Chapter 127: How a Veteran Wins a Festival (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 127: How a Veteran Wins a Festival (4)
Although a theft had occurred, none of the elves noticed.
This was due to their blind faith in the guards watching the entrance and the layers of security barriers erected inside.
'I should have at least a few hours.'
Even if they noticed quickly, it would take at least that long.
Jinhyuk busily moved his hands.
Cooking, another highlight of the festival.
To bring his visit here to a perfect, successful conclusion, he had to execute this flawlessly as well.
[Lv3 'Isekai Restaurant' has been activated!]
A skill capable of satisfying even races with entirely different palates.
As his understanding of cooking skyrocketed, Jinhyuk's hand movements became even more dazzling.
All kinds of vegetables and greens were prepped in the blink of an eye.
Chop! Chop! Chop! Chop!
The various cooking utensils he had purchased from the Coin Exchange—including the cutting board, kitchen knife, and pots—also played their parts perfectly.
[Tender Soy Meat]
Michelin Star Rating: ★★★★
Description: A plant-based meat made from white beans and olive oil. Its fantastic pairing with the accompanying rosemary sauce is a masterpiece that showcases the unadulterated skill of a master artisan!
Normally, a single star is considered "edible" food.
This category includes common street foods like chicken skewers, cup rice, or udon.
Two stars represent something akin to a course meal at a nice restaurant or a Japanese dining establishment.
You could think of it as the kind of food you eat when you want to hold your head high and show off a bit with your wallet for once.
And from three stars onward, even gourmands would give it a thumbs-up.
But more than four stars?
This was at a level that could make even a runaway, prodigal youngest son of a ducal family return home overnight and turn into a saint.
It meant the flavor and addictiveness were on an entirely different dimension.
Mouths munched and chewed.
"Ohhh!"
"Ahhh..."
"Mmmph."
Exclamations of awe burst out from all directions.
Even with his skill active and both Silvia and Alice assisting him, his cooking speed couldn't keep up with even a tenth of their eating speed.
The leaf plates, emptied in a flash, piled up like mountains.
The moment a dish was served, it vanished into the elves' mouths.
"It's so delicious..."
"Me too. I don't think I can ever eat any other food again. What should we do?"
"Can't we ask Jinhyuk-nim to stay in our village forever?"
"If that doesn't work, let's kidnap him. Coincidentally, there's an empty space in my basement..."
"Great idea. They say humans love fried dumplings, so we can feed him nothing but that for the rest of his life and make him cook."
Somehow, the conversation grew increasingly terrifying as it went on.
But for the elves, who had lived eco-friendly lives of strict self-restraint, Jinhyuk's cooking was practically a drug.
The crowning glory was a mushroom dish that Jinhyuk had sweated over to prepare.
[Acid Mushroom Gratin]
Michelin Star Rating: ★★★★★
Description: The 'Acid Mushroom' is an incredibly difficult ingredient to handle. However, if prepared using the proper culinary techniques, it can be reborn as one of the finest delicacies in the Tower. This dish is a masterpiece created by executing every step of that process flawlessly.
The leaves were rolled from four directions so that the sauce wouldn't leak out.
It was a detail that showed delicate consideration for the diner.
An earthquake shook the pupils of Silvia, who was helping him cook.
It was awe that went beyond mere surprise.
At this point, she was beginning to doubt if his true identity was even human.
'He really is amazing. This is a mushroom known to be impossible to cook...'
When he first said he was going to cook 'Acid Mushrooms', she had thought he was joking.
And naturally so.
Who would agree to someone eating a lump of poison?
But all those worries melted away the moment Jinhyuk picked up his knife.
This was... the realm of art.
And.
Alice was equally bewildered by the situation.
'Hmm. Not even the personal chefs of the Great Clan Heads could handle that...'
As one of the absolute rulers of the Tower, Alice had seen and experienced countless things.
Yet, among them all, no one had ever cleanly neutralized the poison of an Acid Mushroom.
'I thought only his combat ability was absurd, but he plays instruments well and even cooks like this.'
The corners of Alice's mouth twitched slightly.
Indeed.
No matter how much she thought about it, choosing to contract with Jinhyuk back then was a decision she would never regret.
'Well, if he's my contractor, he should at least be at this level.'
Yes, of course.
To be worthy of her, Jinhyuk naturally had to be the strongest among humans.
Alice nodded in satisfaction.
She had poured out a massive amount of mana earlier and was planning to drain Jinhyuk's blood to her heart's content.
But seeing him receive everyone's admiration, she thought she might go a little easy on him.
At the same time, Jinhyuk tilted his head, feeling a sudden, inexplicable chill.
* * *
As the night deepened, the bustling festival quieted down.
Everyone collapsed on the spot, drunk on sleep. The only ones left were a few rangers nodding off while keeping watch.
Of course, even they wouldn't last much longer.
Just as the boundary between dawn and morning began to blur, Jinhyuk woke the sleeping Alice.
"Mmm... what?"
Alice gently opened her half-closed eyes.
Then, realizing the one who woke her was Jinhyuk, she sat up in surprise.
"What is it? Don't tell me you want me to prep ingredients at this hour? What time is it even..."
"It's 4:00 AM."
Jinhyuk smirked and added,
"The perfect time for anyone, human or elf, to let their guard down."
"Letting their guard down?"
"Yeah. Actually, our Goguma caused a little trouble. So we need to slip out now. Once it gets light, there's a high chance we'll be discovered."
"Mogi...! Mogi, mogi!"
Goguma, standing beside Jinhyuk, tried desperately to defend himself.
He blinked his yellow eyes repeatedly.
But Jinhyuk flatly ignored the pitiful excuse.
It was true that he had dismantled the barrier in the cave so Goguma could steal the molars and canines, but that was merely setting the stage.
In the end, it was Goguma who had actually carried out the sacred relics.
"Shh!"
"Mo, mogi..."
Since no one else could speak the language of ancient species anyway, this secret would be taken to the grave.
"What if we get caught by the elves while sneaking out? Didn't you say their pursuit is relentless?"
"You don't have to worry about that. I packed last night's food with plenty of vegetables and greens that promote deep sleep."
'Mountain Lettuce' and 'Five-Colored Leaves', which are commonly found in the Elf Forest.
Both are ingredients used to treat insomnia.
On top of that, since 'Isekai Restaurant' had amplified their respective effects, the elves wouldn't be waking up from dreamland until the sun was high in the sky.
"...Unbelievable. You're saying you treated the elves to a lavish feast just to pull off the perfect crime?"
Well...
His original intention wasn't that, but rather to genuinely get along with them, but things had somehow turned out this way.
"I'll say it again, it's not my fault. I had no choice but to do this to cover up for our little cutie's mistake."
"Sigh. No matter how I look at it, it seems like your doing rather than the ancient species', but I suppose pointing that out now is pointless."
"Well, pretty much. Anyway, the festival ends here. So get back into the ring. I'll let you sightsee again later."
"Fine. It's a shame, but I have no choice."
Alice slowly looked around at the surrounding scenery.
She knew that manifesting in the outside world consumed a massive amount of mana, so she couldn't throw a tantrum, but she wanted to imprint this view in her eyes, even if only for a brief moment.
However, even that lasted only a split second.
[Braham's Ring absorbs the bound soul.]
Alice's figure vanished in an instant.
Now, it was time to go.
Jinhyuk carefully took his first steps.
'See you next time.'
He bid a silent farewell to the soundly sleeping low-ranking ranger Silvia and Elder Penheim.
He also paid his respects to Teslon, who was still wearing his mind-boggling cosplay.
Perhaps he had grown fond of them despite the friction, but he didn't completely dislike this icy elf anymore.
With that, Jinhyuk bid farewell to his long stay with the elves.
Once he cleared the festival grounds, his pace quickened.
Considering any pursuit party that might follow later, he had to get as far away as possible.
Using the 'Sword Demon Emperor Stepss', the surrounding scenery blurred past in an instant.
Tap... Leap!
The moment his foot touched a branch, his body was already hurtling toward the next tree... naturally, his speed was incredible.
How long had he been running at full speed?
Finally, he reached the outer boundary of the forest.
From here on, it was the limit beyond which the elves would give up their pursuit. In other words, he was now completely safe.
It was then.
The quiet Alice spoke up.
[By the way, is it really okay to just leave like this? If the people from the China Guild return, the elves won't have any way to stop them.]
Oh?
She was surprisingly sharp.
Having suffered a major blow here, the China Guild wouldn't take things lightly, but if they gnashed their teeth in vengeance and dragged the Murim into this, things would get troublesome.
With the elves' current strength, there was no way they could hold them off.
In the end, the past tragedy would surely repeat itself.
However, Jinhyuk had already anticipated all of these possibilities.
After the battle ended, Jinhyuk had roamed the forest, devising a way to protect this place.
He had even done some of the groundwork.
"Just watch."
With a smirk, Jinhyuk snapped his fingers.
Snap!
At that exact moment,
[8-Star Barrier 'Anti-Army Fortress' is activated!]
[3-Star Barrier 'Dimensional Severance' is activated!]
[3-Star Barrier 'Mystic Gates and Hidden Stems' unfolds!]
Along with the blue status windows, a massive magic circle was drawn along the ground.
A colossal barrier encompassing the entire forest.
The massive construction project, which had taken a whopping three weeks, finally began to show its effects.
"Whether it's the China Guild or the Murim, they will never be able to lay a finger on this place."
Even if Namgung Cheon himself came here, it would be futile.
"Because I protect what's mine."
* * *
The 'Cathedral of Hatred' on the 3rd floor of the Tower of Trials.
Currently, over thirty Demonic Humans were gathered here, engaged in a serious discussion.
"Damn it. What the hell is going on? The 11th floor suddenly opened up."
"It must be because of Unknown... that bastard. Seriously, every single move he makes just throws a wrench in our plans."
"It's unexpected, but we must devise a countermeasure. Complaining won't solve anything."
"Shut up! You think we don't know that? We're doing this because there is no answer! Because there's no way out!"
"We can't lose the sacred relic like this. If we keep disappointing Him, all of us will suffer a horrific death!"
Indeed.
The reason everyone was so worked up was that with the opening of the 11th floor, it had become possible to obtain the sacred relic hidden there.
The problem was that only Unknown, who had defeated the 10th-floor boss monster, and players who had obtained his permission could enter.
'This has become a headache.'
A ranker who was one of the top executives of the Demonic Human Association and held a seat at the Round Table, Hosenbelt, who went by the alias Lancelot, furrowed his brow and fell deep into thought.
'Trying to win over Unknown at this point is impossible.'
But climbing step-by-step from the 7th to the 9th floor would take far too much time.
'Even if the most troublesome 10th-floor boss has been defeated, it's still impossible.'
The sacred relic on the 11th floor would only reveal itself for exactly one week after the floor's opening, after which it would relocate to a higher floor.
There was no time.
And there was no clear solution.
'To think things could get tangled up to this extent.'
But just as Hosenbelt let out a sigh,
Crackle...
An alien mana was felt near the entrance of the cathedral.
It was a mana steeped in a deep sense of incongruity.
None of the Demonic Humans present noticed it, but Lancelot alone could sense the faint trace of mana.
'Could this be...?'
Hosenbelt's eyes narrowed.
Something was coming.
And extremely fast.