Leveling Up through Eating

Translator: ChubbyCheeks 

PR: MattForgenti

Jan thought that she had smelled the same scent that Minhyuk emitted from the Empress. And on top of that, the nearby vassals acted as if it was something that they had experienced countless times. 

“Let’s go back.” 

Ellie turned to leave.

Since the person he was interested in disappeared, then she had no interest in the tournament anymore. 

Ellie once again walked inside her throne room. 

‘He went to eat something delicious……’ 

Ellie laughed when she remembered those words. 

She didn’t know about anyone else but she understood his thoughts incredibly well. 

I have money. 

I have incredible swordsmanship. 

I have the Eivelis Empire. 

I could have everything in the world.

But even if she had all that there was still something missing in her life. 

It was ‘delicious food’ and it was both Ellie’s only joy and safe haven. 

To others, what he did might have seemed a bit rude but Ellie nodded her head along with his thought. When she was young, she did everything she could to eat something delicious. 

Then she paused. 

‘Is that his genuine thoughts……?’ 

However, no one would ever be so pure these days. 

Ellie stopped walking and looked back at the place where he should have been. 

‘Len. Why did you give him Ellie’s kitchen knife?’ 

He’s someone that man has acknowledged. 

Ellie had a growing hunch. 

Anyway, I’ll meet him soon. 

***

Prasell, the Emperor’s City. 

In this place, Levitt was running a naengmyeon [1] store. He was also running a naengmyeon store in real life. However, there was only one reason why he opened one… 

‘Delicious naengmyeon!’ 

It would help people cool off when they eat it during the summer and it would become a delicacy if they eat it during the winter. 

If you put in some vinegar and mustard in the ice cold soup and mixed it thoroughly before taking a sip then you would be able to taste the authentic flavor of naengmyeon spread in your mouth. 

And there was also bibimnaengmyeon. It was topped with finely chopped and bright red seasonings along with strips of cucumber, pear, a meat garnish and a half boiled egg. 

If you add a bit of the naengmyeon soup in this dish and mix it with the yolk of the egg and the bright red sauce then it would taste perfectly. 

What if you eat it together with well-seasoned pork or beef ribs? 

They said that one would smile at the taste of the spicy and chewy bibimnaengmyeon and would smile again at the taste of the sweet, warm and tender meat from the well-seasoned ribs. 

However, such a naengmyeon shop was filled with flies with how empty it was. 

“What, where did he go?” 

Levitt, who was sitting on his empty naengmyeon store, tilted his head in confusion as he watched the tournament from his screen. 

The champion of the tournament who has overwhelming skills, outstanding physical abilities and a character that eats well, suddenly disappeared. 

That was why Levitt, who had high expectations while watching the tournament, couldn’t help but wonder about the man’s identity. After all, anyone would be interested in the person that surpassed Lucia in this tournament.

‘Ha. Let’s just continue to watch the competition. Tch.’

The moment he thought of that…

Clang, clang!

The door of his store opened and a customer came in.

Levitt stood up to greet the guest. When he saw the person who came inside, his expression suddenly blanked as if he was saying ‘Huh?’ and not long after, his voice followed suit.

“Huuuuuuuuuuuuuh?!”

“Hello! Please pack some naengmyeon for me!”

“……By any chance are you the champion of the tournament?”

The customer who came in was none other than Minhyuk.

His lips were even twitching in excitement.

“Can you pack 100 bowls of naengmyeon and 100 bowls of bibimnaengmyeon?”

“……Yes?”

Levitt was extremely surprised to hear his order.

That’s 200 bowls altogether, what is he going to do with that much?

“A, are you going to hand it over to other people to celebrate your victory in the tournament?”

“Nope. I’ll eat them all!”

Minhyuk smiled brightly as he said those words.

Then he added…

“I heard that the naengmyeon they sell here are very refreshing and delicious. I also heard that the owner is a handsome man!”

“Haha! Is that so. Of course it can be packed!”

Levitt smiled when he heard his words.

It might have been a bit surprising to find the champion of the tournament in front him but he was also happy that he was buying naengmyeon from his store. Besides, no one would dislike a person that has high expectations for the taste of his dishes.

Levitt walked towards his kitchen as he introduced his specialty to his customer.

“We use Hamhung [2] naengmyeon for our store’s naengmyeon. We also have a machine in the store that helps us with pulling the noodles.”

“Oooooooh, so you don’t buy it!”

“Of course. Buying it and serving it to the customers is a form of disrespect towards the customers. Besides, the noodles will be more chewy if you make it yourself.”

“Ahjussi.”

“Yes?”

Levitt tilted his head and looked back at him when he heard him call for him.

“I’m really, really excited!”

To be this excited.

His remarks brought a smile on Levitt’s face.

He’s a young man who can make anyone feel better.

Being excited meant that his heart was beating fast in anticipation for his food. In addition, for Levitt who runs the store, knowing that someone was very excited to eat his food would feel that he could achieve the peak of deliciousness for his naengmyeon when he was making it.

On the other hand, he also thought that he shouldn’t fail the excitement and the anticipation of the young man so Levitt tried his best when he was making the naengmyeon.

“How much cucumber and pear should I put in for you?”

“Just the normal amount for the cucumber and as much as you can for the pear!”

The sweet and crunchy pear was a must for the cold and refreshing naengmyeon.

“I see, you know how to eat it, huh.”

In fact, Levitt even forgot that he was the champion of the tournament. He just wholeheartedly cooked naengmyeon for this single person.

“Ah, everytime I finish cooking a bowl you should put it in your inventory.”

“Ah, yes.”

Will he really be able to finish 200 bowls of naengmyeon?

As Levitt thought of that, he continued to place the naengmyeon in the containers. And each time he finished packing one, Minhyuk would quickly place it in his inventory.

In the end, Levitt cooked 220 bowls of naengmyeon for Minhyuk.

“There’s 20 more bowls?”

“It’s a service.”

“Thank you very much, you’ll definitely be prosperous!”

Levitt chuckled at him. After he finished the calculations, he suddenly became curious.

“Are you really just going to eat these cold noodles?”

“Nope!”

Minhyuk smiled brightly with a look of clear excitement on his face.

“I’m going to eat it with seasoned beef ribs!”

“Kyaa!”

Levitt exclaimed in surprise.

Naengmyeon and beef ribs were the ultimate delicious pair.

However, Minhyuk’s expression suddenly turned sad.

“But I don’t think I will be able to eat seasoned beef ribs.”

“W, why?”

His sad expression also made Levitt feel sad.

“Because I need to season it and marinate it for quite a long time.”

Well-seasoned marinated beef ribs couldn’t be eaten right away just because one seasoned it well. Of course, the regular beef ribs were also delicious but naengmyeon should be partnered with well-seasoned and deeply marinated beef ribs.

Minhyuk thought that he should eat the well-seasoned marinated beef ribs in a week and he should just relieve his appetite by eating the regular beef ribs.

Levitt pondered deeply. He wanted to help this sad customer in front of him.

Then he thought of something…

“If you go to the local Pork Ribs Restaurant, Calo-ssi will be able to marinate it for you right away!”

“Eh?”

Minhyuk tilted his head in confusion.

“Calo-ssi has the job class of Marinating Chef. As far as I have heard, he has the skill to marinate and ripen anything right away even if you need a few weeks to do it regularly.”

“Ooooooh. Such a great power exists in this world?!”

Minhyuk’s expression looked as if he found a ‘legendary item’ with how excited he looked.

Levitt smiled and nodded his head at him.

“Yes, but you should first meet with Calo-ssi.”

“Yes!”

Minhyuk bowed politely at him before leaving his store.

Levitt stood up and smacked his lips.

“Wow…… Marinated beef ribs and naengmyeon really sounds delicious!”

Levitt’s mouth watered at the thought.

Then, he suddenly stopped…

“So why did he leave the competition so suddenly?”

He tilted his head in confusion.

***

Minhyuk was running excitedly. 

Thanks to Levitt’s advice, he met with the man named Calo and was able to marinate and mature his meat perfectly in just a matter of minutes. He even wanted to learn his skills but it was an impossible feat.

Calo was able to have that skill set because he had the hidden class ‘Master of Maturity’. As soon as he got started the game, he started to marinate and mature different dishes each and every day just so he could get the hidden class. 

Minhyuk was also able to buy some charcoal from him. The charcoal that he gave him was said to be a magical charcoal that would create a fire that would not die down for 12 hours. 

“Hello!” 

Fwoooooooom! 

“Did something just pass by?” 

“I think so.” 

The guards that were watching the gate of the Emperor’s City, Prasell, were quite astonished with how fast they saw him running. 

The reason why Minhyuk had such a speed was because he was using both Haste and Bardy Swordsmanship. 

Not long after, Minhyuk was able to reach a quiet area. Quiet in the sense that the place was void of any humans. 

The moment Minhyuk defeated the Minotaurus and acquired the ingredients, he was able to acquire all of the parts of the beef including his bones. That was the reason why the others thought that Minhyuk placed the whole Minotaurus in his inventory.

In addition, the food that he would get from the ingredients that he acquired from the Minotaurus was said to be much more delicious compared to regular ingredients. 

His mouth was twitching with joy. 

He first used a torch to light up and make a fire with the charcoal. Then, he placed a square-shape grilling pan on top of it. 

Next, he pulled out different ingredients like lettuce, perilla leaves, garlic and ssamjang. These ingredients were almost the same when he had samgyeopsal last time. There were also some radish wraps, sliced onions and sauce. He also did not forget to pull out his naengmyeon and bibimnaengmyeon. 

Minhyuk began to cook after he placed the cutting board in front of him. 

The beef in front of him was the rump steak, the beef used for yukhoe [3]. The yukhoe beef generally uses the rump steak or the eye of round steak. And of course, Minhyuk would choose the rump steak for his yukhoe. The rump steak was softer and more chewy compared to the eye of round steak. Choosing the part of the beef for yukhoe was entirely dependent on everyone’s personal preferences, and Minhyuk preferred the softer and more chewy rump steak. 

Minhyuk sliced the rump steak by pushing his knife forward. 

Shiik—

Shiik—

The thinly sliced rump steak looked very appetizing. 

It’s red. 

But just the perfect red. 

The sliced red rump meat looked glossy and seemed to wiggle when it was poked. 

After he finished slicing the meat, he used a paper towel to remove the blood. 

[Remove blood from the rump steak and season it well for a more chewy texture.] 

He heard a notification from Food God’s Cooking Acquisition. 

After he finished draining the blood out of the meat, he then started to make the sauce. First, he added two spoonfuls of minced garlic, then he added two spoonfuls of sesame oil to give the sauce a savory and toasted flavor. Then he added a spoonful of sugar, a spoonful of oligosaccharide, half a spoon of sesame seeds and some pepper to finish off the sauce. For a better flavor, you could add some plum extract in the sauce mixture. 

Then, he poured the sauce on the rump steak and kneaded it to mix it so that the seasonings would spread over the meat well. 

He placed the reddish and well-seasoned slices of yukhoe along the sides of a round white plate. 

Then he cracked eggs and separated the yolks from the whites. The yolk was placed in the middle of the plated yukhoe. The eggs were freshly produced by the golden egg-laying chicken. 

Minhyuk slurped on the whites, he personally believed that throwing away the food was bad and it was only proper that he eat it so it wasn’t wasted. 

He then sliced the pears thinly and arranged it next to the beef. 

The yukhoe was finally plated on a white plate. On top of the yukhoe were the yolk which was as round as the moon in the sky and the shredded radish and thinly sliced pears that looked like a delicious flower that bloomed perfectly well. 

Guulp—

Minhyuk’s throat moved. 

But not yet, not yet! 

The meat was not yet placed and cooked on top of the grill! 

He used his tongs and picked up the meat from his bowl. The meat of the well-seasoned beef ribs surrounded the bone perfectly. 

The moment he placed the meat on the grill… 

Sizzleeeeeee! 

An entrancing sound came out signaling the start of the grilling. 

***

Footnotes 

[1] 냉면 (naengmyeon) : cold noodle

[2] Hamhung naengmyeon: naengmyeon are basically divided between the normal naengmyeon that has clear broth and the bibimnaengmyeon with the red chili paste but there’s also another division. The region where it originated. Basically naengmyeon with the clear broth was said to be from Pyongyang while the bibimnaengmyeon was from Hamhung where it’s cold so they used the spicyness of the bibimnaengmyeon to fight off the cold. There are probably differences in the noodles in these two regions. Pyongyang noodles are a bit on the darker side since they’re made out of buckwheat alone while Hamhung noodles are whiter since they were made by mixing buckwheat and potato or sweet potato starch. Hamhung noodles are also thin but it’s a bit hard to cut since it’s very chewy.

[3] 육회 (yukhoe) : Korean-style raw beef, similar to steak tartare

TL’s corner!!! 

I have to admit, the footnote abt the noodle was too long. #sorrynotsorry

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