Hell Salamander Steak and the Gate Extortionist
This meat's cooked nice and even. Nom nom... I popped into the gallery to look up strategies for the next floor, only to get sucked into some quagmire called a "concept post." Thanks to that, I ended up leisurely munching on my leftover magistones while tossing likes at weird memes.
Magistone mana absorbed.
Hatchling Growth Rate +12%!
That said, even though I'd been steadily chowing down on magistones lately, the growth gains were feeling pathetically tiny, and it wasn't sitting right with me. Sure, consistency is key and all that, but now that I'd tasted the sweet rush of dopamine from big jumps, I couldn't help wishing for some high-grade magistone that'd skyrocket my stats in one go.
Is it 'cause I've only been eating D-rank magistones lately? Getting kinda boring...
I'd been saving my B-rank magistones for that instant dopamine hit. At first, I thought I had no reason to envy gourmet feasts, but once I got used to the taste, I realized I craved something new and different. Oh, right...
I still had that Hell Salamander meat from the NPC on the second floor. Might as well try that.
The second I decided, I bolted to the fridge and yanked the door open. True to my solo-living ways, the only things inside were a few soda cans—and that weird bundle of leaves, the meat from last time.
I carried the Hell Salamander meat to the kitchen and slowly peeled off the leaf wrapping. It was white flesh still tinged with blood, attached to the creature's signature charred, burned-looking skin. I set up my knife and cutting board to trim off the remaining bones and skin when the door lock beeped—password entered. It was Seol-ah.
"Seol-ah, you forgetting the doorbell exists now?"
"Oh yeah, whoops. Slipped my mind."
...Slipped your mind? Seriously?
"Anyway, since you're here, wanna try some of this?"
"Huh...? What's that?"
"Hell Salamander meat. The NPC gave it to me after clearing the tower last time."
"You saw a Hell Salamander? Me too! Lemme see! No pics?!"
Seol-ah suddenly closed the distance, and I instantly regretted my word choice. Come to think of it, her favorite thing was messing with lizards...
Knowing she'd make a huge fuss if I didn't head her off, I quickly showed her the Hell Salamander photos I'd snapped in the tower—in exchange for a promise not to go nuts over it.
"Whoa-this-is-insane-how-does-it-look-like-that-huff-huff-if-I-could-see-one-in-real-life-I'd-have-no-other-wishes-left!"
Guess my wish was too tall an order. I'd vaguely heard she was super into animals before, but learning the depths of her lizard obsession made me feel like I was peering into the abyss.
"Anyway, I'll watch a video and make it, so pipe down now."
I shushed Seol-ah right away and hopped on Nerutube to search for Hell Salamander steak recipes. The downside? Hell Salamander was rare, so they just used regular salamander tail meat...
"Eh, Hell Salamander or regular—same difference, right?"
When there's no soy sauce, use soup soy; no sesame oil, cooking oil works fine. Old wisdom.
I hit play, and the video showed a neatly prepped kitchen with trimmed salamander tail meat.
-Alright, let's start with today's meat.
The cooking vid kicked off with a familiar opener. Stuff about tenderizing for 48 hours or whatever for max flavor.
I watched quietly for a bit, then suddenly the screen cut—the meat looked totally different.
-Two days later. See how nicely it's tenderized? Now that that's done...
"...?"
"What? Why'd you pause?"
"Absorbed the video's essence."
Point is, it's tasty. Spending 48 hours on one piece of meat? Not happening in my life.
But if I toughed it out a bit, couldn't I skip the full tenderizing? I fired up a coated pan, added cooking oil, preheated it good, then slapped on the flat-sliced Hell Salamander meat without hesitation.
Sizzle—!
The rising smoke from the pan carried a fragrance worlds apart from regular meat. That deep, smoky charcoal-grill aroma mixed with an intense Maillard reaction—enough to satisfy all my senses. Ah, hadn't tasted it yet, though. In a world with meat like this, there'd probably be meat-worshipping cults.
"Whoaaa... smells so good..."
"Looks done. Let's eat."
"...?"
I scooped a few pieces of the finished meat onto Seol-ah's side plate, but she stared at me like something crucial was missing.
"...Problem?"
"N-no?! Just, since you brought it, you should taste first, right?"
Felt like she had some ulterior motive, but whatever—I silently picked up a piece. If she doesn't want it, more for me.
...Is this really meat from a monster?
The chunk at my chopstick tips glistened with juices, even though I'd only grilled it. The flavor hit me before I even bit in.
-Crunch.
"...!"
I'd only meant to try a bite, but the explosion of flavor beyond expectations brought an unstoppable smile. I neatly sliced another piece with my knife and brought it to my mouth—click!
"Hehe, can I post this on Insta?"
Seol-ah's pic was me holding a piece with a 100% blissed-out face. No harm, so I gave the okay.
Somehow, my growing notoriety was annoying... but weirdly not bad.
As we chatted over small bites, it hit me—I owed Seol-ah for all her help. Sure, she'd only run errands 'cause she wanted to touch my tail, but gratitude's gratitude.
"On a whim! I'll buy you whatever you want today!"
"For real? I was eyeing something...!"
...?
I'd meant it casually, like granting one little wish. But her sudden serious vibe sent a chill down my spine. No way she was coveting a Ferrari or something...?
Our fun meal wrapped up, and just like that, Seol-ah dragged me into an ominous round two.
"So... where are we headed?"
"No fun if you know ahead~."
I'm the one buying—shouldn't I know? Her insane P-type impulsiveness was throwing me off...
But she wasn't the type to blow cash recklessly, so I followed quietly.
"Not a car or anything, right?"
"Why? Gonna buy one? ...It's not super expensive, anyway."
Phew, relief. As I walked on, comforted by her answer, a shadow fell over us.
"...Huh? What's that?"
"Something in the sky..."
Gasp. A black dot in the sky. I'd seen this before.
Gate precursor...!
I reflexively grabbed Seol-ah's hand and bolted the opposite way. But we were already in the spawn zone—the gate swallowed us whole.
"Urk..."
When I opened my eyes, we were in a cave thick with vines and moss. Nothing like Seoul's streets—definite gate.
Regular folks rarely even get pulled into one once. Wow, lucky me?
Oh, right—not the time.
Gates were unfriendly to awakeners, but pure hell for normals. One wrong monster, and you're done.
"Seol-ah!"
But she was nowhere, even after looking around. Separated...?
"Seol-ah! Seol-ah!"
"I'm right here."
...?
No footsteps? Unless she was a stealth awakener, she'd been behind me the whole time.
"Making me search like that. Aren't you too into me?"
...Most normals panic in gates. At least she wasn't frozen—small mercy.
Even I wasn't unaffected. Towers had strats and exits, but gates? Total lawless wilds.
I had to stay sharp. At least I could fight monsters.
"Seol-ah, looks like we're in an acute gate. Stick right by me, okay?"
"Got it—!!"
"Eep!"
She took it literally, hugging me so tight I couldn't breathe. Not... what I meant...
I squirmed for air, but escaping was hopeless.
Urk...! Did she awaken and pump her strength to A+ already...!
"Seol-ah, can't... breathe...!"
"S-sorry!"
She let go in shock. Little lie about the breathing—to force the release.
"No more pranks. We're in a gate..."
After thinking, we decided to find other people sucked in. Gates pull everyone nearby—not just us.
Luckily, we soon spotted a group not far off.
Someone's yelling.
Scattered folks gathering at the noise.
"Everyone, listen up—!!!!"
The shouter was a rough-looking guy in light shoulder pauldrons—a hunter.
"This puny gate's nothing to me, C-rank hunter Hyeok Ji-woon. I could clear it easy, but I don't do charity. Get my drift?"
He bared his greedy true colors. Quick ones forked over "protection" cash; he fleeced them all, then approached us last.
"Hey, you two. Pay up if you wanna live."
"Don't need your help."
Simple reason. My stats showed D+, but maxed skills could handle B+ monsters. His boasted C-rank? His ceiling.
"Ha?"
The thug hunter gawked at my boldness.
"Fine, fend for yourselves. Follow me, and you're first to die."
Lame threat done, he headed down the only path. Civilians knew they'd pissed him off but needed him to survive, so they trailed reluctantly.
"Whew... Shall we head out soon too?"
"Yeah."
Only one way—after the thug. He had skills; monster corpses littered the path.
Look like... plants.
Gate survival meant intel—even from corpses.
Monster with blooming flower and vine tentacles. Rare, but as a pre-awakening gallery ghost, I knew it: Mandragora Bloom or something. Bud stage first; ignore it, and it blooms, spewing toxic spores in seconds.
The open flowers looked undamaged—he'd botched it.
"Good, spores seem settled on the ground."
"Gasp...!"
"Huh? Seol-ah, you okay?!"
"Th-there. That person...!"
Seol-ah pointed: a green-skinned, foaming body on the floor.
...Dead, no doubt.
"One of the folks following that hunter, probably..."
"Damn, innocent civilians suffer again."
Thought game corpses wouldn't faze me, but real life? Stomach churning.
Seol-ah too—hand over mouth, gripping my hand tight.