The First Stream, Wyvern Egg Jangjorim (Part 4)

The forest of the Curtala Mountain Range was silent.

Just moments ago, enraged wyverns had cast pitch-black shadows across the sky. Now, the forest below swayed heavily in the wind, its dense, waxy green leaves shifting like thick scales.

"..."

"Um, I think... the seasoning is completely ruined?"

"I know..."

Novice cooks often commit blunders that defy all imagination.

Not understanding what "a moderate amount of garlic" means, they might chop up entire bulbs and throw them in. Lacking temperature control, they might stir-fry something on maximum heat from the very start, burning it to a crisp the moment they look away.

A moderate amount. Just enough. To taste. A pinch.

To a beginner, nothing is more difficult than these vague measurements.

And to Sia, the deceased saintess, cooking was an entirely uncharted territory.

When she had first dropped into "that other world" and spent a year hiding from people in a forest cabin, she hadn't done anything that could be called cooking.

She had simply plucked random mushrooms from trees to roast, and when she hunted deer, she would roast the carcass whole without even butchering it properly, eating only the parts that looked edible.

Fortunately, as an Evil Nature Predator, there was no such thing as an inedible part for her. Even if she accidentally ate a poisonous mushroom, poison had no effect on her undead body.

After that... well, she never had to cook for herself. So for Sia, who had lived for over eighty years, this was practically her first time properly preparing a meal.

"It's salty..."

The moment Sia tasted the jangjorim marinade, she realized something had gone horribly wrong.

It was salty.

Extremely salty.

Absurdly, unbelievably salty.

How... how did this happen?

She had followed the recipe... well, to be honest, she hadn't followed it to the letter.

Why was it so salty?

Frankly, she had cut so many corners that she couldn't even guess what the primary cause was.

Did she add too little water?

She thought she had put in the right amount of soy sauce.

What on earth went wrong?

It was a perfect plan...!

Then again, where would one even find a recipe for wyvern egg jangjorim in the first place?

Sia had simply searched her smartwatch for the best general jangjorim recipe she could find.

But even assuming she had only recently returned to Earth, she knew the taste of this soy sauce was worlds apart from the jangjorim she remembered.

Wondering if her own taste buds were just strange, she had nudged Cheon A-young, the hunter crouching beside her, to taste the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sauce. A-young's expression wasn't very good either.

"Get it together. Get it together. Get it together..."

She couldn't let the wyvern egg jangjorim go to waste like this.

She had successfully boiled a first-laid egg, and now she couldn't eat it because of the marinade?

Absolutely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not.

"...Huh?"

Meanwhile, A-young's eyes drifted to the cooking ingredients piled next to Sia's backpack.

Garlic, onions, cooking wine, and various other ingredients were stacked there, along with a bottle of soy sauce that looked heavily used.

"Excuse me..."

"Hmm?"

"Did the recipe tell you to use soup soy sauce?"

"..."

In that instant, Sia's face froze.

It was one of the most common mistakes made by novice cooks: failing to distinguish between regular soy sauce and soup soy sauce.

The biggest difference between the two was sweetness. Regular soy sauce, often called dark soy sauce or brewed soy sauce, possessed a natural sweetness. Whenever a recipe called for "a spoonful of soy sauce," it almost always meant regular soy sauce.

Soup soy sauce, also known as traditional Korean soy sauce, was used, as the name suggested, to season soups and stews. Because of this, it was significantly saltier than regular soy sauce. If a recipe required regular soy sauce and one poured in the exact same amount of soup soy sauce instead...

"...Oh. I'm screwed."

Finally understanding why she had felt a sudden wave of dread upon tasting the sauce, Sia stared down at the bubbling black liquid with a grim face.

The viewers watching A-young's stream burst into uncontrollable laughter at the sudden, unexpected comedy show.

On the other hand, the 192 viewers watching Lee Sia's stream were also chuckling at their streamer's tragic plight.

Unaware of the chat, Sia swallowed hard.

The dish was so close to completion. Was she really going to let the jangjorim go to waste just because she mixed up the soy sauces? All she had to do was pour the marinade over the egg.

No.

She could not let it end like this.

O trials, O fate. Did you think you could consume me? Did you think I would yield, abandon everything, and lock myself in despair as I did long ago?

No. Even if there is only a single thread of light, I will not give up. You may try to snatch me away faster than a beam of light, but you cannot fathom the darkness I have endured to lay down and surrender to despair.

With that solemn resolve, Sia raised her smartwatch and made a call.

Ring... Ring...

"Yeonhwa."

"How do you fix it when you mix up regular soy sauce and soup soy sauce?"

The sheer, dumbfounded tone that came through the speaker made both the viewers and A-young bite their lips to keep from laughing out loud.

"Pfft...!"

Regardless of the mockery, Sia's eyes flashed with a brilliant, gem-like light in her otherwise frozen face.

Laugh all you want. She was dead serious.

"...I am in a dungeon."

"Well, I was making the jangjorim marinade... and I got the soup soy sauce and regular soy sauce mixed up..."

"You told me to call you if I ever needed help, even for the smallest things..."

That was true. Yeonhwa had indeed told Sia that, and she had been genuinely willing to help with anything. Sia was the person who had saved her life, and the one who reminded her of her late sister, Yeon A.

However, she had never expected that "help" would mean paying for a meal at a soup restaurant, or explaining how to salvage a ruined soy sauce marinade.

"But...?"

"No way!"

Yeonhwa's words sounded like a death sentence for her marinade. She was basically telling her to give up.

She couldn't do that. Absolutely not.

With the remaining ingredients she had, she could never make another batch of marinade worthy of a wyvern egg.

"Even if it's just the way your family fixes it, that's fine! Please tell me! I'm begging you, Yeonhwa!"

"I'm really desperate! Please! You just got your official hunter name the other day! You said hunters are supposed to help people!"

That was definitely not what hunter names were meant for...

The viewers listening to the conversation began to throw out questions, speculating about the relationship between the streamer and Yeonhwa.

"Yeonhwa, I know how rude it is to call you out of the blue like this... but I really need your help."

Hearing the desperate, almost pleading tone in Sia's voice, Yeonhwa swallowed hard.

What else could she do when someone who was a head taller than her, someone she relied on like an older sister, was begging so earnestly over the phone?

Whether the soy sauce was ruined or not, she had to help in whatever way she could.

"It's fine. I won't blame you at all."

"Yes."

"How much?"

Following the instructions, Sia prayed with trembling hands that the soy sauce would be saved. She had heard many prayers in her life, but she couldn't remember the last time she had prayed this desperately herself.

"Uh, uh... soup soy sauce, minced garlic from the mart, onions, cooking wine, plum extract, and a little bit of sugar left..."

"What?!"

Is she trying to ruin my food on purpose?! Sia's face filled with a sense of betrayal, but the explanation that followed quickly smoothed her expression.

"Okay... I'll trust you."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

Sia's hands and her busy tentacles moved in perfect synchronization, following Yeonhwa's directions. The volume was much larger than originally planned, but if she could salvage it like this, it was far better than ruining it.

"...Ah!"

As a delicious aroma began to waft through the air again, Sia's face finally brightened. After letting the sauce simmer for another ten minutes, she tasted it and leaped to her feet.

"It worked! Thank you, Binggu! Thank you!"

"You saved me! You're an angel, Binggu!"

"Okay! See you in Seoul, don't get hurt!"

Unable to contain her joy, Sia began to hop up and down on the spot. It was a rather rare sight to see an eighty-five-year-old jumping with joy just because she had successfully salvaged some soy sauce.

Is she really that happy...?

Watching the scene unfold, A-young and the viewers in the chat could only chuckle, reacting with a mix of teasing and genuine amusement.

"By the way, Miss Cheon A-young?"

"Ah, yes?"

"I've been wondering, why are you still here?"

"...Well, you're about to do a mukbang with a 100-million-won wyvern egg. How could I possibly miss that?"

Come to think of it, she had mentioned something about "A-young Tube" earlier, and she had been talking to a holographic chat screen projected by her drone camera.

She must be a hunter streamer I haven't heard of.

Now that she thought about it, Sia hadn't really seen any hunter streams related to mukbangs in this world. The closest thing she had seen was a show called A Week in the Dungeon, which she had stumbled upon by chance. But even that was more about camping cooking using canned food and emergency rations brought from the outside, rather than hunting and cooking dungeon monsters.

"Even if you ask, I'm not giving you any."

"That's fine. I won't steal it..."

Sia had subdued A-young, an experienced A-grade hunter, in less than a second. Stealing or taking anything by force was out of the question. A-young was simply staying because she was curious to see if this returnee would actually eat a 100-million-won wyvern egg.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't hungry, but as a professional hunter streamer, she couldn't let this rare content slip away.

"Here, try this first."

Sia suddenly offered a spoonful of the sauce to A-young, who looked at her with slightly surprised eyes. A-young hadn't eaten a proper meal during her three days in the Curtala Mountain Range. Even though it was just soy sauce, she accepted it gratefully and took the spoon into her mouth.

Gulp.

"...!"

The sauce, which had smelled intensely salty earlier, had transformed into a wonderful jangjorim marinade. It was a pity there were no shishito peppers to add a bit of heat, but the minced garlic, onion, and the large amount of plum extract had blended together beautifully. In fact, because it was soup soy sauce, the rich flavor of the soy sauce itself stood out even with so many ingredients added.

"It's... delicious."

"I'm glad."

Sia smiled brightly, humming as she dropped the peeled wyvern egg and the lean wyvern meat into the pot. Since jangjorim was best made with meat that had as little fat as possible, she had used the lean meat from the wyvern's front leg.

As the egg and meat began to simmer in the bubbling sauce, Sia's smile widened. The dish was almost complete.

But... there's so much sauce now that the pot looks a bit empty.

Although the wyvern egg was massive, the volume of the sauce had increased during the salvage process. At this rate, she would end up throwing away a lot of the precious marinade.

Sia stood up and looked at A-young.

"Where are you going?"

"This."

"Yes?"

"Watch this for me."

"Eh?"

Whoosh!

With a sharp sonic boom, Sia vanished from the spot. Fearing that dust might get into the pot in her absence, A-young quickly deployed a protective barrier around it.

"...She suddenly disappeared. Where do you think she went?"

"I haven't eaten it yet, so how would I know?"

"Hey, I'm not a house dog. I'm just doing a quick favor."

But the smell was truly incredible. Even though it was a 100-million-won dish, A-young, who had been starving for three days, couldn't help but stare at the bubbling pot. It wasn't just the massive egg that caught her eye; the shredded wyvern meat was cooking beautifully, and the aroma of garlic, onion, soy sauce, plum extract, cooking wine, and sugar was making her mouth water.

"Are you crazy?! Did you not see her speed earlier?! Even if I start running now, she'll catch me in less than five minutes!"

"Shut up! I'm going to guard this quietly!"

While some viewers joked around, A-young was fully intent on guarding the pot until Sia returned. It was the natural thing to do, but that wasn't the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only reason.

...Those were not the eyes of someone who has only killed a few times. Even if she hasn't killed humans, she must have slaughtered thousands of monsters...

A-young might have a friendly, casual image from her streaming, but she was still a veteran A-grade hunter. She could sense bloodlust, and she had enough experience to gauge the strength of a monster or a powerful individual at a glance. And she knew, without a doubt, that she stood absolutely no chance against the silver-haired woman.

She was just glad the woman seemed to have a rational mind and a normal sense of morality... wait, was she even human? She wasn't sure.

"Skreeee!"

On the third peak of the Curtala Mountain Range, the leader of the wyvern pack gathered the survivors. It had rallied the pack to teach the intruder a lesson, but hundreds of its kin had been torn apart by that monster. The survivors were in terrible shape.

Those whose heads had been crushed instantly were the lucky ones. The ones who had escaped with severe wounds were now facing a fate worse than death.

"Skree..."

"Grrr..."

The Curtala Mountain Range was home to many creatures and monsters. The wyverns had been able to reign as the dominant predators largely due to their overwhelming numbers. But with a significant portion of the pack dead and the survivors crippled, only two paths remained: either they would be attacked by another wyvern pack and lose their territory, or they would be wiped out by other monsters that realized the pack's weakness.

Either way, the pack on the third peak had no future.

"Skriek?!"

Suddenly, the wyverns sensed an ominous presence and grew alert.

Tap, tap.

A familiar aura drifted from the shadow at the entrance of the cave. It was the predator from earlier—no, a living disaster far worse than any predator.

It was the human with white hair and terrifying tentacles. Or was it even human?

The wyverns began to retreat, letting out terrified screeches. In the open sky, they had at least been able to flee, but this giant cave was their nesting ground. There was nowhere to run, and if the disaster decided to strike, the wounded wyverns would be wiped out in an instant.

"Skreeee!"

Overcoming its terror, the pack leader lunged at the disaster. But the disaster didn't even look at the leader, simply swinging a tentacle to crush its head.

Crunch!

With their leader dead in an instant, the other wyverns lost all will to fight, trembling as they huddled in the corner. But in the next moment, the disaster placed a hand on the dead leader's head.

"Skriek?!"

As a brilliant white light illuminated the cave, the dead wyvern leader stood back up. Its crushed skull and ruptured brain were completely healed, leaving no trace of the injury.

"Skree? Graaaah!"

However, lacking high intelligence, the leader didn't realize it had just been killed and lunged once more at the disaster. And once again, its head was crushed by a tentacle.

Crack!

"Hehe..."

As the bright light filled the cave again, accompanied by the disaster's cheerful smile, the other wyverns felt a chill run down their spines. Absolute terror gripped every beast in the cave.

The resurrected leader tilted its head, looking at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠disaster in confusion. It still felt hostility toward the intruder and growled, taking a defensive stance.

Crack!

The moment it took a stance, its head was crushed again. And with another flash of white light, it was brought back to life.

"Skriek?!"

Thud!

This time, instead of its head, the leader's spine was snapped in half. And once again, the white light illuminated the cave.

The wyverns pressed their heads to the ground, trembling in absolute submission. But the disaster ignored them, continuing to methodically crush the leader.

Crunch!

Crack!

Thud!

After being killed and resurrected more than ten times, the wyvern leader finally understood what was happening. It bowed its head low before the disaster, as if begging to be allowed to die. The fearsome beasts were actually crying in terror and despair.

"Alright, that's enough. Hehe."

Stopping the torment, the disaster smiled happily and picked up four eggs from a corner of the cave. As each tentacle took an egg, she raised her hand, and a light far brighter than before burst forth.

A translucent barrier swept over the wyverns and enveloped the cave. The wounded beasts felt their bodies slowly healing. They had feared they would be killed and resurrected like their leader, but the disaster simply hummed a strange tune and left the cave with the four eggs.

Immediately, the wyverns understood.

The disaster had healed them. She had cured their wounds so they wouldn't die, and she had left most of the eggs, taking only four. The message was clear:

I am your master. You belong to me now. Submit quietly if you don't want to die and revive dozens of times like your leader. In exchange, I will heal you and leave your eggs alone. Just make sure to offer them to me regularly.

They were no longer the rulers of the third peak. They had been reduced to livestock kept by a disaster.

Don't want to accept it? Then die and revive until you do.

"Skree..."

The leader's mournful cry echoed through the cave.