“I’ll be blunt. We need a large number of consumable buff items.”
At Maria’s words, Johann quietly sipped his coffee. Still, Maria continued speaking without hesitation.
“Mr. Johann, I heard you were born in Austria.”
“That’s correct.”
“If this matter is resolved smoothly, our position within the Austrian Union will rise sharply.”
Johann quickly realized why these two particular people had come to Korea among all the union members. Both were awakened beings with Austrian nationality, and he himself was originally from Austria. Although he had now naturalized and held Korean citizenship, it seemed the European Union did not see it that way.
“As you know, Austria is part of the Union due to geographical circumstances. It’s embarrassing to say, but it’s difficult for us to make significant contributions in the current Rage Dungeon strategy.”
Are they appealing to emotions? Johann listened calmly and then spoke.
“It is true that my hometown is Austria. Of course, I want my hometown to do well.”
“I knew it…!”
“But that desire isn’t greater than my loyalty to my own country.”
His country. His nationality was Korean. And more than he thought, he was genuinely invested in this country. He had lived under the shadow of his family until now. It was the first time he had created a guild, grown it, and made it number one in the country. He felt grateful for all of it.
“I’m not saying I won’t help at all. But first, we need to clearly understand the conditions the Union is proposing.”
Maria’s complexion changed. It was as if she had expected this and was self-deprecating.
“I didn’t think it would work, but I apologize for making such an unreasonable proposal initially. If it was unpleasant, I apologize.”
“No, this is all part of negotiation and trade, isn’t it?”
Johann nodded as if he understood. Then Leon, who had been quietly observing the situation next to Maria, stepped forward.
“Johann, I just want to confirm one thing first. Do you know the owner of this item?”
Leon showed what he was holding. It was none other than Kyu-seong’s Strawberry Potion. Though it was unclear how or where he obtained it, Leon bringing it here meant that another one of Kyu-seong’s items was in the hands of the European Union. The leakage of Kyu-seong’s items was already expected, so it wasn’t surprising. In fact, it was strange that it hadn’t been known yet.
“If you just tell us, we’ll take care of the rest. We won’t let you down.”
Leon spoke, assuming Johann already knew, and Johann didn’t bother to hide it.
“First, let me hear the conditions. I’ll pass them on.”
“Well, we want to meet directly…”
“That’s difficult.”
Johann firmly drew the line and suddenly stood up. Then he waved his hand and left.
“First, let me rest. I need to organize my thoughts. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
Leon and Maria did not try to stop Johann as he left. Instead, they began their discussion as soon as he was gone.
“If Johann reacts that way, it seems it will be difficult to meet directly.”
“That makes sense. It’s not easy to reveal a talent who can create such items.”
They checked the Strawberry Potion once more. Both of them, being awakened, had already tested its efficacy and even drank it.
“The production quantity might not be high, but even if we make just two or three a month, it will significantly boost our position.”
“It’s fortunate that Guild Leader Johann is in Korea. He serves as our connection.”
“Exactly, that’s why we’re here.”
In fact, other members of the union were originally scheduled to come instead of these two. Given the importance of the matter, it would have been a group composed of quite well-known figures. However, since the guild leader of the Terror Guild was Johann, both of Austrian descent, they took the initiative.
“And anyway…”
Leon stopped talking abruptly. There was always the possibility of being eavesdropped on.
In fact, more than just the two of them from the European Union had come. There were guests who had followed secretly.
And they were gathering information in their own way—a large quantity of instant buff items. These were essential to secure for the Rage Dungeon.
“Hmm!”
***
Unlike the lake near the village, there was no immediate bite when I cast my fishing rod. But after waiting a while, I finally started feeling the faint tugs.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong! It’s coming! It’s coming!”
However, Ara’s fishing rod bent like a bow before mine did, with the line pulled taut.
“Wow! Slowly! Slowly!”
It seemed like a strong one. Considering that it resisted even as Ara pulled, that was all the more impressive.
-Woof! Woof!
-Squeak!
Behind us, Woofy, Soo, and the slimes were cheering enthusiastically. They were huddled together in such a cute way that I wanted to take a picture, but there was no time for that.
“Let the line loose for a moment… and then reel it back in! Wow, Ara, you’re really good at this!”
I was genuinely impressed, not just saying it. She often went fishing with father, and now she seemed to have become quite the fishing expert.
Ara was so focused on the fishing rod that she didn’t even notice my advice from the side. Her expression was so varied—pouting, pursing her lips, and sticking out her tongue slightly.
‘She seems to be fishing with her expressions…’
And that passion and concentration finally paid off as we began to see the fish struggling on the distant water surface.
Splash!
“Huh?”
What was that?
Did I just see things?
A fish that seemed almost my size, if not bigger, briefly appeared and disappeared. I kept watching, and soon enough, the fish leaped out of the water again.
-Splosh! Splosh! Splosh!
Splash!
“It’s even making sounds!”
Is that a monster?
While I watched, the distance began to close gradually. It had already been five minutes since Ara started reeling it in.
I put my fishing rod aside and waited to assist Ara as much as possible. Although Ara was managing quite well without needing my help.
Splash!
“Oh, it’s close!”
-Woof!
The children’s cheers, which had subsided for a moment, began to heat up again.
Ara maintained her focus, still changing her expressions while she started moving her body.
“Whoa, Ara! Where are you going?”
Moving back and forth as if in a tug-of-war with the fish, Ara finally settled in one spot, pulling the fishing rod with all her might.
“Heave!”
With a strange shout, the fish was dragged onto the shore, leaving a large body trailing in the sand.
“Wow.”
The huge fish looked over 2 meters long. Its silvery scales gleamed, and it resembled a mackerel. I’ve seen mackerels the size of a hand, but a 2-meter mackerel was something else.
“Father would love this.”
Freshwater fish can’t be eaten raw just in case. They are usually grilled or cooked into soup, but since this is a saltwater fish, it could be eaten raw.
Flop!
The giant mackerel, which I thought had used up all its strength, made one last struggle. Ara, who was proudly looking at the mackerel, gave it a gentle knock on the head.
Thwack!
The giant mackerel shivered and fainted. Ara seemed especially brave, handling the massive, intimidating fish without hesitation.
“Amazing, Ara!”
“Heh! Heh! Heh! It felt good!”
I looked at the mackerel with a serious face for a moment. I had cleaned and cooked fish many times, but I was at a loss because I had never dealt with such a large fish before. I guess the first step would be to drain its blood, as usual. Considering its size, draining the blood first seemed like the right thing to do.
“Once we clean it, we can eat as much as we want. It must weigh over 100 kg easily.”
“It will be delicious!”
“Ara, the fish is too big for me to handle alone. Can you help me with the cleaning?”
“Sure!”
I first got a knife from Bokkeum. We had planned to come to the sea, so I brought a sashimi knife that Jae-seong recommended. But now that I see it, I think I need a bigger, heavier knife than a sashimi knife.
For now, I used the sashimi knife to cut the gills and drain the blood.
“We won’t have any sharks lurking around, right?”
“Shark, delicious!”
While dreaming different dreams from Ara, I soaked it briefly in seawater. Given its size, draining the blood was going to take quite a bit of time.
Splash, splash!
Holding the tail of the giant mackerel, I waited as Ara submerged her face in the sea. I thought she would start fishing again immediately, but I watched her curious actions, wondering what kind of game she was playing. Suddenly, she emerged, holding something in her hand.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong!”
“What’s that?”
What Ara was holding looked like a stone. However, it had a strangely familiar shape.
“A clam? No, is it an oyster?”
“This is delicious too.”
Ara gave a gentle knock to the shell that looked like a stone. The shell shattered into pieces, revealing the white flesh hidden inside. Ara’s gentle knock was quite effective today.
“It seems to be a kind of oyster!”
“Oyster!”
Ara had never tried Earth’s oysters before. So, learning the new word “oyster,” she happily clutched it and shook her body.
Drip—
When Ara picked up the oyster’s flesh, juice dripped from it.
“Ahhh!”
Ara approached me, gesturing for me to open my mouth. But can I just eat that? …As I was doubting, [??] a notification appeared.
[A sea treasure rich in various nutrients. ]
[Gives strength when eaten. ]
[Allows underwater breathing for 3 minutes when consumed.]
“Ah, is it an item?”
Seeing the item notification, I was so surprised that I almost dropped the mackerel. In the meantime, Ara had come closer and put the oyster into my mouth.
“Hehe. It’s delicious.”
“Mmm.”
I wanted to say something, but the oyster just entered my mouth. Soon, the taste of the sea filled my mouth, and I opened my eyes wide.
The freshness of the sea.
If freshness were a taste, it would be exactly like this. Plus, the mouthful size made it even more intense.
The freshness and juiciness became more pronounced with each chew. A subtle nuttiness was present, and my throat moved continuously to swallow the rich juices.
Gulp!
Delicious. I never liked oysters that much, but I felt like my taste had changed. This was an indescribable delight.
‘The sea briefly stayed in my mouth and then left.’
Ah, such poetic expressions came to mind because of the taste.
“How is it? How is it?”
“It’s, it’s delicious. Really delicious!”
“Let’s gather more! Let’s all eat together!”
Ara then started diving again in the shallow waters. Soon, Ara came back with various seafood in her hands—not only the oysters she fed me initially but also clams, conches, and small crustaceans I had never seen before.
“That one I’ve never seen before.”
Some of the seafood had appearances not found on Earth. As Ara gathered them, half went into her mouth, and the rest went into the mouths of the other children. As time passed, the blood had completely drained from the giant mackerel.
“It’s almost dinner time.”
Ara and the children had eaten a little, but there was still a bounty of seafood scattered around. If we clean and eat this giant mackerel along with it…
Tonight will be a seafood feast!
Cliche Novel 