The Military Chef of a Ruined World

“Kahaha! Su-hyeok, you’ve got a lot to learn,” laughed Corporal Jeon Gwang-il.

“Do you know what military life is all about?”

“What?”

“When it seems impossible, you make it possible!”

“…That’s absurd, but not wrong,” Seo Su0hyeok sighed deeply as he reluctantly agreed.

“Ahhh!”

A scream rang out as a man narrowly avoided being caught by the giant in pursuit.

Just as the giant’s fist came crashing down toward him—

Boom!

Corporal Jeon Gwang-il intervened.

“Th-thank you,” the fleeing man stammered.

“No need for thanks! Join the formation!”

The man, pursued by the boss monster, fled in haste.

Two soldiers stepped forward to confront the creature that was after him.

“Excluding Min-jae, we three are the elite of our unit.”

We three needed to buy as much time as possible.

[So, you are… rather sizable vermin.]

The giant loomed over us, and we gazed back defiantly.

[Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)]

[Chef’s Eyes] activated.

[Pope of the Deep Sea]

[Freshness – Moderate]

[Representing the guardians of the Deep Sea world, Dasmur.]

[This being was their religious leader, reigning as king.]

[Its freshness has significantly deteriorated due to aging and injuries.]

“A religious leader, huh?”

Seeing it up close, it appeared even more grotesque.

It resembled a human in some ways, but its skin was covered in scales, and its face was closer to that of a fish.

Though its size was enormous, its limbs were thin to the point that the bones were visible.

The sight of it crawling through the temple on those spindly legs was akin to watching a horror film monster.

“That thing is a pope?”

There was nothing divine about it; it looked like something straight out of a demon-worshipping cult.

[Of course. Size doesn’t change the fact that a bug is still a bug.]

As the creature finished its sentence, the water around it began to rise, swirling in the air to form a colossal spear.

“Crazy!”

“Is it controlling the water?!”

I recalled how strangely powerful those waves had been earlier. Did he amplify the force of the water its body?

The creature thrust the spear down with great force.

“Ugh…!”

Corporal Jeon Gwang-il crossed his arms to block the spear.

Unlike the others, he didn’t become incapacitated from a single blow, but…

“Cough… Keuh… Hahaha. Yes, this is the kind of challenge I was expecting…”

It seemed he had taken considerable damage.

We weren’t just standing there, however.

Rat-tat-tat-tat…!

[Grhhhh]

Screech—

[Ugh…!]

As Gwang-il braced himself against the spear, Sergeant Seo Su-hyuk unleashed a barrage of firepower.

Confident in my physical abilities, I darted in closer and managed to slice through that monsters’s flesh.

“Tsk. If only I could have targeted a weak spot,” I thought.

The creature, like other aquatic beings, had gills located on its chest.

But with its towering height of nearly 5 meters, getting close to its weak point was a daunting task.

“Your strength surpasses that of an ordinary insect. It’s clear that it isn’t normal,” the monster muttered.

Though I failed to strike its weak spot, the damage I inflicted appeared significant enough that it seemed to feel some pain.

It was undeniably a powerful monster, but if we could just stall for a little longer—

“Ah, so that’s the reason. It’s the cooking, isn’t it?”

“What?” I asked, caught off guard. The creature’s words were peculiar.

“It seems you’ve found a decent cook,” it said disdainfully.

What was this creature implying?

How did it know about the cooking?

And this wasn’t merely a surface-level understanding, either.

“If you know the source of your suffering, responding to it shouldn’t be a challenge,” it continued, rising slightly and lifting its head.

Its abdomen swelled ominously.

Grhhhhhh!!!

[The voice of the ‘Pope of the Deep Sea’ echoes!]

[Combat abilities of the Dasmurians will drastically increase!]

[All other races, excluding the Dasmurians will have their stats reduced!]

[Buffs for all other races have been removed!]

The echo reverberated through my body, weighing me down and de-amplifying the resistance of the water.

This was the consequence of the cooking’s effects wearing off.

Our stats plummeted, and the trait [Environmental Adaptation – Water] had vanished.

“This eliminates the effects of your cooking,” the creature taunted.

“Now, what will you do? Will you try cooking again?”

It looked down at us mockingly, as if dismissing our weakened state.

The creature shifted toward our allies, who were struggling to regroup.

“I must stop it.”

I had anticipated that we might find ourselves in a situation where our buffs would vanish.

“Get the combat rations ready!”

“Sir, yes sir!”

The creature seemed puzzled, raising an eyebrow at our frantic preparations.

I pulled some food from the pouch at my waist.

‘This is exactly what the [Combat Ration] skill is for.’

So, what if the buffs were dispelled? We can just eat again.

I had prepared [Intermediate Chef’s Dasmurian Fish Cakes] prepared for a situation like this.

It would grant the [Environmental Adaptation] trait.

[Is it really a dish that preserves effects? Unbelievable…!]

The giant seemed to have some knowledge about cooking, but perhaps not enough to understand the intricacies of combat rations.

He appeared bewildered, muttering to himself.

[No. Hold on. What you just put in your mouth was… ?]

After observing the other soldiers gaining buffs from their meals, I too was about to consume the combat ration when he exclaimed,

[That meat… It came from my children, didn’t it?]

“…Ah.”

I noticed a hint of hesitation in the giant’s eyes.

‘Now that I think about it, I did prepare it quite nonchalantly.’

From his perspective, this dish was made from his kin—particularly, the flesh of a child.

‘Even I find this situation a bit unsettling.’

But still, could a monster really care so much about its own kind?

Such doubts ran through my mind as I watched the giant let out an anguished roar,

Graaah!!!

Not like we attacked him directly.

Yet, he screamed in pain.

‘…It seems he genuinely cared about his kin.’