The Skill Maker

<Test #1>

Edited By: Sebas Tian

On a large table inside the cafeteria, there were a variety of dishes.

“Looks delicious.”

“You better cook next time. It was tiring.”

“The country will be at a loss if you pass out from my cooking.”

Everyone complimented each other and thanked the hunters that cooked the food.

“Oh, what is this? It’s the first time I’m seeing it.”

“That’s, that person’s.”

“That person?”

“You know…”

“Oh…”

The few hunters that saw Hyun-Soo’s dish showed their interest.

When they found out that Hyun-Soo made it, they hesitated.

But, they couldn’t ignore the fact that the dish gave off an aromatic smell and looked appetizing.

‘It’s probably not as good as an actual buffet, but this isn’t bad.’

It was time to eat and everyone started putting food on their plates.

It’s been awhile since they had the party, so they were enjoying themselves.

Since they’ve worked with each other for a long time, taking a break didn’t have much effect and since it was an official hunt instead of a request, they didn’t use all of their power.

The sound of the hunters chattering filled the cafeteria.

‘Looks good.’

He hasn’t been to a guild in Korea, but just from reading the comments on Hunter Net, there’s no way the atmosphere would be like this.

It’ll most likely have a tense atmosphere.

And ranks.

They’ll classify the hunters according to their ranks.

However, those things didn’t really exist here.

“This is really delicious. This is better than the Bibimbap that I ate in Korea.”

“You’re right! It’s really good.”

“Eat a lot. Have seconds.”

If they didn’t eat it, then there will most likely be a lot of food left over.

The atmosphere was good, but there was a problem.

‘Why aren’t they eating what I made?’

He made it so that it would be appetizing to the non-Korean hunters here, but Eugene and Katrina were the only ones that were eating it.

Did they exchange smiles just to make fun of him for this?

‘I did succeed in making it taste good. Even Katrina said that it tastes good.’

“If I knew this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have made so much.”

“How come?”

It’s fine if there were leftovers, but the flower that he put in was a waste.

‘I put so much in there.’

Since the effect couldn’t be applied multiple times, no matter how many times they ate it, it’ll raise their stamina by 30 points once.

“I think there will be some left.”

“You think there will be leftovers for a dish this good? If there are, can I take them?”

“I object. I’m going to take some too!”

“Hey, you don’t even like this all that much.”

“What? I know a delicious food when I taste one.”

His uncomfortable feeling went away when they were eating a lot of it and on top of that, were fighting with each other about who’s going to take the leftovers.

‘This is probably how moms…no, that’s a bit of a stretch.’

“It’s totally different from what Yoo-Na made. That one was really greasy and salty, but this is really aromatic and it’s spicy enough to make it taste even better. Maybe that’s why I keep eating it.”

Eugene mumbled saying that the dish that Kim Yoo-Na made almost made him throw up.

The amount of chili paste and sesame oil was perfect.

‘Yeah, eat lots of it.’

He was relieved that at least one person was enjoying it.

Right when he thought that it would be a good idea to take the leftovers to Hyuna.

The person next to Eugene quietly stood up.

And when they returned, the Bibimbap that Hyun-Soo made was on their plate.

“The food did nothing wrong.”

They said it as if they were mumbling to themselves and after mixing the ingredients, they scooped it up with their spoon and ate it.

Moments later, they had finished the Bibimbap that they brought.

The same hunter stood up again.

This time, the hunter across from them accompanied them.

They both scooped the food onto their plates.

“It’s wrong to discriminate against food.”

“It’s a sin to not eat delicious food.”

They mumbled those comments to themselves and started eating it.

It must’ve been a bit spicy because they started sweating, but they brought more to eat.

It started with them and one by one, the other hunters started eating the food as well.

‘Ha ha, I didn’t think A rank hunters had this kind of side to them.’

Delicious food is preferred by everyone.

It slightly started turning into the situation that Hyun-Soo was aiming for.

‘I feel proud. So this is how a mom feels…no. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.’

Hyun-Soo happily looked at the hunters that were enjoying the Bibimbap.

And then, his eyes met Marcus’s, who was sitting a bit far from where he was sitting.

Marcus had an extremely unimpressed look on his face.

Everything that Hyun-Soo did was unimpressive to him, so he probably didn’t like this situation either.

But, something weird caught Hyun-Soo’s eyes.

‘…What the?’

The food that was on his plate caught his attention.

It was red because of the chili sauce, which meant that he ate the Bibimbap.

The frown on his face implied that he was extremely annoyed, but he scooped up the food and finished it within seconds.

“Oh, Marcus. You’re not going to eat more?”

When Marcus stood up, the hunter next to him asked.

“I’m going to go up and rest first.”

The other hunters didn’t bother to convince him to stay after hearing his answer.

After seeing Marcus leave the cafeteria first, Eugene smiled.

“He’s embarrassed right now.”

“Huh?”

“It seemed like he ate it to make a nasty comment, but since it was delicious to him too, he couldn’t say anything…well, something like that.”

“…Marcus may have high self-esteem, but he’s not a bad guy.”

The hunter that said that the food did nothing wrong started talking again.

“It’s really different from the food that Yoo-Na made. Eugene kept on saying how delicious it was, but what Yoo-Na made was really…really…”

“It just can’t be described with words…hm…”

Their expressions became really sad.

“The ingredients look similar, so what’s different?”

“The amount of sauce is the important part. Yoo-Na failed to calculate the ratio…”

“Then, can you inform Yoo-Na regarding the ratio?”

“No, just don’t ask her to make the food. We have to live long because we’re not only resources to the US, but to the world.”

Hyun-Soo naturally involved himself in the conversation that the hunters had.

“I really wanted to throw up during that time, but what you made puts me in a good mood.”

“You too? I feel like my body got slightly lighter.”

“Maybe because it’s a vegetarian dish?”

“No, there’s meat here. Isn’t it because it’s an authentic Korean food?”

Hyun-Soo knew why the hunters were in a good mood and why their bodies felt lighter, so he didn’t answer.

He just smiled and the conversation ended.

They smiled at each other and raised their thumbs.

‘Is this what they mean when they know how the other person is feeling without saying anything?”

He wasn’t sure how people like them were able to ignore him all this time.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve eaten this much. I’m overflowing with energy.”

One hunter said that while cleaning up.

The hunter across from them replied.

“You’re right. I always feel tired whenever we return from a portal, but I feel light today.”

“I should probably exercise.”

“I should call my girlfriend…”

As Hyun-Soo expected, the effects were working well.

Everyone stated that they felt like they were overflowing with energy and thought that it was because they ate delicious food and didn’t say more after that.

‘I should get some bones from a monster later and cook some broth. It would be nice if they were similar to a cow…or maybe a Minotaurus.’

Broth made from the bones of a giant monster.

He was able to taste it just from thinking about it.

Hyun-Soo quickly pushed away the idea that he thought of.

He might even be able to sell it to ordinary people by stating that it was a healthy dish.

It was unfortunate, but he had to push it back.

But the fact that he found different possibilities didn’t make it seem so bad.

‘I didn’t know food could be categorized into medicine.’

Long ago, people said that delicious food were like herbal tonics and that seemed to be true.

‘Right now, I need to focus on making a new potion.’

In order to create a decent recipe, he needed to undergo trial and error.

He can’t obtain the best recipe by not doing anything.

His main task was to bring out the maximum effects of the ingredients and increase it.

Especially since.

‘If I can increase the duration of Levshila, then it’ll be great…’

It was a bit unfortunate that he couldn’t mix it with other medicinal herbs because he didn’t have them.

However, depending on how they’re taken care and the process, there can be slight changes to the effects and researching that was worth it.

It wouldn’t be so bad to eat it raw, but.

‘Then everyone will eventually know that this plant has that kind of effect.’

That’s why growing them was necessary.

“Hyon-Ssoo! Let’s plant the flowers before they go bad!”

“H-huh?”

“I feel so energetic that I’ll probably be able to plant all of them!”

The effects of the Bibimbap came from a place that he wasn’t expecting.

After she finished eating, she randomly appeared and asked Hyun-Soo to plant the flowers.

Hyun-Soo had no choice but to go back to the dorm and bring back a portion of the flowers to the front of the building.

Because of that, he had to push back his plan on creating a potion.

He wasn’t sure how things ended this way after eating, but Hyun-Soo crouched next to Katrina who was having fun and carefully planted the flowers one at a time.

‘It’s been digging all day for me. Jeez. Well, since I’m already doing it, it would be nice if they didn’t die. If things go well, then I’ll be able to create an infinite amount of potions.’

He was mentally tired because he was focused on the flower and he was physically tired because he was planting the flowers.

‘Going hunting is way better.’

Why did he suddenly think of the time when him and Kim Yoo-Na went on hunts together?

It was actually fun back then.

He felt a sense of accomplishment whenever he killed monsters after trying multiple times.

Thanks to Katrina being annoying, after they finished planting the flowers, Hyun-Soo returned to his dorm and collapsed on the floor.

The pain on his neck, shoulders and back was intense because he was crouching the entire time he was planting the flowers.

‘My back is the most important…!’

He missed the massaging skill that he erased.

If he passed it to Hyuna, he could’ve exchanged allowance money for a massage.

However, since Hyuna wasn’t a hunter, she couldn’t use the skill since she didn’t have the energy for it.

It was funny how his body wasn’t tired because of the hunt.

‘Everyone will laugh at me if I tell them that I injured my back from planting flowers.’

But, Hyun-Soo didn’t have a displeased look on his face, despite the thought.

Even though his body was tired, in the end, he succeeded in completing his plan.

Especially, Marcus’s annoyed face.

Seeing his expression earlier was satisfying.

After seeing that, Hyun-Soo knew that he himself had a long way to go until he became a man of character.

‘What’s wrong with saying that it was satisfying?’

There was one last thing he had to do.

‘There’s just one last blow left.’

And the next day.

Kim Yoo-Na visited.