“Today’s meal was hands-down the best I’ve had since my regression.”
The lingering aftertaste on his tongue didn’t fade easily.
It was a perfect meal, down to the dessert.
Sang-woong cleared the empty dishes and started the truck.
Driving along the freshly paved, vibrant asphalt, he steered toward the familiar sign of an agricultural supply store.
He needed black plastic mulch to cover the furrows.
Since it was something he’d use regularly, he bought plenty and loaded it into the truck bed.
Back at the restaurant, Sang-woong stored the black plastic in his inventory and the rest in the storage shed.
“Preparations for the land are done. Time to get ready for business.”
While preparing for the day’s business, he added Umami leaves to the usual broth.
As expected, the response was explosive.
A regular customer, Kim Seo-ah, took a spoonful of kimchi jjigae without much thought and froze on the spot.
“Chef! What on earth did you do to this kimchi jjigae? It’s insanely delicious!”
“Hahaha, I added a very special ingredient.”
Sang-woong chuckled heartily, responding playfully to her reaction.
“This is so good I could eat kimchi jjigae every day for a week!”
“Thank you. I’m flattered by the praise.”
Kim Seo-ah nodded sincerely, her face brimming with satisfaction.
“I have to tell everyone at the hospital to try this! We need to spread the word about this amazing flavor!”
She was a nurse at the dungeon disease hospital.
As Kim Seo-ah reached for her phone to send a message, Sang-woong panicked.
He had used the Umami plant to make the food tastier for today’s customers, but he didn’t have enough to keep using it.
Quantity was an issue, and since he needed to sell the plants for points, using them in the restaurant wasn’t feasible for now.
He quickly stopped Kim Seo-ah from messaging.
“Uh, that ingredient isn’t something I can get every day.”
At his words, she quietly put her phone down.
Then, a look of awe slowly spread across her face.
“Oh my! So you made this kimchi jjigae specially for me? Chef, I’m touched! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have gotten married!”
“Hahaha…”
Sang-woong let out an awkward laugh at her playful remark, scratching the back of his head.
Kim Seo-ah was much older than him.
“Hohoho, just kidding, just kidding! I’m old enough to be your aunt!”
Noticing his flustered expression, she waved her hand and laughed brightly.
“Oh my, Chef, your face is all red!”
She teased him, laughing innocently.
Today, Sang-woong received more praise than he had in his entire life combined.
Every regular customer raved about the food.
When he explained that he’d used a special ingredient just for them today, they were even more touched and delighted.
After closing the restaurant for the evening, Sang-woong hung an “Closed” sign on the door.
He headed straight to the dungeon.
Passing through the dungeon gate, Aria flew toward him as if she’d been waiting, greeting him warmly.
“Master! You’re here? I missed you!”
“Oh, Aria, how do you manage to greet me so sweetly? Everything okay?”
“Yes, it’s been quiet.”
Sang-woong bought a few portions of spirit food from the shop window and handed them to Aria.
Since time flowed much faster here than on Earth, it was best to prepare in advance.
“Eat these when you’re hungry later. Don’t forget to tell me before they run out.”
“Thank you, Master!”
Aria bowed politely, accepting the spirit food.
“By the way, can’t you eat anything else, Aria?”
At Sang-woong’s question, Aria rolled her large eyes, deep in thought.
She had never eaten anything else before.
“I brought something I thought you might like.”
Sang-woong pulled out a candy-wrapped chocolate.
Feeling sorry for Aria’s long period of hunger, he had brought it just in case.
As he unwrapped it and offered it to her, Aria’s mouth opened slightly, drawn to the sweet scent.
Crunch!
Biting into the chocolate, Aria’s expression was as if she’d discovered a new world.
Her wide eyes were filled with surprise and joy.
“Wow! Wow!”
Aria bounced in the air, squealing.
“It’s so delicious!”
Seeing her delight, Sang-woong couldn’t help but feel happy too.
“I’ll leave some here, so eat them whenever you want. But don’t eat too much, or your teeth might rot. Wait, do spirits even get cavities? Anyway, enjoy!”
“Thank you, Master! Hehe!”
Aria smiled, chocolate smeared around her mouth.
Her adorable appearance made Sang-woong burst into laughter.
He got to work immediately.
He laid black plastic mulch over the ridges.
“Perfect, looks great.”
Looking at the neatly aligned black plastic, Sang-woong smiled with satisfaction.
Next, he went around the land, transplanting plants with special effects.
At first, identifying each plant took time, but as he got used to their appearances, the process sped up.
Transplanting was simple and tedious, but each completed row filled him with pride.
Knowing it would lead to points fueled his motivation.
What made him even happier was Aria’s endless shower of compliments.
“Master, you’re so wise! Gathering all the effective plants in one place! I thought you’d just pull out all the weeds.”
“Wow, Master, you’re amazing! Using black plastic like this will keep the weeds from growing!”
“Master, you’re so fast! Transplanting plants so quickly!”
Aria’s enthusiastic praise kept Sang-woong entertained throughout the work.
After transplanting all the effective plants and watering them generously, he added the fertilizer he’d prepared.
With that, he completed the day’s planned farming tasks.
“Aria, I’m going to scout the surroundings. Stay here.”
“Yes, Master. Be careful!”
Sang-woong scouted the area as planned.
Since he didn’t know what kind of intruders might appear, familiarizing himself with the nearby terrain was essential.
Identifying which monsters inhabited the area and their numbers was particularly important.
“As expected, no strong monsters in sight. While I’m out here, I might as well hunt some and collect points and mana stones.”
Sang-woong diligently roamed the area, hunting monsters.
As the land’s energy grew stronger, more monsters would come, so it was better to deal with them while he could.
It also helped preserve the Wood Golems.
After half a day of hunting and gathering points, he returned.
“That should do it. Time to head back.”
Back on the land, Sang-woong reclaimed the remaining areas.
An idea had struck him while hunting.
Since time flowed faster here, crops planted in the dungeon would grow ten times faster.
He cleared about 50 pyeong of land and left the dungeon.
Sang-woong gathered various seedlings and crops he had planned to plant behind the restaurant and returned to the dungeon.
“I hope they grow well…”
Strictly speaking, the dungeon was another world with different climate and soil conditions from Earth.
Whether Earth crops would grow well was uncertain.
In the early days of dungeons, scientists had conducted experiments, and most crops didn’t grow well in dungeons.
Still, since this was his land, he held some hope.
He carefully planted lettuce, green onions, sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and potatoes.
For another experiment, he also planted plants from outside the land.
There were countless plants outside, some of which might have special effects.
If they grew well here, it would be a huge help.
The results were mixed.
The Earth crops grew surprisingly well.
After about 20 days in dungeon time, the cherry tomatoes had grown to the size of quail eggs, boasting a vibrant red color.
But the plants from outside the land all withered and died.
“As expected, it didn’t work.”
Given the different energies between the land and the outside, it was perhaps inevitable.
Suppressing his disappointment, Sang-woong picked a cherry tomato.
At that moment, a message appeared.
- The Master of the Land has acquired a valuable item. A low-grade cherry tomato can be sold for 3 points. –
“What!”
Sang-woong dropped the cherry tomato in his hand.
He stood there, dazed, as if in a trance.
Three points for a low-grade tomato wasn’t the point.
The fact that Earth crops could be sold was what mattered.
This meant he could worry far less about points.
Earth crops could be bought with money in any quantity.
Like a bolt of lightning, Sang-woong sprinted off.
Aria, holding a shrimp cracker bag in both arms, was sniffing the savory scent and nibbling happily.
“Master, Master! Where are you going?”
She called out in her cute voice, watching Sang-woong dash off, but he was too caught up to hear.
Back at the restaurant, Sang-woong packed his inventory with ingredients he’d bought for business and returned to the dungeon.
Arriving at the land, he took out a bunch of green onions.
“How much are these worth?”
His face flushed with anticipation.
But his excitement soon turned to disappointment.
No message appeared, even after waiting.
It was as if the system was saying, “We don’t buy your green onions!”
“Oh, so they have to be grown here for a certain time to be worth anything…”
Sang-woong muttered, trying to hide his disappointment.
But he quickly regained his optimism.
“Well, I’ll just grow them better and sell them!”
Casually, he picked a cherry tomato grown on the land and popped it into his mouth.
The moment he bit into it, his eyes widened like a rabbit’s.
“What’s this firmness?”
The cherry tomato felt like a tiny bouncy ball, almost resisting his teeth.
Crunch!
Finally, the tomato yielded to his strong jaw, bursting with sweet juice.
“Wow!”
It wasn’t just an exclamation that escaped his mouth.
The refreshing juice filling his mouth was as good as any ripe fruit.
The sweet and tart flavors formed a perfect duet, inviting his tongue to a state of ecstasy.
“This is low-grade? How delicious would a top-grade one be?”
For Sang-woong, who loved good food more than anyone, his anticipation soared sky-high.
The cherry tomato wasn’t the only surprising thing.