Water boiled inside the pot.
Maru’s bony hand was being boiled along with it.
And my insides boiled along with them.
“……”
At the absurd sight, I was at a loss for words for a moment.
On top of that, Maru’s remark that it tasted better this way could only be called shocking.
“No…”
The words wouldn’t come.
Just what was I supposed to say?
My thoughts grew complicated.
So the secret behind that deep, savory flavor all this time had been Maru’s hand-made touch?
Had he washed his hand before putting it in?
More importantly, since when had he been doing that?
No, if the broth was made by steeping Maru’s hand… Let’s not think about that….
There were things I was curious about, and things I did not want to know.
But that sight of him putting his own hand in to make broth was not it.
Maru’s race was even a Skeleton Black Knight.
As the name suggested, he was made of black bones.
Ha.
For now, I decided to ask one question at a time.
“Maru.”
I called Maru, whose hand was still being boiled.
At my question, Maru nodded.
“Where did you learn about something like this? Boiling bones, I mean.”
It wasn’t as if Maru had been good at cooking ramen from the start.
At first, even when I taught him, there had been times when he put in too much water, or on the contrary, so little that all I could taste was salt.
The flavor had fluctuated that much.
He had even burned a pot while cooking ramen, so that said it all.
Through that trial and error, the taste of Maru-brand ramen had gradually improved.
Now he made ramen on a completely different level, and I enjoyed eating it often….
And that had been Maru’s hand-made touch.
Literally, the taste of his hand.
The problem was where he had found out about this method of boiling it like that.
To my question, Maru’s answer was simple.
“Clack-clatter.”
He said he saw it on my smartphone while I was sleeping.
“Clack-clack.”
Apparently, while pressing around here and there, he had watched related videos.
“Huh….”
Fine, let’s say that was the case.
But how did he use a smartphone in the first place?
Obviously, Maru was a skeleton, his entire body made of bones.
No matter how much he tapped the phone screen, there was no way it would register his touch.
To my doubt, Maru’s answer was simple.
“Clack.”
He said he used the pen built into the phone.
At this point, I started to feel afraid.
A skeleton skilled with electronic devices.
‘Just how far is Maru’s growth going to go?’
On top of that, Maru wasn’t even a monster from Earth.
He was a skeleton soldier I had drawn through a gacha on the continent of Eldorad.
That Maru.
Maru, who at first couldn’t even cook a single pack of ramen properly….
Before I knew it, he was making broth himself while cooking ramen.
As if that weren’t enough, he was even using a smartphone freely.
A monster from the continent had perfectly adapted to Earth.
What should I do about this?
Even now, Maru was looking at me while boiling his own hand.
The way he looked at me seemed deep and earnest.
“Mm…”
In his own way, he was probably doing it with good intentions.
I understood Maru’s feelings well.
Still, what needed to be said had to be said.
“Maru, from next time, don’t do this. Just boil it normally. Don’t put yourself through unnecessary trouble.”
I tried to persuade him as kindly as possible.
“Clack!”
He said he didn’t mind the trouble.
“……”
I had underestimated Maru’s loyalty far too much.
Now that I thought about it, these were the words Maru used the most.
Noble one.
Great one.
Master.
I didn’t know where he had learned such words, but Maru’s loyalty was that extraordinary.
‘Ha, how should I put this?’
How could I explain it while taking Maru’s feelings into account and also stop him from making bone broth with his own hand?
I pondered for a moment.
And the answer came to me.
Yes, that was it.
It was simple.
“Maru, the truth is, I’m not very good with this kind of bone broth. So you don’t have to go out of your way.”
At this level, he should have understood.
Sure enough.
“Clack-clatter!”
Maru answered that he understood, as if he had realized something.
At the same time as Maru’s answer, my smartphone alarm rang.
Ding—
Ding—
Ding—
The only alarms I had set were for the game, so I immediately touched the screen.
- Maru has gained enlightenment from the battle with the Death Knight.
- Maru has gained enlightenment from the battle with the Arch Lich.
- Maru has gained enlightenment after learning his master’s preference in broth.
The alarms didn’t end there.
- Maru’s [Dungeon Monster Enhancement System] has been unlocked.
“?”
What was this situation?
Until just a moment ago, Maru had simply been boiling water for ramen.
So why had the enhancement system opened?
I couldn’t keep up with the current situation.
There was at least one thing I could guess.
“Enlightenment?”
Looking at the alarm, it said Maru had realized something.
After it said he gained enlightenment, the enhancement system opened.
But the sources of that enlightenment were battles with a Death Knight and an Arch Lich?
‘Did he ever fight those guys?’
The only time Maru had met them was during the monster wave.
Aside from that, he had never met them separately—
“Ah.”
I remembered one thing.
Come to think of it, he had done something that was sort of like a battle.
It was just that when Maru swung his sword, the Death Knight and Arch Lich had faithfully played the role of falling down.
‘Can that really be counted as a battle?’
The Death Knight and Arch Lich were even perfectly fine, without a single injury.
And yet Maru had gained enlightenment from that?
Just what kind of enlightenment had he gained?
It was something I couldn’t understand even if I tried.
“Don’t tell me.”
Was that why Maru had kept spacing out since the monster wave?
Sitting cross-legged and looking as if he were meditating had truly been a posture for seeking enlightenment.
“I really don’t get it. Where did you learn how to meditate, too?”
“Clack!”
He said he saw it on the smartphone.
Now I truly am afraid, Maru.
And what do you mean, you realized my preference in broth?
You really gain enlightenment from everything.
* * *
After waking up from sleep.
Many things happened in a short amount of time.
The dungeon enhancement system opened, and by using it, I was able to acquire traits and skills.
Was that all?
I learned the truth behind the ramen Maru cooked for me.
I also learned why Maru had been spacing out so often lately, and on top of that, I felt like I had figured out how the monster enhancement system was applied.
All of these things had happened in less than an hour.
“My head’s starting to hurt…”
Too much information had entered my head in too short a time.
I needed to give my brain time to filter it, but new information kept being delivered.
Still, I handled things one by one.
First, from now on, Maru would not add his hand-made touch when cooking ramen.
On top of that, since the enhancement system had opened for Maru, I decided to make use of that point.
‘If you think about it, Maru’s strength is my strength.’
Of course, the dungeon and monsters inside the screen were also my strength.
But Maru was a monster who lived together with me.
Since he was close by, if Maru grew stronger, things would become easier for me.
If Maru grew stronger, the number of strategies I could use would also increase.
Both the trait and skill I obtained earlier could be considered suited to a mage position.
But mages were commonly said to be weak in close combat.
But what if I had Maru?
That weakness could be perfectly covered.
That was why the more I enhanced Maru, the more benefit it brought me.
I immediately clicked the dungeon enhancement system.
[Dungeon Monster Enhancement System]
- Dungeon Master ‘Lee Ganghyeon’ (Unlocked)
- Maru (★★★★) (Unlocked)
- Skol (★★★) (Unlocked)
Maru’s name had newly appeared on the enhancement system list, where only my name and Skol’s had been before.
First, I touched Maru’s name.
Then Maru’s status window appeared.
- Grade: ★★★★
- Race: Skeleton
[Traits]
- None
[Basic Information]
Vitality: B-
Attack Power: B+ (1-stage correction due to Demonic Sword)
Defense: C
Magic Power: C
[Skills]
- Loyalty as a Knight (S): Lee Ganghyeon (Active)
“As expected, is it because he’s a skeleton?”
His defense and magic power were too low.
At least his attack power had gone up by one stage thanks to the correction effect of the Demonic Sword.
I looked at the list of abilities I had acquired and thought it over.
“What would suit Maru best?”
For now, I decided to choose something simple, as if testing it first.
Among them, one trait caught my eye.
- Flexible Movements (F+): Trait. The body becomes flexible.
“Should I try this first?”
- Would you like to enhance Maru (★★★★) with the trait Flexible Movements (F+)?
- Once enhanced, an ability cannot be reversed.
I immediately pressed enhance.
Then, a moment later.
- Enhancement of Maru (★★★★) has succeeded.
His appearance did not particularly change.
“Maru, try moving.”
But there was one thing that had changed due to the effect of the trait.
‘Ah, the sound got quieter.’
Maru was a skeleton.
It was inevitable that the distinctive rattling sound of bones came from his body whenever he moved.
But after applying the “Flexible Movements” trait, the sound of his bones decreased slightly.
If it were a higher-grade trait?
It might be possible to completely eliminate the sound of his bones.
“This is seriously amazing.”
The change from gaining just one trait was immediately visible.
‘Since I’m at it, should I enhance Skol properly too?’
Ultimately, I would have to enhance all of them anyway.
And since Skol had been the first to unlock the system, there was a need to grant him a reward befitting that.
I immediately bestowed abilities on Skol.
- Would you like to enhance Skol (★★★) with the trait Berserker (A)?
- Once enhanced, an ability cannot be reversed.
- Would you like to enhance Skol (★★★) with the trait Minor Recovery Regeneration (D)?
- Once enhanced, an ability cannot be reversed.
For Skol, I granted Berserker, the only A-rank trait, along with Minor Recovery Regeneration.
- Berserker (A): The lower the stamina, the stronger the attack power becomes. If stamina becomes extremely low, the risk of going berserk increases.
- Minor Recovery Regeneration (D): Slightly increases the efficiency of recovering stamina and regenerating wounds.
Skol was an orc and, at the same time, a warrior.
Just from that, those two traits seemed to suit him well.
- Enhancement of Skol (★★★) has succeeded.
- Enhancement of Skol (★★★) has succeeded.
“This should be enough for Skol.”
Next, I intended to continue enhancing Maru.
I had an ability in mind for the next enhancement.
Divine Power.
I, too, had once absorbed Divine Power through an offering.
As a result, a Divine Power stat had appeared in my status window.
What I was curious about here was whether it would work on Maru as well.
“Undead races should fundamentally be incompatible with it…”
I was also worried that something might go wrong, but judging only by the alarm, it didn’t seem like there would be any particular problem.
- Would you like to enhance Maru (★★★★) with the stat Divine Power?
- Once enhanced, an ability cannot be reversed.
“Since it’s not really restricting me, I should be able to do it, right?”
If it wasn’t possible, wouldn’t a warning have popped up saying it couldn’t be enhanced?
“Let’s enhance it first.”
I immediately touched enhance, and soon the change began.
- Enhancement of Maru (★★★★) has succeeded.
“Oh.”
For now, the enhancement had worked.
Maru’s condition even seemed fine.
And there was a change in his status window.
- Grade: ★★★★
- Race: Skeleton
[Traits]
- Flexible Movements (F+)
[Basic Information]
Vitality: B-
Attack Power: B+ (1-stage correction due to Demonic Sword)
Defense: C
Magic Power: C
Divine Power: F
[Skills]
- Loyalty as a Knight (S): Lee Ganghyeon (Active)
Divine Power had been added to the existing information.
Of course, since I had only enhanced it once, it was F-rank, but it was a meaningful change.
‘If I enhance all of it, how far will it rise?’
Since the thought occurred to me, I poured all the Divine Power into Maru.
- Would you like to enhance Maru (★★★★) with the stat Divine Power?
I enhanced a whopping twelve additional points of Divine Power.
- Enhancement of Maru (★★★★) has succeeded.
The F-rank Divine Power written in the status window changed to E-rank.
At the same time.
“Huh?”
Maru’s appearance changed slightly.
Maru’s race was Skeleton Black Knight.
True to the name, his appearance was also black.
But when the rank of Divine Power rose, his color changed slightly.
“Your color got a little lighter?”