Skeleton Master Chapter 014

While the restaurant was operating, Moo-hyeok worked alongside the owner, Hannah, to help her.

He worked as diligently as possible without trying to slack off.

When learning a skill directly from someone, the ability of the teacher is very important.

The emotions at that moment also have an impact.

If the teacher instructs as meticulously and diligently as possible, the results are bound to be good, and naturally, when learning the skill, one receives an additional increase in dexterity.

Unfortunately, when learning the weapon crafting skill, he didn't receive any additional increase in dexterity.

This was partly because he couldn't get a read on the blacksmith owner Luke's personality, and honestly, at that time, he didn't know how to respond.

But this time, he saw potential.

He didn't want to miss the opportunity, thinking he just needed to pay a little more attention.

Wouldn't gaining what you can from these small details help you get ahead of others?

"Whew, good work."

"It's harder than I thought."

"Right? There's nothing easy in this world."

Hannah smiled softly.

"I saw you working hard today. The business is over, but if you have time, I can teach you right away."

"Ah, I'd be grateful."

"Shall we start then?"

"I'll learn diligently."

They moved to the kitchen together.

Hannah took out the prepared ingredients and started cooking while giving detailed explanations.

"Here, you cut the meat like this..."

"The seasoning is onion, minced garlic, soy sauce, and..."

The basic methods of cooking and.

"I haven't mentioned the most important thing."

"What's that?"

"It's the heart."

She emphasized the cook's heart.

"The sincerity and effort put into it is the most important."

Moo-hyeok didn't let her words go in one ear and out the other.

He tried his best to absorb it into his head and also tried to take it to heart.

In the meantime, her cooking was completed.

[Wild Boar Leg Roast]

A leg roast with the chef's special sauce, imbued with effort and sincerity.

- Strength (1) increase for 30 minutes

The moment he confirmed it, elation rose.

There was definitely no stat increase in the restaurant.

But now there was.

That meant Lena had also done her best.

Alright!

He clenched his fist as he stood in the kitchen.

"Now it's my turn to try."

"Okay."

At that moment, a message popped up.

['Temporary Cook' is applied.]

Cooking is only affected by dexterity.

Sincerity? Heart?

Honestly, I'm not sure.

Will the taste of the food really change because of that?

But it was clear that he had to do his best.

He continued cooking as Hannah had taught him, concentrating as much as possible.

He continued cooking diligently, treating it as if it were food for someone precious.

Make the seasoning, marinate the meat, and then grill it.

It was very simple, but it required more concentration than expected.

By the time he reached the final stages, he had forgotten about his surroundings.

He had become completely absorbed in the thought of just having to cook.

Sizzle.

The meat juices dripping down as it grilled.

When it touched the fire, it produced a sound similar to rain.

He didn't miss that sound.

Sizzle, sizzle.

He waited a moment and took the meat out at the perfect timing. Lena's eyes lit up.

"It seems to be done."

At those words, Moo-hyeok came to his senses.

"Ah..."

He hurriedly placed the grilled pig's leg on a plate.

Watching Hannah start to eat carefully, Moo-hyeok felt a bit nervous.

If she doesn't like it, I won't be able to learn, right?

The worry disappeared in an instant.

Because Hannah smiled brightly.

"The skin is crispy and the inside is tender. It's very delicious."

The moment he received her approval.

['Official Cook' is recognized.]

['Cooking Skill' is acquired.]

['Excellent Reward' is obtained.]

[Receiving Lena's approval, 'Dexterity (2)' additionally increases.]

Not only did he learn the cooking skill, but his dexterity stat also increased by 2 more.

With this, his dexterity became 31.

Moo-hyeok looked at Hannah while inwardly cheering loudly.

Now that he had acquired the cooking skill, there was no reason to stay here any longer.

But he wanted to continue his connection with Hannah, who had taught him cooking to the best of her ability.

Of course, she could be dismissed as an NPC, but Moo-hyeok thought that even NPCs in Illusion were not much different from real people.

"Thank you."

"Oh, it's nothing."

"I'll visit often while I'm staying in the Kingdom of Arsen."

"Are you trying to steal all my recipes?"

"Of course not."

After exchanging a bit more small talk, the two realized it was getting late and promised to meet again.

Hannah returned to her home in Illusion, and Moo-hyeok came out of the capsule and returned to reality.

*

He woke up early in the morning, exercised at the gym, and on his way home, he bought breakfast at a restaurant.

Afterward, he logged into Illusion, cleared quests given by the blacksmith shop itself while steadily increasing his dexterity, and sold decent weapons at the auction house.

When the blacksmith shop closed, he headed to the hunting grounds to continue hunting.

He also raised his cooking skill experience by occasionally making food.

Around that time, news of an update came, but Moo-hyeok still repeated the same routine.

Then, on the day of the update, he became greedy while checking his experience.

Hmm.

Finishing his assessment, Moo-hyeok stepped forward.

Thud.

The orc archer shot another arrow.

He blocked the incoming arrow with his shield.

The impact was minimal.

His HP barely changed.

He slightly poked his head out to check the incoming arrows.

Empty space in front.

The distance is sufficient.

He ran diagonally to the right.

Just as the orc archer was about to release the arrow, he changed direction to the left diagonal.

After closing the distance like that, he stabbed his sword into its abdomen.

The orc archer, screaming in pain, stepped back.

Even so, it nocked another arrow.

Aiming at Moo-hyeok's face as he approached again, it released the arrow.

He hurriedly raised his shield to block.

Clang!

The impact was considerable, but he ignored it and charged.

He pushed the orc archer with his shield.

Gurgle!

Watching the staggering creature, he swung his sword.

After a few attacks,

Finally, the orc archer's entire body turned gray.

"Corpse Dismantlement."

Of course, dismantling the corpse before it disappeared was standard.

['Corpse Dismantlement' has begun.]

['Orc Bone (x2)' has been acquired.]

['Corpse Dismantlement' has ended.]

As he put the items in his bag, he pondered for a moment.

Hmm......

The orc archer was quite troublesome.

Even just two would likely take a considerable amount of time.

Steel ants might be better.

If he targeted their weakness, he could probably kill one in about the same time.

The problem was the attention from other users.

If discovered, the weakness would be exposed.

That would be annoying.

At that moment, something flashed through his mind.

[Currently, large-scale guilds are restricting access to some hunting grounds for undisclosed reasons, causing discontent among many users.....]

[The Steel Ant colony as well.....]

It's a vague memory.

Is what I saw correct?

If a certain guild is really occupying the Steel Ant colony?

What if it's because of a dungeon?

That would actually be good for Moo-hyeok.

Since he roughly knows the location of the dungeon, he just needs to hunt secretly while avoiding the eyes of the guild members who would be concentrated in that area.

What if he gets caught?

He can just say he didn't know.

Then he can pretend to leave the Steel Ant colony and go to a different location.

What if he gets caught by other guild members there?

He'll have to repeat the same method.

That way, he should be able to continue hunting for several hours.

There are already quite a few users hunting like this. Of course, if discovered, they'd become targets for elimination.

It's a risky business.

But the reward is proportional to that risk.

With no users around, he can monopolize the monsters.

Moo-hyeok even knows their weakness.

It would be possible to level up explosively.

He felt greedy.

"Hmm......"

It's a place he'll have to pass through eventually anyway.

The Steel Ant colony is essential.

It's a must for quick leveling up.

Should I go check out the situation while I'm at it?

He made his decision.