The Dawn of the Gourmet Era
I fiddled with the ring on my left ring finger, sniffing the air.
...Was it just my imagination?
There was this weird smell wafting from somewhere.
It wasn't the charred stench of roasted goblin warriors or that musty moldy odor unique to boss rooms.
It was... something odd.
Sniff sniff.
I followed the scent to track down its source, my steps leading me toward it.
I ended up at a shadowy corner of the boss room wall.
This is it...
"Hm? Arang, what're you doing over there?"
The guild leader tilted her head curiously at my sudden behavior.
Cheon Yura and Kim Hyunah followed behind me, both cocking their heads in confusion.
"Don't you smell something weird here?"
When I pointed at the blank stone wall where the scent was coming from, the guild leader sniffed and approached the wall.
"Smell? Just mold, that's all."
She shook her head.
Kim Hyunah wrinkled her nose, sniffing around before shaking her head too.
Is it because I'm a beastkin that I can pick up on it better?
"I don't sense anything unusual either... Arang, what kind of smell is it?"
"Hard to describe..."
It was definitely there.
I ran my hands over the cold wall. The smell was clearly coming from beyond this...
I pulled out a seaweed salt bread I'd made yesterday from my bag and took a bite.
Seaweed Salt Bread consumed.
Deep Sea Vision: For 1 hour, vision and reflexes are enhanced, allowing sight of the previously invisible.
My vision suddenly expanded, and everything around me came into sharper focus.
...This must be it.
I'd tested the "see invisible things" effect once, and damn, it worked great.
In my enhanced sight, a stone in the middle of the wall stood out—slightly misaligned from the surrounding rocks.
It had looked totally normal before, but now it glowed faintly orange.
Without hesitation, I reached out and pressed the protruding brick.
Click.
A heavy grinding sound echoed as the stone locked into place.
Rumble rumble ruuuumble!
The entire boss room vibrated faintly, and the solid stone wall split apart, sliding open smoothly to the sides.
Beyond the massive stone door, a hidden chamber revealed itself.
"......Huh?"
"What the hell... is this?!"
The three behind me gaped in unison.
Cheon Yura recovered first, grabbing my shoulder in disbelief.
"Hey, Arang! How the heck did you do that?!"
"I... don't really know. I just saw something weird and pressed it...?"
She stared at me blankly, at a loss for words.
...Yeah, I didn't expect it to actually open either.
"Haa... Our little Arang's a total lucky charm. A hidden room on floor 1 of all places."
The guild leader ruffled my hair affectionately.
Her fingers brushed my ears, making me shiver involuntarily.
"Anyway, let's head inside."
To shake off the awkwardness, I slipped through the open doorway first.
The three followed cautiously, tension etched on their faces.
The room was smaller than I'd imagined.
Dust and must coated everything, and an old shelf held a jumble of unidentified items.
No gold bars, huh.
I'd secretly hoped for jewels or something, but nada.
Feels like a broke alchemist's lair.
In the center, on a weathered pedestal, sat a single enormous book—easily hundreds of pages thick.
"Whoa... what's all this?"
I approached the pedestal and lifted the massive tome that caught my eye first.
Dust billowed up. I hurriedly covered my nose, but too late.
"Achoo!"
"Pfft..."
"...Why are you laughing."
"Who said I was?"
I glared at the guild leader, who brazenly looked away, then turned back to the book.
Its worn leather cover was etched with strange symbols.
I brushed off the dust and carefully flipped it open.
Flip.
The brittle pages were crammed with characters I'd never seen before.
"Uh... what language is this...?"
Not alphabet, not hanja. Worm-like squiggles or ancient hieroglyphs, maybe.
Like the writing on my resignation letter after a drunken night.
As I tilted my head, Kim Hyunah reached out tentatively from beside me.
"Let me take a look."
"Here."
She took the book from me and scanned the text quickly.
"......I don't know exactly either."
"Even you don't know, Hyunah?"
"Yes. It's vaguely similar to ancient texts found inside the Tower or languages used by its inhabitants... but subtly different in places."
"Hmm... We could commission a hunter with translation skills. That'd probably do it."
The guild leader said that, then messed up my hair again.
"Ah! Cut it out! Brushing it every morning is a pain already!"
Why is everyone obsessed with my hair?
"Who told you to make it so pettable?"
She crossed her arms, eyeing the book with interest.
"So, what the heck is it? A grimoire or something?"
"Doesn't feel like a magic book—no mana at all. Probably something else."
"Like what."
"I'd have said if I knew."
"Useless bitch."
I ignored their bickering and took the book back from Kim Hyunah.
I couldn't read the language, but flipping through, I spotted faded illustrations here and there.
The structure felt oddly familiar, like the baking books I'd devoured endlessly.
...Wait a sec. This is...
Looking closer at the pictures: one showed slicing slimes with a knife, like the ones we'd seen outside.
Next to it, an image of adjusting firewood flames, and a hand sprinkling some powder.
The following page depicted cracking a giant bird egg and kneading the batter.
"This... looks like a cookbook?"
"......What?"
"......A, a cookbook?"
"...For real, Arang?"
All three sets of eyes locked onto my face.
"Look at this picture. Slicing slimes into bite-sized pieces and boiling them over a fire. And this next to it seems like the timing for adding spices or seasonings."
As I pointed out the illustrations, their jaws dropped wider.
You're gonna let dust in.
"Not sure exactly, but... it seems like recipes for cooking edible monsters."
"Holy shit..."
Cheon Yura let out a hollow laugh.
"Why the hell's a cookbook the hidden piece here?"
"Who could've guessed a monster cookbook in a secret room on floor 1."
"Still, it's perfect for Arang."
Kim Hyunah examined the other scattered items as she spoke.
"These other items are all unfamiliar too. The mana they emit is faint, so probably not top-tier... but worth researching."
"Yeah, first discoveries always have value."
The guild leader nodded in agreement.
I hugged the cookbook tight to my chest.
I couldn't read the words, but the pictures gave me a solid idea of the dishes. I'd read enough books for that.
"Guild leader, can I... have this?"
"Huh? Oh, sure. You found it, after all."
She nodded readily.
"Don't want any of the other stuff? There's a bunch of small items over there."
She pointed to the corner, but I shook my head.
"Nah, don't need 'em. This book's all I want."
Honestly, I'm not gonna research them myself—they'd just be baggage.
...And with this, I can bake whatever bread I want from monsters.
Laios... Senshi... that's what you'd do, right?
I clutched the book tighter, thinking of them.
"Alright, got it. You take the book, and Hyunah bags the rest for guild inspection later."
Kim Hyunah swept the room's contents into a large bag.
We finished looting the hidden chamber and exited the boss room.
"What a fruitful picnic."
"Wanna come back sometime? I can make time anytime if our Arang wants."
"Really?"
The guild leader glanced at me slyly, then slipped her hands under my armpits.
My feet lifted off the ground, and I widened my eyes in surprise, staring at her.
"But only if you shout that Eunwol-unnie is the best nice and loud."
"...No thanks."
"Aww, c'mon! Say it!"
"Seriously no..."
I shot her a look of utter disdain.
