As I confirmed the power of the neurotoxin, our battle with the Red Ant swarm began.

Saebyeok charged to the front, rushing between dozens of Red Ants.

Crack-!

Her fist shattered a Red Ant’s head despite its hard carapace.

Somehow, her follow-up kick split another Red Ant’s body into head, thorax, and abdomen segments.

Swish-!

I shot as many arrows as I could while hunting Red Ants, and Bom supported us by turning two or three Red Ants into frogs.

“Saebyeok, I’ll make some distance. Can you cover the front?”

“Yeah.”

I comfortably fired arrows from behind Saebyeok’s sturdy defense.

After taking down over thirty Red Ants and catching our breath, we heard thumping sounds from somewhere.

“Yah yah!”

“Hiyah!”

Thump-! Thump-!

Gaeul and Levinas were pounding their fists against the Red Ants’ heads.

They seemed to be finishing off the ones paralyzed by Bom’s poison.

Thump thump thump-!

Though they were enthusiastically punching the Red Ants’ heads, it didn’t look like they were doing any damage.

Levinas must have thought the same, as she raised her fist high into the air.

“Hiyah!”

Thwack-!

Despite the loud sound, the Red Ant’s head remained intact.

Instead, Levinas stepped back while clutching her fist.

“……”

Her ears drooped slightly.

Her eyes turned downward, suggesting her hand hurt quite a bit.

“Levinas, are you okay?”

“Yeah…! Levinas underestimated the ant…!”

Regaining her determination, Levinas pulled out soap bubbles from her pocket.

Dip dip, she wet the stick with soap solution and blew bubbles toward the Red Ants.

Whoosh-

Levinas created five giant soap bubbles.

There were exactly five Red Ants paralyzed by Bom’s poison.

“Wow.”

The bubbles swallowed up the remaining Red Ants and floated up into the sky.

We all watched in a daze as the hunting concluded.

The ants, which had been as big as large dogs, shrank to fist size, then to the size of coins, then to tiny specks.

The soap bubbles carrying the Red Ants had risen to great heights.

“Bye bye ant.”

Gaeul waved at the flying Red Ants.

I found myself reflexively waving along with her.

‘Wait?’

Why did I wave?

Scratching my cheek, I turned to look at the children.

“Everyone did well. Since we work so well together, let’s take down the boss too.”

“Yeah! Let’s get them all!”

“I’ll do my best too!”

And so we wandered through the dungeon, hunting Red Ant swarms.

As for the boss we encountered at the dungeon’s end…

Saebyeok crushed its head in one hit before I could even fire a single arrow.

**

After hunting the Red Ant swarms, we returned to the park.

We could split 200,000 won each between the five of us.

Since Red Ants relied on quantity over quality, each mana stone wasn’t worth much.

We could have earned more, but our income was reduced because many Red Ants had floated away in soap bubbles.

I didn’t mind the lower earnings since it was for Levinas’s growth.

“King! Gaeul wants change!”

“Okay.”

Gaeul handed me her 200,000 won.

She wanted it exchanged for 100 won coins.

Gaeul preferred the shiny silver coins over paper money.

Of course, I didn’t have that many coins totaling 200,000 won.

“Gaeul, I’ll exchange 3,000 won and save the rest.”

“Huh…?”

Gaeul still wasn’t very good at calculating money.

She tilted her head, seemingly not understanding what I’d said.

“Here, thirty 100 won coins.”

“…!”

Gaeul placed the coins on the park ground.

She started counting by pushing the coins sideways with her finger.

She’d fold her fingers then tilt her head, fold her fingers then tilt her head again.

Then she looked up at the sky while wiggling her fingers before turning to me.

“King gave more.”

Gaeul showed me eight fingers.

Though I’d actually given her ten more coins than the exchange rate, eight was pretty close.

“Gaeul, I didn’t give you more – I gave you less.”

“Huh?”

“One 10,000 won bill can get you a hundred 100 won coins.”

“Whoa…?!”

Gaeul’s ears perked straight up.

She wiggled her fingers several times, opening and closing her fist.

“But I don’t have that many coins. So I’ll give you thirty coins and save the rest. That way you’ll have money saved for when you really need something later.”

“Oh.”

Did my explanation work?

Gaeul gave me a bright smile.

After patting her head, I looked around at the other children.

Both Levinas and Saebyeok had their own ways of saving money.

Levinas put hers deep in her bag, while Saebyeok gave me all of hers as usual.

“Saebyeok, don’t you need even 10,000 won?”

“No. Gyeoul buys me things whenever I need them anyway.”

“True, but it’s good to have some emergency money.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

I placed 30,000 won in Saebyeok’s hand.

Money she could use like emergency funds if needed.

As Saebyeok put the bills in her pocket, I turned to look at Bom.

She was just blinking while staring at her share of the money.

“Bom, what are you doing?”

“C-can I really keep this much money…?”

“Yeah. You helped hunt too.”

“…So I can buy things I want with this money?”

“If it’s something you can afford with that amount.”

At my explanation, Bom hugged the money tightly to her chest.

She held it up to the sunlight.

‘Oh…’

I think I was like that too when I first came to Yeomyeong and sold empty bottles.

It’s kind of touching.

I wondered what Bom would do with that money.

I’m looking forward to it.

**

The next day.

We decided to quickly visit the beast-kin village.

Originally we needed more time to find people to take there, but the radical beast-kin’s appearance had rushed our timeline.

Five people were chosen to visit the beast-kin village.

Jeffrey and Lee Gunwoo, the Wizards Association president.

Min So-yoon who had left the Beast-kin Association, and Han Yeoreum who came as a guardian.

Finally Kwon Arin, who would help promote the beast-kin village.

Everyone had determined expressions except Kwon Arin.

She was just glancing around nervously.

“Gyeoul, is it really okay for me to go…?”

“Yes. You’re the best at filming among people I know. Please take pretty pictures of the village.”

“…I’ll do it without regrets.”

Kwon Arin’s eyes changed in an instant.

Once everyone was ready, Sophia approached us.

“Let’s get going.”

“Uh… but the bus hasn’t come yet?”

“We won’t need a bus. What you’re about to see is village secret, so you must keep it well, understood?”

“Yes…”

Sophia’s tone was heavy.

The group could only nod in response.

We followed Sophia to the tent in the park.

Though the tent wasn’t small, it felt cramped with everyone inside.

But it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Everyone there was someone I liked.

“King, it’s so cramped I have no choice but to hug you tight.”

“Yeah. Let’s do that.”

As I hugged the children, Sophia pulled out what looked like a mana stone from inside her clothes.

Thunk-

After half-burying the pointed stone in the dirt, Sophia tapped its top with her cane.

Perhaps her tapping activated it?

The stone twisted and transformed into a familiar portal.

“A portal… did you artificially create a portal…?”

Everyone was surprised, but Wizards Association President Lee Gunwoo was the most shocked.

Everyone could tell he was astonished.

“It’s not a portal that crosses dimensions. It only travels between points on Earth.”

“Even that’s amazing technology…! How did you…”

“Beast-kin village mages discovered it while researching ways to return home. Of course, it has many limitations…”

“Limitations?”

“Yes, it’s not all-powerful from what I hear. I don’t know the details myself, so ask directly when you get there.”

“…I understand.”

Curiosity swirled in Lee Gunwoo’s eyes.

Just then the portal activated, showing the beast-kin village on the other side.

Could we see through to the other side of the portal?

It definitely seemed like different technology than dungeon portals.

“Huff, huff…”

Deep breathing sounds came from beside the portal.

Min So-yoon was clutching her chest and breathing heavily.

She must be very nervous.

I patted her back gently.

“Don’t be too nervous. Everyone in the beast-kin village is nice.”

“Ah… yes… Thanks, that helps calm my nerves.”

After watching the portal briefly, we followed Sophia through.

Unlike crossing dimensions through portals, there was no strange sensation.

It just felt like taking a step and arriving in a different world.

“My…”

“Wow.”

Those visiting the beast-kin village for the first time let out exclamations of wonder.

There was something heart-stirring about this village that seemed straight out of a fairy tale.

“Did they say Gyeoul was the leader here?”

“No, I’m not the leader…”

Just as I was about to answer Jeffrey’s question.

Crying sounds came from somewhere.

“Sob.”

Looking to the side, Min So-yoon was lying face down on the ground.

It looked like she was weeping about something.

Though that must have been my imagination.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep