Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 727: The Sage’s Tower of Magic

Minhyuk’s eating addiction struck unexpectedly when he was still in middle school. Before that, he had been living a satisfying life. He had his father, the chairman of Ilhwa Group, and countless friends that trusted and followed him. He also received countless praises for being the only person that would become the next leader of Ilhwa Group.

Minhyuk was someone that lived on the straight path and never strayed. Those that envied him would say, ‘It’s because he met good parents or whatever.’

Was that really the case though? Minhyuk’s father was not the type of person that would give him everything at his beck and call. His father was a man that made sure to remind him of the lessons that his mother taught him well, and made sure that he would become someone that was resilient.

Also, everything that Minhyuk had achieved was all thanks to his greatest ‘talent’, which was in fact hard work and effort. But when the eating addiction suddenly reared its head, Minhyuk truly suffered a lot.

‘I lost my friends.’

Minhyuk had to tell his friends that he was transferring schools, when in fact, he stayed in his room to try and treat his eating addiction.

‘I let down all the people that had high expectations of me too.’

There were many people that said that the successor, Kang Minhyuk, had gone crazy and ran away while studying. There were even rumors about how Kang Minhoo was an alcoholic and Minhyuk had a hard time because of that.

‘I even lost my fit and healthy body.’

He was overcome with severe depression as his body grew and grew. In the end, he even developed insomnia. He had a hard time sleeping and would only be able to sleep an hour each day. His condition grew worse and worse with each passing day.

‘I want to live. I want to live like ordinary people. I want to eat three meals a day with my family, my friends and perhaps even a lover.’

So, he moved his bloated body and started to move in the pool. He even did sit-ups while lying on his bed whenever he could not sleep. Although he was still fat, he still continued to work out, read his books and study.

‘I will live.’

He jumped and ran with firm determination and worked out for more than four to five hours each day. Minhyuk even desperately tried to control his appetite.

Finally, he met Athenae.

“I will definitely live.”

That was Minhyuk’s dream.

And Minhyuk, who finally stood up after a lot of struggle, began to cook again.

‘I will become their role model. I will definitely survive this and find a cure for Eating Addiction. Then, I will lead Ilhwa Group and tell the world, ‘We can all get through this.’’

That was why, this fear was nothing to Minhyuk. He could endure, and he would endure.

Minhyuk’s eyes flashed as his entire body felt like it was boiling as he continued to cook the curry. As he continued like that, he began to forget the pain.

‘Brod.’

Minhyuk would definitely feed Brod a warm and delicious meal. Before he knew it, he had already finished cooking the curry. This time, he placed a pot on the stove and poured cooking oil in it. Then, he turned on the stove once again and let the oil’s temperature rise to the appropriate heat.

Just like that, Minhyuk covered the pork sirloin with batter and crumbs while experiencing the pain of his entire body being hacked by an axe.

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash—

Stagger—

Minhyuk staggered and almost lost his footing. However, he clenched his teeth and held on and slowly stretched his hand out to put the sirloin inside the pot of boiling oil.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

Hundreds of lightning bolts fell from the sky and landed on Minhyuk. The sight was terrifyingly grotesque. Although he was receiving an onslaught of attacks, the ingredients and the dish that he was making was completely unaffected.

“Kghhk…!”

The snow, which fell from the sky, suddenly turned into sharp icicles that stabbed through Minhyuk’s body as continued to move to place the meat inside the oil.

“Keuaaaaaaack!” Minhyuk screamed from the pain. However, the figure of the man that he was doing this for flashed in his head.

‘Your Majesty, have you eaten?’

Brod’s face appeared clearly in his head. Minhyuk knew that he had not done anything for the man at all, despite Brod doing a lot for him. So, Minhyuk persevered. He grabbed his trembling wrist with his other hand and forced himself to place the meat inside the oil.

Sizzleeee—

Countless disasters fell upon Minhyuk as the delightful sound of meat being fried rang in the area. Even lava spurt out of the ground and devoured him.

Crackleee—

Sometimes, gigantic rocks would fall from the sky and hit Minhyuk before disappearing, as if they were not there in the first place.

However, strangely enough, they did not pose any threat to Minhyuk, who was now solely focused on the dish that he was cooking. He had completely fallen into a trance.

[You have fallen into a Deep Trance once again.]

[Something special might happen once Trance has been triggered.]

But Minhyuk did not hear these notifications. He was solely focused on cooking. In fact, he did not even notice that his surroundings had been changing constantly as he continued to cook the tonkatsu.

It turned into summer, with scorching heat that reached 50 degrees, then turned into winter, where everything around him turned frozen. Hundreds of lightning bolts fell from the sky while the ground beneath him cracked and shook. However, he did not notice these things. He was completely in his cooking zone. Nothing could stop him.

Finally, a bright and delighted smile popped out on his face as he finished cooking the tonkatsu. He quickly scooped some steaming white rice on a plate before pouring curry in the empty space right next to it. Then, he placed the well-fried tonkatsu above the curry.

At this point in time, Minhyuk already felt dizzy and even his vision had started to spin. In his blurry consciousness, a series of notifications rang in his ears.

[You have completed Curry Rice and Tonkatsu.]

[Something special might happen due to the effects of Trance.]

[Trance. It is a dish that has your will to never back down, a heart for your vassal, a desire to live, and sincerity poured into it.]

[You have achieved Extreme Trance. The buff effects applied and dish grade will be much better than the ordinary Trance!]

[The skill: Trance has changed into Extreme Trance!]

[You have successfully cooked a dish using God’s Cursed Ingredient!]

[This is a shocking achievement that even the former Food God has never achieved.]

[You have acquired Food God Specific Skill Points (2).]

[Upon the successful creation of a dish using God’s Cursed Ingredient, a God-grade dish will be unconditionally produced!]

[Due to the effects of Extreme Trance, the God-grade dish has become a dish of a higher-grade!]

[You have created the second Absolute God-grade dish in the world!]

[…All stats!]

[…HP and MP!]

[…temporarily…Fallen Wretched Emperor Brod!]

[You have completed the Class Specific Quest: Food God’s Friends’ Recognition.]

[The Continental Emperor acknowledges…!]

[The Dragon Lord acknowledges…!]

.

[The God of Benevolence acknowledges…!]

[You have completed the quest with extraordinary results…!]

Minhyuk was distracted by the notifications that rang non-stop in his ears.

***

“…”

“…”

“…”

All of the Food God’s friends were left speechless. This was especially the case for the Dragon Lord, who had just been speaking rudely and was even saying that he would never acknowledge him. In fact, even his pupils were shaking at the sudden turn of events.

“What did I just see?”

A new grade, the Absolute God-grade dish has been born to the world. It was a shocking and extraordinary achievement that even the former Food God Allen had not attained in his lifetime.

However, even if they had witnessed it, some people still could not help but deny it. The Dragon Lord shook his head.

“Ha…” He smirked, a look of interest flashing on his face as he shook his head and said, “The reason why Allen is the greatest is because he was close to many people.”

Many of them agreed with his words. Even the Monster Lord wanted to deny the scene in front of him and insist that Allen, their friend, was the best.

However, Andeiro opened his mouth and said, “I am someone that can see and view a lot of things even though I stay in this tower.”

Everyone nodded. These souls knew Andeiro since they had seen and interacted with him for quite a long time now.

“That man calls the Continental Emperor Ellie, the person that decided to give up the position of the Sword God to remain the empress of her empire, noona.”

“???”

“He also calls the king of a nation, who is hailed as the Overlord, uncle.”

“???”

“Ah, not too long ago, he established a brotherly relationship with the Mercenary King that united the mercenaries from all over the world and became the God of Mercenaries’ successor.”

“???”

“The temporary commander-in-chief of his kingdom is the Spear God of this era.”

“???”

“This man named Elpis, the Lesser Demon, is the shield of his country. He also has one of the Sword of the Gods as his escort knight. He also has the protection of the Great Demon Gremory and is friends with Saintess Loyna… mumble, mumble… Ah! He also has one of the Eight Pillars, Obren, under his command. He also has a deep connection with Pope Kronad. And he also has the Supreme Divine Beast as his pet… mumble, mumble…

“…”

“…”

Everyone’s expression turned blank for a moment. The Monster Lord looked at Minhyuk and said, “That child… he really needs our help, right?”

“I think so?”

“…”

“…”

Silence enveloped them for a moment.

***

‘This is the end.’?

That was the thought that flashed in Brod’s head as he looked at the cliff behind him. Standing in front of him was the God of Conflicts Belovan, four other gods, and 250,000 soldiers of the Divine Army. His abdomen was bleeding profusely after he was stabbed by the sword of God of Conflicts Belovan.

However, even though he was in a very dangerous and life-threatening state, Brod still did not let go of his sword.

“Absolute God’s Sword, Fallen Wretched Emperor, this is the end,” Belovan spat coldly. He was so tired and fed up with running after Brod.

‘How can he do this much when he’s just by himself…’

They could not fathom how he was able to cut down 100,000 soldiers of the Divine Army and endure the attacks of three gods. At this point, all Belovan wanted was to get compensated for all the effort that he put in this by killing that bastard. However, he still could not deny the fact that he was under orders to bring Brod back alive.

“I will say this for the last time. The Battle God wants you. Come back to the Battle God’s arms. And he promises you…”

Belovan could not understand. Why was the Battle God so intent on having Brod by his side? Why did he care so much about this man to the point that he promised such a thing?

“…that he will make a new empire for you.”

“…”

The remarks were so shocking to the point that even the soldiers of the Divine Army started to kick up a fuss. The Battle God would go so far as to make an empire in the Land of the Gods for this human? Some of them even gulped dryly, thrilled at the thought alone. If that happened, even the gods would not be able to do anything to him. All kinds of riches and treasures would be waiting for him and he would forever live in peace and comfort.

“Don’t you want it?” Belovan asked.

Brod applied pressure on his bleeding abdomen as he shook his head with a bitter smile on his face. “I have felt and realized something after serving someone sincerely.”

“…”

“I don’t really want to be an emperor. Even if I do not become an emperor, I will still be able to live happily. Lately these thoughts have been running through my head.”

Grab—

Brod grabbed his sword tightly and smiled softly. “I don’t mind even if I do not become an emperor. No, instead of me, I hope that he?will be the one that will become the emperor.”

‘Your Majesty, my brother, my king.’

The king that smiled brightly when eating his food, the one that hummed softly and patted his stomach in delight after eating his fill.

“I will only serve him.”

Belovan grabbed his sword tightly. Infuriated, the Battle God ordered to cut him down.

“Then, you have to die,” Belovan declared as he moved to stab Brod’s neck. He then shouted, “Fool! Your king does not hold you in his heart! You're nothing but a mere vassal, a tool to be used and abandoned!!!”

However, Brod smiled widely at Belovan’s words.

‘Yes. That might be the case. Nevertheless…’

“Your Majesty,” Brod called out quietly.

He recalled the words that Minhyuk told him when they met each other the other day.

—Brod. I don’t know what you’re doing. But I’m begging you. Please, please survive and continue to live. Understand?

—Hahaha. Of course, Your Majesty! This servant of yours is the strongest, no?

Brod knew that he would not be able to keep that promise. He was in a very terrible situation. In fact, he did not have any more strength to hold out against them. If one of the soldiers of the Divine Army charged ahead and hit him, he would most definitely collapse.

Still, he just had one small wish.

“…Please remember this servant of yours.”

At that moment, the tip of Belovan’s sword almost reached Brod’s neck. If it were anyone else, it would be unheard of. How could a king remember a dead vassal? There was just no way!

Brod slowly closed his eyes.

Stab—

A chilling sound rang in his ears. With this, he would finally fall into eternal rest.

Drip— drip, drip—

The sound of blood dripping floated in Brod’s ears.

[The lowest God came running for one person and one person alone.]

[The king promises that he will remember his vassal!]

[The king opens his mouth and addresses his vassal!]

“Brod.”

That soft, warm and gentle voice was most definitely His Majesty’s voice. Brod slowly opened his eyes, not daring to believe his ears.

“Ah… Aaaaaaah…”

Brod’s heart throbbed and ached. The one standing in front of him was his king. His king held the blade of Belovan’s sword tightly, his red blood dripping down on the ground.

“I will remember.”

Brod stretched his trembling hand toward His Majesty. Then, he saw Minhyuk smiled softly and said, “But you have to stay with me for a very long time.”