Orario—the Labyrinth City.
A colossal city built atop a dungeon.
Gods gather here. Countless adventurers flock here, chasing wealth and fame.
And as a bona fide transmigrator, Lin Dong wasn't unfamiliar with this place.
Before he got thrown into another world, he'd been an old connoisseur with a bottomless appetite for "cinema," and he'd occasionally switched things up with anime.
He'd watched two seasons of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
If he'd been allowed to choose, he would've preferred reincarnating into a safe, cozy slice-of-life world and living as a plagiarism powerhouse.
Not this place—where some god caused trouble every few days, and getting stronger meant gambling your life against monsters.
But since he was already here, he had to adapt.
The ancients had said: there are many roads to becoming a workhorse—there are always more solutions than problems.
Pushing his snack cart into the Northwest District's Adventurer Street, Lin Dong set up his stall with practiced ease.
In no time at all, a group of regulars "spawned" nearby.
"Spicy fried rice, one serving."
"You got it—just a moment!"
Wiping the sweat off his brow with a towel, Lin Dong pulled ingredients from a sack.
In his hands, the cleaver became a blur—minced garlic and shredded carrot arced through the air and landed precisely on a side dish.
Hot oil. A quick stir-fry of numbing spices. Garlic and aromatics in. Then the pre-marinated diced meat—fast, decisive tosses.
When the meat changed color, he dumped in the rice. With one hand he flipped the wok again and again, sending rice and ingredients into a full, graceful arc.
A moment later, a dazzling golden glow erupted from the pan, and an irresistible aroma drifted outward on the air.
Watching that scene, even with several prior experiences under her belt, Lefiya couldn't stop her curiosity from rising again.
"There's no magic fluctuation at all… so how are you doing that golden light?"
"Special effects! I added special effects!"
"What are 'special effects'?"
"A kind of magic tool. Only smart people can see it."
"...…"
So you are treating me like an idiot.
Lefiya silently took out her wallet.
As an elf, she shouldn't—strictly speaking—be standing in front of a street stall. Elegant, high-end Western restaurants were supposed to be her natural habitat.
But there was no helping it.
It was too delicious.
A week ago, she'd walked past, been hooked by the aroma, and ordered a serving of fried rice.
After that, she became this stall's permanent NPC.
"Lin Dong, are you interested in joining the Loki Familia?"
"No interest."
"Why? If you worked as a chef for our Familia, your income would obviously be higher than running this stall."
"I'm already in a Familia," Lin Dong replied.
Unlike ordinary Familias, the Loki Familia was one of Orario's two giants, with a complete logistics system.
And big Familias didn't hire people from other Familias as part-timers—too many ways for trouble to happen.
"Huh? You're in a Familia?"
Lefiya froze, visibly surprised.
"Then why are you out here every day? Why aren't you in the dungeon?"
"Because there's no need. The money I make at this stall is enough to support me and my goddess."
"Oh… I see."
Lefiya looked at the black-haired boy in front of her.
Even through an elf's eyes, Lin Dong was undeniably handsome.
A steady aura. Good looks. Excellent cooking. Weird marketing "gimmicks"…
All of it combined into a loyal customer base in a short time—earning him an income comparable to a Level 2 adventurer.
With conditions like that, he really didn't need to risk his life in the dungeon.
"I'm just a normal person. Fighting isn't for me."
Lin Dong waved her off. "Don't block the line. The customers behind you are getting impatient."
"Uh… sorry."
Lefiya stepped aside to an open spot, but she didn't leave immediately.
As a genius mage, she was certain Lin Dong wasn't using magic while cooking.
So that strange golden "special effect" had to come from some kind of magic tool.
She widened her eyes and, as always, studied Lin Dong's movements.
A moment later, Lefiya silently closed her eyes.
She didn't find any magic tool—she did get her eyes flash-banged until they ached.
Today's result: Lefiya loses.
...
Time passed. Night fell.
After using up the last of his ingredients, Lin Dong rode his snack cart back to the same ramshackle church in the Northwest District.
The moment he entered the basement, a petite figure pounced head-on—human cannonball style—slamming into him.
"Lin Dong, I'm sooo hungry!"
"Didn't I leave you money before I went out? You didn't buy food?"
Lin Dong sounded genuinely puzzled as he patted the girl's head.
Calling her a "girl" wasn't strictly accurate. She looked young, but Hestia's true identity was a goddess who'd lived for ages beyond counting.
Divine nature let her ignore time's erosion—her youthful face and fair, smooth skin made her look indistinguishable from a teenage girl.
If there was one detail that didn't match the "teenage girl" image… it was the pair of extremely assertive front-mounted "armor plates."
"I want to eat the food you make."
Hestia slid down from him, wrapped both arms around his waist, and looked up with expectation.
Ever since Lin Dong joined her Familia, her favorite time of day was mealtime.
His cooking could turn decay into miracles—any ingredient in his hands became astonishingly delicious.
Once you got used to Lin Dong's cooking, it became hard to care about anything else. That was why she'd rather starve than eat outside food today—she wanted to wait for him.
"Wait a bit. I'll cook you something."
Lin Dong patted her head and walked toward the kitchen.
Dinner wasn't on his plan, but it wasn't a big deal.
Ten-odd minutes later, a steaming bowl of beef noodles sat on the table.
"I'm diggin' in—!"
Hestia grabbed her chopsticks without a second of hesitation.
While she ate, Lin Dong returned to his room and lay down.
The truth was, before transmigrating, his cooking skill hadn't been anything special—just normal.
The reason he'd earned Hestia's approval was simple:
He was cheating.
With a thought, he entered the depths of his consciousness and arrived in an empty plaza shrouded in mist.
Not far away, two figures—identical in face to Lin Dong, differing only in clothing—were talking.
Noticing him, they stopped and looked over.
"Yo—you're here!"
"Good morning, DanMachi me."
"It's evening on my side."
"Then good evening."
The man who spoke wore black clothing with a large embroidered 'Annihilation' character on the back, a sword hanging at his waist.
After greeting him, he walked up and extended his right hand.
"Perfect timing. Let's sync."
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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