Chapter 38: The Labyrinth Chef

Dimensional Tavern.

Rose, the madam and owner, pulled out a dry towel.

She wiped down the five glasses in front of her and tidied the bar.

“Bell. How many guests do we have left today?”

At Rose’s question, the dragon-shaped doll resting on the bar moved.

A deep male voice emanated from the doll’s mouth.

“The officially reserved guests have all left.”

“Is that so?”

“The number of guests keeps decreasing.”

Rose’s eyes darkened as she looked at the spotless glasses she had just polished.

Originally, dozens of visitors would come here, but now it was hard to get even ten guests in a day.

The implication was clear.

All of the Dragon Lord’s Successors who were patrons of this tavern were being hunted down by the Apostles of the Dragon God.

“Bell. How many Successors remain?”

“Fewer than one hundred.”

“What about newly discovered Successors?”

“Except for the one found eighteen days ago, no new ones have been discovered.”

“…This is serious.”

Though she wanted to act more aggressively, doing so would increase the risk of being discovered by the Dragon God.

This Dimensional Tavern was the last refuge.

If it were found out by the Dragon God, the future would truly be lost.

No matter how frustrating, she could only hope the Successors would do well.

“Just received news that we captured one of the High Apostles of the Black Dragon God.”

“Is it her?”

“Yes. Thanks to that, our available Dimensional Power has increased. We will use it to find as many Successors as possible.”

“Good. Convert the remaining Dimensional Power into Usage Tickets and distribute them more to the Successors.”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to rest for a bit. Wake me if any guests come.”

Just as Rose finished tidying up and was about to rest,

Ding!

The bell on the door rang as someone entered the tavern.

Rose’s gaze shifted to the man at the entrance.

“Huh?”

The most recently discovered Successor.

Cheon Yongje.

The Usage Ticket issued to him had been both the first and the last. No additional tickets had been distributed.

Then how did he find his way here?

“I came to use a Usage Ticket.”

“A Usage Ticket?”

Cheon Yongje took out a Dimensional Tavern Pass and shook it.

If it were fake, he wouldn’t have been able to enter in the first place, so that ticket was genuine.

“Come over here first.”

At Rose’s invitation, Cheon Yongje sat on a chair by the bar.

“Where did you get that Usage Ticket?!”

“A Betrayer gave it to me.”

By ‘Betrayer’, they meant those Apostles who had been forsaken by the Dragon God and sided with the Lord.

Normally, they would be wraiths wandering the Red Dungeon after falling.

But some retained their consciousness, and fueled by anger toward the Dragon God and thirst for revenge, they cooperated with the Lord’s Successors.

“What information did the Betrayer give you?”

“He told me about the Apostles’ game. That they set traps and intend to kill me. Is what he said true?”

“…Yes. It’s true.”

This was both a statement to Cheon Yongje and to himself.

He had met a real Betrayer.

“How?”

Rather than denial, it was surprise.

There were conditions to meeting a Betrayer.

Since they had to evade the Dragon God’s surveillance, it was inevitably complicated.

First, you had to kill a low-level Apostle.

You needed to possess an SS-rank or higher Guardian.

And your Dragon Heart had to be at least two stars.

Usually, these conditions were met around the fortieth day.

Even with all that, without luck, you couldn’t meet a Betrayer. It required very strong fortune.

“…It hasn’t even been twenty days yet.”

Yet Cheon Yongje had met all those conditions and gained information about the Apostles from the Betrayer.

Among the Lord’s Successors he had seen so far, he was truly one of the most promising starts.

If he continued growing like this…

“Won’t you draw the cards?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, I should.”

Rose snapped back to attention at Cheon Yongje’s words and reached beneath the shelf to pull out the cards.

Shuffling them, she spoke.

“It’s the same as before. It takes time to prepare, so if you have questions, ask now.”

“Lately, whenever I use magic, I get waves of hunger and sleepiness. Do you know why?”

Rose’s hand paused while shuffling the cards.

“…Since when has that been happening?”

“A few days.”

“Tell me how big your Dragon Heart is.”

Cheon Yongje formed a circle with his thumb and index finger.

“About this size.”

“…Huh.”

A three-star Dragon Heart.

It meant he had left behind the hatchling stage, moving into a mature Hatchling phase.

To grow a Dragon Heart that size, he would need to reach at least the 40th floor of the Labyrinth or consume two or more high-grade Potions.

But that situation wasn’t entirely good.

“You said your hunger and drowsiness have increased?”

“Yes.”

“That’s because your body and Dragon Heart are out of balance.”

Rose held up three fingers.

“It’s called Regular Qi, Mind, and Body. Those three have to be in harmony. Yongje, your mana is too much compared to your body and mind. You’re struggling to handle that gap.”

“…Ah. What should I do then?”

“Usually, it will fix itself over time. The Dragon God’s Body was made to solve this kind of problem.”

“Hmmm. What about unusual methods?”

Rose resumed shuffling the cards.

“You either build up your stamina while filling your satiety, or you achieve Enlightenment and undergo a complete transformation.”

“Satiety… Since I’m eating much more, if I go to a regular restaurant, I’d get found out. Is there a way to handle the satiety?”

“There are special chefs. Eating their food gives you a full feeling even at normal amounts. Of course, they’re not easy to find.”

That was all.

She had used up all allocated Dimensional Power.

Rose spread the cards across the table.

“Question time is over. Shall we draw the cards like last time?”

“Yes.”

Cheon Yongje quickly drew five cards.

Rose gathered the remaining cards and set them aside, then slowly flipped over the cards Cheon Yongje had picked.

Food.

Revenge.

Adventurer.

Spirit.

And reversed…

Limit.

“It’s reversed. This applies to you, Yongje. To gain a Guardian, something connected to the word ‘limit’ is necessary.”

“Limit, huh.”

“Then I’ll prepare some drinks for you.”

Rose snapped her fingers, and the five cards turned into five glasses of liquor.

She poured the liquor into a shaker.

With a snap, she shook the shaker vigorously and poured the well-mixed drink into a large glass.

Pushing the glass toward Cheon Yongje, she said,

“Drink up.”

“Will this help me again?”

Her words were always the same at times like this.

“Trust your instincts, Yongje.”

Cheon Yongje smiled lightly, lifted the glass, and downed the liquor.

Gulp.

As he swallowed, a flash of light burst from his body, and he vanished right before Rose’s eyes.

“The Limit card.”

As rare as the Advice card he drew last time.

To get this Guardian, Cheon Yongje would have to surpass his own limits.

If he could do that, the current problems would also be solved.

“This is exciting.”

Will he break through the limit and grow, or will the limit show itself and stop him here?

[Dimensional transfer complete.]

The message disappeared, and a slight dizziness came over him, but since it was the second time, it was much less severe.

“Cure.”

He used magic to completely dispel the dizziness and checked his surroundings first.

Carriages and people passed over a stone-paved road, and beside the street stood buildings made of wood, lined side by side.

All of it.

All of it felt like a medieval setting city.

For now, he needed to wander and gather information.

‘Last time, it was limited to the Hero Academy.’

This time, the limited area was a bit larger.

If he didn’t narrow down candidates matching his keywords, he might end up living here forever or return empty-handed.

Just as he was about to start walking blindly,

“What are you looking around like that for?”

“Must be his first time in the Labyrinth City.”

“Look at his clothes. Probably from some backwater village.”

They sneered at him with glances.

Wearing leather armor, a sword at their waists, and round copper badges pinned to their chests.

‘Could these be them?’

When he used his first Usage Ticket, the first person he met, Ropenheim, had been a Guardian candidate.

There was a possibility it was the same this time.

“What’re you staring at? You wanna die?”

“Damn it.”

“Hey, stop it. The kid’s gonna cry.”

He shook his head slowly.

‘No.’

His gut said it wasn’t them.

“That bastard just shook his head at us, right?”

“Hey, follow me.”

Two of the three approached and grabbed his arms.

They dragged him into an alleyway.

Along the way, he locked eyes with what looked like city guards, but

He didn’t ask for help.

When they reached a dead-end alley, the thugs cornered him and surrounded him.

“Give me the money you have.”

“No, give me everything you’ve got. Then we might let you go.”

Unfortunately, he was broke.

“Nothing.”

“What? Every time something comes out, it’s a hit.”

The bearded one threw a punch, but Cheon Yongje used magic.

Gravity Hand.

An invisible palm slammed down.

Boom!

The bearded thug collapsed on the ground.

The others glanced around nervously and tried to run.

“Where do you think you’re running off to?”

He used ice magic to bind their legs.

Surrounded by an Absolute Barrier, he walked slowly and placed his hand on one thug’s shoulder.

The thug on his right drew his sword.

Clang!

The blade bounced off Cheon Yongje’s body.

“Gravity Hand.”

Boom!

He knocked down the thug on the right and turned to look at the one on the left.

“Want me to do the same to you?”

“W-What do you want?”

“Information about this place. And give me everything you have.”

He took the turn money pouch from the three thugs and headed toward the city center.

More and more people wearing badges like the ones on the thugs appeared.

And then a huge hole appeared.

‘Barthen’s Labyrinth.’

That was why they called this place Labyrinth City Barthen.

There was no king or ruler of the city, but

The Adventurer Guild set rules and controlled those who did not follow them.

“Adventurer.”

One of the keywords he had drawn.

And another was food.

He learned that this place had a profession called Labyrinth Chef.

Those who entered the Labyrinth could live inside for a few days to several months, so they needed to supply food within the Labyrinth.

That’s how Labyrinth Chefs came to be.

They cooked using ingredients found inside the Labyrinth.

‘That’s why most of the restaurants around here are run by former Labyrinth Chefs.’

Walking west from the Labyrinth entrance, he found a street full of restaurants.

He walked slowly, carefully checking the signs of each shop.

The delicious smells wafting from the shops made his mouth water.

At one point, he almost went inside just to fill his stomach, but

There was one place he had to check first.

‘Here.’

He looked up and confirmed the signboard.

[Revenge]

Short and intense two characters.

A place fitting for the keyword he carried.

‘A restaurant owned by a Labyrinth Chef who lost comrades in the Labyrinth.’

He had opened this restaurant to make money to fund his comrades’ revenge.

To hire a gold-ranked adventurer for the job.

“…Let’s check it out.”

He opened the door and stepped inside, revealing a shabby interior.

There were about five tables.

He sat in the seat closest to the kitchen.

The owner of the shop, who was in the kitchen, turned around and came out.

Short blue sports-cut hair.

On the left eye, there was a claw-like scar.

His face could look intimidating, but the overall atmosphere was bright.

He even smiled, despite wanting revenge.

All of it.

All of it felt real.

“Our food’s expensive. You okay with that?”

“If it’s worth the price.”

“Upfront payment.”

The owner held out his hand, and Cheon Yongje placed the money taken from the thugs into it.

“The best dish, please.”

“Got it. I’ll get it ready.”

The owner went into the kitchen and began cooking.

The aroma that filled the air was on a whole different level from the restaurant street.

Waiting was exhausting and difficult in itself.

How much time passed, he wasn’t sure.

The owner came out carrying plates of food: steak, stew, and grilled mushrooms.

“Here. My proud Labyrinth Special.”

Cheon Yongje took a fork and knife, cut into the steak, and put a piece into his mouth.

The juice burst forth with a rich umami flavor.

The exquisite taste made his hand move on its own, devouring the food like a vacuum.

When he came to his senses, the plates were clean.

A fullness filled from deep inside his stomach.

He had only eaten a plate of meat and a bowl of stew, but the feeling was the same as eating dozens of pounds of meat in reality.

‘Found it.’

The feeling he had when finally deciding on Ropenheim was present in the restaurant owner as well.

He was sure this man was a Guardian candidate in this world.

But finding him was not the end.

He might refuse.

No one seeking revenge for their comrades would willingly follow him to another world.

To gain him,

He had to resolve his revenge.

“I heard you’re looking for someone to get your revenge. Can we talk about it?”

“I don’t know where you heard that, but come back wearing the silver badge on your chest.”

And just like that, he was kicked out of the restaurant.

“Do I have to prove my skill?”