Special Training
“Special training!”
“Me? With you, boss?”
“You wanted this, didn’t you? Those hands are too good to waste just on prep work.”
I wiped my hands on a dish towel and pulled out a spare knife.
“A knife isn’t just a tool for cutting. It’s the very first step in drawing out an ingredient’s flavor.”
Back in the Apocalypse days, I never learned swordsmanship from him, but I had watched the way he handled a blade until I was sick of it—clean, fast, and precise, without a single wasted motion.
That natural elegance. He was born with it.
All I had to do was transplant it into cooking.
“Hold it. I’ll show you.”
Ha-rang gripped the knife again with trembling hands. I stood beside her and corrected her stance.
“Relax your shoulders. Use the snap of your wrist.”
Utensil Strengthening
Utensil Strengthening successful.
Proficiency temporarily adjusted.
The moment my hand guided hers, Ha-rang’s cuts grew noticeably smoother.
Tak-tak-tak-tak!
Rhythm bloomed in the sound. The cheerful music of radish being sliced filled the kitchen.
“Wow…! It feels like my hands are moving on their own.”
“That’s talent. You were born for this.”
The swordsman of my past life had more than enough potential to become a chef in this one.
A bright smile spread across Ha-rang’s face—different from the one she’d worn when I made Yeon-hee a hamburger. This one was full of confidence.
“Boss, I’ll work hard. I really want to become a real chef.”
“Of course. I’ll raise you myself. As this restaurant’s head chef. Haha.”
I’d meant it half as a joke, half seriously. But the look in Ha-rang’s eyes was completely earnest. She gripped the knife tightly, like a warrior heading out to battle. Only this time the blade’s tip pointed not at an enemy, but at delicious food.
You came to the right place. This life, let’s make that dream of becoming a chef come true for real.
I said it inwardly—to him, and to Ha-rang. I was glad that this time around she would hold a knife that made good food instead of one stained with blood.
“All right, then. Today’s special training begins.”
“Yes!”
Knife training flew by in a flash.
“You’ve got the hang of the cuts now, right?”
“Yes! Thanks to you.”
“Then let’s move straight into period two. There’s something more important than the knife.”
“More important?”
“The ingredients. No matter how good your knife work is, if the ingredients are trash, the dish is trash.”
“Ah!”
I took off my apron. Ha-rang’s eyes went round.
“Right now? Where are we going?”
“The market. Field study.”
“Sounds good!”
The wholesale market overflowed with energy—haggling voices, the rumble of delivery scooters. Ha-rang trailed after me like a duckling.
“First, vegetables. Go ahead and pick out a radish.”
“A radish?”
“Yeah. Looking at radishes is more fun than you’d think.”
In front of the vegetable stall, a mountain of radishes. After some deliberation, Ha-rang grabbed a big, solid-looking one.
“This one! It looks big and firm.”
“Wrong. Fail.”
“Huh? Why?”
I laughed and set her radish back down, then picked up one I had already selected and placed it in her hands.
“Feel it. The surface is different, right?”
“Oh, it’s smoother than the one I picked.”
“Exactly. And when you lift it, it should feel heavy for its size.”
“You’re right… it does feel heavier.”
“That means the inside is dense and packed. And most importantly, the greener the top section, the better it tastes.”
My hand brushed the back of hers naturally. Ha-rang flinched and her face flushed. I coughed without meaning to.
“Ahem. Got it?”
“Y-yes! Smooth, heavy, and green!”
We walked side by side through the market. At the fish stall I taught her how to choose ones with clear eyes; at the butcher’s, how to read the grain of the meat. The vendors watched us with warm smiles.
“That young wife’s a lucky one. Her husband’s a real homemaker.”
“Ah, no! We’re not… that kind of—”
“Here, take an extra. Don’t fight on the way home.”
An unexpected misunderstanding. I half-expected Ha-rang to get angry, but thankfully she didn’t. Even in the strange atmosphere I stuck to my work.
Skill Ingredient Appraisal activated.
I used the skill whenever I could, scanning for any hidden treasures. Then, as we passed a shop selling every kind of meat, my eyes lit up.
Huh? If it’s that…
Something that would restore the energy of our exhausted family in one go—no, more than restore it, fill them to overflowing—was right there.
“Boss, that… how did you even get that?”
“Whoa. You recognized it.”
Ha-rang’s gaze followed my pointing finger. She frowned and took a step back.
“Ugh. Boss, that thing looks kinda scary. The feather color alone—doesn’t that mean it’s sick?”
“Sick? Not even close!”
I grinned. To ordinary eyes it might look grotesque. Even Ha-rang, who cared about cooking and had been learning, probably couldn’t read the fine details yet. But the more you know, the more you see.
To my eyes, that’s top-grade medicine.
Combine this with the medicinal herbs I’d already spotted earlier, and you’d get a dish that could raise the dead.
“That’s the real deal. You can’t even buy it when you want it.”
“Really? I can’t even imagine…”
“Come look and you’ll understand. You’ll be shocked.”
I opened my wallet without a second of hesitation.
“That’s right. You’ll be surprised. Stuff like this should only be sold to people who know what it is.”
The shopkeeper chimed in enthusiastically. Nothing stood in my way now.
“Boss. Those five inside. I’ll take all of them.”
“Good eye recognizing something that rare, but you’re really buying all of them? Those are expensive!”
“Even if it’s expensive, good food has to be eaten!”
“Ha! You really know your stuff. I’ll bring them right out!”
The shopkeeper opened the fridge in high spirits. Ha-rang still looked doubtful, but I accepted the heavy black bag and licked my lips.
Unexpected jackpot. If I make soup with this…!
I could already picture everyone’s faces tomorrow morning, energy boiling over.
Early the next morning. The shop wasn’t open yet—time that belonged only to us. A deep, savory aroma mixed with herbal notes filled the kitchen.
“Whoa… that smell is insane.”
“What the hell did you make?”
Every eye locked onto the big pot lid. I grinned and flung it open.
Hwaaah!
Thick steam billowed out, revealing the black form of a chicken piled high with cultivated wild ginseng.
“Huh? Isn’t that ogolgye?”
Jang hyung-nim from the Hong Kong restaurant’s eyes went wide. Jin-woo chimed in from beside him.
“Yeah! Ogolgye. The one with black feathers and black bones. Best for recovering your strength, right?”
“Ogolgye, huh…”
I shook my head and lifted the ladle.
“Half right, half wrong.”
“Huh? Half wrong?”
“This isn’t ogolgye. It’s ogye—black chicken. Specifically, Yeonsan Ogye.”
Puzzled looks. They clearly thought it was the same thing. I lifted a well-cooked drumstick and explained.
“They’re different. What most people call ogolgye is actually Silkie. White feathers, five toes.”
I held up the leg to show four toes.
“This one has four toes. And from the chick stage, its feathers, skin, bones, even its claws are completely black. This is the real native breed.”
Silkie ogolgye have fluffy feathers all down their shanks. With my personality I would have torched or plucked them smooth anyway, but this bird’s legs were already clean, easy to prep. Fundamentally different from the improved breeds you see everywhere.
Rare enough to be designated a natural monument.
Even the system refused to treat it as ordinary food. It judged it high-grade. The instant I used my skill on it—
Ingredient Strengthening
Drawing out the target’s full potential.
Strengthening Great Success!
Ingredient grade has risen.
High-Grade Ingredient → Spirit Beast
It was now judged a Spirit Beast. Blessed by the system, vitality had sunk into every bone and scrap of meat. Real medicine.
Not medicine in name only.
◈ Skill Medicinal Cooking effect applied
◈ Instantly restores exhausted stamina and maximizes vitality
◈ Stamina permanently +1 upon consumption
◈ Strength potential permanently +1 upon consumption
◈ Stamina capacity permanently +1 upon consumption
A literal panacea, this stuff.
Once they heard the explanation, the chicken looked different to them too.
“Whoa…”
Everyone gazed at the Ogye soup with awed eyes.
“You all worked hard through the festival. Eat this and get your strength back.”
I ladled out generous portions of the long-simmered Ogye and its broth into bowls. The black flesh was so tender it fell apart at the touch of chopsticks. The deep brown broth was medicine itself.
“Thanks for the meal!”
Slurp—
The sound of soup being swallowed, and conversation vanished. Only the sounds of eating remained. Jin-woo gulped down broth while sweating buckets; Jang hyung-nim kept letting out sighs of pure bliss.
“Kyaaah! Heat’s rushing through my whole body. Feels like dead energy is roaring back to life.”
“Boss, this is the best. My fatigue’s completely gone.”
Ha-rang gave a thumbs-up, cheeks flushed pink.
This wasn’t mere food. It was comfort itself, and a proper reward.
Satisfaction of those who consumed the food has reached the maximum.
Bond Strength increased.
Outside, Jang On-gyu’s festival was over. But ours was only beginning. No flashy fireworks, no loud music. Just an earthenware pot of steaming soup in front of each of us, and a quiet moment of recognizing one another’s hard work.
This was the real festival.
Even after the festival, interesting things kept happening.