Chapter 47
“Of course we should pick everything up! I’ll just store it in my inventory—well, subspace—for now, and divide it later!”
Normally, loot like this would automatically be shared among party members.
But it seemed this place didn’t have that kind of system.
Well, can’t be helped. I’ll just cram it all into my inventory and sort it out afterward.
I started gathering up the items dropped by the monsters—money, crafting materials, and mana stones.
The Thorned Bear even dropped what looked like a valuable gemstone.
Come to think of it, those sharp stones on its back looked just like this one.
I opened the pop-up window to check the item. It was obsidian.
‘…Seriously? A bear covered in obsidian spikes?’
Apparently, yes—that terrifying creature was something we had just defeated.
At any rate, selling it to a shop would fetch a nice sum.
Or I could keep it as a crafting material.
As my crafting proficiency grew, I’d be able to make better gear—and that required gemstones like these.
Usually, to gather such materials, you’d have to grind endlessly in a mine or pay a fortune in the marketplace.
But there weren’t even listings for this kind of gem on the market board.
So, to have it drop for me like this—what a blessing.
After finishing looting, I hurried after my party, panting.
‘Man… I want a pet that auto-loots items.’
In the game world, there were not only rideable pets but also cute little helper pets that picked up items for you.
I used to have one—a baby emperor penguin.
That, too, was something I’d gotten from Sohyun.
‘It was so cute…’
I missed it—my sweet little Pengsoon, the best companion penguin ever: adorable, helpful, perfect.
Just thinking about her made my chest ache.
But, well, calling for her wouldn’t make her appear.
Lost in thought, I noticed my mana was running low again, so I downed another mana potion.
‘Whoa, it all fit in one gulp. Amazing.’
That was enough liquid to make my stomach burst—but somehow, it just went down easily.
And barely had I stashed the empty bottle back into my inventory when—
“More incoming! Everyone, get ready!”
Leo, sensing new monsters, cast a protective spell on Darren and shouted.
Flap, flap!—heavy wings cut through the air as a massive black eagle landed in front of us.
Like the Thorned Bear, its eyes glowed crimson, and its claws were long enough to tear out a person’s throat.
The only difference was that this one didn’t have obsidian crystals growing from its back.
But all mid-tier monsters and above in the Silva Grove Forest dungeon carried poison that slowed recovery.
Meaning, that eagle’s claws and beak were venomous too.
And of course, monsters never came alone.
This time, tree-like monsters were lumbering toward us alongside the eagle—
their roots moving like tentacles, branches swinging like arms to grab and strike.
They looked terrifying, but fortunately, they were slow, which made them easier opponents.
‘Fire and Ice bullets are perfect against these wood monsters.’
Their elemental weakness worked to our advantage.
In Eastern philosophy’s Five Elements, wood and fire are opposites, after all.
And being tropical plants, they were vulnerable to the cold as well.
“I’ll freeze the eagle first! If it takes flight, we’ll lose our melee advantage!”
I shouted, launching an Ice Bullet toward the eagle.
The massive creature froze solid in an instant—like an emblem of the U.S. Department of Defense turned into an ice sculpture.
That was our cue to deal with the tree monsters quickly.
Maybe because our teamwork had improved since the first fight,
we managed to finish this battle even faster than the last.
We gathered the loot, moved on, fought again—third battle, fourth battle…
“Agh, I’m dying. Are these things getting stronger or what?”
Darren groaned, collapsing to the ground.
His wounds had already been healed, but the exhaustion remained.
He sprawled on the dirt and leaves without caring how filthy it was.
“Yeah… I can feel it too. They’re getting stronger.”
Even as we grew more coordinated, the monsters were clearly tougher each time.
“I’m starving…”
I hugged my stomach and groaned weakly. Ferdia looked at me, eyes wide.
“You’re still hungry? Even after chugging all those potions? That’s kind of impressive.”
“Ugh, potions don’t fill you up, you know.”
I sniffled dramatically, wiping under my nose for effect.
Adrian checked the time, then spoke.
“Hmm. It’s almost lunchtime. Let’s take a short break.”
He reached into his pack—and pulled out some dry bread and shriveled sandwich pieces.
“Wait, wait!”
I raised my hand to stop him.
We were exhausted and starving. How could we possibly go on with that?
What we needed now was high-calorie, high-protein, high-nutrition food!
“I’ve got everything ready, hehe.”
I proudly pulled out a portable cutting board and cooking utensils from my inventory—
and a bundle of dry firewood and a matchbox.
“…?”
Adrian stared at me like I’d just performed magic.
His expression said, When did you even pack all that?
“The harder the work, the better we should eat.”
I grinned as I laid everything out neatly.
“Darren, go start the fire with this wood.”
“Huh? Uh… okay.”
Camping meant one thing: K-barbecue.
Sure, this wasn’t a camping ground—it was the middle of a battlefield—but that didn’t mean we couldn’t grill meat!
“Leo, this is a portable chair. Set it up over there. Rena, you handle the greens and sauce, please.”
I began grilling fresh meat on the portable grill, directing everyone like a general at war.
They looked confused at first—but once the delicious smell of sizzling meat filled the air, they all fell in line.
Thus began our K-BBQ in the dungeon.
Pork belly, pork neck, and juicy grilled matsutake mushrooms—
a perfect feast.
“…Oh wow.”
Darren made a strange noise as he lifted a grilled mushroom with his chopsticks.
He seemed unsure if it was right to eat mushrooms after we’d just been fighting mushroom monsters.
“Eat, eat. Food is life.”
Koreans take meals seriously.
I placed a slice of perfectly grilled pork neck on my tongue, a dab of wasabi on top.
The chewy texture and subtle spice washed away all the greasiness—it was divine.
God, did I really make this?
All glory to my cooking mentor, Chef Beth!
Lost in self-admiration, I noticed everyone staring at me blankly.
“What? Eat! Hurry up! There’s salad too.”
I’d even prepared salad for Adrian, who preferred lighter food.
Of course, I added some chicken breast—everyone needs protein.
Ferdia snorted quietly, amused by the absurdity of the situation,
then popped a piece of pork belly into his mouth. His eyes widened.
“Holy crap, this is amazing.”
The curse slipped out naturally.
He started making lettuce wraps—meat, sauce, garlic—and chowed down enthusiastically.
Very fitting for someone from a K-game world.
Seeing him eat like that, the others followed suit.
“Man, when I get back to Mid Isle, I’m totally learning to cook from Beth. You’re incredible, Elaine.”
“Seriously. Is there anything you can’t do, Lady Elaine?”
Darren and Leo both looked at me with sparkling eyes.
Even Adrian—usually picky—was quietly eating the salad, occasionally picking up a piece of meat.
Rena, too, was happily munching away, cheeks full.
Watching them all eat so well filled me with pride.
I almost felt full just seeing them eat… almost.
Realistically, though, I still ate the most.
Since the food was my own cooking, a Meal Buff appeared—
faster health and mana recovery!
A perfect effect for dungeon exploration.
“Oh, no wonder I feel stronger already. Is it just me?”
“Hmm, I think my mana’s regenerating faster too, bro.”
Judging by Darren and Leo’s reactions, the buff applied to everyone, not just me.
“Well then, shall we get moving again?”
Reinvigorated by the meal buff, Darren jumped to his feet, axe in hand—
—but was immediately stopped.
“Hold on. Aren’t you forgetting something?”
It was Ferdia.
“Ah.”
Darren scratched his buzzed head sheepishly.
There wasn’t much food waste left, so cleanup was easy—
but there was the matter of the campfire.
“If you don’t extinguish your fire properly after cooking in the forest, it can cause a huge wildfire. It’s dangerous.”
Ferdia scolded as he shoveled dirt over the embers.
He wasn’t wrong, so everyone pitched in to make sure not a single spark remained.
Come to think of it, even back in Korea, wildfires often started because people didn’t clean up after campfires properly.
That’s why open flames are usually banned in national parks.
Realizing I hadn’t thought that through when choosing the menu, I felt a twinge of guilt.
When I apologized, Ferdia just smiled.
“No worries. We herbalists get sick of cold meals too. Sometimes we cook like this when we’re out in the field.
As long as you put the fire out properly, it’s fine.”
His grin was bright and easygoing.
