First, Lirisia asked Yeonhwa to thaw the frozen beef.
Disassembling the meat isn’t that hard.
“First, let’s bleed it out.”
Lirisia held the thawed Minotaur with her tentacles.
Isn’t it possible to bleed it out like Shia with a purification miracle?
The old Lirisia might not have known, but the current Lirisia could only use basic miracles that even the nuns could perform.
Of course, she could use a purification miracle, but it was impossible for her to erase all impurities, viruses, and filth like Shia’s “Purification Biiieeeem!!”
So, Lirisia sharpened her nails and first cut the Minotaur’s artery.
Once the artery was cut, the blood flowed out like a river, but it wasn’t red; it was closer to black.
It felt like she was piercing through rock or steel rather than cutting flesh, but based on her experience of catching and cooking various bizarre creatures, even the toughest muscles could be easily sliced through following the grain.
“Hehehe, this is my first time trying Lirisia’s cooking~”
“By the way, can we actually eat that?”
“Do you think I’m a terrible cook like Isia? Just sit down, and I’ll show you something amazing.”
Lirisia had also watched Shia’s past broadcasts during her breaks in Daesanrim.
She couldn’t help but sigh when she saw another version of herself completely messing up the cooking.
She could forgive silly actions, but messing up something sacred like cooking? Unforgivable.
Well, at least Lirisia was no longer even close to Isia’s level.
Anyway, aside from the fact that the Minotaur’s flesh was tough, the process of bleeding it out wasn’t that difficult.
“Wow, a lot of blood is coming out.”
“But isn’t there a strange smell?”
“A smell?”
“I feel like something sweet is in the air…”
“Now that you mention it, what is that smell…?”
Next, it was time to remove the flesh.
Shia didn’t know how to do this either, but for Lirisia, who had over a thousand years of experience, butchering the Minotaur’s flesh was easy.
The outer flesh was hard as stone to defend against external attacks, but the flesh and muscles near the bones were quite soft, allowing the Minotaur’s flexibility and movement.
First, she sharpened her tentacles like blades and drove deep into the bones.
Once she felt the grain, she swept up to slice the flesh, completing the basic disassembly.
Given the circumstances, there was no need to butcher it part by part.
It was sufficient to extract just enough meat to grill.
Thunk
Squish
But then something unexpected happened.
“That… is…”
“Chocolate…?”
Yes, chocolate.
Black in color, shaped like a block, and emanating a rich sweet smell.
But Lirisia had just butchered beef.
Instead of the flesh that should have been there, a giant chunk of chocolate appeared, and a profound silence began to envelop the campsite.
“……”
“Is that chocolate?”
“It seems so…”
Yeonhwa and Olgania couldn’t hide their disbelief either.
Although the Minotaurs in Hwangwoo Valley were mutations, they weren’t supposed to have chocolate flesh.
The reason the Minotaurs’ insides turned into chocolate was because of a certain fruit.
Protein cacao.
Protein cacao is a byproduct from a B-grade dungeon that sells for 20 million won at the Hunter Market.
It looks just like regular cacao but contains an immense amount of high-calorie protein, particularly known for having hundreds of times more effect when consumed by monsters, making it a popular item for monster tamers.
That protein cacao was so abundant in Hwangwoo Valley that it formed colonies, and the dungeon’s Minotaurs knew that cultivating protein cacao was more beneficial than hunting.
The protein cacao in Hwangwoo Valley could be considered a Minotaur-exclusive high-protein chocolate-flavored protein.
To put it simply, the Minotaurs in the dungeon consumed massive amounts of protein cacao daily, leading to their muscular bodies, and as a result, the tremendous side effect made their flesh not straightforwardly chocolate or pure protein but an odd hybrid.
Of course, Lirisia, Yeonhwa, and Olgania were oblivious to this. They were excited about eating beef only to be confronted with a massive piece of chocolate, leaving them bewildered.
“Uh, should we eat that…?”
“Do we have to eat that?”
“Wait a minute…”
Of course, Lirisia didn’t panic; she observed the piece of meat disguised as chocolate… no, rather, chocolate disguised as meat before her.
It had the shape and scent of chocolate but wasn’t actually chocolate.
Gulp.
Taste… Spit!
Taking a piece to chew, Lirisia grimaced at the bizarre flavor and spat it out.
‘Hmm, it feels like a combination of whey protein mixed with cocoa powder, dipped in solid milk.’
Moreover, there was a subtle flavor and aroma unique to protein, combined with the texture of beef, so to sum it all up…
It tasted absolutely horrific.
If it were Isia, she’d have definitely despaired and couldn’t continue cooking.
But Lirisia’s cooking skills were incredible.
Despite being makeshift cooking, the survival techniques she had acquired over thousands of years remained embedded in her body.
“First, it seems like the protein is the problem… Olgania?”
“Yes?”
“Can you gather some water for me?”
“Water? Just a moment.”
Olgunia clasped her hands together in a brief prayer, and a significant amount of water began to float in mid-air.
She was using the spirit’s power to gather moisture from the atmosphere.
The reason why the beef turned into chocolate was most likely due to the protein.
So the solution was simple.
“Can you boil that water?”
“It’s not difficult.”
As Olgania simultaneously manipulated both the water spirit and fire spirit to start boiling the gathered water, Lirisia dropped the large piece of beef-chocolate into it.
“Won’t that cook the meat?”
“Boiled beef isn’t necessarily tasteless…”
“Wait a second.”
Proteins easily break down with heat and water.
First, they needed to cleanse the outer layer of chocolate-flavored protein by washing it with the boiling water.
It might seem like washing chocolate, but in reality, the outer surface covered in chocolate protein was useless.
The goal was to retrieve the noble beef still intact within, untouched by the protein.
In simpler terms, it was like a double-boiling process to wash away the chocolate.
Given that chocolate protein melts much faster than the cooking point of beef, this was a feasible method.
However, this alone wouldn’t be enough—Lirisia had to use purification miracles periodically.
It wasn’t as effective as Shia’s, but it was definitely better than not using one.
As a side note, this technique was something Lirisia had developed alone while persistent in trying to make rotten toxic meat taste decent.
Slurp!
Hiss!
The once solid chocolate protein began to dissolve in the boiling water, and soon Lirisia’s tentacle swiftly pulled out the meat that was inside.
“Ooh.”
Pink-hued beef.
Whatever part it was, given the muscular Minotaur, the meat was undoubtedly pure, with no marbling at all.
This amount should be sufficient.
Lirisia began cutting the meat into suitable sizes using her tentacles.
“Binggu.”
“Binggu… Hah, what?”
“Can you make an ice skewer that won’t melt in the fire?”
As Yeonhwa conjured several skewers in the air, Lirisia placed the meat on them, creating a decent-looking skewer.
With both tentacles and hands working in unison, Lirisia deftly crafted skewers, ending up with more than 80 meat skewers shaped like cubes.
That was enough to feed the three of them.
Yeonhwa prepared an ice dish to put the finished skewers on and gathered around the crackle of the burning campfire, ready to grill the meat.
“Oh my, they look pretty good~?”
“Perfect. Now let’s grill.”
At Lirisia’s words, the three inserted their skewers into the campfire and started cooking.
As Olgania requested the spirits to intensify the flames, the meat quickly began to cook, and in less than a minute, one skewer was perfectly done. Lirisia took a sizzling beef skewer and bit into it.
“Mmm. Munch Munch.”
Good. Pass.
Seeing Lirisia enjoy the beef, Olgania and Yeonhwa also began to take pieces of meat.
Gulp.
Munch Munch.
Nom Nom.
Delicious.
Although it seemed tough and chewy without any marbling, due to being close to the bones and joints, it was much more tender than expected.
In beef terms, it would be akin to fillet. The flavor was probably ten times richer and deeper than regular fillet.
The sizzling sound of the meat cooking was music to their ears.
Even Olgania, who had succumbed to carnivorous desires, readily nibbled at the skewer, while Yeonhwa smiled at the long-awaited taste of beef from the dungeon.
Delicious.
Nom Nom.
Munch Munch.
“Hehehe, this is tasty~”
The trio exchanged few words, simply munching on meat, but only the blissful feeling of deliciousness enveloped them beneath the small campfire.
The initially awkward atmosphere began to grow closer, all thanks to the beef skewers.
As they continued devouring the skewers, the initial pile of over 80 became just 10. While chewing on her skewer, Lirisia used her tentacles again to butcher new meat.
Once more, it was covered in chocolate protein, but Olgania silently summoned boiling water, and Yeonhwa readied new ice skewers and an ice plate.
Their night deepened, and the enticing aroma of grilled beef skewers spread into the forest.
Even if they didn’t finish it all, it was alright.
After all, they needed to stay in the dungeon for a few days, so preparing запас food was essential.
The trio silently grilled skewers while preparing more beef.
And so, an hour passed… two hours… three hours.
The three, no ordinary humans, kept on eating.
And Lirisia gradually shifted her gaze toward Yeonhwa, who was munching away like a squirrel.
Ah, felt a bit bored; should I poke her a little?
“Munch Munch. Swallow. Hey, Binggu.”
“I’m not Binggu!!!”
“Anyway, Binggu. Want me to give you some advice?”
“Hah…”
In terms of having a strong opinion, Yeonhwa seemed to share some similarities with Lirisia, reminiscent of Shia in a way.
Well, they might as well be the same person, so it wasn’t entirely wrong.
“I’ll listen for now; what advice? If it’s about getting stronger, I’m always up for it…”
“What’s it sound like? You just want to eat, don’t you?”
Huh?
“Don’t pretend. You’re totally itching to nibble on Isia, right?”
Pffft!
“Oh my, oh my~?”
