The next day.
I had to make kimbap and sell it in front of the dungeon, so I woke up at the crack of dawn.
The pre-dawn sky just before sunrise was tinged with a mysterious blue light.
Let’s see if the pickled radish turned out well.
I opened the container where I had stored the pickled radish.
A sour vinegar smell tickled my nose.
“The pickled radish is perfectly fermented!”
“You need to add gardenia here.”
When I ground the gardenia in a mortar and added it to water, yellow liquid seeped out and dyed the pickled radish.
Finally, it was time to make the kimbap.
First, I washed the white rice thoroughly in water and placed kelp on top.
“If you add kelp to the rice, the umami comes alive. Since I’ll season it later, the rice should be slightly firm, so I need to adjust the water just right.”
Next, I put the rice on the brazier and lit the coal.
Bubble bubble.
The rice water boiled, and the fragrant rice aroma spread across the Floating Island.
In the meantime, I went to the field and dug up spinach and burdock.
I trimmed the roots of the spinach with a knife and peeled the burdock.
Then I took out the carrots I had stored in the Ice Cave and julienned them into long, thin strips.
I added a spoonful of salt to boiling water, quickly blanched the spinach, and scooped it out.
After that, I mixed the spinach with soy sauce and sesame oil, kneading it thoroughly.
“Mmm! The sesame oil smell! No matter when I smell it, it’s so savory and good.”
“Even just eating the spinach namul would finish a bowl of rice in no time.”
Soon, I heated soybean oil in a pan and stir-fried the julienned carrots sweetly.
I only added a light sprinkle of salt to the carrots.
I stir-fried the julienned burdock in the pan until sweet, then added soy sauce and plum syrup, mixing well so the seasoning blended evenly.
Once the burdock was moist and reduced, I added sesame oil at the end to enhance the flavor.
“Already three vegetable side dishes are done.”
“You need to add eggs too.”
“There’s no end to preparing the ingredients.”
I cracked an egg into a pot with a tap and whisked it so the yolk and white mixed well.
Then I lightly oiled a pan, poured in the egg, and fried it into an appetizing sheet.
“Elenia. Can you get the seaweed I put in the Ice Cave?”
Elenia brought a pack of seaweed and handed it to me.
“It looks like all the filling ingredients are ready. Let’s check if the rice is done.”
When I opened the rice cooker lid, the grains were fluffy and glossy.
I added sesame seeds and sesame oil, mixing well.
“First, spread the rice evenly on the seaweed. Then place spinach, carrots, burdock, pickled radish, and finally the egg on top of the rice, and roll it up tightly.”
“The fillings are packed in generously. This can’t possibly taste bad.”
I concentrated so the sides wouldn’t burst while rolling the kimbap.
“First kimbap complete! Want to try it?”
“I want to eat it!”
I lightly wet the knife with water and cut the kimbap in half.
“It’s really delicious even if you take big bites.”
I put a thick half of the kimbap in my mouth and crunched down.
“It’s too delicious!”
A variety of fillings mixed together in my mouth, and the flavors exploded one after another.
“It’s hard to make, but one bite makes all the effort worth it.”
“Mmm! This is perfect for a full meal! It feels like eating rice and various side dishes in one bite. The taste and nutrition are unmatched anywhere!”
I kept rolling more kimbap.
Somehow, I seemed to be eating more than I was making, but it looked like there would still be enough to sell.
“I’ll head to the dungeon.”
If I sell these nutrient-packed kimbap in front of the dungeon, the adventurers will love it.
I quickly grabbed the kimbap and flew to the dungeon entrance.
As expected, many novice adventurers were camping out in front of the dungeon.
Whoosh.
I immediately lit the brazier I had prepared and dissolved eggs in water to boil egg soup to eat with the kimbap.
A delicious smell began to waft gently around.
***
The adventurers were starting another boring day as usual.
Chew chew.
“Ah, it’s really tasteless.”
A heavily bearded adventurer sat in front of the fire pit, chewing on hard, dry jerky and speaking soullessly.
“Dry bread and cheese that I suspect has gone bad. Why is everything sold here like this? Are they really selling it for us to eat?”
“What can we do? How many street vendors come all the way to a beginner dungeon? They sell carelessly because even that sells well.”
“Sigh. If only there was a meal packed with nutrition for one sitting.”
The adventurers sighed.
At that moment.
Sniff sniff.
“What’s this smell?”
“What smell? It’s your foot odor. Please wash up!”
“No, I mean a savory smell is coming from somewhere.”
“A savory smell, my ass. All I smell around here is sour sweat.”
Sniff sniff.
“The smell is coming from over there?”
The bearded man twitched his nose and walked as if enchanted, following the scent.
There, a street stall he had never seen before was setting up shop.
“Welcome.”
“Um. It seems like a delicious smell is coming from here?”
“The smell is killer, right? You’ve come to the right place. This is a spice called sesame oil commonly used in the East Continent, and its savory flavor is top-notch.”
“The smell really is amazing.”
“I generously used plenty of sesame oil to make kimbap. Would you like to try one?”
“Kimbap? I’ve never heard of that food before.”
The stall owner looked young, and the food was something he had never heard of in his life…
The adventurer eyed him suspiciously.
“It’s a convenient food packed with nutrition. I made kimbap myself from morning to provide a hearty meal for adventurers who need strength.”
“A food packed with nutrition? If that’s true, there’s no reason to refuse.”
Plus, the smell was insane.
“How much is it?”
“One roll of kimbap is just one small silver coin.”
He couldn’t hold back any longer as his mouth watered from the fragrant smell.
“Give me one.”
“Thank you, customer. Here’s some hot egg soup to go with it.”
As he took the steaming egg soup, warmth spread through his hands.
“Ah, it’s warm. The food here has warmth. Everything else sold here is cold, hard, and crumbly.”
“I heated the food here because I wanted customers to eat warm meals.”
“Your dedication is impressive.”
The bearded man felt a slight pang in his chest from the owner’s sincerity.
Slurp.
When he took a sip of the warm broth, it felt like his stiff body instantly warmed up.
The man’s eyes widened as he shouted.
“It’s delicious!”
“Try the kimbap too. I’m sure you’ll like it.”
He picked up a piece of kimbap and brought it to his mouth.
At that moment.
Thud.
It felt like his heart dropped.
“G, grrrrrrrrrr!”
“Customer! Are you okay?”
“I, I’m fine. I almost lost consciousness for a moment.”
It was so dizzyingly delicious that he nearly blacked out.
He clutched his heart with both hands.
“I don’t even know how to describe this. If I keep eating this, my heart won’t survive.”
It was a flavor that required preparing for a heart attack.
He took one bite of kimbap and clutched his heart again.
“G, grrrrrr.”
“C, customer. If it’s too hard to eat like that, you can stop…”
“No, no! It’s an addictive taste that I absolutely can’t let go of. Even if my heart stops while eating this, I want to keep going!”
His eyes sparkled. He was completely serious.
“Hey! What have you been doing over there since earlier?”
His companion came looking for the bearded man and walked to the stall.
“Oh? There’s a delicious smell?”
The bearded man, clutching his heart, answered with difficulty.
“Grk. You’ve smelled it too. Now prepare to lose your mind.”
“What nonsense? Did you put poison in it or something?”
The companion looked at the owner with suspicious eyes.
“Poison? This is East Continent food, and it’s just kill-yourself delicious. For just one small silver coin, you get hot egg soup too.”
“That sounds good. Give me one.”
The man received the egg soup and kimbap.
He wet his throat with the egg soup and bit into the kimbap.
Thud.
“G, grrrrr! M, my heart! H, huff.”
The man glared fiercely at the kimbap.
“It really is a killer taste. This is truly a scary food.”
Kimbap had to be eaten prepared to lose consciousness.
“G, grrrrr!”
“G, graaaaaah!”
Every time they ate the kimbap, they writhed, and eyes gathered from around.
“What? What kind of food makes them eat it in such pain?”
“No, look closely. Their faces are beaming.”
“Could it be a food that’s painful but has an irresistible charm?”
Murmur murmur.
The stall owner shouted loudly.
“A rare convenience food, kimbap, has arrived! One bite fills your mouth with a symphony of diverse flavors. Be careful not to lose your mind while eating!”
The kimbap sold like hotcakes, and soon even the last roll was gone.
“Thank you! Customer.”
Around the stall, people who had lost consciousness lay sprawled out.
“Hey! Snap out of it!”
“…Ah, I lost consciousness again. How many times is this? This time, I tried so hard to savor the kimbap without losing my mind until the end.”
“It’s a dizzying taste stronger than any mental attack. How strong must someone’s mental power be to savor this sober?”
“G, grrrrrrk.”
“Another one collapsed over there. It really is a terrifying food. Who on earth is the person making this?”
“Now that I look again, it’s that person!”
“Who? Someone you know?”
“The herb shop in Alburton! And the one who made the gas vitality water!”
“Right! I’ve heard of him too! No wonder he has extraordinary cooking skills.”
“Come to think of it, my fingertips used to be cold, but now blood circulation feels good? Could it be that every heart attack made my heart stronger?”
“My stomach is full from one roll of kimbap. It’s packed with various vegetables, so my body is overflowing with energy.”
People shouted at his back as he leisurely departed.
“Thank you for selling delicious food!”
“Come again next time!”
He turned back, waved his hand, and rode a large bird into the sky.