The Cook of a Perished World - Chapter 4

Episode 4: Increasing the number of awakened people (1)

After roughly finishing the meeting, we first started organizing the unit.

Fortunately, the monsters only attacked places where there were people.

Since all the unit members were gathered in one place, it wasn’t that difficult to deal with the monsters within the unit.

but.

“Your vitality is stronger than I thought.”

A monster covered in thick scales.

Lizard.

Even if you hit it with a large shovel, it wasn’t even a single scratch.

Fortunately, I was not injured when I fired the gun.

The problem was that he couldn’t even nod with one or two kicks.

“It almost seems like it takes one magazine to kill.”

Twenty to thirty shots per monster.

There were more than ten monsters that attacked the unit today, and there was no way there were any bullets left like this.

‘I can hold on somehow for now, but it can’t be like this.’

Unless there is additional supply.

The limit will come soon.

“What about the bodies of the unit members…”

“There is a graveyard behind the unit. “Let’s put it in a body bag and leave it there.”

Roughly like this.

Soldiers with guns patrolled in groups of three while the rest organized the unit as much as possible.

After the last meeting.

There were two significant conclusions.

Sending people to higher-level units to contact them and increasing the number of awakened people.

The former was resolved when two soldiers, who thought it would be safer to go out rather than stay in the unit, volunteered to go out on the Retona.

In the latter case.

Even though I organized the unit and killed quite a few monsters, no awakened person except me showed up.

“I guess it’s because they killed him with a gun.”

Sergeant Park Tae-jun of the radar squad said.

He is my classmate and he personally shot and killed one of the monsters that appeared this time.

“I guess that’s all there is to it, right?”

“You said you personally fought with a monster and killed it? Because we shot the monsters from afar so they couldn’t get close. “If there’s a difference, that’s probably the only part.”

I remembered the energy that filled my body when I killed the monster.

When a monster dies, it releases that energy and you have to absorb it from nearby.

I guess it’s something like that.

“Well, now the weak point you told me about… it was the armpits, right? I think if I knew that, things would work out somehow. No, I’m actually curious. When you first killed a monster, you probably didn’t even know its weakness, right? “How did you do it?”

“I’m going to throw some boiling oil on it. While I was busy eating the youngest guy’s body, I put it on the back of my head…”

“Boiling oil? “It’s not some kind of siege.”

The guy laughed as if I was dumbfounded by my experience, and then spoke seriously again.

“Let’s do it this way. It’s hard to kill these guys with just a few bullets. But as you shoot, you start to feel distressed and lose strength at some point. “You can drive it as close to death as possible with a gun, and then approach and stab its weak point only when it is suffocating.”

The guy who was talking glanced at the sashimi knife in my hand.

“Unlike you, we will have to stab with a bayonet attached to a gun.”

In the warehouse next to the dormitory, soldiers from the facility unit took out grinders and sharpened swords.

A bayonet is a weapon whose reach is as long as the length of the gun.

It’s probably safer than my sashimi knife.

“What if the monster that is still alive resists?”

“At that time, I should pray for your soul to rest in peace.”

“Crazy guy.”

“Kick. Well, it will happen when more monsters come out anyway. “It might not come out anymore, so what’s the point of worrying?”

Taejun seemed to think that more monsters might not appear.

There is certainly no evidence that the monsters that attacked the unit will reappear.

But…

‘If something happened once, there’s no guarantee that it won’t happen twice.’

Even so, just like Taejun said.

There is no point in worrying about it now.

“Then you guys take good care of this. “I’m going to eat.”

Then the guy looks at me rather quizzically.

“In this situation?”

“It’s even more so in this situation. “Don’t you think you have to eat to get work done?”

“No, it’s like that.”

“Lunch is already over and I think we can prepare dinner now, so come on time. Goes.”

So Taejun left the guy behind and returned to the restaurant.

“That’s shit.”

The corpses of the monster and his successors were cleaned up together with other soldiers.

The oil I had sprayed was still shiny on the floor, and there were still blood and flesh splattered everywhere.

“…Let’s just clean up and cook.”

Recalling my memories from when I was the youngest, I cleaned the kitchen with hot water and started preparing dinner.

Although I was prepared to some extent, I thought it would be that difficult because I had to do the work that at least three people used to do alone.

“Why is it so easy?”

The entire process of preparing ingredients, preparing, and cooking felt so easy.

No, rather than feeling tired, it even feels comfortable.

‘Is it the power of [lowest level cooking skill]?’

Perhaps due to the power of [lowest level flame affinity], the kitchen, which was always hot, felt comfortable.

but.

Even if you only have the lowest level of dagger skill, I made you a master who can cut through wood with a kitchen knife.

Since my two successors have died and I am left alone, I was wondering how I should cook from now on.

I don’t think there will be any problems at this level.

That was when I completed the dinner menu.

[‘Beginner Chef’s Stir-fried Pork Belly’ is complete!]

[The quality of the ingredients is not good. Cooking ability decreases slightly.]

[Cooking ability increases due to excellent temperature control.]

[The cook’s sincerity has been reduced to [average]. Cooking ability increases slightly.]

[‘Beginner Chef’s Stir-fried Pork Belly’]

[When consumed, Strength +1 and Dexterity +1 for a certain period of time]

[Skill – You can add the chef’s special sauce.]

The now familiar hologram window It occurred to me.

“hmm.”

It’s a dish that increases your stats for a certain period of time when you eat it.

“Well, I thought it would be like this.”

A status window suddenly appeared.

Even various explanatory phrases.

I was so confused at first that I didn’t notice.

Even with just a little bit of insight, I could tell what this was.

‘Game system.’

And what does the chef do in the game?

Crafting dishes with buff effects.

“But I don’t know what strength 1 and agility 1 are. “Is it a big effect or a small effect?”

Not all game chefs are the same.

While there are games where the buff effect of cooking is so great that cooking skills are considered essential, there are also games where the effect is so small that it is treated as a virtually non-existent system.

My value will change depending on which side of this ‘game’ I am on.

There was another thing that bothered me.

“Chef’s special sauce?”

[Chef’s special sauce]

[Delicious food moves people’s hearts!]

[A good chef can control the direction of the mind.]

[The special sauce can change the emotions of those who eat the food. ]

hmm.

So, if you use this ability, you can control the emotions of those who eat it to some extent.

“I wonder if there is any point in using it.”

I recalled the images of the unit members I saw today after the incident occurred.

Everyone was embarrassed and trembled with fear at the sudden incident.

“I hope you feel more comfortable after eating.”

Add [Chef’s Special Sauce – Comfort].

[A beginner chef’s stir-fried pork belly with peace of mind]

[When consumed, Strength +1 and Dexterity +1 for a certain period of time]

[Eating it will make you feel a little more at ease.]

So, I put out the finished dish and waited.

As dinner time approached, soldiers began to enter the restaurant.

“Ah… Sergeant Shin. thank you for this food.”

“OK.”

Everyone looked listless.

Still, I felt like I had to eat.

As I was distributing the food, I took a peek at the soldiers to see how the effect of the food was showing.

‘Is it effective?’

When you say you’re stronger, it means your muscles are getting bigger. Like blood vessels rising.

I think there needs to be some kind of change in appearance.

You can’t tell from the outside whether it’s effective or not.

‘Isn’t this a trash ability?’

That moment when I was so anxious.

I made eye contact with a soldier who was about to leave after finishing his meal.

“Sergeant Shin. thank you.”

“uh? what.”

“You cooked me a meal. Because of the monster, my head hurt and I became a bit sensitive… but now that my stomach is full, I feel more comfortable. I really enjoyed the meal.”

Eat.

It seems like it has no effect at all.

“Usually, people become sensitive when they’re hungry, that’s what it is.”

“And today’s menu was really delicious.”

“I just did what I always do.”

“Is that so? “I think it tasted better than usual…”

After the conversation ended like that.

The other soldiers also seemed to have relaxed a little.

I’m not sure about the abilities part.

‘If I can manage the children’s mental health like this, it might be a good ability.’

Isn’t it true that eating delicious food is the best way to relieve stress?

Regardless of the taste, it wasn’t a bad idea if it could help relieve stress.

“I don’t care how many times I hear that you ate well.”

It was a time when I was happily looking around the restaurant.

Tudadadadadang!

A gunshot rang out.

“…shit.”

I had some expectations.

Perhaps the monsters that attacked the unit earlier are the last.

Other monsters may not appear.

These were the guys who never gave us a chance to rest.

* * *

After the sound of gunshots rang out from the unit.

I hurriedly left the restaurant and headed to the place where the sound came from as quickly as possible.

“Are you here?”

After arriving.

Sergeant Park Tae-jun of the radar squad and Sergeant Lee Min-jae of the communications squad arrived before me.

“Of course I heard a gunshot.”

“okay.”

Taejun nodded and pointed to one side.

“There are two.”

At the place Taejun pointed, soldiers with guns were surrounding the monster.

“Are you both alive?”

“okay. And…”

Taejun showed the gun with the bayonet stuck in it and shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m going to stab you from now on.”

Both monsters had been shot nearly 20 times and appeared to be dying, weakened.

Where has the violent attitude from when he fought with me gone?

Monsters lying on the floor, breathing hard.

“Whoa.”

Sergeant Lee Min-jae first approached the bleeding monster holding a rifle with a bayonet attached.

Taejun is also waiting with a bayonet.

There is a reason why these two came forward first.

‘Let the people who participated in the meeting be the first to wake up.’

‘why?’

‘We believe that you are awakening because we saw you using the table like a radish, but the other soldiers will think what’s the big deal if you ask them to approach a monster with their bare bodies. However, it is not possible to call back the soldiers who have been distributed and spread out and show a table cutting show. We need to wake up and let people know that something like this exists. While we’re at it, I’ll do it first.’

The person who said those words was Sergeant Lee Min-jae, who was now approaching the monster.

After hearing the gunshots, troops from all over came to watch.

Sergeant Lee Min-jae approached the bleeding monster.

Sigh.

I stepped on his chest in case he woke up.

Aim the bayonet downward.

“Whoop.”

I told you about my weaknesses.

Left armpit.

After catching his breath, Sergeant Lee Min-jae struck down his bayonet in one go.

Phew.

Blood pours out from the blood vessels in the stabbed armpit.

It was a neat room, different from the one where I had to chop it with a kitchen knife because it stuck to me in a pitiful way when I first awakened.

It’s possible because his role is only to stop the life of a guy who was dying in the first place.

“Tsk. “This feels like shit.”

Sergeant Lee Min-jae returned, sweating coldly and taking out a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket.

“How is it, did the system window pop up?”

I couldn’t contain my curiosity and asked.

Sergeant Lee Min-jae grinned, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

And then he put his finger to the place where he lit the fire.

Pajijijik.

Visible blue electricity flashed from that finger.

The cigarette was lit.

“I am a novice wizard. The attribute is the lowest level electricity affinity. The skills are blitzed and so on.”

“Are there any crazy wizards?”

“What if you are the first to wake up and are surprised?”

Anyway.

This confirmed the hypothesis.

You can awaken by killing a monster up close and directly.

“I’m next.”

I wonder if Taejun saw that too.

He slowly approached the monster on the other side, holding his bayonet crossed.

It was the moment when I was about to turn it over by kicking it so that my left armpit was visible, being careful that the monster might attack.

“K… Lahak!”

“Taejun!”

The monster that looked like it was about to die raised its head and bit Taejun’s leg.

“Off…”

Taejun didn’t let go of the bayonet even though he was in pain after being bitten on the calf.

Phew!

And succeeded in stabbing the monster’s weak point.

The monster that was stabbed in its weak spot soon lost its strength and fell.

but.

Taejun’s condition was also not normal.

“Sergeant Taejun Park!”

“You crazy! “Bring the medic!”

“Our medics are in the physical therapy department, so they won’t be able to provide that kind of treatment.”

“Better than nothing, man!”

A guy with a visible hole in his calf and blood flowing freely.

Soon a medic came running and lifted Taejun up with another soldier.

“Hey…”

Taejun, who was being dragged away, looked at me with a painful expression and opened his mouth.

“I also came up… the system window.”

“Okay, okay. “Good job, kid!”

Perhaps excessive adrenaline was secreted due to the wound?

A guy who is dragged away giggling even though he is sweating coldly.

‘I’m worried about the injury, but… Taejun has also awakened.’

The fact that monsters kept appearing was grim, but it meant that this side could also replenish its power.

If we continue to increase the number of awakened people in this way, soon.

‘An army that can fight monsters without bullets is completed.’

A way to survive.

It started to appear.