[You have entered the unranked dungeon, Rift Museum.]

[Max Number of People: [30/30] confirmed.]

[Unranked Dungeon Forced Quest will be activated.]

“…”

[Quest - Museum Tour (0/1)]

A message naturally popped up, and it seemed like we received the quest as soon as we entered. I was certain the museum tour meant capturing this dungeon.

After checking the message, I looked around and found a pretty fancy stone chamber. Unlike the outside, which was surrounded by walls, the atmosphere inside was different.

‘This is fun.’

I was even more excited when I saw the figure before us. The figure looked like a cute boy, and he greeted us politely as if he knew we were coming.

[Checking Max, the dungeon manager’s information.]

[Reading the dungeon manager’s dummy using the legendary-ranked attribute, Mind’s Eye.]

[Dungeon Manager Max’s Dummy]

[It’s a clump of mana created by the manager, Max. Since it’s a virtual body, the status window and information window cannot be checked. You have access to limited information about the museum.]

‘Maybe that’s why…’

I couldn’t see the status and information window of the little boy with blond hair. What I saw was simply a description of the dummy.

‘The Mind’s Eye is pretty useful.’

People at a certain level may realize that he wasn’t a real person, but ordinary people like me wouldn’t see through it. If it weren’t for Mind’s Eye, I wouldn’t be suspicious of him. He looked like some kind of object, as there were no emotions in his eyes and his polite posture and gestures looked alien for some reason. Some might describe him as handsome, but I found him cute.

‘Homunculus?’

No, it couldn’t be a homunculus. I had no idea how knowledgeable the Rift Guardians were, but the manager, Max, wasn’t a homunculus. In the first place, creating a perfect being could be considered a god’s domain. Even if it wasn’t a being, creating a figure like this had to be difficult, so I started to become even more curious about the Rift Guardians.

‘What the hell is it?’

Before I could organize my thoughts, I heard a voice that made me realize we had officially entered the Rift Museum.

- Welcome to the Rift Museum, Museum Explorers.

“...”

The boy was actually surprised when we calmly nodded.

- You’re not aggressive. The people who enter this place usually prepare for battle as soon as they enter this place…

If we had no information about this place, we probably would have done the same thing, as we would have no way to identify whether the being before us was a manager or a named monster.

The silence must have felt awkward for Park Yeon-Joo because she started talking.

Since we had read the report in advance, it was easier to respond to it, and we knew that the test wouldn’t start as soon as we entered.

The first thing we had to do was take our time looking around the museum, and the next thing would be to extract information from this unfamiliar boy.

“We received some information from an Explorer who recently explored this museum, and we also know the fact that you’re the manager of this place.”

- That’s what I thought. I let one person leave a few weeks ago, so I guess they sent you here.

“That’s right. To be exact, the people isolated in this museum right now are under my command. Are they—” Park Yeon-Joo paused.

- If you’re asking whether they’re alive or not… Yes, they’re still alive.

Park Yeon-Joo looked relieved after hearing Max’s answer. We tried to come as fast as possible, but since it took time to come here, she had been anxious all this time.

“That’s a relief. Is there a way to save them?” she asked.

- Of course. Giving exhibited items to those who complete the museum expedition is a very reasonable reward. Aside from that, those people still hadn’t become a part of the museum displays.

“...”

- To be honest, that was the first time beings from another dimension had come here, so I thought that maybe it would be a good idea to put them on display, but I felt like it would lower the quality of the museum, so I hesitated.

“...”

- However, after seeing today’s visitors, I think it’s good that I didn’t display those people isolated here.

“What…”

- I never imagined a soul with a distorted causality would visit.

The boy was definitely looking at Kim Hyun-Sung. Thankfully, the boy didn’t say anything about Kim Hyun-Sung being a regressor, but to him, Kim Hyun-Sung definitely looked different from the others.

‘Does he have Mind’s Eye or something?’

That was unlikely. He probably just had a good eye for quality since he was the museum’s manager. All he said was that there was a soul with a distorted causality among the visitors, so I didn’t think he knew the fact that Kim Hyun-Sung was a regressor. Kim Hyun-Sung himself was calmly staring at the clump.

- And I see a dragon which I heard is hard to see these days.

He then looked at Dialugia.

- How long have you been alive?

“Do I need to answer?” Dialugia asked.

- If my question was rude, then I apologize. It’s just that I’m so happy to see a dragon. I recall there being a lot of dragons a long time ago, but when thinking about the dragon’s ecology, it wouldn’t be strange if your lineage ended at any moment. Ah! It was a slip of the tongue. I apologize.

He had to be kind of excited because he became more talkative.

‘Is it not a machine?’

Unlike my assumption that he was just a guide, I found out he could feel emotions, and he wasn’t a humanoid being without flaws. I was sure this information would be useful later on.

I quietly glanced at Dialugia. She still hadn’t gotten over her sadness of parting with Smartie, so she was still depressed, and since the boy was being blunt, it would naturally put her in a bad mood. But instead of getting angry, she simply nodded. As long as Smartie wasn’t involved, she was rational and normal.

“There’s no need to apologize since more and more dragons are giving up on the idea of having children. It has also been a while since I’ve seen the others, and as a race, we rarely keep up with our obligations and customs. There’s probably less than three dragons that have children,” Dialugia explained.

- I see. That’s unfortunate. Hm… come to think of it, you have a child.

“I had her recently,” she said.

- Ah… I recall the guardians saying that the dragons were important creatures. Just like the guardians, the dragons existed for the balance and safety of this continent. It’s unfortunate that you have a child since it’ll be difficult for me to display you in the museum. Instead… hm… the dragon’s horns…

“I don’t plan on leaving my horns in a place like this,” Dialugia interrupted.

- Of course, I’m not asking you to give it for free. Got it! How about this? It’ll definitely be a good trade.

As soon as the boy finished talking, a rattling sound filled the entire museum. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but it felt like the inside of the museum was moving. Not long after, the glass wall at the entrance of the museum was pushed in, and a new glass tube appeared. The interesting part was that there was an item inside the glass wall. The large box was filled with tools I had never seen before.

‘That’s…’

[Dragon Lord’s Parenting Set - Legendary Rank]

[The Dragon Lord that existed tens of thousands of years ago crafted this parenting set himself to increase the birth rate of his race. The set contains many items such as modernized baby bottles, toys that help with brain activity, supplementary devices for babies that can’t fly yet, and many more. Unlike other items, this parenting set was crafted by the Dragon Lord himself using his own scale, making it quite valuable.]

‘What the…’

I knew there were random items displayed here, but I had never imagined that an item like that would be on display, and that was when Dialugia’s eyes widened. I couldn’t help but think about the possibility that she would give up her horns for it.

“Ah! This is…”

- What do you think?

“W-Where did you get this?” Dialugia stuttered.

- How about it?

If this continued, she might actually trade her horns. Obviously, I had to own her from head to toe, so I couldn’t let her dedicate her horns to the museum since they were considered her most valuable part. I didn’t want to interfere, but I had no choice.

“Dialugia, I’ll try making one similar to it. Smartie will be heartbroken knowing that her mother’s horns are gone.”

“But—” she paused.

“I’ll craft an item with the same rank using your scale. Even if it were made using the Dragon Lord’s scale, it’d be more meaningful if it’s made with her mother’s scale.”

“Ah… I see,” she muttered.

I guess she had really gotten bewitched by the item because even though she answered, she couldn’t take her eyes off it. Her eyes resembled the eyes of a housewife watching the channel dedicated for home shopping.

“I’m sure Smartie will like it even more. Also… it does look valuable, but… that’s a second-hand item. Dialugia, if you’re satisfied with it, then you can trade for it, but I don’t want to see our lovely Smartie using a second-hand item,” I added.

I was sure my last comment helped her come to her senses.

‘Second-hand.’

No mother would use second-hand baby bottles.

I felt a bit relieved when Dialugia was no longer attracted to it, and the dungeon manager naturally frowned a bit because he had missed this great chance. However, the boy’s face quickly revealed his surprise.

- You…

“Yes?” I asked.

- You have something shocking as well.

‘Shit…’

- How could such a lowly and dirty man like you own such a precious thing? Would it be okay if I examine your body closer?

I immediately realized what the boy was talking about.

‘Mind’s Eye?’

Out of all the things I possessed, my attribute was the only thing I could show off. In addition to its legendary rank, many of its abilities were still locked so I knew that Mind’s Eye was pretty valuable, but I had never imagined that the museum manager would get shocked by it when he owned mythic-ranked items.

‘Maybe… it’s possible to develop it even more.’

I had many different thoughts, but what bothered me most about this situation was the expression of those around me. I was sure they were curious because even though I looked like an ordinary person, I actually had something worth displaying at the museum. I had no choice but to speak out quickly.

“I decline.”

- I apologize if it was sudden, but…

The boy didn’t know exactly what I had. He was talking nonsense, but I wasn’t planning on letting him look into my eyes. He must have realized that I was wary of him because he turned his head away in disappointment.

- Although you’re a bit inferior compared to the three I mentioned earlier, you’re still a human blessed by mana. And you…

This time, he pointed at Jung Ha-Yan and Park Yeon-Joo.

‘She definitely has something as well.’

Park Yeon-Joo was probably able to maintain her position as the guild master because she was hiding something, but when I checked with Mind’s Eye, I remember seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Now that I thought about it, her title was pretty unique so it was probably related to that.

- It’s a very joyful day. I can’t let important visitors like you be treated like this. Yes, definitely not. If you don’t mind, I’d like to guide you myself. Is that okay?

I wanted to make that request to him and it was a relief that we understood each other’s intentions. Obviously, accepting offers like this was the right thing to do.

‘We have to obtain as many benefits as we can.’

I had to think about whether this boy was capable of backstabbing us or not.