“That’s right. Doesn’t it look delicious?”  

This is a dish made by frying chopped shrimp between bread slices.  

It was the first dish that came to mind when I realized the monster meat had a shrimp-like flavor.  

I happened to have the ingredients, so I decided to give it a try.  

Hmm, the appearance turned out better than expected.  

“It might be a bit strange to say it’s made from that monster…”  

“But it looks tasty, doesn’t it?”  

“I’m confident I can eat it without any issues.”  

The watching soldiers commented as they looked at the completed dish.  

It seems they were debating whether or not to eat a dish made from a cockroach-like monster.  

They were worrying about it before even trying it.  

I couldn’t help but say in exasperation:  

“This is something I made for myself to eat.”  

“…Huh?”  

There was a reason for that.  

The intense firepower the camp members had displayed to defeat the monsters had left most of the corpses in an abnormal state.  

“Only this one was in a decent condition.”  

There was never enough for the soldiers anyway.  

So, it was absurd of them to argue over whether they should eat it or not.  

“Wasn’t this supposed to be today’s meal?”  

“That’s right, but it’s my meal. You guys have your combat rations, so eat those.”  

“No, it’s not like you are torturing us with food…”  

“Someone might think I’m starving you.”  

Perhaps they had high expectations for my new dish.  

I could feel the soldiers’ gazes filled with disappointment.  

But even the combat rations were made with the utmost care and effort to make them tasty.  

Ignoring their lingering gazes as much as possible, I brought the completed dish to my mouth.  

Crunch.  

As soon as I bit into the crispy fried bread, the oil-infused juices burst out.  

Inside was a tender, chewy meat.  

Crispy outside, juicy inside.  

It had an amazing texture.  

The more I chewed, the more the oil and meat juices blended, creating an even deeper flavor.  

“Wow, even though I made this myself, it’s really delicious.”  

“Ugh, that’s just cruel…!”  

Even so, it’s not like I’m the kind of person who would selfishly enjoy a meal all by myself among these soldiers.  

There’s a reason behind this meal.  

[You have consumed the food]  

[‘Absolute Palate’ effect can now be activated. Would you like to activate it?]  

That reason is this.  

Seeing the status window before me, I unhesitatingly murmured:  

‘Activate.’  

[The ‘Absolute Palate’ skill has been activated.]  

[Reaching the pinnacle of food tasting]  

[Not only can you sense the hidden flavors in the dish, but you can also focus on specific tastes]  

 This is a skill I have recently acquired – [Absolute Palate].  

Unlike other cooking skills that focus on buffing others or identifying ingredients, this one only applies to myself.  

This skill has two effects:  

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

In other words, it maximizes the performance of the dishes I consume.  

It’s essentially a boost to the efficiency of food-related buffs.  

Thanks to the effects of the stat-boosting potions being amplified, I’ve achieved quite a significant growth.  

As impressive as that is, it’s just the beginning.  

‘That’s not all there is to it.’  

The first effect I described was powerful enough to make the previous one seem trivial.  

The second effect is this:  

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

The effect that I’m activating now is this second one.  

As soon as I decide to use the skill, a system window immediately appears:  

[Warning!]  

[When using this effect, all buff effects other than those from ‘Absolute Palate’ will be removed]  

[The existing effects of the dish will be canceled]  

[A new effect will be applied]  

[Please select the desired trait]  

[Minor increase in dental strength]  

[Minor increase in combat power]  

[Exoskeleton]  

[Black Sand Defense Armour]  

[Energy of the Black Sand]  

.  

.  

.  

.   

After reading through the descriptions of the displayed traits one by one,  

“Finally, got it.”  

I selected the trait that I desired.  

[The dish’s effects have been replaced with the selected trait]  

I recalled the original effects of the menbosha I had made:  

[Black Sand Menbosha made with the Care by a Junior Grade Chef]  

[When consumed, all stats will be greatly increased]  

[When consumed, earth attribute resistance will be greatly increased]  

[When consumed, physical resistance will slightly increased]  

These were decent effects, but not exactly what I needed right now.  

And so, the effect applied to me was something which was entirely different in nature.  

[Active Buff]  

[Black Sand Menbosha made with the Care by a Junior Grade Chef]  

[Trait – Obtained the Energy of the Black Sand]  

After finishing my meal, I naturally stood up and started walking away from the soldiers.  

“Ugh, guess we’ll have to eat the combat rations then.”  

“‘To call it ‘combat rations’ seems inappropriate; isn’t this incredibly delicious too?'”  

“Yeah, that’s true.”  

“Huh? Sergeant Shin, where are you going?”  

The soldiers preparing their combat rations called out to me as I got up and started walking away.  

I didn’t respond and just kept going.  

“Huh?”  

“Sergeant Shin Young-joon?”  

“Captain! Please stop!”  

Some soldiers called out to me, but I had no intention of stopping.  

After all, I was heading straight towards the horrifying quicksand that had greedily tried to devour Corporal Jeon Gwang-il.  

“You crazy-!”  

Sensing something was off, the soldiers shouted and rushed to grab me.  

“Is this some kind of mental attack?”  

“Sergeant Shin has gone mad! Restrain him!”  

“He ate something strange by himself!”  

But it was too late.  

My feet were already stepping onto the sandy desert.  

Contrary to the soldiers’ expectations of me sinking into the treacherous quicksand, my body stood comfortably on the desert surface.  

[Energy of the Black Sand]  

[A special trait possessed only by the Black Sand worm species, which can turn the surrounding area into quicksand]  

[A unique energy is emanating from your body]  

[Entities imbued with this energy can move freely within the Black Sand’s domain]  

I casually rolled my foot over the desert.  

Feeling the sand scattering softly.  

“Not bad.”