HTACS 19

Chapter 19

I equipped the Gauntlets of Balance and opened my stats.

Heart-pounding stat reveal time—which stat would Wolfram get? I scanned the status window with gleaming eyes and soon confirmed what had increased.

【Wolfram von Lohengrin】

【?T】

【Status:

Strength: 4

Dexterity: 6 + 3 (1)

Endurance: 2

Magic: 3

Willpower: 4】

【Acquired Skills:

Imperial Bloodline.】

Wow—Wolfram has become a Dexterity powerhouse!

“……”

I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a few deep breaths.

Okay. It’s fine. It’s still better than Willpower—Willpower affects resistance and criticals. Even if Strength went to 7, with Endurance so low I couldn’t do anything. Magic 6? No way—Aila’s base is 19 and Eve’s is 22, what would I do with 6?

So Dexterity 9 at this point is a huge help. That’s how I need to think. Plus I can invest the +1 from Mixed Beans—and Dexterity 10 is a completely different concept from 9.

But I couldn’t help but scream inside.

So I screamed.

“Hah. Fuck.”

Why won’t this show up?

Please—give me Endurance!

—

“I’ve gathered a ton.”

Nephti dragged the cart and brought back armfuls of leaves—Rudika cheered at the sight.

“Wolfram! Are these the spicy herbs Nephti brought?!”

“Yes.”

“Hm? Why does my lord look so gloomy?”

“I don’t know. He was like that after I came back and he put on the gloves.”

“?”

With Rudika’s otherworldly way of speaking, Nephti tilted her head—and I explained what had happened. After listening, Nephti looked at me with pity.

“Someone with stats below 10 actually exists.”

“……”

You too?

“Anyway—so which stat went up, my lord?”

“Dexterity.”

“Oh, Dexterity! Rudika also has high Dexterity! It’s around 22!”

“Dexterity… I don’t think mine is that low either—I believe it’s around 14. But as expected, Senior Rudika is different.”

“Believe? Remember? Can’t you just check immediately?”

“Huh? Yes. You need to get an appraisal certificate from the temple to check. About once every six months. Both skills and stats are handled by the priests.”

I nodded at Nephti’s explanation. So that’s how it works.

Another piece of information gained.

“So what will you do with these spicy herbs? Are there more to gather?”

“No—that’s enough.”

“Then shall we head down?”

“That’s right. Let’s prepare.”

“Wolfram. Wolfram. Rudika asks.”

“What.”

“So—when can Rudika eat something spicy?”

At Rudika’s question, I fell into thought.

“I’ll have free time around Wednesday next week. Come then.”

“…Oh, today. No—how about tomorrow? Rudika will help.”

“Hah. It seems even I, Wolfram von Lohengrin, have been underestimated.”

“…?”

“Tomorrow is muscle soreness. Don’t come.”

“Ah.”

Nephti—don’t you dare “ah” me. I’ll kill you.

And Rudika—don’t look at me like I’ve lost the world.

I guarantee—muscle soreness is certain tomorrow, so I really won’t be able to do anything.

“…So Wolfram gets muscle soreness despite barely doing anything?”

Rudika’s pure violence strikes Wolfram without reason!

“Ah—then my lord, how about making it today?”

“Today?”

“Yes. Muscle soreness always comes after sleeping. If you make it now, wouldn’t it be fine?”

“……”

Logical. Are you a genius?

“If we head back to the convenience store and start making it now, it’ll take a while. I’ll prepare the recipe on the way. Nephti—pull.”

“Th-then… Wolfram!”

“Hmph. I’ll make it for you.”

When I nodded, Rudika’s eyes lit up—and Nephti’s expression darkened slightly.

“Dragging you back to the convenience store at night, returning the cart, and getting back to the Knight Department will take how much time…”

“Night differential. I’ll add another 20,000.”

“Speed. Safety. Accuracy. Certainty. That is my conviction and creed.”

Weren’t you the Knight of Conviction?

—

On the way back to the convenience store, I tasted the herbs we’d gathered.

The moment I took a bite, a spicy kick spread through my mouth. There were individual differences—but by Scoville estimates, the spiciest ones were equal to or greater than cheongyang peppers. The flavor was similar too. Thankfully—weirdly spicy would’ve been just as annoying.

It’d be amazing grilled with meat and wrapped in lettuce. I’d have to try that later.

Nephti, true to her word, delivered me to the convenience store with speed, safety, accuracy, and certainty—and we sat down inside to chat.

“Good work today, Nephti.”

“Not at all, my lord.”

“Even though work is over, you’re still calling me ‘my lord’?”

“Ah, right. I mean—not at all. Wolfram-nim.”

“……”

Look at that attitude shift—really.

Anyway—I paid Nephti for her work. One way or another, she’d dragged me up and down the mountain range, played tank, gathered materials, and safely escorted me back. I think she earned her pay.

“Now—let’s start cooking. Rudika—any requests?”

“Spicy stuff!”

I knew it.

“Got it. Give me about an hour.”

“Fine!”

I chuckled and began preparations. First, I grabbed a handful of herbs.

“So those are the herbs I picked today.”

“Yes.”

“The herbs I painstakingly gathered without damaging the roots.”

“…?”

“Next time you need someone who can do the job this reliably—that’s me, Nepterian. Contact me anytime.”

“Understood.”

“I can provide even more reliable work if you don’t go through the Knight Department.”

What happened to the Knight of Conviction?

Anyway—setting Nephti’s self-promotion aside—

The red herb before me—Red Pepper Herb—is a sleep-resistance consumable. If the Sleeping Mountain Range inflicts sleep status, then the herbs growing there are naturally sleep-resistance consumables. That’s proper balance, right?

“Before we start cooking—I’d like some help.”

“…Hmm. If I help this late at night, when will I get back?”

As Nephti was weighing her options—

“Got it! Rudika will eat. Rudika helps Wolfram.”

Rudika answered cleanly, and Nephti’s pupils dilated.

“Then Nephti, you can go back—Rudika, stay. Help from two would be nice, but one should be enough.”

“Ugh, ughhh… No. I’ll help. This is also after-service—knightly spirit.”

That’s an easy-to-understand knightly spirit.

“Then I’ll give the orders.”

Nephti kneaded flour and put it in the fridge—Rudika began chopping the Red Pepper Herb.

As the work went smoothly, there wasn’t much to do—so naturally, small talk flowed.

“By the way, Senior Rudika.”

“Did Rudika hear her name? Nephti.”

“Yes. May I ask one question?”

“Good. What?”

“Why do you speak the way you do?”

Wow—a straight fastball to the chest.

But honestly, I was curious too. Why does Rudika talk like that?

“Rudika is from the Hassan Shadow clan in the south. Still not used to central language.”

“Aha. I see. The south has a completely different language. I’m from the eastern countryside.”

“I see.”

“Then—may I ask one more?”

“Granted.”

“Why are you so obsessed with spiciness? You and Prince Wolfram are the only ones who’ve ever eaten that hellishly spicy soup from the cafeteria, aren’t you?”

That garbage is supposed to be spicy? Seriously?

But what Rudika said next made my irritation vanish—and then my expression hardened.

“Ah—nothing special. Rudika lost her sense of taste due to extreme training.”

“Huh?”

“Her nerves throughout her body are dead. Pain is faint too. That’s why Rudika can be the best assassin—why she’s the strongest heir of the Hassan Shadow clan.”

The air froze cold at her casual words.

Rudika’s Dexterity and Willpower are abnormally high—which means, in any situation, she’s ‘agile,’ ‘precise,’ and never becomes ‘sluggish.’ Come to think of it, it’s strange. Combat in this world is different from the game. Humans should stop moving when they bleed and fear pain—but Rudika’s combat style hasn’t changed one bit from the game.

“In other words—to taste anything, Rudika relies on faint pain rather than taste itself.”

“Th-that’s… I see.”

“If she gets stronger, even that will disappear. So Rudika wants to enjoy it while she can.”

So that was the reason.

“I see. Then I’ll have to put my heart into it.”

“Wolfram?”

“Stop cooking for a moment. I have something to do.”

“Mm? Understood.”

I stopped them both, opened my status window, and navigated the tabs.

I’d planned to allocate it later—maybe when my body was in better shape—but I decided to trust myself.

【Allocate 1 Dexterity stat point.】

【Dexterity has reached 10. Learned Basic Dexterity Skill.】

【Bonus applied to all ‘Crafting’ quality.】

【Positive bonus applied to all ‘Actions.’】

【All ‘Action Speed’ slightly increased.】

【Choose one additional skill to learn:】

【Quick Sword / Quick Bow / Quick Cast / Roll】

【Weapon Crafting / Armor Crafting / Magia Craft / Accessory Crafting / Potion Making / Cooking】

【Please select one.】

First, exclude all combat skills—utterly useless. I’d die before fighting.

Weapon/Armor crafting? Could I even hold a hammer?

Magia Craft—material costs are unmanageable. And all three have higher-tier skills later.

For a Dexterity-based character with low other stats and a non-combat ending, the must-take skill is Potion Making.

But Accessory Crafting and Cooking are also hard to give up.

And I am Wolfram—a veteran of this game.

A veteran who, even when tripping backward, kicks monsters while picking up legendary items and gets back up.

“Hoo. Hooo…”

“Prince Wolfram? Do you need to use the restroom?”

“Shh—he seems intensely focused on something.”

The surroundings were noisy—but my mind was calm.

This is the critical moment.

Can I naturally pull off an action I’ve done over five hundred times in-game?

And will this world accept it?

First—I pressed the skill to learn.

【Selected ‘Potion Making.’ Are you sure?】

【Yes / No.】

Then I cancel.

【Please select again.】

【Selected ‘Potion Making.’】

【Yes / No.】

I repeated this over and over, loosening up my body, finding the timing. By my calculation, the window was under 0.1 seconds—I absolutely had to nail this.

Cancel, select, cancel, select, cancel.

Then—simultaneously tap the skills I want to learn!

【Selected ‘Potion Making.’】

【Selected ‘Accessory Crafting.’】

“…Got it.”

I shuddered.

Yes—this is it. Acquire-Cancel. Abbreviated as Acq-Cancel.

A bug-like play where you cancel endlessly, then tap two at once at the right timing—and both get learned together.

And I’m a veteran.

Which means—

【Selected ‘Cooking.’】

【Yes / No.】

A three-skill Acq-Cancel with one extra attached.

A rotten play that fails one out of three times even in-game.

【Learned ‘Potion Making.’】

【Learned ‘Accessory Crafting.’】

【Learned ‘Cooking.’】

This world accepted my veteran play.

—

Immediately after, I took command of the cooking.

Skills learned at Dexterity 10 are beginner-level—only Level 1. The effect isn’t huge—but it’s definitely different. What I ‘see,’ what I ‘feel,’ what I ‘do’—all completely changed.

“Nephti—if you’re going to eat too, make a separate batch of dough with only one Red Pepper Herb.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Rudika—once the broth starts boiling, take out the Red Pepper Herb, shake it off once, chop it finely, and mix it with the seasoning.”

“Ah—got it!”

“Tear the flour dough roughly and boil it together. When serving in bowls, distribute the seasoned Red Pepper Herb individually.”

Truthfully, I’d already decided what to make the moment we headed down.

The spicy flavor Rudika wanted. And the dishes I made. Combined to create a fantastic harmony right here and now.

For example—

After a mountain hike, your body is tired and your energy is drained. It’s a chilly late night. At times like that, wouldn’t a Korean crave a hot, spicy broth that clears the throat?

How about a bowl of hand-torn noodles in anchovy broth with plenty of sliced cheongyang peppers? Topped with spicy-sweet pickled chili peppers.

After one bowl, you’d break out in sweat, an unbearable heat rising from deep within your body—that kind of flavor.

“This is it. This flavor… this is the flavor I wanted to eat.”

Rudika began to cry.

“Khuuuuuu—hell yeah!”

Nephti let out a single exclamation with the vibe of a hard-labor foreman.

A bowl of spicy knife-cut noodles after a hike—

You just can’t resist it.