Chapter 7: Chef’s Luck

Irim’s gaze couldn’t detach from the green question mark floating above the Red Queen Spider’s head.

Irim wasn’t the type to usually enjoy games like this.

So he hadn’t even thought that he could receive a quest from a monster.

In fact, just receiving a quest was surprising in itself.

Because not many users in the virtual reality game Real had received quests yet.

Of course, they were hiding this fact.

In ordinary games, quests were very common, but not in Real.

You had to meet specific conditions to obtain a quest, and the rewards were quite decent.

Moreover, quests were further subdivided into general quests, class-specific quests, hidden quests, rare hidden quests, and epic hidden quests.

Irim cautiously approached the Red Queen Spider.

At that, the gazes of the users hunting around all turned to Irim at once.

“Huh? Rice-nim is going to the boss mob.”

“What’s this? Is he solo raiding again this time?”

“Whoa shiba, my heart is pounding.”

“Rice oppa fighting!”

The users each said a word while focusing on Irim.

Irim approached the Red Queen Spider one careful step at a time.

Then at some point, he stepped into the zone where the boss monster could recognize users.

Normally, after a 3-second countdown, the Red Queen Spider should recognize Irim as an enemy.

However, this time the countdown didn’t start.

The Red Queen Spider just stared at Irim intently.

The other users found this scene fascinating.

Among them, a particularly curious user sneaked closer and stepped into the boss’s recognition zone.

Thinking that since Irim was fine, he would be too.

But his end was,

Kwajik!

“Kwaak!”

His heart was pierced by a sharp leg that flew like lightning.

“Why me..”

The user let out a aggrieved voice, dropped an item, and disappeared.

Now that user’s item became ownerless.

It belonged to whoever picked it up first.

The users’ attention shifted from Irim to the dropped item.

Irim also glanced at the item.

[Natural Enemy’s Shoes]

Shoes made by weaving Claw Lizard leather with red spider silk. The two are natural enemies

Agility +7

Information about it appeared.

It was shoes that increased agility by a whopping 7.

Moreover, from the item’s description, it seemed not dropped by monsters but something users had to make themselves.

Could the person who just died be a crafter?

The user who unnecessarily came near the boss and died was named ‘Eater’.

Irim decided to remember that name just in case.

Now, what remained was what to do with the item Eater dropped.

Looking around, numerous users were salivating over those shoes.

It was worth being greedy.

But the spot where the item fell was right next to the boss monster.

So when they couldn’t muster the courage recklessly.

Grab.

Irim picked it up and equipped it on his feet.

The shoes fit his feet perfectly as if made for him.

“Ah…….”

“I should have picked it up.”

Regretful sighs came from here and there.

At that moment, a highly alien voice flowed into Irim’s ears.

Are you an ally?

The owner of the voice, which sounded like a woman’s with a mechanical effect overlaid, was the Red Queen Spider.

Choices appeared in front of Irim’s eyes.

[Yes/No]

Irim naturally chose ‘Yes’.

Then another question followed.

Then, will you grant me one request.

[Yes/No]

Again, the choice was ‘Yes’.

Then the Red Queen Spider began to pour out her story.

Originally, this forest was a place where we red spiders lived peacefully. But one day, a horde of Claw Lizards appeared and started eating my children. 

Upon investigating, it seems the Claw Lizard princess, who lost in a fight for queen succession in a jungle not far away, led her followers into this forest. 

As long as that Claw Lizard princess is alive, my children will continue to suffer. In the end, even this forest will be taken away. If you are truly on our side, will you kill the Claw Lizard princess?

[Yes/No]

Irim, who easily grasped the situation, made the same choice three times in a row.

“Yes.”

Then the question mark floating above the Red Queen Spider’s head changed to an exclamation mark, and the quest was obtained.

[Hidden Quest – Red Queen Spider’s Grudge]

Clear Condition: Hunt the Claw Lizard princess somewhere in the Spider Forest

Reward: New skill, hidden achievement

With this, he obtained the hidden quest.

But the reward wasn’t clearly specified.

He couldn’t tell what the new skill was or what the hidden achievement was.

However, even Irim, ignorant about games, could predict that completing this hidden quest would surely give tremendous rewards.

As Irim moved away from the Red Queen Spider, users swarmed and bombarded him with questions.

“Rice-nim, what happened?”

“Did you use some skill?”

“You entered the recognition zone, why didn’t it attack?”

Irim didn’t have the mind to answer those questions.

Because he had to plan a strategy to clear the hidden quest.

First, the Claw Lizard princess seems strong enough for the Red Queen Spider to be wary.

That means it’s at least a 2-star boss monster.

So if he recklessly charged in, Irim might just die for nothing.

First, I need to raise my stats more.

Irim checked the contents of his inventory.

For now, what could help in the boss battle were the strength, agility, and defense buff eggs obtained by slitting the Great Unicorn Chicken’s belly.

Other than that, nothing particularly helpful.

Even if Death Point Vision ranked up and he could see the Claw Lizard princess’s weak point, if the weapon doesn’t pierce, it’s all in vain.

Unless One-Point Thrust levels up more.

So Irim decided to prepare thoroughly.

First, keep using One-Point Thrust to rank it up.

To do that, he needed a lot of food.

Because One-Point Thrust consumes 30 satiety per use.

Anyway, cooking ingredients were overflowing.

Just the Claw Lizard carcasses in the inventory exceeded 100.

And fortunately, this forest embraced a wide lake.

Since water was essential for users, it seemed lakes were made to exist wherever.

Irim settled by the lakeside and took out one Claw Lizard carcass.

Normally, for small lizards, you could grill as is, but this lizard was too big and the skin was tough.

So he peeled the skin with the dagger, slit the belly to remove the intestines.

Then separated the bones and meat.

For Irim, who had butchered countless animals, handling a lizard was nothing.

As if possessed, his hand movements drew users around again.

Wherever he went, people stuck to him, like the pied piper.

Irim was now used to many people’s gazes.

He did his work without caring who was watching.

Irim gathered branches and dry leaves, skillfully lit a fire, and took out a small horn from the Unicorn Chicken.

He skewered large pieces of the butchered lizard meat on it and grilled.

Sizzle sizzle.

As the lizard meat grilled on the bonfire, it emitted an amazing meat aroma.

The noses of the onlookers around twitched.

“Sniff sniff. Whoa. The smell is killer.”

“It must be really delicious.”

Irim took out the collected salt powder and sprinkled it lightly on the grilling lizard skewer.

The salt touching the surface of the meat, from which juice and oil glistened, melted and seeped in.

“Rice-nim, are you going to sell this too?”

A user who hadn’t eaten proper food since coming to the Spider Forest asked.

What they could eat without cooking here was only apples.

Of course, that alone was fortunate, but after eating only that repeatedly, they were sick of it.

In the midst of that, Irim appeared and cooked meat, so everyone’s eyes flipped.

“First, I’ll make what I need to eat, and if there’s leftover, I’ll sell.”

“I really hope there’s leftover.”

“Me too.”

Amid the users’ expectations, the dish was completed.

Their gazes all turned to the dish’s info window.

[Delicious Lizard Skewer]

Upon consumption, Satiety +20

“Oh, satiety increases by 20?”

“Wow, a delicious dish is born.”

“As expected of Rice-nim, your reputation precedes you.”

“Rice-nim, if you sell that, how much will it be?”

The users eyed the completed dish and talked to him.

Irim thought briefly and answered.

“5,000 won.”

After catching one and removing this and that, not much edible meat came out.

But for a skewer, it was a considerable amount, and since it fills 20 satiety, that seemed just right.

The users looked forward to later and dispersed, focusing on their hunting again.

Irim watched such users while making lizard skewers.

Most were nothing special, but some clearly stood out.

They were slaughtering Red Baby Spiders flashily with skills others didn’t have.

Among those people, someone will emerge to catch the Demon King and take the 10 billion.

Since Irim had no interest in 10 billion, it was another world’s story.

From his hands, lizard skewers were being made one by one.

He made about 50 lizard skewers.

Among them, Chef’s Luck applied to one.

[Delicious Lizard Skewer]

-Upon consumption, Satiety +20, Defense +2

When he made about 20 more, Chef’s Luck exerted its power once more.

[Delicious Lizard Skewer]

-Upon consumption, Satiety +20, Health +5

This time health. Good.

It was then.

[Sufficient experience has accumulated, raising the rank of ‘Chef’s Luck’ to E.]

[Chef’s Luck E, Passive]

When a dish of Delicious grade or higher is made, with low probability, 2 temporary buff effects, or 1 permanent stat increase effect is imbued.

“Wow.”

As the rank rose, ‘very low probability’ became ‘low probability’, and temporary buff effects increased to ‘two’.

Irim happily looked at the two skewers imbued with Chef’s Luck.

“I was only thinking of ranking up Death Point Vision.”

He had forgotten about Chef’s Luck.

The buffs imbued in food permanently increase stats upon consumption.

Irim had taken one step closer to clearing the hidden quest.