Different Steps (2)
The post uploaded by Bangbaedong Gourmet.
Everyone checked the thread with curious anticipation.
Some wondered if the potatoes and sweet potatoes were truly special.
Others expected he had been thoroughly ripped off.
So what was the result?
Many people trusted Bangbaedong’s word.
But a considerable number remained skeptical.
Debate continued back and forth.
Bangbaedong Gourmet, who had been watching, posted again.
Comment after comment poured in.
“Hmm.”
An Jaeseong, Bangbaedong Gourmet, carefully read through the comments, pondering whom to choose.
Only nine potatoes and nine sweet potatoes remained.
Giving them all away felt too wasteful.
He planned to simply divide one of each into thirds so everyone could taste.
‘FireNoodlePuff and Carbonara. I’ll pick these two first.’
Both were highly active.
If they served as verifiers, others would accept the results.
‘Who for the last spot?’
Jackal and SweetPotatoSam.
Both were trolls.
Automatic disqualification!
He had no desire to let them taste this supreme flavor.
‘Hmm?’
Then one comment caught his eye.
The comment left by Rainbow Potion.
The reaction was positive.
Of course it was.
Because he was someone who did good work.
‘I’ll go with this person.’
After announcing the selected list in the comments, he sent private messages to each.
He shared his real residence and his name.
FireNoodlePuff and Carbonara already knew who he was.
That was only natural.
His identity was already quite exposed.
Anyone active on the Superhuman Net would have known.
But Rainbow Potion?
Superhumans who weren’t very active on the Superhuman Net often didn’t know.
There was no problem.
The meeting was quickly arranged.
He could verify Rainbow Potion first.
Cooking?
‘They’re delicious even raw.’
He hadn’t tried any other dishes yet.
But if they wanted something specific?
He was willing to cook it.
He had 100% confidence that any dish would taste amazing.
That was the intuition of South Korea’s only Michelin 3-star chef.
There was no way he was wrong.
A short while later.
“Hello. Rainbow Potion, Kim Jeonghwan.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m An Jaeseong.”
Kim Jeonghwan had arrived promptly.
Behind him, two young children peeked out shyly.
A boy and a girl, roughly six to eight years old.
“Junho, Sua. You should greet the chef.”
At Kim Jeonghwan’s words, they stepped forward hesitantly.
The boy moved first.
Glancing at the girl beside him, he opened his mouth.
“Um… hello… I’m… I’m Kim Junho… I’m eight…”
He spoke softly, bowing his head slightly.
He looked nervous facing the unfamiliar An Jaeseong.
“Me too… hello… I’m Han Sua… I’m seven…”
She fidgeted with her hands and lifted her head a little to look at An Jaeseong.
“Oh! Junho and Sua. Nice to meet you! Both of you are so cute!”
An Jaeseong smiled brightly and gave the children a reassuring smile.
“Yes… nice to meet you…”
“Yes… me too…”
Looking a little more at ease, Kim Junho nodded slightly.
Han Sua followed, nodding shyly as well.
A smile formed on An Jaeseong’s lips.
Junho and Sua were simply adorable.
The pure light shining from children was always wonderful to see.
“Come on in.”
The potatoes and sweet potatoes.
He had originally planned to give only a third of each.
But now two children had come along.
Dividing a third again would leave only a sixth for each.
Yet he changed his mind.
Why?
How could he give them only that after seeing these children?
He handed each child one whole sweet potato and one whole potato.
Placing them in their hands, he asked,
“These are delicious even raw, but I’m a good cook. Is there any dish you’d like me to make with the potatoes or sweet potatoes?”
The two children didn’t answer right away.
“…It’s okay.”
The first to speak was Kim Junho.
He gently nudged Han Sua with his elbow.
“Me too…”
His gaze never left the potato and sweet potato in his hands.
“Then how about we each take one bite raw first?”
“Yes…”
He sliced them into bite-sized pieces and handed them over.
Chew chew.
The children accepted and ate eagerly.
Then—
“……!!”
Suddenly their bodies trembled as if shocked by electricity.
Children with little resistance to flavor must have felt an even more ecstatic taste.
“Ah…”
“It’s… delicious…!”
The children’s eyes sparkled as if honey would drip from them while staring at the sweet potato and potato.
But—
With superhuman restraint, they held back from eating more.
“Why? Not eating more?”
“W-we’ll eat it at home.”
“Me too…”
An Jaeseong tilted his head at their reaction.
Their expressions clearly showed they loved it.
Forgetting even the purpose of verifying the buff and proving these were a whole new world of flavor, he wondered why the children were acting this way.
“Junho, Sua. The chef prepared these for you to enjoy. You should eat them all here together.”
“U-um. It’s okay…”
“M-me too.”
Even at Kim Jeonghwan’s words, they stood firm.
A troubled look appeared on his face as well.
Then suddenly—
A thought flashed through An Jaeseong’s mind.
The reason the two children were behaving this way.
“Director Kim. Are there many children waiting back at the orphanage?”
“Huh? Why do you ask… Ah!”
Kim Jeonghwan belatedly understood and let out an exclamation.
That was it.
Right now, these two children—
Even though they desperately wanted to eat the potato and sweet potato in their hands—
were desperately holding back so they could share with their friends waiting at the orphanage.
Their hands trembled from the effort.
‘So that’s why they refused the cooking earlier.’
If he cooked, it would be harder to take the food home whole.
“Oh dear, kids. This uncle is sorry.”
Realizing the situation, Kim Jeonghwan wore a pained expression.
Recently, due to funding issues, snacks had been the thing he neglected most.
He had always kept snacks stocked on schedule, but lately he had poured all his attention into potion research and failed to maintain the schedule.
“……For now, you said the orphanage is close, right? Would it be all right if I visited once?”
An Jaeseong.
The tasting panel he had started to verify that Madoje’s potatoes and sweet potatoes were special.
It was beginning to flow in a completely different direction from his original intention.
***
At that same moment.
I was in the middle of a private chat with Hong Seolhwa.
Just as I thought!
99Lv Lunadria.
I had believed in it.
Knowing that she had benefited from the Lunadria I sold gave me a strange sense of pride.
Ah!
So it wasn’t a complete cure after all.
Yesterday I hadn’t been, but today I had become an Elixir Master.
Lunadria?
Heh.
I could now cultivate as much as I wanted.
As long as she paid the proper price, I could provide any amount.
‘Though… now that I know the Lunadria is level 99, it feels a bit much to sell it for only 50,000–100,000 coins like before.’
Still.
She was the one who had trusted me enough to hand over the Baekyang Herb without hesitation.
Thanks to that, I had succeeded in cultivating Baekyang Herb as well, so I would give her a special discount.
Besides, she was also a patient.
It was only text, but every word carried a nervous tension.
She really must not be feeling well.
Hmm.
I already had plenty of Baekyang Herb.
‘I’d like to obtain a different elixir.’
This time, maybe I should try planting a tree?
Something came to mind.
Seondo.
The legendary peach from Journey to the West that the Great Sage Equal to Heaven had eaten all of in the heavenly realm.
‘Though its effects don’t even come close to the legend.’
Unlike the legend, perhaps because it grew on the ground, the Seondo that appeared in dungeons or was successfully cultivated on Earth was smaller than a fist and contained almost no mana as an elixir.
Nowadays it was merely regarded as a fruit with sweet peach juice.
But its price was incredibly high.
Why?
Because cultivation was extremely difficult.
Only a few trees in the entire world had succeeded in cultivation.
Plus, its symbolic value from Journey to the West made it extremely popular among the wealthy.
‘If I plant it in the Dragon’s Lair?’
Maybe I could grow a proper Seondo?
After ending the conversation with her, a sudden thought about Hong Seolhwa crossed my mind.
‘Wait a second. If the problem is just an energy imbalance, then instead of Lunadria… wouldn’t taking Taeumyangjeong solve it?’
I felt that the Taeumyangjeong I had made could resolve her issue.
‘Hmm. I should mention it next time.’
For now, I decided to continue the conversation with her later.
‘Well then.’
With the 2,000 coins earned from selling the potatoes and sweet potatoes,
it was time to obtain the Fire skill and try roasted sweet potatoes and roasted potatoes.
I immediately accessed the Superhuman Net marketplace.
You have acquired .
1st-tier magic. Fire.
In the end, I bought it for 1,300 coins.
Why 1,300 instead of 1,000?
1,000 coins was F-grade Fire.
Its efficiency relative to mana was the worst.
So even though it cost 300 coins more, I purchased the one rank higher E-grade.
“It’s really damn expensive.”
The skill price was high enough to make anyone complain.
One 1st-tier magic was one thing, but there were over a hundred of them.
And starting from 2nd-tier? Far more expensive than 1st-tier.
Was there nowhere I could learn a bunch of magic skills at once?
‘I’ll probably have to learn the other magics from Dania once she hatches.’
Dragons were the masters of magic.
Of course, as she grew, she would master all magic.
Then maybe she could teach me as well.
There were two ways to learn magic: through skill cards, or by receiving direct instruction.
‘Well, that’s a matter for later.’
Anyway, this time—
It was finally time to taste the long-awaited roasted sweet potatoes and roasted potatoes.
‘Heh heh.’
What kind of flavor would these have?
Having also purchased dungeon firewood, I wrapped the potatoes and sweet potatoes in the leaves of the Cheongmyeong Sucho I had squeezed earlier.
This would serve as foil.
“Fire.”
Fwoosh!
Flames bloomed in my hand.
Using magic made me feel once again, viscerally, that I had truly become a superhuman.
In a cheerful mood, I lit the firewood.
Whoosh!
I placed the sweet potatoes and potatoes wrapped in Cheongmyeong Sucho inside.
Just then, Dania woke up at the perfect moment.
“Aigoo, our lucky charm, are you hungry? Wait just a moment.”
Would Dania be able to taste the roasted sweet potatoes and roasted potatoes?
First, let’s roast them.
So—
Roast deliciously!!