Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 30: Food God Becomes a Chef

However, the players just snorted. They did not pay any heed to the NPC soldier’s words. They grumbled even more, acting as if they were some lazy reservists.

“DIY Hamburger? Tch! That thing will give you diarrhea instead!”

"Help yourself, my ass."

On the other hand, Minhyuk was looking at the meal in shock. He thought,?'I…it's hamburger!'

Any sane person would know what kind of an existence the hamburger was. It was considered to be the representative of fast food. It was also one of the two towers standing tall in the flour-based industry, together with pizza.

"A beef patty sandwiched between two sesame buns, with a special sauce and lettuce~ Cheese, pickle and onion, yeah," Minhyuk hummed a strange song happily. He could barely contain his happiness after seeing the meal. Hamburger with fries and a refreshing iced cola! It might be considered a heavy meal for breakfast, but Minhyuk was ready to welcome it with open arms.

After getting his meal, Minhyuk returned to where Rand was, before sitting down and staring at the big hamburger in amazement.

'Kyaa……This thick patty and crunchy lettuce, oooh, it even has cheese on it.'?Minhyuk thought. He was someone who personally liked his hamburger with plenty of vegetables.

"Please have some!"

"Alright. Boy, you should eat too. You'll definitely be surprised at the flavor," Rand said, nodding his head towards the meal as he picked up his own hamburger.

Minhyuk quickly grabbed the bread tightly, preventing the lettuce from falling off. Then, the usual notification from ‘Food God’s True Worth’ rang out. He swiftly finished the set-up for the skill, before focusing his entire attention on the hamburger.

"Chomp!" Minhyuk opened his mouth as wide as he could. It seemed like he wanted to take the biggest bite that he could.

The moment the hamburger entered Minhyuk’s mouth, he felt the soft texture of the bun together with the crunchy and crispy lettuce. The tomatoes also brought freshness to the burger, enhancing the rich, meaty flavor of the patty. Finally, the creamy and savory flavor of the cheese rounded off the flavors in a complete harmony.

Chew, chew—

The sweet, special sauce inside the hamburger met with the harmony of flavors, creating a pleasant taste that slowly spread out in Minhyuk’s mouth. Then, Minhyuk grabbed the can of cola beside him and sipped it to alleviate his slight thirst. The sparkling freshness of the ice cold cola washed away the greasiness of the fast food meal in front of him. This was truly a tried and tested combination!

As he gulped down the first taste, the best taste of the cola, Minhyuk felt the tell-tale tingling at the back of his throat. However, this tingling sensation amplified the sweet and unique flavor of the cola. Minhyuk smiled happily as he drank the cola and washed down the greasiness of the hamburger. Then, he reached out for the fries. The golden fries and the ketchup, which tasted a lot stronger than the ketchup inside the hamburger, was the perfect combination! Minhyuk dipped more fries in the ketchup and placed them in his mouth.

Crunch, crunch!

The crisp, crunchy sound of the perfectly fried fries rang out loudly with every bite. Anyone would know that fries were best eaten when it was just fresh out of the pan and dipped with ketchup. Soggy, cold fries were never a good idea.

Chomp—

Once again, Minhyuk opened his mouth and bit down on his hamburger. After swallowing the food in his mouth, he mumbled, "Aren't your military chefs really skilled?"

"That’s right! Fufu. Foreigners usually say that our food is barely passable, but I'm really proud of it!" Rand said, banging on his chest puffed up with pride.

"The military chefs in our Isbin Village are the best in all of the?Eivelis?Empire," Rand said proudly. Then, he sneakily looked around before lowering his head to continue to say, “You’re the only person that I will tell this to. Our chef, Len, cooks the most delicious dishes. None of the other dishes that I have tried can compare to his craftsmanship. Whether the dish is just for a single person or a group of people, he will always cook it well.”

Minhyuk's eyes widened. It seemed like Isbin Village had its chef Len, just like Joseon had Janggeum.

"So, what do you think? Isn’t it good?"

"Yeah! It tastes really, really,?really?delicious!"

Minhyuk only said those three syllables,?delicious, but it was more than enough for Rand. Besides, those words were truly fit for the dishes. After all, he tasted it himself and he had just found out that the dishes had been prepared by the military chef, Len, which were truly delicious. Just from seeing the fries alone, Minhyuk could tell that the chef who prepared it was meticulous. The fries were served in the best way they could possibly be served, hot and crispy.

Then, the notifications rang in his ears.

[Food God's True Worth.]

[You have gained +1 STR and +1 STM.]

[The Ability of a Skilled Chef.]

[You have gained +1 STR.]

'Oh…!'?Minhyuk softly exclaimed as he thought,?'So it can also give me additional stats if I eat well-made dishes!'

But then, Minhyuk’s forehead suddenly creased.

'What the hell, are you saying that I’m a terrible cook?'

In a way, Minhyuk had only been able to cook and eat by himself by following the recipes on the internet. However, the dishes that he made were something that was still completely different from those who knew how to cook.

'Just like I thought, I really need to pick up cooking skills…'

Minhyuk had already thought about acquiring the skills that would allow him to cook. The cooking skill was freely available to any player. It was classified under production skills. There were even players who would willingly learn this skill and turn it into their main class. However, these people were only few and far between.

‘It’s because the buff abilities that came from food are usually lower than an ordinary priest’s buff abilities.’

In addition, ordinary priests only needed to prepare themselves and walk the path of priesthood. It was a path that was a lot easier, compared to ?a chef’s path where they would need to make food and let others eat.

However, Minhyuk played this game to eat. He was different from others. Besides, he definitely wanted to learn how to become a chef, as well as the skills attached to the class. It was not for the buff ability but just so he could make the food that he wanted to eat more delicious!

And yet, even though he had wanted to do so, there were no NPCs in Isbin Village that could teach him how to cook. Thankfully, there was someone hidden in the subjugation troops. Who would even think of doing something like this?

The answer was Minhyuk, and Minhyuk alone. He was the only one crazy enough to want to learn cooking skills from a military chef in the subjugation troops!

"Rand."

"Huh?"

“I want to volunteer myself in the military kitchen. Is that possible?”

"...The kitchen?" Rand asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Boy, don’t you want to level up?"

The guardians of?Athenae?were also people who grew stronger by leveling up. That was why they were aware that the foreigners could level up too. Besides, the foreigners were even more gung-ho about leveling up more than them. However, the boy in front of him wanted to go to the military kitchen?

"Heh…… I'd love to do some chores and help make the soldiers' meals more delicious!"

"Oh! Boy, you have a good attitude."

It was very difficult for the guardians to manage the players and make them listen to them. Most of the time, they could just opt to not give them the rewards. However, the players still would not listen to them, saying that they were just NPCs.

However, right now, Minhyuk’s eyes were twinkling as he looked at him. What else could he do?

"Well, the kitchen is a bit full, so I really shouldn’t send any foreigners over there, but… Sigh, I'll make some room for you," Rand said. He was a person who had experienced a lot in the?subjugation troops?to the point that he could be considered as a veteran.

However, he was also the soldier in charge of personnel management, which meant that he had jurisdiction over the unit’s manpower assignment.

"A foreigner volunteering to go to the military kitchen. Sigh.?Ah! There’s something that I have to tell you though. Len is very tough and strict. He also hates foreigners."

"I...is that so?"

"That’s right. But… my boy, I think you should be able to convince him."

"Alright," Minhyuk answered and nodded. Just then, he noticed something, "There's still plenty of food left, are there no more soldiers or foreigners who still want to eat?"

"That’s right. With that glib tongue of yours, he will definitely… Huh?" Rand said. He turned to look at Minhyuk, who had just been chewing on his hamburger, only to discover that he had disappeared right in front of him. Minhyuk had already flown out of his seat and lined up in front of the food stand. Then, Rand saw him come back after sweeping most of the remaining hamburgers up and chomping on another one happily.

"Hahahahaha, boy, you really weren't kidding when you told me that your specialty was eating well!" Rand said, laughing loudly at his antics.

[You have gained Rand's favor.]

***

Minhyuk followed behind Rand after he finally finished eating his fill of the hamburgers. Not long after, they arrived at the cooking carriage where the military kitchen was located. The cooking carriage was a mysterious magic tool that looked quite similar to the kitchen trailers used in the military in reality. The two of them went inside, finding the space to be a lot bigger than the outside. Then, they saw the military chefs all lined up.

"Oh. Isn't that the foreigner who ate a lot of the hamburgers earlier?"

"Brock. I will leave this boy here in the military kitchen."

"Huh? Aren't we already full?"

"Eyy. Come on, let this slide, just this once, eh? He'll definitely work hard. Why don't you give him some miscellaneous chores?"

The cook, named Brock, had a bigger build compared to ordinary soldiers. His biceps were even as big as a melon. He said, "You?do?know our Captain Len's personality, right?"

"Anyway, please help me! Just this once!" Rand said, quickly escaping after saying his piece.

Then, Minhyuk stepped up and introduced himself ?with a "Hello!" and bowed his head politely.

That was when a man entered the cooking carriage. The man was as tall as Minhyuk, and had hair so short that none of the strands swayed with the wind. There was even a knife scar covering one of his eyes.

"What's this? A foreigner?"

This man was none other than Len. Len’s expression hardened when he saw Minhyuk standing inside the cooking carriage. Then, Minhyuk nodded and said, "Yes, I applied to volunteer in the military kitchen."

"We're full. Find another place."

"But, I really want to stay here."

"No, I don't want you here, aren’t you here just so you could benefit from us?"

‘Benefit from them…?’

Minhyuk was taken aback by the scathing remark. The reason that he came here was to see if he could eat more delicious food since this was the kitchen. He also came here to pick up cooking skills. However, despite Len’s cold attitude, Minhyuk still did not give up.

"I'll do all the chores that you want me to do. I'll definitely do a great job on it!" Minhyuk said, bulging his biceps and tapping it strongly.

Len’s forehead wrinkled at his words. Then, he thought,?'Chores…'

However, even if Minhyuk was tasked to do chores, he still needed to have cooking skills. And Len knew that he was the one who would have a hard time training Minhyuk if he allowed him, who was unfamiliar with the kitchen, to stay here.

Besides, Minhyuk would leave the moment the subjugation quest was over. Len could not find any reason why he would allow it. Then, Len went outside of the carriage for a moment. When he came back, he had a sack in his hand.

Len threw the sack in front of Minhyuk and said, "Peel all of the garlic in this sack in twenty minutes. If you can do that, then I'll take you in and teach you how to cook."

[Quest: Peel the garlic in 20 minutes.]

Rank: D

Limit:?None

Rewards:?You will be able to join the Military Kitchen.

Penalty for Failure:?Len's favor towards you will decrease.

Description:?Len doesn't need a useless person, he will take you in if you are able to help and assist the military chefs. However, it's very difficult to peel all of the garlic in the sack in twenty minutes.

"Captain, you're very sly, aren't you? How can he peel all of that in twenty minutes?" Brock said, ?whistling slyly, as Len turned to leave the carriage.

It was apparent to him that Len did not want to have a new addition to the military chefs. In the first place, it was not easy to peel a few of those garlic quickly, what more than an entire sack? It might be a simple garlic, but the speed between a skilled and an unskilled person was entirely different.

"Ingredient Acquisition."

'What did he say?'

Brock was puzzled when he heard the foreigner murmur something. He said, "Well, boy, if you can’t, you should go back and use your sword or spear to hunt those goblins."

The moment he turned around to leave, Minhyuk quipped, "I'm finished, Brock."

"...Huh?" Brock asked, mouth agape. Only thirty seconds had passed since Len went outside again. However, Minhyuk was telling him that he was already done.

‘What kind of bullshit is he spouting?’

Even he was unaware how long it would take to peel that sack of garlic himself. According to ?his estimate, it would probably take twenty minutes at the fastest, thirty minutes at the slowest.

Brock strode towards Minhyuk with a stiff and stern expression on his face as he said, "No matter how much you want to join the military kitchen, you can't lie… hmm?"

Minhyuk opened the sack in front of him. All of the garlic inside the sack was peeled cleanly and perfectly.

1. ???? militaria, DIY hamburger served for trainees and recruits. Usually called a bread meal.