Chapter 41
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Knightly Virtues
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Yoon Young opened his Inventory to check the item he'd obtained.
[Special Pork Barbecue Recipe]
A recipe containing the cooking method for Nora's special pork barbecue.
Using it will save it in the 'Recipe' slot of the cooking tab.
"Use it right away."
[Special Pork Barbecue Recipe has been registered.]
Yoon Young's expression grew complicated as he checked the recipe.
"This... takes way more ingredients than I thought?"
True to its "special" name, it wasn't just grilling pork over a fire.
He even had to make a separate sauce with a soy sauce and garlic base, mixed with herbs.
"Can't make it with what I have on hand?"
Sure enough, a warning message popped up as he looked at the recipe.
Ingredients are insufficient.
Ingredients can be gathered directly or purchased at the village's grocery store.
"...A grocery store?"
He hadn't seen one yet.
"Maybe if I look carefully around the residential district."
With that thought, Yoon Young wandered the residential district and soon spotted two small shops.
[Grocery Store]
[General Store]
"Oh ho."
Groceries and daily necessities were the most essential for daily life, so they were in the residential district?
"This city... I can't tell if it's big or small."
All game maps were like that.
Yoon Young stepped into the grocery store first.
"Fresh veggies just came in! Picked this morning!"
A grandma NPC with wrinkles around her eyes greeted him.
She looked spry for a grandma, but with her white hair and hunched back, she didn't seem like the type to harbor bad intentions.
"Ingredients you can't get here might be available in the port city."
He opened the shop window to check the stock first.
Onions, carrots, garlic, and so on.
Pretty much any vegetable you could think of, plus basics like salt, vinegar, culinary herbs, and soy sauce.
"Kinda pricey, though?"
The prices were a bit steep.
Buying all the ingredients would cost about the same as eating at the inn.
Why bother spending time cooking yourself?
But for now, there was merit.
The most expensive part of the barbecue recipe was the meat, no doubt.
Yoon Young could supply the main ingredient—pork—from the hunting grounds as much as he wanted.
He decided to buy extras for now.
"Thanks for your business, dear. Come again."
Was soy sauce really a thing in this era?
The sudden doubt vanished quickly.
Overthinking it here meant losing.
He might even have to shrug if an ancient relic motorcycle popped out somewhere.
"Next... the general store."
The recipe didn't just need ingredients.
For Nora's barbecue, he needed cooking tools suited to the purpose—especially skewers for threading the meat.
Did he have to buy each one separately? Well...
It was still cheaper than eating out, and there was meaning in experimenting.
"Take your time browsing. No refunds here."
The general store owner was a stern-looking man with glasses.
Folding brazier, iron grill rack, cooking spatula, basting brush, kitchen knife—all purchased.
"Come back anytime."
Now he was truly prepared.
Yoon Young set up his new cooking tools in a quiet corner of the city.
"Whew."
It felt like going camping—therapeutic and nice.
With that thought, he lit a fire using the matches from the general store.
Time to start cooking according to the recipe.
But something amazing happened.
"Huh?"
The recipe details suddenly sank into his mind, and the basic process clicked into place.
"Feels like I've made this dish before, weirdly enough. Even though it's my first time."
Ah, so this was the recipe's effect?
Yoon Young began cooking as the steps appeared in his head.
Chop chop chop!
He crushed garlic and herbs on the cutting board, poured in soy sauce, and made the basting sauce.
Threaded the meat onto wooden skewers and set them over the brazier.
Now, baste and flip every 35 minutes...
[Cooking completed.]
"Oh...!"
Glistening pork barbecue straight off the fire!
The cooked meat wafted a sweet, savory aroma that made his mouth water.
"I made it myself, but damn, it looks delicious."
He tonged a big chunk and took a bite.
"...!"
Juicy meat juices exploded in his mouth at the first bite!
Grilled over wood fire, it had a deep smoky flavor without any extras.
Different from the inn food.
The meat's texture clung perfectly to his tongue, and Yoon Young devoured it greedily.
Honestly, it wasn't that mind-blowing, but the fact that he'd made it himself added huge points.
"Wow, this is killer. Perfect with rice and kimchi..."
Rice. And kimchi!
Kimchi stew, spicy chicken stir-fry, ramen, potato stew, army stew...
Countless Korean dishes flashed through Yoon Young's mind.
Human greed knew no bounds, they said.
He was eating something delicious, yet his mouth watered more.
"Sluurp..."
Damn. He'd tried not to think about it.
No choice now but to keep honing his cooking skill.
Kimchi wasn't that hard, right? Dry some chilies, crush them, salt, crush garlic, mix with cabbage, ferment a bit, and it'd be godly.
Yoon Young had a new goal.
Perfectly recreate Korean food in this world.
Nom nom nom!
He wolfed down the barbecue.
Meal finished.
A warm energy swirls in your stomach.
Vitality recovers slowly over 30 minutes.
⚡ Strength +1 level for 30 minutes
💪 Stamina +1 level for 30 minutes
🍀 Stamina recovery speed +2 levels for 30 minutes
"Thank you so much. I won't forget your kindness!"
"Thanks, Adventurer!"
"I thought you young adventurers were all thugs, but there's ones like you too."
To complete Claire's quest, Yoon Young roamed the residential district, helping NPCs with their requests.
Finding a necklace hidden in the bushes.
Rescuing an escaped cat.
Hunting monsters to recover a lost wallet.
It felt exactly like the lazy filler quests from online game hubs.
He completed them all and returned to Claire.
"Uhuhu~."
The orange ponytail girl was drunk as usual.
Her killer figure made it hard to resist ogling every time.
Squish squish.
Heavy handfuls!
"Boobs are heavy! Have they gotten bigger?"
How was a job changer allowed to flaunt these and tempt people...!
Yoon Young naturally groped her breasts as he turned in the quest.
"Oh! You completed every mission I gave you?"
Claire reacted immediately.
She flashed her signature gooey smile and praised him.
"Wow, doing those in a short time feels like you've gained some experience under your belt? As expected of the guy I'm keeping an eye on. How about it? Feel like you've gotten more seasoned?"
"Well..."
To him, it just felt like grinding out annoying quests.
Yoon Young muttered inwardly.
"Must've been tedious and something you didn't want to do. But you gritted your teeth and powered through silently. That's the true virtue of a knight! You have more than enough qualification for this skill."
As she finished, system messages filled his vision.
[Acquired Perseverance skill.]
[Acquired 2 Skill Points.]
[Gained experience.]
"Ooh...?"
The rewards were more generous than expected.
A new skill and skill points.
And a ton of experience.
He'd just hit level 9 from the quests, and now he was already level 10.
"It reduces incoming damage, dulls pain, and lets you hold your ground even when injured. Essential for knights who have to stand firm."
Claire smiled.
"You're a quick learner—I'm looking forward to your future exploits~?"
She looked young, but as a job changer, her gentle smile carried a sense of experience.
Yoon Young checked the skill. No exact numbers, but it matched Claire's description.
Knowing it supported prolonged defensive combat made him feel secure.
"Anyway, time to spend these skill points soon."
In old games, dumping points blindly could ruin you, so he'd been hoarding them.
One from job change, one per level-up, two just now—five in total.
"Maybe put a couple into Aura Sword? It's the base skill I'll use ongoing..."
Base skill.
The kind where its level affects later skills' performance.
For example, a skill that shoots aura at range.
Often, the base Aura Sword's power influenced it.
So raising Aura Sword early was a safe bet.
"Of course, just my theory—might not be."
Still, hoarding skill points like treasures wasn't ideal.
Yoon Young decided to invest 2 points into Aura Sword.
[Aura Sword skill level increased to 3.]
Basic power increased.
Efficiency increased.
Aura Sword length and sturdiness slightly increased.
"Nice."
Power boost, efficiency for mana cost and duration, plus length and solidity!
Just looking made hunting feel more reassuring.
With level-up stats too, combat would feel vastly improved.
"Too late today... Tomorrow, hunting with Amael after a while."
The cute priestess girl he saw every time.
Thinking of rubbing cheeks against her soft, squishy ones already lifted his mood.