Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Money Comes Rolling In...... and Customers Are on Their Way

The rabbit farm location was decided: the northeastern part of the outer forest.

Wire fencing would be erected over a wide area to house the Horn Rabbits.

I had already placed bulk orders worth over 30 million won across multiple suppliers for wild boar prevention fencing.

The plan was to layer the fencing two or three deep over a wide perimeter.

No matter how Lowest-Grade Horn Rabbits were, a single layer of fencing would be easily breached.

'They were even drilling through the boss room entrance I had collapsed, using their horns.'

If I had been any later bringing food, they would have escaped.

So I had further reinforced the entrance with the stone debris left over from digging the Glace Mushroom cultivation cave.

Also, the moment I arrived, the fear they had felt before seemed to have completely vanished, and they tried to attack me.

That meant I had to use the Bone Dragon Fear skill again to re-imprint the terror.

'Of course, after the stick came the carrots and assorted vegetables.'

From the third visit onward, they remained wary of me but did not attack.

From the fifth visit, they stopped being wary entirely and crowded around me begging for food.

I was taming them step by step.

***

Ria and I stood facing each other.

This was the time of day I dreaded the most.

"Seon-u, are you ready?"

"Ready."

It was sparring time with Ria.

During this time and this time only, Ria genuinely frightened me.

"Here I come."

Ria drew her sword and came barreling toward me.

Attacks rained from every direction.

I blocked each one with my spear.

Then Ria vanished from my field of vision.

'Behind me!'

I instinctively sensed her Presence Detection.

I swung my spear behind me.

CLANG!

The clear ring of the spear blade meeting sword echoed beautifully.

As expected, Ria had exploited my blind spot and moved behind me.

"Not bad. You can even sense Presence Detection now."

"Must be survival instinct kicking in."

Sparring with Ria felt as pressuring as facing the Named Doppelganger.

I dodged, blocked, and counterattacked purely on the instinct to survive.

That was how hard Ria pushed me to my limits.

"Then since you have gotten stronger, I need to step it up too."

"That might be a bit much......!"

Ria came at me faster and harder.

I poured every ounce of focus into my body, barely managing to block or dodge.

Ria vanished again.

'Behind? No, above!'

I gripped the spear shaft with both hands and raised it overhead.

CLAAANG!!

Ria's powerful sword strike hammered the spear shaft.

To absorb the impact, I rolled backward, falling and tumbling.

Then I sprawled flat on the ground.

"I surrender......! I cannot take any more."

"Alright, that is enough for today. Good work."

Ria came and lay down beside me, resting her head on my outstretched arm.

"You can now even pinpoint positions using Presence Detection. You have really improved so much."

"When you are fighting for your life, at some point you just start sensing it."

"That is a talent in itself. Some people train their whole lives and never develop it."

"Is that so? Well, I am receiving private lessons from the best teacher. It is all thanks to you, Ria."

These were lessons that money could not buy, even by the truckload.

If Ria had not been training me like this, I would probably still be trembling nervously just trying to take down a Lowest-Grade Monster.

"Now that you have learned Presence Detection, you should be able to locate Eriksson even when he uses his Stealth Skill."

"That would be great. Eriksson would be so annoyed if he heard."

"Ha ha, he would."

I turned onto my side to face Ria and gazed at her.

"You move that intensely and do not break a single drop of sweat, and your beauty is completely unruffled. You are unreal, Ria."

"......That is not true."

"I still cannot believe someone this beautiful is my partner."

Ria turned to face me as well.

"I feel the same. Meeting you, Seon-u, feels like a dream. Every single day is happiness."

We shared a gentle kiss.

Ria's lips tasted of Applecherry.

***

Dinner preparation.

Today's meal would be a little different from the usual.

Ria, watching from the side, asked.

"What is today's menu, Chef?"

After I had told her about the profession of chef, she had taken to calling me that whenever she was learning cooking from me.

"Today's menu is a hamburger."

"A hamburger?"

"It is a dish where you put meat, vegetables, and various other things between bread. First, let me make the patty. For the patty, I will be using the hind leg of the boss Horn Rabbit."

"So you are using that."

"I tested a small piece of the meat beforehand, and it was tastier than regular Horn Rabbit."

"Really? I am excited."

I had placed the boneless hind leg meat of the boss Horn Rabbit in a vacuum pack with Glace Mushroom pesto, salting and aging it for a day to remove the toxins.

I washed the boneless hind leg under running water, patted it dry thoroughly with a kitchen towel, then—

Coated it in a batter made from 3 tablespoons of frying flour, 1 teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder, and a small amount of water.

I fried it in a blend of olive oil and avocado oil.

"The smell is amazing. This is that chicken thing you bought for me once before, right?"

"That is right, chicken. The batter formula is a little different, though."

I had once bought Ria fried chicken from a famous franchise to introduce her to the taste.

"It was delicious with beer."

"Chicken and beer is always the right call."

Of course, franchise fried chicken was plenty delicious on its own, but a patty fried in premium oil would be a tier above.

Though it was boss Horn Rabbit meat rather than actual chicken, the taste and texture were very similar to chicken.

Rabbit meat generally tasted very similar to chicken, just slightly more lean and delicate.

While the patty was frying, I sliced the bun and toasted it on a buttered pan.

Then I prepared a mayonnaise-based sauce.

Mayonnaise, diced pickles, diced onion, oregano, lemon juice, pepper, and sweet chili sauce.

'A sauce combining the recipes of a famous Korean chicken burger franchise and a renowned American franchise, blended my own way.'

The patty was done.

Time to assemble the burger.

I explained each step to Ria.

"Spread sauce on the bottom bun and stack the ingredients one by one in order. First the patty, then a little extra sauce on top. Onion slices, cucumber pickles, lettuce, tomato slices."

The assembly order followed my mother's homestyle Sunny Burger method.

"Sauce on the bun, patty, sauce, onion, pickle, lettuce, tomato slices."

Ria assembled her own pseudo-chicken burger following along.

"Finally, cover it with the top bun and it is done."

I had her cap hers while leaving mine still open.

"Top bun on. Finished."

"That turned out nicely."

Ria's burger looked quite presentable.

The wedge fries I had been frying were also done, so I drained the oil briefly and plated them.

Then I pulled a zero-calorie cola from Acresia and poured it into cups.

'Now let me cap mine too. Let us see......'

I placed the sesame bun on top to complete my burger.

A message appeared.

[Master's Horn Rabbit Chieftain Hind Leg Patty Burger]

[Blessing of Dexterity effect: Strength +1, Agility +1, Stamina +1]

[B-Rank Vegetable effect: Mana +0.05]

Was it because the meat came from a boss Monster?

All three combat-related stats — Strength, Agility, and Stamina — each increased by 1.

'Unbelievable.'

An absolute jackpot.

As far as was currently known, boss Monsters were unique — no two of the same kind existed.

A boss was, by nature, a one-of-a-kind Monster.

Perhaps that rarity was why it granted three stats at once.

"Let us eat."

"Yes!"

I tried the burger first.

'This is a straight upgrade to Sunny Burger.'

Fried in premium oil with boss Horn Rabbit meat for the patty, and with top-tier ingredients from the bun to every topping, the flavor was a league above.

Ria tasted the one she had made and was equally impressed.

"This is incredible...... The crispy outside and tender inside of the fried patty, combined with the mayonnaise-based sauce, is just too good."

"Try the fries and cola too."

"Okay!"

Ria brought the cola straw to her lips.

Come to think of it, this was Ria's first time trying cola.

After one sip—

"Hmm, what is this? It has a peculiar taste."

The peculiar taste was probably the caramel flavor.

People who were used to it barely noticed, but for a first-time drinker, it could feel very foreign.

She took another sip.

"Actually, tasting it again, it is not bad. The carbonation is stronger than beer."

Then she ended up finishing the entire cup.

"Ahh! Refreshing. It was not great at first, but it gets better with every sip."

"I will pour you another."

Ria went on to thoroughly enjoy the hamburger set.

Rin, sitting beside me, was spearing fresh B-Rank raw vegetables — not with her hands, but with a children's fork.

'Rin is now quite skilled with a fork.'

Children grow up so fast.

"Seon-u?"

Rin tilted her head when she caught me gazing at her proudly.

"Nothing. I am just proud watching you eat, Rin."

"Heh."

Watching Ria and Rin eat was filling and gratifying on its own, but I still needed to eat.

I polished off the burger.

Three stats gained.

'My stats have gone up quite a bit.'

Nine stats gained from cooking.

Nine cumulative stats from consistently consuming Drake meat and B-Rank vegetable ragu sauce.

Three Mana stats from drinking the Dragon's wine.

One stat across the board from the achievement of clearing the ice Rift boss.

Ten stats across the board from the achievement of Acresia rising to A-Grade.

And three stats from training with Ria.

The result:

[STATUS: Strength 66.3 / Agility 85.1 / Dexterity 119 / Mana 146.12 / Stamina 93]

My average Strength-Agility-Stamina stat exceeded 80.

In stats alone, I had reached A+-Rank level.

Though having high Stamina and low Strength was a weakness.

'Raising each stat individually really is crucial.'

From E-Rank to A+-Rank.

A truly insane rate of growth.

While I was reviewing my stats, Ria finished her meal.

"That was wonderful. Being able to eat something this delicious makes me so happy."

"I am glad you liked it. Next time I will make you an American-style cheeseburger with a milkshake."

"I am already looking forward to it."

And so our family finished the meal.

I then made chicken burgers for the S-Rank trio as well.

Using regular chicken thigh meat for the patties, of course.

'The boss Horn Rabbit patty is far too valuable.'

It had three combat stats attached.

Converting those stats to won:

Strength and Agility at 30 million won each.

Stamina at 15 million won — totaling 75 million won.

Giving that away for free would be excessive even among close companions.

'I need to save it to sell as a special menu item at a premium once the restaurant opens.'

I loaded three chicken burgers, fries, and cola sets onto a tray, opened a Gate portal to the bedrock zone where the S-Rank trio was staying, and delivered them.

"This is...... the taste of Sunny Burger! No, far better."

The Sword Saint apparently used to eat Sunny Burgers regularly.

He said he always visited the hamburger franchise with the motherly homestyle taste after coming down from the mountains.

"To eat an upgraded Sunny Burger inside a Rift — I am truly moved."

"Please enjoy."

The other two ate with equal fervor, marveling between bites.

***

Once again, the Sword Saint, Eriksson, and Bell had gone out on reconnaissance.

Santos was guarding the bedrock zone outpost.

I was also there, inspecting the cooking equipment I had set up and the ingredients in Acresia.

That was when—

A figure was racing toward us at high speed.

"Seon-u!"

It was Eriksson.

He had used his Swiftness Skill to sprint over and was catching his breath.

"Why the rush?"

"Phew! They are here."

"Here? You do not mean......"

"Yeah, the follow-up expedition has arrived! The old man and Bell are leading them here right now."

"They are finally here."

It had taken longer than I expected.

A full 25 days since their departure.

They had taken so long that I had worried they might have run into a powerful Monster along the way.

"Thanks to Bell, we found them easily. They should arrive here within about 20 minutes."

"Good work."

Money was rolling in...... no, customers were on their way.

Time to prepare for their arrival.

'Let us get this business started.'