I hurriedly left the mess hall and dashed towards the barracks. 

“Sergeant Shin Young-joon!” 

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who had anticipated the blackout and sensed the danger. The usually quiet barracks were bustling with soldiers running around. 

“What’s the situation?” 

“Most of the soldiers have been deployed! As soon as the power went out, Sergeant Min-jae ordered everyone to grab their guns and rush out…” 

Fortunately, Min-jae had quickly taken notice of the crisis and responded promptly. 

“We had some illumination flares among the supplies, so we’ve scattered them around as much as possible…” 

I could see soldiers on the rooftops of surrounding buildings still tossing red illumination flares. 

It was a swift and sensible response. 

But… 

“There are still some limitations, no matter how you look at it.” 

Usually, even at night, the buildings’ rooftops were illuminated enough for us to monitor the entire base. 

The fact that the lizard horde hadn’t attacked even during the night was because our visibility hadn’t decreased despite the blackout. 

But with just illumination flares being thrown, at best, our visibility only extended up to the buildings surrounding the barracks. 

By now, it wouldn’t be surprising if the monsters had infiltrated our base, but there was no way to confirm it with the naked eye. 

“What about the awakened soldiers?” 

“They’re waiting near the entrance of the barracks. Since we don’t know where the monsters will attack from, they’ll wait until they can see them with the naked eye before taking action…” 

“I’ll join them over there. Stay strong.” 

“Yes! Sergeant, you too stay strong!” 

As I headed towards the entrance, I could see the awakened soldiers waiting there. 

There were seventeen awakened soldiers, excluding those already stationed on the rooftops as snipers. 

“Sergeant Shin Young-joon, you’re here.” 

“Young-joon’s here.” 

The awakened soldiers were preparing for battle in the urgent situation. 

The magic users were quietly chanting spells, while the warriors were armed with sledgehammers, riot control shields from the unit’s warehouse, and bullet less bayonets. 

Although tonight’s dinner was light, it had a hint of “courage” mixed in, so morale should be sufficient. 

I stood beside them. 

My weapon was a sashimi knife left behind by my junior. 

I was also holding a packet in my hand. 

“Come to think of it, you’re a cook. Shouldn’t you stay behind and handle supplies?” 

“What are you talking about? I should be leading the charge in this unit since I’m the first awakened, right hyung?” 

“Haha, I only trust Sergeant Shin Young-joon!” 

Joined by Sergeant Min-jae and Corporal Jeon Gwang-il, I opened the packet. 

“Wait a moment, everyone…” 

“Just a moment.” 

My words were interrupted by Sergeant Min-jae. 

“It’s here.” 

From afar, figures covered in the red light of illumination flares appeared. 

It was the lizards. 

“Open fire!” 

Corporal Seo Su-hyuk’s voice who was commanding the snipers from the rooftop, rang out. 

Ta-da-da-da-da-da-da-dang. 

At the same time, the sound of gunfire echoed from the snipers and the awakened soldiers. 

“It’s an urgent situation, but the response is perfect.” 

Although our visibility had decreased due to the blackout, we had regained some visibility through the illumination flares. 

With just the gunfire from the snipers and ordinary soldiers, we might be able to eliminate around thirty of them, I thought. 

“What about that one?” 

Ahead of the lizards, a lizard larger than the others appeared. 

[The Chef’s Eye has been activated] 

[Lizard Chieftain] 

[The Lizard Chieftain is a rare specimen among lizards, boasting a taste that cannot be compared to other lizards…] 

“A Chieftain. That’s its name.” 

Chieftain, the leader. 

The commander of the monsters. 

But no matter how large it was, it was pure foolishness for a commander-level individual to step forward. 

It was practically offering itself as a target. 

After all, commanders should command from behind… 

“Kroooaaaaak!!!” 

“Ugh!” 

The advancing Chieftain let out an enormous roar. 

The ground shook just from the sound alone. 

And it wasn’t just a loud noise. 

[You have been exposed to powerful enemy] 

[Battle Cry!] 

[The power, agility, and stamina of the ‘Steel Lizard Tribe’ on the battlefield will be temporarily increased.] 

[The Steel Lizard Tribe has also been granted the Minor Grade Long Range Attack Resistance] 

[Other entities except for the Steel Lizard Tribe will temporarily be affected by ‘Minor Confusion’, ‘Minor Accuracy Reduction’, and ‘Minor Concentration Reduction’.] 

“What’s this…!” 

 One after another clearly unfavorable messages appeared before us. 

I looked around in a hurry While most of the awakened soldiers seemed to be in decent condition, most of the soldiers shooting from the rooftop were clutching their heads and staggering. 

On the other hand, the bodies of the lizards were surrounded by an indistinct gray energy. 

“Pull yourselves together and resume firing! You bastards!” 

Fortunately, Sergeant Seo Su-hyuk, the best among the awakened soldiers, regained his composure and resumed firing… 

“But the accuracy…!” 

The reason why the awakened soldiers were powerful was not just because of the firepower of each bullet, but also because of their remarkable accuracy in hitting every single shot. 

However, due to the power contained in the Chieftain’s roar, the accuracy of the sniper awakened soldiers didn’t seem to be at their usual level. 

If it was just that, it might have been manageable… 

“Those, those creatures! The bullets aren’t working!” 

“Dammit, even though they have such abilities, why didn’t they attack sooner!” 

“… Look at the message; most of the effects are labeled as temporary. Under normal circumstances even if the bullets temporarily ceased to work, the situation would quickly revert once the effect wore off. But for now, even a temporary effect is more than enough for them to approach us.” 

“Then are you saying those monsters planned everything, this far?” 

Answering Gwang-il’s question sent shivers down my spine. It was unbelievable that there were monsters with such intellect. 

“Awakened soldiers, show your might!” Min-jae yelled as he witnessed bullets from the marksmen and soldiers failing to hit the approaching monsters. 

Standing in front of the building, the monsters were rushing towards us. At a glance, their numbers seemed substantial. 

During reconnaissance, we saw about forty of them, but now, excluding the dead monsters killed by the marksmen, there seemed to be at least fifty. Originally, it was close to sixty. 

“They knew we were observing, did they deceive us about the number of their group?” Those monsters were showing pure malevolence and wickedness to the point of sending shivers down one’s spine. 

To stand against them… I, too, must play the role of a chef. 

“Min-jae.” 

“Young-joon? If you’re going to say that you have to be out since you’re a chef…” 

“That’s not it. You liked coffee, right?” 

I pulled out a small packet from the pocket and threw it towards Min-jae—a mocha bread that can be eaten in one bite. 

“…?” 

“Gwang-il you like chicken breast, right? Here is a chicken breast sandwich. Have a bite.” 

“Huh?” 

Additionally… 

“Hong-soo, the ‘Fire Mage’ awakened, likes spicy food, so I made ramen with spicy chicken sauce.” 

“Han-il, the ‘Warrior’ Awakened, likes sweet things, so I made candy with syrup.” 

One-bite-sized dishes tailored with the preferences of the seventeen Awakened individuals. 

After handing out dishes to everyone and casually tossing the empty bags on the ground, I held a sushi knife and said, “Let’s eat and get to work.” 

I, too, indulged myself in my favorite dish.  

Despite hearing the grumbling noises from the surroundings, I couldn’t help but enjoy the taste of green tea-flavored chocolate. 

“Lizard Chieftain, was it? Your skills were truly remarkable.” 

Though temporary it provides considerable boosts and myriad of buffs to its allies. 

It was a dizzying effect. 

But… 

“I won’t stop until I become a top chef.” 

The effect of the one-bite sized chocolate started showing its effect. 

[You’ve consumed the ‘Brave Green Tea Flavored Chocolate,’ imbued with the courage of a Novice Grade Chef!] 

[This dish is tailored for a specific individual based on their preferences! When consumed by that individual, the dish’s effects will be greatly enhanced] 

[This dish is made from high-quality ingredients, resulting in superior quality. The dish’s effects have been increased.] 

[A dish made with the chef’s utmost care, exceptionally excellent! The dish’s effects will be significantly increased] 

[This is an outstanding dish made with the chef’s sincerity! The dish’s effects will be significantly increased] 

[All stats will receive a significant boost for a day] 

[All attributes increase by 1 level for a day] 

[Novice Grade Physical Resistance will be applied for a day] 

[Novice Grade Attack Power Increase will be applied for a day] 

[Novice Grade Stamina Increase will be applied for a day] 

[Novice Grade Magic Power Increase will be applied for a day] 

[The Chef’s Special Sauce – Intermediate Grade Bravery has been applied] 

[Intermediate Bravery] 

[Master of the Battlefield!] 

[Brave warriors dominate the battlefield] 

[The opposing party will face a slight decrease in stats and morale] 

After noting down the favorite food of all the Awakened individuals, I used all the available ingredients to prepare dishes as per their preferences. 

“And in this [game] like new environment…” 

Being a chef seems to be a demanding job comparable to that of a marksman. 

The effects were immediate. 

“Grrrr…” 

Foam dripped from Corporal Jeon Gwang-il’s mouth. A 196 cm tall giant was standing by my side. 

Normally gentle and good-natured, but now he’s caught up in madness again. 

“This crazy warrior… He’s calm for a moment, and the next moment he’s overwhelmed by madness.” 

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Let’s go, comrades…! Honor awaits us in death!! Roooaar!!!” 

With a grotesque roar, Gwang-il threw himself into battle. 

[A new trait has been unlocked by your comrade] 

[Novice Grade: Battle Frenzy] 

[Allies will experience minor confusion and intermediate stat increase] 

[The effect of ‘Intermediate Bravery’ nullifies low-grade confusion] 

Thud! 

The giant Jeon Gwang-il charged ahead and clashed with the 2.5-meter-tall giant lizard chieftain. 

Following him, the warrior-type awakened rushed forward with battle cries and confronted all the lizards. 

But that wasn’t all. 

I felt a surge of light from behind, and it was Min-jae, holding a lightning spear nearly two meters long. 

“It’s twice the usual size… What have you done?” 

“I just wanted the food to be delicious.” 

“You crazy…!” 

Soon, the lightning spear flew and incinerated a lizard. 

Min-jae smiled and said, “As expected, you’re the core of our unit.” 

“I’m not sure about that. At best, it’s a 5:5, got it?” 

“Of course.” 

Our buffs overwhelmed the enemy. 

Unlike the lizard soldiers, who are all frontline fighters, our unit has a balanced formation of frontline and rear support. 

But we lack numbers. 

We were 17 and the enemy had over 50 lizards. 

It was almost 3:1. 

“We’ll join the fight too. We’ll rely on you for long-range support, brother.” 

“Yeah, don’t you dare die. Without you, our unit is doomed.” 

Though we’ve fought alongside soldiers against lizards before, this is the first time we’ve faced a battle where firearms are entirely ineffective. 

It was our first battle solely with the awakened against monsters. 

It was not easy at all, and on the contrary, there were several times when I was on the verge of death. 

But finally, the moment came when the system messages flooded our vision. 

[Successfully acquired control over ROK. Area 17 ‘Mountain Region’] 

[The unit is at the ‘Party’ level. Until it reaches the ‘Guild’ level of influence, the provisional named ‘423rd Battalion’ will be applied] 

[World Event – Occupation Battle Status] 

[Affiliated Region – ROK. Area 17] 

[Occupation War Status in the Region] 

1. ???(??%) 

2. ???(??%) 

. 

. 

. 

12. 423rd Battalion (provisional) (3%) 

[Major Region – First ‘occupation’ of humans under ROK affiliation] 

[Achievement Unlocked! – My Land From Here to There] 

[A special reward will be granted for the 1st place] 

At that moment we could see the sun rising.