Gourmet Gaming
Chapter 1377

Chapter 1377

Chapter 1377

The past few days had been tough and grueling. Now that it had finally come to an end, Minhyuk believed that he deserved some healing time. What better way to heal than to make use of the Abyss's Samgyeopsal that he had just acquired?

‘The weather’s a bit chilly.’

The best way to enjoy such chilly weather and some good samgyeopsal was, of course, by grilling meat at a camping site! Minhyuk immediately set up a tent and sat on a camping chair. Then, he took out a brazier and placed some charcoal inside before setting a grilling plate on top.

‘After that, we have to boil some noodles!’

What should he cook? Normal ramyeon? Or Bibimmyeon? Nonetheless, there was no need to worry about what type of noodles to cook!

‘Just cook both.’

Minhyuk boiled some bibimmyeon while he lit up the charcoal in the brazier and set up the fire on the side.

“Kghhk! Bibimmyeon is the best combination for samgyeopsal outings~”

Whether it was meals during camping, outings in pension lodgings, or picnics in valleys, bibimmyeon was perfect for samgyeopsal outings.

Minhyuk set up a table around the brazier that was crackling with fire. He gently arranged a spread of lettuce leaves, perilla leaves, garlic, peppers, ssamjang, wild garlic leaves, scallions seasoned with gochugaru, and numerous other side dishes on the table. Once he was done, he turned to look at the bibimmyeon. Seeing that the noodles were done boiling, he moved to mix them well.

With this, all of the preparations were done. It was now time to start his outdoor grilling on a camping site! Minhyuk put a thick slice of samgyeopsal on top of the grill.

Sizzle!

Minhyuk watched the meat on the grilling plate closely, watching as the white smoke rose and fluttered with the wind. Then, when the time was right, he raised his tongs and turned the meat over.

Sizzle!

The oil sizzled and boiled on the surface while the fire crackled and licked the bottom of the grilling plate.

‘This is the beauty and charm of a campsite!’

Once the meat was cooked, Minhyuk cut it into bite-sized pieces. Then, he grabbed a piece and put it in his mouth.

Munch, munch.

The moment he took a bite, the samgyeopsal’s juices burst out, leaving behind a hint of smokiness lingering in his mouth.

“This is true camping!”

Minhyuk smiled as he grabbed another piece of meat. This time, he dipped the meat in ssamjang before putting it in his mouth. After that, he spread a piece of lettuce leaf.

‘For some strange reason, I don’t eat lettuce that much when camping. But, I still have to eat it!’

There was no answer. Perhaps it was going to remain as one of the world’s mysteries.

Minhyuk placed two pieces of the well-cooked samgyeopsal, some seasoned scallions, garlic dipped in ssamjang, and Cheongyang pepper on top of the lettuce. Then, he wrapped everything and put it in his mouth. The contrasting flavors from the various ingredients in the wrap tasted so divine that he could only sigh in admiration.

The smile on Minhyuk’s face slowly grew as he grabbed the bowl of bibimmyeon and took a massive bite of the noodles. Since one pack was not enough and two was too much, he decided to boil exactly five packs!

“Slurrrrrrrrp!”

Bibimmyeon, a dish that stood at the border of lukewarm dishes and cold dishes, instantly filled Minhyuk’s mouth and washed away the greasiness of the meat.

This time, Minhyuk placed a piece of samgyeopsal on top of the bibimmyeon before putting it in his mouth.

“SLURP!”

How did it taste? Didn’t it taste just like naengmyeon and meat together? Anyway, Minhyuk finished eating his bibimmyeon and meat combi in an instant. Then, he looked around and thought, ‘As expected, the view when glamping is...’

The view was beautiful. However, he could never forget the ramyeon. So, he stood up and prepared to make some. After cooking some Jjin Ramyeon, he sat down once again.

He stared at the campfire’s crackling wood as he scooped out some of the ramyeon’s noodles into his bowl. Then, he grabbed the ladle and scooped out some soup before taking a huge bite.

“Sluuuuuuurp!”

The ramyeon tasted even more fantastic with the beautiful scenery around it. Then, Minhyuk took a huge sip of the soup in his bowl.

‘Kghhk...!’

Ramyeon eaten outdoors was genuinely remarkable! Additionally, it could bring warmth and wash away the chill.

After finishing his ramyeon, Minhyuk stared blankly at the flickering flames in front of him. Staring blankly at the flickering flames was a very comfortable and relaxing activity. It could calm the mind.

“Ah. I should eat some sweet potatoes.”

When it came to Minhyuk, there was no such thing as staring blankly into flames or anything like that. He took out the sweet potatoes that he had wrapped in foil and left under the campfire earlier.

Although it was hot, it was fine. After all, he had high resistance to the fire attribute. Steam gently rose as Minhyuk peeled the foil off and split the sweet potato in half. Then, he gently blew on the hot sweet potato and took a bite. The sweetness spread in Minhyuk’s mouth as he rolled the bite of sweet potato around to try and dissipate the heat.

“Hoo... It’s hot.”

A smile unknowingly bloomed on his face at the lingering sweetness that was left in his mouth after he swallowed the bite of sweet potato. Minhyuk, who had devoured thirty sweet potatoes in an instant, continued to sit leisurely in front of his tent.

At that moment, Haze appeared and said, “Your Majesty, you’re the first person to have ever set up a camping site in front of the castle.”

Minhyuk began organizing and cleaning up his camping site shortly after her arrival.

“Are you done? Only an hour had passed, though?”

“You have to clean up if you’re done eating, you know?”

“...?”

‘Ah!’ Haze thought, understanding what Minhyuk meant. Her emperor had set up the campsite to eat, which was why he had to clean it up after he was done.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk thought, ‘Even though my STR has only increased by one, this tells me that countless opportunities and possibilities are waiting for us in the Abyss.’

The Abyss's Samgyeopsal tasted divine, and it had no restrictions. Since the ingredient grade was low, there was a high chance that there were plenty more out there. Perhaps they were abundant.

‘My growth has come to a standstill.’

Of course, this was only natural. The first reason was his high level, and the second reason was the limited number of places available for him to grow and develop further.

‘But I need to reach Level 800.’

At that moment...

[In four days, the Pillar Great War will begin.]

[You are a player. You can choose to participate or not.]

[The Pillar Great War will be held over two days and will be divided into two events.]

[The First Great War is the Pillar of the Battlefield’s raid.]

[Each Pillar will raid the Pillar of the Battlefield alongside 10,000 players.]

[Before you can reach the Pillar of the Battlefield, you will encounter countless quasi-boss monsters and boss monsters from the Abyss on the battlefield. They will be randomly summoned.]

[The fastest to complete the raid of the Pillar of the Battlefield will be the winner.]

[The Second Great War is the Pillar Battle.]

[In this event, one Pillar will face off against the rest of the Pillars.]

[The order will be determined by lottery.]

[The Pillar chosen to be the individual that will face the rest of the Pillars in the Pillar Battle will have four times their normal HP. The one who scored the highest score during the Pillar of the Battlefield raid will receive a special privilege.]

[You are the only player.]

[If you rank among the top three, you will be able to get a reward. The rewards are as follows:]

[3rd Place: Pillar-grade Ingredient, +10 in all stats.]

[2nd Place: Pillar-grade Dish, +30 in all stats.]

[1st place: ???]

[For more details and information, please visit the official homepage of Joy Co. Ltd.]

[Thank you.]

A bitter smile appeared on Minhyuk’s face as the faces of the other Pillars flashed in his mind. Hephaestus, Louis, Obren, and Beladon; every single one of them was outstanding and powerful in their own right.

‘The power that they can exert in their field is also much greater than the power that I can exert.’

The power that Minhyuk could exert as the Pillar of the Gourmands was relatively weak. Perhaps it was because he became a Pillar when he was only around Level 700. As for his opponents? They were beings who stood at the pinnacle of their fields in the entire Western Continents and held huge influence over the world.

Take, for example, Hephaestus. He had recently obtained this ability called the Artifact Root. The Artifact Root was a skill that allowed him to create three hundred legendary-rank artifacts and twenty God-rank artifacts in a day. Hephaestus would not even need to use his bellows and hammer on his anvil to create these artifacts. All he needed to do was trigger the Artifact Root, and artifacts carrying the name of Hephaestus would immediately appear and scatter all over the world.

‘My advantage is that not only am I the Pillar of the Gourmands, I’m also a strong attack dealer.’

However, Minhyuk was fully aware of what he was capable of and what he was not.

‘Ah. Shit. How can I win?’

Just trying to get third place was already overwhelming enough, let alone taking the victory. Of course, the highest wall that he had to overcome was none other than Obren.

‘Can I even win against the Evil God?’

There was only one way for him to increase his chances of winning.

‘Maybe? If I can reach Level 800, I will probably have a chance.’

That was assuming that he could achieve Level 800. Alas, it was nigh impossible to accomplish that in such a short amount of time.

‘I don’t have much time. There’s only a four-day leeway. I have to level up ten times in that short amount of time.’

Although it seemed very difficult, Minhyuk did not want to give up just like that.

‘Becoming the Supreme and the greatest among the Pillars.’

The thought alone was enough to leave him thrilled and excited. Then, there were also the rewards. They looked very sweet and tempting.

‘Maybe...’ Minhyuk recalled the rewards that he obtained when he hunted Divine Transcendental Anas. ‘The daily pass to the Abyss's Bonus Hunting Grounds.’

Minhyuk rubbed his chin. It was a concept similar to those found in past RPG games. Usually, mobs in bonus hunting grounds would give higher EXP than in other places.

‘And if there are ingredients like the Abyss's Samgyeopsal there, then...’

Perhaps it was possible?

After cleaning up and stowing away all of his camping gear, Minhyuk immediately tore up the Abyss's Bonus Hunting Grounds’ daily pass.

***

In the players’ eyes, the Hell’s Abyss was a land that was shrouded in mystery. There was not much information about this land. They did not know what was hiding in its depths or how strong the beings lurking in its darkness were.

But there were quite a lot of players who came in and out of the Abyss. Many entrances connected to the Abyss were scattered all over the world. Among these players was a player named Parson. He lived and thrived in Hell’s Abyss with his class, the Abyss's Exterminator. Of course, this was not his original class, and he had only switched to it later.

Clank!

“Hurry up, you f*cking bastard.”

Standing right next to Parson was a devil in the form of a young boy tied up with a chain around his neck. The boy looked the same as ordinary boys except for his black skin and his small yet impressive horn.

“I’m almost done playing around with you, you bastards!” Parson smiled deeply.

[Someone has entered the Abyss.]

[Please exterminate the person who has entered the Abyss.]

“Which crazy bastard dared to enter the Abyss today? That punk must have been dazzled by the Abyss's ingredients and entered using the Abyss's Bonus Hunting Grounds’ pass.”

The Abyss's ingredients and the Abyss's Bonus Hunting Grounds’ pass were items that were quite easy to obtain. As long as someone was able to hunt one of the beings from the Abyss that slipped outside, they would be able to get these items. Some of the beings of the Abyss would not drop these items, but they were rare. Regardless, most of them would drop these items.

As the rewards were so sweet and tempting, many people would choose to use the pass and enter the Abyss. But it was all a trap. Parson had been caught in this trap, too, when he first entered the Abyss.

There was truly a hunting ground in the Abyss where the Abyss's ingredients and the Bonus Hunting Grounds’ pass could be used. Unfortunately, they were not available for everyone.

‘It’s because you have to obtain the approval and consent of the Master of the Abyss before you can use the Bonus Hunting Grounds and obtain the effects of the Abyss's ingredients.’

The problem was that no one knew where the Master of the Abyss was.

“Hungry...” the young devil murmured.

Parson looked at the young devil named Den in disgust. He kicked him and said, “Shut up! Freaking bastard.”

For a moment, Parson wondered if the bastard right next to him was the Master of the Abyss. However, he quickly shook his head and denied the thought. The Master of the Abyss should not look like how the young devil looked. Besides, Parson had been hitting him whenever he felt bored, and he never once responded.

There was only one reason why Parson was dragging this young devil around.

‘I can sell this bastard, a being from the Abyss, for a high price.’

If Parson sold this guy to a kingdom or an empire, he was sure that the young devil would fetch a high price.

“I have already dealt with 1,999. This guy will be the last one.”

So far, Parson has PK’ed 1,999 other players in the Abyss. If he killed the 2,000th person here, then his class would be changed, and he would transfer to the Abyss's Commander. Once he transferred to that class, he could freely enter and exit the Abyss.

Parson had been playing for 689 days in the Abyss just to kill 2,000 people and transfer to that class. The sole reason was that the Abyss classes were strong. That was especially the case for the Abyss's Commander. He had estimated that this class could exert power that was on par with any other Absolute God-rank classes.

However, there was one condition to obtain this class. He must never be forced to log out. So, Parson, who had dealt with 1,999 people, had never died once in the Abyss. Of course, part of the reason was because of the benefits and special privileges brought by his Abyss's Exterminator class.

The Abyss's Exterminator class gave him an astronomical EXP, the more he killed. Essentially, he would gain experience points (EXP) with every person he killed. The more he killed, the higher the EXP that he would obtain. As a result, he had become an unofficial ranker at Level 711 even though he had only been staying in the Abyss.

Parson skipped excitedly as he laughed to himself.

‘Maybe he has already discovered that the Bonus Hunting Grounds’ pass and the Abyss's Ingredients are useless by now?’

Not long after, Parson felt a presence in the darkness. He immediately held his breath and lowered his voice. He had always done it like this. He would hold his breath, minimize his existence, and launch a surprise attack.

“Sluurrrrrrp!”

But then, a strange sound rang in the darkness.

“There’s nothing we can do. We have to eat first before anything else! In places like this, the best delicacy to eat is jjajangmyeon!”

‘Is he nuts...?’

Whoever entered the Abyss was eating jjajangmyeon. Parson could not help but scoff. However, he did not dilly-dally. He immediately activated his power, launched his surprise attack, and held his breath at the very last moment.

[Exploding Flowers.]

A flower bloomed right below the man and immediately exploded, leaving the surrounding area in ruins.

BOOM!

The explosion shook the entire area.

“Pa-Parson... Bad...”

“What’s bad? Huh?! You bastard!” Parson sneered, slapping Den, who was talking nonsense, right on the face.

Thwack!

Then, Parson turned on the Abyss's Fire and said, “Well then, shall we see what kind of trash drifted to this place today? Hmm? Let’s see, who is my final sacrifice?”

When the flames flickered to life, Parson was greeted by the sight of a man sitting on the ground and staring at the bowl of jjajangmyeon that had fallen on the ground. He could not see who it was yet because the man had his back to him.

“I wasn’t even able to eat any of my tangsuyuk...”

There were also pieces of the meat and the sauce of tangsuyuk splattered on the ground.

“They said that you shouldn’t touch a dog while it’s eating. But you’re a human bastard, right? Huh?! Hahahahahaha! What can you do?! I’m very good at PK. Oh? Wait... why is that cape so familiar?”

Then, the man raised his head and looked behind him. Parson was rendered speechless when he saw the man’s face.

The man drew his sword and slowly walked toward Parson. He said, “You’re good at PK?”

“N... No... Uhm. Lo- Lord Supreme... Minhyuk? Why is the Supreme here...”

Minhyuk’s steps grew quicker as he said, “Well, I’m good at something too.”

Minhyuk was very, very good in this field.

“I’m good at killing.”