Chapter 148: The Old Man and the Sea

The flavor of the soup changed greatly with the addition of the flower crab, cheongyang peppers and bean sprouts. All in all, it could be described with one word… Refreshing!?That word alone could encapsulate the flavor and taste of the soup.

“Then, next….”

Minhyuk picked up the noodles from his bowl and…

Sluuuuuuurp!

…inhaled them in one go.

“Hoo! It’s really delicious!” Minhyuk said, steam coming out of his mouth as he spoke. Then, he picked up another mouthful of noodles. This time, he made sure to pack it together with plenty of bean sprouts.

Sluuuuurp!

Minhyuk slurped everything in one go. The taste of the crunchy bean sprouts and the chewy noodles spread in his mouth. Then, he took a sip of the soup, before rounding it off with a bite of kimchi.

Kgghk! Minhyuk could not help but let out a sound of happiness. Then, he saw Ben also inhaling the soup from the pot.

“This soup tastes amazing! It will be better if we have that?thing?here,” Ben said, as he flicked his wrists as if he was holding a small glass and drinking its contents.

“It would be a dream if there is soju here as well. It’s a shame though, I can’t drink in such a dangerous sea.”

Then, Minhyuk picked up the flower crab and cut it in half with his scissors. He said, “Ooooh. Look at all this fat.”

“The creatures that you can catch here in the Dragon King’s Sea are all fresh, juicy and plump.”

Minhyuk picked half of the crab and tried to suck off the white flesh from the red shell. As soon as he sucked the shell, the crab meat immediately went into his mouth. Not only was it chewy and sweet, but it also had that savory and delectable flavor. The pieces of shell that were eaten together with the meat tasted a bit different, but it was not that bad.

“Sluuuurp!”

Minhyuk copied Ben, holding up the pot as he slurped the soup down. It might be a spicy flower crab ramen, but the taste was also similar to a spicy hangover ramyeon. It was truly both refreshing and delicious. Minhyuk’s nose was already running without him even realizing it. After finishing his meal, he blew his nose loudly.

Once Ben finished eating, he heard a string of notifications.

[You ate a dish from a recipe specially made for you.]

[You won’t be able to eat another dish from a recipe specially made for you for a month.]

[You can’t receive any duplicate buffs during the duration of the buff retention period.]

[Flower Crab Ramyeon.]

[Your Fishing skill will increase by 10% while Ghost Spear will increase by +2 for 10 days.]

“...!”

Ben looked at Minhyuk in surprise. He thought,?‘I did not expect such a young chef in shabby clothes could be such a great chef...!’

He was both in awe and admiration of Minhyuk’s skills.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk decided to check the progress of the satisfaction bar from his ‘To Have a Feast with Other People’ quest. The satisfaction level increased by 33% after he fed Goddess Juis making the total reach 50%. Then, Minhyuk suddenly tilted his head in confusion.

[Satisfaction: 56%]

“...?”

The reason why he was tilting his head in confusion?

‘What’s this?’

The ranker Crow only gave him a 2% increase, while King Varen gave him a slightly higher increase at 5%. Meanwhile, Goddess Juis directly catapulted his satisfaction level to 50%, with an increase of 33%. However, now…

‘6%?’

This meant that Old Man Ben was someone more influential, and possibly stronger than both Crow and King Varen.

“Shwiiiiiiii!” Ben blew his nose loudly before looking at Minhyuk and saying, “Hoho. I can’t remember the last time I ate this well. Boy, the power of your dish is great!”

[You have received Ben’s favor.]

[You have received Ben’s favor.]

“Even your fishing skills are also out of this world.”

Ben had seen how Minhyuk was able to catch a fish whenever he cast his line. He thought,?‘I wonder if this guy can catch the Golden Salmon?’

Ben was suddenly filled with anticipation. He decided to tell Minhyuk his story. He said, “Boy, there’s a favor that I want to ask of you. Will you listen to my story?”

Minhyuk could smell the scent of a quest. He thought,?‘There’s a chance that something delicious will be rewarded, right?’

Then, Ben began his tale, “A few years ago, I was still wandering all over the world. At that time, I had a son. My one and only son.”

Minhyuk nodded as he listened to Ben’s story.

“Once a year, I would go and meet with my son. Whenever that time comes around, my son would run to this sea, you know? It’s because my favorite food can be found here.”

Ben looked melancholic as he recalled the past.

“But one day, my son never came back from here. That bastard ate my son!”

“That bastard?”

“That’s right. That bastard. He’s a very scary bastard that only lives in the Dragon King’s Sea. He has devoured everything in this sea and has now gone into a cave. As far as I know, he hasn’t been out for quite a long time now. The only way to lure him out is to use his favorite food, the Golden Salmon.”

Minhyuk nodded in understanding. He thought,?‘Golden Salmon... Every time I hear its name, I can’t help but think that it is delicious...’

His mouth started to water at the thought of the pinkish flesh of salmon sashimi! He asked, “By any chance, are you going to use that Golden Salmon to feed the bastard?”

“No. It’s too precious. It will only be used to lure the bastard out.”

Minhyuk nodded once more while Ben continued to talk. He said, “I need to lure the bastard out, so can you possibly catch some Golden Salmon for me?”

[Linked Quest: Catch a Golden Salmon.]

Rank: SS

Requirements: Ben’s favor

Rewards: ???

Penalty for Failure: Ben’s favor will drop and you will be kicked off the boat.

Description: Ben saw the possibility of acquiring the Golden Salmon through your hands. Catch a Golden Salmon!

‘SS...?’?Minhyuk thought, a little taken aback. It was even a linked quest to boot. This meant that there would be a few more things to do after he caught the Golden Salmon.

‘What the hell, is the Golden Salmon really that hard to catch for it to be SS-ranked? Or maybe it’s the process of catching it?’

He received an SS-ranked quest when he was asked to make a legendary dish to satisfy Goddess Juis. However, right now, there was a quest that was of the same rank right in front of him and the rewards were even marked mysteriously with “???”. In the case of “???” in the rewards section of the quest, it could either turn out to be the best, or the worst reward. However, before he accepted this quest, there was still one thing that he needed to make sure of.

“I have a question!”

“Ask away.”

“Who are you exactly?”

“...”

When Ben heard his question, he could not stop himself from showing surprise on his face.

‘Did he recognize me? How on earth did he know?’

Then, Minhyuk continued, “There’s no harpoon in your boat, instead there’s a spear.”

If there was a spear in the boat instead of a harpoon, it was only natural for others to think that the person forgot about their harpoon and hastily brought a spear. However, Minhyuk went on, “This sea is not an easy place for an old man to venture alone in. Besides, the calluses on Grandpa Ben’s hands should be from using the spear, right?”

“...”

This was something unexpected for Ben. He thought that Minhyuk was just a good chef. It turned out that he had keen eyes, assessing and analyzing the situation that he was in. Ben thus explained his identity. After all, it was not easy to ask for a favor without any explanation whatsoever.

Minhyuk was a bit surprised at his story. He thought,?‘He was one of the Pinnacle Strong Men...’

Of course, it was in the past tense. However, Minhyuk had fought with one of the Pinnacle Strong Men and knew of their strength. In fact, he could not deny it when other people deemed him lucky after he successfully hunted one of the Pinnacle Strong Men. At the same time, Minhyuk was thinking about something else entirely…

‘He’s one of the Pinnacle Strong Men...? Then, his rewards will definitely not be the worst, right?’

Of course, Minhyuk was not that interested in the rewards, instead, he was more interested in the Golden Salmon that he was asked to catch, as well as the monster that it was supposed to lure. He was so curious that he asked about it before accepting the quest.

“What kind of monster is the bastard that you’re talking about?”

“It’s a Clam Golem.”

“...?!”

Minhyuk almost fell down on his butt when he heard Ben’s words. He could feel his food antenna twitching rapidly! That bastard must be delicious!

“C…Clam Golem?”

“Yeah. All kinds of shellfish in the world are stuck together to create its body.”

“B…by any chance… are there abalones?”

“Of course! Didn’t I tell you? All kinds of shellfish in the world are stuck on its body, mussels, pen shells, scallops, oysters...”

“M…my goodness...”

Minhyuk trembled in excitement. He said, “Mussel soup! Oyster pancakes! And even the clams used in grilled clams?!”

“B…boy. The look in your eyes has suddenly changed...?”

Minhyuk shivered as he remembered that time when he drove to the beach with his friends. The sellers stationed by the shore would yell?‘Buy from me, I’ll make it cheaper for you!’?and trick the passersby.

A feast, both for the eyes and the stomach, was laid out in the open! There were clams that were laid out on the grill, refreshing mussel soup and other necessary ingredients!

‘Corn cheese...!’

The small ears of corn would be laid out in the griller with plenty of cheese sprinkled on top of it. Once the cheese melted, it would cover the whole corn! When the clams got cooked, they would open slowly as if saying?‘Come here and eat me~ Baby.’. To think that there were clams like that here?

“I…I will help Grandpa Ben avenge your son!”

The light in Minhyuk’s eyes had changed! They were now filled with solemnity.

Ben was deeply moved when he saw how serious Minhyuk was about helping him. He thought,?‘M…My goodness....! I can’t believe that he’s this determined when we just met for the first time…!’

[You have received Ben’s favor.]

It was true, Minhyuk did look very determined. If only Ben knew the truth.

Ben replied, “However, the problem is there’s only one Golden Salmon in this vast sea. From the story that I have heard from the Dragon Palace, we need the Golden Salmon to lure out the Clam Golem. This was a story that has been passed on for many generations.”

The Dragon King’s Sea was vast and wide. This was the reason why Ben was having a hard time catching the Golden Salmon. It was extremely hard to find a single existence in such a vast area. Minhyuk thought deeply before asking, “Do you know anything about the special abilities or effects that the Golden Salmon has?”

“Hmmm. I only know that once you eat the Golden Salmon, it will immediately strengthen your skills and abilities.”

“Ho,” Minhyuk said, realizing that Ben was likely referring to SPs. The SP that could increase stats like DEX and holy power! He was not sure if the Golden Salmon could raise those stats, but he guessed that it could be a little similar to that.

Then, he heard Ben say, “I’ve actually seen the guy once, but I failed to catch it! It was right in front of me too!”

Ben could only sigh in disappointment whenever he recalled that moment.

There was a reason why Minhyuk asked Ben about the ‘Special Abilities’ of the Golden Salmon. It was because he had an easier way of finding it.

“I think we can find the spot where it’s located right away.”

“W…what?!” Ben asked, eyes widening imperceptibly.

‘How?! I have only seen it once in all my five years of sailing in this sea!’

Minhyuk used his ‘Ingredient Tracking’ skill. He chose?Japanese Cuisine?from the selection of food in the hologram that popped up.

[What is your desired buff effect?]

‘Boosts the ability that I want.’

[Searching for the ingredients in a 10-kilometer radius.]

[Ingredient Tracking has succeeded.]

[Golden Salmon is a legendary ingredient that can add SP.]

[Can be cooked with Food God's Cooking Skill Level 2.]

[Suggested Menu: Salmon Sashimi.]

‘Kyaa!’

Minhyuk could not help but be surprised. That was right. Salmon would be delicious if you eat it as sushi, but it would taste best if you sliced it into large enough pieces and ate it as it is. It was delicious whether you dipped it in soy sauce with wasabi, red chili paste, or wrap it in seaweed with radish sprouts and sliced onions. He was also surprised that the ingredient was successfully tracked in one go.

‘It’s definitely good that the radius of the Ingredient Tracking skill has increased to 10 kilometers!’

Minhyuk saw the red circle on the hologram. He exclaimed, “This way!”

“Huh?”

For a moment, Ben could not understand what Minhyuk meant, and asked, “What are you talking about?”

“I already found where it’s located. Let’s go this way!”

Ben’s eyes widened. In fact, he was quite doubtful, but since he had nothing to lose, he raised the anchor.

Shwaaaaaaa!

The boat quickly caught the wind as it headed towards the area where the red point was marked at a high speed. Minhyuk could see that they were quickly approaching the area where the red point was located and at one point, they had approached it very closely.

‘There’s really no Golden Salmon in here, right?’?Ben thought. Was it even really here? Then…

Fwiiiiish!

… a salmon with golden scales shimmering under the bright rays of the sun could be seen swimming just beneath the surface of the water. The light that the salmon’s body was emitting was a sight to behold.

[You have found the legendary Golden Salmon.]

[You have acquired 30 REP.]

“...!”

Ben looked at Minhyuk incredulously. He thought,?‘H…how in the world...!’