Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Two Days of Hunting
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Two days. That was the number of days Cooking Day had gone hunting together with Yuseong to get a rough sense of his personality.
The hunting ground they chose was one where Mud Toads appeared. It was a suitable spot for someone in the mid-level 30s to hunt.
It was a highly rewarding hunting ground that had already been monopolized by a guild, but like Verhill's thief hunting area, they could enter by paying the guild a fee.
Cooking Day covered the cost.
‘Please let this count as guild funds.’
That was Cooking Day’s silent prayer as he paid.
It wasn’t about the money being too much for him—one of the top players overall. Hardly.
If this expense couldn’t be processed as guild funds, it would mean Yuseong’s personality was so trashy that he couldn’t join the guild, leaving Cooking Day to take responsibility in the end.
An unfortunate outcome for both Yuseong and Cooking Day himself.
With that sliver of anxiety, Cooking Day entered the hunting ground, but it soon turned into deep admiration.
‘Seeing it in person, he’s truly amazing.’
Mud Toads were, as their name suggested, large toad monsters covered head to toe in mud. Their attacks consisted of a long, extending tongue and sharp claws.
Typically, they’d whip with their long tongue or grab prey and rake them with sharp claws.
The tongue that shot out from afar was fast and powerful, and the claws were venomous, making them no easy monsters to face. If not for the good rewards, they’d be avoided altogether.
But Yuseong handled these Mud Toads with ease.
Their tongues couldn’t even reach his body, and since they couldn’t grab him with their tongues, the claws stayed unused. Naturally, the poison was nullified too.
Guns, by their nature as ranged weapons, amplified this advantage when fighting monsters from a distance.
Above all, his combat sense was astonishing.
Mud Toads had high defense thanks to their mud-covered skin. Even shooting them in the head with a gun—the most powerful weapon—wouldn’t one-shot them.
The standard way to take down Mud Toads was to use water magic to wash away the mud and then deal damage.
But Yuseong simply shot them in the mouth the moment they opened it to extend their tongue toward him. Without mud and treated as a clear weak point, the Mud Toad died instantly.
It sounded simple just from the description. After all, the toad name wasn’t a lie—their mouths were huge.
But having a big mouth didn’t make them easy to exploit.
Mud Toads only opened their mouths when extending their tongues. And that tongue’s speed was no joke. Players who tried aiming for the mouth often got caught off guard by the tongue closing in instantly.
That’s why the water magic strategy to strip away the mud had become standard.
For Yuseong, though, it was a breeze.
The moment a Mud Toad opened its mouth was the moment it attacked, so Yuseong was cautious at first. But that didn’t last long.
No matter how fast the toad’s tongue was, it couldn’t outpace a bullet. The instant the Mud Toad opened its mouth to attack Yuseong, a bullet slammed straight into it.
Naturally, the Mud Toad dropped dead. Its tongue flopped limply midway like a deflated balloon, never reaching Yuseong.
In other words, as long as he could shove a bullet into the Mud Toad’s mouth the instant it opened, there was no need to dodge the attack at all.
And so Yuseong leisurely sought out the next target without taking a single hit.
‘Guess I won’t need these after all.’
The health potions and antidote potions he’d packed just in case became dead weight.
Once Yuseong had cleared all the monsters in the area, Cooking Day clapped for him.
“This is the second day I’ve seen it, but I’m still amazed every time.”
The more he watched, the more convinced he was that choosing Yuseong had been the right call.
They said you see more the more you know. Though not suited for combat himself, Cooking Day had logged in since Arc’s launch, reached top-tier levels, and experienced countless battles.
He could gauge Yuseong’s skill with a more expert eye than casual viewers or low-level players who could only gawk.
‘His reflexes are top-notch, and his combat sense is a work of art.’
In a game where you couldn’t bring your real body, those were the true measures of a player’s skill. And Yuseong surpassed anyone Cooking Day had ever seen.
‘If this guy hits high levels, no one will be able to handle him.’
To stand a chance, one-on-one would be a pipe dream—they’d need multiple people. And if their physical stats or gear were inferior, even more numbers.
‘If he joined a place like Baby Bed...’
The horrifying thought sent chills down his spine.
“Thank you.”
‘His personality’s pretty solid too.’
No, more than solid—it was quite good.
He wasn’t very talkative, and his demeanor wasn’t overly sociable, but he didn’t rub anyone the wrong way. Even his quirks could pass as personality.
That sincerity felt genuine, sparking more goodwill than pretentious airs.
Of course, the relief that Yuseong wouldn’t bail on joining the guild—sparing Cooking Day responsibility—played a big part in that fondness.
Plus, Yuseong impressed him in other ways too.
“Want to try this?”
When Cooking Day pulled something out, Yuseong’s expression changed.
Yuseong rarely showed emotion—you’d wonder if anything could excite or surprise him. But now, his feelings were plain as day.
“What’s this?”
“Think of it as a kind of cocktail.”
Not alcohol, though.
Unfortunately, Yuseong’s limited knowledge meant he didn’t know what a cocktail was. Still, he eagerly took the potion bottle from Cooking Day. It contained a liquid of subtle hues.
He uncapped it and took a sip.
“Hmm!”
An exclamation escaped Yuseong’s lips. A tingling flavor danced across his tongue.
“Delicious!”
Yuseong raised his voice.
“Right?”
Cooking Day grinned happily.
“What is this?”
“A mix of various potions to bring out the flavor.”
Yuseong took another sip.
“I had no idea potions could taste like this.”
“Haha! Glad you like it. Some people hate it.”
“Really?”
Its mild sweetness blended with a subtle bitterness created a gentle buzz that split opinions sharply.
‘In our guild, it was about half and half.’
Even those who called it tasty merely leaned that way—they weren’t thrilled.
In a world full of gourmet delights, this delicate, precarious potion cocktail held little value.
But the man before him was genuinely delighted.
“That said, it has no value as a potion. Mixing them cancels the effects.”
“I see.”
His tone showed little interest in the potion effects. Unlike the guildmates.
‘This tastes okay, but what’s the effect?’
‘No effect? Then it’s useless.’
‘The taste? Sorry, Cooking Day, but convenience store orange juice is way better.’
True. He admitted it. His cocktail was shabby compared to real-world drinks.
‘But what’s in it? Huh? Those ingredients?’
‘Heavens! You used such expensive stuff for this bland thing?’
‘You can spend your money how you like, but isn’t this a waste?’
True. Using rare, pricey materials for an effect-less potion cocktail could be wasteful.
‘But do you have to say it so bluntly?’
Insensitives. Cooking Day grumbled inwardly.
“You’ve got some incredible talent, Cooking Day.”
Look at this guy, though. His eyes sparkled as he lavished praise on this shabby potion cocktail.
As a chef, Cooking Day couldn’t help but puff up with pride.
‘He really is a unique one.’
Black bread. The food given upon first logging into Arc, it restored HP alongside the lowest-grade potion after mock battles in the early game.
But no one ate black bread.
‘At least make it taste decent.’
Even riding the wellness wave to rye bread level would’ve helped.
It tasted so bad, you’d think it was the bread medieval peasants ate.
No wonder people said they’d rather die than eat black bread for HP recovery.
Yet Yuseong devoured it like it was delicious. He even earned the nickname Black Bread Killer.
‘It was shocking.’
Even Cooking Day, a chef who’d tried countless foods—good and bad—thought black bread wasn’t fit for humans.
A peculiar palate.
That was why he’d wanted to meet Yuseong.
After finishing the potion cocktail, Yuseong asked in a slightly brighter tone.
“How did you even think of this? The bread combo you gave me last time too.”
A cake from a higher-level area than Silaremite, mixed with some nameless herb. That elevated an already tasty cake into a cultural shock.
“I’m a chef in real life.”
“That explains the ID.”
He’d been curious about the “Cooking” in the name, and sure enough, it fit.
Yuseong’s gaze toward Cooking Day filled with even more fondness.
A chef.
Among pre-apocalypse jobs, one Yuseong had most wanted to meet.
Miracle workers who turned obviously delicious pre-apocalypse ingredients into even tastier dishes.
He wanted to pat his past self on the back for joining Jemotdaero.
“Got any other dishes?”
At Yuseong’s eager question, Cooking Day replied bitterly.
“Not many. Arc doesn’t treat food as important to begin with. There’s hardly any food or ingredients. What I call ‘cooking’ is just mixing the few edible things in Arc that happen to have flavor, tweaking them for something new. And even that flavor’s a happy accident, not intentional design.”
“What a shame.”
He truly meant it. Arc might hold even tastier culinary experiences.
“That’s why I picked this class. It’s the best for mixing stuff.”
Cooking Day was an alchemist.
Yuseong had learned alchemy too, but he was just starting with basic bullets and low-grade health potions. He couldn’t compare to Cooking Day, who’d maxed out the alchemist class.
After their brief chat, the two resumed hunting.
They’d started out awkward with each other, but now they looked quite friendly.
Cooking Day was thrilled that Yuseong rated his non-cooking cooking so highly. Yuseong’s fantastic skills and easygoing personality helped too.
Yuseong thoroughly enjoyed Cooking Day’s food and tales of real-world cuisine. He might even be closer now than to Naltorri or Bom Bom, with whom he’d built considerable rapport.
As the two rapidly grew closer, one pair of eyes watched them from afar.