Chapter 4: Feeding Fire

Whoosh!

“Good, this should be enough.”

– Kkyu!

As Salamander entered the stove, a hot flame burst out.

Even though it was hot, it was about the level of a gas stove on high heat.

Moreover, since it was staying still in one place, its mana wasn’t being depleted too much.

At this rate, it should last about thirty to sixty minutes without issue.

What I needed to prepare now was—

[Wild Boar Meat (Roughly Cut)]

Rank: Normal

Description: Not bad for a beginner, but meat cut roughly without a butchering knife. Consists of belly meat.

Cutting the meat into bite-sized pieces.

“I did it roughly, but the condition isn’t great.”

Before regression, my butchering skill was near master level.

Plus, I had a separate dagger I carried specifically for butchering.

But not now.

Without even the skill, let alone a butchering knife, I had simply carved it up with a one-handed sword.

Even getting it to this level was thanks to my experience; an ordinary user would have probably only obtained a single piece of low-quality hide.

“Let me trim off the parts with too much fat.”

Slice—

Though not meant for butchering, the sword I received as a quest reward was well-maintained, so trimming the meat wasn’t too difficult.

The sword’s length just made the posture a little awkward.

“Mostly pork belly, with a little skirt meat mixed in?”

I used to enjoy cooking, so I knew the basic cuts.

Maybe because I had split the abdomen, there was some skirt meat mixed in.

That cut, which only yields about 300 to 400 grams from a whole pig!

Since it was precious, I put it back into my inventory and cut a few slices of pork belly into good-sized pieces.

Whoosh!

“The heat is pretty good now.”

– Kkyuu!

The flat stone placed on the stove I’d roughly built from stacked stones.

I brought my hand close and felt a strong heat radiating off it.

When grilling meat, the standard is to heat the grill fully before placing the meat on it!

I gently laid a few pre-sliced pork belly pieces onto the stone plate.

Sizzle!

“Ah, that’s the sound.”

How long had it been since I last had pork belly?

Since I died… no, since I regressed, this was my first time eating pork belly, so it felt especially meaningful.

Watching the pork belly cook quickly, my mouth naturally began to water.

Gulp!

It was almost time to flip the meat.

But there was no way I had tongs or chopsticks, having just started the game.

I broke off a suitably sized tree branch and used my sword to trim the bark, roughly shaping it into chopsticks.

Then, immediately—

Sizzle!

“Ah, that color. It’s a little burnt, but that’s tasty in its own way.”

– Kkyuu?

Even without adding any oil, the meat lifted cleanly.

All thanks to heating the stone plate enough.

If I had put the meat on without heating it enough, it would have stuck to the stone and not come off easily.

From below the stone plate, Salamander looked up at me with a curious expression.

“Wait a little longer. It’s almost done.”

Since I had already cut it into bite-sized pieces, it didn’t take long for the meat to cook.

After a suitable amount of time passed,

I used my makeshift chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat to check if it was cooked properly.

“Ah, maybe because it’s fresh. The fat is no joke.”

Sizzle!

As soon as I lifted the meat, a drop of pork fat dripped down.

One piece of that pork belly.

Before I could even think, I naturally brought it to my mouth.

“Hot! It’s hot!”

The temperature was scorching enough to burn my tongue.

But as I rolled my tongue and blew out air, the meat’s temperature naturally subsided.

I bit into the still-hot piece.

Crunch!

“The juices are really alive. Was Unreal World food always this delicious?”

Before regression, all the food I ate was practical.

Things with effective buffs, or things to fill my satiety.

Some of them were certainly tasty, but I felt like I was tasting flavor like this for the first time.

– Kkyuu!

“Ah, right. Hmm, can I just give it to you?”

The creature was looking at me with an expression that seemed to say, ‘Let me have a bite too!’ as I wore a blissful look.

I picked up a well-cooked piece and brought it to the mouth of Salamander, who was working hard inside the stove.

Pop!

– Munch munch.

“Oh, you’re eating it well?”

The pork belly, cut to my size, was probably quite large for Salamander, who was only the size of my palm.

Nevertheless, the creature swallowed the meat in one bite.

Was it savoring the taste?

It closed its eyes and chewed the meat for quite a while.

“Is it okay?”

It was a tense moment, even for me.

I had played Unreal World for ten years and maintained the number-one rank.

But I had absolutely no idea whether fire spirits liked pork belly.

Then, finally,

Salamander’s eyes opened wide.

– Kkyu, kkyuu!

It had an expression as if it had gained some enlightenment.

Whoosh!

“Whoa? Wait a minute!”

Flames burst out violently, as if its control had momentarily slipped.

Thanks to that, even the meat still on the stone plate caught fire.

Whether I was flustered or not,

Salamander’s fire remained uncontrolled, and then a few completely unexpected system windows began to appear.

[Due to successful fulfillment of the contract, your fire spirit Salamander is satisfied.]

[Spirit Summoning’s skill level increases.]

[Salamander’s unique level increases.]

“What in the world…”

Not just the skill level, but even Salamander’s unique level had risen.

Generally, a spirit’s unique level could only be increased by using special quests or special items.

That’s why people usually didn’t think about raising a spirit from the early stages.

Instead, they just raised Spirit Summoning’s skill level to summon the next grade of spirit.

– Kkyu! Kkyukkyu!

“Was it that delicious?”

Salamander, having finally regained its composure, reduced its firepower.

Though its output was reduced, it was still excited, looking at me with sparkling eyes and calling out.

“Ah, the meat’s all burnt. Tch, is this okay?”

– Kkyu!

Because the creature had suddenly increased its firepower, the meat ended up burnt.

But it didn’t seem to mind at all, eagerly devouring the charred pieces.

Before putting on new meat,

I felt something was missing.

‘If I had some seasoning or vegetables, it would taste so much better.’

The meat was this fresh, but the setup was too lacking.

If I even had salt, I could enjoy this so much more!

“Ah, right. There was that method.”

The tutorial training ground didn’t even have a general store.

So normally, there was no way to get proper seasonings.

But I was someone who remembered almost all of Unreal World’s miscellaneous knowledge perfectly.

Heh—

“Let’s eat even better.”

– Kkyu?

Salamander, its mouth stuffed with pork belly, tilted its head slightly.

***

“Hmm…”

“Mr. Dustin, what are you doing?”

“Ah, it’s you. You’re here?”

Dustin, still faithfully guarding the tutorial training ground as always.

For some reason, his expression seemed especially serious today.

The one who approached him was Freddy, one of the other training ground supervisors.

He was the supervisor closest to Dustin in the training ground.

“I was just thinking about that trainee from earlier.”

“Earlier… Ah, that talented guy? The one who broke a hundred scarecrows. Geez, I still can’t believe that.”

A trainee who had just picked up a wooden sword for the first time destroying a scarecrow in one blow.

It was truly shocking.

He had told the other supervisors, but most wouldn’t believe it unless they had seen it with their own eyes.

“It was truly impressive. But what were you pondering so deeply about?”

“The [Sword Mastery Manual] that I gave a hint to another trainee a while back. Do you remember?”

“I know it. That trainee spent a whole month obsessed with it and barely managed to get chosen.”

“That’s right.”

The [Sword Mastery Manual].

It was one of the pieces of information passed down extensively among the training ground supervisors.

The supervisors mentioned this information to trainees who possessed the exceptional talent, effort, and luck to match it.

And the trainees would strive to obtain it.

If luck and skill aligned,

the trainee could be chosen by that legendary manual.

“I was just thinking whether I had been too hasty in choosing the owner for the [Sword Mastery Manual].”

“Certainly, that trainee’s swordsmanship from earlier was extraordinary.”

“It was hard to believe he was a trainee holding a sword for the first time. He didn’t use aura or techniques, but it was like watching a Sword Master.”

“That much? For you to rate him that highly, Mr. Dustin. I’m surprised.”

Before becoming a training ground supervisor,

Dustin was a swordsman who had made a name for himself as a double-S rank mercenary.

As such, his skills were the most renowned among the supervisors.

Even now, mentioning Dustin’s name to mercenaries would often elicit gasps of admiration.

For that Dustin to rate him as a ‘Sword Master’,

Freddy couldn’t help but agree.

That perhaps that trainee from earlier was the one truly worthy of the [Sword Mastery Manual].

“Isn’t luck also a part of skill? He had the skill, but perhaps he just lacked the luck.”

“That’s right. Luck is also a skill.”

“They say God is fair, don’t they? If he were that strong and also had the [Sword Mastery Manual], he would have been truly incredible.”

“Right. Even without the [Sword Mastery Manual], that trainee will certainly become incredibly strong.”

Dustin’s face, which had been full of concern, brightened considerably.

Freddy’s comforting words had helped.

As the two were talking,

a familiar face began to appear in the distance.

“Huh? Mr. Dustin! Isn’t that the trainee? Speak of the devil.”

“Huh? It really is. But what is he carrying?”

“Could it be rabbits? He didn’t need to carry them like that, though.”

The trainee who had left the training ground a few hours ago to hunt rabbits.

The trainee who had smashed a hundred scarecrows in the training ground and had just been the subject of their conversation.

“That’s not a rabbit. That’s…”

As he drew closer, the shape became clearer.

Red flesh and white layers of fat.

What the trainee held in both hands was clearly pork.

“Mr. Dustin, hello!”

“Ah, yes. But what’s that you’re holding? I told you to hunt rabbits…”

“Ah, I figured you’d all be tired of that by now. And I thought everyone might be hungry.”

“Well, it is almost dinner time.”

Was he offering to share the meat?

Dustin smiled warmly at the trainee’s kind nature.

And as soon as the trainee put down the meat he was carrying,

“Inventory.”

Thud, thud, thud—

“…Huh?”

“I caught quite a few boars. You all work hard here, so how about having a barbecue party today?”

Pork, several times the amount he had been carrying, poured out.

Every piece was a barbecue cut, decently trimmed.

While other trainees would have returned having barely caught ten rabbits, this trainee had hunted dozens of wild boars.

In the midst of this,

Gulp!

“Mr. Dustin, how long has it been since we’ve had proper meat, not just our supply rations?”

Freddy was swallowing his saliva eagerly.