After getting his visitor's pass and waiting for the elevator, a crowd of people spilled out from the adjacent elevator.
The most noticeable figure was Cedric Choi, ranked second. Those beside him, with their familiar faces, were likely top rankers in the A to B grade category.
Jijun subtly averted his gaze, feeling intimidated by the impressive lineup. However, they didn't even notice him.
He could have been among them once.
Five years ago, after awakening to C grade, Jijun was scouted by <C&L Corporation>.
Thinking that he could become a celebrity, he signed the contract without even reading it properly, given that such a large guild had come to recruit him.
However, a few months later, he was fired over a minor issue and transferred, or rather, demoted to a subcontractor's guild.
Since then, Jijun's life has become very difficult.
No matter how dangerous the dungeon he bravely entered, a subcontractor's guild could hardly make any money. Even if he managed to gather a lot of ether ore, most of it had to be handed over to the main contractor.
So, he had only tried to earn a little extra income by targeting beginners participating in the tutorial dungeon.
Who would have thought that a mutation would occur in the dungeon!
Fleeing from the giant slime, Jijun vomited out all the rubies he had received as bus fare and apologized. However, the beginners did not forgive him, and the guild fired him for tarnishing its reputation by skipping out on the bus fare.
And yesterday, he even received a call from the <C&L> guild leader.
Why me? I've already been fired from the guild. Surely, they can't be planning to sue me.
Thinking of the notorious <C&L> legal team, Jijun shuddered.
At that moment, the elevator stopped at the top floor, and the doors opened.
"I've been waiting for you. This way, please."
A secretary standing in front of the elevator greeted Jijun.
"…Is it a woman? Or a man?"
The secretary was incredibly beautiful.
Long eyelashes cast shadows on pale cheeks, and the sharp features were so striking that they were unforgettable once seen.
However, a unique mysterious aura made it difficult to determine the secretary's gender and age. It was as if they were both real and unreal at the same time.
"The guild leader will be here soon."
The secretary led Jijun to a reception room inside and offered him tea.
Sitting on a sofa that was so soft it felt uncomfortable, Jijun waited for a few minutes before the door opened again.
"You've arrived."
"Ah, yes, hello."
Jijun jumped up and bowed deeply. The other person gestured for him to sit.
Isein, the representative of <C&L Corporation>.
As a hunter, his abilities are not particularly strong. He is only ranked 88th, barely making it into the top 100.
However, he is a shrewd businessman who turned the small <C&L Corporation> into one of the Big Three guilds. He continues to lead aggressive investments and business expansions, and it is said that the hunters he chooses are destined to rise.
'Why would such a person…'
"Hunter Kim Jihun."
"Please call me Jijun."
"Hunter Kim Jihun."
"Yes, yes."
Jijun, intimidated, bowed his head again.
"You don't belong to any guild at the moment, right?"
"…That's correct."
It was Isein who had demoted him to a subcontractor's guild and pressured the guild to fire him. However, he couldn't say that.
"Your mother lives alone, and your brother is a civil servant? Being a civil servant is good. You get a steady salary. If I hadn't started this guild, I would have taken the civil service exam."
A chill ran down Jijun's spine.
It had been several years since he left home to become the top hunter. He had not contacted his brother at all. Yet, Isein already knew about his brother's whereabouts.
"Um, why did you call me?"
"We have an opening for a damage dealer in our guild's second team. How about it? You know we're the best in the industry."
…Swallow.
His eyes spun at the sudden big offer.
Even the second team is a direct team, not a subcontractor. He knew how difficult it was to secure such a position, having once been on the third team. Sometimes, even the second-ranked Cedric Choi would join in lower-level dungeons.
Jijun imagined a bright future. He saw himself among the group he had just encountered in front of the elevator.
His name would be listed alongside the second-ranked Cedric Choi. His self-developed Jijun Sword Technique would become widely known, and the incident of fleeing from the giant slime would soon be forgotten.
Isein handed Jijun a contract.
Party B: Jijun (real name: Kim Jihun) Hunter
Even after washing his eyes, he could clearly see his name. His heart began to race.
"Of course, this is assuming that Hunter Jijun cooperates well."
"Cooperate… what do you mean?"
"Something happened in the tutorial dungeon, right?"
"Ah, yes, that's right."
"The hunter who killed the dungeon boss hasn't been identified, right? Do you know who it is?"
"I don't know who it is… but I have seen him."
Jijun recalled the man he had encountered in the tutorial dungeon. He felt a chilling power. If the man had killed the boss, it must have been him.
Isein smiled broadly and even poured tea into Jijun's cup, suddenly becoming more friendly.
"First, tell me what happened in the tutorial dungeon. Everything, without holding back."
* * *
After Kiuyun left, I headed towards the other space beyond the wall.
The Yggdrasil, still lush, greeted me.
The coffee berries hanging densely on the branches seemed endless. On the plastic sheet, the raw beans, with their pulp removed by Lime, were drying well.
'Nothing seems to have changed much…'
"Over there!"
"Meow!"
In one corner of the other space, a thick fog had cleared. As I approached, a notification window appeared.
[You can open a new area. Do you want to open it?
Yes / No]
Swish.
I chose 'Yes,' and the fog completely cleared, revealing a new empty land.
"As you complete quests, more areas will open up, and you'll gain various things, meow!"
Miumi explained from the side.
"Then, what can we use this for?"
"That… we'll have to find out."
"You don't know much, do you…"
"Why not!"
I dodged the incoming Nyan Nyan Punch and examined the newly opened area.
It was just an empty land, with no special features…
The ground was covered with soft soil instead of grass. The fine soil, free of weeds and pebbles, looked perfect for growing crops.
I confirmed the empty land in front of me.
[Location: Fertile Field
Create a weekend farm in your front yard.
Freely cultivate crops.]
I had only planned to start a cafe, but now I had to farm too?
Ah, right. Planting dungeon sugarcane here would be good.
I took out the dungeon sugarcane I had stored in my inventory. After obtaining it from the tutorial dungeon, I had kept it there because I didn't have a suitable place to plant it.
Over the days, the leaves and stems had withered, leaving only the seeds.
Using a small spade, I dug holes 20 cm apart in the field and planted the seeds. I covered the seeds with soil and watered them.
Planting all the seeds took more time than I expected. The repetitive work was tedious. Ugh, my back aches… It would be nice if there was a more convenient way to do this.
Anyway, after finishing planting the seeds, a notification window appeared.
[Crop: Dungeon Sugarcane Seed (★☆☆☆☆)
Water it, and it will grow into dungeon sugarcane in one day.
Cultivate it with love.
Remaining time: One day]
Since it's a crop from a dungeon, it doesn't take long to grow. What a quick-growing plant.
Well, it's fortunate that I don't have to wait long. Good, I'll check it the next day.
The next day, I woke up, had a quick breakfast, and entered the other space, worried about the state of the dungeon sugarcane.
When I planted the Yggdrasil, it was said to grow in one day, but it had withered. I hoped it wouldn't wither like that again.
"Why not… You're rushing too much."
"Come on, hurry up."
Fortunately, I was greeted by densely grown dungeon sugarcane. The plants were about waist-high, with stems resembling bamboo but slightly thinner.
[Crop: Dungeon Sugarcane (★☆☆☆☆)
A common plant found in dungeons. The sap from the stem is sweet.
Note: Ingredient for magic sugar]
Hmm, it grew well.
According to the system, the sap from the stem is the ingredient for sugar…
I cut a piece of the sugarcane stem. The inside was soft, unlike the hard exterior. I pressed the soft part with my fingertips and licked the sap that flowed out.
At that moment, a strong sweetness hit my tongue.
"…Ah."
It was incredibly sweet and flavorful, yet the aftertaste was clean. The sap didn't seem to make my mouth feel sticky.
The taste was excellent, but…
How do I make sugar from this?
I looked at Lime, who was nearby. Since she had eaten coffee berries, I wondered if she could eat the stem too.
"…Meow?"
I offered the sugarcane stem to Lime, but…
"Meow… Meow!"
She bounced on the ground and drew an X. Although we couldn't communicate, it felt like she was angry, saying, "How can you ask me to eat that?"
I'm sorry…
This method won't work. Is there any other way…
Ding.
At that moment, a familiar notification sound rang.
[Search for the item you're curious about. Click here to connect now ☜]
The sudden notification suggested that the wiki had information on making sugar. Since there was no other way, I followed the system's instructions and connected to the wiki.
'Aether-Wiki'
[Verifying qualifications… …Complete.]
[Eligible: Verifying rights…]
'Skip'
After skipping the text in front of me, a screen filled with black squares appeared. There was still almost nothing readable.
I selected 'Dungeon Sugarcane' from the few available items, and the page opened.
《Dungeon Sugarcane》
Type: Plant > Crop
Description: A crop that grows in some warm-climate dungeons. The sap from the stem can be processed to make magic sugar.
Method to make magic sugar: [Continue reading]
"Hey, what's this…?"
"Why are you surprised?"
"This…"
There are too many words.
As soon as I chose 'Continue reading,' a dense wall of text appeared before me. It was so long that the end was not in sight.
After skimming through the content, it seemed that the process involved trimming the stem, extracting the sap, filtering out the residue, boiling, boiling, boiling, and more boiling… (to be continued).
This won't do. Just looking at it is tedious, complicated, and troublesome. I had no intention of going through this long process myself, even if I were to die and come back to life.