“Hmm?”
Ara, who had been carried on my back, rubbed her eyes as she woke up.
She always had an uncanny knack for sensing the smell of food.
“Are you awake?”
“Yeah, I slept well… yaawn.”
Ara yawned and stretched before noticing the pile of eggplants and cucumbers in the storage room.
“Oh! Eggplants! Cucumbers!”
“That’s right.”
Since she had seen them even before they were harvested, Ara knew about the eggplants and cucumbers.
However, she had never tasted them and had always been curious about their flavors.
Now, she finally had the chance to try them.
‘Seeing this pile, it looks like there’s more than I thought.’
Had the slimes not eaten them?
When I glanced around, one of the slimes eating a cucumber gave me a look as if asking what I was looking at.
“You’ve eaten some, but there’s still a lot left.”
Good, good.
I should tell Jae-seong about the eggplants and cucumbers quickly.
But first, let’s check the effects of these crops.
[Magic-Infused Eggplant LV.1]
[Contains faint magic.]
[When consumed, a random ability’s level increases by 1 for 7 seconds.]
[Magic-Infused Cucumber LV.1]
[Contains faint magic.]
[When consumed, it alleviates dehydration symptoms and temporarily quenches thirst. Permanently improves skin health slightly.]
These were extraordinary effects.
For ordinary people, the eggplant’s effect was useless, but for Awakened beings, it seemed like it was worth researching.
And then there was the cucumber.
“Skin health…”
It could make one more beautiful.
Just by eating it.
The unexpected nature of these items left me momentarily stunned.
Honestly, the cucumber’s straightforward effect was more striking than the eggplant’s unique one.
“No, both are amazing. I was momentarily dazzled.”
In any case, these were crops I had grown and harvested.
Figuring out how to use them to my benefit was the priority.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong, can I eat this?”
Ara, still on my back, drooled.
Feeling my shoulder getting wet, I glanced back to see her unable to take her eyes off the slimes munching on the eggplants and cucumbers.
“Yeah. Let’s eat first and think later.”
Effects aside, taste is also important.
But eggplants and cucumbers… Honestly, they didn’t seem like they would taste great.
I had only eaten cooked eggplant, and cucumbers… well.
‘I’ll know once I try it.’
I set Ara down and picked up an eggplant and a cucumber in each hand.
I started with the cucumber, which I was more accustomed to eating raw.
Crunch!
A refreshing sensation spread through my mouth.
Soon, a pleasant texture followed.
Crunch! Crunch!
‘Compared to other crops, it’s quite ordinary.’
But the more I chewed, a peculiar flavor emerged, and combined with the crisp texture, it felt incredibly addictive.
Glancing sideways, I saw Ara, like me, holding an eggplant and a cucumber in each hand, munching away.
“Our Ara, you’re already pretty, but you’ll become even prettier.”
“I’m getting prettier!”
Even the way she spoke with her mouth full of cucumber was cute.
After finishing the cucumber, I looked at the eggplant.
“Eggplants… aren’t they supposed to be cooked?”
Looking at the softer eggplant, I thought it should at least be grilled.
The slimes seemed to eat it without any issue, but I felt a bit hesitant.
In the end, I left Ara and the slimes to prepare the brazier that Bokkeum had spat out.
After hastily lighting it, I skewered the eggplants and began grilling them.
The kids seemed interested.
“Does it taste better that way?”
“Not sure. Want to try?”
“Yes!”
Hmm, does this mean I’ll have to spend the whole day grilling eggplants?
I rotated the soft eggplant to cook it evenly.
Since it’s a vegetable with a lot of moisture, I aimed to concentrate its flavor in the center.
“Putting my heart into this…”
I used both hands to grill two eggplants.
First, the ones for Ara and me, and then I’d quickly grill more for the slimes, who were watching expectantly.
“Is this good enough?”
If it were Jae-seong, he would’ve grilled them perfectly, but since I didn’t know much about cooking, I did it moderately well.
“It’s hot, so be careful…”
I couldn’t help but warn her, though it wasn’t necessary.
Ara seemed immune to both heat and cold.
She could eat anything.
“Blow, blow~!”
Yet Ara obediently blew on it, despite not needing to cool it down.
She puffed her cheeks and blew awkwardly.
‘Seon-ah would’ve lost her mind if she saw this.’
Ara, showing an unprecedented level of cuteness, soon opened her mouth wide and ate the eggplant.
Then, she clasped her cheeks and smiled happily.
“Mmm~!”
Distracted by Ara, I had left the eggplant unattended, so I blew on it and cautiously bit the edge.
“Hot, hot.”
The rich moisture stored within the eggplant burst out, revealing its inherent flavor.
Unexpectedly, it was chewy rather than mushy.
“Mmm!”
I could understand why Ara was impressed.
If eaten raw, the moisture wouldn’t have exploded like this, but grilling it made the flavor deeper and the texture and moisture more enjoyable.
Honestly, in terms of taste, could the eggplant be slightly superior to the cucumber?
‘The cucumber is crisp and refreshing, while the eggplant has this moisture and deep flavor.’
They had entirely different sensations, so personal preference might vary, but they were flavors anyone could enjoy.
And since these weren’t even cooked dishes, just eaten as they were, I could only imagine how much tastier they would be once Jae-seong worked his culinary magic on them.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong, more grilled eggplant, please!”
“Alright.”
As expected, it seemed today would be spent grilling eggplants.
Ara waited for the eggplant to finish grilling while crunching on a cucumber.
“It’s delicious!”
“I’m glad you like it. Our Ara will definitely become a beauty.”
“I’m already a beauty!”
“Yes. I’ll also try to become a handsome guy.”
Crunch!
* * *
A building located in Gangnam, Seoul.
This was the headquarters of the Iron Blood Guild, one of the top guilds in South Korea.
The area was always crowded with people, and high-profile Awakened frequently appeared, showcasing the guild’s prestige.
Click! Click!
“Hey, hasn’t Moon Chang-joo shown up today?”
“He hasn’t been seen for a few days. But he cleared a level 6 dungeon recently, so he must be resting.”
“Wow! There’s Lee A-rin! Hurry, take a picture!”
The Iron Blood Guild was so prosperous that paparazzi always camped outside, snapping photos.
However, Baek Tae-seop, the guild’s representative, was troubled by a particular issue.
Knock knock.
“Sir, may I come in?”
“Come in.”
Baek Tae-seop, in his private office, was an elderly man with white hair.
He had once been an active support-type Awakened, but now he focused solely on managing the guild.
Creak-
“Sir, here is the report you requested.”
“Thank you, good work.”
“And there’s one more piece of news. We just received word that the antidote project we commissioned has failed again.”
“Sigh… I understand.”
Baek Tae-seop sighed, as if he hadn’t been expecting much in the first place, and nodded.
After more than ten years of failures, he was half resigned to his fate.
“Commission another company. And keep the current ones as well.”
Still, Baek Tae-seop couldn’t give up.
Not as a guild leader, and not as a father.
Baek Seung-hyun, his son and once a genius Awakened who drew everyone’s attention, was now barely surviving in the guild’s medical facility.
“Understood, sir. But if we do that, you’ll have to sell part of the guild’s shares…”
Every year, a substantial amount of money was spent researching a cure for the Poison of Avarice, but there had been no progress.
Baek Tae-seop’s secretary, knowing this, looked at him with concern.
“Sell them. The guild shares are nothing.”
Baek Tae-seop regretted his decisions.
He hadn’t always treated the guild shares lightly.
In fact, he had valued the Iron Blood Guild more than his own life.
That’s why he made a grave mistake.
To expand the guild’s influence, he sent his son Baek Seung-hyun into the Dungeon of Avarice.
It was a reckless decision.
Baek Seung-hyun was an outstanding supporter, but merely a Level 7 Awakened.
For someone like him to enter a Level 9 dungeon was tantamount to courting death.
‘Seung-hyun…’
Baek Tae-seop, who had dedicated his life to the guild, only realized what was truly important when his son returned addicted.
But by then, it was too late.
His son had already fallen into a critical condition, and now, over a year had passed with him remaining in a coma.
“…Understood.”
“You may leave now. I’m tired.”
Even as the secretary left, maintaining his Iron Blood demeanor, Baek Tae-seop muttered to himself once alone.
“The guild we built together. It seems I won’t be in this position for much longer.”
Baek Tae-seop’s late wife, now departed, had been an Awakened like him.
The guild they founded together was the present Iron Blood Guild.
That’s why he was so attached to it.
He didn’t want to feel the emptiness left by his wife, who had passed away while giving birth to their son Baek Seung-hyun in the dungeon.
At the same time, he had resented his son.
Yet, why hadn’t he realized then that his son was the precious fruit of their love?
“The truly important thing wasn’t this superficial guild. How could I have been so blind? Don’t forgive me.”
Hot tears streamed down Baek Tae-seop’s cheeks.
Realizing too late what truly mattered, his only remaining concern was his son.
If he lost his son too, he wouldn’t be able to bear it.
It was then.
Knock, knock, knock!
“Ahem! Who is it?”
“Sir, urgent news has arrived!”
Baek Tae-seop hurriedly wiped away his tears and composed himself.
“Come in.”
“Apologies for disturbing you while you’re tired. There’s urgent news…”
“Speak.”
“Choi Young-seong, the former head of research at Ara Hongryeon , has contacted us.”
“Ara Hongryeon ?”
Once lauded as the first guild in South Korea, it now struggled to remain in the top five.
Even so, it was remarkable among over a hundred guilds, though it fell short of its former symbolic stature.
“Choi Young-seong abruptly brought up the antidote.”
“What?!”
Baek Tae-seop stood up abruptly.
He then calmed himself and asked coldly.
“Why now? What’s his connection to the antidote…?”
“Choi Young-seong’s wife is the Awakened Kim Si-young. Kim Si-young also participated in the Dungeon of Avarice…”
“Ah! Kim Si-young is Choi Young-seong’s wife. No wonder the antidote came up.”
Baek Tae-seop nodded, recalling the information he had momentarily forgotten.
“So, what does he want?”
“He wants to meet you.”
“Hmm.”
There had been some interaction with Ara Hongryeon in the past.
Baek Tae-seop had once teamed up with some of Ara Hongryeon ’s executives before guilds even existed.
“Come to think of it, we haven’t been in touch. Things have been so hectic.”
Recently, he had been feeling disillusioned with running the guild.
He thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to meet some old friends and catch up.
“Contact Choi Young-seong. Let’s arrange to meet at the Ara Hongryeon guild.”
“Understood. I’ll check your free schedule and arrange it accordingly.”
“Thank you.”
Though the contact was about the antidote, he didn’t have high expectations.
Baek Tae-seop saw it as an opportunity to share stories with someone who understood his pain.
He was unaware that Kim Si-young had already been cured.
Cliche Novel 