It was 4 PM.
The time when Irim’s part-time shift ended.
Since the peak time had passed, customers were sparse.
Irim finished the piled-up dishes and took off his apron.
“I’ll be heading out then.”
He greeted Kim Daewon and Oh Chunsik as he was about to leave, when the hall part-timer ‘Yoo Mirae’ called out.
“Aren’t you going to say goodbye to me, oppa?”
Irim was quite shy in front of women he wasn’t close with.
Having lived mostly at home for nearly a year, it had gotten even worse.
So he couldn’t initiate conversation first, but Yoo Mirae approached him sweetly.
“Huh? Ah…… You worked hard. See you tomorrow.”
Irim greeted awkwardly.
“Yes~ Take care.”
Yoo Mirae smiled brightly and waved her hand.
She was a 24-year-old woman with a bright and cheerful personality and a pretty smile that was charming.
Ding-a-ling-
After Irim left, Oh Chunsik subtly asked Kim Daewon.
“How’s the new assistant?”
Kim Daewon pondered for a moment before answering.
“Well, he seems to do his job well. He’s smart.”
“Really?”
“Yes. But we need to watch him more.”
Oh Chunsik smiled and nodded.
If the prickly Kim Daewon said that much, it meant a pretty decent part-timer had come in.
Oh Chunsik had been worried that this one might not endure Kim Daewon’s nitpicky personality and leave, but now he felt a bit relieved.
Meanwhile, Yoo Mirae, who was cleaning the hall, recalled the conversations she overheard from customers while serving.
Today, unusually many customers said the bibimbap or fried rice dishes were delicious.
Many also said it seemed due to the fried eggs.
Today, Irim oppa was the one frying the eggs.
Suddenly, she recalled the posts about Rice on the Real official fan cafe.
Players were praising the fried eggs made by Rice immensely.
Is it a similar level of taste to those fried eggs?
Yoo Mirae, who hadn’t tried either, was just curious.
Tomorrow, I should ask him to fry just one egg for me.
***
Narae Snacks’ dinner peak time.
Bibimbap was still selling well.
But there were no customers saying the bibimbap tasted better than before, like during lunch.
Not just bibimbap, but kimchi fried rice or other fried rice dishes didn’t get the same reactions as lunchtime.
Irim’s face floated in Oh Chunsik’s mind.
Was it really thanks to the fried eggs made by the assistant?
At that moment, the three office workers who came at lunchtime visited Narae Snacks again.
“Oh my~ You’re back again.”
Since they usually didn’t come twice in a day, Yoo Mirae greeted them warmly.
The office workers sat at an empty spot and said.
“The bibimbap from earlier kept lingering in my mind, so we came again.”
“I see. Then, three bibimbaps again?”
“Yes.”
Yoo Mirae went to the kitchen and placed the order.
One of the office workers, watching Yoo Mirae, tilted his head.
“Hey hey. Isn’t that bracelet she’s wearing Hermes?”
“Huh? Nah, it’s fake. What restaurant part-timer wears Hermes.”
“Yeah, true.”
Yoo Mirae heard the office workers whispering but pretended not to notice.
In the kitchen, instead of Irim, an ajumma helping with the evening shift was assisting.
She was diligently frying eggs and finishing other dishes, just like Irim.
Not long after placing the order, three bibimbaps were completed and came out.
Yoo Mirae served them to the office workers’ table.
“Your order is here. Enjoy your meal!”
“Thank you.”
Recalling the taste of the bibimbap from lunchtime, the office workers’ appetites exploded.
They quickly mixed the rice and each took a bite at the same time, chewing.
But something was off.
“Hmm? Why is it so bland.”
“Yeah. Maybe because it’s the second time, no excitement.”
“It’s different from lunchtime? It’s back to the usual bibimbap we had before.”
They couldn’t taste that flavor from lunchtime.
Oh Chunsik, who was nearby, happened to hear their conversation.
It doesn’t taste like lunchtime?
The only difference in the bibimbap between lunchtime and now was the fried eggs.
Could it be…….
Oh Chunsik, who had been quietly thinking, snapped his fingers.
He might not be good at other things, but he sure makes killer fried eggs!
Oh Chunsik was way off the mark.
***
Irim returned home with a black plastic bag in one hand.
Inside were a tray of eggs, a whole raw chicken, and garlic.
How long has it been since I bought cooking ingredients?
After losing his sense of taste and smell, he had been filling his meals with convenience store food or delivery.
Because even if he ate something delicious and expensive, he couldn’t feel it.
So he didn’t cook.
He had cooked and eaten hundreds of times, but each time the food without taste and aroma only brought him despair.
But today, he mustered the courage.
In the kitchen, Irim fried three eggs, made steak with the chicken thighs, and cut the chicken breast to make skewers.
All were menus he had made in the virtual reality game Real.
Of course, the real food was properly seasoned.
Irim put one whole fried egg into his mouth and closed his eyes.
Then, he recalled the taste and aroma he felt in Real.
The edges of the slightly fried egg were crispy and nutty.
The well-cooked white inside chewed softly like pudding.
The half-boiled yolk, risen roundly, was the crowning touch of the fried egg.
When you pop the thin, transparent membrane wrapping the outside, the creamy yolk melts and envelops the tongue.
Then, an extreme nuttiness and endless flavor spread in the mouth.
The crispy edges, white, and yolk played a fantastic trio of tastes.
Gulp!
Irim swallowed one fried egg.
Then he opened his eyes.
The taste…… seemed to be felt.
It could have been an illusion.
But he felt like, very faintly, the taste of the fried egg was conveyed as it went down his throat.
Irim carefully tasted the chicken skewers and chicken thigh steak as well.
Each time he ate a piece of meat, he recalled every detail of the taste, aroma, and flavor he felt in Real.
Doing so allowed him to enjoy a more satisfying meal in ‘reality’ than before.
After filling his stomach heartily, Irim did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen, then enjoyed a walk for about an hour.
Upon returning home, he immediately drank the Connection Water, put on the Connector, and lay down.
Now it was time to act as Rice in Real again.
Stab stab stab!
“Kerruk!”
“Kerook!”
“Krrruk.”
Someone was massacring Claw Lizards in the Spider Forest.
And with one-shot one-kill!
In one hand, he held a long, cone-shaped white weapon, and any Claw Lizard stabbed by it unconditionally fell on the spot.
Claw Lizards were the natural enemies of Red Baby Spiders.
Both were 1-star monsters, but Claw Lizards were stronger.
No user had ever hunted such Claw Lizards so easily with one-hit kills until now.
Nearby users, who were diligently beating Red Baby Spiders, stuck out their tongues in amazement.
“Who is that guy?”
“Yeah. What combat skill did he get to become like that?”
“Rice? Ah! I’ve seen that nickname on the fan cafe. Don’t you know the incident where he kept making and selling food in the newbie zone and then suddenly solo-raided the Great Unicorn Chicken?”
“Whoa.”
The one capturing the users’ attention was none other than Irim.
He was diligently hunting Claw Lizards and collecting their carcasses.
“The Claw Lizards are all going down in one hit. Is there a weak point or something?”
“Dude. Does that look like stabbing weak points to you? Can’t you see he’s not stabbing specific spots but just stabbing wherever he sees?”
Another user nearby said while they were chatting.
Come to think of it, Irim was just stabbing the lizards here and there indiscriminately.
“Wow. I have no idea what skill he got.”
“If you’re curious, go ask.”
“Would he tell if I ask?”
“Yeah, probably not.”
Real was a game where information sharing between players was quite stingy.
For common attack skills or trivial common skills, they shared, but for special skills obtained uniquely, they often kept silent.
It was to remain special themselves.
Having a skill others don’t means you can have an advantage in this game.
The goal of this game is to be the first to raid the Demon King and get 10 billion.
So no one does the fool’s errand of revealing special skills they worked hard to obtain.
Irim wasn’t a fool either.
However, his desire to advance as a chef was greater than 10 billion.
Stab stab stab!
“Kerruk!”
“Karruk!”
As Irim was diligently stabbing and killing Claw Lizards, a message appeared in front of him.
[Sufficient experience has accumulated, raising the rank of ‘Death Point Vision’ to E.]
[Death Point Vision E, Passive]
Eyes that can see the death points of monsters 2-star and below. Accurately piercing the death point allows killing the monster in one hit. As the rank increases, death points of higher-grade monsters become visible.
The level of Death Point Vision had risen.
Oh ho.
Irim immediately looked at the Red Queen Spider.
Then, a red dot clearly appeared on the top of its head.
This confirmed that the Red Queen Spider was a 2-star monster.
Excited, Irim hunted Claw Lizards even more diligently.
Killing a Claw Lizard gives 1,000 won.
There were no other dropped items.
On the other hand, Red Baby Spiders drop 1,000 won and an item called Sticky Spider Web.
This Sticky Spider Web is a weaving material item, but currently, no user can make anything with it.
Instead, information spread that in the small village beyond the Spider Forest, you can sell it to merchants for 500 won each.
So users were diligently hunting only Red Baby Spiders, which were more profitable.
The regen rate was fast because the Red Queen Spider in the forest kept laying eggs.
Regardless, Irim hunted Claw Lizards day and night.
Because there were no dishes he could make with spiders.
When he had hunted nearly 90 Claw Lizards like that.
“Huh?”
An item that had never come out before was collected from the carcass.
Irim examined it.
[Low-Grade Attack Power Magic Stone]
-A magic stone sometimes found in monster carcasses
-Upon consumption, Attack +5
The red orb on his palm was a magic stone that increases attack power.
Irim consumed it immediately.
The hard orb melted like liquid in his mouth, wetting his esophagus and going down to his stomach.
[Attack has increased by 5.]
With this, his pure attack power rose to 21.
It started at 10, but while diligently gathering cooking ingredients, he had become stronger without realizing it.
So that’s why everyone hunts like crazy.
He thought they were just doing repetitive actions to get combat skills, but it was also to obtain magic stones.
However, the drop rate of magic stones was extremely low.
The drop rate increases with higher monster levels, but Irim didn’t know that yet.
Irim opened his inventory.
Inventory (INVENTORY)
Possessions
Dagger [1]
Torch [1]
Blanket [1]
Small Horn [100]
Delicious Fried Egg [23]
Delicious Chicken Skewer [17]
Rosemary [137]
Attack Buff Egg [10]
Agility Buff Egg [5]
Defense Buff Egg [5]
Salt [120g]
Claw Lizard Carcass [93]
Money
614,500W
There were 93 Claw Lizard carcasses.
Let’s fill up to 100 and then do business.
Having made up his mind, when Irim quickly hunted 7 more Claw Lizards.
[Achievement Unlocked!]
Achievement Obtained: Is That Guy an Ally?
Condition: In ‘Spider Forest’, without killing a single ‘Red Baby Spider’, hunt 100 ‘Claw Lizards’
Reward: ‘Hidden Quest – Red Queen Spider’s Grudge’ obtainable
After checking the system message, Irim looked at the Red Queen Spider.
Above its head, a green question mark that he hadn’t seen before had appeared.