Leveling Up through Eating

“Shabu-shabu……” 

Rald smiled a bit when he heard his words.

Shabu-shabu and sushi were surprisingly a good combination. The soup of shabu-shabu usually had a dull color but as it was boiled over time its color tended to go darker and more flavorful. And Minhyuk who had visited a sushi buffet restaurant back in the day had always seen shabu-shabu being served.

‘Eating sushi and shabu-shabu? Kgghk!’

He didn’t let out any exclamation, but the excitement was clear on his face.

“There are enough ingredients. But I don’t think that there will be enough S-ranked ingredients. The ingredients for sushi are easy to get since we are near the Sea of the Dragon King, but the ingredients for shabu-shabu are mostly vegetables so we will have a hard time getting S-ranked ingredients for it.”

“That’s fine. Are you going to get the ingredients?”

“Of course.”

“Wow!”

Minhyuk was truly impressed. Rald smiled widely at him.

‘Ah. He’s such a likeable fellow.’

This was what Rald thought when he interacted with Minhyuk more. In fact, he even felt that he would do anything for him. However, even though Rald was a legendary chef, there wasn’t much that he could do for him. The only thing that he could do was cook delicious food. He couldn’t believe that he was already happy even though Rald said that there were not enough S-ranked ingredients and there were only sub-par ingredients in his kitchen.

“This way.”

“Yes.”

Minhyuk walked with him once they arrived at the restaurant, his body couldn’t help but tremble.

“Heok……!”

There was nothing else that he could do, all he could do was be surprised with the sight in front of him.

The restaurant was located in the palace!

Once he entered the restaurant, he felt like he went to Japan for a vacation. With its dark and subdued atmosphere and with chairs all lined up on the counter, he felt like he truly entered an authentic sushi restaurant.

“His Highness, Varen, also liked to eat sushi. Please sit down and wait for a moment.”

Rald went out for a bit. When he came back he was already holding an armful of ingredients on his bosom.

“I also want to have such a dining area at home.”

Rald smiled at him as he began to prepare the ingredients for the shabu-shabu.

However, at that moment…

“Please wait!”

“Eh?”

“Could you please excuse me for a bit?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll go out for a bit then when I come in please say irasshaimase! Please do it just like this.”

“Huh. Uhmm……? Wh, why?”

Rald was quite flustered.

“I think I would be able to eat it more deliciously that way.”

In Rald’s eyes, Minhyuk was akin to a good-hearted person.

“Is that so? It will be more delicious that way……?”

“……”

“Yes! Please do it like this! Please! Just once!”

“……”

He certainly looked like he was a good-hearted person.

Then, Minhyuk quickly rushed outside before coming back in. And he showed him what he was saying.

“Oh, so there was a sushi restaurant like this in here? Oh. What a nice atmosphere.”

“I, irasshaimase!”

He looked like he was a good man but he was certainly a strange man.

Minhyuk even spoke to him as if they had never seen each other before.

“Hello owner-nim!”

“Yes…… hello……”

“This is my first time coming here. You have such a nice atmosphere going on in here.”

“Is, is that so? I paid great attention to the arrangement of the furniture here. Hahahahaha……!”

“I’ll take, uhm…… your D-course. Oh. Do you also serve shabu-shabu here? I’ll have that one too, please!”

“Yes, I understand.”

Rald chopped the ingredients for shabu-shabu. Then his expression suddenly turned blank.

‘W, what did I just do……?’

He placed the chopped ingredients in front of Minhyuk. There were a variety of vegetables placed on the table which included bean sprouts, cabbage leaves, chilis, button mushrooms, enoki mushrooms and even oyster mushrooms. There were also fresh blue crabs, shrimps and thinly sliced beef off to the side.

Minhyuk quickly took out his portable stove and turned it on with a click. Then, he placed his shabu-shabu pot(?) on top of the open flame.

‘Oh, did he put the pot on the flame already? The pot that God Juis gave him?’

Rald, who was busily preparing the sushi, slightly tilted his head up to look at the said pot. When he saw the item in question, Rald’s body screeched to a halt.

“Hihi! I already boiled the water for the broth earlier~”

The young man in front of him started to season the broth and prepare his shabu-shabu base with the water that he had boiled earlier in the pot(?) that he took out. 

Rald’s body trembled in fear when he saw such a scene.

“Th, that….. Don’t tell me…… That isn’t Ballad’s cup, right?”

“But it is?”

“Keoheok!”

Rald’s legs softened in an instant. He almost collapsed on the spot when he heard the confirmation from Minhyuk.

“The water in Ballad’s cup has strong and mysterious powers. So I’m going to make shabu-shabu with it, kyaa!”

“It’s not ‘Kyaa!’ but ‘Keok!’ instead!”

“Why?”

“B, Ballad’s cup is God’s treasure that has been written in the legends. Such a sacred item……”

“Are we not allowed to boil broth in a sacred item? Please hear me out. Look at this water, doesn’t it look much better than normal water? I’m sure it tastes much better than it too.”

Rald nodded his head. The water in Ballad’s cup was definitely different compared to ordinary water.

“So I put vegetables here, boil it well and make the broth. Then, I can dip the meat and cook in it. Right?”

“Kgghk! Delicio….. No, no! That’s not it!”

“I live to eat so it’s alright if it’s delicious.”

“……”

Minhyuk nodded his head happily as he thought about his perfect theory. He was definitely a good person. But he was also strange, and now it seemed like he was also a bit crazy.

Rald sighed in defeat as he turned around to continue his preparations for the sushi.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk used his scissors to cut up the vegetables and make them smaller before adding them in his shabu-shabu pot. His shabu-shabu was boiling well!

He picked up his spoon and scooped up a spoonful of broth to taste.

“Hoo! Hoo!” 

After cooling it down for a bit, he slowly took a sip from the spoon.

“It needs to be boiled some more.”

Then, what was he supposed to do as he waited for the soup to cook? Simple. He picked up a thinly sliced meat from the side and dipped it in the broth. The red meat of the beef was instantly cooked. He had already prepared the shabu-shabu sauces that included mustard, peanut and chili to the side. Minhyuk personally preferred to dip his shabu-shabu in the chili sauce but he wanted to taste the flavor of the meat without any additional flavor so he did not dip it before placing it in his mouth.

“Wow. It’s soft and it’s melting! It’s melting in my mouth!”

“……”

Rald, who was still busy making sushi, glanced at him.

He saw Minhyuk picking up some vegetables. He took some of each of the vegetables prepared as well as some thinly sliced beef and placed it on his plate. Then, using his chopsticks, he picked up all of the vegetables and meat in one go. The vegetables looked like they had absorbed enough broth since they looked plump and juicy.

‘Once you bite it in your mouth, I’m sure the broth will spread in your mouth.’

And the chili sauce will definitely give a boost to that bland flavor.

As if answering his thoughts, Minhyuk pulled the chili sauce near him, dipped the food in his chopsticks and placed it all in his mouth.

“Kyahaa! Yummy!”

“Keuha! Delicious……”

“……?”

“……”

Rald unknowingly exclaimed as if he had tasted the dish himself. He quickly turned around and prepared the sushi once more. He was so embarrassed that he pretended that nothing had happened earlier.

Then, Minhyuk asked him as he continued to eat his shabu-shabu.

“Please be honest. You want to taste the shabu-shabu made with Ballad’s cup, right?”

Rald was caught in a dilemma.

Did I want a bite? Or a sip of the soup? No, how can I even think of eating shabu-shabu made with Ballad’s cup! I’m not that kind of person!

“Yes.”

“……You understand my feelings!”

“That… Well……”

“Yes. I’ll eat it well!”

“……”

Rald felt sad. He could at least pretend to eat it reluctantly if he suggested it to him but he couldn’t just ask for it himself. He quietly completed the assorted sushi with tears in his eyes. After finishing the assorted sushi, he placed it in front of Minhyuk who was enjoying his shabu-shabu.

“Wow. These colors! It looks so fresh!”

The fish that was added in the sushi all looked fresh and plump. Some sushi would be so disappointing that they did not even have a 1:1 ratio of sushi to rice. On the other hand, Rald’s sushi looked like there were plenty of fish and seafood and was at a perfect ratio with rice. There were 10 pieces of sushi laid in front of him and they all looked appetizing and drool-worthy.

He first picked up a flatfish sushi. The white flesh of the flatfish sushi looked like a long fish tail that was spread on top of the rice. Even though the part that was used in the flatfish sushi was its fin, its texture would be extremely chewy and the taste was definitely fresh. Minhyuk placed some wasabi in his soy sauce, dipped the sushi in it and placed it in his mouth. As soon as he chewed on the sushi, he could feel the stinging flavor of the wasabi spreading in his mouth which was immediately followed by the light and chewy flavor of the flatfish as well as the sweetness of the rice.

A smile quietly spread out on his face.

“Wow. I have never had such a delicious flatfish sushi in my life!”

Just as he was admiring the taste of the sushi…

[You ate a Flatfish Sushi made by the Legendary Chef.]

[You have gained 20 DEX.]

Minhyuk’s smile grew wider. 

It tastes good and it even boosts my skills!

This time, he picked the salmon sushi. Salmon had a soft, milky and rich flavor that could only be tasted once it was chewed. The richness of the flavor of the fish could be a bit greasy but the stinging taste of the wasabi could easily clear it away. Once he placed the salmon sushi in his mouth, it was as if the salmon had melted with how soft and chewy it was!

[You ate a Salmon Sushi made by the Legendary Chef.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

Next was tuna sushi. The meat of the tuna that was placed on top of the tuna sushi was its belly. The tuna belly was arguably the best part of the fish. As if to honor this sushi, Minhyuk placed a separate dollop of wasabi on top of the tuna sushi. Then, he dipped it in his wasabi sauce before placing it in his mouth.

“Kghhh~ My nose is tingling!”

The spicy flavor of the wasabi quickly climbed up to his nose. The tingling was so intense and a bit painful that he had tears in his eyes but the flavor and the aroma that followed was truly a pleasant combination in his mouth. This was the reason why some people would directly place wasabi in their sushi, they were captivated by this strange flavor and the tingling in their noses.

[……made by the Legendary Chef.]

[You have gained 40 reputation points.]

Next was the egg sushi. Egg sushi was the simplest sushi. However, the taste and the texture of the egg would determine the ability of the sushi chef who made it. Once he placed the egg sushi in his mouth, he could feel its soft and fluffy texture. The sweetness of the rice as well as the light flavor of the egg slowly spread in his mouth as he continued to chew. The taste was so scrumptious that couldn’t stop himself from smiling and grinning foolishly.

[……made by the Legendary Chef.]

[You have gained 30 Magical Defense.]

Then, he ate the eel sushi, sashimi sushi and wagyu sushi that was grilled with a torch one by one in that order! Whenever he ate sushi, his EXP would increase and even his reputation and DEX would also increase.

To sum it all, he gained a total of 4 levels, 80 reputation points, 80 DEX and 100 in magical defense. There was also an increase of 80 in his physical attack. All in all, he was satisfied with the delicious food that he ate.

Then came the question…

‘Come to think of it, I never heard any notification about my DEX anymore?’

He had always heard a notification whenever his DEX increased by 100. However, his DEX was now at 1,401 and he did not even hear a notification for his 1,400 DEX.

‘Maybe I’ll get a notification once it reaches 1,500?’

He tilted his head in thought.

‘This idiot! What are you thinking about when there’s still food in front of you!’

His mukbang was not yet over! And, Ballad’s cup’s power would only come into full view once he had finished eating his shabu-shabu.

‘I’ll add some rice noodles on my last bowl of shabu-shabu and make some rice porridge with the remaining broth!’ 

He quickly placed some rice noodles in his pot of shabu-shabu.

***

Genie, Locke and Khan were all left speechless.

“Crazy…… This is the level of the global users……?” 

“Wow. Isn’t this insane?” 

“How can we break this?” 

They were challenging the time-attack dungeon. However, they could only attack the dungeon for a total of 5 times everyday. What was worse was that the whole world was participating in this time attack dungeon event! This was also the reason why all of the users were struggling to break the record for the time attack dungeon.

Genie, Khan and Locke all thought that they would be in the top five this time since they still had the buff that Locke had received from the dish that Minhyuk had made for him. But…

[South Korea, Legend Team: 1 hr 19 mins 56 secs. Rank: 21st.]

“……”

They couldn’t do anything about it. This was the proof that there were people that were more powerful than them out there in the world.

Genie’s eyes scanned the list. Her eyes locked on the team that was ranked 1st.

[America, Black Swan Team: 59 mins 38 secs. Rank: 1st.]

There was a 20 minute gap between their clearance time. It was just 20 minutes but it was such a huge gap especially when it came to attacking the same dungeon repeatedly. It was like running a 100 meter race. The difference between a good and bad player was only around 3~4 seconds but it was still a huge gap.

But right now, there was a 20 minute difference in their dungeon attack time. The second place took about 1 hour and 7 minutes to clear the dungeon. Looking at it, the gap between them was still huge.

Khan opened his mouth as he looked at Genie’s frustrated expression.

“Genie, think about it. Wasn’t there a guild member named Julian in the Black Swan Guild? The one that was hailed as God Baveka’s child?”

“……Ah!”

Genie looked extremely surprised.

Julian, God Baveka’s child, was said to have a tremendous amount of holy power. And every time the holy power reached an increase of 100, there would always be a huge additional damage against the undead. And with Julian’s case, his party members would definitely bet on his holy powers. They would even try and find ways to maximize his holy power just for this.

“I heard that God Baveka’s Child, Julian, has 1,300 points in his holy power.”

1,300 points in holy power alone. This was a huge figure. Holy power, just like DEX, was a stat that couldn’t be raised so easily. It also couldn’t be raised with your regular bonus points. However, there were things that one could do to raise their holy power such as abstaining from cursing, eating meat, and even celibacy and other terrible things that really couldn’t be done by a normal person. 

But you’re saying that he has 1,300 points in holy power? What a terrible disgrace.

“Shit. Do we also need to recruit someone with high holy powers?”

“No. No matter how high the holy power of that person was, it would be completely useless to compare with Julian. There’s only one thing that we could do now.”

“What is it?”

Locke and Khan turned to look at Genie at the same time.

“Khan and I should eat Minhyuk’s buffed dishes.”

“As expected…… It’s the only thing that we could trust.”

If the both of them could eat Minhyuk’s buffed dish then it would be possible for them to shorten their attack time significantly. It wouldn’t even be impossible for them to rise to the top 5.

‘But this is just a temporary increase in strength……’ 

In other words, it wasn’t their own power.

Genie had finally realized how high the walls they needed to climb just to get on the same level as the rest of the world.

***

Minhyuk finally finished eating his shabu-shabu porridge. He simply added some rice and egg in the remaining shabu-shabu broth before stirring it continuously and letting it boil.

Once he finished eating the rest of his porridge, the notifications rang continuously in his ears.

[You have eaten the Shabu-shabu made from the water in Ballad’s cup.]

[The Food Fighter’s Greatness.]

[The penalty for the medicine has been ignored. However, this does not work for many people.]

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

[You have gained 400 Holy Power.]

[Ballad’s cup’s blessings will permanently increase your Holy Power acquisition rate by x2.]

***

TL’s corner!

When I was translating this, our dinner was sashimi so I could relate with the wasabi part. kgghk! 

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