Leveling Up through Eating

53 Father’s Feelings

“Oh. You’re right. Wait.”

After eating snow crabs, the dishes that one must definitely eat after were none other than fried rice with snow crab’s guts and seafood ramyeon with snow crab meat.

Minhyuk quickly scraped off the guts from the shell and made snow crab fried rice while he boiled the ramyeon with the rest of the meat and shells. After he finished cooking, he quickly placed it on the table.

“Hoo.”

Black Dragon couldn’t help but let out a gasp of admiration. The fried rice placed in front of him was packed tightly in the shell of the snow crab. Black Dragon quickly scooped up a spoonful of the steaming fried rice.

‘It’s really good.’

The fried rice was overflowing with the guts and meat of the snow crab and there were even seaweed flakes and sesame seeds sprinkled on top of it which highlighted the savory smell of the dish that was stir fried in sesame oil.

Black Dragon placed the spoonful of rice in his mouth.

‘It’s really delicious.’

The taste was no doubt, superb. Even though he had tasted a lot of snow crab fried rice, he knew that he had never tasted such flavor in his entire life. After eating two spoonfuls of fried rice just like that, the spicy soup suddenly appeared in his sight.

The snow crab seafood ramyeon was presented to Black Dragon. The ramyeon was filled with plump squid, open-mouthed mussels, bean sprouts and cheongyang peppers. It looked both spicy and refreshing with just one glance. He quickly took a spoonful and chomped on it.

“Heoo.”

He couldn’t help but let out a sound of admiration from the refreshing flavor that bursted out in his mouth. He quickly picked up some noodles and placed it on his plate before scooping some spoonful of soup. Then, he dipped the plate and ate the noodles using his chopstick while sipping the soup together. The chewy texture of the noodles and the refreshing flavor of the soup brought smiles to the people who tasted such a delicacy.

“Really delicious……” 

“Wow. How can it taste like this?”

Not only Minhyuk, the rest of the people that ate together with him were all impressed. This was the result of Minhyuk’s God’s Cooking Skills as well as his high dexterity stat. The people he had invited for a meal would definitely not have tasted anything like this anywhere in the world. In fact, even the ambience and the mood of the place was really good.

Finally, everyone sliced the sweet potato cake and shared it with each other.

Minhyuk quickly took his fork and sliced off a mouthful before putting it into his mouth. The sweetness of sweet potato and the softness of the bread put a happy and bright smile on his face. Whenever he felt that his throat was dry and he got thirsty, he would drink milk to moisten his dry throat.

“So General, tell us about the army.”

“Ack! Prof, please don’t call me General.”

After they finished eating, they talked and laughed together. And Minhyuk was sitting in between them while he laughed together with them. Black Dragon looked at them with both satisfaction and happiness. When he looked out of the window, he felt that the moon looked exceptionally brighter today.

Black Dragon had received the greatest birthday present of his life today.

***

After he finished preparing everything, Black Dragon went out to leave.

I had a satisfying dinner today with my son.

Now, it was time for the father to repay his son’s great meal. He had prepared everything he needed before going to Callame’s Island.

Callame’s Island was an extremely cold area. It was a place that was always filled with snow and ice monsters even in the middle of summer. So far, most of the users had been reluctant to hunt in Callame’s Island since there were only normal monsters, normal drops and normal EXP acquisition rate. But even if they set aside those facts, Callame’s Island was truly too cold for them to do anything happily. The user’s sweat that was created from fighting the monsters would immediately become frozen. Many of the user’s who ventured in that place even died from frostbite.

But Black Dragon had to go.

That place has the ‘Neolbing’ dad my son wanted to eat so badly.

Black Dragon, who was sitting on top of Britney the black dragon, stroked her head gently.

“Kiiiiiyeeeeeee!”

Shwaaaaaaaaaa!

Britney flew so fast that she was able to reach Callame’s Island in a blink of an eye. And Black Dragon could see that even though the area of the island was small, the air from this place and that place were clearly different. He took out a telescope and looked at the island in front of him.

Ice Kingdom. I think it suits it well.

In addition to the cold, there was a fierce wind and a blizzard of snow falling from the sky. So flying in the sky was going to be a huge obstacle for him.

Britney landed on the ground with Black Dragon on her back. Then, they started to walk together.

“It’s truly too interesting.”

Black Dragon, with his black armor, looked a meter ahead of him. The weather from where he was standing and just a meter ahead of him was completely different that it looked like there was a transparent barrier to separate the two places.

The place where Black Dragon was currently standing was a place where there were trees, grass and warm sunlight was currently flourishing. On the contrary, the place 1m ahead of him was a place that looked like all life had been lost and frozen while a raging blizzard covered the whole place.

Black Dragon slowly went inside that area. As soon as he stepped on that place, the notifications rang in his ears.

[You have entered Callame’s Island.]

[You have been restricted from using Fire Potion.]

[Your character will be affected by the cold if you logged out from a non-safe zone.]

One of the reasons why people were reluctant to challenge Callame’s Island was due to the ban of fire potion. Using fire potion could help heat up the body and fight off the cold. Or people could bring mages with them but this place would make it difficult for the weak mages to hold out.

Shwaaaaaa━

Black Dragon felt the cold biting into him. He hurriedly took out the clothes that he had prepared earlier once he felt the cold permeate through his armor and straight through his bones. As soon as he wore the clothes, he felt his body heat up like he was wearing hot packs all over his body.

‘Fire Spirit Blacksmith’s Coat.’

It was an epic ranked artifact that could instantly heat up the body. To put it simply, it had a similar effect to a hot pack.

Crackle!

Then, a black fire suddenly burned on Britney’s body.

“Britney, save your mana.”

“Kiiiyeee.”

Britney gave off a dark aura as she complained at him in discontent after feeling the heat.

The two of them slowly trudged forward as they set off to conquer Callame’s Island. As they slowly trudged forward, Black Dragon saw a huge tornado of snow slowly approaching them as it devoured the things around them.

“Britney, the blood is boiling in my chest. I’m not afraid of such a storm since I’m with you. Is it the same with you?”

Britney would sometimes nod at her master, Black Dragon’s words even though they were cringeworthy.

“Kki, kkiyeeeee!” 

“Well then, let’s go!” 

There was no way for them to avoid the tornado so Black Dragon and Britney both soared into the sky and fought against such a huge tornado. Wounds of varying degrees littered their bodies one by one but Black Dragon and Britney just continued forward.

And just like that, a day had already gone by.

Ice monsters like yetis and ice wolves continued to appear in front of him. And Black Dragon, whose lips were slowly turning blue from being frozen, did not look discouraged even though he was among the swarms of these monsters.

Riiip! Rip!

Britney also tore the monsters who tried to kill her master.

Night came once more.

[Your hands and feet are suffering from frostbite.]

[Your STM is declining.]

[Your HP is continuously decreasing.]

Tremble, tremble, tremble━

Black Dragon was currently crouching inside the pit that he had dug earlier as his body trembled in the cold. Every breath that he let out had turned white due to the cold. His lips and nose had already turned white due to the frost. He might be able to get out of the cold if he logged out but he still wouldn’t be able to conquer the place. His character would still be affected by the cold and would be forced to log out in the end.

He quickly checked the map with his trembling hands.

‘We’ll soon reach the Ice Cliffs.’ 

It was the Ice Cliffs that no one had ever conquered yet! However, Black Dragon wanted to make that happen.

A safety zone would appear soon. Meanwhile, Britney stretched out her neck as she looked at him with worry while she protected the pit.

“I, I’m fine, Britney. I can still go there! It, it’s there……! Th, the thing that my son wanted to eat the most……!”

“Kkiiyeeeee!” 

Britney let out a cry. Black Dragon’s thoughts and feelings for his son, Minhyuk, flowed through her mind.

Crackle!

She then covered the pit as she covered herself with a mild flame. Black Dragon felt like his frozen body had somewhat warmed up.

‘How many potions do I have left?’

A person couldn’t carry an unlimited amount of potions in their inventory. Of course, Athenae’s inventory itself had an unlimited capacity but it worked differently for the potions. In the case of potions, the amount that one could carry would vary depending on their level. This was the reason why he had to look into the amount of potions that he had left in his possession.

After taking a short break, Black Dragon began moving again. Finally, after walking for quite a distance, he arrived at the Ice Cliffs.

[There are plenty of restrictions in the Ice Cliffs with the sole exception of your stats.]

[Britney’s summoning will be recalled. You can only use climbing and hiking equipment if you want to climb up.]

This was one of the reasons why the Ice Cliffs were quite difficult to challenge.

Britney was once again summoned back on Black Dragon’s left hand. Then, Black Dragon quickly wore the goggles that he had prepared beforehand as he pressed down on the thick fur hat on his head. After he finished his final preparations, he took out an ice axe and began his long trek up the cliffs.

Stab!

Black Dragon slowly and steadily climbed up the Ice Cliffs with his sharp ice axe. As he climbed up, he couldn’t help but lose his footings once.

“Keuheok!”

He was tottering over the edge but he clenched his teeth as he looked at the top of the cliffs. Like his son, Minhyuk, he had also been doing various sports. They did not know if it was in their genes but he was also talented in this aspect. And just like his son, he was strong-willed and stubborn that he had received the Will stat as well.

Clang! Clang!

Black Dragon felt like his hands and feet were starting to get frozen solid as he climbed higher and higher the Ice Cliffs. There were times when he thought of giving up but he couldn’t do so.

‘I haven’t done anything for that punk yet!’

He was definitely a good dad. But he thought that he was still too lacking since he couldn’t do such an easy thing like feeding his son with delicious food. However, there was a food that his son wanted to eat so much nearby so he couldn’t give up that easily.

Clatter, clatter!

A piece of stone fell down from above the cliff and brushed past Black Dragon’s cheeks.

Chiiik━

His cheeks were slashed by the stone and the red blood that flowed out of the wound immediately became ice. But he did not stop his movements at all.

‘Wait for me! Neolbing!’

Clang! Clang!

He kept on climbing up. He did not have the luxury to rest in his situation but just the thought of Minhyuk who would happily eat the food that he would give him gave him warmth. He felt that his body was filled with warmth amidst the bitingly cold wind. And just like that, he was able to continue climbing. At that moment……

[Your Skill: Will has been triggered.]

[You will have a 10% increase in all of your stats.]

He had a considerable amount of points in his Will stat. To be quite frank, it looked like it was much higher than Minhyuk’s Will stat. As soon as the  skill was triggered, his speed began to pick up.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

As he continued to climb, he could finally glimpse the summit. Black Dragon finally stood on top of it. And along with that, the notifications rang in his head continuously.

[You are the first user to conquer the Ice Cliffs.]

[You have gained +3 points to all of your 5 basic stats.]

[You have obtained the Title: The One Who Conquered.]

He smiled in satisfaction.

As he looked  below the cliffs, he could see hundreds of huge icebergs standing erect from the ground. And in the midst of these icebergs, a single white iceberg  stood among the transparent icebergs. It stood out from the rest with its color that was akin to milk.

‘I, I’m sure…… th, that’s the iceberg that I’m looking for!’ 

Black Dragon was filled with joy. The path that he needed to take to get there was downhill so it should be an easy journey. Intoxicated with the excitement and happiness of finding the thing that he was looking for, he immediately ran towards it without a care in the world.

Dash, dash, dash!

“Graaaaaaaaa!” 

“Groooooooooar!” 

And with his presence, the roars of the monsters rang loudly.

[The Ice Witch has appeared.]

[The cold has grown more powerful.]

“You have stepped foot in this land, absurd!”

The Ice Witch was literally a woman made out of ice that wore a transparent dress on her body. As soon as she wielded the staff on her hands……

Crack, crack, crack!

Water droplets started to rise from the ground where Black Dragon was. These water droplets started to form into sharp icicles as it quickly turned into ice. The icicles quickly aimed at him at a fast pace.

Puhaaaaaa!

At that moment, Britney, who was forced to sleep on his left arm before his climb, suddenly popped out.

Plop, plop, plop!

“Kkiyeeeeee!” 

Britney’s hard scales stopped the descent of the sharp icicles which stopped the attack aimed at Black Dragon. He climbed up on Britney’s right arm as he patted her consolingly.

The Ice Witch floated in the air as Black Dragon clenched his sword tightly. He looked at the iceberg that was not too far away from him.

“Let’s go crazy, Britney!” 

“Kkiyeeeeeeeeeeeee!” 

Crackle!

Britney let go of all the mana that she had saved up during their entire journey.

Puhaaaaa!

Britney’s entire body was covered with towering black flames. The flames were so hot that the surrounding ice, icebergs and snow started to melt.

[Britney’s Roar]

[The mighty power of Britney has fallen upon you.]

[You will have a 14% increase in all of your stats.]

[The attack power of Decalid’s Sword has increased by 20%.]

[Decalid’s Sword has been granted the fire attribute.]

Crackle!

A black flame bursted out from Black Dragon’s sword. His job class was a merchant but he had been learning the sword from a merchant that was called ‘Master Fencer’.

Dash, dash, dash!

He gripped his sword tightly as he dashed forward. At that moment, he felt the ground vibrate loudly.

Brrrrrrrr!

Not long after, a creature popped out of the ground that was frozen solid.

“Kkiyyeeeeee!”

A different dragon. An Ice Dragon, to be specific, appeared out of the ground. And along with that a notification and a transparent window popped out in front of Black Dragon.

[Legendary Quest: Hunt the Ice Witch.]

Rank: S

Restrictions: Below Lv400, The one who conquered the Ice Cliff.

Rewards: Legendary Ice Dragon.

Description: This opportunity is only given to those who have climbed the Ice Cliffs. If you will be able to successfully hunt the Ice Witch Javis then you will be able to acquire the Legendary Ice Dragon.

A smile formed in Black Dragon’s face.

A punk that I can seal on my other hand appeared.

***

TL’s corner!

Hmm. Hmm. It seems like the saying Like Father, Like Son is true.