Kuooh! Barbecuing the Water Dragon
"Kuooh!!"
The beast shook its long neck wildly as it let out a roar.
"Ugh!"
I clamped my hands over my ears against the ear-splitting bellow that felt like it would tear them right off. The creature soon stopped roaring and gazed down at us arrogantly. A blue horn protruded boldly from the center of its forehead. Its deep indigo body stretched at least ten meters long. The water dragon's piercing blue eyes glared madly at the intruders in the lake.
To even see its face, I had to crane my neck all the way back. Dizzying terror washed over me—like a mouse before a cat.
Soon, a blue aura began to gather around the dragon's mouth. The moment I spotted it, I whipped around and bolted.
"Run!"
Ku-goo-goo-goo—!
The water cannon it fired gouged the ground viciously, flipping up clumps of grass everywhere. Crunch—trees struck by the blasts toppled with a racket behind us.
"Whoa!"
Dodging the water dragon's blasts, I sprinted blindly into the forest. Luckily, it didn't chase us into the woods, seemingly content to have driven the intruders away. It no longer pressed the attack. The water dragon poked around here and there before slipping back into the lake.
Only then could I catch my breath.
"Hah—hah—almost died there."
That must've been the info scribbled in the notebook that Tteoksoon-i's doodle had erased. I shot a glare at Tteoksoon-i, who was panting beside me. She noticed and looked up.
"Oh, I'm fine, Master."
"……"
"Thank you for worrying."
Once I'd recovered, I thought of Geum Taeyang, who'd gone down first.
"Geum Taeyang!"
"Yes, Master."
The reply came right from beside me.
"You okay?"
"Not a scratch."
The guy's tankiness was no joke.
"A formidable foe, Master."
"Yeah, seems like it."
Probably a field boss at least.
"Likely the water dragon guarding this lake."
In any game, anything with "dragon" in its name was insanely tough. This one looked no different.
A few massive trees lay smashed in the direction we'd fled, courtesy of its water cannons.
"What shall we do, Master?"
"Hmm……"
Geum Taeyang's question plunged me into thought. It was a field boss near Shin-dong Village, a place only mid-level players dared visit. And being aquatic made it a nightmare to even approach. Without an archer or mage, no one would dream of tackling it.
Me? Still a total noob player. A production-class chef, no combat build. Odds of winning: basically zero.
"Master, forgive us, but our power falls far short of slaying that water dragon."
"We'll have to come back later. Our apologies, Master. It's our inadequacy."
They had a precise read on the gap between us and it. They were right.
"Yeah. You're inadequate."
"We are unworthy."
The two bowed their heads deeply.
"But we aren't."
"……?"
Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i looked up, puzzled.
"It's alone. We're three. United, we can crush a mere water snake like that."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"What's your plan?"
Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i asked in turn.
"Plenty of ways. Give up, and none appear. Commit, and dozens reveal themselves."
"……!"
Their eyes widened.
"You don't know me yet."
I peered through the trees at the island in the lake's center.
"Surrender's not in my dictionary."
"……!"
"If I want it, I'll seize it. If I must, I'll stain my hands in darkness to make it happen."
"…Master!"
They gazed up at me with moved eyes. Before I knew it, they'd dropped to one knee.
"Your master, the Dark Chef, friend of the Red Witch, grass slayer, leader of the Tteokbokki Legion, true Demonic Chef—I, Hura, declare."
I piled on every cool title I could think of. With each one, their eyes sparkled brighter.
The mysterious fruit. Before, I'd just planned to snack on it casually. Nothing more. But seeing that monster guard it so fiercely changed my mind.
What the hell is it, that it's worth defending like that? You hogging all the tasty stuff for yourself!
I'll eat it no matter what. The more you're told not to, the more you wanna. The tighter it's hidden, the more you crave to steal it.
I pointed at the island in the lake's midst.
"I want that."
"……!"
"I'll have it."
"……!"
"Will you join me?"
"Gladly!"
"To the ends of hell!"
Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i snapped salutes, fists to chests like knights. I nodded in satisfaction and turned back to the mysterious lake.
Water dragon. You're no ordinary monster, huh. But neither am I an ordinary chef. If you blast us with water cannons, expect payback in kind.
I smirked.
"Let's see who wins."
Baek Bal Baek Jung had been tailing Hura ever since falling to his Cooking Charm. In fact, when the water dragon fired its water cannon straight at Hura, he'd secretly loosed an arrow to deflect it.
"…What the heck is the chef planning?"
He'd upgraded from "that fun guy" to "Chef-nim" in his address. From atop a tree, he watched Hura and the summons bustle about, raking a hand through his hair in worry.
Sure, he could've sniped the dragon blind with his arrows, but to Baek Bal Baek Jung, it was an insurmountable wall for a chef like Hura.
And rightly so—this water dragon was the toughest around Shin-dong Village, one even seasoned players avoided.
"Gonna skirt around it? How?"
The goal: fruit on the central island. No need to kill the dragon. If he were Hura, that's what he'd do. Honestly, a chef's win chance was zero.
Having enjoyed Hura's clever wild boar hunt before, Baek Bal Baek Jung watched expectantly, ready to jump in if needed.
Time passed. Then, a pebble heralded the battle, splashing into the lake.
Plop—ripples spread across the surface.
Shwaaak—a massive waterspout erupted as the water dragon surged up.
"Kuooh!!"
Furious, it whipped its head toward the pebble's origin. Then, something rocketed in at blinding speed.
Screee—it nailed the dragon's head, exploding like a bomb.
Boom!
The dragon's huge head reeled. "Kiaaa!!"
Blue aura flared at its mouth for another water cannon. But another projectile slammed its jaws first.
Bang!
The blast canceled, leaving it shaking its head in confusion.
"……!"
Baek Bal Baek Jung blinked in shock. It flew from the forest like a siege catapult.
"What the hell is that?"
He scrutinized the next one hurtling in.
"That's…!"
His eyes bulged. Only a top-tier archer like him could've identified it at that speed—
"Barbecue…?"
Wild Boar Barbecue, the one he'd scarfed down teary-eyed.
"Kiaak!!"
Field-boss worthy, it dodged nimbly this time, gathering blue energy and blasting a water cannon toward the launch point. Pinpointing after two shots showed its caliber—but the distance was too great.
Baek Bal Baek Jung hopped trees to check Hura's spot. As expected, the water stream had lost all power by then. None of the initial fury that'd flung Geum Taeyang and upheaved the earth.
There stood Geum Taeyang in a black suit, chuckling as he blocked the weakened spray with his shield. But more eye-catching than the color swap was…
"What the—?"
A slender, glowing something was extending and contracting rapidly. Baek Bal Baek Jung peered closer. Ladle-shaped, it stretched impossibly—maybe 30 meters.
Hura propped the handle on a boulder, fine-tuning aim with tiny hand movements. Beside him, Geum Taeyang shielded from water cannons.
"Loaded!"
From behind, black-suited Tteoksoon-i called out. She was slotting barbecue into the ladle's head. Piles of it towered nearby.
Hura grinned and shouted.
"Shrink! Cooking Throw!"
The 30-meter ladle snapped back in a blink, launching the barbecue.
Screee—it tore through air, smashing the dragon's long neck.
Boom!
Cooking Throw
—Wild Boar Barbecue: Explodes on impact, dealing heavy shock damage to enemies and inflicting paralysis with a chance. (Paralysis: Seals enemy movement.)
The enraged dragon roared, unleashing water blasts with all its might—but distance sapped their power, and Geum Taeyang's shield stopped them cold.
"Kuhahaha! Extend!"
Tteoksoon-i loaded the regrown ladle's head.
"Loaded!"
"Shrink! Cooking Throw!"
Screee—Boom! "Kek!"
Enemy afflicted with Paralysis.
Already huge and hard to dodge, now paralyzed—the dragon had no evasion left.
"Extend!"
"Loaded!"
"Shrink! Cooking Throw!"
Screee—Boom! "Kuak!"
Baek Bal Baek Jung gaped, speechless in horror. This was the dirtiest fight he'd ever seen.
"…He planned to take it down from the start!"
A chef unilaterally clubbing a mighty field boss? Unthinkable.
"Extend!"
"Loaded!"
"Shrink! Cooking Throw!"
Screee—Boom! "Gehk!"
Wounds multiplied on the helpless dragon. The trio cackled.
"Kekeke, Master! Look at that!"
"Kekekeke! Writhing like it's dodging—priceless!"
"Kakakaka! Our lil' worm wants to live? Too bad—Master says no!"
Baek Bal Baek Jung eyed the battered dragon. It wailed in agony.
"……."
It was starting to look pitiful.
"Kehehehe!"
"Kuhahaha!"
"Kekekeke!"
Darkness-corrupted, the three laughed evilly, pelting the dragon with barbecue gifts. The tables had turned—they now tormented the "innocent" dragon.
Paralyzed from repeated Cooking Throws (Wild Boar Barbecue), it couldn't even flee to the water. One reason it was hard to kill: it hid underwater below a HP threshold. But relentless barbecue kept paralyzing, denying escape.
"…Catching an untouchable dragon like this?"
The suffering beast only made the dark trio giggle harder.
"Kehehehe!"
"Puhehehe!"
"Kuhahaha!"
Considering its massive HP, it'd take ages more beatings.
"Hah… Me, pitying a monster."
Reluctantly, Baek Bal Baek Jung nocked an arrow. He aimed at the howling dragon.
"…Rest easy."
Thwip—the arrow flew silent and true, piercing its brow.
"Kuuoooh—"
Finally, amid a massive splash, the water dragon crashed into the lake.