A Taste of True Fire

The giant warrior stared blankly at him, looking utterly bewildered.

"Does... does a priest cook by slicing off parts of their own body?"

"Who on earth would cook like that?!" Tae-hyun barked.

"Ah, so you don't! Then hurry up and make us some food!"

Wait, do these guys think 'priest' means 'chef'? Tae-hyun suddenly wondered. Are they actually calling a chef a priest? If so, that would explain the system message from earlier. After all, there were very few chefs in the world who could whip up a meal that giants would actually enjoy as much as his!

"Whew. Fine. Let me show you what I can do!" Tae-hyun recalled the giant NPCs he had encountered in the past. They were all different, but one thing was absolutely certain: they went crazy for Abnormal Cooking!

"L-Look at him..."

"Shouldn't we stop him?"

Cain and Choi Sang-yun trembled in fear. The sight of Tae-hyun rolling up his sleeves and enthusiastically preparing to cook was deeply ominous. In truth, Tae-hyun wasn't a bad cook in real life. In fact, he was quite skilled. He was the one who bought groceries and cooked meals for his teammates at the gaming house. If the public ever found out, it would probably go viral under a headline like: Shocking! The Esports Team Where the CEO Cooks the Meals?!

But the moment he stepped into the game, everything changed. To be precise, he had become a completely different person after acquiring the Abnormal Cooking skill. A man who used to prepare perfectly normal, decent meals had suddenly lost his mind!

The buffs are insane! Taste? Who cares about taste! If you want something delicious, eat in the real world! In games, it's all about the stats!

Captivated by the overwhelming efficiency of Abnormal Cooking, Tae-hyun had relentlessly fed his creations to his companions day and night. It was incredibly bitter on the tongue, but undeniably good for the body! Because of that, the party couldn't even refuse. The sheer utility of the food was simply too great to ignore.

So when Tae-hyun began pulling out ingredients with a fiery determination, declaring he would show them a real masterpiece, his companions shook in their boots. Please tell me... we don't have to eat that too, right?

"Slurp. That looks delicious."

"Priest, my mouth is watering."

Unlike the terrified players, the giants drooled as they stared at the ominous ingredients being laid out.

"Uh... why are you putting iron ore in there?"

"It adds a heavy, robust depth to the flavor."

"..."

"As expected!"

"The priest is amazing! He knows so much!"

While the party fell into a stunned silence, the giants gasped in admiration.

Although they had brought him along believing he was a priest, the giants hadn't fully accepted Tae-hyun yet. We cannot fully acknowledge you as our priest until you prove your true capabilities! The giants were one of the races that had forgotten their gods. While other races recorded and remembered the deities when they vanished from the continent, the giants had completely lost all memory of their own. Having forgotten their gods, they began to worship things that seemed divine in their own way. One of those things was a chef! To the giants, who had no concept of culinary arts, the rare giant chefs who emerged among them seemed like chosen beings touched by the divine. Normally, other races couldn't replicate giant cuisine, but occasionally, a chosen chef capable of preparing food fit for giants would appear.

Well, I expected as much. It wasn't like this was the first or second time a class change had been blocked! Tae-hyun calmly focused on his cooking. He didn't care about the class change anyway. The important thing was building rapport with the giants! That alone made this dish more than worth making.

Just you wait, giants. I'll show you a real masterpiece! Tae-hyun tossed in some high-quality iron ore, then drizzled in some demon blood he had acquired from somewhere to give it a spicy kick. Instantly, the soup boiling in the cauldron thickened, crackling and spitting sparks of fire.

"Looking good!"

"..."

The meat of the demonic beasts from the Salavian Order was also an excellent ingredient. Beast meat always paired wonderfully with Abnormal Cooking. Just as pork and chicken ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were staple ingredients in cuisines worldwide, demonic beast meat was the ultimate staple for any bizarre dish! *Plop, plop!*

"Hmm. Is it lacking balance?" Tae-hyun tilted his head. Come to think of it, he had only added meat and minerals. "I should probably throw in some vegetables."

His companions ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sighed in relief. At least something normal was going in—

"Oh, wait. I don't have any vegetables."

"Do you want me to lend you some?" Lee Da-bi offered.

"No, it's fine. I found some."

"???"

Tae-hyun casually scooped up a ladleful of sand from the ground. "This will do the job of the vegetables."

"???"

*Swoosh!* Since he wasn't the one eating it, Tae-hyun dumped it right in without a second thought!

"It's done! Come and get it!"

"Whoaaa! The priest is incredible!"

The giants lined up in excitement. Every time Tae-hyun scooped out a massive ladleful, the giants practically vibrated with joy.

"Delicious...!"

"He really is the priest! A priest sent by the gods!"

"The gods... wait, who was our god again?"

"I don't remember. I don't remember."

"Could it perhaps be Akisus?"

"Definitely not that one."

"No way."

The giants were surprisingly firm! Tae-hyun clicked his tongue. He had tried to slip it in on the sly...

That's right. Tae-hyun didn't back down and spoke to them again.

"I am the Apostle sent by Akisus!"

"Akisus...?"

"I don't know who that is, but he sounds like a good god."

"We are always hungry. Any god who fills our bellies is a good god!"

"Akisus, the one who fills our bellies!"

"Akisus, the one who fills our bellies!"

"...That's not exactly his title, but sure, if you think Akisus is that great, then believe in him!"

Come to think of it, there was no race easier to convert than this one. Other NPC races usually had deep-seated religious beliefs, so if you went up to them shouting "Believe in Akisus!", they would just say, "No thanks, go away." But these giants were basically like, Who did we worship again? Ah, whatever, let's just believe in this guy. It was incredibly easy to proselytize to them.

"If the priest sent by the god says so, I shall believe."

"Now that he mentions it, I feel like we might have actually worshipped Akisus in the past."

The giants blinked, on the verge of falling for Tae-hyun's words. However, not all giants were so easily fooled.

"Not yet!"

An elderly giant stomped his foot with a stubborn, raspy voice. A thunderous boom shook the ground.

"It's the Elder!"

"The Elder is always angry!"

"This dish is excellent, but it lacks one crucial thing!"

"Huh...?"

"Elder, what could possibly be lacking in this dish?"

"Old people just get greedier as they age."

"It's about time we abandon the Elder in the wilderness! Abandon him!"

A sudden torrent of jeers erupted from the younger giant warriors. But the Giant Elder, Nedenmen, remained completely unfazed by their mockery.

"This dish lacks spice! If you are truly a priest sent by the gods, you must create a dish far grander than this!"

"Elder, you're drooling."

"Isn't he just saying that because he wants to eat more?"

"Whoa. The Elder is a genius. If he finds fault like that, he can get another bowl of the priest's cooking!"

The giants gasped in awe. As expected of the Elder, his wisdom was on another level!

"But if the priest gets angry and leaves, we'll starve."

"Just once is fine! Once is fine!"

The giants babbled amongst themselves, assuring each other it would be okay—loud enough for Tae-hyun, who was standing right next to them, to hear every single ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠word! Tae-hyun was utterly dumbfounded, but he held his tongue. For now, he had to play along and appease them.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Fine! I'll show you what real spice is!"

"Ohhh! Slurp!"

"Gulp!"

The sound of the giants drooling and swallowing echoed loudly.

But what should I use for the spice? Abnormal Cooking possessed such bizarre flavors that ordinary spices wouldn't even register. Besides, Tae-hyun wasn't the type of person to carry normal spices around anyway...

"Lee Da-bi, do you happen to have anything?"

"I do have some spicy ingredients, but will they be of any help?"

"No, I need something much stronger."

Karreung! As the two of them reached their hands into Towang-i's mouth and rummaged around, the rabbit let out a high-pitched squeal.

"Ah, this is...!" Tae-hyun gasped in surprise as he pulled out an item.

"You actually kept this?!"

"I figured it might come in handy somewhere!"

A model merchant indeed! Tae-hyun gratefully took the lava. With this, he could definitely bring the heat!

"Whew. Giants, do you truly wish for spice?!"

"S-Shouldn't we stop him?"

"Hey! That's going too far!"

The rest of the party, who had been listening to their conversation in a daze, cried out in horror and rushed to intervene. No matter how bizarre the cooking was, adding poison turned it into a lethal toxin, not food. Lava was no different. If you put lava into a dish, it was just lava, not soup! But before anyone could stop him, Tae-hyun dumped the lava straight into the cauldron. *Whoosh!*

Terrifying! The party swallowed hard as they stared at the finished dish. That was just... lava, wasn't it? The color was lava, the scent was lava, the way it bubbled was lava... Heck, even the word "soup" had vanished from its name!

"Wait, isn't the cauldron literally melting?"

"The cauldron is melting! The cauldron is melting!"

Even the giants seemed to notice. The party squeezed their eyes shut. No matter how lenient they were, who on earth would tolerate a dish that literally melted the iron cauldron it was cooked in?!

"We have to eat it before it melts!"

"Exactly! Me first!"

"No, me first!"

*Thud! Thwack!* The giants began beating each other up, desperately scrambling to get to the front of the line.

"Whoaaa! I'm eating it! I'm eating it!"

*Gulp!* The giant warrior at the very front grabbed the cauldron and chugged it down. A brief silence followed.

"Arrrgghhh! It's hot! It's too hot!"

The giant warrior literally breathed actual fire from his mouth! He kept spewing flames until... *Thud!*

"..."

"H-He collapsed!"

Tae-hyun's party was utterly horrified. They had their suspicions, but he had actually taken someone down with his Abnormal Cooking! They always knew this day would come! The party quickly grabbed their weapons, bracing themselves for the wrath of the furious giant warriors...

"Weakling! What a weakling!"

"Only a true warrior can handle this dish! Get out of the way!"

*Bam!* The giant warriors kicked the collapsed warrior aside.

"This is a trial set by the priest sent by the gods!"

"Exactly! If you don't have the courage to eat this, get lost!"

The giants began shouting and arguing amongst themselves. At that, the giant warriors who lost their confidence slunk back with slumped shoulders, on the verge of tears.

"Sob... I don't have the courage."

"I'm trash. I'm absolute trash."

Watching them, Cain felt a sudden lump in his throat. Why did he feel such deep sympathy for them? Now, only a handful of giant warriors remained!

"I will pass the priest's trial! Whoaaa! It's too spicy! It's too hot! It's searing my throat!!"

*Crash! Clatter!*

Wait, what level is my Cooking skill right now? His Advanced Cooking skill was at a whopping Level 6! He had gained an entire level just from this single session. He had never expected his Cooking skill to skyrocket like this just by dealing with giants. Tae-hyun marveled at this unexpected windfall. I'm going to knock out even more giant warriors with this dish!

*Thud! Thud!* Two more giant warriors collapsed. Finally, the Elder stepped forward.

"Elder! Don't push yourself, you're too old!"

"Yeah! You should be at home playing with your grandkids!"

"Silence, you fools!" Nedenmen lifted the cauldron and chugged it down.

"Aaaaargh!"

"The Elder! The Elder's body is on fire!"

Nedenmen's body erupted in blazing flames. Yet, he endured.

"Th-The Elder passed the trial!"

Nedenmen staggered, shouting, "The god... the god is calling me! I have seen the face of the god!"

"!"

Tae-hyun's eyes lit up with anticipation. Could it be? Did the conversion to Akisus work already?!

"Sadiq... Sadiq!"

The name they had forgotten was none other than Sadiq!

"Ohhh! Sadiq! Sadiq!"

"..."