Gourmet Gaming

After the Battle of the Thrones, breaking news kept on pouring out.

[The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom ranked the lowest in the Battle of Thrones but is the true number one?]

[The true potential of Beyond the Heavens and the Koreans that fought against twenty seven countries.]

[Vietnam’s Master Archer Miao has expressed her desire to establish friendly relations with Beyond the Heavens Kingdom…]

[Beyond the Heavens Kingdom is the most searched word in global portal sites.]

[Experts have predicted that many players will traverse the Stars’ Path and knock on the doors of Beyond the Heavens.]

[The membership of Food God Minhyuk’s fancafe ‘Eat ‘til We Die’ is expected to increase by around three million. His influence has such a great impact that even children dream of joining Beyond the Heavens.]

[Ilhwa Group’s sales have dramatically increased due to their successor, Kang Minhyuk’s move.]

[Ztube. The highlights of the Beyond the Heavens’ battle during the Battle of the Thrones have swept Ztube’s 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rankings. The 1st place in the rankings is the ‘King’s Banquet’, where the Food God sat on his throne in front of 300 million players.]

Many articles praised the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and the outstanding potential that they had shown during the Battle of the Thrones. Meanwhile, a lot of people were paying attention to the rewards of the one that sat on the Supreme Throne.

[Alexander sat on the Supreme Throne. What are the rewards that the American rankers had received?]

[Alexander and America have become even stronger.]

[For the American rankers, the rewards that they will receive will depend on their contributions. They will be able to receive artifacts from epic~legendary and an additional 50 platinum.]

[What rewards will the Beyond the Heavens and the Korean rankers receive?]

[The Food God, as the lowest ranking king, will receive the basic reward of 50 platinum and some EXP buff potions.]

[The participating Korean rankers will receive 3 platinum each.]

[The rewards will not end there.]

[Two days later, the MVP will be selected from the participating countries. The MVP country will be chosen through voting. 10% will come from the global experts’ votes and 90% will be from the viewers’ votes.]

[The rewards for the MVP country have not yet been revealed.]

That was right. Beyond the Heavens Kingdom received the lowest rewards. In all honesty, the rewards that they received were not enough for the effort that they had put into participating. Because of that, Haze, Minhyuk’s aid and the one in charge of the kingdom’s finances and many more things, felt her head ache as she looked at Minhyuk and Grandpa Ben sitting together.

‘Haa…’

Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was not able to generate enough profits for a few days because of their participation in the ‘Battle of the Thrones’, an event that God Athenae and Joy Co. had implemented. On top of that, the rewards that they received were also pitiful.

Of course, Haze heard that the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom did a great job during that event. They even gained high honor and reputation. However…

‘I’m the one in charge of the kingdom’s finances, Your Majesty.’

Haze smiled bitterly. Indeed, she was in charge of an important task: managing the finances of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. This was a very important task. After all, they could not afford to be the kingdom that was destroyed because they lack money, right? So, even though the entire Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was in a festive mood as if they had won a victory, she was not.

And Minhyuk…

“Hehe, grandpa. Ah~”

“Ah~ munch, munch. Mhmm~ Everything that Your Majesty feeds me is very delicious. Here, Your Majesty, have a sip.”

“Kihyaa~ Grandpa’s coffee is the best!”

…and Ben were looking at each other happily. Despite her troubles, Haze could not help but smile and laugh together with them. They looked very happy after meeting each other again. In fact, the two of them could not be separated at all. They had been like that for hours.

But then, a dark and gloomy voice rang from another side.

“The young king and the old, muscular veteran ate and laughed happily after meeting each other again… but Vellenia, the God of Love, felt jealous of their bond and separated them once again… This is the struggle of the young king as he marched to save the old veteran from the hands of God of Love Vellenia…!”

Aruvel, with his fierce and unrelenting momentum, was busy writing his new work, ‘His Majesty’s Escort Knight’. For some reason, Haze thought that she should not be here. So, she left the room and headed to the walls to look out at the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

However, Minhyuk followed after her and said, “I’m sorry. I did not meet your expectations, Haze.”

Haze smiled bitterly at his words. Just like she expected, Minhyuk could see through even the smallest of worries. Even though he was very happy to reunite with Ben, he still went out of his way to try and understand what she was feeling.

“Not at all, Your Majesty. You know, this is the reason why I can’t seem to have an ounce of dislike toward you.”

“Ah, I’m not too sure but keep this in mind just in case. We might be getting another set of rewards in two days' time.”

“Another reward?”

Haze tilted her head in confusion.

The other reward that Minhyuk was talking about was the MVP rewards. However, nothing had been confirmed yet. On top of that, many of the viewers were clamoring that taking 90% of the decision from viewers was not the right choice, since China had the greatest population among them. That was why Minhyuk could not confirm if Beyond the Heavens Kingdom would become the MVP.

“Ah, let me tell you this,” Minhyuk said as he looked at the other side of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s walls where the Stars’ Path ended, “We might not have received the material rewards, but we will be able to get far bigger rewards than that.”

“Yes?”

Haze could not understand at all but Minhyuk did not answer her, opting to just pat her on the shoulder and leave her be.

‘A bigger reward?’ Haze thought, looking curiously at the Stars’ Path, the very same direction where Minhyuk was looking at earlier.

***

What was the best chefs’ guild in South Korea’s Athenae? Anyone that was asked this question would answer ‘Louvert Guild’ without any hesitation. Louvert Guild was also one of the top three most influential guilds among all of the chefs’ guild in the Athenae worldview. Their guild master was none other than Twilight Chef Black, one of the top ten chefs in the world.

Guild Master Black and the Louvert Guild executives were having a meeting. All of the executive members of Louvert Guild were known as Korea’s best chefs. And right now, all of them were kicking up a fuss.

“Mr. Black, you said you’re going to Beyond the Heavens? What kind of nonsense is that?!”

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“What do you mean by mentioning Beyond the Heavens?! Have you forgotten your dream to make Louvert Guild the best chefs’ guild in the world?!”

Everything had started when Black made a bet with Genie. If the situation was not like that, Black could just go and say, ‘Eyyy, ptew, ptew, ptew! I revoke this bet!’ even if he would get cursed at by Genie. However, tens of thousands of Korean rankers as well as dozens of cameras were present back then.

“I don’t think I can go back on my word.”

“Then, are you really going to Beyond the Heavens, Black?”

“I don’t have anything to say to you even if I have ten mouths. I leave Louvert Guild in your care, please lead it on my behalf.”

“Ho~”

“How could you join Beyond the Heavens…”

Of course, Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was a guild that the entire world recognized. But what the executives were concerned about was the ‘cooking’ aspect of things. All of the people present here were Korean chefs that had studied diligently abroad. They were very proud of their cooking and they did not like how Beyond the Heavens and the Food God Minhyuk were promoting themselves through simple dishes that could be eaten every day.

On top of that, Louvert Guild should have been the only thing that was mentioned when it came to the topic of chefs’ guilds in Korea. However, many players placed Beyond the Heavens Kingdom on a higher pedestal than them. For a chefs’ guild like them, they did not like Beyond the Heavens at all. That was what every single one of them thought.

Then, Avetto, one of the guild executives, said, “How about this?”

All of the executives present had judged that their guild did not have someone talented enough to lead Louvert Guild other than Black. So, everyone turned to focus on what Avetto had to say.

“Louvert Guild’s executives should visit Beyond the Heavens to try and evaluate all of the dishes that they offer personally. Then, we will show them our cooking and show them that they do not have the qualifications to covet Black!”

“If the Food God has shame, then he will realize that the cooking and the dishes that their kingdom offers are completely lacking when compared to the dishes and the cooking that Black and the members of Louvert Kingdom make.”

“The dishes and food culture in Athenae is focused solely on ‘buffs’. What else can the Food God’s dishes boast other than buffs? On top of that, the dishes that he offers are those things that anyone can eat every day; instant food, hamburgers… and this time he even presented cube steak~”

“Hoo~ Those same cube steaks that they sell on food trucks on the street? There are people that enjoy those kinds of things?”

“…”

Black immediately turned mute. He was actually the one that ate those cube steaks the fastest out of the 10,000 people that were given that dish. Also…

‘I really want to join them.’

Black was able to experience what it was like to be with Beyond the Heavens firsthand. None of his guild members had been able to participate in the Battle of the Thrones. It was because chefs would not prove to be useful in that battle at all. It was only thanks to the Black’s buff skills as a chef that he was able to participate in the war. And it was only because he participated that he was able to taste the dish that the Food God had made himself. Despite the simple and easy recipe, the dish tasted divine. It was something that he wanted to achieve so badly.

“Beyond the Heavens is promoting the sales of street food. We will taste them ourselves and give our own evaluation. And we can also do business once we pay taxes, so we can show them what true cooking is!!!”

‘But… but I really want to go to Beyond the Heavens?’

“That’s right!!! Let’s smash the Food God’s upturned nose down and bring all their chefs to Louvert Guild!!!”

“Since the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom is trying to take away our great Black, let’s make an example out of them!!!”

Black looked at them and thought, ‘Please don’t do this to me…’

***

The eight Louvert Guild executives were hailed as ‘Great Chefs’. This was because each and every single one of them were very influential chefs in South Korea. Some of them were hailed as the masters of Japanese cuisine, while some were hailed as the masters of Korean cuisine. Some were adept at Western cuisine and others at Chinese cuisine. Most of them were well-known chefs.

The youngest among these eight chefs, Bok-Gyeong[1], clicked his tongue after seeing the state of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

‘I can’t believe people are being enticed by street food like that…!”

What these masters intended to do was to eat and evaluate the dishes that Beyond the Heavens Kingdom called their specialties, point out their problems, and do business for a few days in their kingdom to show them how things should be. Bok-Gyeong was one of the people tasked with this mission. Right now, he was queuing in a very long line.

“The fried chicken skewers here are amazing~”

“I heard that these are the most delicious fried chicken skewers in the world!”

“Kyaaa~! I’m so excited.”

He had been waiting for more than an hour now! In fact, Bok-Gyeong did not really like the taste of street food, ‘The seasonings are too stimulating, the hygiene is bad, and to top it all off, most of the vendors that sell on the streets do not have an ounce of knowledge in cooking.’

But they had the audacity to name the fried chicken skewers stall as ‘Emperor’s Skewers’. The person selling the fried chicken skewers was quite bulky and from what it looked like, he was selling fried chicken skewers that were heavily seasoned with chicken sauce.

‘The flavor should be ordinary. It’s obvious that they’re selling these by exaggerating the flavor,’ Bok-Gyeong concluded as his thoughts continued, ‘By the way, I wonder where the Chef of Delight is?’

The Chef of Delight was a chef with out-of-this-world skills that shook the entire Asgan Continent before. From what Bok-Gyeong had heard, the dishes made by the Chef of Delight were, at the very least, comparable to Black’s own dishes. It was also said that each of the dishes that he made were as special as they were delicious. Bok-Gyeong believed that he deserved to be hailed as a true, genuine chef, especially after he saved many people with his single dish.

However, the reason why Bok-Gyeong was particularly interested in the Chef of Delight was because he was the NPC that could help a player change into the legendary class: Chinese Cuisine’s Legend. Eating his dish for the first time would allow one to gain enlightenment. Also, learning to cook from him would allow them to change their job class.

Bok-Gyeong, who was busy thinking about many things, finally stood at the front of the line. From up close, the chef looked a bit old. Bok-Gyeong looked at the chef and sarcastically said, “Why is this skewer called Emperor’s Skewer?”

“Hoho. Believe it or not, I used to be the head chef of Her Majesty Ellie.”

Bok-Gyeong thought that the man selling the skewers was trying to make him laugh!

‘What? This bastard was Ellie’s chef?’

Bok-Gyeong almost snorted. Fried chicken skewers were something that even a ten-year-old could easily do after being taught! Then, the NPC’s name appeared above the man’s head.

‘Len.’

The man selling fried chicken skewers was the same man that worked as Empress Ellie’s main chef, the very same man that taught Food God Minhyuk how to cook, and the one that saved the world through cooking. He was Asgan Continent’s legend, the Chef of Delight.

1. 복경(Bok-Gyeong) is Beijing or Peking. ☜