Leveling Up through Eating

PR: MattForgenti

“Those despicable bastards!” 

When Minhyuk heard the story from Conir, who turned into a spirit body, he looked genuinely angry. Genie, Khan and Locke understood the reason why he was angry. They knew that Minhyuk was the one who knew what hunger was more than anybody else.

In a way, Athenae was just a game and the NPCs were just virtual people created inside it. However, Minhyuk thought differently from the others. For him, this world that was called Athenae had given him a ‘second life’.

He had met a lot of people in this world. Instructor Valen, Instructor Roina and Ellie who had cared for him like he was her own brother. There had been countless people that passed by his life and Minhyuk had treated them genuinely. He treated them like they were real people and not NPCs. After all, even though they were just NPCs, they still had their own thoughts and feelings. He thought that even though this world was just a game for them, for the people who lived in this world, this was their reality.

“They make the children go hungry and they feed them to the dragon to make chimeras……” 

Genie pondered over the words that they had heard earlier. The process of creating chimeras was extremely horrifying. Meanwhile, the huffing Minhyuk checked the information about the Essence of Flavor as he tried to calm his anger.

[ Essence of Flavor. Just one drop can help boost all of the user’s stats. Dropping a single drop of this on any food will tremendously improve its taste due to the concentrated desire, hunger and cravings. If one drinks all of the content of the cup, one will be able to overcome their limit and grow further. For example, an ordinary knight class will become a stronger knight class.]

The reward Essence of Flavor was quite amazing. This meant that there would be an increase in the job class ranking once all of the essence was ingested. Of course, the part that caught Minhyuk’s attention the most was the part that said ‘A single drop of this on any food will tremendously improve its taste’. It seemed like it was caused by the power of essence from the accumulated hunger. 

However, they had a lot of problems to face. Conir had told them to go to ‘Cordis Empire’. Cordis Empire was currently in a ceasefire with Eivelis Empire. However, in the end, they were still at war with each other. In addition, Peru, the person who produced chimeras, was a count in that empire. It was very difficult for Minhyuk, someone who held a title in the Valkyrie Kingdom, to punish a count in an empire that was larger and more powerful than the kingdom he belonged to. He also heard from Conir that he had amassed a huge number of troops from the money that he had earned from selling chimeras. 

That was his main concern. He knew that this was something that couldn’t be solved easily and quietly. First of all, he was wondering how he should approach them to save the children.

Then……

[Vassal Ben: My so…… No, my Lord. Are you doing well?]

[Minhyuk: Of course, Old Man.]

He was contacted by his vassal Ben who was left behind to take care of the territory. Even if they were not in front of each other, the vassals and their lord could exchange messages and calls with each other.

[Vassal Ben: I’ve found a way to increase the fortune of our Valhalla Territory. And today, we have also received an invitation from Cordis Empire’s Emperor Asvon.]

“……?”

Minhyuk tilted his head in confusion as he continued to listen to Ben’s words.

[Vassal Ben: But he wants to see you, Valhalla Territory’s Lord, and Sir Corr. I think?]

[Minhyuk: The reason?]

[Vassal Ben: They did not tell us the exact story but I don’t think they want to hurt us. However, there’s also no benefit to it.]

Minhyuk shook his head.

Cordis Empire did not have any reason to harm Minhyuk. In addition, they should be aware that foreigners were immortal beings that could come back to life even if they killed him. 

So why?

He was also wondering why Corr had to accompany him. Then, Ben continued to speak.

[Vassal Ben: This is my personal opinion, but I guess they needed the greatness of Talmor.]

“Talmor?” 

And Minhyuk listened to the entire story from Ben. 

‘Hoo…… What a scary person……’ 

Based on the story, it seemed like Corr had inherited his mantle as he created a new religion all by himself. And perhaps, just like the members of the Talmor Religion, Asvon also needed the powers of Talmor. In fact, if that wasn’t the case, then he did not know what else they needed from them. However, with this, he had a clear way of getting there.

After all, Emperor Asvon is the one who personally invited me, right?

Now, his entry to Cordis Empire was removed from his problems.

Just then, another set of notifications began to ring in his head.

[The gate to the Elven Forest has opened as the Demon World’s troops retreats.]

[The mission in Elvenheim’s A Area is completed.]

[Announcing the Contribution Rankings.]

[Rank 1. Legend Guild & Black Dragon and the Boys & Black Mage. Total Contribution Points: 7,314,180.]

[Rank 2. Iris Guild & Ares Guil. Total Contribution Points: 4,154,197.]

[Rank 3: Artheon Guild. Total Contribution Points: 2,671,311.]

[Rank 4:……omitted.]

[The Rank 1 Legend Guild and their allied guilds will receive a 20% EXP buff for one month.]

[Gorn’s Treasure Chest (A~SS) will be given randomly.]

The guild members were surprised when they heard the notifications. They were shocked because the total contribution points was higher than what they had initially expected. And it was in a situation where their contribution points were reduced by 30% since they allied with other guilds. They had imposed this restriction to prevent reckless formation of alliances. But regardless of that, their total contribution points were still too high.

Then, the individual contribution points started to show up one by one.

[Rank 1. Minhyuk. Total Individual Contribution Points: 3,413,613.]

[Rank 2. Ali. Total Individual Contribution Points: 1,231,713.]

[Rank 3. Black Dragon. Total Individual Contribution Points: 604,139.]

[Rank 4……omitted.]

“……!”

“……!”

Everyone was shocked. And they weren’t the only ones that were shocked. The total contribution points were also posted on Athenae’s official website. And the commentators opened their mouth in shock.

[C, crazy…… He’s done more than a large guild all by himself.]

[What? Did User Minhyuk’s contribution not reflect when he was still not in Elvenheim?]

[I think so too. However, what is certain is that he was receiving contribution points from quests that were related to the Demon World Troops. I think it started to reflect when he arrived in Elvenheim.]

[Hoo. That’s a really unbelievable score. That’s an extremely high score. I think this is the perfect time to say that he has eaten everything all by himself.]

Then, the notification for the rewards for the individual contribution rankings resounded in everyone’s ears.

[You have received 5,000,000 EXP for achieving Rank 1 in the contribution points rankings.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have acquired Gorn’s ‘Eye of the Abyss’. This will be applied immediately.]

Minhyuk had now reached Lv398. He was now close to reaching Lv400.

His eyes suddenly turned red before returning back to its original state. It happened at the exact same moment when the notification for the Eye of the Abyss rang in his ears.

[Eye of the Abyss. You can display the status window of monsters or NPCs that are weaker than you. Not applicable to other users. Can only be used once a week.]

‘Oh……?’

It was a useful ability. This Eye of the Abyss could help him discover powerful and useful people like Hidden NPCs. Of course, Minhyuk was unhappy if that hidden NPC was brought in as his vassal. But his lips curled up. 

However, it’s not bad if they became a member of my territory.

He had one question though. He was wondering why he did not get a notification about receiving Gorn’s treasure box. 

At that moment, Commander-in-Chief Gorn appeared. Behind Gorn were countless numbers of elves.

The commentators were shouting excitedly.

[Elf King Gorn stood in front of User Minhyuk with hundreds of high elves behind him.]

[It’s like the Elf President met with the Human President. Looks cool.]

At this very moment, the viewers were holding their breath as they admired Minhyuk. They could see that the king of another race was standing in front of him with a grateful expression on his face.

Not long after, the high elves rushed towards them carrying along a huge treasure chest. Then, they placed it in front of Minhyuk.

“This is my gift for you. We haven’t recaptured the Elven Forest yet but we can’t deny the fact that you have done the most to help us.” 

Then, the notifications rang loudly in Minhyuk’s head.

[Elf King Gorn has given you 1,000 platinum.]

[You have acquired Gorn’s (SSS) Treasure Box.]

It seemed like the notification was only for Minhyuk. 1,000 platinum was an enormous sum. It cost as much as 5 billion when exchanged with cash.

Meanwhile, the commentators started to predict his rewards.

[The S-rank Treasure Box is colored red and the SS-rank Treasure Box is colored blue. That golden color is not revealed yet. It’s a Treasure Box with a color that no one else in Legend Guild has… I’m pretty sure that’s SSS-rank!]

[I can’t wait! I’m looking forward to what will come out from an SSS-rank Treasure Box!!!]

The viewers, commentators and people from all over the world had their attention focused on the treasure box. However, Minhyuk just threw the treasure box in his inventory.

[Wh, why didn’t you check!!!]

[If you received it then you should check it right away!!! Don’t cut us off here, no!!!]

[Please check it! Please! We’re begging you! User Minhyuk! Commentator Lee Daejin please do something about this!]

[Aaaaaaaah! Why don’t you check it?!!! I’m going crazy out of curiosity!]

But it seemed like he remained unaware of the howls of the commentators and the viewers in front of the TV about ‘Check it ouuuuuut!!!’ as Minhyuk continued to smile and talk to Gorn.

“Your Majesty!” 

Gorn smiled gently as he nodded his head at his loud and confident voice. 

“Say it.” 

“I would be very happy if you just give me something delicious instead of something like this.” 

“Hahahahaha, what?”

Gorn laughed loudly as he personally handed over the S~SSS ranked ingredients that the elves had gathered for Minhyuk. Then, Gorn moved on and talked with Genie separately.

‘I want to eat something from the Food God’s store but there’s just too many eyes here.’ 

He thought that it would be better if he ate it on his way when he went to fulfill Conir’s quest. And since Prince Argon was here, even if Minhyuk was not present, his guild members would be able to continue to use the Royal Shop as the quest to enter the Elven Forest appeared again.

Minhyuk had sent Genie a whisper that he would be going to the Cordis Empire. None of the guild members were dissatisfied when Minhyuk took on the quest that only one person could do. In addition, his father and the four hyenas said that their journey to the Elven Forest would be delayed since they were busy with work.

And since Minhyuk’s dad would not be able to access Athenae for a while due to his busy schedule, Minhyuk had decided to deal with the troublesome things as he went to Valhalla and picked up Corr.

***

Clack, rattle, clank.

Paladin Corr, Minhyuk, Kongie and Conir’s spirit body were all riding in a carriage that was bound to the Cordis Empire. They were travelling at an extremely fast pace.

Kongie was holding the cool Papinoco chocolate flavored chuchubar with his tiny hands as he leaned against Minhyuk. Minhyuk had bought the refreshing popsicle bar earlier.

Minhyuk had finally bought the bossam set in the Food God’s Shop with the contribution points that he had earned. He planned to buy each item off of the shop one by one.

As soon as he bought the item, the Fantastic Bossam Set appeared in front of him. The first thing that caught his eye was the plump and round bossam meat that was gobsmack in the center. Looking to his right he could see pickled garlic, seasoned chives, ssamjang, garlic, salted shrimp and radish, kimjang kimchi, as well as lettuce and perilla leaves to make a wrap. And to the left, there were bowls of tray noodles and soft tofu stew. In restaurants, they would usually serve dried radish miso soup, kimchi stew or soft tofu stew when someone ordered a bossam set. It seemed like the same was true for this set that he purchased.

“Wow……”

The first thing that Minhyuk did was to mix the noodles. After mixing the tray noodles thoroughly, he could see the red color that coated each and every piece of noodles. It looked so refreshing and appetizing that his mouth couldn’t help but water.

After he mixed the noodles, he quickly placed a piece of kimchi on top of a bossam meat. As soon as he placed them in his mouth, he could feel the crunchy and soft texture of the kimchi and the bossam meat combining together. 

Then, he grabbed a piece of lettuce as he placed a piece of bossam meat on top of it. Then, he used his chopstick to grab a garlic. He also made sure to dip the garlic in ssamjang before picking some seasoned chives and dried radish to go with his wrap. Then, he wrapped everything tightly in the lettuce before putting it in his mouth. The various flavors that burst out in his mouth brought a happy smile on his face.

Grabbing a spoon, Minhyuk stretched his hand out towards the soft tofu stew that looked appetizingly spicy. When he brought the spoon to his mouth and took a sip, he couldn’t help but nod his head at the refreshing spiciness of the soup.

This time, he placed some bossam meat on top of the tray noodles before lifting them together and placing them in his mouth. The spicy and sweet flavor of the tray noodles complemented the somewhat greasy flavor of the bossam meat perfectly.

Then, he lifted a piece of fresh cabbage leaves. The droplets of water lining the washed leaves glistened and sparkled under the glare of the light. He tore the cabbage leaves into smaller pieces before dipping them in ssamjang. 

Crunch, crunch.

“Isn’t this cabbage really sweet?”

Don’t cabbages taste sweeter the more you chew on them? That was what he was feeling right now.

Then, he placed some bossam meat and garlic on top of the cabbage. He dipped the wrap in ssamjang before placing it in his mouth.

After eating happily like that, he took out a glass filled with ice as he poured cold cider on it. Then, he grabbed the glass and gulped it with a smile.

“Kgghk―”

The cold and refreshing passed through his mouth and completely took away the greasiness that the meat left.

Just as he was about to place the bossam meat and pickled garlic in lettuce and put it in his mouth, Conir spoke to him. It seemed like Conir had turned redder and redder with every minute he spent watching him eat.

[J, Just one bite……]

Then……

Kongie dropped the chuchubar that he was eating in shock. On the other side, Corr, who had his eyes closed with his arms crossed on his chest, turned to look at Conir with astonishment on his face.

Conir was completely unaware of the situation. All he could do was tilt his head in confusion.

[Guwoo……?]

***

Food Discussion Corner

[Papinoco chuchubar] – It’s a parody of Lotte’s Papico chuchubar. So chuchubar is actually a popsicle but instead of being on a stick, the popsicle is inside a plastic. It’s called chuchu because we suck it to get the contents out.

[Bossam] – I don’t know if I already discussed this before but this is boiled pork. KRs usually boil the pork shoulder with a lot of spices before slicing it and using it as filling for their lettuce wrap.

[Kimjang Kimchi] – From what I researched, Kimjang is a season to prepare kimchi so that they can tide through the winter. It is usually done during late autumn. This is a custom that is now listed in UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage.