The Military Chef of a Ruined World

I had to admit this:

“The taste is excellent.”

Despite the absence of any special sauce, the flavor was astonishingly deep.

[Consuming a top-tier ingredient – the flesh of the Pope, of the fishmen, has been confirmed]

[Related effects are being applied]

A message indicating that some unknown effects were put into play appeared.

I decided to check those later.

[Would you like to apply the effect of Absolute Palate?]

The awaited prompt finally came.

[You temporarily gained one trait of the target ingredient]

[Please select the desired trait]

A skill that allows you to choose and apply desired abilities from an ingredient.

[Mental Language]

[Divine Power]

[Clairvoyance]

[World Erosion]

.

.

.

.

.

.

Flamboyant characteristics flashed before my eyes, but I discarded all of them.

The ability I sought was singular.

‘I found it.’

[Mastery of Water Attributes]

* * *

[……You!]

“Yeah, yeah. I’m here.”

Right after successfully applying the desired characteristic, I approached the creature that was battling the soldiers.

Even as its body was breaking apart, perhaps due to the white aura surrounding it,

it gave off a strangely sacred vibe.

[You appear again before me without a shred of fear, despite your impending doom!]

It seemed unable to suppress the anger brought on by the fact that I had cooked one of its kind.

The enraged creature swung its fist towards me, and I, too, extended my hand toward it.

And then, I used the trait I had just acquired.

[Mastery of Water Attributes]

I enhanced the power of the waves and gathered the water to form a massive spear…

…It was the same force that submerged this city.

“Uh…?”

“The water around the monster is…”

The water that enveloped the entire city began to recede little by little.

Specifically, only the areas surrounding the giant.

“Is this…?”

“Is he the great Moses…?”

I heard someone whispering, but sadly, it was far from anything so glamorous.

‘I’m going to die, damn it.’

[Mastery of Water Attributes].

A powerful trait just by name alone.

Even with a brief use, I could feel the mafic energy being squeezed from my entire body.

[How can you wield my power…?]

As my ability was used in its entirety at my hands, even the most distinguished gentleman could not hide his surprise.

[Did you cook me…? But there’s no way you’d be worthy of such a feat]

Well, there was a lot of talk, but the operation was simple.

[Are you planning to take water from me?]

I recalled what Chang-su’s group had said.

‘It wasn’t that they couldn’t—it’s that they can’t breathe properly if they come out of the water.’

Those creatures, with their fish-like appearance, were a species that essentially lived underwater.

‘With no reinforcements to back them up, there’s a limit to the buff I can give my allies.’

So then, there’s only one option left.

“I just need to weaken him.”

[How foolish.]

[Your mastery of water attributes is being interfered with]

“Uh, the water is coming back…!”

The water I had just removed began to reclaim its place.

The trait I had taken from him, [Mastery of Water].

And the trait he naturally possessed was [Mastery of Water Attributes].

The two abilities were clashing.

[This power was originally mine.]

True to his word,

I had also surrounded myself with various buffs to inflate my stats.

However, when it came to a battle of strength between the two [Masteries], there was no way I could win against the original.

But.

“If it were you alone, we wouldn’t have had to fight like this.”

[What?]

At that moment,

“Bangul!”

[……!]

Those in the rear lines of our formation stepped forward.

Jeong Soo-ah,

the spirit master contracted with a water spirit.

She aimed to usurp control of the water near the Pope using her spirit.

“We will join the fight!”

Accompanying her were mages specialized in water attributes.

‘If fighting alone isn’t enough, we’ll overwhelm them with numbers.’

Even if this were the case, the creature would still have the advantage over the control of the water.

However.

We were in the heat of battle.

“Grrk!”

[You insect…!]

Corporal Jeong Gwang-il unleashed a frenzied assault.

The giant faltered briefly.

In that fleeting moment,

[The interference on your mastery of water is diminishing]

The water surrounding the giant receded rapidly.

He would still have to deal with the attacking squad members.

Plus, he would now need to worry about the competition for control over the water.

This had to be unbearable for him.

[The interference on your mastery of water is diminishing]

[Ugh…]

I could feel the balance of power shifting in our favor.

And ultimately,

Cough!

A groan filled with pain resounded.

One of the worst feelings in the world— the sensation of suffocation.

* * *

The massive body of the fishmen collapsed, devoid of strength.

‘I can’t believe it managed to fight for several more minutes while being unable to breathe.’

Having removed all the surrounding water, it could no longer breathe from midway through the battle, yet the fight continued for quite a while.

In the end, we emerged victorious, but…

“….”

A man was seen approaching the fallen giant.

A man wielding a spear.

Though most of our squad, having fought through the lengthy battle, had either fainted or sustained injuries and left the frontline, the spear master remained to fight alongside us until the end.

He raised the spear high, muttering,

“Die…!”

The spear plunged down toward the giant’s weak spot, its gills.

Thud!

“What are you doing?”

It was none other than me who grabbed the spear.

“Indeed. Are you planning to cut the creature’s throat yourself, or something like that? If so, go ahead. I’m fine as long as I get to see this creature die with my own eyes.”

Unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly the case.

“I have something to try out for a moment.”

Chang-su and his group members had lived solely on the desire for revenge against the fishmen.

Even if we were to stab the spear here, the revenge would only be somewhat settled.

With such a powerful monster,

“More accurately, I have something to feed it.”

It just feels like a waste to kill it outright, doesn’t it?