Chapter 27: Magic in Every Bite

[[Cooking Mastery Manual] – Spicy Braised Chicken completed!]

All stats increase by 2 each.

[The power of the [Cooking Mastery Manual] dwells within the dish!]

< Spicy Braised Chicken >

Grade: Magic

Description: Braised chicken made by simmering Blade-beak meat with various vegetables and gochujang. The addition of extra peppers makes it even spicier!

Ability: Strength +10%, Critical +10% for one day.

“In my 10 years as a miner, I never imagined I’d eat spicy braised chicken inside the mine!”

“I know! Newbie! Thank you so much! Hahaha!”

“Everyone, can you eat more? Here’s another bowl!”

Tunnel B was not a popular place compared to Tunnel A.

Although good ores occasionally appeared, the probability was significantly lower than in Tunnel A.

So the number of miners here wasn’t very large.

Thanks to that, the ingredients I had were enough to provide the braised chicken.

“Wow, it’s spicy! After work, you need something spicy like this!”

“If only we had some cold beer, it would be perfect!”

“Hey! Do you want to lose a toe while pickaxe-ing? …But still, I guess one drink wouldn’t hurt! Hahaha!”

[Many people are enjoying your cooking. Cooking proficiency increases rapidly.]

[Cooking skill level increased.]

I wasn’t just giving them food for nothing either.

First, by serving food to people, I could naturally increase my Cooking skill level quickly.

And also,

“This isn’t much, but please accept it as thanks.”

“But this ore…”

“Ah, it’s nothing! Thanks to you, we got to have an experience like this inside the mine! It’s fine, so take it.”

“Here, take this too. It looks like it has a lot of impurities, though.”

“Sorry. I didn’t find much this morning…”

“Haha, it’s fine. The thought alone is thanks enough.”

The ores the miners were handing me one by one were already piled up to my knees.

Even when I refused, they forced them on me, and it was heartwarming to see.

“By the way, what kind of chicken is this? It’s big and tastes great! I didn’t know chickens could be this big.”

“I haven’t seen many chickens this big either. But even though it’s big, it’s not tough at all, it’s very tender!”

“The seasoning is so well absorbed! Just mixing the seasoning with rice would be amazing!”

“Haha…”

I couldn’t bring myself to say it was monster meat from a Blade-beak.

Well, at least the taste was excellent.

Maybe it was because I had been working hard with the pickaxe?

Even though I used only basic ingredients, it tasted better than any spicy braised chicken I’d ever had in reality.

And it seemed the same was true for the other miners.

“These potatoes are amazing too! The seasoning is so well absorbed!”

“Hmm? I thought it was a potato, but it’s a sweet potato. Oho, sweet potato goes really well with it too?”

“I’m not usually a fan of carrots, but these are really delicious! I’d even want to take some home to my wife!”

Exclamations echoed from all around.

After making the last batch of braised chicken, I too began to savor the taste.

“Oh, the seasoning is really incredible!”

– Of course. It’s made with the golden ratio this body calculated!

“Yeah. And as you said, since I scored the meat, the seasoning absorbed really well too.”

– That’s what you call know-how. Heheh!

The seasoning was evenly distributed throughout the chicken thanks to the uniform scores I had cut.

And that tender texture!

It was hard to believe it came from those ferocious Blade-beaks.

Even the chicken breast, which I expected to be dry, was well-marinated and went down smoothly.

– And like you said, adding the sweet potato seems to work really well too! That’s my master!

[You have provided new insight to the [Cooking Mastery Manual].]

[Achievement ‘Culinary Pioneer’ acquired.]

Dexterity stat +10

‘So this can happen too.’

Munch!

“Ooh!”

To put it simply, it was ‘sweet-spicy.’

The sweetness of the sweet potato and the spicy seasoning paste based on gochujang and red pepper powder blended beautifully.

It had a different charm from potatoes, which maximized the flavor of the seasoning.

“Newbie, this is the rice I packed. Could you maybe make fried rice with this?”

“Hey! You’re asking for a lot! …But can you?”

“Hahaha, of course. Give it here.”

I took the nearly empty braised chicken bowls.

I finely chopped the few remaining ingredients left in them, then added the rice from the lunchbox the miner handed me, along with some finely chopped kimchi.

Whoosh!

“Gulp!”

“I-if you need more rice, just say so! I have some too!”

“Me too!”

First, I raised the heat to high.

Personally, I prefer fried rice where the seasoning has melted in and the grains are separate, rather than sticky, saucy fried rice.

So after stirring the rice vigorously over high heat to remove moisture, I lowered the temperature.

‘It would be nice to have some cheese.’

I made a mental note to visit the market when I returned to Benes.

I spread the nearly finished fried rice flat, pressed it down, and let it steam briefly.

“Ooh! That savory, spicy smell!”

“The crispy burnt part is mine, so don’t even think about it!”

“What nonsense! First come, first served!”

“Alright, it’s done!”

“Ooh!”

Even though I had removed moisture, the top part was still moist.

That was good, but the real delicacy was at the bottom.

Scrape!

Scrape!

“This is it! This crispy burnt part is the absolute best!”

“Hey, there are a lot of people here, so don’t take too much!”

I too used my spoon to scrape the bottom of the fried rice.

Even the color looked different at a glance.

When I put it in my mouth, a savory flavor resonated.

As if someone had drizzled sesame oil over it.

“Alright, let’s clean up! Newbie, we really enjoyed the meal!”

“Haha, it was nothing.”

“Wow! Eating something spicy makes me feel full of energy! Hahaha!”

Seeing the miners laughing happily, I couldn’t help but smile contentedly as well.

***

Hanson, an ordinary head of household living on the outskirts of Benes.

It had been six months since he started mining ore in Tunnel B.

Today, he too picked up his pickaxe after finishing his lunch.

‘The spicy braised chicken was really delicious. I don’t even remember my wife’s food tasting that good. Tch.’

Was it because he ate spicy food?

He felt full of energy, as if heat still lingered in his body.

“Alright, shall we start working?”

“Let’s hit the jackpot!”

“Haha! Here he goes again with the jackpot talk.”

Clang! Ka-gang!

The miners’ pickaxes began striking the soil and rock.

Tunnel B was instantly filled with noise.

But the miners’ reactions were a bit strange.

“Huh? It feels like the pickaxe is digging in better than usual. Am I imagining it?”

“You feel it too? I thought it was just my mood, but the pickaxe really seems to go in smoothly!”

Hanson had been faithfully coming to Tunnel B for six months.

He knew his own skill level best.

And now, his pickaxe was certainly more powerful than usual.

“Seems the newbie’s cooking gave us all a boost! Haha!”

“That must be it! Newbie, thanks!”

“Haha…”

The miners’ work pace gradually increased.

Then, as one miner struck with his pickaxe, a loud crash echoed.

Ka-a-ang!!

“Whoa!”

“What happened?”

“I-it just dug in too easily all of a sudden…”

Thud!

The spot he struck was carved out as if it had been hit dozens of times.

And from it, a piece of Mana Steel fell.

“Hoho, congratulations! Sometimes the pickaxe just digs in like that!”

But that wasn’t the end.

Ka-a-ang!

Clang, ka-a-ang!!

“Gasp!”

“What’s going on!”

Loud crashes came in succession.

The famously hard walls of Tunnel B began to expand rapidly.

Only then did the miners realize this was no mere ‘coincidence.’

“I-is it really because of that braised chicken?”

“If not that, there’s no other explanation!”

“Haha! So the secret to the newbie’s great mining was his cooking! Good heavens!”

All the miners continued their pickaxe work with excitement.

Even though their stamina was depleting faster than usual, their faces were full of smiles.

With the pickaxe digging in easily and ores appearing, how could they not be happy?

Then, something happened to Hanson as well.

Ka-a-ang!!

Clatter— Thud.

“Th-this is…”

“Oh, Hanson. What kind of ore is it? The color is beautiful.”

Hanson carefully grasped the ore rolling on the floor.

A single tear dripped down his face as he knelt.

“Huh? What’s wrong with him?”

The other miners, sensing something strange, gathered around Hanson.

He raised his head, not even wiping away his tears, and shouted.

“It’s Mithril ore!”

“Good heavens! Mithril ore! That expensive stuff!”

“A real jackpot!”

“Congratulations, Hanson!”

“Hahaha! What a blessing! Congratulations! Your six months of hard work have finally paid off!”

All the miners in Tunnel B celebrated with Hanson.

There wasn’t a single jealous person.

That’s how rare and expensive Mithril ore was.

“With a raw ore this size, it must be worth at least 300,000 gold!”

“Your cut with the office is 35%, right? Still, you’ll get at least 200,000 gold!”

“Wow, congratulations!”

How hard had it been until now?

While others in Tunnel A were earning 1,000 gold a day, Hanson could only manage about 500.

It was only natural his wife would complain.

But he stayed here, dreaming of hitting the jackpot.

After six months, he had finally struck it big.

Just thinking about those who had mocked him in Tunnel A being jealous already made him happy.

And the source of all this was…

< Spicy Braised Chicken >

Grade: Magic

Description: Braised chicken made by simmering Blade-beak meat with various vegetables and gochujang. The addition of extra peppers makes it even spicier!

Ability: Strength +10%, Critical +10% for one day.

It all came from the ability of the braised chicken Lee Chang had made.

But the main character, Lee Chang, was simply pressed against the wall, concentrating on finding more ore.