Ultimately, the Monster Hell, having lost its roots, wobbled and lost its center.
Cai Sedric, who didn't immediately understand what had happened, exclaimed in surprise.
"You, you have such a powerful skill... That's amazing!"
Well, I didn't even know this skill was so serious about cleaning. If I level it up one more time, it might be able to clean the entire world.
Anyway, when you have a skill, you have to use it to the fullest.
...
'The floor is sparkling!'
I moved forward and used the skill again. *Swoosh.* The roots were cut even more. I walked toward the center of the Monster Hell and used it again, and again...
Finally.
*Boom!*
The Monster Hell, with all its roots pulled out, fell backward like a carrot ready for harvest.
Wow, this really works...
* * *
The Monster Hell, with its roots cut and lying like a freshly pulled sweet potato vine, gave me an opening.
"Go! Cai Sedric!"
We had to get out of here immediately after rescuing the flower.
However, the Monster Hell's resistance was immense as it tried to prevent us from taking the flower, the source of its life.
The moment Cai Sedric approached, the branches and roots extended in all directions, forming a circular prison.
And we were trapped inside.
I tried cutting with a sword and using the cleaning skill, but the cut branches quickly regrew. I tried to force my way out, but the branches moved and trapped us again.
What is this... a time loop? No, a loop story?
An infinite loop in the Monster Hell?
Then a good idea came to me.
If I could only retrieve the blue Seraeno flower from the Monster Hell, there would be no need to continue this stalemate. It wouldn't be able to regenerate anymore.
I opened the skill window and read the description. The skill I focused on was this:
[Barista's Extraction (D)
Details: (Lv.2) Extracts the desired material from a mixture.]
"No way... No, no. Based on my experience so far, it's definitely possible!"
I found a way.
To try this method, I needed to prepare a few things.
First, I talked to Cai Sedric.
"This will never end. Let's take a short break."
Cai Sedric looked anxious but agreed that it would never end, nodding his head.
We decided to take a short break while trapped in the Monster Hell. The first thing I did was make coffee.
*Gurgle.* A sweet aroma spread around. I handed the freshly made café mocha to Cai Sedric.
"What is this?"
He took it, but he clearly didn't understand the situation.
"Just drink it."
However, experience is faster than words.
The effect of the café mocha is a 200% increase in recovery speed. It was exactly what Cai Sedric needed after being melted by the digestive fluid.
"!"
Cai Sedric, who had experienced the effect of the café mocha, looked at me in surprise.
"What is this? My wounds are healing faster than a potion!"
"It's just coffee."
"Moreover, it feels like chocolate is dancing in my mouth! This sweet and bitter taste, it's the taste of life!"
"No, not that much..."
"Really, it is!"
He started to exaggerate, then pretended to be humble, and then exaggerated again. It felt like Cai Sedric had the Exaggeration Skill (S) as a passive ability.
After a while, Cai Sedric nodded seriously and said,
"I see, you are..."
All I did was use a skill to make coffee, but it feels good to be praised.
Calling me a genius barista might be a bit much, though. Ahaha.
"Coffee enthusiast, no, Coffee Master!"
"..."
What is happening to the vocabulary of this second-ranked person?
After scolding Cai Sedric to never call me that again, I drank my share of the vanilla latte.
Preparations were complete. Now, all that was left was to try.
"Can you buy me some time?"
"What? What are you planning to do?"
"You'll see."
"You're going to kill the flower..."
"No, don't worry."
I noticed his tightly clenched hand, white-knuckled.
Cai Sedric slowly nodded, and almost simultaneously, I stood up.
*Shashashak!* I cut the branches forming the prison and lunged forward.
Without a moment's delay, I used the skill.
'Barista's Extraction!'
[Extracting an extremely difficult target.]
[There is a possibility of failure. Do you want to extract it anyway?
Yes / No]
Normally, it would have a high chance of failure, but I chose 'Yes' without hesitation.
Because...
[The effect of Vanilla Latte is active. When using a skill, there is a 100% chance of a critical hit for one use.]
[Critical! Unbelievable extraction succeeded.]
[Extraction completed.]
The shining light disappeared, and what remained in my hand was...
"...Blue Seraeno flower!"
The effect of Barista's Extraction (Lv.2) is to extract the desired material from a mixture.
Although 'Barista' is in the name, there's no description that it can only be used for coffee.
So, it's like this:
Mixture = Monster Hell + Blue Seraeno flower
Desired material = Blue Seraeno flower
I held the flower in one hand and thought.
Wow, this really works...
"! How could you do it so easily. You, you, did you fake your rank...?"
"I'm F-rank. Just take it."
"...Thank you."
I could feel the deep sincerity in his short words.
Cai Sedric took the blue Seraeno flower from me and put it in his inventory.
*Ring.*
[Unbelievable achievement: 'Disturbing the Monster Hell during mealtime' achieved. Please claim your reward.]
[Boss monster 'Monster Hell (B)' defeated.]
[Dungeon: Monster Hell cleared.]
[Level 10 reached.]
I quickly skimmed through the notification windows that popped up.
Even though it felt like a balance-breaking cheat, it was fine since the boss was defeated.
Now, all that was left was to escape. As I headed toward the escape gate that had appeared near the body of the Monster Hell, another notification sounded.
*Ring.*
[The current space cannot be maintained due to the death of the Monster Hell.]
[The space will be forcibly destroyed. ...Time until destruction: 30 seconds.]
*Tick tick...*
The remaining time on the system window quickly decreased, and the dungeon began to collapse from the edges. The air from the original greenhouse mixed in, consuming this space.
I was amazed by the strange sensation for a moment, but then my feet started to sink.
30 seconds is too short, isn't it?!
"Ah...!"
"Shit, be careful!"
Cai Sedric caught me as I slipped and threw me toward the escape gate, telling me to go first.
As I passed through the blue light of the gate.
...Huh?
The remains of the Monster Hell got tangled around my feet, and I was lifted into the air. This annoying monster tree stump!
My body started to fall to the ground.
No, I can't die here after using a balance-breaking cheat skill to defeat the boss!
Fortunately, the system reacted quickly.
[Crisis situation! 'A cup of coffee's bond' activated.]
[Target: 'Cai Ichon' selected.]
[Skill: Defense is the best defense (C) used.]
[Defense increased by 500% for 5 minutes.]
I've been in this situation before.
*Roll, thud!*
I landed in a perfect falling position and felt no pain.
'The floor is sparkling!'
I completely eliminated the remains of the monster tangled around my feet. Perfect 2-combo!
I felt a sense of satisfaction and looked up, only to meet someone's eyes.
"..."
"..."
With whom?
With Kwon Jiwoon.
Why is Kwon Jiwoon here? Did I see wrong?
But there's no way there could be two people with that unique silver hair and that cold, serious face.
The broken greenhouse, the greenery with a frown, the dungeon plants covered in red stickers. I didn't even notice them.
He must not have seen it, right?
I just used a defense skill, but it probably looked like a falling technique.
I also got rid of the monster remains, but it was just a cleaning skill...
"..."
"..."
No, let's stop avoiding reality.
Shock spread across Kwon Jiwoon's usually expressionless face. He approached me, his lips moving as if he was trying to find the right words, but he couldn't finish.
He saw everything!
"Um, b-brother, what are you doing here...?"
Kwon Jiwoon slightly furrowed his brow.
"I received a report that there was a crack in the greenhouse here."
When a sudden crack appears, the <Dungeon Management Bureau> first assesses the situation. If it's not possible to handle it with only the hunters from the <Dungeon Management Bureau>, they request support from the guilds.
The criteria for requesting support include the size of the guild and the abilities of the hunters, but for cracks that are not particularly dangerous, it's just... a rotation system. Like class duty.
It just so happened that today was Kwon Jiwoon's turn.
"Is that so? Hahaha, what a coincidence."
"..."
Silence again.
Calm down. I had already decided to tell him about my awakening.
I didn't expect to meet him so suddenly, but now is the time to tell him.