Metal Pig.
The name was an intuitive one, derived from its body covered entirely in metal.
Its design style was similar to that of the Steel Buffalo.
The difference was that while the Steel Buffalo’s horns were metallic, the Metal Pig’s entire body was coated in metal.
In that sense, it resembled the Armored Giant as well.
However, the actual appearance of the Metal Pig they had caught was completely different.
“Is this tasty…?”
There was a reason why Jang Dojin said that.
The Metal Pig that Yuseong had caught did not look good at all.
Unlike the sleek armor of the Armored Giant, the shell covering the Metal Pig’s body was rugged and uneven.
Moreover, the protrusions sprouting from its skin were dotted with yellow paralysis toxin droplets.
Touching those spikes even slightly could cause instant paralysis, such was the potency of the toxin.
“It melts softly in the mouth.”
“I hope it tastes as good as it was hard to catch.”
Though Yuseong had caught the Metal Pig easily, Jang Dojin had suffered quite a bit during the process.
“Even if you catch it with difficulty, the ones that turn brown can’t be eaten.”
Yuseong killed the one he caught instantly by stabbing its liver with a single blow.
But Jang Dojin, slower and less nimble than Yuseong, wrestled with his for quite some time before finally catching it.
The one Jang Dojin caught was stained brown from a mix of his blood and the paralysis toxin.
Once that happened, the meat gave off a strong unpleasant odor and the toxin seeped through, making it hard to eat.
In the end, Jang Dojin had to attempt three times before finally securing one intact.
When they climbed the rocky mountain in the center of the island, no one else was there.
“Aha! First place!”
“That’s only natural, hmhm.”
That meant they were the first to pass the Stinger Test.
Yuseong and Jang Dojin laid the Metal Pigs down on the peak’s clearing.
“But isn’t this too much for just the two of us?”
Two medium-sized monsters.
No matter how big Yuseong and Jang Dojin’s appetites were, this was excessive.
“No, we’re not just eating this ourselves.”
Yuseong had other plans.
“We’re selling it to the Explorers.”
Selling barbecue to make money, and more importantly, a chance to grow the Aestheticism Effect.
Yuseong wasn’t one to waste such an opportunity.
“First, let’s butcher the meat. Go down there and bring some clean water.”
Jang Dojin’s face hardened at the thought of having to hike down and back up again.
“Ugh…”
“Hurry.”
In the end, there was no choice but to carry the meat down with their arms.
***
Yuseong rested his fingers against his chin, deep in thought.
He was looking at the two Metal Pigs hanging from a tree, draining their blood.
What he had resolved to make today was barbecue.
‘Barbecue’ essentially refers to grilled meat dishes.
In Europe or Korea, barbecue brings to mind meat cooked directly over a grill’s fire.
But if you look at the origins of barbecue, such as in Texas or other parts of the American South, it’s a bit different.
Barbecue isn’t a direct fire-cooking method.
It’s food cooked slowly using smoke or indirect heat so that the fire never touches the meat directly.
For outdoor gatherings, it’s considered the perfect meal.
The downside was…
“The Steel Buffalo meat all fell apart.”
For barbecue, you want to use cuts like brisket, the cow’s chest meat, but he couldn’t use it now.
All he had was the Metal Pig.
So, when making barbecue from pork, the best cut was clear.
“Of course, pork ribs.”
Though it had been part of the plan before coming here, pork ribs were definitely the best choice.
Just then, Jang Dojin returned.
“Hyung, I brought water.”
He had followed Yuseong’s instructions and fetched clean spring water.
Yuseong took it and cleaned the Rose Knife and Meat Knife carefully.
The first step in making barbecue was preparing the meat.
He laid the Metal Pigs, drained of blood and hanging from the tree, onto the ground.
“I don’t think this can be cut with a knife.”
“That’s why you have to peel off the shell first.”
Yuseong pulled out not the Rose Knife, but what was called the Meat Knife or Bone Knife.
A small pocket knife, its blade and handle were nearly the same length.
But both were incredibly sharp and sturdy, designed not to break easily.
Yuseong slid it between the shell plates.
Crack, scrape.
The sound of something being cut echoed.
It was the membrane holding the shell and flesh together coming loose.
Yuseong twisted the blade.
The shell trembled slightly, and he grabbed it with his gauntleted hand and pulled.
Snap.
The shell came off cleanly.
Yuseong roughly tossed it to the ground, making a clatter.
Beneath the fallen shell, the bright red flesh was exposed.
From here on, the work became more strenuous.
Starting with the head.
Though pig heads aren’t entirely useless, the Metal Pig’s head was inedible.
It contained venom.
The biggest problem with monster dissection was poison.
Yuseong could eat it without issue, but others might die, and even more, the taste was spoiled.
After gutting the innards, the front and back legs had to be removed.
Called jeonji and huji, they were versatile cuts in cooking—but not for the Metal Pig.
Its legs were equipped not with hooves but with broad, fin-like parts, which also contained poison glands.
The thighs, including the hock, were cut broadly and discarded without hesitation.
What remained were two cleanly prepared carcasses.
All of this happened in an instant.
“Wow, how are you so fast?”
Jang Dojin, who had been watching nearby, was amazed.
“Dissecting monsters is an Explorer’s basic skill.”
“To be a great Explorer, you need to know how to cut meat by parts?”
“You could say that.”
Yuseong said as he continued to carve the body into sections.
The pork ribs came from meat attached to the rib bones.
He trimmed the cuts roughly, keeping plenty of meat attached, but when the ribs were removed, the volume dropped drastically.
“Hmm… not as much as I thought.”
After discarding unwanted parts and storing the unused cuts, the remaining meat wasn’t that much.
“Doesn’t seem too little though.”
“Barbecue is delicious; it’ll disappear fast.”
Yuseong stood and looked down below.
The Explorers looked tiny from this height.
Several hours had passed since Yuseong’s group had arrived at the Seventh Island.
Fast people were already on the island.
No one had yet brought Metal Pigs, but they would all arrive in time.
“I should use other parts too.”
Yuseong pulled out a piece of leftover hind leg he had planned to use later.
They weren’t the best cuts for barbecue, but better to have more than less.
“Hey, hyung.”
At that moment, the people who would solve Yuseong’s dilemma arrived.
They were the ones who had passed the Stinger Test after Yuseong’s group.
They were dragging Metal Pigs up the mountain.
“Oh.”
“Huh?”
There were two parties.
One was Seong Jihoo, dragging a Metal Pig larger than himself.
The other was Amanda Park, accompanied by two subordinates.
When Seong Jihoo appeared, roughly leaving some of his catch behind, Jang Dojin grew uneasy.
“Uh, uh, what do we do? Isn’t that Seong Jihoo?”
“Not bad.”
“What if he asks why we fell into the water?”
“Hmm, maybe if we share a bit of barbecue, he’ll let it slide.”
While they were talking, more Explorers arrived at the peak.
Amanda Park was the first to acknowledge them.
“Oh my, I thought Jihoo’s group was first and I was second.”
She looked surprised to see Yuseong and Jang Dojin.
“You two probably can’t run across the water like Jihoo. Did you bring a motorboat hidden somewhere?”
She asked, apparently unaware that Yuseong and Jang Dojin had taken the sea route.
Yuseong naturally didn’t satisfy her curiosity.
“That’s a trade secret.”
“Eh…”
“And there should be three Metal Pigs if there are three of you.”
Amanda Park shrugged and said,
“These guys are just carrying the ones I caught. I’ll guard them and watch over them.”
The two burly men silently nodded in agreement.
“Fine, whatever. And this is…”
Yuseong turned toward Seong Jihoo.
Seong Jihoo stepped forward, cracked his back loudly, and greeted them.
“G-g-g-…”
The awkward atmosphere was thick, with Amanda Park and her subordinates present as well.
Seong Jihoo stuttered excessively.
“G?”
“Thank you.”
His face brightened as he expressed gratitude.
Amanda Park’s eyes sparkled with suspicion at this sudden change.
Yuseong and Jang Dojin were equally surprised.
They had expected anger, but instead received thanks.
Yuseong kept his poker face, but Jang Dojin was flustered and fumbling.
“Y-you saved my life…”
Strangely enough, though Yuseong had nearly killed him, Seong Jihoo thought of Yuseong as a lifesaver.
Jang Dojin poked Yuseong’s ribs, but Yuseong ignored it and kept a calm expression.
“Uh, what do you mean?”
Yuseong didn’t understand what Seong Jihoo was trying to say, but Seong Jihoo seemed to interpret it differently.
“Saving me from drowning… and telling me the location of the Metal Pig.”
His voice was awestruck.
Saving him from drowning was understandable, but telling him where the Metal Pig was caught? Yuseong couldn’t imagine what he was talking about.
Seong Jihoo looked like a washed-up mess; it was impossible to think he was still conscious.
“I don’t know what story you’re talking about.”
When Yuseong said that, Seong Jihoo’s eyes suddenly gleamed.
Though Yuseong really didn’t know, Seong Jihoo misunderstood.
“You’re hiding your good deed… a real adult…!”
Yuseong was twenty-two, but to sixteen-year-old Seong Jihoo, he looked much older.
By outward Explorer experience, Seong Jihoo was probably senior, but Yuseong appeared like a strict senior.
“If you’re done talking, I want to see your Metal Pig for a moment.”
“Ah, yes, of course. Go ahead.”
The strange standoff ended when Yuseong showed interest in Seong Jihoo’s catch.
Yuseong shifted all his attention from Seong Jihoo and Amanda Park to the Metal Pig.
As the tension eased, the previously excited Amanda Park approached Yuseong with a tired expression.
“So we really passed, right?”
“Yes, do your Stinger.”
Yuseong waved his hand, as if telling her to handle it herself.
“Honestly, why bother looking at Metal Pigs? I already have the Masok.”
Amanda Park ignored Yuseong’s cold attitude and came closer.
As her long red hair brushed to the side, a pair of white, smooth ears peeked out.
She pressed close to Yuseong’s side and glanced at him.
But Yuseong didn’t even spare her a glance, focusing instead on the Metal Pig’s shell.
“Boring…”
Amanda Park frowned slightly.
“Why do you look at monsters?”
“To eat.”
“Oh my, so eating monsters is the real deal.”
“This one’s in pretty good shape. How did you catch it?”
Suddenly questioned by Yuseong, Seong Jihoo answered hurriedly.
“Well, if you look closely under the jaw…”
“…Oh?”
“I cut around the shell’s gaps with my sword.”
“This is impressive.”
Yuseong smiled happily.
Seong Jihoo was famous for wielding a fine sword.
Still, to have surrounded the shell gap under the jaw and instantly suffocated it was remarkable.
Yuseong envied the Metal Pig Seong Jihoo had caught.
“Sell it to me.”
“I will.”
Seong Jihoo replied immediately, startling Yuseong.
“Just give it to me?”
“Yes, I’m not planning to hold any debt over it, and I can’t carry it around anyway… If you need it, take as much as you want.”
Though the shell was hard and sturdy, properly tanned, it could fetch a good price.
It wasn’t something easy to give away, but Seong Jihoo handed it over as if it were natural.
Yuseong simply nodded to accept the favor.
The one who seemed disappointed was Amanda Park.
“What the heck?”
Famous for eating monsters, Baek Yuseong.
She was curious about such actions.
She had also received information about the gift that becoming stronger by eating food granted.
“Well, you can take mine too. I don’t need it.”
But Yuseong, glancing at Amanda Park’s Metal Pig, declined.
“I don’t need this one.”
“Why?”
She naturally expected Yuseong to happily take it, but he cut her off sharply.
“It’s not edible.”
Only Jang Dojin realized the problem with Amanda Park’s Metal Pig.
Its shell was broken in many places, the poison leaking out and its body had turned brown.
“Brown.”
“Hmm, it’s a total mess.”
Neither Yuseong nor Jang Dojin could solve Amanda Park’s doubts.
Yuseong started dissecting right away, regardless of whether she understood.
His hands moved as if possessed.
In no time, Yuseong had dismantled a Metal Pig.
Seong Jihoo and Amanda Park watched with keen interest.
Amanda Park’s eyes shone brightly.
“Are you making something?”
Yuseong glanced at Amanda Park.
It was an unusual question.
Usually, people were fascinated that Yuseong ate monsters but paid no attention to what kind of dishes he made.
They were simply ignorant about food.
“Why are you staring? I ate food a few times when I lived in the States.”
That was a somewhat boasting explanation.
The wealthy in America had long enjoyed building shelters and safe houses.
Compared to Korea, more food would have been preserved even after major changes.
Amanda Park’s origins in the US didn’t come to mind.
“Barbecue. Barbecue pork ribs.”
“Holy……”
Seeing her face light up so remarkably, Yuseong was impressed.
“Are you from Texas by any chance?”
“Oh, how did you know?”
Texas was the barbecue capital.
Yuseong’s guess had been correct.