The Late Cook Ascends the Tower - Chapter 49

49 – Episode 49. It’s a hotel, so it’s kind of like that.

It’s nice that your physical abilities have improved since being possessed.

As much as your body improves, you can feel it when your mental strength drops.

If you think about it, today was a pretty tight schedule.

Awakening in the labyrinth in the morning, searching for a way all day, going backwards through the entire 1st floor wasn’t enough, until the forced breakthrough.

Tilda and Dana seem so excited that they don’t even know how hard it is…

Today it would be better to rest on the plain without fighting.

“Dohyeon-ah, how is this place? Would you like to go up?”

When I asked to find a place to eat, Dana found a large rock in the middle of a field.

The height is over 3m, so if you go up, you can see the field clearly.

There is no need to climb up.

Because if Dana doesn’t go up, she’ll stare at you with deathly eyes.

“The last person to go up can only eat one piece.”

“Oh yeah, I’m going to win first place!”

“What about halflings!”

I was just saying this as a joke, but I suddenly got into a competition, so I started climbing the rock with my teeth clenched.

Tilda’s hands are tougher than she thought, so she clambers up rocks like a cockroach, and I’m the tallest of us, but I can’t beat Tilda.

Well, even in real life, I was stuck only in the kitchen, so there’s no way I could suddenly become an athlete just by possessing it.

I guess I’m the worst at using my body.

“Goaaa!”

Then Dana watched us climb the boulder from a distance, then ran at her sprint and landed on the boulder twice before reaching the summit.

That was even before Tilda arrived.

That’s why I’m in last place.

But I am also a chef.

“I worked hard, so I’m going to eat two at a time.”

“Wow… What is the chef’s personality?”

“I’m retrograde, so I have to treat the return soldier. Even if you don’t want to eat for a while, you have to eat well.”

“Uh… You left me to eat a lot by yourself.”

“It’s saving, dude.”

“Sometimes please waste it on me too.”

“No? I’ll throw it away if it’s not worth it.”

“Eh…”

And Dana first found a nice spot to sit down and beckoned to us.

“Hee hee, it would be nice to eat together. And it’s really pretty here, isn’t it? Sit down quickly, too.”

“Really. It was good to come up.”

Following Dana and sitting on a rock, the endless plain felt like a green sea.

The wind is cool, and I thought I was going to get mentally ill after looking at the stuffy scenery of the labyrinth all day.

The brain is purified.

She took out [Tomb Guardian’s Grilled Skewers] From her inventory and handed them out to each of her hukou.

Tilda gulps down her saliva as soon as she sees her eel.

“Wow…”

Dana’s eyes, nose and mouth expand at the same time as she expresses her sincere exclamation.

A white lump of flesh that blooms with steam.

The overwhelming smell of eels overwhelms the scent of flowers in the fields.

“Ahh… That’s real torture… Running away after letting him smell this…”

“Sniff… Haa… Haa… That was the smell… Even without money…! The party is really good… So good!”

I decided on the party while defying my determination and conviction, but Dana must have had free meals as the key.

As if someone gave a signal to start, the two of them bit the eel at the same time.

The flesh is so large that it feels like the faces of the two are buried in the skewer.

Pasasac-!

The skin is well fried and crumbles, while the unfried inner skin stretches like a rice cake and then breaks.

Oil dripping down the crushed flesh.

Steam spewed out of their mouths.

“Ha ha… Ha ha…”

“Mahihe…! Mahihe…! Help me Get away!”

I want to eat too.

I can’t take my eyes off the two of them eating.

I was wondering what kind of reaction they would show after eating fish because it was their first time in their lives.

“Is it delicious?”

“Yes! Eel is the best!”

“Hwaa… Crazy…! Lee Do-hyun is a god!”

It was a much more satisfactory response than I expected.

Now I can’t tell if Dana sniffles because she’s hot or because she’s shedding tears because it’s delicious.

Does eel in this world taste different?

Or is my cooking gone bad?

The two urged me to eat it quickly, so I fell asleep feeling like a monkey in a zoo and bit off the eel.

Crispy…!

Ah, it was both.

The eel was delicious and my cooking was great.

The fragrance explodes as soon as a piece of flesh enters the mouth.

Even though it is so hot, the eel’s oil flows down the throat like jelly, and the savory scent of omega 3 coats the esophagus.

And before the impression passes, the smoked scent of king’s vinegar exudes from the crispy skin.

The stark texture contrast between the crispy skin and creamy flesh is delightful.

In addition, the decision to cut the meat into large pieces played a role.

Because chewing a small lump and filling your mouth with meat are different levels of satisfaction.

“How are you, Dohyeon? It’s really good!”

“Of course not. Who made it.”

“So crazy, Chef! How can you not have eaten anything that has not tasted so far? Is all food delicious in this world?”

If Tilda had eaten Danane’s stew, she wouldn’t be able to say that. It’s unfair.

Still, I have to admit what I have to admit.

From what I’ve seen while cooking, the ingredients in this world are definitely delicious.

Even the flesh of the most common rogue bird has a deeper taste than chicken in real life, and the flesh of Gaa I am eating now has a rich taste that is incomparable to that of the finest freshwater eel.

The texture is good.

So maybe my prediction is right?

In this world, the rarer the ingredient, the better the ability, and the rarer the ingredient, the better the taste.

The countless japtems I got while playing games come to mind.

Which items are edible among them, and what are rare items that can be used as food ingredients?

Just thinking about it makes me look forward to the future.

Right now, I’m satisfied with just one skewer, but later on, I hope to make a perfect meal by adding vegetables for wraps and making sauce.

I was engrossed in happy thoughts while eating the eel, but Dana stared at the eel from the side and said,

“Dohyun-ah.”

“Why?”

“Actually, I was pretty nervous when I left town. But I think I did well to come out. I wish every day was like today… It’s so much fun!”

“Right, I was scared at first too, but going out with the chef feels like going on a picnic, right? Tomorrow will be more fun!”

You can.

The plain where we are right now looks very peaceful, so you could be mistaken for that.

But there was a clear reason behind this peace.

“Do you really think so?”

“Since a while ago, I don’t smell of monsters at all, and I don’t even smell of traps, right? I think you can rest assured for a while…”

“Right. There are no monsters or traps in this area, and if you keep going like this, you can reach the 3rd floor.”

“Really? Then can we go to the third floor right now?”

“Yes. That’s why you don’t see climbers. Just go forward along the road and you will find the third floor.”

“hehehe… I really like it, right?”

“But you can’t do that. We will find a dungeon hidden in this plain and break through it.”

“Even though I can just walk by?”

“Yes. Because that is the trap of this plain.”

In Cronus’ Labyrinth on the 1st floor, monsters and traps that appear constantly eat away at the player’s spirit.

So, when a player arrives on the 2nd floor, he or she will safely go straight to the 3rd floor…

If you do that, you will have to pay the price on the next floor and the floor after that as much as you couldn’t grow here.

If you don’t like that, you have no choice but to run into danger yourself.

“The strategy for the second floor is to risk yourself to the limit. We need to get as much compensation as we can here, and in the meantime save our stamina as much as we can to get to the third floor.”

And of course, our party is going to take the worst route.

“Now, relax your expression and eat one more.”

I handed out one more skewer to the two with rotten expressions.

Then, like Pavlov’s dog, the expression on his face was relaxed.

Simple too.

And I scared you with words, but the attack on the 2nd floor starts tomorrow and I’m going to rest today.

For today, it would be better to rest well with such a pathetic expression.

“Don’t worry. We are going to camp here for today. Before that, gather some ingredients from the field and just get some sleep.”

“Really!?”

“Really?”

“What do you like so much? If anyone sees it, they will know that I have always been pampered by nagging.”

Then Tilda and Dana had seizures one after another.

“Isn’t it!?”

“Isn’t it? While coming here…”

“Because it cost your life, you idiots! If you’re done eating, go and get some ingredients!”

“Oh yeah! Is it okay if I go around alone then?”

“Yes. Instead, if you meet another climber, don’t follow them. Don’t get lost Go as far as you can see this rock. And come back before sunset.”

“By the way, Chef. Hey, do you see that?”

“What?”

But then, Tilda frowned as she looked into the distance.

Where she pointed her finger, something was wriggling over the field…

It was a scene like something out of an advertisement.

“Is that… a cow?”

“What is a cow?”

“Right! Soda! A herd of cows!”

A herd of brown cattle was leisurely grazing in a field.

Come to think of it, on the second floor, you could see a cow through the background.

I forgot about it because it was just a graphic and it didn’t interfere with the game at all…

Backgrounds are also part of the game.

By the way, what if you could get the item there too?

An emergency alarm sounds in my head.

“Hold that one. It is milk.”

“Milk? What is milk?”

“Milk! I really like that milk! I traded with humans sometimes, but what does milk have to do with cows?”

“Didn’t you know? That’s her milk.”

**

Running through the fields dyed red by the sunset like that, slaying cows.

We returned to the rocks only after the sun had completely set.

I don’t know how the seasons change in this world.

As soon as night falls, the temperature drops and steam comes out of your mouth.

It’s scary to think outside after a bonfire, but I’m so glad Dillo-kun is here.

Dilogun’s interior was so cozy that you couldn’t feel the outside weather at all.

“Ugh… My head is dizzy…”

“I’m dying of hunger…”

“Yeah, who eats milk by the liter… I thought you guys were crazy.”

“But… It’s so delicious, what can I do…”

There was no one in our party who had ever hunted, so we had a hard time.

In the end, he managed to catch a cow with good milk.

Dana’s credit was great.

The cow’s head is perfect with that ignorant power! I was able to milk it to my heart’s content by holding it and immobilizing it.

Thanks to that, I kept two bowls in my inventory even after drinking milk until my stomach burst.

‘Ah… Milk in TOE.’

There’s no way there’s anything like milk among the japtem, and if necessary, I had to catch a Minotaur and milk it.

What are you going to do with this? I guess that’s it.

“I think I will fall asleep as soon as I lie down… I’m sleepy…”

“Me too…”

“Let’s sleep in tomorrow and go slowly. Because you worked hard today.”

“hehehe, that’s right… I don’t have to prepare the store…”

Like that, the blanket Dana brought was spread on the wooden floor, and Tilda and Dana collapsed on top of it.

And I…

I regretted seeing it.

‘I… did I make a party without thinking too much…’

Since this is a game, I thought the party was just like adding one more character window together.

For the past two days, Tilda has been so petty that she didn’t even notice…

Coming to think of it, I’m traveling with a girl I’ve just met.

If you look only at the appearance, it’s a great beauty that you’ve never seen in real life.

So there is no place for me to lie down in this narrow dilogun.

“What are you doing, Dohyun?”

“Lie down, chef. It’s heaven when you lie down…”

So, physically you can lie down.

It’s kind of like that.