The Street Stall
Deep in the Ant Tunnel, at its deepest recesses.
In the center of the place, a food stall stood that no one knew why it was there.
The Ant Tunnel inside, unlike its name, had no ants, but it was filled with a dark and damp atmosphere.
The sound of water dripping from the ceiling, faint monster cries from all around,
and a space filled with a strange silence without any light source.
In the center of that, a small and shabby street stall was there.
Rumiel gazed at the street stall.
A small stall selling various foods.
Its location and the items it sold were strange.
During the game, Rumiel had seen this street stall before.
But players mostly passed by without using it properly, rarely did.
The reason was simple.
The food sold at the street stall had overwhelmingly poor efficiency compared to potions.
Potions were items with immediate recovery effects.
Drink once and health and mana fill up immediately.
In contrast, the food from the street stall took time to eat, had low recovery amounts, and the buff effects were minor.
Since the level was high enough to reach the underground dungeon, there was no reason to eat such food.
That's why, except for a few players who did situational roleplay to kill time, no one bought food from the street stall.
Rumiel also thought 'Ah, there are places like this too.' and didn't buy food.
But now, the story was different.
This place was no longer 'background in the game'.
When playing the game, if health ran out, you drank a potion and it was over.
But now that it was reality, you couldn't just drink potions to endure.
Because there was a 'body' that was actually hungry, thirsty, and tired.
People can't live on just water.
Rumiel quietly smiled and entered the street stall.
When she slightly pushed open the door of the street stall, the inside was warmer than expected.
In contrast to the damp and cool air of the Ant Tunnel, a faint light was in the street stall.
Small lanterns were hanging here and there, and from somewhere, a faint broth smell wafted.
It looked shabby on the outside, but inside it was surprisingly neatly organized.
“What? What are you doing here, kid?”
The owner of the street stall, with dark skin and a scruffy beard, asked gruffly.
A deep voice and rough speech.
If it was the first time seeing him, it might have felt intimidating, but Rumiel's gaze was fixed as if she didn't hear his words.
Because the menu was right in front of her.
On one side of the street stall wall, large names of various foods written.
Roasted Chicken 500 gold, Long Hot Dog 600 gold, Pizza slice 900 gold, Hamburger 900 gold, Fat Hot Dog 800 gold, Salad 600 gold, Kimbap 500 gold, Clear Water 400 gold⋯⋯.
Rumiel's eyes sparkled.
“Kid, what are you staring at so hard.”
The owner said, putting one hand on his waist.
“If you're hungry, order something.”
“...Hamburger, please.”
The hesitation was short.
Rumiel immediately placed the order.
The owner nodded, skillfully flipping the patty on the griddle.
Sizzle.
Oil oozed from the cooking meat, and the warm bread slightly toasted, taking on a golden color.
Rumiel watched the scene with her hands clasped tightly.
A faint smile was already on her lips while waiting.
After a while, a large hamburger was placed on a plate.
It looked like a generous homemade burger.
Thick patty, fresh vegetables, cheese, and soft bun.
Perfect.
Rumiel carefully picked up the hamburger with both hands, and with sparkling eyes, took a bite.
Crunch!
She bit it in one go.
Juice filled her mouth.
The outside was crispy, the inside juicy patty.
The savory cheese and fresh vegetables harmonized to provide a fantastic taste.
“Well eaten.”
The owner crossed his arms and smiled happily.
But there was one problem.
Rumiel's mouth was small.
Too small.
“Oof.”
She bit a large piece, but the hamburger was too big to fit properly in her mouth.
Rumiel hurriedly caught the flowing lettuce and tomato, and hurriedly chewed the hamburger.
The lettuce kept popping out dangerously, and the tomato slices kept slipping.
She tried to catch the flowing contents, but her hand was a beat late.
The onion was half out and dangling, and the sauce flowed down her hand a bit.
Nevertheless,
“...!”
With eyes sparkling, she took another bite.
The rich taste spreading in her mouth made Rumiel open her eyes wide.
The crispy outside juicy patty was full of juice, and the warmly grilled bread and cheese combined to create a perfect balance.
The crispness of fresh tomato and lettuce filled her mouth harmoniously.
Delicious.
In the game, it would have ended with just a 'food eaten' system message.
But now it was different.
Rumiel's tongue could feel the sensation of the cheese slightly melting and combining with the patty.
Every time she chewed, the salty umami of the seasoned patty burst at the tip of her tongue.
And the soft bread tied all the ingredients together to create the perfect taste.
Was food this delicious?
The joy of seeing it with eyes, smelling it, and chewing it directly in the mouth.
All that process was a new and fresh experience for Rumiel.
After chewing for a while, she noticed the sauce on her hand.
At some point, the sauce had dripped and stained her fingertips, and it was also on her lips.
“...Uhm.”
After a moment of hesitation, Rumiel quickly wiped the sauce with the back of her hand.
“Well eaten.”
The owner, arms crossed, watched Rumiel with interest.
He looked at her happily as she struggled with the large hamburger with her small mouth.
“You can eat slowly, kid. There's no one chasing you.”
Despite his words, Rumiel bit into the second bite quickly.
She couldn't stop because it was too delicious.
In the game, it was just 'item consumption', but now each bite was an experience.
And that experience was filling her senses with new joy right now.
Holding the hamburger tightly with her small hand, she bit into it again.
This time more carefully, but still aggressively.
Although half was almost spilled, she eventually finished the one hamburger.
Because of her small body, she felt full quickly.
Nom, she smacked her lips.
It was delicious, but she couldn't eat more.
The savory patty and soft bun lingered in her mouth, but her stomach was full and nothing more would fit.
Rumiel neatly arranged the remaining hamburger wrapper on the table with a satisfied expression.
Then.
“...Uhm.”
The owner seemed to want to say something.
He opened his mouth several times but closed it again.
He looked like he was debating whether to talk or not.
Rumiel glanced at him.
When she tilted her head, the owner finally spoke.
“Are you here to receive the village chief's request?”
The village chief's request.
As soon as that word came out, Rumiel's ahoge reacted.
It was a familiar name.
Very familiar yet also quite infamous, one of the few 'trap quests' in this game.
At the end of the Ant Tunnel, there is a small temple.
The region is where a mini-boss appears, and at the entrance of the temple, a strong barrier is placed.
The village chief's request was simple.
It said to check if the barrier of that temple has loosened.
The reward was generous.
A whopping 50,000 gold and a lot of experience.
The quest condition was very simple, just going to the temple entrance and checking it out, an easy task.
Up to here, it looked like a very generous quest.
But the real problem was elsewhere.
The 'startable level' of this quest was 5.
And the biggest trap was that the NPC who took the request, the village chief, was standing in the novice village.
Novice players who had just left the novice village.
It was natural for newbies with no money and desperate for experience to be dazzled by the number 50,000 gold.
The moment the quest was accepted,
forced teleport to the deep part of the Ant Tunnel.
What awaited them was the Level 35 Drakes that Rumiel had wiped out in one go earlier.
Newbies had no chance of surviving.
Newbies got confused as soon as they arrived, didn't even get to attack once, and were instantly cut down by the Drakes.
And here was the more ruthless point.
Another trap of this quest was that in the game's system, when a player dies, they are automatically teleported to a 'safe place nearby'.
And the place judged as 'nearby safe place' was exactly this street stall where Rumiel was now.
If it was returning to the underground village, they could somehow escape, but because of this one street stall, they were trapped in the middle of the Ant Tunnel where Level 35 Drakes were rampant.
If it was a user who had done Piolo's quest, they could get a 'village return scroll' as reward and barely escape.
But the minimum level to accept Piolo's quest is 7.
Moreover, the price of the village return scroll sold in the shop is more expensive than the combined price of five potions.
So, newbies wouldn't have a village return scroll.
As a result.
The newbies were trapped.
No way out.
A level 5 newbie trapped in the Ant Tunnel filled with level 35 monsters.
Even if they die, they revive at the street stall, so trying to escape just leads to being hit by nearby monsters and dying repeatedly in an infinite loop.
If they're lucky, another high-level user passing by might help, but such miracles are too rare a possibility.
In the end, most newbies had to delete their dearly raised characters with tears in their eyes to resolve the situation.
What a sad thing.