Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 216: Samgyetang with Thousand-year-old Ginseng

Abel had informed Minhyuk from the very beginning, that Veron’s quest was only available to players at Level 400 and above. However, would that even deter Minhyuk? No. He believed that there was no tree that he could not conquer. If he failed once, he would just try again and again. In fact, he saw a way as soon as he came to this place,?‘Ah, Veron seems to eat miserably. He hasn’t eaten meat!’

There were no wild animals in the near vicinity, so he would most likely eat really simple food.

‘Let’s get close to him first. I’ll help him with farming and increase his favor!’

In fact, it would be quite good if everything worked out well. If this method did not work, then he would had to find another way. As it turned out, it was a success, causing Minhyuk to grin widely.

‘Hehehehehe!’

Minhyuk’s meticulous planning, and his willingness to do anything for the sake of food, had granted him his wish.

***

“Huh?” Director Kim Daesik exclaimed aloud as he sat up straight in his chair, his leisurely and sloppy posture disappearing in an instant.

“What the hell?”

[Veron will guide Player Minhyuk to a shortcut.]

“…!”

Director Kim Daesik jumped to his feet when he saw the message pop up. He said, “Lee… Lee Minhwa!”

He hurriedly ran towards Lee Minhwa after gathering himself up from the shock.

“What’s going on?” Lee Minhwa asked, tapping on her keyboard to find out the situation. After figuring out the reason for his outburst, Lee Minhwa gave him an answer.

“It seems like Player Minhyuk’s own passive skill?‘Attractive Mukbang’?has been activated.”

“Attractive Mukbang? What’s that?”

“It’s something known among us here. Player Minhyuk has an innate ability to make others hungry while he’s eating and that ability somehow also applies to the NPCs with high artificial intelligence. Player Minhyuk knows that fact and has been using it to his advantage.”

“B…but can he really do something like this?”

“There’s nothing we can do. The NPCs have a high degree of freedom after all, and their actions are quite hard to prevent. After all, that’s how it is in the setting. The problem is…”

Lee Minhwa’s eyes narrowed sharply as she continued to say, “Beas Village is truly a place that is widely known to be open to players who are at Level 400 and above only.”

“That’s right.”

“All entry quests starts from Level 400 onwards.”

Director Kim nodded as Lee Minhwa continued, “Now that a Level 300 player has entered, the other players will definitely find it weird. After all, there are only Level 400 and above players in that area. Then, they’ll complain. They will ask if it’s a bug, but it’s not a bug.”

“…”

Director Kim Daesik looked at the monitor blankly. There was a player who could beat the setting by using his own passive skill, Attractive Mukbang?

‘Well, this is just a preposterous situation…’

What he did not realize was that the worst was yet to come.

***

Minhyuk was able to reach Beas Village easily, and at a more comfortable pace compared to other players, since he went through the shortcut that Veron had told him about.

[You have set foot in Beas Village.]

[You have gained 100 REP.]

[You can only stay in Beas Village for 1 week.]

A reward was given when a player had set foot in the village since players needed to work hard for that to happen. Even so, arriving at Beas Village that easily was a considerable privilege. Most of the players gave up halfway through after receiving the Beas Village quest and experiencing great difficulty in the process.

Looking at Beas Village, Minhyuk could see that the village was very small, with only a few NPCs and some players littered here and there. Berest Mountains was located right behind the village, and covered in pure white snow.

Minhyuk followed the route that Abel had informed him. Abel had told him to find ‘Luke’ the herbalist in Beas Village. In fact, it was quite easy to locate Luke. He was an old man who was garbed in an outfit that was befitting a herbalist. Upon Minhyuk’s question, Luke answered, “Information on the thousand-year-old ginseng? There’s no such thing as free lunch in this world, you know? If you can, bring me 30 claws of the Vicious Yeti. It’s quite hard to dig out herbs in the Berest Mountains because it’s teeming with those monsters.”

It was a common quest.

Just as Minhyuk was about to leave to do the quest, Luke asked, “Ah, right. Boy, what is your job class?”

“I’m a chef.”

“A chef…”

Luke smiled wryly when he heard Minhyuk’s words.

“Isn’t it better for you to give up the thousand-year-old ginseng and just go back?”

However, Minhyuk just smiled brightly as he answered Luke, “The thousand-year-old ginseng is necessary.”

Luke was a little concerned about a ‘chef’ bringing him the things that he had requested. However, Minhyuk was gone for an hour before coming back again.

“…!”

When faced with the results, Luke could not help but be shocked, since Minhyuk was the fastest person to ever finish the quest of bringing him 30 Vicious Yeti claws.

‘Ah. Come to think of it. There was a robed man who said that he was a mage earlier.’

It seemed like Luke felt that both of them were on a similar level.

Then, Old Man Luke said, “You’re a lot stronger than I thought.”

“Hehe. Thank you.”

“The thousand-year-old ginseng is actually hidden at the highest peak of the Berest Mountains. I only know that it is located near the peak, so please keep that in mind.”

Luke continued to speak, making sure to emphasize his words. “It is also a fact that the legendary medicine thousand-year-old ginseng is something that I, a herbalist, have not found in more than 30 years.”

The herbalist, Luke, knew Berest Mountains as if it was the back of his hands! He had been searching for the Thousand-year-old Ginseng for more than 30 years. However, he had always been unable to find it! It was something that he vowed to find too.

However, Luke sighed as he continued, “For that reason, I have already thought that the Thousand-year-old Ginseng is just a fictional story. It has been 30 years! In those 30 years, I haven’t even seen the leaves of the thousand-year-old ginseng at all!”

He spoke passionately and with great fanfare. It was as if he was spitting out all of the injustices he had experienced in those 30 years. Meanwhile, Minhyuk was quietly using his Ingredient Tracking Skill.

“Boy, are you listening to me?! The Thousand-year-old Ginseng is just a fictional item. I don’t want to see someone else waste their time on something like this too! You’ll never find it! I’m sure~ You’ll never find it! Herbalist Baren, who had been with me for 20 years, had already closed his eyes in eternal peace!”

At that moment, Minhyuk heard a notification.

[Successfully searched for the ingredients.]

[The Thousand-year-old Ginseng is a great medicine that can permanently increase the amount of mana.]

[Can be cooked with Food God's Cooking Skill Level 1.]

[Suggested Menu: Samgyetang.]

Then, an arrow popped out in front of Minhyuk, indicating the direction and location of the Thousand-year-old Ginseng. As he stared at the arrow, he felt a bit sad for Luke who was shouting loudly about the injustices and unfair situations that he had experienced for 30 years of his life. He was so riled up that it looked like the veins on his neck would pop anytime soon.

Minhyuk tried to open the door with an awkward laugh, when Luke suddenly said, “I know of another ingredient, not the Thousand-year-old Ginseng, but something comparable to that! It would be quicker for you to find it!”

“…Yes?” Minhyuk asked, stopping in his tracks to look at Luke.

“Boy, have you heard of the Myriad-year Potato?”

“Myriad-year Potato?” Minhyuk asked again, his ears perking up at the information about more delicious food.

“That’s right. Myriad-year Potato. The story of the birth of the Myriad-year Potato is quite shocking and formidable. It’s even comparable to the legend of our Beas Village.”

Minhyuk listened to him while his hands held the doorknob.

“The Myriad-year Potato was said to be grown and cultivated by the ruler of the Berest Mountains, also known as?‘The Ancient Monarch’.”

“The Ancient Monarch?”

The Ancient Monarch. Minhyuk was quite interested in these three words.

“That’s right. Ancient Monarch. It was a legend from ancient times. The Ancient Monarch was once a very gentle and intelligent ruler. However, one day, the ruler’s consciousness was brainwashed by the Demon Verus’ terrible spirit. He went mad and became a tyrant. It was said that the five knights who served the Ancient Monarch fought bravely to stop him from becoming a tyrant. They were the?‘Five Ancient Guardians’. The Five Ancient Guardians managed to keep the monarch at bay but they could not bear to kill their King, Argan. Hence, they used their lives to lock him in an ancient sculpture before dividing it into five pieces. Those five pieces flew all over the world and he fell into a deep slumber together with those five pieces. It was said that each piece was sealed with the food that the monarch has loved during his lifetime.”

“Sealing them together with food. Why…”

Minhyuk thought that it was somewhat incomprehensible.

“They were loyal and faithful. It must have been painful for them to have sealed and executed their monarch with their own hands. To honor him, they placed the food ingredients together as they put their monarch to slumber in the sculpture. Over time, these food ingredients gained strength from the sculpture pieces and grew comparable in strength to the Thousand-year-old Ginseng. The ingredients also did not go stale or rot. Every once in a while, the pieces of the sculpture would wake up with a fifth of the power of the Ancient Monarch. Those pieces would be very, very strong and ferocious, but it’s not impossible to hunt. That’s why the foreigners gather together to hunt each time they awake.”

“Ah… I see!”

Minhyuk could understand his words to some extent. He had heard of the global players gathering together to do a raid against the ‘Ancient Monarch’. However, he had never heard of anyone obtaining the food ingredients by hunting him. Perhaps, the drop rate was too abysmal.

“I won’t stop you from challenging it. However, I still don’t recommend it.”

At that moment, Minhyuk heard the notifications.

[Cooperation Quest: Hunt the Ancient Monarch.]

Rank: SS

Requirements: Luke’s Favor.

Rewards: The Monarch’s Treasure Chest.

Penalty for Failure: You will not be allowed to enter Beas Village anymore.

Description: This is the Ancient Monarch Raid Quest where players from all over the world can participate in. The hunting cycle is just around the corner.

Minhyuk accepted the quest for now, just in case something happened. Then, he started moving towards the direction where the arrow was pointing to.

Meanwhile, Luke looked at his departing back as he mumbled to himself, “You’ll never find it…”

Tears welled up in Luke’s eyes, which seemed to reflect the 30 years of his wasted time.

***

Minhyuk continued to follow the arrow only to be left in confusion.

‘Huh…?’

This was because the arrow suddenly started pointing somewhere else the moment he arrived at the peak of Berest Mountains.

‘What?’

Nevertheless, Minhyuk continued to trek Berest Mountains. The place was home to plenty of ice-type monsters. Players were usually hard to find in this place. No, it was safe to say that there was not a single player in sight. The reason was simple, it was because the drops on Berest Mountains were too stingy. In a way, Berest Mountains and the villages surrounding them were merely just ‘meeting venues’. They were practically abandoned. Even Beas Village had a limitation and only allowed entry for one week, so there were really not that many people in this area.

Minhyuk continued his trek only to stop again.

‘The arrow changed again…?’

That was when Minhyuk realized something. He thought,?‘The location of the Thousand-year-old Ginseng is constantly changing…!’

It seemed like this was the reason why no one had found this legendary medicine yet. However, it was completely useless in front of Minhyuk! With his Ingredient Tracking skill, nothing could escape his sights! It would continue to guide him to where the ingredient was!

After a while, he finally arrived at the place where the arrow was pointing at. Minhyuk looked at the knee-deep snow as he started to dig. He dug for a while before he was able to see some lush, green leaves that hang strongly, despite the cold weather. Minhyuk gently reached out and dug out the Thousand-year-old Ginseng.

[You have acquired the Thousand-year-old Ginseng.]

“So, this is the Thousand-year-old Ginseng!”

The Thousand-year-old Ginseng was a wild ginseng that grew for a thousand years.

‘In reality, a Hundred-year-old Ginseng is already precious. I wonder if this thousand-year-old one is truly more precious than that?’

As soon as Minhyuk saw the ginseng, he felt like he had already gained a lot of strength. He thought,?‘Well then, shall we make samgyetang now? Fufufu!”

However, Minhyuk realized that it was too windy and cold out in the open. He knew that his body would warm up if he cooked and drank his samgyetang soup in this freezing weather, but the weather would also interfere with his cooking.

Then, as if a light bulb shone brightly on top of his head, Minhyuk recalled a small cave that he saw before coming here. He quickly turned around and moved towards the cave.