A Taste of the Rock Bottom
"Yes, I came to help..."
"No need to go that far. Thanks for coming, though." Tae-hyun patted Yu Ji-soo's shoulder and turned his head back. Yu Ji-soo shot a challenging glare at Cain.
"?" Cain tilted his head in confusion. Why is she acting like that?
"Right, Cain. I met the Five Girls on a broadcast."
"It's Five Girls..."
"Anyway, I heard some absolute bullshit there."
"?"
"I heard some nonsense about how they didn't dare contact you first because you were preparing so hard for the tournament."
"...???"
Tae-hyun explained the situation in detail. As he listened, Cain's face turned pale.
"N-No. I never said anything like..."
"Really? Never?"
"Well, not never... but it wasn't even an official interview! That much should be fine!" Cain desperately made excuses. He realized his careless chatter was the reason she hadn't contacted him!
"What's the point of making excuses to me? She's the one who believes it."
"Argh...! This makes no sense...!" Cain collapsed in despair.
Choi Sang-yun walked over and asked, "Hey, didn't you say we had to hurry? What are you doing?"
"I was just telling him how he got cut off because of his useless mouth."
"What? Don't tell me, Hayeon from Five Girls? So he didn't actually get dumped?!"
Nothing was more exciting than someone else's love life. Choi Sang-yun completely forgot they had to leave and rushed over.
"What happened? Huh? Tell me."
"You bastard... why do you look so happy?"
"No, I'm just curious. I gave you advice last time, didn't I? Come on, tell me."
Cain, grasping at straws, confessed. Choi Sang-yun's expression turned bizarre.
"..."
What an idiot, kicking away his own good fortune!
"W-Why are you looking at me like that?"
The Orc Ahjussis, who had gone out first, came back in because they were taking too long.
"Guys, it's fun listening to your youthful drama, but..."
"Youthful drama? More like absolute idiocy..." Choi Sang-yun stopped when he saw Cain's tearful face.
"We really need to go. Giants have appeared in the distance."
"!"
Thud!
The Sadiq Holy Knight Commander stomped his foot.
"What are you doing! Where did the boulder go, and where did the people inside go?!"
—We don't know...
—Didn't they just open it and leave?
The giants blinked and replied.
The Holy Knight Commander beat his chest. This giant race was truly frustrating. Even the Black One-Eye Tribe, who were considered the smart ones, were like this. What about the other tribes?
Thanks to their simplicity, he, who had lost all his forces, was able to win them over, but the frustration was real.
"How could humans or Orcs lift a boulder that only you giants can lift?!"
—Ah, right. Now that you mention it, that makes sense.
"Where did the others you found go?"
—...
—Maybe they went to the bathroom?
"..."
The Sadiq Holy Knight Commander clutched his forehead in agony. Ah, can I really keep working with these guys?
Tae-hyun, watching them from above, nodded. Right now, he completely understood the Commander's feelings.
"Yeah. I understand."
"Huh? What do you understand?" Cain asked, wondering if Tae-hyun was talking about him.
—The Great Warrior is too sensitive.
—Right. He spends a long time in the bathroom too. It's probably because of that.
"...Two of your comrades vanished and the prisoners escaped, and you're saying that?!"
—We didn't hear any fighting. They must have left for an urgent matter.
—Right. If the prisoners were bad guys, they would have attacked us. Since they just disappeared, they must not be bad people.
Tae-hyun wore a pleased expression. Every time he saw the giants, they made him proud. Well done, well done!
But the Commander didn't buy it.
"No. Absolutely not. This... this must be a pursuit force sent by the Archisus Church!"
"?!"
Tae-hyun was startled. How did he guess?
—Archisus? The worst guy in the world?
—The one who stole a young giant's club, knocked him out with it, and even stripped him of his leather pants?
"..."
Tae-hyun's expression soured. Honestly, wasn't Archisus a much more benevolent god than Sadiq?
Carbanog sneers at you.
"Only the Archisus Church would do something like this!"
Because he had been scammed so many times, the Commander was suffering from severe paranoia. The problem was, his paranoia was spot on!
—Great Warrior, I don't think so.
—Yeah, yeah. It could be other giants.
The giants actually seemed like the smart ones here. But the Commander refused to listen.
"Silence! Tell everyone. Do not let any outsiders in! Attack on sight!"
With that, the Sadiq Holy Knight Commander turned back.
"Man, he's sharp."
"Isn't it because someone completely cleaned out the Sadiq Church?" Cain muttered reasonably, but Tae-hyun completely ignored him.
"Hmm... We need to get inside, but I don't know if we can."
The sacred ground of the giants inside the Zaion Mountains! The Commander was definitely plotting something there.
The problem was that to get there, they had to worry about not only the Black One-Eye Tribe but also the other giant tribes.
Considering each one was a semi-boss monster, if a fight broke out, they would have to run for their lives. Otherwise, they would be beaten to a pulp by giants swarming from all directions and forced to log out!
Yu Ji-soo raised her hand and shouted, "I'll try to break through!"
"No, it's fine. You can't break through alone."
Ji-soo pouted and lowered her hand. Seeing this, Cain smirked internally.
Haha. Staying quiet is half the battle. I've traveled with Kim Tae-hyun long enough to know...
"Hmm. Maybe I should send Cain alone."
"...?!"
Glare!
Ji-soo glared at Cain, but Cain was too panicked to notice.
One Orc and three giants. A rare combination in Pan-On.
Orc Ahjussi was honestly nervous.
What if these giants suddenly snap and attack me?
It was hard enough to handle one giant alone, but there were three of them. It was only natural to be anxious.
The giants carrying the boulders grumbled.
—Whew. Orc. Let's rest a bit.
"Are you tired?"
—No! No!
—We're not tired! We're just worried you might be tired!
The giants refused to show any weakness due to their pride. Seeing this, Orc Ahjussi felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Right. Weren't his own guildmates just like this?
"Alright, alright. I know you guys are strong."
—Of course! We giants are much stronger!
They loved being praised.
"By the way, do giants know how to use magic?"
—We don't use such cheap tricks!
Simple-minded.
"Ah, there's a wild boar over there. We don't have time to eat it, so let's just go."
—No! No! We have time! Let's catch it and eat!
They loved food.
They are exactly like those guys.
If the other Ahjussis heard this, they would have protested, but that was his honest thought.
—It's running away! It's running away!
Because the giants were so massive, the wild boar fled the moment they got close.
Orc Ahjussi quickly ran forward and threw his axe.
Whoosh— thud!
You have accurately struck the wild boar from a distance with a throwing axe.
Your Throwing skill has increased.
Your affinity with the giants has increased.
"I'll roast it for you."
He had been enjoying cooking lately. Mostly Abnormal Cooking!
Hmm. If I make Abnormal Cooking... will these guys get mad?
No matter how obsessed he was with Abnormal Cooking, he wasn't crazy enough to serve it here. A giant might swing a fist immediately after eating it!
Well, a basic meat dish like this is the easiest difficulty...
He pulled out some branches, lit a fire, skinned the boar, and roasted the meat.
Cooking has begun.
The fatty wild boar meat sizzled, releasing a mouth-watering aroma.
If I sprinkle this high-quality salt too... whew. Is this too high-class for giants?
Orc Ahjussi even pulled out his secret salt. It wasn't cheap salt, but top-grade salt crafted by a ranker chef player.
—Give it to us, quick.
"Alright. Here."
—Chomp, gulp—
The giants devoured the wild boar in an instant. Since they were so massive, their eating speed was no joke.
"How is it? How is it?" Orc Ahjussi asked expectantly.
Even if it wasn't Abnormal Cooking, it was still his dish. Moreover, since these giants had been starving, it was natural to expect a great reaction.
They'll definitely love it. "Whoa! What is this! This taste!" If they react like that, I'll smugly tell them, "Heh, this is what cooking is..."
—It's salty.
—Yeah. Salty.
"...??"
Orc Ahjussi doubted his ears. Just salty? Not "delicious, incredibly delicious, whoa what is this?!"
"Is... is that all?"
—That's all. What did you expect?
—Is it supposed to be super delicious?
—It's just average.
—Yeah, yeah. We have meat dishes like this where we come from too. Though it's hard to find and catch.
—We eat because we're hungry, not for the taste. Orcs are stupid.
—Yeah, yeah. Orcs are stupid. That's why they're weak.
These bastards!
Twitch!
A thick vein popped on Orc Ahjussi's forehead. He could let other things slide, but hearing giants say they eat food just because they're hungry and not for the taste made him furious. Cooking was his pride! He could never forgive this!
These guys... how dare they... try this on for size.
Orc Ahjussi pulled a secret bottle from his chest. It was a bottle containing his special Abnormal Cooking Tonic.
It was a bottle that even his guildmates, who hadn't adapted to Abnormal Cooking yet, recoiled from just by looking at it!
The moment he opened it, a pungent odor wafted out.
The smell of the Tonic spreads to the surroundings.
NPCs who dislike this smell may attack you.
The giants also twitched, their noses wrinkling.
—What is this? What is this smell?
—It's intense. I've never smelled anything like this.
"Ahem. This is a Tonic."
—Tonic? The thing you said to give to that other guy?
The giants surprisingly remembered that Orc Ahjussi had told them to give it to Cain.
Surprised, the Ahjussi said, "You remember that?"
—You said it's good for the body. We like things that make our bodies better.
—Right. Getting stronger is a giant's goal.
"You rascals. I think you'd fit right in with our guild."
"?"
"Here. Drink."
Orc Ahjussi handed over the Tonic bottle. Although it was a fairly large bottle, it looked tiny in the giants' hands.
Gulp, gulp—
...Wait, what if they get mad?
He had done it out of anger, but now sanity was returning.
Tae-hyun will be absolutely furious...
—Oooooh!
—Oooooh!
Here it comes!
Orc Ahjussi gripped his weapon. He had to watch the giant's movements closely to dodge...
—It's so delicious! So delicious!
—I've never tasted anything like this in my life! Orc! You're amazing! I want to take you as our tribe's chef!
Become the Giant Tribe's Chef
People often think Goblin chefs are the worst chefs. But that is a misconception. There is always a rock bottom below rock bottom. The worst chefs of all are the giant tribe's chefs. No one would work as a giant tribe's chef unless they were threatened.
🎁 Reward: ?, ???
⚠️ Penalty: If it becomes known that you worked as a giant tribe's chef, it may negatively affect your Chef Reputation.
A quest no sane person would accept!
Orc Ahjussi hesitated.
"Uuuuuuum..."