Food Truck Owner Inside the Dungeon

**Dungeon Food Truck Owner Episode 6**

“What is that sound?”

Suddenly, the surroundings became very noisy.

From a distant place where only the terrible sounds of giant spiders could be heard, there came the sound of something crashing and sparkling.

Boom! Rumble!

As the noise gradually got closer, Ji-eun unconsciously clenched her fists and swallowed dryly.

Since the closing time was 5 PM, she found herself unable to leave this place.

If necessary, she could drive, but her level was too low, and even with the truck’s high beams on, she could barely see a foot ahead.

Moreover, she was currently on the fourth floor of the dungeon.

Having lived without any interest in dungeons or hunters, she still knew that the dungeon hadn’t been fully explored yet.

Just a short while ago, she had seen the news that a large-scale raid had failed on the fifth floor.

So, being on the fourth floor, which was right below it, meant it was one of the most dangerous dungeons that had been explored so far.

She couldn’t abandon the safe zone when anything could pop out.

The loud noises subsided momentarily, and soon the surroundings became quiet again.

Perhaps the monsters had fought over territory. In the chilling, pitch-black darkness, where the truck’s light couldn’t reach, a silence settled in.

Step, step.

It wasn’t the sound of monsters moving.

It was more accurate to think of it as someone walking while dragging their feet across the ground.

Breaking the quiet stillness, footsteps began to echo.

Swallow.

As the sound drew closer, both Ji-eun and the black cat focused their attention on the source of the noise, unable to breathe or move. It felt as if time had stopped in that place.

And finally, from where the truck’s lights and the cooking counter’s light barely illuminated, a figure appeared as a person.

“Is that a person?”

A person appeared in the most dangerous center of the fourth floor.

Alone at that.

In disbelief at the sight, Ji-eun was about to ask the black cat if there were monsters that looked like people.

“…A food truck?”

The person, equally flustered, took a step further into the red line, looking at Ji-eun as if to question, “Is what I’m seeing real?”

It was a man with a spear on his back and a large sword in his hand. The sticky green slime dripping from his sword stained the ground.

“Are… Are you a customer?”

Ji-eun’s trembling voice unexpectedly startled the man.

“Welcome to Ji… Ji-eun’s food truck?”

“What am I looking at right now? I’m not hallucinating.”

An awkward silence followed.

Realizing that whether the man was a monster or a human, the closing time was approaching, Ji-eun hurriedly spoke up.

“Would you like to buy a sandwich I just made?”

“…”

She knew it was absurd to be running a business in such a situation.

No one could have imagined that a food truck of this size would exist inside a dungeon.

“What kind of new monster is this?”

Ji-eun’s eyes widened in disbelief as she realized she was being treated as a monster by this man she had never seen before.

Moreover, why was he suddenly gripping his sword with both hands?

“Hey!”

“…”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking right now!! Well, I can somewhat guess since it’s so absurd! But I’m not a monster, I’m a person!”

“Uh…?”

“So could you please stop gripping your sword so menacingly? Are you going to kill me? No, I believe you wouldn’t do that, right? I’m really a person!”

Even with Ji-eun’s cries, the man frowned and took another step toward the food truck, still tightly gripping the sword in his hand.

“How can I believe that? Are you a phantasm monster? I can’t believe there would be a phantasm monster in Ariadne’s Libra”

“No, you’re being a rude “customer” on the first meeting! Just because you’re holding a sword doesn’t mean I’m a monster!”

“Are you really a person?”

“Ugh! Have you been fooled by people all this time? If you understand, put down that sword. It’s scary!”

With one hand on her hip and the other pointing, Ji-eun’s words made the man, still looking incredulous, obediently lower his sword to the ground.

“Also the spear on your back!”

“…”

“Quickly!”

For some reason, perhaps due to how unreal the situation was, the man, following Ji-eun’s words, also lowered the spear he had been carrying on his back, raising his hands in front of him as if to show he had nothing.

“Is it really a food truck?”

“Yes, welcome to Ji-eun’s food truck.”

As the man approached, Ji-eun felt embarrassed saying the name of her own store while trying to maintain a friendly sales smile for her first historical customer.

‘This is also a trial and error. I shouldn’t mention the store name again.’

While Ji-eun made her determination, the man’s eyes sparkled as he got closer to the display case to check the sandwiches.

“This.”

“Yes?”

“Is this real and not a model?”

“Yes, it’s a sandwich I just made until a moment ago. Would you like to take a look?”

As Ji-eun opened the showcase door and reached inside to take out a wrapped sandwich, the man, who had awkwardly received the sandwich, carefully peeled off the plastic lid, and the fragrant smell of the sandwich spread around them.

“This smell…”

The man’s eyes widened as he confirmed the scent of ‘food,’ something that could never be smelled inside the dungeon. Unconsciously, he lifted his other hand to take the sandwich while Ji-eun hurriedly reached out.

Thud.

Ji-eun grabbed the man’s wrist just as he was about to bring his hand to the sandwich.

Since she had leaned her body out of the display case to grab his wrist, their faces were quite close, causing the man to lean back awkwardly.

“Payment is required in advance!”

Unlike that man, Ji-eun spoke firmly.

As the man looked at Ji-Eun’s serious face, he soon realized that he had tried to eat the sandwich without paying and nodded, saying,

“Haha. Well, I guess even a fantasy should be deceived to this extent. How much is it?”

“7,000 won.”

“7,000 won?”

“Is that too expensive? But I used plenty of ingredients, and it’s bigger than other sandwiches… um… it should taste good too!”

Hearing the man question the price, which sounded like a complaint about it being too high, Ji-eun began to ramble on.

She mentioned that there were at least two eggs in each sandwich and that she used the freshest ingredients, including lettuce, tomatoes, and bacon, passionately explaining, which made her feel hungry herself.

Having never smelled real ‘food’ since entering the dungeon, the sandwich in front of her looked genuinely delicious.

Given that this sandwich was priced at 7,000 won, Ji-eun’s description made it seem like a precious food item that couldn’t possibly be that cheap.

Seeing the man’s serious expression, as if he were contemplating the purchase, Ji-eun grew anxious.

The reason was that if she couldn’t clear this tutorial, which had a time limit of three days, she didn’t know what kind of penalty she would face.

Moreover, no one knew if the skill [Where the Wheels Lead] would bring her to such a desolate place again, so she couldn’t afford to lose a customer.

Even if it was just one out of ten!

This first customer in front of her was someone she absolutely couldn’t let slip away. So, Ji-eun decided to boldly break her own rule this time and said with the most pitiful expression she could muster,

“6,500 won…?”

“…”

“Ugh, never mind. Since you’re my first customer, I’ll make it 6,000 won! I just started my business today, you know?”

“…”

“Actually, I need to sell to ten customers. Could you please just buy it?”

“Hmm…”

“Come on! Seriously! 6,000 won! I can’t go any lower! I wouldn’t even cover the cost of the ingredients!”

It was a scam.

A blatant scam.

Thanks to the skill [Today’s Recommended Dish], she didn’t incur any material costs, but still, the labor involved in making the sandwich meant that lowering the price below 6,000 won was unacceptable for her.

‘Considering I prepared ingredients for 200 servings, even knocking off 1,000 won feels too regretful!’

Even so, she shot a piercing glare at the man, who still looked like he was contemplating despite her discount.

“6,000 won, I’ll take one.”

“You made a good choice! You won’t regret tasting it!”

Fortunately, perhaps due to the 1,000 won discount, the man finally agreed to buy the sandwich. Ji-Eun, who smiled brightly as if to say, “When did I glare at you?” let go of the wrist she had been holding and extended her palm to the man.

“Card payments are also welcome! Sir!”

“But I don’t have a card or cash right now.”

Ji-eun paused, about to pull out her [Error-Free Card Reader (Lv.1)] from her inventory, at the man’s words.

Wait, are you seriously thinking of paying without money?

“Instead, can I pay with this?” 

As the man reached out again, trying to retrieve the sandwich, Ji-eun frowned at the large rock he was holding.

“That’s a rock, isn’t it?”

It had a faint shine but looked like just a plain black stone to Ji-Eun.

The stone, about the size of her fist, looked no different from the smooth stones that could be found rolling along the riverbank.

The man struggled to suppress a smile and continued speaking.

“Well, you could say it’s a rock.”

“Ha… fine. Since I have plenty of ingredients, and you’re the first person I’ve seen here today, I’ll accept that rock in exchange.”

“Thank you.”

Eventually, Ji-Eun, worried that the stone the man handed her might break the display case if she dropped it, was surprised to find that the stone felt much lighter than she had expected.

“Wow, it’s really light for its size! This isn’t a rock, is it?”

“Well, it’s all about perspective.”

“Enjoy your meal! But this is a one-time deal! I’m only doing this once!”

Ji-eun’s body, which had leaned out, found its way back inside the display case.

Seeing Ji-eun’s expression, the man burst into laughter. Holding the sandwich carefully, he bowed his head.

“Thank you, owner. I hope you sell a lot.”

“Yes, if we meet again, please pay properly then.”

“I look forward to that.”

After finishing his words, the man turned around, gathered his sword and spear from the ground, and soon disappeared back into the darkness. Ji-eun clicked her tongue, resting her chin on her hand.

“Trading with my first customer, huh.”

[Quest: First Business Opening! Record updated!]

– Current Progress: 10% (1/10)

Fortunately, it wasn’t given away for free, and receiving a light black stone counted as a customer, as the system window appeared, indicating that the customer count had dropped by one.

“At least they’re counting it as a customer.”

“Ah, but I gave a lot of service since it was my first customer.”

“What do you mean? What is the use of this stone?”

“Why not! I’m just too nice, that’s all!” 

“Why! I had no choice but to let it go because of the quest! I’m just too nice!” 

Ignoring Ji-eun’s words, the black cat lazily stretched and poked at the stone left by the man.