Sulis's Magic Ladle and the Grass Slayer
"...You really do resemble him."
Ptah thought of the nosy black-haired chef and smiled faintly.
'Take your time with this. I'll be right back.'
The red vegetable soup he'd left simmering in a full pot. Ptah scooped up a spoonful and tasted it.
*Slurp.*
She smiled brightly.
"...You're still a long way off, kid."
* * *
"Hmm~"
On the way home from the convenience store, a tune escaped his lips unbidden.
His heart raced at the thought of checking out the new ladle and skills he'd acquired.
The ladle has to be legendary, no doubt.
The moment he got home, he slipped on his Dream Gear.
Welcome to Fantasy World.
In the evening, where the moon stood in for the absent sun, atop a hill where silver waves of moonlit grass rippled like the sea, I opened my inventory and pulled out the ladle.
◈ Ladle used by the legendary chef Sulis in life.
◈ Given to his close friend, the Iron Empress Ptah, before he vanished.
◈ Length extends and contracts at will.
◈ Heat does not conduct to the handle.
◈ Scooping food with this increases taste by 10%.
◈ Stirring food with this boosts cooking speed by 30%.
◈ Attack Power: 10
◈ Indestructible.
◈ Bound item.
◈ Can be stored in subspace and summoned.
"Heh heh heh."
As expected, it was a total cheat item. The low attack power was a minor letdown, though.
"Extend!"
Aimed at the sky, and it shot up taller than a tree—whoosh.
"Contract!"
It snapped right back.
...This is fun?
"Extend! Contract! Extend! Contract! Don't extend, just contract! Don't contract, extend! Don't extend or contract, start extending then contract midway—extend!"
…….
"Heh heh."
"……."
Then, I felt eyes on me and whipped around.
Tteoksoon-i and Geum Taeyang stood side by side, staring at me with strange looks.
I casually hid the magic ladle behind my back.
"……."
"……."
"……."
"W-what are you staring at? Quiet down!"
"Pardon? We didn't say anyth—"
"Shut it! Cooking Summon release!"
Poof. They turned back into food right away.
Next, I checked the skill window. New skills from becoming a Dark Chef sparkled there.
"...Cloning food?"
I pulled out some leftover tteokbokki from my inventory.
"Cooking Clone Art!"
Cooking Clone Art is in use.
Cloned food taste reduced by 90%.
The cloned tteokbokki was bland and tough, as expected.
"Perfect for Cooking Throw, though."
Now for Dark Chef. I tapped the description.
Dark Chef Lv.1 0.00%
- Toggle on/off skill.
- Amplifies effects of other skills when active.
- Personality becomes feral when influenced by darkness.
"Whatever, let's try it. Dark Chef!"
Dark Chef activated.
Darkness begins to consume you.
Cooking skill effects amplified; personality turns feral.
"Grrgh..."
Dark urges crawled up from my core, spreading through my veins like ominous fire. My lips twitched, fists clenched. Eyes bulged, a sneer escaped.
"Kuh huh huh..."
The shell of politeness shattered, leaving raw instinct. No more refined "me"—just a bloodthirsty beast.
"Kuh huh huh... You worthless scum."
My murderous glare swept the area, seeking innocent prey to vent my rage.
"Raaargh!"
I lunged like a beast, claws digging in.
Squelch!
Ripped them out.
Crunch!
They came up roots and all, without a scream. Dirt crumbled down.
And so, the beast tore up the hill's grass in a frenzy.
"How dare you tasteless weeds multiply like this? Hya! Hya! Die!"
I clawed the soil, uprooting every blade, proclaiming my dominion. The cold corpses blanketed the ground. Gazing at the eerie moon, I unleashed mad laughter.
"Kuh hahaha!"
Mid-cackle, a sigh came from behind.
"Who goes there!"
I spun. There stood the crazy old man, clicking his tongue.
"...You're full of surprises."
"Kuh... Old lunatic. Stay back. You'll get hurt."
"Adorable. All that darkness, and you just pull weeds? Why not farm instead?"
"Grrrr... Watch your mouth, old man. I'm the boss here."
"Boss of the grass horde? Terrifying! Impressive!"
He clapped mockingly.
"I warned you!"
I charged. He dodged effortlessly and smacked my head.
Whack!
"Ack."
Strength drained; I collapsed into the moist grass pile.
Dark Chef deactivated.
Back to my senses, I rubbed my head and staggered up.
"Ha, haha. Master! Great to see you! Got a bit carried away with the greeting?"
He looked at me pitifully.
"If you're gonna embrace darkness, conquer the world or become king. Have some ambition. All you managed was grass slayer? Your dreams are saucer-sized."
"Ahem..."
Hey! System! Quit mocking me!
The old man shook his head.
"You reached it way too fast. I figured it'd take weeks at least."
"A compliment?"
"No."
"……."
"Your skills are too raw; you lack control. You should've grown through trials before accepting the darkness."
He eyed me reluctantly, then tsked.
"Tch. One slip and you're done for. Fine, I'll train you before you embarrass yourself."
"Train me?"
"To be a true Dark Chef, you must control the darkness within."
"Got it."
"Find your way to tame it. I'll help."
"How?"
"Summon the darkness, then suppress it fully. Use it while acting and speaking normally."
"Right. I'll try."
I activated Dark Chef.
Dark Chef activated.
Darkness begins to consume you.
Cooking skill effects amplified; personality turns feral.
"Grrgh..."
The darkness surged wildly.
"Now use other skills in that state."
"...Old man."
"What."
I glared murderously.
"Shut your trap."
"……."
Whack!
"Ow!"
* * *
"Day 4. No notable changes yet. Good? Bad?"
In the car parked in front of the convenience store, Sera muttered while jotting in her notebook.
The motion-sensor camera at Hura's house showed he'd stayed put all night—no sneaking out. At least he wasn't working at some shady bar.
She stared blankly at her brother behind the counter.
"Yawn~ Doesn't his leg hurt? Sit already."
Yawning hugely, Sera wiped her teary eyes. Sleep fogged her gaze; her head bobbed.
Honk!
"Eep."
A passing car's horn snapped her awake.
"Ugh, dying of boredom. If nothing happens today, I'll barge into his place tomorrow. What a pain."
Grumbling, she peered back inside.
"Hm?"
A woman with flowing black hair stood at the counter—not waiting to pay, but chatting with Hura. He grinned ear to ear.
"What the... No way..."
The long-haired woman playfully tapped Hura's shoulder, laughing.
Sera's eyes flashed.
"That, that bitch!? Touching my brother!"
But Hura just laughed naturally, continuing the talk.
"No way... G-girlfriend?!"
Sera's eyes bulged.
"Y-you...! Damn homewreckers!"
She pressed her face to the window, itching to charge in, but held back and watched.
Their chat dragged on. Only after 30 minutes did she buy stuff and leave.
"That wench."
Sera got out and tailed her casually, like she was just heading the same way.
The moment she rounded the corner, Sera closed in.
"Hey."
Dahyun turned.
A scary sister in sunglasses and leather jacket cracked her knuckles approaching.
"M-me?"
Dahyun pointed at herself.
"Yeah, you. Let's talk."
"P-pardon?"
Dahyun's eyes shook; she backed away.
"W-what do you mean?"
"I won't bite. Just chat."
Sera spat on the ground, sauntering up gangster-style.
Terrified, Dahyun retreated.
"S-stay back! Don't come closer! I'll call the cops!"
"Jeez, dense one."
Sera scowled, reaching out.
"Just talk, okay?"
"Eek!"
Thud. Sera pinned her to the wall, hands on either side.
Trapped, Dahyun teared up, looking up.
"W-why? I don't have much money. Don't hit me."
"Ho ho. How much?"
"Uh, um... 30,000 won in cash. W-want it?"
"Don't need it!"
"Eek!"
Her jumpiness was hilarious, almost as fun as Hura's.
"Anyway. What's with you and that guy?"
"Pardon?"
Dahyun blinked innocently.
"The convenience store clerk. What's your deal?"
"W-what deal?"
"Don't play dumb. I saw you two chatting happily for 30 minutes."
Dahyun fidgeted but met Sera's eyes defiantly.
"Th-then who are you—"
Glare.
"Y-yo..."
She looked away instantly.
"Me? His big sis. Who're you?"
Dahyun's eyes widened.
"B-big sis? Customer-nim's sister?"
She muttered, then beamed and stepped close.
"You're customer-nim's sister! Nice to meet you!"
Sera recoiled, frowning.
"...Customer-nim? What’s that mean?"
"Oh, well... Do you play Fantasy World?"
* * *
The convenience store gets rushes at commute and lunch hours. Otherwise, it's quiet, with customers trickling in.
During a lull, I checked the Fantasy World site on my phone.
You could search player IDs for basic info—no deep details.
Searched "Geogi Seora".
"……?"
Blink. Rub eyes.
Still there: Rank 3.
"Holy..."
Rank 3? Higher than Molrangkau? I'd bragged to Ptah I'd bring her...
Desperate, I posted on the forum.
"Sigh—"
I faceplanted on the counter.
How to contact Rank 3? Maybe Molrangkau knows? Or Dahyun?
Thudding my head, I groaned—then the bell jingled.
Ding-a-ling~
"Welcome~"
I looked up automatically.
"Huh?"
Familiar face.
"Customer-nim! Hi!"
"Hello. Weren't you here two hours ago? Finished already?"
Flustered Dahyun.
"N-no? Still plenty left?"
She waved the bag as proof.
"...You ate almost all."
"We shared!"
I glanced at the tall woman beside her—hat low, mask, dark sunglasses.
"This customer..."
Couldn't forget. She'd bought over 10,000 won in snacks and bolted two days ago.
She approached, removing hat, glasses, mask.
"...Huh?"
Totally unexpected face.
"Hey, little bro?"
The cool beauty grinned brightly.