Chapter 140

Chapter 140: Behemoth Equipment Crafting

The Rift restaurant's revenue surged dramatically in months when new ingredients were introduced for Stat dishes.

This time was no different.

Orders for the Stat dishes made from the eel monster caught by fishing poured in.

[Master's Seasoned Grilled Liner Rice Bowl]

[Blessing of Dexterity Effect: Agility +1]

[Master's Liner Soup]

[Blessing of Dexterity Effect: Agility +0.5, Stamina +0.5]

Two versions of the dish, and on top of that.

[Master's Krakpus Restorative Seafood Soup]

[Blessing of Dexterity Effect: Strength +0.5, Stamina +0.5, Vitality slightly increases for 30 days]
[Glace Mushroom Effect: Toxicity removed upon activation]

The Krakpus dish, which had been pulled from the menu after running out of ingredients, was back.

Fishing had yielded major profits.

Afterward, Ria and I went fishing several more times.

We caught a Mid-Grade Monster called a Lunax, which resembled and tasted like tuna.

Unfortunately, it was toxic, so it could not be eaten raw.

Instead, I laminated the Lunax flesh in Glace Mushroom paste for a full day to remove the toxicity, then grilled it evenly as a steak.

[Master's Lunax Steak]

[Blessing of Dexterity Effect: Strength +1]

[Glace Mushroom Effect: Toxicity removed upon activation]

And so the Lunax steak, with a flavor similar to tuna, also went on sale.

Between these four Stat dishes and the consistently popular Behemoth Sous Vide Tonkatsu and other Stat dishes.

We smashed our all-time sales record, with February revenue reaching a staggering 21.3 billion won.

'From the restaurant alone.'

The restaurant was purely my personal business.

The other shops within the Outpost were guild businesses.

If I included the guild operations, we were probably approaching the upper-mid tier among mid-sized enterprises.

Some guild members had taken to greeting me jokingly.

-Good morning, Mr. Chairman!

-Good morning, Mr. CEO!
***
Having earned so much, I made some investments.

One of those was an investment in equipment.

"Maxim, I have procured everything on your list."

I presented Maxim with various rare minerals and gemstones.

Items purchased at high prices through online auctions.

"Ooh......!"

Maxim's eyes lit up as he examined them.

"These are items that would be hard to find even at Elkado, the largest market in the Gillieta Dwarven Kingdom. You managed to acquire them."

"Ha ha! Indeed. They are minerals found only in select Third Floor dungeons, so they were quite rare."

"That is right. Minerals that require risking one's life to obtain."

The Hunters who mined these minerals must have risked their lives as well.

Many probably died in the process.

Perhaps that was why some minerals cost over one hundred million won per hundred grams.

'I spent over six billion won winning those auctions......'

Items I had gathered over roughly three months through online auctions.

I then brought out additional materials.

Alloy components to increase the minerals' hardness.

And the Behemoth's hide, bones, and head horns.

"Then I leave it in your hands, Maxim."

"Understood, my liege! I shall stake my life on crafting the finest equipment!"

"Ha ha...... please do not actually stake your life."

I planned to replace my current equipment with gear made from the Behemoth's hide and horns.

The hide for armor, the horns for a spear blade.

My current equipment was not bad, but it was prudent to upgrade for whatever lay ahead.

Not just mine, but Ria's equipment would be crafted as well.

Additionally, armor for the core fighting force, the former Knight Order officers and guild officers, would be produced as budget allowed.

'And auxiliary weapons too.'

Weapons for use with Acresia's release skill.

Primarily throwing daggers and concealed weapons.

The release skill's power increased significantly when using weapons made from high-quality materials.

Therefore, I planned to use Behemoth bone, the finest material available.

***

Yeona had turned nine months old.

I called Yeona, who was sitting at our home outside the Rift watching a children's channel with Rin.

"Yeona, let us eat."

At the sound of her name, Yeona turned her head and looked at me with her round eyes.

"Mama?"

"Yes, food. Let us eat."

"Mama."

She got up from sitting and toddled over to the dining table.

Yeona was already showing signs of wanting to wean off breast milk.

Ideally she should nurse for at least a year, but lately Yeona had been preferring baby food.

Today's baby food was beef and seaweed porridge.

Finely minced beef and seaweed, blended with finely ground rice into a porridge.

I placed the toddling Yeona into her high chair and spoon-fed her the baby food.

Yeona worked her tiny mouth as she ate.

After swallowing, she clapped her hands, apparently finding it delicious.

"Is it yummy, sweetie?"

"Ye!"

Until about the eighth month, her responses had been mere babbling rather than actual comprehension.

But at nine months, she was now understanding words to some degree.

Rin came over to watch Yeona eat.

"Rin, do you just adore your little sister?"

"Yes, she is so pwetty. My wittle sister."

She gently stroked Yeona's cheek with the back of her hand.

Yeona smiled, seeming to enjoy the touch.

"Unni."

She was now occasionally calling Rin "big sister."

Every time Rin heard the word from her little sister, she was beside herself with happiness.

After finishing the baby food.

I sat in the living room and played with Yeona.

"Yeona, pat-pat Daddy."

She did not understand and simply stared at me with her clear eyes.

"Pat-pat Daddy."

When I tapped my own forearm with my hand, Yeona understood and gently tapped my arm.

"Dada!"

"Ha ha! Did Yeona just pat-pat Daddy?"

"Ye."

"What a dutiful daughter."

Then.

"Yeona, show me your cute trick. Pretty pose."

She did not catch it on the first try.

After several attempts, Yeona brought her index finger to her cheek and squeezed both eyes shut.

A cute personal trick Ria had taught her through repetition.

"Oh, how adorable. Well done."

Rin clapped for her sister from beside me.

Next, I showed her picture cards.

A picture card with a puppy on it.

"Yeona, what sound does a puppy make?"

Yeona tilted her head.

Then she looked at Rin.

Using the big-sister lifeline.

Rin then demonstrated.

"Woof woof."

Yeona repeated after Rin.

"Woo woo!"

"Correct, well done."

Although she had just copied Rin, at nine months old, the ability to repeat words was impressive language development in itself.

Next, I showed her a picture card with a chick.

Rin demonstrated first again.

"Peep, peep!"

"Beep! Beep!"

"Correct, wow! Well done."

Rin also clapped along, then raised both hands high in the air.

"Yeona banzai!"

Yeona copied her and raised both hands.

The sisters looked at each other and broke into broad smiles.

Truly, they were the most lovable pair of sisters.

I held both children and nuzzled my cheek against theirs.

"Who said you two could be this cute and lovable!"

"Dada."

"Papa, that tickles! Ahahaha!"

Ria was recording the whole thing on her phone.

Rin then pointed at the TV and said.

"Papa, I want to watch that video!"

"Which video?"

"The one where Papa is on TV!"

"You want to watch that again? Are you not tired of it?"

"Nope! Not tired of it!"

The video she was referring to was one from a cooking channel that had featured Pungjeong Restaurant.

My image briefly appeared in it, directing the kitchen.

'Calling that a TV appearance is almost embarrassing.'

I was on screen for about five seconds.

But just seeing that seemed to make Rin happy.

As Rin wished, I played the video through the smart TV.

Rin then told Yeona.

"Yeona, Papa is going to be on TV."

"Dada?"

"Yeah, Papa wooks weally cool."

When my image appeared on screen, bustling about directing the kitchen, Rin was overjoyed.

Yeona clapped and smiled brightly too.

Watching them, Ria said.

"Honey, the girls love it that much. Should you not make an appearance on 'Leave It to the Fridge'?"

"Maybe I should."

What would I not do for my daughters?

That said, the reason I had been reluctant to appear on broadcasts was.

'Because of Chef Ha Yu-sik.'

The name of the now-defunct Pungjeong's Executive Chef.

Although Pungjeong had closed, he was still actively appearing on broadcasts.

He was a frequent guest on "Leave It to the Fridge" as well.

And I knew he was very close with the other star chefs who regularly appeared on the show.

'People still think of him and me as master and apprentice.'

I had never once acknowledged him as my master.

Just because someone was your kitchen superior did not automatically make them your master.

'My culinary foundation was already largely formed by the time I joined Pungjeong.'

My only masters were the American mentor and the Italian mentor from my time studying abroad.

I had learned cooking from them and inherited their culinary philosophies.

Chef Ha Yu-sik, on the other hand, had never taught me cooking. Rather, he had been busy stealing the techniques and recipes I had brought back from studying abroad.

So he was closer to a thief than a master.

'If I do appear, I will have to ask that my schedule does not overlap with Chef Ha Yu-sik's.'

I wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble.

I did not want storm clouds darkening the clear skies of my happiness-filled heart.

In any case, the PD of "Leave It to the Fridge" had been persistently requesting my appearance.

If I gave the okay, they could schedule it immediately.

Offers had come in from other programs as well.

'There was even an offer to be a judge on a cooking survival show.'

But programs that demanded too much of my time were out of the question, so I had been declining them all.

A one-time appearance on "Leave It to the Fridge" was about all I was willing to do.

For my daughters, who loved seeing their daddy on TV.

The next day, I personally contacted the assigned PD to accept and coordinate the filming schedule.

***

A month had passed since commissioning the equipment.

At last, the pieces were complete.

Maxim personally brought the equipment to the Guild Master's office at the guild branch to present them.

"My liege, I shall remove the covering."

"Please do."

When Maxim removed the covering, a full set of armor gleaming with a lustrous radiance was revealed.

"Wow......"

As expected, anything crafted by a dwarf was in a different league from the start.

Artisan Oh Cheon-seok of Samjin Workshop was an impressive craftsman in his own right.

But no matter how skilled he was, he could never match the handiwork of a dwarf master.

"At first glance it looks silver, but on closer inspection it has a dark, inky tone. The scale finish is magnificent."

"Heh heh! I poured my heart and soul into it, since it is armor for my liege."

I placed my hand on the armor.

A system message appeared.

[Enchanted Dwarven Master's Behemoth Scale Armor]

[Base Effect: Defense +101, Nimbleness -7%]

[Dwarven Master's S-Rank Rune Anvil & Hammer Crafting Effect: Damage Taken Reduction 35%, Nimbleness +8%]

[Magical Engraving Effect: Additional Defense +62, Shield Spell cast in critical situations]

The Defense values were absurd.

Total Defense of 163 alone.

'My old Drake Leather Armor had a total Defense of 92.'

Defense had nearly doubled, increasing by a factor of 1.8.

On top of that, while wearing armor normally reduced Nimbleness by 7%, the Rune Anvil and Hammer crafting effect buff increased Nimbleness by 8%.

In other words, the 7% Nimbleness reduction was negated by the increase, actually resulting in a net gain of 1%.

'Wearing armor and actually becoming more agile......'

Furthermore, Damage Taken Reduction had gone from 21% to 35%.

With this level of Defense and damage reduction, most attacks would barely scratch me.

And it also bore Ashley's Magical Engraving.

If this armor were put on the open market, it would command whatever price the seller named.

"What do you think, my liege?"

"It is spectacular. Far better than I expected."

"Heh heh! It is thanks to the quality materials. Allow me to show you the spear as well."

He removed the covering from a display stand beside the armor.

A spear emitting a blue radiance was revealed.

I reached for the shaft as if drawn to it.

[Enchanted Dwarven Master's Behemoth Horn Spear]

[Base Effect: Attack Power +137]

[Dwarven Master's S-Rank Rune Anvil & Hammer Crafting Effect: Penetration +25%]

[Magical Engraving Effect: Lightning Attribute imbued, Lightning Spear usable]

Staggeringly high Attack Power and Penetration.

On top of that, Ashley's Lightning-Attribute Magical Engraving had added two effects.

'So that is why he asked me to source ores with high conductivity.'

A Lightning-Attribute Highest-Grade Magic Stone was embedded at the base of the spear.