After clearing the dungeon, *Devouring Otherworld: Dasmur*—

Chaos persisted for a while.

-Screech!

“Damn it!”

Right after the dungeon collapsed—

Monsters appeared as if they had always been there.

“Now we have to worry about being attacked by monsters out of nowhere.”

“I almost preferred being trapped.”

While being confined inside the dungeon came with issues like food shortages, it had been surprisingly safe from monster attacks.

The Fish-men couldn’t come out of the water, so staying hidden in buildings was enough.

“No one asked to be let out.”

Some didn’t realize they would have been drowned within a few years if things had continued as they were, so their complaints were understandable.

Of course, not everyone was dissatisfied.

“Finally... I can go back to my family.”

There were also many who were overjoyed to make it outside.

Thousands of people were released back into the world.

And—

Most of them were awakened beings.

Crash!

“Phew... I finally got it!”

While complaints were common—

People adapted relatively quickly to the outside environment.

“The fact that this many people have been released into the world... will be more significant than expected,” said Min-jae, who had just been discharged from the hospital.

“There could be conflicts over resources like food in the future, but...”

“That’s a problem for another time.”

The key point was simple.

‘Humanity’s fighting strength has increased considerably.’

The number of monsters appearing in the city was substantial.

Normally, like in Inje County, people would have had to live in hiding.

But in a city overflowing with awakened individuals—

Even if each group only protected its own area, safe zones would naturally form throughout the city.

Initially, I’d thought about returning to Inje County after clearing the dungeon.

‘But how could I pass up these talents?’

We were always short on manpower.

For now, we needed to stay in the city and expand our unit.

* * *

So—

We claimed an abandoned building in the city.

‘Though claiming it only meant clearing out monsters and laying down sleeping bags.’

It took quite some time to clear out the monsters that had nested inside.

We made this place our temporary base and planned to expand into more permanent strongholds over time.

“Alright. I’m heading out for patrol.”

“Got it.”

The number of monsters had increased dramatically.

Our troops agreed to patrol regularly to secure the surrounding area.

We also needed to encourage nearby awakened individuals to join us.

After preparing a meal for the troops who stayed behind, I took a moment to rest and checked my status window.

A message popped up before my eyes.

[Unclaimed reward detected!]

That message—

It reminded me why we had aimed to clear the dungeon in the first place.

‘Loot.’

It was time to check those rewards.

[Confirming the rewards for clearing *Devouring Otherworld: Dasmur*.]

[Rewards are given based on contribution.]

[Contribution of Awakener Shin Young-jun – 1st place.]

Of course—

It made sense that my contribution was first.

Second place was probably Min-jae, who had wielded the lightning magic.

Then—

[Reward granted.]

[You have gained experience.]

[You have acquired points.]

So far, it was similar to the last dungeon I’d cleared.

A huge surge of energy filled my body.

And points were awarded.

‘Last time, we received a collective skill next.’

I wondered if we’d receive something similar this time, but—

It was different.

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

[Checking job... Chef.]

[Reward granted.]

[*Essence of the Dasmur Chef*]

This time, it wasn’t a collective skill.

It was an essence.

‘I’d heard about this from the troops.’

I was a bit late to check my rewards.

Some troops who had claimed theirs earlier had already informed me that the reward wasn’t a collective skill this time.

‘Anyway.’

Last time, the reward for clearing the dungeon was a collective skill—

[Energy of the Legion].

It seemed to be a transformed version of the trait the dungeon monsters had, [Aura of Black Sand].

This time, the reward was called [Essence of the Dasmur Chef].

‘Dungeon rewards are related to the nature of the dungeon itself.’

This hypothesis could now be considered confirmed.

According to the troops, rewards varied by job class and contribution.

Some received equipment, while others got skills.

Mages received water-attribute spells or staffs.

Warriors gained water-related weapons or armor, or skills that made scales grow all over their bodies.

‘The mages were thrilled.’

Our unit’s equipment was mainly supplied by Grandpa Park and Lee Sang-ah’s workshop, but—

Even Grandpa Park, a master at crafting blades, struggled when it came to making staffs that met the mages’ needs.

Those who received quality mage equipment were so pleased that they even named their new staffs.

‘The higher the contribution, the better the reward.’

For me, who had the top contribution, the reward was this:

[*Essence of the Dasmur Chef*]

A round, slightly blue sphere.

When I touched it, it felt soft.

“...Hmm.”

It was—

A bit different from what I’d expected.

‘I thought I might get a useful knife, trait, or maybe even some rare ingredient.’

Something legendary, like a Dragon Heart from fantasy novels or a millennia-old ginseng from martial arts stories.

I’d expected something extraordinary.

‘Essence of a Chef.’

It was unlike the rewards others received.

Even Min-jae, who ranked second, had received a trait that greatly boosted his mana.

Others got equipment or skills.

I wasn’t sure how to use this, but—

At that moment.

[Warning!]

[This is a high-grade ingredient.]

[The chef’s current skill level is insufficient.]

[Attempting to cook with it at your current level may result in failure.]

[It is recommended to raise your skill level before attempting.]

“Huh. What’s this?”

Can I even eat this?

The message itself was something I’d seen before.

It had appeared when I tried making sashimi from the Pope’s flesh.

‘Now that I think about it, it was lucky that dish succeeded.’

Many factors had worked in my favor.

The stacking of various buffs had boosted my stats.

My knife was made for sashimi.

But—

‘If I had failed, the ingredient would’ve been wasted.’

Back then, I had no other choice—

So I took a risk and succeeded by luck.

“There’s no guarantee I’d succeed this time.”

This was the reward for clearing the dungeon.

And it was given only to the top contributor.

“...I’ll save it for later.”

It would be difficult now—

But I had an idea of when I might be ready.

My current job was [Intermediate Chef].

A job reached after progressing from Novice to Lower Rank.

So, the next step after Intermediate was likely—

‘Advanced Chef.’

By then, I’d probably be able to handle most ingredients.

Thanks to the huge amount of experience I’d gained recently, reaching that level didn’t feel too far off.

I’d prepare a proper dish and try it then.

* * *

After checking my rewards—

I went into my private room.

I looked down.

“Come out for a moment.”

I called down to the floor.

“Yes, Master.”

A voice rose from the shadows—

And soon, a blonde woman emerged from within.

“It’s not time for a meal... nor is it time for grace. What’s the matter?”

A monster that had given up its soul in exchange for my cooking—

A vampire baroness.

I had a question for her.

“I thought I’d give you a treat since you did well this time.”

“Oh my!”

When we raided the [Pope] with me, the troops, and our city allies—

[The children of my kin are not coming.]

[You must have done something.]

The other monsters scattered throughout the dungeon hadn’t shown up.

If they had joined the fight, our fate might have been very different.

‘This was her assignment.’

Before entering the temple—

I’d entrusted her with guarding the outside, just in case.

Her job was to keep the other Fish-men from interfering with our battle.

She said that about half of the subordinates she’d painstakingly gathered had turned to dust in the process.

‘Though the surviving subordinates grew stronger by drinking Fish-men’s blood, so she said it balanced out.’

Regardless—

Her efforts were undeniable.

“I didn’t expect a reward like this. I’ll keep working hard~”

Since she’d pledged everything to my cooking—

Hearing the word “treat” made her excited, throwing aside any semblance of noble dignity as she approached.

I watched her with a slightly skeptical eye.

Then—

Swoosh.

“Oh?”

I drew my knife across my wrist.

A small sting, and blood flowed from my veins.

“Is your treat... your blood, Master?”

“You don’t want it?”

“Of course not!”

When I first subdued her, I’d made a dish using my blood.

I hadn’t known then that I’d need to stockpile blood for cooking.

Since then, I’d learned to save the blood of hunted monsters, so I rarely used my own anymore.

This was the first time she’d tasted my blood since then.

“Such high-quality blood is hard to come by. And such a rare gift.”

“You did well. Drink up.”

“Hehe, thank you~”

When I held out my wrist—

She brought her face close.

Lick.

Even though it wasn’t processed into a dish, did it still taste good?

Her face, savoring the blood, looked enraptured.

It tickled slightly.

Then—

“Huh?”

She stopped drinking and looked up, puzzled

.

“Master? Your blood has stopped.”

“...Are you pretending not to know?”

“?”

I’d sliced my wrist.

Normally, it would cause blood loss severe enough to induce shock.

But—

She’d only gotten a few licks before the bleeding stopped.

The wound healed almost immediately.

‘There’s only one reason the bleeding stopped.’

I wiped my wrist clean with a cloth.

The scar from the cut had already closed.

“Oh my, it’s already healed.”

A wound that healed as if nothing had happened—

Awakened beings were beyond human.

Their wounds healed at an astonishing rate compared to regular people.

‘But not this fast.’

Regenerative powers that suddenly appeared—

They’d allowed me to return to the battle with the Pope sooner and contributed to the dungeon clearance.

At the time, I’d brushed it off as a stroke of luck due to the urgency.

‘But this is too strange.’

The visible rapid regeneration of wounds.

And—

‘I’ve seen this kind of healing before.’

Thinking back—

The only suspect was right in front of me.

A vampire.

A creature that heals rapidly unless its heart is torn out or it’s exposed to sunlight.

“You didn’t...”

Sweating, I spoke up.

I was ready to swing my knife depending on the answer.

“Did you turn me into a vampire?”

 

 

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TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars and likes of the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!