Chapter 21 - Changes in the No-Hunger Dungeon
“Huh? Why are the adventurers so restless?”
When the female knights returned from the 11th floor, they noticed something unusual about the adventurers near the surface.
“Oh! Captain! You’ve returned from investigating the 11th floor?”
The knight standing guard at the dungeon entrance called out to them.
“Yeah, we found the hot spring... though it was a brutal floor.
But more importantly, did something happen? The adventurers seem all worked up.”
“Yes! The No-Hunger Dungeon has started dropping new kinds of food!”
“Oh? That place has been around since before we were born, and all it ever dropped were cheap gems, the same rations we eat, or hardtack.
Did it finally change? Are the food drops better now?”
“Well... it’s incredibly delicious. The best I’ve ever tasted... Wait, Captain, what’s going on with your skin? It looks amazing!”
“Never mind that. What kind of food is it—”
“That can wait! Your skin! Let me see your skin! Is it the 11th floor? Is it the effect of the 11th floor’s hot spriiiing?!”
“Enough! Report on the food, you fool!”
“Phew... We finally managed to implement bread in the No-Hunger Dungeon.”
“It took a while, didn’t it? Getting me to develop an appetite.”
I was currently lounging in the Master Room, munching on potato chips and sipping cola while lazily watching the female knights’ conversation on the monitor.
I’d learned that casually enjoying meals like this was more effective in helping Peta-chan develop an appetite than forcing myself to eat out of obligation. I wasn’t slacking off, okay?
Now, every day, Peta-chan sits next to me, nibbling on bread.
“Hmm... So this is what food is like? I think I’m starting to understand its appeal. Can I try what you’re eating?”
“Sure, but it might be a bit too complex for you.”
Peta-chan picks up a potato chip and makes a weird face.
Then she takes a sip of cola and makes an even weirder face.
“What is this...? Yeah, what the hell is this? My mouth feels all tingly and fizzy... I can’t even describe it.”
“Well, you’ll get used to it. Potato chips are one thing, but cola might still be too advanced for the locals here.
Next, I want you to try this and remember its taste.”
I pull out some honey.
Using my information-disclosure ability, I’d been studying the breakfasts of female knights and noble ladies.
Honey occasionally appeared in their meals, so I figured it would be well-received.
“Spread this on the bread and eat it.”
Peta-chan obediently spreads the honey on the bread and nibbles on it.
“Hmm... Haa, aah~, my mouth is filled with this intense, strange flavor... This might be good.”
“That flavor is called ‘sweet.’”
...Apparently, even when her mouth fills with sweetness, she can’t describe it as “sweet.”
It seems I’ll have to teach her the basic tastes—sweet, salty, spicy, bitter, and sour—one by one. This is going to take a while.
A week later, the No-Hunger Dungeon started dropping jars of honey alongside bread.
And then... chaos ensued.
The lower floors of the No-Hunger Dungeon had long been a haven for the poor, struggling to survive.
The first and second floors were packed with impoverished residents.
Even the third floor and below, which were dangerous for those without combat skills, were no big deal for the children who grew up on the first and second floors, spending their days exploring.
And those who managed to survive within the dungeon and develop the skills to explore the fifth floor and below—
They used the treasures they found on the fifth floor to fund their lives in the city, registering as adventurers, taking on quests to grow stronger, and eventually becoming ordinary citizens of the Kingdom of Sepans.
Dreaming of this future, many boys from the No-Hunger Dungeon fought their way through the dungeon, though most perished along the way.
The No-Hunger Dungeon had long served as a convenient facility that automatically handled poverty relief, training, and population control all at once.
Compared to the bare caves in other countries that served as slums, this dungeon was a paradise—sheltered from the elements, with a constant temperature, dungeon-mana lighting, and occasional food drops.
The dungeon had grown to eight floors largely thanks to its role as a poverty relief facility, as it offered little profit and attracted no strong adventurers.
That was the purpose of the lower floors.
But then, suddenly, soft bread with a rich flavor that even nobles savored began appearing.
On top of that, honey—once considered the ultimate sweet treat and treated as a privilege exclusive to nobles—started dropping as loot, even on the first floor.
The monsters on the first floor were weak enough for a child with basic sword skills to handle.
In the Kingdom of Sepans, children selling bread and honey in the city to buy clothes and shoes became a common sight.
Some greedy adventurers and nobles tried to drive out the lower-floor residents to monopolize the drops, but a significant portion of the kingdom’s skilled adventurers and soldiers had grown up in the No-Hunger Dungeon.
They wouldn’t tolerate anyone disrupting their hometown’s peace, and the schemers ended up facing harsh retaliation.
As a result, the lower floors of the No-Hunger Dungeon remained an untouchable sanctuary, while the upper floors (6th to 8th) became packed with well-equipped, high-skilled adventurers.
The deepest part of the No-Hunger Dungeon, which used to be a vast and sparsely populated space where adventurers would only pass by each other about once a day, was now bustling with activity.
These days, just a quick glance around was enough to spot multiple groups of adventurers exploring the area.
“Hey! That’s my prey!”
“Shut up! It came at me, so it’s mine!”
“Ugh, another worthless gem! Total bust!”
The 8th floor of the No-Hunger Dungeon was now filled with the angry shouts of greedy adventurers.
“Ufufufu... Ufufufufu~~~~”
Peta-chan was grinning from ear to ear, unable to hide her joy as her dungeon’s points skyrocketed.
“Master, you’re amazing! Master, you’re amazing! Master, you’re amazingggggg~~~ Uhihihi, uhehehe!”
“Hmm... I didn’t expect bread and honey to cause such a commotion.”
“Hey, hey! What’s next? What should we drop to attract even more people? Hey! Hey!”
Peta-chan was practically breathing down my neck, eager for the next step.
“Well, we need something for adventurers that only drops from the 6th floor and below. What do you think we should add, Peta-chan?”
I asked to gauge how much she’d learned about human food and taste.
“Sweet potato fries!!”
...I wasn’t expecting that. She answered with such confidence.
Where did sweet potato fries even come from? Did she like them that much?
“Sweet, hearty potatoes with the honey everyone’s crazy about slathered all over them! It’s delicious! It’ll be a hit! This will totally work!”
Huhh...? Ahh... I see, I see.
Potatoes are universally appealing, and she’s factoring in the current honey craze.
While it seems like a random answer, there’s solid reasoning behind it. For someone who’s only recently started learning about food, it’s a pretty high-level response.
Peta-chan might lack common sense, but her raw intelligence and learning ability are impressive.
“Good for filling you up, with a simple, earthy flavor enhanced by the honey that’s already well-accepted in this country... Yeah, it’ll definitely be well-received.”
“Right?!”
Peta-chan puffed out her nonexistent chest, looking incredibly proud.
“...Alright. Can you make salt and pepper drop from the 6th floor and below too?”
“Why?!?!”
Even though she’s starting to understand human taste and food, it seems a Dungeon Core still can’t grasp the social roles and demands of ingredients.
“Salt and pepper... that powder you sprinkle on grilled meat, right? Why would we drop so much of that? Will it really work? I don’t get it! I don’t get it at all!”
Peta-chan was ranting, but it couldn’t be helped. Improving preserved foods would also benefit the deeper exploration of the Hot Spring Dungeon.
The No-hunger Dungeon will have to contribute to our dungeon’s exploration efforts too.
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