Food! Paradise!

"Ghru."

Everyone present swallowed involuntarily—not because they were nervous, but because

It smelled amazing!

The fragrances of flowers, fruit, meat, and vegetables. Every imaginable and unimaginable aroma a person could think of had converged into a surging torrent, wildly stimulating everyone's senses.

Aili rubbed her stomach. She had clearly eaten a lot that morning, yet she suddenly felt incredibly hungry.

"Go in and take a look?"

"Let's go in and take a look!"

The tunnel was deep and endless, but there was a glimmer of light at the far end. That faint light made everyone quicken their pace, faster and faster, until it grew into sunlight that filled their vision! With one final step--

The entire world suddenly opened up before them.

Sunlight—blinding sunlight—spilled down from the sky. Although everyone knew that the sun was merely a fake created by the dungeon, they could not help but feel a vigorous vitality that drove away the swamp's gloom in an instant.

An endless plain appeared before them. The green plain was dotted with towering trees that rose from the ground, their branches covered in leaves resembling enormous slices of meat. Pitcher plants filled with beverages hung from the vines. Green onions taller than people were everywhere. Mushrooms with the texture of pudding oozed cocoa. A white river flowed slowly and peacefully. Judging by its smell, it actually carried milk and honey!

In the distance, strange birds and beasts frolicked freely. There were enormous roast pigs with steam pouring from their bodies, male lions whose manes were made of premium sponge cake, koalas with cocoa beans growing on their backs, and mammoths with patterned brown fur.

And at the farthest point, at the very limit of human vision, an enormous plant stood there like an emperor. Its branches drooped beneath the weight of cherry-like fruit and shimmered with the colors of a rainbow. Anyone only had to glance at it to know that it was certainly the most precious existence in the entire area!

This area looked like something out of a fairy tale. Who had not dreamed as a child of a paradise made entirely of food?

Qilajie stared dumbfounded. Just then, a locust suddenly landed on his hand. The insect looked rather strange, with a high, bulging back that seemed to be filled with a brown liquid.

As if possessed, he grabbed the locust and tasted some of the brown liquid.

"Blegh, that's salty." Coming to his senses, he exclaimed, "It's soy sauce?"

Aili crouched down and plucked a dandelion. This dandelion looked quite strange as well, with a fleshy tip.

She hesitated for a moment, then took a small taste.

"This is..." she said incredulously. "It tastes like beef tongue?"

With that precedent set, the others could no longer restrain themselves. Cheering, they rushed into the Gourmet Area.

"Look, look! The trees are covered in bone-in roasted meat!"

"These mushrooms... Huh? Is that chocolate sauce on the caps?"

"This tulip looks so strange. Holy crap, there's garlic inside!"

"These grapes are so tiny, and their color is weird too. Ah, why are they fish roe?"

Timid Priest went the farthest, walking straight to the river. He scooped up some of the white water and took a sip. A warm sensation spread through his entire body. The river was actually flowing with hot milk!

Everyone was immersed in food. Every step brought a new taste experience, and it was far more thrilling than exploring the dungeon!

Even Shuen, who looked the most rigid, was utterly absorbed beside the roast-meat tree. In a short while, he had already gnawed through three roasted meats. The pitcher plants beside the tree contained every beverage imaginable, and he had fortunately found beer. One bite of meat followed by one gulp of beer sent his fatigue flying to the ends of the earth.

"What beautiful oysters."

Qilajie found a bright-red oyster by the river. Its shell looked as if it had been layered with rose petals, and it carried the fragrance of roses as well.

Leaving aside the question of why oysters were appearing beside a river, he impatiently pried open the shell with his knife. The rich oyster meat gave off a rose-like fragrance. With a single inhale, the tender, smooth, springy flesh and fragrant broth flowed into his mouth, slipping down his throat before he even had time to chew.

"Ah..."

Qilajie let out a moan, his eyes unfocused.

This is what food is supposed to taste like. What kind of garbage was I eating before?

Just as everyone was intoxicated by the food, a huge shadow slowly emerged beneath the surface of the river and drifted toward Qilajie.

He was still immersed in the explosive flavor experience brought by the rose oyster.

"Boom--"

The water exploded, and the shadow completely enveloped him!

"Captain!"

Timid Priest reacted first. His body moved on instinct, and he suddenly shoved Qilajie to the side!

"Ah! Help me--"

Everyone was drawn to the commotion. They turned their heads and looked over.

It was a giant tuna, but tentacles like an octopus's grew from its tail. At that moment, the small, thin Priest had been caught up by the tentacles and was being swung back and forth, so terrified that she was nearly fainting.

Wasn't this the Tuna Octopus Jack sold at the barbecue stall? So there were actually individuals this huge!

"This is bad!"

Shuen reacted first. He drew his short sword and threw it. The short sword smashed into the tentacle like a cannonball!

The Priest screamed as she fell. Fortunately, Qilajie had also recovered his senses by then. Not only did he catch her securely, but he also released a Gale Spell, instantly summoning a violent wind that blew the two of them away from the Tuna Octopus.

The Tuna Octopus let out a shriek before rapidly sinking to the bottom of the river, leaving the people on the bank shaken with fear.

"We were careless," Danya said grimly. "This is still a dungeon, after all—and it's the Sain Underground City at that."

Food could indeed soothe the heart, but it could also make people lower their guard.

"No, we were simply too close to the river."

Qilajie was still shaken, but he was the only member of the Hammerfall Squad with a higher level of adventuring experience. It took him only a moment to figure things out.

"This river is the boundary."

He pointed toward the cave they had come from and said, "I think the thousand meters between the cave and the river are safe. But on the opposite bank, with the river as the boundary, monsters begin to appear."

His analysis made sense. As long as they did not approach the river where the monsters were, people could play anywhere across this vast plain, with no danger at all. At most, they had to be careful not to eat themselves to death.

But once they crossed the river, they would have to face the monsters directly.

Roast Whole Pig, Trumpet Lion, Cocoa Koala, Muscle Crab, and Doro the Colossus.

These creatures, which were both delicious food and terrifying monsters, seemed to follow some kind of rule. No matter how much the humans made a commotion, the creatures would not notice them as long as they did not cross the river.

Only then did Shuen and the others realize that they had remained safe here not because this was a paradise free from worry over food and clothing, but simply because some rule of the dungeon was protecting them.

This was still a dangerous dungeon after all!

"But as long as we don't cross the boundary, ordinary people can come explore this place too, right?" Aili muttered. "It feels like a lot of people are going to come here to make money in the future."

Danya nodded noncommittally. The route from the Teleportation Gate to the Gourmet Area was not far, and there seemed to be few monsters along the way. If people became familiar with the route, ordinary people would have no problem coming here either.

Bed City's economy might be about to surge.

Everyone exchanged glances, suddenly realizing that they seemed to be among the first people to find the Gourmet Area.

"What should we do?" Shuen asked. "About the information on this place?"

This was a considerable fortune, of course, assuming no one else had found the place yet.

But it was not especially difficult to find. Making the map public was only a matter of time.

After some discussion, everyone reached a conclusion--sell the information immediately!

They all knew their own limitations. They understood that they were not cut out for business, and they also knew that the Gourmet Area would eventually be discovered by more and more people.

They might as well sell the information as quickly as possible and get the highest price they could!

"I'm going to take a look over there."

Shuen suddenly spoke up. He pointed at the towering plant in the distance and said, "My intuition tells me that thing is definitely, absolutely worth a fortune."