Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 476: Naval Warfare (Middle)

Barras Kingdom was once the home of production class players. It was a kingdom that was frequented by visitors, for its excellent iron ores, sculptures, outstanding dishes, paintings, and many more. Although their military prowess was infinitely weaker than the other kingdoms, their outstanding products made these kingdoms treat them carefully, and with respect.

Barras Kingdom had always been thriving with production class players. But now, the streets were empty. Haze looked miserably at the empty Chef’s Tower, Fisherman’s Tower, Painter’s Tower, Blacksmith’s Tower and many other production towers that stood high around her. These towers were no longer being visited by people.

‘Who should we put in the seat of the tower master in charge of the Chef’s Tower? This is the most important tower to us.’

The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s representative and main specialty should be ‘cooking’. However, it was impossible for Minhyuk, the king, to take the position of the Chef’s Tower’s tower master, since he already had a lot on his plate and was busier than anybody else in the kingdom. That was why they needed a chef that was as good and as influential as him to work on his behalf. Someone that could become an idol and a teacher to all of the chefs in the world.

‘The Chef of Delight will be perfect for the position.’

There were rumors in the Asgan Continent about the Chef of Delight. According to them, he was a chef that roamed the continent to taste different dishes, while making outstanding ones himself and giving them to those in need. He always cooked for hungry children and from what they heard, the way he ate was similar to how ‘Food God Minhyuk’ ate. It was also said that the dishes made by this mysterious Chef of Delight did not fall behind the dishes made by ‘Twilight Chef’ Black.

Twilight Chef Black was someone that was always fed shit whenever he went against Minhyuk. In fact, his prowess could not even catch up to Minhyuk at all. However, it was undeniable that he was a great chef. His skills might be behind that of Minhyuk’s but in terms of ‘commercial value and publicity’ he was the best in Asgan Continent. Was there a chef that could compare to him, aside from the Chef of Delight?

At that moment…

“Lady Haze.”

“Sir Abel.”

…Informant Abel appeared beside Haze.

“How was it?”

“I followed his trail based on the information that I have gathered. But when I reached the area where he was staying, he was already gone.”

“He did not leave because he knew that we were looking for him, right?”

If, for some reason, the Chef of Delight was hostile to them, then it would be impossible for them to recruit him.

“I don’t know about that. But… the direction where the Chef of Delight was last seen headed to is…” Abel trailed off in doubt for a moment before continuing, “…the direction where our Beyond the Heavens Kingdom is located.”

“Here? The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?” Haze asked in surprise. She was very shocked to hear that the Chef of Delight was headed toward their kingdom. What was his purpose for visiting them?

At that moment, one of the guards that were guarding the gates of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s capital rushed toward them and gasped, “Heok, heok! Miss Haze. A man who identified himself as the Chef of Delight is requesting an audience with His Majesty!”

“…?!”

“…?!”

Haze and Abel were both surprised at the report. The Chef of Delight was requesting an audience with their king? The two of them hurried behind the guard. When they arrived, they saw a man wearing a straw hat and some shabby clothes, sitting on the side of the street and eating some ramyeon from Conir’s Ramyeon Shop, a store opened by Ramyeon Boy Conir.

“Ho? The noodles are chewy and the soup is spicy and refreshing. As expected of my boy, Minhyuk’s kingdom.”

‘My boy Minhyuk?’

The man called His Majesty ‘my boy, Minhyuk’? What was more…

“Sluuuuuuuuuuurp! Kihyaa! Wonderful. Amazing!”

…the way he ate ramyeon reminded everyone of how Minhyuk ate. He slurped the noodles and lifted the entire bowl to take a sip of the soup. It was a carbon copy of Minhyuk.

“Phew,” He spat out a sigh in admiration and placed the bowl down after finishing everything. The amount of ramyeon that he ate alone totaled to around six bowls.

“Excuse me. I am Haze, His Majesty Minhyuk’s aide.”

“Hello?” The man greeted with a smile.

Although he was a middle-aged man with a kind smile on his face, Haze thought that she should still be on guard. Although the man sounded friendly and close when he addressed their king, it might still be a part of some sort of conspiracy.

“With all due respect sir, we heard from the report that you requested an audience with His Majesty Minhyuk. May we please have the honor of knowing who you are? And if possible, what relationship do you have with His Majesty?”

The man stood up from his seat and said, “I am His Majesty Minhyuk’s cooking master.”

“…?!”

Haze was very shocked. The man that created amazing dishes and rocked the entire world with his cooking was the same master that taught Minhyuk how to cook?!

“I once worked in Eivelis Empire’s imperial kitchen. I taught him a few things. Ah, when we met, I did not have a sense of taste. My boy Minhyuk was the one who gave me a sense of taste,” the man said. Then, he looked up at the Chef’s Tower and continued to say, “I came here to repay him. My name is Len.”

This man was none other than the man that once served as an Imperial Chef in the Eivelis Empire, and the captain of the military kitchen back in the novice village that taught Minhyuk how to cook. He was also the man that fell in love with Ellie, the Empress of Eivelis Empire. Now, he was the Chef of Delight, a chef that was respected by all. He had taken a step forward and offered himself in service for Minhyuk. This was all thanks to the virtue and good deed that Minhyuk had accumulated.

***

The entire Japanese archipelago was left reeling in shock after seeing dozens of thick lasers stretching out from Battleship and splitting seventy ships in half. Even the pirates in the vicinity were also struck dumb at the sight of the sinking ships.

The lasers that they released just now were the thing that Minhyuk and Genie were waiting for. The laser was a system that they created after observing and studying Minhyuk’s Earth King’s Authority, Worship.

Earth King’s Authority, Worship was based on the amount of Authority Mana that the skill user accumulated. The more it accumulated, the stronger and more powerful the authority would become. Battleship’s laser system worked the same way. The more attacks they received from ships with stronger attack power, the more their ‘laser gauge’ would be filled.

However, for Battleship’s laser gauge to increase, the ship needed to have a high defense and durability. And Battleship met these conditions perfectly. Originally, they could use the lasers the moment they filled 30% of the energy gauge, but they waited until they reached 100%. After all, reaching 100% meant that they would be able to unleash the full force of the power that they had accumulated from their enemies in one go.

Just like that, the notifications kept on ringing in Minhyuk’s ears.

[You have wiped out 60% of the pirates!]

[You have accumulated +24 STR and AGI, +15 STM, +17 WIS and +20 INT in your Wagyu.]

[You have accumulated 80,000,000 EXP in your Wagyu.]

Surprisingly enough, the fourth reward, which was the wagyu, kept on accumulating EXP and stats, the more pirates they wiped out. The rewards listed were already extremely ridiculous, but there was something that was even more ridiculous in store for Minhyuk.

‘If I get 80%, then Gorfido will be given a new lease in life.’

It was another reward that he would get if he reached the required percentage. However, Minhyuk was not sure if it was talking about Gorfido becoming his ‘vassal’ or not. Then, Battleship began to speed up again.

Shwaaaaaaaa—

And the place where Battleship, which was now covered with an iron shield and looked completely like a turtle ship, was going for…

Baaaaaaaaaang—

…was none other than Gorfido’s Pirate Ship, and soon, the two powerhouses collided. Alas, Gorfido’s Pirate Ship did not budge at all.

However, Minhyuk did not intend to break it. The reason why he stuck Battleship directly to Gorfido’s Pirate Ship was all because of Gorfido’s advice.

‘Gorfido’s Pirate Ship is closely related to its owner. As long as you get the captain, it will be nothing more than a powerful pirate ship.’

That was right. Only one person could control Gorfido’s Pirate Ship. And right now, that was Lundnu.

‘Besides, once you board the ship, they will be forced to stop their bombardment. After all, no ally would dare to bomb their own ship.’

As expected of Great Pirate Gorfido. When Battleship collided with Gorfido’s Pirate Ship, a part of the iron shield opened up as Minhyuk and the members of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom flew up and boarded Gorfido’s Pirate Ship. That was when an unexpected notification rang in their ears.

[Gorfido’s Pirate Ship’s curse has fallen upon you.]

[While you’re on Gorfido’s Pirate Ship all stats, including physical and magical defense, will drop by 30%.]

[Successful Attack Rate will decrease by 40%.]

[You will feel heavy as if shackles have been tied to your feet.]

[Your movement speed will decrease by 20%.]

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

Minhyuk’s body trembled. This was something that he had not heard from Gorfido earlier. He shouted, “Isn’t this something that you should tell me in advance?!”

Gorfido awkwardly scratched his head and said, “It has been hundreds of years. I forgot. Sorry.”

“…”

‘That bastard… is very sloppy.’

The members of Beyond the Heaven Kingdoms did not expect those notifications so they were a bit flustered.

“Minhyuk, why are you shouting in the air like that…?”

“Y, you… is there a ghost…?”

“Your, Your Majesty…?”

“…?”

They looked at Minhyuk weirdly. It was only natural since Gorfido was completely invisible to others. But Minhyuk did not have the time to explain it to them, they were in a very pressing situation.

“Keuhahahahahahahaha! Caught you! You have been caught in my trap!!!” Lundnu cackled. Truth was, he did not even think about that at all. He just said whatever was on his mind. “You won’t even be able to deal with the pirates of this ship. Even if your legendary NPCs have considerable power, do you really believe that you can deal with this ship?! This is Gorfido’s Pirate Ship!”

At that moment, a black whirlwind surrounded Lundnu. When it disappeared, several figures appeared around him.

[Pirate Gorfido and the pirates that have made legendary achievements have appeared!]

[Legendary Navigator Artney has appeared!]

[Sea Slaughterer Bellod has appeared!]

[Vicious Sorcerer Aelvero has appeared!]

“…”

More than ten legendary figures surrounded by black streams of air appeared. Gorfido did not even look at them. He just blinked and looked at Minhyuk before saying, “…Why the hell are those punks here? They all died with me before. Brats, go back to hell!”

“…”

Minhyuk looked blankly at Gorfido. For a brief moment, he wanted to smash his skull head and break it to pieces. However, he did not have the time to do so, his mind spun fast as he thought about something. Just when Lundnu was about to order his summons to attack…

“Wait.”

“…?”

Lundnu and the pirates paused in their tracks as Minhyuk continued to speak calmly, “I have a proposal.”

“What kind of bullshit…?!” Lundnu muttered, his face horribly distorted. What kind of proposal did he want to suggest?!

“How about doing a 1:1 PVP competition? I think our numbers match up too, including your summons and mine.”

“…What?”

Lundnu looked at Minhyuk incredulously. Why did he suddenly suggest doing a 1:1 PVP showdown?

Minhyuk said, “Just think about it. This kind of war will only increase the damage that both sides will incur if it continues. Besides, don’t we both have something that we have to deal with?”

That was right. The viewers from all over the world had high expectations for the confrontation between Minhyuk and Lundnu.

‘The damage that we have incurred is already too much.’

Even if the situation was favorable to Lundnu, the moment the members of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom went all out, the damage would continue to accumulate and would only stop until they got killed, or they killed their enemies. Besides, they already received a big blow after a huge number of their allies had been killed by only a small number of elites.

‘They’re also 30% weaker now.’

Lundnu would not deny the fact that they were strong. But a 30% decrease in power, especially for a ranker or a Named NPC, was bound to be a huge decrease in power.

“But don’t you have NPCs like Diablo and that guy who uses the Mercenary Swordsmanship?”

There were still plenty of risky factors even though their power has decreased by 30%. These risky factors were none other than Diablo and Brod.

“Ah. Brod did not come here because of some personal circumstances,” Minhyuk completely left out the fact that Brod beat up the Red Goblin that was why he could not come here. He continued, “Elpis will not compete if you so wanted to. But as compensation, me, the King, and you can summon as much as we can. How about that?”

“…”

Lundnu’s thoughts spun fast. The proposal was good. If Brod and Diablo did not step forward, then it would not matter how strong Minhyuk’s summons were. As long as their power was decreased by 30%, Lundnu’s side would be able to trample on them. This was a great opportunity for the Japanese.

“Okay, good,” Lundnu said. His grin was so wide that his face almost seemed distorted. Even if Minhyuk could summon someone to fight, could they do something against these legendary figures? Of course not, only Brod and Diablo could do so.

The first person that Lundnu sent forward was Bellod, the Sea Slaughterer. He was one of the strongest Named NPCs in Japan and was Gorfido’s right hand man. He could deal a tremendous amount of damage, had high defenses, fast speed, and excellent skills. Even his level was high.

But before they could start, Minhyuk and Lundnu both signed the ‘Foreigner’s Pledge’. If the player that signed the Foreigner’s Pledge violated their oath, then they would be forced to log out.

“I pledge…”

“I pledge…”

Minhyuk’s grin was wide as he declared, “Then, I will summon the first one.”

Lundnu snorted. No matter who he summoned, the summon would not be a match against Bellod. But then, at that moment…

“Demon Summoning.”

Shwaaaaaaaaaaa—

Tremendous black energy swirled from the depths of the sea before gathering in front of Minhyuk and forming a figure. And along with that, a shocking notification rang in the pirates’ ears.

[Demon Kimaris has appeared!]

[Those that will seal Demon Kimaris will receive rewards!]

A gigantic black horse carrying a devil in the form of a black soldier appeared and descended at sea.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Everyone was speechless at the sudden appearance of a huge demon. And Bellod, the Named NPC that Lundnu commanded, unknowingly took a step back from fright.

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