Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 292: The Devil Judge’s Sword

Diablo was once an ordinary boy. He was just a child that liked to play with his friends and bumped wooden swords with them. He even dreamed of becoming the best knight in the entire empire. Whenever Diablo finished rolling around on the ground with his friends, he would come home to his welcoming mother, Helen.

Helen would always ask him with a smile, ‘You’re home? You must be hungry. Let’s eat.’?

Diablo would smile at her while massaging his empty belly and sitting in front of her. He would then wolf down the food that she made for him in excitement, while his mother Helen would smile and wipe the sauce off his mouth.

That was right. Diablo was no more than a child when he suddenly became the three great demon’s vessel for demonic energy. He had lost everything when they took him here.

Diablo quietly told the chef, who was standing on the other side of the transparent barrier, about his sad past.

‘It would be nice if I could experience that feeling once more. Maybe it’s fine since it will be the last time.’

He wanted to taste and feel that once again, pleading, “I’m… begging… you…”

***

“I’m… begging… you…”

A quest window popped out in front of Minhyuk.

[Unexpected Quest: Diablo’s Wish.]

Rank: S

Restrictions: Chef

Rewards: The path to the 41st floor

Failure for Penalty: Diablo’s Wish quest will not be linked.?

Description: Before he became the Lesser Demon, Diablo was nothing more than an ordinary human. He said that there was food that he wanted to eat. Please listen to his story.

‘The path to the 41st floor…’?

The path to the 41st floor could easily be interpreted. This meant that if Diablo was satisfied, he would let them go and not attack them. To be honest, they did not want to fight Diablo if there was a way where they could be sent away smoothly.

First of all, the ‘resurrection’ skill was a very rare and precious skill in Athenae. However, it was a skill that players could still gain. And these resurrection skills followed the same formula. Once the hunted monsters had been revived, anything that dropped before like EXP, artifacts and gold would not be dropped after killing them again. This was a system that the Athenae operators had set up to stop the players from trying to hunt rare boss monsters continuously.

“Minhyuk.”

His father approached him. Kaistra and Black Wizard Ali also turned to look at him.

“A quest came up. The reward is a path to the 41st floor.”

Kaistra shook his head when he heard his words. He said, “But there’s a risk. If you fail…”

Minhyuk wanted to try hunting Diablo by feeding buffed dishes to his party in the barrier caused by his ‘Let’s Have a Meal’ skill. However, if he took that time to cook for Diablo, then he would lose a considerable amount of time.

In other words, he needed to choose. He needed to choose between cooking for Diablo, or rejecting him and cooking for the others in the barrier.

His father, Black Dragon, saw that Minhyuk was hesitating while looking at Diablo. Then, he said, “Just do it.”

“...Can I really do that?”

Feeding Diablo with Minhyuk’s dish was an extremely dangerous task. In fact, no one in this place knew what Diablo liked. However, he was sure of one thing. There was hunger, longing and reminiscing in his eyes.

Everyone was bound to have that one ‘food’ that was filled with memories in their lives. Just like Minhyuk who missed and longed for the spicy braised chicken that his mother used to cook for him. It was quite a strange thing. It was just an ordinary spicy braised chicken, and his mother was never really a good cook in her lifetime, but it was her spicy braised chicken that usually came to Minhyuk’s mind.

When Minhyuk made eye contact with Diablo, all he could do was nod and say, “Alright. What kind of dish?”

“San… dwich… and… so… up…”

Diablo was clearly just speaking plainly, but he looked extremely depressed. Minhyuk looked at him and used his ‘Create a Recipe’ Skill.

[Creating a recipe that the other party desires.]

[You can now check the recipe for Ham and Egg Sandwich and Beef Soup.]

[The amount of buff that can be used has been decreased due to creating a recipe.]

Minhyuk bowed his head and scrutinized the ‘Create a Recipe’ skill window. The ham and egg sandwich and beef soup could come out as legendary dishes. However, the rank of the dish was not important. What was important was the taste. This was about Diablo’s satisfaction. However, there was one other point of consideration…

‘Maybe Diablo is much smarter than we think and he’s dragging the time.’

Quests were mostly promises made with NPCs. Most of the players would proceed with the quest and receive the rewards that they were promised. However, although it was rare, there were cases where that promise could be ignored. That was especially the case for named NPCs.

Perhaps Diablo was like that too. If he was such a being, then every one of them would be wiped out here.

Then, Diablo said, “When I came back… after playing… my mother would make… this for me… from time to time… ham and egg sandwich… soup… but my mother… starved… I didn’t know…”

Diablo’s voice was colored with sorrow. He continued to say, “I didn’t know because I was young… she was hungry because she was feeding me…”

Minhyuk turned around and nodded. If Diablo was a child from a poor family, then the ingredients for making the ham and egg sandwich would be expensive for them.

The Athenae worldview was entangled with modern culture, but there were still poor people among the ordinary NPCs. Such people often lived a life below that of commoners.

Diablo’s mother had to starve just to give him an expensive ham and egg sandwich. There was nothing impossible. Since she was a mother, she would do anything for her child.

Those feelings touched Minhyuk deeply as he started cooking. He shook off all of the misconceptions and wariness that he had. All of the thoughts about whether he should believe Diablo or not disappeared from his head.

“I’ll do my best.”

Ham and egg sandwiches were simple to make. This was the reason why many people used them as a simple meal. This was also a common dish that people that worked or studied in cafes would usually eat with their coffee.

Minhyuk began to cook. First, he placed a pot on the burner and boiled water to boil some eggs. While the eggs were boiling, he washed some lettuce and tomatoes before chopping them into bite-sized pieces. Then, he took the fully-boiled eggs out of the pot and dumped them in cold water before peeling off the shells. After peeling off the shells, he crushed the eggs. Then, he placed lettuce on the soft sandwich bread, before placing a slice of cheese.

The ‘egg’ in a ham and egg sandwich varied depending on the person’s preference. In some cases, the mashed eggs would be mixed with mayonnaise and minced pickles, while some others would add other spices to make it fancier. However, right now, Minhyuk was just preparing a simple ham and egg sandwich.

Then, Minhyuk spread the egg on top of the sliced tomato and ham, before finally covering it with a piece of bread. His sandwich did not have any other special sauce. It was just a plain and simple ham and egg sandwich. This completed the ham and egg sandwich.

Then, Minhyuk began to cook the soup. Unfortunately, the only soup that he could cook in such a short time was just some instant beef soup. After he ripped open the package, he dumped the powder of the soup in the water and stirred it to cook. Minhyuk unconsciously concentrated deeply.

‘A dish in one’s memory…’?Minhyuk thought as he fell into a trance. If he could only bring back some of the person’s memories through his dish…

‘Isn’t that such a wonderful and beautiful thought? And if he is satisfied with my dish… isn’t that also enjoyable for me?’

Of course, Minhyuk still thought that eating was the best.

‘But it’s not bad to do this every once in a while.’?

Just as Minhyuk wanted to eat his mom’s spicy braised chicken, something that he could not do anymore since she was no longer in this world, he hoped to at least bring back the memories of Diablo’s mother back to him. With that, the soup was completed.

[You have completed a Ham and Egg Sandwich and Soup.]

[This is a dish that only Diablo can eat.]

[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 ‘reminiscence’, ‘passion’ and ‘desire to make food for others’ poured into it.]

[Due to the effects of Trance, the buff effect has become better and the rank has gone up.]

[Legendary Grade.]

[You have gained 30 DEX.]

[You have gained 200 REP.]

[You have gained 5,000 AP.]

[You have gained +2 on all five basic stats.]

However, Minhyuk could not hear the notifications. He was still focused on stirring the soup. The memories of his mother came to mind as he made the dish for Diablo. Without realizing it, tears started to flow down his cheeks.

“Minhyuk? Why are you crying?”

His father approached him with concern. All Minhyuk could do was smile bitterly at him, and said, “I thought about Mom for a moment.”

“...I see.”

Black Dragon, his father, nodded in understanding. There were also times when he thought of her. It was sad, but they were able to lessen the pain of their longing for her, as Minhyuk and Black Dragon hugged each other.

Then, Minhyuk came out of the barrier and handed the finished dish to Diablo. He said, “I wish this dish could show you the memories that you’ve been longing for. I truly mean it.”

***

Diablo looked at the ham and egg sandwich and soup that the chef had given him. He saw it earlier.

‘Water came out of his eyes…?’

Diablo was wondering what they were at first. After all, he had been trapped in the Demon World’s Tower for such a long time, that he had long forgotten about some of the emotions that a person could experience. But, he recalled that they were tears. Just like the tears that he shed endlessly when he missed his mother. Perhaps Diablo and Minhyuk shared the same pain and longing. Although they did not know each other’s pain, they could somehow feel it.

Diablo’s emotions had grown dull over the years, but it seemed like they were slowly coming back to life. He stared at the ham and egg sandwich. It was obviously different from the ham and egg sandwich that his mother had made, but he still chewed the sandwich slowly.

The bread was soft, followed by the crunchy lettuce and the sour tomatoes. Then, the chewy ham and the soft mashed eggs.

‘Delic… ious…’

It was clearly different from that time, but it was still delicious. Then, Diablo grabbed a spoon. It’s been a while since he had held one, so he was still a bit awkward. Slowly, he tasted the soup. It was warm, salty and savory. The taste was almost the same as that in his memory.

“Delic… ious…”

Diablo began to gobble up the ham and egg sandwiches and soup.

At that moment, the barrier of ‘Let’s Have a Meal’ was released. All of them were staring at Diablo, who was only focused on eating food and was currently defenseless. After he finished eating everything up, tears glistened in his eyes.

‘I remember… Ah… that time… happiness…’

It had been a mundane life, but as he looked back on it now, he realized he had been very happy. Then, Diablo slowly lifted himself up.

Shiiiiiing―

Diablo swung his sword up, causing a space to appear. The party realized that the space was the path to the next floor.

“Thanks.”

Minhyuk had made him remember the memories of his own mother, so he thanked him for reminding him of those precious times.

Just as they were about to enter the space…

“Wai… t…”

…a voice called out to Minhyuk. When he turned to look back, Diablo was standing there with his hands raised in the air.

Crackle, crackle―

Sparks flashed in front of him as a sword appeared in his hands.

[Diablo has presented you with the Devil Judge’s Sword.]

***

In the Special Players Management Team’s office.

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

Everyone staring at the monitor was left in shock. Then, Team Leader Park Minggyu mumbled to himself, “He gave him the Devil Judge’s Sword, one of the Demigod artifacts…?”

It was extremely unbelievable. The Athenae operators had a term for the best and most powerful Demigod artifacts among all of the Demigod artifacts, which was the ‘Absolute Demigod Artifacts’.

There were, in fact, ten of these items. However, the time was still not ripe. They were weapons that should not be revealed in their original forms. And one of them was the sword that Diablo was holding out to Minhyuk. That sword was one of the Absolute Demigod artifacts.