The True Starting Point of Weird Food

"Please let us go!"

"Sob! I don't want to eat this!"

"Are you planning to ignore my hospitality?! Eat it, you humans!"

Stau flew into a rage when the merchants refused to eat. These ignorant fools who don't even know what true culinary art is!

Cain kindly grabbed the merchants' arms.

"Here! Goblin! Feed them!"

"Well done, human! Hehehe... Drink up, humans!"

"...Aren't you being a bit too villainous?"

Cain flinched at Stau's wicked laughter. Can I really trust this guy?

"Not yet, not yet! This is just the beginning!"

"Gurgle..."

The merchants made choking sounds as they fell into a poisoned state, but Stau simply tossed antidotes into their mouths before moving on to the next dish.

The world of Weird Food was just beginning!

"Look, human. The downside of Weird Food is that those who don't understand it are reluctant to eat it."

"Isn't that just common sense?"

Ignoring Tae-hyun's critique, Stau continued.

"So, I thought about it. How can I make even these ignorant, uncultured fools eat it?"

"Don't tell me... normal food?"

"No! Then it wouldn't be Weird Food! It's food that 'looks' normal!"

"..."

The Weird Food Cooking skills were starting to sound more and more like the methods of a con artist!

"Now, try it!"

"No! You're still far from it!"

"What? Didn't it turn out pretty well?"

Thanks to all his bonuses, the result was quite satisfying even though it was his first time using the skill. However, Stau shook his head.

"Now, watch!"

Stau pulled out Supreme Deceptive Cooking.

And then, he began to slice and dice with a swish-swish.

Then...

Tae-hyun was horrified. To think such a level of deception is possible!

Perhaps the world of Weird Food really was as deep and vast as Stau claimed?

"It must be at least this level, human! That is the true starting point of Weird Food."

A desperate effort born of a desire to force-feed others what they hated!

Seeing this, a brilliant idea struck Tae-hyun.

If I hire this guy as my territory's chef, wouldn't the players be satisfied even if we skimp on the ingredients?

An idea worthy of an unscrupulous restaurant owner! His intention was to use cheap ingredients and make the food look grand.

"Now, the next is Time-Bomb Poison Cooking skill. This is a culinary method I inspired from Engineering. You can decide exactly when the poison in the food will detonate."

"...Is this even cooking? Isn't it just assassination?"

"No! You must know this to control the poison even after adding it!"

Tae-hyun didn't know it (and neither did other chef players, since no one sold Weird Food), but the skills Stau was teaching him right now were the Secret skills of Weird Food Cooking.

For other classes, obtaining just one of these skills would require completing a long, grueling questline! Yet, Stau was handing them out generously.

"Human. Next is Monster Essence Extraction. Sometimes, when you're short on time, you don't have the luxury to cook Weird Food from scratch. That's when you use this essence. An essence that turns any dish into Weird Food with just a single drop!"

Stau pulled out a small bottle and shook it. It was chilling to see the black, sticky liquid sloshing inside.

"...!"

"Human, you've done this before! I knew it... I have an eye for talent!"

Stau was overjoyed. Though his personality was a bit rotten, Tae-hyun was undoubtedly a natural-born genius when it came to Weird Food.

Tae-hyun wore a bitter expression.

Is it because of what I put in during that cooking competition?

Of course, he did have a track record, but being recognized by the Pan-On system as a kindred spirit to Stau felt somewhat unfair.

Sure, I messed up some dishes, but I'm not on the same level as a lunatic like Stau!

...Well, even as I think this, it doesn't sound very convincing.

"Now, let me show you the efficacy of this Monster Essence. Eat up!"

"Aaaargh! No more! I don't want any more!"

"...?!"

As one of the merchants brought a bowl to his mouth, another merchant began to thrash about in a frenzy. Cain, who hadn't expected a merchant to resist, had been holding him loosely.

As a result...

Clang!

"Ack! Cough!"

The bowl swatted away by the merchant smacked right into Cain's mouth!

"Agh! You little bastard!"

Cain thrashed around from the incredibly bitter and nauseating taste.

"...?!"

"What's wrong?"

"Ki-Kim Tae-hyun! This...!"

Cain explained the message window. Hearing this, Tae-hyun was astonished.

"...!"

It was actually such a good skill?

Come to think of it, it wasn't surprising that it was good. Stau was the most outstanding chef in the Goblin tribe, and skills passed down by such NPCs were highly likely to be incredibly powerful or Secret skills.

I was slightly deceived by its appearance.

If Stau had said, "To obtain this skill, you must complete this and that quest!" Tae-hyun would have thought, Whoa, is this really an amazing skill?

But because Stau had practically begged, "Sob, there's no one else to learn this but you! Please learn it!" Tae-hyun had assumed, Just how useless is this skill for him to act like this...

"Power! It's surging!"

Feeling his Strength and Constitution stats rise, Cain vigorously grabbed the merchants by their collars and shook them.

"Aaaargh! We're sorry!"

"Because of you bastards, I had to swallow that! Huh?!"

Meanwhile, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tae-hyun pondered how to utilize this skill.

Being able to borrow a monster's power meant receiving buffs based on its characteristics. If so, the type of monster used was extremely important.

Cain had consumed Orc Essence, so he received Orc-related buffs. But if he used other monsters...

Are there any good monsters around?

Come to think of it, obtaining strong monsters was surprisingly tricky.

If I had known, I wouldn't have converted all the monsters I hunted into Gold. I should have kept some...

- Master. Master.

"...?"

When Heuk-heuk spoke to him, Tae-hyun tilted his head. What was it?

- I smell something delicious. May I eat it?

"No. That's not for eating... Wait a minute."

Tae-hyun stared intently at Heuk-heuk.

First of all, he is a Black Dragon, right?

Dragons were at the absolute top tier of monsters! There was a reason why even a single dragon scale fragment would cause a massive stir in the auction house.

Moreover, no player in Pan-On had successfully hunted a healthy dragon yet...

- Wh-Why are you looking at me like that? I didn't do anything wrong! I worked hard!

"Heuk-heuk."

- I-I won't eat it, so please don't scold me!

"Just your tail. Let's just dip your tail in."

"...Pardon?"

Cain, Jeong Su-hyeok, and Choi Sang-yun watched what Tae-hyun was doing with their mouths wide open.

Seriously, they had never seen anyone like him in their entire lives!

To try and make a Monster Essence out of his own pet!

- Master... *sob*...

"Ah, quiet. Is the water temperature okay?"

- It is fine, but... my feelings are hurt...

Heuk-heuk had enlarged his size and was currently dipping only his tail into the cauldron. He looked exactly like a dragon being brewed for broth!

Lee Da-bi and Stau watched in admiration.

"To think there was such a way to utilize it!"

"How could anyone think of such a method! As expected of the human I handpicked to be the successor of Weird Food!"

Well, it can't be helped.

It didn't cause any harm to Heuk-heuk, so having a weaker effect in exchange for not boiling him alive was a fair trade.

Using the king of monsters, a dragon, for a cooking skill caused his skill levels to skyrocket.

Sadiq hated it, Archisus approved, and Carbanog...

Ah, this is really distracting.

Would these messages stop popping up if he just carved a statue of Archisus and placed it in a corner of the Archisus Church temple?

Tae-hyun thought to himself as he continued to brew Heuk-heuk's tail.

"Hmm. It's weak. Heuk-heuk. By any chance, would you consider dipping your entire body..."

"-Uwahhh! Master, I feel like you are discriminating against me just because I am a Black Dragon!"

"Alright, alright. You don't have to do it. Yong-yong!"

"-...Master?"

"Let's just dip your tail. You too."

"-..."

Being the divine beast of Archisus didn't make any difference.

"Well, it's a bit of a waste to drink it now... but we should probably test it once, right?"

Five bottles of Heuk-heuk, five bottles ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Yong-yong. That was the total number of Monster Essences Tae-hyun had crafted.

He had tried to make more, but a message window had popped up.

Even Tae-hyun felt a slight pang of guilt reading that message!

"Right. Let's make more once they recover."

- ...!

- ...!!!

"Now. Who among us wants to drink it?"

No one answered.

Tae-hyun nodded and spoke.

"Alright. Cain."

"Why me?!"

"The one who has drank it before would know best. Here. Drink up."

"Can't you just make those merchants drink it?!"

"Hey, this is an essence brewed from a Black Dragon. We can't just give it to guys like them. What if they drink it and start spitting Dragon Breath? Will you take responsibility?"

Tae-hyun knew the probability of spitting Dragon Breath from an essence brewed from a mere tail was close to 0%, but Cain fell for it.

It definitely tasted awful... but the effect was great, right?

Recalling the vigorous strength of the Orc Essence from earlier made him feel strangely good. After all, a man is all about power!

"It can't be helped. I shall drink it!"

"As expected of Cain!"

"Cain is amazing!"

"You're incredible, Cain!"

The people around him praised Cain, overjoyed that they didn't have to drink it themselves. Even Jeong Su-hyeok joined in! He had truly been corrupted after hanging around Tae-hyun.

Gulp, gulp—

Unlike the Orc Essence, which was personally crafted by the master of Weird Food, Stau, using generous ingredients, the one Tae-hyun made was definitely weaker in effect.

Rumble—

Nevertheless, the effect was undeniably there.

Stau watched in awe.

"To make something like that with just a tail! If we used the heart, it would be truly magnificent..."

"-Hiss!"

"Ah... N-No. I didn't say we should do it."

As Heuk-heuk glared and hissed, Stau shrank back in fear and lowered his head.