Chapter 3 : Blessing of Pork Belly

Just as Yuseong was lost in the sudden message.

“Hey, you! Something’s happening to your body…!”

The shop owner, savoring the meat, spat out his words and pointed at Yuseong.

Yuseong immediately sensed something was happening to his body.

“More light…?”

A strong golden glow burst forth, just like right before his regression.

[Gift acquired: ‘Tammijuui’]

[You have acquired two gifts for the first time.]

[Legendary Achievement ‘Double Gift’ unlocked.]

Legendary Achievement unlocked.

A legendary-level achievement—it wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

Could it really be this easy to obtain?

“Two Hearts? I’ve heard of that… Hyuk!”

Yuseong’s face went pale.

“That’s a special perk that the Flame Beast Jang Dojin possessed.”

Perks granted when unlocking achievements function separately from gifts.

Among explorers, there were those with exceptional gifts and perks, and among them was Jang Dojin, a Legendary Explorer who reached that rank with just a strong body.

One of the perks he had was called Two Hearts.

“The effect was doubling all resistance, right?”

Yuseong’s Gift, Gluttony, was a power that specifically increased poison resistance.

On the other hand, the Flame Beast had a perk that doubled resistance against poison, fire, cold, and all other forms.

“Just a perk, yet it seems better than my gift. And I get that…?”

Perks like Two Hearts weren’t distributed to many people.

It was probably the special perk that the Flame Beast of this lifetime would gain, and it was now passing on to Yuseong by fate.

“More importantly, what exactly is this Tammijuui?”

Tammijuui means ‘the pursuit of exquisite taste.’

Since it was a gift obtained by being moved while eating Sliced Pork Belly, it was surely a gift related to food.

“That’s a first.”

The variety of gifts is infinite.

Many people might share the same gift, but many others have unique ones.

And Tammijuui was a gift even the experienced Yuseong had never heard of before.

In an era where only energy bars existed, there was hardly any chance to acquire a gift related to taste.

“I guess I’ll have to experiment.”

Gifts related to physical enhancement or abilities have straightforward effects.

But ambiguous gifts like this need to be tested through experience to analyze their true nature.

It might be a vague gift like Gluttony, but Yuseong had a hunch it wasn’t.

At that moment, the shop owner shouted at Yuseong, who was still lost in thought.

“The meat’s burning!”

“Ah! Damn it!”

That was careless.

In the middle of grilling that precious Sliced Pork Belly, he almost burned the meat because he got distracted.

Yuseong quickly flipped the meat over.

Luckily, it was just browned to a golden color and not burnt.

“It’s still okay. Well-done Sliced Pork Belly can be delicious too.”

“That’s true. But how do you even know that? You were born long after the Revolution.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just eat.”

Yuseong cut off the owner’s question by stuffing meat into his mouth.

Then he took a bite of the crispy, well-done Sliced Pork Belly himself.

Crunch.

The thickly sliced pork belly shattered crispily, like a snack.

The fat was thoroughly rendered, leaving a savory taste.

Some prefer thick slices to preserve the meaty juice, but eating it crispy like this was another kind of delicacy.

As Yuseong’s face filled with emotion once again, the gift ‘Tammijuui’ activated.

[Moving flavor detected!]

[By embodying the taste of a forgotten past, wounds are healed and strength is slightly increased.]

With the sudden message, a warm sensation spread throughout Yuseong’s body.

The wound from the old branch injury and the scarred shoulder healed quickly.

And his physical strength rose somewhat permanently.

Yuseong’s mouth dropped open.

“N-No way.”

“Hey, what’s no way? You’re still eating.”

Yuseong quickly grabbed another piece of pork belly.

It was still delicious.

So delicious that even rice with sesame oil sauce would be a good match.

[Moving flavor detected!]

[Strength slightly increased.]

The message changed from “slightly” to “slight,” but it was clear.

Just by eating delicious Sliced Pork Belly, his stats rose.

It wasn’t from clearing a dungeon, taking a potent elixir, or slaying a powerful monster.

It was purely the effect of the gift Tammijuui.

“This is insane.”

Yuseong’s eating speed accelerated insanely.

The way he put the whole plate of pork belly into his mouth looked like a seasoned swordsman performing a swift sword technique.

“Hey, you crazy bastard! How can you eat all of that by yourself!”

“Ugh, ugh.”

As Yuseong stuffed the meat into his mouth as if swallowing it whole, the owner grabbed his shoulder and shook him.

But Yuseong was looking forward to the massive stat increases that would soon follow.

“Belly, bellyyyyy!”

“Ugh, it’s delicious.”

But the messages stopped coming.

The strength increase no longer happened.

Yuseong muttered, as if realizing something.

“Hmm, I think I get it.”

“Get what? You idiot, there’s less than half the meat left already!”

Tammijuui really was a gift related to taste.

It seemed to increase stats when you eat delicious food that stirs your emotions.

But eating the same food repeatedly reduced its effect.

Even so, it was still a top-tier gift.

It was an infinitely scalable growth-type gift.

Yuseong finally made up his mind.

“I have to clear it again. No, I must.”

“What?!”

“The Abyss, down to the lowest floor.”

“Maybe the meat’s gone bad from being frozen so long… Are you okay?”

“I’m serious!”

“If you want to die there, then leave the meat behind.”

No matter what the owner said, Yuseong steeled his resolve.

The Abyss had countless ingredients.

Most were poisonous, and some were so toxic even body-enhanced awakened individuals would die just touching them.

But there were surprisingly delicious ingredients despite the poison.

That was made edible by the gift Gluttony.

And with Tammijuui, simply cooking and eating could make him stronger.

If he combined that with the future knowledge gained through regression, he could drastically shorten the攻略 time.

Who knows if the people who made this world like it because someone cleared the Abyss.

But at least the world would become prosperous again.

That alone was enough for Yuseong.

“I’ll find that Sliced Pork Belly again, even if I die trying.”

“Then die!”

Had the shop’s door not opened, the owner might really have charged at Yuseong.

Drip.

When the sliding door opened, tension filled their faces.

It wasn’t a good time to be seen grilling Sliced Pork Belly in this era.

But upon realizing who had come in, they relaxed.

It was the shop owner’s granddaughter.

“Ah, Yuseong oppa! Long time no see!”

“Jia! It really has been a long time.”

It really had been many years—more than a decade.

She held an energy bar in one hand and a bag in the other.

The shop owner Shin Jangho’s only granddaughter, Shin Jia.

She was shocked to see Yuseong and her grandfather grilling meat.

“Grandpa, what’s that?”

She came home from school and found Yuseong and her grandfather grilling meat.

At 19, she belonged to a generation that grew up on energy bars all their life.

It was natural she didn’t know what Sliced Pork Belly was.

“Jia, sit down. This is called Sliced Pork Belly. I was going to grill this for your graduation, but Yuseong just snatched it all and ate it by himself…”

“How can you listen to that? Jia, come here.”

Shin Jia didn’t show much resistance and quickly sat beside Yuseong.

“This thing called Sliced Pork Belly is amazing food.”

“Wow, meat? We actually had this at home… I never knew.”

For someone her age, the generation just above hers was familiar with proper food.

It was uncertain if she would fully reject it, but her resistance wasn’t strong.

Yuseong put the remaining meat on the grill.

Then he noticed the energy bar in Shin Jia’s hand.

“Haven’t you eaten lunch?”

“Hmm, since the college entrance exam ended, school lets us out early. This was distributed at school.”

It had the Government Ration Mark on it.

“Give it here.”

“Huh?”

Yuseong casually took the energy bar from Jia’s hand.

She was so natural about it that she ended up having it taken away.

He tore open the packaging and took a bite.

“What… what is this?!”

“Ugh, tastes like my tongue’s about to rot.”

Yuseong grimaced as if he’d just eaten something inedible.

It had a paper-like texture.

Probably because it didn’t suit his body, it even tasted a little bitter.

He threw the half-eaten energy bar into the trash can.

“That was supposed to be my lunch!”

“Why eat an energy bar when you have Sliced Pork Belly?”

“It’s my first time ever eating something like this…”

“You can tell by the smell how delicious it is.”

Even the savory aroma was trembling in the air.

Just by smelling it, saliva flooded her mouth.

She had never experienced anything like this in her life.

“Ah, really…”

“Wait a moment, it’s all cooked now.”

Yuseong’s expression tightened slightly as he grilled the meat.

Allergy symptoms were starting to appear.

Thanks to the gift Gluttony, he could eat poison and survive, but oddly, the nectar-based energy bars caused allergies.

He never figured out exactly why.

“When I eat one-fifth of the government-ration energy bar, I get a slight fever.”

The allergy worsened as he became an adult.

With reactions like this, surviving on energy bars alone was impossible.

“I need to get into the Abyss as soon as possible.”

While he was thinking this, the meat was fully cooked.

“It’s ready.”

“What are you doing…?”

“Eating, of course.”

Yuseong held the meat up to Shin Jia’s mouth with an indifferent look.

Flustered, Shin Jia had no choice but to accept it.

“Then… just one bite.”

She nervously took a piece with a trembling expression.

Before long, she let out a sigh of wonder.

“Mm! Hhhmmm.”

It was her first time eating meat.

Whether it was due to her grandfather’s love for food passing down genetically, Shin Jia’s expression melted beautifully.

“Hahaha.”

“Hehe.”

As she mindlessly savored the Sliced Pork Belly, she suddenly noticed how refreshed Yuseong and her grandfather looked.

“You’re so delicious… I was a bit surprised…”

She said that and lowered her head shyly.

The old man sighed in relief.

“Luckily, we still have some left for Jia to eat.”

“Yeah, that’s good.”

“You don’t have the right to say that. You almost ate it all.”

Yuseong ignored the old man’s reproach.

“Eat more, Jia.”

Shin Jia was already eyeing the pork belly eagerly.

Yuseong grabbed a plate and generously piled meat in front of her.

Meeting old acquaintances after so many years felt strange.

Later, after Yuseong became a full-fledged explorer, they grew apart, but this was a rare moment of closeness.

Especially Shin Jia, who used to be just a pretty, studious junior, now looked different.

Growing up just the two of them in this harsh world made it difficult for her to blossom so bright.

That was especially noticeable.

At that moment, another effect of Tammijuui activated.

[Condition fulfilled.]

[Gift holder has introduced ‘Heavenly Taste’ to another for the first time.]

[Temporarily bestowing ‘Icarus’s Blessing’ upon the other.]

Suddenly, white wings burst from Shin Jia’s back.

“Ah!”

“J-Jia!”

“W-What is this?!”

“Don’t look this way, Jia! Stay by the grill!”

The wings shook violently, tearing apart the narrow shop’s ceiling.

Shin Jia panicked and flailed, making the wings wildly flutter.

The shop descended into chaos.

Feathers drifted like snow.

This newly revealed effect of Tammijuui was the ability to grant a blessing to those who ate Yuseong’s cooking.

Yuseong ducked under the wings as they passed.

He thought to himself,

“I’m running solo anyway, so I don’t really need this.”