Only I Am A Reader

'Should I make something new this time?'

Just like everything else, the ancient murim and the modern Earth were vastly different from each other. Some similarities existed since the author took the history of Asia as a reference like most did, but the threads that weaved the incomplete pages into an actual world left their own unique print.

There were dishes that Leo had heard of or ones that looked different yet tasted the same as something he was familiar with. However, there were always new plates that could either turn out to be stunningly good or remarkably inedible, mostly thanks to the different ingredients used in food.

Leo had already seen how wasteful the dishes in the Heavenly Furnace were, but some gourmets did worse in the outside world. Some used actual Elixirs that had over a thousand years of age just to try out the exquisite taste!

Cluck. Cluck. Cluck.

The kitchens inside Mount Heaven were all connected to the parts where the livestock and grains were stored. Without wasting time, Leo grabbed two large birds and went back to butcher them. They looked no different from chickens, but they were about five times as large as the common breed back on Earth. Though not on the level of semi-true beasts, they had absorbed their fair share of energy.

As dire as the Society's past was, the place was no different from a mega-shelter. Even if they decided to close all doors for a few decades, their self-sufficiency would easily allow them to survive.

Thud!

The two heads flew as Leo directly used Sword Qi to bring the special chicken to a quick and peaceful death. Following that, his pale palm turned rosy as he started plucking the feathers. Using a hint of Internal True Fire to loosen the skin's hold on them, it only took a few seconds in the hands of Transcendent like Leo!

Giving the chickens a quick clean after, Leo started cutting vegetables starting with onions. He mixed them up together with the reduced condiment sauce that he made earlier before adding the washed rice and stuffing the chickens.

'Here we go.'

Even after having tried out the splendid tastes that could only be found in Murim, Leo still found some modern dishes to be better. The reason for that was simple. Earth may be lacking ingredients in comparison, but what truly mattered was the way the food was made!

Putting the mega chickens into a large pot with water and butter, Leo closed the lid before letting his Internal Energy out. After using it to completely seal the container, he slipped in a kindle of Eternal Flame under the pot.

That was right, in order to achieve the rich taste that he missed over here, Leo had turned the pot into a pressure cooker using Martial Arts!

There were definitely various methods that achieved the same targets in Murim, but pressure cooker food had its own unique signature. The problem was that people lacked over-creativity when it came to food.

Considering the versatility of Martial Arts, a lot could be done to bring every meal to another level. However, Martial Artists lost their desire for food too early to unearth that potential while food was one of the greatest focal points in modern times…

The Eternal Flame that Leo and the other three had developed after a few years of training wasn't as everlasting as that of a phoenix, but it was more than enough to act as a stove eye and bring the food to a quick finish under the tight seal.

After they had suffered due to the incredible smell, Leo brought out the two large plates holding the mega-sized chickens.

"So tender!"

Leo skillfully opened up the treasure chests to reveal the golden rice, splitting everything up into portions. Yeon's voice could be heard after she snatched a shredded piece of chicken, this meal was no different this time either!

"They keep getting better! How do you do this Baekho orabeoni?!"

Sohee showed the same surprise she showed every single time, but Leo could only smile and continue enjoying his meal in silence.

'I wish this had anything to do with skill.'

The reason this tasted so fresh and new was only thanks to the method itself. Just as the Personal Book stated, Leo's cooking skill sucked!

In reality, the situation wasn't so bad. Most of the meals that Leo had cooked according to their recipes usually followed them to a tee thanks to his 'Reading'. In fact, Leo thought that a cooking skill didn't exist in the book's concept, but he was only hit by the hard reality that he just didn't deserve to have it just yet…

Staying outside for long made it only right for Leo to start making his own food rather than leave that mission to the other members. He had started to enjoy doing so with time once again that the Personal Book recognized that he had a cooking skill. Only, that was how he discovered that the hardest skill to raise wasn't Swordsmanship or Spearmanship, it was actually cooking!

He was capable of mastering every recipe on its own, but each and every recipe didn't build up his experience in cooking as a whole. Although he wasn't learning at normal speed, he wasn't growing abnormally either.

'This isn't too bad though.'

In the end, however, it wasn't exactly that bad to learn something slowly among the vast rash. Compared to the stuff that Leo had fast-learned in the past two years, cooking was a relaxing process that took its time to teach him its tricks and mysteries.

The meal didn't last too long or too short, but there was still a hint of tension in the air that the smell couldn't hide. The ticking clock was undeniably getting on everyone's nerves including Leo. Cheon Jeong and Cheon Chang's disappearances after the meeting particularly made it feel like something was missing… Or so Leo thought.

"Really, having a meal without me? Isn't that too cruel?"

The mischievous yet caring voice slipped into everyone's ears followed by the stiff face that they were familiar with.