Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 488: The King’s Building

Aria, King Valex’s wife, was hailed as the most beautiful woman in the continent. After King Valex’s death, she ascended the throne and became Eto Kingdom’s queen.

Currently, she was stomping furiously on her way to the construction site.

‘The Stars did not even consult with me…! How dare they! How can they do something like this without consulting with me, the queen of Eto Kingdom? And who in the world is the foreigner that’s leading the build?!’

‘Eto Kingdom is already done for…’?This was what Aria wholeheartedly believed. After all, their people no longer had any faith and trust in the kingdom. There were even many people that left the kingdom, just like the ‘Five Stars’. There was no hope left for the Eto Kingdom anymore.

But then, on that hill not too far away, the man, the main culprit behind the recent hubbub, challenged the Eternal Flames.

‘It’s impossible. No human has ever taken the Eternal Flames with their power alone,’ Aria thought. She had heard a lot from King Valex, the only one that could freely bring out the Eternal flames, ‘Even the gods have a hard time taking out the Eternal Flames with their own power. The tremendous blast of flames that bursts out can immediately turn a person into cinders. On top of that, one has to attack it for eight straight hours, otherwise it would just regenerate. Something like that is completely impossible.’

It was difficult for a person alone to continuously strike the Eternal Flames for eight straight hours, but that was not the biggest problem. The biggest problem was the damage that the Eternal Flames could incur on the person the moment they attacked. Aria believed that the man would not be able to endure this torture. He would either withdraw from the pain, or die and turn into cinders. However…

Baaaaaaaang—

Baaaaaaaang—

Claaaaaaang—

…the man looked like he did not know how to back down. He continued to attack even when the tremendous blast of flames licked his body and made him suffer from extreme pain.

Claaaaaaaang—

Claaaaaaang—

The man continued to swing his sword while stumbling on his feet every once in a while.

‘N, no…!’?Aria unconsciously became worried for the man. However, he was able to endure the pain and even continued to swing his sword.

Baaaaaaaaang—

Once the eight hours was up, the blasts of flames and the rock’s regeneration stopped.

‘Impossible…!’?Aria was shocked. Then, she watched as the priests knelt down in front of the man. But that was not all.

“Did you see that? He swung his sword repeatedly for eight straight hours. He did not even take a break once!”

“Is that even possible…?”

“That’s really amazing…”

“Crazy…”

Everyone was in awe of the man. But just when they thought that everything was over for the day…

“You’re going to cook…?”

…the man did not take a break and began to cook for an hour, two hours, four hours, seven hours straight. Aria, who saw the scene, was left speechless. After cooking for ten hours, the man disappeared for a while, but when he came back he started striking the Eternal Flames once again.

“…”

Aria was once again at a loss for words. She thought, ‘Even I have given up on my own kingdom.’?There was no more hope for their Eto Kingdom, so why was that man not giving up? And it was not just him…

“No! You have to sharpen it like this!”

“Stones! I need more stones! Bring it to me, quick!”

“Hurry!!!”

…even the Five Stars and the other foreigners were not giving up.

“Hey! Can’t you see the Food God over there? Do you think you can slack off when he’s working hard for us?”

“I’m not going to log out today. I’m cashing in my annual leave.”

All of them were giving their all.

But what was she, the queen, doing?

‘Can we even get back on our feet?’ Aria imagined herself asking the unknown man over the hill. Just like that, one day, two days, three days passed by. Time continued to pass by. Aria kept watching them make progress. One day, at dawn, while Aria was sleeping in the small tent that she had set up near the construction site…

Rumbleeeeee—

…a loud rumble shook everything.

“Your Majesty, the Queen!”

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“Are you alright?”

The escort knights hurriedly rushed to her to check on her situation.

“I’m alright. What’s happening?”

“We don’t know either.”

Not long after, Queen Aria came out of the tent. Everyone’s eyes were focused on a particular area. And in that place, they saw the rough shell that surrounded the Eternal Flames scattered on the ground, as the Eternal Flames that were glowing like ruby and burning hotter than any flames appeared.

“…!”

Aria was completely and utterly taken aback. How could the man get the Eternal Flames with his own power? Then, a huge burst of flames swirled in the area, but the heat did not affect the man. With a pinch, he was able to seize the Eternal Flames in his own hands.

***

[You have successfully acquired the Eternal Flames with your own power.]

[The effects of the Eternal Flames have been improved.]

[Even the Gods are surprised with your achievement!]

[Ingredients for the Cooking Trailer have been detected. You can use the Eternal Flames for the artifact.]

A faint smile hung at the corners of Minhyuk’s mouth as he thought,?‘I can’t get enough of this sweet aftertaste!’?Hard work would always bring about great rewards! And Minhyuk could never get enough of it.

He immediately applied the Eternal Flames to the Cooking Trailer.

[You have used the Eternal Flames on the Cooking Trailer.]

[The All Creation Production Book has been triggered. Producing the Cooking Trailer.]

[With the improved effects of the Eternal Flames, the completed Cooking Trailer will have better effects than expected.]

[The Cooking Trailer has been completed.]

[‘Anonymous’ has been announced to the entire continent for your achievement in creating an artifact closest to God.]

And along with that, a cooking trailer that was as small as a toy floated on top of Minhyuk’s palm. Minhyuk immediately checked the artifact’s information.

(Cooking Trailer)

Rank: God

Requirements: A DEX higher than 2,000

Durability: ∞ / ∞

Special Effects:

?Your cooking time will be reduced by 60%.

?Your cooking time for bulk dishes will be reduced by 70%.

?The flavor of the dish will be preserved in bulk dishes. No deterioration will occur.

?Automatic cooking function.

?With the stronger firepower, stir-fried dishes will have a 10% increase in buff effects.

?Dishes cooked in the trailer would have a 30% increase in buff effects and a 40% duration reduction.

?The trailer can detect any danger in the vicinity. The higher the level of danger detected, the higher the chances of creating a higher-grade dish that can help you overcome the approaching crisis.

?Attacks and damage will be nullified while you are cooking. However, it is only effective for an hour.

?Active Skill: Double Food

Description: This is a cooking trailer created with an Eternal Flame that has stronger firepower. Cooking will be done much faster than expected when inside the trailer. Even the buffs of the completed dishes will be greater than initially expected.

“Wow…” Minhyuk could only utter this word in amazement. The effects were extremely good, especially these two: the 60% reduction in cooking time and the active skill ‘Double Food’. Both effects were outstanding.

(Double Food)

Active Skill

Level: None

Penalty for Use: -1 to all stats

Cooldown: 24 hours

Effects: Activating the skill anytime within ten minutes of a dish’s creation would produce a similar dish with the same effects.

Double Food was literally an overpowered effect. If Minhyuk casted Double Food within ten minutes after he cooked a ‘God-grade Dish’ then, the same dish would appear in front of him.

‘And also…’

Minhyuk also had a skill, Overlapping Delight, that allowed him to receive the effects of two buffed dishes at once. What would happen if he ate a dish with Double Food at the same time?

‘Crazy…’

It would definitely give him a tremendous boost in power.

“God-rank?”

“The Food God received a God-rank artifact?”

“Uwaaaaaaaah!”

Once again, plenty of people turned their attention toward Minhyuk after hearing the world message. This was the first time that Minhyuk had ever received a God rank in public. However, he did not care. Especially when a notification rang in his ears as he looked at the cooking trailer that looked like a carriage in his palms.

[Would you like to use the Cooking Trailer?]

“Yes,” Minhyuk answered as he threw the trailer on the ground. The moment he threw it, the Cooking Trailer grew bigger and bigger until it was the size of a huge carriage.

Minhyuk could not help but rub his eyes in disbelief the moment he entered the trailer, “This…?” Although it was not explicitly mentioned in the Cooking Trailer’s special effects, the cooking trailer’s outside appearance looked small enough. A rough estimate of its size outside would be around ten to thirteen square meters.

But once he was inside…

‘It’s roughly around fifty square meters?’

It was quite a large area for a kitchen.

Minhyuk began to cook, ‘With this, the people outside will work harder and faster.’?He was solely after the buffs that the dishes would bring as he cooked. The first dish that he made was spicy stir-fried pork. The trailer was complete with a huge cooking pot and a small space for cooking single dishes. He could use whatever space he wanted based on the situation that he was in. And right now, he was using the huge cooking pot. He placed enough ingredients for 400~800 people as he started cooking the spicy stir-fried pork.

Rumbleee—

Along with that, a set of notifications rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

[The Eternal Flames are displaying their firepower.]

[You have received an additional 10% increase in the buff effects for stir-fried dishes.]

Then…

Shwaaaaaaaaaa—

…as if olive oil was poured into a heated frying pan, huge flames soared from within the pot. However, ‘It’s not hot,’?

Minhyuk did not feel the heat at all despite the flames burning brightly and cooking the dish evenly. As Minhyuk continued to stir-fry with his cooking shovel, another set of shocking notifications rang in his ears.

[You can activate the Automatic Cooking function.]

[Upon activation, the Automatic Cooking function will follow the user’s DEX.]

Minhyuk had been doubtful about the automatic cooking function since earlier.

“Start Automatic Cooking.”

At that moment…

Shwaaaaaaaaa—

…the spicy stir-fried pork began to move on its own as it got cooked evenly.

“Crazy…!”

It was truly convenient. With this, Minhyuk could make other dishes at the same time. It was not just that; it could also exert the same power and ability that was in accordance with the user’s DEX. When the dish was finally done…

[You have completed the Spicy Stir-Fried Pork.]

[Epic Grade.]

After that, Minhyuk quickly distributed the dishes. Those that received the dishes felt their hand tremble as they looked at the effects.

‘This is crazy…!’

‘W, waaaaaaaaah…!’

(Spicy Stir-fried Pork)

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Ingredient Grade: C

Grade: Epic

Requirements: None

Shelf Life: 12 days

Preservation Time: 48 hours

Special Effects:

?All stats increase by 18%.

?Increases a chosen skill’s level by +2.

Description: A dish made by Chef Minhyuk in his Cooking Trailer. With the power of the trailer, this bulk dish has the same taste, flavor and effect as the single dishes that he made.

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

Those that have finally come across the Food God’s actual dishes were shocked. Minhyuk tried to go back to cooking. But then…

“What, what did you say?!”

“Right, right now?!”

A commotion broke out among the workers. After receiving the report, Kentaro immediately ran to Minhyuk and said, “Minhyuk, there’s trouble!”

“What?”

“According to the reports, what seemed to be the troops gathered by the other empires and kingdoms are coming. Their number is said to have exceeded 180,000!”

“…!”

Minhyuk was shocked at the report. There were more than 180,000 troops marching toward here?

‘What the hell should we do?’

Why did they suddenly decide to attack? They also did not have any justification to wage war. After all, they were just constructing a building.

‘Something’s strange.’

However, no matter the cause, the fact that it was an emergency remained. Once the 180,000 troops arrived, they would kill everyone here, and even destroy everything that they had built.

[Completion Rate: 27%]

‘Everything that we worked so hard for would be wiped out?’

“We will fight!”

“This is tyranny! Those empires and kingdoms! Bastards!”

“Uwooooooooooooh!”

Queen Aria was also flustered by the sudden turn of events.

“Your Majesty Aria, we have to quickly escape from here.”

Aria looked at her escort knights in doubt. She asked, “I don’t understand. If they were going to attack anyway, why not do it earlier? Why now…? If those empires and kingdoms did this, then they would not be able to escape the public’s criticism.”

Aria bit her lips in anxiety.

Rumbleeeee—

The ground began to shake. This was more than enough evidence to prove the rumors that more than 100,000 troops were marching here. Some of the 20,000 players logged out while others wailed in despair. However, Minhyuk and Kentaro stood firmly in front of them.

In a blink, a sea of black appeared and surrounded them, their weapons pointed at them and ready to fight. Minhyuk’s lips were also pursed in a thin, straight line, tension evident in them despite his calm facade. But then, the man that led the group stepped forward and approached Minhyuk. Minhyuk looked confused when he saw the man stop in front of him. He voiced his doubts, “Yuuta’s dad?”

“It’s been a long time, Minhyuk.”

He was the father of the boy, Yuuta, that Minhyuk met in the past. Then, the people that surrounded them all sheathed their weapons. That was when Minhyuk realized why he felt that it was strange, “Don’t tell me…”

Yuuta’s dad smiled brightly, “We all came here to help with the construction.”

“We came to join you!!!”

“We’re here to help!!!”

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Only then did Minhyuk learn that the 180,000 troops were not enemy troops, but allies. Meanwhile, Queen Aria felt her body start to tremble as she thought, ‘The man that won the hearts of this many people… How far can you go with your power?’