Leveling Up Through Eating

PR: MattForgenti

60 Making Charcoal with the World Tree

“Ey! You should give me something delicious. Why give me something like this?”

Minhyuk began to complain but he soon brightened and rejoiced again. The reason was because the organizers told him that they would help him continue to eat market food. And that wasn’t all.

“The market vendors who helped us run the Eat Quickly Contest will make it personally too. After all, Player Minhyuk looks so happy whenever he eats. They said that they like you since you remind them of their grandson.

“Wow. Really?”

“Yes. But there are conditions.”

“Conditions?”

“Yes. Player Minhyuk looks like he’s doing a ‘live broadcast’ whenever you’re eating. So we want you to do a live broadcast for the viewers around the world while we are currently waiting for the next event. I hope you don’t take this the bad way since we have intended to promote our country’s market food.”

It was not a bad condition since Minhyuk’s face was already known and revealed through the competition so he nodded his head to agree.

“Then I’ll call you once the setting is complete.”

“Yep!”

While waiting for their call, Minhyuk went to the players’ waiting room to check and absorb the MVP trophy. What he acquired was similar to what Kerry had acquired. He gained 10,000 achievement points, 100 platinum as well as the Production MVP title.

(Production MVP)

Common Title

Title Effects:

─ DEX +100

─ All stats +1%

Description: A title that can only be received by the users who won as the MVP in Athenae: Korean War. They have proven their worth and are now eligible for Athenae: World War.

He thought the title effect in itself was not that bad. In the case of the +1% in all stats, it was literally the concept of %. This meant that the higher Minhyuk’s stats were, the greater the effect would be.

“Well then. It’s time to go.”

Not long after, a staff member came inside to fetch him and guide him towards the area for the broadcast. When the staff member opened the door to the area that they had prepared, Minhyuk’s eyes widened in surprise.

“......Heop!”

There was only one reason why he was so surprised. It was because the sight of a familiar ‘market’ greeted him.

Athenae was literally a game so they could easily set up and build a world if they wanted to. They even created this place in a hurry just so they could promote Korea’s ‘market’ to the world.

Even the smell that wafted from the stalls were the same. He could even see someone selling steaming and piping hot tofu on one side. It looked like it was just grilled and baked too. On the other side, he could also see a man who seemed to be selling fish.

Before the Korean War staff member could even guide him, Minhyuk already knew where to go.

‘It’s here……!’

Minhyuk was totally amazed. He went straight to a ‘buchimgae’ stall.

“Hello!”

“Welcome. Take a seat.”

An old but energetic grandma greeted him as he told Minhyuk to sit down. As soon as he sat down on the chair, the grandma started grilling the buchimgaes to a golden brown.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle─

The sound of the buchimgae meeting the grilling pan was exciting. In addition, watching the cooking process was quite fun. It was like hitting two birds with one stone for Minhyuk. The first buchimgae to be placed in front of him was a kimchi buchimgae.

“Hiyaa. Grandma. The ends are well-cooked!”

“Of course! I’ve been selling buchimgae in the market for 20 years now!”

“I’ll eat it well!”

“Go on.”

The grandma looked at him happily. It was a truly warm smile, just like when she looked over her own grandchildren. Meanwhile, she kept on sending some bindae-tteok, buckwheat crackers, and potato jeon in front of him.

Minhyuk quickly took his chopsticks to tear his freshly-fried kimchi buchimgae. Without any hesitation, he took the steaming piece in his mouth.

“Fwoo, fwoo.”

It was freshly scooped out of the grilling pan so he couldn’t help but roll it around his mouth and let out some wind with a ‘Fwoo!’ to cool it down a bit before chewing. As soon as he bit down, he could taste the perfectly browned batter and crunchy kimchi together.

And just as he was smiling happily at the taste of the buchimgae, another jeon was placed in front of him. It was none other than chives jeon. So he quickly tore apart the chives jeon and dipped it in soy sauce before putting it in his mouth. When the jeon entered his mouth, he closed his eyes to chew and savor the flavor of the healthy and flavorful chives.

He smiled blissfully. The oil that greased his lips while eating the jeons had made his smile much softer and gentler.

And the people around the world had a variety of responses.

[I’ve been watching it for quite some time unconsciously. The food that he is eating is called buchimgae. It is a pancake made with flour, water and eggs. It’s a dish where you can add a variety of ingredients.]

[I can see him rolling the kimchi buchimgae in his mouth. Ah, my mouth is already watering without me knowing anything.]

[I’ve also tried kimchi buchimgae before. At that time, I was eating it while drinking some white alcohol. I still can’t forget it. It was called……]

“Kggghk! If I have a glass of makgeolli here then it will be the best!”

[Ah, that’s right. It’s makgeolli. Makgeolli is a traditional alcohol that is unique to Korea. Aside from that, I strangely feel warm and happy while watching Player Minhyuk eat.]

[How can a person eat so much without feeling a bit tired?]

[I don’t feel bad since it’s a handsome man that’s eating well.]

[Right now, the number 1 in the searches is ‘buchimgae’.]

[I think I should go to a Korean Restaurant to eat some buchimgae and makgeolli too.]

“I’m going now, grandma!”

[That player is even polite.]

[I believe there will be a lot of female fans in the future that will look for his videos if they feel hungry.]

This time, Minhyuk was looking for a mandu stall. He saw steam rising with a shwaaaaaaaaa─ when the owner of the mandu stall raised the lid of the big pot. Looking inside, there were steamed meat mandu and kimchi mandu lined up side by side. And it seemed like the cauldron next to the pot had steamed buns inside. The owner pretended to put some mandu in a styrofoam box before handing it over to Minhyuk.

Then, Minhyuk quickly tore the mandu before dipping it in the soy sauce.

“Hoooooo─”

He blew some air to cool it down a bit before placing it in his mouth. The moment he bit on the meat mandu, the hot and delicious juice trapped in the steamed dumpling wrapper flowed out and spread in his mouth. The more he chewed, the more he could taste the rich flavor of the meat and vegetables that were packed in the mandu.

Then, he tried the kimchi mandu. When he chewed the kimchi mandu in his mouth, he could feel the crunchy texture of the kimchi and taste the sweet and spicy flavor that was spreading from inside.

Next, he tried the steamed buns. He quickly tore the steamed buns into two with his hands.

Steam, steam─

Steam rose as the red beans that were jam packed inside revealed themselves. The hot steamed bun scalded his tongue as soon as he bit on it.

“Ugh. Hot. But it’s so sweet!”

A gentle smile appeared on his face as the sweet taste quietly spread in his mouth.

Just like that, Minhyuk’s visit to the market continued.

And this video that he was filming and broadcasting would later be selected as one of the ‘Best Videos in Athenae’ and would become one of the five top videos in the world, bringing plenty of people to the country. And the people from all over the world who travelled to Korea even once, would say this……

“If you haven’t tried buchimgae and makgeolli then you can’t say that you have truly visited Korea.”

***

Minhyuk came out with an armful of food wrapped gently by the grandmas after he finished the market mukbang. And Team Leader Park Minggyu, who was waiting for him, logged out together with him.

Team Leader Park Minggyu exited out of the capsule room that the Ilhwa group had prepared for him before heading straight to Minhyuk’s room.

He could see that Minhyuk, who became large again, was smiling happily.

‘Being the production class’ MVP is such a waste on you. User Minhyuk.’

The words tickled the end of his tongue. But since it was User Minhyuk, then he knew that he was unaware that if he was able to win the combat MVP then he would be able to play in Athenae: World War which would take place in the world. So he tried to say it to him in a roundabout way.

“You still have a chance to compete in other competitions. Especially since you have the participation ticket from the Hall of Kings. It can help you participate in the competition. Of course, it will still depend on the game. In the case of this production class’ Eat Quickly Contest’, you did not use your ‘Hall of Kings’ privilege since it was an additional team that was given an approval of by the organizing committee so you can still skip the preliminary round one more time.”

Participating in other competitions was possible since there would still be an overwhelming disadvantage if they participated later. This was the case for most of the competitions. Since most of the events needed the players to score points those who participated later would definitely be left behind.

However, Minhyuk was disappointed with his words.

“Hmm. Is that so? But this time, I got information that there’s an incredibly delicious golden cow in Paladi Village!”

It was valuable information that he had received from the Informant Abel in exchange for a ‘buffed dish’.

Team Leader Park Minggyu grinned at Minhyuk. He knew that Minhyuk only played this game solely for the ‘delicious food’. This time, he only moved because he heard of the content called ‘market food’.

Team Leader Park Minggyu stood up.

“I enjoyed our time together. And I’ll definitely keep your secret to the grave. Well. If I mess with the Ilhwa Group then my head will be blasted off anyways.”

Team Leader Park Minggyu smiled softly as he jokingly pretended to slice off his throat. After all, he really was not going to tell anyone about this so he was not quite worried. Even with Lee Minhwa.

“Hiya! I’ll send you off.”

“What if you feel uncomfortable, I’m fine.”

“No. I’m not just being polite.”

What a perfect person. He was already in the position to be arrogant. But he did not choose to be one.

Minhyuk even escorted him out personally even though he was sweating in buckets.

“Please go home safely! Ah, by any chance……”

Then, Minhyuk looked around stealthily as he whispered in his ears.

“If you have any good information about delicious food, please tell me……”

“No way.”

“......A straight refusal.”

Team Leader Park grinned when he saw Minhyuk’s sullen look.

Minhyuk waved his hand as he watched Team Leader Park get into the car. Once he got into the car, Team Leader Park headed straight to the company. There was a trace of bitterness that hung around his mouth. However, all he could do was sigh.

“This is how we lose our country’s strongest man.”

However, he knew that it was the inevitable so all he could do was smile bitterly. After all, he was a firm supporter of Minhyuk’s ‘Let’s Eat Life’.

‘I hope you can eat a lot of delicious food from here on out, User Minhyuk.’

***

The big shots and influential people in the country all earned their MVP titles as well as the honor of participating in Athenae: World War.

Tonight was the night before the final competition. A reporter came inside the players’ waiting room in real life. It was none other than Reporter Go Eun-ah. She was given the honor to interview the participants in the World Tree competition. Since the players had requested that they did not want to be rushed nor crowded together, she had to do the interviews quickly.

‘Wow. Locke-ssi really has a big head just like in the video.’

Go Eun-ah could see Jisoo and Seoktae sitting beside each other. However, due to the rules of the competition, more than two members of the same guild could not participate in the same event.

She calmly went around and started her interview.

Meanwhile, Locke, who was scratching his arms in his seat, immediately heard a voice.

“Five years ago? The guy who suddenly appeared like a comet, defeated me in kendo in the Middle School National Sports Festival, then became the champion?”

“......”

Locke slowly turned his head around. Coincidentally, the person right next to him was none other than ‘Lee Dawoul’.

“There were actually three people who cheered him on. I don’t know where the fat girl is now but I remember you two.”

Jisoo did not answer him.

“I did a lot of research back then. Weren’t you an outcast back in middle school?”

Jisoo turned his head back.

That was right. He was an outcast.

The corners of Lee Dawoul’s mouth quirked up.

Jisoo might have been ugly but he was in his prime these days. He even has a fanclub called ‘ULPraise’. It was short for ‘Ugly Locke’s Praise’. On the contrary, he also has a lot of anti-fans.

But there was one thing that he was sure of. Jisoo was facing the most important moment of his life.

“What happens when your past gets revealed?”

“......What?”

Jisoo’s brows furrowed while Dawoul just shrugged his shoulders without turning his head to look at him.

“It’s just. I remembered that time. And Minhyuk, I even saw him in a competition not too long ago.”

“......!”

Jisoo’s face distorted.

“Tell him not to bump into me in Athenae or I’ll do an infinite PK on him.”

It was both a threat and mockery. And it was his warning to Minhyuk. Besides Lee Dawoul knew how scared Jisoo was when it came to revealing his past. After all, he was talking about such a man.

And just like he thought, Jisoo was really afraid. He was just a powerless student who was bullied during his first year in middle school. And right now, he was afraid that something like that would be revealed.

Meanwhile, Go Eun-ah had already started interviewing Dawoul.

“A lot of attention is turned towards Lee Dawoul since you won the gold medal in the London Olympics. Please say something about this.”

Lee Dawoul smiled pretentiously.

“I’m flattered since Athenae is a game. Haha. Of course, it’s a huge game that is reflected in reality. But I still think that you overestimate me. Some say that I’m not that great. Haha.”

“You’re as modest as what I have heard.”

Go Eun-ah smiled while Jisoo remained silent.

Outcast.

Loner.

Past.

When something like this came out and got revealed he was sure that people would giggle and mock him on various internet sites.

Then, it was Jisoo’s turn.

“Jisoo-nim is one of the hottest users these days. In addition, you’re a healer and a huge damage dealer so a lot of attention has been drawn to you……”

Then, Jisoo raised his hand.

“Please wait.”

“Yes?”

Go Eun-ah tilted her head in confusion while Jisoo frowned and blocked his nose.

“I can’t do the interview because the smell of perfume wafting beside me smells so bad. I feel like throwing up.”

“......?!”

Go Eun-ah’s eyes widened as Jisoo jumped up from his seat. Then, he made a deep but impactful fall.

“Ueeeeeeeaaaack!”

***

TL’s corner!

You go Jisoo! Mock that arrogant guy. Let’s go! I’ll go and do an infinite PK with you. Smh.

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