Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Episode 20. Braised Red-Mane Wolf Ribs

By the time Jinho returned home, the morning was almost over.

As soon as he closed the front door, he went straight to the sink. He washed his hands, took the wolf ribs out of his inventory, and placed them on the cutting board.

They still retained some warmth.

They had a much stronger smell than ordinary meat, but it was not unpleasant. Rather, a rich, meaty aroma rose alongside it.

Jinho was about to prepare them when he stopped for a moment. The unidentified cube had come out with them.

[Unidentified Cube]

[Cannot currently be appraised.]

Jinho stared at it for a moment before putting it back into his inventory.

'I'll deal with this later.'

What mattered now were the ribs.

"These really are good."

The Red-Mane Wolf ribs were thicker than he had expected. The bones were long, and the meat attached between them was firm.

'I bet they'd taste good grilled, too.'

Unfortunately, Today's Menu was braised ribs.

He placed a pot on the stove, filled it with water, and took out some vegetables.

He did not have many ingredients at home, but he had the basics. Scallions, garlic, onions, soy sauce, sugar, a little leftover red pepper powder, and half an apple he had bought yesterday and started peeling and eating.

The moment he gripped the knife, his hands began moving on their own.

[Initial Adaptation Assistance - Cooking Guide has been activated.]

[Braised Red-Mane Wolf Ribs]

[Key Preparation Steps: Odor Suppression / Meat Tenderization / Low-Temperature Infusion / Long Simmering]

He did not soak the ribs for long to draw out the blood. He left them in water only long enough to remove the unpleasant odor. He did not want to weaken the meat's natural flavor.

Instead, he briefly blanched them in boiling water, thoroughly washing away the clotted blood and impurities clinging to the bones and meat.

'The seasoning should be rich, but it shouldn't overpower the ingredients' natural aroma.'

He placed the wolf ribs in water and added scallions and garlic. As the broth began to boil, fat rose to the surface.

Jinho lightly skimmed off only the fat floating on top with a ladle. He did not intend to remove all of it. Braised ribs needed a certain amount of fat to taste good.

After that, Jinho added the seasonings.

Soy sauce, sugar, red pepper powder, and minced garlic.

As he looked down into the boiling pot and stirred to prevent anything from sticking, the distinctive, strong aroma of wolf meat gradually softened. The sharp meatiness was subdued by the seasonings, while the Red-Mane Wolf's fat slowly melted into the broth.

'The color is much darker than ordinary braised ribs, too.'

Jinho prodded a piece of meat with his chopsticks. The flesh slipped slightly away from the bone.

'Now.'

The moment he lowered the heat and stirred the pot once, translucent words appeared.

[You have successfully made Braised Red-Mane Wolf Ribs!]

[Today's Menu has been completed!]

[You have gained experience!]

[The ‘Steaming’ skill has leveled up!]

[A special effect has been granted.]

An information window appeared immediately afterward.

[Braised Red-Mane Wolf Ribs (Grade D-)]

- A braised dish deeply infused with the rich meaty aroma and heat of Red-Mane Wolf.

- Prepared after purifying necromantic contamination, resulting in minimal unpleasant odor.

- Agility +13, Stamina +5

"..."

Jinho was silent for a while.

This time, it was Agility.

'Intelligence would've been better. Well, can't be helped.'

Without hesitating any longer, he served himself a piece of meat and put it into his mouth.

'It's tender.'

The first thing he tasted was not sweetness but a rich, meaty flavor. Afterward, the distinctive warmth of Red-Mane Wolf lingered gently on the tip of his tongue.

He had expected wolf meat to be tough, but it was far more tender than anticipated. The seasoning was rich without being heavy.

The moment he swallowed the meat, his body felt lighter.

His movements became noticeably easier, as though a weight that had been holding down his feet had disappeared. When he clenched and opened his fingers several times, his reactions were subtly faster than usual.

[Agility increases by 13.]

[Stamina increases by 5.]

[You have gained experience!]

[Level up!]

[You have reached Job Level 5.]

[Initial Adaptation has been completed.]

[Initial Adaptation Assistance has ended.]

[Cooking and Dismantling Guides have been deactivated.]

[Adaptation Completion Reward will be granted.]

[‘Appraisal’ has been enhanced.]

[Appraisal Lv.1 → Lv.3]

"Wow."

He immediately opened his status window.

Name: Kang Jinho

Level: 5

Title: Novice Cook

Job: Dungeon Chef

Stats: Strength 22 Agility 20 Intelligence 8 Stamina 15

Special: Charge/Knockback Resistance 10

Looking at the numbers alone, he was not overwhelmingly powerful yet. But did that matter? He was continuing to grow.

'Oh, right. The Exchange.'

Jinho quickly portioned out the remaining braised ribs. This time, he had enough for two bowls.

As though it had been waiting, a message appeared.

[Would you like to list this on the Exchange?]

"There you are."

Jinho immediately pressed 'Yes' and opened the price window.

'Should I try raising the price?'

After thinking about it for a moment, he boldly entered a number. It was lower than the price of the Iron-Hoof Lord Mala Stir-Fry.

3,200,000 won.

"Is that too expensive?"

Nevertheless, he pressed the listing button.

[Registration Complete]

[Awaiting Sale...]

This time, it might take a while.

Jinho poured himself another glass of water and drank it. His fingertips trembled faintly. It was not from exhaustion but excitement. The thrill of the fight had still not faded.

Ding-

At that moment, an alert sounded. Jinho looked at the screen almost immediately.

[An item is being auctioned on the Exchange.]

"...What?"

Another line appeared shortly afterward.

[Multiple prospective buyers have been detected.]

[The final sale price will be adjusted.]

Jinho's eyes widened for a moment.

Even as he watched, the selling price continued to rise.

3.3 million, 3.4 million, 3.5 million, 3.6 million, 3.7 million...

And then,

Final Sale Price: 4,850,000 won

[An item has been sold on the Exchange.]

"...This is insane."

The words escaped his mouth on their own.

He immediately opened his banking app.

A deposit record appeared.

Depositor: Exchange

Amount: 9,700,000 won

Jinho stared at the numbers in his bank account for a long time before speaking.

"...Should I just quit my job and get a Hunter ID instead?"

_____________

At the same time.

An auxiliary table in the White Tiger Guild office was shoved aside. Park Jisoo swallowed a curse the moment he saw his phone screen.

He wanted to smash everything, but he was inside the guild.

"Which bastard..."

He had missed it.

The record of the auction that had just ended was clearly displayed on the screen.

[Braised Red-Mane Wolf Ribs (Grade D-)]

- Agility +13, Stamina +5

[Final Bid Unsuccessful]

"Ah, fuck. If it weren't for that video."

He had not lost the auction because he lacked money. He stared regretfully at the screen for a long time before replaying the short video he had open beside it.

It showed wolves leaping out, the Red-Mane Wolf collapsing, and the dead wolves rising again. Afterward, it had even faintly captured the scene of a black-hooded figure slamming the black raincoat against a wall and something resembling a straw doll falling to the ground.

And then there was the item that had just appeared on the Exchange.

He had been so startled while watching the video during the auction that he had forgotten to raise his bid before the time limit expired.

He immediately made a call. The other person answered after the third ring.

- What is it?

His voice was low and rough, as though he was tired.

Park Jisoo spoke briefly.

"Braised Red-Mane Wolf Ribs. D-. Agility +13, Stamina +5. I went after it as soon as it appeared on the Exchange, but it turned into an auction, and I lost."

- You lost?

"Yes. But there's a video from a public gate circulating in the community... Just watch it first."

He sent Nam Taejun the video link.

Taejun fell silent for a moment while watching it. Soon, the video reached its highlight.

- What the hell is this?

"The man in the video butchered the Red-Mane Wolf's corpse, and immediately afterward, Braised Red-Mane Wolf Ribs appeared on the Exchange."

Silence came from the other end of the phone.

A few seconds later, a low laugh escaped.

- That's pretty convincing.

"Right? It is, isn't it?"

Park Jisoo scrolled through the screen. The community comments caught his eye.

Dioxin: Who the hell is that guy? lololol

SunshineClassAdult: He's insane lolololol

97YearOldGrandpaParkChunbae'sLifetimePullUp: Why are the standards for recovery assistants so high? lolol Why is he the best fighter? lololol

└Waaaaaah: Between that yellow-band guy and this one, why are the standards for noncombatants so high;;

└SunshineClassAdult: What happened with the yellow bands? Seems like they've been blocked since this week.

└Waaaaaah: A yellow-band participant died in a gate accident in Ilsan recently. Apparently, while everyone else ran away, he held off the boss alone and got dragged off. The testimony came from the Blue Wave Guild, so it's probably reliable.

└SunshineClassAdult: Holy crap. There was already so much controversy about that yellow-band system because people were using it to manipulate performance records, funnel benefits to higher-ups, and entertain important people while innocent people got killed. So it's finally being abolished.

TrueBlackFlameDragon: He wins everything through sheer obsession with meat lololol

ILoveSnacks: Dead wolves are getting back up, and he's checking whether the ribs are still good? lolol

Brownie: Isn't that video edited?

└Dioxin: Apparently it's real.

SaltBreadYummy: What's with the Hooded Chef? lol

BarelyManagingMyOwnLife: Rib Man is checking undead freshness now, too.

The number of comments was still growing.

"There's just one problem left."

-...

"We're not the only ones paying attention anymore."

Nam Taejun spoke quietly over the phone.

- Come to the office today.

"I got injured again just a few days ago, you know? What about my rest?"

- Then I'll have them drag you here along with your bed.

"What do you take me for?"

- A tank with 10 more Stamina, 17 more Strength, and 10 Charge Resistance.

"..."

Park Jisoo was at a loss for words.

______________

When he woke after dozing off for a while, it was a little past one in the afternoon.

"Ah, I fell asleep without realizing it."

Kang Jinho felt around beside his pillow and turned on his phone screen. Notifications from the Exchange app, banking app, and online communities were lined up from top to bottom. Even through his half-asleep eyes, the numbers were immediately visible.

9,700,000 won.

The deposit from earlier was still there.

Even though checking it again would not change anything, he closed the banking app and reopened it for no particular reason. The number remained the same. It was not a joke, and he had not misread it.

Money that would normally require him to work for at least three or four months, doing little more than working and breathing, had suddenly fallen into his hands.

'Do I really need to keep going to work?'

A fundamental question arose.

On top of that, there had been multiple prospective buyers this time, and the final sale price had even been adjusted.

He did not know how the buyer had received both dishes, but considering that the total amount was simply multiplied by two, he could assume that one person had purchased both.

What if people continued buying his food like that?

Jinho drank a glass of water first, then casually opened the HunterNet community.

A title on the trending board immediately caught his eye.

[Crazy Bastard Takes Down Zombie Wolves at Public Gate, Checks the Ribs First]

"..."

Jinho froze.

His heart sank. It took him about two seconds to press the post.

The video was short. It lasted less than a minute. Yet there was far too much packed into it.

The scene of Gray-Mane Wolves leaping out,

The scene of the Red-Mane Wolf collapsing,

The scene of dead wolves rising again,

The scene of him throwing a disposal sack and running toward the stone chamber,

And then the problematic scene.

- The ribs are still in good condition.

Jinho stopped the video and watched it again.

For now, his face was covered by his hood and mask. The camera angle was awkward, and perhaps because the person filming had been trembling from fear of the wolves, the footage shook intermittently.

Still, his manner of speaking and body shape could not be hidden.

He scanned the comments below.

ShyNumberOne: The fact that he's as calm as someone in a public service announcement makes him even scarier.

WhyIsItStillTuesday: For real, guys like that are the scariest.

Waaaaaah: Ah lolol that guy lol after all that, he neatly stripped the ribs off and followed the people evacuating the injured out of the gate like he was clocking off work lololol

FitnessMasterKimSaerom: Rib Man, fuck lololol

BackInMyDay: Isn't that guy a dungeon butcher?

GlassOfBleach: The comment above is hilarious. He followed the people evacuating the injured and clocked off work lololol

SaltBreadYummy: What's with the Hooded Chef? lol

BarelyManagingMyOwnLife: Crazy bastard even checks undead for freshness lololol

Jinho stared down at the screen for a long time before stopping.

"What the hell is Rib Man supposed to mean?"

He unconsciously let out a laugh mixed with a sigh.

He could understand becoming a meme. But Rib Man, Dungeon Butcher, Hooded Chef... He did not like the sound of any of them.

Jinho read a few more lines before frowning slightly.

MoonlightVillage: The real question is why the recovery assistant is the best fighter.

└FitnessMasterKimSaerom: Apparently he put the mana stone in the recovery container and only took the ribs. That's even scarier.

└TrueBlackFlameDragon: Anyone who copies guys like that will get themselves killed in no time. Don't imitate him. Recovery assistants aren't combat personnel.

└ThatSummerDay: We'll probably start seeing copycats soon.

Jinho's finger stopped.

Copycats.

That word caught his attention.

Whenever someone became a meme, there were always people who tried to imitate them.

Jinho made a displeased expression. He did not like the idea of someone copying him in the first place.

But then he thought of something else.

'Wait, maybe this isn't entirely a bad thing?'

Because of today's incident, there was a possibility that people dressed like him would be subjected to inspections in the future.

But what if someone imitated him?

Wouldn't the attention directed at that person actually make Jinho safer? Simply by changing his appearance?

'That's wishful thinking, though.'

Jinho put aside any realistic judgment for the moment.

'First, let's wash up.'

He downloaded the video and sent it to his own email along with the link. If it was deleted later or the title changed, it would be difficult to find.

At that moment, his phone rang.

The name displayed on his phone screen was [Kim Jeseong Detective Agency].