“Step back for a moment.”

“...”

Chang-soo still had a hesitant expression.

But when I stepped forward, he moved aside without argument.

As someone who had lived solely for revenge, he was eager to finish off the monster himself. But in this battle, it was our troops who had done most of the work.

“They deserve the right to end it.”

That was that.

I approached the giant lying in the water.

It was stiff as a corpse, sunken into the water.

Thinking it might have fainted, I brought my face close to it.

[Impressive.]

Whoa.

The voice of the motionless giant suddenly echoed in my head, even though its mouth didn’t move at all.

[Do not worry. My body no longer has the strength to rise.]

Hmm.

Judging by its state, it didn’t seem like a lie.

‘It did have a Mental Language trait.’

Even unable to move, it could still converse.

[Little insect. You certainly have many tricks.]

“Yeah, I’m quite something.”

[Heh. What do you call the force that burned my body the other day?]

“...?”

[The attack that came through the water.]

Oh.

“You mean lightning?”

[Yes. Is that phenomenon called lightning? It did not exist in my homeland. I learned something new right before death.]

Monsters from another world.

So, lightning didn’t exist in its world.

‘I see. No wonder a creature like this couldn’t properly defend against it.’

It would be odd for it to have a countermeasure for something it didn’t even know existed.

“You answered my question, so let me ask you something.”

[Hmm?]

“Why do you... or rather, why do you monsters attack this world?”

It was a serious question, in its own way.

[Invasion... there is a slight misunderstanding in that word.]

Its answer was vague.

“Are you trying to play games with me—”

[I speak only the truth. To be precise... I am not an invader but merely a refugee.]

A refugee?

“Expanding the dungeon’s territory like this isn’t invasion? That’s taking shamelessness to another level.”

[That part I can explain. It was for the children.]

At that response, Chang-soo, who was watching with his spear ready, widened his eyes and approached.

“Fish-head, what do you mean by that?”

[Did you not see? The children of my kin scattered throughout this space.]

Children?

...Could it be.

“You mean the other Fish-men?”

[Indeed. When you look at the small and frail forms of those children, what do you think?]

Small and frail?

Even the so-called larvae were as big as adult men, and the sub-adults surpassed 2 meters.

To this 5-meter giant, even those sizes must have seemed tiny.

[Our species needs vast space to grow. The more water there is, the larger we can become.]

Was it like that?

Like how fish in the sea grow large but stay small in tanks.

[I squeezed out every last bit of strength to cover this city in water. Even so, it was far too cramped.]

Come to think of it—

This giant in front of me was 5 meters tall.

The next biggest were the 2-meter sub-adults.

There really wasn’t anything in between.

[I gathered every bit of power to peer into this world. I found places with a lot of water... but even that wasn’t enough.]

It was probably talking about the ocean.

But even the ocean wasn’t enough?

[For the children of my kin to grow properly, this planet’s entire surface would need to be covered.]

“...Ha.”

No matter what it said—

In the end, it had tried to expand the dungeon’s territory to the entire world.

I didn’t have strong feelings about it, but—

“...You did it for the children?”

Chang-soo’s expression changed in an odd way.

I could understand his confusion.

The dungeon in the subway.

When I realized that its boss had a maternal instinct, I had mixed feelings, too.

[Regret only that I failed. There are no other regrets.]

“Then, my next question—”

[It seems you are mistaken about something.]

I wanted to hear more details.

[Little insect, you call me a monster, but to me, you are the true monster for devouring the children of my kin.]

“...”

[The tale I just told was only in exchange for what you revealed about the phenomenon of lightning. I owe you nothing more.]

I see.

So that’s how you want to play it?

‘Then I have my own tricks.’

It said I had many tricks, right?

In that case—

‘I’ll show my best one.’

I moved closer to the giant’s face.

I gently pried open its massive mouth.

[What are you planning?]

There was no need to answer its question.

I shoved the dish I had prepared into its mouth.

[Containing the peak of joy from an intermediate chef’s—]

It was combat rations, but—

Even so, it was something I had made with all my effort.

‘This giant was immensely strong.’

Killing such a creature outright seemed wasteful.

I already had examples like Ariella, monsters subdued by my cooking.

‘If I can turn this one into an ally...’

I’d gain both valuable information and powerful manpower—a win-win.

But then—

[Hmm. It is decent enough.]

“...What?”

Something—

The response was lukewarm.

[What was the intention behind feeding me? Is it some kind of funeral custom among your kind?]

“Didn’t the food make you feel exceptionally happy? Didn’t you feel that way?”

[Not at all.]

I was taken aback for a moment by its answer.

Ding.

[A notification: The target’s palate is too refined!]

A system message appeared.

An explanation of why the cooking’s effect hadn’t worked.

[The target has tasted high-grade dishes frequently and has an extremely refined palate.]

[The dish’s grade is lower than the target’s palate level. The effect is diminished.]

“Too refined...?”

[I’ve heard such a thing. Do you know my status?]

Status?

According to the [Ingredient Analysis], this creature’s title was—

“You’re the Pope, right?”

[I have savored the finest dishes daily. Your dish is palatable, but compared to what my personal chef made, it falls short.]

...This bastard.

This was the first time someone reacted to my cooking like this.

Lately, my pride as a chef had risen quite a bit.

And now, that pride was taking a hit.

“Just wait. This was hastily made. If I seriously put in effort, I could—”

I wanted to redeem my pride by serving a proper dish.

But—

[Cooking effect application rate – 5%]

The message in front of me made me pause.

‘5%?’

So, what—

My cooking would have to be 20 times better to match its taste?

Was that it?

‘The gap is too wide.’

When I thought about it—

My job was [Intermediate Chef].

Since I awakened as a chef, I had accomplished many feats with my cooking.

But the term “intermediate” didn’t exactly sound elite.

I should have realized it when I learned about buffs through cooking.

“In your world... there are chefs far better than me, aren’t there?”

Its refined palate was the result of being served by such chefs, which rendered my cooking ineffective.

...I’d encountered creatures that didn’t eat meat, but—

I never expected my cooking to fail because of reasons like this.

[Indeed... I understand now. It was an amusing gesture.]

“Tsk.”

[Your cooking skills may be shallow, but you do seem to have many talents. How long have you been cooking?]

However—

Despite the effect of my dish being weak, its tone toward me had softened.

‘What is this?’

I was a bit taken aback by the sudden shift in attitude, but I answered honestly.

“Uh, just over two years.”

I started learning when I became a military cook.

As an awakened, it hadn’t even been a year yet.

[Hmph! Only two years?]

It seemed surprised by my answer.

[To reach that level in just two years is remarkable talent. Don’t be so hasty, little insect.]

“Don’t be hasty about what...?”

[Your skills in cooking. The doubts you hold. In time, all will become clear.]

What’s this?

In the end, it hadn’t really told me anything useful.

[But I’ll give you one piece of advice.]

“...?”

[Your enemies will only grow stronger as time passes. It would be wise to prepare.]

A rough cough came from the creature’s body as it finished speaking.

[The pain is immense. Please... end it now.]

At its request—

I glanced back.

“...They weren’t just man-eating monsters.”

Chang-soo, who had been excited to deal the finishing blow, now looked preoccupied with other thoughts.

Well—

I could at least send it off with some dignity.

I gripped my knives in both hands.

Then, I drove them into the giant’s gills.

Swish...

These were their weak points.

The vital organs essential for life were smoothly severed.

[Little insect.]

As its life ended—

The creature’s spirit uttered its final words to me.

[Though your dish was not exquisite... it had been a while since I tasted something decently pleasant.]

The energy that had been swirling inside its body—

Surged into me.

[You have gained experience.]

[You have defeated ‘The Pope of the Deep Ones.’]

[You have slain

 the leader of a race.]

[Achievement - Condition for King Slayer achieved. (3/3)]

[You are the first human to slay multiple race leaders.]

[A reward for those ahead of their time is given.]

[Attribute Enhancement Token]

[Title - King Slayer]

[Attribute - Combat Power Assessment]

‘Damn.’

The achievement’s conditions were incredibly difficult.

Perhaps that’s why—

I received not one, but three rewards.

‘I’m familiar with the Attribute Enhancement Token from before...’

But my eyes fell on the next one.

[Title - King Slayer]

[The leaders of many races and civilizations have met their end at your hands.]

[Every leader alive will feel an inexplicable fear when seeing you, and those who survive meeting you will check if their necks are still attached.]

[The majesty of kings can no longer affect you.]

[All stats increased by 30%.]

[All effects against leader-class beings increased by 100%.]

[Complete immunity to fear-related skills and attributes.]

For someone like me, already boasting tremendous base stats, this was a significant boost.

Moreover—

‘All effects doubled.’

Against race leaders, all my abilities would be twice as effective.

Against the Pope, my cooking had only applied at 5%.

If this title had been active, it would have been 10%.

...Thinking about it like that, it didn’t seem like much after all.

Lastly—

[Attribute - Combat Power Assessment]

[Having encountered many races and spilled their blood, you can now roughly gauge their strength.]

[You can assess the potential and power of each race.]

[This attribute is now included as a sub-effect of Ingredient Analysis.]

And then—

“Sergeant Shin!”

“Come outside!”

Hearing calls from outside the building, I stepped out and looked up at the sky.

Crack...

The dark sky was breaking apart.

Light began to seep through the cracks.

‘The dungeon is closing.’

The water that had risen to my chest also began to disappear somewhere.

Soon—

[You have cleared the Otherworldly Dungeon - Dasmur.]

[You have succeeded in collecting a fragment of a wandering world.]

[Rewards are given based on your contribution.]

[Contribution Level - Top.]

[You have obtained the Essence of a Shattered World.]

[Checking job... Chef.]

[Please select your reward.]

* * *

The dungeon that had enveloped the entirety of downtown Chuncheon—

With its clearance, the city began to resemble its former state.

The most noticeable change was that all the buildings near the bustling central area had vanished, replaced by a strange temple-like structure.

However—

That didn’t mean the city was now peaceful.

- Screech!!!

“Damn it!”

“Where did these creatures come from?”

A monster resembling a giant wild dog attacked one of the city’s residents.

While there had been no other monsters during the dungeon period—

Once the dungeon closed, it was as if these monsters appeared out of nowhere, claiming their rightful place.

“The sky seemed to shatter, and now monsters are appearing.”

“It was better before!”

Those who had been living in high-rise buildings to avoid the dungeon monsters—

Were now forced out of the dungeon because of us, not knowing what was happening.

The people being attacked by monsters shouted complaints—

“Take that!”

- Whine!

Despite their angry shouts—

Their weapon-handling wasn’t half-bad.

The environment inside the city had been relatively safe, similar to our unit’s.

Most of the people who lived there had undergone their awakening.

Though not many were of high levels, they were still awakened—

Strong enough to defend themselves.

‘This trip to the dungeon was for the growth of my unit...’

Watching the people fight the monsters, a thought crossed my mind.

“This seems like an unexpected benefit.”

“Indeed.”

The sudden appearance of monsters—

Had led to the death of over 90% of humanity.

The fight between monsters and humans had always been overwhelmingly skewed against humanity—

‘But that gap... may have lessened a bit.’

The numerous awakened who had been wasting away inside the enclosed city—

Were now free in the world.