Leveling Up through Eating

PR: MattForgenti

80 The Devil Judge’s Sword

Diablo was once an ordinary boy. He was just a child who liked to play with his friends and bumped wooden swords with them. He even dreamed of becoming the best knight in the entire empire. Whenever he finished rolling around on the ground with his friends, he would come home to his welcoming mother, Helen. 

Helen would always ask him with a smile.

‘You’re here? You must be hungry. Let’s eat.’ 

Diablo would smile at her as he grabbed his empty belly and sat in front of her. He would excitedly and hurriedly eat the food that she made for him while his mother Helen would smile and wipe the sauce off of his mouth. 

That was right. Diablo was no more than a child when he became the three great demon’s vessel for magi. He had lost everything when they took him here. 

He quietly told the chef that was standing on the other side of the transparent barrier his sad past. 

It would be nice if I could experience that at least once. Maybe it’s fine since it will be the last time.

He wanted to taste and feel that once again. So he told him…

“I’m… begging… you…” 

***

“I’m… begging… you…” 

A quest window popped out in front of Minhyuk. 

[Unexpected Quest: Diablo’s Wish.]

Rank: S

Restrictions: Chef

Rewards: The path to the 41st floor

Failure for Penalty: Diablo’s Wish quest will not be linked. 

Description: Diablo, before he became the Sly Devil, was nothing more than an ordinary human. He said that there was food that he wanted to eat. Please listen to his story.

‘The path to the 41st floor…’ 

The path to the 41st floor could easily be interpreted. This meant that if Diablo was satisfied, he would let them go and not attack them. To be honest, they did not want to fight Diablo if there was a way where they could be sent away smoothly. 

First of all, the ‘resurrection’ skill was a very rare and precious skill in Athenae. However, it was a skill that users could still gain. And these resurrection skills follow the same formula. Once the hunted monsters had been revived, anything that dropped before like EXP, artifacts and golds would not be dropped after killing them again. This was a system that the Athenae operators had set up to stop the users from trying to hunt rare boss monsters continuously.

“Minhyuk-ah.” 

His father approached him. Kaistra and Black Wizard Ali also turned to look at him. 

“A quest came up. The reward is a path to the 41st floor.” 

Kaistra shook his head when he heard his words.

“But there’s a risk. If you fail…” 

Minhyuk wanted to try hunting Diablo by feeding buffed dishes to his party in the Let’s Have a Meal barrier. But if he took that time to cook for Diablo, then he would lose a considerable amount of time. 

In other words, he needed to choose. He needed to choose between cooking for Diablo or rejecting him and cooking for the others in the barrier.

His father, Black Dragon, watched Minhyuk hesitating while looking at Diablo. Then, he spoke. 

“Just do it.”

“…Can I really do that?”

Feeding Diablo with his dish was an extremely dangerous task. In fact, no one in this place knew what Diablo liked. But he was sure of one thing. There was hunger, longing and reminiscing in his eyes. 

Everyone was bound to have that one ‘food’ that was filled with memories in their lives. Just like Minhyuk who missed and longed for the spicy braised chicken that his mother used to cook for him. It was quite a strange thing. It was just an ordinary spicy braised chicken and his mother never really cooked in her lifetime. But it was her spicy braised chicken that usually comes to Minhyuk’s mind. 

So when Minhyuk made eye contact with Diablo, all he could do was shake his head.

“I understand. What kind of dish?”

“San… dwich… and… so… up…”

Diablo was clearly just plainly speaking but he looked extremely depressed.

Minhyuk looked up to him and used his Create a Recipe Skill.

[Creating a recipe that the other party desires.]

[You can now check the recipe for ham and egg sandwich and beef soup.]

[The amount of buff that can be used has been decreased due to creating a recipe.]

Minhyuk bowed his head and scrutinized the Create a Recipe skill window. The ham and egg sandwich and beef soup could come out as legendary dishes. However, the rank of the dish was not important. What was important was the taste. This was about Diablo’s satisfaction. 

But maybe…

‘Maybe Diablo is much smarter than we think and he’s dragging the time.’

Quests were mostly promises made with NPCs. Most of the users would proceed with the quest and receive the rewards that they were promised. However, although it was rare, there were cases where that promise could be ignored. That was especially the case for named NPCs. 

Perhaps Diablo was like that too. If he was such a being, then each and everyone of them would be wiped out here. 

Then, Diablo said.

“When I came back… after playing… my mother would make… this for me… from time to time… ham and egg sandwich… soup… but my mother… starved… I didn’t know…”

Diablo’s voice was colored with sorrow.

“I didn’t know because I was young… she was hungry because she was feeding me…”

Minhyuk turned around and shook his head. 

If Diablo was a child from a poor family, then the ingredients for making the ham and egg sandwich would be expensive for them. 

The Athenae worldview was entangled with modern culture but there were still poor people among the ordinary NPCs. And those people often lived a life below that of commoners. 

Diablo’s mother had to starve just to give him an expensive ham and egg sandwich. There was nothing impossible. Since she’s a mother, she would do anything for her child. 

Those feelings touched Minhyuk deeply as he started cooking. He shook off all of the misconceptions and wariness that he had. All of the thoughts about whether he should believe him or not disappeared from his head. 

“I’ll do my best.”

Ham and egg sandwiches were simple to make. This was the reason why many people used them as a simple meal. This was also the common food that people who worked or studied in cafes usually ate with their coffee.

Then, Minhyuk began to cook.

First, he placed a pot on the burner and boiled water to boil some eggs. While the eggs were boiling, he washed some lettuce and tomatoes before chopping them to bite sized pieces. Then, he took the fully-boiled eggs out of the pot and dumped them in cold water before peeling off the shells. After peeling off the shells, he crushed the eggs. Then, he placed a lettuce on top of a soft sandwich bread before placing a slice of cheese. 

The ‘egg’ in a ham and egg sandwich varied depending on the person’s preference. In some cases, the mashed eggs would be mixed with mayonnaise and minced pickles while some cases would add other spices to make it fancier. However, right now, Minhyuk was just preparing a simple ham and egg sandwich. 

Then, Minhyuk spread the egg on top of the sliced tomato and ham before finally covering it with a piece of bread. His sandwich did not have any other special sauce. It was just a plain and simple ham and egg sandwich. 

This completed the ham and egg sandwich.

Then, he began to cook the soup. Unfortunately, the only soup that he could cook in such a short time was just some instant beef soup. After he ripped open the package, he dumped the powder of the soup in the water and stirred it to cook. 

Minhyuk was concentrating deeply without his prior notice. 

‘A dish in one’s memory…’ 

When that thought flashed through his head, he unwittingly went into a trance. If he could ‘only’ bring back some of the person’s memories through his dish…

Isn’t that such a wonderful and beautiful thought? And if he is satisfied with my dish… isn’t that also enjoyable for me?

Of course, Minhyuk still thought that eating was the best.

‘But it’s not bad to do this every once in a while.’ 

Just as he wanted to eat his mom’s spicy braised chicken, something that he couldn’t do anymore since she was no longer in this world, he hoped to at least bring back the memories of Diablo’s mother back to him. 

And with that, the soup was completed.

[You have completed a Ham and Egg Sandwich and Soup.]

[This is a dish that only Diablo can eat.]

[The Create a Recipe Skill Effect can only be tasted by the same person once per month.]

[Trance. It’s a dish that has your ‘reminiscence’, ‘passion’ and ‘desire to make food for others’ poured into it.]

[Due to the effects of Trance, the buff effect has become better and the rank has gone up.]

[Legendary Grade.]

[You have gained 30 DEX.]

[You have gained 200 reputation points.]

[You have gained 5,000 Achievement Points.]

[You have gained +2 on all 5 basic stats.]

But Minhyuk could not hear the notifications. He was still focused on stirring the soup. 

The memories of his mother came to mind as he made the dish for Diablo. Without realizing it, tears started to flow down his cheeks.

“Minhyuk-ah? Why are you crying?”

His father approached him in worry. And all Minhyuk could do was smile bitterly at him. 

“I thought about mom for a moment.”

“…I see.”

Black Dragon, his father, shook his head in understanding. There were also times when he thought of her. It was sad, but they were able to at least lessen their longing for her as Minhyuk and Black Dragon hugged each other.

Then, Minhyuk came out of the barrier as he handed the finished dish to Diablo. 

“I wish I could show you the memories that you wanted to see with this dish. I truly mean it.”

***

Diablo looked at the ham and egg sandwich and soup that the chef had given him. He saw it earlier.

‘Water came out of his eyes…?’

He was wondering what they were at first. After all, he had been trapped on the desolate 40th floor of the Demon World’s Tower for a long time so he had long forgotten about some of the emotions that a person could experience. But he recalled that they were tears. Just like the tears that he shed endlessly when he missed his mother. Perhaps Diablo and Minhyuk shared the same pain and longing. Although they did not know each other’s pain they could somehow feel it. 

Diablo’s emotions had grown dull over the years but it seemed like they were slowly coming back to life. 

But before that, he stared at the ham and egg sandwich first. It was obviously different from the ham and egg sandwich that his mother had made. But he still chewed the sandwich slowly. 

The bread was soft, followed by the crunchy lettuce and the sour tomatoes. Then, the chewy ham and the soft mashed eggs. 

‘Delic… ious…’

It was clearly different from that time but it was still delicious.

Then, he grabbed a spoon. It’s been a while since he’d held a spoon so he was still a bit awkward. But he still slowly tasted the soup. The soup was warm, salty and savory. The taste was almost the same as that time.

“Delic… ious…”

Diablo hurriedly began to gobble up the ham and egg sandwiches and soup.

At that moment, the barrier of Let’s Have a Meal was released. All of them were staring at a figure. Diablo was only focused on eating food and was currently defenseless. After he finished eating everything up, tears glistened in his eyes. 

‘I remember… Ah… that time… happiness…’

It was just a normal daily life but when he thought about it now he was very happy. Then, Diablo slowly lifted himself up. 

Shiiiiiing―

He swung his sword up then a space appeared. The party realized that the space was the path to the next floor. 

“Thanks.”

Minhyuk had made him remember the memories of his mothers so he thanked him for reminding him of those precious times. 

But just as they were about to enter the space…

“Wai… t…”

A voice called out to Minhyuk. He looked at Diablo standing there. He raised his hand in the air. 

Crackle, crackle―

Sparks flashed in front of him as a sword appeared in his hands. 

[Diablo has presented you with the Devil Judge’s Sword.]

***

In the Special User Management Team’s office.

“……!”

“……!”

“……!”

Everyone staring at the monitor was left in shock. Then, Team Leader Park Minggyu mumbled to himself.

“He gave him the Devil Judge’s Sword, one of the Half-God artifacts…?”

It was extremely unbelievable.

The Athenae operators named the best and most powerful Half-God artifact among all of the Half-God artifacts as the ‘Absolute Half-God Artifacts’. There were in fact ten of these items. But the time was still not ripe. They were weapons that should not be revealed in their original forms. And one of them was the sword that Diablo was holding out to Minhyuk.

That sword was one of the Absolute Half-God artifacts.

***

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