The Military Chef of a Ruined World

Chapter 79.1

I encountered this creature when I visited a warehouse to secure materials.  

It was living there, eating the metallic objects, spare parts and other similar objects.  

Those who have recently joined the unit or did not participate in the operation may not know but this creature was the monster that made our unit give up combat at that time.  

‘Among the monsters we encountered on the ground, this one might be the most powerful one among them.’  

There were other formidable beings as well.  

The White Spider Queen, who had occupied the ammunition depot.  

That cannibal, leader of the plunderers, who grew stronger through cannibalism.  

But while we were eventually able to defeat and take down those foes,  

 This creature was too strong, so we had to give up on taking it down through combat early on.  

This creature doesn’t even recognize normal food as edible.  

As a result, we ended up trying the strange method of frying metal plates in oil to cook for it.  

The outcome was beneficial in many ways.  

The monster we captured in this way used its magical power to strengthen the metallic objects to protect itself in battle.  

The engineers realized that by moderately limiting the supply of metal, the creature becomes incredibly weak, so they are keeping it captive to use the materials for strengthening purposes.  

‘But it still makes me a bit uneasy.’  

Unappetizing meals.  

Fed just enough to barely keep it alive, while it has to use that to strengthen the materials of our guild.  

It was for the good of our unit, but  

‘I can’t help but feel bad when I hear its pitiful cries.’  

So, I thought, since I have to feed it anyway to keep it from starving,  

Why not try cooking something tasty?  

‘After all, once I complete the dish, I can also gain some experience points.  

So, I started cooking the metals to feed it.’  

It started as a thoughtless act,  

but after repeating it for a few days,  

a change began to occur.  

-Greeee…  

The moment I opened the door to give it the usual meal, the creature with a fur-like appearance began rubbing its head against my feet, similar to a black kitten.  

Seeing this, I was reminded of the Jjam Tiger* I had befriended when I first joined the unit.  

After that, I gradually grew closer to Mac and would play with it occasionally.  

And at some point, when I checked Mac’s information through [Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)], the text  

[Friendship – High]   

Appeared before my eyes.  

And this is the result:  

“Grrrrr…”  

It gnawed through the thick iron door,  

creating a hole large enough for one or two people to pass through.  

The more it ate the iron, the larger it grew.  

From a kitten-like appearance, it transformed into a foxlike form,  

then a wolf-like form, and now…  

‘A tiger.’  

It has taken on the appearance of a black tiger.  

Its once cute voice has also deepened considerably,  

exuding a strange sense of majesty.  

When it was in the metal warehouse, it looked like a huge bear.  

While not quite as massive as then, this size is still quite powerful as a monster.  

Normally, it would be something to be cautious about, but…  

“Good job, Blackie! I’ll make you something delicious when I get back home!”  

“Greeeeee!”  

As I stroked it, the kind creature happily rubbed its head against me.  

Even as it grew bigger in size, our closeness remained the same.  

It would shrink back down after fully digesting the food, but both forms had their own charms.  

“Blackie.”  

“What an unexpectedly cute name.”  

“Ah, that was the name of the cat that used to hang around our unit back then.”  

“Sergeant Lee Min-jae?”  

Sergeant Lee Min-jae explained towards the towards the bewildered soldiers.  

“Ah, you guys don’t know? When Young-joon and I were lance corporals, there was a cat that used to come to the dining hall often. At some point, it disappeared and stopped showing up. Young-joon was quite upset about that back then.”  

“Ahem, you really don’t need to bring up that embarrassing story.”  

Anyway, I looked into the hole Blackie had made.  

It was dark, so I couldn’t see clearly, but I could tell there was a fairly spacious area inside.  

“It’s wide, but I don’t think we can fit a tank in there.”  

In this battle, the tanks were only used for bombardment, but their true utility lies in their overwhelming physical power – crushing all obstructing enemies under their treads while bombarding them.  

But it seemed the tank wouldn’t be able to fit through this opening.  

In the end, only the awakened soldiers will have to fight inside.  

However, there was one thing that bothered me about that.  

Sergeant Min-jae, who was also looking into the opening, pointed it out.  

“It’s dark in there.”  

“That’s true.”  

Less than a month after the Dooms Day, electricity was completely cut off.  

Even our unit turns off the lights and goes to bed early at night.  

With the little oil we have, we can only provide lighting for the sentries on watch against the monster’s attacks.  

A bunker of this size should have its own power generation capabilities, but…  

“It’s because of the vampires.”  

“So, we don’t even need to turn on the lights.”  

If the surface is the domain of humans, then the darkness is theirs.  

Going in like this would be little more than a flashy suicide.  

So…  

“Let’s eat first.”  

We gathered near a vehicle after briefly exiting the cave.  

A mobile field kitchen…  

In other words, the food truck.  

‘Regular buffs won’t be enough.’  

This is neither an environment nor a scale that can be resolved with just a slight increase in abilities.  

We need to create the optimal dish for the extermination.  

In fact, I’ve prepared some ingredients specifically for this.  

When it comes to vampire extermination,  

We should of course follow the royal road, right?