Yanak woke up and realized that he was tightly bound up; Ralkwira and Orkwi were bound up as well.

“Free us!” Yanak cried.

“I don’t want to,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied. He looked at the three Fire Trolls and said, “Guide us to the great temple, and I’ll free you.”

“We can’t!” Yanak screamed.

The great temple in the desert was a secret place only the Fire Trolls knew. It was utterly unimaginable for them to bring another race to that place.

The Fire Trolls struggled to cut the rope binding them, but the rope made from an unknown material did not budge at all. They protested, “We’ll never guide you! We’ll never give in no matter what kind of torture you put us through!”

“I’ll starve you,” Kang Yoon-Soo said nonchalantly.

“Kaaaaaaaaah!” the Fire Trolls screamed and looked at Kang Yoon-Soo with eyes that said ‘how can you be so cruel?’

Kang Yoon-Soo was unfazed as he turned around and told his companions, “Let’s have lunch.”

“How cruel!” the trolls exclaimed.

Shaneth immediately took out ingredients from her backpack and started to cook soup. The savory smell enticed the Fire Trolls’ empty and hungry stomachs.

Yanak could not hold on and ended up giving in, roaring, “Free us! We’ll guide you to the great temple!”

Kang Yoon-Soo freed the three exhausted-looking Fire Trolls, then asked them, “Are you hungry?”

“Yes, we are!” the Fire Trolls replied.

“I’ll cook, but you have to help me hunt in return,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“Really?!” the three Fire Trolls exclaimed, jumping with joy.

Shaneth was deeply surprised and asked, “Did you just say you would cook? Why are you cooking all of a sudden?”

Kang Yoon-Soo had not cooked a single bowl of soup in the time they had journeyed together until now.

Kang Yoon-Soo glanced at Iris and said, “Because I made a promise.”

“Kang Yoon-Soo is a really good person,” Iris said, smiling brightly.

Shaneth, on the other hand, glared at the two with eyes full of jealousy.

Even though Kang Yoon-Soo had volunteered to cook, there were not enough rations for him to use to cook for the three Fire Trolls. He thus said, “Let’s hunt for scorpions.”

“Scorpions? Will that even satiate them? I think you’d have to catch a thousand of those just to fill that one guy’s stomach,” Henrick said as he slurped the freshly cooked soup.

Kang Yoon-Soo shook his head and replied, “One will be more than enough.”

***

The Giant Scorpions in the desert had venom in their tails, and they were absurdly fast when running across the sand. They would kick up dust when they ran, and sand would fly all over the place. They were large monsters that were roughly around Level 230.

Kang Yoon-Soo looked at the pack of Giant Scorpions from atop a sand dune and thought, ‘I’m Level 177 right now.’

His level was absurdly low. Forget about being the strongest on the continent, he would not even qualify for the mid-tier on the continent. A hardworking and talented Continental would easily surpass Level 300, and the most powerful boss monsters exceeded Level 500.

Kang Yoon-Soo could not afford to slow down his leveling, but he also could not afford to solely focus on increasing his level and abandon collecting skills and items.

‘I shouldn’t just increase my level. I have to balance it out altogether,’ he thought.

The time it would take from his regression until the appearance of the Demon Lord was exactly twenty years, and ninety days had passed since his regression. He had to be the best of the best and excel in everything, especially in terms of combat.

‘I have to be the best in everything, since this will be my last life.’

Kang Yoon-Soo took out some items from his backpack. They were the best items he had received from the band of bandits on his way to Raviesk.

[Earth Staff]

Rating: Rare

Mana Increase: 55

A staff imbued with the blessings of the earth. It allows the user to cast three kinds of spells. The staff’s power will increase when used in swamps, deserts, or muddy fields. However, the user will not be able to use the staff when it is raining.

[Ring of Vitality Absorption]

Rating: Rare

Vitality Absorption: 47

A ring made by extracting the bodily fluids of a vampire. It will let the user absorb the vitality of the enemy whenever the user attacks, but the ring will devour the user if their life force drops very low.

Kang Yoon-Soo equipped the items and climbed up the sand dunes, then cast a spell with the Earth Staff. “Sand Wave.”

The Earth Staff was not a piece of equipment with very good stats, and its spells normally only affected a small area. However, it would be a different story if the staff were used in a desert.

Brrrr… Rumble…!

The sand dunes started to tremble and shake, and one of the Giant Scorpions was isolated away from its pack.

The three Fire Trolls raised their clubs and charged at the isolated prey, crying, “Die!”

The Fire Trolls’ way of thinking was very simple. It was fine to kill to eat, but it was bad to kill when they were full—because the latter was a meaningless slaughter. Freed from the morality that bound them normally, the Fire Trolls’ combat prowess was quite fierce and frightening.

Crack! Crack!

The sound of the scorpion’s shell cracking and breaking rang out whenever the Fire Trolls slammed their clubs down on their prey; it was a show of overwhelming strength. The Giant Scorpion immediately retaliated by stabbing the Fire Trolls with its venomous tail, but the Fire Trolls did not bother avoiding it at all.

“What’s this? A mosquito bite?! It doesn’t hurt at all!”

The three Fire Trolls' skin started to turn red and heat up. It was the unique trait of the Fire Troll race: Their skin could heat up and harden like steel plate, allowing them to ignore a great deal of incoming damage.

“Grooowk!” the Giant Scorpion cried out as it tried to run away.

However, Shaneth was already blocking the Giant Scorpion’s path of retreat, swinging her scythe and using a skill. “Fire Strike!”

The dark scythe’s sharp blade ripped through the Giant Scorpion’s joint. The Giant Scorpion’s speed suddenly dropped by more than half because of the Death Scythe’s special trait of casting one of seven curses at random.

“Thread Tying,” Henrick muttered. He stretched his mana threads out and tied down the Giant Scorpion’s tail. The Giant Scorpion was no longer a threat as soon as its tail, which housed its venom, was tied down.

Iris charged at the Giant Scorpion and slammed her fist down.

Kwachik!

The Giant Scorpion’s shell cracked and broke into pieces.

Kang Yoon-Soo swung his staff and dealt the final blow, calling out, “Summon Sharp Stone Fragments.”

Fragments of sandstone buried deep under the desert sand suddenly shot out of the ground. They rained down upon the Giant Scorpion, piercing through it until it died.

The group hunted a total of seventeen Giant Scorpions under Kang Yoon-Soo’s command.

“We won!”

“Let’s eat till we drop today!”

The Fire Trolls danced joyfully at their victory.

Meanwhile, Kang Yoon-Soo set aside two female Giant Scorpions to use as ingredients and collected their flesh. He then looked at the remaining Giant Scorpion corpses littered across the sandy ground. It would have been perfect to raise them as undead, but the level difference was just too high for him to raise them.

‘I guess the skill level of Mass Raise Dead is still lacking.’

Kang Yoon-Soo would one day be able to raise even the corpses of immensely strong monsters if his skill level rose. In the meantime, he stretched out his right hand and muttered, “Summon Mini-Lich.”

“What’s up, master?” the Mini-Lich asked as it was summoned.

Kang Yoon-Soo pointed at the corpses of the Giant Scorpions and said, “Research these corpses.”

“Thank you, master,” the Mini-Lich replied.

Liches were eager to learn and liked carrying out research. Researching the corpses would help improve the Mini-Lich’s lacking intelligence.

The Mini-Lich started to inspect the Giant Scorpion corpses lying around.

[The Mini-Lich is researching the body structure of the Giant Scorpion.]

[Intellect has risen by 3.]

[The Mini-Lich has learned a bit regarding the meaning of death.]

[Black magic efficiency has risen by a little.]

That was not all. The Mini-Lich curiously inspected the tail of a Giant Scorpion and squeezed out the venom within it.

“I want to learn more about acid-type magic that can melt anything. I still lack knowledge. I might be able to learn new magic if I study more corpses that have venom in them,” the Mini-Lich said.

The Mini-Lich could even learn new magic by itself. A Lich was a summon that could learn and grow on its own, unlike the spirits and the werewolf.

‘I should give it opportunities to study more corpses from now on. It could learn new skills, after all,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

The Mini-Lich was from an intelligent race and had the endless potential to grow stronger. Additionally, the Mini-Lich suited Kang Yoon-Soo, who had mastered Necromancy in his previous life, quite well.

Kang Yoon-Soo stared at the Giant Scorpions he had set aside as ingredients and thought, ‘I don’t want to.’

He innately hated cooking. He wasn’t a picky eater, and most of what he consumed was strong alcohol, so he never felt the need to cook delicious food.

Shaneth rolled up her sleeves and stood beside Kang Yoon-Soo, asking, “What should I help you with?”

“Nothing,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied. He had promised Iris that he would cook for her, so he had to keep his promise whether he liked it or not—this was his final life, after all.

‘First, separate the edible parts.’

Kang Yoon-Soo used the dagger he had stolen from the band of bandits and skillfully butchered the Giant Scorpion. He pulled out the Giant Scorpion’s soft flesh after breaking its shell.

‘Next, season it.’

He seasoned the meat with various spices they had bought from the marketplace. There was so much meat that he had to place it all atop a rock and season it there.

‘It will take a while to thoroughly cook all of this.’

He then took out a frying pan. There was also the option of cooking on a rock by using the heat from the sun, but it would be difficult to thoroughly cook all the meat through.

He suddenly had a bright idea and muttered, “Summon Sally.”

“Wow! Where is this?” Sally exclaimed excitedly as she smiled and welcomed the desert heat. She clung to Kang Yoon-Soo’s leg and cried, “Papa! Papa! I like it here! It’s hot; I like it!”

“Sally,” Kang Yoon-Soo began.

“Yeah! Who should I beat up?!” Sally replied.

Kang Yoon-Soo placed the frying pan on top of Sally’s head and said, “Light it up.”

“Waaaah! Mama! Papa is teasing me!” Sally cried out, clinging to Shaneth.

Shaneth patted Sally’s head and let out a sigh, remarking, “We might be the first on this continent to use a spirit’s fire as a cooking stove…”

In the end, Sally had no choice but to tearfully become the stove that would cook the scorpion meat.

At that moment, a large eagle flew down and sat atop the scorpion shells Kang Yoon-Soo had discarded. It was a Corpse Eagle, and it searched beneath the sand with its beak, looking for food. Kang Yoon-Soo quickly threw a dagger toward the eagle.

“Kwek!” The eagle struggled on the ground after getting hit with the thrown dagger. Kang Yoon-Soo nonchalantly walked toward the eagle and twisted its neck, plucking out its feathers and guts.

Sizzle… Sizzle…

The scorpion meat was soon cooked, and the roasted eagle was also coming along nicely. A savory smell filled the air and made those who smelled it salivate.

[You have made a spectacular dish despite the poor environment.]

[You have gained a new skill, ‘Survival Cooking’.]

[Survival Cooking]

Skill Level: 1 (00.00%)

A mandatory cooking skill to obtain ingredients in harsh environments. It will let you make a scrumptious meal even with the most disgusting ingredients.

It was a useless skill, since Kang Yoon-Soo was not interested in cooking in the first place.

Yanak asked impatiently, “When can we eat it?”

“You can eat now,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

The Fire Trolls wolfed down the meal. Henrick, Shaneth, and Iris all sat down as well and ate their meals.

Henrick raised a brow and remarked, “It’s my first time eating scorpion meat, but this is better than I expected…?”

Kang Yoon-Soo had skillfully masked the stench coming from the scorpion meat with the spices and seasonings. It was not a complicated dish; rather, it was a simple roast dish that brought out the natural flavors of the ingredient. It was not on the level of making the eater see visions, but it was a tasty meal nonetheless.

“It’s really good,” Iris said with a satisfied smile.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo just sipped his alcohol and watched the others eat his dish.

“Aren’t you eating?” Shaneth asked.

“I don’t feel like it,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

They focused on eating for quite a while, and Sally walked toward the Mini-Lich, who was studying the corpses given to it. She called out, “Hey, Lich! Lich! Let’s play hide and seek!”

“Alright,” the Mini-Lich replied, leaving behind the research it was doing. The kind Mini-Lich got along well with Sally.

“Wow! I’m so happy! Lich is the first one to play with Sally!” Sally exclaimed before hugging and kissing the Mini-Lich out of pure joy and excitement. She added, “I wish Acle were as kind as you, but he’s just too stubborn.”

The Mini-Lich slowly shook its head and said, “Sally, that’s not true. Acle is really kind.”

Sally puffed up her cheeks and pouted, exclaiming, “Liar! Acle hates Sally. He won’t even call me noona!”

“That’s because Acle is shy. Sally can get as close to Acle as you want. You are siblings, after all,” the Mini-Lich said.

“…really? Does Lich think we’re siblings?” Sally asked.

“Of course,” the Mini-Lich replied.

The two summons unexpectedly got along pretty well.

Yanak, who was quite full and satisfied from the scorpion meat, stood up and said, “Kang Yoon-Soo! You fed us! You’re now our friend! I’ll guide you to the great temple!”

A friendship had been formed after one meal. There were numerous cases of friendships being formed with trolls over nonsensical things, but they treated all their friendships with complete sincerity.

‘Our next opponent controls time. I could end up dying as well if I’m not careful.’ Kang Yoon-Soo downed his bottle and thought, ‘That’s why I have to give this my all.’