Chapter 215: Samgyetang with Thousand-year-old Ginseng

[You have acquired the ‘Automatic Mixer and Bowl’.]

[The ‘Automatic Mixer and Bowl’ has turned into ‘Gorac’s Cancelling Mixer and Bowl’.]

[Gorac’s Lightning Millstone, Gorac’s Aging Jar, and Gorac’s Cancelling Mixer and Bowl are part of an artifact set.]

[You are the first to gather all three artifacts of a set.]

[You have gained 500 REP.]

[Gorac’s Cancelling Mixer and Bowl has evolved from Unique rank to Disaster rank.]

“Oh?”

Minhyuk had realized earlier on, that Gorac’s artifacts would only show their true power when two of the artifacts were brought together. However, he was not aware of a case of having the third artifact. He quickly checked the information of the artifact.

(Gorac’s Cancelling Mixer and Bowl)

Rank: Disaster

Restriction: Gorac’s Artifact Set

Durability:?∞ / ∞

Special Effects:

Magical Defense will increase by 50% just by having the item in your possession.

?Passive Skill: Automatic Stirring Mixer

?Active Skill: Cancel

Description: This is one of the artifacts of a set hidden by Gorac. Only when two of the artifacts in a set meet will they be able to show their true strength.

(Cancel)

Artifact Skill

Level: None

Mana Required: 2,500

Penalty: -1 on all five basic stats.

Cooldown: 480 hours

Effects: Cancels and nullifies all skills and magic within a five-meter radius from the player.

“Oh…!” Minhyuk exclaimed in admiration. It was an incredibly useful skill. Minhyuk stared at the skill in awe. No, he was not staring at the skill ‘Cancel’, but rather, at the skill ‘Automatic Stirring Mixer’.

“Kgghk!?This is such an amazing ability~?Kyaa!”

Then, he turned to look at the ‘Cancel’ skill again, with a subtle expression, before saying, “Well, this is useful~”

That was it. Cancel was a very formidable skill that could bring horror to other players. The Millstone of Lightning had two powerful skills: Lightning, and Lightning Hell. However, the strength of the skill Cancel was comparable to those two. After all, it was a skill that could nullify all skills and magic within a five-meter radius of the player. In other words, even if Minhyuk was surrounded by enemies, he would still be able to exert tremendous power if he nullified all of the lethal skills and attacks directed at him. However, even if he knew that, Minhyuk still thought that the skill ‘Automatic Stirring Mixer’ was the best.

“Beanie agrees with me too. Right?”

“Oink!”

[Beanie agrees with you.]

Beanie even nodded furiously with its shining eyes.

‘Of course! The function of Automatic Stirring is definitely the best! Oink!’

Then, Minhyuk took something out of his arms. It was none other than the World Tree.

‘Hmm…’

The World Tree had no other special ability. It was the part of the World Tree that was shaped like an organ inside a transparent glass. While thinking about what he should do to the rest of the World Tree, Minhyuk recalled something.

“Ah…!”

At this very moment, there was one thing that came to Minhyuk’s mind. It was none other than?samgyetang. Samgyetang was considered to be one of the top healthy foods during the summer. It was a dish that could restore and replenish one’s energy. It also contained a variety of ingredients that could also help in maintaining energy like jujube, ginseng and wood. The wood could come from a variety of trees, like the castor tree, the lacquer tree, or sometimes even the oriental raisin tree.

‘How about making samgyetang with the remaining branches of the World Tree?’

Then, he had an idea. It just so happened that summer was already approaching in reality. He wanted to take this opportunity to try and do that here in?Athenae. He wanted to try and make samgyetang properly with the World Tree.

While browsing and selecting the ingredients, Minhyuk saw one ingredient.

‘Thousand-year-old ginseng!’

The thousand-year-old ginseng was one of the best medicine that was made public in?Athenae. It was considered the best medicine simply because it could increase the player’s mana reserves, in other words, their MP, by 1.5x. For example, a player with an existing 10,000 MP would immediately have 15,000 MP after eating the ginseng. This was how miraculous the item was.

However, there was no information about the exact location and related quests on the official website. Minhyuk was clear that it was going to be something that was difficult to get, but he still wanted it. Hence, Minhyuk sent a whisper to his guild’s informant, Abel.

[Minhyuk: Abel~!]

[Abel: Oh, Minhyukl! Hi.]

[Minhyuk: Yes, hi! I’m not going to beat around the bush. Do you have any information on the thousand-year-old ginseng!]

[Abel: Thousand-year-old ginseng. Of course I do.]

[Minhyuk: Oh, Abel is so cool! Just sending a whisper to Abel is making me feel like I’m a cool guy! Uhh. Manly, charming, a man among men…!]

[Abel: Thank you. So, let’s talk about the terms for exchange? ^^]

As expected, life was filled with twists and turns. There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, and Abel did not fall for Minhyuk’s flattery.

[Minhyuk:…??]

[Abel: Let’s meet and talk?]

[Minhyuk:?? Ok.]

***

Director Kim Daesik brought a box containing his belongings to the Special Players Management Team. He called out, “Let’s relax. Being in the Special Players Management Team is very relaxing and comforting!”

He then placed his box on Team Leader Park’s usual spot. ?After the competition, Team Leader Park immediately went on a seven days, six nights vacation. In fact, while Director Kim thought that it was a very long vacation, Team Leader Park Minggyu had told President Kang Taehoon in a tearful voice,?‘I haven’t had a day off in seven months!’

‘Just come back.’

That was the reason why Team Leader Park went on a trip. Meanwhile, Director Kim Daesik sat back down after taking a cup of coffee and turned towards Lee Minhwa, who had turned into a panda, her eye circles deep and dark, “Let’s take it easy. Take it easy. Huh? All we need to do is to tap the keyboard a few times while looking at the monitor, and make a report on the special players. We’re not responsible for everything in our company. Right?”

“Hohohoho. I…is that so…”

However, Lee Minhwa thought…

‘Director Kim is originally from the ‘Event Preparation’ team, but the biggest event was the competition that ended not too long ago. The Athenae: Korean War. Maybe that’s why he’s free now. And since we needed someone who can do any department’s job, he’s temporarily placed here.’

However, Director Kim Daesik welcomed the opportunity. He believed that the Special Players Management Team, a team that was not involved with developing anything nor creating NPCs, was a very relaxing and comforting environment.

On the contrary, Team Leader Park left for his vacation while shedding tears.

‘I’m finally going on a vacation! Hahahahaha!’

‘Team Leader. Can we contact you if we have any problems with the Special Players…’

‘Nope. I’m not going to pick up! Hahahaha!’

‘Yes…?’

Team Leader Park looked happy while Director Kim Daesik took over the throne in the meantime. Director Kim Daesik was even looking at the tables and numbers on his table.

“What’s this?”

“Ah. It’s a table based on the ratings of the special players. We use it to manage the players.”

“I see.”

While he was looking over his workspace, Director Kim Daesik stopped at one part of the table. He saw a name encircled with a red pen, and there were even special symbols written above it.

[★★★★ Dreaded players ★★★★]

As for the name written below it…

[Food God Minhyuk. Pay attention.]

“W…what’s this?”

“The player that needs monitoring the most.”

“No, well, how special is this player for you to spend that much time monitoring him?”

Director Kim Daesik clicked his tongue because he felt that they were too sensitive when it came to doing their jobs.

Lee Minhwa just thought,?‘…I can clearly remember the team leader’s face when he wanted to rip his head off!’

She grinned widely. Not long after, Director Kim turned to look at Player Minhyuk on his monitor.

“Hmm? He’s going to see Veron. Veron is an NPC that gives beans that will allow him to go to Beas Village. Let’s see.”

Tap, tap, tap, tap!

Director Kim could not help but frown when he poked around and tapped on his keyboard.

“Someone at Player Minhyuk’s level won’t be allowed to take on the quests in Beas Village. He’s just wasting his time.?Tsk, tsk!”

Director Kim clicked his tongue before leaning back on his chair. He thought,?‘The Special Players Management Team is truly heaven!’

He did not know the ‘disaster’ that was coming for him.

***

Minhyuk was walking to meet NPC Veron.

Based on the information that he got from Abel the Informant, he knew that he would only be able to obtain the thousand-year-old ginseng if he went to a place called Berest.

Berest was a place that Minhyuk knew of. It was the ‘meeting place’ for players all over the world. However, it was very difficult to enter Berest and its nearby villages, so it was actually rare for players to go there.

Minhyuk arrived in front of a small cave where Veron was currently located. Veron was known to be a ‘farmer’. He lived in a remote cave while growing and tending to a garden in front of it.

‘He said that I can use the mysterious seeds that I will get from Veron to get to that village. Right?’

Then, Minhyuk stood in front of the cave, waiting in a polite manner. It seemed like he was very determined to eat the ‘Samgyetang with Thousand-year-old Ginseng’ this time.

He pondered deeply on how he should knock on the cave. Then, someone chuckled from the side and said, “Boy, who are you?”

***

Veron heard the reason why Minhyuk came to his cave. He learned that Minhyuk was a foreigner who wanted to go to Beas Village. However, Veron knew that this foreigner did not have the power to fulfill his ‘request’. In other words, his level did not meet his requirements.

Minhyuk’s level was at Level 355. He was not qualified to go to the village since the town was filled with Level 400 players.

“Go back. I don’t think you’re strong enough to do me a favor.”

“Sigh… As expected, that’s it. Right? But… I heard that all I need to do is plow the field…”

“That’s right.”

“Then, I’ll just help you!”

“…You just want to try and help?”

“It’s not just that. I heard that Mister Veron is an excellent farmer and that you have special fruits and vegetables. I wish I could get a little bit of them in exchange…”

“It’s truly too much for me to do on my own, so I’ll be happy if you help me. Ah. Then, how about I give you as many ingredients as the fields you plow? How’s that?”

“Yep! That’s good!”

“Wait. It’s not as easy as you think. Plowing a field is a lot harder than it looks.”

Veron said that since he knew how hard it was for the foreigners to plow his fields. Then, the two of them started to plow the fields. To his shock, he saw that Minhyuk could easily till and plow the land with just a strike of his pickaxe! He realized that Minhyuk was far superior to himself and he was even hardworking!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Take some rest.”

“No! Considering the fruits and vegetables that you grew, this amount of labor is nothing!”

“Hahahaha. This boy. Your words are really pleasant to hear.”

Then, Minhyuk heard a notification.

[You have received Veron’s favor.]

[You have received Veron’s favor.]

[You have received Veron’s favor.]

Veron’s favor towards Minhyuk was increasing rapidly.

During the two days that Veron spent with Minhyuk, he learned about one thing. Minhyuk liked to eat everything, but he would not give you anything. On the contrary, Veron lived in the wilderness. He did not have the time to savor delicacies or eat meat. Right now, Minhyuk was grilling some pork belly.

Sizzle─

“Ah. As expected! Eating pork belly after farming is the best!”

Minhyuk was working diligently as he grilled the pork belly, kimchi, garlic and onions on top of the griller.

Veron watched him make a wrap before placing it in his mouth directly. He could not help but say, “Cough, cough!?Can I also have some pork belly with you?”

“No. I don’t think that’s possible.”

“H…how come…”

Veron could not understand it at all. He thought that Minhyuk would share some with him since he was craving it so much!

“Because you’ve told me that I can’t go to Beas Village since I’m still not quite there yet. I’m glad that the two of us have grown close during this time, but I love food too much. I don’t think that you and I are close enough for me to share pork belly with you. It’s the same thing when you told me that I’m still not strong enough yet.”

“Keuheuk…”

Veron knew that Minhyuk was twisting the dagger that he stabbed himself with earlier! It was like Minhyuk was blatantly telling him, ‘You did not request me to do this, but I still did it!’.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk was happily wrapping some pork belly, garlic, ssamjang, seasoned green onions, and grilled kimchi on a piece of lettuce.

‘It looks so delicious… I think he can taste the pork belly every time he chews. And there’s also the onions, garlic and kimchi that were grilled in the oil of the meat…! I… I want to eat. I really, really want to eat!’

Veron sat near Minhyuk as he started to eat his ‘vegetarian meal’ with the spinach and bean sprouts that he had grown himself.

For most people, there was something like that, right? The smell of pork belly or pork belly that came from a meat restaurant when one just ended work and left the building! Or the smell of pizza or chicken in an elevator! It was a smell that could stimulate appetite and evoke great hunger!

Veron could not take it anymore. He did not want to just watch Minhyuk eat. So, he approached him and said, “I can’t request you for a favor yet, but I can show you a shortcut to Beas Village. What do you say? How about exchanging this information with pork belly?”

Minhyuk, who was munching on a pork belly wrap, smiled brightly. This was the outcome that he had wanted, something that he planned right from the beginning to the end!