“Then! Just buy time!”

[Have you been abandoned by your comrades?]

I wasn’t sure how I ended up in this situation, but now I had to buy time 1:1 against that monster.

But—

As I slipped my hand into the pocket at my waist, I thought,

‘Maybe I can manage this a bit?’

What I pulled out of my pocket was—

Well, obviously, it was cooking.

This time, however, it was something different.

[Intermediate Cook’s Heartfelt Blue Gelatin]

A dish I had already tasted before.

It was a jelly wrapped in a small plastic bag.

[How foolish.]

The giant spoke after seeing me take out the dish.

[Only one effect from a dish can apply. Isn’t that common sense?]

“...You seem to know quite a lot.”

I had sensed this earlier, but—

That creature seemed to have a good understanding of [Cooks].

What it just said was no different.

‘Originally... only one effect from a dish can apply at a time.’

This was actually a given.

If the effects of cooking stacked, the best class wouldn’t be a warrior or a mage.

It would be a food fighter, who could wipe out dozens of foes with ease.

However,

for me, that was now a thing of the past.

[Absolute Taste (Enhanced)]

Not long ago, I had healed the people in Chang-soo’s group with my cooking and received a [Random Skill Enhancement Ticket] as a reward for my achievements.

The effect of that enhancement ticket had boosted [Absolute Taste].

‘Even though it’s enhanced, the basic effect remains similar to before.’

The increase in the dish’s effects was slightly more than before?

But maybe it wasn’t just a plain enhancement.

There was one additional line of effect.

That was…

[For the user, the effects gained through cooking can now stack.]

A simple one-liner.

However—

‘This is absurdly overpowered.’

That effect was tremendously powerful.

[You have consumed Intermediate Cook’s Heartfelt Blue Gelatin!]

[The magic contained in the dish seeps into your body.]

[Would you like to apply the second effect of Absolute Taste (Enhanced)?]

[Please choose the desired trait!]

[You have acquired the ‘Environmental Adaptation’ trait.]

[Currently applied dishes]

[Dasmurian Fish Cake - Stat increase, water affinity increase, trait: ‘Water Adaptation’]

[Blue Gelatin - Trait: ‘Environmental Adaptation’]

With a smooth sensation...

Even with the effects of the dish already applied,

another effect was stacking on top of it.

[What is this!?]

I could feel my body blending into the surrounding environment.

I had a stealth ability that even the eyeball monster that had occupied the armored division couldn’t detect.

[...Where are you hiding!?]

Even the giant, clearly a powerful creature, was in the same boat.

The pope, who had just missed my form right in front of him, let out a furious roar.

‘Do you think I would tell you just because you asked?’

Ignoring its screams, I slowly stepped back to create distance.

First, I concealed my form.

I planned to reveal myself to draw aggro when it tried to attack the recovering formation.

[You possess quite a fascinating ability, but it seems you don’t understand whose territory this is.]

The giant raised its palm high and—

*Crash!!!*

Slammed it down toward the ground.

The water, which had risen to my chest, swelled with waves.

Though it wasn’t as powerful as before,

the waves created by it crashed against my body.

[There you are!]

The giant’s gaze locked onto me.

‘Damn it. What am I, a bat…!’

It seemed to have figured out my location through the waves in the water.

It was a strong creature, but it also had a strangely versatile nature.

The massive spear of water in its hand grew even larger as it prepared to throw it.

“This is insane!”

Just before it was thrown, I hurriedly took out another dish and stuffed it into my mouth.

[Intermediate Cook’s Heartfelt Steel Lizard Jerky]

[The magic contained in the dish seeps into your body.]

[All stats increase.]

[Temporarily acquire the trait - ‘Steel Scales’.]

[The effect of Absolute Taste enhances the dish’s effects.]

The buffs applied to me were amplified more than they would be for others.

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

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

*Crash!!!*

A powerful impact struck my body.

* * *

[Finally caught you! You little insect!]

‘Gah…!’

I felt an enormous shock to my abdomen.

Even the gear I was wearing was made of lizard skin.

With the addition of the lizard dish I had just eaten, my defenses had been bolstered.

Even so, this shock was immense.

Barely keeping my wits, I glanced down at my body.

“Haha…”

The uniform at my waist had been completely torn away.

If that was all, I would consider myself fortunate.

“Seriously, this is driving me insane.”

The attack had landed squarely on my waist.

More specifically, a massive hole had been punctured in my right side.

Drip…

It felt like something that shouldn’t leak out was trying to escape from within me.

I hurriedly placed my hand over the wound.

“It’s way too strong, isn’t it?”

If I hadn’t eaten the lizard dish just now, that hole would have been much larger.

Just days ago, if my Absolute Taste skill hadn’t been enhanced, I would have been dead by now.

Though I managed to resist with all my might,

it had come to this.

[I may not be versed in cooking... but I can at least mimic it.]

The giant approached, intent on turning me into minced meat.

I could move to some extent, but dodging the next attack was impossible.

However,

I smiled lightly and spoke.

“Well, I’ve bought enough time, haven’t I?”

[What?]

“I have no intention of dying quietly.”

At that moment, the giant hesitated.

*Crash!!!*

[Ugh…!]

A massive shock overwhelmed the pope.

“Sergeant Shin!!!”

As the soldiers who had been scattered due to the waves regrouped,

they returned to face the pope.

[How dare you interfere…!]

The giant gripped the massive spear in its hand.

An attack that could deal fatal damage even to me, who had all sorts of buffs.

But—

[The effect of ‘Legion’s Spirit’ activates.]

[Combat capabilities of the legion members forming the ranks receive a bonus.]

As the troops restored their formation, there was a slight difference.

“Attack! Here it comes!”

“Defensive formation!”

[Commanding shout - Defensive formation]

With Lieutenant Kim’s command, the allies received buffs.

“Shields up!”

“Loyalty!”

The tank-specialized awakened ones stepped forward with their shields against the spear.

*Crack!!!*

As a result—

“Ugh! Damn, it’s heavy.”

“The power is incredible! Everyone be careful!”

“How the hell did Sergeant Shin endure that? Especially alone.”

There was no damage to the soldiers in formation.

The damage was limited to merely the wrists of the shield-bearers.

‘This is the power of a group.’

I realized this anew.

It’s a profession that can’t stand alone, and I had concluded that we needed to build up our unit.

But the unit I had nurtured had grown quite, considerably strong.

While the individual abilities might not be enough to stand against that giant,

the more they gathered, the more synergy awakened within them.

They had consistently practiced facing large monsters.

If the troop gathered to form ranks,

they wouldn’t easily falter even against a powerful boss.

This was precisely

the strength we had built up.

My unit, the one I had fed and sustained.

* * *

“Sergeant Shin! Over here!”

While the soldiers formed their ranks to block the pope,

some soldiers from the rear approached to lend me their shoulders.

“Haha! That was truly amazing!”

“Thank you for your hard work. From here on out, leave it to the juniors, and you should just… huh?”

As they tried to support me,

they seemed to notice something and froze in place.

“……!”

“This… this wound.”

“Ugh… It hurts like hell, man.”

It was no surprise.

A palm-sized hole had been punctured in my side.

“...Damn it. This isn’t the time for jokes.”

“Your injury seems more serious than expected!”

“Quickly, to the medics!”

Soon, medics and chaplains from the rear rushed over.

“Quickly, show us the wound!”

Without a word, I moved my hand and revealed the wound on my side.

A palm-sized hole.

I feared that my insides might spill out if I wasn’t careful.

As I glanced toward that area,

I saw the wound slowly healing.

“Oooh…”

It was a somewhat gruesome sight,

but watching the flesh at the wound gradually regenerate was quite fascinating.

“Thank you. As expected, our unit's healers are exceptional. This is impressive healing magic.”

“…….”

“?”

However,

the expressions of the medics and chaplains looking at the wound seemed strange.

They were sweating cold as they stared at the wound.

What was going on with them?

Why were they acting like that all of a sudden?

…Could it be?

“Could it be that the wound is beyond healing?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Seeing them sweat gave me a glimmer of hope, so it seemed they weren’t concerned about that.

Of course

,

there’s no way they could say healing was impossible if I was visibly regenerating like this.

But at that moment,

Corporal Saji-jun frowned and said,

“Sergeant Shin.”

“Uh-huh.”

“We haven’t done any treatment yet.”

“...Huh?”

As I glanced at my abdomen,

the wound was regenerating slowly but steadily.

“No. It’s clearly regenerating. What do you mean by that…?”

“We haven’t done anything yet, sir.”

“......”

The two healers, with expressions of confusion, looked utterly dumbfounded.

Our unit's chaplain, an awakened one named Shin Joong-soo, cautiously asked,

“How is the wound regenerating?”