episode_0010

010

Level: Monster Restaurant

I opened my eyes in a shabby restaurant.

‘Is this… Stage 3?’

The sight that met my eyes matched the description of Stage 3 on the community.

A dirty white tiled floor.

Old chairs and tables.

There is an annex that looks like a kitchen, and strange creature drawings hang on the walls.

‘Slime Pufferfish…?’

There is a phrase that consistently appears in Stage 3 related posts.

‘When you first enter, you can meet the Slime Pufferfish.’

I wondered what it meant, but it was about the drawings on the wall.

‘It does look like a pufferfish with a melted face…’

As I stared at the drawing, a fishy smell wafted from somewhere.

I slightly furrowed my brow.

This is why this pufferfish became famous.

If you look at it, a disgusting smell wafts from somewhere.

You could just not look at the drawing, but since it’s in front of you the moment you enter Stage 3, you can’t avoid it.

Even if you know in advance and avert your eyes, these strange drawings are spread throughout Stage 3.

In the end, it means it’s a smell you will encounter eventually.

‘Just ruined my mood.’

-When you enter Stage 3, always check the rewards first-

You might think this is stating the obvious, but there’s a reason such posts exist.

First, there are surprisingly many guys who don’t think about anything.

And second, because the items that come as rewards are directly related to survival.

[Random Tool]

When opened, you can obtain one of the following: Cauldron, Butcher Knife, Meat Hammer, Slicer, or Press.

As the name suggests, these are cooking tools.

In Stage 3, you can collect ingredients and make food.

And these foods provide various buffs.

This is also why people are stuck in Stage 3 and cannot proceed to Stage 4.

Buffs also apply to enemies.

And all the enemies here are ‘Chefs’.

I opened the [Stage 2 Reward].

[Due to additional merit, the Stage 2 Reward is upgraded.]

‘Huh? Ah, is it thanks to catching the Vampire Giant?’

Soon the reward appeared.

[Cooking Tool Set]

‘Oh? Oh…’

I obtained all the tools, whereas normally you can only obtain one out of the 5.

Actually, the item I was aiming for was the [Cauldron].

It is known that if you diligently wander throughout the entire Stage 3 map, you can also obtain other tools.

And I planned to spend some time exploring even if the [Cauldron] didn’t come out.

‘Saved a lot of time.’

I smiled happily.

There is a very big reason why I wanted the [Cauldron].

The ever-so-sparkling Health Juice.

This is because with the [Cauldron], you can make hot Health Juice.

Of course, another reason I wanted the [Cauldron] is that I don’t know how to make other foods.

But if I can make Health Juice, isn’t that enough? Do I need to know how to make other dishes?

Ding –

An alarm sounded on my phone.

‘Huh… a community alarm?’

I had blocked most alarms, so there was almost no reason for me to get one.

I tilted my head and opened the community.

And I couldn’t help but be surprised.

‘Huk… Are you perhaps a god?’

After that super-popular post, all sorts of inquiries really flooded me.

To the point where I almost lost my mind.

That’s why I only left 3 types of notifications open.

One of them is the posting alarm from the ‘Stage 2 Expert’.

‘As expected, I knew you’d be alive.’

His ID had changed to ‘Stage 3 Expert’.

And his new post [Stage 3 Observation Log – Tools] caught my eye.

‘No way?’

Hundreds of food recipes that can be made with the 5 types of tools came pouring out.

Ingredient sourcing methods, recipes, taste evaluations, buffs, etc.

The Stage 3 encyclopedia was here.

‘Huh… Was he delaying the upload until now because he was experimenting with all possible combinations…?’

I immediately left the first comment.

Filled with respect and reverence.

[Most Depressed Lunatic: I love you.]

I am not a man who is awkward with expressing himself.

I believe it is polite to always say thank you when you are grateful.

Furthermore, if it weren’t for this person, finding a way to catch the Vampire Giant would have been considerably difficult.

There is no hesitation in sending my love.

I screenshotted everything starting from the content classified as ‘Health Juice’ under [Cauldron].

‘Hehe. There are 5 types of Health Juice.’

I offered a moment of silence in praise of the ‘Stage 3 Expert’.

‘Something’s missing.’

I summoned Bangnae beside me.

After returning from reality, I became able to summon summoned beings nearby instantly.

Bangnae slithers up beside me.

“Okay. Bangnae, repeat after me. Experts are amazing.”

“Experts are amazing.”

“Right, right. He’s the next most amazing person after me.”

“Ung… wight.”

Bangnae keeps looking around elsewhere.

She says it well, but it seems she doesn’t quite understand how amazing the expert is yet.

Perhaps the Health Juice might enlighten her.

I gave Bangnae the [Poison Needle] that came as a bonus from the [Stage 2 Additional Reward].

The [Poison Needle] is a needle-shaped sword, and there is a small needle on the handle part as well.

It has the function of secreting poison through the blade part after injecting it with the small needle.

Bangnae swings the needle around excitedly.

“Wow! Wow!”

“Bangnae, be quiet.”

“Heeya. Heeya.”

I looked at the last message still floating in the air.

[System error reward calculation in progress]

Somehow, I have a feeling it will take quite a while.

‘Should I rest a bit…’

The external injuries have healed, but my back, which was hit by the Vampire Giant, still feels sore.

I lay down on the cot inside the kitchen.

I’ll just sleep for a little while.

***

The top guild [Climber] was turned upside down.

This is because the ‘Most Depressed Lunatic’, who had been so unreachable, suddenly confessed his love to a single Stage 3 Summoner.

Han Yua, the guild leader of [Climber], fell into confusion.

‘Were they… originally lovers on Earth?’

I don’t know.

But what is certain is that through this person called ‘Stage 3 Expert’, they can make contact with the ‘Lunatic’.

She immediately contacted the guild’s executives.

The agenda was the guild membership of one Stage 3 level Summoner.

‘I don’t know who that newbie is… but we need to raise them as much as possible to secure a connection with the Lunatic.’

The membership request was approved unanimously in less than 5 minutes.

[Climber]’s HR team moved quickly.

But it wasn’t just [Climber] that moved quickly.

Later, this incident would be cited as the only case where a single Summoner received recruitment offers from all existing guilds.

At the same time, it became the catalyst for the creation of an information fetish group called the ‘Research Society’.

***

After a long, lazy nap, I stretched and got up.

A strange space is visible.

And the strange drawing… I quickly turned my head away.

‘Mm… it was Stage 3.’

I summoned the dogs.

The five zombie dogs summoned in front of me looked around a few times and then soon convulsed and fell down.

“Ah… the fishy smell must be worse for you?”

The dogs retched on the floor.

‘Oh dear…’

“It would be okay if you don’t look at the drawing, but it’s probably better to just get used to it. It’d be troublesome if you suddenly start convulsing during combat.”

The dogs whined, looking at the drawing and then turning their heads away repeatedly.

To the zombie dogs, the Slime Pufferfish will be remembered as a terrifying existence.

“You guys adapt. Bangnae and I will go get the ingredients.”

Bangnae reacts to the word ‘ingredients’.

“Wat eat?”

“Curious, are you? From now on, we’re going to make Popori Juice.”

Bangnae doesn’t quite know what that is but makes a face of dislike.

“Uh-huh! It’s something very delicious.”

Actually, I don’t know if it’s delicious.

For now, according to the expert’s notation, the taste is 2 out of 10 points.

But it is something that must be obtained.

Popori Juice has the effect of warming the body and activating metabolism.

‘There’s nothing better than a light sauna after exercise.’

I smiled sweetly.

The foods in Stage 3 don’t provide nutrients, but there are quite a few useful buffs.

It will be a great help when doing various exercises.

Above all, the ingredients are easy to obtain.

Health Juice types are not helpful for combat, so they are mostly made from ingredients obtainable nearby.

The only drawback is that their taste scores don’t exceed 3 points?

But with so many advantages, is taste important?

The ingredients for Popori Juice could be found in the kitchen of the store right next door.

“Let’s see… 2 medium centipedes, the eyeball of a one-legged octopus, the insides of a white sea cucumber. If I boil these thoroughly in a cauldron…”

I handed the warm juice to Bangnae.

She first looked at it suspiciously, but seeing me chug it down in one go, she drank it herself.

And then she fell to the floor.

“Gu… Gweee… Bangnae dying…”

I clicked my tongue, looking at Bangnae.

“Tsk tsk… I went to the trouble of making it for you, and you’re spitting it all out. Why don’t you hurry up and drink it again? Gulp, gulp.”

“Bangnae… want eat dwerf…”

“Sigh…”

Even when I give her something good, she won’t eat it.

I’m very worried about what will become of a child like this in the future.

Apart from Bangnae’s reaction, the juice performance test was successful.

A warm energy rises from deep within, and my body becomes calm.

‘Very good.’

However, it seems I won’t be able to exercise and fight the way I did before.

Stage 3 has variables due to randomness.

Since enemies appear with random buffs, if you’re unlucky, they might come with absurd buffs.

‘Assuming the worst. It’s right to fight at full strength.’

I poured the zombie potion that came as a reward over Bangnae’s head.

“Geeee…”

“Get up. Let’s go catch the dwarfs you like.”

I pressed [Start Combat].

Across the boulevard, a two-story building rumbled up.

Blue walls were erected and a wave-patterned roof covered it.

Looking at the sign, it seems to be a raw fish restaurant.

And soon, 10 dwarfs holding sashimi knives walked out of the completed building.

We went outside to greet the guests.

The dwarfs also spotted us and approached.

When we reached a suitable distance, the sashimi knife of the dwarf in the lead turned red.

‘Enhancement type.’

The fortunate thing, if there is one, is that the dwarfs from the same store have the same buff.

The remaining nine behind also had their sashimi knives turn red.

Red sword. It looks flashy but is a low-level buff.

Was it increased sharpness?

“Nothing much. Attack!”

Woof woof woof!

Calf-sized dogs charged out towards the group of dwarfs.

The dwarfs couldn’t even put up a proper defense and were surrounded by the dogs, turning into corpses one by one.

‘I hope the rest go just like this.’

Bangnae swings the needle like a conductor’s baton beside me and shouts.

“Fight them, fight them.”

I glared at her.

“Hey. You go too.”

Bangnae looks at me.

She grins shyly at me.

“Bangnae is resting.”

‘Resting? This kid’s only getting smarter in useless ways. Already?’

I immediately gave Bangnae a light smack on the head.

“Aren’t you going quickly?”

“Uwaaeng.”

Bangnae runs out with the needle.

Of course, by the time Bangnae arrives, the dogs have already finished off most of the dwarfs.

‘Since when did she become a slacker?’

Come to think of it, she was a slacker from the beginning.

Now she’s just become a slacker who talks.

‘But she does it when she needs to.’

I naturally added sets one by one to Bangnae’s next curriculum.

Let’s follow the old sages who said slackers should be disciplined with exercise.

The combat was quickly finished.

I made sure the corpses were distributed appropriately.

In the meantime, Bangnae claimed seniority and monopolized all 10 dwarf brains.

Her logic was that the dogs hadn’t drunk enough Health Juice yet.

It’s basically ‘seniority privilege’.

‘No… you drank one glass.’

I decided to leave it be.

The dogs ate the giant, so giving it all to Bangnae for a while isn’t bad.

And the moment I was about to check the reward for 3-1, something different from the message I expected popped out.

[Delicious! Delicious! Lick, lick.]

‘Who… Who are you?’