Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1175

[Do you want to delete the Food Torture skill?]

After hearing the Food Torture skill’s deletion notification, Minhyuk did not hesitate to answer, ‘Yes.’

[You have deleted the Food Torture skill.]

[You have obtained the Easter Egg: The One Who Knows the True Meaning of Eating.]

[You have acquired the Passive Skill: The Server’s Happiness]

(The Server’s Happiness)

Passive Skill

Level: None

•The Server’s Happiness Rate will increase whenever those who have eaten the dish that you have served feel happy.

•Once the Server’s Happiness Rate has reached 100%, you can obtain a minimal increase in stats. This will be dependent on the happiness that they have felt.

•The Server’s Happiness Rate has an upper limit: It can only increase by 2% daily.

Description: The skill has a framework similar to the Gourmet’s Food Torture. However, this is an entirely different skill. Perhaps filling the Happiness Rate will be a much more arduous task than fulfilling the Gourmet’s Food Torture.

Minhyuk was both surprised and delighted.

The Food Torture skill was disgusting, as he loved, cared for, and enjoyed food and eating more than anybody else. A skill that would make others suffer with food and even deprive them of their sense of taste just to strengthen their powers? It was true that the skill was quite an excellent skill in the eyes of others. But even if someone gave them this skill, he wouldn’t want it.

But there was always a silver lining. When he deleted the skill without any hesitation, he was given this skill.

‘Isn’t this very amazing?’

Of course, there was a downside. An upper limit of a 2% increase per day would mean he would need at least fifty days before obtaining a stat increase from the skill. Even with such a restriction, the skill was very satisfactory. After all, he only needed to live as usual, and he would still be able to obtain an increase in stats.

[You have completed the Sudden Quest: Saving Balvark.]

[The Exploration Rate has increased by 4%.]

[A part of the Gorodis Kingdom’s map has been opened.]

[Players can only visit places already opened and pioneered.]

[The restriction related to eating food in the Gaia Continent has been lifted.]

[Now, you can forage for fruit, hunt, or eat the livestock raised in the Gaia Continent.]

[The restriction on your artifact: Transcendental’s Armor has been lifted.]

“No way. Did you get rid of the Food Torture?”

The Gourmet was horrified to discover that he could no longer feel the power of the Food Torture, the ability that allowed him to become who he was now. Although deprived of the skill, he was confident he could take it back. But now that the skill had been deleted, he could not take it back. ʀ

Only at this moment did the Gourmet feel the weird feeling in his mouth. It felt as if he was injected with some kind of anesthetic drug in the mouth.

There was a question of whether saliva had a flavor or none. Regardless of the discussion, it had a taste. But now? No taste or flavor was lingering in the Gourmet’s mouth. This was proof that the Gourmet had lost his sense of taste.

The Gourmet was originally just an ordinary person who loved to eat food. However, they gave him, who had an excellent taste for food, the Food Torture skill and sent him out to the world.

With every day that passed, the once-ordinary Gourmet grew stronger and stronger. Eventually, he reached his current level. If he had been given more time, he would have been able to use Food Torture and take away the sense of taste of all of the chefs here. Then, he could also become like them.

“I-I’ll kill you!” The Gourmet shouted furiously, his murderous intent surging within the Azure Leaf Restaurant.

But Minhyuk grinned and said, “Stop making noise and get lost.”

At the same time, a warning rang in the ears of the Gourmet.

[You have lost the bet.]

[According to the conditions of the bet, you are not allowed to harm the Azure Leaf Restaurant and your opponent.]

“...!”

The Gourmet’s face grew even uglier. He tried to show off his power by releasing his murderous intent, but he was not allowed to do so inside the Azure Leaf Restaurant. If he dared to draw his sword and kill everyone here, then he would be forced to face a considerable punishment.

The Gourmet’s eyes scanned his surroundings swiftly. He could not let things end like this. He had to get back at the damn bastard, at least somehow. Then, an expression of delight bloomed on the face of the Gourmet.

“I will come here with the Slaughter Squad tomorrow.”

“S-Slaughter Squad?!”

“Are you talking about that Slaughter Squad?!”

“If he’s going to call for the Slaughter Squad, then that means that he wants to kill people!”

“Hiiiiik!”

The expressions on the faces of Balvark and the chefs were complicated.

The members of the Slaughter Squad were raised solely to kill. They were strong beings that none of the kingdom's people could dare fight against.

“I’ll kill at least half of the chefs here.”

Minhyuk never expected that the situation would turn out this way. He thought, ‘I did not know that the Gourmet was this much of a lunatic.’

‘Maybe the people ruling over Gaia Continent are crazy?’

He did not know what it was yet. But there was one thing that's certain. Even if the Gourmet was restricted and was not allowed to touch Minhyuk and the members of the Azure Leaf Restaurant, he could still kill the others. If that happened, not only would the Azure Leaf Restaurant be finished, but even Minhyuk would be.

The Gourmet finally stepped out. Of course, he did not forget to say the same thing to the people waiting outside.

“This f*cking beggar has made me angry. And what infuriated me the most was that he dared to go against me. I will come here tomorrow with the Slaughter Squad.”

The people’s screams and cries echoed in Minhyuk’s ears. And the chefs of the Azure Leaf Restaurant? They all stared at Minhyuk with their mouths wide open. They were very grateful to him. However, it was also true that he was also the one who aggravated the situation further.

The door to the restaurant burst open as the other chefs stormed in.

“Balvark! What the hell have you done?!”

“If you want to die, then just go and die by yourself! Why must we go through this when we are doing well in our businesses?!”

“It’s because of those f*cking beggars!”

“Drag those beggars out!”

“We’ll trample on them until they die!!!”

A huge crowd flocked to the Azure Leaf Restaurant. Every single one of them held a knife and pointed it at Minhyuk while threatening to kill him and rip him apart. Minhyuk was not the type of person the chefs could drag away and trample on just because they wanted to drag him down. But in Balvark’s eyes, Minhyuk was just a huge foodie. So, he stepped forward and blocked everyone’s view of Minhyuk.

“You dare to defend him?!”

“You bastards! You’re conspiring against us, huh?!”

“So, this is how you do things, huh? Azure Leaf Restaurant.”

The other chefs growled at them. But Balvark just said, “He is the benefactor of our Azure Leaf Restaurant. I cannot allow you to bring harm to him.”

Then, the Azure Leaf Restaurant chefs lined up beside Balvark.

“I’m sure everyone is aware, no? If we had let things be earlier, then all of us would have suffered from the food torture.”

Everyone flinched at the words “food torture.”

“Originally, I would have died suffering from food torture. So, what would happen next? I’m sure someone would die from it a month later. And a month after that? No. Perhaps he might suddenly change his cycle. After all, he’s the type who takes away his opponent’s sense of taste and accumulates it to make it his own through food torture.”

The clamoring chefs suddenly turned quiet. They also knew catering to the Gourmets' demands was not a good idea. It was just a way for them to prolong their lives and suffering.

“We… The Gourmet treated us like fruits.”

Everyone knew that it was just as Balvark said. They were aware that the Gourmet could gain greater power with food torture.

“Right now, the chefs of our Gorodis Kingdom have already reached an extremely high level. So, that begs the question, why did the Gourmet suddenly want to kill me over something so trivial?”

The answer was straightforward.

Someone murmured, “Because the fruit is already ripe and ready to be picked…”

All of the chefs trembled. Based on those words alone, they could tell that they would not be able to last for years. Perhaps they would only live for another year. The Gourmet would take this opportunity to harvest all the ripe fruits and grow more afterward. It would then turn into a cycle that would last forever.

“Today, this man has completely deprived the Gourmet of his sense of taste and his power to make others suffer from food torture. The food torture that has bound us in this never-ending cycle of suffering has disappeared.”

It was a very touching story. They no longer had to be subjected to the cruel food torture.

The chefs no longer clamored for Minhyuk’s death. However, they realized that their deaths were still just around the corner.

A terrified chef said, “But I don’t want to kick the bucket yet. Damn it…”

“Me too.”

“Of course, me too.”

“Even if that’s the case, are you telling us just to accept the situation where all of us will have to get killed?”

At that moment, the owner of the Black Moon Restaurant stepped forward. He said, “Azure Leaf Restaurant, leave. Better yet, find them and kneel to apologize. Hearing the news that the food torture is gone is always very welcome. However, the fact that you have harmed everyone here remains the same.”

Then, someone said, “First, let me apologize for bringing harm to everyone.”

It was the man who had previously asked them for food—the same man with a vast stomach who ended the food torture.

“This is the result of my intervention. So, I will take care of it myself.”

‘He’s going to take care of it?’ Andrej, the owner of the Black Moon Restaurant, snorted.

“You may not know this, but the Gourmet and the Slaughter Squad have received their blessings and protection. Harming them means harming them.”

Indeed, that was the case. If Minhyuk had increased the Exploration Rate, more of his restrictions would have been lifted. But that was not the case now. If he killed the Slaughter Squad, then his exploration might just end right there and then.

“There’s a way.”

“A way?”

“Are you saying there’s a way to escape this crisis without fighting them?”

“It would be good if that’s truly the case. On top of that, we will no longer be subjected to the food torture.”

“What’s your plan?”

“If you can make that happen, the Gorodis Kingdom’s Chef Union will repay your grace.”

Ring!

A quest window floated in front of Minhyuk. The quest’s name was ‘Saving the Chefs from the Gourmet and the Slaughter Squad.’ As for the reward? It was an increase in the Exploration Rate.

‘Are you saying that I will be able to get free lifetime access to all of the restaurants of the Gorodis Kingdom’s Chef Union…? I can even get my hands on the kingdom’s specialties?!’

Minhyuk was very delighted.

At that moment, the God of the Directionally Challenged, who had already finished all the fried rice, sneakily approached Balvark with his empty bowl and said, “Can you give me more fried rice?”

“...”

“...”

‘He hasn’t grown any tact at all.’

Minhyuk sighed. Then he placed his hand on the shoulders of the God of the Directionally Challenged and said, “They will not even be able to reach this place.”

***

The next day.

The Gourmet called for the Slaughter Squad. He had only called for a hundred members of the Slaughter Squad. But considering their level, a hundred was enough to level an entire kingdom.

The Slaughter Squad’s members were all equipped with curved swords. And their faces? They were wrapped in black cloth, and only their eyes were visible.

‘You f*cking bastards. I’ll kill you all.’

The Gourmet was not allowed to mobilize the Slaughter Squad. Of course, he had some authority over them, but he had to report before calling for them.

There was only one thing that the Gourmet was extremely afraid of. He feared that he would be discarded once they discovered he had lost his sense of taste. He was already in a state where he had already lost half of his mind.

The Gourmet and the Slaughter Squad made their way through the forest.

“...?”

At that moment, a man appeared in their eyes. The man was one of the beggars(?) eating at the restaurant yesterday. The man looked surprised. He said, “My goodness! I can’t believe it! I found them. I am amazing!”

The God of the Directionally Challenged felt that he was genuinely great. Goodness! He had met the people he wanted to meet twice in a row.

To be exact, Minhyuk brought him here and told him not to take a single step away from this place. In other words, in both cases, it was not the God of the Directionally Challenged who found them, but it was them who saw him.

“Kill that bastard first! He’s one of those annoying bastards. His gloomy and brooding smile is very unpleasant to look at!”

“Why are you saying something bad about my smile!”

The God of the Directionally Challenged looked quite upset. Then, he turned into smoke and disappeared. The smoke then wafted over to the Gourmet and the Slaughter Squad and entered their noses.

The Gourmet looked confused when the man suddenly disappeared in front of him. He said, “Let’s go to the capital first.”

He decided he did not need to deal with that annoying guy right then and there, and the group sprinted. But then, strange things happened.

“Is this the right way…?”

“Isn’t this the place?”

They had taken the familiar path daily but could not remember it. Then, the Gourmet recalled another path.

“This way!”

He walked along the path that appeared in front of them. But when they arrived at the end of the path, he could not understand what happened.

‘W-wait. Why did I take this path as if it was natural?’

The place where path that the Gourmet pointed out led them to was none other than the place where Vorghna Forest’s Ferocious Glutton was located. The Ferocious Glutton was a powerful mob. The problem was that they came directly into its territory. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

An inevitable yet fierce battle ensued. Because the opponent was powerful, the Gourmet and the Slaughter Squad had to give it their all and attack non-stop. Finally, they were able to cut the bastard’s head off. However, more than thirty of the Slaughter Squad were killed during the process.

The Gourmet could only lament the absurd situation. Nevertheless, they continued to move forward.

“...Why are we in a place like this again?”

This time, they arrived at the territory of the Lava Monarch Parley. The worst part? This guy would attack the enemies by spewing out lava. Around forty of the Slaughter Squad had lost their lives. And the Gourmet? His entire body was covered with burns.

When they arrived at the end of the third path, they wailed.

“Why… Why!!!”

Once again, they arrived at the territory of a powerful monster.

At the end of the fourth path, they screamed in anguish.

“WHY?!!!”

This time, they lost all but ten of their men. By the end, the Gourmet was the only one left. But even after one… two… three… four days, he still failed to reach his destination. He was lost.

And in his ears, there was a notification that rang. But this notification did not register at all.

[You will walk the endless maze path until you die.]