[Heh heh…]

The being lying in the water within the temple raised itself up.

But.

‘…How big is it going to get?’

2m… 3m…

As it stood in the water, it stretched its legs, straightened its bent waist, and lifted its head.

[You’re quite perceptive, aren’t you, little bug?]

Once the giant fully stood up, it towered over Private Jeong Kwang-il, more than double his height.

It was nearly 5m tall.

‘No wonder the building seemed oversized.’

Was its size meant for it to move around?

Moreover, it was the being that created this dungeon and had been attempting to communicate in a bizarre manner.

It must possess something beyond just its size.

[The stronger ones survive. That’s true. However, we shall see who will be the one to survive.]

*Gulp…*

The sound of anxious people swallowing echoed in the space.

But.

There was no need to be overly afraid.

“This creature tried to deceive us with words! Do you understand what that means?”

I shouted without breaking eye contact with the giant.

I felt the attention of those behind me focusing on my words.

“It means our existence is also a threat to it!”

Before entering the dungeon,

there had been a bit of fear about whether we could defeat a creature capable of creating such a dungeon.

But now, that was no longer the case.

“If it were truly a transcendentally powerful being, it wouldn’t need to play these games!”

If it were that strong, it could just crush us and be done with it.

The fact that it wasn’t doing so indicated one thing.

“It’s a monster we can definitely take down!”

It had confirmed that it was not an absolute being.

*Thud, thud, thud…*

“Battle vehicles! Ready!”

Was the temple designed for that giant to pass through?

The size of the temple was extraordinarily large, and the door at the front was no different.

‘Large enough for battle vehicles to pass through.’

The vehicles had been modified to operate in water.

Although assaulting like on land was difficult, they could serve well as moving barricades.

“Since it’s a big one, even random shots should hit! Fire freely!”

“Don’t be scared; let’s handle it like we practiced against large monsters!”

High-level veteran soldiers encouraged the other troops.

“Wait… are you saying that bastard was trying to deceive us?”

“Ultimately, it was all to drown us in the water. Damn it!”

The awakened individuals from the city, who had been calculating their escape routes just moments ago, now entered the temple, drawing their weapons in great anger.

Seeing the soldiers form ranks, I too drew my sword and prepared for battle.

The formation to face a giant monster.

Just as that formation was about to be perfectly arranged—

[How pitiful my state is. Once upon a time, I could have crushed these insects without effort…].

Once the giant had fully risen from the water, it began to topple backward.

‘Huh?’

*Crash!!!*

The giant, over 5m tall, dove back into the water.

A massive wave crashed down upon our formation.

* * *

*Crash…*

“Cough, gack!”

I was swept back by the huge wave.

The colossal giant had thrown itself into the water, creating a tremendous wave.

‘No, it’s not just that.’

Despite not having much combat skill,

by stats alone, I wasn’t any less capable than anyone else.

To be pushed back by a wave like that was—

‘It must have been enhanced by some ability.’

I quickly gathered my thoughts and assessed my condition.

Should I call it fortunate? I had no significant injuries.

Though the force was considerable, it was merely a wave.

Surely no one had sustained serious damage from that.

The problem was.

“Our formation has collapsed…”

Raising my head slightly, I spotted the giant in the distance, having created the wave.

*Thud… Thud…*

The fact that it had risen was likely just to create that wave.

Now, the giant was crawling through the vast temple in an unnatural position.

While it might seem somewhat ridiculous,

its speed and pressure were too overwhelming to let down my guard.

And then—

“Sa—Save me…!”

[Die, insect.]

*Smack.*

The giant slammed its palm down toward the city’s awakened individual.

A moment later—

*Splash…*

A body of a man, fleeing on the water’s surface, bobbed up.

I couldn’t tell if he was dead or unconscious, but it was clear he had become unable to fight in a single blow.

‘It’s trying to collapse our formation and pick us off one by one.’

That man wouldn’t have fallen so easily under normal circumstances.

Whenever soldiers gathered to form a line, even a large monster would struggle to break through.

That creature knew this and sought to dismantle our formation.

“Damn it. What kind of monster goes that far?”

“Sergeant Shin!”

“Gather the scattered individuals! Restoring the formation is our top priority!”

While the soldiers who regained their senses began to come together, it seemed it would take time to rebuild the formation.

“Even if you tell us to restore it…”

“That creature won’t let us do so easily.”

Indeed.

There was no way it would just sit back and watch as we attempted to recover our formation.

‘Hah.’

I let out a short sigh.

“I guess we have to buy some time.”

“Yes?”

“Trust my words and focus on restoring the formation. And… Jeong Kwang-il! Seo Su-hyuk!”

I shouted toward the two who had been gathering their troops from afar.

Both turned their attention to me.

“You two are coming with me!”

“Yes!”

“Loyalty!”

To the two following me, I said, “Our goal is to buy time.”

“…I had a feeling that would be the case.”

Private Seo Su-hyuk said as he checked his weapon.

“Until the formation is restored, the three of us will hold off the monster. While it’s a reasonable plan… can three of us really manage it?”

“Haha! You little Su-hyuk, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

In response to Seo Su-hyuk’s question, Jeong Kwang-il laughed heartily.

“What does military life mean!”

“What?”

“If it doesn’t work, make it work!”

“…I can’t believe this. But you’re not wrong.”

With a deep sigh, Seo Su-hyuk reluctantly followed.

“Hiiiii!”

A man, on the verge of being caught by the giant, screamed.

The giant’s fist was descending toward him.

*Smack!*

“Where do you think you’re going, kid!”

Private Jeong Kwang-il intercepted the blow.

“Thank you.”

“Forget the thanks! Join the formation!”

The fleeing man hurriedly escaped, while the two soldiers stood firm before the pursuing monster.

‘Excluding Min-jae, these are the best troops in our unit.’

The three of us had to buy as much time as possible.

[You’re… at least bigger insects than the others.]

The giant looked down at us.

We too looked back at it.

[Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)]

[Deep Sea Pope]

[An individual who reigned as the religious leader of the Dasmurians, guardians of the deep sea world.]

[It is currently in a state of significantly lowered freshness due to aging and injuries.]

‘A religious leader?’

Up close, it appeared even more grotesque.

While it resembled a human, it had scales on its skin, and its face was closer to that of a fish.

Despite its enormous size, its limbs were emaciated, so much so that the bones were visible.

The sight of it crawling through the temple with those thin limbs was reminiscent of a horror movie monster.

‘Is that thing a pope?’

It had no trace of sanctity whatsoever.

Was it some sort of cult worshipping a demon?

[Of course. Even if I grow a bit, insects remain insects.]

As it finished speaking, the water around it began to rise, swirling and taking the shape of a massive spear in midair.

“Ugh. What the hell.”

“Is it controlling the water…?!”

I recalled the bizarre power of the wave from earlier.

Was that the result of that strength being added to the wave it had created with its body?

The spear it wielded descended with great force.

“Grrk…!”

Private Jeong Kwang-il crossed his arms to block the spear.

He didn’t fall into a state of incapacity in one hit like the others, but—

“Cough…! Ugh! Hahaha. This is what it should be like…!”

The damage he sustained was considerable.

We weren’t just taking it lying down.

*Tat, tat, tat, tat!*

[Hmph!]

*Slash!*

The moment Kwang-il blocked the giant’s spear,

Seo Su-hyuk unleashed a torrent of firepower.

With confidence in my physical abilities, I moved in to strike at its flesh.

‘Tsk. If only I could aim for its weak points.’

Its weakness, like that of the other merfolk, was its gills around the chest area.

But with a body towering 5m tall,

getting close to that weak point was no simple task.

[This strength far exceeds the specifications of ordinary insects. Clearly, you’re not normal.]

While I couldn’t aim for its weak point, the damage I dealt still seemed significant.

It appeared to be in some pain.

Despite being an immensely strong monster,

if I could just buy enough time—

[Indeed. So this is the cause. It was your cooking.]

“…What?”

However, the words that came from it seemed strange.

[I see you have a decent cook among you.]

What the hell.

This creature.

‘How did it know about the cooking?’

Moreover,

it seemed to know more than just that.

[Now that I’ve found the cause, countering will not be difficult.]

It slightly rose its body and lifted its head.

Its abdomen swelled greatly.

And then—

*Goooohhhhh!!!*

[The wail of the 'Deep Sea Pope' resonates!]

[The combat capabilities of the ‘Dasmurians’ significantly increase!]

[All stats of species other than the ‘Dasmurians’ decrease!]

[All buffs for species other than the ‘Dasmurians’ are lifted!]

The sound echoed.

My body felt heavy, and I could feel the resistance of the water increase significantly.

The effects of the cooking had vanished.

My stats dropped, and the trait of [Environmental Adaptation - Water] also disappeared.

[With this, the effects of the cooking are gone.]

“…….”

[What will you do now? Will you try cooking again in this state?]

The giant looked down at us with a mocking grin.

It seemed it intended to deal with us after having disposed of the effects of the cooking.

It began to move toward our troops, who were trying to restore their formation.

‘I must block it.’

From the beginning,

I had anticipated that such a situation where the buffs would disappear could arise.

“Take out the combat rations!”

“Yes!”

[Hmm?]

I pulled out the food from the pouch at my waist.

‘That’s what the [Combat Rations] skill is for.’

The buffs might have been lifted?

All I needed to do was eat again.

[Intermediate Cooked Dasmurian Fish Cake]

I had prepared a type of combat ration that grants the [Environmental Adaptation] trait, knowing this would happen.

[Cooking that can maintain its effects? What nonsense…!]

It seemed it knew something about cooking, but perhaps it didn’t know about the combat rations skill.

The giant mumbled in confusion.

[No. Wait a minute. That you just ate…?]

After confirming that the other soldiers were consuming their food and gaining buffs, I too was about to put my combat ration in my mouth.

[That meat. It belongs to children.]

“……Ah.”

The giant’s grotesque eyes seemed to quiver slightly.

‘Now that I think about it, I did cook it without a second thought.’

This dish.

From its perspective,

it was made from its kin.

Not just any kin, but from children of its kind.

‘It does feel a bit wrong to consider it.’

But would a monster care that much about its kin?

I had the same thought, yet—

*Goooohhhh!!!*

It let out a pained wail.

Although I hadn’t attacked it,

the giant howled in agony.

…Perhaps it was indeed deeply affected.

[To kill children of my kin… You all…! Were you eating them!]

Seeing the ground covered with what had been its kin turned into minced meat, the pope cried out, shedding blood tears.

[I will never forgive you—!!!]

Fueled by rage, the pope began to rampage even more violently.

[You! You are the cook!]

It was aimed squarely at me.

“Grrk!”

In a moment of desperation, I stuffed the fish cake I held in my hand into my mouth.

[The magic of the cooking seeps into your body.]

[The effect of Absolute Taste activates.]

[For you, the effects of cooking increase.]

The buffs applied to me amplified more than they would to the others.

While it wasn’t as good as a proper dish,

I still gained a considerable amount of stats and regained the [Environmental Adaptation - Water] trait.

*Crash!!!*

Thanks to that, I managed to evade the giant’s attack.

But even that would only last for a short while.

[Ughhhh!!!]

“Damn it!”

“That creature is targeting only Sergeant Shin!?”

The attacks continued to come solely for me, even as the two privates rushed in to help but provided little assistance.

“Sergeant Shin! Hold on! Kwang-il will take the lead!”

“What!?”

“I’ll try to restore the formation as quickly as possible, so hold on! For someone as strong as Sergeant Shin, it should be possible!”

“You bastard, what kind of nonsense—”

As the game of tag continued between me and the pope,

Seo Su-hyuk grabbed Jeong Kwang-il’s arm.

“Isn’t this actually good for us?”

“What do you mean!? Sergeant Shin is in danger! What does that even mean?”

“Have you forgotten? Our goal is to buy time.”

The giant, who sought to dismantle our formation, would undoubtedly aim to prevent us from regrouping.

It was obvious that it was doing so to keep us from recovering.

Now that it was focusing solely on me, the one who had cooked its kin into minced meat,

I was the sole target of the pope.

After Seo Su-hyuk calmly judged the situation, he nodded and shouted toward me.

“Sergeant Shin! We’ll go regroup the formation!”

“What!?”

“We’ll try to regroup as quickly as possible, so please hold on! Someone like Sergeant Shin should be able to do this!”

“What the hell!?”

The two of them turned without hesitation, leaving me alone in front of the monster.

‘It’s good that they’re not hesitating to carry out the mission, but…!’

The problem was—

‘Someone as strong as Sergeant Shin? Is that really the case?’

That premise itself was a flawed plan.

[Have you been abandoned by your comrades?]

The giant approached me, seemingly intent on easily tearing me apart.

For me to buy time against that monster alone—

‘Three of us struggled to handle it.’

Would that be possible?

That I could survive without relying on my teammates?

I was, after all, a cook, a support class.

I had almost no combat-related traits.

‘The fact that they seem to misinterpret me as a strong person is something I was aware of, but… I haven’t had the time to clear up that misunderstanding because I was busy.’

No matter how you look at it,

I never expected it to come to this.

[It must be only natural for one who made the children of my kin into minced meat… to end up like this.]

As the giant approached, intent on turning me into minced meat as well, 

I felt an intense anger rise within me.

“I guess I can’t help it.”

It’s been said that if you can’t make it work, you should make it work.

It was a phrase I often told my juniors.

It applied to me as well.

I would have to struggle until it worked out.

‘Moreover… there is still a way out.’

I slid my hand into my pocket and glanced back at the system log.

[Random skill enhancement in progress.]

[Selecting random skill—.]

[The ‘Absolute Taste’ skill has been enhanced!]

[‘Absolute Taste’ -> ‘Absolute Taste (Enhanced)’]

I hadn’t been able to check the effects immediately after it had been enhanced because Chang-soo had spoken to me, but—

I confirmed the effects afterward.

And if it was as I expected…

‘I think I might have a chance.’