Cooking with Heart
While the restaurant was open, Mu-hyuk helped out the owner, Lena.
He threw himself into the work as diligently as possible, without cutting any corners.
When learning a skill directly from someone, the teacher's proficiency is crucial.
The emotions in that moment also play a role.
If the instructor teaches with utmost care and sincerity, the outcome can't help but be excellent—and you'll naturally gain an extra boost to dexterity upon acquiring the skill.
Unfortunately, he hadn't received that bonus when learning Weapon Crafting.
Partly because he couldn't get a read on blacksmith Luke's temperament, and honestly, he hadn't known how to handle it back then.
But this time, he saw real potential.
A little more focus, and it would work. He wasn't about to let the opportunity slip.
To pull ahead of everyone else, you had to squeeze every last drop from these small moments.
"Phew, good work out there."
"It's tougher than I thought."
"Right? Nothing easy in this world."
Lena smiled softly.
"I saw how hard you worked today. Business is done, but if you've got time, I can teach you right now."
"Oh, I'd be grateful."
"Shall we get started, then?"
"I'll learn with everything I've got."
He followed her into the kitchen.
Lena pulled out the prepared ingredients and explained in detail as she cooked.
"Here, trim the meat like this…"
"The seasoning is onions, minced garlic, soy sauce, and…"
She covered the basics of cooking.
"I forgot to mention the most important part."
"What's that?"
"It's all about heart."
She emphasized the cook's mindset.
"True sincerity makes all the difference."
Mu-hyuk didn't let a single word go in one ear and out the other.
He burned it all into his memory and tried to internalize it in his heart.
By then, her dish was complete.
◈ A leg roast enhanced with the chef's special sauce, infused with effort and care.
◈ Vitality +1 for 30 minutes
The moment he checked it, a rush of elation hit him.
Dishes served in the restaurant hadn't boosted stats.
But this one did.
That meant Lena had given it her all too.
Nice!
He clenched his fist and stepped up in the kitchen.
"My turn now."
"Go for it."
Right then, a message appeared.
Temporary Cook status applied.
Cooking relied solely on dexterity.
Sincerity? Heart?
Honestly, he wasn't sure.
Did that really change the taste?
But one thing was clear: he had to give it his all.
He focused completely, following Lena's instructions to the letter.
Treating it like a meal for someone precious, he poured his heart into every step.
Mix the seasonings, marinate the meat, then grill.
Simple enough, but it demanded intense concentration.
By the final stages, he'd lost track of his surroundings.
His world narrowed to the act of cooking itself.
Sizzle.
Juices dripped from the roasting meat.
Hitting the flames, they produced a sound like gentle rain.
He didn't miss it.
Sizzle, sizzle.
A beat later, he pulled the meat off at the perfect moment. Lena's eyes lit up.
"Looks done."
Those words snapped him back.
"Ah…"
He hurriedly plated the roasted boar leg.
As Lena began eating carefully, Mu-hyuk tensed.
If she doesn't like it, no skill for me.
His worry vanished in an instant.
Lena beamed.
"Crispy skin, tender inside. Delicious."
The moment she approved—
Official Cook status recognized.
Cooking skill acquired.
Excellent Reward obtained.
Dexterity +2 (Lena's approval bonus).
Not only had he learned Cooking, but his dexterity jumped by an extra 2.
Now at 31 total.
Mu-hyuk cheered inwardly as he looked at Lena.
With the skill secured, there was no reason to linger.
But he wanted to keep ties with the woman who'd taught him so earnestly.
Sure, she was an NPC, but Mu-hyuk saw no real difference between Illusion's NPCs and real people.
"Thank you."
"No need—happy to help."
"I'll drop by often while I'm in the Arsen Kingdom."
"Planning to steal all my recipes?"
"Never."
After some light chat, they realized the hour and parted ways, promising to meet again.
Lena headed home in-game; Mu-hyuk logged out to reality.
*
He rose early, hit the gym, grabbed breakfast at a diner on the way home.
Logged back into Illusion, cleared self-issued quests at the forge to grind dexterity steadily, auctioned decent weapons.
When the smithy closed, he headed to hunting grounds.
Occasionally whipped up food to build Cooking experience.
Around then, update news hit, but Mu-hyuk stuck to his routine.
On update day, checking his exp sparked greed.
Hmm.
Seven hours till update.
He wanted level 20 first.
Exp at about 70%.
He reviewed his stats.
Strength 26, Agility 11, Vitality 14.
Item bonuses helped, but still impressive numbers.
Add skeletons and zombies?
What could he take down?
Level 32 steel ants?
Knowing their weakness made it feasible.
Users' eyes were the issue.
Once the weakness spread, anyone could farm them for fast levels.
Orcs instead?
Orcs were level 23.
Deeper in, orc warriors at 25.
Orc champions at 30. Anything but champions, he could handle three at once.
Less exp than steel ants, but potentially more kills per hour.
Hard to say without testing.
As he pondered—
Screw it. Gotta go that way anyway.
To reach the steel ant colony, he had to pass the orc village.
Hunt en route, or bypass if crowded and head straight.
He exited the east gate.
*
Near the orc village.
Users deep in hunts.
Most parties three-plus, but plenty soloing.
Necromancers and other summoners too.
Solo hunting wouldn't raise eyebrows.
Hmm.
Plenty of orcs.
Even more users.
No room here.
He approached the village.
Orc warriors and archers appeared.
The closer he got, the more monsters, fewer users.
This spot's good.
He took position and waited.
One orc warrior and one archer respawned.
"Skeleton Summon, Zombie Summon."
Golgol-1, Golgol-2, and a zombie appeared.
"Auto-attack."
Sword-and-shield skeletons and knuckled zombie charged on command.
Mu-hyuk observed.
Kirrik, kiririk!
Kuooo!
3v2, but summons were losing ground.
Tch, not yet, huh.
His stats were high, level low.
With 20% bonus, skeletons and zombie's combined strength, agility, vitality around 20 each.
Decent, but low vitality meant high-HP foes like orcs could reverse-summon them fast.
Still, he watched the first fight to the end.
Kiririk!
Golgol-2 got slashed and vanished.
Golgol-1 stabbed the orc's chest.
Staggering from prior hits, the zombie closed in, punched, grappled, and bit its neck.
Kuooo!
The thrashing orc turned gray.
Poof!
An arrow from the rear orc archer hit the zombie's back.
Reverse-summoned.
Now Golgol-1 vs. archer.
But arrows whittled it down before closing in.
Hmm, about this level.
Low wisdom meant poor combat smarts.
Tank hits head-on, die early.
They'd improve with time.
Finishing his analysis, Mu-hyuk stepped in.
Step.
Orc archer loosed an arrow.
He blocked with shield.
Negligible impact.
HP barely budged.
Poked his head out, eyed the next arrow.
Straight ahead, good range.
Dashed right-diagonal.
Archer drew— he juked left-diagonal.
Closed gap, thrust into gut.
Archer screamed, retreated, nocked another.
Aimed at his face as he advanced.
Shield up.
Clang!
Solid hit, but he ignored, charged.
Shield-bashed the archer.
Kurruk!
Staggered, he slashed repeatedly.
How many hits?
Finally, the archer grayed out.
"Corpse Dissection."
Standard before despawn.
Corpse Dissection begun.
Orc Bone x2 acquired.
Corpse Dissection ended.
Pocketed the item, pondered.
Hmm…
Orc archers were a hassle.
Two would eat too much time.
Steel ants might be better.
Aim for weak points, same time per kill.
Users' stares the problem.
Get spotted, weakness leaks.
Trouble.
Then a memory flashed.
[Major guilds restricting access to certain hunting grounds without explanation, drawing user backlash…]
[Steel ant colony too…]
Fuzzy recollection.
Did I see that?
If a guild was occupying the steel ant colony?
For the dungeon?
Good for him.
He knew the dungeon spot roughly. Sneak hunts avoiding clustered guildies.
Caught?
Play dumb, slip away pretending to leave.
Another patrol?
Repeat.
Hours of farming feasible.
Plenty already did it. Exposure meant target, but.
Risky, but rewards matched.
No users, monopolize monsters.
He knew weak points.
Power-leveling jackpot.
Greed surged.
"Mm…"
Had to pass there eventually.
Steel ants essential.
For fast levels, must.
Scout the situation too.
Decision made.