Chapter 13

Chapter 13. The First Hero (7)

“How did you make this?”

Kim Seongchan gave a simple answer to Lee Naye’s question.

“You watched the whole process, didn’t you?”

“Was this really made with just low-grade salt and pepper? It tastes even better than before.”

Kosdal, who had been listening to Lee Naye’s conversation from beside them, was amazed by the taste of the Wild Pig Soup.

“There’s garlic in it too. On top of that, it turned out well because we had the water and fire that Ella and If put their hearts into.”

Ella and If, each sitting on one of Kim Seongchan’s shoulders, happily went Hii~ and Kyar~.

He was not simply flattering them.

The seasoning helped too, but this would be impossible without spirits.

The better the emotional communication with the spirits became, the more special their water and fire became.

It also allowed him to finely control the temperature of the flames and the grade of the water to suit the Wild Pig Soup.

Everyone happily ate the Wild Pig Soup.

[All stats will increase by 20 percent for one day!]

As proof, the effect was even stronger than the Wild Pig Soup he had made with Osle.

It was not 10 percent.

It was a full 20 percent!

Kim Seongchan dismissed the status window and started eating the Wild Pig Soup.

Slurp.

Just because his stats had increased did not mean he could directly see his abilities.

He could tell that his stats had risen because his stamina, strength, and dynamic vision felt different from before he ate the food.

While Kim Seongchan happily ate the Wild Pig Soup, Kosdal fell into shock.

What? Wait. Not 10 percent? It’s 20 percent?

Kosdal could hardly believe the effect displayed before his eyes.

He should have dismissed the status window, but the unbelievable number caused his thoughts to freeze.

Kosdal was not the only one.

The villagers were also staring blankly at their status windows.

Without noticing what was happening around him, Kim Seongchan continued eating his Wild Pig Soup.

Slurp.

Slurp.

Kim Seongchan sensed that something was strange, stopped his spoon, and looked around.

Had time stopped?

There were no sounds of anyone eating.

Everyone had frozen in similar positions.

“You said it was delicious, so why aren’t you eating?”

Everyone had taken one bite of the Wild Pig Soup.

Then, as if they had all fallen into shock, they stopped with their spoons still in their hands.

He could not even hear them breathing.

“Breathe.”

As soon as Kim Seongchan said that, many people suddenly took rough breaths, as if they really had been holding them.

A few people remained frozen with their eyes wide open.

They clearly found it extremely difficult to believe.

Kosdal was one of them.

“What in the world are you?! This is impossible!”

Kosdal had been happily eating the Wild Pig Soup before finally noticing that all his stats had increased by 20 percent instead of 10 percent.

That was when he shouted.

“I’m Kim Seongchan, Hero, day two. And I’m eating right now.”

“That’s not what I’m asking!”

“You were enjoying the food, so why are you suddenly shouting?”

“If we make it like this, doesn’t that mean we can get this effect every time?! Do you think something like this should even be possible?”

Kosdal was worried.

He had believed that the previous 10 percent increase in all stats had only been possible because the retired royal chef’s skill had affected the result.

But now, the thought that he had been wrong tore through his mind.

This was not a result created by the hands of a retired royal chef who had devoted his life to cooking.

Twenty percent! Making Wild Pig Soup increases all stats by 20 percent!

Kim Seongchan was a Hero.

And he had only been a Hero for two days.

He might not understand what it meant to increase all stats by 20 percent.

If this effect could be reproduced, then this would not simply solve people’s hunger.

If the recipe for Wild Pig Soup spread, blood could be spilled over it.

“I’m the only one who can make it like this, so stop imagining things. If other people make it, they’ll get something like a 2 percent increase in one specific stat for an hour, not all stats. If they do really well, they might increase all stats by 2 percent for twelve hours.”

“Was it that obvious on my face?”

“Your face looked extremely serious. What are you doing? Eat up and get some energy, then build the wooden fence.”

“I’m not doing it.”

“Fine. I only brought it up anyway. There isn’t enough time to build a wooden fence.”

“Are you playing with me?!”

“If you had said you would help, I would’ve done it. But since you said no, I thought of something else.”

Kosdal did not ask what that something else was.

Kim Seongchan did not explain either.

The area became filled with the sounds of people eating Wild Pig Soup.

When they were about halfway through the meal, Lee Naye slowly leaned toward Kim Seongchan and lowered her voice so only he could hear.

“Isn’t 2 percent still amazing?”

“It’s better than 20 percent.”

Just as Lee Naye said, the fact that there was even a chance of increasing all stats by 2 percent just by eating one bowl of Wild Pig Soup was incredible.

Eating food did not normally increase every stat.

There were plenty of dishes that increased a specific stat, such as strength or agility, by 2 percent.

However, dishes that increased all stats were rare.

“That’s true too. Seongchan, how old are you?”

“I’m probably older than you.”

“Then you can speak casually to me.”

“I’ll speak however I want, so eat.”

“Okay...”

Silnyang saw Lee Naye looking gloomy and glared at her.

Then it rubbed its head against Lee Naye’s neck.

Grateful that Silnyang was comforting her, Lee Naye tried to touch its head.

A strong gust of wind immediately pushed her hand away.

Silnyang likes comforting others. On the other hand, it hates being touched.

Watching them, Kim Seongchan continued eating his Wild Pig Soup and finished the entire bowl.

As Kim Seongchan emptied his first bowl, his eyes met Taylor’s, who was already eating his second.

Taylor chewed the Wild Pig Soup he had just put into his mouth a few times before quickly swallowing it.

“Is there something you want me to do?”

They had only made eye contact, yet Kim Seongchan could feel Taylor’s determination to do anything he asked.

Taylor had been doubtful when they were butchering the Wild Pigs.

But after happily eating the Wild Pig Soup, his expression now seemed to say that Kim Seongchan only needed to give the order.

“Something I want you to do?”

“Ah, I said that wrong. What do you want me to do?”

Watching Taylor immediately correct himself, Kim Seongchan thought,

I was planning to help them build the wooden fence and then leave.

Everyone was smiling.

Some found happiness in one bowl of Wild Pig Soup, while others found it in two.

Seeing them finally free from hunger made Kim Seongchan think of the other villages.

“Put all the processed Wild Pig meat into the subspace.”

“All of it?”

The happy atmosphere around the meal suddenly turned cold.

It sounded as though Kim Seongchan intended to take away all the ingredients needed to make Wild Pig Soup.

However, they had misunderstood something.

“Ah, leave enough for yourselves to make Wild Pig Soup, then put the rest into the subspace. You should try making it yourselves so you understand how difficult it is. Should I give you the recipe or not?”

Just because they had watched him cook did not mean they could do it themselves.

Besides, Kim Seongchan had given the villagers something even more valuable than the Wild Pig Soup.

Skills.

“N, no. It’s fine. Put all of it in for him! And if there’s anything else we can do, please tell us.”

Perhaps feeling guilty for doubting him, Taylor lowered himself and carefully watched Kim Seongchan’s reaction.

As if he had been waiting for those words, Kim Seongchan immediately spoke.

“You’re close with the people from the other villages, right?”

“I’m close with the people in the villages around here.”

“Guide me to a village that needs help right now.”

“Understood.”

Taylor answered, quickly finished the rest of his Wild Pig Soup, and stood up.

The villagers who had overheard Kim Seongchan and Taylor’s conversation also began moving.

Kim Seongchan felt a sharp gaze on him.

He turned toward the source.

Kosdal was there.

“Are you looking at me like that because I’m not leaving right away?”

“That’s right. If you were a Hero, wouldn’t you have passed through Tolkhan Village and headed straight for the Terk Kingdom?”

“You’re making it very obvious that you don’t like what I’m doing. Is it because I don’t seem like a Hero to you?”

“Interpret it however you want.”

That answer made it easy to understand what Kosdal thought a Hero should be like.

He believed that a Hero was someone who ignored everything around them and moved straight toward their goal once it had been decided.

He’s not wrong.

Unfortunately, Kim Seongchan knew enough about Heroes that it was difficult to argue against Kosdal.

Heroes who had just arrived in this world were few in number compared to the people of this world, but most of them were naturally gifted.

If a Hero trained for one year, they could gain strength equal to an ordinary person of this world who had trained for ten years.

Because of that, Heroes often looked down on the people of this world.

Nobles did not like that attitude.

Still, Heroes had ability, so nobles gave them missions.

And since Heroes needed a way to survive, they carried out the missions given by nobles.

There’s no point trying to compare me to all the Heroes you’ve seen until now.

Kosdal could simply consider Kim Seongchan an exception.

Yet he still refused to stop judging him and continued watching him with sharp eyes.

“As long as you follow my wishes, that’s enough. Lee Naye, what are you going to do?”

“Can I come with you too?”

“It would be even better if you came with me all the way to the Terk Kingdom.”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

Kim Seongchan asked at Lee Naye’s sudden thanks.

“For not walking past them. There are many places other than this one where people are waiting for someone to help them.”

“How could I just walk past them?”

Their role would be important for what was to come.

Kueee! Kuek!

The cries of Wild Pigs mixed with the screams of people.

“I’ll go ahead.”

The moment Lee Naye spoke, she jumped down from her horse and kicked off the ground.

She sprinted forward at an incredible speed.

She was even faster than the horse.

Kim Seongchan looked at Kosdal beside him.

“What do you take me for? A Knight Commander can’t move around carelessly. We don’t know when another attack might come.”

Just as Kosdal said, there was no reason for him to step forward.

He had come here to protect Kim Seongchan.

“Did I say anything? Taylor, hurry up and go help too.”

Taylor, who had been beside Kosdal, turned his horse toward Lee Naye.

“Um, won’t her horse run away?”

As if Lee Naye had only done this once or twice.

Her horse seemed completely used to the situation.

It calmly ate grass while watching Lee Naye.

It looked as though it was simply waiting until the battle ended so they could leave again.

Kim Seongchan dismissed Taylor’s ridiculous concern with a single word.

“Go.”

Taylor swallowed hard.

Lee Naye was a Hero, and she was strong.

Taylor was the village chief’s son and was considered one of the better fighters in the village.

But he was still not strong enough to easily face Wild Pigs.

Is he telling me to die?

The villagers were being attacked.

A badly broken wooden fence could be seen nearby.

It showed how stubbornly the village chief had refused to give up on building one, despite repeatedly failing.

What a useless thing to do.

If they had made wooden spears or shields instead of trying to build a sturdy wooden fence, the damage would not have been this bad.

The villagers could have fought back.

The losses would not have become so severe.

Kueeeek!

“Aaaagh! Save me!!!”

Taylor watched a man get thrown into the air while fighting a Wild Pig.

The man crashed into the head of another Wild Pig.

When Taylor saw the man’s body bend at an unnatural angle, his own body began trembling.

He was terrified that he would end up the same way.

Still shaking, Taylor looked back at Kim Seongchan.

Goosebumps rose all over his body.

The Wild Pigs were no longer the problem.

Kim Seongchan standing behind him looked even more terrifying.

Taylor felt as if Kim Seongchan might kill him himself if he refused.

“I’m going! Aaaaaagh!!!”

With a loud shout that sounded more like a scream, Taylor urged his horse forward and charged toward the Wild Pigs.

Kim Seongchan watched Taylor’s back, then asked Kosdal beside him,

“Is my face really bad enough to make someone react like that?”

Kim Seongchan’s eyes met Kosdal’s.

“Fix that disrespectful expression you showed His Majesty.”

“I can’t even joke about my own face.”

Kim Seongchan watched Taylor charge forward while screaming in terror.

You’re stronger than you think.

He would realize it once he actually clashed with a Wild Pig.