The Military Chef of a Ruined World

Chapter 1

Life in the South Korean military is generally mundane.

Unless there are inspections or drills, it’s the same repetitive routine every day.

Even on weekends, units might get some rest from duties, but that’s not applicable to all departments.

“Sergeant Shin Young-joon? We’re making stir-fried squid for dinner today, but we can’t find the squid.”

“What? How many times have I told you to check the food inventory properly…”

“Sergeant Shin, Lieutenant Kim called. He said he doesn’t want to eat fried mackerel for lunch, can you make just one dish for him?”

“Ah, that guy… sigh, just let him have his way.”

The kitchen unit.

The core of combat readiness lies in nutrition, and it’s the chefs’ responsibility to provide a well-balanced nutritious food.

So even on weekends, there’s no rest for the kitchen unit.

If soldiers are served tasteless or the same food every day, morale is bound to plummet.

That’s why chefs must prepare a variety of dishes, reaching a certain acceptable standard that soldiers will enjoy eating, every day.

If there are any issues during this process, it’s up to the chefs’ improvisation to fix them.

“I’m, I’m sorry…”

“Ha… never mind. Hey, remember the pork belly we saved for the unit’s dinner last time? Instead of stir-fried squid for dinner, let’s make stir-fried pork belly. The guys will love it. They’ll go crazy for pork belly, so don’t forget to serve it yourself.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Get some cream and chicken from the fridge. Lieutenant Kim likes pasta, so make something with chicken, maybe pasta.”

It was frustrating to not even be able to rest properly on the weekends.

But…

“You’ll be discharged soon, you’ve worked hard.”

“That’s right.”

If there’s any solace, it’s the fact that this won’t last much longer.

I was a senior sergeant close to discharge.

Of course, being close to discharge doesn’t mean you can relax, especially in a kitchen unit.

“What are your plans after discharge?”

“Well…”

The question from my junior was something any soldier nearing discharge would think about, at least once.

What to do after joining civilian life.

Naturally, I had some thoughts too.

“I have planned to learn cooking formally and maybe open a restaurant.”

“Huh? Isn’t the food industry a total nightmare these days?”

I’m serving as a chef in the military but originally, I wasn’t one.

I just happened to be assigned to the kitchen as a chef.

The cooking I experienced for the first time in the military wasn’t even cooking, it was more like food preparation.

But there was a reason why I wanted to learn cooking properly and formally.

“I always feel satisfied and ecstatic when the guys tell me that they enjoy my cooking.”

“Well then, Sergeant Shin, would you consider coming to the restaurant where I used to work? I’ll teach you well as your senior.”

“Who said I agreed? And I have no interest in Japanese cuisine, man.”

My junior, Jun-hyuk.

He had joined the military after studying Japanese cuisine in society.

On top of that it is also an acceptable fact that culinary industry is more hierarchical than the military.

He had no hesitation about entering as my junior.

“Japanese cuisine isn’t bad, though.”

“Ah, forget it. Oh, I saw that we’re running out of salt. Could you get some from the warehouse?”

“Sure.”

Ingredients like salt are stored in the warehouse, a bit away from the restaurant building.

As I watched Jun-hyuk head to the warehouse, I drifted into my own thoughts for a moment.

‘Learning Japanese cuisine…’

Maybe learning Japanese cuisine wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Most of the cooking I learned in the military was Korean, but there was no reason to keep learning Korean cuisine after discharge.

‘Besides, the essence of cooking is in Western cuisine.’

While entertaining such thoughts and watching Jun-hyuk’s back

***

As Jun-hyuk opened the back door…

He was engulfed by something that came out from outside.

“Huh?”

At first, I thought someone was playing a prank again.

Jun-hyuk often became a target for the soldiers’ jokes because of his cute appearance.

But that thought vanished quickly.

Because something was tearing at Jun-hyuk’s neck.

“Jun, Jun-hyuk!”

“Cou… cough.”

I was momentarily shocked, but then my feet moved swiftly.

What was that creature? It didn’t matter.

All I had in mind was that I must save him.

It was bewildering, but I had to save Jun-hyuk first.

With that thought in mind, I leaped with a large cooking shovel nearby, but…

Squelch.

I was a beat too late.

Squelch, chop-

A sound of flesh being torn apart echoed as something pinkish dangled from the monster’s mouth.

I may not know much about human anatomy, but…

I knew something shouldn’t be coming out of his throat.

“…Jun-hyuk, he’s… dead?”

Just moments ago, we were having a conversation, and now my junior’s organs were flying around, an unreal, yet terrifying sight.

I froze at my place with that large shovel tightly gripped in my hands. The scene was just too grotesque for me to understand.

“Sergeant Shin? What was that noise just now… Ugh!”

Even the youngest guy frying mackerel in the corner seemed startled when he saw Jun-hyuk.

I, frozen in shock, could barely come to my senses thanks to his exclamation.

“What the heck is… that? Damn it…”

It was only then when I saw the creature that attacked Jun-hyuk.

But seeing it didn’t mean I understood what it was.

If I had to compare it with something, it looked somewhat like a lizard.

Covered in thick scales, including its humanoid face, it was almost as tall as a person.

But unlike lizards, its teeth were sharp, and its hands tearing into Jun-hyuk’s body had sharp claws.

Its reptilian eyes, vertically slit, eerily flickered as they stared at me.

…Me?

I heard the youngest’s scream and looked his way.

The creature, which had been busy tearing into Jun-hyuk, stealthily rose to its feet.

Clearly aiming for the next prey.

How many people have been in the position of getting hunted in their lives?

My hands and feet trembled, and I felt a chill run down my spine.

“Damn it!”

I could see the mangled body of my unfortunate junior.

I…

I didn’t want to end up like that!

“Youngest!”

“Yes, yes?”

“Get some reinforcements!”

Leaving the youngest one to find something useful as a weapon,

I swung the large cooking shovel at the monster.

A large cooking shovel used for mass cooking was large, heavy, and sturdy enough to easily kill a person if swung with sincerity.

But…

Crack!

When the weapon clashed with the creature, an unsettling sound echoed.

“Crunch!”

“Agh!”

As if hitting a wall.

Instead, my hand felt sore and numb after hitting that monster with all my might.

I almost dropped the shovel due to the intensive pain but thinking that losing the weapon would be the end, I managed to hold onto it.

“It’s not even a damn piece of iron…!”

While I was shaking in pain, the monster nonchalantly swung its claws. As if being hit by the shovel meant nothing to it.

“Ugh!”

I dodged backward and narrowly avoided its claws.

Thinking now, if I had been a bit late then another body would have been added to the list.

My heart couldn’t stop and was beating faster than usual.

“That scale! No wonder it looked so damn thick!”

It seemed harder than it appeared.

“S-Sergeant Shin!? What the hell is that thing!?”

“Do you recognize me!”

The bewildered young lad approached me, but I was just as bewildered.

I’d rather be attacked by a tiger than that monster.

“Darn it, darn it, darn it! Why the hell does such a monster exist in the first place.”

In the irrationality of the sudden attack by the monster, all I could do was curse inwardly. The young lad also hastily brought a large shovel like me, but it probably wouldn’t have made any differences.

That monster was enveloped in tough scales, all over its body.

It reminded me of medieval knights.

“A knight clad in full armor can massacre peasants wielding farming tools.”

Being in the position of those slaughtered peasants, I could feel it to my bones.

I would really feel fortunate if the shovel could make even a small scratch on its scales.

There was no way to deal with it.

“To face such a knight, you either exhaust them somehow or pour hot oil…”

Ah.

There was a way.

“Lunch today. Deep-fried mackerel…”

I was not sure if this would work.

I didn’t intend to just stand here and wait for my death.

I threw the large shovel at the monster that I was holding and leaped backward.

“Crack!”

Despite throwing the shovel with all my might, hitting the monster’s head, it just flinched for a moment.

Rather, it infuriated that monster.

I felt it rushing towards me.

“Please, please, don’t be late!”

During that momentary flinch of the monster,

I reached the deep fryer behind the narrow restaurant.

A deep fryer where fish scraps floated, and oil bubbled vigorously.

Holding a large ladle with trembling hands, I thrusted it into the oil container.

And then.

Sizzle

“Screaak!!!”

I sprayed boiling oil onto the monster, which was so close that I could reach out and touch it.

The optimal temperature for frying is at least 180 degrees Celsius.

Even in winter, when you’re frying, it’s so hot that you’ll sweat even while just passing by.

The monster began to writhe in agony after splashing oil on its body.

“It’s not over yet!”

Though it seemed to be in agony, it still clung to its life.

Even a regular person would have been shocked into unconsciousness from such an ordeal.

But I confirmed that the oil attack worked.

I continued to swing the ladle with all my might as if I were going to completely empty the oil in the pot.

As I vigorously splashed the oil, a few drops splattered onto me, scalding me painfully.

“Please die, please…!”

In such a situation where there was no time to care about such pain,

I gritted my teeth and endured tears occasionally leaking out.

“Krrr…”

How many times did I spray the oil like that? By the time I noticed, the restaurant floor was already gleaming with oil.

The monster, writhing in agony, seemed to have calmed down to some extent.

“Is it dead?” I wondered.

Although its movements had stopped for now…

“It could be pretending to be dead.”

I cautiously distanced myself from the monster.

“Sir, Sergeant Shin? Is that thing dead?”

But it seemed like I was the only one thinking that.

The youngest one approached the monster with a shovel in hand.

“Hey, hey! It might still be alive, so be careful…!”

“I just need to make sure it’s really dead…”

Crunch.

The monster bit into the foot of the youngest who was trying to turn the body over.

“Ahh!”

“Youngest!”

I hastily retreated, but I still kept my distance from the monster just in case.

Sizzle…

When I arrived right in front of it, the monster was already devouring the youngest’s belly.

I thought I had cornered in the end.

But it had been waiting for the prey to let its guard down.

“Even the youngest…”

Now, there was really no one left except me.

The fear that even I could end up like that made my teeth chatter.

“O- Oil. I need to spray more.”

I glanced at the oil pot sneakily, but it was almost empty.

The monster was busy devouring the youngest, but I didn’t know when it would target me.

“Should I run while its attention is on the youngest? No, if I run for no reason, it might provoke it…”

While racking my brains on how to survive, suddenly…

“Huh?”

Something red caught my eye on the monster’s back.

It was visible between the shiny scales.

A reddish area.

“Is that… exposed skin?”

Despite being covered in tough scales, the continuous application of hot oil had cooked its flesh, exposing it in patches.

Unlike the hard scales, the skin looked no different from that of an ordinary animal.

A clear weakness.

“If I try to escape and it chases me then it’ll be really over. Rather than that…”

Now that its attention was on the youngest.

Maybe aiming for its weakness is the better choice.

The exposed skin area wasn’t extensive, so hitting it with something like a shovel seemed futile.

“If I’m aiming for a weakness, I shouldn’t strike, I should stab.”

Fortunately, there were plenty of weapons suitable for stabbing in the restaurant.

Carefully, not to provoke the monster while it devoured the youngest.

I used both my hands to cover my mouth and headed towards the knife drawer in the coroner of the restaurant.

With trembling hands, I pulled out the longest and sharpest sushi knife from the drawer.

“Jun-hyuk, I’m borrowing this.”

It was Jun-hyuk’s personal sushi knife, which he cherished as a gift from his master while studying Japanese cuisine.

The knife was meticulously maintained as it was a gift from his master. It was so sharp that it could cut anything just by touching it.

“Grr, Grrr…”

The monster still seemed busy devouring the youngest.

Seeing the scene of human organs being scattered on the floor was something that I had never witnessed before.

I almost felt like vomiting, but I managed to hold it back.

“Can’t it see because of the oil splattered on its face?”

Perhaps it needed nutrients to heal its wounds.

The monster seemed busy devouring the youngest one’s body.

It might be fortunate or not, but it wasn’t difficult to sneak up on it.

“The target to aim for is the neck…”

Any animal, if its head and body are connected, dies if its neck is injured.

The scales inside probably aren’t as tough as to bounce off a knife.

“One, two…!”

Through the gap in the scales near the neck.

I thrust the sushi knife with all my strength.

“Kraaaaah!”

Even at this point, it seemed to have some strength left.

The monster, despite being stabbed in the neck, violently resisted, thrashing about.

“P-Please, just, die, peacefully, please…”

The oil sprayed on it was still hot, and every time it collided with the thrashing of the monster’s tough scales, it felt like being hit by iron pellets.

“Giving… up… You… bastard…”

But I couldn’t give up either.

Suppressing its resistance with my whole body.

With one hand pressing down on its head and the other hand pushing and twisting the sushi knife stabbed in its neck.

Every muscle in my body was screaming in agony.

The painful time seemed to continue endlessly.

How long has it been like this?

“Kkk… Kkruk…”

The monster finally stopped resisting when the strength completely left its body.

Right at that time a strange message appeared before my eyes.

Ding-

[Congratulations on awakening!]

[Awakened: Shin Young-joon]

[Occupation: Novice Chef Lv. 1]

[Attributes: Strength 9, Agility 10, Magic 8, Luck 9]

[Specialties: Basic Dagger Mastery, Basic Culinary Mastery, Basic Ingredient Identification, Basic Fire Affinity]

[Skills: Chef’s Insight, Chef’s Special Sauce]

[Points: 0pt]

[Unique talent detected from the Awakened]

[Talent: Large-scale Cooking]

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Translator: One Force

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