[Chef Hura, Actually an Unofficial Ranker?]
"...What the hell is this?"
Dahyun, mesmerized, clicked on the provocative headline.
• The chef Hura who made a name for himself selling tteokbokki in Genesis Village.
• He unilaterally crushed Rank 997 ranker Blood Axe Thrower.
"...What?"
Dahyun hurriedly read the rest of the post.
• At the time, Hura was running a cold noodle stand in Nimal Village.
• Blood Axe Thrower caused a scene at his shop, and in the process, he mistreated one of Hura's subordinates, which seems to have sparked Hura's rage.
• Hura subdued the ranker Blood Axe Thrower with just a single word—presumed to be some kind of magic.
• Even after Hura mercifully told him to just leave, Blood Axe Thrower harbored a grudge and launched a sneak attack.
• But Hura didn't even need to step in; one of his other subordinates stopped him.
• And that subordinate killed Blood Axe Thrower with ridiculous ease.
• Given these circumstances, chef Hura is presumed to be a hidden powerhouse, an unofficial ranker, concealing his strength...
"Eeeh? No way!"
As if refuting Dahyun's words, the post had an attached video link. Dahyun clicked it immediately, and it led her to a Nuttube video.
The video showed the back of a hulking brute. He started causing chaos at the restaurant counter.
*Crash!*
"What the fuck! Do you know who I am?!"
"Sir, you can't do this."
"You think you can run a business like this and get away with it? Huh?!"
"Sir, please calm down."
"Calm down? Calm down my ass! Get the owner out here!"
"Huh? Isn't that Gold Sun?"
Dahyun recognized Gold Sun in the video.
"What's the problem, sir?"
"This thug-looking bastard is being a total asshole. Can't you manage your staff?"
The video showed Hura staring coldly at Blood Axe Thrower.
"...Gasp."
Dahyun unwittingly sucked in a sharp breath. It was the first time she'd seen Hura with such a terrifying expression. His icy gaze, sunken and chilling like a frozen lake, made him look like a completely different person.
"This fucker dares..."
Hura didn't take his eyes off Blood Axe Thrower as he raised a hand to calm the Middle Eastern man in sunglasses. At Hura's gesture, the man silently stepped back, looking every bit the loyal subordinate.
After that, the ranker Blood Axe Thrower's antics grew worse, escalating to violence. Hura finally smirked and provoked him, and the enraged Blood Axe Thrower hefted his massive double-headed axe.
"You little shit!"
But Hura didn't flinch.
"Kneel."
Suddenly, Blood Axe Thrower crumpled to his knees, overwhelmed by some unknown force.
"......!"
Dahyun jumped in shock.
"Customer-nim was that strong?"
What followed was a spine-chilling slap fest.
*Slap!*
Each time Hura's sharp hand struck Blood Axe Thrower's cheek, Dahyun flinched involuntarily.
"Get up. And don't let me see your face again."
Finally, Hura withdrew whatever power he'd used.
"I'll kill you!!"
Blood Axe Thrower lunged at Hura with a lightning-fast punch—no one saw it coming.
"Ack!"
But Hura didn't even blink. He just sneered mockingly.
Just before the iron-fisted punch hit Hura's face, someone's hand intercepted it.
*Thud.*
The sunglassed subordinate had appeared at Hura's side, blocking the punch effortlessly with one hand. Then, with absurd simplicity, he slit Blood Axe Thrower's throat.
"We're closing up shop. After this mess, I have no mood left to do business."
The video ended there. Dahyun's mouth hung open in shock.
"...What is this."
It felt like she'd glimpsed a side of Hura she never knew. But rather than strange or scary, it just made him look cool. Like a gentle sheep on the surface, but a fierce wolf who bared his fangs without hesitation to protect what's his.
"Customer-nim's a real man..."
Dahyun's cheeks flushed a soft sunset pink.
"...Watch it again?"
She replayed the video from the start.
The blistering midday sun beat down on the desert.
At the boundary between rocky desert and sandy desert stood four people—and an oddly long ladle.
"Direction!"
Hura shouted, propping the ladle's end against a rock. A single chopstick lay neatly on the rock, pointing straight into the sandy desert.
"Chopstick bearing, 5.5 degrees north!"
Gold Sun replied without taking his eye from the telescope.
"Distance!"
"About 230 meters!"
"Wind!"
"Southeast, 2 m/s!"
"Load!"
This time, Tteoksoon-i shouted back from dozens of meters behind, at the ladle's head.
"Loaded!"
Hura glared into the sandy desert and yelled.
"Fire! Shrink! Cooking Throw!"
Whoosh!
The dozens-of-meters-long ladle shrank in an instant, launching the food in its scoop like a cannonball.
Shuuuwaaak—
The projectile tore through the air at tremendous speed before slamming into the target zone.
-Boom!
A massive cloud of sand erupted from the impact site.
"......"
Once it settled, Hura swallowed hard and asked.
"Result?"
Gold Sun, peering through the telescope, thrust his hand up.
"Hit! Direct hit!"
"Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"
Hura and Gold Sun hugged it out. Tteoksoon-i toddled over excitedly to join in.
"Waaah! A hit?!"
"Yeah! Dead on!"
"We did it!"
"All thanks to you guys! Hahaha!"
Clap clap clap—
As they celebrated, Baek Bal Baek Jung, who had been watching from a distance, approached slowly.
"Congratulations. Clean hit."
"Haha, what? All thanks to your great teaching."
"You've got real talent for this. Ever thought of making an alt as an archer?"
"Hehe, yeah? Maybe later."
"Got the feel for it now?"
"Yeah. Thanks to you."
"Then let's go questing. Desert Rose, right?"
Baek Bal Baek Jung licked his lips. Rare ingredients already had his mouth watering.
"Uh, hold on, Baek Bal Baek Jung-nim."
"Yes? What's up?"
"It's midday—too hot right now, isn't it? Let's wait till the heat breaks a bit."
"...Sure. Fine."
Hura's reasoning was sound, so Baek Bal Baek Jung nodded reluctantly.
"What'll you do till then?"
"Heh, so many targets around—can't just sit idle."
"...Pardon?"
"Can't waste this golden opportunity, right guys?!"
"Of course!"
"Let's rain fire on the desert!"
Gold Sun and Tteoksoon-i chimed in enthusiastically.
"Baek Bal Baek Jung-nim."
"Yes."
"We're about to get a bit rough from here."
"...Rough?"
"Yeah. Side effect of a skill—might laugh maniacally, get rude with casual speech, yell a lot. Don't be too shocked; just giving you a heads-up."
Baek Bal Baek Jung recalled the time they hunted the lake dragon at Yudin Lake.
"...Do you have to?"
"Of course! Feels so go—er, effective."
"...Understood. I'll manage."
Baek Bal Baek Jung replied uneasily.
Dark Chef
Darkness enveloped Hura and his two summons.
"Kekeke..."
"Heh heh..."
"Ehehehe..."
Baek Bal Baek Jung backed away slowly.
"Kuhuhu, ready?"
"Kuhahaha! Born ready!"
"Eehehehe! Just say the word, Master!"
Hura let the darkness seep into him without restraint, surrendering fully.
"Kuhahahaha! Gold Sun! Find the enemy!"
"Kekekeke! Already on it, Master!"
Gold Sun, scanning the desert through the telescope, shouted.
"Target acquired!"
"Direction!"
"2 degrees south!"
"Distance!"
"About 195 meters!"
"Wind!"
"Southeast, 3 m/s!"
"Kuhaha, nice breeze! Load!"
"Hehehehe! Loaded!"
Hura burst into mad laughter.
"Wahahaha! Fire! Shrink! Cooking Throw!"
"Kuhahaha!"
"Eehehehehe! Incoming!"
The ladle shrank, firing the dish like a cannon.
Shuuuwaaak—
"Ehehe! It's going! Going!"
-Boom!
"Hit! Kekekeke! Master! It's still twitching!"
"Puhahaha! Put it out of its misery! Reload!"
"Ehehehe! Loaded!"
"Fire!"
Shuuuwaaak—
Boom!
"Heh heh, hit!"
"Kuhuhuhu. Next! Next!"
"Ehehe!"
Baek Bal Baek Jung snuck away from them.
"......"
He hid behind a distant rock, determined not to catch their eye. Who knew what madness they'd unleash if they spotted him—maybe gleefully turn him into target practice.
"Eek..."
Baek Bal Baek Jung trembled at the nonstop cackling behind him.
"...Hehe."
Dahyun, already on her fourth rewatch.
Multiple viewings revealed details she'd missed—like Hura's cute apron.
"A teddy bear apron in the middle of all that?"
Dahyun giggled as she scrolled the comments.
The comments were mostly positive toward Hura—naturally, since he'd crushed a villain so satisfyingly.
Dahyun giggled and left one herself.
"Dark Chef release."
The lingering laughter faded, and Gold Sun and Tteoksoon-i's suits returned to white.
After a good maniacal laugh, I felt incredibly refreshed. I get why characters in movies and novels surrender to the darkness.
"Phew. Much better now."
I stretched casually, muttering to myself. The sun had dipped a bit west, easing the heat somewhat. Still hot, but not the midday sizzle.
"Huh? Where's Baek Bal Baek Jung-nim?"
I looked around.
"Baek Bal Baek Jung-nim! Where are you?!"
Then, from behind a distant rock, Baek Bal Baek Jung poked his head out.
"All done?"
"Yeah. Weather's cooled too. Let's quest."
"Phew—thank god."
Baek Bal Baek Jung shook his head as he emerged.
"Anyway, let's hunt it down. You had other business, right, Hura-nim?"
"Yeah. There's a weird stele nearby."
I pulled out my memo and continued.
"As I said, Desert Rose searching is all yours."
"Got it."
"We'd just slow you down, so we'll check the stele. You still have that cold noodle broth I gave you?"
"Yeah. See you later. Watch out for quicksand!"
Baek Bal Baek Jung leaped up and was soon bounding across the sand like flying.
"Man... impressive every time."
The mysterious stele I sought was in the sandy desert too, so I followed after him.
I checked the memo again.
Southwest of Nimal Village.
Middle of nameless sandy desert.
Suspicious stele with ancient script.
[Rough location sketch]
"Ancient script, huh..."
Another of Emperor Minare's dungeons? Or a trace of the Demonic Chef Sulis?
"Guess I'll see when I get there."
I trudged through the sinking sand. Monsters were already obliterated by our barrages, so safe walking. Heat was still brutal despite easing—sweat poured. I chugged the Yudin Lake cold noodle broth to beat it back.
"Whew. Even drinking this, it's rough. Midday would've been disaster."
As I crossed the vast sands, Gold Sun spoke up.
"Master."
"Yeah?"
"Got a question."
"Shoot."
I replied while stepping firmly.
"Sulis-nim was the first Demonic Chef, right?"
"Yup."
"Did Sulis-nim have cooking summons too?"
I stopped.
"...Huh. Never thought about it. Probably? Since I'm his successor."
Tteoksoon-i, curious too, asked.
"What kind were they, I wonder?"
"Who knows. As the Demonic Chef's summons, must've been insanely epic dishes. Stuff I've never even tasted."
Caviar, foie gras, bird's nest, truffles—fancy stuff.
"When Sulis-nim vanished, what happened to them?"
"Dunno... Summoner dies, summons vanish? But food-based, maybe not instantly."
"So... are they still alive somewhere?"
At Tteoksoon-i's hesitant question, I chuckled.
"Silly. That was thousands of years ago. Still kicking?"
"Haha... right?"
Tteoksoon-i laughed dryly.
"......"
Gold Sun and Tteoksoon-i's shoulders seemed to slump more than before. I smirked and patted them.
"No worries. I won't vanish. You won't either."
"...Yes!"
Chatting idly, we pressed on—till far off, under a massive dune in the shade.
There: a suspicious stele jutting up.
"Found it!"