Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 560: Battle of the Thrones (1)

Minhyuk, having witnessed how Ben fought fiercely and desperately during the Absolute Gods’ trial, did not even care about the five-fold penalty. Even if it was a ten-fold penalty, Minhyuk would still choose to receive a portion of Arlene’s power, just so he could cook a dish for Ben.

Now, the challenge that Minhyuk was presented with was to make a God-grade dish in one try. Making a legendary grade dish at one go was already a difficult feat. But Minhyuk was tasked to make a God grade dish, a dish that he had only made once or twice himself.

Nevertheless, Minhyuk still took on the challenge.

Notifications rang in Minhyuk’s ears the moment a portion of Arlene’s power entered his body.

[Your chances of getting a Legendary Grade dish has been increased by thirty times! Your chances of getting a God Grade dish has been increased by ten times!]

[The effects of your buffed dishes will be 1.3x stronger than usual!]

“…!”

Even though Minhyuk was not able to borrow Arlene’s full power and was only able to inherit a portion of them for the time being, just these two notifications alone were enough to take away his breath.

‘My chances of getting a legendary grade dish increased by thirty times…?’

The only word that Minhyuk could use to describe this situation was crazy. Of course, his probability of creating a God grade dish also increased by ten times. However, he only had less than a percent chance of getting that dish. This meant that his odds of successfully clearing this challenge was still abysmally low.

Having personally obtained the ingredients according to Arlene’s directions, he checked the chicken, which was the main ingredient.

(Legendary Giant Chicken’s Leg Meat)

Ingredient Grade: Five Legends

Special Abilities:

?Can allow one to overcome their limits.

?All stats and skills will increase.

?If you succeed in making a dish out of this chicken, you will be able to create a flavor that is out of this world.

Description: The Legendary Giant Chickens are not really as big as a cattle. In fact, they are only as large as an ordinary native chicken. However, it gained its moniker because it would feel extremely heavy the moment one started cooking it, as if it was a giant. The Legendary Giant Chicken is also known to spew blazing flames from its entire body. The flames that it could emit are hotter than the flames of a dying Phoenix. It’s a really difficult ingredient to cook. One small mistake and the ingredient will be turned to waste.

‘I thought that it wouldn’t matter since Arlene will be the one cooking, but…’

Minhyuk had used an ingredient like this before, the Legendary Giant Cow’s Bone Marrow. Back then, he made an ‘Ox Bone Soup’ for Ellie and allowed her to come back to life, despite being at death’s door. Since legendary and God-grade ingredients contained so much power, it was very hard to cook them. On top of that, the probability of God-grade dishes appearing was so low that even if Minhyuk used several higher grade ingredients, it would not matter at all.

‘Nevertheless, I will still do my best to fight for him.’

Minhyuk slowly closed his eyes, hoping that his voice would reach Ben as he pondered about how he should go about cooking the chicken.

‘It should be spicy stir-fried chicken.’

Minhyuk recalled that one of Ben’s favorite dishes was spicy stir-fried chicken. Ben disliked eating dishes with quite a lot of bones in it, but he was quite fond of the slightly spicy flavor that lingered in his mouth. With this, Minhyuk finally started cooking.

The first thing that Minhyuk tried to do was to remove the impurities in the Legendary Giant Chicken’s leg meat by putting it in a bowl filled with water but…

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

…something rumbled loudly, as if an earthquake was happening.

“…!”

Minhyuk’s gaze immediately turned to the chicken, only to see one of the table’s legs, which was made of iron, bending at an unusual angle.

Thud—

Minhyuk immediately hugged the meat to his chest as…

“Ugggggggh!”

…a tremendous amount of weight began to bear down on him. However, Minhyuk just gritted his teeth and endured it. The weight was so heavy that even the ground that he was standing on was already a few inches deeper than the surrounding area. In fact, his descent was only stopped when he was ankle deep in the ground.

“Haaa… Haaa…” Minhyuk gasped, his breathing turning rough with the heavy weight on his arms. The description of the Legendary Giant Chicken appeared in his head.

‘It’s because it would feel extremely heavy the moment one started cooking it like it’s a giant.’

It was at this moment that Minhyuk realized what the description truly meant. Even though he had no idea how he should go about cooking a meat like this, he continued to do so. Minhyuk quickly cleaned the chicken meat. He was lifting just a small piece of chicken yet it felt like he was lifting a dumbbell that was as heavy as ten kilograms. Thankfully, Minhyuk’s STR was also very high. After he washed the chicken, he placed the trimmed and cleaned chicken, the cabbages, the gochujang, the sweet potatoes and the rice cakes in the pan.

Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble—

Of course, another rumble rang loudly in the area. Fortunately, the pan that Minhyuk was using was his legendary frying pan, which, despite the crushing weight, was able to endure it and hold on. Then, Minhyuk turned on the fire and began to cook. Minhyuk felt as if he was turning a very heavy millstone as he flipped the sizzling chicken over to cook everything evenly.

“Uggggggggh…” A groan escaped through the seams of Minhyuk’s mouth as his arms trembled from the crushing weight of the meat. However, the worst had yet to come.

Shwaaaaaaaa—

[The Giant Chicken has started to spew blazing flames.]

[Your HP has been reduced by 1%.]

A huge pillar of flame engulfed Minhyuk’s entire body. Its strength was so strong that it made Minhyuk suffer even more. For a brief moment, Minhyuk’s hand, which was holding the spatula, stopped.

Arlene, who was watching Minhyuk, rubbed her chin in thought, ‘From what I know, that ingredient is the hardest ingredient to cook among the Five Legendary Ingredients. Actually, it’s really impossible for someone to cook it. Well, except for me.’ Arlene smiled bitterly. She knew that one had to suffer and sacrifice that much to produce a dish with strong powers.

‘Minhyuk. Will he give up in the end?’

The crushing weight of almost a thousand catty[1] and the burning flames would be too much for anyone. However, Minhyuk continued to move, despite the flames engulfing his body.

Shwaaaaaaaaaa—

The chicken was flipped over in the pan, the gochujang and other seasonings coating it evenly and mixing together.

[You have triggered the Skill: Will.]

[Everything related to DEX will temporarily increase by 24%.]

[You have gained 1 DEX.]

Although cooking the Legendary Giant Chicken only took a short time, it would take a tremendous amount of mental strength and skills to cook the meat. That was why it triggered Will and why Minhyuk’s DEX was increasing at a rapid pace. Fortunately, Will was able to soothe Minhyuk’s burning body slightly.

Shwaaaaaaaa—

With another flip, the Giant Chicken was completely covered with gochujang and the rest of the seasonings. At this point, Minhyuk’s HP only had 30% left after the blazing flames’ continuous gnawing. This was also after he had triggered the Monarch’s Armor’s 100% HP and MP recovery, as well as the skill: He Who Overcomes. Still, Minhyuk continued to cook. He used his spatula and pressed down to cut the chicken.

Sizzleeeee—

Minhyuk continued to cut down on the chicken while the sweet potatoes and rice cakes were being cooked together. Now, all he needed to do was to lower the heat and flip the chicken a few more times and he would be done.

Arlene thought that Minhyuk would end his cooking here. After all, the sweat that covered his entire body was enough proof that he was already overwhelmed by the situation. But… Minhyuk poured udon noodles on the side of the frying pan.

“Crazy… Stop!!!” Arlene shouted in shock. Minhyuk had to stir more if he wanted to soak the noodles in the sauce. Since Minhyuk also had to bear the weight of a thousand catty, moving the spatula so the dish would not stick to the pan and burn would be one hell of a feat for him.

“Do you want to die without finishing your dish?!!!”

Minhyuk’s HP was definitely dropping at a rapid pace. But Minhyuk just smiled at her and said, “Grandpa likes it...”

“…”

“This udon, he likes it.”

Arlene was speechless. The boy’s words only meant one thing.

‘He likes it, so I will do it even if I suffer.’

This was something that Arlene had never seen before; a close friendship between a king and his retainer.

‘You can do it.’

Shwaaaaaaa—

Minhyuk began to move, stir-frying the udon noodles with his spatula so it would be evenly coated with the sauce.

[Your HP has dropped below 15%!]

[You have become light-headed.]

[Your stamina has once again reached its limits!]

[Signs of exhaustion have been observed! Rest is highly recommended!]

Minhyuk’s body felt as heavy as a millstone. As his arms shook and trembled, his mind kept on telling him to fall down and collapse. But he never stopped moving his arms.

Shwaaaaaaaa—

For Minhyuk, it did not matter if Ben did not know that he was cooking for him. All he wanted to do was to feed Ben, who was fighting silently by himself, a tasty and fulfilling meal. After all, even though he was a king, the one thing that he was very good at was cooking.

So, he squeezed the last bit of his strength to cook this dish with all his might.

Shwaaaaaaaaa—

Anyone that saw Minhyuk’s state right now would look at him incredulously. He was risking his life just to cook? Some would ask him: Do you think this is a battlefield? If Minhyuk heard that, he would answer: Sometimes, cooking is harsher and crueler than a battlefield. For Minhyuk, who almost let go of the last string of consciousness in his body, the thought that Ben wanted to eat this dish was the only thing that spurred him on. For him, this was his battlefield.

[Your HP has dropped below 5%!]

Minhyuk’s forehead was covered with a layer of sweat, his muscles already screaming in protest. But he persisted. He mixed the udon noodles well and parted the middle with his spatula.

Shwaaaaaaaaa—

Then, Minhyuk spread a heaping of mozzarella cheese in the middle of the spicy stir-fried chicken.

[Your HP has dropped below 3%!]

The strength in Minhyuk’s body was so sparse that he could barely move. But Minhyuk clenched his teeth and used the last bit of his strength left to quickly press on the cheese with his spatula.

Tak, tak, tak, tak, tak, tak—

The cheese began to melt rapidly along with Minhyuk’s movements.

[Your HP has dropped below 2%!]

With a final press, Minhyuk felt his consciousness begin to fade. All of the strength left his body as he collapsed on the ground. Arlene hurriedly rushed forward to catch Minhyuk’s falling body. As she slowly laid Minhyuk down on the floor, a notification rang in her ears and the rest of the world. Then, a huge pillar of light fell down on the spicy stir-fried chicken.

‘Unbelievable…’

Arlene was very shocked to see a light, brighter and more beautiful than any of the other gods’, born in the world at this very moment.

‘I have only created something like this thrice in my life…’

But the young man in front of her was able to do it. Arlene immediately raised her hands towards the spicy stir-fried chicken.

[You have saved and maintained the Spicy Stir-fried Chicken at its condition when it was freshly cooked.]

After preserving the condition of the dish, Arlene looked at Minhyuk for a very long time. She watched the man, who was now in a deep sleep, mumble, “Grandpa, is it delicious?”

“…”

Arlene laughed bitterly when she saw how Minhyuk still thought of Ben even when he had fallen unconscious.

“I’m sure it will be delicious.”

***

His eyes and body felt so heavy and sluggish. However, the smell that was teasing his nose had Minhyuk instinctively opening his eyes. Through his blurred vision, Minhyuk was able to see a woman moving around busily in the kitchen and cooking something that smelled very nice.

The woman’s way of cooking was very different from an ordinary person’s way of cooking. One snap of her fingers and what seemed to be salt, which was engulfed in light, appeared and got sucked inside the dish that she was making. Although she was cooking a dish, one could only describe this scene as beautiful.

But before everything…

Creak—

Minhyuk, who raised his body, said, “Wh, what happened to the spicy stir-fried chicken? Did, did a God-grade spicy stir-fried chicken come out?”

“Hush,” Arlene said, a meaningful smile on her face, adding the final touches to the dish that she was cooking. She placed the dish in an earthen pot, before bringing it in front of Minhyuk. The dish placed in front of Minhyuk was none other than bean sprout rice soup.

“It’s time to eat… Ah, looks yummy…”

Actually, Minhyuk’s mouth was already watering even before.

Then, Arlene said, “The reason you came to find me...”

“Yes, what?” Minhyuk tilted his head.

Arlene continued, “…is to obtain a dish that will unseal your Absolute God’s Secret. That’s the dish that you’ve been looking for.”

“…!”

Minhyuk’s sealed power would awaken once again to the world eight hours before the Battle of the Thrones started.

1. The unit of measure used here is ?, a Korean catty which weighs around 600 grams. So, a thousand is around 6000 grams or 600 kilograms ?

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