WebNovels

Chapter 18 - 18

The dungeon shelter would be made just right for players to take a break—no more, no less.

"Fergus! Rise and shine!"

"Argh! Ferguson rising!"

"You said you dreamed of being a chef, right?"

"Y-Yes, sir."

"Then whip something up with what we've got here."

"Huh? The veggies I get, but where'd you find meat like this in a dungeon...?"

"That fainted skeleton merchant brought it. What'd he call it? Meat tree?"

A tree that grew meat like fruit!

It'd drive vegans and vegetarians from my past life insane, but it sounded ridiculous—except this was a fantasy game world!

A tree like that could totally exist, so let's roll with it.

"B-But if I cook, my fur'll get everywhere..."

"Don't sweat it!! Check this out!"

What I pulled out was none other than the anti-shedding potion!

Drink it, and for a full day, no fur comes loose.

In other words, a baldness cure!!!

I felt a little bad giving it to the skeleton merchant, who was nothing but bones and already bald.

A baldness cure with zero side effects!!

What kind of legendary invention was this!?

"Urk, feels like I just heard something super rude—"

"Skeleton merchant! You're finally awake. You okay?"

"Groan... A bit dizzy, but I'll live."

Now that the skeleton merchant was back on his feet, the furry chugged the baldness cure and got to cooking.

And the result?

"Huh?"

"What's up, Boss?"

"Why's this so damn good?"

"Hm? This is actually delicious."

"Everyone's saying it's good... Kinda embarrassing."

Simple cooking, and it tasted this amazing...

Was it because I hadn't eaten real food in ages?

No, wait—that furry!!!

Watching him skillfully stir-fry veggies in the pan, it was clear he actually knew his way around a kitchen!

Which meant he'd trained professionally before... But wasn't that weird?

"Fergus, didn't you say you got cursed as a kid? Where'd you learn to cook?"

"I was thirteen when the curse hit. Before that, my parents were pretty famous chefs, so I learned from them."

"So that's why you wanted to be a chef."

"Kids grow up imitating their parents, after all. But Mr. Ferguson, it's been ages since you last cooked, right? And it's still this good..."

"Haha... Lived alone in the mountains, messing around with whatever."

"...?"

"What's with the look, Ballack?"

"Why can you eat food?"

"Huh? Am I not supposed to?"

Was this a world where skeletons could eat!?

No, right—this was the game world with its insane meat tree crop.

Yeah!! It was fantasy!

"Dessert's up."

"Ooh~ The meal lineup, and now this drink? Super clean flavors."

"Don't overhype it. My skills are still lacking."

"How's it for you, Ballack...? Huh?"

"B-Boss?!"

Ballack stared at the drink Ferguson made and had a massive epiphany.

He'd figured out what he, his dungeon shelter, and Ferguson truly needed to become a hidden boss!

*Flash!!!

"This is it!!! This is the one!!!"

"Gaaah! My ears!!!"

"Gurgh!"

For the furry to become a solid hidden boss in my dungeon, he needed a super unique concept.

But it hit me!!!

A concept rivaling even the hypnotic incestuous gay couple!

"Fergus!!"

"Y-Yes, sir?!"

"You—become a bartender."

A polite white wolf furry bartender boss—who fights only with kicks because he's a chef!!!

****************

A bartender's usually someone who serves customers or mixes cocktails in a regular bar.

But! If it's a small bar, or a one-man operation, that bartender-slash-owner whips up food alongside drinks for extra cash.

Plus, you can't exactly peddle heavy stuff like pork stew in a rest spot!

So, light snacks, tasty drinks—a cozy little bar-cafe for chilling sounded perfect.

"Felt kinda iffy at first, but this is comfy as hell. And you built it in hours, with quality this high..."

"The outfit design was your rough sketch, Ballack. The comfort's from the enchantments. Let me explain the spells on it: protection magic, reflection magic, lightweighting, physical resistance boost, magic resistance enhan—"

"Stop. Too much detail. Hey, skeleton merchant—when're more buff potions coming?"

"Gotta wait a bit longer. But turning potions into drinks? Genius idea. And it works."

I'd just given Perry the basics: low-alcohol spirits, fruit wines, mix in potions for cocktails.

He'd already gotten the feel and started experimenting—solid drinks popping out.

"This is kinda fun? But I thought potions lose all effect if mixed with impurities—"

"Only low-quality ones. These are top-tier special-grade potions, so no issue even diluted like this."

Yep! The potions Karian brought were all hobby projects from ultra-high-level bosses!

Way superior quality to anything humans or others made.

Even diluted or mixed with booze, effects just dipped a tad—no problems at all!

"But Ballack, these drinks won't fetch outside currency. You planning to give 'em away free?"

"Hell no. No free rides in my dungeon. So we use this!"

"Th-That?!"

Karian went blank seeing what Ballack held overhead.

What was this item that shocked Karian so?

It was none other than!!

"Huh? So that's the 'Abyssal Coin' you mentioned, Boss."

"Uh... N-No, that currency..."

"Skeleton merchant!!!"

"Y-Yes?"

"Heh heh heh... Wanna play a bigger game?"

Karian heard Ballack's plan and spaced out, convinced it'd work for sure.

Thus, fake money used only in Buruma Bul started gaining real-world substance.

****************

While Ballack renovated rooms one and two, Karian popped back to his master the lich and spilled everything.

And as expected...

"Hoh, sounds fun."

"Knew you'd say that..."

"This system's a boon for us too—don't worry, apprentice."

"Huh? Good for you too, Master?"

"Truth is... Stockpiles from other floor bosses are piling up."

Dungeon demand for potions, meds, booze was limited—but supply was exploding.

Ballack's method let them offload inventory bit by bit.

The lich knew full well no enemy champion could match their stuff, so he...

Went straight to the 100th floor boss, Ancient Dragon Zarkan.

"Always sleeping when I visit... Hey, Zarkan. Wake up."

"Groan... L-Lich? What brings you?"

"Our champion's got another fun request."

"Hmm?"

Ancient Dragon Zarkan burst out laughing at the lich's tale.

"Pffft!!! Lich! This idea! Isn't this what those young gold dragons always wanted? Ruling the world with their crafted currency!"

"Exactly, Zarkan."

"And this slapdash fake money becomes real currency! Hahaha!!!"

"So you're in for crafting the program magic?"

"Of course, Lich!! Count me in!!! I'll pour all my knowledge into it!!"

Thrilled at stealing the dream from dragons who mocked him as old...

Zarkan rounded up every dungeon boss with magical know-how.

And they too!

"Pffft!!!"

"Ahahahaha!!!"

"No way!! It's actually happening! Kahahaha!"

They cracked up at their fake currency conquering the outside world.

"Whew... Good thing we added all those treatments when minting the first batch."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

The Abyssal Coins were tailored perfectly to Ballack's needs.

After the 80th floor alchemist turned stone to gold...

Other bosses layered spells, plus ultra-fine minting.

Simple terms: impossible to replicate elsewhere. Too intricate—even counterfeiting was out!

So the bosses who built the auto-minting facility...

Started crafting system magic for adventurers to earn Abyssal Coins.

"One coin per first room clear? Or two? Instant payout after...?"

"Nah, tie it to dying in the dungeon?"

"Oho!! Brilliant! Forces re-entry, buying stuff, earning coins—perfect cycle."

"No need for physical coins right away, right? Just log it on the board like before..."

"Bank system? Hmm...? That's solid!"

"Best way? And instead of messy coin swaps, use cards..."

"How about loans..."

"No. They'd borrow and bail—no recovery..."

Then, the supreme beings and versatile bosses pooled their passion, stacking complex magic on floor 1.

In just one day, every entrant could earn coins, with an auto-managing dedicated bank.

Thus, Ballack's modest special shop for the shelter—to stoke player challenge...

Had become a world-shaking mega nuke, lying in wait for someone to hit the shelter.

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