Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 165: Gorac's Aging Jar

“...!”

Minhyuk stopped in his tracks. A millstone? One thing came to mind when a millstone was mentioned, and that was tofu!

Whenever Minhyuk woke up early in the morning and wondered what food would be served for breakfast, he would always recall the braised tofu that was silently placed on top of the table. The savory and flavorful braised tofu came with soy sauce, sesame seeds, water, as well as oligosaccharides that looked extremely appetizing and mouth-watering.

Even if Minhyuk only had a bowl of beef radish soup and braised tofu for breakfast, he would be able to finish plenty of white rice at one go. He would definitely scoop up some of the steaming hot rice, while placing the braised tofu that he had cut in half with his chopsticks on top of it, before opening his mouth wide. Then, what would happen once Minhyuk placed it in his mouth? It would definitely be a bursting cacophony of flavors. The plain and soft tofu that was braised with soy sauce would be slightly salty, creating a perfect harmony with the soft white rice.

A simple millstone would allow anyone to produce a variety of tofu dishes: soft tofu stew, tofu kimchi, beancurd cake, okara and plenty of other tofu snacks. However, no matter the type of dish, one thing was certain, tofu was good for both the body and the palate.

However, Minhyuk believed that he should focus first on Gorac’s Aging Jar.

[General: Huh? I told you something like this, but you still did not reply. Is this more shocking than me getting a girlfriend...?]

It seemed?like General?expected Minhyuk to answer immediately the moment he sent the word ‘millstone’. He sounded like he did not expect a scenario where Minhyuk would ignore him. Of course, Minhyuk would have definitely replied in an instant if it was the usual, but there was something delicious in front of him now. How could he even focus on something else?

Clack━

As soon as he placed the lid on top of the jar, a notification rang clear and loud in his head.

[Gorac’s Aging Jar’s Special Ability has been triggered.]

[The Soy Sauce Marinated Crab is well ripened and ready to eat.]

“Wow... Wow...!” Minhyuk exclaimed. He looked as delighted as any other player that had received an extremely strong and wonderful artifact.

Locke and Khan both looked at Minhyuk in anticipation when they saw his reaction.

‘Don’t tell me that he will be able to get an artifact from that jar every day?’

‘Gasp...?! That must be a really good item?’

Minhyuk quickly took off the lid and reached inside, but he suddenly paused and said, “Hmm, hmm. Guys, sorry, but I have to go first since something urgent came up.”

“Huh? There’s nothing we can do if it’s an emergency. But, what’s with the jar...!”

A flash of light covered Minhyuk as he disappeared. And…

“Aaaaaaack! What is that jar?!”

“What is it? Is there an artifact that came out of the jar??Aaack...!”

“Ah, what the hell is that jar?! I want you to let me?knooooooow!”

There were only two ways to make someone go crazy out of curiosity. One of them was not finishing a sentence...

***

“Wow. Look at the color,” Minhyuk said, gulping loudly as he looked at the huge table filled with food.

There was steaming soft, white rice in front of him, while the crab shells, legs and huge claws were on a large plate right next to it. They were originally connected to the body of the crab, but were already torn off and removed, showcasing the scarlet eggs. They were an appetizing contrast from the pale, slightly black flesh that was dyed with the soy sauce that was overflowing from the shell.

The first thing that Minhyuk lifted was the shell, as he spoke to it tenderly, “You’re filled with eggs aren’t you?”

The dark colored spices that were sprinkled on the shell, as well as the plump flesh and scarlet eggs, were all submerged in the sauce. He quickly picked his chopsticks as he swiftly dug out the guts that were hidden within the shell.

Chak, chak, chak━

The sound of the chopsticks meeting with the shell was also pleasant to hear, almost a form of art in itself. The guts and the flesh of the crab was gathered in the middle of the shell, forming a contrast with the scarlet eggs and flesh that was slightly black. They were all mixed and gathered in the middle appropriately, as if showing their mouthwatering splendor to anyone looking at them.

Gulp━

Minhyuk’s drool slowly started to flow as he hurriedly moved his hands. He first took the contents out of the shell and dropped them on top of his piping hot rice. Then, he scooped a spoonful towards his mouth. Minhyuk looked at the slightly cold crab meat and guts laying gently on top of the steaming white rice as he placed the spoonful in his mouth.

The rice complemented the salty, savory taste of the crab, and the feeling of the meat and guts slipping in his mouth made him feel infinitely satisfied. After Minhyuk gulped down his first spoonful of rice, he quickly scooped another spoonful. Then, he picked up the shell like a plate, dumped the rice on it and mixed it with his spoon. The color was extremely appetizing once the guts, the meat, the eggs, the soy sauce, and the rice were all mixed together properly.

Then, Minhyuk took a spoonful of the food and placed it in his mouth again. He could not help but close his eyes in bliss, as his lips curled into a smile. After savoring the taste, he let out a slight breath before slowly opening his eyes.

“Wow... It’s really delicious.”

Minhyuk quickly grabbed one of the legs with his hands as he pressed down tightly on the joints to rip it apart. Like water in a broken dam, the guts and the flesh of the crab instantly flowed out of the cracked crab.

Minhyuk quickly took the leg in his mouth and sucked. The guts and the flesh of the crab immediately flowed, its scrumptious taste spreading quickly into his mouth. As he chewed the crab happily, he felt that the expression ‘melting in one’s mouth’ was enough to describe the texture and flavor of the crab.

Of course, Minhyuk did not forget to bite the crab shell tightly before sucking on it to push the remaining flesh inside into his mouth. Then, he squeezed the meat out of its body on top of the rice.

“I can’t just throw these away.”

After he squeezed the body, Minhyuk pushed the meat and sucked on it again to make sure that no meat was left in the shell. Then, he mixed the guts and meat with the rice before chomping on it again.

“Hahaha, so happy~”

It was truly delicious. Minhyuk truly felt that the combination of the poison of the Poisonous Toad King, the special snow crab that he had obtained from the Dragon King, as well as the perfect aging and maturation by Gorac’s Aging Jar was simply divine. Only the word ‘best’?would suit this flavor.

However, this was not the end yet. There was still the nice, thickly cut meat of the golden salmon. He silently stretched his chopsticks towards the pinkish, glowing meat of the golden salmon. He only picked one up to try the taste first. As soon as he placed the salmon in his mouth, he gently chewed on it. Once he swallowed the meat, he could not help but giggle a little at the oily taste that lingered in his mouth.

Then, for his next piece, he dipped the salmon in the soy sauce and wasabi mixture. The soy sauce and wasabi perfectly harmonized and complemented the plain flavor of the salmon. Sometimes Minhyuk would add some radish sprouts with the salmon, or some onions, and even some white sauce on top of it, before placing it in his mouth.

When Minhyuk wanted to eat something special, he would gently pick roasted seaweed, before placing some salmon on it, along with some radish sprouts and wasabi, before wrapping them all together. Once his wrap was done, he would dip it in soy sauce before placing everything in his mouth.

Just like that, Minhyuk’s extremely satisfying meal soon came to an end.

[You have eaten Golden Salmon Sashimi.]

[Food God’s Greatness.]

You have ignored the medicine penalty. However, it still remains ineffective for other people.]

[A Medicine Cooking. You have obtained additional stats.]

.

[You have acquired +58 DEX.]

‘Ah. Come to think of it...’

Minhyuk felt that the speed at which he acquired DEX had significantly decreased. Even if he had repeated an action plenty of times, he was still not able to gain DEX as quickly as he used to.

‘To eat more delicious things, I need to find a way to improve my DEX...’?Minhyuk thought, smiling happily. Then, he remembered the whisper that he had received?from General?earlier.

[Minhyuk: Hyung, do you know that he who shuns the millstone, shuns the meal?]

[General: General is currently logged out.]

“Yep, seize the day~” Minhyuk said, nodding along with the sound of notification. Anyway, four hours had almost gone by, since he needed to log out soon, it did not matter if he did it now. With that, he logged out of the game.

***

Bachran Guild’s Baren, along with six of his guild members, held their breaths as they watched a man go about in one of the hunting grounds in?Athenae.

Bachran Guild was a guild that was quite similar?to Horden?Guild. All of its guild members were chaotic players and they would make profits by doing most of the dirty work in the game, which included monopolization of hunting grounds, as well as PKing players. The only difference between them and Horden Guild was that they had Crone, the 19th in the local rankings, as their guild master.

Despite the fact that they were a guild that consisted purely of chaotic members, they were still placed eighth in the local guild rankings. The only reason why Bachran Guild had climbed to such a high position was because it had gathered players that had been kicked out from other large guilds due to bad etiquette and discourtesy. That and Bachran Guild’s master, Crone, was much more influential than what most people initially thought.

The person that they were watching right now was Black Dragon. Black Dragon was an influential merchant who recently gained fame after obtaining a merchant organization without joining any guild. For some reason, he had been playing alone, with only one purpose in mind and that was…

‘To find the most delicious and outstanding ingredients in Athenae.’

Black Dragon was the one who had sent this information personally.

The reason why Bachran Guild had been monitoring him was for the valuable artifacts that he would most likely drop.

“Look at his sword. It’s Decallid’s Sword, I think it’s an epic artifact.”

“Don’t forget about his armor. I think he’s covered with epic artifacts from head to toe.”

He was completely covered with epic artifacts that had been only recently released in the Northern Continent. His black armor and black sword definitely looked like valuable artifacts.

“But, that uncle... Don’t you think he’s a bit like a chuuni?”

“I know... That nickname is a bit...”

Bachran?Guild had rules that they needed to follow. One of them was to not get into trouble with anyone involved with large guilds. This rule was set in place so they could avoid friction with the large guilds. This was also the main reason why the four great guilds and the other large guilds did not move against them. Besides, even though they were large guilds, they would still suffer greatly if they were to start a war?against Bachran?Guild.

Because of that, Black Dragon was considered to be a complete ‘pushover’?by Bachran?Guild. He was someone that would literally give them free artifacts once they PK-ed him. Of course, he was the biggest merchant running the merchant organization, but Bachran Guild was also connected with countless nobles, so they were confident that there would be no huge consequences.

“Let’s go.”

Baren and the rest of the guild members with him quickly started to move. Their average level was between Level 320~330. However, they were considered to be the weakest among the guild. However, when they arrived in front of him, they saw the man named Black Dragon trembling wildly. Although his face was covered with a black mask, they could see the tears dripping down from his wide eyes.

‘Gasp...?! This uncle, are you already crying because you knew that we’re going to PK you?!’

‘...OMG?!’

***

Ilhwa Group’s Chairman Kang Minhoo was known as Black Dragon in the game. He was just about to take a breather after finishing his hunt, when he heard the voice of Secretary Park Munsoo through the capsule’s call feature.

[President, the young master told me to inform you that he will treat us to a very delicious meal, including snow crabs, in Athenae, on your birthday.]

This was a very special event for Black Dragon.

‘A meal with my son… It has been five years since we last had a meal together.’

Although it was just a meal in the game, he was still moved. Black Dragon felt the tip of his nose tingle as his eyes reddened with tears. He felt delighted at the fact that his son, who was suffering?from eating?addiction, was going to prepare a meal for his birthday.

Then, at that moment, six players suddenly appeared in front of him. The players looked like they were flustered at the sight of him.

“Y…you’re crying...?”

“...”

Black Dragon smirked at them. He could see their weapons on hand, as well as a mage who was preparing to cast a spell. He already knew what they were here for. He said, “I’m in a good mood today, so you punks should go back before I run wild.”

Black Dragon turned to walk away just as he finished those words. However, Baren scoffed, “Shit... This uncle is really a crazy chuuni.”

“Wow. He’s not crying anymore. He’s going to run wild. Why? Is something sealed in your left hand?”

They jeered loudly. However, Black Dragon just nodded. With that, the Bachran members launched their attacks. An assassin who was preparing his skill earlier had the highest level amongst them at Level 340. He also had a special ability that could help him assassinate and eliminate his enemies in one shot.

[Surprise Attack.]

He quickly moved behind Black Dragon and aimed for his neck. Meanwhile, the mage that had been preparing to cast his spell had already launched plenty of fire spears towards Black Dragon.

[Fire Spear.]

Crackle, crackle!

Craaaaackle!

At that moment, Black Dragon raised his left hand and said, “In the end, the being on my left hand will still go berserk.”

Black Dragon already knew that his name was like a joke for the younger generation. However, it was also something that depended on the person using it. So, he decided to stay true to his name and be confident with it. His expression grew solemn as anger filled his head.

“Pfft!”

“Keuhahaha... Ah, for real. What a funny guy!”

Baren?and his party burst into laughter when they heard his words. However, something crazy happened…

Shwaaaaa!

…A black dragon’s head emerged from the man’s left hand. Black Dragon then raised his right hand to stop the surprise attack sent towards him.

Clang!

“...!”

Then, the black dragon that appeared on his left hand stretched its head and swallowed the fire spears that were heading straight at him, as it roared loudly.

“Kiieeeeeeeeeek!”

The black dragon’s roar turned the person nearest to Black Dragon into ashes instantly when black flames devoured the player’s body.

Crackle!

The assassin died in just a single attack.

“Keuaaaack!”

“Th…this...! Shit…!”

Baren looked at his figure as a thought flashed through his head. He said, “Fo…for real...”

‘He’s really Black Dragon.’

1. soy pulp, or tofu dregs left after pureed soybeans are filtered in the production of soy milk and tofu