Chapter 32: The Chef and the Gourmet

Irim headed to the lakeside to butcher the Mayonejo corpse.  

Its appearance was peculiar, like a mix of a chicken and a pigeon, but its basic structure and skeleton were similar to a chicken’s.  

From one Mayonejo, he obtained enough meat for three servings.  

Given its large size, it yielded a substantial amount of meat.  

Irim didn’t separate the wings, thighs, or breast, instead cutting it all into bite-sized pieces.  

He stored the meat in his inventory and started walking to meet Paltau, but he was startled by a few players standing nearby.  

What’s going on?  

The players were all staring at him with curious eyes.  

One of them spoke up.  

“Hey, what were you just doing?”  

“Huh?”  

“You were butchering a monster corpse, right? Or, uh, processing it?”  

“Processing… yeah, that’s right.”  

“What are you going to do with it? Planning to take it to Pig Restaurant? They only cook pork belly there.”  

“I have another use for it.”  

“I’ve never seen someone process a monster before.”  

“Your knife skills were insane. Are you a hunter?”  

“Maybe it’s a butcher profession or something?”  

The players started exchanging theories.  

Irim quietly slipped away during their chatter.  

***  

Back at the blacksmith’s shop, on the second floor, Paltau was still seated in his rocking chair.  

His sleepy eyes glanced at Irim and Ferguson standing before him.  

“Where’s the kitchen?”  

“Follow me.”  

Ferguson led Irim to the second-floor kitchen.  

Paltau turned his chair to face the kitchen, giving him a clear view of the scene.  

Irim inspected every corner of the kitchen, rummaging through it, then nodded.  

I can cook here.  

He pulled out the Mayonejo meat and the necessary ingredients from his inventory.  

First, he needed to make the marinade for the meat.  

He filled a large pot with water and added 20 Wormflower leaves, bringing it to a boil.  

Soon, a thick soy sauce was produced.  

He added a generous amount of sugar he found in the kitchen.  

Though he had sugar in his inventory, it was limited, so he needed to conserve it.  

It was best to use whatever the kitchen provided.  

Luckily, there was a decent stock of whole garlic.  

He quickly peeled and minced a bulb, adding it to the soy sauce, then ground a small amount of peppercorns by hand and sprinkled them in.  

He poured in cold water to dilute the soy sauce to a normal concentration and cool it down.  

Then, he submerged the Mayonejo meat in the marinade.  

For the flavors to fully penetrate, it needed at least two hours.  

There was nothing else to do in the kitchen for now.  

“Leave it as is. I’ll be back in two hours.”  

With that, Irim hurriedly left.  

Time was money.  

 *** 

“Pork belly skewers, 5,000 won!”  

Irim set up shop outside Tirko Village in the hunting grounds.  

“You’re selling pork belly skewers?”  

“How’d you make those?”  

Curious players were drawn to Irim’s pitch.  

“One, please.”  

“I’ll take two.”  

“Here you go.”  

Irim handed out the pork belly skewers.  

The players who bought them out of curiosity took a bite, and their eyes widened in unison.  

“This is amazing.”  

“It melts in your mouth.”  

“Man, pork belly is the truth.”  

“This is too good. What even were the pork bellies I’ve eaten before?”  

The juicy pork belly skewers were a sensation.  

One player, munching on a skewer, muttered, “This tastes like the pork belly from Pig Restaurant.”  

At Pig Restaurant, the pork belly was served in bite-sized pieces on a plate.  

Irim’s version, however, was whole pieces skewered on horns.  

The presentation differed, but the flavor was identical.  

“No way, really?”  

“Wait… are you Rice-nim?”  

A player asked.  

Just as Irim was about to respond—  

“Rice-nim, we meet again.”  

Someone called his name, approaching.  

It was Eater.  

His arrival revealed Irim’s identity.  

“No way, it’s him!”  

“How did you teach the restaurant those recipes?”  

“The bulgogi was so good. But how do you get the ingredients for cooking…?”  

Overwhelmed by the flood of questions, Irim stammered until Eater shouted, “Everyone, doesn’t my name ring a bell?”  

“Eater?”  

“Oh! From the armor shop!”  

“How do you teach skills to NPCs?”  

Unlike Irim, Eater answered concisely.  

“Go find NPCs related to your profession. That’s where it starts.”  

Taking the hint, the players scattered in an orderly frenzy.  

Eater patted Irim’s back.  

“See? That’s how you handle it.”  

“Thanks for the tip.”  

“By the way, whoever made your gear did a great job.”  

Everything Irim was wearing—clothes, shoes, gloves, cape—was crafted by Eater.  

“Thanks to you, I got great stuff at a good price from the armor shop.”  

“And thanks to you, I get to eat delicious food all the time.”  

Eater grinned, pulling a plate of pork belly from his inventory.  

“Bought 20 of these for hunting. You’re an amazing cook.”  

“Haha, thank you.”  

“You staying here to sell more?”  

“Yeah, I need to do something, and I’ve got some time.”  

“Good luck. I’m off to slaughter some pigs.”  

“Eater, wait.”  

Irim stopped Eater as he turned to leave.  

“Yes?”  

“Can you take a look at this and see if you can make something with it?”  

Irim handed him a Kilby Queen Wing.  

Eater’s eyes sparkled.  

“Whoa, a Kilby Queen Wing? Hold on.”  

Eater used his Blueprint skill.  

“Rice, if you can get me four pairs of Kilby Queen Wings and 400 grams of Delicious Honey, I could make something incredible.”  

Kilby Queen Wings were easy enough to obtain.  

But Delicious Honey was the question.  

Killing regular Kilbies only yielded standard-grade honey, and even Kilby Queens didn’t drop Delicious Honey.  

There’s got to be a way.  

Irim nodded, deep in thought.  

“Alright. I’ll let you know when I get the materials.”  

“Cool, enjoy the game!”  

Eater waved and charged toward a nearby spotted pig.  

Delicious Honey, huh.  

As Irim pondered, a few players approached.  

“Hey, you’re selling pork belly? Is it sold out?”  

“I heard you’re the Rice who taught Pig Restaurant the recipes. You’ve done something huge.”  

“Oppa! I’ll take three!”  

“Oh, yes. Everyone, please line up. I’m limiting purchases to three per person, so please understand.”  

***  

In thirty minutes, Irim sold 79 pork belly skewers.  

Only one remained.  

Should I just eat this one?  

As he considered it, a dark shadow loomed over him.  

Looking up, he saw a towering, intimidating warrior over two meters tall staring down at him.  

The name above his head read ‘Epicure.’  

He asked Irim, “You’re selling food?”  

His tone was commanding, his voice deep and resonant, like it echoed from a cave.  

“Yes, it’s pork belly skewers. One left, 5,000 won. Want it?”  

Epicure silently handed over 5,000 won.  

Irim gave him the last skewer.  

With that, he sold all 80 pork belly skewers, earning 400,000 won.  

Looking around, he saw Eater still hunting pigs.  

His method was to taunt a pig, let it charge, then hold out a spiked iron shield to impale it.  

The spotted pig staggered as its head hit the spikes, and Eater finished it with a dagger to the throat.  

He was literally slaughtering pigs.  

After killing one, Eater glanced at Irim, gave a thumbs-up, and Irim waved back before heading into the forest.  

At the spot Irim left, Epicure stood like a statue.  

Sniff, sniff.  

He smelled the pork belly.  

The savory aroma of well-grilled pork wafted up.  

Epicure stuffed the entire skewer into his mouth.  

With his large frame came a larger-than-average mouth.  

His cheeks puffed out as he chewed.  

“!”  

To his surprise, the pork belly burst with juiciness.  

He’d always thought pork belly was overcooked, dry, and tasteless—especially unappealing to someone like him who preferred raw meat.  

But this pork belly was juicy!  

He’d avoided grilled pork belly since it couldn’t be eaten raw, but this kind he could eat endlessly.  

Gulp!  

As he swallowed, his Gourmet profession skills Taste and Consumption activated.  

The effects of the skills were as follows:  

[Taste, Active]  

When eating cooked monster meat, you can absorb up to 5% of that monster’s stats, depending on the dish’s quality. 

This applies once per species.  

[Consumption, Passive]  

Each time you eat a new dish, you gain 1 bonus stat point.  

A message detailed the skills’ effects.  

[You have consumed a properly cooked, delicious dish, absorbing 3% of the monster’s stats.]  

[No further stats can be absorbed from the same species.]  

[You have consumed a new dish, ‘Pork Belly Skewer.’ You gain 1 bonus stat point.] 

[No further stat points can be gained from the same dish.]  

“3 percent.”  

It was a significant number.  

When he’d eaten raw or poorly cooked monster meat before, it wasn’t recognized as a proper dish, so he only absorbed 1% of the stats.  

This time, it was a whopping 3%.  

The food was delicious, and the stat boost was substantial.  

The person who made this pork belly skewer was indispensable to Epicure.  

I should’ve asked his name.  

Epicure sighed regretfully.  

He’d been so focused on the pork belly that he didn’t notice where the seller went.  

Just then, two players approached him.  

“Hey, where’s the guy who was selling pork belly here?”  

“He said I got the last one.”  

Epicure flicked the horn used as a skewer, sending it flying.  

The player who spoke bristled at his curt tone but was too intimidated by Epicure’s overwhelming presence to argue.  

Instead, he muttered, “Man, I should’ve friended Rice-nim when we traded.”  

“Let’s just go to Pig Restaurant. Their food’s made by Rice too, right?”  

“Ugh, too much hassle.”  

As the two started to leave, a massive hand landed on their shoulders like a pot lid.  

“Eek!”  

“What’s this? You trying to PK? You know that’ll land you in jail for three days, right?”  

The two players instinctively grabbed their weapons.  

Epicure looked at them and asked, “What did you just say?”  

“W-What?”  

“The name of the player selling food here! What did you call him?”  

“R-Rice.”  

“Rarice?”  

“Rice, you idiot!”  

One player slapped Epicure’s hand away and bolted.  

The other flipped him off and ran after his friend.  

Epicure stood there, dazed, nodding to himself.  

“Rice. So he was Rice.”  

He felt an overwhelming sense that this encounter was fated.