ARIFURETA: Cooking to be the Strongest?

A LOUD CRASH, followed by scattering dust and debris, marked the final demise of the colossal scorpion monster.

Its immense body settled with a jarring tremor that echoed through the cavern, leaving an unnatural silence in its wake.

Shin, utterly spent, lay sprawled on the monster's cooling carapace, his chest heaving.

He dematerialized his obsidian knife and wooden sword, a wave of profound fatigue washing over him, but also a sense of accomplishment.

The threat was neutralized.

"Shin!"

A small figure, surprisingly nimble, navigated the uneven terrain of fallen rock and monster parts.

Yue, her voice piercing through Shin's exhaustion, scrambled over a broken claw, her small frame surprisingly adept at scaling the dead behemoth.

She reached Shin's side, her crimson eyes wide with concern.

Shin, now merely lying there to catch his breath, lifted one arm weakly, a gesture meant to reassure her

 "I'm fine, Yue," he rasped, his voice a little strained. "Just taking a rest."

Seeing his hand, a wave of relief washed over Yue, but she pressed on, determined to reach him.

She finally clambered onto the monster's massive back, her eyes fixed on his prone form. Instead of sitting, she immediately threw herself at him, clinging to him like a koala, her small arms wrapped tightly around his torso, burying her face into his chest.

Shin grunted softly, the unexpected embrace a surprising weight.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there,princess," he chuckled, though the effort tired him.

"Can you loosen your hug a bit? I can barely breathe."

Yue, however, refused. Her grip tightened.

Shin sighed, a long, weary exhalation.

He simply patted her head, letting her cling to him as he slowly, steadily, regained his stamina. 

The warmth of her small body, the soft brush of her hair against his cheek, was a strange comfort in the grim, silent expanse of the Abyss.

He closed his eyes, content to simply exist in that moment, letting the quiet presence of his new companion ground him.

********

In a dim, makeshift cave, bathed in the dancing orange glow of a crackling fire and the faint, ethereal aquamarine luminescence of a holy crystal Shin had harvested, Shin and Yue found a semblance of peace.

Yue sat cross-legged, her crimson eyes wide with an almost childlike curiosity, fixed entirely on Shin.

He, meanwhile, was meticulously prepping a piece of the scorpion monster's flesh for dinner. Yue had a myriad of questions swirling in her mind—questions about his origins, his strange powers, his unwavering composure in this hostile world.

Yet, she held her tongue, observing the subtle, almost imperceptible glint of satisfaction in his eyes as he worked.

It was a rare glimpse of something akin to happiness, and she didn't want to break his focus.

Shin, on the other hand, was currently impressed by the sheer quality of the scorpion monster's meat.

With his obsidian knife, he effortlessly, though with a slight drain on his stamina, pried open a section of its incredibly tough carapace.

What lay inside was a firm, almost glistening white and pinkish flesh.

It had the dense texture of pork, yet was surprisingly soft, almost like shrimp or crab meat.

With practiced, efficient motions, Shin prepared their dinner.

He seasoned the meat with finely chopped, spicy herbs he had carefully collected from previous floors, along with a generous sprinkle of rock salt.

Then, he expertly wrapped the seasoned meat in large, sturdy vine leaves before encasing the entire bundle in a thick layer of mud.

This rustic package was then placed directly into the heart of the fire, which had been ignited by a controlled burst of Yue's magic and fueled by dried, thick vines and a shredded page from his old book.

As the meat sizzled gently in its earthy cocoon, filling the small cave with a rich, savory aroma, Shin finally broke the comfortable silence.

"So, Yue," he began, turning his head to meet her gaze, 

"you've been quiet for a while now.I can tell you've got a lot on your mind. What do you want to know?"

At Shin's direct invitation, Yue's eyes gleamed with a mix of bliss and unbridled curiosity.

Since Shin had already recounted his extraordinary journey into the Abyss and his survival, Yue steered the conversation toward the most perplexing aspect of his being.

"Shin," she began, her voice earnest, "what exactly are those 'weapons' you keep conjuring? I've sensed no magic power flowing from you, so how do you do it? Are they... some type of artifacts?"

Shin rubbed his chin, a thoughtful frown on his face.

He truly didn't have a definitive answer himself.

"Well, something like an artifact, I guess?" he said, his tone a little unsure.

Even he didn't fully comprehend the full nature of his materialized tools.

For a clearer explanation, he extended his hand, and with a familiar shimmer, the obsidian knife materialized in his grasp.

"Ooo~" Yue gasped softly, her eyes wide with unceasing amazement.

Witnessing Shin conjure the knife from thin air, without a single ripple of magic, continued to astound her.

"I don't know much about this either," Shin continued, turning the knife to catch the firelight.

"But what I do know is that some of my tools are very peculiar."

He gestured with the knife.

"This knife, for example—an obsidian knife, I think? It's incredibly sharp, but using it consumes some of my stamina. The harder the object I cut, the more stamina it drains from me."

Yue was mesmerized, staring at the knife's rough, dark blade that seemed to absorb and reflect the firelight in unsettling ways.

"Can I hold it?" she asked, her voice laced with an almost desperate curiosity.

"Of course, why not?" Shin replied, extending the knife towards her.

"But be careful. Even though I've confirmed it doesn't cut sentient beings, it's still stamina-draining for me to keep it materialized."

"Mmm," Yue nodded, acknowledging Shin's warning.

Just as her fingers brushed against the hilt, the knife abruptly vanished.

"Areh?" Yue questioned aloud, tilting her head in confusion.

She looked at her empty hand, then back at Shin, who was grinning mischievously.

"Looks like it's exclusive only to me," Shin said, enjoying her bewildered expression, carefully omitting the detail that the knife always vanishes when it leaves his touch.

Yue, sensing that Shin was deliberately teasing her, puffed out her cheeks and glared.

"Shin is bullying me!" she pouted, launching into a barrage of tiny, ineffectual punches against his arm.

Her attacks, though swift, felt like gentle taps against his unnaturally tough skin.

Shin chuckled, his laughter growing heartier with each harmless blow.

The more he laughed, the more frustrated Yue became, increasing the intensity of her assault.

Seeing her punches dealt no damage, Yue finally gave up, her shoulders slumping as she dramatically sulked in the corner of the cave.

"Shin is bullying me, gusu gusu," she mimed, feigning tears and sniffing dramatically.

Shin, seeing through her transparent act, just sighed after his hearty laugh.

"Okay, okay, my bad. So stop sulking." Yue's posture, remarkably similar to one of his orphanage's little sisters when they were upset, made him give up on teasing her.

He re-manifested the obsidian knife in his hand.

Seeing Shin's reaction, Yue's sulking facade instantly vanished, replaced by a playful, triumphant smile.

"So why did it disappear when I touched it?" she asked, her curiosity rekindled.

"Well, it's not like it disappeared when you touched it," Shin explained.

"It's more like it disappeared when I let go." He demonstrated, loosening his grip on the hilt.

The moment the knife lost contact with his palm, it shimmered and vanished.

"See?" Shin said, remanifesting the knife in his hand once more.

Yue's eyes widened at the peculiar display.

"Can you conjure a lot of them?" she asked, reaching out to tentatively touch the knife while Shin was still holding it.

"Well, I tried, but it seems I can only conjure one at a time," Shin replied.

"Oo~"

Yue exclaimed in amusement as her finger slid across the blade. Instead of her hand being cut, the knife simply refused to harm her, feeling like a smooth, hard surface against her skin.

"Interesting, right?" Shin asked, an amused tone in his voice.

"Mmm, it's very interesting, unlike anything I've ever seen before," Yue responded, looking at her unharmed finger.

She also remembered, with a jolt, that this very knife was what had effortlessly sliced through the impenetrable sealing stone that had imprisoned her for centuries.

"I guess that's enough for a demonstration for now, or else our food will be overcooked,"

Shin said, de-manifesting the knife.

Yue's face fell into a slight pout, clearly disappointed that her observation session was cut short.

Shin, meanwhile, grabbed the hardened mud package from the fire and placed it onto a rough stone table he had carved into the cave wall.

Shin then broke the hardened mud and unraveled the leaves covering their meal.

The enticing aroma of roasted meat filled the small space, promising a well-deserved meal.

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