Chapter 28

Chapter 28. The First Hero (22)

Kang Tae-sik was confused, but they were still in the middle of a vertical-cut exchange.

He never took his eyes off Seongchan's sword.

After reading the trajectory, Kang Tae-sik twisted sideways to avoid it while taking position for his own vertical cut.

Seongchan thought he'd judged too quickly.

It's not even finished yet, and he's already dodging?

Seongchan stopped his practice sword halfway down and immediately changed back into the starting position for another vertical cut.

Even if he pulls his sword back, I'm still first! This is my win!

Kang Tae-sik saw Seongchan interrupt his motion to reset his stance.

He attacked immediately.

Whoom!

With a rough sound of air being split apart, Kang Tae-sik's practice sword aimed for Seongchan's arm.

Whoosh!

Confusion immediately appeared on Kang Tae-sik's face.

He let go!

Seongchan released one of the two hands holding his practice sword.

Kang Tae-sik's strike passed through empty air.

At the same time, Seongchan's one-handed practice sword descended toward Kang Tae-sik's face.

Crack. Creak-crack.

Even with one hand, Seongchan produced exactly the same speed as when he'd used both.

The vertical cut remained perfectly steady without shaking.

Kang Tae-sik stepped back.

His expression became serious.

The speed never changes. He's not simply swinging.

If Seongchan had accelerated the sword, that attack might have hit him.

Yet Seongchan never increased his speed.

Kang Tae-sik began to understand the difference.

This wasn't a match.

It was training.

Kang Tae-sik had treated it like a contest.

Seongchan had treated it as practice.

No.

He was teaching him.

It felt like Seongchan was physically showing him exactly how vertical-cut training should be done.

Thinking back, Seongchan's speed had remained perfectly constant throughout the movement.

Kang Tae-sik took the vertical-cut stance again.

"Please teach me."

"What do you mean, teach you? This is the reason I divided you into beginner and intermediate groups."

Seongchan lowered the practice sword.

"You need to watch each other and check your vertical cuts if you want to improve. And if you're only doing simple vertical cuts, that's also why warming up isn't necessary."

If I keep doing this, it'll interfere with cooking.

Seongchan had maintained the same speed throughout every vertical cut.

Controlling the speed became harder the farther the sword descended.

It required extremely precise control of each muscle.

He also had to account for the weight of the practice sword as it fell.

"I still don't understand."

"Then try doing exactly what I just did."

"Could you watch me for a moment?"

"Go ahead."

"Understood!"

Kang Tae-sik immediately took his stance.

He began performing a vertical cut at the same speed Seongchan had used.

Seongchan watched until the end.

Then he asked,

"Where did you feel it pulling?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do it again. I'll press the spots."

"All right."

As Kang Tae-sik performed another vertical cut, Seongchan used his fingers to press every area of the arm where the muscles were being stimulated.

Kang Tae-sik repeatedly let out sounds of surprise as he listened.

"The reason you warm up is so you can use your muscles properly. You warm up so you can precisely control the places I just pressed."

Seongchan continued.

"Warming up only becomes truly important once you can actually feel your muscles during a vertical cut."

Cha Hyeonwoo had been strong.

He knew how to control his muscles.

That was why warming up had been important to him.

What Cha Hyeonwoo hadn't realized was that not a single ordinary member of the Rice Ball Guild had been thinking about using their muscles with that level of precision.

If they couldn't finely control their muscles in the first place, warming up was almost the same as repeatedly performing meaningless motions.

"So the reason we do slow vertical cuts is to feel the tiny movements of the muscles?"

Na-ye spoke thoughtfully.

"And warming up is important because it loosens the tense muscle fibers so we can control them properly?"

"Na-ye understands quickly. Exactly."

Once the guild members heard the full explanation, they began picking up their practice swords.

They wanted to experience it themselves.

They had finally been given a clue to the perfect vertical cut.

Once they felt it directly, they thought they might finally understand why warming up mattered.

The guild members paired off.

Then they began performing vertical cuts toward each other.

Whoooom.

Whoooom.

They moved slowly.

They focused on using their muscles at a constant speed.

Soon, painful groans began escaping their mouths.

"Uuugh!"

"Aaaagh!"

They glared at each other while slowly focusing on their own bodies.

At the same time, they exchanged movements, avoiding the other's sword and returning their own cut.

Before long, the training ground filled with rough sounds.

Several guild members collapsed to the ground.

They're catching on quickly.

Even if the warm-ups were mindless, I guess they weren't completely useless.

Without someone knowledgeable like Seongchan giving them advice, those warm-ups might have remained useless for their entire lives.

But now, with Seongchan's explanation, the guild members were finally realizing how to use their bodies.

Watching them concentrate, Seongchan pulled out a large iron griddle.

"Na-ye, what's for breakfast today?"

"Bread and boiled potatoes."

"Put them beside the griddle."

There was space beside the griddle for ingredients.

Seongchan spread some lowest-grade butter across the surface.

Then he sliced the bread and began toasting the cut sides.

Sizzle!

The rich smell of toasted bread delighted his nose.

The bread is done.

Now for the main part.

After finishing the bread, Seongchan reached into his high-grade subspace pouch and pulled out Wild Pig meat.

He placed the seasoned meat onto the griddle.

SHAAAA! SSSSSIZZLE!

Wild Pig meat poured onto the metal surface.

Seongchan quickly used tongs to spread it around.

Soon, the silver griddle was completely covered with Wild Pig meat.

"If, that's perfect."

"Kyarrrr~"

Until now, they'd mostly cooked Wild Pig Soup.

If had become familiar with controlling fire beneath a cauldron.

But a cauldron and a griddle transferred heat differently.

[I told you I only needed to spread the fire evenly over a wide area, so that's what I did!]

Seongchan had given If the instruction through thought.

A cauldron contained water, which helped distribute heat more evenly.

A griddle was different.

If the fire concentrated in one spot, that place heated properly while the outer sections became cooler.

That meant meat closer to the flame cooked faster and meat farther away cooked slower, making it harder to find the right moment to flip everything.

You're doing well.

After saving villages and cooking Wild Pig Soup every day, If had become much better at handling fire.

Even though this was its first time working with a griddle, it could now adjust the heat on its own based on the intensity Seongchan wanted.

One side of the Wild Pig meat began to cook.

Juices spread across the griddle.

The meat browned beautifully over the surface coated in its own juices.

At the right moment, Seongchan flipped it with his tongs.

Sssssizzle!

Fat popped as the uncooked sides touched the hot surface.

Seongchan's hands moved brilliantly.

The Wild Pig meat seemed to dance as he flipped each piece, cooking every uncooked surface.

As the meat cooked, a thin layer of juices formed around it.

That only happened when Wild Pig meat was cooked properly.

If handled badly, that layer never formed.

Instead, the juices leaked out completely along with the Wild Pig's foul smell.

Properly cooked Wild Pig meat had an extremely rich aroma.

Rich enough that the scent traveled all the way to the guild members who had followed Park Seokdu inside.

"What's that smell?"

"Someone's grilling meat!"

Inside the Rice Ball Guild dining hall, guild members were eating thick cheese-and-potato soup with glossy bread covered in strawberry jam.

They all turned toward the window and swallowed.

The smell was completely different from anything they expected.

"Is that really Wild Pig?"

"That's not the Wild Pig I know."

"What exactly are you doing?!"

"You can see it. I'm grilling Wild Pig meat."

To keep the layer of juices intact, the meat had to be flipped at exactly the right moment.

The griddle temperature also had to remain perfect.

Even the slightest mistake would cause the foul smell to spread everywhere.

Mistakes were not allowed for Kim Seongchan.

Flip! Flip! Flip!

Every time his tongs moved, glossy pieces of Wild Pig meat turned over.

Then...

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Seongchan picked up the meat with the tongs and placed each piece between slices of bread.

And he wasn't finished.

Whoosh!

Ella raised water and peeled the boiled potatoes.

The peeled potatoes landed on the griddle, now covered in Wild Pig juices.

SHAAA!

The rich juices splashed.

The yellow flesh of the potatoes began frying.

Seongchan's tongs immediately moved.

Tat-tat-tat-tat!

The tongs crushed the boiled potatoes and moved rapidly across the griddle.

The potatoes cooked evenly.

Soon, the mashed potatoes turned beautifully golden and crisp.

Seongchan stuffed the browned potatoes into the bread together with the Wild Pig meat.

[Wild Pig Potato Burger has been completed!]

Seongchan's mouth filled with saliva.

It had been a long time since he'd eaten something other than soup.

Grilled meat.

Bread.

And crispy mashed potatoes that were almost like potato pancakes.

"Let's try it."

Everyone watched him.

Seongchan opened his mouth wide.

The toasted bread gave a satisfying crunch.

Then came the soft potato, the crisp edges, and the tender Wild Pig meat.

After chewing a few times, the meat released rich juices and flavor with every bite.

The taste spread throughout his mouth before sliding down his throat.

It was delicious.

"I made it well. Let's eat breakfast and work hard today!"

The moment he finished speaking, the guild members who had been pretending to train while waiting for the food immediately rushed over.

They began eating.

The instant they took their first bite, exclamations burst out everywhere.

Everyone repeatedly shouted that it was delicious.

Watching them enjoy themselves made Seongchan feel good too.

He took another bite of his Wild Pig Potato Burger.

"This effect stacks!"

[All stats increase by 10% for one day!]

[This effect can overlap with the effects of other dishes!]

The Wild Pig Potato Burger could stack with other food effects.

At Kang Tae-sik's amazed shout, Seongchan explained,

"When Wild Pig meat is grilled, the dish becomes one whose effects can stack."

"If we keep eating, will it keep stacking forever?"

Whenever someone ate food with a stat effect, the system notified them of the increase.

They couldn't see a full stat window, but people often recognized stat changes through changes in their bodies.

Then could they stack the effect endlessly?

"You get a system window whenever the effect activates, right?"

"Yes. Then if the window doesn't appear, it means the effect isn't stacking anymore?"

"Exactly."

Even if someone could physically eat more, the effect didn't stack if the system message no longer appeared.

It depends on the person's abilities.

For one person, one meal a day might be enough.

For another, the same amount might barely count as a snack.

People differed in how much they could eat.

They also differed in how many food effects their bodies could stack.

Normally, ordinary people can stack it around twice.

That was the average for normal people.

Heroes could usually stack it up to six times.

The cook's skill could also increase or decrease the number.

There were many factors involved.

"Haaap!"

Seongchan took another big bite of the burger.

Every ingredient filled his mouth perfectly.

Whoever made this really knows what they're doing.

Pleased by the taste of his own cooking, Seongchan smiled.

The two spirits didn't miss their chance.

[I worked really hard controlling the fire!]

[I was so careful peeling the potatoes because I was scared I'd cut away the potato flesh too, and I still got scolded!]

You both did well.

After hearing praise, If lifted a paw and scratched the back of its head.

It couldn't wipe the smile off its face.

Ella made a small wave beneath herself, puffed out her chest, and swayed proudly from side to side.

Seongchan praised both spirits.

Then he looked toward the window.

His eyes met Park Seokdu's.

Park Seokdu had frozen with a spoonful of soup in his hand.

The moment their eyes met, Park Seokdu put the soup in his mouth and began eating bread.

Then...

He glanced over again.

Their eyes met once more.

Park Seokdu quickly turned slightly away and started talking to another guild member.

It was obvious he was trying not to pay attention.

You want one, don't you?

Seongchan put the last Wild Pig Potato Burger into his mouth.