Payment Upfront

There were many different kinds of chefs in Fantasia Online. There were court chefs who aimed for high-society prestige by catering to nobles, ordinary chefs who targeted players by churning out cheap food in bulk, and Bizarre Chefs who catered to the peculiar tastes of a select few eccentric uncles...

But they all agreed on one thing:

"Cooking in bulk is a nightmare!!"

Preparing food in massive quantities, rather than just cooking a standard meal, was the absolute pinnacle of manual labor. Unlike normal cooking, where you finished after making a reasonable amount, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bulk cooking required you to continuously dump in astronomical amounts of ingredients and work without a single moment's rest.

These kinds of tasks usually appeared in banquet preparation quests handed out by nobles.

"Bring me a thousand loaves of bread, a thousand bowls of soup, and a thousand steaks."

"You know what? I quit."

"Guards! Seize this chef! Do not let him leave until he has finished every last dish!"

"Argh! No wonder the reviews on the community boards were so terrible!"

Of course, the rewards were incredibly lucrative if you actually pulled it off. But not everyone in the world played the game with Tae-hyun's mindset: "I would gladly sell my soul for a good reward!"

Tae-hyun's mind raced. What is the fastest dish I can make in the largest quantity right now?

Is it gukbap after all? The ultimate soul food was the first thing that came to mind!

Hmm. But rice is a pain to make and stack up, so let's skip the rice.

Switching from gukbap to soup!

I can make bread in bulk, and another good option... is to conjure up a massive amount of meat and lightly season it.

"Guys, your help is absolutely crucial right now. Pick up every single piece of junk lying around nearby. I don't care if it's a pebble or a tree branch—just bring it all."

"Understood!"

"Da-bi, list the cheapest junk items you have on you, starting from the absolute cheapest."

"On it!"

"Cain. You eat."

"Huh?"

Cain froze just as he was about to run off. Why do I have to eat?!

"W-what do you mean by that?"

"We don't know if that giant beast over there can just eat anything like the giants do. We need to test it first."

"Ugh. My ears itch. My ears itch."

"What are you giants doing?! Get over here and help!"

"We are hungry. We are hungry."

"Eat after we fight!"

Because the forest was such a maze, filled with various traps and narrow paths, the Bear Warrior tribes couldn't push through immediately even after Tae-hyun's group stepped back. They were forced to charge down the narrow paths in groups ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of only two or three at a time! Thanks to this, the players of the expedition team were able to hold the line.

Even those who had only thought of fleeing at first began to change their minds as they successfully held their ground. Confidence slowly bloomed within them.

Can we actually do this? We might really be able to hold them off!

Holding them off with a makeshift fortress like this is actually possible? What kind of... absolute madman is Kim Tae-hyun?

And helping them were the terrifying races of Nodranche! They all had glaring weaknesses, but their strengths were just as distinct.

"Ah, just hold on! Where do you think we have the time to cook right now?!"

"We're busy enough eating to apply our own buffs!"

"No fair. Only you guys get to eat!"

"We're only eating this to get the buffs!"

Eating food to buff up before a battle was the absolute basic of basics! Naturally, there were chefs among the expedition players, and everyone was busy consuming the various dishes they had prepared.

"We want to eat too!"

"No. Deal with it."

"H-here, we'll give you some!"

"Here! Eat as much as you want!"

"Here's the jajangmyeon I was eating!"

"I have some sweet and sour pork too!"

"Delicious. Delicious. Bring more."

"Here's some fried chicken and curry rice...!"

"Paella and pasta!"

"Mint chocolate chip ice cream!"

"You crazy bastard, why would you give them that?!"

"Delicious. Delicious!"

They're actually eating it?!

The giants were incredibly easy to please, even enjoying bizarre food...

But there was no telling if that giant beast would be the same.

He had to stick to proven dishes!

The disadvantages of Abnormal Cooking were threefold. First, the buffs only applied to followers of Archisus... but that didn't matter right now.

The other two disadvantages were its short duration and its randomized taste! If the food wasn't eaten immediately after being cooked, it would revert to its original form.

But both of those issues can be solved.

First, I just have to cook it ridiculously fast and feed it to him immediately...

And second, I can cover the rest with my Luck stat and Cain!

Archisus's Prayer!

It was an Authority skill he had acquired in the past. He had grumbled about it back then, wondering where on earth he was supposed to use it when his Luck stat was already ridiculously high. But when using a crafting skill like this, it was bound to have an effect.

"Alright! Let's do this!"

Tae-hyun grabbed whatever junk items he could find, crushed them in his hands, and activated his cooking skill. Instantly, all the junk transformed into freshly baked, mouth-watering loaves of bread.

No matter how many times I see it, it's still amazing!

His companions could only watch in sheer awe!

Pebbles, branches, dirt—everything transformed into bread.

Come to think of it, my cooking skill was already in the late Advanced tier.

Tae-hyun had brought both his swordsmanship and cooking skills to the late Advanced tier without a single system correction. He really had spent his life beating things up and cooking!

Faster, and in even greater quantities!

The constantly popping message windows filled Tae-hyun with a fresh surge of motivation.

"Seniors, you are truly amazing!"

Jeong Su-hyeok gasped in admiration. How could his cooking speed be faster than the rate at which the other four were bringing him junk?

At that, Choi Sang-yun chimed in.

"Tae-hyun is amazing, sure, but Cain is no joke either! He's actually eating all of that just because he was told to!"

"He really is a natural at freeloading...!"

"Mmph! Mmmph! (I can hear you guys)!"

Cain shouted back in frustration. Meanwhile, Tae-hyun finished the bread and moved on to the meat. Since he planned to cook the meat one more time, it would naturally require more effort. He had to prepare quickly.

"Light the fire under the cauldron and pour in some oil! Combine the seasonings exactly as I say. Garlic, soy sauce, and for the sauce... right, oyster sauce would be perfect."

Cain, who was chewing away, was surprised by the surprisingly normal combination. Wait, this guy? I thought he only made bizarre food, but he actually knows how to cook properly?!

Then why on earth has he been feeding me nothing but bizarre food until now?

The answer was simple: bizarre food gave much better buffs!

Tae-hyun threw a massive amount of fresh meat, onions, and cabbage—all conjured through his Authority cooking—into the cauldron, drizzled it with oil, and began to stir-fry.

Sadiq really manages to squeeze his way into everything, doesn't he?

In any case, it was undeniable that both cooking and blacksmithing were skills that relied heavily on the mastery of fire.

Whoosh! Sizzle—

Accompanied by the delicious sound of meat searing in oil, the vegetables were cooked to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a perfect, crisp tenderness. Tae-hyun continuously tasted the food to check the flavor, just in case his Authority cooking decided to play a prank on him.

Not bad at all!

"Ugh... Argh... Kim Tae-hyun... I'm... I'm so full...!"

"Digest it, Cain! You're the only one who can do this job!"

"But wait, couldn't we just bring over a few other players? The Power Warrior guild members can at least use flying mounts..."

"...Oh, right! Cain! Turns out anyone could have done this job!"

"Die!"

"Will this actually work?"

"If it doesn't... well, we run."

"..."

"..."

"What do you want from me? Am I a god?"

"N-no, of course not."

"Well, he's not wrong!"

If it didn't work, they would run!

The mountain-sized beast approached, its eyes widening as it spotted the massive pile of food. Tae-hyun seized the opportunity to speak.

"Calm down! You must be starving. Did those Bear Warriors eat everything?"

The beast nodded slowly. Tae-hyun smiled and said,

"Exactly. Just as I said, eating those guys is much better than listening to them, isn't it?"

"Why is he saying something so terrifying with such a bright smile?!"

Choi Sang-yun was horrified. Even as his ally, the words were chilling! Was it because Tae-hyun spent too much time hanging out with demons?

Lee Da-bi tilted her head.

"Huh? Isn't that a wonderful persuasion tactic?"

"I think Senior is doing a great job persuading it."

"Senior is always so good at convincing others, isn't he?"

"..."

Right! Our party isn't normal either!

Choi Sang-yun looked at Cain. At least Cain was here to be the voice of reason...

"Ah. I see. So that's how you persuade them..."

"..."

Even Cain?!

"Listen to me carefully, City Destroyer! What did those guys say when they promised to feed you? I bet they said they'd let you eat your fill after you win."

The beast nodded once more. Hearing this, Tae-hyun shouted in a voice filled with righteous indignation.

"That is an unfair contract!"

...?

"Who on earth pays after the job is done?! You must never sign a contract with people like that!"

It was a remarkably shameless statement coming from the incarnation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of a god who was the absolute last person anyone in the Heavenly or Demonic Realms should ever sign a contract with. However, the beast seemed to find it highly logical and nodded.

"With me, payment is always upfront!"

—!