How the Rank 0 Chef Survives - Chapter 105
Would you like to log in as the character Geriseora?
"Yeah."
Welcome to the Fantasy World.
Whoosh—
And just like that, a world unlike the one in reality unfolded before her eyes. In the dim gloom, pale blue lights flickered here and there. The Machine Hill, shrouded in an eerie darkness, had those blue glows that might look like the eyes of serpents to some—but to Geriseora, they felt cozy. Welcoming, even, as if inviting her in.
Geriseora smiled faintly at the sight, but a sudden emptiness tugged at her.
"Lady Ptah?"
The Ptah who always greeted her upon login was nowhere to be seen.
"Lady Ptah! I'm here~"
Geriseora called out and glanced around, but Ptah was missing.
"Where'd she go?"
Puzzled, Geriseora wandered through the Machine Hill. Then, suddenly, a giggle echoed from somewhere.
"Lady Ptah?"
A faint song drifted from a shadowy corner, accompanied by the clap of hands.
Geriseora hurried toward the sound. In a secluded nook inside the Machine Hill, crafted for someone, there sat Ptah—bandages wrapped around a man's body here and there, an IV drip in his arm.
"B~lue sk~y, Mil~ky Way~"
Clap-clap-clap—hands striking rhythmically.
"Wh~ite cl~oud boat~"
Clap-clap-clap. Their timing was perfect, no room for error. Clearly not their first rodeo.
"Ahahaha! You messed up!"
"Puhaha, Lady Ptah! I told you, I go top to bottom. You gotta go bottom to top."
"Right! Right! I forgot, haha!"
"……."
Geriseora crossed her arms, watching silently. Baek Bal Baek Jung, who had been clapping away enthusiastically with Ptah, finally noticed her.
"Oh, uh, Lady Geriseora! You're here. Haha…"
Baek Bal Baek Jung scratched his neck awkwardly. Even after all the treatment from Geriseora and getting fairly close, he still couldn't quite relax around her.
Ptah jumped up with delight.
"Oh! You came, Geriseora!"
"Lady Ptah. This is Baek Bal Baek Jung's recovery room… What are you doing here?"
"Can't you tell? We're playing together."
Ptah grinned at Baek Bal Baek Jung and answered.
"Baek Bal Baek Jung still has multiple status ailments. He needs to focus on recovery."
"Ah, I'm fine, Lady Geriseora. I've improved a lot."
Baek Bal Baek Jung replied to her concerned words, his complexion much healthier. As he said, his movements showed no discomfort—a stark contrast to his previous groaning state near death.
"See? He's fine."
Ptah puffed out her cheeks.
"Hmph. Do I look like I'm tormenting a patient? We were having a blast!"
"…Can't stop you."
Geriseora shook her head helplessly. No doubt Ptah had gotten bored and poked around the recovery room, leading to this.
"Did Baek Bal Baek Jung teach you this game?"
"Yeah! It's super fun! Come join us!"
Unable to resist Ptah tugging her arm, Geriseora sat down beside her with a feigned sigh.
"Hmm… The clapping game isn't great for three. Baek Bal Baek Jung, got another game?"
"Of course. How about jacks?"
"Ah, the one from earlier? Perfect."
Ptah immediately pulled out a few small machine parts: screws, bolts and nuts, tiny gears.
"Huh? Need one more."
"Use this."
Geriseora handed over a small bullet casing.
"Great! Uwaha! I'll go first!"
"Hehe. Go ahead."
Clatter—
Ptah laughed gleefully as she played jacks. Watching her fondly, Geriseora turned to Baek Bal Baek Jung.
"Baek Bal Baek Jung."
"Yes?"
"How's your body feeling?"
"Much better. Almost no status ailments left."
Baek Bal Baek Jung swung his arms to demonstrate.
"Glad to hear it."
"But some tracking skills still won't go away."
Baek Bal Baek Jung frowned slightly. The tracking skills planted by the rankers who ambushed him were as stubborn as their wielders' strength. Some were so intricate even he hadn't noticed—only detected after Geriseora's thorough machine-assisted scan.
"I've removed most standard tracking skills, but unique ones probably won't budge easily. They'll need specific conditions met, a lot of time, or…"
"Or?"
Baek Bal Baek Jung glanced at Geriseora as she trailed off.
"Or… kill the skill user."
A chilling conclusion. But both nodded knowingly, sharing a faint smile. Baek Bal Baek Jung had survived a mob ambush in a trap; one-on-one, he wouldn't lose. Rank 10 wasn't a fluke. Archers avoided melee anyway, and that fight had been stacked against him. Plus, he was a sniper extraordinaire.
"That sounds fun."
"Pretty good justification, right?"
"Mind if I help out?"
"By all means. After the treatment and protection, I can't ignore this debt."
Several of those rankers were indeed lurking around Machine Hill.
"Heh… Can't wait for full recovery."
"Same here. Kekeke…"
As the two exchanged ominous words, Ptah was utterly absorbed in jacks, oblivious to their chatter.
"By the way, where's Beda? Thought you two were together."
"Ah, well…"
Baek Bal Baek Jung scratched his nose.
"Beda was really beating himself up."
"Over what?"
"Said he was useless in the fight with Cheon-gong. Pretty torn up about it."
"…Huh?"
"Felt like he just got in your way…"
Geriseora shook her head in disbelief.
"No way. Cheon-gong couldn't rush in recklessly because he had to watch for Beda's heavy hits."
"Told him that, but he wouldn't listen. Probably off training brutally somewhere."
"Hmm… I see…"
Snap—
Ptah cleared the fourth level flawlessly and caught her breath.
"Whew…"
She tossed a jack high and tapped the ground rapidly with her fingers: tap-tap-tap-tap.
Watching Ptah so engrossed sparked Geriseora's mischief.
"Wah!"
"Eek!"
Ptah startled and missed the jack.
"Ahahaha! Zero years old!"
"Eek! Geriseora! How could you!"
"What'd I do? I just yelled."
Geriseora shrugged shamelessly at Ptah's protests.
"Eek… Baek Bal Baek Jung! Say something!"
"Ahem. Let's make yelling a foul from now on."
"What? From now on? You're in on it too!"
"No way. But the more we argue, the less playtime we have."
"Grr…"
"My turn now?"
Geriseora played jacks with expert finesse from level one.
"Ugh…"
Irritated Ptah started nitpicking rules.
"Hey! That's Baekdu Mountain!"
"No skipping!"
"No telephone poles!"
* * *
"Mmm! Delicious!"
This was Vesta's Flame Palace. We sat around the table, sipping Azure Melon Smoothies.
"Refreshing, right?"
"Yeah! Totally! What's in it?"
"Heh. Nothing special. Just good ingredients."
"Mango? Orange? Soda?"
"Secret."
"…It's really good."
Molrangkau slurped her smoothie through the straw, eyes wide.
"Hehehe…"
I grinned proudly and whipped up another Azure Melon Smoothie. No wonder it was refreshing—I'd packed it with ice made from the Ice Devil's Left Horn!
Before, it was just chilled water from the Crest Dragon's Horn, but now with actual ice, it was next-level: bone-chillingly cool!
"Hahaha!"
…Bone-chillingly cool? Does that even make sense? Whatever. I brought the extra batch—bone-chillingly cool Azure Melon Smoothies—back to the table.
Refilled the ones who'd already finished.
"Thank you, Master!"
"You're welcome. Drink up."
"Slurp—Fankoo, Mawster."
"…Why are you like that."
"Slurp—My teeth hurt."
Tteoksoon-i kept gulping it down despite the brain freeze. Gazing fondly at her, Geum Taeyang suddenly stood.
"Teeth hurt? Let me help."
He'd downed his refill in one go and now eyed Tteoksoon-i's cup.
"No, I'm fine, Senior."
"Don't hold back, Tteoksoon-i. Must hurt. I'll take it off your hands."
"…I'm fine, Senior."
Zzt—
They tugged the cup back and forth, glaring. The cup trembled in their grip.
…They're gonna spill it. Then I felt a tug on my shoulder—MOLrangkau was fiddling with my hair curiously.
"Your hair's gotten long."
"Oh… Yeah, huh."
I'd ignored it in-game; it now reached my shoulders. In real life, I'd trim it short regularly.
"Hey. I'll make more, so stop. Tteoksoon-i."
"Yes, Master."
I stopped the still-wrestling pair and called Tteoksoon-i.
"Cut my hair a bit."
"How much?"
Her white eyes flashed red as she pulled out scissors.
"No, wait. Not actually cutting."
Molrangkau waved her off, seating Tteoksoon-i again.
"Why? Thought we'd do it since it came up."
"Nah… Long hair suits you fine."
"Yeah? Okay, won't cut."
"Yeah…"
Molrangkau pulled her hat low and slurped her smoothie intently.
"Hmm…"
I stared at her, then it clicked.
…So that's it!
Grinning as I read Molrangkau's intent.
"Hehe…"
Yeah. I know your game. With my 100-level insight, piercing her thoughts was easy. Mentioning my hair out of nowhere, indirect compliment on long hair suiting me, then blocking her view with the hat to savor the smoothie.
"Hehehe…"
"…What?"
"Nothing."
A cut above Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i's bickering over seconds. This was subtle: praise veiled as casual talk, then full immersion to prompt more smoothies unconsciously!
Sneaky as hell. Seoul National Psych major? But spotting it makes me greater. Even my 100-level insight nearly turned me into a smoothie machine.
"Hehe…"
I wiped sweat from my brow, chuckling. Scary girl. Can't let my guard down. Not your average player.
"…You laugh like that, you look like a total villain."
"Villain, huh? What kind?"
\"The scheming **mastermind** type cackling 'hehehe' from the shadows. Secret final boss villain."\
"Aah—Enough flattery. I've got all your devious plots figured out."
"…Huh?"
Her eyes bulged in feigned shock, mouth agape in perfect bewilderment.
"What bullshit?"
Impressive. Her natural acting floored me. Still playing innocent to the end. Thorough and meticulous. Korea National Arts drama major?
"Heh."
Fine, I'll play along. I chuckled softly and made another Azure Melon Smoothie, filling her empty cup with a wink.
"…? What's with you? Finally lost it?"
"Hehehe… Enjoy."