Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 80: Chocolate Mine

The reason why they were dumbfounded was because blacksmithing had a higher risk of failure compared to farming and bandaging. Although Minhyuk did not explicitly say it, saying that he had learned the blacksmithing skill just a day prior was equivalent to saying that he was a novice in the field. Like a person that had never cooked before, if they were to try making rice without following the recipe, they would not be able to cook rice properly. A novice blacksmith would also fail like that. So, what would happen in the event that Minhyuk failed? The durability would drop significantly. Once the durability dropped past a certain level, the tool would even break.

“Ah…h…huh? Ah! No, it…it’s alright!”

“It’s not alright at all. How can you even dig for minerals with pickaxes like that?!”

“...”

Leton suddenly hesitated after seeing the shine in Minhyuk’s eyes. He could even tell that Minhyuk’s eyes were screaming something along the lines of?‘I want to help you, please let me help you!’. That was when Leton realized,?‘Ah, wait. The durability of this tool is already running out, it’s almost at the brink of breaking.’

So, Leton handed the pickaxe over to Minhyuk and said, “Please fix this for me!”

“I understand.”

Ruwan clicked his tongue when he saw the scene. He thought,?‘It’s definitely going to break.’

Ruwan was quite confident that the iron of the pickaxe would break. Leton giving his tool to this novice blacksmith was like giving a fish to a cat! Ruwan knew this well because he had a lot of blacksmith friends.

Then, Minhyuk transformed Ellie’s Kitchen Knife into a blacksmith’s hammer, before placing the pickaxe on top of an anvil that looked like it was used by novices. He said, “Repair!”

The places that he needed to hammer on started to glow. This was the magnificence of DEX! It did not end there. There was another change that Minhyuk noticed after his DEX reached 1,000, that was not mentioned by the notifications. Before he reached 1,000, he would only see a white mark on the part where he needed to work on, just like in his bandaging skill before. However, right now, Minhyuk could see red spots inside those white spots. In other words, the red spots were the places where he needed to work carefully whether it was in bandaging or blacksmithing.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Minhyuk worked hard to pound those spots with his hammer. He carefully adjusted his strength depending on the color of light that he saw. The way he moved looked similar to a skillful blacksmith that had been working for years.

‘H…he said that he learned yesterday. Right…..?!’?Ruwan thought. He had tried to beat some metal on this anvil before because he believed that foundation and basic skills were extremely important for blacksmiths! But no matter how hard he tried, he could not achieve the amount of skill Minhyuk was displaying!

After Minhyuk worked on the almost-broken pickaxe, the finished product was now gleaming brightly.

[You have perfectly repaired the pickaxe.]

[The artifact’s durability has greatly increased.]

[The artifact won’t rust easily.]

[The repair’s effect will increase mining efficiency.]

“...?!”

Minhyuk looked at the pickaxe in surprise. Ruwan was also shocked. He mumbled, “D…don’t tell me that it triggered the ‘perfect’ thing?”

“Yes!”

“...My goodness. I can’t believe that a novice blacksmith will be able to trigger a one-in-a-thousand effect so easily.”

“Eh?”

Minhyuk looked at him in confusion. Ruwan then proceeded to explain, “The higher the skills of the blacksmith, the higher the probability of the blacksmith triggering the ‘perfect’ effect. However, it isn’t an easy task. Did you feel something different when you triggered the perfect effect? Triggering the perfect effect will give out special privileges.”

“Ah.”

Special privilege. Just like the bandaging skill’s special privilege, the blacksmithing skill also had a special privilege! However, it was good that the effect of the blacksmithing skill’s special privilege was permanent. Meanwhile, Leton was busy admiring his gleaming pickaxe that was once almost broken.

“If you like,?I can?repair your pickaxes for you.”

“Oh. Would you really do that?”

“Yes!” Minhyuk answered. In no time at all, Minhyuk’s Novice Blacksmithing skill’s special abilities had increased by five. He could now sharpen blades and polish armors! Minhyuk quickly tried the sharpening ability.

[You have perfectly sharpened the pickaxe’s blade.]

[The artifact’s durability has greatly increased.]

[The repair’s effect will increase mining efficiency.]

Another perfect! Minhyuk chuckled happily as he thought, ‘If I ask about the chocolate tree right now, maybe Leton will tell me a lot!’

Leton picked the pickaxe and checked its information.

(Well-Sharpened Pickaxe)

Class: Normal

Requirements: None

Durability: 368 / 800

Attack Power: 76

Mining Power: 152 + 42

“Oh…!”

Leton’s pickaxe’s durability was originally at 6/800. Now, it had been raised to 368. Even the mining power had an additional +42. In other words, it was an effect that Minhyuk had added on to the pickaxe. Leton continued to admire the pickaxe as he thought,?‘I can’t believe such a talented person came into our mining team!’

Ruwan watched from the sidelines and noticed it too. He thought,?‘How can he achieve ‘perfect‘ twice in a row...?’

It was completely absurd! Some of the blacksmiths that Ruwan knew were among the top ten in the country, but he knew that they could only achieve ‘perfect’ if they were extremely lucky that day. What did this mean?

***

Team Leader Park murmured, ?“It’s because Player Minhyuk’s level is low while his DEX is extremely high...”

Lee Minhwa nodded in agreement.

“You know about it too, right?” Team Leader Park asked.

“Of course,” Lee Minhwa said. She nodded and turned to look at the monitor to explain, “DEX is a very difficult stat to raise. It’s because there’s a limit to raising it with manual labor. Also, the higher the level of the player, the lower the DEX Acquisition Rate.”

“That’s correct,” Team Leader Park said, nodding as he continued to listen to Lee Minhwa’s explanation.

“Generally, Level 100 non-combat players only have around 200 DEX. If, by any chance, the player is a bit special and has reached a DEX higher than 200 at Level 100, they would be given privileges continuously. As for Player Minhyuk, he has accumulated 1000 DEX before he even reached Level 100. This is not just a simple increase in DEX. This is more than double the average. This means that he will always get the most powerful, even perfect effect every time he uses skills related to DEX.”

“And for someone like Player Minhyuk, his DEX will most probably only continue to increase from here on out.”

“...Yes.”

If things continued to proceed in this manner? Player Minhyuk’s DEX-related skills would continue to grow in an unpredictable path, and might even reveal an unimaginable power.

“We don’t have any choice but to wait for his level to increase so that his acquisition rate will go down, right?”

“Yeah,” Team Leader Park nodded. Then, he looked at another monitor showing the situation of the other god class, Hepas’ Descendant. It was none other than Hyemin’sDaddy.

***

Hyemin’sDaddy wiped the sweat off of his forehead with the towel hanging off of his neck. He thought,?‘I can’t believe that Hyemin’s eating so well in the hospital now...’

He could not help but grin. Hyemin ate the meals prepared by the hospital the moment she logged out of the game. It seemed like her appetite shot up like crazy when her resistance to food disappeared. He had laughed helplessly at how much she was eating.

Then, as he was finishing the commissioned ‘frying pan’, he muttered to himself, “But…why did it have to be a frying pan?! Why?!”

Hyemin’sDaddy continued to mutter as he stared blankly in space. “Ting... tingtingting. Taeng... taengtaengtaeng. Tingting taengtaeng fry pan game. Taemin, two. Taemin, Taemin.”

Hyemin’sDaddy’s face remained blank. The frying pan in his hands contained the Gryphon’s Spirit. It was a frying pan that could rival the Dragon Sword in terms of power and abilities! But that was not enough. Hyemin’sDaddy was a perfectionist by nature. Even his class, Hepas’ Descendant, required him to become a perfectionist in his artifacts and skills. In fact, people would definitely be astonished if they heard that this frying pan was still considered to be an incomplete and unfinished product.

Gryphon’s Spirit was already an excellent artifact material. Furthermore, the one to handle such a material was none other than him, Hepas’ Descendant. Strangely enough, the frying pan was already well made. However, to Hyemin’sDaddy, it was still a few percent short from 100%! If he released this artifact right now, he was sure that it would garner considerable fame and influence. However, he felt that there was something missing.

After pondering for quite some time, he finally realized what it was. He thought,?‘The frying pan will be used by that guy to cook.’

Minhyuk wanted a frying pan that could help him cook and make stir fried pork well. With that thought in mind, Hyemin’sDaddy thought that it would be good if he could add an ore with fire attribute to the pan. He said, “It shouldn’t be just fire, the ore should have a variety of properties... I wish there’s a material like that.”

That was when he recalled something that he heard a long time ago, regarding an excellent artifact material with all attributes.

“It would be nice if I could get my hands on a material like that...” He murmured softly, speaking his thoughts to no one in particular..

***

“Oh! Boy, this is really great! Please fix my pickaxe too!”

“Include my worn-out work boots too!”

“Please fix my safety helmet too!”

“Repair!”

“Repair!”

“Repair!”

Minhyuk repaired all of the tools and equipment of the miners in the Fifth Mining Team. At the same time…

[You have received Yaru’s favor.]

[You have received Bren’s favor.]

[You have received Rasno’s favor.]

In just a blink of an eye, he became friends with the miners. That was not all.

“I hurt my hand while I was sharpening my pickaxe a few days ago.”

“This...! I’ll treat you. Bandage!”

This was Minhyuk’s chance to master his skills! Besides, his DEX would definitely increase if he repeatedly used his DEX related skills! Minhyuk continued to do this for that privilege. Besides, he was not doing it for free.

“From now on, if you give me the chocolate that comes out together with the iron ore, I will help you with your tools and injuries! I also need to earn some profit!”

“Ah, is that all? Haha. Is that your repair fee?”

“Well, here’s some chocolate!”

“Ah. Me too. Here you go, I have four chocolates with me!”

“I have ten! Can you also fix my face so that I will look good?”

“Y…you have to be born again...”

“Huh?”

Cold sweat dripped down Minhyuk’s back when he heard the miner’s excessive request! He thought,?‘Oh my god, how do I fix an ugly face! It’s not possible with my bandaging skill, maybe it’s still not possible with plastic surgery or even internal medicine!’

However, the effects of his bandaging skill were much more effective than what he initially thought! In any case, Minhyuk used his glib tongue and showed off his experience with flattery.

“Your fist-sized nose! It represents the true virtues of a man! Your slitted eyes resemble that of a hawk! And your big, boulder-like face! It makes you look like a character from Maple Story! Isn’t it already great as it is? You’re already a handsome man!”

“Keuhahahaha! Thanks! But, what is?Maple Story?”

“I know about it. It’s a game about fallen leaves.”

“I see. Keuhahahaha. Hey, look. This boy here says that I’m handsome!”

.

Then, another man whispered in Minhyuk's ears. He said, “Boy. Did you just sell your conscience and dignity for?chocolate?”

Minhyuk was caught off-guard that he snorted and choked on his saliva. Anyway, he was able to raise his skill proficiency and eat chocolates at the same time, so he was killing two birds with one stone.

In the spare time that he got, he asked Leton about the Chocolate Tree. Leton said, “Chocolate tree?”

However, Leton thought,?‘The Chocolate Tree... It definitely exists. But, I can’t just let anyone know.’

Minhyuk was the first person to have ever reached Leton’s standards. He also thought that he was extremely kind and amiable. However, for that same reason, he also needed to know Minhyuk better, before saying anything to him. So, he said, “Isn’t it just a legend that has been passed through ages? I don’t know much about it either. Haha.”

“Ah... Is that so?” Minhyuk replied sadly. Perhaps, the clue to the legend ended here. Was it really just a legend? No, that was definitely not the case.

‘Wait! Don’t I have that skill? Ingredient Tracking?’

Since the effect of the tree was to ‘Cure Someone at The Brink of Death’, he used that as the basis to track the ingredient.

‘Use the ingredient tracking skill once,’?Minhyuk thought as the choices for Korean Cuisine, Chinese Cuisine, Western Cuisine, etc. popped in his head. Of course, dessert was also included in the choices. Chocolate naturally fell under the dessert category.

[You have selected?Dessert.]

[What is your desired buff effect?]

‘Save the dead.’

[Searching for the ingredients in a 1-km radius.]

[Successfully searched for the ingredients.]

[The Chocolate Tree can save the dead, but it is also a legendary material that has various properties.]

[Can be cooked with Food God's Cooking Skill Level 1.]

[Suggested Menu: Brownies.]

“...!”

Minhyuk had realized the Ingredient Tracking Skill’s additional effect. The last time he used it to find the Orc Chieftain’s Essence, the ingredient’s location did not appear since he was more than a kilometer away. However, the location was marked in a map the moment he stepped within a 600-meter radius from the ingredient. Minhyuk’s eyes darted around as he looked at his surroundings. He was also able to see the troops of the kingdom coming out of the mines.

“We have taken care of all the monsters inside. All of the miners can now enter.”

“Then, let’s go! Let’s go and test out these newly repaired full-set equipment!”

Minhyuk turned to look at the other mining caves. However, the red mark was not pointing to those places, only in the cave that he and Leton were entering. Minhyuk could clearly see the red mark pointing at the cave. It was where the Fifth mining Team was headed to. This was proof that the mine was the entry to where the Chocolate Tree was located. Minhyuk pumped his fists and muttered subconsciously, “Brownie…”

“Eh? What did you say?” Ruwan asked. However, his words did not register in Minhyuk’s ears.

Even though Minhyuk could be considered a man amongst men, whenever he went to a cafe to study with his friends, he would still ask them ‘Hey, should we order a brownie?’ everytime. He liked to eat it. The soft, moist, and sweet brownie that always melted in his mouth. It was the perfect fit for the bitter Americano.

“It’s really delicious!”

“Gasp?!”

“Gasp?!”

All of the miners walking with Minhyuk turned around in shock when they suddenly heard him shout. Minhyuk hurriedly apologized, “Ah. I’m sorry.”

“...That surprised me.”

“My heart almost dropped.”

A miner approached Leton and remarked, “Our new recruit is kind, bubbly and very good at repairing our tools. He also treated our injuries, and is good looking! But, he’s just a tad strange, huh?”

“...I know.”