Potatoes Are Delicious!

"Mmm..."

Dazzling light filled her vision. Ha-yeon instinctively squeezed her eyes shut and scrunched up her face.

She'd been happily munching away on potatoes. What the heck was this?

A brief wave of dizziness passed, and Ha-yeon slowly came to her senses, piecing together the situation.

...Ah.

Then it hit her. The explanation after clearing the 1st floor: after a set time, you'd be forcibly ejected.

It was one of the warnings given before entering the Tower.

If you cleared the 1st floor while under external management, you'd be automatically expelled after the allotted time.

She'd completely forgotten.

The forest with Nelly had felt so much like a game, and this was real life. The immersion had been too strong; it took her a while to realize.

When she opened her eyes, she saw the familiar white ceiling and faint smell of disinfectant.

"...Huh?"

Turning her head, she found the hospital room packed with people.

"Ooh, Ha-yeon. Are you okay?"

"Miss Ha-yeon, are you with us?"

Her grandfather, Chairman Song Han-su, Professor Park Min-su—who'd advised on the Tower strategy—and several medical staff.

"Yeeeah..."

She answered weakly, trying to sit up, when someone hurried over to support her back.

"Don't push yourself. You cleared the 1st floor and passed out inside the Tower, then got ejected."

Ah, right. She'd lingered after finishing the 1st floor and missed the forced exit timer.

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

"But there's no major issue. It seems like temporary fatigue buildup."

At those words, Chairman Song Han-su let out a sigh of relief.

"How was it in there? Wasn't too tough?"

"Nope! It was fun!"

She nodded vigorously.

Song Han-su hesitated a moment before asking, "How was it? Did you run around and eat yummy stuff?"

"Yeah!"

Nod nod—

Ha-yeon recalled the recent events so vividly, a happy smile spreading across her face.

"Really? What'd you eat?"

"Potatoes!"

"Potatoes...?"

Song Han-su tilted his head. Potatoes were tasty enough, but enough to react like this?

Meanwhile, Professor Park Min-su and the medical staff—who knew a thing or two about the Tower—reacted even more intensely.

Potatoes? What's that? Is there food like that?

The tutorial reward potatoes in the beginner zone, right?

Ugh, those are the absolute worst...

And she says they're delicious?

The tutorial potatoes handed out by the 1st-floor guides were infamous among Tower veterans.

Basically cold and crumbly, and if you were unlucky, completely raw—like chomping on raw potatoes.

Worse than real-world potatoes, they hammered home that the Tower wasn't kind.

Climbers felt the harsh reality from those potatoes, pondering deeper what it meant to be a Tower adventurer.

In short: utterly nasty potatoes.

Seeing Ha-yeon beam innocently about how delicious they were made the medical staff's hearts ache.

She's only ever had plain rice porridge... doesn't know what real flavor is.

Of course anything would taste good...

Poor kid.

Ha-yeon's so pitiful.

Their pitying gazes turned to Ha-yeon.

Coming straight from filming her joyful potato mukbang, she found it baffling.

Then, a doctor checking her test results spoke up.

"Your condition is stable. Rest another 30 minutes, then we'll decide on re-entry."

"Yay!"

Ha-yeon pumped a tiny fist from the bed.

Gotta get back in quick and eat more potatoes.

Even as she ate her usual tasteless rice porridge for nutrition, Ha-yeon grinned nonstop.

Watching her, Professor Park Min-su—who'd been pitying her along with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the staff—gave her a heads-up.

"...Miss Ha-yeon, once you get past the 1st floor, there are way tastier things than potatoes."

"Tastier than potatoes?"

"Yeah. Lots more."

"Right, Ha-yeon. Eat lots of yummy stuff on the next floor..."

Having gauged the situation from the staff's reactions, Chairman Song Han-su's eyes reddened.

Ha-yeon found this baffling too.

Is Grandpa going through a female hormone surge these days?

Well, at his age, maybe—

She shrugged it off.

As she nodded along, Professor Park Min-su spoke up.

"If you at least reach the Novice Village, I could help."

"Novice Village?"

"It's like this..."

He explained briefly.

The area Ha-yeon had been in was the 1st-floor tutorial zone, Beginner's Forest. Exit that, pass through the neutral zone, and you'd reach Novice Village.

"From there, even high-level users can enter."

"If you make it to the village, I can help! I'm on the 20th floor!"

"I've got low-level gear!"

Park Min-su and the staff puffed out their chests, urging her to rely on them.

But...

"It's okay. I'll try solo first."

"Ah."

"Shot down..."

All rejected by Ha-yeon.

It stemmed from differing views on the Tower. Ha-yeon wanted to eat delicious food like in a game; they focused on personal growth and money.

Ha-yeon was the unusual case, really.

What kind of people were Koreans, after all? Start a game, gotta win it—level up, aim for ranker status.

There were climbers like Ha-yeon who enjoyed gourmet food, farming, fishing—lifestyle stuff—but combat enthusiasts dominated.

And solo's more comfy anyway.

"I've gotten close with Nelly, and wandering solo sounds fun!"

I haven't seen much yet, after all.

She added wistfully, and the room fell silent.

Chairman Song Han-su sniffled, holding back tears, as a bonus.

Ha-yeon felt like she'd unlocked the secret to handling people around her.

"Oh, any restaurant spots? Like where NPCs cook."

"Those are after the low floors."

A small inn on the 15th, fancy restaurants in the Imperial Capital, Eastern night markets.

Just hearing about them made Ha-yeon's mouth water—but all pie in the sky.

"You'll reach them naturally climbing past Novice Village."

Novice Village, huh...

After finishing with Park Min-su, Ha-yeon shoveled down her porridge while searching Tower info.

From her current 1st floor to the areas he'd mentioned.

Staying in Beginner's Forest eating potatoes with Nelly was great, but she couldn't linger forever.

She felt bad mooching Nelly's rations, and potato burnout was inevitable.

Better set a simple goal, even if not a final destination.

And as always, that goal was...

"Delicious food..."

She was deep in searches for Tower eats and low-floor recipes when...

"...!"

Something caught her eye.

A post like someone had uploaded it, with a boar image attached to prove the encounter.

Tail fur dyed red like flames. The boar stood imposingly, snorting fiercely.

True to its "newbie shredder" title, it looked plenty vicious.

But Ha-yeon fixated for a different reason.

Meat...!

Drool—

Her mouth watered automatically. Her next goal was set.

*

"You're leaving?"

"Yeah!"

The next day, back in the Tower, Ha-yeon bid Nelly farewell first thing.

Nelly blinked her big eyes repeatedly, then nodded.

"Right... You're an adventurer too. Of course you'd leave."

A bittersweet reaction.

Ha-yeon replied in a voice full of cheer. "What, you want me to stay?"

"Hah! How many adventurers pass through here? As if I'd hold you back."

Just hurry up and go already.

Nelly grumbled, her ears slightly red.

Seeing that, Ha-yeon's lips curved up slyly.

To some, just an NPC—an AI conjured by the Tower. But to Ha-yeon, Nelly was her first friend here.

That made the farewell feel extra special, inevitably.

"I'll come back, so steam some potatoes, got it?"

"Is your head full of nothing but potatoes...?"

Nelly eyed her like she was hopeless, then suddenly wiped the smile from her face.

After a thoughtful pause, she pulled something from her bosom.

"Take this."

"This is...?"

A dagger. A gleaming blade that seemed alive—unlike the practice one Nelly had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠given before. Top-quality at a glance, and rare-looking.

Nelly handed it over. "My dagger. It'll help on your journey."

At that moment, a notification popped up in Ha-yeon's vision.