Kai stared at the giant red coconut in front of him, wondering how exactly he was supposed to open it. He tried hitting it against the ground, but the coconut didn’t even crack.
He kicked it a few times, only ending up hurting his foot. Even after trying to smash it against a nearby rock, the thing remained completely untouched.
"Just what kind of coconut is this?" Kai asked, staring at it in disbelief.
After several failed attempts, Kai finally noticed a thick stick lying beside the tree. He picked it up and tapped the coconut with it.
Surprisingly, the stick didn’t break. Kai’s eyes widened slightly as he looked at it before trying again. This time, he hit the coconut with all his strength.
Crack!
A small crack appeared across the red shell.
"Finally!" Kai said, immediately hitting it again.
After several more hits, the coconut finally split open. A strange sweet smell immediately came from inside, causing Kai’s stomach to growl.
The inside looked nothing like a normal coconut. The flesh was bright and soft, while the liquid inside glowed faintly.
Kai hesitated for a moment before taking a small bite.
His eyes immediately widened.
"This is actually good." Kai said, taking another bite.
He quickly finished the strange fruit, feeling some of his strength return. Once he was done, Kai looked around the unfamiliar area. The sky above the dungeon was dark, and when he looked up, he noticed something strange.
The moon.
Kai stared at it for several seconds.
"That doesn’t look like the moon back home." Kai said quietly.
It was much larger than the moon he knew, with strange markings glowing across its surface. Kai couldn’t explain it, but looking at it made him realise just how far away from home he really was.
He decided to stop thinking about it and instead searched for somewhere safe to rest. Eventually, he found a massive tree with roots large enough to create a small sheltered space underneath. Kai crawled beneath it and decided to sleep there for the night.
When he woke up, the first thing he thought about was food.
Kai’s stomach growled loudly.
"Food..." Kai muttered, rubbing his stomach.
He got up and began searching the surrounding area for anything edible. He found several strange plants and fruits but wasn’t confident enough to eat them without knowing what they were. Eventually, he reached a small river.
As Kai looked into the water, he noticed several large fish swimming inside.
His eyes immediately lit up.
"Fish!" Kai exclaimed.
One of the fish suddenly jumped out of the water and landed near him.
Kai stared at the enormous creature.
"That’s not a fish. That’s a monster."
The fish suddenly opened its mouth and rushed towards him.
Kai quickly grabbed the same strong stick he had used to open the Gicoconut and swung it towards the creature. After several close calls and a lot of running around, he finally managed to knock the giant fish unconscious.
Kai dragged it towards his shelter before looking at it proudly.
"At least I won’t starve." Kai said.
He gathered some dry branches and managed to make a small fire. He then began preparing the fish, cutting it carefully before placing the meat over the flames.
The smell quickly filled the area.
Kai smiled as he watched the meat cook.
"This is more like it."
However, Kai didn’t notice the figure standing several meters away.
The person was dressed in enormous armour that covered their entire body. They seemed to be injured, walking slowly while holding onto one side of their body.
Kai suddenly noticed them.
He froze.
"Who are you?" Kai asked nervously.
The armored figure didn’t answer immediately. They seemed exhausted, almost as if they were struggling to remain standing.
Kai hesitated before looking at the food cooking over the fire.
"Are you hungry?" Kai asked.
The figure slowly approached.
Kai became nervous, but something about the person’s condition made him lower his guard. They looked like they needed help more than anything else.
He offered them some of the cooked fish.
The armored person accepted it and began eating.
Kai watched in surprise as their movements became steadier.
"You look injured." Kai said.
The figure nodded slightly.
Kai didn’t know much about treating injuries, but he did what he could. He helped the person clean and cover the injured area before giving them more food.
After some time, the armored figure finally stood straight again.
"Thank you." The person said quietly.
Kai smiled.
"No problem. I was just helping."
The person reached into their belongings and pulled out a strange piece of metal before handing it to Kai.
"Take this." The person said.
Kai stared at it.
"What is this?"
"You can make money from cooking." The armored person said. "There are many valuable things inside this dungeon. If you provide food to adventurers, they will be willing to trade those things for it."
Kai’s eyes slowly widened.
Food.
Dungeon items.
Trade.
A strange idea suddenly appeared in his mind.
"Wait..." Kai muttered.
Before Kai could ask anything else, the armored person turned around and disappeared into the darkness.
Kai stared after them.
"That person moves pretty fast for someone who was injured."
He then looked down at the metal in his hand.
Something suddenly clicked.
Kai opened his skill interface and selected Food Equipment Creation.
The metal immediately began glowing.
A transparent window appeared in front of him.
[RARE MATERIAL DETECTED.]
[FOOD EQUIPMENT CREATION AVAILABLE.]
Kai stared at the message.
His eyes slowly widened.
"So I can make cooking equipment from dungeon materials?"
The metal began changing shape in his hands.
A few moments later, a brand new frying pan appeared.
Kai held it up and stared at it.
For the first time since entering the dungeon, he felt like he might actually have a way to survive.
"Maybe... being an F rank chef isn’t so bad after all." Kai said with a small smile.
Life had just taken a twist for him.