Chapter 28: Descent (Part 4)
“Keaaah…”
The monsters, charging towards me with tremendous vigor, breathed out clouds of steam.
Their eyes lost their fervor, and their bodies sagged.
Merely clinging to the momentum of their charge, they stuck to the speeding vehicle.
I gazed intently at the monster.
And then…
[Acquired Junior Grade Cooking Secret: Enlightenment of Light Foot Slayer Preparation]
Following the enlightenment that came to mind,
I swung the kitchen knife towards the nearest creature.
[You have gained experience points]
“W-what was that?”
The soldiers, running alongside the vehicle, shouted in disbelief.
“Was that… Sergeant Shin’s doing?”
The monsters, previously charging to kill, suddenly became docile, falling lifelessly.
It was bewildering to witness such a drastic change.
But there wasn’t time to explain each detail.
“Let’s put out the immediate fires first, I’ll explain later. The weakness of that one is-”
I shared the insights of the ‘preparation technique’ with the soldiers.
The remaining two monsters within our formation were dealt with by the soldiers.
Not stopping there, I moved inside the trailer compartment.
Inside were piles of butchered meat.
Gathering handfuls of it, I emerged with both hands full.
“Euracha!”
I threw them in all directions.
“Grk?”
The monsters charging towards us, especially those nearby, eagerly snapped up the flying chunks of meat.
“As expected!”
Seeing that, I was certain.
“The monsters attacking us… they’re not necessarily trying to kill humans.”
When I heard about the variety of monsters on the ground, one question remained.
Why do they attack humans?
What I just witnessed might hold the answer.
“They’re hunting prey.”
The lizard we fought in the mountains might be different.
Since they’ve been strategizing and consistently attacking our mountain troops.
But even they didn’t stop at killing our soldiers; they tried to devour them.
With their grotesque forms.
Unmatched strength compared to ordinary animals.
They felt like formidable beings.
Their behavior principle was fundamentally similar to wild animals.
I recalled a documentary about wild animals.
It discussed the behavior of starving beasts.
A starving beast is aggressively relentless, even towards dangerous prey.
But what if safe food appears before them?
“Naturally, they choose the safe food.”
The monsters before us were no different.
“No, these creatures seem more aggressive than most animals.”
Most of the monsters, even after biting into the meat I threw, continued to chase the speeding vehicle.
Even in a situation where food was secured, they remained aggressive enough to continue hunting.
Ordinary humans would have no way to deter them once they were designated as prey.
However…
At the moment they bit into the raw meat I threw, other concerns became meaningless.
[Raw Meat Seasoned with a Languid Feeling prepared by a Junior Chef]
The raw meat I threw to them.
It was, in a sense, a dish.
[No effort was put into preparing this dish]
[This food is at a level where it’s embarrassing to even call it a dish]
[A chef should be ashamed of this dish]
Of course, it wasn’t a remarkable dish.
Beyond that, it was so embarrassing to call it cooking.
‘I don’t recall seeing such a harsh message before?’
[This dish doesn’t contain any stat increase effects]
[Experience points will decrease slightly]
So, even the experience points can be decreased.
I understand.
I just handled the meat, tenderized it, and sprinkled the [Chef’s Special Sauce].
Even for me, it’s hard to call it cooking.
It might be more appropriate to see it as a finished ingredient.
Of course, there are no cooking buffs or effects.
But…
[When consumed you will feel languid]
Even so.
The effects from the special sauce still triggered.
“The lower the quality of the dish, the less effective its effects will be!”
I threw some extra meat to the monsters who were trying to cling onto the meat.
[Chef’s Special Sauce]
‘I have already confirmed that this skill works on monsters too!’
That’s not all I’ve experimented with.
The higher the quality of the dish, the more effective it is.
And…
‘This is the most important. Even if it’s roughly made, the effect is still there!’
No matter how roughly the dish has been prepared.
The effect of the [Chef’s Special Sauce] doesn’t drop to 0.
It always triggers at least one effect.
The scariest part of this skill isn’t maximizing its effect.
It’s this minimum adjustment value.
The most deceptive part of this skill!
“Aaargh… Argh?”
I threw raw meat at another monster charging towards us with renewed vigor.
Then the momentum of the monster noticeably diminished.
After calmly observing the monster, whose momentum had decreased,
[Skill – ‘Chef’s Eye’ has been activated]
[Analyzing ingredients]
“That one’s weakness is its legs!”
Through the Chef’s Eye, enlightenment about the handling technique for that monster can be revealed.
In other words, once the weakness is identified and relayed to the warriors…
“Die!”
“Everyone, aim for the weak point that Sergeant Shin pointed out!”
The rest was taken care of by the other awakened individuals.
After throwing a bunch of meat like that…
The monsters clinging onto us greatly diminished.
“Those with empty hands, eat your combat rations now!”
“Yes!”
“Lieutenant Kim, why aren’t you giving buffs?”
“Uh, um! Everyone, full speed ahead!”
Their momentum diminished due to the effect of the meat.
Their weaknesses became apparent through my eyes.
Meanwhile, our allies were reinforced with dishes imbued with [Courage] and Lieutenant Kim’s buffs.
[Someone who has consumed your meal has excelled in battle]
[The Chef’s reputation is spreading far and wide]
[Increase in experience points]
The situation overwhelmingly turned in our favor in an instant.
Of course, there were still issues.
“There’s a monster blocking the road ahead!”
“What kind of monster is so massive…!”
A gigantic creature resembling an elephant blocked the road.
[Acquired Junior Grade Cooking Secret: Enlightenment of Smell Sniffing Alatur Preparation Method]
“Attack its nose! It’s a creature with vital organs concentrated there rather than its body!”
“Understood!”
Kwoong.
Corporal Jeon Gwang-il Jeon Gwang-il, our finest warrior, rushed forward and forcefully gripped the giant elephant’s nose, causing it to collapse and tumble off the road.
“A bug-like monster is approaching from the side!”
“That one won’t even touch the meat Sergeant Shin threw!”
A gigantic centipede-like monster attached itself to the flank of our formation.
Unlike other monsters, it showed no interest in the thrown meat, focusing solely on hunting.
[Acquired Junior Grade Cooking Secret: Enlightenment of Venomous Cron Preparation Method]
“The red node in the middle of its body is its weak spot! It’s different from its appearance, so aim for that!”
Taaang!
Corporal Seo Su-hyeok’s bullets pierced through the heart of the giant centipede.
The monstrous creature, moments away from tearing into our troops, collapsed to the ground.
And there were more.
The eavesdropping Alahfur, the imposing Metus.
Monsters of all names continued to pour in.
“Damn it, we’ve only fought lizards before…!”
“Why are there so many diverse creatures here, it’s not even a zoo!”
Our unit, awakened and trained through battles with lizards, faced creatures entirely different from lizards in every aspect.
Naturally, our tactics had to adapt accordingly.
Given that we wouldn’t have been able to figure out their tactics, they should have been quite formidable foes.
“If Sergeant Shin hadn’t noticed…”
“It’s not just weaknesses. Even with cooking…”
I felt the soldiers who were defeating the monsters looking at me strangely.
Certainly, it was fortunate that I could identify their weaknesses.
In truth,
from my perspective, it was a taste of death.
[Chef’s Eye]
[Chef’s Eye…]
“Ugh…”
The Chef’s Eye was a definite skill.
The more I used it, the more it felt like a draining sensation inside my body.
It was probably the magic energy points residing in the stats window.
This sensation was quite similar to how I felt after mass-producing dishes with the skillful Chef’s Special Sauce, perhaps there wasn’t much mana left to begin with.
[Chef’s…]
As new messages appeared on the status window, it felt like needles pricking my eyes.
As waves of enlightenment about handling methods flooded my mind, headaches surged, and my mind grew fuzzy.
But the moment my information transmission ceased, the unit’s advancement would be delayed due to the killing of unspecified new monsters.
The monsters that caught up with us were equally ignorant of our tactics.
This would trigger a vicious cycle, making the battle even more challenging.
“Their weakness is!”
Knowing this, I endured the pain and continued to shout while throwing meat with both hands.
It felt like an eternity passed in this manner.
When the number of pursuing monsters dwindled, and we managed to shake off most of them,
“Look ahead!”
One of the soldiers shouted.
What lay before us was a mountain.
“But it looks familiar.”
As the vehicle advanced a bit further and passed the mountain,
“At last.”
Instead of the tiresome mountains and trees, there were traces of civilization.
A long, stretching road appeared.
In the early morning, with the dawn mist, we embarked on our mission to escape the mountains.
What greeted us as we descended from the mountains was the landscape of the earthly world bathed in the setting sun.
With no more meat to throw,
“Hehe… Finally. Nice to see familiar ground.”
Thud.
“Sergeant Shin!?”
Looking at the welcoming earthly landscape I collapsed inside the trailer compartment.
The mountain range that stretches across Gangwon Province.
To the west, where major cities like Chuncheon and Wonju are located, is the Yeongseo region.
To the east, where major cities like Gangneung and Sokcho are located, is the Yeongdong region.
And if you follow the small roads down from the mountains towards the west, there lies an old farmhouse.
That’s where I woke up.
“Ugh, my head.”
Perhaps due to depleted mana, a headache surged.
As I got up, a nearby soldier noticed me and shouted,
“S-Sergeant Shin is awake!”
“Sorry, can you speak a bit quieter? My head is pounding because of this headache.”
“Oh, sorry!”
Upon hearing the soldier’s voice, others rushed over.
“Young-joon! Are you alright?”
“No. I feel like I’m about to die.”
“You seem fine. That’s a relief.”
No room for drama here.
“Min-jae, what happened after I collapsed?”
“Thanks to you, we had already shaken off most of the pursuing monsters. Then we went out to deal with the ones still following us.”
“They must have been overwhelming.”
“Compared to the fight in the mountains, it was manageable.”
Min-jae continued with his report.
There were a few injured and a couple of vehicles overturned, but the damage wasn’t too severe.
“Thanks to you.”
“I was unconscious and collapsed though.”
“That’s enough about that. You’re safe now, so rest up.”
“Got it.”
With that, Min-jae finished his report and left the room.
However, the soldiers who had entered the room with Min-jae stayed, gathered in a corner.
‘What’s going on?’
Just as I wondered why they were acting like that one of the soldiers stepped forward and hesitantly spoke up.
“Is there something you want to say?”
“W-Well…”
The soldier hesitated, as if he had something to say.
“I’m sorry!”
He shouted loudly, bowing his head deeply.
Chapter 28: Descent (Part 4)
“Keaaah…”
The monsters, charging towards me with tremendous vigor, breathed out clouds of steam.
Their eyes lost their fervor, and their bodies sagged.
Merely clinging to the momentum of their charge, they stuck to the speeding vehicle.
I gazed intently at the monster.
And then…
[Acquired Junior Grade Cooking Secret: Enlightenment of Light Foot Slayer Preparation]
Following the enlightenment that came to mind,
I swung the kitchen knife towards the nearest creature.
[You have gained experience points]
“W-what was that?”
The soldiers, running alongside the vehicle, shouted in disbelief.
“Was that… Sergeant Shin’s doing?”
The monsters, previously charging to kill, suddenly became docile, falling lifelessly.
It was bewildering to witness such a drastic change.
But there wasn’t time to explain each detail.
“Let’s put out the immediate fires first, I’ll explain later. The weakness of that one is-”
I shared the insights of the ‘preparation technique’ with the soldiers.
The remaining two monsters within our formation were dealt with by the soldiers.
Not stopping there, I moved inside the trailer compartment.
Inside were piles of butchered meat.
Gathering handfuls of it, I emerged with both hands full.
“Euracha!”
I threw them in all directions.
“Grk?”
The monsters charging towards us, especially those nearby, eagerly snapped up the flying chunks of meat.
“As expected!”
Seeing that, I was certain.
“The monsters attacking us… they’re not necessarily trying to kill humans.”
When I heard about the variety of monsters on the ground, one question remained.
Why do they attack humans?
What I just witnessed might hold the answer.
“They’re hunting prey.”
The lizard we fought in the mountains might be different.
Since they’ve been strategizing and consistently attacking our mountain troops.
But even they didn’t stop at killing our soldiers; they tried to devour them.
With their grotesque forms.
Unmatched strength compared to ordinary animals.
They felt like formidable beings.
Their behavior principle was fundamentally similar to wild animals.
I recalled a documentary about wild animals.
It discussed the behavior of starving beasts.
A starving beast is aggressively relentless, even towards dangerous prey.
But what if safe food appears before them?
“Naturally, they choose the safe food.”
The monsters before us were no different.
“No, these creatures seem more aggressive than most animals.”
Most of the monsters, even after biting into the meat I threw, continued to chase the speeding vehicle.
Even in a situation where food was secured, they remained aggressive enough to continue hunting.
Ordinary humans would have no way to deter them once they were designated as prey.
However…
At the moment they bit into the raw meat I threw, other concerns became meaningless.
[Raw Meat Seasoned with a Languid Feeling prepared by a Junior Chef]
The raw meat I threw to them.
It was, in a sense, a dish.
[No effort was put into preparing this dish]
[This food is at a level where it’s embarrassing to even call it a dish]
[A chef should be ashamed of this dish]
Of course, it wasn’t a remarkable dish.
Beyond that, it was so embarrassing to call it cooking.
‘I don’t recall seeing such a harsh message before?’
[This dish doesn’t contain any stat increase effects]
[Experience points will decrease slightly]
So, even the experience points can be decreased.
I understand.
I just handled the meat, tenderized it, and sprinkled the [Chef’s Special Sauce].
Even for me, it’s hard to call it cooking.
It might be more appropriate to see it as a finished ingredient.
Of course, there are no cooking buffs or effects.
But…
[When consumed you will feel languid]
Even so.
The effects from the special sauce still triggered.
“The lower the quality of the dish, the less effective its effects will be!”
I threw some extra meat to the monsters who were trying to cling onto the meat.
[Chef’s Special Sauce]
‘I have already confirmed that this skill works on monsters too!’
That’s not all I’ve experimented with.
The higher the quality of the dish, the more effective it is.
And…
‘This is the most important. Even if it’s roughly made, the effect is still there!’
No matter how roughly the dish has been prepared.
The effect of the [Chef’s Special Sauce] doesn’t drop to 0.
It always triggers at least one effect.
The scariest part of this skill isn’t maximizing its effect.
It’s this minimum adjustment value.
The most deceptive part of this skill!
“Aaargh… Argh?”
I threw raw meat at another monster charging towards us with renewed vigor.
Then the momentum of the monster noticeably diminished.
After calmly observing the monster, whose momentum had decreased,
[Skill – ‘Chef’s Eye’ has been activated]
[Analyzing ingredients]
“That one’s weakness is its legs!”
Through the Chef’s Eye, enlightenment about the handling technique for that monster can be revealed.
In other words, once the weakness is identified and relayed to the warriors…
“Die!”
“Everyone, aim for the weak point that Sergeant Shin pointed out!”
The rest was taken care of by the other awakened individuals.
After throwing a bunch of meat like that…
The monsters clinging onto us greatly diminished.
“Those with empty hands, eat your combat rations now!”
“Yes!”
“Lieutenant Kim, why aren’t you giving buffs?”
“Uh, um! Everyone, full speed ahead!”
Their momentum diminished due to the effect of the meat.
Their weaknesses became apparent through my eyes.
Meanwhile, our allies were reinforced with dishes imbued with [Courage] and Lieutenant Kim’s buffs.
[Someone who has consumed your meal has excelled in battle]
[The Chef’s reputation is spreading far and wide]
[Increase in experience points]
The situation overwhelmingly turned in our favor in an instant.
Of course, there were still issues.
“There’s a monster blocking the road ahead!”
“What kind of monster is so massive…!”
A gigantic creature resembling an elephant blocked the road.
[Acquired Junior Grade Cooking Secret: Enlightenment of Smell Sniffing Alatur Preparation Method]
“Attack its nose! It’s a creature with vital organs concentrated there rather than its body!”
“Understood!”
Kwoong.
Corporal Jeon Gwang-il Jeon Gwang-il, our finest warrior, rushed forward and forcefully gripped the giant elephant’s nose, causing it to collapse and tumble off the road.
“A bug-like monster is approaching from the side!”
“That one won’t even touch the meat Sergeant Shin threw!”
A gigantic centipede-like monster attached itself to the flank of our formation.
Unlike other monsters, it showed no interest in the thrown meat, focusing solely on hunting.
[Acquired Junior Grade Cooking Secret: Enlightenment of Venomous Cron Preparation Method]
“The red node in the middle of its body is its weak spot! It’s different from its appearance, so aim for that!”
Taaang!
Corporal Seo Su-hyeok’s bullets pierced through the heart of the giant centipede.
The monstrous creature, moments away from tearing into our troops, collapsed to the ground.
And there were more.
The eavesdropping Alahfur, the imposing Metus.
Monsters of all names continued to pour in.
“Damn it, we’ve only fought lizards before…!”
“Why are there so many diverse creatures here, it’s not even a zoo!”
Our unit, awakened and trained through battles with lizards, faced creatures entirely different from lizards in every aspect.
Naturally, our tactics had to adapt accordingly.
Given that we wouldn’t have been able to figure out their tactics, they should have been quite formidable foes.
“If Sergeant Shin hadn’t noticed…”
“It’s not just weaknesses. Even with cooking…”
I felt the soldiers who were defeating the monsters looking at me strangely.
Certainly, it was fortunate that I could identify their weaknesses.
In truth,
from my perspective, it was a taste of death.
[Chef’s Eye]
[Chef’s Eye…]
“Ugh…”
The Chef’s Eye was a definite skill.
The more I used it, the more it felt like a draining sensation inside my body.
It was probably the magic energy points residing in the stats window.
This sensation was quite similar to how I felt after mass-producing dishes with the skillful Chef’s Special Sauce, perhaps there wasn’t much mana left to begin with.
[Chef’s…]
As new messages appeared on the status window, it felt like needles pricking my eyes.
As waves of enlightenment about handling methods flooded my mind, headaches surged, and my mind grew fuzzy.
But the moment my information transmission ceased, the unit’s advancement would be delayed due to the killing of unspecified new monsters.
The monsters that caught up with us were equally ignorant of our tactics.
This would trigger a vicious cycle, making the battle even more challenging.
“Their weakness is!”
Knowing this, I endured the pain and continued to shout while throwing meat with both hands.
It felt like an eternity passed in this manner.
When the number of pursuing monsters dwindled, and we managed to shake off most of them,
“Look ahead!”
One of the soldiers shouted.
What lay before us was a mountain.
“But it looks familiar.”
As the vehicle advanced a bit further and passed the mountain,
“At last.”
Instead of the tiresome mountains and trees, there were traces of civilization.
A long, stretching road appeared.
In the early morning, with the dawn mist, we embarked on our mission to escape the mountains.
What greeted us as we descended from the mountains was the landscape of the earthly world bathed in the setting sun.
With no more meat to throw,
“Hehe… Finally. Nice to see familiar ground.”
Thud.
“Sergeant Shin!?”
Looking at the welcoming earthly landscape I collapsed inside the trailer compartment.
The mountain range that stretches across Gangwon Province.
To the west, where major cities like Chuncheon and Wonju are located, is the Yeongseo region.
To the east, where major cities like Gangneung and Sokcho are located, is the Yeongdong region.
And if you follow the small roads down from the mountains towards the west, there lies an old farmhouse.
That’s where I woke up.
“Ugh, my head.”
Perhaps due to depleted mana, a headache surged.
As I got up, a nearby soldier noticed me and shouted,
“S-Sergeant Shin is awake!”
“Sorry, can you speak a bit quieter? My head is pounding because of this headache.”
“Oh, sorry!”
Upon hearing the soldier’s voice, others rushed over.
“Young-joon! Are you alright?”
“No. I feel like I’m about to die.”
“You seem fine. That’s a relief.”
No room for drama here.
“Min-jae, what happened after I collapsed?”
“Thanks to you, we had already shaken off most of the pursuing monsters. Then we went out to deal with the ones still following us.”
“They must have been overwhelming.”
“Compared to the fight in the mountains, it was manageable.”
Min-jae continued with his report.
There were a few injured and a couple of vehicles overturned, but the damage wasn’t too severe.
“Thanks to you.”
“I was unconscious and collapsed though.”
“That’s enough about that. You’re safe now, so rest up.”
“Got it.”
With that, Min-jae finished his report and left the room.
However, the soldiers who had entered the room with Min-jae stayed, gathered in a corner.
‘What’s going on?’
Just as I wondered why they were acting like that one of the soldiers stepped forward and hesitantly spoke up.
“Is there something you want to say?”
“W-Well…”
The soldier hesitated, as if he had something to say.
“I’m sorry!”
He shouted loudly, bowing his head deeply.
