The Sickly Beauty Craves Potatoes

"It's not like you're heading off to war or anything...."

Grandpa really worries too much. Is this what life is like as a chaebol young lady? It's nice, but the overprotectiveness feels a bit suffocating at times.

Anyway, that wasn't important right now.

"Whoa...."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The moment she stepped inside, her senses shifted completely. It felt like her body was floating in midair, as if she were being sucked into another dimension entirely separate from reality. A bizarre sensation.

This is the Tower? The place people risked their lives to challenge—and the place she'd entered to survive.

As she took a moment to look around in awe, a blue window popped up in front of her.

'Like some hero summoning setup, huh....'

She recalled what Professor Park had explained. The Tower presented humans with choices and demanded contracts in return. Not exactly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unfamiliar— she'd seen setups like this countless times in her past life, whether in games or whatever.

A name. The name she'd be called by inside the Tower, her identity in this world. Choosing a name was a big deal. Even in games, nicknames shaped impressions, just like real names.

Normally, she'd have spent ages picking one. But not now.

"Ha-yeon."

No time for that. She wanted to test this body as soon as possible—what she could do with it. Could she really eat freely, move freely, live freely inside the Tower? Did food taste real, like the doctors and nurses had said?

But beyond naming, other hurdles blocked her path.

"What's with all this...?"

Before properly entering the Tower, there were tons of settings to tweak—not just one or two.

'The doc said it might be a hassle... this must be what he meant.'

This was beyond a little hassle. Exhausted by the endless explanations popping up, Ha-yeon eventually stopped reading them, just skipping through. No one had said skipping caused issues, and honestly, time was precious.

Skip, skip, skip everything....

"Yes!"

No hesitation.

In that instant, a bright light enveloped her body.

*

"...H-Hey...!"

A rough shaking jolted her awake, accompanied by someone's voice. Blinking against the warm sunlight on her eyelids, Ha-yeon slowly opened her eyes.

"Mm...."

"Awake now? Sleeping in a place like this. Adventurers these days are out of their minds."

The woman tsked as she looked down at Ha-yeon. Mid-20s, maybe? Leather armor on top, dagger strapped to her thigh, crossbow at her waist—she screamed "I'm an adventurer!" from head to toe.

Ha-yeon recognized her immediately.

'This is Nelly.'

No need to guess—【Nelly】 floated blatantly above her head.

The guide who led climbers at the Tower's entrance. One of the tutorial NPCs.

What surprised Ha-yeon wasn't just waking up in a new place, breathing and moving like it was real. No, Nelly looked just like a real person.

'She's insanely lifelike.'

Even knowing she was a Tower NPC, the quality was so high she'd have been fooled otherwise.

As Ha-yeon stared in quiet admiration, Nelly snapped.

"Quit dawdling. Let's move!"

Ding-!

A window appeared before Ha-yeon's eyes with Nelly's shout.

'A trial, huh.'

Super game-like. Reality overlaid with all sorts of rules.

"Ooh...."

But what caught Ha-yeon's eye was something else.

'Potatoes? They give potatoes?'

Steamed potatoes. Fluffy ones with steam rising, perfect dipped in salt or sugar, or slathered in butter like at a rest stop!

And she could get them as tutorial rewards! Saliva pooled in Ha-yeon's mouth.

"Potatoes, pleeease...."

"Hmph. Clear the quest, and I'll give 'em."

No dice, even begging. The fastest way to potatoes was clearing the quest.

Realizing that, Ha-yeon focused.

"I'll call you Apprentice. Hey, Apprentice."

"Yeah, Nelly!"

"Call me Instructor. Anyway, ever fought wild beasts?"

Neither in this life nor her past. Ha-yeon shook her head vigorously.

Nelly snorted, as if she'd expected it.

"Figured. We're hunting horned rabbits from now on."

"Horned rabbits!"

"Cute, but still beasts. Lowest grade or not, never let your guard down."

Ha-yeon nodded furiously.

"I'll show you first. Watch closely."

Nelly's main weapon was a dagger. She drew the one from her thigh, approached a horned rabbit, and swung swiftly.

Shwick-!

Kyaang-!

The rabbit let out a pitiful cry and collapsed.

"Got it? That's how."

"Just catch horned rabbits?"

"Yeah. First time, so let's keep it simple—five."

The trial details in the bottom right updated right after Nelly spoke. Real-time response to climber actions.

'Nice.'

Ha-yeon took the dagger from Nelly and charged forward. A low-intelligence lowest-grade beast, the horned rabbit, welcomed her.

Shwick-!

Ha-yeon's movements were lightning-fast. Fueled by potato craving, no hesitation in her strikes.

Kyaang-!

It took less than five minutes to kill five horned rabbits. Impressively quick for a beginner, even against the weakest beasts.

Nelly muttered in disbelief from the side.

"...Didn't you say no hunting experience?"

"Yep! First time. But I got all five now."

Hand over the potatoes already. She didn't say it, but the meaning was clear.

Nelly smiled, satisfied.

"This newbie's got potential. Real talent."

Notifications flooded in, but Ha-yeon only saw one thing.

"From now on, as a full adventurer, you can use skills pro—"

"Potatoes!"

"...The potatoes are in your inventory. Wanna check?"

Nelly faltered at Ha-yeon's urgency, her explanation cut short.

Ha-yeon flailed her hand desperately. The Tower's power opened her personal storage: the inventory. And there they were.

"Waaah!"

"That good, huh? Most adventurers don't care for it...."

Nelly trailed off. Ha-yeon couldn't fathom why.

What's wrong with potatoes? Not even raw—they're perfectly steamed!

She'd understand soon enough.

"Ptooey! What is this?!"

Ha-yeon turned at the voice nearby. A man had bitten into a potato, his face twisting in disgust.

"Some are too tough, others undercooked! How am I supposed to eat this crap?!"

No salt or sugar either....

Nelly's expression darkened as the man grumbled and stashed his potato in his inventory. It made sense— to adventurers, Nelly's steamed potatoes were emergency rations, like hardtack or jerky. Quality wasn't the point.

That's why Nelly had worried Ha-yeon might react the same.

Nom.

"...?"

But Ha-yeon was different. By the time Nelly looked, the potatoes in her hands were gone.

Ha-yeon met Nelly's wide-eyed stare and muttered.

"They're delicious. Picky eaters like that deserve bad karma."

"R-Really?"

"This is top-notch."

Nelly panicked. Objectively, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they weren't that good. She figured Ha-yeon was just being nice, but nope.

'After months of that watery gruel, these hit different. Want more already.'

Ha-yeon's hospital porridge was thinner and blander than most—rice ground fine and boiled forever to spare her stomach, basically flavored water. To her, Nelly's potatoes were gourmet.

Undercooked or tough? Didn't matter. These were the best thing she'd eaten lately.

Nom nom. Smacking her lips, Ha-yeon spoke up.

"Nelly, Nelly. More potatoes? Pretty please?"

"...That tasty? I don't even like 'em."

"Super tasty! Gimme more, yeah?"

Others' reactions to her potatoes?

'Potatoes? Just gonna take up inventory space.'

'No alternatives?'

'Can I skip this?'

Not many spat outright like that guy, but few liked them. To Nelly, Ha-yeon's whining for more was refreshing.

"Want more potatoes?"

"Yes!"

"Then new mission. No bonus points, but clear it for extra potatoes."

The quest window updated. Same conditions, but only potatoes as reward—no EXP.

Climbers could farm infinite potatoes this way, but who would stick around in the tutorial for meh potatoes and no EXP?

Normal climbers would leave. But Ha-yeon?

"What's the next mission?"

Ha-yeon wanted potatoes. Lots of them.