Gourmet Gaming

[All skills and abilities related to DEX will improve by 40%.]

It was literally a sharp increase in his stats. Originally, there was only a 10% improvement for every 100-point increase in DEX. However, it suddenly increased to 40% once he reached the 1000-point mark. In other words, if the power of Minhyuk’s skills and abilities related to DEX were originally at 10, then they would have the power of 20. That was not the end of the notifications.

[A special privilege will be generated for a random skill picked out from your skills and abilities related to DEX. Skills and abilities related to your Food God class will be excluded from the random picking.]

[The Novice Bandage has been randomly selected.]

[You can now view the Sealed Privilege.]

Minhyuk quickly opened the Novice Bandage Skill.

(Novice Bandage)

Passive Skill

Level: 4

Effects:

•Wound and injury recovery +1.8% +1%

•+0.6 times acceleration on the slow recovery pace.

Sealed Privilege: Material Restoration

‘Huh? Material restoration?’

Minhyuk looked at it with a strange look, before clicking on it. Fortunately, it opened without a hitch despite its description saying that it was sealed.

(Material Restoration)

Special Privilege

Effects: It can restore all materials and ingredients that have been spoiled, inedible or damaged such as bruised fruit, meat that was left out at room temperature, or even spoiled milk.

Minhyuk’s hands trembled when he read the effects. He thought, ‘Wow...! This is really good!’

The special privilege that he got for the Novice Bandage skill was truly awesome. Every day, people would buy fresh fruits, milk, and meat. However, over time and with improper storage, these fresh items would eventually have bruises, go bad, or eventually rot. 

However, the special privilege that he received could allow him to return these ingredients to their peak state. In order for him to do so, he would need to be at the intermediate level in his bandaging skill. 

The special privilege had been randomly generated for one of the skills among his entire repertoire of skills and abilities that were related to DEX, with the exclusion of his Food God related skills. However, Minhyuk did not know if it would happen again in the future. After he finished checking everything, Minhyuk was left deep in thought.

‘I can’t believe that he cried while he was eating...!’ Ron thought. He had never seen anyone quite like him in all of the years that he’d been alive. He said, “Boy, you must really like food.”

“Hehe, that’s right!” Minhyuk answered. He nodded vigorously, as though answering in agreement was not enough to show his love for food.

“Actually, there’s this legend that has been going around since long ago.”

“A legend?” Minhyuk asked, nose twitching at the smell of another quest.

Ron shook his head at him and chuckled gently. He said, “There’s a mine, Bretley Mines, near the vicinity of the Barras Kingdom, and it’s said that inside the mines, there grows a chocolate tree that will never wither.”

“...Cho…chocolate tree? Did you say chocolate tree?!”

“Chocolate?!”

Both Minhyuk and Hyeminnie reacted at the same time to the word chocolate. Ron shook his head helplessly as he explained it to them seriously. He said, “Yeah. They said that no matter how much chocolate you eat from the tree, there will always be chocolate the next day. I don’t know if this counts as proof, but if you go and mine in the Bretley Mines, you can dig up iron ores and sometimes, you will be able to dig up chocolate ores along with the iron ores.”

“Wow!”

“Woooow!”

Minhyuk and Hyeminnie both let out gasps of admiration. Minhyuk’s mind started to wander. He thought, ‘If I eat a lot today, chocolate will still grow the next day...!’

Today, he could eat the chocolate alone. Tomorrow, he could melt the chocolate and eat it like the devil’s jam, Nutella! He could also make choco pie with the chocolate and eat it deliciously!

“Chocolate... If you freeze it... then, it would be the best.”

Minhyuk and Hyeminnie both licked their lips and gulped down their saliva, lost in their chocolate fantasies. Hyeminnie suddenly said, “No! Chocolate tastes better if it’s melted. It’s more delicious if you suck the chocolate on each finger after every bite!”

“That’s good too!”

“Hehe!”

Ron interjected in their conversation. He said, “The most important thing is that the chocolate tree still has many abilities that are way beyond what anyone can imagine. I think one of the skills was ‘Cure Someone at The Brink of Death.’ or so I’ve heard?”

“Ooooooh.”

“There’s a miner named Leton. Boy, why don’t you go and meet with him?”

Ring!

[Quest: Confirm the details of the Legend of the Chocolate Tree with the Miner Leton.]

Rank:  ???

Requirements: Favor with Ron.

Rewards: 6,000 Blacksmithing Proficiency Points

Penalty for Failure: Will not be able to determine the existence of the Chocolate Tree.

Description: There’s a legend about the Chocolate Tree handed down from the Bretley Mines. This is the chance to find things out about it. Meet with the Miner Leton!

“Poopy piggy, since you ate all of my chocolate, you should also let Hyeminnie taste the Chocolate Tree, okay?!”

Minhyuk hesitated for a brief moment, but he smiled and nodded at Hyeminnie. He said, “Sure!”

“Hehe!”

Hyeminnie recently gave Minhyuk some ABD chocolates. Those chocolates were the first chocolates he had ever eaten after so many years. It was something that he could not eat no matter how much money or things he had in real life. Hyemin’sDaddy called Minhyuk their benefactor but for Minhyuk, perhaps, Hyeminnie was his benefactor.

‘Chocolate tree... Let’s get it!’ Minhyuk thought, but he needed to log-out soon. It was time for his exercise.

***

Minhyuk followed Changwook to the swimming pool as soon as he got out of the capsule to exercise. As soon as he finished exercising, he sat down on a chair and rested for a while. He then started to browse through Athenae’s official website as he munched on his cherry tomatoes, searching for Bretley Mines.

[Is it true that chocolate ore comes out together with the iron ore in Bretley Mines?

gadad624: Yes, it’s true. Something like that has been found in the Barras Kingdom.

AMasterLaborer: It’s because the Barras Kingdom is a treasure trove and a place for production classes. The chocolate ores are used by chefs in a recipe, most of them were sold by blacksmith class players, who dig up iron ores, to chefs and chocolatiers.

Lucie’sHeart: There are a lot of those kinds of things in the Barras Kingdom. You can even learn bandage wrapping from a mob in there, and whenever you treat a monster with it, you will even get iron ore as a drop. Then you can sell the iron ore to a blacksmith. There are a lot of quests like this in that place.]

Minhyuk finally confirmed that chocolate did come from the mines. There would be someone who even asked ‘Is this thing special?’ at least once. The Barras Kingdom, where Minhyuk is currently located, was like the home for all of the production classes. If fishermen could even receive bandages just by fishing, then blacksmiths could also receive chocolate while mining for iron, an ingredient used for cooking. A painter could also sell sculpting materials that he received from completing a painting to a sculptor from the next town. 

In other words, the system allowed the players to learn about trading and transactions. However, just by looking at it, he could tell that chocolate was something that they most likely neglected from the drops or loot they got through hard labor.

[Frankly speaking, I think the worst thing that can come out of the Bretley Mines is the chocolate...

Miner’sSpittingSaliva: Same. In all honesty, I think the miners are the ones who have the hardest time getting materials... It’s really hard to break those rocks so this uncle is telling you to stop choosing this work ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I beg you, we’re already short on materials... And there’s also a penalty once you choose the miner class, so I hope that you don’t...

gkad5126: Being a miner is really too hard for any person... thumbs down. I don’t think there’s someone crazy enough to choose the miner’s class just so they could eat chocolate.]

Minhyuk was confused. So, he turned to Changwook and asked, “Hyung.”

“Huh?”

“There’s a weird guy here. Why are they saying that it’s crazy to become a miner just because they want to eat chocolate? Isn’t this person strange?” Minhyuk said as he twirled his hand beside his head, it seemed like he really thought that the person was weird.

“Y…yeah. That person is weird. Ha, hahaha!”

“Why are you laughing like that?”

“No, nothing... Are you going to work as a miner so you can eat chocolate?”

“Yes.”

“...”

Changwook scratched his cheek. In fact, mining was a really tough class. No other class could even compare. Because of that, the mine itself was neglected and dismissed by many players. Even though it seemed that some blacksmiths would go and mine in there, they would also dismiss the idea soon after, walking away. There were plenty of other mines outside Barras Kingdom, with better minerals and much better treatment for miners, compared to the Bretley Mines.

“You’re really going to mine just because you want to eat chocolate?”

“Yes!”

“Not for the minerals and ores?”

“Of course. What’s the use of minerals when I can’t even eat them?”

“Goo…good luck...” Changwook said. He shook his head in defeat.

Minhyuk turned to look at him and asked, “Ah, that’s right. Hyung. Do you know Hyemin’sDaddy?”

“Isn’t that somebody’s father?”

“No, it’s a nickname.”

“I don’t know?”

“Then, do you know about the Dragon Sword?”

“Hey, of course I know! Does it even make sense for someone who plays Athenae to not know about the Dragon Sword?!” Changwook exclaimed, his expression screaming as if it was the natural course of things.

Dragon Sword was the artifact that was sold with the highest auction price ever! There were even rumors that the man who made the artifact was hailed as the number one in the unofficial Blacksmith Rankings. In fact, even players of Athenae from overseas were interested in the Dragon Sword.

“The guy who made that said that he would make an artifact for me.”

“R…really? Is that the Hyemin’sDaddy person you were talking about earlier?”

“Yes.”

“...What did you ask him to make you? Huh? A sword would be great. A sword with a dragon motif! Waaah, it’s so cool even just imagining it. Wow! Or is it a shield? Invincible shield! Can defend against anything! Kyaa, I’m really jealous...”

“But, I asked him to make me a frying pan though?”

“That’s right. A frying pan is really coo...” Changwook stopped. He rubbed his ears hard. For a moment, Changwook thought that he might have misheard Minhyuk.

“W…what...?”

“I asked him to make me a frying pan. Hehe. He even readily accepted my difficult request.”

“B…by any chance… Did he look like he wanted to beat you with a frying pan?”

“Actually, come to think of it, he had tears in his eyes.”

Changwook suddenly felt a sense of camaraderie with Hyemin’sDaddy. He thought, ‘You were dumbfounded, right...? Every. Single. Day. I feel this sense of loss and dumbfoundedness too.’

Without knowing what was going through his mind and heart, Minhyuk just continued to talk, “Frying pan. I can’t wait for it!” 

***

Horden Guild’s Brony was known as Lee Sangmin in real life. Before he accessed the game, he thought, ‘I think I have 30 minutes until the appointment?’ 

It was the appointment with Kald, who contacted him not too long ago! He asked them to meet at the Barras Kingdom. Their meeting place was a shabby inn located in the kingdom. Since he still had the time, he went and approached his father who was reading the newspaper. He was reminded of Kang Minhyuk when he PK-ed and robbed a player that looked like him.

“Dad.”

“What’s wrong, did you have another fight?!” His father asked, scolding him from the get-go! This just showed how much fighting accidents and trouble Lee Sangmin had gotten into despite his age.

“N…no. It’s not that. I was just curious about something.”

“You’re curious? I can’t believe that there’s something that you’re curious about in your life. This lowly one is very thrilled.”

“...”

“Why?”

“...No, nothing,” Lee Sangmin said. He suddenly realized what sorrow truly was. Then he carefully asked his father, “Do you remember Kang Minhyuk? The guy who took my money.”

“Of course I remember. Didn’t he rip you off of your money together with your friends? Weren’t there at least twenty people begging for forgiveness from him after he hit you? I, your dad, even wanted to remove you from the family register at that time, but I endured it out of pity.”

Lee Sangmin was completely dumbfounded. For a moment, Lee Sangmin even wondered if he was just a child picked up from the streets by his stinking father. Why was he hitting him with all these facts like that?

“But Dad, you told me back then… Don’t ever touch him again if you don’t want our house to fall down in ruins. How would he do that? No, I mean… Just what did his dad do that could even make you so scared?”

His father placed his newspaper down as he heaved a huge sigh. He said, “True, it has been a long time. Anyway, you’re old enough to not talk around so foolishly. Right?”

“Ah, yes. Well, I have grown up.”

“I’d like to believe so. Even the next door neighbor’s stinking dog has grown up… Anyway.”

Lee Sangmin’s dad looked around for a moment and asked, “What brand of mobile phone are you using?”

“It’s from Ilhwa Group.”

“Your laptop?”

“Ilhwa Group.”

“The TV in front of us right now?”

“The TV is from Ilhwa, right?”

Ilhwa Group! There was no household that this group did not reach. Even the groceries are from Ilhwa! Household appliances? Ilhwa! There was even a saying, ‘Everything is from Ilhwa Group’. However, why was his father asking him about these things?

Lee Sangmin was already getting frustrated, and urged, “Argh. Why do you keep on asking me about this nonsense?”

“It’s not nonsense. Even this lowly one still can't believe it, to this day.”

“Huh? What are you saying?”

At his question, his father grinned at him mockingly and said, “That child’s father is Kang Minhoo, the President of Ilhwa Group.” 

“...”