The Unintended Path of a Sky Chef

The American player lied shamelessly. "Actually, Kim Tae-hyun lived in America when he was a kid. You could basically consider him half-American."

"Huh? Really?"

"What kind of bullshit is..."

The Korean player next to him wore a look of utter disbelief. What kind of nonsense was that?

Just like in the past, whenever you looked at internet forums, these kinds of wild rumors popped up from every country.

Those who shamelessly insist on falsehoods usually have no conscience. The people who actually knew the truth were left utterly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠speechless by such brazen lies.

"Stop talking nonsense. What do you think about what the Guild Alliance guys are saying? Does it sound real?"

"That they recruited Kim Tae-hyun? Obviously, it smells fishy, right?"

"No... not the Kim Tae-hyun thing, you idiots...!"

The ranker from the Midas Guild stared at his fellow guild members in disbelief. That wasn't what was important right now, but they kept going "Kim Tae-hyun, Kim Tae-hyun!"

"Not Kim Tae-hyun. I mean the Guild Alliance's method to purify the Plague Wasteland."

"Ah. That."

It was certainly a fascinating matter. The Plague Wasteland was a place no one had dared to touch. To think they could purify such a place. It was hard to believe.

"Did they find some incredible scroll or something?"

"Rumor has it that a church NPC angel is involved."

"The Archisus Church?"

"Why would the Archisus Church pop up? Is that the only church on the continent? It's a different church."

Angels hadn't only visited the Archisus Church. Other churches had been visited by their own angels too! Thanks to that, new quests had appeared for the various orders.

To the Midas Guild members, the only reason the Guild Alliance could act so confident was because an angel was involved. Only an angel could possibly purify a place like the Plague Wasteland.

"True..."

"Is it the Demer Order? Phytos?"

"No. The Ahjulak Church."

Ahjulak was the God of Magic. It was a church primarily worshipped by mages. Since the Midas Guild had many mages, they had heard the rumor about an angel visiting the Ahjulak Church.

"Stop chatting and get ready to fight! Monsters are going to keep spawning here. We have to break through before our skills run out."

The gathered guild members nodded and sped up. They had used an expensive scroll to enter the Plague Wasteland. They had to break through quickly before the time ran out.

"Ugh, cough, hack, gasp..."

"This is insanely brutal...!"

Even though their party consisted of rankers, the Plague Wasteland was suffocating. It felt like being back in the Demon Realm!

"The southern region of the Auston Kingdom wasn't originally such a high-level area! Why is it like this?!"

"Is it because of the plague?!"

"This way! Follow me!"

Still, the players managed to push through the monsters. Fighting past the endless hordes of powerful plague monsters, they advanced under the guidance of the church bishop!

As a result, they barely managed to reach their destination.

"...!"

"Oh...!"

"Finally!"

The players clenched their fists. They had finally arrived! Once they purified this spot... the south would return to normal!

"What living soul dares defile this place?"

"!!!"

"There are Death Knights too?!"

"What's there to be surprised about? We have priests with us anyway. Fight! Take them down!"

An ordinary player would have been terrified of high-tier undead monsters like Death Knights, which easily exceeded level 200 or 300. But the players gathered here were not the type to be scared of a single Death Knight. If anything, they would eagerly hunt them down!

"But Death Knights of the Auston Kingdom? Was there ever such a thing?"

"It's the Auston Kingdom, so of course there are Death Knights from there. Why ask?"

"I guess so?"

The players rushed forward to take down the Death Knight...

...Or rather, they tried to.

Thud, thud, thud—

"..."

"..."

There wasn't just one Death Knight.

One by one, Death Knights emerged from the thick plague mist! And it wasn't just Death Knights; an overwhelming army of plague warriors and archers had gathered.

'Just how many of them are there?'

"Th-those guys, aren't they...?!"

Only then did the Guild Alliance members realize.

The undead army that had suddenly appeared, attacked the Guild Alliance, and then fled into the Plague Wasteland when the battle turned against them! They had thought they would never see them again, but to meet them here of all places!

"They're knights from the Auston Kingdom? Then you guys with the crowns should try to persuade them!"

"Crowns, my foot! Those bastards fled after attacking us! Hey, Death Knights! Listen to us! We serve the rightful successor of the Auston Kingdom! If you are knights of the Auston Kingdom, you should help us!"

When people are at a disadvantage, they tend to get talkative. The Guild Alliance members desperately tried to persuade the Death Knights. Since Su Ning was currently the King of the Auston Kingdom, technically, they should be on the same side!

"How dare you! How dare you!!"

"The ones who stole the crown dare utter such words?! As knights who swore loyalty to the royal family, we will never forgive you!!"

Realizing they had poured oil on the fire, the players bit their lips.

"Ugh. Because of those Guild Alliance idiots..."

"Wh-what? Do you think they would have welcomed you if you were alone? You guys also intruded upon the Auston Kingdom!"

It was true. The Death Knights of the Auston Kingdom hated the Guild Alliance and the Midas Guild equally. Both were nothing but plunderers!

"We shall bury those trash-like bastards in this land—"

"Wait!"

At that moment, the church bishop stepped forward.

"Listen to me! I understand your loyalty, but can you not hear the sorrow of this defiled land? This land must be purified. Of course, those people are despicable usurpers who defiled the Auston royal family, but...!"

"..."

"..."

Hearing the NPC they had hired with expensive contribution points insult them made them feel incredibly dirty.

"Still, shouldn't we at least give them a chance to purify this land?"

"...Very well."

"!"

Surprisingly, the Death Knights were persuaded by the bishop. The players were shocked by this unexpected result.

"However, there are two conditions."

"Speak!"

"Bring someone who carries the bloodline of the Auston royal family. We must show them proper respect."

"Why should we..."

"We shall do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so."

"Hey! Are you crazy?!"

"Who is going to find that?!"

The players were dumbfounded, but the bishop ignored them. It was all because of their low Speech skill!

"What is the other condition?"

"A trustworthy person must stand by to ensure things proceed properly."

"A trustworthy person...?"

"Bring the King of the Atali Kingdom. If it is him, we can trust him."

"...What?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Are you insane??"

It was Tae-hyun who had awakened the Death Knights of the Auston Kingdom, who had been buried in the underground dungeon of the mine, and helped them regain their senses. It wasn't strange for those Death Knights to call Tae-hyun a trustworthy noble.

...But from the players' perspective, this was so absurd it made them want to ascend to heaven!

"Understood. We shall do so."

"No, Bishop! Hey, you crazy bishop! Are you out of your mind?!"

"Beating down the undead is not always the answer. Sometimes, listening to their wishes and helping them pass on peacefully is also a solution."

"Why are you doing this now?!"

"We should have brought the Phytos Church! Those guys would have just fought simple-mindedly!"

"Then what do you propose we do?"

"Go back, call for reinforcements, and take them down by force! Now that we found the location and mapped it, we can wipe them all out!"

Hearing the players' words, the Death Knights spoke resolutely.

"If you attack this place, we will make this plague overflow and permanently contaminate this entire region."

"..."

"...We will bring them here..."

The opponents were undead, and when they threatened to drag everyone down with them, the players had no way to counter.

'Did it succeed?'

Tae-hyun was nervous. Although the message window said the cooking was successful, he couldn't let his guard down. Just a few moments ago, the cooking had technically succeeded, but the poison inside had made it dangerous.

Hungry Chaos + deadly poison made for the worst possible ingredients. It was practically toxic waste. No wonder surviving it permanently increased his Constitution stat.

'Just in case, I should set some aside.'

Tae-hyun packed away the leftovers. He planned to eat them whenever he had free time to grind his Constitution stat.

'Sometimes, you have to eat things like this.'

But this dish was truly different. It was a dish made successful by using not only his skills but also various buffs!

A dish of Kaojedacha beef tartare, dripping with fresh blood, was complete.

Would it... would it work?

'It worked!'

Tae-hyun let out a sigh of relief. He had succeeded somehow.

"You can come and eat now."

"Ohh!"

"We have been waiting!"

The Garuda royals rushed over and began picking up the meat one by one. Putting the beautifully sliced pieces of meat into their mouths, the royals looked highly satisfied.

"It melts right in the mouth!"

"..."

Tae-hyun's face stiffened.

How much had he suffered because of the quest related to the title "Sky Blacksmith" (which he hadn't even asked for)? He could already guess how grueling "Sky Chef" would be without even looking.

Because he was too multi-talented, quests that others would have failed or barely passed ended up leading to chain quests for him!

"No, I don't need it."

"..."

Tae-hyun quietly slipped in some of the failed dishes onto the plate. They wouldn't die from eating them, but his reputation as a chef would surely drop!

"Mmm!?!"

'Did it work?'

"To think you could cook the Kaojedacha's poison so delicately. Truly magnificent!"

"..."