[You have entered Kobold Mine B2.]

We quickly broke through the first floor. Every time Mido wielded the nasty weapon, a kobold fell and spat out items. Of course, all the equipment that dropped were for combat cla.s.ses and I didn't have a use for them.

"We will rest here for a while."

"Yes, I understand."

Mido and I sat on the rocks at the entrance to the second floor. Then Mido told me, "It is a bit disappointing that you don't have a combat cla.s.s. It would've been fun to hunt together."

"...I agree."

It was a difficult situation. I wanted to tell her the truth but I couldn't. There was no irony. Should I just tell the truth...? Mido thought well of me and she wouldn't go talking about it everywhere if I told her the truth. I became determined. "In fact..."

"Eh? Jincheol oppa has come in?"

d.a.m.n, I missed the timing. By the way, Jincheol seemed to be another miscellaneous guy. I wanted to hear their conversation but it wasn't possible. She seemed to be whispering. After a while, Mido opened her mouth, "Grandfather, is it okay if I invite someone I know to join us?"

"...Yes, invite him."

I was curious about what he was like. Just come. I would make a h.e.l.lish dish for him. Thus, we rested and waited for him to come. 

I checked my status window after a long time and it was already level 46. It wasn't as good as when I was hunting alone but it was still rising quickly. It was a shame that I couldn't get the most out of my combat skills. It was inevitable. Skills were increased by using them directly. 

I couldn't do that now so I felt the need to improve my cooking skills. I pulled the floating pot out of my inventory.

Mido saw it and her eyes lit up. "Wow! Are you going to cook? This is the first time I've seen a chef in the dungeon!"

"Keke. Fill your stomach with a simple soup."

Before I knew it, the idea of confiding in her had disappeared. It was something I could do any time and the important thing was this guy, Jincheol, who was coming. Daring to look at my granddaughter...? Now my mind was full of Jincheol.

I used my magic power and the pot floated in the air. Mido was surprised once again. "Amazing! Where did you get this? I've never seen anything like it before!"

"I received it from a friend."

I looked around and opened my mouth to call Solar. Then...

[The first apostle, 'Prometheus,' is telling you not to summon Solar.]

Don't summon it? Why?

[The first apostle, 'Prometheus,' is telling you that there are many eyes.]

...Ah, right. I had forgotten for a while. It wasn't just us here. I glanced at the other users coming through the entrance and closed my mouth. They glanced at us sitting at the entrance before running inside.

Mido asked, "Grandfather, what is it?"

"...Nothing. I was thinking about what ingredients to put in."

"I see. Can I look forward to it?"

"Keke. I will try."

I couldn't use Weather Cooking. Inevitably, I had to use Blowing Fire to light a fire. Fortunately, there were many dry leaves nearby. The reason there were dry leaves in the mine went back 500 years. According to Prometheus' memories, this was originally a lush forest. Why did it become a mine? In any case, I should focus on cooking.

"Dicing!"

[The proficiency of Dicing has increased.]

[More sophisticated dicing is possible.]

The vegetables I picked up in advance on Windy Hill were cut! They made a sound as they entered the pot. Maybe it was because I remembered making Aiolia soup for Flora but it was easier than the other day. Of course, I used gnoll meat at that time and now I was using another meat.

[Kobold Meat]

[Rating: Rare

Expiration Date: Three days.

Meat obtained from the kobolds. It is a good ingredient with a soft texture and tough texture at the same time. It is often used in roasted dishes.]

I tore at the meat and deftly cleaned it. The outside was slightly cooked with Blowing Fire and the leftover meat roasted carefully. One was put in the soup and the other was roasted. The first thing to be completed was the roasted kobold meat.

Ttiring~

[Delicacy! Kobold Skewers!]

[You don't need to cook colorful and intricate masterpieces!

Making simple food with good ingredients will result in a delicacy.

There might be no name attached but a chef who is good at cooking has carefully cooked it.

It is a bit disappointing that a sauce isn't applied to the outside.

-Star Taste: ☆☆

-Expiration Date: Three days.

-Health Recovery: 100. Power Recovery: 100.

Efficacy: People who eat this dish will have their agility increased by 5% and fitness by 5% for one hour.

Damage dealt to kobolds will increase by 5% during the day.]

After all, there wasn't the blessing of the sun...

Clearly, Weather Cooking was much better than normal cooking. If it had been cooked by the sun then it would've been much better. I was disappointed but the smell still seemed okay, so I handed it to Mido.

"First, eat this."

"Uwah~! I'll eat it well!" Mido smiled happily as she ate the roasted meat. She gave a thumbs up as her mouth stretched out. "It is really delicious! This is the first time I've ever eaten at a hunting ground!"

"Keke. Eat a lot. I'll cook more." I continued roasting the kobold meat.

"How do you normally eat if there is no chef at a hunting ground?" 

"Well, it isn't normal to take a chef to a hunting ground. I found someone on the Internet talking about how monsters come running after smelling food. We are at the entrance now so there are no monsters."

"...I see."

In fact, I already knew. Still, I just hit them.

Mido continued, "I usually buy simple combat food. There are health and magic power potions but I can only fill my hunger with cooked food."

It was combat food. It must not be very tasty. This was the case when I was a North Korean spy. No, in fact, I didn't eat the rations provided to me. During that time, I hunted for food myself. I used to eat simple mountain beasts or insects to survive. Poison was a risk but it was okay after removing the poison.

[The first apostle, 'Prometheus,' is sipping on ssanghwa tea to fill his empty stomach.]

He must be hungry again. Well, he seemed to be eating fine on his own so I'll leave him alone. I stared into the air for a moment before lowering my head.

[The first apostle, 'Prometheus,' says he is hungry.]

...This guy. Then why did he ask me to hide my ident.i.ty?

"No, you can't." 

"Huh? Grandfather, what is it?" 

"Nothing, I was just sending a whisper to a friend."

"Wow, did you make a new friend?"

"Yes, it just happened."

My only peer was Drain who was nine years younger than me. By the way, he hadn't connected very often these days. Was he busy...?

[The first apostle, 'Prometheus,' is declaring a hunger strike!]

...This wild guy. I tried to ignore him and checked on the soup.

At this moment, Mido opened her mouth, "Ah. I think Jincheol oppa is nearby. I'll be back soon from picking him up!"

"Picking him up...?"

"There are no monsters at the entrance so it's fine. I'll be back soon!"

Then Mido headed up to the first floor. I was seething with anger. "Baaaad guy!"

I pulled an item out of my inventory.

[Giant Spider King's Acid Poison]

[Rating: Deluxe

The acid poison from the Giant Spider King, king of the Loch Mountains.

An intense acid that melts everything.

It is better not to consume this.

It is recommended to dilute it if you want to eat it.]

I started laughing with a devilish smile. "Huhu. Come, Jincheol. Welcomu to h.e.l.l."

They were more English words that Drain had taught me.

* * *

Cha Jincheol was still a mess today. The hero of Mulan. No, he searched Windia to find the grandfather, now called Wolf Mask, but couldn't find this person. 'Why couldn't I find him today?'

He was found yesterday but it wasn't easy to chase him because everyone was too excited. It was amazing how the grandfather had a return stone when neither he or the Union staff had one.

"Hah. I'm going to call it quits for today."

At this moment, a whisper came from Mido.

-Mido: Oppa! When did you log in?

-Deadeye: Ah, a while ago. I'm sorry. I forgot to contact you.

-Mido: It's fine. Did you meet that person you were looking for?

-Deadeye: No, I couldn't. He seems to be very busy.

Cha Jincheol told Mido that he came to Windia because he had to meet someone. Mido continued speaking.

-Mido: If you don't have anything to do, how about coming to Kobold Mine?

-Deadeye: Kobold Mine? You can't gain experience there at your level, can you?

-Mido: My grandfather started Arkstar. I'm giving him a bus ride. Hihi.

-Deadeye: Bus? You alone? Is it okay?

-Mido: I received a good weapon from a guild leader oppa.

'As expected, it is an item...'

-Deadeye: Okay. Is your grandfather okay with it?

-Mido: It's fine. He gave permission.

Grandfather... the person he was looking for was a grandfather. Cha Jincheol didn't think it was the same person. He decided to go to the mine for a while.

-Deadeye: I understand. I'll contact you again when I arrive at the mine.

-Mido: Got it. How long will it take?

-Deadeye: Around five minutes?

-Mido: That isn't long. Hurry and come.

-Deadeye: Yes, I'll be there soon.

Cha Jincheol ended the whisper and used a skill.

"Dark Footsteps."

[Movement speed is increased by 1.5 times for 30 minutes.]

[Your footsteps will make no sound for 30 minutes.]

His cla.s.s was a heroic rated cla.s.s, Dark Hunter. He didn't have a Star Fruit, which was cla.s.sified as legendary rated and could give a constellation ability. He might be an employee of Union but even he couldn't get a Star Fruit at will. It was because Arkstar was created from the beginning by overlapping the game with a fictional world that existed previously.

Union officials didn't know what the constellations were or the legends they had. Doctor Kang Jaeseong, the genius scientist who knew everything, was now unconscious in an untimely accident. 'It is a shame. The person who created this world is lying down like that. If he was here then we wouldn't need to work overtime. Tsk.'

WIthout him, Union was forced to cla.s.sify the Star Fruit's powers as Code Zero and focus on collecting their information. However, the heroic cla.s.ses were planned and created so they knew how to obtain them.

Cha Jincheol quickly reached the Kobold Mine. "There are monsters I can hunt on the third floor here."

His level was just over 100. He had been busy working today so he might as well do some hunting. Cha Jincheol sent a whisper again.

-Deadeye: I've arrived.

-Mido: Already? You came faster than I thought.

-Deadeye: Well, that's what happened.

-Mido: I'll pick you up. I'm on the second floor now.

-Deadeye: No need. I'll reach there quickly if it is the second floor.

-Mido: Then wait at the entrance down to the second floor.

-Deadeye: Yes.

This time, Cha Jincheol used a different skill. "Secret Darkness."

[You have entered a stealth state for 3 minutes.]

Dark Hunter was a hybrid cla.s.s that combined the archer and a.s.sa.s.sin cla.s.ses. He used Stealth to quickly break through the mine and reached the entrance down to the second floor. Once he saw Mido, Cha Jincheol released Stealth. "Mido."

"Oh my! Oppa, you surprised me." 

"Haha, sorry."

"Your skills are really like a stalker."

"What? Hahaha."

"Ah, right, have you thought about it? Do you want to join my guild?"

"Ah, that?"

Mido had invited Cha Jincheol to join the guild she was part of. His cla.s.s was necessary for the 'World Compet.i.tion - Challenge League' held this Christmas. What did she say the guild name was?

'Icarus.'

It was a pretty famous guild. It was small but skilled and was one of the guilds often appearing on TV nowadays. It was called a rising star. In any case, it was a problem he had to think more about. "I'll think about it a bit more."

"I understand. Think positively."

"Yes."

In fact, even if he entered a guild, he wouldn't be able to join the Challenge League. He was an employee of Union.

'Things might be different if I quit but it will be hard currently.'

Cha Jincheol decided to refuse later on. The two of them went to the second floor together. Mido shouted, "Grandfather!"

'Is he Mido's grandfather?'

Cha Jincheol was surprised because the size of this person was bigger than expected. He had white hair and Cha Jincheol felt like he had seen this person somewhere... eh? Wait. Cha Jincheol's eyes widened. A familiar face held out his hand for a handshake. "It is nice to see you. I am Mido's grandfather."