The Hunger of the Asbian Empire

The situation in the Asbian Empire was more serious than expected. No, to be precise, it wasn't at the level of disrupting gameplay. Everything players needed was provided. Blacksmiths to craft and repair weapons, merchants to trade—these aspects were quite decent. However, humans couldn't live by gritting their teeth and eating only tasteless food. Especially in a game they came to enjoy!

No matter how little it affected actual gameplay, who would enjoy that? Not many people were like Tae-hyun, who could endure any hardship as long as it raised a stat by 1. People wanted to level up while having fun. No, in fact, they leveled up to have fun. What was the point of raising your level if all you got to eat was rock-hard black bread? ...But most of the cuisine in the Asbian Empire was exactly like that.

The players rushed over in a swarm, only to be greeted by a shop with a single, unified item.

A crazy shop unified under a single item! What did "ancient" even mean for bread? It just meant it was harder and more tasteless.

Since most of the NPCs were undead, no matter how much the players complained, nothing changed. Player merchants from the Central Continent worked hard to transport ingredients back and forth, but there was a limit. First of all, the distance was immense. Perishable items spoiled along the way, and if they were attacked by sea monsters, the losses were devastating. Even the ingredients that did arrive vanished in an instant because of the sheer number of players.

High demand, low supply! And it wasn't just limited to food. Crafting and artistic professions were also in critically short supply. It was common to see players struggling to complete quests because they couldn't find anyone to play an instrument.

'Come to think of it, Towangi is truly amazing.'

Tae-hyun usually ignored him because he was Level 1, but Towangi's utility was astronomical. Storing a near-infinite amount of ingredients while completely ignoring expiration dates! There was a reason why Lee Da-bi occasionally stroked Towangi and said, "You are the most expensive item I own." If the players here knew Towangi's true value, they would lose their minds.

"Huh? Isn't that the flag of the Atali Kingdom?"

"The Atali Kingdom's fleet is here?"

"No way..."

While the players buzzed with excitement, people began disembarking from the ships.

"!!!"

The outfits of those disembarking—anyone with a keen eye could recognize them. That was...

"Ch-Che..."

"Chefs!"

"What?! Out of my way! I'm recruiting them for our guild!"

"Get lost! They're joining our party!"

"Sell me some food! I'll buy anything sweet!"

"Don't give those ingredients to anyone else, sell them to me!"

'It's a madhouse,' Tae-hyun thought to himself as he watched the chaotic harbor. The players here were starved for stimulation, as if they had been living in some remote, isolated wasteland.

"We should do some business here before heading in. Lee Da-bi! Tell them to get ready!"

"Yes!"

"Garuda warriors, Ancient Empire Deserters! Clear some space! Push them back!"

"Yes, sir!"

As soon as the command was given, the players on the ship moved in perfect unison. Seeing them swarm down and secure a perimeter in an instant, the gathered crowd looked on in confusion. What were they trying to do?

Clank, clank—

"Bring down the carts!"

"Light the cauldrons! Prepare to cook!"

"Meat on the left, soups and stews next to it, vegetables on the right, and desserts at the very end! Go to your respective specialties!"

As Tae-hyun's voice boomed across the harbor, buffs were applied to the gathered chefs.

A buff that only someone with the Highest-grade Tactical Skill could use! Once the chefs took their positions according to their specialties, ingredients began pouring out.

"Towang-i! Hang in there!"

Towangi didn't even have the energy to reply as he spat out ingredients.

Mystery monster scraps, potatoes, monster meat, carrots, monster meat, radishes, monster meat, green onions...

"Wait, why is there so much meat?"

"Right? Usually, there should be less meat, shouldn't there?"

The chefs were bewildered by the bizarre phenomenon of more meat appearing than sugar or flour. Where on earth did all this meat come from?

Sizzle—

"Ooh... Ohhh...!"

"It's food! Real food!"

"It's not sand bread, it's a juicy steak! There's rice too!"

"Get in line!"

"They have noodles over there! The broth smells insane!"

The players, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who had been eating nothing but tasteless food, had reached their limit. To them, the aroma of delicious food was nothing short of torture! Even those who had come to recruit chefs for their parties or guilds lost their minds and joined the queue.

"Wow... Wow, this is really..."

"Is this the first time we've had this many people?!"

The chefs who followed Tae-hyun were also flustered. It was their first time dealing with such an overwhelming rush of customers.

"Keep your hands moving!"

"We can't keep up with the speed! No matter how much they eat, more people keep coming!"

"Hey, if you're full, stop coming! Why are you still eating?!"

It was hilarious for chefs to say such things, but they were dead serious. If you've eaten, go away already!

"Don't worry. The ingredients we piled up are almost gone."

"Oh. Really?! When did it shrink this much??"

"We really ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worked hard!"

The chefs suddenly felt a surge of pride. Aren't we kind of amazing? Starting from working with Kim Tae-hyun, we're handling this intense mass cooking without a single hitch...

'I feel like I've grown so much.'

Not just their skill experience, but they felt like they had grown as human beings! Although it was exhausting, the thought of resting soon gave them strength.

And then, the first batch of ingredients was depleted.

"We're done!"

"Phew. Break time! Break time!"

The players waiting in line held up their plates and protested.

"Boo! I haven't eaten yet!"

"We're out of ingredients! Come back next ti—"

Rattle, clatter—

"..."

"..."

The chefs were speechless. The Power Warrior Guild members were running around, completely restocking the ingredients.

The second release of ingredients from inside Towangi!

"M-Mr. Kim Tae-hyun?"

"What?"

Tae-hyun replied without even looking up, his hands moving rapidly. Lee Da-bi was cooking right beside him, seemingly trying to raise her cooking skill during this opportunity as well.

"Are we... not resting?"

"What? Already?"

"...!!"

At Tae-hyun's words, the gathered crowd cheered.

"As expected of Kim Tae-hyun!"

"To do this much for us...!"

"Chefs, stop complaining and work faster! We'll pay!"

"You crazy bastards! Do you know how long we've been working?!"

"Booo! Shut up!"

"Get back to work!"

When thousands of players shouted in unison for them to cook faster, it felt like an absolute, crushing pressure. The chefs could only weep as they picked up their utensils once more.

"Sob, sob. I want to rest..."

"The Steel Food Cart Kim Tae-hyun made is too damn efficient, so we're cooking way too fast..."

"Why did he put a durability bonus on the kitchen knives... we can't even rest..."

Rumors that chefs had arrived at the Asbian Empire's port spread like wildfire, and every single player in the vicinity gathered.

By the time they had cooked enough to satisfy everyone, the chefs were completely wiped out.

"Just take our heads instead, Kim Tae-hyun! We can't do this anymore!"

"Hehehe... Am I... peeling potatoes right now? Right? This is a potato, right?"

"You idiot! That's my head!"

Some of the chefs were starting to lose their minds.

'Advanced 9 at 79%.'

Even after pushing through with this massive volume, 21% was still left!

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

"Don't worry. I'll let you rest now."

"...!!"

"R-Really? Seriously???"

"Yeah. Have you ever seen me lie?"

"I feel like I've seen it a lot..."

"Shh, shut up, you idiot. What if Kim Tae-hyun changes his mind and makes us cook again?"

The chefs wept tears of gratitude and bolted. They planned to find any spot, collapse, and get some sleep!

Lee Da-bi and the Power Warrior Guild members were happily lining up pouches of gold coins.

The massive amount of merchant experience they gained from selling the food! Plus the gold!

The true winners of this culinary chaos were none other than them.

"Tae-hyun! What are you going to do with that food cart?!"

"I don't know. I haven't really thought about it."

"Could we take it and use it?!"

The Power Warrior Guild members asked, their eyes sparkling with greed.

The mobile Steel Food Cart Tae-hyun had built was an incredible item for chefs. It was a cheat-like item that granted various buffs even to unskilled chefs! Furthermore, it contained everything a chef needed—cauldrons, ovens, and various tools. For anyone starting out as a chef, having just this food cart was more than enough.

"If you want to use it, go ahead."

"Th-Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Thanks to Tae-hyun sweeping the area with food, the players were able to satisfy their long-held cravings for the first time in ages. And thanks to that, they received an additional buff!

"To get the remaining cooking experience, I think I'll have to target other people."

"What kind of people?"

"Tribes or nobles..."

Tae-hyun paused mid-sentence.

Oh?

"...All the nobles here are undead, aren't they?"

"That's right..."

Of all people, the ones least likely to eat food!

Kim Hyun-ah had received the port city from Lee Se-yeon and was managing it diligently. Of course, since she also had to level up, she couldn't focus solely on city management.

She would go clear quests, come back to check on things, clear more quests, and check again!

There were all kinds of complaints, but realistically, she had to prioritize what was important! Delicious food was bound to be pushed to the back burner. It wasn't like hunting would stop just because the food tasted bad.

"???"

Kim Hyun-ah stared at the message window in confusion. She could understand if other stats were rising, but why was it saying people were satisfied with the food?

Kim Hyun-ah rushed toward the harbor. What on earth was going on?!