The Pride of the Chefs
Usually, rankers preferred rational choices. If there were Quest A and Quest B, they would clear the one with better rewards first. But humans don't always act rationally. Sometimes, they enter a state of: "Who cares about reasons! Just do it!"
That was exactly the state of the chefs participating in the competition.
At first, it was mostly members of the Archisus Church or players from the Valley saying, "Hey, the rewards are pretty good. You going?" "Yeah. You too?" But then...
"Chao is entering? That Chao?"
"They say Chao is no match for someone like Paz?"
"What? That bastard?!"
It quickly escalated into a massive battle of pride.
"Listen up. Who are we?"
"The Restaurant Guild!"
"Right. Think logically! Do you think we'd lose to those guys?"
"No, sir!"
"But Guildmaster!"
"?" Chao turned his head.
"Didn't you say last time that you'd never get involved with Kim Tae-hyun again? Why do we have to come all the way to the Valley to do this?"
A pure, innocent question from a rookie guild member who had just joined!
"...Sentence him to death by poison mushroom soup!"
"No! Guildmaster! Guildmaster!!!"
The guild member who poked where it hurt was dragged away. Chao turned his head, pretending not to hear.
"We cannot lose to the other rankers. Got it?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Use any means necessary! I don't care what you slip into their dishes!"
"What absolute trash."
"Don't let those guys get near us."
The other chefs whispered at their shameless, trashy behavior. Though their skills were undeniable, their methods were so dirty that rumors had already spread far and wide.
"Even if it has dragon blood, it's still just a pet! We can satisfy even a dragon! Let's go!"
"Yeeeah!"
Meanwhile, elsewhere, intense preparations were also underway.
"Paz-nim, please defeat the Restaurant Guild! They are like poisonous mushrooms that shouldn't exist!"
"I understand. Trust me!"
Paz was an unaligned chef ranker, but many player chefs came to help him. The reason was simple: deep resentment toward the Restaurant Guild! Monopolizing ingredients, ruining others' dishes—after suffering all kinds of sabotage, resentment naturally built up.
"We can't let the Restaurant Guild win!"
Thanks to this, Paz received help from several outstanding chef players.
"Paz-nim, this is one of our finest creations. It's a secret dish made with fairy honey, a horn-dragon egg, and the front leg of a hellfire pig. It will help you!"
"Paz-nim! This is a recipe. According to legend, the Archisus Church made and served this, and the people who ate it were so mesmerized they wouldn't have noticed if the person next to them died..."
"Thank you, everyone! I will definitely win!"
And Paz wasn't the only one preparing.
"Look over there! It's Polly!"
The rising star chef ranker, Polly. A ranker whose stock had recently soared due to various quests, primarily active in the Espa Kingdom.
"Didri is here too!"
The fisherman-turned-chef ranker, Didri! His specialty was sourcing rare fish and seafood, and his strength lay in dishes built around them.
"It's Gukbap Hangeureut!"
"Who's Gukbap Hangeureut?"
"He's a famous Orc chef from the Uruk region!"
"...Is that really that impressive?"
Elves and Dwarves were one thing, but an Orc chef... somehow didn't sound very impressive.
It wasn't just individual rankers. Guilds were arriving one after another.
"I brought it, Dasida-nim!"
"Who is the guild closest to Kim Tae-hyun?"
"Power Warrior!"
"Power Warrior!"
"The Guild Alliance!"
"Who the hell just said Guild Alliance?"
"..."
"Right. It's us, Power Warrior! Who are we! We're so close that we even received a food cart like this."
The chefs of the Power Warrior Guild had received a steel food cart as a reward for clearing a quest with Tae-hyun. The essence of Engineering + Blacksmithing skills! This food cart, capable of fast travel, ample storage, and ingredient preparation, was a luxury item envied by all other chefs.
"If we don't win, we need to reflect. We're going to show them properly this time. Power Warrior isn't just a guild with high numbers; we have real talent!"
"Yeeeah!"
The Power Warrior chefs had ambition. Since they had grown into one of the core pillars of the guild, they wanted to make their skills known to all of Pan-On! In terms of skill levels and recipes, they didn't fall behind other chefs or guilds, but they had been ignored simply because of the name "Power Warrior."
...We will definitely wash away this humiliation!
After the guilds passed, a group radiating an evil, gloomy aura appeared. They looked like demons from the Demon Realm... but no, they were just chefs. Though they had "Bizarre" attached to the front of their title.
"What is the healthiest food in Pan-On?"
"Bizarre food!"
"What is the most effective food in Pan-On?"
"Bizarre food!"
"Then what is the most superior food?"
"Bizarre food!!"
"Exactly! Bizarre food is the most superior, and this can be proven scientifically! Erance Royal Palace cuisine is greasy and heavy, a piece of trash skill that you can't eat more than two bites of. Seafood cuisine is a skill that relies entirely on ingredients and can't even be called a proper cooking skill. Auston Kingdom cuisine is a skill too embarrassing to even mention! Sweeping all these skills away is the promise of a bright future for Pan-On's culinary world!"
"Yeeeah!"
"Crazy bastards..."
"The craziest of them all are right here!"
Even the Valley players, who were immune to most forms of madness, shook their heads at the insanity of the Bizarre Chefs. They were almost on the level of Engineering blacksmiths.
"Isn't this lineup incredible?"
"You couldn't gather them even if you tried."
It was practically the Pan-On Chef All-Stars!
And Ju Hyeon-yeong passed by with her friends.
"Hyeon-yeong, it looks like the other participants prepared a lot. How are you going to compete?"
"I'm just planning to go with the soup recipe I make best."
"R-really? Will that be okay? Isn't it too simple?"
"Even if it's simple, there's nothing I can do. This is what I'm best at."
"Well, that's true."
"Kyahoo..."
Bulbul-i made a very complex and subtle expression. The dishes presented before him were more of a disaster than expected.
"No... if you're going to present a dish, make it normal. Why is it so weird?"
Tae-hyun wasn't talking about the bizarre food. Seeing that even the normal dishes had bizarre seasoning or were laced with poison, Tae-hyun was dumbfounded.
The chefs cried out in deep frustration.
"Those Restaurant Guild bastards sabotaged us!"
"It's because of them! They put poison in our food!"
However, the Restaurant Guild members merely shrugged their shoulders shamelessly. This wasn't their first or second time doing this. The skills they had accumulated while sabotaging others in various quests were no joke; they had already succeeded in neutralizing several chefs without leaving a single shred of evidence.
'Idiots. The ones who got caught are the fools.'
'The battle lasts until the dish is served.'
'What are you going to do when there's no evidence?'
The reason they could survive after screwing over their opponents in such quests was that their skills were so outstanding that they left no evidence. NPCs judged based on evidence. You couldn't kick someone out based on mere testimony without proof!
'Hehehehe...'
"Hmm. Then the Restaurant Guild is disqualified."
"...?"
"?!?!?!?"
The Restaurant Guild members, who had been laughing inwardly, gasped in horror. What did he just say?!
"W-what do you mean! Why! Why disqualified?!"
"What do you mean why... are you seriously asking that? You ruined other people's dishes, so you're disqualified."
"..."
Put that way, they had nothing to say. But the Restaurant Guild members denied it to the end.
"Evidence! There is no evidence! Give us evidence!"
"No... what are you guys talking about? I'm not an NPC. I'm the one who hosted this, and if I don't like you, you're disqualified. In the first place, I'm actually surprised you guys are even here. We aren't exactly close, are we?"
"..."
The Restaurant Guild members were struck dumb. The chefs who had suffered at their hands wept and applauded.
"A fair judgment!!"
"Disqualified! Disqualified!"
"Kick them out!"
"P-please give us just one more chance..."
"Those who are disqualified, get out quickly."
Tae-hyun waved his hand.
He had asked them to offer dishes to help grow Bulbul-i, but they were busy poisoning each other's food and ruining the seasoning. This wasn't why he held the competition!
'Is this karma for clearing quests in weird ways?'
Because he cleared quests weirdly, the people trying to clear the quest he hosted were also trying to clear it weirdly...
"Kyaho. Kyaho."
Bulbul-i is highly satisfied!
The power contained within increases Bulbul-i's strength!
...
...
Fortunately, the subsequent dishes were things Bulbul-i could actually eat. Since they had passed the preliminaries to participate in the tournament, they basically had solid skills.
"Kyaho!"
Bulbul-i is delighted!
Seeing the next dish, Bulbul-i let out an expectant cry.
"Oh. What did you make that Bulbul-i likes it so much?"
"As expected, you recognize it! We put deep thought into the ingredients. Which ingredient would possess the strongest magical power?"
At the Power Warrior chefs' words, Tae-hyun also became curious.
"What ingredient is it? I'd like to know too."
"It's none other than demon meat from the Demon Realm. The stronger, the better."
"...Where did you get that?"
"We asked the Archisus Artillery and got some lean meat..."
"Ptooey."
Bulbul-i spat out the dish with a disgusted look.
Why are there so many crazy bastards here!
After eating even the Bizarre Chefs' creations, Bulbul-i began to tear up.
Carbanog conveys: "Can I please stop eating?"
'...I actually feel kind of sorry.'
In the midst of this, it was Ju Hyeon-yeong's turn. Ju Hyeon-yeong presented a soup in a bowl. One of the most common dishes fed to pets!
Seeing it, people began to whisper.
"Isn't it too simple?"
"Still, whose pet is that..."
Others had piled ingredients so high the tables were practically breaking, adding all sorts of decorations that made sounds and glowed whenever they passed. But to present just a single bowl of soup!
The soup, looking like a finely boiled white porridge, seemed far too humble.
"Kyahoo!"
However, Bulbul-i began to lick the bowl with an incredibly touched expression.
The crowd was astonished by the sight.
Ah...! What truly mattered in cooking wasn't flashy ingredients or skills, but a heart that thought of the other person!
While the others were deeply moved, Tae-hyun became curious and asked.
"What did you make this with?"
"I used fairy honey, the Erance Royal Family's secret blend of spices, magical water from the deep sea, and top-grade milk of vitality, and simmered it for about a week. The recipe itself is from the Ancient Empire era."
"..."
"..."
At those words, the people realized once again.
Ah...! To hell with a heart that thinks of the other person, high-grade ingredients and skills are the absolute best!