Chapter 19
Still, I managed to get quite a lot from the tutorial dungeon. The monsters I had obtained while frozen could be traded.
When night fell, Sori finally came to her senses and opened the Hunter Market without leaving work.
“I need to make some money.”
Her balance was zero, which naturally made her anxious.
Do you want to trade Frozen Slime (F) ×10?
“I’ll sell them for 150.”
But the Hunter Market rejected Sori’s request.
Monsters are directly managed by the Hunter Market.
—Selling price is fixed.
It meant she couldn’t set the price freely.
Frozen Slime (F). Selling Price: 50 Gold
“What? I paid 150 to buy them!”
Apparently, the Hunter Market was a shady platform that took huge margins!
“Hmm… not ideal, but if I want to make money immediately, I have no choice, huh?”
Making money by exploiting desperate Awakened people… thieves.
Frozen Slime (F) ×20 sold!
1,000 Gold has been deposited.
“How much for Frozen Goblins?”
She remembered paying 300 Gold when buying them.
Frozen Goblin (F). Selling Price: 100 Gold
The Frozen Goblins were no different.
“Ha, impressive.”
Frozen Goblin (F) ×20 sold!
2,000 Gold has been deposited.
“Oh, I also had ‘Golden Oak Leaves.’ I should sell those too. I picked up five of them.”
Are you sure you want to sell ‘Golden Oak Leaves’?
The system unexpectedly asked for confirmation.
“Why? Is there anything special about them?”
Golden Oak Leaves
—Enhances the flavor of dishes.
“Oh?”
That meant they could increase customer satisfaction.
“Ugh, then I shouldn’t sell them.”
An essential ingredient for the chef had been added.
There was nothing else to sell, so it was time to check her balance.
Balance: 3,010 Gold
“Wow. 3,000 Gold.”
Even without defeating a boss!
But soon, her balance dropped to 2,010 Gold because she bought a Nutrient Niece.
Using Nutrient Niece for fragments.
As the system had said, the edges of the fragment relief were already severely corroded.
If left unattended, pieces could fall off.
“This is serious.”
But she felt a bit unfair.
“What kind of fragments corrode as soon as you get them?”
“It’s because there’s magic in this place.”
Unexpectedly, she heard John’s answer.
“Really?”
It made sense that a restaurant constantly connected to a dungeon would contain magic.
Sori was impressed.
“So I really am Awakened.”
John bit into a banana with a puzzled expression.
The fragment relief soon returned to its original perfection.
Congratulations! The edges of the fragment relief are now clean!
Please claim your reward.
“Rewards… probably nothing special.”
Sori pressed to claim the reward without much expectation.
Obtained ‘Perfect Sori Statue’ from the fragment relief!
—Can be displayed immediately in the restaurant.
“What’s a ‘Perfect Sori Statue’?”
The ‘Perfect Sori Statue’ appeared before her.
It was a white plaster bust, exactly capturing Sori’s face.
She didn’t like it. It wasn’t smiling—it looked like she was sulking!
“…Where am I supposed to display this?”
John appeared from behind, grinning.
“So this is your face!”
He examined it like it was a marvel.
“Stop looking! My face doesn’t look like that! The system is mocking me!”
John tilted his head.
“It looks the same. Why do you say that?”
“You’re mocking me too, right? How does it look the same…!”
Sori grabbed the ‘Perfect Sori Statue’ and ran to the back of the kitchen.
“I can’t carry this in my inventory. I’ll just stash it in storage.”
Why give something useless instead of just gold?
“Time to go home.”
After a long tussle, night had already deepened.
“See you tomorrow, John!”
“Do so.”
John returned to his “garden.”
Alone, Sori tried to open the restaurant door, but the system blocked her view.
Level-up rewards available!
Level-up rewards available!
“Ah.”
She had almost forgotten she leveled up in the dungeon.
“Should I record this?”
The system kept reminding her anyway.
Claim Rewards.
Claiming level-up rewards.
Cooking Skill: Grilling instantly upgraded from C to B!
Cooking Skill: Freezing instantly upgraded from C to B!
Skill: Customer Delight is My Delight upgraded from D to C!
Her most-used skills had leveled up.
“Oh ho.”
Now, F-rank dungeon bosses should be easier to defeat.
Sori imagined herself holding the skin of a boss monster she had just defeated.
“Time to check my skill menu.”
Skills
Passive: Customer Delight is My Delight (C)
Active: Management—Cleanliness is My Power (C), Enjoyable Service (D), Word of Mouth is My Happiness (C)
Cooking—Instant Grilling (B), Instant Freezing (B), Instant Slicing (C)
“Hmm. Satisfying! Now I can really go home. Only left to defeat bosses.”
Even though she’d only recently awakened, she was already excited at the thought of fighting bosses.
‘Am I maybe a genius Awakened?’
She couldn’t help but feel self-important.
Humming a tune, she tried to open the restaurant door, but the system window blocked her again.
Armor is required to defeat bosses!
Use 1 Free Armor Exchange Ticket?
“Oh, right, armor.”
Of course she had to use it.
Using Free Armor Exchange Ticket.
Displaying armor suitable for your level.
The Hunter Market showed the list of armor:
Rune Ring: Reduces enemy attack power by 5%. Price: 600 Gold
Ruby Robe: Increases defense by 8%. Price: 800 Gold
Rune Necklace: Increases evasion against enemy attacks by 10%. Price: 900 Gold
Only three options.
“Hm. Nothing else?”
The system displayed a message:
This is the full list of armor available at your Awakened level.
“Isn’t this stingy? No 50% attack reduction or anything?”
The system was silent.
“Am I being greedy as a newbie? Whatever. Then… the most expensive must be the best.”
Obtained ‘Rune Necklace (D)’!
“What? D-rank? Whatever. Done now, right?”
The system remained silent.
“I’m really going home now. Don’t stop me.”
Sori muttered to the air with a weary face.
She walked home and collapsed instantly, falling asleep with the most relaxed mind. Unaware of what the next day might bring.
Sori could summarize her thoughts since awakening in one sentence:
“Our restaurant menu is too cheap.”
Half-awake, she used the skill ‘Cleanliness is My Power.’
She used to think the prices were insane. But after using the Hunter Market, she realized:
“150 Gold is a very reasonable price, especially for customers coming straight from the dungeon. Right, John?”
John was distracted eating a banana.
“Mm-hmm. Maybe think about that yourself.”
“In that case, how about raising prices from next month?”
Startled, John swallowed a large piece of banana.
“Gak! Gak!”
His face turned red as he searched for water.
Sori quickly handed him a glass, and he gulped it down.
“Why are you in such a rush? No one’s stealing it.”
After drinking, John pouted and complained:
“You scared me with your unnecessary talk!”
“What unnecessary talk?”
“Talking about raising prices!”
“Oh.”
Sori shrugged.
“Why? Prices aren’t fixed forever. Why not raise them a little?”
John exploded with anger:
“How dare you think about raising prices before getting the basics of business down!”
Sori sipped her water with a sulky face.
“Hmph!”
The restaurant was ready for a new day. The floor was clean, tablecloths spotless, napkins and plates in place.
“Hopefully, customers come today.”
Byproduct bags were now optional, but she didn’t want to waste the monsters she had worked to catch.
Restaurant operations began.
Operations started. Ten minutes later…
“Haam.”
Boring. Sori was already nodding off.
“I’m so sleepy.”
Using skills without potions seemed slower to recover than expected.
“Maybe I should drink some coffee?”
“I’ll take one too.”
John chimed in.
“Customers are high maintenance.”
The newspaper arrived today.
The system window appeared.
“Ah, another newspaper? What false rumors this time?”
Sori never liked newspapers, seeing them as full of fake news.
“Oh, the newspaper’s here?”
John looked curious.
“Read it aloud.”
He lay comfortably on a shelf.
Happy Restaurant welcomes its first group of customers!
The new owner’s happy smile reflects the atmosphere. But otherwise, still empty. Marketing needed.
“Hmm. Marketing, huh?”
Did it mean she had to spend money?
She read the next piece of news.
Signs of a new storm at Happy Restaurant!
An S-rank Hunter visit was at the center, and sparks flew between the Hunter and the new owner…
The appearance of this new meeting that would breathe life into the otherwise boring Happy Restaurant will continue next time.
“What nonsense is this? Is this a drama? Isn’t this an invasion of privacy?”
Sori laughed in disbelief.
John grinned mischievously.
“I’m looking forward to it too.”
