Balak stared at the entrance of the Labyrinth.
He recalled the first time he walked this path with his comrades.
- I will conquer every floor of the Labyrinth.
- I will become the greatest mage.
- I want to know everything about the Labyrinth.
- I will be the best Labyrinth Chef.
Each of them entered with different dreams.
And they all did their best to achieve those dreams.
Floor 1.
Floor 2.
Floor 3.
The comrades with talent quickly descended the Labyrinth, and Balak also put his all into making Labyrinth cuisine.
- Delicious. As expected, the food you make is the best.
- Strangely, whenever Balak cooks, I feel energized after eating.
- Hmm. There’s some kind of power in his cooking.
He was delighted by his comrades’ compliments.
He had worried that he was the only one not growing stronger among them.
But his comrades made him forget those worries.
- Let’s be together for life.
- Agreed.
- I like that.
- Weren’t we already family?
- Today’s a party!
They enjoyed themselves and were happy throughout their descent in the Labyrinth. There were crises and tough times, but together with his comrades, he overcame them.
Everything he experienced with them became memories.
And he wanted to continue building those memories with them.
So he worked hard to become the best Labyrinth Chef to help his comrades achieve their dreams.
To be able to cook all the ingredients found in the Labyrinth.
‘That day was no different.’
They had been staying on the 33rd floor of the Labyrinth for a week, and their food supplies had run out, forcing them to find new provisions.
While the others explored the Labyrinth, Balak wandered nearby and discovered a black-scaled lizard.
He caught it and immediately started cooking.
When the exploring comrades returned, they shared the soup made from the lizard.
- By the way, where did you get this?
- I caught a lizard nearby.
- Could it be… the Black Scaled Lizard?
- Yeah… that’s right.
Damn. Everyone, get up. We have to climb back up now.
It turned out the black-scaled lizard was a hatchling of a monster dwelling on the 33rd floor.
It wouldn’t attack unless provoked.
But if disturbed, it was a monster comparable to the Gatekeeper of the 33rd floor—something even Gold Badge adventurers couldn’t easily defeat.
The Black Scaled Lizard.
During its spawning period, it gave birth to many offspring and fed on them to quell its hunger.
If it failed to satisfy its hunger, it became a terrible monster that wandered the Labyrinth, devouring everything in sight until sated.
- Damn! It’s appeared!
As expected, the Black Scaled Lizard appeared, just as the comrades had predicted.
It deflected all magic.
Blocked all sword strikes.
Its densely magical scales repelled every attack. Escape was impossible.
One by one, his comrades were swallowed up.
- Balak! You have to run!
- We’ll buy time here!
- No. You’re all coming with me!
- What’s the point of leaving the guy who only cooks behind? Do you want our deaths to be meaningless?
- Someone has to avenge us.
He bit his lip tightly.
- Sorry… if only I had told you about the lizard sooner…
- That’s info even Gold Badge adventurers didn’t know. I was the only one who knew. We just had bad luck.
- Right. So you have to avenge us for us. That’s my last wish. Will you do it?
He couldn’t refuse their desperate plea.
Balak’s fists trembled as he ran with all his might out of the Labyrinth.
From then on, he sharpened his resolve for revenge.
‘I will definitely kill it.’
He wanted to kill it with his own hands.
But he had absolutely no talent for fighting.
So he sought others to take on the revenge for him.
He posted a request on the Request Board and sold his cooking to earn the reward money.
But no one accepted the request.
No one wanted to face the Black Scaled Lizard, which even Gold Badge adventurers couldn’t easily defeat.
Since the presence of the lizard didn’t prevent others from descending the Labyrinth, there was no urgency for the Adventurer Guild to act either.
Still, he did not give up.
Thinking that someday, at least one person would accept the request, he opened his shop daily and cooked while saving up the reward money.
And then they appeared.
Those who claimed to be the Successors of the Lord.
- I sense something from you. Come with me.
- You’re needed. Join me.
- You want revenge? Just say the word. What do you want me to do?
At first, they were all confident.
So he had hope.
If only they could help him achieve revenge, he would follow them.
But their skills were abysmal, far from what they boasted.
- Ugh… aaaaah!
- How are we supposed to catch that guy?
The first Successor couldn’t even get past the 20th floor of the Labyrinth, and the second was no different.
From then on, he began verifying skills with Silver Badges.
But most couldn’t even earn Silver Badges and left.
Eventually, the first to get a Silver Badge appeared, raising his hopes again.
But he failed to kill the Black Scaled Lizard and died.
‘…I’m tired.’
Every time hope was crushed, despair piled up, and he gave up expecting anything further.
So he showed the black scale.
Everyone who came with a Silver Badge failed to deal with the Black Scale and returned defeated.
‘You said your name was Yongje, right?’
Balak looked at the man walking beside him.
Unlike the others who had come before, Yongje didn’t give up after attempting to conquer the Black Scale.
That was what Balak liked most.
Even if he failed, he was the first who made Balak think about following him.
And finally, he proved himself.
Balak went looking for Yongje when he didn’t return at mealtime, and saw the Black Scale shattered by Yongje’s magic.
The real one to avenge them had appeared.
Let’s go for revenge.
He shivered at Yongje’s confident words, with a slight smile.
His heart pounded.
The revenge he had longed for was finally within reach.
Even now, as they descended the Labyrinth, it was the same.
“If you fail, run away first without hesitation. I’ll buy us time.”
“There’s no way that will happen. Balak, you saw it, right? My magic.”
Yongje’s confident appearance reminded him of his old comrades.
Those who always stood firm before him whenever they descended the Labyrinth.
Using a shortcut, they quickly descended to the 33rd floor. The Black Scaled Lizard’s location was fixed.
They headed toward it.
In a hollow in the wall lay the Black Scaled Lizard that had eaten his comrades, sleeping coiled up.
All of them.
“Is that the one?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
At Balak’s words, Yongje stepped forward.
A spear appeared in midair.
Like a calm breeze, the spear flew straight toward the Black Scaled Lizard.
Then—
KRAAAASH!
A massive gust tore the lizard to shreds. Flesh and skin splattered everywhere.
It didn’t even manage a scream.
It died in a single moment.
Balak exhaled deeply at the death of the monster that had killed his comrades.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
- As expected of Balak. I believed in you.
He seemed to hear his comrades’ voices.
For a moment, he closed his eyes and sent his comrades off into the sky.
‘Farewell.’
After bidding goodbye, he looked at Yongje and spoke.
“What do you want from me?”
“Help me.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Your cooking is enough for me.”
Balak slowly clasped the hand Yongje extended.
“Let’s work well together.”
“Likewise.”
[Labyrinth Chef Balak Arken (SS) has been appointed as Guardian.]
[Labyrinth Chef Balak Arken (SS)]
- A chef of exceptional skill in Labyrinth City. So skilled he can handle any ingredient.
- Feeling refreshed.
- Overall stats: SS
- Potential: SS
- Owned items: Balak’s Knife (S), Balak’s Wok (S), Balak’s Pan (S)… Balak’s Subspace Bag (A).
- Owned skills: Ingredient Identification (SS), Sturdy Wrist (A), Perfect Taste (S), Cooking Buff (SS), Ingredient Handling (S)… Tenacity (A).
From overall stats to skills, he was a Guardian specialized in cooking.
‘Cooking Buff?’
The feeling of fullness and the vitality he felt after eating must have all been due to that buff.
It would be great to eat that before a battle.
“Can I quickly cook one dish? I want to give it to my comrades before I leave for good.”
“Sure.”
Balak walked over to the Black Scaled Lizard, drew his knife, and began.
Ssssshk!
With a practiced motion, he prepared the ingredients and filleted the meat.
After finishing prep, he wiped his hands and approached me.
“This is for you. I don’t need it.”
Then he pulled ingredients from his bag and started cooking.
I checked the round orb Balak handed me.
[Using Golden Dragon Core.]
[Black Scaled Lizard’s Core (A)]
- The internal organ of the Black Scaled Lizard, containing accumulated dark mana over hundreds of years.
- Contains extremely powerful dark mana.
- Consuming it grants a large amount of mana.
- Greatly increases resistance to dark attributes.
- Greatly enhances understanding of dark attributes.
An elixir?
A reward he never expected.
He thought the only goal here was to save the Guardian, but now he could get this incredible elixir.
‘Score.’
Increase my strength, get the elixir, save the Guardian.
A complete win-win-win.
He put the core into his mouth and swallowed it. The vast mana within the core flowed into his Dragon Heart.
In the past, the Dragon Heart couldn’t contain the mana from even one elixir all at once.
But now, the Dragon Heart devoured it in one gulp, even feeling it was insufficient.
‘That means the Dragon Heart has grown.’
It felt like as his body grew, the Dragon Heart grew with it.
Next time, he wanted to try an S-grade elixir.
Maybe because he used magic or was just thinking about eating, he felt a slight hunger.
Because of that, the smell wafting from Balak’s cooking stirred his appetite even more.
“Eat this and find peace.”
Balak placed the finished dishes on three worn plates.
“I’m leaving for a new place, so don’t look for me. Be happy up in the sky.”
He then tidied the remaining ingredients and looked at me.
“It’s all done. Let’s go.”
“Shall we?”
[Would you like to return to the Dimensional Tavern?]
Yes.
[Returning to the Dimensional Tavern.]
A flash of white light appeared, and the tavern came into view.
Then, messages suddenly flooded in.
[Physical abilities have increased.]
[Physical abilities have increased.]
[You have gained Enlightenment and experienced a new realm.]
[You have surpassed your limits.]
[You have become a mature Hatchling.]
[You greatly influence the Dragon Lair. You can obtain more rewards.]
[You have learned Dragon Fear (A).]
[Weak beings feel awe and fear when they see you.]
Clap, clap, clap.
Turning toward the sound of applause, he met Rose’s gaze.
“Congratulations. You’ve surpassed your limits.”
“Thank you.”
“The stronger you get, the stronger the Apostles you’ll face. So keep going.”
“Definitely.”
“And if you can, try to defeat the first Apostle quickly.”
“Is there a reason?”
“We’ll be able to help you more that way.”
Oh.
“I understand. See you next time, then.”
He stepped through the door with Balak and returned to the Dragon Lair.
Many things had changed.
The warehouse he had previously constructed was now complete, creating a huge space in one part of the lair, containing everything.
Money, all kinds of herbs, various miscellaneous items.
“This is where you live?”
“Yes. I’ll introduce you to the others living here, so come along.”
Balak and I stepped out of the Dragon Lair, and the changed scenery caught my eye.
A Goblin Village built on one side.
An Elixir Field twice as large as before.
The clang of the Dwarf Smithy.
A ranch with various animals.
And goblins training under Ropenheim and Orcs at the training ground.
“You’ve got quite the family. Will that be alright?”
“Sounds fun. There are ingredients I’ve never seen before. I can’t wait to research cooking.”
A goblin who spotted me first hurried over.
[Master! You’re here?!]
“Say hello. Balak’s newly joined. This is Goblin.”
[Glad to meet you, human. From now on, call me the Great Goblin Chieftain when you see me.]
“Is this the one I’m supposed to cook for? Goblins can eat really well if you prepare them right.”
Balak drew his knife and twirled it skillfully, making the goblin swallow nervously and step back.
【I-I have work to do, so I’ll go. Do your best, kid.】
“Cute.”
Balak laughed.
“Then next is……”
As we moved together, he introduced me to Ropenheim, Orc, and Fryra, explaining this place.
Time flew by.
‘First, let’s solve today’s Labyrinth before it gets late.’
Just as we headed to the Rift to enter the Labyrinth, a new message appeared.
[Hunter of China challenges the Master of the Labyrinth 11th Floor.]
[Prepare for the Stage Battle.]
[Moving to the Labyrinth 11th Floor.]