Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: New Moon Pavilion, The 63rd Result
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Slice, slice.
Elegant knife work. A blade glowing faintly with golden light.
The meat slices smoothly under hands infused with mana.
A technique only a rare few cooking-type Awakeners could perform. Sparkling particles danced around it, accentuating the marbling of the meat.
Then, with a poke, a piece of meat speared on a fork. She savors the fluffiness transmitted through her fingertips before tasting it.
"......"
......Delicious. So delicious.
It was hard to describe it any other way. The taste was so extraordinary that her own limited vocabulary felt like a curse, allowing only "delicious."
Ecstasy spreading through her. Her lips curving upward accordingly. The woman absentmindedly reaches for another piece, the last piece—
Bzzz!
"Huh? You're in early today."
Her cherished employee's timely arrival helped suppress her instincts.
"Uh...? What are you eating? Is that the new menu you mentioned last time...?"
The employee asked with sparkling eyes. That anticipation stemmed purely from the woman's position.
[New Moon Pavilion Head Chef: Ryu Seohyun]
The Moon Shadow Hall skyscraper of New Moon.
Nestled proudly on the 77th floor—the highest—of Moon Shadow Hall, where famous restaurants abound, New Moon Pavilion was New Moon's pride.
Ryu Seohyun was its head chef, so the employee's excitement was natural.
But what lay before her now wasn't some new menu of hers.
How wonderful it would have been if it were.
With just a bit more refinement, this dish could have earned her an S-rank chef certification. The certification held by only two people worldwide, a towering achievement.
Seohyun swallowed the sudden bitterness and spoke.
"No. Did you see yesterday's event?"
"Event? Oh... the party on the top floor? I wasn't qualified to join... hahaha."
"Not that. The Gwanghwamun event."
"Oh...! I saw it on the news. They say it was super fun. Apparently, they even handed out dragon meat."
"That one. The dragon meat."
A single piece of meat on the plate.
The employee's eyes widened upon seeing it. How did she get this? There were so many spectators, and they ran out later, from what she heard.
"I got lucky and watched from the front row. But who knew it'd be such an entertaining show... Anyway, when they said they were giving out dragon meat, I grabbed some right away."
"What about preservation? Dragon meat gets super tough once cooked and cooled."
At the employee's question, Seohyun smoothly pointed her finger toward the end of the table.
There sat a pink Molrang Cooler.
Right. Of course. The head chef was the type who diligently bought Molrang Coolers and customized them to her liking. Come to think of it, she bragged about being among the first 1,000 to get a membership card and becoming a VIP.
The employee nodded in understanding and asked again.
"So, how's the taste? Our place is still better, right?"
What was New Moon Pavilion?
The only restaurant in the country handling dragon meat.
Hence the pride! Pride upon pride.
No one could match New Moon Pavilion when it came to dragon cuisine.
"That's......"
But Seohyun's thoughts were slightly different.
She smacked her lips unusually and recalled the previous taste.
In terms of cooking technique, theirs was a landslide victory. It was just simple dragon skewers at best, grilled meat at worst.
That was truly all.
No special sauces or anything.
Yet......
'Why does it taste deeper?'
New Moon Pavilion's menus outshone in flavor complexity and luxury.
But the depth of the umami was on another level. A fundamental difference in the ingredients themselves.
If New Moon Pavilion used B-rank ingredients with A-rank methods,
Molrang Mol felt like S-rank ingredients with B-rank methods.
A very wise choice indeed.
'It's aimed at general consumers anyway.'
You see as much as you know. Food is no different. The more you know about cooking methods, the more you appreciate their flavors.
And most people are ignorant of cooking methods. Grilling, boiling, steaming at best.
Hence, dragon skewers using the best ingredients, simply prepared to maximize the natural flavor.
"Insane......"
Seohyun let out successive sighs of admiration and poked the last remaining piece with her fork.
Normally, a piece to be cherished and saved. For recipe research, she should preserve it...
'Can't hold back.'
It was just good ingredients anyway, so she decided to eat it.
But how on earth did they get this dragon tail?
Thinking back, the dragon she saw had three tails. An unregistered monster no one had ever seen before.
Did they summon a dragon that poured all its nutrients into its tails?
No way.
Even an S-rank Summoner couldn't do that.
Since it came out of the gate, maybe they found and tamed a mutant monster?
"Mmm.... So good."
"That good?"
"Yeah."
"Then aren't we in trouble? I heard they're selling it at some theme park when it opens."
"Right. Almost forgot."
"......Pardon?"
Seohyun immediately pulled out her smartphone. With rapid taps, she booked tickets for Molrang Park's opening day.
Thank goodness VIP pre-booking via membership was open. General tickets were already sold out.
Membership perks were truly generous.
Molrang Mol...... Runs a tight business.
"No worries. I'll go check it out myself."
Of course, for market research and competitor scouting.
She'd ride the dragon and play with the slimes too, but that was secondary.
The main goal was to uncover every secret of Molrang Mol.
**
Click!
"Ah, okay. January 10th. Molrang Tail Experiment Log #63. Beginning now."
62 failures so far.
6 minor explosions from ingredient mix errors.
11 times the mana overflow melted part of the factory floor.
5 times the golem shells hardened too much, turning into blunt weapons.
9 times the slime balls stretched and snapped.
And 26 miscellaneous failures.
After compiling all that, I finally got a feel for it.
"Ppang Ppang. Let's go."
Thud!
The properly heated mana stone slammed into the cauldron with a roar. But unlike before, the center didn't collapse. I'd already installed supports.
"Mini. Dump it all in quick."
Whee!
At my command, Mini upended the huge basket, dumping in the layers of mana grass piled high.
Crackle! Pop!
The mana grass meeting the intense heat released mana as it burned.
"Hah...! Hah...!"
Using that mana as oil, I stir-fried the mana grass.
The key here was to slightly scorch the mana grass. Too much, and it's a bust, so I regulated the degree by channeling my own mana.
Stir diligently, and soon a rich grassy scent brushes the nose.
That smell you get during weeding, like the screams of plants.
"Whew...."
Now's the timing for the next step.
I wipe the thick sweat droplets trickling down my forehead, then pour in the mana water, gush gush gush, until it fills the giant cauldron eight-tenths full.
"Wow.... Look at that color."
The mixed mana takes on a purple hue similar to Mini's core. Pretty to look at, but the stench is horrendous. Potent enough to melt the factory floor, in fact.
Bubble bubble!
As the water boils, the tough mana grass melts away, absorbed into the liquid.
Once the solids are gone and only pure liquid remains, I crank the cauldron's handle, drrrrk!
The insanely heavy cauldron tilts, pouring the boiling liquid into the prepared molds below.
"Urgh...... Hot."
Pour almost all, leaving just a bit. Scalding steam fills the factory's first floor. The unintended heating has sweat pouring from my body.
For reference, dragon tail bones were pre-placed in the molds.
Sizzle...!
The processed mana water meets the sturdy bones, creating a unique reaction.
From research and devouring countless papers,
I learned dragon materials are quite special and don't mix well with others.
Usually, dragon material gear avoids mixing with other stuff.
To overcome that flaw, soak the bones in mixed mana water for adaptation.
Of course, this alone isn't perfect.
Whirr!
Thanks to Seolbaek's mana particles—like a masterpiece—maximum effect achieved.
Good. Leave the mana molds to Seolbaek now.
Plop plop plop, dump new ingredients into the cauldron en masse.
Slime balls, Kendart horns, Mini golem shells in a 6:1:3 ratio, then stir vigorously.
Similar to making Molrangtex, but this time with way more of my mana.
Bub......ble.
The boiling liquid slowly turns viscous, and stirring gets tough.
Add the kick ingredient.
Dragon scales from the tail. Hard to notice usually, but each scale's edge is sharp as a honed blade.
The melted scales coat the viscous goo rather than mix, so add last.
Tried adding early or midway, but this method yields the best results.
"Okay!"
The resulting gooey mass. Pour some into another mold, let cool briefly.
Squelch!
Wear Molrangtex for safety in the meantime. When the temp drops suitably, stretch and tear off a portion of the goo.
Pull and knead the gooey mass—like stretched mozzarella—compressing it as much as possible.
Fish out two bones from the mana water soak, use the compressed mass as adhesive to attach them.
Mass between two bones. This way, craft the Molrang Tail's spine stitch by stitch with care.
"Good!"
Shape roughly set, place into a new mold—a blacksmith anvil shaped like a sword—pour remaining goo from the cauldron on top.
Whew, exhausting.
Truly artisan craftsmanship packed in. Even mastered, 3-4 per day max.
Wait another hour. Once goo cools properly, extract the blade from the mold.
Enter the blacksmith hammer! Infuse mana and strike to enhance edge and durability—a top-tier tool.
Of course, halved effect without blacksmith skills, and pricey.
If effect lacks, just pump more mana.
Clang! Clang!
Hammer the sword diligently.
Not traditional blacksmithing, more like mimicry.
But sufficient.
This sword isn't iron—made from my monsters' materials.
Always communing with them, this felt best.
Clang! Clang!
Shape looks good, attach pre-made hilt.
Made from Mir's horn—like human nails, regrows when trimmed. Moon Shadow Stone embedded center for smooth mana transfer.
Click!
Hilt combined—finally, the 63rd Molrang Tail complete!
No, too clean a result?
Highest quality among all Molrang Tails made so far.
Now, one thing left.
Power test.
"Raaah!"
As initially conceived, channel mana through my hand.
My mana flows via hilt's Moon Shadow Stone to the blade.
Vrrrrm!
With a majestic hum, the sword activates.