Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 23: It's Zero Calories if It's Delicious

The ring that dropped had a small pair of white wings attached to it.

[You have acquired Hermes' Ring.]

Minhyuk immediately checked the item's information.

[Hermes' Ring]

Class: Unique

Requirement: Level 10

Durability: 782/1,000

Defensive Power: 52

Special Abilities:

?AGI +15

?Skill: Haste

Description: A ring that Hermes accidentally dropped. It has the Haste spell attached to it. It seems to be useful for Warrior-class players.

'Ho.'

Minhyuk then went on to check the information on the skill?Haste.

(Haste)

Artifact Skill

Level: None

Mana Required: 50

Cooldown: 2 hours

Effects: 1.3x attack speed and movement speed for 10 seconds.

The skill was worthy for the item to be classified as unique. It could increase the player’s attack speed by 1.3 times for 10 seconds. From what he gathered, the higher the level of Haste, the greater the increase in attack speed and skill duration. The problem was the skill was an artifact skill. Unfortunately, this meant that the skill level would not increase.

At that moment…

"Minhyuk, what do we do now…" Rakku asked, her voice tinted with anxiety.

"Let's go."

"What, where…?"

"To kill a pig!"

"With just the two of us?!"

"Yes, don't worry. I already tested it earlier. Those mini ants? They're easy to deal with. Besides, since Roy could get out of that place safely by himself, it means that the sweet python is easy to deal with too.”

"Uhmm…"

"Let's go!" Minhyuk said, but, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Why didn't he disappear yet?"

"Maybe he hasn't logged out yet? He's probably swearing at us like crazy right now."

"Is that so?" Minhyuk said, nodding his head in understanding. Then…

"Eyy!"

Minhyuk pushed Roy’s body away with the tip of his big toe before skipping off happily.

***

Team Leader Park was very shocked as he said, "Wow! Isn’t this player perfect? Well, except for his food consumption.”

He shook his head as he continued to watch Minhyuk on the monitor. Team Leader Park could see that Minhyuk had the ability to read the atmosphere and flow of the situation, while calmly making his decisions. He also had precise control over his movements and attacks.

"Puppeteer?Roy's strength is around Level 20, but…" Lee Minhwa mumbled.

Then, Team Leader Parked ordered, "Show me Player Minhyuk's stats window."

"Yes!"

(Minhyuk)

Level: 10

Class: None

HP: 431?MP: 280

STR: 47+14??AGI: 37+32 ?STM: 25+12

WIS: 20+8 ?INT: 20+8 ?Rep: 16

Fullness: 100%/10

Bonus Point: 0

"..."

"..."

The two of them remained silent for a while. Team Leader Park scratched his head in confusion as he said, "...Just what did he do to achieve stats like that while being a classless Level 10?!"

"He ate well and exercised diligently."

"..."

"It?was?what he said the last time."

"I can’t even refute it because I know that it's 100% true…"

Team Leader Park wanted to analyze this rationally, but he had no words to describe the situation. Then he said, "However, it's still too early for Player Minhyuk to relax."

"That's right." Lee Minhwa answered while nodding.

"From here on out, we will see the full power of the Puppeteer. Before, he had no choice but to move like a spearman, but now…"

The Puppeteer was a special case among the classes currently acquired by players, considered to be one of the strongest classes among the secret classes. In fact, while there were players who had noticed the Puppeteer committing PK, the Puppeteer had always been successful. And the reason was…

"He can immediately trigger Ghost Puppetry?the moment he dies."

"Yeah. It truly is a horrifying skill." Lee Minhwa nodded as she continued.

“He will go into a transparent viewing mode and stick to a player. After triggering Ghost Puppetry and clinging to another player, the Puppeteer will be able to come back to life once the player hunts mobs. The more monsters the player hunts, the more the Puppeteer will be able to fill the progress bar, the greater the chances of him coming back to life. What’s worse is the fact that he can turn the corpses in the area into his puppets.”

“That’s right. You’re quite good at memorizing, huh?”

Team Leader Park could see that the new recruit, Lee Minhwa, was doing a superb job in memorizing the characteristics of the special players.

Hearing the praise, Lee Minhwa beamed with delight.

“Here’s a question then. What are the risks that Player Roy faces when using the Ghost Puppetry skill while still at a low level?”

“The strength of the revived mob will only be at 60% of its original strength. Also, the mob can only be counted if its body is intact.”

"That’s right. You’re really smart.."

"...Hmm?" Lee Minhwa hummed as she turned her head to look at Team Leader Park.

"What’s the matter?"

"Team Leader, the mob’s body has to be intact, right?"

"That's right. With his current level, a damaged monster will not increase his progress bar.

"...There is an apple on top of the head of the sweet python."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Team Leader. It's an apple, you know?" Lee Minhwa said in frustration.

"That's why I'm asking, what's wrong… oh?!" Team Leader Park said, looking at Lee Minhwa in shock, realization dawning upon him.

"A…apples are meant to be eaten."

“Hey. That's not true. The apple on top of the head of the sweet python has poison. If he eats that, his experience will drop.”

"Yes. That’s true, his experience will really drop. But…"

Lee Minhwa looked at the monitor and said, "The apples on top of the sweet python’s head are known to be more delicious compared to regular apples."

***

'Ptui, ptui, ptui, ptui!'?Roy spat as he glued himself to Minhyuk’s shoulder in transparent mode.

Anyone who saw the state that he was in right now would be terrified to see that he only had a head. He kept on trying to spit on Minhyuk’s head, but since he was in transparent mode, his spit could not reach Minhyuk at all.

Then, a sweet python appeared.

'This damned bastard. The moment I get resurrected, I will slit your throat!'

Hermes’ Ring was a pretty expensive ring that Roy had wanted to trade and sell for cash. However, Minhyuk had taken it after it dropped from his body.

'Fufufufu, I can't wait to see his expression once he sees me revive.'

This revival had allowed him to kill plenty of people so far. But in order for Roy to reverse his death, he had to cling on the player’s shoulders and wait for them to kill monsters and fill the progress bar to 100%. Only then, could he revive and stab them to death. This time would not be any different.

"Oh, that's the sweet python?" Minhyuk remarked as he licked his lips.

'???'?Roy looked at Minhyuk strangely as he watched the latter rush towards the sweet python.

The sweet python was at least two meters long. It also had a bright, shiny red apple the size of a fist, attached atop its head.

'This rascal is really strong. What did he do to get this strong?'

Not long after, the sweet python died. Seeing it collapse, Roy felt like no one would be able to stop him from coming back to life and giving the two bastards a surprise.

'Well then, one mob’s down.'

Generally, a single sweet python would fill Roy’s progress bar by 10%. This meant that his revival would be coming very ‘soon’. However, before he could even rejoice, Minhyuk suddenly reached his hand out towards the sweet python.

"It's an apple, an apple!"

"Minhyuk, that's a poisonous apple!" Rakku said, trying to stop him.

For things attached to a monster’s body, like the poisonous apple, it would not be dropped upon death. However, the player could decide to take it away or not. Generally, players would not care too much about the poisonous apples. However, Minhyuk snatched it away from the sweet python’s?body and checked its information.

(Sweet Python's Poisonous Apple)

Material Grade: E

Special Abilities:

?Experience will drop by 5%

?Much more delicious than any regular apple.

"Did you check it?"

"Yes…" Minhyuk answered as his body trembled.

In fact, Minhyuk already knew that the apple on the sweet python’s head was poisonous. After all, he had already checked online for its information in advance.

Rakku laughed when she saw him trembling. She said, "Did you hope that it was a good item? No way, it's really just a miscellaneous item. The store wouldn't even buy it. Quickly throw it away and let's move forward."

Perched on Minhyuk’s shoulder, Roy nodded quietly. He agreed with Rakku’s words completely.

'That's right, you shit. Fufu. You should understand that it's a miscellaneous item, okay? Now, throw it away! Move forward and don't ever touch it again!'

However, Minhyuk spoke quietly, "Rakku, do you like Blue Velvet?"

"What?" Rakku asked in confusion.

Blue Velvet was one of the most popular girl groups in the country.

Minhyuk was so excited to be eating an apple that was much more delicious than a regular apple, that he burst out into a song .

“R, red flavor~!”

"..."

"I’m curious, honey~!”

"...?"

“It tastes like a slowly melting poisonous apple when I bite into it~!”

Minhyuk was looking at the apple in his hand lovingly. It had a smooth and shocking red color, with not a single bruise in sight. Then, he opened his mouth and took a big bite.

Crunch!

The light and crisp sound of someone biting into a juicy apple rang out loudly in the area. Minhyuk felt the sweet apple juice fill every corner of his mouth with every crispy and juicy bite that he took.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

Minhyuk’s mouth was filled with mouth-watering and refreshing sweetness.

[You have eaten a poisonous apple.]

[Your experience will drop by 5%.]

"That’s right! This is it! It's zero calories if it's delicious~"

"..." Rakku was left completely and utterly speechless at the sight.

There were a lot of dishes that could be made using apples. One could make jam and use it as a spread for bread. Or, they could just blend it and make it into a drink. It was also considered to be a very delicious and extremely healthy fruit.

Apples are also known to help maintain healthy and strong teeth, while preventing illnesses like constipation and diabetes. Minhyuk smiled happily as he gnawed on the apple until only its pit was left.

"Kyaa~ This refreshing taste is the reason why I eat apples."

Minhyuk looked at Rakku and asked, "Would you like to try one too? After all, we’re hunting together, so this is fine!”

"...No, thank you,” Rakku answered. She looked at him, wondering who the hell Minhyuk was.

Meanwhile, Roy was looking at Minhyuk incredulously.

'T, this guy is crazy!'

However, he was able to calm down shortly after.

'Phew, phew… No. It was probably because he was just curious. Which crazy bastard will sacrifice 5% of their experience continuously just to eat apples?'

Roy could not guarantee that Minhyuk would continue picking the apples off of the sweet python’s?head. As long as he did not touch them, then he would be able to fill his progress bar.

"Woohoo! It's an apple, an apple!"

Roy’s wishful thinking was completely shattered. Minhyuk easily dealt with all of the sweet pythons that appeared, and as they continued to hunt the?sweet pythons, he?picked the apples on their heads without fail.

"Wow. I’m so happy…" Minhyuk said with a bright smile on his face as he bit into another apple.

Roy shouted at him,?'Shit, this apple-crazy bastard! What a crazy rascal, you’re the only one who would eat this experience-draining apple just because it's delicious. Wow. I have never seen a guy like you in my life before!'

However, Minhyuk only felt a tickle in his ears.

'Is someone insulting me?'

Rakku couldn’t help but open her mouth to say, "W…what in the world is wrong with you… Those are your hard-earned EXP points…"

"Miss," Minhyuk replied seriously.

"Yes?"

"Have you ever tried eating only 5,000 cherry tomatoes every day?"

"Are you talking about elephants?"

"..."

"???"

"Don't tell me to stop if you haven't tried it yet. If you eat 5,000 of those every day, then you will also be like me,” Minhyuk said indignantly, feeling a strange tingling at the tip of his nose.

***

Fifteen minutes later.

'Ugh!!! This is impossible!'?Roy screamed once again.

The Ghost Puppetry's progress bar should have been filled within thirty minutes. If he failed to do so, he would die and receive twice the penalty. This was the Ghost Puppetry’s side effect. At that moment…

Fwoosh―

Roy's transparent figure disappeared slowly. However, Minhyuk was completely oblivious to it. He just kept on picking his apples happily as he advanced further into the dungeon with Rakku. After walking for a while, they finally arrived in front of the boss room.

'Porky, just wait a bit more. Hyung is coming.'

Minhyuk's expression grew solemn as he pushed the thick, iron door in front of him. He knew that he would finally be able to meet his long-awaited pork the moment he opened this door.

Creak—

The iron door creaked loudly as Minhyuk opened it.

Bang!

Once the door was completely opened, Minhyuk tightened his grip on the Sword of Rebellion.

1. For those who are interested to know what song it is...