Chapter 115

“Wow!!”

As soon as Yun-a saw the newly made kitchen knife, she ran over with a bright smile.

“Waaah… it’s really coooool…!”

Everyone—her uncle, aunt, and older brother—was impressed by the distinctive Damascus pattern on the blade.

Now that the party was over and they were inside the subspace, they could properly admire the knife, and it looked even more impressive.

“…I should try imitating this later.”

With magic, he felt like he could replicate the pattern. Maybe he could make similar knives for his brother, himself, and those two high schoolers.

“Uncle! Hurry, let’s try it!”

Yun-a brought out a cutting board and various vegetables.

tatatatatak—!

“…Huh?”

Something felt strange.

“I was trying to cut out the spoiled parts… but why did they become fresh again? Don’t tell me…!”

“That’s right. It’s the knife’s ability.”

“…Wow! It’s way better than the one I used before!”

“Right?”

“Hehe, yeah! Thank you, Uncle!”

tatatatatak—!

“It really cuts so well…”

“Yun-a, your knife skills seem to have improved a lot.”

“Hehe, right? I’m really good now, aren’t I?”

Yun-a neatly chopped all the ingredients. That level of speed and precision was usually only seen in professional chefs.

Her passive skill for knife work, her talent, and all her experience and practice were finally shining through.

“Wow… seriously amazing. Hey, Hyun-jun, what about my knife?”

“…I’ll make yours later. Haha.”

Good tools should be given to skilled hands.

A craftsman should gradually upgrade tools according to skill.

“…Tch, fine.”

“Hehe. This knife is amazing. shh-shh, cutting is so easy!”

Seeing Yun-a smile like that made him smile too. She then put all the chopped vegetables into the pan.

“Hehe, today’s breakfast is omurice!”

She stir-fried the vegetables, added rice, and seasoned it. Then she divided it into portions on plates and prepared the omelets.

It was a dish he had once made for the family right after returning—omurice with omelet cut open so the egg flows over the rice.

“Huff…!”

She had failed many times before, but today felt different. Yun-a poured the beaten eggs into a heated pan and stirred rapidly.

When it became slightly soft, she gently pushed the edges inward and slowly shaped it as it cooked.

“Oh…? I think it’s working!”

She moved one omelet onto the rice, and now she had three more to make.

She didn’t lose focus and continued pouring and shaping the eggs.

“Oh?”

“Oh!”

“Wow…”

Hyun-jun, his brother, and sister-in-law were all impressed at the same time. In the end, Yun-a succeeded in making four beautifully shaped omelets and placed them on top of the fried rice.

“Now let’s cut it open!”

Yun-a sliced the omelet with the adamantium Damascus knife.

whoosh—!

Golden egg spilled out like light, covering the rice.

“Wow! It worked! It actually worked! I succeeded once before, but four in a row is my first time! Haha!”

She jumped around happily. It was cute, but at the same time… something complicated stirred in him.

Pride, warmth, and a strange realization that time had passed enough for Yun-a’s cooking skills to improve this much. Even the thought that she would soon enter elementary school crossed his mind.

What would they do with the food truck once she started school? It felt a bit complicated.

Well… he decided to just enjoy the present and think about that later. The omurice looked too delicious.

“Let’s eat!”

He scooped up a bite of fluffy, moist egg and rice with lots of vegetables (especially onions), and added ketchup.

“Ugh…!”

Sweet-and-sour ketchup, sweet vegetables, and moist rice soaked in their juices—it was perfectly balanced.

But above all, the egg was incredibly soft.

“It’s delicious!”

“Yeah, it’s really the best.”

“Uncle, is it good?”

“Yeah, it’s amazing.”

“Hehe, thank you!”

They enjoyed a cheerful breakfast together.

Chapter 115 (continued)

After finishing the meal, Hyun-jun went into the makeshift forge he had previously set up.

He took out plenty of adamantium. As for the two high schoolers, he planned to make knives from black iron. As he said before, a craftsman gradually upgrades tools according to skill.

Objectively, Yun-a’s knife skills surpassed those of the two boys who were just ordinary humans, while she was a transcendent being. That was undeniable.

And… he was also running low on adamantium, so it made sense to give them black iron blades as gratitude.

“Like that old man did earlier…”

First, his own knife would be adamantium. The others—for Hyun-su and the high schoolers—would be black iron.

Now, his own first.

‘I wanted to ask Mr. Kim to make it…’

But the old craftsman had said he was going on a trip with his family. He was probably already on the way to the airport.

“Let’s do this!”

He cut the adamantium with aura, stacked the materials neatly, then heated and hammered it for ten hours. The old man Kim had finished it in five hours using mana and expensive tools, but—

BOOM!

He finished it in 30 minutes.

‘Hell Fire.’

Using A-rank fire magic while forging, he slightly melted the adamantium.

“Martial trait.”

He activated his martial trait and hammered it with his fist. With aura reinforcing his fist, it remained unharmed.

If Mr. Kim saw this, he would probably faint in disbelief.

He muttered softly.

‘Now the options…’

Mr. Kim had used mana microscopes, tools, and his own mana to adjust the structure.

Hyun-jun simply used telekinesis… and with focus, rearranged the mana structure.

Thus, he unlocked two options.

And he still needed to make three black iron knives.

‘Ah, right. The pattern.’

…He used a cheat.

The construction trait.

“Copy.”

He copied the Damascus pattern from Yun-a’s knife onto his own.

“I was trying not to overuse my abilities, but…”

He had forgotten the timing of the corrosion ability. It couldn’t be helped.

He rationalized it as he continued working with black iron, which he had made several times before.

“Phew—done.”

He left the room holding glowing kitchen knives.

“Wow…! I finally have my own knife!”

“Sister-in-law, should I make one for you too?”

“No, I tried Yun-a’s before and it didn’t really suit me… haha.”

There were people like that—those who didn’t harmonize well with mana. Mana rejection came in various forms: inability to consume mana-infused food, dizziness when using mana items, and more.

Ji-yun was the second type.

So instead, she received a high-quality knife made by Mr. Kim, along with Hyun-su.

“Wow! I love this too! It’s Damascus too?”

“Haha, that old man really likes making Damascus blades.”

It was quite expensive, but—

“Thank you so much, young master!”

“My little brother! I love this too!”

Hyun-su and Ji-yun happily tapped the cutting board like children.

‘It’s about time those two boys leave.’

Now 19 and having obtained their licenses, they could travel freely in the truck. It was time for them to move on.

Hyun-jun headed to the hotel parking lot where Min-ho and Sung-won were staying.

“Ah, Uncle!”

“Uncle, what’s going on?”

“Call me brother…”

Even if you included his E-class life, biologically he was still young enough to be called a brother.

“Alright, brother. What’s up? We were about to go for a drive before the after-party filming.”

“I’ve got a gift for you.”

Their faces brightened immediately.

“Hehe, what is it?”

“A graduation gift?”

Smiling, Hyun-jun handed them knives wrapped in newspaper.

“…That’s scary. What is this?”

“…Is it a fish?”

“Pfft—!”

He couldn’t help laughing.

They carefully unwrapped the newspaper.

A black kitchen knife. Slightly reflective. Black iron.

“…Whoa!”

“This is a black iron knife!!”

“Hehe, got you one.”

“…We can really use something this expensive?”

“You can and you will.”

“…Thank you, hyung.”

“We’ll never forget this favor!”

They bowed in gratitude for five minutes, then immediately climbed onto the truck and started cooking.

“We had some wolf meat left… let’s make you a chateaubriand!”

They quickly chopped vegetables and cubed the steak.

“With this knife, cutting is insane!”

“It goes through so smoothly!”

“My wrist doesn’t hurt!”

Seeing them enjoy it made Hyun-jun smile.

“Let’s try it!”

“It’ll be delicious!”

The moment he took a bite, the juices exploded and the meat melted in his mouth. The sauce burst with flavor.

He had eaten chateaubriand many times before, but this was truly excellent.

“Your skills have really improved.”

“Haha, thanks!”

“It’s all because of the knife. Good tools make everything easier.”

After chatting for a while, they prepared a separate portion for Yun-a and packed it.

Then Hyun-jun saw them off with a smile.

‘Where should I go?’

He had about a day free. Maybe a trip, maybe rest at home…

As he walked back toward the truck,—

WOOO— WOOO— WOOO—

SIREN—!

Emergency alerts pierced his ears.

• “Happiness Market. Villain appearance.”
• “All civilians evacuate immediately.”
• “Do not visit the Happiness Market.”

…Happiness Market?

‘It’s nearby.’

Hyun-jun kicked off the ground and leapt into the air.

Nearby guild members of the Yeongun Guild stared wide-eyed at the figure leaping like he was flying.

“…Who is that?”

“Looks like a nearby guild member.”

“…But I’ve never seen that face.”

“You think he’s a villain?”

“Should we stop him?”

The archer drew her bow.

“Wait.”

Just as Hyun-jun landed briefly and prepared to jump again, the team leader called out:

“Hey! Wait a moment!”