Dungeon Gourmet

 

The situation was obvious even though my memories were fragmented.

 

If I had dealt with this many people in the form of a monster, it would not have been strange at all if I was now on the wanted list.

 

Therefore, aside from the assumption that my face had turned into a hideous monster, I had another reason to cover my face. I picked up the helmet and wiped it clean with an old cloth, and covered it over my head. 

 

[Iron Helmet of the Wilderness (Advanced)]

A helmet that is modeled after the skull of a bird that inhabits Ralt Wilderness. It is lightweight and sturdy.
TL/N: No idea what Ralt(롤트) means.

 

○ Effect

Reduces damage against fire attribute attacks by 5%

 

 

It was a bascinet helmet that completely covered the front, back, left, and right sides with protective gear attached, so it served its purpose.

This is a common helmet, so it should be fine.

 

‘Now, where is the way out of this forest.…..’

 

There was no reason to hang around here any longer.

 

It seems that not a full day had yet passed since the Hero(Reserve) party arrived, but it is impossible to know when the next subjugation squad will come. 

 

I can’t die here, even if my life had been unfair all throughout.

 

Let’s live, like people. I have to live. 

With that in mind, I finally turned to those who were victimized by monsters, expressing my condolences. 

‘…..’

 

Gurrrgle.

 

Just as I packed my bag and started to walk down the forest path, I heard a loud sound rumbling from my stomach again.

Perhaps, in the perspective of the spider, the Hero’s party that came to it in a short amount of time was its prey and destined-to-be meal.

 

***

 

It didn’t take long to get out of the woods. It was simpler than I thought, as I only had to follow one straight road. 

 

‘But when I first came in here, it was just an ordinary forest………..’

 

Squeak.

 

The unfamiliar helmet gave an unpleasant feeling to my face. 

 

The more I walked, the more the musty smell of dirt stayed in the helmet, so I opened the front of the helmet for a moment and let go of the breath I had been holding. 

 

At the same time, the forest landscape I saw now was definitely different from the forest in my memory. 

 

Originally, the leaves of the trees were shaded blue, but now they all look dark. There seemed to be many trees that have already died and rotted among them, but I could not figure out why. 

 

With the sound of rustling footsteps, I took a deep breath and once again examined the fairly light equipment.

 

 

[Iron Helmet of the Wilderness (Advanced)] 

 

[Leather Armor (Low)] 

 

[Saint Plate Boots (Normal)]

 

[Master’s Gloves (Normal)]

 

[Old Long Sword (Low)]

 

 

Most of them are insignificant equipment that doesn’t even show their abilities.

 

They are common enough that you can even get them at weaponry shops in countryside villages, so at the very least if I don’t take off my helmet, you wouldn’t be able to guess who I am right away.

 

But even so, I didn’t want to use this equipment for a long time.

 

Was it because it belonged to the people I killed? No, it wasn’t for such a sentimental reason. It’s just that this helmet was too dirty, the armor was too old, and the boots were smaller than my feet and made my heels sore and uncomfortable.

‘Well…..’

 

Have I been walking for such a long time? 

 

As soon as the plants in black were sparsely visible and blue creatures appeared, I found a path that was supposed to be the entrance to the forest and a signpost stuck in the middle.

 

Caution! Non-Dungeon monster spawning area. 

This forest is currently not part of the dungeon.

Occupied by monsters.

For your safety, please refrain from passing.

 

Was I the monster that is being talked about here?

This must have been a sign that had been put up for quite some time, since there was a lot of moss and the wood was worn out.

 

But it’s helped enough, so it doesn’t matter.

 

If this was the entrance to the forest, then I could tell where I was. I immediately took out my original map from my bag and began to unfold it.

 

‘They’re pretty much the same.

 

If my age on the status screen was accurate, then this shabby map would be 100 years old, but surely, the landscape wouldn’t have changed just because some time has passed. Although I don’t know if a dragon had come by at some point and made a fuss by shooting its breath.

With such complacent thoughts, I finished reading the map and started walking on the vast plain.

 

Recipe 2. Prepare Ingredients

 

 

Five hours later.

 

 

‘…What should I do from now on?’

 

I walked towards the north until the bloody forest gradually drifted away from view and became invisible, whilst not seeing a single person.

 

However, according to the map, if I proceed like this, I will soon find myself in a small village. A village!

 

‘Should I avoid places where there are people?’

 

Even if I just run away recklessly, I can’t survive on the road without anything to eat. 

 

I’ve been ignoring it for a long time, but now I’m so hungry that my hands are trembling.

 

‘I’m going to starve to death at this rate.’

I’d rather risk getting food rather than just starve right away.

‘… This village close to the map, it is definitely a quiet rural neighborhood.’ 

 

In addition, you’d need a wagon to somehow get away from the forested South. 

Usually, the order would be to pack up for a cruel expedition, conduct an investigation and recruit clients within a time gap, and send the next party for the grueling expedition a long time later. So I don’t think there would be any other adventurer in the corner of the country already.

 

‘Even if I am a fugitive, I need to get some food.’

 

So I started walking again in the direction of the nearest village.

I had felt like I just woke up after a long slumber, but it wasn’t that hard to walk.

 

 

It seems that my sense of scale has been ruined in the meantime. 

 

I thought it would be close on the map, but the time it took to reach the village was at least one day and eight hours. I was mentally exhausted from walking so much. 

 

However, I was now facing a serious hunger crisis to the point that this was not a problem.

 

‘I… Right now……’

 

By the time I saw the entrance to the village, my brain was already dominated by one thought.

 

‘I, I have to eat!’

 

All I have to do right now is eat.

 

I was on my way to annihilate the Hero(Reserve) party just the other day ago, but even I, as a human being, can’t help it when I’m told that food will be here.

 

‘I’m so hungry. And tired. How many days have I been awake in the form of a monster?!’

 

And when I think about it, the reason why an unknown hero came to me was to kill me, who was in the state of a monster, so it was a matter of life and death.

‘At this time, the whole town market should be closed… Where’re the restaurants?’

It is difficult to live right away whilst being dragged around for days and days by guilt.

 

In the first place, I came to this world and got beaten up by others a few times, and since I was an adventurer who suffered enough from others, the more I thought about it, the more shameless I became.

 

I’ve been in trouble a lot of times, and as I continue to live, I can cause trouble to others too. 

Just as everyone has done to me. 

 

“Haa…..”

 

However, for the sake of human decency, let’s acknowledge the mistakes of the past and self-reflect so that such things do not happen again in the future. 

Of course, that would only be possible if I don’t starve to death first.

‘…..’

 

Trudge….

 

The village I arrived at was a rural neighborhood lined with fairly ordinary-looking wooden houses. 

 

Since this is the southern corner of the continent, it was difficult for the nobility to take care of the territory, so it was not very well developed.

As evidence of that, there was no such thing as a gatekeeper in this village. The post of the village appeared to be made clumsily with incompetent hands, and it was no different from the scenery in my memory.

But it was fine either way. Anything was fine. If it’s a place where people live then there must be something to eat.

 

If I could prevent this boiling hunger, I would have liked a Kebab place, but as soon as I arrived in the village, I hurriedly searched for a nearby restaurant with ravenous eyes.

 

‘It’s a picture of a restaurant!’

 

By the time I saw the signboard with food pictures, I almost had tears in my eyes. 

 

With my helmet on so that my face could not be seen, I squeezed my last strength and went into the dining room.

 

“Welcome to ‘Oh Jung’~! Are you a guest?”

 

“…No, I’d like to have dinner…….….”

 

“Aha, are you here to eat?”

 

It seems that this place was not just a restaurant, but a shop that also doubled as an inn.

 

‘It’s pretty late out. I’m going to get physical problems if I stay up all night or stay homeless.’

Unfortunately, due to the season, it was cold enough outside to hit your teeth. 

 

I thought it would be a better choice to stay here tonight so that I don’t get into trouble because of my getaway.

 

“Please give me two dishes you can prepare the fastest. And I will be staying for one night.”

 

“Yes, yes!”

 

I made an urgent order as I made the decision.

 

‘Hm.’

 

For a moment, the question that 100 years may have passed crossed my mind, and I wondered if the value of money changed as well. 

 

‘2 gold, 45 silver and… 15 bronze.’

 

Why didn’t I think of bringing money when I was searching the corpses earlier? 

 

When I opened my eyes at first, my mind was a mess due to the unusual situation of a Hero left over when I was eating.

“Come on, here’s the room key! Are you going to bring your food?

“…..”

However, surprisingly, the amount of the price tag was not much different from my memory, considering that I ordered it so carelessly.

 

‘Has it gone up a bit? No, the currency used is still bronze. There must have been something wrong with the addition of 100 years old.’

 

I then paid for the food without much difficulty. Immediately after that, I took the dish and went into the room, and it was only when I was completely alone that I started eating. 

 

‘This was expected.’

 

When I asked for the fastest one, what was served was nothing but two meatballs. 

 

I placed the plate on the table and held the fork that came with it with the other hand.

The prepared meatballs looked credible enough to appeal to my taste buds even if I wasn’t hungry.

 

The surface of the meat, which was gathered in a relatively spherical shape, looked thick, and the sauce on the side seemed to stick well and looked delicious.

 

“Hooo… Pheuu..”

TL/N: He’s blowing on the food. *blowing noises

I dipped my fork into the hot meatball that was still steaming. I blew on it softly to cool it down and inspected the meatball on the fork again. It was definitely cooked well.

 

A scarlet-colored sauce strewed with a glossy finish on top of deliciously cooked brown meat.

 

‘I was really starved, but I’m glad.’

 

As I had already paid for the meal, it seemed that I no longer had to hesitate over such wonderful food.

And the moment I finally miraculously ate my first meal, my eyes blew wide open inside the helmet with its cover pulled back.

“…..”

The taste…

“…..”

 

There’s none…….!

My eyes flashed open as much as a shocking sensation began to stick to my tongue and teeth.

 

“…Ugh…..”

 

Meatballs, were they always so tasteless?

 

No, maybe I just ate the wrongly cooked meatballs. I denied reality like that, and this time I took another meatball in the center of the plate and stuffed it in my mouth, but the result was the same.

It’s tasteless!

“…..?”

 

It was amazing. It was as ridiculous as it tasted.

 

I starved so much that my senses are not normal.

 

No, even before making such a judgment, it was clearly ‘not tasty’.

 

Hello! Translator here.

For those who weren’t wondering, this is what our MC’s helmet looks like. (Bascinet Helmet)

The cover (the top part with a small window for him to see) can be pulled back and opened.

We are sorry for the delay! My wrist and arm are aching as I am writing this, haha. This chapter was a bit rushed, but Things are getting quite busy in our lives, so don’t expect the usual daily updates for a while. On another note, we are really reaally picking things up now! If you enjoy this series, please support me on Ko-fi!