Leveling Up through Eating

Translator: ChubbyCheeks

PR: MattForgenti

Minhyuk was eating candies with a bright smile on his face.

Sweet candy!

Candies were usually placed on department store or mobile phone dealership store counters as a sort of free service for the customers.

Minhyuk was eating the candies without an ounce of guilt since the woman named Harmel said that he could even pull out a pillar out of the candy factory and the Chef’s Tower would definitely not care.

“I did not eat as much as I thought I would.”

There were thousands of candy bags and wrappers the size of his thumb surrounding him when the door creaked open. 

Then…

Bang!

The door was immediately closed. However, the door opened not long after as Harmel and another man entered the room. The man looked like he was hit cleanly on the head.

“I’m Gordon, the Chef’s Tower’s deputy tower master.”

“Oh, your name sounds good.”

“Yes?”

He has the same name as that world-class chef! Minhyuk was not sure but he thought that he would cook deliciously with a name like that, right?

Minhyuk licked his lips as he thought of that.

Pause!

‘What, i, is he gay?’

Gordon looked at him cautiously.

“Oh, it’s another bag of candy!”

“C, can you stop eating it now?”

When Harmel said that, Minhyuk played the user’s “recording” button that he had prepared for this occasion.

[Even if you eat enough to pull out a pillar out of the candy factory, the Chef’s Tower will not say anything~]

“This candy crazy bas……”

“Yes?”

“No, nothing.”

Gordon shook his head denying what he mumbled under his breath while Harmel was caught in surprise.

‘Me, meticulous. How can a person be this meticulous?!’

She went out to get some more candy while Gordon opened up a hologram interface and let it float up towards him.

“You can exchange your 15,200 points with equipment, gears and even skill books.”

Minhyuk peeled another candy and placed it in his mouth.

“I personally recommend that you get the Spirit King’s Chef’s Uniform.”

Gordon was by no means a kind man, after all he was the Chefs Tower’s deputy tower master!

Tower masters in places like the Warriors Tower, Mages Tower and Archers Tower actually had the same influence as an Emperor. Of course, even if Gordon was a non-combatant and was only a deputy tower master of the Chefs Tower, he still held a lot of power!

There was only one reason why Gordon was acting friendly with Minhyuk.

‘Collecting this many points means that he is a special chef.’

He was obviously a person who should be treated with enough care.

“The reason why I recommend the Spirit King’s Chef’s Uniform is because it increases the buff by 30% when it is equipped. Not only that. It also has a +50 STR and +50 AGI that can help a chef hunt monsters much more efficiently. It also is an item that increases your affinity with spirits so you won’t be able to buy it somewhere else. It’s actually a unique item but it’s as strong as an epic artifact.”

“Is there an effect that increases the taste?”

“None. But I assure you that this is the best artifact in the whole of Chefs Tower……”

“That’s not good.”

“It’s not a good artifact. Eh?” 

Gordon felt that something was strange.

Meanwhile Minhyuk’s thoughts were on a rampage.

‘No, what do you mean there’s no increase in taste?! Does that even make any sense?!’

The most important thing is missing, how can it be the best?

Gordon tried to deny his claims.

“Increasing the buffs means that it will be easier to hunt with a party and there’s also the increase in STR and AGI. Perhaps you’re mistaken.”

“Nope. It’s a bad artifact. I’m sure of it.”

“N, no. Why in the world is it not good?”

Gordon looked at him in shock as Minhyuk explained calmly.

“Isn’t a chef someone who makes delicious food?”

“Ye, yes?”

He nodded because he was right.

“It’s better if your dish is delicious whether you feed it to other people or you eat it yourself. That’s why the + in taste is definitely important.”

Nod━

“But the fact that you said that buffs are important, does that mean that a chef does not feed others food but buffs?”

Nod━

“Don’t you think that this product is no good because of that?”

Nod.

“When you think of it like that then it’s really no good…… N, no. That’s not it! Aren’t you going to level up? You have to hunt in parties too!”

“The chef prefers buffs instead of the deliciousness of food. I’m so disappointed!”

“……”

Gordon sighed.

“Is there a reason why you’re insisting on this thing? 15,000 points is really a huge amount.”

“Is it a problem to find delicious ingredients?”

Gordon felt like he was hit with a hammer on his head. He was deeply moved.

‘M, my goodness……!’

This is a true chef! 15,000 points… Instead of using it to find skill books and artifacts he’s looking for delicious cooking ingredients.

‘He’s even willing to spend a huge amount of money in the quest to find delicious food and share it with others(?).’

This is a chef!

[Gordon’s favorability has increased.]

[Gordon’s favorability has increased.]

Minhyuk was taken aback. He was disappointed in him but Gordon’s favorability with him hsa increased. Minhyuk was thoroughly confused. Then, Minhyuk passed through the ingredients and checked the dishes.

‘Blissful mushroom soup. A +50 increase in all 5 basic stats and +50 increase in magical defense. But it does not say ‘more delicious’ so this is no good.’

So he went through all of the dishes one by one just to find something delicious.

Just at that moment, Minhyuk’s fingers stopped at one place.

“Heok……!”

He was quite startled. Because there was such a great dish!

“There’s such a precious and valuable thing listed in here!”

Gordon was quite confused about what Minhyuk was saying so he looked at the food that he stopped at.

‘This is a precious thing……?’

Minhyuk’s finger was stopped and pointed at something called Gray Chapagetti. So he quickly checked the information of the dish.

(Gray Chapagetti)

Material Grade: C

Special Abilities:

━ +3 in all 5 basic stats

━ A chapagetti glowing in a gray light with a deeper and much tastier flavor.

Description: A gray chapagetti that can be purchased  with 15,000 points in the Chef’s Tower. It tastes good but is not recommended for purchase.

Just in time, Harmel came in carrying two boxes of candies. Minhyuk stood up as he took the boxes away from her.

“Do you know the song about this dish?”

“……?”

Gordon and Harmel looked at him strangely as he straightened his body up. Then he started humming a song.

“Cha~ Cha~ Chapagetti! Nongsin Chapagetti.”

“……”

“I’ll take this one! Chapagetti!”

[Would you like to choose the Gray Chapagetti?]

[You will consume 15,000 points.]

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Minhyuk shouted brightly.

[You have purchased Gray Chapagetti.]

[You have consumed 15,000 points.]

“Keok……”

“OMG……”

The two other people in the room saw that he really purchased the item.

Chapagetti was the only thing that he purchased with almost all of his points in the Chefs Tower!

However, Minhyuk looked extremely satisfied. Then, he asked…

“Can I cook here?”

He was holding the 15,000 point bag containing the chapagetti as he asked them excitedly.

“Ah, yes……”

“Yes……”

The two of them nodded their muddled heads as they listened to Minhyuk solemnly declare something with a bag of chapagetti in his hands.

“Today, I am a Chapagetti Chef!”

Then, Minhyuk prepared his cooking materials as he started to cook chapagetti.

Shwaaaaa━

He poured water in a pot for boiling and added oil in a frying pan. Once the frying pan was hot enough, he added two eggs in it.

Sizzle━

In no time at all, the two eggs were starting to get fried really well.

The reason why he was frying eggs was because he needed to put it on the chapagetti!

Then, he turned over the egg to half-cook the yolk. He made sure that the yolks were only half-cooked before placing the chapagetti noodles and vegetable flakes in the boiling water. He made sure to lift the noodles from time to time out of the boiling water so that the noodles remain chewy and curly. After he deemed that the noodles were cooked well, he threw away the water. 

When he looked at the back of the chapagetti packaging, he saw a ‘Leave only 8 spoons’ written on it. But Minhyuk left 10 spoons of water instead. Then, without removing it from the pot, he added the black soup powder and the olive oil inside the pot and stir fried it just like that.

Shwaaaaa━

As soon as the black soup powder met with water, it became a black liquid that slowly covered the noodles in the pot. After stir-frying it for quite some time, the noodles were covered with a thick black sauce. Then, after he stirred it for a bit more he turned off the heat and added the two eggs that he had fried earlier in the pot. He poked the half-cooked yolk and watched as it slowly poured down on the noodles before mixing it well.

“Huhuhuhu……!”

Minhyuk pulled out some ripe kimchi and pickled radish out of his inventory.

Gordon and Harmel, who were still wondering why he chose chapagetti out of all the items listed in the exchange counter, were unusually concentrating on him.

They saw Minhyuk pick up some black noodles and…

“Sluuuuuuuuuuuurp!”

He could taste the thickness of the sweet and savory flavor of the noodles.

So this is the Gray Chapagetti. The chapagetti that has a much deeper and tastier flavor compared to regular chapagetti!

“Wow, I understand why it costs 15,000 points. This flavor really deserves that 15,000 points.”

“…….”

“…….”

Gordon and Harmel looked at Minhyuk blankly while he continued eating.

Minhyuk ate half an egg in one bite. The protein and rich flavor of the egg added to the wonderful taste of the chapagetti. On his next bite of the noodles, he ate it together with the ripe kimchi that he took out earlier.

“Crunch, crunch.”

The spicy and sour taste of the kimchi washed away the greasy flavor of the chapagetti and made his mouth feel a bit refreshed. This time, when he ate noodles, he ate it together with the sweet and sour pickled radish.

“Crunch, crunch, crunch.”

Minhyuk nodded his head in satisfaction.

“Chew, chew, delicious!”

Harmel and Gordon who were watching him opened their mouths unconsciously. 

‘Y, yeah. Place some in my mouth too.’

‘Please give me a bite too? Is that what you want me to say, huh?!’

Minhyuk continued to eat his chapagetti. He hesitated when he caught sight of the glinting eyes of the two people in front of him. They looked like they were hungry hyenas watching their prey.

“You shouldn’t look too hungry. Eyy, I’m going to be generous with you too.”

“Ooooooooooooh! Thanks! Really, thank you so much!”

Gordon was so thrilled, he thanked him like he was someone who saved the whole world.

“Please have some of this.”

Minhyuk gave him a candy.

It was cinnamon candy.

“……”

“……”

Harmel and Gordon looked down at their hands holding the candy with dejected looks on their faces. However, Minhyuk looked as if what he did was really generous.

He soon finished the remaining noodles in his pot. Once all of the black sauce and noodles were licked clean out of his pot, a series of notifications rang in his head.

[You have achieved the Hidden Piece: Your Appetite is Proper.]

[You have acquired +3 in all 5 of your basic stats.]

[You have gained +300 DEX.]

[You have achieved 600 Dexterity Points. All skills and abilities related to Dexterity will have a 10% improvement.]

[You have achieved 700 Dexterity Points. All skills and abilities related to Dexterity will have a 10% improvement.]

[You have achieved 800 Dexterity Points. All skills and abilities related to Dexterity will have a 10% improvement.]

‘Hidden Piece……?’

Minhyuk was both happy and surprised. After all those notifications were such a pleasant sound for him who just chose to eat something delicious.

My dexterity stat rose by 300 in one go!

It was even a much higher increase compared to the time when he ate the Empire’s Elixir.

Then, Minhyuk heard Gordon mumbling about something.

“His behaviour is like the Food God that appeared in the legends.”

“……?”

Minhyuk reacted when he heard his words because he was that ‘Food God’ right now. In addition, his words were clear evidence that the Food God existed in the past.

“Food God?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Can you tell me the story about that?”

Gordon nodded gladly when he heard his interest in the legends of the Food God.

***

TL’s corner!!!

Okay so the Nongsin thing is a commercial for Nongshim Chapagetti. You can search Nongshim Chapagetti CM and you will see the commercial. LOL.

Oh, it seems like we would hear something about the great God. the Food God!

PR’s corner!

The Food God…it’s finally time! I’m looking forward to this!