns.
"Ella, Elun. You’re bored, right? Could you please keep these for a moment?"
I gathered all the lizard tails the captains had brought to the dungeon entrance and arranged them neatly near the twins.
When the Fire Dragon twins stand at the dungeon entrance, there is a basic heat that emanates from them.
Using that for a subtle pre-sear improves the taste of the food and adds bonus stats.
Surrounded by lizard tails, the twins blinked.
Ella muttered as if she had realized something.
"You... you’re not a little lamb, you’re a crazy lamb..!"