Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 342: The Ruler of the Forest

“That’s right. Hunting is not always cool, but I can assure you that you’re really amazing!!”

Marvin could hear the sincerity in the man’s voice which made him feel awkward and embarrassed. However, underneath those emotions was also a faint sense of happiness. Marvin felt happy that someone had recognized his courage and efforts!

“And that werewolf…”

Marvin unknowingly listened carefully to the man’s words.

“…doesn’t the breast part look delicious?”

“…What?” Marvin asked dumbly, wondering if he heard right. The man just shrugged as the werewolf dashed towards him. Then, a splendid sword dance unfolded in front of Marvin.

‘Wow… C…crazy…!’ Marvin gasped in awe. He thought, ‘H…he wouldn’t lose in a match against big bro!’

‘Wait… what’s up with the fancy armor and sword?’

However, it seemed like it also was not easy for the man to hunt the werewolf by himself. Then, the man’s sword pierced through the werewolf as…

Crackle, crackle—

…flames suddenly flared up and engulfed its body.

“Keuaaaaaack!” The werewolf shrieked and trashed as if it was going on a rampage. Then, a notification rang for both Marvin and the man.

[Werewolf’s Frenzy]

[AGI increases by 20%.]

This was the werewolf’s trickiest ability! Marvin’s elder brother had told him that he almost died when the werewolf went on a frenzy back then. However, the man in front of him was not losing any ground as he continued to fight against the frenzied werewolf.

‘W…what… I heard that big bro was the first player to ever hunt a werewolf alone…’

Marvin even heard that Alexander had met with several deadly crises throughout the hunt. But the man in front of him was overwhelmingly powerful. For the second time, someone was trying to hunt a werewolf alone in the American Server, the strongest server in Athenae. Marvin looked at the man in admiration.

However, the werewolf was not an easy opponent. It repeatedly closed in using its speedy legs, swiped its sharp nails, then retreated. In fact, the reason why werewolves were tricky opponents, was because they were intelligent. The difference between a mindless monster and an intelligent monster was like the difference between heaven and earth. Just then, the man allowed an attack on his arm! The werewolf quickly latched on the man’s arm.

‘Aaack… D…dangerous…!’ Marvin thought, leaping to his feet in a bid to help, using his meager power.

Alas, his help was not needed. The man’s arm that was bitten was not his dominant arm. The werewolf bit the man’s arm, choosing to fight directly against the man. As proof, the monster sent an onslaught of attacks and did not retreat. But, this was what the man wanted.

Ping—!

The man’s sword slashed at the werewolf’s chest, painting it with streaks of blood. Then…

[Sword Explosion]

[Creates three consecutive explosions with an attack power that’s 200% of your basic attack power.]

Bang, bang, bang!

…explosions rang loudly on the werewolf’s chest.

“Keuaaaaack!”

The werewolf was forced to take a few steps back from the impact. The man did not miss the opportunity as he raised his gleaming sword and stabbed the werewolf’s neck.

Stab!

The werewolf fell down. Marvin could barely hide his excitement as he thought, ‘Godly Control…?!’

No, Marvin was still unaware of this, but the term ‘Godly Control’ was bestowed to gamers that could use the appropriate skills at the right time, while taking into account the harmony and synergy of the skills. Players that were hailed to have Godly Control often calculated their opponent’s skill cooldown, as well as the time that it would take for them to attack, down to the very seconds. But the man in front of him showed a godly control that was far beyond an athlete’s godly control.

‘This… this is the second time that the werewolf has been hunted alone!’

Marvin bowed his head down to his chest as he said, “H… how can I become as strong as you? P… please teach me!”

Looking closely, the man was just a novice player. Like him! However, Marvin clearly knew that the man would be able to rise to the position of the strongest, and could even rival his own brother, Alexander!

The man smiled and said, “You already have it all. Courage, passion and effort.”

“…!”

Marvin’s pupils shook wildly. Did the man just acknowledge him? Then, the man chuckled as he continued to say, “And, this is a game, it’s all good as long as you have fun. Right?”

“…”

Marvin felt like he was struck on the head with this revelation. He was right. Games were made for them to have fun. It seemed like the man in front of him was truly a cut above the rest. He was completely different from those that crave the rankers’ position and only pursued after others, hoping to be the best!

Then, the man said, “Oh and… you should always eat well, exercise well and sleep well.”

“…What?”

Really? For a moment, Marvin thought that he had hearing problems. But the man’s expression was very serious.

“Ah, wait. The werewolf was killed thanks to your first strike. It had already become weak. Take this sword as a gift.”

When the werewolf died, it dropped a sword. From what Marvin could recall, this was the ‘Wolf Bone Sword’, a unique artifact that had a rare chance of dropping. With that Bone Sword in hand, Marvin was sure that he would be able to grow faster than the rest of the players here.

The man in front of Marvin gave him advice and even gave him this item. Just then, the man was suddenly covered in light. The man said, “Ah, it’s time to go back.”

“A, aaaack…! B… by any chance, can I have y… your name…?!”

Marvin was very curious about the man’s name. Then, the man’s mouth opened…

“Min… H… Ch.. cken… sou… oooh… ooooh~”

…as he disappeared. The man had a strange look of excitement by the end. Marvin tilted his head in confusion. He said, “His name is Chicken Soup~ oooooooh~…?”

***

Minhyuk heard the notifications while he was talking to Marvin after he had hunted the werewolf.

[You hunted the first monster.]

[You have completely overwhelmed the werewolf.]

[You have received the recognition of the Innocent Hero.]

[You gained +1 on all your five basic stats.]

[Arakhan’s Sword Mastery Skill will now be created.]

[You have gained 10,000,000 EXP.]

[With the influence of the Wishing Stone, you have acquired a Native Chicken.]

[With the recognition of the Innocent Hero, the hunt for the second monster will be skipped.]

[You have gained 12,000,000 EXP.]

[Arakhan’s Sword Mastery Skill level has increased by one.]

[With the influence of the Wishing Stone, you have acquired Abalone.]

Minhyuk was in awe. Then, the foreigner asked for his name. He said, “My name is Minhyuk. Kggghk~ I’m going to eat abalone soup now~ Fufufufu. Chicken soup~ oooooooh~”

However, Minhyuk was left unaware that the first part of his sentence had been omitted due to the influence of the warping, and Marvin had only heard the last part!

To be honest, Minhyuk had two reasons why he gave the sword to Marvin. The first reason was Marvin’s passion and intelligence. Minhyuk had already played Athenae for quite a while, and he could recognize those with talent, to some extent. He thought, ‘He’s going to climb high.’

The second reason was because the unique artifact that came from a novice zone would not be of any help to Minhyuk at all. He would also not be able to acquire the item since he was undergoing a trial.

On the other side, Arakhan was shocked to see Minhyuk being warped back. Arakhan thought, ‘This is unbelievable.’

Minhyuk achieved an overwhelming victory during his first monster hunt. His strength was even recognized by the trial, to the point that he was allowed to skip the second monster hunt and receive the rewards for that trial directly.

‘He’s really strong…’

Of course, Arakhan was aware that his artifacts played a huge role in that victory. However, even if a person was overgeared, they would not become the best in this world. After all, control played a huge role in the virtual reality game, Athenae, something that was completely different from the RPG games played on computers in the past.

Just then, Minhyuk, who shocked him with his strength, suddenly began cooking. He said, “Hiyaaaa. This chicken is really tough!”

He had pulled out a huge cauldron, lit up a fire underneath it, and poured in some water, as well as the cleaned native chicken inside! Then, he added a whole head of garlic, a ginseng, some green onions, jujube and the abalone inside the cauldron, before covering it with a lid and letting them boil.

After a while, Minhyuk lifted the lid of the cauldron to remove the broth scum, causing the hot steam to escape immediately.

Shwaaaaaa—

Green onions and the ginseng were seen floating in the thick soup boiling inside the cauldron. Then, Minhyuk poked the chicken with his chopstick to check if it was cooked, before taking the cauldron off the fire.

‘Kggghk~ Cauldron is really the perfect match for chicken soup.’

It was strange, but whenever someone made rice or chicken soup in a cauldron on TV, the food looked much more delicious when it was in the cauldron! Minhyuk took out the chicken from the cauldron and placed it on a plate. The chicken was still dripping with the thick soup!

Gulp—

Drool began to drip from his mouth! The addition of abalone, ginseng and jujube in the soup was superb! Then, Minhyuk spread open an aluminum table that was often used in the past, before placing the plate of chicken and another plate with a different dish. This was because Minhyuk had prepared another dish while he was cooking the chicken soup, which was none other than ‘seasoned acorn jelly’.

“Mmm! I feel healthier already just by looking at it!”

It was a proper dish that was good for the body! Then, Minhyuk began to rip the large chicken leg from the chicken. Steam rose from the chicken as the heat passed through the pads of Minhyuk’s fingers. Thankfully, the pads of Minhyuk’s fingers were a bit thick so it did not matter that much. Then, he bit on the chicken leg.

“Aaaaaah!”

The juices of the chicken flowed in Minhyuk’s mouth the moment he took a bite. Even the texture of the chicken was chewier than regular chicken. Then, he dipped the leg in the salt and pepper that he prepared earlier and took another bite.

“Delicious. Really delicious.”

The salt perfectly complemented the greasiness of the soup, creating a perfect balance that was pleasant to the tongue. Then, Minhyuk grabbed the ginseng and chewed on it.

‘I did not like the flavor of this when I was young, but I feel like it’s getting more and more to my taste.’

The ginseng had a slight tangy bitterness towards the end! However, this bitterness was very addictive. After eating the chicken, he took a spoonful of the greasy chicken soup and took a sip.

“Kgghk~ This feels refreshing,” Minhyuk exclaimed as he tore a piece of kimchi and placed it on top of the chicken, before placing it in his mouth.

Minhyuk nodded in satisfaction as he stretched his chopsticks out to taste the seasoned acorn jelly. The seasoned acorn jelly was a dish that could stimulate anyone’s appetite with its bright red color and savory aroma. There were even sesame seeds that piqued one’s interest sprinkled on top of it, you know?

Minhyuk quickly mixed the sesame seeds into the dish. Then, he lifted the acorn jelly together with some chives, lettuce, perilla leaves and onions and placed the combination in his mouth. The savory and authentic flavor of the vegetables quietly spread in his mouth with every single bite. A bit of spiciness appeared and tingled his taste buds the more he chewed, which was a perfect accompaniment for the slightly greasy chicken soup.

After eating all of the chicken and abalone soup as well as the seasoned acorn jelly, the notifications rang in Minhyuk’s head.

[Food God’s Greatness.]

[You have eaten an Abalone Soup.]

[You have gained 70 STM.]

It seemed like the ingredients that he could obtain from the Wishing Stone could possess random special abilities. He surmised this because he did not receive any special ability after he finished eating the first dish.

***

Alexander was a player that stood tall and high as an Athenae powerhouse, like the unreachable sky, even in America,. He was now watching several reruns of the Korean and the Chinese’s Soldier’s Great Battle on the TV in his luxurious mansion.

‘The Korean NPCs are very outstanding. No, is it safer to say that Food God Minhyuk’s territory is very outstanding?’

A lot of information had already been released about the young boy, the demon, the old man and even Saintess Loyna. And these NPCs had actually acted for the Food God alone.

‘Isn’t that amazing?’ Alexander thought, refreshing his views about Korea, a small and weak country that he thought was something that could just be ignored before.

Then, his brother, Marvin, came out of his Athenae capsule. Marvin said, “Big bro, I just saw something amazing.”

“Something amazing?” Alexander asked nonchalantly, believing that his brother’s words were just nonsense. After all, Marvin had always exaggerated his words because he wanted people to pay attention to him. He once told them that he killed a ‘beastly and rabid rabbit’ when all he did was hunt a rabbit. However, the following words that his brother uttered made Alexander focus on him.

“Another person followed after your steps. I saw that person hunt the werewolf alone. I even greeted him and talked to him.”

“What…?” Alexander asked, pupils trembling in disbelief.

The public knew Alexander as an unofficial ranker. However, there were several legends that accompanied his name. One of these legends was the story about how he hunted the werewolf alone. But, that was not the truth.

‘I was the only one left after all of the other players had been killed and forced to log out.’

Alexander did not technically hunt the werewolf alone. However, he felt that he did not need to deny the public’s praise and compliments for him. Right now, Marvin told him that he had seen someone hunt the werewolf by himself.

“The man is Asian. He had a white mask on his face so all I can see is his eyes, but I’m pretty sure that he’s a Korean player.”

“…Are you really sure, Marvin?”

Marvin nodded fiercely.

‘Another point of interest.’

Alexander’s interest towards the country called Korea was growing over time. Someone from that country really hunted a werewolf alone? So, Alexander asked, “How can you be so sure when he’s wearing a white mask? Ah, right. What’s his name?”

Marvin had immediately searched the portal site with the man’s name the moment he terminated his connection to the game. That was when he knew which country he was from.

Alexander’s ears perked up attentively as Marvin said, “His name is Chicken Soup~ Oooooh~.”

“…”

Alexander immediately thought that the name was unique.