The Steel Food Cart Rolls Out

The son of Count Besgo, who was being held hostage nearby, asked in utter bewilderment, "Shouldn't we be... hunting down the remaining members of the Idergo Cult in the kingdom right now?"

"The will of the gods is sometimes difficult to comprehend," Tae-hyun replied casually.

"?"

"Mastering magic, cooking, and singing skills might just be the path to subjugating the Idergo Cult..."

"..."

At Tae-hyun's words, Count Besgo's son stared at him as if he had lost his mind.

What kind of absolute nonsense is this?! There were plenty of ways to catch an enemy off guard, but no matter how hard he thought about it, cooking and singing were definitely not among them. What did that have to do with wiping out the Idergo Cult?!

As Tae-hyun spoke, it suddenly occurred to him: why was he even bothering to convince Count Besgo's son?

Wait, now that I think about it, do I really need to coddle this guy?

He had rescued him, hadn't done anything particularly bad to him (well, aside from whipping him with a flame whip once or twice), and had treated Count Besgo quite well...

"Well, if it's too hard for you to understand, so be it. Farewell."

"Wh-what?"

"Why the shocked face? Go home. I'll come collect my quest reward later, so make sure you have it ready."

"No... wait a minute! The Idergo Cult will target me again..."

"Figure it out yourself. Why are you whining to me? Besides, you have Count Besgo. Ask him to protect you."

At Tae-hyun's words, Cain nodded in agreement. Seeing how terrifyingly strong Count Besgo was, just staying by his side would guarantee absolute safety!

"Uh..."

"?"

Tae-hyun tilted his head. Why was this guy hesitating?

"Don't tell me you're a fake? You're not actually Count Besgo's son?"

"No, I am! What kind of person do you take me for?!"

"Then what's the issue?"

"Well... I'm a bastard son, and I've... caused quite a few accidents..."

Beside them, Cain clapped his hands together and chimed in. "Ah, I know that feeling! Whenever I mess up, I hate facing Kim Tae-hyun, so I always sneak back to the lodging super late!"

"...Is that so?"

"Ah. No. I mean, that's not what I meant."

Count Besgo's bastard son, Dorango, was a notorious troublemaker. Not only had he squandered the family fortune, but he had also completely neglected his swordsmanship and magic training in favor of living a life of pure debauchery...

...

Whether Tae-hyun could actually reconcile this guy with Count Besgo was highly questionable, but there was no harm in trying.

"What a garbage quest," Tae-hyun muttered.

"It really is a garbage quest," Cain agreed.

In any game, there were always quests with absurdly high difficulty but completely underwhelming rewards. Beginners would think, Whoa, maybe there's some hidden reward? but veterans were never fooled. Believing in such nonsense was a one-way ticket to getting forced into a trash class.

"The Idergo Cult might come after me again! As a hero, shouldn't you protect me?" Dorango protested.

"Listen to this punk. Did you leave your brain somewhere? Do you think heroes are charity workers?"

At Tae-hyun's words, the members of the Power Warrior Guild nodded in agreement and began to berate Dorango.

"Exactly, you brat! Do you have any idea how busy Lord Tae-hyun is?!"

"Lord Tae-hyun has to lead our food cart expedition! Go ask someone else to save the continent!"

The sheer shamelessness of the Power Warrior Guild members was enough to make even Tae-hyun marvel. Even if the Idergo Cult were to destroy the entire continent, these guys would probably be standing right next to the apocalypse selling popcorn!

"Please, just save my life!"

Grasping the reality of his situation instantly, Dorango threw himself forward and clung to Tae-hyun's ankles!

Watching this, Lee Da-bi tilted her head and asked, "Wait, is he an NPC from the Archisus Church?"

"Fine. I suppose I can collect a hefty ransom... I mean, a generous reward from your family eventually."

Tae-hyun permitted Dorango to tag along. While reconciling him with Count Besgo seemed like an incredibly high-difficulty task, simply letting him follow them around wasn't a problem at all.

But seriously... does this guy not realize that the Idergo Cult holds a much bigger grudge against me than him? Tae-hyun thought to himself.

Of course, Dorango had immense value as a hostage, but his infamy with the cult couldn't possibly compare to Tae-hyun's. If you offered the Idergo Cult a hundred Dorangos, they wouldn't trade them for a single hair on Tae-hyun's head!

"So, Power Warrior chefs. Where are we heading first?"

"Hehe. Lord Tae-hyun."

Having composed themselves, the Power Warrior Guild members spoke with as much dignity as they could muster.

"Do you know where the hottest spot on the continent is right now?"

"Let's see... Sky Island and the Prica Continent have become quite popular since they're less chaotic than the Central Continent. Lee Se-yeon's Asbian Empire is also doing well... and though it's a bit embarrassing for me to say, my Atali Kingdom is pretty popular too."

"Hehehe. No, it's not."

"?"

It wasn't? Usually, the most popular places were areas where players could focus on hunting, had plenty of rest spots, and offered various forms of entertainment.

"It's the Auston Kingdom."

"...Isn't that the most dangerous place right now?"

"And within that danger lies absolute fortune!" the Power Warrior Guild members declared passionately.

Where would food or potions sell for the highest price? On a peaceful cruise ship? Absolutely not. It was right next to a brutal, blood-soaked battlefield!

Well, that makes sense, but...

Tae-hyun asked, still skeptical, "Usually, the people who set up shop in those places are affiliated with major guilds, or they're chefs protected by high-level combat rankers, right?"

The combat power of the Power Warrior Guild wasn't supposed to be that high.

"Hehehe. Lord Tae-hyun."

"Do you have to say 'hehehe' every single time you speak?"

"...Lord Tae-hyun, we've grown much stronger too! We even have several rankers now!"

"Wait... wasn't that just false advertising?"

He had genuinely thought it was a scam! But it wasn't. Power Warrior had built up their forces to the point where they could actually field a decent combat unit. On top of that, they possessed the Dagger Squad and the Sniper Squad, both of which had been created under Tae-hyun's influence. Although their combat style was far from conventional, they possessed a terrifying power that could make even top-tier rankers tremble under the right circumstances.

And finally...

"The Mechanical Engineering Blacksmiths help us out quite a bit too."

"I... see."

A connection he really didn't want to know about! While the Power Warrior Guild members were busy selling food on the battlefield, the eccentric engineering blacksmiths would set up shop right next to them, stockpiling massive amounts of explosives. Just as food sold like hotcakes, so did bombs!

"And if they don't sell, we just use them ourselves to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠level up our skills."

"...Right."

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

To think they were doing such unhinged things behind the scenes...

"Anyway, if it's a good place to level up our skills, I understand. Let's get ready."

"If you need any ingredients, just let us know!"

"No, I'm not preparing ingredients right now."

"?"

Clatter!

Tae-hyun emptied a massive pile of engineering materials from inside Towangi.

"Setting up a stall every single time is tedious and time-consuming. It's better to maximize our efficiency," Tae-hyun explained.

"As expected...!"

"This will grant a buff to our cooking skills and even help us in combat!"

"But why didn't you guys make something like this before? You've been hanging around the engineering blacksmiths all this time."

It wasn't like Tae-hyun was building some high-tech, AI-driven steel carriage; he was simply modifying a standard carriage to fit a cauldron, while boosting its defensive stats. It would be weaker than his usual creations, but it wasn't a high-difficulty item to craft.

"They said they don't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠make anything other than bombs..."

"...Right."

Regretting even asking, Tae-hyun immediately set to work.

"Oh, right. Since it'll be hard for you guys to clear quests while I'm working on my skills, why don't you all go level up on your own for a bit?"

"!"

"!!!"

"Phew..."

"Phew? Don't tell me you were about to say 'vacation'?"

"No! Hyung! Absolutely not!"

The group's eyes sparkled. This was a golden opportunity! Who knew when they would get a break like this again?

"Hyung! I have a Tyrum Hunter quest that I've been putting off! It's a quest to hunt monsters deep in the mountains where the water is clear and the air is fresh. I really want to finish it this time!" Ji-su exclaimed.

"Oh, really? You should have said so earlier... Wait a minute, Ji-su. Didn't you say you usually ignore the quests given by the Tyrum Hunters...?"

It was a vacation! The group dispersed in high spirits. Only Lee Da-bi, who could assist Tae-hyun with his business due to her merchant-related class, remained behind.

"Is it really okay to just let them run wild like that?" she asked.

"Well, it's about time they learned to handle things on their own."

"...?!"

What?! Lord Tae-hyun was actually saying something so reasonable?

"Actually, I assigned a supervisor to them. Cain will be followed by a supervisor."

"Ah, as expected...!"

"Oooooh...!"

"C-can you make more of these?"

"Even if I make more, the difficulty is too low, so it won't help level up my Engineering... but I'll think about it."

At Tae-hyun's words, the Power Warrior Guild members were practically dying of joy. They could already picture themselves leading a massive fleet of these steel food carts across the continent. Time to do business!

"You've packed all the ingredients, right? Good. Let's head to the Auston Kingdom!"

With the Steel Food Cart positioned right in the center of their formation, Tae-hyun ordered the group to march. Since he was still a bit worried about relying solely on the Power Warrior Guild members, he also summoned the Garuda warriors and the Ancient Empire Deserters (knights) who had been idling around his territory. If he didn't exploit them now, when else would he get the chance?!

"Whoa. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠This is insane."

In the distance, the armies of the Erangs Kingdom and the Auston Kingdom were locked in a ferocious battle over a massive fortress. They had apparently hired mercenary NPCs indiscriminately; skills were exploding and magic spells were flying in every direction, creating absolute chaos.

—Charge! Charge! Scale the walls!

—Hey! We're going to get wiped out at this rate! Fall back! Retreat for now!

While the battle raged fiercely at the fortress, the fighting wasn't confined to just that spot. When players' HP ran low, they would retreat to recover. If they were hit with too many debuffs or their equipment durability dropped, they would fall back to repair their gear and receive blessings... The rear lines were surprisingly bustling.

"Hey! Why is the food taking so long?! Hurry up and finish it!"

"We're working as fast as we can!"

"Do you have any idea how much gold we paid the Guild Alliance to get permission to sell here?! We have to make a profit!"

Several culinary guilds had already arrived and set up shop nearby. These were guilds that had paid hefty sums of gold to the Guild Alliance to secure permission to do business in the area. In exchange, the Guild Alliance agreed not to attack them, even if they sold food to the players fighting for the Erangs Kingdom. Having paid such an exorbitant fee, they were determined to sell massive quantities of food to both sides to recoup their losses!

"We're running low on meat! The system says the flavor is lacking!"

"Ah, just sell it anyway! Everyone's too busy to notice! Substitute it with vegetables! It still has the HP recovery effect, right? That's all that matters!"

These chefs were saying things that would make any hard-fighting player grab them by the collar! But just then, an unidentified group appeared behind them.

They surrounded an imposing, majestic Steel Food Cart. With Garuda warriors soaring through the skies and heavily armored Ancient Empire Deserters marching like knights, the group looked incredibly suspicious.

"Aaaah! Ambush! It's an ambush!"

"W-we have permission! We're just chefs!"

The players who had been peacefully doing business shrieked in terror and began to tremble.

"We are..." Tae-hyun began.

"You are?"

"The Erangs Kingdom? The Auston Kingdom? Or perhaps some other..."

Everyone held their breath, waiting in tense anticipation for his next words.

"...just chefs who came here to do business."

"..."

"..."

Why on earth are you so heavily armed just to sell food?!