As night approached, Aaron came to the training ground and said,
"Sorry I'm late."
"What's there to be sorry about?" I muttered, tossing him a wooden spear.
Aaron caught it.
"If only I had been a little stronger, those two..."
"Those guys died because they were weak. That's all."
Evening. The training ground was empty except for me, Jena, and Aaron. The people who trained during the day ate dinner and were lounging around separately.
Understandable.
Training all day isn't exactly easy. It's human nature to want to rest when tired, and sleep when resting.
Aaron took the wooden spear and began thrusting at a scarecrow.
His form could be called exemplary. No wasted movement. Like that, Aaron began his usual '1,000 Thrusts'.
Jena was practicing rapid fire at the shooting range.
Practice for shooting arrows quickly. From drawing an arrow from the quiver at her waist, nocking it, and firing – just 1 second. She still missed often, but her accuracy improved day by day.
I practiced swinging a real sword very slowly.
About 1 minute per downward slash. A training method seen only in martial arts novels, but surprisingly helpful. I could tell where my body tensed and which parts needed correction.
Had an hour passed like that?
I sheathed my sword.
Wiped the sweat trickling down my neck with a towel.
Current time, 9:47 PM.
By my estimate, about 10 minutes left until Amkena logs in.
As I was about to leave the training ground, Jena trotted up beside me.
"The Master is coming soon, right?"
"Quick on the uptake."
"Because I'm Oppa's Subordinate Number 1."
We went out to the plaza and sat on a convenient bench.
Jena sat down next to me.
[Welcome to Pick Me Up!]
As soon as 10 PM struck, the sky lit up.
[Loading Complete.]
[T O U C H !(Selected)]
Somehow, a month had passed since coming to this world.
In Earth time, it would be a little over 10 days.
Through observation during that time, I was able to grasp Amkena's login pattern.
The time difference between the waiting room and Earth is about 3x. In Earth time, Amkena logged in three times a day: morning, lunch, and evening.
Based on this, I could create an estimated login schedule for Amkena, but the sample size is still insufficient. It will become clearer over time. Right now, it was mostly guesswork.
For reference, time in the stages flows in real-time.
If it were 3x difference there too, I would have died yesterday.
"[These guys... I told them to come to the plaza when the Master logs in! Acting like royalty, absolute royalty!]" Isel suddenly appeared and said.
"[Compared to them, our Loki... I wish the others would learn a thing or two. Anyway, good work on yesterday's battle! Breaking through Floor 5's survival mission with trash like them, truly Master of Master! Super cool.]"
'Super cool'.
How dated is that expression.
"[An! Ny! Way! So arrogant, so arrogant! While I'm working my butt off, they're lounging in the dorm? I won't let them get away with it!]"
"Just leave them alone. They all come out when you call anyway."
The number of people dispatched for combat is limited anyway.
"[Ah, alright. I won't do it then.]"
"What did you say to make her act like that?"
"Trade secret, brat."
Jena gave me a suspicious look, but soon sighed and relaxed her expression.
"So, Daily Dungeon today?"
"[Wait, hold on! The Master started operating.]"
Isel vanished with a pop.
[Forming Party.]
[Drag and drop heroes!]
['Han (★)' joins 'Party 4'!]
['Jena (★)' joins 'Party 4'!]
['Luis (★)' joins 'Party 4'....]
'Daily Dungeon.'
No need to even look.
[Open, Rift of Time and Spaaaace!]
The front gate clanked open.
Isel, having returned, yelled loud enough for the whole plaza to hear.
"[Luis, Joffrey, Owen, out!]"
After a moment, three men came out into the plaza with disgruntled faces.
Seems their rest was interrupted.
"[You five here, enter the Rift of Time and Space. Go!]"
"Five? Those guys and just the two of us?" Jena blinked.
Those men stayed on Floor 1 of the main dungeon; from Jena's perspective, she had barely even seen their faces. The three also looked uncomfortable around us, bowing their heads.
I walked into the Rift of Time and Space.
Soon after, the other four, including Jena, followed.
[Climb the Tower, Save the World!]
[Main Dungeon: Current Floor - 5]
[A Feast of Dungeons Changing Daily!]
[Daily Dungeon: Kendert Forest (11 hours)]
[Collect Various Rare Materials!]
[Expedition Dungeon]
[Access Denied! Clear Main Dungeon Floor 10.]
'Opened as expected.'
The middle mirror, which had been painted grey, regained its color.
It was the entrance to the Daily Dungeon.
"A-am I fighting alongside you?"
"So, your name is..."
"Owen, sir." He was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man.
He was observing me with a nervous expression.
"With your strength, we probably won't be much help..."
"Rest assured. You won't have to fight."
"That would be good."
Of course, I didn't mean they'd just be sightseeing.
The middle mirror began to glow.
When the light faded, we were in an unfamiliar forest.
['Party 4' has entered the Daily Dungeon, Kendert Forest (Lowest Grade). They will return after collecting materials!]
[Tips/ The dungeon type changes depending on the day. Be sure to check!]
"Where are the enemies? Is this a special mission like Floor 5?" Jena looked around with a sharp face.
I pulled Jena's cheek.
"Wha ah oo oing!" (What are you doing!)
"Because it's funny, why?"
"Ih noh uhnny!" (It's not funny!)
"This place is called the Daily Dungeon. It's a place to gather materials."
I looked around.
Behind me, an unidentified circle about 3m in radius shimmered. Shining with rainbow colors, it distorted the surrounding space, rippling.
"Wh-what's this?"
"Hmm."
I picked up a small pebble and tossed it into the space.
['Han (★)' gathers 'Trash(F)'.]
[Tips/ Trash is useless. Discard it.]
I snapped off a large branch from a nearby tree.
Tossed the broken branch in.
['Han (★)' gathers 'Branch'.]
[Tips/ 100 Branch items can be processed into Wood. Requires a Workshop.]
"Got it."
"Got what? Explain it to me too."
"Throw the materials you gather in there. Like branches. They stack up in the warehouse. We use those to make items."
I broke off another branch and threw it in.
['Han (★)' gathers 'Branch'.]
"Is that really all?"
I nodded.
The three men, though bewildered, started breaking off nearby branches and throwing them into the dimensional portal. System messages popped up immediately.
Actually, tools like axes or saws are needed for efficient farming here. Breaking a thousand branches doesn't amount to one log. But since Amkena didn't provide tools, it couldn't be helped.
"Is that really it? No need to fight?"
"You're different. Just follow me."
"Che, thought I'd get an easy break for once."
The three seemed somewhat relieved, clutching their chests.
This kind of labor is likely far better than fighting monsters and shedding blood. Leaving the three behind, we headed deeper into the forest.
"Where are we going?"
"Hunting."
"Hunting? What kind? Wild boar? Deer? Rabbit? Can we finally eat meat?!"
"Not that kind of hunting..."
"Found one!"
Jena's eyes lit up, and she suddenly started running.
"Wait for me, meat!"
Jena dashed through the trees. In her right hand, somehow, her bow was already nocked with an arrow.
I chased after Jena.
Jena leaped over tree vines and pushed through bushes, moving quickly, but not so fast that I couldn't keep up.
Far away, near a large tree, a single deer was grazing.
The deer, chewing contentedly on grass, noticed Jena, startled, and leaped sideways. But instantly, one of Jena's arrows struck the deer's leg.
Jena used tangled branches as a triangular jump point to leap over. I sliced through the branches cleanly with my sword and followed. Not far off, the deer limped away.
"Sorry!" With a face not sorry at all, Jena shot an arrow into the deer's neck.
The deer let out a mournful cry and collapsed onto the undergrowth. Jena looked at the fallen deer, licking her lips.
"Looks delicious."
"..."
"Don't you think so too, Oppa? That chewy texture, the bursting juices! Grilled, it's a perfect meal!"
'Well, yeah.'
No matter how good Chloe's cooking skills were, only potatoes lost their shine.
"You know how to butcher?"
"Of course. How many years have I been observant?"
Jena drew the dagger from the belt at her waist. Placing the blade against the deer's carotid artery, she sliced, and blood flowed freely.
"Bleed it like this first, then skin it and remove the innards. Then cut it into manageable pieces."
"Separate all the materials and put them in the dimensional portal. Don't miss anything."
"Where are you going?"
"Got something to do."
"Then me too!"
"You hunt. I'm tired of eating only potatoes too. If it's hard carrying materials alone, call those guys over. This is a hundred, a thousand times better than branches."
"Yes sir!"
Got a bit annoying, but I decided to hunt alone.
Leaving Jena, who was skillfully skinning the deer, I went deeper into the forest. A rabbit saw me and perked up its ears. Ignored it and moved on.
What I need to find is,
'Queen of the Forest.'
A rare monster that appears in the Forest Daily Dungeon.
The Low-Grade Attribute Stone it carries is a material for promotion. Though it's not always present. I knew the general spawn location. Heading towards the center of the forest, there should be a valley.
Just then, found the valley.
I drew my sword and shield. Keeping watch on my surroundings, I slowly walked upstream along the valley. There were rabbits and boars drinking water, but ignored them. The further upstream I went, the denser and darker the forest became.
I checked the remaining time at the top of my vision.
[32 : 45]
30 minutes left? When that time runs out, I'll automatically be returned.
Catch it before then. Besides the attribute stone here, I need to gather two more materials from other daily dungeons.
'Found it.'
Where the valley formed a small pool, there it was.
Its appearance was similar to a deer, but it had large antlers on its forehead. Its massive build could easily pass for a rhinoceros. A female deer with antlers. Beside it, two male deer, two heads smaller, stood guard.
[Queen of the Forest Lv.10]
Level 10.
Hiding behind a tree, I counted.
Three.
Two.
One!
I burst out from behind the tree and ran.
My eyes met those of a male deer leisurely drinking water.
Splash!
Its throat deeply cut, the deer tumbled. The other male deer turned its antlers towards me. I deflected the antlers with my shield and plunged my sword into its neck.
Dispatching the two deer instantly, I lightly flicked the blood from my sword tip.
"Killed both your boyfriends, feels great, right?"
Snort.
The deer snorted silently.
"Bring it."