It was the first morning of the weekend. The chirping of sparrows came through the balcony window, and the weather today was exceptionally clear and pleasant. “Hmm.” Yoon-Hee, who had woken up early, was in the kitchen, lost in thought. She always put a lot of thought into preparing various side dishes for her family. While the children loved meat the most, serving only meat dishes could lead to nutritional imbalance. Especially with Yong-Yong, who often picked out and ate only the meat, she sometimes prepared meals without meat, focusing instead on vegetables. She opened the refrigerator and saw that there were plenty of side dishes. Meat-based dishes like stir-fried sausage with vegetables or jangjorim[1] were almost gone, as they were the kids’ favorites. On a normal day, she would cook to replenish them, but today she decided against it. Instead, she pulled out some black beans from a corner of the fridge, a main ingredient for kongjaban[2]. After soaking the beans for a while, she boiled them in water, added soy sauce, sugar, and oligosaccharides, and then simmered them. A sprinkle of sesame seeds on top finished the delicious kongjaban. For the main dish, she prepared braised soy sauce tofu. Now, all that remained was to wait for the children to wake up and serve them a delicious breakfast. The bathroom door opened, and Do-Jun walked out through the thick steam. “Oh, you’re done showering?” Yoon-Hee asked him. Drying his damp hair with a towel, he smiled as he watched Yoon-Hee busy cooking in the kitchen. He always felt that having her in his life was truly a blessing. After roughly drying his hair with a hairdryer, he dressed in shorts and threw on a black windbreaker. Although his body wasn’t affected by the temperature changes of the seasons, his clothing choices varied with the weather. Today, he planned to visit the Core. The spoon in Yong-Yong’s paw hovered indecisively above the dining table. After taking a big bite of rice and chewing, he hesitated, pondering which side dish to choose. The usual sausage or jangjorim were nowhere to be seen. Instead, there were only vegetable dishes, such as spinach, kongjaban, and seaweed salad. The braised tofu was the only thing remotely appealing. “Uh...” Yong-Yong decided to voice his dissatisfaction. “Hm?” Yoon-Hee hummed questioningly. “Oh, it’s nothing! Haha!” If he criticized the lack of meat, it would be seen as complaining about the food. From past experiences, Yong-Yong had learned that complaining about side dishes never led to good outcomes, so he kept his mouth shut. While Karsiel ate all the dishes without any problem, Yong-Yong wondered about Byeol. Slyly, he glanced at her. Byeol, who was also a huge fan of meat, happily scooped up the beans with her spoon and ate them without a fuss. Come to think of it, Byeol always ate Yoon-Hee’s food without complaint. Grudgingly, Yong-Yong put a single bean in his mouth. He chewed it with a grimace, thinking how tasteless it was. Still, it was okay. He held onto hope that there would be meat for lunch. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until two hours after Do-Jun had left for the Core that Yong-Yong realized his hope was futile. Do-Jun was just about to move from the sixth floor to the seventh floor of the Core. A massive water serpent loomed between the rocks, its gaping maw seemingly waiting for Do-Jun to arrive. The serpent was the gateway to the seventh floor. To move to the next level, one had to enter its grotesque mouth. This act felt like suicide, and many felt a visceral aversion to it, leading some to remain on the sixth floor. Another reason for hesitation was the Trial. With luck, one could advance directly to the seventh floor, though there was a slim chance of encountering the serpent’s avatar, an almost-fatal threat with a death rate of ninety-nine percent. Even Transcendents who could freely traverse the Core, or powerful beings like Solomon’s Demons, carried special artifacts to avoid confronting the avatar when jumping from the sixth to the seventh floor. What was once just a rumor was now confirmed: only one person had ever survived an encounter with the avatar. The adventurers still on the sixth floor all agreed with this saying: “Except for that one Transcendent who reigns supreme in the Deep Realm, everyone else dies. Solomon’s Demons are exceptions since they were born from the altar of the Deep Realm, but for adventurers like us, survival is impossible.” A story circulated about Yelos, the Monarch of a Blood Alliance with forty members. Yelos and his members proceeded to the seventh floor through the serpent’s maw. When they reached the entrance of the seventh floor, three members were missing. The others speculated with certainty that they had faced the serpent’s avatar and perished. “Are you really going to use that...?” Wigrdn, the Monarch of the Exit Blood Alliance, swallowed hard. Circling around Do-Jun was an artifact: a key. [Key with the Curse of the Water Serpent] Category: Miscellaneous/Consumable Description: Guarantees a 100% chance of encountering the Water Serpent’s Avatar when entering the seventh floor. Wigrdn thought Do-Jun was insane. While others prayed to avoid meeting the avatar when crossing to the seventh floor, Do-Jun was deliberately carrying the key into the entrance. To Wigrdn, it was tantamount to suicide. “Only Imfelheim has survived the avatar,” he reminded Do-Jun. Imfelheim was an outlier, a being of extraordinary irregularity. He had survived the avatar simply because he was Imfelheim. Even Cecilia’s strategy guide on the Core forum declared that encountering the avatar meant certain death. Ignoring Wigrdn’s concern, Do-Jun smiled and leaped into the serpent’s maw. The serpent, as if reacting to the key, let out a monstrous cry and swallowed him whole. Do-Jun instinctively sensed he was not on the seventh floor. The space felt like a cave, but the path within stretched straight ahead. At the end, he saw a brilliant white light, but Do-Jun couldn’t simply walk toward it because he saw a man sitting in the middle of the cave’s path. “You’ve willingly come to meet your demise.” The man sitting on the ground stood up. Do-Jun immediately recognized him as the avatar of the Water Serpent and looked at him impassively. The avatar seemed to embody water itself. His entire form was made of liquid. “Foolish adventurer. How utterly foolish. Bringing that key here means you wanted to meet me. Did you think you’d gain a hidden piece by doing so?” Whether or not a hidden piece existed didn’t matter to Do-Jun. The reason he deliberately brought the key to meet the avatar was simple: to ensure that when Behemoth later attempted to pass through the Water Serpent’s mouth to reach the seventh floor, they wouldn’t encounter the avatar and face certain death. However, Do-Jun intended to give the avatar a chance. “Have you killed every adventurer you’ve encountered?” “Of course. All but one.” The one exception, Do-Jun surmised, must be Imfelheim. He wasn’t particularly interested in that detail. “Do you plan to continue doing so?” he asked. “I see.” Do-Jun nodded. The avatar met Do-Jun’s gaze directly. There was no emotion in this adventurer’s eyes. Usually, adventurers’ eyes displayed emotions—joy, sorrow, fear, loneliness—but these eyes were devoid of any feeling. Why was that? “How arrogant.” The avatar snorted. The way Do-Jun looked at him, as if he were gazing at something insignificant, annoyed him. Even the mighty beings of the Deep Realm couldn’t regard him like that. Perhaps a former Overlord might have, but not anyone else. Even Imfelheim, during their first meeting, had eyes filled with fear. But this adventurer? Truly arrogant. “I don’t like you. I’ll make sure you die an excruciatingly painful death.” The avatar sneered. “If you’d acted wisely, I might have let you pass like Imfelheim. What a pity.” Suddenly, water began flooding the cave, and the avatar vanished as the cave walls undulated. Of course, this was no cave to begin with. It was the belly of the Water Serpent. There was one thing the Water Serpent had failed to realize: the one who should have acted wisely was itself. As dusk began to settle, Do-Jun returned home, just past 5 PM. Initially, he had planned to spend more time progressing through the Core, but Yoon-Hee had an academy event in the evening. He had come home early to prepare dinner for the children. When Do-Jun entered the living room, he saw Yong-Yong sprawled on the sofa, sleeping soundly like a deflated balloon. He quietly took off his windbreaker, hung it on the rack, and opened the fridge. The braised tofu was gone, but he saw some leftover side dishes: black beans, stir-fried spinach, kimchi, several types of salted seafood, and a salad. He also spotted about half a kilogram of fresh soybeans. “Maybe I’ll try making steak,” Do-Jun muttered to himself as he took out the soybeans. At that moment, Yong-Yong’s ears perked up in his sleep, and Do-Jun smirked as he began soaking the soybeans in water. Then he blended the soaked soybeans in a mixer. He grabbed breadcrumbs and tempura flour. Coating the ground soybeans with breadcrumbs, he kneaded the mixture into patties. Do-Jun had seen the recipe on a cooking blog once and decided to try it. The dish? Soybean steak. Yong-Yong woke up from his nap with a big yawn. Then, seeing the feast spread out on the dining table, his eyes widened. Plates piled high with steaks! Covered in sauce, they looked incredibly appetizing. “Master, what is all this...!” he asked. Do-Jun smiled warmly. “You said you didn’t get to eat meat today, right? Come, sit.” Moved to tears, Yong-Yong felt profoundly grateful. His master was genuinely a good person. Yong-Yong devoured the “steak” in his bowl with gusto. “It’s delicious! Absolutely delicious!” he remarked. “Glad you like it,” Do-Jun replied with a smile. “Meat is the best. Sniff.” Do-Jun chuckled softly. “Make sure to eat some black beans too. They’re good for you.” At that moment, Karsiel, who had been eating the “steak” with a slightly conflicted expression, looked at Do-Jun. “Master,” she called. Karsiel seemed to have uncovered the steak’s secret. “This dish... is it made of soyb—” Do-Jun glanced at Yong-Yong, who was happily devouring the dish, and stifled a laugh. Bringing a finger to his lips, he whispered, “Shh.” 1. Jangjorim is Korean-style marinated beef, often served cold! ☜ 2. Kongjaban is a seasoned black bean dish. ☜