Chapter 697: Large-Scale Patch

“My God.”

Those inside the underground temple.

And the countless people watching the scene unfolding there.

Their gazes froze straight ahead.

The believers who had fallen into despair after believing their faith had been denied.

But.......

The sight reflected in their eyes now was so overwhelming that it did not even allow them to dwell on that despair.

Rustle.......

Curtains of beautiful light filling the sky.

Fragments of the ancient god.

And.

FWAAAAAAASH.......

Beneath those fragments glowing like an aurora.

As though he were a being chosen by that very light.

One man was wielding authority through that power.

The Commander of the Legion.

And the one who had been the Pope of the Church.

The dazzlingly beautiful light leaking from his body completely filled the once-dark underground temple.

-Ding.

And.

The resulting change.......

[Large-Scale Patch Complete!]

Soon appeared before their eyes.

[Patch Notes]

[New races have been incorporated into the system.]

[A new shared stat has been added.]

[A new shared skill has been added.]

[A new shared trait has been added.]

The translucent windows filling their vision.

It was not difficult to understand what was written there.

“The system.......”

A patch.

An update provided by developers in order to fix bugs and defects in a program.

Or to improve an outdated system in a better direction.

“He changed it.......”

That man.

Had literally “torn apart and rebuilt” the system itself.

The believers who realized that fact could only stare in shock.

The Church’s high-ranking officials were the same.

‘The System certainly had been able to interfere with the system.’

Those who had directly witnessed the System within this underground temple.

The being they had worshiped had indeed shown the ability to interfere with the system.

But what about the scene unfolding before their eyes now?

‘......Those other races.’

The other races who had fought against the System only moments earlier.

The believers’ gazes turned toward them.

Not long ago.

Lee Sanga had fought the beasts in that laboratory and thought they resembled awakened beings.

Awakened beings could sense a certain familiarity from one another.

And now.

‘From them...... I can feel a familiar presence.’

From those other races.

The same presence they themselves possessed.

The presence of awakened beings.

Those races had now become existences blessed by the system just like them.

And that was not all.

[Shared Skill]

[Absolute Taste (Enhanced)]

[For all except the “Chef” class line, the effect is reduced to [Absolute Taste].]

[Shared Trait]

[Combat Power Analyzer]

The tremendous sense of unfamiliarity engraved into their souls.

An entirely new kind of power suddenly bestowed upon them.

No matter how many humans had died from the apocalypse.

The number of awakened beings was still considerable.

And that number had increased even further because of those other races.

Yet now, two entirely new lines of abilities had been added to the status windows of every awakened being.

The changes this would bring were truly beyond imagination.

And besides.

‘This ability......!’

‘It absolutely is not weak. No, rather.......’

‘Compared to any supernatural ability I possess.......’

Through the weight engraved upon their souls.

Every awakened being instinctively realized that the power just granted to them possessed terrifying potential.

‘It’s on an entirely different level from the System......!’

The System had sent them system messages.

That alone had convinced the believers it was the system itself.

Because interfering with the system at all had been something utterly impossible in their minds.

“Thus! The power prepared for us by our creator and great ancestors! The power that wicked leech stole away from us has returned!”

But now.

What was unfolding before their eyes vastly surpassed anything the System had ever shown them.

A being who had touched the deepest core of the system itself, a place even the System could not reach, and had rewritten it.

“Ahh......!”

The believers stared at the man with tears in their eyes.

Those who had believed they had lost their faith.

“The being that tried to deceive you merely deceived your eyes! Your faith itself was never wrong!”

But that had been their misunderstanding.

“The power you wished to worship. The system truly is a power that wishes to save us!”

Just as that man had said.

It had merely been corrupted by the interference of the System.

The true essence of what they worshiped had never been the System.

The System had merely been an impostor pretending to be it.

If that was the case.

“You are truly.......”

But.

Before they could finish speaking.

“There is one thing that creature lied about.”

He looked toward them and spoke.

“The owner of this system. The being that could be called its true identity is not that creature. No...... in the first place, it was never an individual.”

His hand brushed through empty air.

As he shouted toward the system window before his eyes.

“Us!”

At that cry.

Every believer looked toward the system before their eyes.

“All those who stand upon this land and wish to live together upon it!”

“......!”

“All of them are the owners of this system, and parts of it as well!”

The being they had worshiped.

“Those who exist within the domain of this system...... all who wish to live together upon this land.”

Its true identity was none other than.

“All of them are the beings you wished to place your faith in.”

Themselves.

“......The beings we worshiped.”

“Were ourselves......?”

At those words.

Several believers blankly opened their mouths.

Some among them accepted the truth without resistance.

But.

“Are you still afraid?”

Others still held fear.

People who, unable to overcome the apocalypse through their own power, had longed for some transcendent existence.

There were many who could not simply rejoice upon learning that the transcendent being they had imagined was actually themselves.

“Do not worry.”

Looking toward those people.

The man who was both Pope and Commander smiled lightly.

FWAAAAASH.......

An intense light burst from his hand.

What rested there were small dishes.

[Battle Rations Filled with the Courage of a Heroic-Grade Chef’s Devotion]

The light held in his hand.

Fell over the heads of every awakened being.

[Five Loaves and Two Fish]

The descending light melted into their bodies.

And the magnificent flavor stimulated their sense of taste.

At the same time.

[Shared Skill - Absolute Taste activates!]

The new skill engraved upon their souls.

Its power activated.

***

[Shared Skill - Absolute Taste activates!]

A power that had once belonged solely to a single awakened being.

Now engraved into the status windows of every awakened being.

Absolute Taste.

Even if the (Enhanced) effect had been removed for everyone except chefs.

Its brilliance had not faded.

[1. Effects gained through food greatly increase for yourself.]

[2. When using skills, you may amplify one minor [Characteristic] contained within a dish for yourself.]

The dishes that already possessed absurdly powerful effects.

Dishes that had always possessed the potential to overturn battlefields themselves transformed into radiant light.

And melted into the hearts of the awakened who had been consumed by fear.

[The effect of ‘Battle Rations Filled with the Courage of a Heroic-Grade Chef’s Devotion’ has been amplified!]

[Overwhelming courage envelops your body!!!]

The flavor had already been extraordinary to begin with.

But now, with their senses of taste strengthened through the new power engraved into their souls.

The flavor contained within that dish completely dominated their senses with even greater clarity.

‘This is.’

An overwhelmingly intense taste.

A heavenly flavor so magnificent it felt as though their minds might melt.

And after tasting it.

What filled their minds was...... overwhelming courage.

The fear that if the system truly was themselves, then overcoming this world’s apocalypse must ultimately be impossible.

That fear was instantly erased by the courage flooding their minds.

And in the place where fear had once existed.

What took root instead was—

‘This power!’

The strength now filling their bodies.

A tremendous confidence born from the unbelievable power granted through that dish.

“Do not be afraid.”

Their gazes turned toward a single place.

The being who had granted them this immense power.

And filled them with these overwhelming emotions.

“With all those who belong within this system, and all who wish to live together upon this land.”

He raised the knife once more.

And drove it into the status window before his eyes.

CRRRRACK.......

And then.

A mark engraved itself before the eyes of every awakened being.

[Status Window]

It did not alter their stats.

Nor did it grant them new skills or traits.

Only one thing changed.

‘......That empty space.’

The translucent rectangular window.

The vacant corner within it.

The kind of empty space system windows naturally possessed, where nothing was written.

Within that blank area.

[The Legion stands together.]

“The Legion shall stand together with you!”

Roughly carved letters were engraved there.

***

“The Legion shall stand together with you!”

......After shouting those words.

I looked around and thought:

‘Ahem...... this is a little embarrassing.’

There were a great many believers.

If they joined the Legion as they were, they would undoubtedly become an enormous force.

And in order to make them allies with as little resistance as possible, a miracle had been necessary.

‘Well? What do you think?’

What I had just done was precisely that.

‘Simply rewriting the system already strengthened the awakened tremendously.’

The powers I had granted to all awakened beings were [Absolute Taste (Enhanced)] and [Combat Power Analyzer].

Personally, I would have liked to add [Chef’s Eye] or [Ingredient Appraisal (Enhanced)] too, but.

‘Those abilities fundamentally only activate for ingredients.’

They had been powerful because I could perceive everything as ingredients.

For most awakened beings, they would only amount to random abilities letting them see information about vegetables and meat.

Fortunately, there was one ability useful even for others.

‘[Combat Power Analyzer] activates on living beings other than awakened beings, not on ingredients.’

For me, it had become categorized beneath Ingredient Appraisal, which was essentially a superior version of it.

But this ability I obtained after defeating the Pope was actually incredibly useful.

The power to gauge an enemy’s strength simply by looking at them.

How many monsters appeared ordinary on the outside while hiding terrifying strength beneath?

And this power could even detect the magic power of concealed beings.

Simply being able to assess enemy strength beforehand and discover hidden enemies early would drastically improve awakened beings’ survival.

The same was true for [Absolute Taste (Enhanced)].

‘It’s a little disappointing that the enhanced effect disappears for everyone except chefs.’

But even so, it was enough.

A power that amplified the effects of anything edible.

This power could even apply to “stat-enhancing potions.”

The reason I, someone outside the combat class line, had obtained combat power rivaling other awakened beings.

Was fundamentally because of the absurd stats I gained through this effect.

From now on, awakened beings’ stats would rise at incredible speed.

And besides.

‘For any faction that possesses a chef, the value of that power doubles.’

It had practically been the core of my combat power.

A supernatural ability that not only amplified effects, but even allowed one to select and apply one of the Characteristics mixed into a dish.

For any faction containing a chef, simply obtaining that ability effectively doubled their strength.

‘Honestly...... when I first tore those two abilities from my status window, it hurt a little.’

Though perhaps fortunately.

[Shared Skill]

[Absolute Taste (Enhanced)]

[You are an awakened belonging to the “Chef” class line. The enhanced effect of the shared skill is maintained.]

[Shared Trait]

[Combat Power Analyzer]

Thinking about it.

I too was one of the awakened.

Those shared abilities I tore from my status window applied to me as well.

Compared to preparing myself to lose those abilities forever, I had not actually suffered much loss.

Of course.......

‘The powers that were once mine alone have now been shared with every awakened being.’

The other races had gained the opportunity to become awakened.

Other awakened beings had gained powerful supernatural abilities.

Meanwhile.

‘There’s not a single part of this that benefits me.’

From my perspective.

The gap between me and the other awakened had simply narrowed enormously.

I had not suffered direct losses from this event, but I had definitely suffered indirect ones.

So.

‘Please let this have worked......!’

The primary purpose behind doing all this.

At the very least, the goal of reshaping those believers’ faith absolutely had to succeed.

Otherwise I would just look like some idiot volunteering for charity by myself.

And that would be unbelievably unfair......!

“.......”

With that thought.

I looked toward the believers’ faces.

They simply stared blankly at me.

Just from their expressions, I could not tell what they were thinking.

-Ding.

At that moment.

A small sound reached my ears.

‘......This!’

Hearing that sound, a grin spread across my face.

It was a familiar sound.

I knew very well what it meant when that sound appeared.

[Cooking has been completed!]

[Main Ingredients - System, Awakened Shin Youngjun’s Status Window]

[System Cooking Advancing Toward the Myth of a Heroic-Grade Chef]

And exactly as I had hoped.

The square message window appeared before my eyes the moment the sound rang out.

[Due to the effects of the dish, awareness of the Legion spreads across the entire world.]

[Awakened beings across the world recognize your existence!]

“......Huh?”

[A folk belief that had previously existed only in certain regions of a small world.]

[That belief has spread across the entire world and advances to the next stage!]

[A new faith capable of influencing the universe has been born!]

[Legion Faith]

......Though.

How should I put this.

[You are worshiped as the chief god of the newly born faith, Legion Faith!]

[Due to the rise in status, experience is granted.]

[Level has increased.]

[Lv.50]

[Class : Saint-Grade War Chef]

[By reaching Level 50, you have entered the rank of Saint!]

[Level has increased.]

[Level has increased.]

[Level has....... ]

The messages filling my vision.

The contents continuing to flood my sight before I could even stop them.......

[Lv.61]

[Class : Demigod-Grade War Chef]

[By reaching Level 60, you have entered the rank of Demigod!]

Were somewhat...... different from what I had expected.

[You have achieved a feat worthy of being recorded in a volume of myth.]

[Rewards are granted for your great achievement.]