Gourmet Gaming

Minhyuk was smiling brightly as he ate candy. Sweet candy! These kinds of candies were usually placed in wooden baskets in department stores or mobile phone dealerships as a sort of free service for customers. Right now, Minhyuk was eating them without an ounce of guilt after Harmel, the woman at the counter, told him that they would not say anything even if he ate a pillar out of the candy factory.

“I did not eat as much as I thought I would,” Minhyuk said as he looked at the thousands of candy wrappers the size of a thumb scattered around him. The door slowly opened, then…

Bang!

…it immediately closed with a bang. Not long after, Harmel and another man entered the room. The man looked like he had been hit on the head cleanly. He said, “I’m Gordon, the Chef Tower’s deputy tower master.”

“Oh, your name sounds good.”

“Yes?”

The man had the same name as that world-class chef! Minhyuk did not know for sure but he thought that the man would definitely cook something delicious with his name like that, right? Minhyuk licked his lips as he thought of that.

Pause!

‘What? I…is he gay?’ Gordon thought, looking at Minhyuk cautiously.

“Oh, it’s another bag of candy!”

“C…can you stop eating it now?” Harmel asked. In response, Minhyuk played the player’s ‘recording’ button that he had prepared for this occasion.

[Even if you eat enough to pull out a pillar out of the candy factory, the Chef Tower will not say anything~]

“This candy-crazy bas...”

“Yes?”

“No, nothing,” Gordon said, shaking his head.

Meanwhile, Harmel was shocked. She thought, ‘Me…meticulous. How can a person be this meticulous and shameless?!’ In the end, all she could do was get more candy.

Then, Gordon brought out a hologram interface and said, “You can exchange your 15,200 points for equipment, gears, and even skill books.”

Minhyuk peeled another candy and placed it in his mouth as he listened to Gordon.

“I personally recommend that you get the Spirit King’s Chef’s Uniform,” Gordon said. 

Gordon was by no means a pushover, after all, he was the Chef Tower’s deputy tower master! Tower masters in places like the Warrior Tower, Mage Tower and Archer Tower actually had the same influence as an emperor. Of course, even if Gordon was a non-combatant, and was only a deputy tower master of the Chef Tower, he still held a lot of power! However, there was a reason why Gordon was acting friendly with Minhyuk.

‘Collecting this many points means that he is a special chef,’ Gordon thought. He knew that Minhyuk was definitely a person that should be treated with courtesy.

“The reason why I recommend the Spirit King’s Chef’s Uniform is because it increases the buff by 30% when it is equipped. Furthermore, it has a +50 STR and +50 AGI that can help a chef hunt monsters much more efficiently. It also has an effect that increases your affinity with spirits. You won’t be able to buy it anywhere else. It’s actually a unique item, but it’s as strong as an epic artifact.”

“Is there an effect that increases the taste?”

“None. But I assure you that this is the best artifact in the entire Chef Tower...”

“That’s not good.”

“It’s not a good artifact? Eh?” Gordon asked, feeling strange.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk thought, ‘No, what do you mean there’s no increase in taste?! Does that even make any sense?!’

The most important thing for him was missing, so how could it be considered the best. Right? Gordon tried to deny his claims as he said, “Increasing the buffs means that it will be easier to hunt with a party, and there’s also the increase in STR and AGI! Perhaps you’re mistaken.”

“Nope. It’s a bad artifact. I’m sure of it.”

“N…no? Why in the world is it not good?” Gordon asked in shock.

Then, Minhyuk explained, “Isn’t a chef someone who makes delicious food?”

“Ye…yes?” Gordon said, nodding his head. That was something that he could not refute because it was true.

“It’s better to have an increase in taste, especially if you want to feed yourself and other people, right?”

Nod━

“But since you mentioned that buffs are important, does that mean that a chef does not feed others food, but buffs?”

Nod━

“Don’t you think that this product is no good precisely because of that?”

Nod.

“When you think of it like that, then it’s really no good... Ah! N…no. That’s not it! Aren’t you going to level up? You have to hunt in parties too!”

“A chef prefers buffs instead of the deliciousness of food? I’m so disappointed!”

“...”

Gordon sighed. He asked, “Is there a reason why you’re insisting on this thing? 15,000 points is really a huge amount.”

“Is it a problem to find delicious ingredients?”

Gordon felt like he had been hit with a hammer on his head. He was deeply moved as he thought, ‘M…my goodness...!’

This was a true chef! Instead of using his 15,000 points to find skill books and artifacts, he was looking for delicious ingredients.

‘He’s even willing to spend a huge amount of money in his quest to find delicious food and share it with others!’

This was a chef!

[You have gained Gordon’s favor.]

[You have gained Gordon’s favor.]

Minhyuk was shocked and confused. He had clearly expressed his disappointment in Gordon, but his favor still increased. Then, Minhyuk quickly moved past the ingredients and went directly to the dishes.

‘Blissful mushroom soup. A +50 increase in all 5 basic stats and +50 increase in magical defense. But, it does not say ‘more delicious’ so this is no good.’

Minhyuk skimmed through the dishes one after the other to find something delicious, until his fingers stopped at one item.

“Gasp...!” Minhyuk gasped loudly in shock. He had found a great dish! He said, “I can’t believe there’s such a precious and valuable dish listed in here!”

Gordon did not know what Minhyuk was talking about, so he looked at what he was looking at. Then, he thought, ‘This is a precious thing...?’

Minhyuk was looking at a dish called Gray Chapagetti. He immediately checked the information of the dish.

(Gray Chapagetti)

Ingredient Grade: C

Special Abilities:

•+3 in all five basic stats

•A chapagetti glowing in a gray light with a deeper and much tastier flavor.

Description: A gray chapagetti that can be purchased  with 15,000 points in the Chef Tower. It tastes good but is not recommended for purchase.

Harmel came inside carrying two boxes of candies. Minhyuk stood up and took the boxes from her, before saying, “Do you know the song about this dish?”

“...?”

Gordon and Harmel looked at him strangely as he straightened his body up. Then Minhyuk started humming a song, “Cha~ Cha~ Chapagetti! Nongsin Chapagetti[1].”

“...”

“I’ll take this one! Chapagetti!”

[Would you like to choose the Gray Chapagetti?]

[You will consume 15,000 points.]

“Yes, yes, yes!” Minhyuk exclaimed brightly.

[You have purchased Gray Chapagetti.]

[You have consumed 15,000 points.]

“Gasp...”

“My goodness...”

The two people in the room watched in shock as Minhyuk purchased the item. Minhyuk was the first player with the highest points to ever exchange inside the Chef Tower, and all he exchanged for was Chapagetti! However, Minhyuk looked extremely satisfied. 

“Can I cook here?” Minhyuk asked excitedly, holding up his 15,000 point chapagetti.

“Ah, yes...”

“Yes...”

The two nodded in a daze. They watched as Minhyuk held the bag of chapagetti in his hands and stood up to solemnly declare, “Today, I am a Chapagetti Chef!”. Then, he prepared his cooking materials as he started to cook chapagetti.

Shwaaaaa━

Minhyuk poured water in a pot for boiling and added oil in a frying pan. Once the frying pan was hot enough, he added two eggs in it.

Sizzle━

In no time at all, the two eggs were fried really well. The reason why Minhyuk fried eggs was because he needed to put it on the chapagetti! Then, he turned over the egg to cook the yolk. He made sure that the yolks were only half-cooked before placing the chapagetti noodles and vegetable flakes in the boiling water. Minhyuk lifted the noodles from time to time out of the boiling water so that the noodles remained chewy and curly. After he deemed that the noodles were cooked well, he threw away the water. When he looked at the back of the chapagetti packaging, he saw the instructions ‘Leave only 8 spoons’ written on it. However, Minhyuk left 10 spoons of water instead. Then, without removing it from the pot, he added the black soup powder and the olive oil inside the pot and stir fried it just like that.

Shwaaaaa━

As soon as the black soup powder met with water, it became a black liquid that slowly covered the noodles in the pot. After stir-frying it for quite some time, the noodles were covered with a thick black sauce. Then, Minhyuk turned off the heat and added the two eggs that he had fried earlier in the pan. He poked the half-cooked yolk and watched as it slowly poured down on the noodles before mixing it well.

“Hohohoho...!” Minhyuk laughed happily as he took out some ripe kimchi and pickled radish out of his inventory. Gordon and Harmel, who were wondering why he chose chapagetti out of all items in the exchange window, watched Minhyuk closely, as he picked up some black noodles and…

“Sluuuuuuuuuuuurp!”

Minhyuk tasted the sweet and thick flavor of the chapagetti. Since this was a Gray Chapagetti, the flavor was much deeper and richer than regular chapagettis! Minhyuk said, “Wow, I understand why it costs 15,000 points. This flavor really deserves that 15,000 points!”

“....”

“....”

Gordon and Harmel looked at Minhyuk blankly while he continued eating. Minhyuk ate half an egg in one bite. The light and rich flavor of the egg added to the wonderful taste of the chapagetti. In his next bite of the noodles, Minhyuk ate the noodles together with the ripe kimchi.

“Crunch, crunch.”

The spicy and sour taste of the kimchi washed away the greasy flavor of the chapagetti and made his mouth feel a bit refreshed. Next, he ate it together with the sweet and sour pickled radish.

Crunch, crunch, crunch. Chew, chew.

Minhyuk nodded in satisfaction, exclaiming, “Delicious!” 

Harmel and Gordon’s mouths opened unconsciously.

‘Y…yeah. Place some in my mouth too.’

‘Please give me a bite too? Is that what you want to say, huh?!’

Minhyuk was eating his chapagetti with relish, when he had no choice but to stop as he saw the two pairs of hungry, glinting eyes in front of him. They looked like they were hungry hyenas watching their prey.

“Why do you look so hungry? Sigh. Alright, I will be generous with you.” 

“Oh! Thanks! Really, thank you so much!” Gordon exclaimed. He was so thrilled. He even thanked him like he was someone who saved the whole world.

“Please, have some of this,” Minhyuk said, handing him a candy. A cinnamon candy.

“...”

“...”

Harmel and Gordon looked dejectedly at the candy in their hands. However, Minhyuk truly believed that he was generous with what he did. Not long after, Minhyuk finally finished his meal, making sure to lick all of the black sauce and noodles out of the pot. Then, a series of notifications rang in his head.

[You have achieved the Hidden Piece: You have the Proper Appetite.]

[You have acquired +3 in all five of your basic stats.]

[You have gained +300 DEX.]

[You have accumulated a total of 600 DEX. All skills and abilities related to DEX will improve by 10%.]

[You have accumulated a total of 700 DEX. All skills and abilities related to DEX will improve by 10%.]

[You have accumulated a total of 800 DEX. All skills and abilities related to DEX will improve by 10%.]

‘Hidden Piece...?’ Minhyuk thought in amazement. After all, those notifications were such a pleasant sound for him who just chose to eat something delicious. Even his DEX had risen by 300 points in one go! It was a much higher increase compared to when he ate the Empire’s Elixir.

Then, Minhyuk heard Gordon mumbling about something. Gordon said, “He’s like the Food God that appeared in the legends.”

“...?”

Minhyuk reacted when he heard his words because he was that ‘Food God’ right now. In addition, his words were clear evidence that the Food God existed in the past.

“Food God?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Can you tell me anything about that?” Minhyuk asked while Gordon nodded gladly. It seemed like he was happy that someone was interested in the legends of the Food God.

1. A jingle in Nongshim’s chapagetti advertisement. Nongsin is a parody of Nongshim, a brand. ☜