~Chapter 6~
Achievement Unlocked!
No Minwoo felt strange.
Normally, when someone curses at you, you’d get angry. That would be the natural response.
But when Delicate cursed at him, it didn’t feel bad.
On the contrary, it gave him a weird thrill—almost like a reward.
How should one describe this strange, tingly feeling?
“If you don’t answer, I’ll rip your tongue out.”
Delicate bestowed another “reward.”
Other Hunters hadn’t noticed, but she saw it clearly.
She had watched No Minwoo pull out the fried egg and eat it in one bite.
At first, she was just a little surprised.
Food from the Field was universally terrible—and cooking made it worse.
Yet a fried egg, here?
She had thought maybe he was just a clueless newbie who didn’t know better—but then she saw his face light up with pure joy.
That was unmistakably the face of someone tasting something delicious.
‘Why…?’
Curious, she had approached Minwoo.
From his mouth and the egg he held came a rich, savory aroma—real food.
Something she had never smelled in the Field.
“D-Delicate-nim…”
“This is your last chance to keep your tongue. Where did you get that food?”
“I bought it… from someone.”
“Who?”
Minwoo recalled Lee Seojin.
But Seojin had worn a mask, and Minwoo hadn’t even asked his name. He had no solid info to offer.
But offering nothing might actually cost him his tongue.
After all, the person standing in front of him was none other than one of Korea’s strongest Hunters—Delicate, nicknamed “Dueokshini.”
The Dueokshini is a fierce spirit from Korean mythology, similar to a yaksha or a vengeful demigod.
Delicate’s overwhelming strength and terrifying personality earned her that title.
So if you got on her bad side, ally or not, you were doomed.
Minwoo scrambled to offer something useful.
“I—I don’t know his name, but I can show you where I met him.”
Normally too proud to ever bow his head, Minwoo didn’t even hesitate in front of Delicate.
She paused for a moment and then asked,
“What did you trade for it?”
“O-One Queen Giant Ant tooth for ten pieces.”
“Sell me one.”
In her hand were two Giant Ant teeth.
Minwoo hesitated. Then added a condition.
“I will, but… please don’t tell anyone else.”
“Why?”
“If word gets out, we might not be able to buy them anymore.”
Delicate didn’t answer right away.
Instead, she bit into the fried egg to assess its value.
It smelled great—but could the taste match?
Maybe Minwoo just had weird taste buds.
Munch. Chew…
“…!”
A heavenly flavor exploded on her tongue.
This wasn’t just a fried egg—it was the best she had ever tasted.
To think something like this existed in the Field!
If word spread, she might lose the chance to buy more.
“Where is he?”
“Huh?”
“Where can I find the person selling these?”
“I’ll take you right after the dungeon clear.”
As she finished the rest of the egg, bliss filled Delicate’s expression.
* * *
Meanwhile, Lee Seojin, now in the Safe Zone, tried a few more newly purified ingredients:
[You have consumed ‘Garlic Chives’ for the first time.]
[Nutrients have strengthened your body.]
[Agility slightly increased.]
[You have consumed ‘Scallion’ for the first time.]
[Nutrients have strengthened your body.]
[Agility slightly increased.]
[You have consumed ‘Spring Onion’ for the first time.]
[Nutrients have strengthened your body.]
[Agility slightly increased.]
All three had originally been unnamed Field herbs.
After Seojin purified and named them, he tested them one by one.
And when he ate the last one—
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Agility increased five times within 30 minutes.]
[You have earned the skill ‘Sprint.’]
‘…Huh?’
Seojin blinked.
The Achievement system was an important Field feature.
When specific conditions were met, one could unlock special rewards—items, equipment, or skills.
But achievements were rare and undocumented.
Thanks to his unique Hand Taste skill, Seojin had stumbled upon one no one else ever had.
He opened his skill window to check:
[Sprint – Active]
Temporarily increases Agility 5x for 10 seconds.
Usable 3 times per day, resets at midnight.
‘Not bad.’
He was satisfied. Agility-based skills were great for surviving the Field.
Though Seojin accepted this calmly, anyone else would’ve fainted in shock.
A total novice, with just a few Field visits, had unlocked a new skill through an undiscovered achievement.
If he had any real understanding of Field culture, he would’ve realized just how amazing this was.
His current skills:
Hand Taste
Seasoning
Sprint
As he prepared to return from the Field—
Keeng keeng… keeng!
Pig-nosed lizard cries echoed.
If he could catch one, he could purify the meat.
But they were way too fast—always had been.
Until now.
‘Wait a minute.’
Now he had Sprint.
And his Agility had increased five times already.
If he stacked that with Sprint’s 5x boost…
‘It might just work.’
He scanned the area and spotted a nearby lizard.
[Sprint!]
His legs, still slightly limping, moved at stunning speed.
His limp barely mattered.
Tat tat tat tat!
He quickly closed the gap.
The startled lizard turned to run—
“Got you!”
Seojin grabbed its thick tail.
Squeal! Squeal!
The lizard thrashed—and snap! The tail detached entirely.
“Huh?”
Surprised, Seojin held the twitching tail—roughly the size of a child’s forearm.
It wasn’t quite what he intended, but it still counted as meat.
[Hand Taste!]
He purified it successfully—it was a lowest-grade ingredient.
‘Let’s try again.’
[Sprint!]
[Sprint!]
Squeal!
He caught two more lizards, pulling off their tails.
Though he could’ve tried full capture, he wasn’t sure how to kill them—so tails were safer.
He now had three lizard tails in his inventory.
Curious about the taste, he exited the Field.
* * *
Back in his kitchen, Seojin placed a lizard tail on the cutting board.
He peeled off the skin and inspected the meat.
The color, texture, and scent were all like chicken.
‘This might actually work…’
He sliced the tail into steak-sized pieces and grilled them.
No seasoning—just a taste test.
He bit in.
The meat was juicy and tender—shockingly good.
It resembled a chicken thigh, just without the skin.
‘Delicious.’
Even though the meat wasn’t aged, there was no unpleasant gamey smell.
Next, he added salt and pepper.
With seasoning, the already-good meat became spectacular.
Seojin smiled.
Yesterday, he’d become egg-rich. Now, he had free meat too.
He didn’t have to worry about food expenses anymore.
And on top of that?
He could sell food to other Hunters in the Field for profit.
‘I could open a street stall…’
It might be like running a cart—but just imagining cooking in the Field made him happy.
* * *
The next day.
Seojin packed fried eggs, rolled omelets, and lizard tail steaks into his inventory and returned to the Field.
He collected new eggs and hunted three more lizard tails while waiting for customers.
But… no one showed up.
The Safe Zone near his home had only recently been discovered—few Hunters visited.
His late arrival times didn’t help either.
‘I’ll probably run into someone eventually.’
He searched the area, purifying green onions, scallions, spring onions, and garlic chives.
But something felt off.
‘There seem to be fewer lizards today…’
Seojin spent all his Field time in this one zone—and he had good observational skills.
He was sure the number of lizards watching him had dropped.
He had only caught three yesterday—and only by the tail. That shouldn’t have affected the population.
No one else would’ve hunted them—they were considered useless, like rocks.
And monsters regenerated anyway.
‘So why…?’
He couldn’t figure it out. Time passed.
He had hoped to sell food to a passerby—but not a single person appeared.
Seojin finally gave up on selling in this zone.
‘Should I try selling in reality?’
Monster loot could be traded in reality—so it was technically possible.
But he quickly abandoned that idea.
Doing so would expose him as an Awakened.
He’d be required to register with the Awakened Association, which meant being managed by the government.
Registered Awakened got plenty of benefits—but for a price.
The world constantly faced Field threats.
Another Field Break could happen any time.
In such a case, all registered Awakened—regardless of rank—would be forcibly deployed.
Even porters had to go to dangerous sites, and lives were often lost.
Seojin wanted no part in that.
He also didn’t want his identity revealed as the guy cooking food in the Field.
So for better or worse, he had to keep the mask on and sell food anonymously in the Field.
‘Maybe I should explore a little?’
He decided to leave the Safe Zone.
A bit tense, he recalled from research that northward was home to monsters called Fire Rabbits.
They were non-aggressive unless provoked.
Their loot could sell for a few thousand won—so lower-rank Hunters often hunted them.
If he was lucky, he could find a rabbit foreleg worth 50,000 won.
Seojin made up his mind and hobbled north.
But then—
Grrrrrrrr…
In the darkness, something watched him from the shadows.
Crunch. Chomp.
A mysterious beast, hidden in the dark, was chewing on something glowing like crystal.
And Seojin… had no idea.
