Chapter 3 - Chapter 3: Distributing Food

Short-haired All-Purpose Worker with a beret pulled low over his head.

Rian was peering intently into the gallery window today as well, searching for work.

💬 Doom Salvation Gallery [Ah... I'm hungry. If only food prices on Channel 4 would go down...] [21] [Heading to the surface today for a big haul!] [34] [No work for 3 days straight. This is insane, right?] [17] [Hunters, share the points!] [44] [What do hunters even spend their points on after earning them?] [32]

…

…

"Haa."

But the gallery users weren't much different from him.

On top of that, he'd gone to the assignment office early this morning but came back empty-handed.

"I'm hungry..."

Of course, he had no memory of ever eating his fill.

"They say hunters can earn as many points as they want."

Here, hunters were people who went down to the lower levels of the labyrinth to hunt monsters.

When they killed monsters, they got the corpses and magic stones, which they sold for points.

'But they say the monsters up to the 4th floor have been wiped out.'

This labyrinth was structured so that the deeper you went, the stronger the monsters got.

Now, to hunt monsters, you had to go to the 5th floor, which was too tough for beginner hunters to survive.

📰 Post [Distributing food. First 3 people.]

"Huh?"

At that moment, a post went up in the gallery saying they were distributing food.

Rian clicked it without a second thought at the word "food."

📰 Title: Distributing food. First 3 people. I'll distribute the food I have to the first 3 people who tell me exactly where this is.

"...?"

Does anyone not know where this is?

And they're distributing food but didn't even set it to 1:1 trade with a nickname.

It screamed scammer no matter how you looked at it, but telling them wouldn't hurt him anyway.

'Maybe they're in some remote spot on the surface outside the Great Labyrinth? Or in a cave no one's found, or underground?'

Even so, if they'd been using the gallery until now, they'd know what's going on.

— Save Me: Distributing food? For real? └Anonymous: Obviously a lie lol. If they'd at least dug into the nick and said they'd distribute, maybe. — Earth Mage: Shouldn't they at least post a photo first before asking where? 

The comments were convinced it was a scammer too.

Rian thought the same, but since there was no loss in biting, he left a comment.

⭐ Top Comment — All-Purpose Worker (Me): If you can see the sky, you're on the surface. If not, you're in the Great Labyrinth of the Kalis Continent. Note that the surface has been overrun by monsters, so high chance it's the Great Labyrinth. └Anonymous: Wow, another sucker bites lololol

He wrote the comment like that, but Rian didn't have high hopes.

He was just killing time since there was no work today anyway.

But then.

 ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Castaway has requested a 1:1 trade with you.] 

"Huh?"

The poster had even made a nickname and requested a trade.

Startled, Rian quickly accepted and posted.

Then, in the trade window, a red bean bun and 2L of bottled water appeared.

'This red bean bun... looks like something I saw on Channel 3?'

He thought he'd seen something similar on Channel 3.

The difference was that he could read this one too.

 ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Trade completed.] 

Of course, right now, getting the food was what mattered, so he didn't dwell on it.

As soon as the trade finished, Rian snatched up the bun and water that dropped in front of him.

'Peel off this outer layer...'

When he removed the plastic from the red bean bun, the savory aroma of bread tickled his nose.

As if entranced by the smell, Rian quietly brought the bun to his mouth and took a bite.

"...!!"

The soft bread he'd never tasted before and the intense sweetness of the red bean filling spread through his mouth.

It was such a shock to his brain that by the time he came to, the bun in his hand was gone.

"Wh-what? Where'd it go?"

After searching for a while, Rian realized it had already gone into his stomach.

"Ah..."

The bun had vanished in seconds without time to savor it properly.

At least his hunger was somewhat sated, which was a small comfort.

'No, that's not the point.'

Either way, the food offer wasn't a lie.

And since it was first 3, he might get more twice.

⭐ Top Comment — All-Purpose Worker (Me): Castaway! Thank you! That bread was insanely delicious! Ask me anything else you're curious about!

So Rian posted a thank-you along with a plea for more questions.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ └Earth Mage: Huh? What? They actually distributed food? └Crop Watcher: Obviously a lie. Giving food for an answer like that? Lol └Anonymous: 8 years ago, monsters of unknown origin poured from the sky! All races of the continent united to fight but lost and fled to the Great Labyrinth! └Anonymous: Wow, another sucker. └Anonymous: If you're not giving food instead, shut up. — We're Doomed: What if a monster wrote this seriously? Then they rush in as soon as they know the location. └Save Me: Location my ass. The Great Labyrinth's location is out in the open.

'8 years ago, monsters of unknown origin poured from the sky?'

To keep the comment momentum going, I sent red bean buns and water to the one who answered that too.

 ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Trade completed.] 

Apparently, as long as the other side has a nickname set for 1:1 trades, it's fine.

This time they didn't, but the trade went through smoothly.

— Anonymous: Red bean bun!!! Red bean bun!!! Red bean bun!!! Red bean bun!!! Red bean bun!!! Red bean buns are the food of the gods!!! └Earth Mage: What's wrong with this guy? └Top Mercenary: Guess he got some 'red bean bun' food. └Anonymous: Probably just means he got a scrap of bread.

After that person commented too, the hesitant thread picked up again.

— Earth Mage: But what's a red bean bun? — Goddess's Grace: Some kind of bread? └Earth Mage: Who doesn't know that? What kind of bread is it. └Goddess's Grace: Just ask directly. — Need Water: OP. Ask if you have more questions. — Anonymous: Food giveaway and all these lurkers show up. └Anonymous: Can't help it with food. └Anonymous: Channel 4 only sells weird jelly anyway.

I glanced at the comments for a bit, then asked the most fundamental question about this gallery.

⭐ Top Comment — Castaway (Me): What the hell is this gallery anyway? └Need Water: I don't know the details. But when it first appeared, over 90% of the population was gone. └Save Me: More precisely, it's given to worlds where population drops over 90% rapidly. └Need Water: Yeah. But it's pretty useful once you use it.

'Hmm.'

I organized the info I'd gotten about this gallery.

'So this Kalis Continent had unknown monsters pour from the sky 8 years ago, killing over 90% of the population.'

That's why the [Doom Salvation Gallery] appeared.

The survivors then came to this Great Labyrinth.

⭐ Top Comment — Castaway (Me): But is the Great Labyrinth safe? └Need Water: Safe. Don't know why, but monsters don't come into the Great Labyrinth. └Save Me: In other words, safe only from monsters.

For some reason, monsters couldn't enter the Great Labyrinth.

└Need Water: More importantly, how do you not know this? └We're Doomed: Ah, told you it's a monster posting lolol

"..."

I hesitated on how to reply here.

'Should I just say truthfully that I seem to have come from another world?'

If luck was on my side, I might quickly team up with people here and help each other.

But that was just a possibility, so maybe it was better to hide my identity a bit longer...

— Hero☆: Huh? Checking your previous posts, you seem like someone from another world? 'Previous posts?'

Then someone who'd seen my posts guessed I was from another world.

└Anonymous: It's Hero! └Anonymous: Hero! When are you coming? └Anonymous: I'm hungry!

And comments poured in like they'd been waiting.

└Need Water: Another world? Someone from another channel crossed over? └Save Me: Ah, so the red bean bun is from another world too. └Goddess's Grace: Amazing. Are you really from another channel? └Anonymous: If you crossed from another channel, can we cross too? └Earth Mage: Cross and do what? Think other channels are paradise? └Anonymous: Other channels are probably like ours lol. └Anonymous: Ours might even be better.

Before I could reply, the gallery folks were already convinced I was from another world.

Seeing that, I thought I'd slipped up, but it was done, so I let it go.

'Honestly, I still don't know what's what.'

Thinking that far, I first requested 1:1 trades with [Need Water] and [Save Me].

Regardless of being exposed, they'd answered, so I kept my promise of red bean buns and water.

Next, I traded with Save Me too, handing over the red bean bun and water.

"..."

But they seem more interested in the food than my identity.

'What's this about other channels?'

My head was just getting more complicated.

'Anyway, what now?'

If this really is another world, how am I supposed to survive?

With that, I started suspecting the friend I'd been drinking with yesterday.

His question about what ability I'd get if I went to another world didn't feel coincidental.

'That scammer bastard. How is this a healing water?'

Anyway, if the worst case is surviving here, the most important thing is points.

'With points, at least food won't be an issue.'

⚔ STATUS ⚔ 💰 Points: 91

I looked at my remaining points and pondered how to earn more.

If there was a breakthrough way to make points, it'd help in all sorts of ways.

'If I sell the red bean buns for more... Huh?'

Then a word at the top of the gallery caught my eye.

"[Exchange]?"

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