Food Truck Owner Inside the Dungeon

“Episode 15 of “Dungeon Food Truck Owner”:

—

It was the moment when Ji-eun’s plan to make side dishes even when there were no guests completely fell apart.

Despite feeling the cold for the first time in her life, she was shivering as she hugged Kkamang and moved the chairs closer to the gas stove.

“No, I’m not okay.”

After completely closing the roof and side door of the cooking area, the wind stopped coming in, making it a bit more bearable.

With all six burners turned up to maximum and the iron plate heated for about ten minutes, Ji-eun finally felt the internal temperature of the countertop rising slightly against her skin.

“It’s my fault. I saw that there were dungeons this cold yesterday but didn’t prepare for it.”

“It’s one hour.”

The reason she initially set the operating time to two hours was to boil beef seaweed soup and prepare stir-fried pork.

Now that all the food was ready, it was advantageous for her future operations to use the skill [As the Wheel Goes] as much as possible, so she divided the time into one-hour segments.

It had been ten minutes since her arrival, so she only had to endure for another 50 minutes.

The problem was that keeping the gas on for so long was already giving her a headache.

“I need to buy some winter gear from the Hunter Market.”

Even though the cooking area was spacious, with the roof and sides closed and six gas burners running, the air would run out quickly.

There was no way she could stay in this sealed space for another 50 minutes.

Ji-eun opened the Hunter Market window and quickly recharged her market points through her linked account.

After converting 8 million won into 8 million points, she searched for winter gear, and a list of items began to appear.

As she searched for long padding or other winter clothing that wouldn’t be too expensive but would keep her warm, she realized that the items in the Hunter Market were surprisingly pricey.

[Heart of the Salamander]

– The heart of a salamander that covers everything in flames.

– Frost Resistance: +50

Price… (more details)

“Frost Resistance… +50? Frost Resistance, you say?”

Hearing Kkamang’s exasperated remark, Ji-eun pouted and mumbled, “Who was awakened from the start?”

After opening the status window, she started searching for the stats, unsure of where to find them, when Kkamang raised its paw and pointed at the air.

Its paw was precisely pointing to the space where Ji-eun’s status window appeared.

“Can you see it too?”

“Then why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Well, I need to know what’s there to do it on my own!”

As Ji-eun bickered with Kkamang and opened the detailed stat window, information about her stats rolled out one by one.

“Wow, there’s a lot,” she muttered as she began checking each stat.

[Awakener: Min Ji-eun (Lv.1)]

[Basic Stats]

– Stamina: 100 Mana: 80

– Strength: 5 Intelligence: 20 Agility: 20 Luck: 0 Willpower: 20

– The basic stats have received an initial penalty!

– Stats will increase as the proficiency level rises.

[Resistance Stats]

– Frost Resistance: 0

– Fire Resistance: 5

– Poison Resistance: 30

– Mental Resistance: 30

Her stamina was 100 and her mana was 80.

Looking at just the numbers, Ji-eun wondered whether these values were high, low, or average, and then glanced at Kkamang.

<…….>

Kkamang’s expression was something to behold.

He was staring at her as if to say, “How can your stats be so low that you can barely breathe?”

Ji-eun awkwardly smiled as she met Kkamang’s gaze.

“Am I really that serious?”

Kkamang sighed, realizing Ji-eun had no idea how serious her stats were, and began to explain.

Her stamina and mana were far too low.

“What? What do you mean?”

“…And mana?”

This meant that without any adjustments, Ji-eun would have nearly collapsed after using the skill [As the Wheel Goes] just once.

“No wonder the pot filled with water felt so heavy.”

“Then the basic stats… I can tell I’m in trouble.”

Ji-eun said this with a look of confusion.

“What do you mean by having a penalty on the basic stat configuration?”

“Kkamang, how can you not know that?”

At Ji-eun’s questioning, Kkamang shook its head and tried to change the subject by mentioning other stats.

“No wonder my luck is 0; I keep randomly landing on the third and fourth floors!”

“Unnecessarily high? That’s a harsh thing to say. Still, having anything high is good, right?”

Unfortunately, the strength stat, which was important when cooking, and the luck stat, which was the most important in the current situation where she had to enter a dungeon randomly, were both severely penalized.

When the topic of luck stats was brought up, Ji-eun, who was already upset, didn’t mention the penalty, and Kkamang secretly sighed in relief.

Ji-eun, who didn’t notice Kkamang’s expression, also sighed.

The resistance stats were just as gloomy as the basic stats.

With a body cursed to feel both cold and heat, she didn’t have to worry about anything unless faced with high-level monsters—at least not in the central areas of the first and second floors—thanks to her unusually high poison resistance and mental resistance.

“Sorry for not realizing that I have strong intelligence and mental strength, huh?”

“Hey!”

“We can just form a party!”

Ji-eun couldn’t understand why she had to be hit with such a cruel truth. Every time she spoke, Kkamang would mercilessly deliver a fact that made her pout even more.

She was completely sulking now.

Noticing that Ji-eun was in a bad mood, Kkamang patted her arm with its paw, trying to offer comfort, but that only hurt Ji-eun more.

She had been cooking since she was young; she had to excel at least in that…

“Anyway, if I buy the Salamander’s Heart, my frost resistance will increase by 50. I wonder how noticeable that will be?”

These days, wearing a short-sleeve shirt in the evening during the transitional season was unacceptable to Ji-eun, even if Kkamang thought it was sufficient.

Thinking this, Ji-eun turned off the iron plate and gas stove and started searching for items with even higher frost resistance than the Salamander’s Heart.

“It’s not that pretty. A monster’s heart feels a bit off.”

Though she said that, there was another reason.

[Salamander’s Heart]

– The heart of a salamander that covers everything in flames.

– Frost Resistance: +50

– Selling Price: 3,000,000 points

A whopping 3 million points. If she had to spend that much money, she thought it would be better to get an appliance that could be used continuously rather than a one-time item. As she browsed, a portable fan caught her eye.

[Portable Fan]

– Selling Price: 5,000,000 points

– Frost Resistance: +70 Fire Resistance: +70

– Selling a fan my child used. No need for charging; it has been enchanted with the powers of ice and fire spirits. It was used until last summer, so you can trust it.

No defects in three years of use, and if any problems arise, there’s a one-year free warranty. The user manual is included.

– Alchemist Greenwood Workshop, Head Kim Ji-woo.

“Alchemists can imbue items with abilities like this.”

Although it was 200,000 points more expensive, the fan was more convenient to use and offered 20 more points of resistance. As Ji-eun pondered the fan, which also had fire resistance, she said, “Then I’ll just buy this one.”

She boldly clicked to purchase, and as her points decreased, a system window appeared.

[You have used 5,000,000 points.]

[Remaining Points: 3,000,000]

[You have obtained a Portable Fan! Check your inventory.]

Ji-eun immediately tore open the packaged box and pulled out the fan, hanging it around her neck.

The strap felt luxurious, made of high-quality leather, just like what her child had used.

After checking the user manual, Ji-eun pressed the winter mode button on the fan’s handle, and she instantly felt a warm energy envelope her body.

“Wow! This is amazing. It’s really warm! No, it’s getting hot so quickly!”

Even after turning off all the gas burners, she could feel the warmth from the small fan wrapping around her.

Feeling stifled by the rising temperature, Ji-eun pressed the button to open the roof and side panels of the cooking area again.

As soon as the gaps opened, she felt the cold wind blowing in, but thanks to the warm energy from the item, it felt refreshing and even pleasant.

“It’s like!”

It felt like being in a warm outdoor bath while a cool breeze blew across her face. Of course, she had never been to an outdoor bath, but she imagined it must feel like this, like those winter outdoor baths she had seen on TV in Japan.

“Indeed, money is the best in the world.”

Even though she spent a fortune of 5 million points, she had no regrets about the purchase due to its performance.

With an item that kept her from feeling the cold in the freezing fourth floor, she could also expect it to keep her cool in extreme heat. At least she felt relieved about not having to worry about extreme temperatures anymore.

After overcoming the cold, Ji-eun noticed that the [Ancient Ice Giant’s Ice Mountain] dungeon had a quite beautiful landscape.

The area was covered in pure white snow, with snowflakes adorning the trees.

Of course, the ancient ice giant monsters outside the safe zone, which were twice her size and covered in white fur, wielding massive clubs, were far from beautiful.

“Kkamang, do you like snowball fights?”

It was time for revenge against Kkamang, who had just mercilessly hit her with the cruel truth.

As Ji-eun stepped onto the snowy ground, hiding her hands behind her back with a mischievous smile, Kkamang was just about to get up from its cushion.

“Take this!”

While Kkamang had its eyes closed, a cold snowball packed tightly in her hands flew straight at its face.

“Haha, then dodge it!”

As Kkamang jumped up in surprise and ran away, Ji-eun chased after it, laughing loudly, and her laughter echoed across the ice mountain.