Red Flavor #2
I wasn't picky about food. There wasn't time to be selective when I had to shove anything into my stomach and keep moving. But even I had preferences, being human and all.
When I'd finally paid off all two hundred million in debt, I'd promised myself that my first proper meal after that would be something I truly loved. The food I really enjoyed.
Staring at this now brought that memory rushing back.
“The red hue is simply mesmerizing. If I let it simmer a bit longer, it should be perfect.”
“Victor, what on earth are you doing? It's so spicy my eyes are burning! I'm tearing up!”
Nike was frantically fanning her face with both hands. If even Nike—who had endured the lethal toxins of the Poison Canyon—couldn't handle the burning fumes, it was no surprise the other students were in worse shape.
“What is that? How do you make something like this come boiling out of a pot!”
“Gaaah! Run away!”
Their reactions were perfectly understandable. All first-tier cooking ingredients came with specific gimmicks during preparation. In the case of this Spring Wildling's Mucus, it inflicted HP loss when cooked or consumed. My own eyes were stinging and burning like crazy. It made chopping onions or garlic seem like child's play.
“This doesn't require the precise timing or rhythm of something like Aromatic Grass, but the ingredient itself is so harsh that most people would struggle to cook with it.”
“Victor, who but you would even think of boiling this stuff? Cough, ughhh...”
“Nike, stop whining so much. Our debt and interest are far spicier than this.”
“Ugh...”
I stirred the vigorously bubbling mucus with a ladle for a while, and its thickness grew more pronounced. Finally, when it reached a consistency similar to the sauce I remembered, the inside of the pot burst with a loud pop! and scattered starlight in every direction.
Beep-beep.
Spring Sauce: A red sauce made from unidentified ingredients. It is spicy. It can be eaten as is, but combining it with other ingredients may yield even more surprising results...?
“Of course it succeeded.”
I dipped a finger into the first-tier ingredient Spring Sauce and tasted it. The sharp, burning spice filled my mouth, followed by a subtle sweetness and saltiness that spread throughout my body. Yep. This was definitely gochujang. I'd expected as much. It was exactly the flavor I loved.
“Nike, do we have any more jerky left? Soak it in water for a bit.”
“Huh? Okay! Got it! Ugh, it's so spicy.”
With tears streaming down her face like a rabbit's, Nike soaked the jerky in warm water. Once the meat had softened, I marinated it in the freshly made Spring Sauce. Normally it would need to sit for a full day, but since the sauce itself was a first-tier ingredient, three hours should be enough.
“Then, Nike, I'll head to class. Let's meet back here in three hours, at lunchtime.”
“Got it!”
If I was aiming for a scholarship, I couldn't afford to miss a single class. So what was on the schedule for today again?
“This morning's class will be held outdoors. A-1. From what I see, you're all nothing but posers strutting around, but I suppose you're still among the better ones in this year. Show me what you've got.”
Teacher Berjurak, with his heavy dark circles, didn't hold back his harsh criticism of the students. One of them immediately flared up.
“Posers? Teacher, isn't that going a bit too far! I'll prove that Diarmuid and I are no fakes!”
He was a hulking giant whose muscles stood out at a glance. Tanned skin, short brown hair. Three tattoo lines were etched into the shaved left side of his head. That was Melvin, all right. A decent vanguard performer in parties. He had plenty of taunt skills. His raw attack power was low, but he was excellent at protecting the backline.
The male student sitting beside him whispered to Melvin.
“Quiet down, Melvin. You're embarrassing us.”
He was a strikingly handsome boy with golden blond hair, already drawing the eyes of several female students. That was Diarmuid. Even without special equipment, his high base attack power made him a solid first-tier attacker.
“You're number 11, Melvin. And you're number 9, Diarmuid. Very well. I'll have one of you two demonstrate first.”
We all moved outside together. To think there were classes held outdoors. The school I attended back then kept us glued to our desks until late at night.
🏛 Type: Training Dummy
⚔ Function: Displays attack capability numerically
📍 Creator: Divine Technology
“Strike this dummy with your fist. This dummy is a special device created with the gods' technology. It has the property of converting your attack ability into numerical values and displaying—”
Bang!
Before Teacher Berjurak could finish explaining, the massive student Melvin punched the dummy.
“Kaha! Not bad for a hunk of scrap metal! I hit it with the intent to smash it!”
“Melvin, you can't just break everything you see.”
The wobbling dummy let out a strange beep-beep sound before displaying text on the screen near its face.
55 — C
“My attack ability is only 55? C-rank? Teacher, is this thing reliable?”
“The gods' technology does not lie. C-rank. What a pathetic number. With stats like that, you couldn't even hunt field monsters, let alone become a hero.”
“I-If I'd been holding a weapon, the result would've been different!”
Melvin protested, looking wronged. He had a point. Melvin was a character who wielded a massive axe.
“Then let's see a demonstration from one of the top students. Number 1, Victorica Arclight. The Arclight students have always been outstanding. I trust you won't disappoint me either.”
“Kyaa, Miss Arclight! Do your best!”
Victorica stepped in front of the dummy. An outstanding student who needed no introduction. The expectations were high.
“I'll give it my all.”
The air seemed to shift for a moment. Then—
Bang!
All that remained was the sound. Victorica had thrown an incredibly fast punch.
69 — B
Sixty-nine points and B-rank was an impressive score, yet she looked quite disappointed.
“...Tsk. If only it had been ten thousand higher. Just ten thousand more...”
I knew exactly why. Victorica had a hidden quest that unlocked when her bare-handed—that is, base attack power—reached 70.
The strict teacher Berjurak gave a relatively favorable evaluation this time.
“Not bad for a rookie. If the number had been ten thousand higher, B+ rank wouldn't have been out of reach. Still, you're all just rookies in the end.”
That was when someone raised their hand high.
“Teacher, in real combat, doesn't everyone use weapons? Is a crude test like this with bare fists even meaningful? What use is fistfighting outside of lawless back alleys?”
“You're number 23, Daily. As expected, asking a low-level question.”
“Ugh.”
“Real combat always involves the unexpected. Where is your guarantee that your weapon will be in your hand when you need it?”
That was a fair point. Among high-tier monsters, there were those that used skills like Weapon Breaker to disarm opponents. In the game it simply sent the equipped weapon back to inventory, but here in reality, there were far more variables.
More importantly, wasn't it about time for Berjurak to mention that?
“Variables, you say. Speaking of which, I heard there's a student who cut down a monster that broke into a civilian home using a sword.”
This was the event where the protagonist Luke would demonstrate Skill in front of everyone. Basically the 'Tutorial: Try Using Skill' scene.
Sure enough, Berjurak spoke.
“Variables, you say. Speaking of which, I heard there's a student who defeated a first-tier monster without even holding a weapon. Attendance number 15, Victor.”
Me? Why me? Isn't this supposed to be Luke's turn?
Because of Victor's personality that demanded he respond when a teacher called, I had no choice but to step forward in front of everyone.
As I stood before the dummy, Berjurak said,
“Victor, throw a punch.”
“......”
While I remained silent, the crowd watching this spectacle began to murmur.
“Bare-handed Victor?”
“Now that I think about it, there were rumors that this guy is actually strong even without weapons.”
“We'll find out if it's true or not.”
They were talking nonsense.
“Victor, do your best.”
At that moment, a voice cut through the crowd to cheer me on. I turned my head to see a black-haired female student standing with her arms crossed, laughing softly as if she found it amusing. It was Enio.
“Here I go.”
I clenched my fist tightly. Then I slammed it with full force into the red leather pad located at the dummy's solar plexus.
Bang!
Along with a beeping sound, the screen flashed.
29 — F
Good. That was about as well as I could have hoped for.
Then I heard someone go “Pfft—” and laugh. When I turned my head, the only one looking at me with an indifferent expression was Victorica. What? I could've sworn someone laughed. Maybe I misheard.
Berjurak said,
“If this had been an exam, you would have failed, Victor.”
“I know.”
“More importantly, you're speaking rather casually to a teacher. Are you rebelling against society?”
“Don't misunderstand. I speak this way to everyone.”
Otherwise my stomach hurts. Still, damn. If it'd been just one point higher, wouldn't it have been D-rank?
Berjurak explained,
“The difference between 29 and 30 is greater than it appears. Techniques that don't work at 29 may work at 30. The opposite is also true.”
Berjurak's explanation emphasized how precious every single point was. I agreed with that. Each and every number truly mattered. It couldn't be stressed enough. Which was exactly why I'd made the Spring Sauce.
“It should be ready by now.”
I returned to Nike's cabin. Fortunately, the marinated meat was still right where I'd left it. No one had stolen it. Well, who would dare steal from Victor? If they did, I'd just demand compensation instead. I'd actually welcome it.
I grilled the meat seasoned with Spring Sauce over the fire. The sizzling sound of meat cooking. Even the aroma was delicious.
“Impressive.”
“Ah, Victor! You're already here!”
Nike returned to the cabin at just the right moment. Then she saw the meat sizzling in the pot and gasped in surprise.
“It smells amazing!”
“It will taste good too. It seems nearly finished.”
With a burst of starlight, text floated up.
Spring Sauce Bulgogi: Spicy but extremely delicious. It feels as though a hot power is surging within your body. However, eating it recklessly may cause side effects, so caution is advised...!
The Spring Sauce Bulgogi was complete. Its appearance and aroma were identical to the gochujang bulgogi I loved.
“Is this the same spicy-smelling dish from earlier? It looks incredibly tasty...”
Seeing Nike's reaction, it seemed the cooking had turned out well. Not only Nike, but other students began gathering one by one like hungry zombies.
“What is that smell?”
“I don't know, but I skipped lunch while looking for Aromatic Grass.”
“Victor made something again...!”
Everyone was showing interest. But getting excited just from the smell was premature. Without hesitation, I picked up chopsticks, grabbed a piece of meat from the pot, and ate it.
My first impression was that it was even spicier than expected. It felt like a bomb was exploding in my mouth. Even though I'd eaten food, it felt like my HP was dropping instead. It probably actually had. About ten percent.
That's right. The first-tier dish Spring Sauce Bulgogi was a recipe that actually reduced HP upon consumption. One might call it a trash effect—but where there was risk, there was also reward.
“Now it should work.”
“Victor, where are you going!?”
I crossed the campus from the forest and headed to the outdoor training area from earlier. The dummy measurement robot was still there. I punched its solar plexus with all my strength.
30 — D
“Impressive.”
The effect increased bare-handed base attack power by 1. Just one point. It might seem insignificant, but it was truly important. With 29 attack power, you couldn't even deal damage to the monster Egg Egg Tart, but at 30 you could. Or if you used a skill with a base attack multiplier of 100, it literally increased damage by 100.
“That guy's number shot up in an instant?”
“So the Spring Sauce had that kind of effect?”
Good. The reactions were coming in.
“Nike, this is the second thing I mentioned. We're planting the perception that whatever we make has worthwhile effects. That way, anything we do will make money.”
“But you said eating it reduces HP. Will a dish like that sell? Every single number is incredibly important... Especially points like HP that are directly tied to life...”
Nike was still such an amateur.
“It does reduce HP, but that can be offset by the HP increase effect of Aromatic Soup. The two perfectly complement each other. In other words, they're a set menu.”
“Ahh!?”
Now all that remained was to start making money.
“With that in mind, everyone listen carefully. If you have any Spring Wildling's Mucus, bring it all to me. I'll cook it so you can eat it. It's just going to be a nuisance otherwise, right?”
“Ooooh!”
“I had some left over!”
As the students began to scatter in all directions, someone approached me.
“You were at failing level just a moment ago... How exactly?”
“You're... Victorica, aren't you?”