The moment we passed through the capital's gates, I immediately understood why this place was called the nation of cuisine.
Food stalls and restaurants lined the streets in every direction. The air was filled with the rich blend of sour, sweet, bitter, salty, and umami aromas, constantly tempting my appetite.
And it wasn't just the smell—each shop was painted in bright, vibrant colors, giving the entire city a lively atmosphere that made you even hungrier.
Looking at this scene, I couldn't help but compare it to the food district on Level 93 of the dungeon. The only differences were the building materials, lighting, and automation.
But at a glance, I also noticed something else.
Most of the people here were… well, chubby.
Almost nine out of ten people were on the heavier side.
But after arriving in the capital, I immediately understood why.
They say you should only eat until you're eighty percent full—go beyond that, and you'll gain weight.
But when the food is this good, there's no way you can stop.
We soon entered a restaurant and ordered what we wanted. While waiting, I found myself lost in thought.
There were a few things about our fourteen-day journey that didn't quite add up.
First, the pink lake.
I'd seen something like that on social media in my previous life. But there's no rule saying a fantasy world can't have one too, so its existence wasn't that strange.
Then there were the four rock pillars by the coast.
According to the knowledge in my head, there should have been eight of them.
So what was going on?
And then there was the continent's overall shape—it resembled Australia from my previous world.
Putting all the clues together, I couldn't help but think…
This place might actually be Australia.
But I couldn't be sure.
I didn't have a perfect memory of the world map from my previous life, but I was certain it wasn't identical to this one.
When I first saw this world's map, I hadn't felt any resemblance at all.
After thinking it through more carefully, another possibility came to mind.
A parallel world.
After all, this world had dragons, demons, beastkin—fantasy races that didn't exist before. There was also magic, something completely unexplainable.
If that was the case, then even the geography could've changed over time due to wars or unknown forces.
That explanation made more sense.
So… I had come to a parallel world.
If I wanted further confirmation, maybe somewhere near the center of the continent, there would be a massive rock formation as large as a mountain.
Just then, our food arrived.
Plate after plate was brought to the table. As the server finished placing the dishes, she suddenly looked at Alice and said with a smile,
"Little miss, General Arakeya always says that having a big appetite is a blessing. Eat more, and you'll grow up strong and tall."
Caught off guard, Alice looked at her in confusion. After a few seconds, she awkwardly replied,
"...I understand."
It seemed that, in the eyes of people from Dilibrash, Alice's small build made her look like a picky eater.
Meanwhile, Ethefelis—who was just as petite—had an entire spread of meat and fish piled in front of her. She didn't need any encouragement at all.
I also noticed that the women here were generally quite tall—most of them were at least around 160 cm, with full or even curvier figures.
Alice leaned toward me and whispered,
"Mr. Karen, who was she talking about?"
The "General Arakeya" the server mentioned was the same dragon from a thousand years ago—the one who negotiated with the king and started the Food King Tournament.
So I simply replied,
"A dragon."
Alice had listened when Jacob explained earlier, so she immediately understood. She looked back at her food thoughtfully and murmured,
"The relationship between dragons and humans is really good."
Whether that was entirely true or not, I couldn't say.
But the General's existence had protected this country's peace, so naturally, people respected and appreciated it.
After lunch, Jacob headed to the merchant guild to promote his soap business, with Grace accompanying him as his guard.
As a side note, Jacob's sales plan had changed.
Since we'd been traveling along the edges of the continent, we hadn't passed through many major cities. So instead, Jacob started promoting his soap in every town we stopped at.
On my way to the dungeon with Alice and Ethefelis to gather ingredients, we passed through a plaza and saw a massive dragon statue. Naturally, it was a statue of the general, and beneath it stood a stone monument. We walked over to read the inscription.
(It read: Arakeya Diklar descended upon Delibrash in the Fatelis Year 746 and tasted all the cuisine of the time. Through this, Arakeya Diklar recognized the people of Dilibrash's potential to create extraordinary food. Thus, he chose to remain in Dilibrash and revealed his true identity to the queen at the time, Ainasse Chris Dilibrash. In exchange for protecting the nation, he proposed the creation of a grand culinary competition—The Food King Tournament.
Queen Ainasse Chris Dilibrash accepted Arakeya Diklar's terms and granted him the title of General.
Today, General Arakeya Diklar's presence has made Dilibrash the most peaceful and prosperous nation. For this reason, the people of the entire country are deeply grateful and continue to create new dishes as a way of repaying his kindness.
Arakeya Diklar's famous saying is: "Eat more. Being able to eat is a blessing.")
Everything written on the monument matched what Jacob had told me. The only new information I gained was the exact year the general arrived in Dilibrash. And honestly… what kind of foodie quote was that? I glanced at Ethefelis, who was nodding in agreement—of course she would.
I looked up at the statue. It was enormous, though still about half the size of Samidoride. Was it a life-sized modern dragon, or a scaled-down ancient one? Either way, it didn't matter. The important thing was that its spread wings provided excellent shade.
As we continued walking, we passed by an arena. It felt out of place in such a peaceful country. Maybe it was just a historical structure.
After that, we entered the dungeon to gather ingredients. As usual, Ethefelis and Alice were in charge of collecting vegetables, while I handled the meat.
While I was in the middle of processing the meat I'd hunted down, I suddenly heard the sound of waves. I quickly pulled my phone out of my pocket. Sure enough, it was my ringtone—the ocean waves I had recorded at the coast with the four stone pillars.
For reference, Jacob's ringtone was the sound of clinking coins, Grace's was the sound of a train about to depart, Ethefelis's was the rhythmic chop of a knife on a cutting board, and Alice's was her own singing—"A Hymn to the Benevolent Fatelis."
Ignoring the lyrics, her voice was actually quite pleasant.
A small fun fact: if a recorded ringtone is only a few seconds long, it loops continuously until it reaches thirty seconds.
That said, aside from Alice's, all of our ringtones were temporary. We'd eventually switch them out for proper music or songs. For example, my ocean sound would be useless anywhere near the sea.
Back to the present—I checked the screen. It was Jacob calling. I tapped "Accept."
"Hello."
"Karen, we're done here. How about you?"
"Almost. Let's meet at the general's statue in the plaza. Ethefelis and Alice will head over to you first."
"Got it."
"I'll be coming out tomorrow, so feel free to explore. Also, I'm guessing Ethefelis will get distracted buying food everywhere—keep an eye on her."
"Yeah, she'll definitely get blinded by all the food. Understood. Anything else?"
"Nope. You?"
"Nothing."
"Then I'm hanging up."
I tapped "End" and closed the call. So phones worked even inside the dungeon. I had thought the signal might not connect, but it seemed creation magic really could do anything.
Once I finished collecting everything, I went to find the ever-diligent Ethefelis and Alice, told them the meeting location, and gave Ethefelis one more reminder.
"Ethefelis, meet up with them first before you start buying food, okay?"
"Got it."
"Alright. Let's head out."
Ethefelis and Alice stepped into the teleportation circle and left. Next was my turn—but instead of exiting the dungeon, I was heading to Level 100 as the Brave.
The moment I stepped into the circle, purple light enveloped me—and I arrived in a bustling city filled with people.
…A city?
And right in front of me were Ethefelis and Alice.
"Mr. Karen, why are you here?" Alice asked, voicing the exact question on my mind.
Wasn't I supposed to be sent to Level 100? Why did I end up outside?
…Had that goddness tricked me?
"...I've been scammed."