TRUFT 12

Chapter 12

“I’m back—.”

Hyunsoo stepped into the pension.

“Hyung, you’re here?”
“What? Why are you here already?”

Hyunsoo had definitely left before Hyunjun, yet his younger brother had arrived first.

“You’re just slow, hyung.”

In reality, Hyunjun had killed two Krakens in five minutes and teleported straight into the pension bathroom—but for some reason, he just felt like teasing his brother.

“Tsk, you probably used magic again.”
“…Should we have some takoyaki?”
“Takoyaki!!”

At my words, Yoona—who had been sleeping—jumped up and ran toward me. The noise woke Jiyoon as well.

Now everyone was excited for takoyaki.

“Wait a moment,” I said, stepping into my subspace.

I entered the prep room I had made earlier and pulled out one of the Krakens.

‘It’s huge.’

Just one tentacle could probably make about 100 takoyaki.

‘Eight tentacles… so roughly 800 per Kraken.’

Enough to eat until we burst.

I waved my fingers through the air toward the creature’s leg.

Shrrk—

One tentacle was cleanly sliced into small pieces. Since it was so thick, even the chopped chunks were large.

Which meant instead of tiny octopus bits, we’d get big, chewy, delicious chunks in the takoyaki.

‘It always felt disappointing how small the octopus pieces were before… this is nice.’

We wouldn’t be able to finish even one Kraken, so I could either sell the leftovers later or cook something else.

‘Alright, let’s make takoyaki.’

To make takoyaki, you need a special pan—the one with round indentations.

But with my construction ability, that was easy.

‘Mix eggs, water, and takoyaki mix…’

The batter was ready. Bonito flakes too.

I teleported back to the pension.

“Waaah!”

Yoona ran over and immediately popped a piece of octopus into her mouth.

“…So yummy!”
“Right? It’s really good, right?”
“Yeah!! The best!”

She hugged me tightly, and I grinned, passing her to my sister-in-law.

“Yoona, wait just a bit.”

I oiled the takoyaki pan and poured in the batter.

‘Add a piece of octopus.’

Then cover it with a bit more batter.

Using two skewers, I skillfully flipped them.

Gulp—

Golden-brown takoyaki, complete.

I couldn’t resist.

Originally, I meant to give the first one to Yoona—but I took a bite myself.

“Wow.”

Crispy outside, unbelievably moist inside.

And the chewy, slightly sweet octopus—

Perfect.

I quickly made more and transferred them onto plates. I wanted more myself—and I wanted my family to taste this.

Crunch—

“Whoa… this is really good.”

My brother blew on the hot takoyaki before chewing.

“Why is the octopus so chewy?”
“It’s sweet, chewy, savory… the octopus is amazing!”
“It’s like caramel.”

My brother and his wife kept praising the taste.

“Me too! I want some too!”

Yoona grabbed one with a skewer and took a big bite.

“Hehe.”

A big smile spread across her face.

“It’s like candy! So yummy! Uncle, I wanna try making it too!!”

Hmm…

I fell into deep thought.

Yoona definitely had talent for cooking.

If I put a resistance spell on her so she wouldn’t get burned… maybe she could make takoyaki on her own?

“Want to try, Yoona?”
“Hey, Hyunjun, isn’t that dangerous?”
“I’ll cast a resistance spell so she won’t get burned. I’ll also put a shield on her—she won’t get hurt.”
“…If that’s the case… alright. Yoona, give it a try.”
“Mom wants to eat Yoona’s takoyaki too.”

Yoona grinned.

“Hehe. Everyone, look forward to it!!”

Yoona studied the system window seriously.

‘Pour in a little batter!’

She added the octopus.

‘Cover it again!’

Holding two skewers with a focused expression—

‘I have to do this right!’

She gently turned the batter, slowly shaping it into a ball.

Even adults struggle to get takoyaki right on their first try—but Yoona succeeded.

She truly had incredible talent for cooking.

“Hehe.”

Confidence made her smile.

“W-wow, it’s done!!”

Perfectly round, golden takoyaki.

“Uncle! Let’s go sell these now!”

She took a bite.

Of course—it tasted amazing.

We wanted others to experience this too.

To start our second day of business in Gapyeong, we headed to a nearby C-rank gate.

But then—

“There it is! That’s the food truck!”
“…Huh?”

The moment we parked, about ten people were already lined up.

“This is Yoona Food, right?”
“Yes, it is… were you waiting for us?”
“Yes! We’re hunters from the Hope Guild. One of our teammates keeps praising you every day.”
“They say your food is amazing, gives huge buffs, and you even give great advice—he’s basically your fan. We saw your Instagram and came!”
“And today’s subjugation is nearby too.”

…Hope Guild—that must be Kim Howon.

“Thank you! How is Howon doing?”
“Oh? You remember his name? He’ll love that.”
“He’s doing great! He’s now the vice-captain of Hope Guild’s C-rank Team 3!”
“Wow…”

Impressive.

I’d seen it in the news—Hope Guild has C, B, and A rank teams, each with three squads.

No S-rank hunters yet, but their reputation comes from strong team leaders and vice-leaders.

‘And Howon became a vice-captain in just a week…’

He really didn’t need my help.

“Well, he learned how to use Enhancement—of course he’d grow fast.”

Enhancement is one of the rarest and most powerful abilities.

“Is Howon coming today?”
“He’s already inside the gate—busy! We’re heading in ten minutes, so we just want a quick taste.”
“Got it. Today’s menu is takoyaki.”
“Yes! We saw on Instagram!”

Just then, my sister-in-law stepped forward.

“Hello! I’ll process your order quickly! You’re heading out soon, right?”
“Yes! Three servings for now, please—we’ll order more later!”
“Alright. It’s made with Mad Kraken, so it’s 25,000 won per serving—75,000 total, but I’ll discount 5,000.”
“Thank you!”

Payment done—time to cook.

“Yoona, I’ll handle this one since they’re in a hurry. You can cook later, okay?”
“…Okay! Uncle!”

I patted her back and got to work.

‘Don’t let anything burn.’

One pan makes 25 pieces. One serving is 8.

That means I need to rotate all 25 quickly without burning any.

‘Even burning two will slow things down.’

“Uncle! Flip that one! It’s gonna burn!”
“Oh, that one? Got it!”

Thanks to Yoona, I saved it.

“Done.”

All perfectly golden.

I plated eight each.

‘And one extra for Yoona.’

“Thank you, Uncle!! So yummy!”

The hunters covered their mouths in awe.

“Your niece is so cute!”
“Haha! My daughter’s cute, right? She’s my daughter!”
“Honey, stop it.”
“Haha.”

I laughed at my brother and his wife.

“Hyung, it’s ready.”
“Oh? Takoyaki’s ready!”
“Thank you!!”

“Wow… this is so cheap.”
“Yeah, how is this price possible with Mad Kraken?”
“Let’s eat!”

They sat under a parasol and took bites.

All except one.

“Hey, Hong Gisu, you’re really not eating?”
“No.”
“Dude, this is insanely good.”
“This is the best takoyaki of my life.”
“The octopus is so chewy!”

“….”

Hong Gisu felt negatively toward Kim Howon.

While everyone else acknowledged Howon’s strength, he alone was jealous.

‘He awakened later than me and joined later… and now he’s already vice-captain?’

Just a week ago, he was a porter.

Gisu couldn’t accept that growth.

So he even rejected Yoona Food.

“Hah… it’s so good. Think Howon will buy more later?”
“If the raid goes well, probably. It’s his first mission as vice-captain—he might even treat us to wolf steak.”

“Hmph.”

He entered the gate without eating a single bite.

The target: an Alpha Orc habitat.

They were strong, fast, durable—and moved in large groups.

Teamwork was essential.

“Hong Gisu! Attack the Alpha Orc the vice-captain is holding!”

“…Yes!”

Putting aside his feelings, Gisu launched fireballs.

Whoosh—

“Nice!”
“…It’s nothing.”

Then—

“Ugh!”

A tank got overwhelmed, breaking formation—Gisu was surrounded.

“Damn it!”

A life-threatening moment.

“Get to Gisu!”
“Protect him!”

Then—

[Kim Howon’s skill, Enhancement, imbues your armor.]
[For 3 minutes, your equipment rank increases by one.]

[Full Plate Armor (Rank B)]

Defense +50

Once per day, releases a shockwave that pushes back enemies (Power increased due to rank up)

Gisu froze for a moment at the system message—then acted.

“Hraaah!”

BOOM—