Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 574: Battle of the Thrones (Middle)

Inside the Abyss, the Tomb of the Gods, was where Food God Allen created the power of ‘Everyone’s Happiness’ to save the 500,000 hungry people. However, the price that he had to pay was his life.

In this very same Abyss, Minhyuk was faced with the same trial. Minhyuk did not have the power of ‘Everyone’s Happiness’ like the previous Food God. And if he cooked for these hungry people one by one like what the previous Food God did, then the people here would start to kill each other and self-destruct.

‘That was the result of Food God Allen’s arrogance and the constant betrayal that he experienced from the gods.’

After watching how Food God Allen failed, Minhyuk found the easiest way to clear this trial.

[You can borrow the power of three gods.]

The answer was in this notification.

‘This was the simplest answer but he did not choose it.’

The Food God was someone that did not want anyone to be hungry. Minhyuk could not really say that he was stupid. Perhaps he chose that path because he felt so alone. After all, the Absolute Gods kept him from moving forward with his ideals, while those that he helped relieve the hunger they were experiencing craved and coveted his dishes and expertise more.

“I’m hungry…” a young boy said as he approached Minhyuk.

A bitter smile hung at the corners of Minhyuk’s lips as he looked at the people around him that were staring at him with blank and empty eyes. Then, he made the easiest choice that he had ever made in his life, “I will borrow the powers of the God of Creation, the God of Farming, and the God of Life.”

[You have borrowed the power of the gods.]

[The God of Farming asks you what kind of power you need.]

[The God of Life asks you to make a different choice from what the previous Food God chose.]

[The God of Life looks at you with eyes full of anticipation.]

Minhyuk looked around him. Why were 500,000 people starving in this kind of place? The answer to that question was quite easy to predict. They probably lost in a war and had to run here and hide as refugees. The problem was that the land that they chose to hide in had soil that was dry and cracked, and there was no sunshine shining from above. The place was literally a wasteland where no tree or grass could grow.

“God of Life, please turn this place into a place where nature can live and thrive.”

Then, the ground began to shake.

Rumbleeee—

As the ground shook, the dry and cracked land turned fertile and green. Roots began to spring up on the ground, turning into tens of thousands of trees. Then, the sunlight finally made an appearance in this land where no light has shone for so long.

“Sun, sunlight!”

“There’s sunlight!!!”

The people, who had not seen the light of the day for a long time, frowned at the glaring light, before their expressions slowly turned into bright and wide smiles. But that was not the end.

“God of Creation, please give me many seeds to grow various ingredients.”

With his words, huge bags appeared behind him. The bags were marked with ‘Wheat’, ‘Rice’, ‘Barley’, ‘Potatoes’, and many more.

“Waaaaaaaaah…”

“Amazing.”

“That’s so mysterious.”

Minhyuk then grabbed one of the bags and began to sprinkle the seeds on the ground.

“Let’s follow him.”

“He must be a god!”

“Aaah. What a great man!!!”

The people followed behind Minhyuk, copying how he sprinkled the seeds from the bag on the ground and began to sprinkle them in every direction. Minhyuk looked just like the Pied Piper, with the people following behind him.

After sowing all of the seeds everywhere in the village, Minhyuk looked at the ground and said, “God of Farming, please let these seeds grow well.”

Immediately after, the seeds that Minhyuk and the people had sown began to sprout and grow at a rapid pace. In the vast land that had nothing on it before, long stalks of wheat, rice and barley began to sway in the wind as tens of thousands of potatoes formed under the once dry land. In another place, ripe apples that were ready for the picking appeared on the branches of the trees.

“W, wooaaaaaaah…”

“Waaaaaaaaaaaah…!”

Everyone cheered loudly at the sight of the fruit. Those that had eaten the fruit and had regained their energy began to grab their farming tools and run toward the field. Sometimes, people just could not do things alone. There would definitely be some things that one had to do with someone else.

Just like that, Minhyuk created an environment where the hungry people could eat their fill. All that was left for them to do was to harvest the crops, cook and fill their stomachs by themselves. This was the answer that Minhyuk had thought of to solve this trial. This was the easiest path.

[You have cleared the trial that the Food God could not clear.]

[The gods are amazed at what you have achieved.]

[Some of the gods are praising your methods.]

[With the God of Life’s praise, your HP has risen by 1% permanently.]

[With the God of Farming’s praise, your HP has risen by 1% permanently.]

[With the God of Blacksmith’s praise, your DEX…]

Countless gods praised Minhyuk. They were gods that had met their demise, but it seemed like they could still live as long as they were within the ‘Abyss’. And then, the last god…

[You have acquired the Food God’s Absolute God’s Secret: ‘Everyone’s Happiness’.]

[With the Food God’s praise, you will be able to use the Absolute God’s Secret: ‘Everyone’s Happiness’ once at Level 9.]

[The Food God is smiling at you.]

…was also looking at Minhyuk, who had inherited his powers. And without any hesitation, Minhyuk checked the Absolute God’s Secret that the Food God had created, ‘Everyone’s Happiness’.

(Everyone’s Happiness)

Absolute God’s Secret

Level: 1

Mana Required: 5,000

Penalty for Use: All stats will decrease by 0.5%.

Cooldown: 144 hours.

Effects:

?If you use Everyone’s Happiness before cooking, the same dish will appear in front of ten people after you finish cooking.

?The effect of the dish would be the same for everyone.

?Your skill proficiency will increase whenever you create epic-grade, legend-grade or god-grade dishes or whenever the person that you cooked for is satisfied with the dish.

Everyone’s Happiness at Level 1 was already an amazing skill. However, there were parts where it fell short of Minhyuk’s expectations.

‘The penalty for use is too high.’

The fact that the same dish with the same effects would be created for ten people at the same time was amazing, but the 0.5% decrease in all stats was just too much. This meant that the higher the skill user’s stats were, the greater the penalty that they would receive. Because of that, Minhyuk had to weigh the pros and cons of using the skill. Would losing his stats and feeding ten people be worth it, or would it be much better if he preserved his stats? But with the Food God’s ‘praise’, Minhyuk would be able to use Everyone’s Happiness at Level 9 once. After checking the skill at Level 9…

“Keok!!!”

Minhyuk choked on his spit in shock.

‘I take back my words about the penalty being too high.’

What were the effects of Everyone’s Happiness at Level 9? It was the same 0.5% decrease in all stats as a penalty. However, the number of people had changed to infinite.

“…”

‘Is there really such a ridiculously OP skill like this?’

Of course, this was just a special privilege that he could only use once. But even though the skill level would be hard to increase, Minhyuk had confirmed that the number of people that it could feed would increase as the level increased.

At that moment, a whisper arrived.

[Genie: Minhyuk, we will open the gates and fight against the kings. I’m sorry. I think this is the right choice.]

[Minhyuk: If you say that it’s right, then it must be right. Just wait a bit more, I’ll be there soon.]

Genie was a smart woman. So, if she said it was right, then Minhyuk knew that her decision was right. At this moment, he realized that he had no more time to spare. Minhyuk quickly chose the parts that he needed from God’s Carefully Nurtured Abyss Cow. It had to be known that each part of this cow had different special abilities. And Minhyuk needed to choose the most fitting special abilities that would help the people that were still fighting and struggling in the Battle of Thrones after eating his buffed dish.

The part that Minhyuk chose was none other than the beef’s fan meat. The special effect of God’s Carefully Nurtured Abyss Cow’s flat iron was…

[Fan Meat: Permanent Effect—Stats will increase by +6 along with an increase in skill proficiency; Buff Effect—Stats and skill level increase will depend on the chef and the dish’s grade.]

Each part of the cow could produce a completely different effect; it could also allow Minhyuk to choose whether he would have a permanent effect or a buff effect. The permanent effect literally meant that the strengthening would remain with them forever. On the other hand, the buff effect would only be a temporary addition to their strength. This was the reason why permanent effects had a lower increase in power, while buff effects could produce tens of times of effect compared to the permanent one.

After choosing the beef’s fan meat as his main ingredient, Minhyuk proceeded to choose his other ingredients from the ones that he had obtained from Arlene’s Abyss Field.

Onion. The effect of the onion grown in the Abyss Field could recover a certain amount of the individual’s MP.

Potatoes. It could recover a part of an individual’s HP.

Garlic. It had the effect of increasing all of the individual’s defense.

King Oyster Mushroom. It could increase the individual’s attack by a small amount.

After choosing various ingredients like that, Minhyuk began to cook.

‘I don’t have time. I have to make a simple yet delicious meal.’

The beef’s fan meat was named as such because it resembled the fans spread out and held by the king’s maids of the past, as they fanned the king on both sides. This part was also used for bulgogi, or could also be used for a simple grill, or steak.

After a brief pause, Minhyuk decided on what to cook.

‘Cube steak.’

Cube steak literally meant a steak cut into cubes. They were very easy to eat and tasted good. Before he started cooking, Minhyuk triggered his skill first, “Use Everyone’s Happiness.”

[Everyone’s Happiness will be applied to the dish that you will make.]

[With the Food God’s praise, Everyone’s Happiness has reached Level 9.]

The first thing that Minhyuk did was to pat the beef fan meat with some kitchen towel to remove the blood. Then, he sprinkled it with some salt, pepper, and oil, enough to make one think that he had sprinkled too much. Then, he chopped the vegetables that he would grill together with the meat.

Tic, tic, tic, tic, tic—

After turning the stove on, Minhyuk placed the frying pan on top and spread some olive oil on it when it started to smoke. After everything was evenly heated, Minhyuk carefully placed the thick beef fan meat on the pan.

Sizzleeee—

White steam rose from the pan as a delightful aroma wafted in the air. After exactly one minute, Minhyuk flipped the meat over.

Sizzleeeee—

It looked like the other side had been burnt but that was not the case at all. It was still a tad bit red than what was usually preferred. And after another minute, Minhyuk flipped the meat again. As he grilled the meat, Minhyuk grabbed his tongs and scissors and cut the meat into cubes. Now, the meat has turned into an easy-to-eat cube steak. When Minhyuk poured another drizzle of olive oil on the pan, a burst of flame rose up.

Shwaaaaaaaaa—

Minhyuk cooked all of the steak in the fire together with the garlic, onion and mushroom. Finally, he made a potato salad by mashing some boiled potatoes and adding some mayonnaise and sugar into the mix.

Minhyuk poured the cube steak on one side of the plate. Then, he added the well-grilled garlic, onion, and mushrooms on another side, and the potato salad on the other. After finishing everything, Minhyuk did not delay further.

“Arlene. You’re watching, right? Let me out.”

Then, Minhyuk disappeared in a flash of light.

***

A beautiful scene unfolded when the first dish appeared in a flash of light. Then, the same dish appeared in front of all the South Korean rankers.

“What’s this…?”

“The Food God’s dish?”

“He prepared a dish for 10,000 people…?”

The 10,000 surviving Korean rankers were all shocked to see the same dish appear in front of them. Even the 27 kings were shaking their heads in disbelief.

“This is ridiculous. How can he make 10,000 buffed dishes? That’s completely impossible.”

“This is definitely a bug!”

“This is unacceptable!”

The kings’ words were completely reasonable. The Battle of Thrones was a place where all consumables could not be used. Restrictions like this would only be lifted with a special privilege. The 10,000 buffed dishes should obviously have been under restriction.

Even the entire world was calling this a ‘hack’. A game hack was an illegal manipulation of the game that could enable an abnormal behavior of one’s character. For example, a single player that could use a power equivalent to a billion’s power. However, a notification soon rang for everyone present.

[This is Joy Co. Ltd.’s announcement. South Korea’s King, Player Minhyuk, is not using a ‘hack’.]

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

Both the kings and the world were shocked. If that was not a hack, then was it a skill that the Food God possessed? However, one thing was for sure. If all the surviving 10,000 Korean troops ate those dishes, then the force that they could exert would increase by a ridiculous degree.

“Prepare to fire!”

The kings hurriedly raised their hands in signal. Tens of thousands of archers and mages prepared to launch another volley of attacks. But, at that moment, Ali, who received Minhyuk’s whisper in advance, jumped amidst the 10,000 surviving Korean rankers.

Ali and Minhyuk made eye contact.

‘Sorry, Ali.’

‘It’s alright.’

Then, a huge light exploded from within Ali’s body, engulfing the Korean rankers and dragging them up above the walls. This was a massive ‘Mass Teleport’, something that no player had ever seen before.

“He’s mass teleporting 10,000 people?”

“…”

The kings were all left speechless. The move was very shocking but the price to pay was too high. To do one of these massive Mass Teleports, Ali had to maximize and exhaust all of the power stored in Vormon’s Mana Heart. In other words, the price was Ali’s death.

“I leave everything to you.”

The rankers looked at the cube steak in their hands as Ali disappeared from sight. Then, the kings began to dash to where they were.

“Stop them!!!”

“No matter what happens, don’t let them eat that!!!”

“Everyone, attack!!!”

Tens of thousands of arrows and magical attacks rained down on the Korean rankers.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk left his throne and stood atop the walls, his red cape carrying the symbol of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom fluttering behind him.

“Steel Armor Mode.”

[The castle walls’ Steel Armor Mode has been activated.]

[The walls’ defenses have quadrupled.]

Clank, clank, clank, clank, clank—

Steel armor began to rise from the ground and cover the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s castle. Inside the castle that was slowly being covered by the steel armor sat many Korean rankers, who were looking at Minhyuk in worry. Minhyuk just looked at them with a smile on his face before jumping off of the walls.

Dash—

The entire castle was now covered with steel armor, but the 27 kings and the 200,000-strong troops still charged forward. Meanwhile, South Korea’s chosen King, with his red cape carrying the symbol of a fork and a knife crossed together on his back, took a step toward them and said, “Try to get past me. That is if you can.”

1. This is the beef’s flat iron.