In Korea, there is a cup noodle called "Volcano Stir-fried Noodles." Known for its overwhelming spiciness and a subtle umami flavor, this noodle has taken the spice-loving Koreans by storm. It’s so spicy that people joke it makes them swear in Korean, earning the nickname “Korean language injector.” 

One foreigner famously ate it, breathing fire, and commented, "Do Koreans not understand moderation?" The spiciness of Volcano Stir-fried Noodles has made it the best-selling ramen in Korea, proving just how much Koreans love spicy food. Of course, there are those who dislike it, but many can’t get enough.

And some of those spicy food enthusiasts also play *Silia Online*.

"Why are there no spicy dishes in this game?"

That’s right, they had complaints about the in-game food.

"If it’s a game made in Korea, shouldn’t there be spicy food?"  
"Exactly. It should be so spicy that I can’t leave the bathroom the next day!"  
"Okay, that’s too much."

To be fair, there are spicy dishes on the continent of Ardina, but they weren’t enough to satisfy the fiery Korean palate.

"Grrr... I need spicy food!"  
"Give me capsaicin!"  
"Aaah!"

Players started to go mad from the lack of spice, their eyes wild as they transformed into "spice zombies," terrifying NPCs and other players alike.

With *Silia Online* facing potential destruction by spice zombies, one of them came up with a brilliant idea.

"If it’s not here, why don’t we just make it ourselves?"

Thus began the project to recreate the taste of extreme spiciness.

This wasn’t the first attempt to replicate the tastes of Earth in the game. Many players had already tried, with some successes and failures. One commonality was that many of the foods that couldn’t be replicated relied heavily on modern food science. They either took too much effort to make or couldn’t be reproduced at all.

Spicy flavors, especially like those in Volcano Stir-fried Noodles, were in that category. The unique spicy umami flavor was difficult to replicate using natural ingredients alone, so the spice zombies' attempts often failed.

But after much perseverance, their efforts finally paid off.

"W-What is this taste?! My tongue feels like it’s on fire!"  
"Ah, you don't understand. This is what we call spicy."  
"Water, give me water!"  
"Fool! Don’t you know that drinking water after eating something spicy makes it worse? Drink milk!"  
"You... you've done it!"

They established a restaurant, *Burning Phoenix*, after much effort. The only items on the menu were "Phoenix Stir-fried Noodles" and "Phoenix Stir-fried Rice," which players fondly referred to as Volcano Stir-fried Noodles and Rice, respectively. The only other thing they sold was milk, to soothe the inevitable burn.

Despite the limited menu, *Burning Phoenix* became a hit, attracting Korean players, spice-loving foreigners, and even NPCs.

Today, Journey had brought none other than Phoenix Stir-fried Rice.

"And it’s going to be my lunch."

The fiery red stir-fried rice looked mouthwatering. Journey preferred stir-fried noodles, but bringing noodles to the mountain would cause them to become soggy, turning into something more like stir-fried dough.

"...But should I really give this to him?"

As the spicy aroma rose from the rice, Journey hesitated. 

"What if he gets mad? What if all the favor I’ve built up goes down the drain?"

—And now you worry about that?  
—Just go for it!  
—Aren’t you curious?  
—Haha, my mouth’s watering just thinking about it!

"You dopamine junkies!"

Of course, Journey was curious too. Could the gravedigger eat this without showing any reaction? She had brought the dish out of sheer stubbornness, but now that the moment had come, she hesitated.

"Maybe I should just say I forgot to bring something today...."

—What?  
—Seriously?  
—That's lame.  
—Coward.  
—Chicken.

"You guys aren’t the ones who’ll lose favor with him!"

—Why should we care?  
—Our favor is already in the negative.  
—Might as well start from zero. Fresh start, right?

"Argh!"

Journey shuddered in frustration. She had forgotten—her viewers lived to troll her.

"It’s not like I’m lying if I say it’s a trending dish."

Finally, Journey opened her inventory to put the stir-fried rice back.

"Yeah, maybe it’s better not to give him this today—"

[A new mission has arrived! — Give him the stir-fried rice. Reward: 500,000 KRW.]

"Five hundred thousand?!"

Are you trying to buy me off with money?

That was what she wanted to say, but the amount was too large to ignore. As viewers began piling on more money to increase the mission reward, Journey’s eyes started twitching.

It wasn’t that she was tempted by the money. It was the realization that the larger the mission reward got, the more hyped her chat was. If she backed out now, her chat would erupt into flames, probably breaking the server.

"Fine! I’ll do it, okay? I’ll do it!"

With trembling steps, Journey carried the Phoenix Stir-fried Rice over to the gravedigger.

"This, uh..."

"..."

"Today’s... meal, for you."

Journey stammered in the Granik she had been learning. The gravedigger silently looked at the dish she was offering, then looked at her.

"..."

"..."

"..."

His gaze was piercing.

Journey knew that a stare couldn’t physically hurt, but it felt like someone was pricking her with tiny needles. Or maybe it was more like a rusty sword poking at her.

'Are you seriously giving me this? Are you out of your mind?'

His gaze seemed to be saying that.

'Should I just give up on everything and leave?'

What was scarier than failure? Death? As Journey felt like she was being pierced by the gravedigger’s stare, she silently hoped he would just refuse the food. He could reject it, throw it away, do whatever he wanted—she didn’t care.

At least then she wouldn’t lose face with the viewers, and more importantly, she wouldn’t die at the hands of an angry gravedigger.

Her heart pounded louder and faster as regret filled her. Finally, the gravedigger’s cloaked hand reached out.

Thunk.

"Huh?"

With that, Journey’s hopes shattered.

The stir-fried rice, which had looked delicious moments ago, suddenly transformed into something straight out of a demon's cauldron in his hands. Molten lava, brimstone, and the wailing of the damned echoed in Journey’s imagination.

The gravedigger was like a demon chef, preparing to toss her into the giant frying pan of hell.

'Welcome to hell. First time here?'

"Gah!"

Journey’s face turned white as she realized that if she didn’t stop him now, she might be the one ending up in that frying pan.

"Wait—"

But it was too late.

Munch.

While Journey had momentarily spaced out, the gravedigger had already taken a bite of the fiery red stir-fried rice.

'Please, please...'

Maybe he can handle spicy food. Maybe, just maybe, he’ll even like it. 

What was she thinking, bringing him this dish out of sheer stubbornness?

Journey’s mind raced, filled with pointless hopes and self-recriminations. It was too late to take it back now. All she could do was pray she didn’t lose all the favor she’d built up.

"...Cough."

"...!"

"Cough! Cough-cough! Ha... haaa..."

Oh, I’m doomed.

Seeing the gravedigger react in a way he never had before, Journey could only laugh in resignation.

"At least, I hope I don’t die painfully..."

The devil in her mind gestured once more, now joined by two others.

Journey opened the game settings and dragged the pain sensitivity slider all the way down to zero.

"Keugh...!"

The gravedigger continued to cough violently, his breath ragged. Journey’s chat erupted in both ridicule and laughter.

—Wow, you monster.  
—I’ve reported you for child abuse.  
—Thanks for the memories, Journey.  
—LMAO.

"You guys are the ones who told me to do it! And besides, he might not even be a kid!"

—??: Dude, did you really do it just because we told you to?  
—We never said anything.  
—He’s going to die from the heat—aren’t you going to give him something?  
—This is how you get a first kill?

"Oh, right!"

Journey quickly pulled some milk from her inventory. She had bought it from *Burning Phoenix* along with the stir-fried rice.

"Here, take this!"

Whip!

Glug, glug!

The gravedigger, with a speed she’d never seen from him before, snatched the milk and chugged it. His body, which had been trembling uncontrollably, finally began to calm down with each gulp. His heavy breathing also began to slow.

Hoo... ha...

The spiciness hadn’t fully dissipated, but he was clearly recovering.

Which meant Journey’s judgment day was near.

She immediately threw herself to the ground in apology.

"I-I’m sorry!"

"..."

The gravedigger said nothing. The silence was suffocating.

Journey, the great sinner, waited anxiously, fearing what might happen next. Finally, the gravedigger spoke.

"It

’s not 'sorry,' it’s 'I apologize,' kid."

"...Huh?"

But to Journey’s surprise, his words weren’t filled with anger. She had been ready for him to explode, maybe even draw his sword and kill her on the spot.

—He’s really forgiving this???  
—What a saint.

Journey and her viewers were equally shocked by his unexpectedly gentle response. But their surprise wasn’t over yet.

"My name is Kana."

"Huh?"

"My name. It’s Kana."

The gravedigger spoke in a voice that sounded a bit hazy.

"It’s a secret, so don’t tell anyone."

—????????  
—???????????????  
—Wait, this was the right answer all along???  
—❓❓❓

Among the flood of question marks, one comment passed by that Journey silently agreed with.

'I have no idea why this happened... but at least I survived.'

The gravedigger likes spicy food. Noted.