Leveling Up through Eating

[Minhyuk: ?] 

[General: You rascal……?] 

[Minhyuk: ?] 

[General: Wow, really amazing… Do you have that skill book?] 

[Minhyuk: I ate a monster, then the skill was created.] 

[General: Cool. You’re really a special star. Currently, the best healing skill book available in the market is unique with a recovery rate of about 25~30%. It’s cooldown is also at 40 minutes. Do you know why healing skill books are expensive?] 

[Minhyuk: I sent hyung a whisper because I don’t know?] 

[General: The price of a potion is extremely expensive. But if you brought a priest to a dungeon then you have to share the experience. With a healing skill book, you won’t need to bring a priest to a dungeon and you will be able to monopolize the EXP you will gain. What more if the rate was increased to 30~40% like your skill? And you can use it once every 20 minutes? A user’s HP can be recovered at 50% every 20 minutes without taking a potion. That means that you can maintain your manpi [1] everytime.] 

[Minhyuk: Oh…!] 

Minhyuk was surprised, and he was much more surprised with what he heard from General.

I can fill my HP by 30~40% every 20 minutes. 

And if one had good control then they could always maintain their HP at full level. In addition, for low-leveled users, they needed to use potions to lengthen their stay in a dungeon. 

[General: And the price for a potion that can maintain your HP once is extremely expensive and unaffordable for low-leveled users. Currently, the best picked skill book is worth around 100, 000,000 won. And it’s just at 20~25% at that too.] 

[Minhyuk: Anyway, thanks.] 

[General: Yeah. Have fun!] 

[Minhyuk: Yes, have fun too!] 

Minhyuk finished his whisper conversation with General. 

100,000,000 won? 

Of course, Minhyuk still did not care about anything aside from food but the reason why he checked was simple. 

‘I needed to learn how much strength I can get just by eating.’ 

Listening to what General said, the skill that Minhyuk had acquired today was literally fraudulent. 

Then Minhyuk recalled… 

‘Monsters usually have stronger attributes compared to users……!’ 

Not only that. 

Monsters, unlike users, generally only have one special skill with them. 

On the contrary, users fight with a set of different skills, a ton of items and several of them teaming together to hunt monsters.

But monsters with special attributes? 

They could completely pressure the users with just their single special strength. That one single skill was much more stronger and powerful compared to the user’s skills. 

This meant that Minhyuk had just literally absorbed the absorption ability of the sweet potato warrior. 

‘I got a good thing just by eating. Huhuhuhu.’ 

Minhyuk felt happy that he received a good skill but he was more happy to know that he got special skills just by eating what he wanted. 

Minhyuk immediately checked the skills for the Eccentric Food Fighter. 

(Eccentric Meal) 

Passive Skill

Level: God

Level: 1

Effects:

— Ignore the penalty incurred by eating food or the toxicity caused by eating monsters. 

— Can acquire skills by eating monsters. The number of skills that can be stored is ⅓.

— There is a possibility of failing to acquire the skill. In the case of a monster with several skills and attributes, the skill can be chosen or randomly picked. In random cases, a skill dice can be rolled. However, there’s still chances of failing to acquire the skill. 

— For the current level of the Eccentric Meal, the monsters that can be eaten are still limited. Edible monsters will show a black light. 

— Common monsters cannot be eaten. Monsters can only be eaten starting from the rare grade, unique, epic, legendary and god. 

— If you encounter a monster that you can eat, your eyes will see the ingredients that you can take away from it. 

— Monsters have a similar taste to modern ingredients and have a much better taste than normal ingredients. 

All of the common monsters were normal. And all the mobs that went beyond common were called Named Monsters. 

Rare monsters drop rare items, they also had a high drop rate for skill books. This also worked the same way with unique monsters and its items and skill books. All of the other ranked monsters follow the same principle. 

And the higher the level of the monster, the higher its strength, and the more harder it was to defeat. 

When one was given a unique monster to hunt for their job class change quest, the user would ask for the help of others for their tips and even compensate them for their schedule. 

‘Oh…!’ 

Minhyuk was in awe. It was because of what was written at the end of the skill window. 

The monsters have a taste similar to modern ingredients but are still more delicious. 

Of course, nothing would happen if normal users ate it and would only be effective to Minhyuk who has the Eccentric Meal skill. 

And the effect of ignoring the penalty for food and toxicity for monsters could be described as the penalty of the poisonous apple that Minhyuk ate from the sweet python before being null and void. He also had the 3 chances of storing skills, of which 2 were still left for future use. 

I think that the number of skills can be increased if it levels up but this is something that I should be careful about. 

‘If that wasn’t the case?’ 

Then I should just fill the remaining 2 slots with the best skills. 

‘If I eat a dragon, will I be able to get Hellfire or Meteor as a skill?’ 

Dragons were named monsters that were only classified as part of the legends. 

Minhyuk nodded his head as if he was in agreement with his thoughts. 

The part which satisfied him the most was the part that implied that he has more to eat compared to anybody else. 

‘Monsters have a taste that is similar to those ingredients in modern times. And it’s even much more delicious than normal ingredients……’ 

Then, a thought suddenly grabbed his attention. 

“But what would a real dragon taste like?” 

Minhyuk tilted his head in thought as he made a brutal sound that no other human would want to hear.

“I want to try and eat one!!” 

Minhyuk seemed to have a reason to become stronger now. 

Finally, Minhyuk decided to check on the Food Fighter Legacy Quest. 

[Job Quest: Food Fighter’s Legacy.] 

Rank: Sealed

Restrictions: Lv150

Rewards: Sealed

Penalty for Failure: Sealed 

Description: Sealed

‘Legacy quest, huh…’ 

He felt that it was a bit unusual. Then he thought of something. 

‘By any chance, in the past……’ 

Does the Food God really exist? 

Minhyuk thought that it was possible. Of course, his name was not The Food God’s Descendant but it was still a likely possibility. 

I’ll probably get more clues once I reach Lv150, right? 

There was also a reason why he was expecting that. 

‘He might know where all the good food is!’ 

It was still upright(?) Minhyuk who always starts and ends his thoughts with food. 

***

Minhyuk went straight to where Bran was to complete his quest. 

He has acquired all of the 1 million gold that he could acquire from the sweet potato men. As of now, he had already earned a total of 10 million gold. It was a great reward considering that a user who had completed the subjugation quest could gain 100, 000 gold. 

[Your DEX acquisition rate in the ‘Farming Dungeon’ has increased.] 

[For User Minhyuk only, Ellie’s Sword and the rewarded DEX acquisition rate have been added together. You have obtained a total acquisition rate of x6. This can only be applied inside the Farming Dungeon.] 

[Beginner’s Farming has leveled up.] 

[Beginner’s Farming has leveled up.] 

Notifications rang after he had completed his quest. 

Minhyuk was once again surprised, especially at the part where his DEX stat had amazingly increased. 

Every day, he usually cooked about 50 times. Even normal chef users would find it impossible to do something like that. 

It was said that chefs often would not cook at home. So how could they even cook much often when in game? 

That would be difficult. 

But Minhyuk found it enjoyable and delicious so he kept on cooking various dishes. 

Repeating an action dozens of times in a day would definitely improve one’s own dexterity. 

What’s more, didn’t he keep on digging out those sweet potatoes too? 

In other words, the increase in his DEX showed an unimaginable speed along with his massive acquisition rate. 

‘It’s for real…… I can definitely see that the flavor and taste are getting better and better, even if it’s just by a little bit.’ 

It was a strange thing. 

The flavor got more delicious. But it was a vague feeling. 

However, over time, he could see that the seasonings were getting more perfect. It also seemed that he did not get tired of the food easily even if he ate it over and over again. 

What does it mean if it isn’t delicious? 

It was delicious in a way that it could unconsciously make you finish two bowls of rice in one seating. Of course, in Minhyuk’s case, he could eat along the range of 100 bowls up to 200 bowls of rice. 

Minhyuk made up his mind. 

‘I will definitely dig up all of the sweet potatoes here and eat them!’ 

Then, he checked the contents of his farming skill right away. 

(Beginner’s Farming) 

Passive Skill 

Level: 5

Effects:

— Collecting and digging for materials and ingredients will be 16% faster. 

— 9% chance of acquiring a better sweet potato when digging. 

‘The collection of materials and ingredients increased when the Beginner’s Farming leveled up. The digging speed has increased by 3% and even the chances of picking a much more delicious sweet potato has increased by 3% too.’ 

He looked extremely pleased and after a while he began cooking again. 

He was going to cook sweet potato mattang and sweet potato pizza. 

The sweet potato mattang could be done easily. It would taste delicious just by chopping it and frying it at the suitable temperature. Then, it would be finished after sprinkling some starch syrup or honey on it along with some sesame seeds. Or, he could also make some sauce just by boiling some sugar. 

Then he proceeded to make sweet potato pizza. 

There was one memory that came to mind when he thought of sweet potato pizza. 

‘I used to buy and eat plenty of pizza from Pizza No Cool [2].’

It was way back when he was still in middle school. Minhyuk hid the fact that his father was the chairman Kang Minhoo in school. And there was this 5,000 won pizza store near his school that’s called Pizza No Cool. Along with four of his friends, they would usually collect 1,000 won each and eat the sweet potato pizza from there. 

‘Kyaa. Pizza No Cool’s sweet potato pizza. I can still remember it vividly!’ 

The dough was covered with a thin layer of sweet sauce and a thick layer of sweet potatoes. 

We used to pay hundreds of won to buy pickles and 500mL of cola poured in plastic cups. 

Minhyuk who finished everything laughed in satisfaction. 

‘I’m going to eat the golden sweet potato by myself~’ 

Minhyuk would eat the delicious golden sweet potato later when he was by himself. 

He smiled happily when he looked at his finished products. 

Notifications rang both for choosing between the True Worth of Food and Buff, and for the main ingredient of the dishes. Minhyuk quickly finished his choices. 

“……My hard-earned sweet potato.” 

Bran looked like he was about to cry.

There were about fifteen sweet potato pizzas in front of him along with a large basin filled with sweet potato mattang. 

“Ehei, please help yourself. It will taste bad when it cools.” 

Twinge! 

Bran stared at him but Minhyuk just picked up the sweet potato pizza. 

The cheese stretched out smoothly as he felt the warmth of the pizza on his hands. When the cheese was finally cut off, he quickly took a big bite of the pizza. 

“Waaaaaaaang, chew!” 

Almost half of the pizza was gone with just one bite.

He ate the cheese that stretched out from the pizza after he tugged at it. The moment the cheese was cut off, he slurped it then chewed on it the moment it entered his mouth. 

The cheese and the dough blended perfectly with the sweet flavor of the sweet potato and the sweet sauce. 

The soft and chewy cheese gave off a rich but mellow taste. The cheese tasted a bit greasy but the sweet taste of the sweet potato and the sweet sauce added to its flavor. 

Minhyuk reached out to a paper cup filled with cola after eating a slice of pizza in one bite. 

This is a needed delicacy. 

To prevent the sauce and the oil from getting on the cup you had to pick up the paper cup with the palms of your hands instead of with your fingers. Then you could finally drink a cup of cola. 

“Keuhaa!” 

The sweetness popped in his mouth after he gulped it. The fizziness of the cola made him feel like his throat was tingling. 

Minhyuk was very amazed at finally tasting and feeling the greasy taste of the pizza. 

“Excellent. This is really delicious!” 

[Bran’s favorability has increased.] 

Bran, who was sitting on the opposite side, also expressed his admiration. He had a sulky expression on his face just a while ago but now he looked very satisfied. 

Minhyuk grinned at him as he poked his fork in the sweet potato mattang. He chewed on the sweet potato mattang. 

He first tasted the thick and sweet flavor of the oligosaccharide followed by the slightly dry but smooth sweet potatoes. 

Minhyuk looked genuinely happy. Bran unknowingly gave off a fatherly smile when he saw his smiling face, however he suddenly hesitated. 

‘He ate all of my sweet potatoes!’ 

“Boy, don’t you think it’s about time that you left?” 

He might be witty but Minhyuk was still quick. 

“These sweet potatoes, I have to dig them all up. Plus I still have 2x the EXP to gain.” 

“You might get the EXP but you won’t get any items, items are important too!” 

This would be the first time that an NPC ever said please leave! to somebody else. 

“It’s alright. Bran-nim’s sweet potatoes are so delicious that I’m very happy to keep on digging them!” 

Bran thought that he had lost. 

Well, what a man! 

“It’s also fun to increase my DEX!” 

“I, is that so?” 

Even if he said that, Bran still looked quite pleased. 

‘Perhaps…’ 

The last reward left in this dungeon. 

Will he be able to get it? 

However, he shook his head. 

‘It’s not possible, he will definitely get the one with the immediate rewards.’ 

Even though that was what he thought, Bran still continued eating. 

Once they finished everything, Minhyuk finally patted his stomach in satisfaction. 

“Ah, I should have some boiled sweet potatoes for dessert!” 

“……”

Bran looked at him silently for a moment before speaking. 

“I can only say this.” 

He looked quite solemn.

“Yes?”

“Elephants eat an average of 100kg per day. Boy, I think you’re similar to that.” 

“……” 

“But… For an elephant, for every 100kg it eats it will release 150kg of excrements. The reason for this was because 40~50% of their excrements are fiber. So, do you excrete about 100kg per day?” 

“……!” 

Bran was appalled while Minhyuk was shocked. 

***

Footnotes 

[1] 만피 (manpi) : HP is full

[2] 피자노쿨 : I think this is a parody of the Pizza School (피자스쿨) store in KR. 

TL’s corner!! 

To be compared to an elephant…. And not even a pig… i… LOL…

PR’s corner!

Just…stick to the pig comparisons please. I don’t really want to compare Minhyuk that way…

Report mistakes and chat with us at: https://discord.gg/Q3dStgu