Chapter 8

Mr. Sandwhich Truck Owner in the Dungeon - Chapter 7 (8/302)

Mr. Sandwhich Truck Owner in the Dungeon Chapter 7

Ji-eun glared at Kamangi as if she were full of contempt. After receiving a strange stone instead of money from her first customer, she couldn't believe he would say such a thing.

"Still, it's a relief you counted me as a customer, right?"

<9 left.>

She never expected to have a customer in the center of the fourth floor of the dungeon, where she thought she would have a complete failure. Perhaps her luck was good.

Now, there was only about an hour left.

When the closing time came, she could return to the outside of the dungeon. Ji-eun hoped that when she returned to the dungeon, she would move to a place with more people. A familiar silhouette appeared before her eyes, the man she thought had disappeared into the darkness just a moment ago.

"Is there a problem with the sandwich?"

"Yes, there is a problem."

The man, who had already finished eating, approached the counter with an empty packaging container and smiled, saying there was a problem with the sandwich.

"It's too delicious. I've never eaten such fresh and delicious sandwiches inside a dungeon before..."

"Really...?"

It wasn't just empty words. The sandwich, which was more stuffed with ingredients than any she had ever bought, was perfectly balanced with well-cooked bacon, juicy eggs, and crisp lettuce and tomatoes.

Seeing Ji-eun's expression relax, the man gazed at the sandwiches on display.

'9 left...'

"I'm glad you enjoyed it!"

The man said, looking at Ji-eun, who was smiling brightly.

"I came to buy one more. Is it possible?"

He pointed to one of the 9 sandwiches left on the display.

Ji-eun's face, which had been beaming at the compliment about her sandwiches, suddenly turned blank.

"Sir, you said you don't have any money, right?"

"I don't have money, but I have a lot of other things. Let's do a barter."

"Huh... barter?"

"Yes, you clearly said you need to sell to 10 customers, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"So, I came to make a deal. I don't know what's going on, but it seems like a quest that requires 10 customers. I'll be those 10 customers."

"What...?"

Hearing the man's words, Ji-eun looked at him with a puzzled expression.

But it seemed he had a good sense of what the quest was about...

The man made a proposal to Ji-eun, who was thinking this.

"I'll be the 9 remaining customers."

"Really?"

"Even if the same person comes 10 times in a day, they still count as 10 customers. After all, they contribute to the sales the same way."

"Oh!"

"If I buy one more now, I'll be the second customer, right? Isn't that correct?"

Pointing to the sandwich on display, the man spoke with confidence. Ji-eun quickly opened the quest window to check the details.

- Current Progress: 10% (1/10)

The quest details, confirmed again, only required selling food to 10 customers. There was no mention of needing 10 different customers, so there was no reason why a returning customer wouldn't be counted again.

"Is that right?"

"Yes... I think so."

With Ji-eun's answer, the man smiled brightly and pointed to the first sandwich left on the display.

"Let's make a deal. Meeting someone in this vast dungeon is a huge stroke of luck."

"Hmm..."

Despite Ji-eun's skeptical expression, the man continued naturally.

"I'll come and go 9 times. The door of this shop is probably that red line on the floor."

"Red line?"

Pointing to the red line on the floor, the man said it was the shop's door. Ji-eun shook her head.

"No, that's just a safety zone marker."

"Still, let's test it. I'll give you this, so can you sell me one more sandwich?"

The man took out a gold coin the size of a 500 won coin from his pocket. It looked slightly faded but sparkled in the light, seeming genuine.

"Is that... real gold?"

"Yes, it probably is."

"Are you trading a gold coin for a sandwich? Why?"

"I'm out of food, and this is all I have."

"..."

What a silver spoon.

Smiling, the man extended the gold coin to the bewildered Ji-eun.

"So, how about trading one of these gold coins for one of your sandwiches, nine times?"

It was a deal with no loss.

If the gold coin in the man's hand was real, selling a sandwich that cost nothing in materials for a gold coin was a good deal.

'What's the current price of gold...?'

After thinking about it, Ji-eun opened the display case and handed a sandwich to the man.

"Yes! Then let's make the deal."

As soon as she handed the sandwich and received the gold coin, the quest content updated as expected.

"Really... the progress increased!"

"That's great."

The man's hand, holding the sandwich, disappeared instantly. It seemed he put it in his inventory.

I'm not sure if sandwiches count as items, but since they can be put in the inventory, they seem to be considered possessions. It's fortunate that they won't spoil as long as they're in the inventory.

"Excuse me, but I want to test something."

Ji-eun decided to experiment with the first and second customer role played by the man in front of her.

"I want to see if selling again immediately will count as a new customer or an additional order from the same customer."

"Ah, that's definitely worth testing."

Nodding at Ji-eun's words, the man took out another gold coin from his pocket and handed it to her without hesitation.

This time, after receiving the gold coin and handing over the sandwich, the system window remained silent, unlike the immediate response just a moment ago.

"Does it work?"

"No, the progress didn't increase. It seems to be considered an additional order from the same customer."

Returning the gold coin to the man, Ji-eun naturally took back the sandwich and looked at the red line marking the safety zone, as the man had mentioned.

"Can you go out and come back once?"

"Outside that red line?"

"Yes, I want to see if that's really the shop's 'door'."

The experiment results were a big success.

The red line, which she thought was just a safety zone marker, turned out to be the shop's 'door'.

When the man went out and came back, and she handed him a sandwich and received a gold coin, the progress increased as expected.

This meant that the area inside the red line was considered the shop's interior.

Also, a customer who had entered the shop and left the red line area after the first purchase was not counted as a new customer but as an additional order.

Feeling very happy for discovering a hidden secret, Ji-eun smiled broadly.

It was already the 9th time the man had gone out and come back through the red line.

Standing in front of the display case again to make the final transaction, the man smiled at Ji-eun.

"You look very happy."

"Yes, thanks to you, I learned a lot."

"And the quest is now complete."

Handing over the last 10th sandwich and receiving the gold coin, the progress reached 100%, and the quest completion notification sounded.

- Class: Food Truck Owner (Hidden) fully acquired.

- Class acquisition complete! Hunter Market usage rights granted.

- Class acquisition complete! Hunter Market auction house usage rights granted.

You can now freely purchase items from the Hunter Market or sell items through the auction house.

- Skill Points (100p) acquired!

- 'Skill/Item Draw Ticket (Common 1)' acquired.

- The probability of receiving good rewards based on the time taken to complete the tutorial quest has significantly increased! The grade of the 'Skill/Item Draw Ticket' has been upgraded.

- 'Skill/Item Draw Ticket (Unique 1)' acquired!

Looking at the parchment that unfolded with the notification of the tutorial completion, Ji-eun felt that she had truly become a fully awakened person.

"Congratulations on completing the quest."

"Ah!"

Ji-eun, who had been looking at the man who had been the main contributor to completing the tutorial, bowed her head.

"Thank you, really."

"I'm also grateful. I was in the center of the fourth floor, and I was out of food, but now I have enough for 10 more meals."

"Do you plan to stay in the dungeon longer?"

"Yes, now that I have food."

The man, who had just bought the 10th sandwich, smiled and waved it.

After a moment of thought, Ji-eun decided and spoke.

"Since you helped me complete my quest and taught me the sales rules, can I offer you some service?"

"Service?"

"Well, it might sound strange, but... no matter how delicious the sandwich is, eating it 10 times in a row would get boring."

"Hmm... I don't think it would get boring."

"I'll make you a few other dishes quickly!"

Although the ingredients in her inventory were limited to bacon, eggs, tomatoes, lettuce, and bread, they were enough to make other dishes.

"Actually, I don't have much time, so I can't make much, but I'll do it quickly. Please wait a moment."

There was only 30 minutes left until closing time.

If she had known this, she would have set the operating hours until 5:30 PM. Ji-eun genuinely regretted that there was only 30 minutes left until closing time.

Her first customer was so helpful. Receiving a customer on the fourth floor of the dungeon was already a stroke of luck, and he had willingly participated in various experiments and helped her complete the tutorial.

Ji-eun suddenly thought it would be nice to meet this man again in the dungeon.

After all, he was the first customer who had visited 10 times in a day and had become a regular customer.

"What's your name?"

The man, who had been watching Ji-eun busily taking eggs and bacon out of her inventory with interest, opened his eyes wide at the sound of her voice and pointed to himself.

"Me?"

"Yes, I'm so grateful. I'll definitely remember it and call you by your name when you come again."

Calling someone by their name means recognizing them as a true regular, right? Looking at Ji-eun's bright smile, the man couldn't help but laugh.

"Ha... hahaha."

"Why are you laughing? Now you're a regular who visited 10 times on the opening day."

"Regulars are great. I'm Song Joo-hyuk."

"I'm Min Ji-eun."

"Ah, so... that's why it was Ji-eun's Food Truck."

Hearing Joo-hyuk's words, Ji-eun, who was just spreading oil on the grill, stumbled. It seemed she shouldn't mention the shop's name again.

Being called "Ji-eun's Food Truck" by others was quite embarrassing.

"Don't tease me. Do you like bacon and egg rolls?"

"I like them."

"What about tomato stew?"

"I like it."

"What don't you like?"

"Nothing. Actually, I like anything I can eat."

"What do you mean by that?"

Ji-eun, who was busily working, burst into laughter at Joo-hyuk's words.

Hearing Ji-eun's pleasant laughter, Joo-hyuk smiled and soon started laughing along with her.

In the pitch-black darkness.

The laughter from the food truck, the only place that glowed faintly in the dark dungeon, continued for a while.