Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 556: God of Cooking’s Trial

A long time ago, the humans referred to the Abyss Field as the Gods’ Land, after a chef accidentally discovered this rich and abundant place. From what the chef saw, the Abyss Field cultivated ingredients bearing special effects. These effects had never been seen on earth, and could easily surpass any of the famed medicines on earth. Rumors about the Gods’ Land started to circulate which fueled everyone’s greed.

The people from all over the world started to flock to the Abyss Field. However, it did not take too long for them to stop challenging the Gods’ Land.

One, no farmer, whether they were outstanding or not, had succeeded in harvesting any ingredient from the Gods’ Land. And two, there was a monster, which was believed to have been placed there by the God of Cooking, protecting the Gods’ Land and it was really, really strong. In fact, there was a party that was able to get one ingredient from the field. However, they had to pay and sacrifice the lives of forty of the continent’s strongest men to get that one ingredient. The losses completely outweighed the profits. So, they stopped.

However! If there was really someone that could harvest these ingredients, then the words of Jackson, an adventurer that explored the Gods’ Land, “This is as good as discovering a mine with a rich vein of ore.” would be very apt for them.

And right now, Minhyuk has entered this very same Abyss Field.

[You have entered the Abyss Field.]

[You can only get out of the Abyss Field if you harvest three ingredients.]

[Otherwise, only your death will allow you to leave the premises of the Abyss Field.]

“…”

Minhyuk frowned at the notifications that rang in his ears. He had just entered the field but an ominous notification was already ringing in his ears? Actually, it was not that surprising since the way here was also fraught with many dangers despite Arlene pointing out the way to him. However, it was quite a given that the path would be difficult, since the only thing that Arlene pointed out to him was that he would be able to get to the Abyss Field if he entered through the small waterfall near the cabin where she lived. Furthermore, he could only get out of this place only after harvesting three ingredients.

“Let’s see,” Minhyuk mumbled, looking around the field. The Abyss Field was quite an unusual place. It was dark, gloomy, and dreary, with no sunlight at all. However, the ingredients were growing abundantly in this place.

Then, Minhyuk suddenly exclaimed, “What, what the hell…” his body trembling fiercely, “There’s, there’s mango here?!”

It was not just mangoes. There were also stone fruits and other fruits that did not appear in his country, or even in the Asgan Continent. Actually, Minhyuk was really, really fond of mangoes. A scoop of ripe mangoes with their golden yellow-y goodness would definitely bring a smile to one’s face as its fresh and sweet flavor spreads in one’s mouth. And the fruits that Minhyuk did not and could not see in Asgan Continent? They all looked scrumptious.

But even though he wanted to gorge himself out on these fruits, Minhyuk shook his head, ‘I need to find the ingredients for Arlene first.’ He must never forget his duty. First things first, he had to find and harvest the ingredients for the dish that would release Arlene’s power for a moment.

Each dish would exhibit different special abilities depending on the ingredients used on them. The first thing that Minhyuk did was to check the information of the sweet potato that was, strangely enough, hanging and growing from a tree.

(Abyss Sweet Potato)

Abyss Ingredient Grade: C

Special Abilities:

?You can choose between the two: giving a buff effect or giving a permanent effect.

?If buff effect is chosen:

?STR will increase by +9%.

?Physical, Magical Attack, and Defense will increase by +16%.

?If permanent effect is chosen:

?STR will increase by +4%

?Physical, Magical Attack, and Defense will increase by +0.3%.

Description: This sweet potato grown in the Abyss tastes delicious. The fact that it grew in the Abyss makes it a very special sweet potato, so special that it can even surpass any famous medicine in the world.

“…???”

For a moment, Minhyuk wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him. According to the description, this sweet potato has an ‘Abyss Ingredient Grade’ of C. It was a grading system that seemed to be different from the normal grading system, so there might be discrepancies with what Minhyuk was aware of. However, the fact that the sweet potato was only at C-grade with this much effect was already quite shocking.

“…Will, will it give you buff effects even if you don’t cook them?”

On top of that, it gave whoever harvested the sweet potato the choice of having a buff effect or a permanent effect. It was completely up to the person that harvested it.

“Crazy…”

Minhyuk continued to move forward, checking the ingredients’ information along the way.

(Abyss Golden Mango)

Abyss Ingredient Grade: A

Special Abilities:

?You can choose between the two: giving a buff effect or giving a permanent effect.

?If buff effect is chosen:

?Chosen skill’s level will increase by +1.

?If permanent effect is chosen:

?Chosen skill’s proficiency will increase dramatically.

Description: A golden mango grown in the Abyss. It is sweeter and larger than any ordinary mangoes.

“…???”

Even the other ingredients…

“…???”

“…???”

“…???”

Every time Minhyuk looked at an ingredient’s description, question marks would pop out in his head. Even the power that they had received from the ‘Ingredient Heaven’ from the Farmer Kingdom, the Rocard Kingdom, could not rival the power that these ingredients had. These were truly overpowered ingredients. With this, Minhyuk’s suspicions had been confirmed.

‘Arlene…’

Arlene, who was hiding herself beneath the mask of a ‘perverted’ grandma, was most definitely the ‘God of Cooking’. Minhyuk and Arlene had only met in the past through the notifications of a ‘bet’. Also, she was the master of the previous Food God.

‘I can get a lot of things from this place.’

Of course, that was only if he could get the ingredients safely. As Minhyuk continued to roam around the place, he saw an unusually large statue of a cow in the middle of the field. Minhyuk immediately checked its description.

(God’s Carefully Nurtured Abyss Cow)

Rank: God’s Five Delicacies

Special Abilities:

????

????

Description: God’s Carefully Nurtured Abyss Cow is a cow that can exert buff or permanent effect with each and every cut of its meat once eaten. Cannot be obtained through force.

“God’s Delicacy…?!!!”

Minhyuk recently ate one of the God’s Five Delicacies, the ‘Deep Sea Snow Crab’, after he successfully hunted Asura. The taste of that snow crab was beyond anything that he could ever dream of. It even increased Minhyuk’s Physical Attack and Defense, as well as his Magical Attack and Defense permanently by 10%. On top of that, there was an additional 10% buff effect that could overlap with other buffs for a week.

Right now, a similar delicacy with powers similar to that was now standing just a few meters away from him.

‘And each part has a special ability?!’

It could be interpreted differently. In a sense, each part could have a different special ability. Simply put, this cow with permanent and buff effects could be divided and eaten separately, which meant that several people could obtain either permanent or buff effects depending on the part that they ate.

‘I’ll definitely get that one.’

Although he did not know how he would get it, Minhyuk was sure that he would be able to get a hint once he got the ingredients.

Minhyuk had already chosen some of the ingredients that he needed earlier. One was the ‘wild ginseng’. The wild ginseng that grew here had received the Abyss’ energy and was said to have the ability to release sealed powers. The others were jujube and garlic. For the jujube, it could rejuvenate and help someone gain a stronger vitality and power than before. As for the garlic, it could raise one’s skill level.

‘These ingredients are too damn OP. With these, there’s nothing that I can’t do.’

Of course, these ingredients were all A-grade ingredients and would definitely be harder to get than other ordinary ingredients. But nothing would be done if he did not try. So, Minhyuk grabbed a hoe to dig up the wild ginseng. Just one wrong move in digging the wild ginseng and he would damage its roots, so he had to be careful. The moment he hit the ground…

[You are now challenging the wild ginseng.]

[You cannot dig or harvest any of the Abyss’ crops easily.]

“…?”

However, unlike the notifications, Minhyuk’s hoe gently and easily dug the ground. He was even flustered by the fact that it was easier than what he thought.

‘Come to think of it, with Ellie’s Kitchen Knife’s special effect, my DEX has been doubled. Which means that I have around 11,000 in my DEX, right?’

Minhyuk was confident that even the God of Cooking has a lower DEX than him. In the first place, no one would be able to keep up with Minhyuk’s DEX, especially with his overly high DEX acquisition rate and various special effects.

But was there something in the world that one could get so easily? Of course not. Just when Minhyuk was about to slam his hoe on the ground again…

Thump— thump—

…the sound of hooves scratching the ground rang in his ears.

“…”

Minhyuk felt a very unusual energy from behind him, his head turning to look at the direction of its source. That was when he saw a huge bull, around three meters in height. Its red, angry eyes stared at him as it charged forward. Shockingly enough, the bull’s hooves were not touching the ground. Its feet were gliding ten centimeters above the ground as it ran towards him. As for its speed? Even Minhyuk was having a hard time following its figure with his eyes.

“Like the… Keheook!”

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaang—

The bull had already slammed into Minhyuk even before he could use Like the Wind to escape.

[The Slaughterer’s Armor’s durability has dropped by 30%!]

[Artifacts with infinite durability will not be destroyed. The Slaughterer’s Armor has already started to repair itself.]

[Your HP has dropped by 60%.]

[You have received a huge impact. You cannot move your body at will!]

Swoooooooosh—

The impact of the collision made Minhyuk fly tens of meters away. In fact, he only stopped when his body got embedded in a rock.

“This is crazy…!” Minhyuk shouted in shock, his body unresponsive to his will. The fact that the durability of his Slaughterer’s Armor, a god-rank artifact, had decreased by 30% and his HP by 60% was very shocking.

‘This is almost the same as Asura’s damage, huh?!!!’

No, the damage was actually higher than the damage that Asura could deal.

“Urk!” Minhyuk vomited a mouthful of blood as he looked at the crazy bull, its name immediately appearing above its head.

[Sealed Bull Demon King.]

[Level ???]

“…!”

The Bull Demon King was a close friend of Sun Wukong, the Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal, and was also known as the King of Great Power. According to his description in the Journey to the West, the Bull Demon King was the most powerful monster to have ever existed on earth. Of course, that was only based on the famous novel and story. He might be different here in the Athenae worldview.

However, something bothered Minhyuk.

‘Wait, the Bull Demon King is in the Athenae worldview?’

In fact, a hunch was already starting to form in his head.

‘There’s another worldview that we do not know of yet?’

Athenae was a world with never-ending possibilities. That was why Minhyuk believed that this theory was possible.

Minhyuk immediately turned vigilant. He was now sure of one thing. That ox head rice soup guy over there was very strong. Fortunately, he was sealed. Minhyuk stood up after finally regaining control of his body. He was very surprised to discover that the bull did not attack him again.

There was something that he wanted to check so Minhyuk filled his HP and swapped his armor with the Monarch’s Armor before carefully approaching the wild ginseng with his hoe. Even after he approached the wild ginseng, the bull did not show any adverse reactions. But the moment he raised his hoe to dig, the bastard came charging at him.

“Like the Wind!!!”

Minhyuk hurriedly used Like the Wind, his body barely avoiding the bull’s charge.

‘Right. Let’s try digging the ground once and avoiding the bull with Like the Wind…!’

Minhyuk thought that he could make do with this trick, but quickly gave up on the idea when he saw the bull turn around and charge at him again. The more the Bull Demon King charged, the bigger his body became. From the four meters, five, six, eight, ten, fifteen, twenty meters until it grew large enough to cover almost half of the Abyss Field.

“How can I avoid this crazy bastard…”

Baaaaaaaaaaaaang—

“Keuaaaaaaaaack!” Minhyuk screamed, his body flying away once again. This time, the HP that got shaved off of him was higher than before. The damage that the Bull Demon King dealt was tremendous. In the end, Minhyuk’s HP fell to zero and he was only able to stand up after ‘He who Overcomes’ got triggered.

‘How am I even supposed to kill that guy?’

Minhyuk gasped as his body collapsed on the ground. He hurriedly ate to refill his HP again. He could tell that the Bull Demon King’s HP was also very, very high. Which meant that killing him would be very hard. Aside from that, Minhyuk also learned that digging and harvesting the ingredients were very easy after testing it with his hoe earlier. The only problem was the damned sealed Bull Demon King. As long as the cow was there, Minhyuk would not be able to harvest any ingredients. In other words, Minhyuk was presented with a situation where everything was laid out in front of him but he could not eat them.

“Why can’t I eat them when they’re all in front of me…?!!!”

Then, it suddenly came to Minhyuk just when he recalled Kim Cheonji’s lines from A Lucky Day, “Do I really have to hunt him though?”

The Bull Demon King was a monster that Minhyuk could not hunt at this point in time. But… did he really have to?

Soon, Minhyuk’s lips were stretched into a wide and evil grin, a great idea popping in his head.

***

Arlene was a complete oddball. She was showing mercy by helping Ben, yet she was also showing cruelty by forcing Minhyuk to gather ingredients for her in that place. She could, in fact, already imagine Minhyuk being brutally trampled on and beaten by the ‘Sealed Bull Demon King’. The reason why the humans that visited the Gods’ Land all gave up eventually was because of the existence of the sealed Bull Demon King. After all, no one was capable of dealing with the sealed Bull Demon King.

‘Let’s check to see how hard he’s working, huh? Or… maybe he’s already dead? Fufufufu!’

Arlene also lost a bet against Minhyuk in the past and was forced to give the boy her secret, the ‘Overlapping Delight‘. That was why she was over the moon with whatever bad thing that happened to Minhyuk. Although she was pretending to be a magnanimous person, Arlene was a very petty person deep inside. The incident from before made Minhyuk look hateful in her eyes. However, that feeling had abated for a bit, after seeing how handsome the boy was.

Arlene continued on her merry way only to be appalled by the scene presented to her when she arrived at her destination, ”What, what the hell?!”

Abyss Field was the field that Arlene took care of and nurtured for thousands of years. She knew it like the back of her hand. But now? All of the crops were gone. And in the middle of the field sat Minhyuk, who was munching happily on a mango the size of his head.

“Aaaaaaaaahm! Chomp! It’s, it’s sweet…!”

A bright smile bloomed on Minhyuk’s face.

As for the Bull Demon King? He was sitting in front of Minhyuk, his long tail swishing left and right as he happily cried out, ‘Moooo!’.

At that moment, one thought flashed in Arlene’s head, ‘My, my farm is over…!’ Of course, she would be able to get it back up and running again, but it would definitely take a lot of her time. Just when Arlene felt her heart ache and tears well up in her eyes, she heard Minhyuk say, “Hey, ox head. Should I give you a name?”

“Moo?”

Arlene watched the interaction between the two, her heart filled with confusion and shock. The Bull Demon King tilted his head, waiting for the name that Minhyuk would give him. In fact, even Arlene was waiting with a strange sense of anticipation in her body. Even though he was sealed, he was still the Bull Demon King.

‘He will definitely get a good name, right?’

That's what she thought.

Then, Minhyuk said, “Your name shall be Hanwoo[1]. Han. Woo.”

“Moooooooo!!!” The Bull Demon King cried happily after getting his new name, ‘Hanwoo’.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk wiped the drool dripping down his chin as he thought, ‘Beef should definitely be Hanwoo, right?!! Yeah, yeah. That’s what I’m saying. Keuhahahahahaha!’ That was right. Minhyuk gave the sealed Bull Demon King the name ‘Hanwoo’ because he wanted to eat him.

On the other side of the field, Arlene tilted her head in confusion, ‘What’s Hanwoo?’. And along with that thought, another question popped in her head…

‘What the hell happened here?’

1. ?? - Hanwoo or Hanu or Korean Native. A breed of small cattle(brown cattle) native to Korea, one among the four native breeds in the country. Formerly used as a draught animal but is now being raised as a meat cattle. Considered to be the most expensive meat in Korea. ?

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