“Hmp! So the thing.. is that?”

A sigh left the lips of Harin as he heard BBookbbook’s story.

Bbookbbook, who noticed the reaction of Harin, pouted his lips and looked at her seriously.

“Actually bbook, I’m very serious right now bbook. Don’t laugh!”

The expression BBookbbook had was similar to the time when someone tried to snatch away his meatballs.

However, in the eyes of Harin, everything he did was plain cute.

“Okay, I get it, Bbookbbook-ah. Noona is sorry.”

“Bbuk- Bbook-!”

“So, you were saying?”

Harin, who was very interested, asked for the continuation of the story that BBookbbook was saying.

“I saw the most beautiful tortoise in the world in the Frost Cave of the spirit dimension, and I got sick.”

“Ah, that so..”

Seeing BBookbbook with such a lost and cute expression, Harin looked like she was going to burst out with laughter any moment.

However, if she laughed out loud, she knew that BBookbbook would be scarred as he was a sensitive kid.

After a while, she opened her lips with a calmed expression.

“BBookbbook-ah?”

“Bbook?”

“Maybe that Prettybbook came into your eyes every time you close your eyes?”

“Bbookbook?!”

“Even in dreams, she keeps coming up.”

“BBook-!”

“Your heart starts to beat very hard at the thought of Prettybbook?”

“Bbubbook! How do you know bbook?”

Surprised by Harin’s perfect assessment, Bbookbbook looked at her with his round eyes.

There was no way he wouldn’t be surprised, as Harin had experienced love at first sight which was similar to that of BBookbbook.

In the eyes of BBookbbook, Harin was someone who knew his pain.

Excited with the reaction of BBookbbook, Harin continued to do her diagnosis.

“What do you mean by how did I know?”

“Bbook?”

“I can tell all that by just looking at your expression.”

“You are amazing Bbook!”

Nothing but respect was registered in the eyes of Bbookbbook toward Harin.

He was so involved with Harin that he forgot about the meatballs that were still lying on the plate.

Harin then said, “This disease..”

The moment Harin said that, Bbook gulped nervously at what he heard.

“Gulp.”

And Harin, with her eyes fixed on BBookbbook, opened her mouth.

“There are just two ways to treat this thing. And the treatment is very difficult.”

“BBook! What is that!? Tell be Bbook!”

From her mouth came out words which seemed as calm as the sky above.

“Either you make Prettybbook like you, or maybe find someone much better than Prettybbook to like you.”

“..?”

“You’ll have to do either one of those things.”

As if an earthquake came, the pupils of Bbookbbook were moving rapidly.

Just as she said, the treatment indeed was very difficult.

BBookbbook who went back a little bit inside his shell opened his mouth without energy.

“This disease.. is it incurable?”

Bbookbbook who seemed very withdrawn looked over at the blank space in the room.

With that response, Harin was rather flustered.

If he was talking like this, she knew that Bbookbbook wanted to earn the trust of Prettybbook.

Harin opened her lips once again.

“BBookbbook-ah, there are two treatments. Why would this be incurable?”

A sigh left the mouth of BBookbbook.

“Bbook.. firstly, there is no way I would ever find anyone who is much prettier that Prettybbook.”

“Huh?”

“She is just perfect bbook.”

“..”

Harin with a foolish expression looked at BBookbbook and shook her head.

‘Hu, he is about to cry anytime soon.’

Seeing that BBookbbook had tears in his eyes, she looked at Bbookbbook with a very pleasant smile.

She then said, “Okay. Let’s say that’s the case.. then why is it impossible to get the heart of Prettybbook?”

As Harin’s words ended, she was shocked once again.

It was because of the expression that BBookbbook had. It was like he was going to cry anytime soon.

‘What? Did I say something bad?’

With a sulky look, BBookbbook looked at Harin.

And with a low voice, Bbookbbook answered, “That too is impossible bbook..”

“Hmm..?”

“Prettybbook..”

“..?”

With his eyes that were looking at the floor, BBookbbook tried to bring out some energy to speak out.

“She has another tortoise, bbook.”

The words that came out of Bbookbbook’s mouth was something Harin hadn’t thought of.

* * *

After the rock attribute, the grass and ice attributes were the next ones.

Ian had already passed through the third phase of the ‘Room of Attribute’ and was feeling good.

“Keu, this is what honey is!”

During the phase, he gained tremendous experience.

It was almost like he gained three to four days of experience in just half a day.

Thanks to the transcendence experience, level 7 was almost within arm’s reach.

The reason this was possible was because of the ‘attribute’.

The second and the third phase attributes were the best for the fire attribute spirit Agbi.

The grass and the ice attributes were the most vulnerable against fire, and that allowed both Ian and Agbi to soar higher.

“Good work, Agbi.”

At the praise from Ian, Agbi looked very emotional.

-Not at all, master. Amazing.

The lesser spirit Agbi still wasn’t that good at speaking.

However, it was at a level where the intention of the words could be identified.

The expression of Agbi was very respectful and admiring.

‘Hoho, this kid, he loves my combat skill.’

Ian smiled at him, feeling satisfied.

At first glance, it might seem like Ian’s thoughts were wrong, but Ian was correct.

As a proof, Agbi’s loyalty—which was 60—became 100.

“Kay, should we slowly move into the next one?”

-Nice, Master.

Agbi was a fire spirit, but not a normal spirit.

As Syarlon said, he was the fire king’s seed.

He thought Ian didn’t know about it. In the legends of the spirit dimension, the spirit kings were known to be very aggressive monarchs.

Ian couldn’t help but feel glad when such a spirit was working alongside him.

Ian stepped into the next phase, mumbling to himself as he looked around.

‘Hmmmm, this won’t be the end here.. maybe there are other attribute rooms?’

The difficulty of the second and the third phases wasn’t so easy to clear, and they were the quests with the difficulty of A++.

There was no way the quest would just end this way.

‘I think there will be a boss phase..’

Ian checked the dungeon information, which was on the corner of his line of sight.

[Current Progress: 92%]

His speculations were right.

The dungeon’s progress was very ambiguous.

There was too much progress for the boss to appear, but the dungeon couldn’t just end there.

Right then, Ian’s ears took in the sound of someone’s sharp voice.

It was like a mechanical sound, and it sounded like an old one.

-How dare you enter my lab! I will never forgive you for this!

Ian’s eyes naturally turned in the direction of the sound.

Thud- thud-

With heavy footsteps, three unknown shadows started to appear out of the darkness.

Seeing their appearance, Ian couldn’t help but feel shocked.

To be precise, the guy in the middle was the most surprising.

“..!”

His appearance was similar to the Guardian Machine that Ian dealt with.

The only difference was that these ones were much smaller than the one in the Abyss Valley, and their skin was dark red.

‘What? Guardian Machine..?’

Kkikg-!

With audible machine sounds, the guys were getting closer.

Subsequently, the system messages emerged before the eyes of Ian.

Tring-!

[The mechanical engineer ‘Charlies’ has appeared.]

[A new quest has been created.]

‘Uh..?’

The moment Ian confirmed the message, the quest window appeared.

-Charlies Laboratory (Sudden) (Hidden)

As you were exploring the contaminated mine, you found the mechanical engineer Charlies, who was hidden deep inside the mine.

The laboratory of Charlies has a huge machine.

Perhaps the machines that Charlies has created are the ones responsible for the production of the machine monsters.

Defeat the mechanical engineer Charlies and enter his lab to shut down the machines.

Once the machinery stopped working, the contaminated mine will be cleared up.

Quest Difficulty: A++

Quest Condition:

In possession of the quest ‘Contaminated Mine in the Spirit Mountain (Epic) (Hidden)’

Time Limit: None

Reward: Unknowm.

* * *

Harin fell in love with the story of Bbookbbook.

BBookbbook’s story was just like watching a typical good romance movie.

The story began like this.

-Prettybbook come with me. There isn’t anything delicious in here, and it is cold and lonely.

After Ian entered the contaminated mine.

BBookbbook went to the Frost Cave secretly without informing Ian.

It was because he wasn’t able to forget the beautiful face of Prettybbook.

He didn’t want such a beautiful woman to be all alone in a cold and lonely place.

He tried to persuade Prettybbook.

It was a bit embarrassing, but he really wanted to be with her.

However, she flat out rejected BBookbbook.

-I’m sorry, Bbookbbook. I can’t leave this place.

-If.. if you come with me, I can give you delicious meatballs bbook!

-Even then, I can’t bbook.

-What am I supposed to do bbook..!?

BBookbbook, who didn’t know what giving up was, decided that he could persuade her somehow.

Even if it took him a lot of time, he believed that if he could get her to believe him, then Bbookbbook could somehow be with her.

But that thought didn’t last so long.

From the mouth of Prettybbook came words that shocked him to the core.

-There is a tortoise I’m waiting for, bbook.

-..!

-And once he comes back, I need to be here.

-BBook?

-For hundreds of years.. even if it takes a thousand years, I’ll stay here and wait for him, bbook.

Bbookbbook felt a shock that couldn’t even be compared to the time when his meatballs were snatched away from him.