Leveling Up through Eating

Translator: ChubbyCheeks

PR: MattForgenti

Minhyuk couldn’t help but pause for a moment.

A millstone?

There was only one thing that would come to mind when one spoke of a millstone and that was none other than tofu.

Whenever Minhyuk woke up early in the morning and thought of what food would be served for breakfast he would always recall the braised tofu that would be silently placed on top of the table. The savory and flavorful braised tofu with soy sauce, sesame seeds, water and oligosaccharides that looked extremely appetizing and mouth watering.

Even if he only had a bowl of beef radish soup and braised tofu for breakfast he would be able to finish plenty of white rice in one go. He would definitely scoop up some of the steaming hot rice while placing the braised tofu that he had cut in half with his chopsticks on top of it before opening his mouth wide.

Then, what would happen once he placed it in his mouth?

He would not be able to taste too much of the saltiness from something that was braised with soy sauce. The reason for this was simple, it was because the plain and soft texture of the tofu would only moderately absorb the flavor of the soy sauce. Every time he would chew, the mixture of the soft white rice and the savory and slightly salty tofu would create a harmony that was pleasant to the taste.

When one thought hard about it, a simple millstone would be able to produce a variety of tofu dishes like soft tofu stew, tofu kimchi, soybean stew, tofu stew and plenty of other tofu snacks. What he was most certain about was that tofu was both good for the body and for the palate.

However, Minhyuk thought that he should first focus on this Gorac’s Aging Jar before anything else.

[General: Huh? I told you something like this but you still did not reply. Is this more shocking than me getting a girlfriend……?]

Perhaps after General had sent the two syllables ‘Millstone’ he had expected Minhyuk to answer him as quickly as possible and did not expect the ‘I did not expect you to not send me a reply at all?’ scenario.

Of course, Minhyuk would have definitely replied in an instant if it was the usual but there was something delicious in front of him now. So how could he even focus on something else?

Clack━

As soon as he placed the lid on top of the jar, a notification rang clear and loud in his head.

[Gorac’s Aging Jar’s Special Ability has been triggered.]

[The Soy Sauce Marinated Crab is well ripened and ready to eat.]

“Wow…… Wow……!”

Minhyuk was showing a delighted expression similar to ordinary users when they had obtained an extremely strong and wonderful artifact. Locke and Khan looked in interest when they saw Minhyuk’s delighted expression.

‘Don’t tell me that he will be able to get an artifact from that jar every day?’ 

‘Heok……?! That must be a really good item?’

Minhyuk quickly took off the lid and reached inside, then he paused.

“Hmm, hmm. Guys, sorry but I have to go first since something urgent came up.”

“Huh? There’s nothing we can do if it’s an emergency. But what’s the jar……!”

Minhyuk immediately turned into particles of light and disappeared. 

Then……

“Aaaaaaack! What is that jar?!”

“What is it? Is there an artifact that came out of the jar? Heok……!”

“Ah, what the hell is that jar?! I want you to let me knooooooo!”

There were only two ways to make someone go crazy out of curiosity. And one of them is not finishing what you were saying……

***

“Wow. Look at that color.”

Minhyuk gulped down his saliva loudly as he looked at the huge table filled with food. He first saw the white and soft rice that was still steaming. Beside it, he could see the shell, legs and the huge claws on another large plate. The legs and claws that were originally connected to the body of the crab were already torn off and removed which showed him the scarlet eggs as well as the pale but a bit black-ish flesh that was dyed with the soy sauce overflowing from the shell.

He first grabbed the back shell as he pulled it on his plate.

“You’re filled with eggs aren’t you?”

The dark colored spices that were sprinkled on the shell as well as the plump flesh and scarlet eggs that were all submerged in the sauce were fully displayed. He quickly picked his chopsticks as he swiftly dug out the guts that were hidden within the shell.

Chak, chak, chak━

The sound of the chopsticks meeting with the shell was also pleasant to hear and was in and on itself an art.

The guts and the flesh of the crab was gathered in the middle of the shell forming great contrast with the scarlet eggs and blackish flesh and guts. They were all mixed and gathered in the middle appropriately as if showing their great splendor to anyone looking at them.

Gulp━

His drool slowly started to flow as he hurriedly moved his hands. He first took them out of the shell and dropped it on top of his piping hot rice. Then, he scooped a spoonful towards his mouth. He could see the slightly cold crab meat and guts laying gently on top of the steaming rice as he slowly placed it in his mouth. The rice complemented the salty and savory taste of the crab and the feeling of the meat and guts slipping in his mouth made him feel infinitely satisfied.

After he had gulped down his first spoonful of rice, he quickly scooped another spoonful. Then, he picked up the shell like a plate, dumped the rice on it and mixed it with his spoon. The color was extremely appetizing once the guts, the meat and the soy sauce were all mixed together properly.

Then, he took a spoonful of the food and placed it in his mouth again. His eyes couldn’t help but close in bliss as a smile curled at the edges of his lips. After savoring the taste, he let out a slight breath before slowly opening his eyes.

“Wow…… It’s really delicious.”

He quickly grabbed one of the legs with his hands as he pressed down tightly on the joints to rip it apart. Like water in a broken dam, the guts and the flesh of the crab instantly flowed out of the cracked crab.

Minhyuk quickly took the leg in his mouth and sucked. The guts and the flesh of the crab immediately flowed its scrumptious taste spread quickly into his mouth. As he chewed the crab happily, he felt that the expression ‘Melts in your mouth’ was enough to describe the texture and flavor of the crab.

He did not forget to bite the crab shell tightly before sucking on it to push the remaining flesh inside into his mouth. Then, he squeezed the meat out of its body on top of the rice.

“I can’t just throw these away.”

After he squeezed the body, he pushed the meat and sucked on it again to make sure that no meat was left on the shell. Then, he mixed the guts and meat with the rice before chomping on it again.

“Hahaha, so happy~”

It’s really delicious.

He truly felt that the combination of the poison of the Poisonous Toad King, the special snow crab that he had obtained from the Dragon King as well as the perfect aging and maturation by Gorac’s Aging Jar was perfect and delicious. Only the word best would suit this flavor.

However, it was not yet the end of his mukbang.

There was still the nice and thickly cut meat of the golden salmon. He silently stretched his chopsticks towards the pinkish and glowing meat of the golden salmon. He only picked one up to try the taste first. As soon as he placed the salmon in his mouth, he gently chewed on it. Once he swallowed the meat, he couldn’t help but giggle at the oily taste that lingered in his mouth.

Then, for his next piece, he dipped the salmon in the soy sauce and wasabi mixture. The soy sauce and wasabi perfectly harmonized and complemented the plain flavor of the salmon. Sometimes he would add some radish sprouts with the salmon, or some onions and even some white sauce on top of it before placing it in his mouth.

When he wanted to eat something special, he would gently pick a roasted seaweed, before placing some salmon on it along with some radish sprouts and wasabi before wrapping them all together. Once his wrap was done, he would dip it in soy sauce and before placing everything in his mouth. 

And just like that, Minhyuk’s extremely satisfying meal had come to an end.

[You have eaten Salmon Sashimi using the Golden Salmon.]

[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 acquired +58 DEX.]

‘Come to think of it……’

Minhyuk had felt that the speed at which he acquired DEX had decreased significantly compared to before. Even if he had repeated an action plenty of times, he was still not able to get some DEX.

‘To eat more delicious things, I need to find a way to improve my DEX……’

He smiled happily after thinking about his next course of actions. Then, he remembered something.

The millstone that General mentioned earlier!

That was what came to his mind next. He quickly looked at his whispers as he sent a message to General.

[Minhyuk: Do you know what millstone handles are called?]

[General: General-nim is currently logged out.]

“Completely nonsense~”

Minhyuk nodded his head when he heard about the notification. It was about time for him to log out since he needed to log out every four hours.

Then, he swiftly logged out of the game.

***

Bachran Guild’s Balen. He was currently watching a man on the hunting grounds while six of his guild members beside him were holding their breath in tension.

Bachran Guild was a guild that was quite similar to Horden Guild. All of its guild members were chaotic users and they would make profits by doing most of the dirty work in the game which included monopolization of hunting grounds as well as PKing users. The only difference between them and Horden Guild was that Bachran Guild had Baal, the 19th in the domestic rankings, under their guild master.

And despite the fact that they were a guild that was purely consisting of chaotic members, they were still placed 8th in the domestic guild rankings. The only reason why Bachran Guild had climbed to such a high position was because it had gathered users that had been kicked out from large guilds through bad etiquette and discourtesy. The Bachran Guild’s Guild Master Crone, was much more influential than what they had initially thought.

And the person that they were watching right now was Black Dragon. Black Dragon was an influential merchant. He had recently gained fame since he had reached the top all alone without joining any guild at all. Everyone knew that he was doing this with only one purpose in mind.

‘To find the most delicious and outstanding ingredients in Athenae.’

He was the one who had sent this information personally.

Besides, the only reason Bachran Guild was watching his movements was because of the valuable and expensive artifacts that he would most likely drop.

“Look at his sword. It’s Decallid’s Sword, I think it’s an epic artifact.”

“Don’t forget about his armor. I think he’s all covered with epic artifacts.”

He was completely covered with epic artifacts that had been only recently released in the Northern Continent. His black armor and black sword definitely looked like valuable artifacts.

“But that ahjussi…… Don’t you think he’s a bit like a 2nd grader?”

“I know…… That nickname’s a bit……”

The Bachran Guild had rules set in place. And one of those rules was not messing with people who were involved with large guilds. This was set so the guild would avoid any possible friction with these large guilds. And because of these, the four great guilds as well as other large guilds did not fight against Bachran guild.

If they started a way against Bachran Guild, even though they were a large guild, they would still suffer greatly. After all, it was only natural for guilds to suffer difficulties if they went to war against other guilds.

Considering those things, this Black Dragon was a complete ‘pushover’ who was literally giving out free artifacts once he got PKed. Of course, one of the reasons why he was being targeted was because he was a person who threatened the business that was operated by countless nobles. The Bachran Guild was quite confident since they were joining hands with these nobles to deal with one single man.

“Let’s go.”

Balen and the rest of the guild members with him quickly started to move. Their average level ranged from 320~330 and they were considered to be one of the lowest in the guild.

Just when they stood in front of him, they saw the man named Black Dragon tremble wildly. They could see that his face was covered with a black mask. However, his doe-like eyes that were visible under the mask were shedding tears.

‘Heok……?! This ahjussi, are you already crying because you knew that we’re going to PK you?!’

‘……OMG?!’

***

Ilhwa Group’s Chairman and President, Kang Minhoo. He was also known as Black Dragon in the game.

Just as he was going to take a breath of fresh air after successfully finishing his hunt, he heard the voice of Secretary Park Munsoo. Park Munsoo had pressed the call button in the capsule.

[The Young Master-nim said that he would treat us and the President to a very delicious meal which included snow crabs in Athenae on your birthday.]

For Black Dragon, this was a completely unusual occurrence.

A meal with my son… It has been five years since we last had a meal together.

Although it was just a meal in the game, it was still a new and moving feeling for him. The tip of his nose had tingled as his eyes suddenly reddened. He felt that it was truly delightful that his son, who was suffering from bulimia, was preparing a meal for his birthday.

Then, at that moment, six users suddenly appeared in front of him. The users looked like they were flustered at the sight of him.

“Y, you’re crying……?”

“……”

Black Dragon smirked at them. He could see their weapons on hand as well as the mage who was preparing to cast a spell. He already knew what they were here for.

“I’m in a good mood today so you punks should go back before I run wild.”

He turned to walk away just as he finished his words but then, Balen said……

“Shit…… This ahjussi is really a crazy 2nd grader.”

“Wow. He’s not crying anymore. He’s going to run wild. Why? Is your left hand sealed?”

They laughed loudly as they nodded their heads towards Black Dragon. Then, they launched their attacks.

The assassin that was preparing his skill earlier had the highest level amongst them at Lv340. He also had a special ability that could help him assassinate and eliminate his enemies in one shot.

[Surprise Attack.]

He quickly moved behind Black Dragon as he aimed for his neck. Meanwhile, the mage who had been preparing to cast his spell had launched plenty of fire spears towards him.

[Fire Spear.]

Crackle, crackle!

Craaaaackle!

At that moment, Black Dragon raised his left hand and said……

“In the end, you punks still let my left arm run wild.”

Black Dragon already knew that his name was quite funny to the younger generation.

But isn’t it still different depending on who’s using it?

He had decided to stay true to his name and be confident with it. His expression grew solemn as anger filled his head. He let himself loose as he ran wild on them.

“Pfft!”

“Keuhahaha…… Ah for real. What a funny guy!”

Balen and his party burst into laughter when they heard his words. However, not long after, an unusual thing happened in front of them.

Shwaaaaa!

A black dragon’s head emerged from his left hand. Then, Black Dragon stopped the surprise attack aimed at his neck just by raising his right hand.

Clang!

“……!” 

Then, the black dragon that was resting on his left hand stretched its head out as it swallowed the fire spears that were heading straight at him. The black dragon roared loudly.

“Kiieeeeeeeeeek!”

When the black dragon roared, the person nearest to him suddenly felt burning hot as a black flame slowly devoured him.

Crackle!

The assassin who just attacked him was completely devoured by the flames.

“Keuaaaack!”

“Th, this……! Shit…..!”

Balen looked at his figure as a thought flashed through his mind.

“Fo, for real……”

He’s really Black Dragon (Black Flame Dragon).

***

TL’s corner!

Minhyukie’s Dad being badass ever since he got PKed by Horden Guild. Yayy!

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