Chapter 67
Hong Man-gi placed the completed dish on Belloc's massive table.
Belloc repeatedly sniffed the aroma.
Drool even began dripping from his mouth.
He stabbed a large piece of meat with an enormous fork.
After staring at it for a moment, he brought it into his mouth.
'Huh?!'
The instant the meat touched his tongue, Belloc's red eyes filled with shock.
His massive body flinched.
'Wh... what is this taste?'
He had expected meat as hard as stone and filled with the horrible gamey smell of wild boar.
Instead, what covered his tongue was an unbelievable harmony of tenderness and deep flavor.
The meat was as soft as perfectly aged premium lamb.
With every bite, rich juices burst into his mouth.
The horrible odor had been completely removed by the fermentation of the doenjang.
Instead, the deep savory taste of the soybean paste intensified the meat's natural umami.
The gentle herbal fragrance of the Poison Heart Herb gave the meat a more refined flavor.
The smooth garlic purée wrapped around all those tastes and brought everything together into perfect balance.
"Krrrr... this is driving me insane!"
Belloc groaned before he could stop himself.
He closed his eyes and slowly enjoyed the lingering flavor on his tongue.
He chewed as though determined not to miss even a single detail.
He had dedicated his life to experiencing every taste in the world.
Yet this kind of emotion was completely new to him.
He could not stop eating.
The brutal battle maniac and butcher disappeared.
Instead, Belloc focused on the dish with the innocent expression of a child tasting something truly delicious for the first time.
"Chew... chew... insane... this is insane, hehehe...."
Only after the plate had been completely cleaned did Belloc finally put down his fork.
For a long time, he said nothing.
Heavy silence filled the hideout.
Hong Man-gi and Lee Yu-han swallowed nervously while waiting for his final judgment.
Belloc wiped his mouth and slowly spoke.
"Hey, kid."
His voice had softened with satisfaction.
"What's your name?"
"Hong Man-gi."
"Hong Man-gi...."
Belloc repeated the name several times.
Then he burst into loud laughter.
"Hahahaha! Fine, Hong Man-gi! I lost! Completely! Your food was better than anything I've eaten in my entire life!"
He stood and headed toward a treasure room deeper inside the hideout.
A short while later,
he returned carrying two small boxes.
"I always keep my promises."
He placed both boxes before Hong Man-gi.
Inside them glowed two brilliant items.
The red Flame Lizard's Tear.
And the Little Giant's Breath, giving off a faint cold aura.
"I heard you need these. Take them."
Hong Man-gi bowed deeply to Belloc.
"Thank you, Mr. Belloc."
"Hah. Don't thank me. I'm the one who should be grateful. Thanks to you, I learned there are still flavors in this world I've never experienced."
Belloc smiled with satisfaction.
Then his expression grew serious.
"Kid. I won't ask why someone with your talent needs dangerous materials like these. But be careful."
Hong Man-gi raised his eyes.
"There's been a rumor around the Shadow Market lately. Someone is targeting people with special talents like yours."
Belloc's voice lowered.
"They may be even worse than the Association."
His warning once again confirmed the existence of the outside force that Cha Mu-jin had warned Hong Man-gi about.
"I already had a rough feeling something like that was happening. Thank you for the warning."
Hong Man-gi left Belloc behind and turned away.
Hong Man-gi and Lee Yu-han walked through the damp, dark passages of the black market with lighter steps than before.
"Hunter, we really... really did it! We survived!"
Lee Yu-han could not hide his excitement.
He continued talking beside Hong Man-gi.
"Wow... he looked scarier than any monster I've ever seen, but I guess he really loves delicious food more than anything."
"Seems that way. And now the real work begins."
Hong Man-gi quietly checked the two small boxes inside his clothing.
The two eventually escaped the Shadow Market at a quick pace.
When they finally emerged beneath the weak glow of streetlights above ground,
someone was watching them from the dark shadow of an old shipping container.
The figure appeared to have observed everything that had happened inside, including the small disturbances along the way.
A cold smile touched his lips.
He took out a portable terminal and sent a short message.
[Target confirmed. Special ability user, "Chef" type. Prepare sample acquisition.]
Before dawn the next morning,
two long shadows stretched across the ground in front of the Full Moon Restaurant.
Hong Man-gi and Lee Yu-han faced each other with the serious expressions of soldiers preparing for battle.
"Hunter... we're really going today, right? That super high-level dungeon, the Forge of Chaos...."
Fear and excitement mixed together in Lee Yu-han's voice.
"Yeah. We can't delay any longer."
Hong Man-gi glanced down at his shadow.
Within it, Cha Gang-il's spirit seemed to reveal a heavy presence as though whispering to him.
'That is the place where I risked everything, young man. Please... complete my final work.'
Hong Man-gi nodded and patted Lee Yu-han's shoulder.
"Yu-han, you haven't forgotten why we've come this far, right?"
"Of course not! We're going to make the legendary weapon! We have the Flame Lizard's Tear and the Little Giant's Breath, and we also have the Heart of Chaos left by Hunter Cha Gang-il. We've gathered every material!"
Lee Yu-han deliberately spoke with confidence.
Their objective was clear.
They would carry on Cha Gang-il's final wish and complete the legendary weapon at the Primordial Furnace, located deep within the S-rank dungeon known as the Forge of Chaos.
'The purpose is not simply to create a weapon.'
Cha Gang-il's quiet voice echoed from within Hong Man-gi's shadow.
Only Hong Man-gi could hear the spirit.
'That weapon will become both shield and spear, protecting this world from the terrible threat to come. It contains the work of my entire life. You could call it my final hope.'
Hong Man-gi rephrased the words so Lee Yu-han could understand.
"The weapon we're making isn't meant to hurt someone. It's meant to protect people. Just like the food I make for spirits on their final journey."
Lee Yu-han's eyes grew firm again.
"Let's go, Hunter. I'll follow you anywhere."
The two headed toward a desolate abandoned region outside the city, where the S-rank dungeon gate was located.
The entrance to the Forge of Chaos looked overwhelming, like the mouth of hell itself.
Terrible heat poured from within.
The air carried sulfur and strange sounds like metal striking metal.
Hong Man-gi and Lee Yu-han naturally began walking inside.
"Hup...."
Lee Yu-han nervously swallowed.
This was an S-rank dungeon whose information was revealed only to a tiny number of the Association's highest-ranked Hunters.
To ordinary Hunters, it was simply an unknown world beyond a sign that read "Restricted Area."
Very few people would ever dare challenge it.
The reason was simple.
Dungeons of this class were not places normal Hunters considered targets for conquest.
There were not many Hunters willing to throw their lives away recklessly.
Perhaps for that reason, the area surrounding the dungeon entrance was completely barren and silent.
Not another Hunter could be seen.
"Let's go."
The moment they stepped into the dungeon, Cha Gang-il's voice sounded in Hong Man-gi's ear.
'Three steps to the left. The crack in the floor is a trap that releases lava.'
Hong Man-gi immediately grabbed Lee Yu-han's arm and pulled him left.
A pillar of red-hot lava suddenly erupted from the exact spot where they had been standing.
"Huh?!"
Lee Yu-han stared at it with a pale face.
'Normal dungeon strategies do not work here. My memories and experience are your only guides. If you want to avoid unnecessary injuries, follow my instructions.'
Cha Gang-il's guidance was absolute.
He had already passed through the dungeon once.
He knew every structure.
Every trap pattern.
Even the weaknesses of the monsters.
Following his directions, Hong Man-gi and Lee Yu-han avoided unnecessary fights with dangerous monster groups.
They passed deadly traps by narrow margins and steadily advanced deeper into the dungeon.
However,
naturally, not every danger could be avoided.
'Two ahead. They're called Black Iron Obsidian Hounds. They are sensitive to sound, and they can move through shadows.'
"So we can't avoid these ones."
'Correct.'
At the same moment, two pairs of glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness.
Two gigantic hounds covered in sharp scales like black obsidian slowly crawled from the shadows and blocked their path.
Grrrrrr.
Hong Man-gi moved Lee Yu-han behind him and drew the Bloodline Sword.
"I'll handle them."
One hound melted into the shadows and vanished.
An instant later, it appeared behind Hong Man-gi and swung its sharp claws.
Whoooosh!
The attack was frighteningly fast.
Hong Man-gi naturally avoided it.
At the same time, he spun and swung his sword toward the hound's neck.
[Clang!]
The Bloodline Sword struck the hard obsidian scales, sending sparks flying.
'They're tough.'
Then the second hound attacked from the front.
Hong Man-gi activated Shadow Movement.
His body became a streak of darkness, passed beneath the beast, then reappeared behind it.
"It's over."
The Bloodline Sword stabbed deeply into the hound's soft abdomen.
Kiiiiieeeeng!
With a scream, one hound collapsed.
The remaining monster charged in rage.
But the flow of the battle had already shifted completely toward Hong Man-gi.
He calmly deflected its attacks and accumulated wound after wound.
Eventually, the second hound also collapsed.
"Haa...."
"A... amazing, Hunter! You killed B-rank monsters that quickly...!"
"My rank went up too. Monsters like these don't feel quite as impossible anymore."
Ignoring Lee Yu-han's admiration, Hong Man-gi listened again to Cha Gang-il.
'Well done, young man. There isn't much farther to go. What we seek is at the end of that passage.'
"The Primordial Furnace...."
They began walking toward the center of the dungeon.
