Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1037

Minhyuk did not dare cook Athenae’s Frenzied Ingredients by himself. If he made a wrong move, the ingredients would rot and become inedible and unusable.

That was why he had been holding off and not touching the ingredient, even though he was very curious about its merits, such as the +50 permanent increase in stats upon successful processing and cooking and the fact that it had the best taste and flavor.

The biggest problem was that many Gods of Cooking tried to cook ingredients like this, but they all failed. But what Beradon told him, “If one failed to make it, then why not do it together with someone else?”

Minhyuk trembled when he heard those words. There was only one God of Cooking in every era. Even though the Food God used skills derived and developed from the God of Cooking, it did not mean that they were always on good terms. Perhaps that was the reason why they had never tried it.

‘A dish created by the two gods.’

The God of Cooking and the Food God were the two greatest gods when it came to cooking. If these two gods could cook together, it would be incredible.

‘There’s a chance.’

“Tsk. If something delicious comes out, come here.”

Minhyuk bowed politely, then stood up and watched Beradon walk away. He was very grateful to Beradon for solving a problem that he found to be very difficult to solve. With Beradon gone, Minhyuk fell into deep thought.

Minhyuk’s first encounter with Arlene was through a God’s Bet. But if Minhyuk visited her now and asked her to cook with him, the answer that he expected from her would be, ‘I don’t want to.’

Minhyuk was sure that she would refuse. Of course, there were plenty of reasons for her refusal. Perhaps Arlene knew how difficult it was to make a dish from this ingredient successfully.

‘The gods hate airing their dirty laundry out in the open. They’d rather die than do so.’

He did not know if Arlene had ever tried cooking Athenae’s Frenzied Ingredient, but he was very sure that she would not want to show others that she had failed to cook such an ingredient. She wouldn’t even want to leave something that would stain her name.

‘What would she get from cooking with me?’

And even if she decided to cook, the one who would eat the dish would be her. Then, what compensation should he offer for her troubles? Or should he offer some other ingredients to her? To an Absolute God, money is nothing but a lump of iron. And there was a high chance that she had better ingredients than Minhyuk.

But Minhyuk just could not give up.

‘I really want to eat some gamja-tang with this backbone!’

He could already imagine it. On a freezing winter day, he would enter a gamja-tang shop and order gamja-tang. He could already imagine how the frost and the chill covering his entire body would immediately melt with one sip of the boiling spicy gamja-tang. And, of course, there was also the thrill that would come over him once he took a bite of the tender and juicy flesh of the pork!

The thought alone was enough to make Minhyuk try to do anything to make it happen. As he pondered several matters related to his quest to get to gamja, he finally reached a conclusion.

‘Should I try using the Growth Cultivator?’

The Growth Cultivator was a skill that would let him know about various things related to him even without searching for them. The fact that he could create a quest related to himself and set a reward without any need to search for the quest physically was already of great merit.

‘The reward I want is for the God of Cooking to help me cook.’

Then, Minhyuk suddenly realized the rewards were not good enough for the one-week cooldown.

‘There’s a way for me to meet Arlene, talk about this, and induce a quest.’

And if he could do so, then he would not have any need to use the Growth Cultivator. It was important for Minhyuk to remember that the reason why the Growth Cultivator could be considered to be excellent was because he could set his rewards.

‘How can I make it so Arlene will help me cook while giving me amazing rewards?’

Minhyuk continued thinking long and hard about the matter, his thoughts branching wildly.

‘If I create a quest aimed at Arlene, she might feel offended.’

This was highly likely. After all, she was standing still and not doing anything, but she suddenly received a suggestion and an offer she could not refuse. Although she was on good terms with Minhyuk now, Minhyuk could not deny that he would act rudely toward her and offend her if he did that.

‘There has to be a way where I won’t offend her, get a lot of rewards, and state a condition that she would cook with me at the end.’

What could it be? After thinking long and hard, a sparkle suddenly appeared in Minhyuk’s eyes.

‘There is a way!’

However, Minhyuk, who picked his finger, knew that it was a hazardous method.

‘I have to present something in return for the rewards I want in case I fail.’

But if he did not dare to take the risks, then he would not be able to grow further.

[The Growth Cultivator has started to create quests for you.]

[Please set the contents of the quest, the rewards, and the penalty for failure.]

[If you set a reward that is excessive in relation to the quest's difficulty, the system will be the one to set the rewards.]

[If you set an excessive reward and the system chooses to put it, you will receive a reward much worse than what you want.]

Minhyuk began to create his quest.

***

Land of the Gods.

The greatest gods, the Absolute Gods, sat in their seats.

“The Guardian God is not in attendance,” one of the Absolute Gods said. But none of the other gods present showed discontent. They did not show much expression to begin with.

Perhaps it was for the best. After all, the one they were going to discuss right now was someone who could be considered closest to the Guardian God.

“It is our fault for turning a blind eye and leaving God's Prison as it is. And we have already released Evan and turned him into a human being.”

Among the Absolute Gods, the Battle God is the only one who can take action first before reporting. Some might be surprised that Evan was released from prison, but none of the Absolute Gods present opposed the decision.

“But was it alright to leave it as it is?” one of the Absolute Gods asked.

Among the Absolute Gods, a few had made friends with Minhyuk, the subject of their discussion, but there were also some who knew him only through hearsay and had never seen his face.

“He went to God’s Prison under the guidance of the warden named Erach. Even if he is the next generation Battle God, any god who dared to enter the God’s Prison without reporting deserves punishment.”

This was the truth.

“I don’t think it’s proper for us to discuss how to praise him. Regardless of his hard work, he has to pay the price of his sin. I believe he should be deprived of his position as the Battle God for three months,” one of the Absolute Gods said. This god was none other than the God of Judgment.

In many circumstances, the God of Judgment could be considered the God of Law. He had sentenced many people and made them pay the price of their sins. He also had the power to pursue and sentence someone, even if they were an Absolute God or even Athenae herself, once they had sinned. It was also well-known that the God of Judgment was a very strict, stubborn, and inflexible god.

“You’re right. However, depriving him of his position is a bit too much. I think it’s enough to give him a warning,” the Battle God said, drawing the attention of all the gods present. “When he got out of God’s Prison, he was soaked with both blood and sweat, and his entire body was littered with injuries. And not only that, you can see the desire and the determination to protect the Land of the Gods even if he had to do it on his own.”

The Absolute Gods nodded.

Then, the God of Judgment said, “That’s one thing, and this is another. I will send an investigator to look into this matter clearly and thoroughly.”

“You’re too obstinate.”

Even so, the God of Judgment refused to compromise. But then, at that moment, a notification rang in their ears.

[The next generation Battle God offers a bet to the Absolute Gods.]

“...!”

“...!”

Shock appeared on everyone’s faces. What nonsense did they just hear? Minhyuk had offered a bet?

Since ancient times, the gods have offered once-in-a-lifetime bets to outstanding humans. It was like how the God of Cooking and the God of Will offered Minhyuk bets. But this was the first time a human had offered them a bet.

“Was it even possible for him to offer us a bet?” The God of Cooking said, embarrassment evident in her tone.

Some of the Absolute Gods had unpleasant looks on their faces, while some had interest flashing on their faces. And the Battle God, standing among them, thought, ‘What in the world are you thinking?’

He just could not understand. It was evident that not all of the Absolute Gods liked Minhyuk.

[The next generation Battle God suggests a competition where they will make food to serve the Absolute Gods.]

The Absolute Gods looked puzzled and completely clueless about where this was going. Their discomfort from receiving a bet had disappeared because it had now turned into being treated as a meal.

That was right. Minhyuk, who offered the bet, was leading the situation so that he would not offend the Absolute Gods. Immediately after that, another set of notifications came in.

[The suggested cooking period is one month, equivalent to one day in the Land of Swift Passage of Time.]

[Inside the Land of Swift Passage of Time, you can decide the cooking process.]

[The God of Cooking and the Battle God will compete through cooking.]

[If the Absolute Gods acknowledge and praise the Battle God, he will grow one step further.]

[If the Battle God disappoints the Absolute Gods, he will receive a penalty. His power will fall as a penalty for suggesting a bet.]

[If all of the Absolute Gods acknowledge and praise him, then the Battle God will tell you one thing he wants from you.]

[If the Battle God fails to receive more than five acknowledgments and recognitions from the Absolute Gods, the Battle God will accept something that you as long as it is within reason.]

[Do you accept?]

The Absolute Gods looked at each other. This bet was not made because the next generation Battle God must “win” against the God of Cooking. It was just about getting their recognition during the cooking process or after the finished dish.

And if he did not receive more than five acknowledgments and recognitions, he would have to pay the sin of daring to suggest a bet with the Absolute Gods. His power would decrease as long as someone did not acknowledge him. But there was one crucial thing.

‘The Battle God has to obtain the absolute support of the Absolute Gods.’

The support of the other gods was important, but nothing was more important than the support of the Absolute Gods. Right now, Minhyuk was trying to capture and win the hearts of all of the Absolute Gods, including the hearts of stubborn and tricky gods like the God of Judgment, in one bet.

The Battle God looked at the other Absolute Gods.

From what he could see from their expressions, it did not look like they weren’t really against being treated to a meal. Aside from choosing how the cooking process would happen inside the Land of Swift Passage of Time, they could also knock his power down by a peg if they did not like it. On the other hand, if all of them acknowledged him, then they must do one thing that he wanted.

It sounded like they were being set up in a trap. But would all of the Absolute Gods acknowledge him?

‘That’s impossible.’

Why was that the case? The Battle God turned to look at the God of Judgment. Even if the others acknowledged Minhyuk, the God of Judgment would not recognize or believe him.

Everyone nodded. Then, the Battle God said, “We accept the bet.”

***

[The Absolute Gods have accepted the bet.]

[You will be transferred to the Land of the Gods in thirty minutes.]

Minhyuk smiled in satisfaction. He had deliberately created a quest to make a bet with the Absolute Gods and set up a system where each recognition and acknowledgment he received from them would result in a reward. Not only would he receive rewards after all of the Absolute Gods have recognized him, but he would also ask the God of Cooking to help him cook the Frenzied Ingredient.

The reward for the quest was set according to the level of difficulty of the quest. Minhyuk had put it so the rewards would be given depending on the individual’s recognition. The recognition and acknowledgment that he would receive from the Absolute Gods would vary from a small recognition to a great recognition. As such, the rewards would also vary.

[One of the Absolute Gods, the God that Lives for Someone, Leads Someone on the Right Path and Protects Someone. The Guardian God has acknowledged you.]

[You have leveled up.]

When one of the Absolute Gods acknowledged and recognized him, he would receive the reward of leveling up.