The Military Chef of a Ruined World

“For your dungeon conquest, you’ll need to convince them that you can defeat those monsters. Otherwise…”

“Indeed.”

“If they judge the risk to be too high, they will likely withdraw immediately. But it’s not an easy task to provide that kind of assurance either… It would be more convenient to consider them as non-existent forces.”

Hmm.

After pondering Chang-su’s words, I nodded and responded.

“It’s fine.”

“Huh? ‘It’s fine’? What do you mean?”

“You said it would not be easy to persuade them. It’s fine. Please call those people here.”

“What?”

“Do you have some confidence? Your magic is certainly impressive, but that alone doesn’t necessarily mean you can easily defeat those monsters.”

“What do you think the people who hunted those guys the most would say?”

As he furrowed his brow, he replied.

“Do you think no one has died in the process?”

“At least the monsters on the outskirts weren’t that powerful, so it was possible. The deeper you go, the bigger the enemies get, and their teeth and skeletons become tougher. It’s only natural that it gets harder to fight as the difficulty level rises.”

“Hmm.”

“There’s no one in this city who doesn’t know that fact. Subduing those monster bastards and conquering the dungeon? Honestly, if I had to judge the possibility, I’d side with the ‘impossible’ camp.”

This was something I had thought about even before entering the dungeon.

A monster that created a dungeon covering an entire city.

It couldn’t possibly be weak.

“You have to give us the confidence that you can catch that monster. But that just doesn’t seem possible, does it?”

It would be quite a difficult task, but…

The only answer I could give was:

“So, what if it doesn’t work? Let’s just try to make it work.”

“…Are you being serious?”

I just shrugged my shoulders and smiled silently.

“…Looks like you have something in mind.”

“How long do you think it will take?”

“Even if it takes a long time, two days should be enough. Since the number isn’t that big.”

“Please, I’m counting on you.”

Chang-su seemed a bit unsure, but he believed in my words and took a few subordinates with him.

Watching them move across the skybridge connecting the buildings, I thought, ‘I do have something in mind, you know.’

If necessary, our unit alone could have conquered the dungeon.

The reason we boldly entered the dangerous dungeon was that I had a plan.

I approached that ‘something I had in mind.’

“Why the gloomy face?”

“Huh? Ah… You’ve come, Young-joon.”

In the corner of the building, Min-jae hyung was sitting with a slightly troubled expression.

“I was just feeling a bit sorry about something.”

“Sorry about what?”

“…I don’t think I’ll be much help in this dungeon.”

A city covered in water. Even the building walls were flowing with waterfalls, as if they were affected by some supernatural force.

While the interior was a bit drier, the floors were still slightly damp due to the moisture.

“Using my lightning magic here would be practically suicidal.”

Min-jae hyung’s specialty was lightning magic.

Due to the dungeon’s environment, his power was amplified more than usual.

Unlike the snipers who could attack from a distance, the mages’ spells didn’t have that long of a range.

‘Whether I like it or not, using magic would affect our own troops.’

As a result, Min-jae hyung and the other lightning mages had nothing but just watch us throughout the battles after entering the dungeon.

Apparently, this had taken a toll on his self-esteem.

“Maybe it would have been better if I took charge of the ammunition unit and sent Lee Sang-ah here instead. Sharp weapons like swords might still be effective underwater… That subspace, it’s the vampire’s ability, right?”

“Ah, you noticed?”

“After telling that vampire to get lost, it turns out I’m the useless one here.”

Min-jae hyung, who had questioned the necessity of using the vampire that had killed our own troops, was still bothered by that incident.

“…Was I just rambling on about negative things?”

He seemed to have just realized it.

“Ahem. Sorry about that. So, what’s the plan now?”

Min-jae hyung cleared his throat and changed the subject.

“I’ve heard the gist of it. The plan is clear, but the real problem is convincing the others, right?”

“Yeah. It would be great if we could just do it ourselves, but the more manpower the better. I’ll try my best to persuade those people.”

“Giving them the confidence that conquering the dungeon is possible… Is that even possible? At least I can’t think of a way.”

“There is a way.”

Surprised, Min-jae hyung looked at me questioningly.

The method I had already thought of.

That I was confident in would work.

“To be exact, it’s right here.”

“The one I’m pointing to is you, Sergeant Lee Min-jae.”

“You’ll have to put in some effort, hyung.”

“…What do you mean?”

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Translator: OneForce