Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 304: Siblings Selling Ramyeon

“Bwahahahahaha!?You want to challenge all four trials?” Dwarf Lant laughed in satisfaction as he asked Minhyuk.

[You have received Lant's favor.]

A notification suddenly rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

All four of the trials were extremely difficult. The person presented with these choices must take into consideration their special skills and abilities before choosing which path they would choose.

To take on Mother of Life Eden’s trial, one had to have a high level of dexterity and an outstanding knowledge in farming. If they wanted to tackle the trial of Sword and Shield, they should have excellent individual skills and outstanding commanding abilities. The trials were not meant to be taken at the same time. They were created to give an individual a choice, allowing them to take on the challenge of a trial that was ‘tailored’ to their skill set and abilities. They needed to have the basic requirements of the trial of their choice to be able to complete it. One could not just freely choose the Sword and the Shield just because they wanted to get a strong army.

‘No… I don’t know, but perhaps it will be possible if it’s the Food God.’

The Food God was equipped with high dexterity and was someone proficient in all fields. He had tremendous strength as an individual, and even more outstanding abilities as a commander. In fact, Atlas territory was originally owned by the Food God. He was the one who made it prosper and thrive.

“I haven’t told you what will happen if you fail yet.”

A notification rang in Minhyuk’s ears the moment Dwarf Lant finished his words.

[In the event of failure, CHA -30, 5 basic stats -10, and disqualification to challenge and come to Atlas territory once again.]

With the decrease of thirty in the charisma stat and ten in each of the five basic stats, the minimum loss of stats would amount to eighty. For anyone at Minhyuk’s level, this would be a huge loss in terms of total stats.

The main reason why top rankers risked their lives to increase their level, even by one, was because the difference in their power came from the bonus points that they would receive from just a single level up. What separated each ranker was equivalent to a thin piece of paper in the form of that single bonus point. However, that small point was what defined the world of difference between their strengths. There was also the fact that he would not be able to challenge the trials for Atlas territory ever again. In other words, if he truly decided to proceed with all four trials, just one failure among the four would mean that he would not be able to receive this territory.

‘No matter how strong or outstanding Minhyuk is, it might still be hard for him to pass all four trials…’?

Then, Dwarf Lant spoke, “If you choose your first trial and receive an extremely high score, then you can make another choice. However…”

Lant grinned as he continued to speak, “If you proceed with the second trial and fail, you won’t be able to challenge the ownership of Atlas territory once again. The loss of your strength in this trial would overlap with your previous trial and that trial would be considered a failure too.”

In other words, if he challenged the second trial and failed, the reduction of thirty points in his charisma stat would become sixty and the loss in his five basic stats would become twenty points each. Failure would mean falling by thirty levels and losing the rights to challenge the ownership of the territory. This was a very dangerous gamble.

At that moment, Minhyuk asked, “I’m curious about something. Have all of you been here all this time? Or did you just awaken when we came to Atlas territory?”

“We awakened. It’s been hundreds of years, actually,” Lant answered. He was curious about why he asked such a question, but Minhyuk believed that he found a way to get out of this.

‘How delicious would my food be for these people who only awakened after a long time, huh? Fufufufufu.’?

Every question that Minhyuk asked was for a reason. It seemed like there was already a plan brewing in his head.

“Let’s talk for a moment,” Minhyuk spoke as he gathered the members of Legend Guild.

“What do you think we should do?”

“Isn’t it better for you to choose one trial first to determine the difficulty of the trial, then base your decision on whether to challenge another one or not on that?” Genie said. After all, it made perfect sense.

“Personally, I want to take the Mother of Life, Eden’s trial," Minhyuk said. The words that the members of the Legend Guild were extremely worried about finally came out.

Minhyuk liked food, more than anyone else in the world, so they knew that this would be his choice. However, the guild members believed that this choice was not the best in terms of efficiency.

“Do whatever you’re comfortable with.” Genie agreed with him and allowed him to make his own choice. Because of that, the other guild members had no other choice but to accept it too.

The chance to challenge this territory was something that Minhyuk had gotten through his own efforts. Of course, they were a team, a group, and a community, but they all respected Minhyuk’s opinion.

“Everyone, aren’t you looking quite disappointed there?” Minhyuk asked.

“No, well…”

“It’s because the Sword and Shield looks like the best choice.” Locke bluntly answered Minhyuk’s question.

Minhyuk turned to ask Locke, “How come?”

“How great would it be if we can raise soldiers that are much more powerful than the soldiers in other territories?”

Minhyuk shook his head before speaking, “It’s true that I want to choose Mother Eden because I like to eat, but I also believe that taking on Mother Eden’s trial first would have the greatest effect.”

“Huh?” The guild members all asked in a daze. They looked at Minhyuk in confusion with eyes that were clearly asking him, ‘What are you on about?’?

“Once I complete Mother Eden’s trial, the territory will have excellent agricultural land. The crops that will grow out of this land will have special abilities that we haven’t seen before. What Locke said just now, strong troops? What if the crops that grow out of the land have an ‘Experience Buff’ effect on them?”

“Oh?”

“And what will happen if we feed those experience buff crops to the soldiers and train them?”

“...”

The guild members’ eyes widened in shock. That was right. They had only focused on the thing in front of them, failing to think ahead and not consider anything else. They only wanted to gain strength quickly, without considering the overall development of the territory.

“To be honest, just the special crops alone can help us gather and secure our wealth and financial stability. What can we do with this wealth? Lant might be a dwarf that can make artifacts, but with a lot of money, we can fully equip our soldiers with A-ranked artifacts.”

“...C…crazy. Why didn’t we think of that?”

“Now that I hear it, it seems to be true…”

The guild members were all sincerely in awe. These were the things that they did not think of and would not have come up with themselves. Their vision was only limited to becoming strong. Through Minhyuk’s enlightenment, farming was something that could have endless uses.

A few days ago, Genie had told the members of Legend Guild that she would hand over the position of guild leader to Minhyuk. The guild members discussed deeply about the ‘leadership’?aspect of the position. Could someone like Minhyuk, who liked food more than anything else in the world, be a leader? This was the doubt in their hearts. However, right here and then, the guild members felt their heart shake.

‘He’s fulfilling his own personal greed, but he’s also trying to fulfill our greed…’?

‘Minhyuk is really incredible.’

Then, Minhyuk turned to Lant and said, “I choose the farming trial.”

“Really? You won’t have any regrets?” Lant asked, eyes narrowing at Minhyuk.

‘The farming trial is the most difficult and strictest trial, but if he succeeds and receives the Food God’s territory, this will exert the most special power in all the land.’

However, the fact that it was the most difficult trial still remained.

“Yes.”

“I see.”

Not long after, the Mother of Life, Eden, approached Minhyuk.

[You have chosen the trial of Eden, the Mother of Life.]

“I will summon the best farmer in existence for you. This person is like the king of farmers. Right now, you will be tasked to manage the garden here. He will become your aid and assistance.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Then, a man appeared surrounded by a bright light. The man, who appeared, made eye contact with Minhyuk. He blinked blankly, looking alternately at Minhyuk and Eden. Then, his face twisted as he burst out in tears.

“...?”

Eden tilted her head in confusion. The man that she had summoned was the best among all of the existing farmers. She wondered why this man was crying so loudly. Then, the man whispered in Eden’s ears, “Is he the one that will challenge the trial?”

“That’s right. What’s the matter?”

“That, that person… He…he’s an elephant. He can rival an elephant when eating. No, he can eat as much as an elephant…” He whispered. However, his voice clearly had a hint of fear, even though he was just here to manage a garden.

Seeing him, the corners of Minhyuk’s lips raised in a small smile. Then, he greeted him politely, “Aaaaaaah!?Is that you, Bran?!?!?! Oh my. Oh man!! What a coincidence!! Are you still farming sweet potatoes and potatoes well?”

Hearing his words, the man hailed as the King of Farmers, in other words, Bran, spoke in despair, “You ate them all and left!!!”

Tears welled up in his eyes again. That was right. Bran was the person that Minhyuk met in a hidden dungeon in the past. The very same man who asked him to dig up sweet potatoes and potatoes.

Back then, Minhyuk ate thousands of sweet potatoes and potatoes, leaving only one grilled butter potato and disappearing from his sight. Bran cried at the memory. It seemed like the memory had become a source of his trauma and fear.

‘This time, it’s farming… with this wild boar here… No, he’s worse than them!!!’?

***

China’s Great Wall Guild was a name that referred to the top four guilds in China, the same way Korea had the Sun Guild Alliance. The guilds that were part of the Great Wall Guild were usually busy tearing each other apart. However, right now, these guilds had gathered together with one goal in mind.

“Our priority is to determine who will go to the Korean Server first…”

The man sitting at the center was none other than Zhang Chen, the Black Dragon’s subordinate. Not too long ago, Zhang Chen was able to reach Vormon’s lair and was able to receive another artifact. Right now, he only needed to secure just one more artifact for Black Dragon Vormon, to awaken some of his strength from days of yore.

Just like the last time, he was also able to send people over to the Korean Server through the black gem. But this time, instead of only two or three, he would be able to send a total of thirty people. And that was not the end of it.

It was a well-known fact that there was an ocean separating the Cairon and Asgan Continents. From what Vormon had said, he would be able to guide around 1,000 people through that sea. In other words, 1,000 people could set sail on a ship to go to the Korean Server.

Zhang Chen had learned from Ma Tianyu, who was caught by the devil boy that he mentioned, that the Korean Server was not a place that was as easy as he thought. Because of that, he decided that going on his own would be unreasonable. So, he contacted the Great Wall Guild and made deals with them.

“We need to trash and smash the best guild in the Korean Server, the Legend Guild. The thirty players who would enter through the entrance passage should be at least a part of the top 100 Chinese players.”

Vormon not only wanted to destroy the absolute divine beast, he also wanted to destroy the master that owned the absolute divine beast, as well as the guild that the human was a part of. For him to do that, he needed the help of the best people in his server. The thirty rankers who would enter the entrance passage would immediately go straight to Legend Guild’s territory, Valhalla and scope the territory.

“Why did Mei Wei go there?”

They knew that Zhang Chen had sold a slot to Mei Wei, which allowed her to enter the Asgan Continent ahead of the server integration. Wei Xin, the guild leader of ‘White Dragon Guild’, one of the four guilds that were part of the Great Wall Guild, spoke up, wondering why Mei Wei went there alone.

Wei Xin was second in the players’ rankings in China. In fact, the White Dragon Guild that he was leading was shining brightly at the top of the country’s guild rankings. He was also a Lv580 player with the Legendary Class ‘Fist King’s Disciple’. He was only second only to the number one ranker in the world in the Chinese server.

Then, Liu Xiaowei, the guild master of Red Rose Guild said, “Of course, it’s because Mei Wei also wanted to experience a new continent.”

“I see…” Wei Xin answered as he slowly nodded in agreement. However, there was still something that did not sit right in his head.

‘But why would she be in a hurry to the point that she even willingly paid a huge amount of four billion?’?

Of course, she would not be in the entrance passage anymore. She was probably already going around to experience the Korean Server.

“Let’s carefully select the 30 rankers that will enter the entrance passage. The three guild masters should lead your guild members by boat.”

“I understand.”

“Alright.”

“Yes.”

No one paid attention to the words that Wei Xin had uttered before. They did not have the time to care about that. For them, it was already exhausting enough to be sitting in the same room as each other. After all, they were in a situation where they had to cooperate together.

Meanwhile, Wei Xin’s eyes were shining brightly as he mumbled to himself, “By tomorrow, we will be known as the people who destroyed the Korean Server’s elite guild.”

***

Mei Wei was smiling more happily than when she hunted a legendary-class monster and bombed her level up. She wiped the sweat off of her forehead after fixing Conir’s handcart. Now, the name that was hanging on the handcart was correct.

[Conir’s Ramyeon Shop ]

“Wow!?Noona’s amazing!! You know how to write all of the letters?!! Do you also know how to read?!!!”

“Y…yeah…” Mei Wei stuttered as she looked back at Conir with a wry smile on her face. It seemed like the child was truly too ignorant of the world.

Not long after, Conir said, “What if the business doesn’t go well?”

Mei Wei answered him confidently, “With this beautiful Noona as your employee, there’s no way that your business won’t do well, Conir. Hohohohoho!”

“Aaah! Hyung told me about people like you, Noona!!”

“What? About a breathtaking beauty…”

“Princess syndrome!! That’s right! Noona, you have princess syndrome!!”

The veins on Mei Wei’s forehead ticked in anger, but she did her best to endure. She smiled and stroked Conir’s head, whose eyes were shining brightly as he looked at her, as if waiting for her praise.

“Conir. This Noona found a way to sell your ramyeon like hotcakes.”

“Wooow!?Really~?”

“That’s right," Mei Wei answered confidently.

‘Look forward to it.’

***

White Dragon Guild’s guild master, Wei Xin, immediately received Black Dragon Vormon’s power and led thirty of the most elite Chinese rankers to the entrance passage the very next day. They immediately delved deep into the entrance passage the moment they arrived.

‘They said that there’s a devil boy here, right?’?

Wei Xin walked as this thought ran through his head. However, despite the warning, he believed that there was nothing to worry about. After all, most of the people present in their group right now could rival Ma Tianyu.

So, Wei Xin continued to walk forward, before suddenly stopping in his tracks. In the distance, he saw a handcart with a sign that said ‘Conir’s Ramyeon Shop’.

“Welcome!! Welcome to Conir’s Ramyeon Shop!!” A boy greeted them, suddenly appearing in front of them.

Wei Xin and the rankers grew wary and alert at the sudden appearance of the boy. Then, a woman appeared too. The woman had a black mask covering her mouth and nose. However, despite the mask covering almost half of her face, the woman, wearing a sky blue one-piece dress, was still so beautiful that she looked like a fairy that descended from the heavens.

The men of the group gulped loudly as drool dripped down their chins. Their eyes wandered down her chest and her smooth and silky legs, wanting to see more.

The woman, then, grabbed her dress and lifted it lightly as she seductively stuck out her right leg and said, “Would you like to eat some ramyeon at our shop? Ah, heung~?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!?We’ll eat!!”

At that moment, one of the guild members next to Wei Xin shouted ‘Yes’?more than seven times in a split second, expressing his strong will to do so.

1. ??? - a slang or word referring to a girl who has a severe case of narcissism and acts like a spoiled princess