Dungeon Bakery Chapter 41

Ding.

After leaving the bakery, Baekho glanced back.

It was a building with no sign, so from the outside, there was no way to tell what kind of store it was. Inside, however, it gave off a fairly warm atmosphere.

So this is where my sister is spending her days.

After learning that Baek Seol was working here, Baekho had taken some time to thoroughly scout the surrounding area before leaving.

Just as I heard, there was no way to find the entrance.

The Dungeon of Beginnings, located right next to the bakery, still appeared to be inactive.

Baekho’s eyes shifted toward an open area not far from the store.

That was the place.

The location where the Dungeon of Beginnings was known to be situated.

If you went there, you would find a fairly deep, perfectly circular crater.

Smooth stones surrounded it, while the ground was densely engraved with strange, unfamiliar characters.

It’s obviously suspicious. Even if no entrance was ever discovered, how did people manage not to realize what this place was for so long?

The Dungeon of Beginnings had appeared on Earth one year before the year of the Great Cataclysm, but people had spent years without knowing it was a dungeon.

It was only after machines capable of detecting dungeons were invented that they discovered this place was one.

At least there doesn’t seem to be any danger right now…….

Still, a bakery located right next to a dungeon?

Wasn’t this an incredibly terrible choice of location?

What on earth had the previous owner been thinking when they opened a store here?

There was no doubt about it.

The previous owner had been a scammer.

Baekho clicked his tongue and tapped his smartphone screen.

Since he had once again rushed out of the middle of a raid after receiving Baek Seol’s call, Uncle Changho was probably worried.

‘Nothing happened to Seol, right? Really?’

Just thinking of the huge muscular man who had stared at him with eyes that looked as though he was worried sick made Baekho feel terribly burdened.

Just as Baekho had expected, there was a message from Uncle Changho.

[Uncle Changho: Need report regarding Baek Seol.]

This man texts like a robot.

[She’s fine. Nothing happened. I’m heading back now.]

After sending Uncle Changho a brief reply, he checked his other messages.

There was one from his father, Baek Gi-jun.

[Father: Situation?]

“…….”

Come to think of it, there was someone even worse than Uncle Changho.

Looking at the message consisting of only three words, with everything else cut out, Baekho began typing his reply.

[She really did take a leave of absence from graduate school. And I found out why. I think Sis needs some time to rest.]

After sending that, Baekho hesitated for a moment before sending one more message.

[Sis is fine. She’s still cheerful, too. So don’t worry, Father.]

A read receipt appeared almost immediately, followed by a reply.

[Father: Understood.]

Baekho stared blankly at the reply before eventually starting to walk.

His sister had said today that she wouldn’t give up the bakery……

But Baekho didn’t think that determination would last long.

His sister liked money, after all.

It was probably just a temporary detour.

 

***

 

As soon as Baek Seol entered the dungeon, she took a deep breath.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Since this was her first time using the skill, she was a little nervous.

“Okay……. Are you ready, Gu-chil?”

“Kyung!”

As soon as she entered the dungeon, Gu-chil appeared as if he had been waiting for her.

This time, however, he wasn’t alone.

The Black Rabbit and Black Elephant were with him, so apparently the three of them had been playing together.

Somehow, I ended up using my skill in front of the cute monsters.

Baek Seol stopped taking deep breaths and calmly opened her mouth.

“Use the Whistle skill.”

Whistle.

It was the skill she had newly acquired the previous day.

A skill that summoned a monster from the Dungeon of Beginnings directly in front of her.

Its cooldown was a full seven days, but once summoned, the monster would obey the caster’s commands for five minutes.

The moment Baek Seol realized she needed to find an Eight-Colored Unicorn, she had thought of this skill.

With this skill, there was no need to search the Dungeon of Beginnings from top to bottom.

<System: The Whistle skill will now be used. What creature would you like to summon before you?>

Baek Seol immediately answered after reading the system window.

“Eight-Colored Unicorn.”

As soon as she finished speaking, another system window appeared.

<System: Summoning the Traveler of the Earth, the Eight-Colored Unicorn.>

Then, out of nowhere, the sound of a whistle rang out.

The whistle that began from Baek Seol seemed to spread throughout the entire dungeon, echoing for a long time as though it were reaching every corner.

“Wow……”

It was a strange, almost magical feeling.

Baek Seol looked around with her mouth slightly open when a pleasant scent reached her.

The scent lightly brushing the tip of her nose was refreshing, like a clear lake deep in a forest.

“What is that smell……?”

“It’s the scent coming from the Eight-Colored Unicorn’s body, ppi. More precisely, I suppose you could say it’s the scent coming from the Eight-Colored Unicorn’s Sparkling Powder, which is one of the ingredients you need, ppi.”

Lucy, who was sitting sprawled on top of the Black Elephant’s head, answered casually.

“The Eight-Colored Unicorn is on a completely different level from ordinary monsters, ppi. It’s a legendary monster, ppi. Good thinking, using the skill, ppi. Otherwise, you never would have found one, ppi.”

Shouldn’t you have told me that beforehand?

No matter how much she usually solved things herself before he could help because she was so capable.

Just as Baek Seol was giving Lucy, who looked entirely too relaxed, a slightly accusing glance—

Clip-clop.

She saw a large, sparkling horse running toward them.

The moment she saw its form, Baek Seol understood why it was called an Eight-Colored Unicorn.

Every time its sunlit body moved, it shimmered in eight different colors.

In other words, depending on the angle, its body appeared to be a different color.

A pure-white horn sat atop its head, making its appearance even more mysterious.

“Wow……. Amazing……”

It’s really beautiful.

“Hee-haw.”

The Eight-Colored Unicorn stopped directly in front of her and lowered its head, as though waiting for her command.

And then, suddenly, a system window appeared.

<System: Congratulations! You have achieved the ‘Encounter with an Eight-Colored Unicorn’ achievement. Some items in the Shop have been unlocked as a reward.>

Baek Seol, who had been completely captivated by the beauty of the Eight-Colored Unicorn, hurriedly shook her head.

She couldn’t just stand around dazed like this.

The skill only lasted five minutes, and she had an important objective.

Gathering her courage, Baek Seol opened her mouth.

“Um, excuse me. I’m sorry, but could you give me some of your powder…… your mane, and some milk……?”

“…….”

It was quite the request to make immediately after meeting someone for the first time.

Baek Seol was certain it wasn’t just her imagination that the Eight-Colored Unicorn’s eyes had gone cold.

But even that cold gaze sparkled beautifully, so Baek Seol didn’t feel offended in the slightest.

If anything, she felt sorry for bothering such a beautiful creature.

“Did you seriously think the Eight-Colored Unicorn would willingly hand over its materials to you, ppi……?”

Lucy clicked his tongue as he asked.

Baek Seol stiffly turned her head toward him.

“Then…… I have to collect them myself?”

She looked down at her own hands.

Well, she could probably gather the powder by brushing it over that sparkling body.

But the mane and milk……

How am I supposed to collect those with my bare hands?

When Baek Seol looked utterly dumbfounded, Lucy sighed.

“Check the Shop, ppi. There are probably some new items, ppi. Didn’t you see the system window earlier, ppi?”

Just as Lucy said, Baek Seol hurriedly checked the Shop, and there were indeed several items that hadn’t been there before.

A powder duster, a comb, and a milking machine?

She was surprised by the sudden additions for only a moment before quickly purchasing the items.

They cost 5,000 points each, which was quite expensive, but this was hardly the time to worry about money.

In an instant, the powder duster and milking machine settled into her hands.

Holding the two items, one in each hand, made Baek Seol feel like Lü Bu with Red Hare and the Fangtian Halberd.

First, I’ll take care of these two. Then the comb!

“Th-Then, here I go……!”

Like Lü Bu swinging the Fangtian Halberd, Baek Seol bravely extended the powder duster toward the unicorn.

<System: Using the Powder Duster.>

Along with the system window, her hand began moving automatically.

The hand holding the powder duster settled against the Eight-Colored Unicorn’s body.

And then, gently……

“Huh……?”

It stopped as if it had hit an invisible wall.

When Baek Seol let out a bewildered sound, another system window appeared.

<System: Failed to use the Powder Duster.>

Reason: You are not close enough to the Eight-Colored Unicorn to use the Powder Duster.

Current Affinity: 0>

“…….”

Baek Seol’s mouth fell open at the system’s wonderfully detailed explanation.

Wait…….

So she had to become friends with the Eight-Colored Unicorn just to use an item?

“Hee-haw!”

While Baek Seol was still standing there in shock, the Eight-Colored Unicorn snorted as if offended by her attempt.

The force of its snort sent Baek Seol’s bangs flying messily across her face.

“Ppi-pik! Ppi-pik-pik!”

Lucy grabbed his stomach and rolled around on the ground as though Baek Seol’s predicament were hilarious.

The system message that appeared next didn’t even make her angry anymore.

<System: The Eight-Colored Unicorn is displeased. Affinity has decreased.>

<Current Affinity: -10>

Damn it.

Baek Seol hurriedly put the powder duster and milking machine into her inventory with a dumbfounded expression.

As soon as she did, another system window appeared.

<System: The Whistle skill has expired.>

Ugh.

Five minutes had already passed?

“W-Wait.”

Baek Seol hurriedly reached out her hand, but the Eight-Colored Unicorn didn’t even pretend to listen.

It swiftly turned around and began running toward the sun, its beautiful body shimmering just as brilliantly as when it had arrived.

Ah…… No…….

Baek Seol’s hand, unable to reach the Eight-Colored Unicorn, dropped to the ground.

She collapsed onto the ground in a pose of utter despair and let out a low groan.

“If I needed affinity…… you should’ve told me beforehand……”

“Ppi-pik, ppi-pik. Ahem. I didn’t know that either, ppi. Just because I’m a supporter doesn’t mean I know everything, ppi.”

Lucy, who was still rolling around on the ground and laughing, straightened himself when he felt Baek Seol’s murderous glare and quietly looked away.

“Kyuuu……?”

Perhaps worried about Baek Seol lying on the ground, Gu-chil came over and circled around her.

Haa.

Somehow, she had ended up putting on a one-woman show in front of the kids.

Baek Seol suddenly felt rather pathetic.

She rested one hand against her forehead, let out a long sigh, and looked toward the sun in the direction the Eight-Colored Unicorn had run.

She looked toward the sun……

And her eyes hurt like crazy.

“Ow, ow.”

Baek Seol covered her eyes with both hands and whined for quite some time before slowly getting back to her feet.

Her shoulders were drooping miserably.

“What am I supposed to do now?”

She had thought things would go smoothly, just like they had with all the quests she had solved so far.

She had no idea why she kept running into one obstacle after another.

“Should I try using the Suggestion Board……?”

She hadn’t been able to use it since the last time it had nearly driven her crazy.

She could ask for the Eight-Colored Unicorn to be kept beside her, or ask for the Whistle’s cooldown to be reduced to one second……

The urge to make such balance-destroying requests was slowly rising within her when—

The Black Rabbit and Black Elephant, which had been silently watching Baek Seol, walked over in front of her and began saying something.

“Sniff-sniff. Sniff-sniff-sniff.”

“Ppuuuuuuu.”

Baek Seol’s eyes sparkled as she listened to them.

“Wow. I don’t understand a single thing you’re saying.”

……Of course, she couldn’t understand a single word.

Baek Seol looked helplessly at Lucy.

Hey. Translate this for me.

Perhaps he understood her request without her having to say anything, because Lucy cleared his throat.

“Ahem.”

Then he translated on his own.

“They’re telling you to try using the gifts they gave you last time, ppi.”

The gifts they gave me last time?

Baek Seol blinked before finally remembering.

Come to think of it, the two of them had each given her a gift.