Toriko

It was late at night, the time when most living things should have been asleep.

But the closer it got to midnight, the livelier Bed City became. When the dungeon closed at midnight, all the adventurers still inside would return. Whether they'd come back with a haul or empty-handed, they all needed wine, wine, wine—either to drink their fill in celebration or to drown their sorrows!

Midnight was when the taverns across the city made their big money. Likewise, the Adventurer's Guild, potion shops, monster-material shops, and all the other businesses closely tied to adventurers kept their doors open at this hour.

"Hey, little bro, how'd you do today?"

"Slowly getting better. I'm starting to learn my way around the dungeon. Clearing the Swamp Area is only a matter of time. We made it to that run-down village twice."

"I heard someone's putting together a Strategy Group. It's being led by the Silver-ranked 'Lion' Leon. Should we go check it out?"

"A Strategy Group? No thanks. They're all dungeon fanatics. I'm starting to wonder if the dungeon is their kink."

"Enough talk. Let's go drink! Tonight, we're—hey, look, why's that guy heading out?"

As adventurers returned to the city one after another, a slightly hunched figure went against the flow, heading out of town.

"That guy looks familiar. I think I've seen him around lately."

Nervously, Jack walked up to the Teleportation Gate and entered the dungeon, attracting curious looks from the people around him.

There was less than half an hour until the dungeon closed. Who would choose to go in at a time like this?

The familiar swamp, the familiar dark sky, the familiar foul air.

Over the past few days, he'd led teams numbering in the double digits. He was sick to death of the Swamp Area's scenery. Everyone had a cooldown between dungeon visits, so he could only personally lead one team a day. For the others, all he could do was mark up the map.

Sometimes he felt like his work was even more like that of the Strategy Group than the Strategy Group's own work.

Adventurers always figured that since he could treat the Swamp Area like his own backyard, the later areas couldn't be a problem either. They were always trying to pay him more to take them deeper into the dungeon.

Whenever that happened, Jack could only smile and say, "We'll explore the areas ahead another time."

It wasn't that he didn't want to make money. He'd simply never seen what the map of the areas beyond looked like!

He stood still for a moment and waited.

Clunk!

A wooden chest appeared out of nowhere in front of him. He opened it with practiced ease, and a thick cloud of smoke immediately billowed out.

[You triggered a Teleportation Trap!]

A moment later, Jack appeared inside the fortress, the Boss Room of the Swamp Area. A tall, powerful figure stood there.

He bowed respectfully. "Master."

"Mm," Gong Qiying replied indifferently, appearing in his gargoyle form.

Jack wondered what his master was planning.

It was impossible not to be afraid of him, but the benefits Jack had received from Gong Qiying far outweighed his fear, turning it into awe and respect.

Besides, this man had saved his life.

"How well known are you now?" Gong Qiying asked.

"There's still room to grow," Jack said honestly. "The local adventurers can now light the Beacon Fire and open the fortress gate with relatively few casualties. The only thing they're lacking is exploration of the map. Adventurers from out of town need my help even more. I've become somewhat well known in a small circle, but across the adventurer community as a whole, I'm still..."

"In short, I'm not that important to the adventurers," Jack continued, then trailed off. "If I had newer map information..."

Gong Qiying understood what he was getting at. He wanted a map of the areas beyond.

Gong Qiying had been thinking about that for a while. He could tell Jack what he knew about Blighttown.

But first—

"Take this."

He tossed over a book. Jack caught it quickly and saw several big, glaring words on the cover: The Actor's Self-Cultivation.

"???"

Jack looked utterly confused, then looked up at Gong Qiying.

"From now on, you're a dungeon expert. Make sure you play the part well." Gong Qiying smiled as he grabbed Jack and waved his hand. The fortress's back gate swung open with a crash.

He flew through the air, letting Jack take in the entire view of Blighttown. Then he ordered all the monsters and mechanisms to stay inactive and had Jack walk the routes several times until he knew them well.

At the end, he showed Jack the Campfire. He barely needed any explanation; Jack understood how the whole mechanism worked. He was even quicker on the uptake than Sithran.

"Guide more people here and raise its profile. Become the dungeon authority in the eyes of adventurers. Two tasks." Gong Qiying raised two fingers.

"I can definitely do it!" Jack declared, full of confidence.

He'd seen enough of the Swamp Area. At last, he'd get to work with a new map!

Just as he thought they were done and prepared to take his leave—

"One more thing."

"Go ahead."

"Did you send out what I gave you?"

"The weapons and magic?" Jack nodded repeatedly. "I sent them out through my connections—to the Arcane Cult, the Holy Light Church, and the House of Warriors. They should all receive them in a few days."

"Good. Take these." Gong Qiying sent a wavering ball of white light over to Jack. It was the soul of the giant Curse Frog.

"Try it by the Campfire. This is the chance you've been dreaming of."

"Th-thank you so much."

Jack's heart pounded. The glowing ball in his hands was his chance to become strong!

"And these too." Gong Qiying tossed him a bundle that gave off a rich aroma. It smelled like a jumble of all kinds of food; after just a few sniffs, Jack's stomach was growling.

"What's this...?"

Jack untied the bundle and looked inside. He couldn't quite make sense of what he saw.

Fish with lobster claws, "snakes" with bulging, frog-like heads, mushrooms coated in chocolate, and cabbages that smelled of almonds.

The entire bundle was full of ingredients!? Where had all these bizarre ingredients come from?

[ LOBSTER FISH (SMALL) (FROM TORIKO; ALL ENTRIES BELOW ARE FROM THE SAME SOURCE)]

[MENTAL POWER REQUIRED PER 10 UNITS: 1]

[COMBAT POWER: G--]

[SNAKE FROG]

[MENTAL POWER REQUIRED PER 10 UNITS: 1]

[COMBAT POWER: G-]

[ALMOND CABBAGE]

[MENTAL POWER REQUIRED PER 100 UNITS: 5]

[NO COMBAT POWER]

"These things will become specialties of the dungeon in the future."

Gong Qiying gave a frightening smile. "Go spread the word that the dungeon's hidden areas produce more of these."

Jack blinked.

He didn't understand, but he was deeply shaken.

I feel like I'm crowdfunding the writing of a book.