Leveling Up Through Eating

PR: MattForgenti

41 Legendary Dish

Genie looked a bit disappointed. Even Khan was sporting the same look as her.

“The dungeon will close tomorrow.”

“I know….. Hoo. We’ve been working hard for quite a long time.”

Unfortunately, the dungeon that they were challenging would close tomorrow. It took them a long time to be able to eat the buffed dish because they wanted to complete the ingredients that Minhyuk had told them to gather.

He also agreed with Genie and Khan’s view. If they gathered the best ingredients and ate the dish made from these ingredients then they would be able to boost the power and strength of the guild for quite some time.

However, their biggest problem was gathering all the ingredients together. The only reason was because it would take a lot of time for them to comb through the auction house to find the ingredients that they needed, they would even need to hunt for the ingredients themselves most of the time.

“Well, we’re still lucky that I will be able to eat it today.”

After a lot of struggle, Locke was able to find all of the ingredients except for one. However, it was still debatable whether a single buff increase could help them win the match against the boss monster. Of course, they did not think that way because they doubted Minhyuk’s craftsmanship. However, Minhyuk himself told them that the buffs that came out only came out well that time.

“I feel a bit hotter than normal.”

“Me too……”

It was all because of the intense heat of the sun which led to Valkyrie Kingdom being in a state of crisis!

Genie gnashed her teeth in anger.

“Those Iris bastards……!”

Legend Guild was aware. According to the people present, the thief user was forced to log out after he vomited blood and instantly collapsed from a hit from God Juis. And around the same time, Iris Guild suddenly declared their intent to attack the dungeon and quell the disaster.

It was literally a show. A huge show!

They even announced it not too long ago. The dungeon that they were supposed to clear was an SS-ranked dungeon. In addition, this was the very first SS-ranked quest that had been discovered in the country. It was just a matter of course that people would flock and be enthusiastic about such a quest. Especially since the first SS-ranked quest was going to be broadcasted live in Dungeon Attack Live. It was like they had hit the jackpot. Once they succeeded then they would be hailed as heroes.

“They must want to drive us away from here……”

It was a relief that King Varen and the citizens of Valkyrie Kingdom were convinced that it was not because of the Legend Guild. They had saved King Varen and their image as ‘heroes’ were already embedded deep in their hearts.

The two of them approached Minhyuk and Locke. However before they could even greet them, they saw Locke trembling excitedly as he ran up to Minhyuk and gave him a big hug.

“I love you Minhyuk-ah! Love you!”

He even tried to imprint a sloppy kiss on Minhyuk’s face.

Minhyuk, on the other hand…

“Aaaaaack! Stop, no, stop! Waaaaah!”

Really hated his enthusiasm.

***

Locke went looking around for ingredients non-stop.

However, he couldn’t find the last ingredient ‘Dragon King’s Water Parsley’. They were sure that it was something that could be found in the Dragon King’s Sea but no other user had ever gone there at all. In the end, they had concluded that it would take a lot of time for them to get the Dragon King’s Water Parsley.

Locke quickly handed the ingredients to Minhyuk.

“Please take good care of me, Minhyuk-ah.”

“Delicious steamed monkfish! Monkfish, monkfish!”

“So you will make it well? Please give me that great buff effect too! Crow had been yapping so hard about his food that my stomach had started grumbling. It’s killing me already!”

“Yeah. Kongie-yah? Isn’t it delicious?”

“Oooooink? Oink!”

The baby pig, Kongie, who was perched on Minhyuk’s shoulder nodded its head fiercely.

‘I think you’ll make it well because you want to eat instead of giving me my buff.’

Locke pouted cutely to try and convince Minhyuk to give him a higher buff but he just looked uglier than usual.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk just ignored him as he stared at the ingredients for the steamed monkfish happily. The quality of the ingredients that they had brought for him had improved ever since he made that excellent buffed dish. This meant that the taste of the dish would also improve. In other words, Minhyuk could just sit still and cook and he would still be able to eat something delicious.

Did my satisfaction level go up when I cooked earlier?

When Crow ate the dish, he had confirmed that his satisfaction level had increased by 2% since he was a high-leveled player. It was a bit lower than when King Varen ate his dish but it was still considered high.

Minhyuk began to cook the steamed monkfish.

‘Usually, whenever I ate steamed monkfish, I was always sad.’

It was the bean sprouts. Of course, bean sprouts were a good combination for steamed monkfish. However most of the people who loved to eat steamed monkfish would always doubt their eyes. They always wondered whether they bought steamed bean sprouts or steamed monkfish.

Minhyuk smiled as he talked to Kongie.

“Kongie-yah. I’m going to cut down on the bean sprouts and add more water parsley in this steamed monkfish.”

“Oink!”

It was like Kongie was saying: ‘You really know how to eat! Oink!’. Kongie even danced as if it was quite happy with what he said.

If he followed the recipe creation then everything would work well but if he also added changes and tried to be original then he might also get better results.

Once he started cooking, he made sure to reduce the bean sprout and add more monkfish on the dish. And he also added more of the tiny sea squirts. He was quite excited for these since sea squirts would always be overflowing with the sauce in every bite.

In no time at all, Minhyuk was able to finish cooking the steamed monkfish.

The dish was filled with the red sauce and the bean sprouts but below these, there was plenty of monkfish. He even made sure to add 1.5 times the amount of monkfish than what was usually served in stores.

Just as he finished cooking the dish, a string of notifications rang out.

[You have completed a Steamed Monkfish.]

[Locke’s dish is the only dish with the buff effect.]

[The Create a Recipe Skill Effect can only be tasted by the same person once per month.]

[Trance. It’s a dish that has your ‘soul’ poured into it.]

[Due to the effects of Trance, the buff effect has become better.]

[Epic Grade.]

[You have gained 4 DEX.]

[You have gained 10 reputation points.]

[You have gained 1,000 Achievement Points.]

According to the original recipe, the expected rank of the dish was supposed to be somewhere between Unique~Legendary. But there was an ingredient missing so the rank of the dish was only limited to Epic. However, the highest ranked possible had appeared. The dish this time was epic ranked and he was even able to receive greater rewards. Compared to the unique-ranked dish that he had made before, he received an additional 2 for DEX, 6 for reputation points and 600 for the achievement points. It was a huge leap in the rewards!

“Kgghk…… Epic will taste much more delicious, right?”

Minhyuk looked like he was so excited to taste it.

“Y, you’re done? Shall we check it?”

Minhyuk nodded his head as Locke moved to check the dish’s information.

(Steamed Monkfish)

Material Grade: S

Rank: Epic

Restrictions: Only Locke could have the buff effects.

Storage Time: 20 days

Preservation Time: 22 days

Special Effects:

━ Crazy Priest’s Heal +3

━ All of the Crazy Priest’s skill can be used as a regular healer’s skill.

Description: A dish made solely for Locke. The chef supplemented the usual disappointing side of the steamed monkfish using his own creativity. You will be able to enjoy plenty of monkfish in this dish.

“......Keok?!”

Locke was extremely shocked.

He had never been lucky all his life. So what if he was a good ranker? He couldn’t even pick up a unique artifact that people could easily pick! He was so unlucky that he even pulled out the most shocking result in the golden treasure box, a 400 gold reward! Locke was so unlucky that he was even nicknamed as ‘Misfortunate Guy’ by everyone else.

This was one of the reasons why he was extremely nervous when he was gathering high ranked ingredients. He even thought… ‘What if I get a normal-ranked dish because of my unlucky passive skill?’. In all honesty, he believed that it wouldn’t make any sense if he received a high ranked dish for his buffed dish.

But right now, an epic-ranked dish was sitting perfectly in front of him and none of his guild members had ever tried one. And then there was the special effects.

I can use the Crazy Priests skills like a normal healer’s skill?

In fact, his Crazy Priest’s healing skills were derived from the normal healer’s skills. Just like in the case of his Crazy Priest’s Heal, it was originally used to heal his opponents but in his case a bleeding would be triggered if they were healed and slashed. It was the same with the priest’s beloved ability… For priests, they could cast a buff for their party while in Locke’s case he could cast a debuff against his enemies. However, once he ate the steamed monkfish then he would be able to use the abilities and skills of a normal priest whilst maintaining his Crazy Priest’s skills. Before, he could only be considered as a dealer instead of a healer. But right now, he could be considered as both a healer and a dealer! This was a huge innovation!

What was even surprising was the fact that his Crazy Priest’s Heal had shot up from MAX.

He quickly checked the information about his Crazy Priest’s Heal.

“Wow. S, so sick…...!”

What did it mean when the skill was at MAX? It meant that the user had seen the end of the road for his skill. But this dish could let him go beyond the MAX limit. It even added an additional +3 levels in his Crazy Priest Heal.

Originally, his Crazy Priest Heal could produce a +35% possibility of triggering bleeding whenever he wounded an enemy. It could even cause the skin to rot. The body of the enemy would suffer continuous bleeding and their wounds would suffer from accelerated deterioration. With the +3Lv in the skill, the possibility of triggering the bleeding had now increased to 50%.

What was even more surprising was…

‘When Crazy Priest’s Heal is used, there is also a 20% chance of triggering various abnormal conditions in the opponent. It can either be a stun, blindness or reduction of all skills and abilities!’

It was truly a ridiculous ability.

Locke’s body shivered in excitement. In the recent years, he had felt that he had lagged behind the rest of the guild members. He was a healer but he was more effective as a dealer. Even if his class was a legendary class, he would still hit a wall in his role as a dealer. But right now, he was given a chance to go beyond that wall.

He quickly approached Minhyuk.

“I love you Minhyuk-ah! Love you!”

He even tried to print a sloppy kiss on Minhyuk’s face.

Minhyuk was flustered with the sudden hug from Locke but when he saw him stretch out his lips towards his cheek, his heart almost stopped.

Looking at him at this range…… Locke looks really ugly!

And he was even pouting his lips to try and kiss his cheek!

Unknowingly, Minhyuk had let out a shriek.

“Aaaaaack! Stop, no, stop! Waaaaah!”

“Oink, oink, oink!”

Kongie pulled his collar to save Minhyuk from Locke’s grasp. At this exact moment, Kongie felt that his owner Minhyuk’s life was being threatened!

At that moment…

Bang!

Minhyuk swung his fist! Locke, who was caught off guard, rolled on the floor helplessly.

“This is good too. Hahahahahaha!”

When he tried to hug Minhyuk again, Minhyuk had quickly pulled his sword out.

Shining!

“.....Hurry up and eat!”

“Kghk. I, I should do that……”

Locke turned his head to look at the baby pig, Kongie, who jumped back up on Minhyuk’s shoulder.

Kongie was glaring at Locke with its arms crossed!

When he saw Kongie’s expression, he was shocked and at a loss for a moment.

‘I’ve never seen such an ugly animal like this before…… Oink!’

Locke felt sad when he realized that he could understand Kongie’s expression. He decided to just comfort himself with the excellent buffed dish in front of him. And just in time, Genie and Khan arrived in front of them.

“What’s the matter?”

“Locke tried to rot my cheeks!”

“......Huh? He tried to use Crazy Priest’s Heal on you?”

“No. He tried to kiss me!”

“......”

“......”

Both Genie and Khan were at a loss for words as they turned to look at Locke.

“Why did you harass……”

“You were scared, right? It’s okay now.”

“N, no. I was just so happy……!”

But Khan and Locke approached Minhyuk and looked at his cheeks.

“Fortunately, your cheeks did not rot.”

“Hyoo!”

Minhyuk breathed a sigh of relief as Kongie patted his cheeks as if to tell him that it was fine. Then, Kongie turned and glared at Locke.

Glare!

‘W, why do you only hate me……!’

Locke was so sad that he turned around and even ‘Hmph!’ed at them.

“Once I eat this dish, I won’t heal you!”

“I refuse.”

“There’s no need.”

They both know that Locke’s heals were completely terrible.

But then, Locke explained…

“Really? But once I eat this I can heal wounds?”

“What are you saying?”

“Isn’t that just as weird as you saying you’re handsome?”

“Che……! Check it out yourselves! You punks!”

Genie and Khan checked the steamed monkfish. Both of their eyes met over the dish. It seemed like Genie had lost her tongue at that moment. She kept on opening her mouth but no words came out. After calming herself down, she finally was able to speak.

“......Whenever I see Minhyuk’s dishes, I always feel amazed.”

It was truly a heartfelt admiration.

Then, Minhyuk finally saw his skill ‘The Joy of Eating Together’ was triggered as a bowl of steamed monkfish appeared in front of him. He hurriedly sat down as he poked his chopsticks in the dish.

***

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