Chapter 5: The Chef Bear Plushie

I tore off a chunk of the stolen corpse.

Just the right size for a single bite.

Without hesitation, I shoved it into my mouth.

Chewing was easy enough.

Even though I was a teddy bear, I still had teeth and a tongue.

…Did I always have those?

Did I evolve them at some point?

I couldn’t quite remember.

Not that it mattered. 

No use overthinking things—better to just eat.

Chomp, chomp.

Munch, munch.

The texture was… oddly spongy, like biting into a firm cushion.

Of course, there was no taste.

I didn’t expect any.

My body was a plush doll, after all—having no sense of flavor was par for the course.

Still, a wave of gloom washed over me.

The realization that I had to give up one of life’s greatest pleasures—eating—hit me hard.

Sure, being able to survive without food was a huge advantage in its own right…

But losing the joy of eating? 

That was a real blow.

I liked the food. 

A lot.

In my past life, I even made a hobby out of touring restaurants.

Most of those memories were hazy now, but the fact that I loved to eat—that part remained crystal clear.

A shame, really.

But hey, you’ve got to know when to let go.

Chomp, chomp.

【Absorbing Mana…】

At least I was getting mana out of it.

My theory had been correct: even if it wasn’t a mana stone, consuming creatures with mana-rich bodies could replenish my reserves.

So I continued—methodically tearing the corpse into bite-sized bits and stuffing them into my mouth.

Then, all of a sudden—

【Achievement Unlocked: ‘Awakened Appetite by Free Will’】

【Skill Acquired: 「Consumption Lv.1」】

…What the heck?

I unlocked an achievement?

Must’ve been rare for a teddy bear to eat on its own volition. 

Guess that was impressive enough to count.

And the reward was a skill?

Let’s see what this Consumption thing is all about.

[Consumption Lv.1]

  Enables smooth consumption of materials.

  Can activate taste perception at will.

  Ingested materials gradually dissolve and vanish inside the body.

Ooh.

So I can taste things now?

What a busted skill! 

In the best way.

Might be useless to others, but for me?

It was a godsend.

I could finally regain the joy of eating again!

And apparently, I now had some kind of digestion function too—technically more like a “dissolve and vanish” feature.

Wait a second…

How was I digesting things before?

Sure, the mana stones got fully absorbed as mana, but I also ate a bunch of random pebbles during playtime with Jjokkomi… What happened to those?

Huh.

They must’ve been sitting in my body this whole time. 

Or maybe they dissolved when I evolved?

Either way…

The second function of the Consumption skill seemed to be working just fine.

Chomp, chomp. 

Gulp.

As I devoured more of the corpse, I could feel the mana flooding into me, while the leftover organic matter gradually faded away inside.

My body, which had grown a little heavier, started feeling lighter again.

I still couldn’t taste anything, though.

Because I hadn’t activated that part of the skill yet.

Well, let’s try it.

Activate taste!

The moment I shouted that in my mind, a faint tingling sensation sparked across the tip of my tongue.

And then—

“GUAAGH! PFT! PTH! PTH!!”

I immediately spat out the chewed flesh.

Disgusting!

I hadn’t expected it to be delicious—but this was revolting!

Still, that wasn’t the point. 

I just wanted to check if the taste function worked.

And it did.

So I promptly deactivated it.

There’s no way I could stomach this stuff with my sense of taste active. 

No wonder Thunder Ants didn’t have taste buds either.

Come to think of it, thank goodness I don’t have a sense of smell right now.

If I did, I probably would’ve vomited for real instead of just gagging.

I’ll try to get a smell-related skill someday. 

Smell plays a big part in flavor, after all—and it could help with survival.

For reference, I wasn’t completely devoid of senses.

Sight was perfectly intact.

And while I was technically a doll, I had hearing and touch too.

No pain, though. Just touch. Like having a built-in pain blocker.

Anyway.

Now that taste was off again, back to eating.

I resumed chewing and swallowing with renewed focus.

Even scooped up the part I spat out. 

Couldn’t let it go to waste.

The more I ate, the more clearly I felt the mana gathering within me.

A notification popped up every time it did, and words shimmered before my eyes to confirm it.

And then—

From within the corpse, something began to glow.

A faint blue light.

What was that?

Was mana condensing visibly?

Curious, I dug into the flesh with a paw.

…Wait, it wasn’t condensed mana.

It was something embedded inside the corpse.

I pulled it out.

A small, glimmering stone.

Thick with mana.

It didn’t look quite the same as the one Jjokkomi had brought me before, but the feeling was unmistakable.

This was a mana stone too.

So they could be found inside monsters, huh?

Good to know.

Still… why didn’t the Thunder Ants eat this?

They couldn’t not know it was there.

Maybe they were saving it for later—like dessert?

Well, whatever the reason…

Thanks for the meal!

***

By the time I was done, I had devoured about half the corpse.

Swallowed the mana stone too.

My mana reserves were now bursting at the seams.

Should be enough to last a few days without worry.

Oh—and one more thing.

Consuming the corpse and mana stone had leveled me up.

【Brown Bear Plushie Lv.5】

┗ Pw. 5 (+1)

┗ Rank: Normal

【Skills】

[Helper Lv.1], [Evolution Lv.1], [Action Lv.2], [Consumption Lv.1]

Level 5 already!

Now that’s what I call a growth spurt.

And with the level up…

It was time to evolve again.

First, though, I needed to check one thing.

“Hey, Helper. What’s my physical adaptation rate?”

Yes, Master!

With a cheerful voice and a flash of light, a stat window appeared before me.

【Current Physical Adaptation: 31】

Thirty-one.

A borderline number.

It had actually been under 30 earlier.

I’d been wondering how to raise it, but apparently it goes up naturally with each level.

Sadly, that meant I couldn’t stay in the low-level zone forever just to stack up power and skills.

Eventually, physical adaptation would bottleneck me.

Anyway, I met the required threshold.

So no need to wait.

Time to evolve.

【Would you like to use “Evolution Lv.1”?】

Yes, please!

『Evolvable Species』

◎ Chef Bear Plushie – Normal

Once again, there was only a single option.

No choice, no alternatives.

Chef Bear Plushie?

No idea what that is, but let’s go!

【Evolution complete.】

Flash!

A bright light burst from my body and enveloped me.

In the blink of an eye, the evolution was done.

There was no real change to my appearance—

The only addition was a chef’s hat perched on my head.

A toque blanche, to be exact.

So evolution gives you fashion accessories now?

I looked like a first-class chef in bear plushie form.

Just to clarify, the toque wasn’t part of my body.

It didn’t have any special abilities either.

Purely decorative.

Aesthetic value only.

Still, evolving dropped my Physical Adaptation Rate to 25.

That meant I couldn’t use the evolution skill again anytime soon.

Just to be sure, I checked if I could break my limits.

Nope—still locked.

【Chef Bear Plushie Lv.4】

┗ Pw. 4 (+1)

┗ Rank: Normal

【Skills】

[Helper Lv.1], [Evolution Lv.1], [Action Lv.2], [Ingestion Lv.1], [Magical Chef Lv.1]

No bonus power this time.

My existing skill levels hadn’t changed either.

But that didn’t mean there was no reward.

I had gained a new skill:

[Magical Chef Lv.1]

Consumes ingredients and mana to cook food.

Can activate enhanced sense of smell at will.

  Able to view detailed info on dishes you’ve cooked yourself.

Smell! Finally!

Sniff sniff

I could smell things now!

Well, yeah—smell is just as important as taste for a chef.

But what exactly does “creating food” mean in this context?

Do I just add mana to some ingredients and—bam!—instant cuisine?

No point speculating.

I’d only find out by trying.

I turned to the leftover corpse I’d saved.

【This corpse qualifies for use with Magical Chef.】

Phew. 

Good news.

It counted as a cooking ingredient.

So… I just pour some mana into it and voila?

Well, I didn’t really know how to “pour mana,” but that was fine.

The skill would automatically channel it in for me.

【Would you like to use “Magical Chef Lv.1”?】

I paused. 

How much mana would this cost me?

I had absorbed quite a bit already, but still—

It would suck to use this once and end up drained dry.

Hey, Helper.

Do you know how much mana this skill consumes?

【Using “Magical Chef Lv.1” consumes 1/250th of your current mana.】

Whoa. It actually answered?

I was just thinking it to myself.

Helper, can you tell me my current mana level?

【Numerical display of mana becomes available at “Helper Lv.2.”】

Ah, not yet then.

How do I level up Helper?

Just keep using it until it levels naturally?

Or hope I get it as an evolution bonus?

No clue.

I’m sure it’ll level up one way or another eventually.

In any case, the mana cost wasn’t that bad.

No reason to hold back.

【Activating “Magical Chef Lv.1.”】

【Dish outcome: Random.】

A small amount of mana seeped from my body and spread out, coating the corpse.

The mana wrapped around it in a thin layer— like magical food prep film.

【Currently cooking: Flame Bear Seasoned Meat…】

So it doesn’t happen instantly, huh?

I didn’t need to do any actual cooking myself, but the process took time.

Might as well relax and wait it out.

…Wait.

What did that just say?

Flame Bear Seasoned Meat?

It felt like an invisible hammer smashed into my skull.

Hold on.

That means… that corpse was a Flame Bear?!

I had just committed cannibalism?!

…No, wait, hang on.

Sure, my mother and siblings were Flame Bears, but I wasn’t.

I was a different species entirely!

Phew. 

Thank goodness.

Not cannibalism after all.

The weight crushing my head vanished, and the shock faded quickly.

And it probably wasn’t a relative either.

That thing was likely just some low-level Flame Bear I’d never met.

There was no way my family got taken down by those ant things.

Not unless Woorami  and Jjokkomi went hunting alone.

But they always stuck close to Mom.

…Then again, Jjokkomi did sneak off to visit me without telling Mom.

Still, that didn’t mean she’d been killed.

If something had happened, Mom would’ve roared in sorrow for hours.

But her cries had stopped not long after she went searching for her cub.

That meant they had safely reunited.

So yeah—zero chance that corpse was Jjokkomi.

Absolutely not. 

Not in a million years!

I had just calmed down from that mental spiral when a new message appeared.

【Flame Bear Seasoned Meat】

┗ Grants +3 Power temporarily if fully consumed.

┗ Effects from the same dish do not stack.

┗ Taste not guaranteed.