Chapter 119: Evolving Ellie’s Swordsmanship

Minhyuk almost jumped out of his seat when he heard his words. He said, “Su…sushi?”

“Yeah. He’s really good at making sushi. And you might not know of this, boy, but there’s a place called ‘Dragon King’s Sea’ in the Northern Continent.”

Dragon King’s Sea!?Just listening to its name was enough for Minhyuk to tell that it was an unusual and mysterious place.

“There are plenty of creatures living in the Dragon King's Sea. You might not have heard of it but the Valkyrie Kingdom’s specialty is ‘seafood’. And Rald is really, really good at making sushi. It’s to the point where you will always have a smile on your face whenever you eat his sushi, you know?”

Minhyuk imagined himself entering a sushi restaurant and sitting on one of the empty chairs. Then, he would tell the owner who was also dressed like a Japanese…

‘Boss, an A course here. Please.’

A course. It was the most basic course that included ten assorted sushi and a hot mini udon. Minhyuk would definitely first taste the complimentary miso soup. He would pick up his spoon to carefully sip the hot soup.

‘Phew.’

The taste of the miso soup would definitely be enough to bring a smile to one’s face. Then, Minhyuk imagined himself putting some wasabi in a small bowl and pouring a bit of soy sauce, appropriate to go along with the wasabi. Then, the boss would have the perfect timing and hand over his ordered sushi. The long-cut flatfish sushi, the pink salmon sushi, the fresh and plump shrimp sushi, the seasonal fish sushi, the chewy octopus sushi, the eel sushi, the yellow and bright egg sushi and many others! Sushi could give you the pleasure of tasting a variety of flavors in one single order.

He imagined that he would then dip the flatfish sushi in his pre-made soy sauce, and a wide grin would definitely be plastered on his face. Often times, when he dipped sushi in a sauce made with plenty of wasabi, he would feel his nose getting all warm and tingly. Minhyuk personally loved this strange sensation and wonderful flavor. What would happen if he tasted the udon right after a bite? It would simply be the best combination!

Sluuuuurp━

Minhyuk could not help but wipe the drool off his face.

Varen felt that he was right about Minhyuk. He asked, “Boy, I heard that you’re a chef?”

“That’s right.”

“Your cooking may not be on par with Rald but if you made a dish that can satisfy me then I will give you a chance to taste his dishes. A chef like you that’s still wet behind the ears wouldn’t have any other chances to taste his food, so you should take this chance. Furthermore, if you satisfy me, I will also evolve your abilities.”

“Evolve?” It was Genie, and not Minhyuk or anybody else, that responded to his words.

Varen nodded proudly and said, “I have the power to evolve other people’s skills and abilities.”

“...!”

Genie was shocked. She could only think of one skill with this ability.?The Evolution Skill.?And this skill was quite different from leveling up.

‘This is such a great opportunity...!’

Genie looked at Minhyuk with envy in her eyes. At that same moment, Minhyuk received a notification.

[Hidden Quest: Satisfy the Hungry King Varen.]

Rank: S

Requirements: None

Rewards: King Varen’s Skill: Evolution, Sushi made by the Legendary Chef.

Penalty for Failure: Varen’s favor will sharply decrease.

Description: Right now, King Varen is extremely hungry. He needs a chef to cook delicious food that can satisfy his picky taste buds. If you satisfy King Varen, you will have the chance to evolve one of your offensive skills.

The evolution of an offensive skill. In other words, Minhyuk would be able to evolve Ellie’s Swordsmanship. Ellie’s Swordsmanship was the most powerful skill under Minhyuk’s possession. It could be said to be a very great skill when compared to players on the same level as him. However, it was still not quite on par with the skills of high-leveled players.

If?one were to compare Ellie's Swordsmanship against a Level 400 player’s unique-ranked offensive skill, then the unique-ranked skill would still have a huge advantage. This was simply because of the difference in the skill level. The higher the skill level, the stronger the attack, and the more abilities the skill would unlock. Even if a player had a Level 1 epic skill, he would still lose against someone with a Level 8 unique skill.

However, what if Ellie’s Swordsmanship was evolved and strengthened? Even though the overall level and capabilities of the skill would still be lower than those at Level 400, the resulting skill would not be too far off. Perhaps, Minhyuk might even be able to exert more power with his skills alone once it got evolved.

Genie asked him quietly, “There’s a quest, right? What’s the rank?”

“Hidden quest. S-rank.”

“...!”

Genie was once again shocked. She looked at Minhyuk again with envy tainting her eyes.

‘Wow... So jealous.”

However, she still thought about some things to be concerned about.

‘Rovan said that Minhyuk’s dishes were extremely delicious but...’

Rovan even said that Minhyuk’s buffs were quite good but even if that was the case, the person in front of him was a king. This was a person who grew up wearing only good things and eating only the finest dishes. What was more important was… this was a quest to satisfy someone who had only ever eaten the dishes made by the Legendary Chef! The quest was not ranked S for no reason at all. It was a very difficult challenge.

Minhyuk nodded. He thought,?‘Delicious sushi...!’

The only reason why he decided to go all out for this quest was because he wanted to eat sushi. The reason was not for Ellie’s Swordsmanship but just to eat sushi! He also had the skill…

‘The Joy of Eating Together!’

It was a skill that allowed him to taste the same dishes that he cooked for others. Minhyuk looked at King Varen and thought,?‘Create a Recipe.’

[Creating a recipe that the other party desires.]

[You can now check the recipe for Steak.]

[The amount of buff that can be used has been decreased due to creating a recipe.]

Minhyuk nodded. It seemed like creating a recipe would decrease the number of buffs and buffed dishes that he could make in a day.

(Steak Recipe for Varen.)

Required Ingredients: A++ Grade Black Beef Tenderloin, Butter, 300-year-old Red Wine, Moon’s Laurel Leaves, Matsutake Mushroom...(omitted)

Expected Dish Grade: Unique~Legendary

Expected Effects:

Effects of Varen’s Skill: Evolution will greatly increase.

?Significantly increases all stats.

Minhyuk suddenly frowned. He thought,?‘What the hell is this?’

There were plenty of ridiculous ingredients listed in the recipe. Even though he knew most of the ingredients listed in it, it was still quite ridiculous in his opinion.

A++ grade black cow. The black cow was not quite a monster. However, it was a rare cow that existed in?Athenae. It was so rare that it could only be found in 1 out of 50,000 cows. The black cow had more plump and juicier meat compared to regular cows, but it was also much more expensive. What made Minhyuk frown even more than the A++ grade beef, was the Moon’s Laurel Leaves. This ingredient was literally the leaf from a laurel tree that bathed under the moonlight as it grew. He also knew that it was extremely rare.

‘Perhaps it’s because he was a king so the recipe is also extremely tricky!’

And his biggest problem now was…

‘I don’t have any ingredients, though?’

After all, it was not that strange for such ingredients to be extremely hard to obtain, with how precious they were. Right? Then, another notification rang.

[You can replace the ingredients with ingredients currently on hand.]

Minhyuk had some laurel leaves and beef tenderloin with him. He thought,?‘Ho. Replace.’

[You can now check the altered recipe.]

He quickly checked the information.

(Steak Recipe for Varen.)

Required Ingredients: Regular Beef Tenderloin, Butter, Red Wine, Laurel Leaves, Matsutake Mushroom...(omitted)

Expected Dish Grade: Rare ~ Epic

Expected Effects:

?Effects of Varen’s Skill: Evolution will increase.

?Increase in all stats.

The changes after the ingredients were replaced and the recipe altered were quite evident. Originally, the expected dish grade was at Unique~Legendary, but it had now become Rare~Epic. In addition, the?significant?increase in Varen’s skill had now only become an?increase?in the skill. The ‘significant’?was gone.

‘Ah. As expected, the ingredients help increase the buff, right?’

Minhyuk nodded in understanding. Then, he pulled his frying pan from his back. He decided to start cooking inside the running carriage so he quickly heated his frying pan.

[Now is the best time to spread the butter.]

Minhyuk moved his hands according to the notifications given by the Food God’s Cooking Skill. Minhyuk gently placed and melted the butter on his frying pan. Not long after, the sweet smell of melted butter wafted inside the cramped carriage. As soon as the smell wafted, Genie quickly opened the windows to stop herself from drooling over the smell. Then, Minhyuk poured some red wine and placed some laurel leaves on top of it.

“Smells good,” Varen said. He might look incredibly intimidating but his expression looked like he was having a good time. However, Minhyuk did not hear any of his words. He was extremely concentrated on his task!

‘Ho?’

Varen looked at Minhyuk with a bit of surprise coloring his rigid face.

Once the red wine was boiling in the frying pan, Minhyuk added some ketchup, soy sauce and oligosaccharide. He mixed them continuously and boiled the mixture down until the consistency was thick. Then, once he finished cooking the glossy red sauce, he placed it in a bowl and set it aside. He sliced some onions and stir-fried them on medium heat.

Sizzle!

Once the onions started to turn a brownish hue, he added two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and one tablespoon of honey and stir-fried it some more. Then, he also placed the stir-fried onions in a bowl and set them aside. Minhyuk took the red, plump and fresh tenderloin out of his inventory and cut it into thick slices.

[Tie the ends of the tenderloin with a string to prevent the juices from flowing out.]

Minhyuk knew about this even before the notification rang. He quickly tied the tenderloin with a string then he sprinkled some salt, pepper, and parsley on both sides before rubbing some olive oil all over the steak. Then, he sliced the matsutake mushrooms and zucchini into strips before adding some parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and olive oil. He mixed them well before stir frying them on his well-heated frying pan. He then placed them in a bowl and set them aside.

Now, for the long-awaited steak. He made sure to heat the pan well before adding enough oil. Once the oil was hot enough, he placed the tenderloin steak on top of the pan.

Sizzle!

Smoke and steam rose out of the pan together with a loud sizzling sound!

“Gulp.”

It was the sound of Varen swallowing his saliva down as he heard the sound. However, no one could blame him for this since the smell and sounds were truly too enticing. After about a minute, Minhyuk flipped the steak. He wanted to keep on flipping it every minute to make sure that the steak would not stick to the pan, and to also make sure that it did not burn.

Sizzle!

[Varen prefers Medium.]

[Turn it over every 20 seconds and cook it for a total of 7 minutes.]

The ‘Create a Recipe’ effect popped up at that moment, notifying Minhyuk as though it did not want to be ignored or overshadowed. After all, this effect informs the player about the preferences of the other party! Once he finished cooking, Minhyuk pulled out a white plate. Then, he placed the meat on top of it and added some matsutake mushrooms and zucchini next to it. Next, he placed the stir-fried onions on top of the meat before pouring the red sauce that he made earlier. Once he finished plating, he heard the notification about the completion of the steak.

[You have completed a Filet Mignon.]

[Varen’s dish is the only dish with the buff effect.]

[The Create a Recipe Skill Effect can only be tasted by the same person once per month.]

[Unique Grade.]

[You have gained 2 DEX.]

[You have gained 4 REP.]

[You have gained 400 AP.]

‘Ho?’

This was the first notification that Minhyuk had heard in a while ever since he made tangsuyuk. In the case of tangsuyuk, it turned out to be rare due to the Orc Chieftain’s Essence and the skill Trance. However, a unique-grade dish appeared right now. The reason was quite simple. His Food God’s Cooking Skill had achieved Level 2 and he now had double the chances of getting a higher grade of dish once he cooked. The only reason why Minhyuk did not hear any notifications after cooking, aside from the tangsuyuk he made before, was because all of the graded dishes that he made were buffed dishes. However, Minhyuk did not make those dishes for their buffs. He made them just because he wanted to eat them.

“Let’s try it.”

“Not yet.”

“Huh?”

“Ronny, please act as a waiter.”

“Yes? What in the...” Genie asked in disbelief.

“I really want to try eating it like we are in a restaurant!”

“...?”

“Come on~!” Minhyuk said, swiftly handing her the plate.

Even Varen followed Minhyuk’s tune. He raised his hand and said, “Waiter.”

“Yes, yes... Cu…customer...” Genie responded, a puzzled look on her face.

“What are today’s specials?”

“Ah, we have filet mignon. Sir.”

“I’d have one. Ah, Medium please.”

“Yes...”

When he said ‘Medium’, Genie wanted to slap the back of Minhyuk's head, just to stop this ridiculous skit. Then she paused and thought,?‘Is this a buffed dish? Should I check it out?’

With great anticipation, Genie checked Minhyuk’s dish.

(Filet Mignon)

Ingredient Grade: C

Grade: Unique

Requirements: Only Varen could have the buff effects.

Shelf Life: 7 days

Preservation Time: 10 days

Special Effects:

?All stats increase by 5%.

?Varen’s Skill: Evolution +2

Description: A filet mignon made by the chef Minhyuk for Varen, and Varen alone.

Genie almost dropped the steak in shock after seeing the buffs. She thought,?‘Th…this is impossible... H…how can this be...!’

The shelf time was a whole week. Furthermore, if one ate the dish, the effect would last for ten straight days! The buff effect gave the Evolution skill a +2 increase, while it also had the effect to increase all stats by 5%.

‘Just what in the world are you...?’?Genie stared at Minhyuk in wonder.