Gourmet Gaming

Baran, the coachman, trembled in fear as he watched the incoming monsters narrow the distance between them. The monsters that appeared wore shabby armor, carrying a shield in one hand, a rusted and chipped sword on the other, their long, snake-like tongue slithering from their mouths. These monsters were none other than the Level 90 Lizard Men.

"Kikikik!" 

"Kikikik!" 

"O, of all the times to appear, they chose to appear today…" 

The cases of Lizard Men appearing in this area were usually infrequent. It was so rare that the people in town compared them to a bolt out of the blue. However, they just happened to appear now of all times…!

'That woman named Lucia is not here right now, and that young man…' 

‘Wasn’t he just a chef?’

"Hihihing!" The white horse that pulled their carriage neighed loudly in fear, feet stomping the ground to hint anyone close by that there was danger. Then, the young man suddenly came out of the thicket. Baran quickly gestured to the young man.

'Run away, now!' 

Baran was very fond of this young man. Most of the foreigners that rode his carriage were either rude, or thoughtless. Although he was a part of the game setting, in this world, Baran had lost his wife and child a few years ago. That was also the reason why Baran had always felt like he  was seeing his son whenever he came across young men out from the streets. 

The same could be said for the young man that rode his carriage. There was also the fact that the young man always smiled brightly and happily at him. Although he knew that the foreigners would come back to life after dying in this world, Baran still hoped that no harm would come to the boy. Besides, no foreigner would willingly sacrifice themselves for him. However, contrary to his expectations, the young man pulled the sword out from his waist.

Shiiiing! 

"I told you to run away! I'll draw their attention, so run!" Baran shouted. Still, the man rushed forward. And…

Swoosh! 

Stab! 

"Kikikiik?!" 

A dark figure flashed in front of one of the Lizard Men, stabbing it straight through its chest.

Flutter! 

It slowly turned to ashes and disappeared as if it had not existed. Lucia had somehow already come out of the carriage and pulled up her mask, showing only her big and wide eyes.

Shiiing—

Lucia took out the other dagger that she kept on the other side of the waist, before saying, "Mr. Coachman, Minhyuk, it’s better for you to stay still since it’s dangerous." 

"B, but... these guys are Level 90. There are three of them too…" Baran stammered. Before he could even finish his words…

Dash!

…Lucia was already up in the air. One of the Lizard Men stabbed its sword towards Lucia aiming for her chest.

Stab! 

But then…

Poof! 

…Lucia’s body scattered in smoke. It seemed like what was struck was just a piece of wood covered with an illusion of her image. Then, Lucia’s hands suddenly appeared from the Lizard Man’s shadow. She swiped her dagger and cut off the Lizard Man’s legs.

Flutter! 

Another Lizard Man turned into ashes as Lucia disappeared into the shadows once again. Then, her dagger appeared from one of the remaining Lizard Men’s shadows. She stabbed the Lizard Man’s vital points that were only visible to her, which were its throat, chest, flank and thighs.

[You have dealt a critical hit.]

[You have dealt a critical hit.] 

[...critical hit.] 

Three out of four of her stabs were fatal, resulting in the Lizard Man’s death. Lucia did not miss the opportunity as she rushed towards the last Lizard Man, stabbing it in the neck with her dagger.

Stab! 

Spurt! 

Lucia pulled out her dagger and let out a deep exhale.

"Phew, are you alright?" 

Flop!

Baran’s legs softened as he fell down on his butt. Meanwhile, Minhyuk looked at them blankly from a bit further away. Seeing his gaze, Lucia felt a bit awkward. So, she raised her fingers to her face and made a V-sign and asked, "Was I cool?" 

"Ooooooh—" Minhyuk shouted as she ran towards them.

Startled, Lucia took a step back. However, it seemed like Minhyuk was not looking at her, but at something at the foot of the tree behind her. He ran straight towards it, reaching out for the mushrooms growing at its roots. Minhyuk said, "There's a mushroom here too! Wow! This one tastes like enoki mushrooms!" 

"Was I not cool?!" Lucia asked in disappointment, her shoulders dropping. She looked like she wanted to receive his praise.

"Ah~ You're really cool, I'm shocked and totally in awe. I will kneel down in admiration~" Minhyuk said in a completed disinterested tone. 

Lucia grinned and thought, ‘He’s really interesting…’ Then she said, "You tried to fight even though you’re a chef?" 

"I can fight well," Minhyuk said. Lucia just chuckled. She knew that he was very close to the coachman, so she had assumed that Minhyuk tried to take a huge risk for the NPC. But to Lucia, it just sounded like a joke. 

'It's not good to get close to NPCs like that,' She thought. Lucia felt that it was better for him to keep his distance. What would he even get for sacrificing himself for them? 

'Well, that’s also his charm?' 

In fact, Lucia firmly believed that with the limitations of a chef, Minhyuk’s power was only similar to a Level 50 warrior.

***

The carriage was almost arriving at the Imperial Palace. Baran entered the carriage only to see Minhyuk mixing his bowl diligently. It was the bibimbap[1] that Minhyuk had made from the vegetables and mushrooms that he had picked on their way. Baran’s drool dripped down from the smell of the fragrant sesame oil. Even Lucia was biting her spoon and grabbing her belly in hunger. Both of them gulped their saliva down.

“Alright. This one’s for Miss Lucia, and this one’s for Mister Coachman.”

"Give me a bit more." 

"No. You'll gain weight." 

"...We don’t gain weight here, right? Besides, I can afford to gain some weight, I'm skinny." 

"No, no. I'm really worried about Lucia, that's why I can't give you any more," Minhyuk said. Of course it was just Minhyuk’s lie. 

“Then, why do you have ten fried eggs in your bowl? We should share equally!”

"It's because I'm fat. Hooray for being fat!" Minhyuk said, swaying his shoulders to a beat. Lucia shook her head in defeat.

Right next to Minhyuk’s bowl of bibimbap was a bowl of dried radish stem. He bought this before he left the village. There was also some dried radish stem soup, made with soybean paste next to it. Dried radish stem soup with soybean paste was the perfect partner for bibimbap.

Minhyuk quickly scooped a big spoonful of bibimbap and put it in his mouth. The taste was not too salty nor too bland, just perfect. The bibimbap looked quite good with the red chili paste and sesame oil mixed perfectly with the rice. The savory aroma and flavor of the sesame oil greeted Minhyuk’s senses, whetting his appetite. 

Then, the spicy flavor of the red chili paste spread slowly in his mouth creating a beautiful harmony with the various flavors of the vegetables, eggs and rice mixed in his rice. A sip of soup beside him could easily relieve his throat of the dryness and greasiness of the food.

While they ate bibimbap, Baran commented, "Boy, not only do you love eating, you're also really good at cooking!" 

"Thank you very much!" 

"By any chance, do you know about the Barras Kingdom?" 

"Barras Kingdom..." Lucia mumbled when she heard Baran’s words.

"What kind of place is it?" 

"It’s a kingdom of production classes. Places like Blacksmith Tower, Chef Tower, Farmer Tower and even Sculptor Tower are there.”

"Oho." 

"And…" Lucia said, grinning at Minhyuk. “...It's a place filled with delicious things." 

Minhyuk was so shocked that his spoon stopped moving.

“It’s a given. After all, that place is filled with chefs. From what I heard, they also give out a lot of food quests in the kingdom. So, plenty of chefs go there to get plenty of ingredients.” 

"Wow... That’s practically heaven on earth," Minhyuk said. 

Then, Baran continued, "There's this blacksmith that I used to work with living there, his name is Ron." 

Baran started talking about a blacksmith. But Minhyuk just ate his bibimbap, not interested in a blacksmith. 

"I heard that Ron provides special ingredients that are otherwise very hard to get." 

Lucia was shocked. She thought, 'Q, quest...!'. The most surprising thing was that it was not a simple quest, but a quest with special rewards.

"Ooooooh!" Minhyuk shouted, showing great interest immediately.

"Why don't you go there and meet with Ron?" 

[Linked Quest: Meet the Blacksmith Ron.]

Rank: D

Requirements: Mastery of Cooking Skills, Baran's favorability. 

Rewards: 5,000 EXP

Penalty for Failure: None. 

Description: Baran recommended this quest to you after hearing news about his colleague, Ron, a blacksmith.

"Yes, I'll go and meet with him." 

"The Barras Kingdom is not that far from the Emperor's City, so you will get there quickly." 

"Yes!" Minhyuk answered. He smiled happily after receiving the quest while thinking, 'What kind of ingredients will it be? Chicken? Beef? Pork? Or… don't tell me… Duck?!' 

He was already picturing the various ingredients in his head. Meanwhile…

"Why don’t I have a quest too? Mister Coachman, I was the one who saved you, you know?" 

"He’s a weak chef but he still risked his life for me.” 

"I'm a fragile woman too." 

"...You should have some conscience." 

Eventually, the carriage arrived in Emperor’s City.

***

Minhyuk went back to munching on sweet potatoes. Lucia looked at him and hesitated before asking, "Are we… Are we going to meet again?" 

Chew, chew. "Maybe?" 

"You really have no interest in me at all, even until the very end." 

"Yes?" Minhyuk asked. He had not heard her well since she talked in a small voice. He tried asking her again, but Lucia just shook her head and smiled bitterly. 

"It's nothing. Let's add each other as friends?" 

"Sure. Let's do that." 

[Lucia is asking to add you as a friend.] 

[Yes / No] 

"Yes," Minhyuk said, nodding his head as he looked at Lucia’s information in his Friend Window. 

[Lucia] 

Lucia’s information did not show her class or level. There was an option where players could hide their classes and levels by disabling them in the settings. Minhyuk had also disabled this part in his settings.

"See you next time," Lucia said, turning around and walking towards the city. Minhyuk looked at her for a while, before logging out of the game. However, Lucia suddenly stopped walking and turned back to look at him.

"Tsk...!" Lucia clicked her tongue, her expression suddenly filled with regret.

***

Radem was an NPC and a member of the Phoenix Knight Order. He was personally appointed by the empress to oversee and manage the tournament’s preliminary rounds. Right now, his face was filled with disbelief as he said, "Lucia. This foreigner, what in the world…!" 

Radem was quite shocked at the report that he received. There were three gates set up for the preliminary rounds. Anyone who could pass through all three gates within thirty minutes would pass the preliminary rounds. The preliminary round that they had set this time was intricate and difficult so they could unearth strong and talented foreigners. However, right now, Lucia was breaking through all the gates at a ridiculous pace. 

"14 minutes and 31 seconds?" 

Their estimated time of completion for the fastest player was only around 17 minutes. However, Lucia had surpassed that time easily. She quickly disappeared after confirming her advancement to the finals.

"Ho... it seems like that's all I can really say." 

However, Radem still thought, 'Let's see if I could recommend her to the Phoenix Knight Order.' 

This was also the reason why he, a member of the Phoenix Knight Order, was sent here. They wanted to scout and raise talented foreigners to join their ranks.

"Hiyaa, how can he… Wow…"

Radem was still watching Lucia's battle videos through a magic crystal ball when a sudden shout of exclamation rang in the office. Then, Hamel opened the door and rushed in. Hamel was the one in charge of escorting every single foreigner that joined the tournament. He was also in charge of observing them and giving them scores. 

"A… another special foreigner has appeared!" 

Radem has already told Hamel in advance to report to him if there were any special foreigners that appeared in the tournament. It was necessary so they could raise plenty of talents in the palace. 

"...Is that so? What's his record?"

However, he still looked uninterested as he continued to watch Lucia's videos. 

"29 minutes and 57 seconds." 

Radem frowned when he heard his words. He said, "Are you kidding me?! 29 minutes and 57 seconds?! He just barely managed to get in, and you're saying he's a special foreigner?!" 

"Yes, he's a special foreigner," Hamel said as he nodded furiously, before continuing, "He killed an Arcus in two hits." 

"...What?!" Radem asked, standing up in shock, "What did you say? Explain it to me quickly." 

Radem could not believe Halem’s words. Arcus were monsters at Level 80, but their power and strength were far higher than their levels. Hamel quickly activated the magic crystal ball that he had brought. 

[Next, please.] 

The images in the video started to appear. A player appeared in the crystal ball, a paper cup in his hand. The player kept on sipping the cup when he suddenly screamed out.

[Aaaaack!] 

[What's wrong? Are there any problems?]

Hamel asked him urgently. 

[I drank all of my sweet potato latte... Hnngh!] 

The man fell on his knees as if he had lost his strength. Seeing this, Radem looked at Hamel suspiciously. Hamel had no choice but to defend himself. He said, "He really is a special foreigner!" 

"..." 

"Sigh, this is giving me a headache," Radem said, supporting his forehead with his hand. 

"He's really special that he's even making my head hurt this much, Hamel… P… please keep on watching. Do you think I would just say this just because?" 

"...Hmm," Radem hummed and nodded. He knew that Hamel was not someone who would lie, so he was curious about what he had really witnessed.

1. Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with various vegetables or kimchi (traditional fermented vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste), soy sauce. A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The hot dish is stirred together thoroughly just before eating. ☜