After the raid on the plunderers ended the survivors expressed their wish to join our unit.  

“We’ll join you.”  

“We don’t have anywhere else to go, so if we join the unit…”  

So, just like that Soo-ah, her group members and the other survivors who had been enslaved were welcomed to the unit as new soldiers.  

As for the plunderers,  

“Heh, heh heh heh… Hic…”  

“It’s, it’s delicious.”  

“Please, just one more bite…”  

“If you swear loyalty to me, I’ll feed you meals like this every day.”  

“We swear loyalty! Loyalty!!”  

All of them way through the reformation and rehabilitation process and officially joined our unit.  

As a result, though the awakening process was still not completed, the number of troops increased significantly.  

The workshop personnel worked tirelessly to prepare customized equipment for the new recruits.  

“Will there be enough lizard leather for those people?”  

“Hmm, it should be fine for now.”  

“Saying ‘for now’ means we’re running low, doesn’t it?”  

“Yes. But don’t worry too much. While continuously using lizard leather might be difficult, my skills have improved quite a bit. I can maintain the initial quality with the hides of other monsters.”  

In truth,  

Even though the number of new recruits was less, than initially expected,  

There wasn’t any need to be disappointed.  

“I’ve already informed the groups I was in contact with that I’ve joined this side,” Jeong Soo-ah reported.  

 She had been exchanging information with various groups and hoped to absorb them if possible.  

“How did they react?”  

“I tried to persuade them, but they still seem hesitant.”  

“I see.”  

“They don’t have much leeway, so they’ll probably make a decision soon. You can expect a positive outcome.”  

“Why do you say that?”  

“Those plunderers were quite infamous. The fact that they were wiped out, and that it was done by soldiers, is starting to spread among the survivors.”  

What? Were there actually people who were keeping an eye on us during the mission?  

“Technically, it’s a rumor that we started,” she clarified.  

“Ah.”  

The origin of the rumor wasn’t important.   

What mattered was that it was spreading.  

‘If the soldiers’ image improves, people will seek us out to join the unit.’  

This was an incredible advantage.  

***  

After organizing the new recruits and sorting through the supplies acquired from the plunderers’ base, we finally wrapped up the post-battle tasks.   

In a meeting with the vice guild leaders, we opened the guild message board.  

[Shaman: A dungeon]  

Sergeant Park Tae-joon, who remained in the mountains, had sent a message.  

‘Dungeon.’  

This was the first piece of information shared by Soo-ah after deciding to join our unit.  

Dungeons are the essential elements in RPG games.   

While the term originally referred to castle dungeons, its meaning has evolved significantly, over time.  

A dungeon is a place where specific types of monsters gather.  

Though their forms and types vary greatly and are hard to define, they share one characteristic in games:  

‘The best farming spots.’  

Experience points, items—everything obtained from a dungeon far surpasses what you can get in the field.  

Jeong Soo-ah had planned to tackle the dungeon after growing stronger with her group.  

The recent fight against the plunderers reinforced the idea that, even if we were currently strong, we could fall behind at any time.  

Right now, we barely have the strength to secure our own territory.  

So, we can’t just pass up an opportunity to get stronger.  

Though it sounds like a place full of benefits, dungeons have another characteristic:  

‘They often have a higher level of difficulty compared to the field.’  

That’s why I asked our guild’s fortune-teller to predict the future for us.  

[Shaman: It seems there is something at the place you mentioned.]  

[Chef: How about it? Can we handle it?]  

[Shaman: Hmm. Well.]  

[Shaman: For now, I wouldn’t recommend it.]  

This was the result.  

[Marksman Squad Leader: Is the fortune unfavorable?]  

[Shaman: If we’re talking fortune or misfortune, it’s misfortune for now. I think it means the dungeon is quite challenging to tackle at the moment.]  

All eyes, including mine and the vice guild leaders, turned towards Jeong Soo-ah.  

“Why, why are you looking at me like that?”  

“According to Sergeant Park Tae-joon, that dungeon is extremely difficult.”  

“What?”  

A flustered Jeong Soo-ah waved her hands.  

“I was planning to tackle it once my group had about 30 awakened members. I didn’t know it would be that tough…”  

“Can’t you use that spirit to look inside the dungeon?”  

“I wish, but it doesn’t have such overpowered abilities. Bangul couldn’t enter the dungeon.”  

True.   

Even if we scouted out the dungeon’s location, it would be impossible to determine its difficulty level.  

“I’m actually more freaked out, right now. I gave you all the information about the dungeon, but… originally, my group planned to tackle it alone.”  

“You almost got into big trouble trying to clear it after growing your group.”  

“If the difficulty is such that even a battalion struggles, there’s no way 30 awakened members would be enough. Ugh, thinking about it gives me chills…”  

Jeong Soo-ah’s ability is specialized in reconnaissance.  

And Park Taejun’s ability is almost like foresight.  

Both are in the information category but are quite different.  

Now, thanks to Taejun’s abilities we avoided significant damage to our unit.  

On one hand, Jeong Soo-ah’s spirit vision can discover new information, but it’s uncertain what will happen when it’s triggered.   

And on the other hand, Park Taejun’s celestial divination is highly random.   

The fortunate thing is that their abilities complement each other’s weaknesses.  

Soo-ah’s spirit vision can find new areas, and Taejun’s divination can determine whether it’s safe to go there.  

‘By recruiting a spirit master instead of relying on drones, our operations’ stability has increased significantly.’  

In any case, since the dungeon is likely too difficult to tackle immediately, we decided to focus on awakening the new survivors and building our strength.  

“Building strength…”  

After finishing up in the dining hall, I returned to my room and fell into deep thought.  

‘We were lucky this time.’  

The leader of the plunderers—according to the reformed plunderers, he was once ordinary but became that way after repeated acts of cannibalism.   

Initially, he was manageable, but after devouring all the plunderers, he became a formidable opponent, difficult even for Gwang-il to handle.   

Fortunately, the profession quest appeared, boosting my combat abilities just in time.   

Without that, we would have suffered significant losses.  

‘No matter how much strength I build, it’s never enough.’  

After collecting my thoughts, I sat on the edge of my bed and opened my status window.  

[Awakened: Shin Young-joon]  

[Profession: Junior Grade Chef (2nd Class) Lv. 19]  

[Strength: 19]  

[Agility: 30]  

[Magic Power: 18]  

[Luck: 24]  

[Traits: Junior Grade Dagger Mastery, Junior Grade Cooking Mastery, Ingredient Detection (Enhanced), Junior Grade Fire Affinity]  

[Skills: Chef’s Eyes, Chef’s Special Sauce, Combat Rations]  

 [Points: 8,182pt]  

[Random Skill Book x1]  

It had been a while since I last opened my status window.   

Given everything that had happened, the noticeable increase in my stats was clear compared to before.  

What stood out the most was the points.  

“Eight thousand? That’s insane.”  

Normally, soldiers don’t accumulate points to this extent.   

As soon as they gather enough, they use them right away.   

But since I’m not in a combat role, I never got the chance to spend them.  

 So, I had saved up around four thousand points.   

Adding the points I got from defeating that monstrous flesh bastard.   

It brought my total to this impressive amount.  

It was time to use them.  

‘Ah. But before that…’  

I should use the item that appeared in my status window first.  

Reaching into my pocket, I felt an intangible book only visible to me.  

[Random Skill Book]  

[Randomly obtain one skill related to your profession]  

[Please note that the acquired skill book cannot be transferred to others]  

It was a thin book without even a cover.  

I opened the book without hesitation.  

Instantly, a wave of information surged into my mind.  

[Skill – Absolute Palate (new)]  

[To create delicious food first you must understand the taste itself]  

[The best chefs are also the greatest gourmets!]  

[Your sense of taste has reached its peak]  

[You will perceive flavors more intricately than anyone else, catching even the smallest characteristics of the ingredients]  

[Effect 1 (Passive) – User Exclusive, the positive effect obtained through cooking increases significantly and positively]  

[Effect 2 (Active) – User Exclusive, when activated, you can amplify the subtle [characteristics] of a dish]  

“The name of the new skill I’ve obtained is [Absolute Palate].  

It’s a skill that pushes your palate to its limit.  

Hmm…  

Well…  

“That’s disappointing.”  

Feeling flavors more keenly could be nice, I suppose.  

It would feel good when enjoying delicious food.  

But I don’t think it will be of much help in battles.  

“The first effect isn’t bad. It means the effects of my cooking increase when I eat it myself.”  

The effects of the dishes I make are enhanced for myself alone.  

So, it means the efficiency of buffs increases.  

The problem is, even with the buffs increased, I’m not naturally that strong, so it might not make much difference.  

Compared to genuine combat skills, it might be lacking a bit, but it’s not bad.  

The issue lies with the second effect.  

I don’t quite understand what it means to ‘amplify’ characteristics.  

“Wait, why is this skill only applicable to myself?”  

It would have been better if it were effective for my squad members.  

It’s disappointing, but there’s nothing I can do about it.  

Finally, it’s time to cash in on the points I’ve accumulated.  

“Point Store.”  

I mumbled the name quietly.  

[Point Store]  

[Recent purchases – Ordinary kitchen knife – 5pt]  

[Hardened Rai bread – 10pt]  

[Ordinary steel sword – 30pt]  

[Ordinary shield – 30pt]  

I didn’t even bother looking at the list of items that are useless to me and just flipped through them quickly.  

As I reached the bottom…  

I realized why soldiers use their points immediately.  

[Attribute Enhancement Potion (Strength) – 1,000pt]  

[Attribute Enhancement Potion (Agility) – 1,000pt]  

[Attribute Enhancement Potion (Magic Power) – 1,000pt]  

[Random Skill Book – 3,000pt]  

[This is the last page]  

[Additional items may be added through future patches]  

Remarkably,  

Items that grant abilities and skills.  

“I’m not a combat type, so I didn’t have a reason to invest hastily.”  

“Let’s see. With the points I have, can I buy 8 potions or two skill books and two potions?”  

In other words,  

No matter how you use them, you can purchase at least two potions.  

I decided to purchase [Strength Enhancement Potion].  

[Paying 1,000pt.]  

[Remaining points – 7,182]  

A red potion appeared before my eyes.  

“I do know a bit about these potions at least.”  

Since the other squad members have already been buying them as they earn Points.  

Of course, I’ve heard about the effects from those who have already tried them.  

‘Upon consumption, randomly increases attributes from 1 to 3.’  

Typical of this game-like world, even the potions have a random effect.  

It would be quite unfortunate if it turns out to be 1.  

According to the squad members, even if it’s 2, it seems like the points are worth it.  

If it’s 3, they say you can’t brag to others.  

They say you’ll be called a cheater.  

Additionally, although it’s a potion, they say it tastes quite good.  

Like the taste of Cola flavored drinks.  

“Please, not 3. No, even if it’s 2, it’s fine, just not 1.”  

Uttering a prayer that doesn’t really mean much.  

I opened the potion’s cap and poured its contents into my mouth.  

A refreshing lime scent flooded my mouth, with a slight fizz.  

The magic contained in the potion spreads throughout my body as it passes through my mouth.  

And then,  

[Consumed Strength Enhancement Potion]  

[Your attribute levels have increased]  

The message stating that my attributes have increased appeared before my eyes.  

Up to this point, it’s the same information I’ve heard before.  

‘It said it would increase by 1 to 3. How much did it increase?’  

I waited for the message to appear, slightly tense.  

Hoping it’s not just 1.  

However,  

A completely unexpected message appeared before my eyes.  

[Skill – Absolute Palate effect has been activated]  

[Effect 1 (Passive) – User Exclusive, the positive effect obtained through cooking increases significantly and positively]  

“…?”  

[Strength attribute has increased by 5]  

Huh?