Gourmet Gaming

Where can dishes cooked in bulk be found? The most common place would be cafeterias, like office cafeterias, school cafeterias, and even military cafeterias. There had been cases where military chefs had to serve hundreds, even thousands of servings per meal.

‘Actually, one hour is more than enough to make a hundred servings.’

It was possible. The person in charge of the soup would focus only on cooking the soup, the person in charge of stir-frying the dishes would only stir-fry the dishes, the person in charge of the vegetables would only season the vegetables, and the likes. However, this estimate was based on the assumption that all of the ingredients had already been processed and that all of the cooking tools were tailored for cooking in bulk.

If one decided to give it their all and cook the entire day, then they would only be able to cook for around 2,400. However, it was a given that a person had to rest. Considering that the person that was cooking was Minhyuk, it would not be too strange if he could only make 1,200 dishes in a day.

‘Cooking is not just simply about making it. It is a complicated process, an art wherein you have to make sure that the taste is also superb.’ This was the thought that ran through the head of one of the world’s top ten chefs, Black.

“Do you think what you said makes sense?”

He wanted to feed all of his people for a week? Of course, it might be possible. However, it would require the cooperation between the Louvert Guild, Minhyuk, and plenty of other chefs from the Asgan Continent. That alone would cost a huge sum of money.

“Feeding all of the people? I think that’s nothing but a vain thought. Also, for the members of our Louvert Guild, this would definitely feel like a severe punishment.”

Black did not want to participate in something that would bring them no benefit.

“I’m not forcing you to help me. I just wanted to inform you that I will challenge it. I will be cooking large batches of bulk dishes.”

It was the truth. Minhyuk did not intend to ask them for help and was just informing them. He knew that if he asked them for help, then all of them would think that he was nothing but a selfish person.

After all, Black and the members of the Louvert Guild were all busy people. No, to be precise, all of the players that were playing this game were just taking time out of their busy schedules to play around. He could not tell them to help him out just because of some personal agenda.

Black walked out of the door once the conversation was over. The truth was, he still had not fully acknowledged Food God Minhyuk. The reason why he came under Minhyuk’s command was because of a careless bet. Besides, Black, someone that was one of the world’s leading chefs, felt like it would hurt his own pride to make food that would simply fill the stomach.

Just as he was about to step out, Minhyuk spoke once more.

“However, this is mainly because I want to give my people a warm and hearty meal.”

“…”

Black, who already had his hand on the doorknob, stopped in his tracks. He remembered how he dreamt of becoming the world’s best chef when he was still a child.

—I don’t care whether they are poor or rich! I want to feed everyone with a warm meal that I made myself!

Black gritted his teeth. He recalled the lost dreams from long ago, after living in a fierce environment, surrounded by vicious chefs.

—What can a son of the chairman of a conglomerate like you, who did not even have dreams of becoming a chef, know about this, huh? Dreaming such absurd and empty dreams while not having enough skills to do just makes you a very contemptible person.

Black slammed the door shut. After he stepped out, the eight executives of the Louvert Guild all looked at each other. Even they found Minhyuk’s idea to be quite absurd.

“Ah. Of course, we just have to do our best. If it doesn’t work, then there’s nothing that we can do.”

That was right. There was no way that they could make such a thing happen. This was nothing but Minhyuk’s wish to feed all of his people. It was impossible to achieve in the first place.

One of the executives asked carefully, “So, what do you plan to cook?”

“Spicy stir-fried chicken and buckwheat noodles.”

***

There was always something trending on the Athenae community site. Players were often interested in what other players did or what they got, and would often express their thoughts on the matter. At that moment, there was another huge buzz in the community site.

[Did you guys see the news? The Food God said that he will cook for his entire kingdom.]

[Me! Me! No matter how I look at it, it looks like it’s a class quest.]

[Food God Minhyuk is going to cook for his people? Kyaa! He’s really the Food God!]

[According to the records, the current population in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom is around 720,000.]

[…Eh? Can he cook for that many people in just a week?]

[Can he even do it? Hahahahahaha.]

[It should be possible, right? Well, the Food God can just stand there and give his orders while the members of Louvert Guild cook.]

[Only the poor and pitiful members of the Louvert Guild will be dying…]

[The Food God is a king. Well, all he needs to do is give orders.]

Minhyuk had been constantly challenging repetitive and laborious quests so far, to the point of recklessness sometimes. A typical example of such a quest was the quest that he cleared not too long ago in the Papal Wall, where he had to harvest crops and chop firewood.

None of them knew how stubborn and strong-willed Minhyuk was when it came to repetitive labor. This was because his endeavors had seldom been broadcasted. Of course, the players would think that only the poor and pitiful chefs would be at a disadvantage.

However, a picture had been released of Minhyuk releasing his huge trailer in the middle of the plaza, as he began his preparations.

[???]

[…?]

[Eh? He’s doing it himself?]

[…OMG?]

Food God Minhyuk was a very busy figure. He was not only one of the top rankers of Athenae but also the heir to a huge corporation. Not only that, he was also the king of a nation. Yet he was going to cook personally?

We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google.

[Guys, I bet he will run away after two days.]

[I will bet too!]

[That’s just plain reckless.]

That was right. Everyone knew Minhyuk as the best ranker. They also knew him as a kind and virtuous man. However, they did not know that he was strong-willed, stubborn to a fault. Everyone believed that he would absolutely not finish it.

***

Central Plaza.

Minhyuk arrived in the central plaza and threw out his toy-like trailer, which eventually grew in size and spat out blazing flames.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep—

Rumbleeeeeeee—

The Beyond the Heavens’ Chef’s Tower Master Len, along with some volunteers from the Louvert Guild, came in as assistants. However, Minhyuk would be the only one that would make the main dish. The assistants would only be there to make the buckwheat noodles and the dongchimi. As for the one that would help Minhyuk with the main dish? It was none other than the trailer.

(Cooking Trailer)

Rank: God

Requirements: A DEX higher than 2,000

Durability: ∞ / ∞

Special Effects:

•Your cooking time will be reduced by 60%.

•Your cooking time for bulk dishes will be reduced by 70%.

•The flavor of the dish will be preserved in bulk dishes. No deterioration will occur.

•Automatic cooking function.

•With the stronger firepower, stir-fried dishes will have a 10% increase in buff effects.

•Dishes cooked in the trailer would have a 30% increase in buff effects and a 40% duration reduction.

•The trailer can detect any danger in the vicinity. The higher the level of danger detected, the higher the chances of creating a higher-grade dish that can help you overcome the approaching crisis.

•Attacks and damage will be nullified while you are cooking. However, it is only effective for an hour.

•Active Skill: Double Food

Description: This is a cooking trailer created with an Eternal Flame that has stronger firepower. Cooking will be done much faster than expected when inside the trailer. Even the buffs of the completed dishes will be greater than initially expected.

The only item that Minhyuk had for bulk cooking was the trailer. It was an artifact that could reduce the time it took to cook for a thousand people from an hour to twenty minutes. On top of that, it could even preserve the taste of the dish.

However, even with the help of the trailer, it was still not enough. That was why Hyemin’sDaddy came and touched the trailer.

“I think it’s possible.”

God of Blacksmiths Hyemin’sDaddy had a special skill called ‘Artifact Skill Transformation’. He rarely used this skill because the skill transformation was set so that it could not produce a force that was equivalent to the existing skill.

‘This is not to make the buff stronger but to increase the number of dishes that can be produced.’

That was the reason why he deemed it possible. With his hands on the trailer, Hyemin’sDaddy began to activate his skill.

[You have applied the Artifact Skill Transformation to the Active Skill; Double Food.]

[Double Food is a skill that will allow you to create the same food with the same effect as long as it has been used within ten minutes.]

Double Food was the epitome of an overpowered skill. If he made a god-grade dish, then he could use the skill to make another god-grade dish. However, that was not the effect that Hyemin’sDaddy and Minhyuk wanted.

[Double Food has started to transform.]

The skill began to change in the direction that Hyemin’sDaddy envisioned.

[If you use the skill within ten minutes of the dish’s creation, you will be able to get triple the amount of dishes than original.]

[However, the buff effect will receive a significant reduction!]

[With the reduction of the buff effect, the penalty for use of Double Food would be removed and its cooldown will be reduced to thirty minutes.]

“Apply.”

[The modifications have been applied to Double Food.]

[The modifications applied to Double Food will remain for one week.]

[After the week has passed, the original effects of the Double Food skill will return.]

Minhyuk, even in his status as a king, opted to wear a chef’s uniform bearing the symbol of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, as he climbed inside the trailer. Everyone gathered to see their king in the central plaza while the assistants continued to carry the ingredients inside.

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

“Long live His Majesty Minhyuk!”

The people all bowed towards Minhyuk. In fact, they also think that the feat was impossible to achieve. However, they were just very grateful for Minhyuk’s consideration towards them.

Minhyuk smiled brightly and asked, “Are you all ready to eat something delicious?”

***

Lee Minhwa and Team Leader Park Minggyu were both staring at the monitor.

“Minhwa, you know about it, right?”

“Of course. The Food God class specific items that Player Minhyuk could get are very special.”

Class-specific items were divided into two categories. There were quests that would unconditionally give players their class-specific items, regardless whether they finished their quest in an excellent manner or were only able to barely complete it. There were also quests with rewards that would depend on what one had accomplished during the duration of the quest.

Minhyuk’s quest belonged to the latter, which was quite a rare occurrence. However, there was no doubt that the class-specific items for the Food God were exceptional.

In fact, all of the previous Food Gods had gone through this quest. And now, it had appeared for the current Food God.

“If he can’t cook a lot of dishes, then he’ll only be able to get a set of ordinary cooking utensils.”

Team Leader Park Minggyu nodded.

However, what if Minhyuk cooked more dishes than the previous Food Gods?

“Otherwise, he will be able to get the god-rank tools from ‘Ravier’, the greatest Food God and the God of Cooking of the past.”

***

Luo was moving like a machine. His gaze was lifeless, as if he had no soul, while he continued to train the assassins. Even so, the assassins were still happy to be able to learn something new and gain some sort of awakening and realization. Of course, they were still aware of the attitude of Luo.

‘The Instructor doesn’t like us.’

‘I can’t even see any will from him. He definitely will not do anything for us.’

They could not hide the bitterness that welled up within them.

After training, Luo went back, his gaze lifeless and blank. As he walked home, he heard ridiculous stories through the mouths of the people.

‘The king will cook for his people?’

He could not help but laugh at that. That was bullshit. It was nothing but a mere performance. Luo still remembered the time when Emperor Nerva invited poor and pitiful children inside the imperial family with a bright smile on his face while holding hands with them. Why was this scene so unforgettable to Luo? Because the moment they entered the palace, away from the prying eyes of the people, Nerva immediately swatted away the hand that he was holding and looked at the children in disgust. It was as if he was looking at bugs.

‘He looked like he held something dirty with his hands.’

Nerva even wiped his hands with his handkerchief. That was what kings and emperors do. They would often do things that would look good on the outside only to win the hearts of the people.

Then, an old man approached Luo. “Are you going back?”

The old man was none other than Spear God Ben. Luo felt his heart shake when he saw Spear God Ben.

‘I’m so curious. Why does he have so much hair on his head?’

But he did not bother to ask. Ben just laughed and walked behind him.

“I know that it’s hard to adapt but you will gradually adjust to this place. You must already know that this place is very different from Luvien.”

“That’s right. It’s very different.” Luo nodded. “Your living conditions are infinitely shabbier compared to Luvien. Even the standards of your military forces are low when compared to the empire.”

Ben laughed. “Don’t just look at the kingdom’s shortcomings. Do you not see any good points?”

‘Who knows if there are advantages here?’

As Luo continued to walk, he finally realized the difference between the people of the Luvien Empire and the people of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

‘Why do they look happy?’

Even though they had lost a lot of people in the war recently, the people of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom still looked exceptionally happy. Why did their faces look much brighter than the faces of the people of the empire?

It was obvious that the people of the Luvien Empire were living a much more comfortable life. They did not lack food, had higher wages and compensation for their work compared to other kingdoms, and they also received constant support. They also had the pride of being a part of a strong powerhouse.

So, why did the people of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom look much happier than them?

“In the end, the Beyond the Heavens King is nothing but a performer. He’s just using the pretext that he wants to feed the people. I’m pretty sure all of the royal chefs are working hard under his command by now.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Ben asked, his head tilting in confusion. Then, he smiled kindly as he looked in another direction.

Luo also turned his head and followed his gaze. ‘In the end, the Beyond the Heavens King will also…’

Luo believed that Minhyuk would be no different from Nerva.

Beeeeeeeeeeep—

Rumbleeeeeeee—

There, he saw a huge trailer spitting out blazing Eternal Flames through a huge vent. Inside was a king, who sweated profusely yet was still smiling happily as he cooked. Meanwhile, the eyes of the people were filled with respect and admiration as they looked at their king.

Ben, with a bright smile on his face, said, “This is the king of the nation that you’re serving.”

“…”

Badump—

Luo felt his heart throb.

‘I have never seen the image of a king or an emperor like this.’

Badump—

The other kings and emperors, including Nerva, were nothing more than performers. But not this king.

Badump—

‘Is this the nation that you want to build?’ Luo turned around, a small smile on the corners of his lips. ‘I look forward to it.’