TRUFT 19

Chapter 19

Our next destination was Andong.

We usually decided where to go on a whim, but this time, we chose Andong because we wanted to eat jjimdak.

As soon as we arrived, we had the famous salted mackerel for breakfast, and jjimdak for lunch.

“Uncle! That mackerel with rice earlier was sooo good!”
“Really? The jjimdak was sweet and tasty too, right?”
“Yeah! And those glass noodles? I liked those too!”
“Right, those were great.”

Thinking back on the delicious food, we returned to the truck.

And in the evening, I headed to a gate.

Today, instead of a typical monster gate… I looked for a plant-type gate.

All over the gate, there were plants called Flame Herbs and Poison Herbs. Flame Herbs shoot fire, and Poison Herbs shoot venom.

There were also a few orcs guarding them.

Normally, to leave a gate, you either buy a return scroll from a merchant or fulfill the gate’s return condition.

‘I usually just kill whatever I see and teleport out, so I never cared about conditions.’

Usually, the condition is killing at least one monster—but this gate required collecting 10 Flame Herbs and Poison Herbs.

Since they constantly shoot fire and poison, many hunters avoided this place.

But for me, it was perfect.

I knew how to safely harvest them.

And I also knew—

they were delicious.

“Jjakjjak’s going to have a feast.”

These were plants with mana, but not exactly monsters—so Jjakjjak could eat them.

Tomorrow’s menu would be bibimbap.

A bibimbap made with incredibly tasty wild greens.

‘Bibimbap is the best.’

It has everything—carbs, protein, fat.

A true superfood.

And the taste? Absolutely amazing.

“Let’s go in.”

The gate was humid and hot.

Then—

Whoosh!

A small flame shot past me.

‘Brutal.’

First, I cut down the orcs guarding the plants.

Then—

Slash—whoosh!

After they were all down, I looked around.

‘30 Flame Herbs, 10 Poison Herbs.’

Flame Herbs were what I needed most—and there were thirty.

I decided to take them all.

Whoosh—

Dodging the fire, I plucked the first one.

As soon as it’s picked, it loses its ability to shoot flames.

‘Let’s taste the leaves.’

Crunch!

Even a thin leaf made a crisp sound.

‘That’s because it’s infused with mana.’

Normally, food with mana is dangerous for ordinary people—

but plant-based mana is harmless.

‘I forgot why though.’

Something about the structure of mana…

Whatever. It tastes good.

“As expected—same taste as in H.”

Nutty, like sesame oil.

Savory like fern greens.

Slightly sweet aroma.

And a subtle spicy kick—true to its name.

“Perfect.”

Better than any vegetable.

And it’s also medicinal.

Using Dragon Eye, I checked its properties:

[Flame Herb Effects: Boosts immunity, clears vision, sharpens hearing, relaxes muscles, restores stamina.]

“Now… Poison Herb.”

I dodged its venom and plucked it.

“…Oh?”

It had a sharp, tingling taste.

‘This is like tea leaves.’

Sweet and refreshing—

and it felt like it purified the blood.

Using Dragon Eye:

[Effects: Strengthens bones, purifies blood, increases concentration, improves skin elasticity.]

‘I should harvest a lot of this too.’

If I sold it as tea… it would make good money.

“I’m basically a farmer now.”

Like someone leaving city life to farm—

I started harvesting diligently.

“…Should I cultivate these?”

They could grow anywhere with mana.

If I made a cultivation room in my space—

‘I could grow hundreds at once.’

“Yuna would enjoy farming too.”

“Jjakjjak would love it.”

“Hehe.”

Like the martial arts anime they watched—

where the protagonist finds rare tea leaves and learns to cultivate them.

‘This feels amazing.’

I harvested 50 of each.

Now we were rich in medicinal herbs.

Back home, I prepared dinner.

And thought about something.

‘Should I sell to regular people too?’

Bibimbap and tea would actually help ordinary people more than hunters.

Students, parents, office workers—

they all needed this.

‘Maybe sell it cheaply as a kind of service?’

But then—

Wouldn’t it be unfair to charge hunters more?

“…This is tricky.”

I decided to discuss it over dinner.

Dinner was bibimbap with Flame Herbs—

plus a Black Egg fried on top.

“Dinner’s ready!”
“Wow, bibimbap!”
“Thank you, Great Hero Hyunjoon!”
“Nice menu!”
“Looks delicious!”

They all took a bite.

“…Wow.”
“Uncle, this is amazing!”
“What’s this crunchy thing?”
“Flame Herb.”
“…Wait, the one that costs 300,000 won per kg?!”

“…What?”

It was that expensive?

“I also got Poison Herbs. We can make tea.”
“That’s expensive too!”

‘We hit the jackpot.’

Golden eggs and rare herbs—

all ours.

“Haha!”

Then—

Sniff…

Jjakjjak was crying.

“It’s so delicious… Great Hero Hyunjoon!”

“…Eat as much as you want.”

Then I brought up my concern.

Selling to regular people cheaply—but hunters expensively—

would that cause complaints?

“…That’s tough.”
“Yeah…”

Then—

“Uncle! Look! A sale!”

[Today Only! 30% off premium beef!]

“That’s it!”

An event.

“Let’s just say it’s a one-day special—50% off for everyone!”

“Ah! That works!”
“Great idea!”
“Yuna, good job!”

“…What did I do?”

She just smiled happily.

“Tomorrow, we sell to hunters normally. Then on festival day, we do the discount.”

Everyone agreed.

“Thanks, everyone. Let’s do our best tomorrow.”
“Let’s go!”

“Oh, I’ll make Poison Herb tea for dessert.”

“Nice!”

“Wow! This is refreshing!”
“Uncle, this tea feels like an elixir!”

“Haha!”

“Drink a lot and become the strongest bird!”
“Understood!”

Everyone laughed.

“Let’s play later!”
“Yuna is the strongest—I’ve never seen her get tired!”

More laughter.

Yuna puffed her chest proudly.

“Uncle! We’re selling bibimbap tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I want everyone to taste this!”

“Then let’s make sure many people do.”

“Okay! Let’s go!”

Yuna glared at everyone.

“Why aren’t you cheering? Say it!”

“Let’s go!”
“Hehe.”