◈ Episode 210. Declaration of War (1)
“…Wow, is this a real thing?”
“It certainly is.”
When Kim Joo-hyuk felt the magical energy swimming within his body, he let out an exclamation without realizing it, and Barche, who was next to him, nodded in agreement as well.
Naturally, Barce knew what Gongcheong Oil was and had some idea of its effects.
However, I had no idea that the effect would be this strong.
The reason is because the person who consumed communist oil is Kim Joo-hyuk.
Kim Joo-hyuk is strong.
That is a truth that will never disappear even if Kim Joo-hyuk was defeated by Zhong Li-quan.
Just as failing to prevent a bigger disaster does not mean that he is no longer a strong man, Kim Joo-hyuk was still a strong man even though he was defeated by Zhong Li-kwon.
And honestly, at some point, strong people who reach a certain level can no longer grow by taking elixirs.
This is because, of course, there is a limit.
All living things have different limitations, but on the contrary, they all have something in common.
That is, the closer a limit is reached, the slower the growth rate becomes.
And Kim Joo-hyuk had already surpassed himself in his prime and his growth rate had slowed down.
Although Kim Joo-hyuk gradually regained his memories and his growth rate seemed to be accelerating, Barce knew very well that the growth rate could not return to the previous level.
In addition, I also knew that Kim Joo-hyuk’s growth, who had already grown to a certain limit, would not jump significantly if he took just one elixir.
I definitely knew that.
Tsk-!
Barce saw Kim Joo-hyuk’s movements.
It is clear that the body moves more neatly and without any unnecessary details than before.
However, the speed was clearly much faster than before.
“….”
As evidence, Barce was unable to catch Kim Joo-hyuk’s movements moment by moment.
‘As expected, it’s amazing.’
As Barce watched Kim Joo-hyuk experimenting with his body, he felt such thoughts passing through his mind without realizing it.
Kim Joo-hyuk becomes stronger by eating as if there are no limits.
‘What on earth is it?’
Therefore, Barce began to be a little more curious about Kim Joo-hyuk’s identity than when he first heard that he had a different identity.
“…did you say it was a skull head?”
Soon, Kim Joo-hyuk turned his head to Barche’s muttering and spoke.
“Did you remember?”
In response to Kim Joo-hyuk’s question, Barce once again recalled what Kim Joo-hyuk had told him earlier, and among them, he recalled the description of a man who was completely unfiltered from Kim Joo-hyuk’s perspective.
A man of moderate stature wearing a skull necklace.
“Hmm…”
Barce continued to worry while muttering, but soon shook his head and spoke.
“I don’t seem to remember. I guess it’s not a person I know. Still, it’s a bit surprising.”
“what?”
“Of all the memories you have recovered, he is the only one without any filtering, right?”
Kim Joo-hyuk nodded and spoke at Barce’s words.
“Well, that’s true.”
Until now, most of Kim Joo-hyuk’s memories have been filtered so that the identity of someone other than him cannot be recognized as soon as they appear.
The face doesn’t look like it was painted with ink.
The body becomes dizzy, as if cognitive impairment has been applied.
The voice sounds bizarre, as if it were a combination of the voices of men, women, and children, as well as those of monsters.
And it’s the same this time too.
Of course, this time too, there was a person who was filtered like that.
Just like last time, a person who has a sun symbol and calls himself Master.
However, except for him, one man was seen vividly in the eyes of Kim Joo-hyuk, who regained his memories, without being filtered.
If I were to ask you to describe it in detail right now, you could.
‘Even if I can describe it in such detail, the problem is that I can’t find it.’
Kim Joo-hyuk shrugged his shoulders and erased that thought.
First of all, unless you know the truth, as he always thought, thinking about it further didn’t mean much.
‘Maybe if I remember it first, I’ll be able to figure it out someday. ‘I can ask Mukwang or the guide tomorrow when I’m starting work.’
After thinking like that, Kim Joo-hyuk pushed the topic of memory to a corner and spoke while looking at Barce.
“First of all, we’re done with today, so let’s go back and work hard starting tomorrow.”
“…I’m sure we’ll have to work hard since we don’t have much time left.”
Seeing Barce nod as if he understood what he said, Kim Joo-hyuk immediately moved his body and started moving towards the dormitory.
When Barce and Kim Joo-hyuk naturally opened the door of the dormitory and returned to the building inside the market connected by the master behind it.
“…What are you guys doing?”
“This is… that’s…”
“…cooking.”
Kim Joo-hyuk’s home is actually the kitchen.
“….”
“This is bad….”
I could see that it was completely ruined.
####
Yan Lang wondered at what point things went wrong.
At what point was it?
Was it something that went wrong from the very beginning when I came here just to bring fruit to Kim Joo-hyuk?
Yan Lang, who was thinking like that, shook his head in his head.
no. no.
That thought was a very reasonable and correct idea.
If she hadn’t come, Choi A-rin would be the only one in this house now.
Therefore, it was not wrong to come to this house.
So what went wrong?
Is it wrong that I decided to try my hand at cooking because I wanted to look a little better than Choi Arin even though I can’t cook?
Yeah, maybe that was the reason.
In fact, Yanlang was not particularly good at cooking.
In fact, after seeing Yan Lang trying to cook, Seolnanshin also said that it would be better to just stay still.
But isn’t it better to look at least a little better than Choi Arin? Thinking about this, Yan Lang stood in the kitchen and immediately regretted it.
If you think about it a little, it was because Yan Lang had never cooked before.
No, to be precise, I have tried cooking before.
Fried egg.
A fried egg, which he had tried once when he was very young, was the only dish that Yan Lang had ever tried.
Even at the White Lotus Palace, where I lived alone, I didn’t have to cook at all because food was provided to me on a regular basis.
However, perhaps because Yanrang had already come to the kitchen to try cooking, Choi A-rin had also already stood in the kitchen and started making something.
Thanks to that, Yan Lang eventually started cooking.
And exactly when Kim Joo-hyuk and Barce returned.
The kitchen was exploded.
“…It’s gorgeous.”
Barce took a look at Yan Lang and Choi A-rin, who were lowering their heads as if they were shamed, and muttered when he saw the tragedy that was seen behind them.
Although Kim Joo-hyuk does not cook, for some reason this place is always stocked with kitchen utensils, basic seasonings, and various food ingredients.
Right now, not a single thing in the kitchen looked good.
The wooden cutting board, which seemed sturdy at first glance, had already been cut into three pieces, and other kitchen utensils seemed to be in poor condition.
And what’s even more shocking than that is.
‘…is this a fried egg?’
These were the dishes they made.
“….”
Barce looked at the reddish, charred stone(?) like a fallen meteorite, and looked like he couldn’t understand how something like this could come out.
“…I won’t cook again next time.”
Soon after hearing Kim Joo-hyuk’s words from next to them, the two nodded helplessly and returned to their respective dormitories.
And Kim Joo-hyuk confirmed that Choi A-rin and Yan Lang had left.
“…hmm.”
He looked at the food placed in front of him.
One is a reddish fried egg(?)
and the other is a purple porridge(?)
Kim Joo-hyuk is quietly looking at the things that look like they can’t be called cooking just by looking at them.
Barce looked at him with a slightly questioning expression.
Soon he could not help but be astonished.
“What are you doing!?”
That was because Kim Joo-hyuk started eating the nuclear bomb that Choi A-rin and Yan Lang had made, spoonful after spoonful!
Wow!
When Barche looked at Kim Joo-hyuk with a shocked expression at the sound, which was so horrible that it could hardly be called the sound of chewing a fried egg, he asked,
“Why?”
Rather, Kim Joo-hyuk asks back as if he doesn’t understand Barce’s expression and words.
In response, Barce let out a soft groan and spoke.
“Why are you taking such extreme poison? If you eat that, you could die…!”
“okay? “I don’t really feel that way.”
“what?”
Barce looks at Kim Joo-hyuk with an expression of complete bewilderment at his words.
However, Kim Joo-hyuk took a bite of the two deadly poisons that would kill him if he took just one bite, and then spoke.
“It’s worth eating.”
“…is it worth eating?”
The moment Barche heard those words, he had a serious look on his face and wondered if Kim Joo-hyuk had completely lost his head after drinking Gongcheong Petroleum, but he soon shook his head.
Because Gongcheong Petroleum does not have such side effects.
So, did you never feel any taste when eating food from the beginning? A thought passed through Barce’s mind, but he quickly shook his head.
At least from what he has seen of Kim Joo-hyuk so far, he clearly distinguishes between delicious things and tasteless things.
Therefore, Barce looked at Kim Joo-hyuk with an even more suspicious expression.
“Isn’t it much better than the food that Balgwang or Sosim used to make? “I think it’s 200 times better than the food Mojil used to make.”
At the sound of Kim Joo-hyuk’s voice coming soon, Barce opened his mouth without realizing it.
“…This food now is much better than the food you ate 300 years ago?”
“This is good enough. “For the disciples’ food.”
Kim Joo-hyuk speaks casually.
Barce looked at Kim Joo-hyuk, who was looking at him without realizing it.
‘What kind of life are you… what kind of life…’
Without realizing it, I sympathized with him.
####
From then on, Kim Joo-hyuk drank Gongcheong Petroleum and continued training, enjoying his incredibly improved condition.
It was the same for others, including Barche and Moo Gwang.
It lasted like that for a week.
“…It came sooner than expected?”
“Now that I think about it, I think it would be better to clash with him once rather than dragging his feet and having to deal with a guy like Zhong Liquan over and over again.”
Kim Joo-hyuk immediately went to find a guide, just as he had promised Barce a week ago.
“Good idea. “Then, from now on, I will tell you about the plan in more detail.”
That’s how Kim Joo-hyuk’s declaration of war began.