Chapter 26: The Miner Who Cooked the Mine

“Hey, a newbie?”

“Hello. My name is Lee Chang. Please look after me.”

After greeting the miners who had already taken their spots and exchanging a few words, I picked up the pickaxe and moved toward the wall.

‘Swinging aimlessly like that is useless.’

Vasen Mine was vast.

Even after ten years before regression, mining countless ores, it remained unchanged, never drying up.

In such a mine, mining ore required know-how.

Among that know-how, ‘experience’ was also necessary.

But that was not possible for me now.

However, I had a method far better than that.

“The solid earth. The cold flesh that breathes life into living things. Vibration detection.”

Uuuung—!

Vibration detection, sensing vibrations.

Even among first-circle spells, it was a non-attribute magic that most users neglected.

As soon as the spell was applied, I pressed my body as close to the wall as possible.

Through the wall, I could feel vibrations of various magnitudes transmitted to my body.

Clang! Clang!

They were vibrations caused by the miners’ pickaxe work in Tunnel B.

After about five minutes of closing my eyes and focusing on the vibrations,

I finally found a direction where the vibration frequency felt subtly different.

“About here should do.”

Ka-gang!

I swung the pickaxe with practiced skill.

In truth, this was my first time using a pickaxe.

But I was a user who had mastered the sword beyond even a Sword Master, even if only in the game.

Even using it for the first time, I could easily deduce how to handle the weapon.

It wouldn’t be perfect, like when I shattered scarecrows in one blow with a sword at the tutorial training ground, but still.

Clang! Ka-gang!

I could have used Dig to easily move the earth.

But this was inside the mine.

Moving large amounts of soil and rock at once could cause the tunnel to collapse.

So I carefully broke up the soil and rock using the pickaxe.

It wasn’t long before I obtained my first result.

“Ooh, that’s Hard Steel! You’re lucky, friend!”

“Haha. I guess so.”

In truth, it wasn’t luck but skill.

I picked up the ore that had fallen to the floor, used vibration detection to locate more ore, and swung the pickaxe again.

As if waiting for me, the ores began to appear.

[Skill ‘Mining Lv 1’ has been created.]

[Due to excellent form, Mining proficiency increases rapidly.]

[Due to excellent results, Mining proficiency increases rapidly.]

[Mining skill level increased.]

[Mining skill level increased.]

[Under the influence of high dexterity, pickaxe work becomes more proficient.]

Thanks to various achievements and the [Cooking Mastery Manual], my stats were about twice as high as other users of the same level.

Moreover, unlike ordinary users, my stats weren’t concentrated in one area but evenly distributed.

Strength affected the power of the pickaxe swing.

Agility affected the speed.

Vitality affected the duration I could keep mining.

Wisdom affected the mana sustaining the vibration detection.

Dexterity affected skill proficiency.

And as my skill level rose, my pickaxe work became even more proficient.

“Th-that’s Silver Iron!”

“Another Hard Steel!”

“Gasp, this time even Mana Steel…”

I could hear exclamations from all around.

But I was still far from reaching my target amount, so I ignored them and continued working.

[All mana has been consumed. Maintaining magic by consuming satiety instead of mana.]

Even with my fairly high Wisdom stat, it seemed I had used it for too long.

After mining about ten more ores, even consuming satiety,

I stopped working to take a short break, leaning the pickaxe against the wall.

“G-good heavens!”

“You’re truly amazing, friend!”

Checking my status window, my previously full satiety was now depleted.

Even for a first-circle spell, using it that long, it was inevitable.

Originally, an ordinary first-circle mage wouldn’t have lasted even ten minutes.

I checked my Food Storage to fill my satiety,

but thanks to feeding all the remaining food to Chorong, there was nothing left.

Only the various ingredients I had gathered so far remained.

“Calling yourself a newbie with skills like that, that’s quite the joke! I haven’t seen your face before. Did you come from another mine?”

“No. It’s really my first time… Is there a place inside the mine to rest? Somewhere to eat.”

“The dining hall is outside. As for a rest area, there’s a place over there with good ventilation.”

“Ah, thank you.”

If it was a ventilated area, cooking shouldn’t be a problem.

As I gathered my pickaxe and ores and headed toward the rest area, some miners called out.

“With skills like that, you must be a master miner! Share your secret!”

Secret.

Saying I used magic seemed like it would cause too much trouble.

I’d probably get reactions like, ‘What’s a mage doing in a mine!’

So I gave my usual excuse.

“I guess it’s just talent.”

After I left, some users who heard my answer muttered with indignation.

“Damn talented bastards. Drop dead!”

***

“Phew, that was tough. But thankfully, I got one Hard Steel!”

“Lucky you. I came up empty. Let’s rest a bit. I’ll eat my lunch at the rest area.”

“Good idea! Pickaxe work needs a good meal to keep going! Haha!”

The miners of Tunnel B, catching their breath after the hard work, moved to the rest area.

Comparing the ores they’d found and the contents of their lunchboxes.

The tough daily life of a miner.

The happiest moment in that daily life was right now!

Mealtime.

“Sniff, sniff! Do you smell something?”

“Come on. What else is there in a mine besides dirt and metal smells. …Huh? Sniff, sniff!”

The miners moving toward the rest area all stopped and focused on their sense of smell.

It wasn’t a mistake.

From the direction of the rest area, the unmistakable smell of something delicious was wafting.

“That smells like chicken!”

“You’ve got a good nose. I just know it’s food smell.”

“And there’s a bit of spicy gochujang smell too… This, could it be!”

The miner who first caught the smell hurriedly ran toward the rest area.

The other miners did the same.

Drawn by the mysterious delicious smell, they all quickly ran toward the rest area.

And there, along with the newbie who had been mining ore with incredible skill just moments ago,

sat a bubbling, well-cooked pot of spicy braised chicken.

“Gulp!”

***

– Spicy braised chicken?

“Yeah. I got chicken from Dever Village and I have potatoes too, so I wanted to make a proper meal.”

– Leave it to me, master!

Fwoosh—!

At my request, the pages of the [Cooking Mastery Manual] flipped rapidly.

Meanwhile, I arrived at the mine’s rest area.

“Wow, I didn’t know a place like this existed in the mine.”

A cool breeze flowed down from a small hole in the ceiling.

And below it, a gentle stream of water flowed.

The ground was smooth without a single jagged stone, probably leveled by the miners.

Since it wasn’t break time yet, no one was there, so I could prepare the meal comfortably.

– Found it! I’ll adapt the recipe to use what we have on hand, so follow along closely, master!

“First, I need to prepare the chicken, right?”

– Of course! Cleanliness and hygiene are the basics of cooking!

“Right. The flowing water of the valley. The flowing water that purifies impurities. Wash.”

Fwoosh—!

Wash wasn’t just a spell for washing dishes or cleaning oneself.

Of course, that was its intended use, but it was also very useful for washing ingredients like this.

As the clean water washed the Blade-beak meat, I picked up the kitchen knife.

– You know this by now too, master? First, remove the fat around the anus, then the red parts of the wingtips and the fat around the neck, then…

The Blade-beak meat wasn’t like chicken bought at a market, already perfectly cut and portioned.

So I had to prepare it all meticulously like this.

But this was something I had already done when making the chicken porridge in Dever Village.

Moreover, with the manual guiding me from the side, the preparation was finished in an instant.

– Before preparing the other ingredients, let’s blanch the chicken first! We need to get rid of the impurities!

“Okay. Chorong, please.”

– Kkyut!

Just a little way from the rest area, stones were scattered everywhere.

I found suitable ones to make a stove, placed a pot on it, and lit the fire.

I put the chicken in, added enough water to cover the ingredients, and then took out the vegetables for preparation.

– Let’s start with the carrots and potatoes!

“Ah, can I add sweet potatoes too?”

– Oh, those big sweet potatoes from before? They’re not in the recipe, but they’d probably go well too! Great idea!

Thwack, thwack, thwack!

My knife skills were already quite proficient.

With Sword Mastery and my cooking skills combined, the speed was even faster.

I peeled them and cut all the vegetables into bite-sized pieces.

Looking at the pot in the meantime, impurities were floating to the surface.

– Good! Let’s drain the water, wash it again, and boil it once more!

“…Wash.”

Fwoosh—!

Following the manual’s instructions, I washed the chicken clean again, added fresh water, and brought it to a boil.

Once the heat was right, I poured in the prepared vegetables.

– Now for the seasoning paste! I’ll call out the recipe, so follow closely!

Gochujang, red pepper powder, sugar, soup soy sauce, and minced garlic.

I made the seasoning paste, strictly following the amounts the manual calculated to match the contents of the pot.

– Good, good, the key to cooking is definitely the ratio!

As it boiled vigorously over high heat, I added the seasoning paste and a little more water.

Now it was a race against time.

Bubble, bubble!

Thanks to Chorong’s efforts, the broth in the pot gradually reduced.

When the liquid had reduced by about half, I poked the potatoes and chicken with chopsticks.

Stab!

– Ooh, it’s cooked well! Now let’s cut up the green onions, peppers, and onions!

“Can I add a few more peppers?”

– Of course!

Chop, chop, chop!

I had expended quite a lot of mental and physical energy, using not only the pickaxe but also magic.

Since my body was tired, I wanted to feel a spicy kick, so I added a few more peppers.

The spicy aroma rose from the pot, tingling my nose.

– Good. Now let it reduce a bit more…

Bubble, bubble!

– Done!

“Chorong, that’s enough. Let’s eat together.”

– Kkyukkyu!

The spicy braised chicken looked delicious at a glance!

Just as I was about to pick up my chopsticks with an excited heart,

“Huff, huff! I knew it, it was spicy braised chicken!”

“…Huh? Hello?”

The miner I had been working with earlier appeared.

Behind him, as if waiting for me to finish cooking, numerous other miners appeared.

And every single one of them was looking at the spicy braised chicken in front of me, swallowing their saliva.

Well, this was a situation where eating alone was already impossible.

“Would you like to join me?”

“We’d be delighted!”

Bright smiles bloomed on the miners’ faces.

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