Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Gourt! Paradise!
"Gollum..."
Everyone present couldn’t help but swallow their saliva, not out of nervousness, but...
Fragrance!
The scents of flowers, fruits, ats, and vegetables... Every conceivable and inconceivable aroma converged into a torrent that ca rolling in, wildly stimulating everyone’s senses.
Ellie rubbed her belly, which felt super hungry even though she had eaten a lot that morning.
"Shall we go and have a look?"
"Let’s go and take a look!"
The deep and long tunnel was dark, but there was a light at the end that quickened everyone’s steps, faster and faster, until the dim glow grew into blinding sunlight that filled their vision! With the last step—
The whole world suddenly opened up.
Sunlight, the blinding sunlight showered down from above, and despite everyone knowing it was just a fake sun created by the Dungeon, they can’t help but feel a vibrant Life Force that blinked away the gloom of the swamp.
An endless plain instantly ca into view, a blue-green plain from which gigantic trees soared into the sky, their treetops laden with leaves the size of large slices of at, pitcher plants brimming with drinks dangling from vines, huge scallions everywhere, and mushrooms that were indistinguishable from pudding oozed with cocoa; white rivers flowed slowly and peacefully, and by their scent, it was actually milk and honey that stread within!
Looking into the distance, a variety of odd-shaped birds and beasts frolicked at will, gigantic roasted whole pigs stead with heat, a male lion whose mane resembled premium sponge cake, a koala with cocoa beans growing on its back, mammoth elephants with patterned brown fur...
And in the farthest distance, at the limit of human sight, sat a plant colossal beyond asure, like an emperor in its domain, its branches bent under the weight of cherry-like fruits shimring with a seven-colored rainbow, requiring just one glance to know it must be the most precious existence in this region!
This area was like a fairytale; as children, who hadn’t dreamt of a paradise filled entirely with delicious food?
Chiraj was stunned. Then, suddenly, a locust landed on his hand—an odd locust with a raised back as if filled with a brown liquid.
As if possessed, he caught the locust and tasted the brown liquid.
"Quack, so salty," he exclaid, coming to his senses: "Is this actually soy sauce?"
Ellie squatted to pick a dandelion that looked very peculiar, its top seed fleshy.
She hesitated for a mont and then took a light taste.
"This is..." she said incredulously, "the taste of beef tongue?"
With a precedent set, others couldn’t restrain their impulses anymore and cheered as they rushed into the food area.
"Look, look, trees are even covered in bone-in roasted at!"
"These mushrooms... Eh, is that chocolate sauce on their caps?"
"This tulip looks so strange, my god, it’s garlic inside."
"These grapes are so small, and their color is strange too, wait, they’re fish roe?"
The frail Priest walked the farthest, directly to the riverbank, scooping a mouthful of the white river water; a warm sensation spread throughout the body—it was even hot milk that was flowing.
Everyone was utterly imrsed in the food, finding new taste experiences with each step, a sensation way more enjoyable than any Dungeon!
Even Huynh, who always looked the sternest, couldn’t pull himself away from the roasted at trees, having chewed through three sticks of at in a short ti. The pitcher plants by the tree had all kinds of drinks; he was lucky to find beer, alternating a mouthful of at with a sip of beer, fatigue flew up and away.
"What a beautiful oyster,"
Chiraj found a bright red oyster by the river, its shell marked with layers like overlapping rose petals, emitting the fragrance of roses.
Setting aside the reason for oysters appearing by the river, he couldn’t wait to pry the shell open with a knife, the rich oyster at releasing the scent of roses; with just a slurp, the tender and slippery flesh and aromatic broth flowed into his mouth, not even requiring chewing before it went into his stomach.
"Ah..."
Chiraj groaned, his eyes dazed.
This is what you call gourt food, what on earth was I eating before...
Just when everyone was intoxicated, a colossal shadow slowly erged from beneath the river’s surface, ominously making its way towards Chiraj.
And he was still lost in the explosive taste experience brought by the rose oysters.
"Boom—"
The water burst, and shadows completely engulfed him!
"Captain!"
The feeble Priest was the quickest to react, her body subconsciously moving, forcefully shoving Chiraj to the side!
"Ah, save —"
The sudden incident drew everyone’s attention; they all turned to look.
It was a giant tuna, but at its tail end, it had octopus-like tentacles. At that mont, the tentacles were swinging the slim and petite Priest around, frightening her almost to the point of fainting.
Isn’t this the Octo-Tuna that Jack sells at his barbecue stand? So they co in such huge sizes!
"This is bad!"
Huynh was the first to react, drawing and hurling his Short Sword, which blasted through the tentacle like a cannonball!
The Priest scread as she fell, but fortunately, Chiraj had also snapped back to reality. Not only did he catch her steadily, but he also cast the Gale Technique, instantly summoning a strong wind to blow them away from the Octo-Tuna.
The Octo-Tuna cried out miserably and quickly sank to the bottom of the river, leaving those onshore trembling with fear.
"We’ve been careless," Danya said with a stern face: "After all, this is the Dungeon, and it’s the Sain Dungeon to boot,"
Indeed, culinary delights can soothe the heart, but they can also make one let their guard down.
"No, it’s that we were too close to the river,"
Chiraj was still shaken, but being the only one in the Hamr Fall Team with a higher sense of adventure, he quickly figured it out.
"This river acts as a boundary,"
He pointed to the cave from where they had co and said, "I believe that within the kiloter distance from the cave to this river is safe, and on the other side of the river marked by this boundary, that’s where the Monsters start,"
His analysis was not without rit, as long as they did not approach the Monster-infested river, this vast plain was a playground free of any danger, with the worst-case scenario being overeating to the point of discomfort.
But once they crossed the river, they would be face to face with Monsters.
Roasted whole pig, Horned Lion, Coco Koala, Muscle Crab, Tara Vajra...
These creatures, both culinary delicacies and horrifying Monsters, seed to follow so unwritten rule; no matter how much humans frolicked, as long as they didn’t cross the river, they wouldn’t attract their attention.
It was at this mont that Huynh and the others realized that their safety wasn’t because this was a carefree paradise, it was rely so sort of Dungeon rule that was protecting them.
This was ultimately still... a dangerous Dungeon!
"But as long as we do not cross the boundary, ordinary people could also explore here, right?" Ellie mumbled to herself, "I feel like in the future, many people will co here to make money,"
Danya nodded noncommittally; the distance from the Teleportation Gate to the food zone was not far, and there seed to be few Monsters along the way. If one knew the path well, it wouldn’t be a problem for ordinary people to co here.
Bed City’s economy might just be on the brink of a boom.
As everyone exchanged glances, they suddenly realized they must be among the first batch to discover this culinary area.
"What should we do?" Huynh asked, "Regarding the information about this place,"
This was potentially a considerable fortune—of course, that assud others hadn’t found this place yet.
But the difficulty in finding it was not steep; it was only a matter of ti before the map beca public.
After so discussion, they ca to a conclusion—to sell the information promptly!
They all had the self-awareness that they were not cut out for business but knew that sooner or later, more people would discover the culinary zone.
It was better to sell the information quickly, fetching the highest possible price!
"I want to go over there and take a look,"
Huynh suddenly said, pointing to the towering plant in the distance, "My intuition tells , that thing is definitely, definitely valuable."
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