The Military Chef of a Ruined World

I went back to the corner and was getting ready to eat my own meal.  

[Achievement Unlocked!]

[Achievement: The Healing Chef]

‘Damn.’

The achievement notification appeared.

It seemed like all the patients lying down had finished their meals.

‘I didn’t really expect an achievement like this.’

[You have successfully treated the physical and mental conditions of many patients through your cooking!]

[The realm of cooking has expanded beyond just gastronomy, confirming its potential]

[You have gained a large amount of experience points]

[Random Skill Enhancement Ticket has been awarded]

The amount of experience gained as a reward was substantial.

And the other reward was…

‘Random skill enhancement?’

Unlike the Attribute Enhancement Ticket that allowed me to strengthen a specific trait, this was a reward that would randomly enhance a skill.

‘It’s a bit disappointing that I don’t have a choice, but hey, an enhancement is an enhancement.’

I promptly used the skill enhancement ticket.

[A random skill will be enhanced]

[Selecting random skill…]

A small roulette-like thing appeared in front of me.

The areas of the roulette had the names of the skills I possessed written on them.

The roulette spun and…

Ding!

[‘Absolute Palate’ skill has been enhanced!]

[Absolute Palate -> Absolute Palate (Enhanced)]

‘Yes!!’

The enhanced skill was Absolute Palate.

Just as I was about to read the effects of the enhancement,

“You’ve done a remarkable thing,” Chang-su approached and spoke.

His tone sounded incredulous.

“What did I do?”

“Thanks to you, the people have regained their senses. The group members who were taking care of them are so impressed that they’re almost following you more than me.”

Ah.

The light cooking I did out of pity for the people who had lost their minds seemed to have been seen as something to sway his subordinates from his perspective.

“I didn’t do it with the intention of swaying your group members, but… I’m sorry it turned out that way.”

“Sorry? Seems like you’re misunderstanding something.”

Chang-su waved his hand dismissively at my apology.

“Let’s just say I wanted to express my gratitude.”

“Huh?”

Apparently, my assumption was mistaken.

“Those friends of mine had decided to take revenge after their precious people lost their minds. But now that they’ve regained their senses, they’ll likely give up on the revenge. It’s a good thing.”

“A good thing? Isn’t that bad for you?”

As the leader of these people,

He must be the one who hates the ‘monsters’ the most.

So, the reduction of the personnel who were determined to take revenge against these ‘monsters’ should be something he would want to prevent, it seemed.

“Honestly, the people on our side don’t look very normal, do they?”

Ah, that’s true.

“I’m one of them, but I know this path is best left behind, at least.”

“….”

“I’ve been unlucky, so I don’t think I can ever fully get out of this path, but I don’t want to stop others from trying to escape it either.”

I was a bit surprised by this honest statement.

‘So, they’re not just crazy people, huh.’

I had only seen them as obsessed with hunting the ‘monsters’, useful for dungeon exploration.

But it seems their leader isn’t just a mindless fanatic.

“And well, even if a few leave the group, it’s not a big problem.”

“Huh?”

“After all, your goal is dungeon exploration, isn’t it? Until you achieve that goal, we’re essentially the same group.”

Ah, could it be…

“I think I’ll give the dungeon exploration a try.”

“…!”

Although there wasn’t any real message that appeared before me.

But

I felt like I saw a message saying:

[You have acquired an Ally]

After the alliance was formed, a full-scale strategy meeting began.

“So, if we consider this place a dungeon, there should be a boss somewhere… actually, I have a hunch about where it might be.”

Chang-su then led us to the rooftop and pointed to the distance.

“The city center of the city.”

“What’s the basis for that?”

“Just look closely.”

As if saying that would be enough to understand, Chang-su stepped back with his arms crossed.

Following his lead, we looked around the area a bit and realized one fact.

“The water level is high.”

“That’s right. Even here on the outskirts, you’ll only be safe up to the 2nd or 3rd floor of the buildings from the monsters. But…”

“It seems most of the 3-story buildings in that direction are locked.”

“Exactly.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Chang-su continued.

“Not only that, but the closer you get to the center, the higher the frequency and level of those monster appearances.”

“I see.”

“Even just the high-water level makes it a difficult environment to fight in. And with their increasing numbers and strength, our group has only been able to patrol the outskirts without being able to venture too deep inside. It’s quite suspicious, don’t you think? We all felt that there must be something important being guarded in there.”

“If it’s that difficult to approach, there’s likely something important that needs to be protected inside…that makes sense.”

Chang-su couldn’t hide his worry as he continued.

“Even the military folks from outside wouldn’t be able to break through that, I’m afraid.”

“Well…we can at least try, can’t we?”

“That’s not a very reassuring answer, but… Anyway, let’s move on from that.”

As the discussion on the strategy progressed, I decided to ask a personal question that had been bothering me.

“Do you know of any way to escape from this city?”

“Huh? Didn’t you say we need to defeat that ‘boss’ guy?”

“I mean, apart from that. For example, is there a way for even just one person to escape?”

“If there was, everyone would have escaped by now.”

“I see.”

However, that raised another question in my mind.

‘Then what about that man who called for our help? Where did he come from?’

The man who claimed to be from Chuncheon had almost certainly escaped this ‘dungeon’ somehow. But how did he manage to do that?

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Translator: OneForce