Monsters that suddenly appeared from the sky.
Their shapes were utterly horrific.
Pale skin like a corpse.
And all over that skin were marks that looked like someone had stitched them on, and starting from those seams, the color of their flesh shifted little by little.
As if—
‘They were sewn together out of different living things.’
A body so wildly unbalanced you couldn’t even call it a single creature.
But their power—
-KRRRRAAAAGH!!!
As if they were lifeforms built on purpose to be strong.
They were overwhelmingly threatening.
‘And it’s not just that.’
Each one was strong, sure, but—
There were a lot of them.
So many monsters packed into a narrow area that it was rare to see.
Their strength and their numbers were both crushing.
Breaking through a horde like this would never be easy, but—
“For the Legion’s victory!!!”
“WOOOOOOOO!!!”
That didn’t mean it was impossible.
Soldiers charging the monsters.
Their numbers weren’t large.
But—
FWOOSH!
“SKREEEEE!”
-KRRRRAAAAGH!!
One soldier dove straight into the middle of them, screaming, and swung their sword.
And that was enough.
THUDUDUDUK.......
A single slash.
With one stroke, several monsters’ heads dropped at the same time.
“These bastards... they aren’t weak monsters either!”
Like someone was running a blender in the middle of the battlefield.
The monsters in the soldiers’ path were ground up in an instant.
Shredded bodies filled my vision as chunks of monster flesh flew everywhere.
“What is this effect, exactly—Sergeant Shin!?”
“What do you think it is.”
And.
The reason this was possible was simple.
“It’s cooking.”
Unfortunately.
While I was in Gyeonggi Province, I couldn’t fight at full strength.
‘People say a master doesn’t blame their tools... but me? I’m picky as hell.’
In Gyeonggi Province, I couldn’t receive any of the Legion-issued gear effects.
Sure, Gyeonggi Province had production-class awakeners too, but their growth was still far too underdeveloped.
That alone was a huge penalty, and on top of it, I couldn’t stack [Absolute Palate], either.
‘A penalty that’s gone now.’
Only now—after finishing what I had to do in Gyeonggi Province and coming back—
I could finally use my real strength.
...And.
That real strength I could use now—
[Lv.40]
[War Cook]
[All trait and skill effects are changed to ‘Top-Grade’.]
Was.
On a completely different level than before.
“Y-your cooking was already incredible before, Sergeant Shin, but...!”
All this time.
The Legion soldiers had been eating the Droplets’ cooking as if it were mine.
The Droplets, too—
They probably made it with maximum doping, going all-out, multiple Droplets cooperating together.
But no matter how hard they tried—
“This... wasn’t the level...!”
Compared to my cooking now,
Honestly, it would’ve been embarrassing.
Overly powerful buffs can burden the person who eats them.
But the stronger I became,
The more that burden on my unit steadily eased.
And besides—
‘The unit’s been growing the whole time I wasn’t there.’
And the ones here were the best of the best among them.
The amount of buff they could handle had increased enormously.
“Haha, of course...!”
BANG!
“To think this is why you said this number would be enough...!”
A pistol he normally carried as a backup, since his specialty was long-range sniping.
When a single shot punched through multiple monsters and killed them—
“Sergeant Shin, seriously.”
Corporal Seo Suhyeok looked at it and laughed like it was absurd.
“Just how strong did you get?”
“I don’t know either, idiot.”
Not a joke.
I really didn’t know.
‘...This isn’t even cooking at full power.’
[Field Cooking] helped, sure, but cooking outside was lacking compared to cooking in a proper kitchen.
And with people under attack, the time I could spend cooking was short, too.
‘And still, this kind of effect.’
I wasn’t sure, but—
A strange certainty started to form.
Maybe...
As a buffer,
I’d climbed into a realm that was hard to compare to other awakeners.
“Quit chatting and keep pushing in!”
“Yes!”
And so.
RATATATATATAT......!
Grinding through the monsters like a blender.
We advanced with the soldiers, breaking through the encirclement and pushing toward Yeouido.
“KAHAHA! Their hide’s like paper!”
“Corporal Jeon, match our speed!”
“You think you can hear me right now!? We match you as best we can!”
I moved forward like that, protected among the soldiers, advancing with them.
Even though we were cutting through monsters as we went, it was hard to keep up with the soldiers’ speed.
CREAK.......
And then.
Right then.
“Ugh....”
For an instant—
It felt like the strength drained out of my knee joint.
“Sergeant Shin?”
“...It’s nothing. Keep moving!”
A few soldiers hesitated when they saw me falter.
I shoved their backs and ordered them to keep fighting.
‘Seriously... I’m getting pretty confident in my actual job, though.’
I’m a cook.
As a cook, I’m probably top-tier across all humanity.
And I gained realizations from leaving Gyeonggi Province, too.
I had confidence I could keep growing even more.
CREAK.......
But.
I forced a bitter smile, conscious of my creaking joints.
‘Outside of my job... did I actually get worse than before?’
A [Military Chef] is a cook, but also a soldier.
And right now.
As a soldier, I was carrying a critical defect.
[Penalty]
[Severe Aftereffects]
[Vital Energy Loss]
GRIT.
‘The aftereffects are stronger than I expected... and they’re lasting longer.’
After returning from Gyeonggi Province, in my own way—
I raided the Legion warehouse, and even burned through the frozen ingredients we’d picked up inside the frozen royal fortress.
I made and ate as many “good for the body” foods as I could.
And that wasn’t all—I even mobilized every healer in the Legion to treat my condition as much as possible.
‘That excessive power I dragged out in Gyeonggi Province... power far beyond what I deserved.’
But even so.
‘Right now... I’m weaker than I was before we even crossed into Gyeonggi Province.’
The price for combat power that a mere production-class [cook] wasn’t meant to have—
Was still left inside my body.
*****
‘...I’ll think about it later.’
This isn’t something I can solve by thinking about it right now.
Besides, when I’m with the Legion, my personal combat power isn’t that important # Nоvеlight # anyway.
I clenched my teeth and just kept following, refusing to fall behind.
“First Lieutenant Kim! Buff refill!”
“...Got it!”
Even if we’re grinding them down with buffs,
They still outnumber us massively.
If it drags into a long fight, the buffs run out, and the soldiers’ stamina starts dropping, we could be at a disadvantage again.
‘First, we join up inside.’
The survivors in Seoul had turned Yeouido into something like a fortress and were holding the line.
A lot of monsters had fallen inside Yeouido too, but far more were falling outside.
If we joined the defense inside first, cleared the monsters that dropped within, and then settled into holding the line—
It might actually be easier than expected to deal with these monsters.
“Youngjun.”
But then.
First Lieutenant Kim, who was directing the fight, spoke with a deep frown.
“This is... going too smoothly.”
“Yes. I was feeling it too.”
When the enemies first started falling from the sky,
I used [Combat Power Gauge] to get a rough read on their level.
‘These aren’t enemies we should be punching through this easily.’
Numbers aside,
Their quality was high, too.
No matter how strong our buffs were right now, we should’ve been forced into a fierce fight.
“Are they trying to spread us out?”
“...Why bother? If we link up inside, that’s bad for the monsters too.”
From our standpoint, an easy fight was good.
But not knowing why made it unsettling.
Maybe they were targeting us and running some unknown operation.
As I raised my guard—
{Hmmm.......}
“!?”
From among the monsters.
A small winged monster drifted toward us.
{I was wondering what was happening inside... and now I get to see some rare faces.}
A huge head with wings that reminded me of a bat’s membrane.
Its flesh sagged like the skin of a thousand-year-old corpse, and every hole—eyes, nose, ears—was stitched shut with thread.
{The Legion.}
When the only unstitched part—its mouth—opened,
A familiar language poured out.
{It’s an honor to meet the Legion whose reputation is so renowned.}
*****
The head flying through the air wore an expression like it was suffering.
But laughter still leaked out of its mouth.
“You know us?”
{Hahaha... how could I not know the famed Legion of this land?}
“Then we can skip introductions.”
When I spoke with my arms folded,
The soldiers’ momentum rose.
“I don’t know what kind of monster you are, but we aren’t easy prey either.”
{Hmm...?}
I couldn’t tell what it was.
But it was probably the one responsible for dropping these monsters here.
“You look like a monster with considerable power.”
Of course, I assumed it came to declare war.
...Honestly, seeing their numbers and their faces, I was a little scared.
But the soldiers were flying high right now from the buffs my cooking gave them.
And—
‘Corporal Gwangil and Corporal Seo Suhyeok are here.’
Both corporals had passed level 30.
An awakener past level 30, unlike before, awakens power specialized to their own field.
For me, it was [war]. For Sergeant Lee Minjae, it was [signals].
‘Even I haven’t properly seen what those two can do yet.’
With my buff applied now,
If you added the power those two gained—
Even if it was a monster with an overwhelming force, it still felt doable.
“Alright. Let’s really go at—”
{Wait, wait.}
But.
Contrary to my expectation—
{Sorry to cut you off, but I should still say what I must.}
“Huh?”
{Go at it...? What a hurtful thing to say.}
It cut me off,
Speaking in a voice that sounded almost offended.
{I understand it may feel like our first meeting was not a pleasant one.}
Then—
{But I have no intention of being your enemy.}
Sliiiide—
The grotesque monsters attacking us
All pulled back at once.
{I came here with a bit of curiosity, that is all. If I had known the Legion was present, my children would never have attacked you.}
“What?”
{In the first place, I do not particularly oppose you—natives. My children fought only because they did not know what was here.}
At that, I looked at the monsters covering the ground.
Horrid, grotesque things that looked like they belonged in a nightmare.
No matter how I looked at them, they didn’t seem like the type that could live in friendly relations with humans.
But...
‘A monster not hostile to humans.’
To others, maybe it would be unfamiliar.
To us, it wasn’t.
‘The Legion has many nonhuman allies.’
Maybe.
Maybe they only looked vicious on the outside,
And they could still form a friendly relationship with humans.
But—
“Just looking at you, it’s obviously bullshit.”
“I don’t like judging anyone by appearances, but... just by the look of it, that seems like a vicious monster.”
Corporal Seo Suhyeok and Corporal Gwangil frowned.
...And they weren’t wrong.
“Honestly, it doesn’t sound easy to believe.”
Still.
I stared at it with a deep frown and said—
“But it’s probably not lying.”
*****
“...Sergeant Shin?”
“It’s not lying...? Don’t tell me you trust that monster!”
“I’m not trusting it. I’m saying that one part isn’t a lie.”
They both looked completely lost.
But I had my own certainty.
{Thank you for believing me. Then can our relationship be resolved peacefully?}
“No. Even if you didn’t mean harm, you still attacked us.”
Either way, a fight had already started.
We couldn’t just back down now.
{Hmmm... conflict is inevitable, is that it?}
“If you’re really gentle, then I’m sorry. But from our side, we’re the ones who got raided.”
{You needn’t apologize. I understand your position fully.}
When we didn’t show any sign of stopping,
The monster nodded and spoke.
{Then there is only one option left.}
With peaceful talks collapsed,
All that remained was battle—
Or so I thought.
{I do not wish to be at odds with the Legion. Therefore, I will withdraw from here.}
“...What?”
Its decision
Was nothing like what I expected.
“...You’re really withdrawing because of us?”
I looked up at the hole in the sky.
Monsters were still pouring out of it in great numbers.
‘I don’t know how many monsters it can command, but if we fight it here, I can’t honestly say I’m confident we win.’
No matter how ridiculous my buff was,
We’d still be forced to bet on the growth of Corporal Gwangil and Corporal Seo Suhyeok.
Even we couldn’t guarantee victory.
This wasn’t an environment where it would give up so easily.
{I would like to say yes... but that is not all.}
At my words,
The bat-like horror shrugged its wings.
{That is not the whole reason.}
“What do you mean?”
{I dislike useless investments. But there is something I dislike even more.}
As the monsters scattered in every direction,
It opened its mouth with a regretful tone.
{Losing far more because you hesitate, clinging to what you already invested.}
“...?”
{It pains me to abandon the children I have already committed here... but you are not the only ones present. In that case, giving up here is the best option for me.}
Not only us.
When I wondered what that meant—
“...Benefactor.”
The one who answered wasn’t the monster.
“It’s exactly as it says.”
“What?”
Our unit’s spirit mage.
Jeong Sua placed a hand on my shoulder and spoke.
Their eyes, staring into empty air, shimmered like water.
A power that shares vision with a spirit.
“It wasn’t just us.”
Using [Spirit Eye], they rested their hand on my shoulder.
And then—
FWAAASH!
‘This is...?’
My vision changed in an instant.
A viewpoint as if I were looking down at the city from the sky.
‘The viewpoint of [Spirit Eye].’
Jeong Sua must’ve advanced in spirit arts too.
I looked down at the ground through Droplet’s eyes as it flew.
‘Ah. I see.’
Only then.
I understood what the monster and Jeong Sua meant.
‘No wonder the enemy density felt oddly low.’
From the sky, looking down—
Fights were breaking out everywhere.
And...
[Association, advance!]
The first thing that caught my eye was—
Faces I knew well.
[Since the Legion decided to enter first, we follow behind!]
[Under the name of the united Association, make them submit!!!]
‘The Association.’
The awakeners of Gyeonggi Province.
People who heard the call from the [White Bird of the Herald] just like we did—
They started engaging the monsters in sync with our movement.
And...
‘It’s not just the Association.’
The monsters’ encirclement was wide.
But beyond the range of [Spirit Eye]—
KABOOOM.......
I could see battles erupting in the distance.
At least two places.
And the identity of the ones fighting there was obvious.
‘Humans from other regions...!’
The sudden ruin that came to this world.
The regions severed by it.
I had no way of knowing how many humans, scattered across each region, had survived.
A big reason we came here in the first place was to confirm whether those people existed.
{I have no intention of opposing you in the first place... but even if I did.}
Just as it said.
It wasn’t withdrawing only because it didn’t want to oppose us.
Survivors scattered across the nation, clinging to life.
{In that case, how could I not withdraw?}
They were gathering here in Seoul—
And fighting alongside us.
