Gourmet Gaming

Nero, one of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s soldiers, was once a prisoner of war of the Luvien Empire. Despite experiencing gruesome acts of torture, he remained steadfast in his loyalty and affection toward his own kingdom.

His passion and efforts to become strong for the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom burned hotter than anybody else. However, he was naturally born with a weak body. No matter how hard he tried, his body just could not get any stronger.

But after eating a dish using the ingredient ‘Seed of Growth’ that Minhyuk cooked for him, Nero’s potential burst forth. His growth became faster than the other soldiers, even rivaling some of the knights.

As he grew further, these notifications rang in Minhyuk’s ears:

[You have used the ingredient ‘Seed of Growth’ to feed Soldier Nero!]

[Nero. His greed, passion, and efforts to grow stronger is greater than anybody else!]

[His potential has grown significantly!]

[His potential has increased to 158!]

[He was born with the talent to become an assassin!]

“…!”

Nero’s increase in potential to 158 was shocking to Minhyuk.

‘It’s even higher than Grandpa Ben’s potential…?’

When Minhyuk first met Ben, he was hailed as a legendary existence and was one of the Strong Men of the past. Back then, Ben’s potential was only at 137. Of course, Ben had grown far beyond his potential and even became the Spear God. However, the thing to take note was the fact that Ben had developed on his own.

On the other hand, Nero had several masters and teachers by his side. His first teacher could be said to be Luo, who was currently standing in front of Nero. He learned the art of killing the enemy in a single strike and the complexities of assassination from Luo. He also learned from Ben on how to use the spear, and from Elpis on how to wield the sword.

Nevertheless, no one could deny how fast Nero was growing. He was only a low-ranking soldier but in just a few days he became as strong as a centurion.

‘For His Majesty Minhyuk, I will work even harder to become stronger.’

Nero had always been very grateful to Minhyuk. And the same was true for Luo.

After pledging his eternal loyalty to Minhyuk the night before, Luo began to give his all in teaching Nero. At the same time, he thought, ‘How can I fit in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?’

Becoming a citizen of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom did not mean that he belonged. To truly belong, was to blend and assimilate with the people of the kingdom.

“Ugh… it’s cold.”

“It’s so cold today, no?”

“Ughhhh…”

As he was pondering over the matter, he heard the voices of the assassins that he was training. That was when he saw how red the hands of the assassins were from the cold. It was true that the weather was very cold, to the point that one’s breath would turn white with every exhale. Of course, the cold sensation brought about by the weapons in their hands made them feel even colder.

“Let’s take a break.” Luo announced their break. As they stood in front of the fire to warm themselves up he saw the assassins looking in one direction.

‘That stall is called a snack bar… right?’

Several tents were set up on one side of the training grounds, housing several street food vendors. On top of those tents were the words ‘Minhyuk’s Snack Bars’, written in a gentle and affectionate script. Luo had seen them ever since he came here but he had never tried them.

“You’re finally showing interest in it.” Nero smiled slightly. “His Majesty Minhyuk set this up in consideration for the soldiers, such that on a cold winter day, the struggling soldiers would not go hungry.”

“…”

The empire also had something similar. They always prepared ‘hard bread’ or ‘soup’ so that the soldiers would not go hungry.

‘As expected of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, they’re very generous when it comes to food, right?’

The truth was, Luo was not really that much interested in food and eating. After all, it would not be funny if an assassin grew fat and heavy.

But then, Nero continued, “Though, according to rumors, His Majesty Minhyuk actually ordered those snack bars to be set up because he’s the one that actually wants to eat.”

“Hmm?” Luo looked puzzled.

‘No way, the king of a nation enjoys such dishes?’ 

Luo was born a noble and the number of times that he had tasted those kinds of dishes could be counted with one hand.

At that moment, Minhyuk appeared.

“Salute!”

“Salute!”

“Salute!”

The soldiers and knights that were enjoying the food in the snack bar showed courtesy toward Minhyuk, who greeted them while rubbing his frozen hands. Actually, the real reason why Minhyuk came here was to see Luo. However, his nose guided him to where the snack bar was.

“Whenever His Majesty comes, the snack bar would always run out of ingredients.”

Minhyuk did not have the opportunity to have a proper meal today because he was very busy with his work. On top of that, the weather was very cold, cold enough to give him a runny nose. On such a cold day, he caught sight of a snack bar. Well, what else could Minhyuk’s heart do except for thump excitedly? He had been the one that asked somebody to set up the snack bar. After trying it once, he was hooked.

He stood in front of the snack bar and looked at the steaming dishes. “Hiyaaaaah…”

There, in front of him, were several chewy sundaes that were kept warm on a steamer. There was also the shining red tteokbokki that could make anyone’s mouth water just by looking at it. As for the fish cakes, the soup was bubbling as steam rose out of its pot.

The first dish that Minhyuk tried was the fish cakes. He grabbed some warm fish cakes and immediately took a bite. As he exhaled after the fish cake entered his mouth, the warm breath could be seen swirling in the cold air. Smiling happily, he grabbed the soy sauce and added it to the fish cake. In just a moment, he ended up eating thirty fish cakes in a row.

Of course, he was not done yet. This time, he scooped some of the warm fish cake soup and poured it into a paper cup.

“Hoo… Hoo…” Minhyuk gently blew on the cup before taking a sip. The warmth of the soup instantly spread in his body and melted away the coldness that settled in his bones.

Next, Minhyuk grabbed some tteokbokki, dipped it deeper into the sauce and placed it in his mouth. The chewiness and the spiciness of the tteokbokki caused Minhyuk’s shoulders to dance in happiness. Then, he tried the fishcake.

“Kghhk…” Minhyuk let out a small burst of admiration as he picked up a piece of sundae to dip in salt.

The salt complemented the sundae perfectly, bringing out its savory flavor. Then, he picked up some of the dry liver, dipped it in the tteokbokki sauce and placed it in his mouth. The tteokbokki sauce somewhat took away the dryness of the liver and made it easier for him to gulp down.

“Hmm…”

Minhyuk rubbed his chin in thought for a while. After a brief thought, his chopstick headed straight for the gimmari.

Crunch—

Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread.com ].

A very lively sound rang loudly in Minhyuk’s ears the moment he took a bite of the gimmari, as a wide and bright smile appeared on his face. Then, he immediately clamped some of the long fried squid and placed them in his mouth.

After finishing his meal in that first snack bar, he moved on to the next. The chef in charge of ‘Minhyuk’s Snack Bars’ could not help but groan lightly.

‘He ate 142 pieces of fish cakes, 53 servings of tteokbokki, 65 servings of sundae and 36 servings of fried fritters all by himself…’

But Minhyuk did not stop there. There was still the snack bar next door that sold bungeo-ppang[1].

Just when Minhyuk was about to dig in, Haze appeared.

“Your Majesty, you have to leave food for your soldiers to eat.”

“H, Haze. I’m just going to eat this one and leave. Can’t I do that?”

“No. I have something urgent to report to you. If you come here every day, then will the soldiers still be able to eat something?”

“I don’t even come here everyday…”

“I heard that you went this morning, as well as last night.”

“…”

Minhyuk was the king of a nation and one of the most influential players in the world, yet he was being dragged away with a sad look on his face. The scene made Luo’s heart feel hot.

‘The commoners’ king…’

At this moment, Luo’s eyes were filled with adoration. He could no longer wait to properly blend in with the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. Because of that, he had to take on an untimely challenge. So, he stood in front of the snack bar and took a bite of the fishcake.

“…!”

Luo’s eyes grew wide the moment he put the fishcake in his mouth.

‘Is, is this really a commoner’s food? I feel like I’m eating a dish made from the ingredients of the God of Farming…!’

‘Isn’t this like some kind of course meal?’

There were several dishes spread out on the table, causing Luo to be in awe. After drinking some of the fish cake soup, warmth bloomed in his chest.

“How can this be…?”

The flavor was deep, and the soup tasted as good as those that he had tasted before, which had been made with legendary-grade ingredients.

“…”

Luo bit his lips tightly. This new realization moved him deeply. Then, his steps stopped in front of the place where the ‘bungeo-ppang’ that Minhyuk tried to eat was being served.

‘It looks like a fish… it doesn’t make me feel good.’

He wondered if his mouth would be filled with a fishy smell once he ate it. Luo hesitantly took a bite out the head of the fish-shaped bun.

Crunch—

“…”

The warm and crispy texture of the bungeo-ppang greeted Luo’s mouth. It was a flavor and a texture that he had never felt before in his life. There was also the soft texture of the bread and the deep flavor of the sweet red beans.

‘This is the best…’

Luo felt that this was the best dish among all of the dishes that he tasted today. In fact, he even brought a huge paper bag carrying around thirty bungeo-ppang in his hands as he walked on the way home.

Munch, munch—

‘How can I blend in and assimilate in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?’

Crunch—

Luo pondered deeply while eating. That was when an old man called out to him. He was none other than Spear God Ben.

“Hey, you asked me why my hair was so thick last time, right?”

“Yes.”

“Would you care to follow me?”

Luo held his bag of bungeo-ppang tightly as he followed behind Spear God Ben. The place they went to was a dark basement.

Standing on a podium, a man raised his arms high and shouted, “Talmor Fati! Fweet, fweet~! Fweet, fweet~!”

“Fweet, fweet~! Fweet, fweet~!”

“Aaaaaaaaah! For Talmor!!!”

Then, at that moment, Luo felt a heat bloom on his bald head. Within minutes, he was already joining in and shouting loudly with emotion, “Uwaaaaaaaaaaah! For Talmooooooooooooor!!!”

Soon, the time came for them to leave the place.

“I’ll see you soon.”

“Of course, I’ll come by again.”

After going separate ways with Spear God Ben, Luo went on his merry way home. There was a deep smile of satisfaction in his face as he continued to eat his bungeo-ppang. He felt that his hair had grown quite a bit.

Then, he pondered once more, ‘How on earth can I fit in with the people of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?’

This time, a demon approached him. The demon was called Great Sage Aruvel and he handed Luo a very mysterious book and said, “I came here to bewitch the Beyond the Heavens’ newcomer… No, no. I’m giving you a present.”

“…?”

The title of the book was ‘The Prince and the Maid Behind the Mill.’

“It’s my new work. Fufufu,” the demon said as he turned around with a flair.

“…?”

Luo could not help but frown at the demon’s antics. Then, that night, Luo sat on his bed and decided to read the book before falling asleep.

‘G, goodness. He’s definitely a genius…’

This was a text that Luo never encountered before, even having lived as a noble all his life!

The story revolved around the blazing and hot love that unfolded behind the mill! And that was not all, the second prince, who was also vying for the throne, sent his troops to the mill to kill the first prince! The man, who was going to become a king, fought tooth and nail against the enemies to protect the maid!

As he read the story, Luo’s remaining hand unknowingly crept to his pants.

The next day, Luo pocketed 3,000 gold and decided to buy and eat bungeo-ppang before going to work.

And just like yesterday, he was still plagued with the same concern, ‘How can I fit in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?’

The old man, Spear God Ben, chuckled as he watched Luo walk about his daily life. ‘Hohoho. He has blended in quite quickly in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.’

Luo, one of the Swords of the Gods and Minhyuk’s shadow, smiled happily as he touched the 3,000 gold in his pocket that he planned to use to buy and eat bungeo-ppang.

***

Minhyuk, who was dragged by Haze, finally heard the report.

“From what we have gathered, the Luvien Empire is trying to kill Mercenary King Venteio.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Although he’s a Mercenary King that integrated four continents with his own power, there were still countless continents in the world. In other words, there were still plenty of candidates for becoming the Mercenary King who are also hailed as such. To become the true Mercenary King, one has to receive the recognition of the God of Mercenaries and all of the mercenaries present in the inauguration ceremony. Venteio was the one that originally sat in that position.”

That was right. That was how it should have been originally. However, this was the notification that popped in Minhyuk’s ears when Venteio lent them a helping hand.

[The story of The Man that Will Become the Greatest Mercenary King in History might change.]

[You are greatly involved in this story.]

The man’s story changed because he chose to help Minhyuk.

“We expect the candidates for Mercenary King to target and kill Venteio.”

Minhyuk nodded. “What would happen if we turned against the mercenaries?”

“It will be like charging toward multiple empires.”

That had got to be the case. The number of mercenaries all over the world could rival, perhaps even far surpass, the number of people in all of the empires combined.

“But what if the one that will become the Mercenary King will join our side?”

“…”

Haze’s pupils dilated. She could not really calculate the results in her head so quickly. However, there was one thing that she could be sure of. “We will be able to take a step further into turning our kingdom into an empire.”

1. similar to taiyaki ☜