Chapter 3
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Delivery into the Dungeon
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[Skill activates.]
[Searching for the location of the hungry hunter inside the dungeon.]
[Detecting with Delivery Navigation...]
[Prioritizing the hungry hunter in the nearest dungeon location.]
Ding!!.
A chime rang out.
Just a few seconds later, another notification appeared.
[A-Rank Hunter, Min Hae-yul captured!]
[Please use the skill to connect with the corresponding hunter.]
"[Taking Your Order, Customer!]"
Chae-ryeon had her doubts about whether this would work, but her eyes flew wide open in shock.
[Trying to connect via Talk.]
Ding-
[A message has arrived from 'Min Hae-yul'.]
'Whoa, it really worked!'
A hunter who straightforwardly used their real name as their nickname had placed an order.
Even though she hadn't listed any menu items yet!
ㅇㅁㅇ???
Uh... Delivery is possible here?
Caught off guard by the customer's sudden question, Chae-ryeon flinched as Delicious Waitress Mimi patted her back firmly.
"Boss! Order!"
"Y-Yeah!"
Chae-ryeon pondered what nickname to use, then just slapped something together.
Yes. Food orders to dungeons are possible. Customer^^
Strike first and think later. She had to clear that quest!
Min Hae-yul, an A-Rank offensive fire mage, was a fresh-faced hunter who had only recently awakened.
'Me! I became a hunter!'
And not just any hunter—he'd awakened as a high-ranking A-Rank fire mage, which was an incredible stroke of luck for him.
He reveled in the thrill, as exhilarating as getting into his top-choice university on early admission... but that joy didn't last long.
[Food from outside the dungeon cannot be brought inside.]
[Violators will be permanently banned from entering the dungeon.]
"...What?"
Min Hae-yul's face drained of color as he read the cruel rule that applied to all dungeons.
"I-Is this for real?"
"Guess you didn't know? This is the number one hurdle every awakened hunter has to overcome first."
One of his guild teammates, who had scouted him, answered with a mix of kindness and brutality. Hae-yul felt like the sky was falling.
'If I miss even one meal, my skill incurs a penalty...!'
To his misfortune, his unique skill [Lord of Hellfire!] converted the food he ate into energy.
[Unique Skill: [Lord of Hellfire!]]
[Hellfire is perfect for burning calories! Eat all you want—no worries about weight gain since it all fuels the flames! But if you use it without eating... your life force might be at risk...? Not just anyone can handle hellfire!]
This trait suited him perfectly since he ate five meals a day, so he'd cheered when he first checked it.
'No more worrying about gaining weight every time I eat!'
...That naive bliss had lasted until yesterday.
The news hit him like a bolt from the blue, especially since he'd planned to pack all sorts of snacks regardless.
Pale as tofu, Hae-yul tremblingly asked his teammate.
"Th-Then what do we eat inside the dungeon? We can't fight without eating something..."
He prayed desperately that the answer wouldn't be "nothing."
"Oh, that? We hunt monsters living in the dungeon and eat them, or forage the plants growing inside."
The response was even worse than he'd feared.
"P-Pardon? Eat what?"
"Monster meat from inside the dungeon, or plants, roots, fruits growing there."
"...Is that tasty?"
He had a bad feeling even before asking.
"Haha. Of course not! If dungeon ingredients were tasty, guilds would've been selling them ages ago."
"..."
"They're inedible for humans, so no one sells them. You've never seen monster meat from dungeons outside, right? They'd get complaint calls calling them crazy if they tried."
"..."
"Same reason alchemists only use dungeon plants for potions. They look fine on the outside, but many are poisonous or too acidic. In short, only stuff too harsh for humans survives in dungeons. Haha!"
Resignation and a hint of madness seeped through the teammate's expression and tone.
"I... see..."
"It's a rule for all awakened hunters worldwide—no escaping it. Top hunters banded together to try breaking it, but it didn't work, so they gave up."
"Oh my god..."
'This isn't some joke...'
Only then did Hae-yul realize he was screwed.
'This is bad.'
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
'I already signed the guild contract thinking there'd be no issues. I took the best terms assuming my skill had no penalties...'
Hunters were generally divided into offensive, defensive, support, and creation types.
Offensive and defensive types were core for dungeon raids, so guilds offered favorable contracts.
But breaching them meant massive penalties in both hunter gold and regular currency.
Hae-yul had been a recent college grad fretting over job hunting.
He'd built a solid resume and lived diligently, but rejections piled up, fueling his anxiety.
Then boom—A-Rank awakening! He seized the chance and signed with a top private guild on prime terms.
The signing bonus was already spent repaying student loans and treating his parents.
'Wh-What do I do...?'
Revealing the penalty now might make the strict guild finance manager demand penalties—a sum no newbie could handle.
'Not that.'
As Hae-yul slumped simulating the grim scenario, a teammate mistook it for worry and comforted him.
"Don't stress too much. Just eat to survive while you're in there."
"...Yeah."
"If you're picky, it'll be tough... but no choice if you wanna live as a hunter. Better accept it quick—sincere advice."
"Got it..."
Hae-yul, who ate a lot and was picky about flavors, found the comfort more despairing.
The guild even handed out plastic bags for vomiting to raid teams.
The guild alchemist's words to new offensive and defensive hunters were shocking too.
"I'd love to give hunter-exclusive potions... but ingestible ones for stomach issues get sliced by the dungeon."
'Oh my god.'
Hae-yul nearly dropped his precious potion, but quick reflexes saved it.
"So new recruits, stock up on emergency potions for after raids. Guild supplies are limited."
"Y-Yes..."
Hae-yul wanted to cry.
'...What if I can't stomach dungeon critter food?'
Beyond the bonus, the real terror was losing access to his unique skill.
[Lord of Hellfire!] relied on his calorie intake.
Miss a meal, and with no calories, he might not attack monsters at all.
That'd burden his whole raid team—dungeons were group projects, not solos.
'But I can't muster the courage to tell anyone...'
Hae-yul bottled up his despair and confessed to no one in the guild.
Thus, his first raid day arrived.
Sleepless from worry, the dungeon reality he faced was brutal.
Halfway through, they paused for a meal break.
"Urk!"
The fruits and monster meat from the tropical-zone-like dungeon tasted like the worst thing ever—far more revolting than imagined. One bite, and Hae-yul puked.
"Whoa, newbie. You okay?"
"Aigoo. What now? Gotta eat this stuff forever in dungeons..."