Chapter 9 : Host’s cheat map

Resources are extremely important in this world.

So important that wars have even been fought over resources.

A country with nothing but deserts can become incredibly wealthy with just one resource like oil, and new energy can be discovered through natural gas.

Civilization’s development always follows the availability of resources.

How much of the limited resources buried on the planet Earth each country has can be seen as the strength of that country.

In that sense, America has always had many resources, to the point that jokes like “America is a cheating map” were made.

Even in modern society, where it is said that everything that could be mined has already been mined, new resources and new energy still often emerge.

This was also true in the new world known as the “Hunter Society.”

• Why are there so many resource dungeons only in America?
• Well, first of all, the land is vast.
• By that logic, China should be number one.
• Because it’s the “cheating map” of the world…
• ᄅᄋᄏᄏ, America is America for a reason.

Since hunters, dungeons, and the elements of modern civilization can’t fully explain this, the answer to why it’s only America hasn’t emerged yet. However, several speculations have arisen about this.

First of all, America has many strong hunters.

With a large population and the benefits of being a great power, they recruit hunters from other countries and actively target dungeons with the help of their powerful military.

Because of the vast land, the absolute number of dungeons is large, and they frequently target higher-level dungeons, which naturally leads to the discovery of many resource-rich dungeons.

This theory, while plausible, is not confirmed.

In fact, India and China, which have the largest populations in the world, are following in America’s footsteps, but the fact remains that America is still the world’s largest holder of resources.

Even America itself, with its vast resources, is facing a situation where it is lacking resources from dungeons, leading to importation and a surge in the price of dungeon resources called “new dungeon energy,” which increases daily.

It’s said nowadays that it might be more profitable to invest in dungeon-related resource stocks than working at a company.

What that means is, resources from dungeons are valuable.

However, resources don’t come out abundantly from dungeons.

In my secret farming map, there are so many resources that they are described as “immeasurable.”

“If this happens, things will change.”

When I first saw the 7-day login-logout cooldown, I didn’t think much of it.

What kind of game makes you wait 7 days just to log in or out?

I thought, “Why bother?”

Normally, when a game is frustrating, it’s best to walk away.

Since I was already contemplating whether to return to my original map, I figured it wouldn’t be a problem.

But now, for various reasons, I found a reason to return to the secret farming map, and my decision about the login-logout process had to change.

“I need to reduce the cooldown.”

It wouldn’t be such a big deal to enter once and wait 7 days for the next round, as I still don’t know how many points are required to level up.

But I had a feeling it would be better to go back and forth often.

Right now, I would only get D-class resources like wood, stone, or weeds, so it doesn’t matter much, but I could soon gather resources at least up to C or B-class.

I decided to gather farming points moderately, unlock a few active skills or abilities, and once I’m ready to mine sellable resources, I would raise the frequency of logging in and out.

Once I thought about it, I felt that this time was too precious.

“Dungeons aren’t important.”

Whether I’m an SSS+ Hunter or not, there’s no need to waste time hunting when I have piles of resources in my backyard.

I was about to log in immediately, but I paused.

…But it’s 7 days.

Rushing is good, but when a new system is introduced, it’s better to check each part carefully.

Above all, I hadn’t even imagined that this kind of situation would unfold, but now I was in a position to realize what I had only imagined in hypothetical scenarios.

In the past, during the heyday of the farming world—brief as it was—there were often such conversations in the active farming community.

• Ah… I really want to have a barbecue party in the farming world.
• Why not do it?
• Grilling meat and wrapping vegetables in lettuce is fine, but there’s no ramen.
• ᄅᄋᄏᄏ, what’s the point of decorating the base like a campsite if there’s no ramen?
• Why haven’t they patched it? It would be nice if we could buy modern food.
• If it’s expensive to farm, I’d still buy it.
• I’m really craving ramen.

It’s not that I wanted to eat fancy food.

Users who decorated their bases while grinding in the farming world, soaking in the healing atmosphere unique to it, would look up at the many stars in the night sky and miss modern food.

But I became the first person to achieve that dream.

I immediately left the room again.

I opened the pantry and took out a small pink carry-on suitcase.

Then, I stuffed snacks, instant noodles, and cup noodles from the pantry into the suitcase.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m taking it with me for the dungeon.”

After all, it’s the same whether I go to a dungeon or a secret map.

I packed the suitcase full of snacks and dragged it out, and only then did my younger sister notice me and start freaking out.

“What are you doing? Why are you messing with my suitcase?”

“I’ll use it and return it.”

“Ugh. Get lost. Give it back! Do you want to die?”

If it were the old me, I would’ve lost to that damn brat.

Even if she looks like that, she’s a Hunter who’s awakened to either D or C-rank and roams dungeons.

But now, I’m an SSS+ ranked Hunter focused purely on strength.

“Eek! What the hell!”

I lightly subdued her by pushing her forehead with my finger.

“What the… you!”

I ignored her, walked into the room, locked the door, and shouted.

“Login.”

[Logging into Secret Farming Map.]

It’s not a dream.

A shabby hut and a yard in front of a slightly cracked door.

The small garden is honestly so poor that even an elderly person’s front yard garden would look better—it’s basically just there to get through the tutorial.

It’s embarrassing to say this is something from a 10-year farming world veteran.

Inside the wooden box, there’s added meat from Big Rats.

“First, I’ll put some of it in the icebox.”

I couldn’t just bring anything from reality to this place.

Would it work? I wondered, bringing a few things, placing some bread and water in two slots on my belt, and carrying a few in my hands.

But the ones I held in my hands disappeared, and only the items in my belt inventory survived.

I don’t know if the rest remained in reality or vanished, but anyway, the food-packed suitcase was safely stored in my inventory and came over.

And another was the icebox.

I opened the icebox and placed the meat inside.

Even though it’s a fairly large icebox, the Big Rat meat was so huge that not even half of it fit.

Until I harvest enough resources to make a refrigerator, there’s no proper way to store short-shelf-life meats like this other than eating them quickly.

It’s a hassle.

Originally, in the early stages, no one has the luxury to collect perishable meat while worrying about expiration dates, so it’s a good problem to have.

I’ll just have to keep eating steadily. What else can I do?

And I start gathering information one step at a time.

“As expected, the inventory stack is by packaging unit.”

This concept was already proven in the previous farming world.

If you put several items in a storage bag and then put that bag in another inventory, it only takes up one item slot.

So, if a 5-slot pouch contains wood, stone, and other materials, the pouch itself takes up only one slot when packed.

It wasn’t clear whether this would apply to real-world items, but I tested it myself.

Even something like a suitcase, which has no storage effect, is treated as a single item slot, and the dozens of food items inside were safely brought over in just one slot on my belt.

Efficient.

That means the reverse is also possible—when taking out various materials, I can consider using a 7-slot pouch, allocating some slots for weapons, to fill the limited inventory space.

“I’ll just throw in the snacks and ramen.”

The basic hut has a small sink and shelf like those in a 7-pyeong studio apartment.

It was probably made for cooking meals.

Now it’s filled to the brim with snacks and ramen.

I even brought a ton of seasonings.

While farming world crops or village shops can provide them, bringing them from the real world is much cheaper.

Even if the mansion disappeared, my heart felt way more secure.

“This is amazing.”

When I was a kid—

I once built my own bunker by hanging blankets over a small balcony in my room.

Inside the wardrobe, I secretly hoarded snacks and goodies little by little.

Reading fantasy novels under the blanket late into the night, books I secretly borrowed from the bookstore.

Back then, it was a shabby bunker, but now, it really feels like a perfect alternate world’s bunker just for me, where only I can enter.

That feeling was sparked by nothing more than a few snacks, ramen, and an icebox.