Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 490: The New Tower Masters

Aria felt her heart thump like crazy. She wanted to take back the words that she said right away but she could not do that. She had hated them, yet they still used their skills and power and worked together to create their final work for Eto Kingdom. Keeping them by her side meant that she had no shame. Also…

‘The Stars will shine more brightly if they’re with him and not with me,’?Aria realized that their place was not with her in the Eto Kingdom anymore. They must follow that man for them to shine even more brightly.

“Your Majesty!”

“I’d, I’d rather you kill me!!!”

“How, how come?!”

The Five Stars, with their heads down on the ground, screamed. They could not understand why they were suddenly expelled from the kingdom when they were supposed to be praised for their hard work.

“I will not take back my order. Leave the Eto Kingdom within a week,” Arya smiled bitterly.

“And every once in a while…” her voice got stuck in her throat, “…come and visit me.”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

Only then did the Five Stars realize what Aria meant. She was sending them away so they could shine brighter than they could here. Aria then, with a tear dripping down her cheeks, smiled brightly at them.

“May you live a long life, Your Majesty!”

“May you live a long life, Your Majesty!”

“May you live a long life, Your Majesty!”

“May you live a long life, Your Majesty!”

“May you live a long life, Your Majesty!”

The Stars no longer asked her to take back her orders. They knew that she would not change her mind no matter what they did. All they could do was to answer her with all their might and give her their final courtesy. At that moment, a set of notifications rang for Minhyuk.

[The Five Stars can now be your vassals.]

[Star Painter Elise. She’s a legendary painter that can make her art look alive.]

[Players that will migrate to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom will gain an additional 5% increase in DEX Acquisition Rate, 10% improvement on painting skill, and a dramatic increase in skill proficiency.]

[Star Chef Cord. He’s a chef hailed to be the best in Eto Kingdom. Even emperors dreamt of tasting his dishes.]

[Players that will migrate to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom will gain an additional 5% increase in DEX Acquisition Rate, 10% improvement on cooking skill, and a dramatic increase in skill proficiency.]

[Star Tailor Ellen. Every cloth that passes through the hands of Ellen gains a special ability. He’s the only one in the world with this ability.]

[Players that will migrate to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom will gain an additional 5% increase in DEX Acquisition Rate, 10% improvement on tailoring skill, and a dramatic increase in skill proficiency.]

[Star Sculptor Berk. He’s hailed as the father of all sculptors. All of the sculptures that he made look like they’re alive.]

[Players that will migrate to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom will gain an additional 5% increase in DEX Acquisition Rate, 10% improvement on sculpting skill, and a dramatic increase in skill proficiency.]

[Star Strategist Jarrod. He’s a genius strategist and tactician famous for defeating tens of thousands of enemies with only 500 troops. Legend has it that having him was like having ten thousand troops in your hands.]

[Players that will migrate to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom will gain an additional 5% increase in DEX Acquisition Rate, 5% improvement on INT. Having him as your vassal will also produce outstanding effects like troops and kingdom strengthening and reinforcement.]

‘Crazy…’?Minhyuk was very shocked. All in all, just by having the Five Stars as his vassals, players that decide to migrate to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom would have a total of 25% increase in their DEX Acquisition Rate.

But was that all? Of course not.

‘Depending on their job, they will have a dramatic increase in their skill proficiency rate.’

It was a completely ridiculous benefit.

‘This…’

At this point, Minhyuk could already tell that all of the production class players in Asgan Continent would flock to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom after knowing these effects.

‘This will revitalize Beyond the Heavens Kingdom…!’

Minhyuk trembled in excitement. However, one should take note of one important fact. It was the fact that the rewards were not yet over. Then, a brilliant blue light suddenly shone and covered the entire building. At the same time, a notification rang for everyone present.

[Eto Kingdom’s King Valex has descended to visit the building that was made to honor him.]

At that moment, all of the NPCs present hurriedly bowed. Seeing this, the sensible players also followed suit and showed courtesy.

Swoooooooooooosh—

The blue light seeped through the building and went deeper inside before rushing towards the skies and falling down gently, like snowflakes on a cold winter day.

“Uwaaaaaaaah…”

“Beautiful…”

The blue snowflakes immediately melted the moment it touched the people’s bodies. But surprisingly enough, instead of coldness, they were met with ‘warmth’.

[King Valex’s soul is very pleased with the building that honors him.]

[King Valex is thankful to everyone that participated in the construction.]

[Everyone that participated in the construction will receive EXP based on their contribution.]

[As the one in charge of the building’s construction, you will receive a higher EXP and greater rewards.]

[You have gained 3,000,000,000 EXP.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[King Valex has bestowed you his blessings.]

[All of your stats will increase by 2%.]

[Your Physical and Magical Defense will increase by 10%.]

Minhyuk smiled in satisfaction after hearing the notifications. And finally, the long awaited notifications rang.

[You have achieved a splendid result and successfully won the bet against the Absolute Gods.]

[The Absolute Gods will now give you your rewards.]

[Your EXP Acquisition Rate will permanently increase by 27%.]

[You have acquired Vestagio’s Golden Crown.]

[You have acquired one God’s Ore Vlad.]

[You have acquired two God’s Resetting Potions.]

[You have acquired Tonkatsu Ramen made by God.]

[You have acquired Soy Sauce Egg Rice made by God.]

[You have acquired Beef Katsu made by God.]

[You have acquired the Karaage made by God.]

[Among the dishes made by God only the ‘Tonkatsu Ramen’ has a special ability.]

Then, another set of notifications rang.

[One of the Absolute Gods clicks their tongue at the rewards that ‘he’ has bestowed upon you.]

[One of the Absolute Gods thinks it's ridiculous.]

[One of the Absolute Gods shoos ‘him’ away.]

[The Absolute God that bestowed the dishes smiles strangely.]

The Absolute Gods’ reacted weirdly. After all, why did ‘he’ give food as a reward? However, Minhyuk immediately knew who bestowed him these rewards, ‘It’s definitely the God of Cooking.’?Contrary to the Absolute Gods’ expectations…

“Kyahaa! As expected, my rewards are dishes!!! Keuhahahaha! You really know me well!”

If they were standing in front of Minhyuk, they would definitely have question marks floating above their heads.

‘No, do you mean that the valuable artifacts and gold that we have bestowed upon you are nothing in front of food?’

[One of the Absolute Gods urges you to check the other rewards.]

They thought Minhyuk’s reaction was like that because he did not check the information of the rewards. However…

“Ah, that’s too troublesome! Well, I’ll go check it quickly then I’ll eat my ramen~” Minhyuk immediately checked the rewards, as if he found the act to be annoying.

Vestagio’s Golden Crown was a golden crown with no special abilities. However, it was an item that was made from pure gold and was extremely heavy. Its description also explicitly stated that one would be able to receive ‘1,011 platinum’ if they sold it. In other words, it was a gold reward. There was also a resetting potion.

‘It’s a bit special, huh?’

The moment the potion was consumed, all of the player’s stats and skills would be returned to its state at your specified time. Simply put, it was a potion that restored the players stats and skills to its original state.

‘This could be the best potion depending on how one uses it, right?’

For example, one could immediately use this potion after incurring the penalty of using their pinnacle skills. Using that would mean that their stats and skills would be restored to their original state.

After checking, Minhyuk smacked his lips and said, “It’s not bad.” He looked like he was not interested in anything else aside from food.

[The Absolute Gods are looking at you incredulously.]

Ignoring them, Minhyuk quickly entered his cooking trailer.

‘This is so no one can ask me for a bite!’

The actual King’s Building Quest was already over. There was nothing else that he needed to do at the moment. So, he immediately took out the tonkatsu ramen and the soy sauce egg rice the moment he entered his trailer. He could already feel his thumping heart, his mouth watering at the thought of eating everything after all of his hard work.

Steam rose from the bowl of ramen, as he took in the sight of the white broth enveloping the green onion and bean sprout garnish, tender char siu, two pieces of soft boiled eggs, and seaweed.

“Kgghk~ The God of Cooking really knows how to eat!”

It was not just one, but two soft boiled eggs! The yolk even looked like it would flow down immediately. Minhyuk took out the plastic spoon and disposable chopsticks for eating ramen. He then took a sip of the white broth.

“Wow~ The flavor is really clean and refreshing,” Minhyuk burst out in admiration the moment the broth entered his mouth, a smile hanging pleasantly on his face.

Then, he immediately clamped a mouthful of noodles and slurped on it. The noodles were not the curly ones and were the long and white type but nevertheless, the sound that it produced was still divine, “Sluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurp!”

The chewy and firm texture of the noodles widened the smile hanging on his lips the moment they entered his mouth. There was also the sound that accompanied the slurping…

Crunch, crunch, crunch—

…it was the sound of the fresh and crisp bean sprouts.

“Kghhhk~”

Then, Minhyuk lifted the entire bowl, blew on it gently before slurping up a mouthful of the broth.

“Kyaa~ That’s so refreshing.”

This time, Minhyuk munched on a mouthful of noodles as he added two pieces of char siu on his spoon.

‘Char siu tastes best if you pair it with the ramen soup,’?he thought as he tilted the spoon slightly, allowing the soup to fill it up, before lifting it up to his mouth. The smile on Minhyuk’s lips widened further the moment the tender char siu and the refreshing soup met in his mouth. They truly were the best combination.

Then, he turned his attention to the soft-boiled egg, partnering it with the noodles, “Sluuuuuuuuuuuuurp~”

The smile on his face was extremely wide, but he just could not help himself. The harmony of the flavors and textures of the soft-boiled egg and the noodles were perfect.

After finishing the ramen, Minhyuk stretched his chopsticks towards the soy sauce egg rice. The soy sauce egg rice was topped with egg yolk, plain seaweed powder, chopped green onions, slices of beef and a drizzle of Japanese soy sauce.

The moment Minhyuk poked the yolk with his spoon, the yolk spilled over the rice below. Its bright yellow color coated every piece of rice the moment he mixed it. When he scooped a mouthful of the dish in his mouth, the mix of flavors from the yolk, the thinly sliced beef, and the other ingredients danced in his mouth. Whenever Minhyuk’s mouth turned dry from the rice, he would scoop up a mouthful of ramen soup and moisten his throat.

Minhyuk finished every last piece of grain and every drop of soup. He slowly went into a daze as a satisfied smile erupted on his face. He thought, ‘It’s really delicious. It’s truly the flavor of Japan.’

Then, he dragged a glass of cold water towards him as he gulped its contents.

Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp—

The distinct and greasy after taste of the ramen was instantly washed away by the cold water.

“Kgghk~”

Then, Minhyuk pulled a piece of tissue and blew his nose! After throwing this piece, he pulled a new piece and wiped the oil around his mouth. When everything was done, the notifications began to ring.

[You have eaten Ramen.]

[You have gained +5% on all of your stats.]

An additional 5% to all of his stats, was a tremendous increase in power considering Minhyuk’s stats. Everyone would feel satisfied and happy after eating something delicious and gaining stats, right?

Then, the notifications regarding the Absolute Gods, who were clicking their tongues at him about liking food instead of their rewards, rang.

[One of the Absolute Gods wipes their drool.]

[One of the Absolute Gods is begging the one who cooked the ramen to make one for them too.]

[One of the Absolute Gods is looking at you with a motherly smile.]

[One of the Absolute Gods is rubbing their stomach.]

[One of the Absolute Gods is in awe after watching your mukbang.]

Even the Absolute Gods could not escape the charms of Minhyuk’s mukbang!