Gourmet Gaming

Seven men raised their left arms to the sky while shouting as loud as they could.

“Frieeeeeeeend!!!”

“Frieeeeeeeeeeeeend!!!”

“Frieeeeeeeeeend!!!”

“Frieeeeeeeend!!!”

“...”

“...”

Nerva, who was watching the scene from a distance, was speechless. Even the other players looked at them blankly.

Then, one of the players murmured, “It’s so f*cking cringy, but it also looks so cool...”

The mumbling player's expression was awkward and embarrassed when all the people, including Nerva, turned to look at him.

“We don’t have to worry too much about that side.”

“That’s right.”

“What is there to be afraid of when we have His Majesty Nerva on our side?”

Of course, Minhyuk was the envy of all of the players. But if they were asked to choose between Minhyuk and Nerva, they would not hesitate to choose Nerva. The players were all aware of Minhyuk’s situation.

‘Maybe Death and Ali are also feeling the same thing.’

‘But they can no longer separate from Minhyuk, so there’s nothing else that they can do.’

‘Even the gods, who chose Minhyuk’s side, are all trivial and insignificant gods.’

‘Although I feel sorry for him, I will do my best to overcome this trial.’

They all turned to Nerva and soon refocused on their tasks.

“Did you say that you’re the God of Shooting? Your task is to keep the God of Magic, the God of Archery, or any god capable of long-range attacks in check.”

Nerva calmly began to give his orders: “Use your bullets and shoot at their powers before they can fully unleash them. As for the God of Lightning, release your lightning bolts to counter the attacks that are about to fall on us. Lightning strikes faster than any other attack, so it is more effective to use it to prevent those attacks from coming at us.”

Of course, these were common tactics that anyone could think of. However, it was different since Nerva gave the command. And because Nerva, who gave them an extremely ridiculous buff, was here, the proud and arrogant players could unite.

‘With this, I will not be afraid of anything.’

The players were all intoxicated by the power that coursed through their veins.

Just like that, they followed Nerva’s orders and used the remaining twenty minutes before the next wave of attacks to start preparing. That was when they heard a loud thud, and something heavy fell on the ground. When they turned to look at the direction of the sound, they saw Minhyuk opening the lid of a huge cauldron.

***

After removing the cauldron lid, Minhyuk again checked the ingredients he had ripped off of Valentino.

(God’s Chicken that Grew Up Watching the God of Herculean Strength)

Grade: God

Special Abilities:

•All of your attack power will increase.

•Your skill level will increase.

•Your probability of ignoring your enemies’ defenses will increase by 30%.

Description: This is a chicken raised by the God of Herculean Strength. Although it was raised to be very healthy, it is quite tough because of its insane amount of muscle mass. But its flavor is guaranteed to be light and savory. The problem is it’s a bit too tough to eat. The meat should be cooked until it has softened enough.

If you can cook this chicken until it is soft and tender, you will taste a very light, savory, and delicious chicken. The buff effects that you will receive will be much better than ordinary. But the buff effects will be reduced if you fail to cook this well.

The God’s Chicken that Grew Up Watching the God of Herculean Strength was quite a special ingredient. Most God-grade ingredients would subject the person cooking them to various torments the moment they started to process and cook them. However, this chicken was different. It did not have any of that.

The problem was that if the one cooking failed to cook the chicken until it was soft and tender, it would remain tough because of its muscle mass. There was also the fact that the buff effect that one would receive upon failure in cooking the chicken well would be worse than the buff effect of an epic-grade dish.

And from what Minhyuk could see, this chicken seemed to focus on increasing one’s attack power. Perhaps it was because its name included the words “Herculean Strength.”

Minhyuk briefly considered how he would cook this embarrassingly tough chicken. It did not take too long for a dish to pop into his mind.

‘Ah... If it’s like this, then...’

The dish that came to Minhyuk’s mind was spicy braised chicken. But it wasn’t a simple spicy braised chicken. It would be made with exceptional equipment. The dish was none other than Cauldron Lid Spicy Braised Chicken.

This spicy braised chicken was not cooked on a gas range but on a wood fire. It was soft enough that the flesh would fall off the chicken leg the moment it touched one’s mouth. That was how delicious it was. And with wood fire, the better and stronger the fire, the deeper the flavor, and the softer the meat would seep inside.

Minhyuk quickly placed a lot of firewood under the cauldron lid.

‘We don’t have much time.’

He had to move as fast as he could to boil the meat well.

“Ali, Valentino. I will give you two a critical mission.”

Valentino wanted to go home already. However, since he was already here, he decided to do his best and give it his all. As for the three other God-class players, they were watching everything with shining eyes.

‘Oh my god. What will be his first command to the world’s greatest mage and tanker?!’

This was Athenae’s Supreme! What would his command be?

Then, Minhyuk said, “Use some fire magic here. Valentino, use your shield to fan the fire so we can maintain its intensity and help it grow stronger.”

“Fire!” Ali immediately cast his spell. He did not even hesitate, as if he was very familiar with this scenario.

Fire shot toward the firewood, causing it to burst into flames.

“...”

Valentino was the idol of all tankers in the world. How dare someone ask him to fan the flames with his shield? However, Valentino only hesitated for a moment. In the end, he squatted down and began using his square shield as a fan to blow wind to the flames.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk, who had quickly finished chopping and preparing the ingredients, began to cook. He added the God’s Chicken, potatoes, gochujang, and the ingredients on the cauldron lid. Then, he pulled out another pot lid and covered the cauldron lid to allow the ingredients to boil.

Fwiiiiiiish–!

After ten minutes, steam began to escape from the seams of the pot. When Minhyuk lifted the lid, the boiling red sauce that covered the chicken appeared.

“Valentino, go faster. The fire is going out.”

“Huh? Ah, y- yeah...!”

“But you’re good at fanning, huh?”

“Ha- Haha. I’m quite good, huh?” Valentino smiled as his hands moved faster to fan harder. This was the prime example of the carrot and the whip! And the sauce that had filled the entire cauldron lid had decreased significantly in no time. It was boiling down really, really well.

Just like that, the thirty-minute countdown ended.

[The Third Wave has started!]

[The Third Wave lasts forty minutes and will be immediately followed by an all-out attack from the gods!]

At that moment, dozens of meteors began to fall from the sky. They were the God of Magic’s Meteor.

“We have to hold on until I finish cooking this meal. Ali!”

Ali created a huge golden barrier that covered him and his allies in a split second. Minhyuk turned his head to look at the situation.

‘Shit, that’s crazy.’

The Divine Army sent tens of thousands of sword lights while the death knights and bone dragons summoned by the God of Death charged at them from a distance.

Crack, crack, crack–!

Then, at that moment, diamond-like ice began to form through the gap in the bone dragons’ formation. The ice, cracking finely like a spider web, froze an entire area at a very high speed. The players cheered when they saw a whole area of 350 meters turn frozen.

“Sir Nerva’s power is truly amazing,” the God of Ice sighed in admiration. The effects of Nerva’s buff had made him 1.3x stronger than usual. And thanks to that, the God of Ice could slow down the charge of the bone dragons and the other enemies.

Meanwhile, the meteors falling at the succession ceremony hall were suddenly struck by hundreds of lightning bolts.

Crackle, crackle, crackle–!

Crack– crack, crack–!

At the same time, a man flew up toward these meteors. This man was Nerva. As Nerva flew up with his sword, powerful sword lights rivaling the meteors' number also appeared.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaang–!

The moment these sword lights made contact with the meteors, the meteors shattered into pieces. Just like that, Nerva continued to destroy the meteors. The players, encouraged by this scene, stepped on the debris of the meteors that Nerva destroyed and moved to help him. A faint smile appeared on Nerva’s face when he saw this scene. Perhaps his credibility rating had already experienced a significant increase.

[Unlike the Battle God’s Sword, you have not moved to prove your qualifications as the Battle God’s Descendant!]

[Your Credibility Rating is -18%!]

“...?”

Minhyuk, who was busy cooking, experienced a sharp decrease in his credibility rating. And that was not all. The others have also heard a similar set of notifications.

[Even though you used your strongest defensive magic, you still failed to protect your allies from your enemies!]

[Your Credibility Rating is -22%!]

[As the master of the undead and the ruler of the kingdom of the dead, you failed to stop your enemies from advancing!]

[Your Credibility Rating is -19%!]

[As the owner of the greatest and strongest shield, you failed...]

[Your Credibility Rating is -1%!]

The credibility ratings of those who chose to side with Minyhyuk also fell. Why? Because they decided to hide behind the barrier while the others were fighting fiercely to defend against the attack.

Immediately after that, the gods began to attack more fiercely, forcing many players to log out and causing a sharp decrease in Valentino’s credibility rating.

[Your Credibility Rating is -12%!]

[Your Credibility Rating is -16%!]

Still squatting down and fanning the flames, Valentino turned to look at Minhyuk.

“Until when...”

At that moment, Valentino saw the bright and happy smile that flashed on Minhyuk’s face.

“It’s done.”

[Everyone’s Happiness.]

[One dish turns to ten.]

Immediately after those words left Minhyuk’s mouth, a dish wrapped in a bright golden light appeared in front of Valentino. He couldn't help but smile at the dish. But then, he suddenly fell in doubt, thinking, ‘From what I recall, the Food God’s Everyone’s Happiness can create ten dishes out of one single dish.’

But the only ones on their side were Minhyuk, Ali, Death, Valentino, and the three other God-class players. This meant that there were three bowls of this meal left. Who was going to eat these three bowls?

The answer came not long after. Valentino saw the three other dishes appear in an absurd place.

‘This- this crazy bastard.’ Valentino was both shocked and amazed by Minhyuk’s guts. ‘He’s not doing an item or a mob steal, but a talent steal?’

The three dishes appeared before the God of Shooting, the God of Ice, and the God of Lightning, all fighting alongside Nerva.

***

Claaaaang–!

Clack!

God of Shooting Rudolph aimed and fired at the God of Magic, who was busy casting his magic upon them. He was delighted when he saw the God of Magic stop casting his spell and choose to erect a shield in front of him.

‘I’m stopping the gods and holding them back!’

Rudolph was intoxicated with the power coursing through his veins. The Greatest Emperor’s Blessing was such an impressive buff. He had never received such an amazing buff in his life. For a player who suddenly received an amazing buff, the reinforcement of their abilities and the power that came along to help them hunt or catch a mob that they could not usually deal with was enough to make them drunk on power.

‘All of my stats increased by 22% while my magical and physical defensive power increased by 20%.’

Since all of Rudolph’s stats had increased, his magical and physical attack power would also increase relative to his stats. The buff was enough to increase his attack power by 20%. But it wasn’t the only thing that increased along with his stats. Even his Hit Rate increased.

However, no matter how good a buff effect is, there would still be something that they would find disappointing.

‘The fact that all of my stats have increased was already good. But if my attack power were increased by leaps and bounds, then I would probably be able to shoot through the gods.’

If that was the case, then he might have passed out from delight and ecstasy. Of course, the current buff that he received was already the greatest buff that he had ever seen in his life. So, he felt like it was already more than enough.

‘Once this Succession Ceremony ends and I inherit the position of the God of Shooting, shall I join the Luvien Empire?’

Just when the thought flashed, a dish appeared before him. Rudolph could see that the dish seemed not only in front of him but also in front of the God of Ice and the God of Lightning. He knew who sent this to them right away—it was none other than the Food God.

Rudolph glanced at the Food God and saw that he was smiling faintly at him.

‘Unbelievable.’

Rudolph had already raised his score by siding with Nerva to the maximum. Even if this dish had buff effects that were far superior to Nerva’s buff, would someone be crazy enough to eat it? However, Rudolph could not resist the curiosity that started to eat at him.

“Hmm...”

Rudolph thought, ‘It’s okay to check it, right?’ as he quickly checked the information of the braised chicken dish that appeared in front of him. But when he saw the information, he could only blink blankly.

‘Huh? I think there’s something weird here?’

Rudolph, who had already turned off the dish information window, quickly opened it again to check the details.

‘There’s a 16% increase in all stats, a 28% increase in magical and physical attack power, a +2 increase in all skills’ levels, and a +4 increase in a chosen skill’s level.’

Rudolph’s eyes brightened considerably as he pondered over the effects of the dish.

‘If I eat this dish, my attack power will be 1.4x stronger!?’ Rudolph thought as he reached for the dish without delay.

Talent steal? Success!

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