KakaoPage
"Saving the North can wait until I establish myself first."
I had my reasons for volunteering as the inn's chef, even though it seemed like an unusual move.
"Working at the inn makes it easier to gather information. I can earn money safely, and being the chef lets me start without any prerequisites."
My first goal was clear:
Work at this inn, adapt to life in this new world, and build a stable foundation while earning money safely.
"Come to think of it, this is kind of fun—this otherworldly life."
Maybe it was because my start had been so unusually smooth, but I didn’t feel the dread one might expect when dropped into a medieval fantasy world.
In fact, it felt more like I was on a vacation. Or perhaps like I was playing a hyper-realistic VR game.
If not for that nagging mission to save the North, this could have been a delightful escape from reality.
An Hour Later
Using the ingredients and tools available in the kitchen, I prepared my first dish.
It was the most common and popular dish in the North—a simple stew.
“Wow… this is delicious!”
“You were confident for a reason.”
“It’s way better than the food Dad makes!”
“Shut up, you little brat.”
Since I couldn’t just cook a single portion, I inadvertently made enough for both the innkeeper and his son.
Luckily, both of them enjoyed the stew immensely.
The problem was me.
Unlike them, I couldn’t bring myself to eat more than a few spoonfuls.
"They call this delicious?"
The stew had an overwhelming gamy odor, and worst of all, it was incredibly bland.
"Even if I fix the blandness with salt, the stench is unbearable."
As I stared blankly at the bowl of stew, a flood of knowledge filled my mind.
Max-level cooking skills, combined with the values of a modern Earthling, clashed violently in my head.
"This body, Arad’s body, comes with knowledge tailored to this world’s ingredients and culinary techniques."
Arad’s body was fascinating—like a high-performance computer. My soul was the operating system running it.
"It’s a fantasy world, all right. Even the North has decent spices and seasonings, and rock salt isn’t that expensive thanks to nearby mines."
With just a bit of focus, relevant information poured into my mind as if I were using a search engine.
"If I combine this world’s resources with Korea’s love for seasoned greens, it’ll work wonders."
After all, I came from a country obsessed with herbs and spices. Koreans even eat mildly toxic plants, claiming the poison disappears if cooked right.
And here I was, a Korean soul paired with Arad’s max-level cooking skills, staring at this pathetic excuse for a stew.
"This stew is an insult."
The innkeeper, Jack, and his son, Tom, devoured the stew with gusto, but to me, it was a mark of disgrace.
The Next Morning
I woke up earlier than anyone else and stepped outside the inn.
I wasn’t tired. Even though this body was non-combatant and had no combat skills, its stamina and strength stats, built up through years of grinding, ensured I didn’t feel fatigue easily.
"Ugh, it’s freezing…"
The cold, however, was another matter entirely.
Thankfully, I wasn’t dressed in the same flimsy linen clothes and leather jacket as yesterday.
Now, I wore a thick fur coat and gloves, courtesy of Jack.
Thanks to this, I could venture out into the early morning chill.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
The snow that had fallen overnight made the road outside the city difficult to traverse.
In true Northern fashion, even a brief snowfall left drifts up to my knees.
“Damn it! This cursed devil’s dandruff!”
“Oh, calm down! It’s not like this is the first time!”
The grumbling voices of townsfolk clearing snow reached my ears as I trudged along.
“Hiring snow shovelers! Work until noon for 2 coppers! First 20 people only!”
Haven, as a mid-sized town, had more outsiders than residents, given its strategic location near the frontier.
This meant there weren’t enough locals to handle all the snow-clearing, so townspeople actively recruited workers.
“Out of my way! I need this job!”
“No! I haven’t eaten in two days!”
Low-rank adventurers rushed to these recruitment calls, desperate for work.
Huff, huff, huff.
I passed by the commotion and made my way to the city’s eastern gate.
Though Haven was only a mid-sized town, its location on the frontlines against the Abyss meant its walls were no joke—thick, tall, and long.
The effort of wading through knee-deep snow had me sweating and breathing heavily by the time I reached the gate.
Finally, I arrived at the eastern gate, one of Haven’s lesser-used entrances.
The eastern gate faced away from the Abyss and wasn’t connected to the main Northern Highway, so it saw little traffic.
“Hey, you’re the healer who treated Lennon and Jack at the inn yesterday. Heading out of the city already, and before sunrise at that?”
A guard, wearing armor emblazoned with the insignia of Haven and the Renslet Duchy, recognized me.
He must have been one of the guards who responded yesterday.
"Discipline seems strong here."
The soldiers’ equipment spoke volumes.
Their halberds, crafted from Northern Cold Steel—a material rivaling Imperial Steel—gleamed even in the freezing weather.
Due to its high maintenance demands, Northern Cold Steel was usually reserved for knights, yet even regular soldiers here wielded it as their primary weapon.
Their secondary weapons and other gear were made of standard iron, and they wore fur-lined leather armor.
Even the soldier next to him had the exact same gear, as if copy-pasted.
"Uniform equipment for all soldiers? That means the duchy supplies their arms and armor."
It wasn’t perfect, but it was impressive.
In most places in this world, soldiers were expected to provide their own gear.
I’d bet the North was the only place where even foot soldiers received standardized equipment.
This spoke volumes about the military strength and discipline of the North.
“I’m just gathering herbs near the city,” I replied, debating whether to address the guard formally.
Then I remembered he had spoken informally first, so I decided to do the same.
“There’s an apothecary in town, you know.”
“I’d rather gather them myself than pay those prices.”
“Hahaha! Fair enough. Go ahead.”
“Thanks.”
“But stay away from the Cloud Ridge. Monsters and predators are often sighted there.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Thankfully, the guard didn’t seem bothered by my tone.
Thanks to yesterday’s events, my reputation as a healer had already earned me some recognition.
The incident at the inn had brought me benefits beyond just money.
With no further issues, I passed through the city gate.
I had even brought a letter of guarantee from Jack, just in case, but it turned out I didn’t need it.
* * *
After leaving the city, I walked for about thirty minutes.
By then, the sun had just begun to peek over the horizon.
Given Haven's proximity to the Abyss, venturing even this short distance was considered a mild adventure.
However, since I was heading away from the Abyss and still within the city's scent range, I didn’t encounter any monsters.
The wildlife I saw included animals that could be likened to passive mobs—birds, rabbits, mice, and deer.
"This really is another world. Even in this snowy winter, white grass grows like this? It must be because of mana."
The field I arrived at was much easier to navigate than the snow-laden city streets.
While the city was buried in deep snow, here the snow barely covered the ground.
"There must be a mana stone mine nearby."
The connection was easy to guess, though I decided against seeking out the mine for now.
After all, even if I found mana stones, I had no equipment, facilities, or sales channels to make use of them.
"Spices... spices, huh."
I wandered the mana-infused plains, which had only a light dusting of snow.
"Who says spices have to mean just pepper?"
I searched for plants and roots that grew uniquely in this world but resembled those from Earth.
Despite the cold, the North’s mana and the influence of the mana stones allowed life to flourish on these fields.
Snow-white weeds spread across the landscape like a carpet.
"Found it. Northern spices."
Before long, I discovered plants that could serve as spices—or Northern MSG.
Without hesitation, I began collecting various herbs and roots, stuffing them into my leather bag.
Slice, slice, slice.
For hours, I worked with my dagger, cutting herbs, gathering fallen leaves, and digging shallow holes to unearth roots. I pressed everything tightly into my bag.
Wielding a dagger while wearing fur gloves was mildly annoying, but thanks to my Dexterity stat, it wasn’t difficult.
After a while, I looked at my now-full bag and nodded in satisfaction.
"This should be enough."
The contents of my bag fell into two main categories:
Both were common in the North’s fantasy world.
"Next time, I’ll just hire city kids or adventurers to do this."
Feeling accomplished, I resolved not to do this work myself again and headed back to the city.
When I arrived at the city gates, a different soldier was on duty.
“I heard about you during the shift change, healer. Already done collecting?”
Apparently, word about me had been passed down between shifts, as the new guard greeted me knowingly.
“Got lucky and found what I needed quickly.”
“Snowfield leaves and snowflower roots? And some other random weeds too. What are you planning to do with these? Are they for medicine?”
“I’m thinking of using them for cooking.”
“Cooking? You’re planning to add food that only deer eat to your dishes?”
His reaction confirmed my suspicions: Northern spices hadn’t yet been adopted here.
To the locals, these were either useless weeds or plants fit only for herbivores.
“It’s just an experiment. If it doesn’t work, I’ll stop.”
Not wanting to argue, I brushed off his skepticism.
“Experimenting with perfectly good food, huh? Well, go on in.”
Without demanding a bribe or giving me a hard time, the guard allowed me back into the city.
He might have been hedging his bets in case he needed a healer in the future—or perhaps it was simply the North’s strong military discipline and order at work.
"These clueless Northerners. They whine about food scarcity and hunger but never thought to use these as spices or seasonings? They’d be excellent if prepared properly!"
As I walked back toward the inn, I clicked my tongue at the locals’ lack of culinary insight.
"Though, to be fair, they only started using these during the Empire’s exploitation and the Great Famine."
The thought of the North’s eventual tragedies sobered me, silencing my internal complaints.
Still, my steps back to the inn were lighter than they had been in the early morning. The streets had been thoroughly cleared of snow, likely thanks to the combined efforts of the townsfolk and adventurers.
Back at the Inn
When I arrived, the innkeeper Jack and his son Tom were busy cleaning.
“Back already? Where’d you head off to so early?”
Jack, bald and bearded, with a slight belly, swept the floor carefully, mindful of his bandaged arm.
His son Tom was beside him, scrubbing the floor with a rag.
“Just went outside the city to gather some things.”
I gestured to the bag slung over my shoulder as both of them turned their attention to me.
“Skipping breakfast service, I see?”
I glanced around the unusually quiet and empty first floor.
“Hardly anyone here ever eats breakfast. And if they do, they take one look at my cooking and head to another place.”
Jack chuckled dryly, shrugging his shoulders.
“So, you’re saying there are people who come for lunch?”
“More or less. And let me tell you, there’s a lot of buzz about the stew you made yesterday. Every adventurer and mercenary in the city will be here for lunch today.”
Jack’s face lit up with excitement as he spoke.
Gulp.
Beside him, Tom instinctively swallowed as memories of yesterday’s stew made his mouth water.
“I’ll serve you something even better than that.”
Leaving the two of them behind, I hurried to the kitchen to start preparing lunch.
“By the way, can I ask Tom for small errands while I’m cooking?”
“Of course. Just make sure to compensate him for his trouble.”
“Fair enough. Tom, go fetch some clean water first.”
“Right away! I’ll draw it from the well!”
Maybe it was the promise of payment, but Tom darted out of the inn like lightning.
“By the way... what’s with all these weeds and roots you brought back? Are they some new kind of medicinal herb I don’t know about?”
A few seconds later, I heard Jack’s puzzled voice.