Gourmet Gaming

[Party: You have acquired 5.02 million gold.]

“Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower...?” Rovan wondered aloud. Although Minhyuk was the one interested in it, Rovan was the one that received the item. Rovan had already heard about the Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower and thought, ‘I heard that it’s a great medicinal item with an abysmal drop rate.’

For items like medicines or medicinal ingredients, monsters would sometimes drop them, but it was a very rare occurrence. Rovan immediately checked the information of the Tuber Fleeceflower.

(Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower)

Material Grade: Medicine

Special Abilities:

•WIS +100

•Magical Defense +50

Description: This is a Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower that tastes a lot like radish. You will immediately feel the great effects from this tuber fleeceflower that has sucked up mana for a thousand years the moment you eat it. This tuber fleeceflower is much more delicious than ordinary radishes.

‘Ho, a +100 on WIS? And there’s also a +50 on magical defense?’

The +50 on magical defense was by no means a small addition to the player’s power. Magical defense was a stat that was extremely valuable. In fact, for the sake of increasing their magical defense, low-leveled players would spend a large amount of gold to purchase a unique artifact called the Anti-Magic Ring. The Anti-Magic Ring was a valuable artifact that could increase the magical defense by 50. However, this medicine was something that was more amazing and more valuable compared to that ring.

‘All players are not allowed to wear two armors.’

That was literally what it meant. Just like in the case of armor, players could also only wear one artifact of each kind on their body. Of course, rings and accessories were exceptions to this rule, and medicine was something that could not be worn but ‘used’ and applied to the player. Whether you eat 10 or 100 of this medicine, you would not be restricted by the rules of the game. This was also one of the reasons why many players were overly enthusiastic about these famous medicines. In all honesty, this Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower would be ten times more valuable than the Anti-Magic Ring if it was known and released to the public.

At that moment, Minhyuk quickly approached Rovan. He asked, “How is it? Did it say that it’s delicious? What does a Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower taste like?”

Rovan looked between the excited Minhyuk and the Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower. After thinking for a moment, he handed the Tuber Fleeceflower over to Minhyuk and said, “Here.”

“...Eh?”

“Please have it. Hehe,” Rovan grinned as he handed it to Minhyuk.

In fact, Minhyuk was already prepared to pay half of the price if he managed to convince Rovan to split it in half. However, Rovan gave it to him willingly, so Minhyuk misunderstood him. He asked, “How much do I owe you?”

“You don’t have to pay me. Hey, you can just eat it if you want.”

“OMG? Really?”

“Yes,” Rovan said. To be honest, Rovan did not do much when they were hunting the Golden Duck. At first, he thought that it would be alright for him to join the fight as long as he did not get in Minhyuk’s way, but in the end, it turned out that he did not even help that much. This could count as an apology for that.

Minhyuk received the Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower with a bright smile on his face. He looked at Rovan and said, “Wow! Thank you so much! I’ll eat it well!”

“That 100 WIS is really a lot. There’s no artifact in the world that could increase your WIS by 100. And there’s also the magical defense… Hey! what are you doing?” Rovan stopped his explanation and burst out when he saw Minhyuk suddenly pull out radishes from his inventory and started slicing them up. Minhyuk and Rovan’s gazes met as both of them paused. Rovan scratched his head in embarrassment as he kept quiet and watched Minhyuk. In that awkward atmosphere, Minhyuk continued to do what he was doing.

Swoooooooosh!

Minhyuk peeled the Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower and washed it with water.

“Arghhh!” Rovan grabbed his hair in frustration. How could this madman just peel and cut a precious Thousand-Year-Old Tuber Fleeceflower like a normal radish?! He exclaimed, “N…no! Hey, you shouldn’t do that to a medicine! Aaaaack! We’re in big trouble. Big trouble! That’s hundreds of millions of won in cash!”

“I have a special skill so I can cook medicine in a dish and make it work.”

“R…really?” Rovan stopped in his tracks, turning to stare at Minhyuk in surprise.

“But what are you going to do with it?”

“Crunchy radish kimchi! It sounds delicious, right?”

The moment he heard his words, Rovan stared at him blankly. He said, “This radish kimchi crazy bas...”

“Yes? What did you say?”

“N…nothing. Cough. Hmm,” Rovan quickly covered his words with a cough. Since he already gave the Tuber Fleeceflower to Minhyuk, he had no say on what Minhyuk wanted to do with it. However, he still felt that Minhyuk was crazy and not in his right mind.

Then, Minhyuk said, “I think this radish kimchi would taste delicious with some blood sausage soup.”

‘Huh?

‘Did I just hear that the Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower radish kimchi would be delicious with blood sausage soup?’

Nod, nod—

When Rovan thought about it, he felt that perhaps it was really not a bad thing to eat the Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower radish kimchi with blood sausage soup? It seemed that Rovan had now completely adjusted himself and grasped Minhyuk’s attitude and beliefs.

***

Hilton and the guild members of Ares Guild roamed around Shrieking Hills. They believed that they could easily find the people they were looking for.

‘Do you know where the player with the frying pan on his back is?’

Once they found that player, it was already the same as finding their target. The players that Hilton asked would always tell him, ‘Ah, the Frying Pan Killer? He went that way.’

Frying Pan Killer? Hilton did not care whether it was an inside joke among the players in Shrieking Hills or not, all he needed to do was to follow their instructions and he would be able to find them. Right now, they found their target and the Frying Pan Killer sitting around an earthenware pot. When Hilton looked closely, he could see blood sausage rice soup boiling in it. He could even see the pork intestines, the pork head meat, the blood sausage and the rice in the pot. The two of them were eating the steaming blood sausage rice soup with some crunchy and crispy radish kimchi.Then, he saw that the player with the frying pan on his back exclaimed with a “Kyaa!” as he sipped some soup and bit on the radish kimchi.

“The radish kimchi made out of the Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower is really delicious!”

Hilton laughed at the ridiculousness of what he heard. He said, “He made radish kimchi out of the Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower? Who’s crazy enough to do something like that?”

“You’re right. Maybe they’re just joking around?”

Nevertheless, they still watched them eat for a while. They watched the man scoop a spoonful of rice from the soup and place it in his mouth. They could easily imagine the warm and rich flavor of the broth. For some reason, they felt a bit sullen. Somehow, they felt like they wanted to join the two over there. Then, the player with the frying pan grabbed some radish kimchi at the perfect timing. It was just like he knew what everyone wanted to do and was fulfilling their wishes.

“I think I can hear the sound of the crunchy and crispy radish kimchi all the way over here.”

“Wow, they look like they’re really enjoying that delicious blood sausage rice soup...”

They have completely forgotten about why they came here and just immersed themselves in watching the mukbang. They were now watching the frying pan player tilt the pot up as he slurped the rest of the blood sausage rice soup. The man had eaten so much rice soup, but he still finished the leftover radish kimchi. It seemed like the pots and plates did not need to be washed with how clean they were. Then, other guild members appeared right beside Hilton.

“I think we’re enough to deal with them. You naughty kids!”

“He’s the number one ranker in Versal. This is a great opportunity to feel a sense of satisfaction in beating up Rovan, right?”

At first, only seven people had set off. However, after hearing the news that they would be able to beat up and kill Rovan, more guild members flocked towards Shrieking Hills, increasing their total to 25.

“Shit. You look like a gangster. Only five people should go over, the rest of you go block their path of retreats.”

“We understand.”

All of them nodded their heads once they heard Hilton’s orders. At that moment, a whisper from Ares popped out.

[Ares: Hilton, is Rovan there?]

[Hilton: Ah, yes, guild master. We just found him.]

[Ares: What is he doing right now? He was called the ‘Crazy Hunter’ in Versal because he could hunt non-stop. Is he doing the same right now?]

Hilton casted a sidelong glance to where the two of them were located as he tried to answer this overly eager question.

[Hilton: They are eating blood sausage rice soup.]

[Ares: ...Huh?]

[Hilton: They are eating blood sausage rice soup together with a self-proclaimed radish kimchi made with the Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower. We think that the Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower is just a joke and they were just saying it for fun.]

[Ares: A Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower radish kimchi? That’s some strange joke.You should talk to him as much as possible and get him to our side. You know this, right?]

[Ares: Of course. Ah, the Ninth Attack Team and most of the Eighth Team are here.]

[Ares: Yes. Just in case, I also told them to log in. Are they all logged in because they wanted to kill Rovan?]

[Hilton: Yes. Their hands are all itching.]

[Ares: First of all, focus on persuading him.]

[Hilton: Please rest assured!]

[Ares: Let me know if it does not work, alright?]

Hilton knew the meaning of ‘Let me know if it did not work, alright?’. Once Rovan refused them, they would immediately PK him right there and then. An infinite PK for Rovan will start from there. They slowly moved. It was time to approach the player with the frying pan and Rovan, who had just finished eating their blood sausage rice soup and radish kimchi.

***

Minhyuk had already met all the requirements and conditions for the quest that he received from Kemil. Then, together with Rovan, he cooked and ate some blood sausage rice soup and made radish kimchi with the Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower.

[You have eaten a Radish Kimchi made with the Thousand-Year-Old Tuber Fleeceflower.]

[Food God’s Greatness.]

[You have ignored the medicine penalty. However, it still remains ineffective for other people.]

[A Medicine Cooking. You have obtained additional stats.]

[You have gained +111 WIS and +60 Magical Defense.]

Minhyuk smiled in satisfaction. The radish kimchi made with the Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower was truly delicious. Usually, radish kimchi made with common radishes would not be delicious if it was eaten right away, but the radish kimchi made with the Thousand-year-old Tuber Fleeceflower was different. It was eaten right away, and yet, it tasted like radish kimchi that was made and stored for quite a long time. It was spicy, sour, savory and definitely ripe.         Just as they finished eating, Minhyuk saw some players heading towards where they were. He could see that Rovan was wary of them.

‘Ares Guild...!’

Rovan recently saw in the guild chat that Ares Guild was trying to chase and hunt Legend Guild. So, he said, “Minhyuk. If you ever find yourself in a dangerous situation, quickly run away. I’ll take care of it, so don’t worry.”

“Eh?”

Not long after, the seven players stood right in front of them. At the forefront was Hilton. He was carrying quite a pretty set of dual swords. He said, “Hello, I’m Hilton.”

He politely bowed his head towards them. Rovan nodded his head in acknowledgment as he looked at the surroundings. He thought, ‘There’s more than 20 people... damn it.’

Rovan’s eyes narrowed sharply. He was wondering if they gathered to kill him? Or?

“Should I tell it to you bluntly or do you want to talk over some drinks?”

“It’s good to be straight-forward and blunt.”

“Our Ares Guild wants to recruit you, Rovan. You were a legend in Versal. The tireless hunter. Rovan, the Crazy Hunter.”

“Hiyaa. There’s someone who still remembers me from that screwed-up game? As you can see, right now I am...” Rovan said. He shrugged his shoulders lightly as if to indicate that he was just an insignificant player. Before they even came, he had already canceled and took off all his artifacts and he was only wearing a sloppy sword and armor. Then, he continued to say, “I’m just playing games to have fun.”

However, Rovan quickly turned on his guild chat that he had previously turned off.

[Guild Chat | Rovan: The Ares Guild has come for me. It’s something like a declaration of war.]

[Guild Master Genie: Hmm...]

Genie was silent for a moment.

“Aha. Is that so? You look like you were wearing some fancy armor and a bright red sword earlier. It looks like it’s a bit too fancy and valuable for someone who’s just playing for fun. If you come to our guild, we will equip you with the unique Brilliant Armor set and Baroque’s Sword. We will also support you and allow you to hunt in the Undead’s Forest hunting ground. We will also give you hundreds of millions as your salary per month. This was something that the Ares’ GM has told me to relay to you,” Hilton said, smiling darkly as he put forth their proposal.

Meanwhile, Rovan was looking at his reactivated guild chat window.

[Guild Master Genie: Do whatever you want, Rovan.]

[Guild Chat | Rovan: Really? For real? You won’t regret it?]

[Guild Master Genie: The fact that they approached you meant that they’re already declaring war against us. We’re going to start occupying a territory and marking our place here in Athenae. But, are you sure that you can walk out of there safely? Do you want me to send you some backup? Ah, you’re in Shrieking Hills...]

They would not be able to send him enough backup since their level would not be appropriate, nor will they be able to enter the field. Not long after, Genie said…

[Guild Master Genie: What kind of player are you with?]