Chapter 1278

Chapter 1278

After meeting the imperial chefs, Minhyuk went to the VIP lounge and listened to the report.

“That’s what Prime Minister Aevis told Haze.”

He already knew that Haze went to negotiate with the Luvien Empire. But after hearing the report, he realized why the quest Nurture and Help the Luvien Empire’s Chefs Grow was created.

‘She’s brilliant,’

Minhyuk thought, his gaze filled with admiration for Haze.

Minhyuk had realized how great the power was by experiencing it firsthand. It was different for Haze. He could tell that the girl had researched, gathered all information and pondered over the Pillar’s Affection the moment she heard about the skill. And after much calculation, she came up with one conclusion. This conclusion gave her the confidence to agree and sign that contract.

‘As an emperor, I cannot stand still after knowing my subordinate has been mocked and ignored.’

Just in time, Anca, the head chef of the imperial palace and the Chef of Flavors who had evolved to become the Chef of Euphoria, appeared. He said, “Thank you very much for helping me achieve enlightenment. You have helped me open my eyes to a new world, especially since I’ve been stuck with my stubborn ideals for decades.”

Minhyuk smiled faintly as he nodded at the man. Then, he asked, “From what I heard, the Luvien imperial chefs lag far behind the other empires’ chefs. Is there a reason for that?”

A flash of embarrassment appeared on Anca’s face as he answered, “The first reason is me.”

He was the Luvien Empire's best chef, focusing on the dish's flavor while neglecting its appearance. Nevertheless, it was ridiculous to attribute everything to him. He was a lone figure and couldn't have such a significant influence on the entire Luvien Empire.

“In the end, the only ones who receive respect in the Luvien Empire are those who have helped take down kingdoms and brought empires to their knees.”

The Luvien Empire was a nation that promoted their military prowess and focused on developing their strong army.

“It has already been established that cooking is a means to fill one’s stomach. That’s why our restaurants have lower sales and profits than those in other parts of the continent. How should I say this? We think we will never be treated with respect no matter how excellent or outstanding we are as chefs, so why bother trying?”

“You no longer bothered trying?”

“Yes. Even if there’s someone who worked hard in cooking and became an excellent chef, many people would still not care. After all, they are obsessed with the idea that no matter how excellent we are we will never become comparable to one excellent knight.”

Minhyuk shook his head. The idea that the Luvien Empire only favored and gave respect to the strong had made all of the chefs lazy.

“Will the Luvien Empire suffer great losses if all of the restaurants in the empire are closed?”

Anca shook his head. “Perhaps that will be the case in the Beyond the Heavens Empire. After all, you’re a nation that enjoys eating. But that’s not the case here. I don’t think the Luvien Empire will suffer any lasting damage even if we closed all the restaurants. First, the number of restaurants here is infinitely small compared to the Beyond the Heavens Empire. Second, the dishes the soldiers and the people eat are easy and can be done in their homes.”

Minhyuk nodded. “There must be rumors spreading in the Luvien Empire that you have received enlightenment and new powers through me.”

“Rumors travel fast. I believe all of the chefs in the empire are already aware of that.”

With another nod, Minhyuk said, “Alright. Gather all of the chefs who want to receive enlightenment and create a new dish. I will personally teach all of you.”

Anca immediately set out to fulfill the request.

***

An entire empire would change with just a single word from their emperor. After hearing that Minhyuk wanted to teach the chefs of the Luvien Empire personally, Brod said, “I hope that all of the Luvien Empire’s chefs will participate and give it their all.”

That was why many chefs were standing before Minhyuk, whether they wanted it or not. Around 90% of the chefs of the Luvien Empire were NPCs, while the remaining 10% were players. These chefs could not understand why they were being forced to gather here.

‘This is annoying. Why do they bother us when we will not even receive any respect in the Luvien Empire even if we become excellent chefs?’

‘He’s an emperor, a Pillar and the Food God. But in the first place, he stayed in the spotlight because he’s the Food God and has received extraordinary powers that no ordinary chef can get.’

‘Whether we’re outstanding or not, there’s not much difference in our treatment.’

Minhyuk looked at the 30,000 chefs who had gathered in front of him. If you asked him for an honest assessment, he would say their eyes were dead. There wasn't even the tiniest spark of motivation and will in their eyes.

As he had gathered this many chefs, Minhyuk shockingly received a warning of a penalty.

[You have gathered a lot of chefs. Having more chefs beside you does not mean that you will be able to grow more. If these chefs experience only minimal growth, you might experience a considerable drop in growth.]

[However, if these chefs experience exponential growth by entering a realm they have never stepped foot on, or creating dishes that have far better quality than those they usually make, you might also achieve tremendous growth.]

The notification told him that having a huge crowd to teach was not always the better choice.

Minhyuk looked at all of the chefs. Then, he said, “Frankly speaking, it’s quite hard to find any motivation in you.”

None of the people present denied what he was saying.

“You believe it won’t make any difference whether you make excellent dishes or not as long as you’re in the Luvien Empire. Even if you try hard, nothing will change.”

Minhyuk’s words hit straight to the point. Nevertheless, the 30,000 chefs were curious about something. Of course, they could not understand why there was a need to gather like this. But they also wanted to know what he would teach them.

Then Minhyuk declared, “Starting today, we will all participate in a 15-day no-sleep cooking camp.”

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

Everyone was in shock. It was understandable. After all, he wanted them to do things related to cooking for fifteen days without any sleep?

“Your Majesty, we are not soldiers.”

“So, you’re saying you can’t do it because you’re not soldiers? Then, what kind of bullshit logic are you on? You want to receive the same respect and treatment as the soldiers, yet you do not have the confidence, determination, or the will to work and train like soldiers? What? Do chefs just wait to die when there’s war?”

The chefs all turned mute. As they mulled over his incomprehensible words, they followed Minhyuk as he led them to the Luvien Empire’s Calparia Forest. It was a land overflowing with rare and precious cooking ingredients.

‘I wanted to dig up ingredients in this place at least once in my life... It’s nice to have Brod as their emperor!’

Minhyuk thought, delight evident on his face.

Calparia Forest had a very special attribute. No matter what or how many ingredients they harvested, they would grow back in a week. It was a chef’s paradise.

“We will gather ingredients in this place for five days straight. No sleep. You won’t tell me you can’t do it, right? You have been living a life of ease and have not even given the tiniest bit of effort, yet you’re hoping to receive the same respect and treatment that the knights and soldiers of the empire, who had made great contributions in the war, receive? Preposterous.”

‘He’s completely mocking us, right?’

‘I’m also a pretty excellent chef!’

The chefs’ enthusiasm burned when they realized that Minhyuk was blatantly disregarded and mocking them. Five days without sleep? What was the big deal? They could do that! The chefs grabbed pickaxes, hoes, and even daggers as they began collecting and harvesting ingredients.

After a quarter of a day had passed, their movements grew frantic as they harvested the ingredients. Why? More than half of the chefs had obtained DEX. Perhaps this was only natural. In the case of DEX, the lower one’s level and DEX, the easier it was for them to acquire DEX by doing hard labor and repetitive movements.

At the same time, the chefs could not understand why they were doing this.

‘What does harvesting ingredients like this do with growing and developing as a chef?’

‘Aren’t there people specifically made for this job? They just need to provide ingredients to us, no?’

“DEX is closely related to cooking. The higher your DEX, the better your dishes will become. I have more than 50,000 DEX.”

‘He’s bragging, right?’

‘That’s only possible because you’re the Food God.’

‘Didn’t he receive a high amount of DEX when he became a Pillar?’

‘We can do it. And we will do it better!’

The chefs shouted and cheered themselves up, but after one day, more than half were left gasping in exhaustion.

After two days, they were all in a daze from sleep deprivation.

After three days, some of them were almost close to collapsing.

And on the fourth day...

Thud, thud, thud–!

All the chefs were on the brink of collapse, and Minhyuk was the only one left harvesting the ingredients. At the same time, the chefs saw that Minhyuk could gather more ingredients than they had harvested in total.

As the pile of ingredients grew, Minhyuk’s smile grew deeper. The chefs who saw this had various thoughts.

‘Isn’t it difficult?’

‘Why does he look so happy?’

‘Weren’t the ingredients supposed just to be bought, cooked and sold at a high price?’

Minhyuk glanced at them briefly and spat, “Weak shits.”

“...”

“...”

On the fifth day, the tens of thousands of chefs stood up again and began harvesting the ingredients before them.

At that moment, one of the chefs smiled brightly and said, “Ah, this ingredient is fresh. It’s quality is also very high. If I cook this then...”

‘OH!’

The same chef realized something. Usually, they obtained ingredients through various sources and channels. Of course, those ingredients were fresh. But the ingredients that they harvested today looked fresher. They personally harvested them. On top of that, they had also experienced the joy and pleasure of obtaining higher-grade and better-quality ingredients. And the more they harvested, the more high-quality ingredients they got.

More importantly...

‘Did the Food God get high DEX because he worked hard like this?’

‘Is this why he’s able to make outstanding dishes?’

‘Is this the reason why he became the Food God?’

‘If I also put in this much effort, I can make a better dish!’

Minhyuk’s Pillar Affection had a variety of effects. One of them was... ‘

As the Pillar of the Gourmands, you can enlighten them and help them open up new powers.’

And this was the effect in action...

[Pillar’s Affection.]

[The chefs realized why they must collect and harvest ingredients personally. It is so they can obtain better quality ingredients.]

The player chef, RD, heard the following notifications.

[You have acquired the Passive Skill: Power to Maintain Freshness.]

[Your dishes will become 15% better.]

The NPCs also heard similar notifications.

[You have acquired the Passive Skill: Joy of Harvesting.]

[Your dishes...]

[Your dishes...]

They had obtained a power that allowed them to cook better than usual.

[The Pillar’s Affection opens their eyes to a new realm.]

[You will receive special privileges based on his growth.]

[You have gained 308 DEX.]

[The proficiency level of your cooking skills will increase by 7%.]

[Current Growth Rate: 18%.]

‘They get something and I get something too.’

Minhyuk grinned as he used their gathered ingredients to make a drink that could relieve their fatigue. The 15-day no-sleep cooking camp was far from over.

***

For the remaining ten days, Minhyuk wanted to do something different. He said, “For the remaining ten days, you have to keep cooking until you produce a dish that is one grade above the highest grade of dish that you have made before.”

His words were quite out of the box.

“Your Majesty... We can’t cook higher grade dishes just because we want to cook them.”

Perhaps that was true. But Minhyuk ignored them entirely by saying, “You’re saying that you can’t do it without even trying. Do it first.”

At first, the chefs believed that Minhyuk could only get a high DEX because he was the Food God. But after watching him harvest the ingredients earlier, they realized why he became a monster. Ultimately, the chefs kept their mouths shut and took on the challenge. They began to cook non-stop.

Perhaps the Pillar’s Affection gave them the power to make their dishes 15% better than before. Regardless of the reason, they could make better dishes as they continued to cook.

However, they could not stop the fatigue that weighed down on them. Even after drinking Minhyuk’s recovery energy drink, they quickly got tired. This was because they hadn’t slept much in days.

After three more days, the chefs were dumbfounded. This was because Minhyuk was still cooking like crazy.

“How many God grade dishes have come out now...?”

“I think he has made around a hundred Legendary grade dishes now.”

“This is crazy...”

They all looked at Minhyuk in awe.

Three more days passed by. Now, the only one left cooking was Minhyuk. As they stared dumbfounded at Minhyuk, an unknown emotion settled deep within their chests.

[Pillar’s Affection.]

[The chefs began to look back on themselves after watching you, who had worked hard to walk the path of a Pillar.]

[After looking back at themselves, the chefs felt ashamed to carry on the title of a chef. At the same time, their respect toward you increased, reaching a sky-high level.]

The chefs cheered themselves up after watching Minhyuk cook alone and continuously without backing down.

The cooking camp only had three days left. However, only a few chefs could break through their ranks and create dishes of a higher grade. Seeing Minhyuk continue to cook even though he was the only one left moving, the chefs could not help but ask...

“Why do you cook like this?”

“You and I both know that being a chef and cooking is less prestigious than being soldiers and knights who fight in the battlefield.”

The situation was particularly evident in the Luvien Empire. But this was an undeniable fact. This thinking was widespread.

“The life of a soldier is much more precious and noble than the life of a chef.”

That was right. This fact had made these chefs crawl into their own holes and submit to a life of indolence and carelessness.

“But I don’t think that way. Whether they are chefs or soldiers, all lives are equal.”

“...”

The chefs' gazes grew distracted when Minhyuk flipped the food he was cooking on the frying pan.

“If we are being treated poorly and are seen as someone less than a soldier, then all we need to do is work hard and create better dishes.”

“...”

“If we’re not good enough, work harder and make better dishes. And when your dishes reach a certain grade... then they will come to us.”

“...!”

Shock enveloped every single chef present.

“Once we make an excellent dish, they will come to find us and say,

‘Please! Cook one of your dishes for us!’

,

‘I believe we will be able to overcome any danger with your dishes.’

,

‘Your outstanding cooking abilities will be able to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people on the battlefield.’

Even though we are not on the frontline, we can still do something to save them.”

At this moment, they finally realized that a chef's value lay in what he or she made.

“All we need to do is wage a war and fight a fierce battle in the kitchen. If they don’t treat us fairly, then all we need to do is try harder. I believe this is...”

Flames ignited in the hearts of the chefs present, the fiery warmth rampaging and flowing through their veins.

“The Chef’s Path.”