Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 974

There was a saying in Utopia that was quite similar to the words that adults would usually say to their young friends in reality. It went almost the same as the saying, ‘You’re still wet behind the ears.’

‘You’re 21 years old? Hey, you haven’t even grown any stubble yet!’

‘Our age gap is around twenty-fivefold.’

‘My god.’

These were the thoughts that flashed in the heads of all of the mercenaries, including Rhoando, present. This was especially the case for Rhoando. After all, he was the oldest out of all the mercenaries. His age? It was thirty times that of Minhyuk’s age.

But Minhyuk patted Rhoando on the shoulders and said, “I’ll be in your care from here on out, younger brother.”

“Yes, h– hyung-nim…”

Even so, Rhoando and his band of mercenaries were not one to break their promises. They would uphold their end of the deal.

However, Rhoando could not help but feel bitter. ‘Maybe this is just my retribution?’

“Heave-ho!” Minhyuk sat himself down. “I’m hungry, so I’ll have to go and eat. Ah, don’t worry about me. You should go and do the things that you have to do.”

Minhyuk acquired a total of 60,000 potatoes after he successfully attacked the ogre settlement. He saw the knights, whom the ogres had captured, say something to him back then. But he did not hear it since his mind was clouded by his cravings for potatoes.

‘Well, whatever. It’s fine; at least they’re safe.’ Minhyuk nodded as he took some small marble potatoes from his inventory.

The Steel-Armored Ogres not only dropped regular and ordinary potatoes but also dropped several small marble potatoes. It is said that one has to eat at least four marble potatoes to achieve a similar effect when eating one regular potato.

“...”

A flash of disappointment appeared in the excited eyes of the mercenaries when they saw Minhyuk take the marble potatoes out of his inventory. As for what Minhyuk wanted to confirm? He wanted to see their reactions to what he was about to do.

The mercenaries, who wanted to stop paying attention to him and focus on their work first, suddenly smelled a savory scent wafting their way.

Swoosh–!

Swoosh–!

Swoosh–!

Like hundreds of meerkats, their heads simultaneously turned in the same direction.

Minhyuk knew what smell could drive people crazy. It was the smell of meat from a restaurant that one had passed by while walking, the smell of chicken or pizza inside an elevator.

‘The smell of butter being melted in a frying pan.’

A sweet yet savory smell would waft out of the pan when a dollop of butter was put in it. This smell was unique to butter and could easily stimulate one’s appetite. And this was the smell that was wafting around the forest.

Minhyuk quickly dropped the marble potatoes into the frying pan coated with butter. The already steamed potatoes were slowly being cooked until they turned golden brown.

‘The outside looks slightly burnt, but the inside is perfectly cooked. This is the key to cooking marble potatoes.’

The mercenaries’ eyes were all trained on the delicious-looking cooked marble potatoes.

“H– Hyung-nim… Cooking is taboo in Utopia…”

“But since it’s you, hyung-nim, we will not tell a single soul.”

“R- right. That’s right. It will taste better if you cook it until golden brown outside. Just like that.”

The mercenaries' words completely differed from their actions. Although they opposed Minhyuk's cooking, they could not take their eyes off the marble potatoes.

Even Rhoando was acting the same way. His eyes were wide open, and one had to wonder if they were going to pop out as he looked at the marble potatoes, which were gradually taking on a golden hue.

At this point, Minhyuk guessed that cooking had not been taboo in this world from the very beginning. He estimated that food and anything related to it had been made taboo around a hundred years ago. Why? Well, the average life expectancy of the people living in this world was 300 years old, and it seemed like they still knew the taste of food.

‘It’s even more painful for them because they already knew the taste.’

Minhyuk knew this pain better than anybody else.

When Minhyuk saw the unknown look in Rhoando's eyes, the Food God’s progeny, when he mocked him, he suspected them. He thought, ‘Would they be able to simply stop eating the drug called ‘food’?’

Minhyuk gently sprinkled some sugar on the convenience store’s buttered potatoes, which he had finished making. At this moment, Rhoando and all of the mercenaries had already gathered around him with their mouths opening unknowingly as Minhyuk took a piece of marble sweet potato in his mouth.

‘Since the marble potato has been grilled in butter, the unique savory flavor of butter will immediately fill your mouth the moment you take a bite.’

Munch, munch–

Rhoando finally realized that he was also unknowingly chewing along with Minhyuk.

‘The soft texture of potato will carry the sweetness of the sugar and create a fantastic harmony of flavors in your mouth. Then, how would the golden brown portion be? How would it taste if you eat it all at once?’

Then, they watched as Minhyuk opened a can of cool and refreshing cider.

Fwish–!

With the fizzle of the can, Minhyuk chugged the refreshing cider to sweep away the dryness he had started feeling in his mouth.

‘That cool and refreshing feeling that will spread once it reaches your mouth and the bubbling feeling that will go down your throat once you drink cider… it will make you shout without realizing it.’

“Keuhaa!”

“Keuhaa!” Rhoando unknowingly shouted along with Minhyuk.

At that moment, their eyes suddenly met.

“What’s the matter, guys? Munch, munch–”

“N- No. It’s nothing.”

“The food I made is only enough for one. Everyone, go! Shoo~ Shoo~”

Minhyuk waved them away, but the mercenaries’ eyes were still trained on his mouth. Every time he ate a marbled potato, the mercenaries would laugh or gulp dryly. This was enough to prove Minhyuk’s suspicions.

‘Obviously, these guys do not see eating and food as trivial. It’s completely unlike the words they used to mock me before.’

But before thinking about it deeply, Minhyuk thought that since things had already reached this point, he should just bring them entirely to his side. He quickly took out plenty of marble potatoes and steamed them. Then, after steaming them, he also grilled them in butter. And instead of using sugar, Minhyuk drizzled the buttered potatoes with very sweet and delicious sea honey.

The scent of butter grew even stronger and drove the mercenaries even crazier. When Minhyuk finished cooking, he saw all the mercenaries looking at him.

“What?”

“It– It’s nothing.”

They were all bluffing. It was apparent how their eyes were trained entirely on the marble potatoes.

Then, Minhyuk asked, “Do you guys want to eat marble potatoes?”

Everyone nodded strongly. However, their words were completely different from their actions.

“Making food is completely forbidden in Utopia.”

“How can you eat cooked potatoes?!”

At that moment, Rhoando glared at them.

“You bastards!!!” Rhoando’s colossal figure turned to the mercenaries as he shouted and threatened them. “How dare you refuse hyung-nim(?)’s offer?! Mercenaries must keep the promises that they have made! If we live, then we will live together. If we die, then we will all die together!”

Rhoando was saying that he wanted to eat the potatoes.

Then, Rhoando turned to Minhyuk and said, “Hyung-nim! You have offered the marble potatoes to us! How dare we refuse it? We will die with you if you die!”

Minhyuk looked at Rhoando, who was shouting and showing his temper, incredulously as he replied, “Is that so? Then, go ahead and eat it.”

When his words ended, the mercenaries rushed like a pack of wild dogs that had been starved for hundreds of days.

“Chomp, chomp, chomp–!”

“Munch, munch, munch–!”

The mercenaries ate like crazy.

“Uwooooo…”

“Delicious! This is too delicious!”

“This is my first time eating such delicious potatoes!”

Some of them shouted in admiration, while some of them shed tears. But every single one of them felt their heartache.

‘Eating cooked and seasoned potatoes completely differs from eating steamed potatoes.’

The taste of the marble potatoes the mercenaries were eating was terrific. After all, not only was it cooked by Minhyuk, but a massive heaping of sea honey was drizzled on it.

Immediately after that, a series of notifications rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

[You have received Rhoando’s favor.]

[You have received Barradin’s favor.]

[You have received Cogner’s favor.]

Minhyuk grinned as he listened to the constant stream of notifications.

***

Rhoando and the rest of the mercenaries felt a deep longing in their hearts. It was the longing to eat and taste the buttered marble potatoes again.

‘The buttered marble potatoes tasted so good because he inherited the blood of the Food God.’

Because of that, they wanted to get their hands on the potatoes that Minhyuk distributed(?) again. It was to the point that they had started to sweat.

Minhyuk, who had seen that his plan had succeeded, finally got to the point. “My dear younger brothers, if you like to eat this much, why did you say that to me a few days ago?”

Rhoando looked embarrassed when he heard Minhyuk’s question. But just like he said, mercenaries would always keep their promises. Now, Minhyuk was their hyung-nim.

“Because we’re going to do something big soon.”

“Something big?”

“Yes. We will take down the king.”

“...!”

Minhyuk was quite shocked when he heard their plans. Weren’t they nothing but simple mercenaries?

‘No. From what they look like, they’re no ordinary mercenaries.’

The Steel-Armored Ogres were monsters beyond Level 600. But they babbled about hunting and killing these Steel-Armored Ogres. To put it simply, all of the mercenaries here were at least above Level 590. Although the average level of the people in this world was relatively higher than the level in Minhyuk’s world, he assumed that their estimated level was only at the level of an imperial knight.

“Taking down the king? What’s your reason?”

Their plan sounded interesting, so Minhyuk probed and listened to their reasons.

“To bring back ‘cooking.’ The cooking that they had erased from the world of Utopia.”

“...!”

Minhyuk’s heart thumped. Minhyuk immediately understood what the quest, where he would receive the Food God’s final power, wanted him to do without cooking and food.

‘The quest wants me to bring back cooking to this world with them.’

Then, Rhoando said, “That’s why we couldn’t welcome you, hyung-nim, even though you have the blood of the Food God in you. You will be implicated if things go wrong with our plans.”

“...”

At this moment, Minhyuk saw how friendly and kind Rhoando was.

Rhoando chuckled. “Hyung-nim, you were right. Eating food might be small and trivial, but it can bring us joy. We cannot live in a world where our happiness has been controlled and taken away forever.”

When Minhyuk first met Rhoando, he felt he was completely different from his expectations. But he now realized that Rhoando has the blood of a true Food God. He was just like him.

Although their venture would be dangerous, Rhoando still wanted to do something, even if he had to sacrifice himself to change this world that controlled and prohibited food. The same was true for everyone present.

“That’s why, hyung-nim… we want you to return now.”

Rhoando did not want Minhyuk to get implicated.

“You’re powerful enough to have killed and hunted several Steel-Armored Ogres and acquired their steel armors. However, your strength is still lacking. It would be dangerous for you.”

Rhoando was very surprised when Minhyuk returned and brought the steel armor he requested. But that was it.

‘He must have killed the Steel-Armored Ogres by increasing his strength through eating.’

In Rhoando’s eyes, Minhyuk was an elf carrying half the power of a god. He might not know how Minhyuk obtained the steel armor, but it was unimportant.

Of course, Minhyuk also noticed Rhoando’s concern. ‘He doesn’t know that I’m the Battle God, the complete and true Food God, and the emperor of an empire.’

However, that did not mean that Minhyuk needed to reveal who he was. He judged that there was no need for that at the moment.

“Are you going now? If you all go, then they will notice. After all, your numbers are far too large.”

Rhoando shook his head. “We’re going to the Dungeon of Oppression.”

“Dungeon of Oppression?”

“Yes. According to the information we have gathered, you can become a real god if you kill the half-god, half-dragon inside that dungeon. Even if we take down the king, if we can’t kill him, the Sky who controls the food in this land, then everything will be done for nothing.”

Minhyuk realized that Rhoando would become the new god in this land where food had been banned and controlled. If Utopia changed like that, it would be overflowing with food again. If that happened, then there would be plenty of delicious dishes to be found.

“By any chance, would the half-god, half-dragon also drop potatoes if they get killed?”

Rhoando looked at Minhyuk in confusion. But he still nodded in answer. “Of course. Most of the monsters in this land would drop potatoes once you kill them. According to the legends, the half-god, half-dragon would drop an unusual Divine Potato that would appear repeatedly no matter how often you eat it.”

Minhyuk’s eyes sparkled.

Rhoando smiled bitterly and stretched his hand toward Minhyuk. “You should understand it now, right? It would be dangerous for you to stay with us. This should be it for us, hyung-nim.”

They were not just trying to commit treason. They were going to kill god. They did not want to involve Minhyuk in this dangerous job.

But then, Minhyuk said, “I’ll go with you.”

“H- Hyung-nim!”

“No, you can’t!”

“What do you…!”

Rhoando and all of the mercenaries present looked at Minhyuk in shock. He heard all that they had said, right? What did he mean by saying he was coming with them? Rhoando and the mercenaries’ reactions seemed like they had never even considered taking Minhyuk with them.

But Minhyuk was persistent. He said, “You said that if I can hunt the Steel-Armored Ogre, you will grant me two things. Right? Then, I’ll use one of them now. I’ll go with you.”

“...!”

“...!”

At this moment, Rhoando realized that they could not leave the man in front of them behind.

Of course, Minhyuk did not forget to ask one of the important questions he had come for. He turned to Rhoando and asked, “Rhoando, what power of the Food God do you possess?”

Minhyuk did not know if Rhoando would lead to the end of his quest here in Utopia. However, he knew that if he finished helping Rhoando, he could level up one more of his skills.

Then, Rhoando said, “It’s Overlapping Delight.”

“...!”

Minhyuk was left in shock.

*******************************

CC’s Thoughts

Why did it have to appear at this time again??? ( •̀ - •́ )