Chapter 80

I could no longer even use the flimsy excuse of the true ending.

However, after finally saying what I honestly felt, I calmed down a little.

Once I came to my senses, I could realize just how reckless I had been acting.

“Captain Kwak, but….”

I confessed the truth that it was still too early to fight the Fire Dragon.

After listening to my explanation that we had not fulfilled the prerequisite conditions required to defeat Infernum, the final boss of Sla2Plate, Kwak Hanmuk raised his eyebrows and said,

“Well, but it’d be a waste to miss the true ending after coming all the way here. We busted our asses in the dungeon, and we’re supposed to get the normal ending? Fuck, absolutely not.”

That was… a fair point too.

The true ending was truly right in front of us.

“And I want to try fighting the Fire Dragon.”

After answering that there was no proper fight against the Fire Dragon in the normal ending, Kwak Hanmuk turned his head toward Mo Haein.

“Captain Mo, are you okay with it?”

I looked toward Mo Haein with discouraged eyes.

Mo Haein stared straight at me.

She looked at me without even blinking and gave me a very clear and simple condition.

“Promise me you won’t do something like what you just did ever again.”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

I answered without making any excuses, filled with sincere regret.

Then I looked at Je Hyun-oh….

He was walking toward me while replacing one of his metal hands with the Crow Gauntlet.

Je Hyun-oh lightly moved the hand he had changed into the Crow Gauntlet.

Then he stopped in front of me.

The moment I saw my reflection in his black goggles, his hand immediately grabbed me by the collar and lifted me up.

My feet left the ground as my airway was compressed.

“Cough…!”

A groan escaped naturally as I struggled to breathe. Before I could even try to struggle.

My body was thrown through the air.

BANG!

My back slammed into the ornamental trees Je Hyun-oh had carefully trimmed, and leaves scattered down.

“Ahhh! Lieutenant Colonel Je!”

“Trainee!”

Kwak Hanmuk and Mo Haein tried to rush over in surprise, but Je Hyun-oh raised a hand to stop them.

Step, step, step.

Je Hyun-oh approached with slow steps.

“Roasted Chestnut.”

Dominic called out to me. He had clung tightly to me while my body was flying through the air and asked,

“Roasted Chestnut, are you alright? Should I help?”

I shook my head while pretending to gather my thoughts.

“Hmm, Roasted Chestnut is… too lenient with his subordinate.”

The Pudding Slime expressed its dissatisfaction, but I did not have the mind to pay attention right now.

Meanwhile, Je Hyun-oh reached me and crouched down.

He sat down and stared silently at me, who was collapsed and gasping for breath.

“Goyo.”

A throbbing pain rose from my back where I had struck the tree.

I was definitely bruised.

Swallowing the pain, I barely lifted my gaze.

And seeing my own face reflected in his black goggles, I answered.

“Yes….”

“You said you wanted to live.”

He tilted his head slightly while continuing to look at me.

“But why do you keep doing this?”

It was a mutter filled with genuine confusion.

I hurriedly tried to bow down and apologize.

“I’m sorry, I….”

Crack.

But before I could even finish speaking, a sharp blade grazed right beside my face.

The tree where the metal hand had been embedded split apart with a cracking sound and fell backward.

The tree crashed down directly behind me, but I could not even look away.

Frozen stiff, I stared at Je Hyun-oh.

The person who held my entire attention asked again.

“You do want to live, right, Goyo?”

“Yes…. I really want to live.”

The person with one hand lowered wearing the Crow Gauntlet and the other lowered as a metal hand moved his fingers out of habit.

It was a movement that seemed as if my answer did not matter much.

After silently weighing something about me for a while, Je Hyun-oh finally spoke.

“Yeah.”

A quiet whisper followed.

“Because I haven’t decided yet either.”

“What?”

I asked again because I did not understand, but he never answered.

Je Hyun-oh slowly stood up.

Kwak Hanmuk and Mo Haein quickly approached me.

“Good grief, you’ve become a beaten-up chestnut.”

“Are you okay?”

The captains helped me up and protested toward Je Hyun-oh.

“Why do you keep throwing the kid around?”

“Lieutenant Colonel Je. You didn’t have to go this far.”

Je Hyun-oh answered simply.

“Goyo deserved it.”

After that, no one could refute him.

Kwak Hanmuk awkwardly cleared his throat and brushed the dirt off my clothes.

Je Hyun-oh watched that for a moment before speaking.

“Captain Kwak, Captain Mo.”

The pitch-black figure, with the afternoon sunlight behind him, looked down at me and said,

“Let’s go hunt the Fire Dragon.”

The dungeon ends at the 99th floor.

However, the tower continues upward, and the unfinished number becomes complete as the 100th floor.

At the very top of the tower was the nest of the Fire Dragon Infernum.

The twins were probably being held there.

I took a deep breath in front of the dungeon entrance and slowly let it out.

To achieve the true ending, the decisive battle with the Fire Dragon was essential.

The standard strategy originally required completing two conditions.

1. Achieve a restaurant reputation score of 1,000 points to obtain the title ‘Best Restaurant.’

2. Conquer up to the 99th floor of the dungeon to obtain the ‘Flame Truffle.’

Equipping the ‘Best Restaurant’ title obtained from the first condition created fire immunity for all party members.

It allowed them to nullify the continuous damage caused by the endless heat inside the Fire Dragon’s nest.

Additionally, they could ignore the fire attribute bonus gained by the Fire Dragon when attacking from its own nest.

And the second condition: conquering up to the 99th floor of the dungeon.

In this case, along with the ‘Dungeon Conqueror’ title, they would receive the Flame Truffle, the only ingredient in the entire Sla2Plate world.

The Dungeon Conqueror title only increased tip probability, so it was not very useful. The important thing was the Flame Truffle.

Cooking with this produced food that greatly increased attack power specifically against the Fire Dragon.

However, right now, neither the first nor second condition was possible.

The restaurant score had not yet reached 1,000 points, and there was no time to conquer the 99th floor of the dungeon.

Because the twins had suddenly been captured, we had to fight Infernum without being fully prepared.

Infernum was the boss of a five-star trial. Even with complete preparation, he was not an opponent we could face carelessly.

Even so, I did not think the strategy was impossible.

There were Je Hyun-oh and the captains, and above all else….

I knew Infernum well.

Entering the dungeon, I took out the food I had prepared in my inventory and placed it in the lobby.

“Everyone, please eat this first. I’ll brief you on the Fire Dragon strategy while you eat.”

It was the Fire Flame Course Meal.

It was not a perfect combat meal, but since it was a course consisting of six-star dishes, the effects it provided were considerable.

The captains quickly ate the dishes while listening to the Fire Dragon strategy I had planned.

They had only eaten one or two types of food until now, so when they tried the entire course meal for the first time, their eyes widened.

“Crazy. I think I got fucking strong.”

While Kwak Hanmuk marveled, Mo Haein also checked her stats and could not hide her surprise.

The dishes greatly increased attack power, defense, critical hit chance, and critical damage, but the most important part was the buff that appeared after eating the entire course meal.

“Trainee, does this have fire immunity too?”

“Yes. It lasts for 20 minutes.”

The continuous damage from the Fire Dragon’s nest was quite painful, so it was best to defeat it before the buff ended.

I explained that if 20 minutes passed, they would have to endure by restoring their health with recovery potions or food.

After that, I used the chef class skill, ‘À la carte.’

Red spark-like lights swirled around the captains’ bodies before disappearing.

À la carte was a buff skill obtained when a chef reached level 80 and 85% proficiency.

Party members who ate the food could choose one stat they needed most and increase it.

Naturally, the stat the captains chose was attack power.

However, I chose a different stat.

“This is also only 20 minutes, so keep the buff duration in mind.”

À la carte’s cooldown was one hour, meaning it could effectively only be used once per battle.

It would have been best to apply the buff after entering the Fire Dragon’s nest, but since we did not know what could happen inside, I safely used the skill beforehand.

After that, I handed out small cookie-like foods that could be eaten quickly for recovery.

“Food and recovery potions can be used at the same time.”

“Wow, being a chef was a fucking insane class.”

While listening to Kwak Hanmuk’s admiration, I made one final request to Je Hyun-oh.

Perhaps because of our previous experience, he accepted the request more easily this time.

After finishing preparations, everyone stepped onto the teleportation magic circle.

Mo Haein took out her Black Moon Blade and gently stroked it for a moment.

I had always thought it looked like a spear no matter how I looked at it, so I turned my gaze toward Kwak Hanmuk.

Come to think of it, Kwak Hanmuk had continued wearing rosary beads even inside Sla2Plate.

I had never actually seen him use them.

Since it did not fit the Trial Response Agency’s tendency to avoid using items, I was curious.

I decided to ask him later and waited for Mo Haein’s signal to enter.

After confirming everyone was standing on the magic circle, she spoke briefly.

“We’re entering.”

The available floor number changed to 100.

Normally, it was only possible after conquering up to the 99th floor and seeing the event scene, but because we had received the Fire Dragon’s invitation, we could enter immediately.

The moment we reached the Fire Dragon’s nest through the teleportation magic circle, intense heat rushed toward us.

Unlike the dungeon, an enormous open space spread out before us.

Amazing! You have entered the Fire Dragon’s nest!
What kind of adventure awaits here?
Be careful not to offend the Fire Dragon’s mood!

The enormous space, large enough for a Fire Dragon to lie down comfortably, was covered with smoothly polished white marble and obsidian.

One wall was lined with display cases.

When people thought of a dragon’s nest, they usually imagined shining gold and mountains of jewels.

However, the Fire Dragon’s display cases were filled with finely crafted wine glasses, silverware, various alcohols and spices, and rare ingredients.

All of them were ingredients preserved by magic at the exact moment they were at their freshest and best for cooking.

And in the center was a vast dining table.

The table, carved from obsidian, had a delicate red magic circle engraved on it. When infused with magic, it maintained the food placed on the table at the most appropriate temperature.

A rumbling voice echoed through the space.

I looked upward.

Very far upward.

A massive ball of flame appeared in the darkness.

It was the Fire Dragon’s eye.

Infernum had the form of a dragon, but his true body could not be properly seen because it was hidden in darkness.

Only his vivid red eyes were visible, staring at me.

Then, after a slight pause, he continued.

The added words were likely directed at Dominic.

However, Dominic above my head did not respond at all.

Even though it was no different from saying he would die alongside me, he seemed not to consider it worth answering.

The being before us was called the Fire Dragon’s monarch and was of a level capable of seeing Dominic’s existence, but that was all.

At most, he had briefly caught Dominic’s interest, and now he had fallen into the same meaningless existence as any other NPC.

If there was any meaning to it, he was merely an ingredient I would soon catch and cook.

A question suddenly occurred to me.

To Dominic, even someone as great as Infernum was insignificant.

I wondered why someone like that had found meaning in me and even made a contract with me.

It was certainly strange enough that simply saying he was being lenient because I was a young god did not explain it.

Putting the thought aside, I calmly looked up at Infernum and asked.

“Where are Ella-nim and Ellun-nim?”

I had searched for them first the moment we entered the 100th floor, but they were nowhere to be seen.

At my question, a huge laugh echoed.

The red eyes disappeared, and Infernum, now transformed into a human, walked out from the darkness.

The final boss battle’s background music began to play.

Sharp, mechanical digital drum beats pounded steadily, raising the tension as if announcing the disaster that would soon descend.

The low bass sounds and unknown mechanical noises sent an unpleasant chill through the air.

The music suddenly stopped, and Infernum pulled out a chair and sat down before the table.

Sitting there elegantly, he gave a relaxed declaration.

“Now, it is time for the feast.”

A rough and destructive lo-fi sound, as if a monster’s roar had been distorted, struck my ears once.

Then, fast electronic sounds that seemed to tear the ears apart layered over a rhythm shifting between off-beat and on-beat, announcing the true opening of hell.

Among the chaotic music, a sparkling sound could be heard.

Ignoring the system window, the first phase began.

The first phase attacks of the Fire Dragon Infernum were extremely simple yet deadly.

Following his gesture, the empty space above our heads became densely filled with silver.

The identity of the silver objects that would rain down across the entire area after a few seconds was all forks and knives.

However, the reason the first phase’s attack was deadly was not because of the sharp utensils.

It was because one randomly selected party member would be sent onto Infernum’s dining table.

The selected party member became unable to act during the first phase.

Additionally, when attacking Infernum, the selected party member’s health would decrease instead.

However, this time, there was no random selection.

“Little one. Come to me.”

A hook attached to a chain shot forward.

The hook caught my waist and, hanging from the ceiling, suspended me like a piece of meat.

Infernum laughed while looking at me hanging over the table, folded in half.

“Meat tastes bad if it gets damaged.”

As expected, things were going exactly as predicted.

I twisted my lips into a smile and smiled back.

“You’re speaking as if you’ll actually get the chance to eat me.”

The moment the Fire Dragon raised his eyebrows.

Je Hyun-oh, with his wings spread, flew toward me while taking the full rain of forks and knives.

The silver utensils striking his metal wings created a loud clattering noise.

BANG!

Landing on the table, he grabbed me before Infernum could react and threw me toward the floor.

Then immediately, he swung a hook—not his metal hand—toward Infernum.