Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 179: A Pleasant Meal

‘What’s this...?’

The condition for growth was an extreme contrast to Beanie’s cute and lovable appearance. Minhyuk quickly clicked on the detailed explanation of ‘blood of your enemies’?to confirm.

[In order to unseal Gluttony’s Incarnation, you have to prove your strength and be recognized by him. The blood of your enemies means hunting and successfully killing players, NPCs, or humanoid type monsters. The percentage increase will increase differently depending on the strength of your enemies. If your enemy’s strength is higher, then the percentage will also increase. Once you have reached 100%, the Incarnation of Gluttony will awaken.]

In fact, Minhyuk had already recognized the fact that Beanie would awaken once the bar reached 100%, and that he was not yet awakened up until this point. However, even without awakening, the current Beanie was already a very powerful pet. A pet with an attack of almost 3,000 was not common. In addition, even Beanie’s buff skills were extremely outstanding with both attack and defense having an increase of 20%.

Right at that moment, a whisper came in.

[Genie: Minhyuk, we’ve collected everything^^!]

It was a whisper from Genie. The whisper came just in time for his Dad’s birthday tomorrow. Minhyuk was thinking of just treating them to a meal with whatever ingredients that he currently had, if they were not able to collect all the ingredients within this time period, but it seemed like he did not need to worry after all.

A small smile hung around Minhyuk’s mouth. He called out, “Kaistra.”

When his name was called, Kaistra turned to look at him curiously.

“Would you like to come with me and see my Dad?”

“Yes!” Kaistra nodded fiercely as he answered Minhyuk.

***

Park Munsoo had served beside Chairman Kang Minhoo and Ilhwa Group for almost 35 years. When he was younger, a man had reached out his hands to him, a ten-year-old orphan that was just begging around the streets. That man was Kang Minhoo. Back then, Chairman Kang Minhoo was not the big name like he was right now. Park Munsoo was there every step of the way as Kang Minhoo’s name grew larger and larger.

Right now, Park Munsoo was smiling softly at him. He asked, “Chairman, are you really that happy?”

Kang Minhoo could not stop himself from smiling today. Even when he was working, he would put down his pen and laugh softly. Even when he was taking a break and drinking tea, he would smile while looking over the horizon with eyes that seemed to be slightly misty. His figure was also a source of happiness for Park Munsoo.

“Of course I’m happy. Aren’t you looking a bit chirpier today too?”

“It’s because I’m looking forward to the Young Master’s meal,” Park Munsoo said, smiling.

Park Munsoo felt happy whenever he saw Chairman Kang, the person that he served, smiling happily. He had promised to live his life for Kang Minhoo ever since that fateful day, so it was natural that he would feel happy for the person who had given him a new lease in life.

Then, the two of them went ahead and accessed the game.

“Wait. You have an?Athenae?ID, right?”

“Ah, yes,” Park Munsoo said. He had created an ID in the game because he wanted to support Kang Minhoo even in the game. However, they had not been able to play the game together at all.

“What’s your ID?”

“It’s King God.”

Kang Minhoo smiled softly at him. He said, “You really have a great naming sense.”

“Really? Hahaha!”

In fact, Park Munsoo and Kang Minhoo already knew that IDs like?Black Dragon?were like some sort of joke to other people. However, Park Munsoo still chose the ID?King God?to share the same shame with the chairman.

Meanwhile, Kang Minhoo answered a call. The call was from an information collector that he had hired in?Athenae. After listening for quite some time, surprise suddenly colored Kang Minhoo’s face.

“Yeah. Keep going.”

Kang Minhoo was not looking for something simple. He was looking for excellent cooking ingredients.

.

‘Ingredients that can make my son happy!’

[This information came from Callame Island. If you pass through the ‘Ice Cliffs’ in Callame Island, you will be able to see hundreds of icebergs that sprouted from the ground. And there’s only one iceberg there that is glowing with white light.]

“So what is that iceberg?” Kang Minhoo asked, voice filled with excitement.

[If you dig up that iceberg, you will be able to receive a surprising ‘ice fragment’. However, this fragment tastes much better than the normal ‘Neolbing’ that you can find in the market.]

“...!”

Kang Minhoo’s eyes sparkled when he heard the information.

“I…is that true?”

Minhoo clearly remembered the words that his son had told him whenever it was summer.

‘I want to eat spoonful after spoonful of Neolbing bingsu until my head goes blank with a brain freeze...’

Every single time he heard it, Minhoo would feel like his heart was breaking. He hated himself for being a father who could not even put food in his child’s mouth. It was even a common thing for other parents, asking their child,?‘It’s so hot outside, shall we go to Neolbing?’?then sitting down in the cafe while eating bingsu. However, Kang Minhoo and Minhyuk could not do it at all.

Kang Minhoo trembled. He would make sure to get it without fail. Then, he would feed his son all the strawberry bingsu, melon bingsu, choco bingsu, and all of the bingsu that he wanted to eat.

[However, an ice witch resides in the place, so you have to be careful.]

“Thanks.”

Kang Minhoo hung up the phone. He decided to put the promise behind at the moment and do what he needed to do right now.

“Let’s connect.”

“Yes.”

Both Kang Minhoo and Park Munsoo accessed?Athenae?through their office capsules. Then, Black Dragon went to the beginner's village where King God was currently located. When they met in the game, King God could not help but be surprised with the chairman’s presence. He was riding a six-meter long creature that was covered with black, impregnable scales.

“He’s one of the legendary dragons in the world of?Athenae. His name is Britney.”

“I see.”

‘As expected of the Chairman, he really is great.’

This was what went through King God’s head as he climbed on top of the dragon. Then, the black dragon, Britney, flapped its wings strongly and soared in the air.

“May I know how you got him?”

“It was a strange event. One day, I found out that other people laugh and giggle when they hear the name ‘Black Dragon’. But strangely enough, I didn’t feel ashamed at all.”

King God nodded when he heard his words.

“That’s why when someone asks me, I feel confident telling them this name. I also brought judgment to the people that made fun of my name.”

Park Munsoo knew that Kang Minhoo was a man that did what he wanted to do. He was also a man that could make others smile with just his merits alone.

“So I just played like that when I suddenly heard a notification for a hidden quest.”

“A hidden quest?”

“Yeah. That hidden quest...”

Kang Minhoo recalled the vague memories in his head.

“A person who possesses the quality to have a true chuunibyou. Or something like that.”

King God nodded at him in awe.

‘As expected of the chairman, he does his best in whatever he does. But… what does chuunibyou mean? Ah...! I’m sure it’s short for ‘Charismatic and Nimble’.... so what does the last syllable ‘byou’ mean? Hmm... Anyway, I’m sure that he’s one of the best chuunibyou in the world!’

Caught in his own misconceptions, Park Munsoo thought that Kang Minhoo was someone that truly deserved to be respected all over the world. Before they knew it, Britney was already arriving at their rendezvous point.

***

Minhyuk and Kaistra, together with General, the diet manager Hyejin, with her ID AmazingHyejin, and the others were all sitting in the restaurant that he had rented out. They were all currently waiting for the chairman and his secretary to come.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk was looking at the cake in front of him with a pleased smile.

‘Dad likes sweet potato cake.’

Next to the cake was the gigantic Dragon King’s snow crab. The snow crabs were well-boiled with its legs, claws, torso, and shell skillfully separated from each other. The Dragon King’s snow crabs were at least two times larger than regular snow crabs, so they were really huge. Placed next to them was the japchae and braised pork ribs that his dad liked. Of course, all of the ingredients that he had used were special ingredients.

Just in time, Black Dragon and King God came inside the restaurant. The two of them looked like they were just novices who had just entered the game. They hid their levels because Black Dragon wanted to surprise his son. He wanted to hide it until he found the ice fragment and showed it to him.

As soon as he came inside, Kaistra immediately bowed down and greeted, “Ch…chairman. Please accept my greetings!”

“Boy, you must be Kaistra?”

Kaistra was at a loss for words. This was his idol, the idol whom he had wanted to meet for quite a long time. Black Dragon had already heard his story from Minhyuk beforehand, so he was aware of his identity. King God smiled happily as he looked at Kaistra.

‘He’s the African boy from back then...’

He was the boy that had inquired about Chairman Kang Minhoo from him. The boy that wanted to repay his kindness. Black Dragon was this kind of person, he had the ability to attract people to his side. It seemed like this characteristic was also passed on to his son, Kang Minhyuk.

Meanwhile, Kaistra felt something strange. For some reason, he felt restless from the powerful presence wriggling in Chairman Kang Minhoo’s left hand. Kaistra and Black Dragon’s eyes met. It seemed like Black Dragon had realized that he noticed it, so he shook his head while smiling slightly at him. Britney had told Black Dragon that he felt the power of Kaistra’s Penrus.

‘The chairman is really playing the game just like what the rumors said, but it seems like he’s hiding the reason why.’

Kaistra was shocked beyond belief after realizing this fact.

‘His son, Minhyuk, is an Envoy of Incarnation... And, the chairman is also powerful... plus they’re really rich...’

Kaistra nodded slightly as if to acknowledge that he was keeping his secret. At the same time, Minhyuk hurriedly approached Black Dragon and guided him to his seat. He said, “Dad, you have to sit in this seat today!”

“Hahaha. Punk,” Minhoo said as he happily sat in the middle of the table where a cake and a hearty meal was located.

“You have to blow the candles!”

Minhyuk clapped his hands and started singing, which prompted the rest to start singing too.

“Happy birthday to you~ happy birthday to you~ Beloved Dad, happy birthday to you~”

“Waaaaaaah!”

“Hoho. I feel a bit embarrassed.”

“Dad should make a wish and blow the candles!”

Kang Minhoo closed his eyes and made a wish before blowing on the candles.

‘I hope that my son’s illness will be cured someday... ?so we can sit down and eat a meal like this in real life.’

This was his dream. After he blew the candles, the meal finally started. Black Dragon first picked one of the legs of the snow crab before stretching it out.

“It’s really big,” Black Dragon said in awe. The snow crab legs in his hands were at least two to three times larger than the legs of a regular snow crab. It was because he loved snow crabs so much that he was forced to lose weight after eating so much.

When Minhyuk saw his dad starting to eat, he also began to eat happily. He brought a strange-looking crab fork and used it on the snow crab leg.

“Wow. It’s really plump...!”

It was surprisingly plump and overflowing with meat. It looked like a crab meat stick with how plump it was. Minhyuk quickly brought the plump meat into his mouth. The warm and rich flavor of the snow crabs brought a smile to his face. Some would say that the meat tasted exactly like crab meat sticks, but the flavor of this crab was much more luxurious and rich than that.

After swallowing down the meat, he quickly tore off another leg but this time, he dipped it in the crab sauce. The savory taste of the snow crab sauce and the slightly bland, yet sweet flavor of the meat met, creating a harmony that could bring a smile to one’s face.

This time, he picked up the claws. Minhyuk had prepared crab tongs beforehand so that they could take the meat off of the claws easily. He quietly held the claw with one hand while pulling the meat out with the tongs on the other. As soon as he pulled the tongs out, a plump and jiggling amount of flesh popped out and greeted him. When he took it to his mouth, he could feel the chewier texture and lighter flavor of the meat from the claws.

Minhyuk smiled pleasantly at the food. The next thing that he picked up was the body of the crab.

Crunch, crunch━

The crab fork easily separated the shell and the meat. Then, he placed the separated meat on a plate that was already starting to be filled easily, before eating a spoonful of it.

“Kghhk...”

The flavor of the meat burst out in his mouth as soon as he chewed on it. He could not help but let out a burst of admiration at the flavor. Then, he picked some japchae and ate it just like that.

“Sluuuuuurp.”

The salty and savory japchae was filled with rich flavors coming from the various ingredients that he had added to it.

Crunch, crunch━

The taste of the spinach, mushrooms, onions, and pork combined to create a flavor that was to his satisfaction. The more he chewed, the more flavor he tasted in his mouth.

Then, he turned his attention towards the braised pork ribs. He believed that the braised pork ribs would taste better if the meat could easily be pried apart. As soon as he took the short ribs into his mouth, the meat and the bone separated easily.

‘Wow, it’s melting.’

The meat and the bones separating from each other clearly demonstrated how well-cooked the dish was. Once he chewed on it, the sweet juices of the meat spread in his mouth.

Just as they finished the food that was set up and served on the table…

“I’m full,” His dad said.

Minhyuk just shook his head and said, “Eyy. Dad, you can’t be full yet!”

“Hmm?”

Black Dragon tilted his head at him as Minhyuk smiled at him proudly and said, “There’s still snow crab fried rice and snow crab ramyeon!”

1. A parody of the store Seolbing, a store that sells bingsu(shaved ice dessert with toppings)