Chapter 44: A Cup of Leisure (4) (44/225)
After the short yet intense battle ended, the dungeon floor became a mess of shattered gargoyle fragments.
"We obviously can't eat that, right?"
At Jinseo's question, Hayward looked at him like he was asking the obvious.
"Even Craid wouldn't be able to."
"Well, I figured as much."
Jinseo lifted a gargoyle fragment with his left hand.When he squeezed with strength, it crumbled instantly, the now smaller fragments pattering down below.
No matter how you looked at it, there was absolutely no way to use this as ingredients.
Instead, the AI's message appearing in the status window suggested an unexpected use.
{ Gargoyle fragments are materials with strong resistance to fire and can be used to craft special cooking tools. }
Really?
{ In addition, using this material can reduce the Mileage required for facility upgrades related to it. However, the function that reduces Mileage by inputting materials is applied only when the Mobile Cooking Facility reaches Level 40 or higher. }
I'm Level 38 right now, so I should be able to soon. For now, I'll collect them.
Jinseo stuffed as many gargoyle fragments as possible into the subspace storage.
As he thought about what kind of cooking tools would require strong fire, a hearth came to mind.
Maybe I should bake pizza. It'll definitely be popular.
After starting the food truck, Jinseo had searched the internet for various cooking methods back when he lived in Korea, practicing by actually making them.As a result, he had learned far more dishes than he had in Korea, and pizza was among them.
It goes beyond bunsik, but if the menu expands, customers will like it.
Jinseo glanced at Craid, currently his biggest customer.Craid chewed on GaX chocolate to fill his fading hunger, while his right hand still gripped the sword hilt, ready to draw at any moment.
Jinseo pictured a future where those huge hands held pizza dough and inhaled it whole.
"There's nothing over here. Julien, how about your side?"
"Same here. Let's search a bit more."
"Damn, it's so wide I don't even know when we'll be done."
Hayward and Julien were thoroughly searching around the altar and along the walls for something.
"Once we find the mana core, it's over, but it's always a pain."
At the words "mana core," Jinseo called the AI again.
AI, isn't there a mana core in the food truck too?
{ Yes, that is correct. Do you need an explanation of mana cores? }
Give it to me. Last time I didn't have the leeway, so I just let it slide without really knowing what a mana core was.
{ Understood. A mana core is… }
A mana core was a kind of mana storage medium with highly condensed mana, a substance in the form of black ore.It was used in magic-related tools or facilities, and also served as the power source for traps or special devices found in dungeons.
For that reason, dungeon exploration was concluded by finding a mana core and retrieving it or destroying it.
"I found it!"
At Julien's shout, everyone's eyes turned to him.
The mana core he had found was black, an octahedron slightly larger than a palm.
"It's smaller than I expected. If it's a dungeon on this scale, it should be much bigger."
Hayward extended his right arm, gesturing that it should at least be from his fingertips to his elbow.
"That means…"
"It's hidden somewhere."
The two men's expressions darkened sharply as they predicted how things would unfold.
"It's not over yet."
After stuffing a third GaX chocolate into his mouth in one bite, Craid folded the wrapper neatly and put it into his pocket.
"Just when I thought we'd make it down to the lowest floor without any major incident, this happens."
"Mr. Jinseo! A monster is going to appear! Something much stronger than anything we've fought in this dungeon!"
At the words "the strongest," Jinseo's expression also darkened.
"Meow!"
Nero suddenly arched her back and raised her tail high.
Whiiing.
Cracks spread across the altar, and the same phenomenon that had occurred when the gargoyles awakened repeated itself.
"If it's something that drained mana until the mana core shrank this much, it won't be an easy opponent."
With daggers in both hands, Hayward forced a grin as if trying to shake off tension, but his trembling arms wouldn't listen.
"It won't be a dragon… obviously. But if it's showing up anyway, I hope it's something profitable."
"It's coming!"
Kieeeeeek!
A long neck erupted upward, punching through beneath the altar.A head crowned with a bright red comb and a protruding beak.A thick, long tail like something out of a dinosaur.
As it spread a pair of wings, its bizarre scream echoed through the room.
Craid, who had been about to charge, abruptly stopped and corrected his stance.
"That is…"
Staring at the monster's head, Craid lowered his gaze, then lifted it again.If the monster before him was the same species as the one in his memory, its size was not something he should have to look up at like this.
"It looks like… a cockatrice."
"I see."
"You see it that way too? I do too, but what did it eat to get that big? Is it because of the mana from the mana core?"
A cockatrice—A monster well known for a form that looked like a mix of chicken and snake.
Unlike Craid's group, who knew it through actual combat, Jinseo only knew the name from RPG games.
It was smaller than the Kraken he had seen at Orte Harbor, but only relatively speaking.Even Craid, the largest among them, had to tilt his head back to look at it.
Jinseo wondered if cockatrices on the Francia Continent were originally this huge, but the others' reactions told him this was not normal.
It's basically just a gigantic chicken… but what is that?
{ Analysis of the monster is complete. }{ Monster Name: Cockatrice King (Age Unknown) }{ Physical Grade: A− }{ Vitality: S− (Judged as a giant lifeform, elevated above physical grade) }{ Abilities: Petrifying Gaze (B+), Feather Volley (A), … }
What? Cockatrice King?
According to the AI's analysis, the Cockatrice King had both a higher physical grade and higher vitality than the Kraken they had faced before.
On top of that, after entering the dungeon, Jinseo and the others had their stats reduced below a certain threshold.
Expecting a hard fight, Jinseo swallowed dryly.
Even as he did, messages continued to appear in the status window.
{ Unexpected Quest: A giant monster, the Cockatrice King, has appeared. Hunt the Cockatrice King and complete the dungeon exploration. }{ Reward: 50,000 Mana, 50,000 Mileage, Physical Grade Increase. }
{ The monster is currently in a state of rage due to its eggs becoming unable to hatch. }{ In a rage state, attack power and agility greatly increase. In exchange, defense decreases. }
Eggs? Where are its eggs for it to be like this?
"Damn it—Mr. Jinseo! You must be careful! You must not meet a cockatrice's eyes! If you do—!"
Before Julien's warning could even finish, the Cockatrice King's pupils flashed, and red light spread in all directions.
The other three raised their arms to shield their eyes and turned their heads aside, but Jinseo had no time to avoid it and looked straight into the red light.
"Mr. Jinseo!"
{ Status Abnormality Immunity (currently reduced to B+) has activated. }{ Nero, set as a companion of the Mobile Cooking Facility owner Lee Jinseo, is joining the battle. }
"I'm fine."
"Huh? You didn't… turn to stone?"
When Jinseo moved normally, the Cockatrice King widened its eyes and released the red light again.
But all that appeared in Jinseo's status window was the repeated message that Status Abnormality Immunity had activated.
"Petrification doesn't work on me! I'm fine, so let's take down that rooster-looking bastard first!"
"O-okay!"
"And Nero! Watch that giant rooster's eyes! Don't meet them—ever! Got it?"
"Meow!"
Jinseo didn't know whether a spirit could be petrified, but just in case, he hurriedly covered Nero's eyes.
"Ugh!"
Craid was pushed back when he met the Cockatrice King's massive right hand with his sword.As he tried to steady himself, the Cockatrice King's left hand came for him next.
He blocked the consecutive strikes with his greatsword, looking for a chance to counterattack, but it wasn't easy.
"It's not simple."
Paaah!
As Craid's greatsword flared with aura, the Cockatrice King turned its head aside and retreated.
"Hah!"
After knocking up the Cockatrice King's left hand, Craid tried to press in further—but that was as far as he got.
Countless feathers shot out from the Cockatrice King as it spread its wings wide.
Pababat!
Craid blocked the feathers with aura bursting from his greatsword, but his arms twitched slightly.
From the rear, Hayward lowered his stance and slipped aside to evade, and feathers thudded into the spot he had just left.
"Damn… it's not giving us an opening."
If it were an ordinary cockatrice, even if it took time due to the petrification, they would have found a way to bring it down.
But the Cockatrice King before them was an opponent that wouldn't be easy even with all three working together.
Pababat!
Pressed close against the wall as he dodged the feathers again, Hayward wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"At this rate… this is going to be rough."
Craid was facing the Cockatrice King head-on, but he couldn't find a real chance to strike.Julien began casting spells, but every time the Cockatrice King so much as looked his way, he had to stop and evade.
He was even running out of mana, only looking for an opening to pull out ice cream.
Jinseo was immune to the cockatrice's petrification for reasons he didn't understand, but he had almost no real combat experience in dungeons, so they couldn't expect much from him.
But right now… they needed power.
Power to attack faster and sharper than now.
And only then did he realize he had encountered that power several times since entering this dungeon.
"Right! That's it—hey! Jinseo! Give me mix coffee!"
"…What?"
Hayward, who had screamed that he'd be a dog if he ever put mix coffee in his mouth again.In the end, he chose to become a dog.
"I don't care if I can't sleep! I need it right now!"
"Even if you say that…"
In a situation like this, there was no way Jinseo could leisurely mix coffee.
As he worried, a commercial video he had seen so often as a child flashed through his mind.
Right. That exists.
ReXby—synonymous with canned coffee.A coffee drink that was best chilled or warmed rather than drunk at room temperature.
"Catch!"
Jinseo pulled out two cans of ReXby from subspace storage and tossed the one in his left hand toward Hayward.
Hayward dodged the cockatrice's attack with a flip, then snatched the canned coffee midair.
"What is this?"
"You do it like this!"
Jinseo held the other can and repeated the motion of lifting the pull tab to open it.
In the middle of it, he took the Cockatrice King's petrifying gaze full-on, but of course he didn't petrify.
"And you drink it like this!"
Then he mimed raising the can and drinking.
Hayward immediately understood and hooked his finger under the pull tab.
Click.
Foam and a bit of the contents bubbled out through the opening, but he didn't care and chugged it urgently.
Gulp, gulp.
After downing an entire can of ReXby in one go, Hayward's eyes flashed.
The Cockatrice King raised its right foot high and slammed it down toward him.
Boom!
But what it crushed was only the afterimage Hayward had left behind as he moved far away.
"Yeah… this feeling! This is what I wanted!"
Spinning the daggers in both hands, Hayward repeated attack and evasion without stopping.
The strikes that had barely missed before now landed cleanly, and he dodged the Cockatrice King's attacks by a literal hair's breadth.
"Julien! I'll buy time, so recover your mana first!"
"Yes!"
Julien's face twisted as he frantically bit into ice cream, kept from melting with magic.The first time he ate it, he had been captivated by the sweetness, but now, with three in a row to refill mana, his mouth was freezing cold.
Even then, Hayward didn't stop attacking.
Dodging the enemy's strikes while stabbing with daggers, then pulling back and throwing a dagger from his waist to land precisely on the spot he had just stabbed—
With continuous hits to the same area, the wound split wider and wider, and each time, a groan leaked from the Cockatrice King.
The area around the ruined altar was soaked in the Cockatrice King's red blood, but Hayward weaved around so precisely that not a single drop touched him.
"Wow…"
Jinseo, together with Nero, was witnessing the greatness of caffeine.More precisely, the caffeine of coffee, a drink specialized for Hayward's job class.
Craid's attacks didn't stop either, but the Cockatrice King's eyes kept tracking Hayward.
If a mosquito buzzed around you, no matter what you were doing, you'd try to kill the mosquito first.Hayward was faithfully playing that role.
And not as an ordinary mosquito, but something vicious—like an "Adidas mosquito" that could pierce even military uniforms.
Kieeeek!
Screeching, the Cockatrice King leapt backward and moved behind the altar wall.
Whooosh.
A fierce wind swept through, snapping the cloak Craid wore backward.
Countless feathers wrapped around the Cockatrice King's wings tore free, flying with the wind—
All aimed at Hayward alone.
"Be careful!"
Whooosh.
But Julien, predicting it, countered with a gust spell.
"Meow!"
Fwoosh.
At the same time, flames burst from Nero's mouth, spreading wide on the wind and burning every feather scattered through the air.
Now!
Watching the situation the whole time, Jinseo charged straight toward the Cockatrice King's front.
He had already fought the Kraken before, so he couldn't just keep watching others fight.Instead, he had been waiting for a timing where he could strike for sure—and this was it.
Thud!
His powerful right roundhouse kick slammed into the Cockatrice King's left ankle, but it didn't go down in one hit.
Thud! Thud!
He attacked again with his right foot, but the ankle only wobbled, with no obvious change.
"Then…!"
Thud!
"Got it!"
The spinning back kick he had learned as a child at a taekwondo dojang landed cleanly, snapping the Cockatrice King's left ankle and bending it sideways.
With its balance collapsing, the Cockatrice King toppled to the side.
Craid leapt high toward it, both hands gripping his greatsword as he drove it downward.
"Hah!"
Kieeeeeek!
The aura wrapped around the greatsword shone brilliantly, and the Cockatrice King's scream echoed through the dungeon.
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