One who would bring disaster to the continent.
The very terror of the continent itself, worshiped by demonkind, feared by clerics, and so dreaded that adventurers could scarcely dare speak its name.
The Demon Sword, Dark Moon .
For some reason, it was now sealed by the power of the gods in a remote border region of the continent where no one ever came, but once, it had truly been an object of terror.
Occasionally, those who worshiped and feared its power would come in a spirit of adventure, but every challenger met death without exception.
The Demon Sword that even Demon Kings did not dare touch.
That was Dark Moon.
How much time had passed?
For centuries, Dark Moon had been alone in this cemetery where no one ever came.
Then one day.
The swords of the challengers buried in the cemetery suddenly disappeared.
Was it an archmage’s teleportation magic?
Or had the ‘gods’ intervened once again?
It was impossible to know.
And yet.
‘What the hell is that guy?’
A guest who had come after hundreds of years.
He was a young man who appeared to be in his twenties.
He did not seem to possess any particularly exceptional power.
No, he looked weaker than anyone who had ever come here before.
In any case, that young man had come to the place where Dark Moon was sealed.
“Wood Chopping, Wood Chopping!”
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
And he was cutting down a tree with a Hand Axe!
In this eerie place, without a care in the world.
With a carefree face and a bright smile.
‘He is not sane.’
Anyone could see that this was a dangerous place.
And yet he was leisurely cutting down a tree.
A guest who had come after so long.
Thinking it would be perfect for killing boredom, Dark Moon decided to make him draw it, play with him like a toy, and then kill him.
- Who the hell are you?
The fellow reacted to those words.
He whipped around and looked this way.
“Oh. The Demon Sword can talk too?”
- You... know of me?
- Well, fine. I will speak plainly. I will grant you power.
- Come here and draw me. Then I will give you the power to rule the continent.
“I don’t want to.”
The young man refused as sharply as a knife.
Dark Moon had not thought he would immediately draw it, but answering that he did not want to so confidently, without showing the slightest sign of shrinking back, was a completely unexpected reaction.
- Heh heh. What an amusing fellow.
- Do not fear. Accept my power.
“I’m busy. Don’t talk to me. Wood Chopping! Wood Chopping!”
THWACKTHWACK!
‘I need to eat pork belly, and this thing’s making a fuss and getting in the way.’
At present, Woo-jin’s head was filled with nothing but pork belly.
Tender raw pork belly.
When he had looked earlier, the ratio of fat to lean meat had seemed as perfect as that of a famous restaurant.
On top of that, it was Korean pork!
It was not cheap American or Australian pork, but 100 percent domestic Korean pork belly.
CRAAACK!
Along with a THWACK! from the tree, there was a sound like the grain splitting. At the same time, the tree seemed to sway, then fell in the direction opposite Woo-jin.
THUD!
“Good.”
Woo-jin began chopping the fallen tree with the Hand Axe, cutting it into pieces suitable for use as firewood.
- I told you to come here for a moment, did I not?
- If you accept my power, a tree like that could be cut down in a single stroke. What do you think?
[You have learned Wood Chopping Lv. 3.]
[Wood Chopping Lv. 3 proficiency has increased.]
[Wood Chopping Lv. 3 proficiency has…….]
It did not matter.
After all, as Wood Chopping’s proficiency increased, his speed and precision when cutting trees also improved.
“All done!”
[Firewood is being stored in the Subspace Backpack.]
[Firewood is being stored in the Subspace Backpack…….]
[Subspace Backpack]
[Stored Items]
- Firewood×50
“Hehehe. Wait for me, pork belly. Big bro is coming.”
He headed toward the Administrator Passage with light steps.
The Demon Sword watched the back of this stranger—whether he was an adventurer or not—leave after coming for the first time in hundreds of years, feeling utterly empty.
- …….
Woo-jin brought over one stone plate and a long stone.
These had been part of the cave wall forming the Dragon Lair.
[Unidentified Stone]
- Description: A stone with extremely hard strength. It composes the Dragon Lair.
He did not know exactly what it was, but it was a hard stone.
It was highly suitable for use as a stone plate.
When grilling pork belly on a stone plate, the problem was that the stone could easily crack as oil-soaked stone heated up.
But this was said to have hard strength, so there seemed to be no need to worry about that.
‘But this is fascinating. A stone this hard gets dug out as easily as soil if I just have the Soil Tilling skill.’
He did not know what the principle behind it was, but in any case, it was a good situation for Woo-jin.
First, he decided to make supports to hold the stone plate in place.
Holding a small Trowel that fit snugly in one hand, he picked up a long, uneven stone and shaped it into a rectangular support.
“Soil Tilling!”
CRUMBLE!
He was able to shave the stone’s surface with a fair degree of precision, almost as if carving it.
After making three stone supports like that, Woo-jin drove them into the ground so they formed a triangle at regular intervals.
“Woo-jin. Is there anything I can help with, nyah?”
“Mm. Can you bring me a handful of the grass scraps in that corner over there?”
“Understood, nyah!”
Blackie scurried over, brought back a handful of the grass scraps that had been separated and gathered after digging up carrots, and set them down.
Woo-jin then prepared the stone plate.
He shaved an uneven square stone plate with the Trowel.
Into the shape of an upside-down pot lid.
[Unidentified Stone Grill Plate]
- Grade: E
- Effect: Heat Retention +30%
- Description: A grill plate carved from an unidentified stone that composes the Dragon Lair.
“This became an item?”
Woo-jin looked at the grill plate with fascination.
At that moment, one more system message appeared.
[You have learned Handiwork Lv. 1.]
[Handiwork Lv. 1]
- Description: Become skilled at handling and crafting simple tools.
“Ohooo.”
He had obtained a skill too.
Nice.
Woo-jin neatly placed several pieces of the firewood he had just chopped beneath the grill plate, crossing them over one another. Then he used the gas burner to set fire to the carrot grass scraps Blackie had brought.
He placed the burning grass scraps in the middle of the firewood.
Thanks to the burning grass scraps, the dry firewood gradually began catching flame.
Crackle, pop!
“Hehe. Preparation complete.”
Now then, shall we begin the pork belly party in earnest?!
Plop.
Woo-jin took out the pork belly and aged kimchi from the Subspace Backpack.
He picked up one large strip of pork belly and placed it on the grill plate.
SIZZLEEEEE!
The sound of pork belly cooking where it touched the heated grill plate rang out.
Woo-jin then placed two more strips of pork belly on it, arranging three strips in total.
SIZZLEEEEE!
“Great sound.”
The pork belly began cooking to a golden brown.
Blackie’s tail was spinning like crazy.
Was it a helicopter or what?
“W-Woo-jin! It smells incredibly delicious, nyah!”
(…….) Agreed.
Woo-jin chuckled and flipped the pork belly.
He cooked the other side evenly too.
Then, once it was cooked to some extent, he cut it into bite-sized pieces with scissors.
Since the grill plate was shaped like an upside-down pot lid, he could see the pork belly oil naturally gathering in the center of the plate.
Woo-jin picked up one piece of Madam Kim Mi-sook’s aged kimchi.
Without even cutting it, he dropped it straight into the center of the grill plate.
SIZZLEEEEE!
Aged kimchi grilling in pork belly oil.
Transparent oil mixed with the bright-red aged kimchi.
And the aged kimchi turned orange-red.
At the same time... an indescribably delicious smell rose.
He swallowed his saliva again and again without meaning to.
He now roughly cut the aged kimchi into large chunks.
Then he picked up his wooden chopsticks.
Clack!
First, he decided to try eating a lettuce wrap.
He held one large lettuce leaf in his left hand.
After placing a piece of golden-brown grilled pork belly (thick) on top, he lightly spread ssamjang over it.
The highlight.
He placed Madam Kim Mi-sook’s aged kimchi on top.
He wrapped it all up……
And ate it in one bite.
“Chooomp!”
“Khhh.”
Delicious!
So delicious he could cry!
Pork belly in the Tower!
And a lettuce wrap with aged kimchi at that!
I, Lee Woo-jin, am the happiest man in the Tower.
“W-Woo-jin! I want to eat too, nyah!”
“Wait. I’ll make you the perfect wrap, okay?”
Woo-jin made the same lettuce wraps and popped one each into Blackie’s and the Doppelganger’s mouths.
Blackie’s eyes grew huge after eating the lettuce wrap. (OㅅO)
“What the hell is this insane flavor, nyah?!”
(…….) Shock!
(…….) Thumbs up!
“It’s good wrapped with perilla leaves too. You can eat on your own now, right?”
For Blackie, Woo-jin put pork belly and aged kimchi into an empty Yukgaejang cup noodles, small size, container. This way, he could make his own wraps.
‘It would be nice if the Dragon Lord were here too.’
He had invited the Dragon Lord to the pork belly party, but the Dragon Lord had refused, saying he had no interest.
Still, when Woo-jin recalled how deliciously he had eaten the Yukgaejang cup noodles, small size, he was sure he would like pork belly too.
Just in case, Woo-jin looked toward the open ceiling where sunlight was entering, stared up at the sky, and said,
“Dragon Lord! Pork belly! Eat with us!”
There was no response.
Blackie shook his head.
“The Dragon Lord is Lord Constellation, nyah. Calling him will not mean anything, nyah. Constellations will not even glance at Hell difficulty adventurers over level 200, nyah.”
“What does that have to do with anything? I’m calling him because he’s the landlord here.”
That was when it happened.
[The God of Dominion observes you.]
“Hm?”
Woo-jin blinked.
The God of Dominion was observing him? What was this…….
[The God of Dominion sighs, saying he said he had no interest.]
Ah, it was the Dragon Lord.
[The God of Dominion says to give him enough for a taste.]
“Yes, sir. Just a moment!”
Woo-jin made a lettuce wrap.
Two especially thick pieces of pork belly.
He added ssamjang too.
And a generous amount of orange-red aged kimchi grilled in pork belly oil.
“Here you go!”
The lettuce wrap Woo-jin was holding disappeared.
It seemed the Dragon Lord had taken it.
[The God of Dominion puts the lettuce wrap into his mouth in one bite.]
[The God of Dominion widens his eyes, speechless.]
“Gasp! Does it not suit your taste?”
That was not it.
Because.
[The God of Dominion says it is the most delicious thing he has eaten so far and asks if he can have more.]
Okay.
The pork belly party will continue.