Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 446: The Absolute God’s Secret

The Food God was someone that ate a lot. Simply put, the Food God’s class was just a tad bit different from a chef. However, the cooking skill that the Food God had inherited was amazing enough that it could ignore the skills of the secret classes, hidden classes, and legendary classes.

And the source of this shocking cooking skill, a point of doubt for Minhyuk for the longest time, was finally somewhat revealed. It was basically not from the Food God but from the ‘God of Cooking’, the Food God’s master. But the strangest part was…

[The God of Cooking is suggesting a bet. The God of Cooking is challenging you to make ten legendary grade dishes.]

[Bet with a God Quest: Ten Legendary Grade Dishes.]

…the God of Cooking suggested a bet and challenged Minhyuk to make ten legendary grade dishes. The fact that a God made a bet with him was already amazing in and of itself. However, the conditions were ridiculous. The God challenged him into making ten legendary grade dishes.

‘Can I even do that?’

Of course, Minhyuk had already made five legendary grade dishes in a row. But that was a feat with lower chances than those of winning the lotto. In short, it was all thanks to his sudden stroke of luck. The greatest problem here was that he needed to make five more. After a moment of contemplation, he thought that this was something that would not hurt him even if he tried.

‘Besides, my cooking skills might get stronger with this bet.’

After all, this was a bet with the God of Cooking, the very same god that taught the Food God. He definitely had the power and skill to create better dishes. The first thing that Minhyuk did was to check the quest window.

[Bet with a God Quest: Ten Legendary Grade Dishes.]

Rank: SSS

Requirements: The one that cooked five legendary grade dishes in a row.

Rewards: ???

Penalty for Failure: The destruction of the five legendary grade dishes.

Description: You have made five legendary grade dishes in a row and are now being observed by one of the Absolute Gods, the God of Cooking. You can challenge the remaining five legendary grade dishes within three weeks. There are no limits on the number of failures that you can get.

‘Absolute God?’ Minhyuk thought in doubt after hearing an unfamiliar word. What kind of being was an Absolute God? For now, he still did not know.

‘But there are a lot of penalties…’

In other words, the five legendary grade dishes that he had completed and was very delighted with, would disappear and be taken away. Just thinking about them was enough to make him happy.

‘Should I challenge it? Or not?’

He would feel heartbroken if these dishes that he made for his friends were suddenly taken away in vain. However, his curiosity towards the rewards marked as ‘???’ was too much for him to not challenge it. Also, this might be the chance for him to increase his own power. After thinking for a long time, Minhyuk finally made up his mind. He said, “I accept the bet.”

[You have accepted the Bet with a God Quest: Ten Legendary Grade Dishes.]

Minhyuk suppressed his emotions and tried to be as rational as possible. These dishes were dishes that he made for his friends and not for himself. They were something that none of them asked for and were just things that Minhyuk made on his own. Since they were unaware of it, none of them would be hoping for something. If he told them that he ‘rejected’ this, none of them would nod and agree with him. In fact, they might probably even tell him that he made the wrong decision here.

After all, this was a quest that would present a new path for Minhyuk. And…

‘Even if I fail, I’ll just have to do my best to cook for them again.’

…he could cook for them anytime he wanted.

‘I don’t need to make five of them in a row. I have a time limit of three weeks to make them.’

The truth was, the three-week time limit, for people other than Minhyuk, to create five legendary grade dishes was something completely absurd. Legendary artifacts and legendary grade dishes had started to frequent the market as the players started to play longer. However, they were like ‘poison’ to common rankers, with their difficulty level to produce.

In fact, producing a legendary grade dish within three weeks was something that Minhyuk was not even sure was possible for him, what more if it was five?

‘It must either be luck, or maybe there’s some other reason.’

But even if he did not rely on luck in the future, it was alright. Minhyuk would not give up on the five legendary grade dishes and he would definitely be able to surprise the God of Cooking. In the first place, he was not a genius, he was ‘someone that worked hard’.

With firm determination, Minhyuk started cooking once again. This time, it was a dish for Lucia. She was the Assassin of the Moon and had become the master of her own guild. Together with her guild members, she joined Let’s Eat Sect and declared that they were the guild’s ‘shadows’. He was also very thankful to her. And the dish that he was making for her was none other than the Korean thistle rice meal.

‘She always kept on saying that she wanted to eat ramyeon every day. This time, she should eat healthy food.’

To Minhyuk, Lucia seemed like a person that liked ramyeon. She used to tell him, ‘Do you want to eat ramyeon at my house?’ Every time Minhyuk received this message, he would always look at it in doubt.

‘Does she only eat ramyeon?’

Of course, for Minhyuk, ramyeon was the best food. But asking, ‘Do you want to eat ramyeon?’ everyday was still a bit too much for him.

‘Do you want to eat chicken at my house?’

‘Do you want to eat some homemade meals at my house?’

‘Do you want to eat pizza at my house?’

She could ask him these, so why did she have to ask if he wanted to eat ramyeon everyday?!

‘I’ll definitely make you some delicious Korean thistle rice that is both delicious and good for your health!’

Korean thistle rice was both good for the palate and the health. It was best paired with warm soybean paste soup with dried radish leaves or cheonggukjang. Minhyuk felt a bit better when he thought about Lucia, who only thought about eating ramyeon every day, eating this Korean thistle rice and regaining her energy. And that was how he started cooking.

Minhyuk’s hands moved lightly as he cooked. He sincerely hoped that Lucia would feel that eating rice was better and healthier than eating ramyeon every day. He placed the Korean thistle rice in a regular pressure cooker, not the electric rice cooker. The cheonggukjang was also boiling and emitting a tantalizing scent and filled with healthy chunks of tofu and unflavored dried laver. Minhyuk also mixed some soybean paste and soy sauce, to make the seasoning that he would use to mix with the Korean thistle rice.

After thinking about how Lucia liked stimulating things, he also made some spicy stir-fried pork for her. He felt happy just by making it.

‘I won’t eat ramyeon everyday anymore, Minhyuk!’

A wide smile curled at the corners of Minhyuk’s lips when he thought about how Lucia would choose to become healthy after eating the Korean thistle rice that he made for her.

Minhyuk must have already been tired after making his sixth dish in a row. But he had forgotten about his exhaustion and completely fell into a trance as he continued to cook. And when he finished the dish…

[You have completed a Korean Thistle Rice.]

[Rare Grade.]

Unfortunately, a lower-grade dish appeared the moment he accepted the bet.

“Ah, man. What do I do if she feels sad about this?”

Minhyuk thought that he should make another Korean thistle rice meal. However, even though his words sounded like it was filled with disappointment, his mouth was twitching with joy.

There was one thing that the God of Cooking did not know. Minhyuk felt disappointed when legendary grade dishes came out. This was because he had already decided that he would eat all of the dishes that came out with a grade lower than unique.

However, the dishes that he made earlier always came out as legendary, legendary, legendary! A series of regrets appeared one after another! This time, he could finally eat! With an expression that screamed ‘it can’t be helped’, Minhyuk happily helped himself to some Korean thistle rice, before cooking once again.

Despite the grueling work, he did not feel exhausted. He enjoyed cooking for his friends to the point that he even forgot the bet that he made with the God of Cooking. Besides, even if he failed, he would still be delighted since he would eat these failed dishes.

A day, two days, three days, four days, a week then passed, but no legendary grade dish had appeared. Minhyuk had reached the point where he opted not to eat the failed dish right away so he could challenge another dish. He kept on cooking and changing things up.

Although he did not achieve any legendary-grade dish during that week, he still showed his unwavering will. He slept as little as he could and immediately started cooking the moment he logged back inside the game.

Of course, he was only a human being, so doing this was hard on him. Every once in a while, he would feel his vision turn blurry and his body start to feel heavy to the point that he wanted to sink and collapse on the ground from exhaustion.

Whenever that happened, he would get these notifications:

[You have triggered the Skill: Will.]

[All of your stats, skills and abilities including DEX will temporarily increase by 24%.]

His skill Will would relieve him of his exhaustion for a moment. And…

[You have gained 1 DEX.]

[Your skill proficiency in the Food God’s Cooking Skill has increased.]

Thanks to his repetitive cooking, his Food God’s Cooking skill proficiency and his DEX were steadily increasing. In his trance-like state, the seventeenth day had passed by unknowingly. So far, he was only able to make one legendary dish.

***

The world above the clouds. It could be simply put that way. The ground was made up entirely of clouds, and even though the place was bright, there was no sun. In this world, one man was looking down through the clouds.

‘Amazing,’ A sigh of admiration unknowingly escaped the man’s mouth.

How many days has it been since the person started cooking? The person that he had been watching was genuinely happy as he cooked and cooked for others. But the more surprising part was…

‘Isn’t he the Food God’s descendant?’

The Food God was literally someone that loved to eat more than anyone else. But that God’s descendant was now doing his best for others, that he even ignored his exhaustion and fatigue. Even when the man had reached that point where his exhaustion was going to get the best of him, he would stand up firmly and express his firm determination to finish what he started.

At first, he was just interested in him and had suggested the bet for fun. However, there were only four days left and the man was only able to make one legendary grade dish so far. The God of Cooking thought, ‘It would be nice if he can get my secret…’

However, if the man lost the bet, then he would not be able to get it.

***

There were only four days left until the end of the bet. If others were in Minhyuk’s shoes right now, they would most definitely be extremely tense and nervous and would have already resorted to cursing Joy Co. Ltd. and shouting about how Athenae was a ‘freaking shitty game’.

However, Minhyuk was still smiling.

‘I have no regrets.’

Of course, Minhyuk was still human, so he would still feel disappointed if he failed in the end. However, even if that happened, he would not regret it since he gave it his all. If he did his best and it still did not work, then it was no longer his fault. So, he still continued to cook happily. Just like that, another day had gone by, then two days.

[You have gained 1 DEX.]

The continuous notification about his DEX increase also helped him to not succumb to his exhaustion. He was able to accumulate 60 DEX points within the three-week time limit set for the bet. And finally, the last day came. Thankfully, he did not have any shadow of regret on his face.

‘Our dear Jisoo.’

His game nickname was Locke. What Minhyuk was trying to make for him was some rice cake dumpling soup. He had already prepared the beef bone broth a long time ago and with that as the base, he added some rice cakes and dumplings and boiled them for a while, before adding some egg and seaweed powder for garnish.

‘If you scoop up some hot dumplings with your spoon and put it in your mouth together with some crispy kimchi then…’

Minhyuk was sure that Locke would exclaim in delight. Just imagining how Locke would like it and how he would be happy when he received this dish was enough to bring his spirits up. Even the fact that there was only a day left for the bet was not enough to dampen his mood.

When he sprinkled the sliced green onion on top of the soup, the notifications came.

[Due to the effects of Trance, the buff effect has become better.]

[Legendary Grade.]

[This is your seventh Legendary Grade Dish.]

“Oh.”

A deep smile curled at the corner of Minhyuk’s mouth. His butt even started to jiggle unknowingly from the happiness of getting a legendary grade for Locke’s dish.

This time, he was making a dish for Grandpa Ben. Minhyuk wanted to give Grandpa Ben a taste of the dishes from their world, and not from Athenae. So, he prepared a homemade burger set for him. He could already imagine Grandpa Ben telling him this while eating the dish, ‘Hoho. My son… no, my lord. I feel like the food you make is giving me more strength.’

Minhyuk could not help but grin at the thought of Grandpa Ben smiling happily, while eating the dish he made for him.

[Due to the effects of Trance, the buff effect has become better.]

[Legendary Grade.]

[This is your eighth Legendary Grade Dish.]

He had achieved another unbelievable feat. Next, he made a dish for Khan. He was Minhyuk’s close friend who liked to use his fists and never skipped exercising in reality. A real friend that he could talk to about anything and everything.

Minhyuk was going to make some braised spicy chicken for him. He was sure that Khan would definitely give him the thumbs up when he mashed the potatoes with the braised spicy chicken’s sauce and mixed it with rice. When that time came, Minhyuk would ask him, ‘Is it good?’ and Khan would give him a happy smile in answer. And when he finished the dish…

[Due to the effects of Trance, the buff effect has become better.]

[Legendary Grade.]

[This is your ninth Legendary Grade Dish.]

Surprisingly enough, Minhyuk failed to notice the series of notifications that rang for him. It was because he had already fallen into a deep trance, and started on his next dish.

This time, he was making a dish for the Best Selling Author Aruvel. Whenever Aruvel was writing his work, he would concentrate deeply and fail to realize that the day had already turned into night. He always worked so hard that he would even get nosebleeds.

For this hardworking Aruvel, Minhyuk wanted to present some Chinese food so he could realize and learn about the flavor of the best food in the foreigners’ world. Minhyuk made some dry black bean noodles, sweet and sour pork, and fried dumplings. He could already imagine Aruvel, who dipped the fried dumplings in the dry black bean noodles’ sauce, saying, ‘Fried dumplings… Woah, I feel like I can write more with this!’

Just the thought of Aruvel eating the dish that he made happily was enough to make him happy. If it was for them, Minhyuk would willingly face any hardships. After he finished the dish, a bright light shone and covered his entire body. Then, a strange, mysterious, old, decrepit book descended from the sky, immediately followed by a series of notifications.

[You have made ten Legendary Grade Dishes.]

[You have succeeded and completed the Bet with a God Quest: Ten Legendary Grade Dishes.]

[The God of Cooking was deeply impressed by your firm will and determination. You did not even succumb to your exhaustion when cooking for others. He is giving you additional rewards.]

[The ten legendary grade dishes that you have made will have stronger buff effects and special abilities.]

[All of the legendary grade dishes that you will make in the next month will have stronger buff effects.]

[Your chances of creating legendary grade dishes in the next month will double.]

The ten legendary grade dishes that he made would have stronger effects? This was something that was already completely incomprehensible but the notifications were not over yet. The descending old book stopped in front of Minhyuk and…

Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 446: The Absolute God’s Secret

Please describe your opinion