Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1214

Chapter 1214

Nothing was known about the Pillar Ingredient, such as the amount of buff or what else could be increased compared to a God-grade ingredient. Even the dangers chefs could face when dealing with this ingredient were unknown.

Many Athenae chefs thought, ‘We couldn’t cook it because we did not have a chance to get our hands on the ingredient. If we get our hands on it, there will be chefs who can successfully do it.’

Merlo and the viewers also shared the same thought. That was until they touched the chicken and saw the white flames devour the chefs and priests standing around them.

[You cannot cook the Pillar Ingredient carelessly.]

[White Flames have appeared. It will extend and devour the entire area within a ten-meter radius.]

[All of your defenses will be ignored.]

These notifications rang in Merlo’s ears as he watched almost ten million chefs burn after barely touching the ingredient. They died and turned into ashes. It was literal pandemonium. The scene was so frightening that many were scared out of their wits. Screams rang all over the place. They couldn’t tell if this was a cooking competition or a battlefield.

The NPC chefs, who managed to survive, screamed as their bodies were wracked with the pain of their burning flesh. All of the hairs on their bodies were burnt off. As for the pain that was gnawing on their flesh? It was too much. They all ended up fainting on the spot.

“P-priests! Quick! Cast a heal on me… What the f*ck are you doing?!”

“There are no more priests… Heok!”

The chefs, who were struggling from the pain, looked around. However, the scene that greeted them left them wide-eyed. Most of the chefs and the priests who filled the Beagle Grounds have died. The only ones left around them were the screaming and groaning chefs and the high-ranking priests who barely survived.

[Your HP has dropped below 37%.]

Merlo, one of the chefs who fainted from the pain, regained consciousness. Fortunately, almost ten of the fifty priests he brought had survived the hell that unfolded before them.

He hurriedly shouted to the priests desperately casting healing spells on their bodies, “Hurry up! Cast heal on me!”

There was no telling when the next wave of attack would begin. Aside from the priests’ healing, Merlo also took out a top-ranking potion and poured it all over his body. With his HP rising to a certain level, Merlo finally felt safe and quickly regained his stability.

‘It’s just the beginning, but it’s already very difficult…’

Just when the thought flashed in his head, the rhythmic sound of the knife hitting the chopping board rang in the area.

Tak– Tak, tak– Tak, tak, tak, tak–!

‘Is he nuts? He’s cooking in this hell?!’

The screams suddenly stopped. The chefs, who were struggling from the mind-numbing pain, turned their heads to look in the direction where the sound was coming from. And what they saw made their jaws drop to the floor.

Someone who still could not bring himself to believe what he was seeing in this situation ended up muttering, ‘This is crazy…’ Someone else stared at him in a daze, while some looked at him in awe.

The direction where the more than two million surviving chefs were looking was none other than the platform where Minhyuk was chopping, as if everything happening around him was something that he had expected to happen.

Swoosh, swoosh–!

Everyone could see that there were still some lingering white flames burning his body. What was surprising was that he survived even though he did not bring a single priest with him. Was it because he was stupid? No, not at all.

‘Because he already knew that it’s useless.’

Goosebumps appeared on the skin of everyone present. Yes, Minhyuk had already experienced what dealing with a Pillar-grade ingredient was like. Panic filled Merlo’s wide-open eyes.

[The Chef’s Faith has been activated.]

[The power of the God of Cooking will protect you for one minute.]

[For one minute, you will be able to reach the level where you can make the greatest dish.]

Light covered the bodies of the surviving chefs. They had abandoned their complacent attitude from earlier. They discarded the idea that they could do it, too, and replaced it with the idea of surviving and doing it. Then, they once again took hold of the chicken.

Many of the two million surviving chefs were high-level chefs. They were among the top 10% of the twelve million who came here today. And 1% of these surviving chefs were hailed as the best chefs. That was not all. The 1% of this number were among the top 100 rankings in the Chef Rankings.

“Chef’s Blessings.”

“Indomitable Cooking!”

“Ingredient Preparation!”

The chefs survived the first crisis. Sweating profusely, they put the chicken in the water.

[Please remove all of the impurities from the chicken.]

The chicken they were dealing with now was different from the chicken sold on the market. The chicken sold on the market already had its claws chopped off, its organs and intestines cleaned and removed, and its gizzard cleaned and removed. Unfortunately, this chicken was not cleaned at all.

However, the chefs have dealt with countless chickens in their lives. They raised their knives and immediately went for the claws. Just then, the second difficulty appeared in front of them.

“...I haven’t cut it off?”

The same cry echoed in the Beagle Grounds.

“I can’t get rid of the impurities…? Hey, the impurities on the skin of the chicken aren’t even moving! It’s like they’re steel bars!”

The chefs hurriedly activated more skills. They had experienced cases like this when dealing with God-grade ingredients. The problem was nothing happened even after they had used their skills.

When they tried to pull the organs and the intestines out from the chicken’s split stomach, they could not pull it.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

They could not even leave a scratch when they tried to cut the sharp claws off with their knives.

When they tried to remove the gizzard, it released a poisonous gas!

Fwoosh–!

[You have been poisoned.]

[Your AGI has dropped by 20%. Your vision has grown hazy.]

“This is crazy!”

“What the hell is this ingredient?!”

“Woah. What the hell…!”

The chefs shouted incredulously, their frustrated voices echoing in the vast grounds.

As for Merlo? Things were slightly more manageable for him. After all, he possessed the God of Cooking’s Ingredient Preparation.

‘Is it this difficult?’

It took around ten minutes just for Merlo to prepare the chicken. As for the other chefs, many of them failed.

[The Greatest Chefs has given permission. Chefs can now make groups of ten and work together.]

[However, the chefs who cook together must dedicate 3 DEX to the Greatest Chef.]

Merlo’s face grew ugly. The other chefs, who had only been able to deal with one impurity, finally realized something.

“It doesn’t matter whether there’s ten, a hundred or a thousand! It’s the same as long as we’re able to cook this damn ingredient and get our quest rewards!”

“How can you even cook this f*cking crazy ingredient by yourself?!”

The chefs began to work together. Once ten chefs had gathered, the Pillar Ingredient with the most impurities removed was the one that remained. The rest were promptly destroyed.

The ten chefs stuck together and began cleaning the chicken. One worked on the claws, one on the gizzard, and the others on the other organs and intestines. When their energies and abilities ran out, the chefs on standby ran to change with them.

Unfortunately, it took them twenty minutes to finish handling the ingredient preparation. The Greatest Chef, Minhyuk, had completed all ingredient preparations ten minutes ago. He had already started cooking in earnest.

“Thankfully, there’s no deadline…”

[If you don’t finish cooking the Pillar Chicken in 1 hour and 30 minutes, the taste and quality of the dish will be significantly reduced.]

“Damn it…!”

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

“This is making me go f*cking crazy!”

As a sense of urgency washed over them, each of the chefs from each group of ten ran around like crazy to try and start cooking the chicken.

One group tried to make the easiest dish with chicken. They covered the chicken with egg and batter before frying it in a pan filled with well-heated cooking oil.

Crackle–!

Shwaaaaaaa–!

The oil exploded as if a bomb had been dropped on it. Five of the chefs were swept away by the blast and died. Every time the chefs tried to cook, an explosion would erupt.

Bang, bang, bang–!

[A-are we looking at a battlefield?]

[Casualties are piling up in the chefs’ battlefield!]

At the same time, the notifications began to ring.

[90,000 people have died.]

[130,000 people have died.]

[50,000 people have died.]

[...died.]

[...died.]

[...died.]

The non-stop ringing of the notifications left all the surviving chefs trembling.

“I give up.”

“How can you even do this?!”

“Ten people?! What’s the point of gathering ten people together when half of them are dead right now?!”

[20,000 people have given up.]

[10,000 people have given up.]

[30,000 people have given up.]

Notifications about people giving up began to flood everyone’s ears.

“...You have my respect.”

“You can cook something like that even if you’re alone?”

“It seems like the notification about him reaching the end of his class was not sent out for no reason.”

Everyone was amazed. When many wanted to give up, the Greatest Chef began to lure them again.

[The Greatest Chefs has given permission. Chefs can now make groups of one hundred and work together.]

[However, the chefs who cook together must dedicate 5 DEX to the Greatest Chef.]

Those who were already thinking of giving up hesitated. A hundred people working together, with this number, it wouldn’t matter how many of them died or how exhausted they were. It wouldn’t matter if the ingredient were difficult to cook. It would be enough to cook such a monstrous Pillar Ingredient, right?

The hope that they could cook the ingredient and the tempting rewards kept them from giving up. A few said that they valued their honor and reputation and would not do it even if a hundred people were allowed to cook together. However, only a select few had decided to truly give up.

[Of the twelve million chefs gathered, only one million are left.]

The remaining chefs immediately grouped themselves into one hundred groups and began working on one ingredient.

Merlo, who had a special skill with a 70% chance of triggering and could help him reduce all of the damages he received from cooking, glanced at Minhyuk. He could see that Minhyuk’s body was filled with injuries.

Although injured and alone, Minhyuk had already reached the middle stages of his cooking process. This was completely unlike them, who had only finished a third of the cooking process.

Then, Merlo looked around. The groups of one hundred chefs had devoted all of their attention to cooking and were fast approaching the middle stages of their process.

One group reached this stage the fastest. It included the best chefs of the Luvien Empire, some kingdom chefs, and five chefs in the top ten in the Chef's Rankings. Then, something strange happened to this group of excellent chefs.

Merlo and the other players could not see how Minhyuk had suffered such great damage and was injured. But now, it was unfolding in front of them. The claws that they chopped off from the chicken’s leg flew in the air and tore apart the players belonging to the group. That was not all. Hot flames that burned like lava spewed out and melted the chefs nearby.

“Keuaaaaaaack!”

“This is f*cking crazy!!!”

“This dish is f*cking ridiculous!”

“Joy Co. Ltd. you’re all crazy bastards!!!”

The chefs near the stove all melted into nothing. As for the chefs waiting for their turn behind them? They immediately stopped in their tracks.

[If you fail to control the heat in time, the Pillar Chicken will rot and decay.]

The problem was they could not stop. Like moths to a flame, they rushed toward the blazing flames and desperately tried to turn them off.

Just like that fifty people disappeared. Everyone who saw the scene was once again rendered speechless.

“This… is impossible.”

“We can’t cook this dish.”

“I give up.”

As many chefs were burned, the surviving ones realized they faced an incredibly tall wall again. Many of the remaining chefs decided to give up.

[The Greatest Chefs has given permission. Chefs can now make groups of one thousand and work together.]

[However, the chefs who cook together must dedicate 10 DEX to the Greatest Chef.]

Groups of a thousand people were created. They moved on once again and reached a result that was no different from before. However, they had to force themselves to approach the dish spewing out blazing flames. Most of them ended up being burned.

[Of the twelve million chefs gathered, only one hundred thousand are left.]

Only 0.1% of the twelve million chefs remained. However, this 0.1% tried their hardest to see things through to the end in this battle against one single man. Alas, a notification that dragged them to despair soon rang in their ears.

[The Greatest Chef, who allowed the chefs to make groups of 10, 100, and 1,000, receives his reward.]

***

Where did most of the chefs who were forced to log out go? Before he started cooking the Pillar Ingredient, Minhyuk had turned on his live broadcast. So, the answer to that question was simple. They all flocked to Minhyuk’s live broadcast.

Millions of people watched the live broadcast, and everyone who tuned in could only acknowledge Minhyuk and his skills.

[Aside from Minhyuk, there’s not a single person who can cook the Pillar Ingredient. That’s a really crazy ingredient.]

[Did you see that? A thousand chefs gathered together, but they’re still being burned down.]

[A single one of those chefs could not handle the damage brought by the ingredient, but Minhyuk could.]

[He’s truly at the pinnacle of the Food God class.]

Minhyuk had reached his limit shortly after allowing a thousand people to group.

[Your HP has fallen below 29%.]

As for the reason why Minhyuk allowed them to group like that…

[You will be able to receive benefits if you choose to allow them to work in groups.]

Minhyuk was cooking spicy braised chicken. He had been fighting desperately against the ingredient spewing blazing flames nonstop. Of course, just like always, Minhyuk did not know how to give up.

There was a series of notifications that also made him stop.

[Only 100,000 people have survived.]

[You can now receive the benefits after allowing the challengers to work together.]

[You can choose to cook together with the previous Food Gods.]

[However, if you choose to cook with them, the abilities and flavor of the completed dish will decrease by 20%.]

[This will not change the fact that you have eaten all three Pillar Dishes.]

Then, another series of notifications rang.

[The Pillar Chicken displays its innate powers.]

[The Pillar Chicken starts to burn and take away the opponent’s DEX.]

[You have lost 220 DEX.]

[You have lost 358 DEX.]

[You have lost 174 DEX.]

[The DEX you lost will be returned if you cook with the previous seven generations of Food God.]

The competition was over.

Then, the previous seven generations of Food God appeared around Minhyuk. Every single one of the previous Food Gods was sporting small smiles on their faces.

Minhyuk knew he could finish cooking this ingredient and complete this dish if he chose to cook with them.

[You are excellent. Food God.]

[Didn’t I tell all of you? The Food God has truly reached the end of the class. There’s no one here who denies this fact, right?]

Everyone acknowledged Minhyuk. Now, all he needed to do was to accept the Food God’s end and finish this easily. However, the viewers watching the scene felt an unknown sense of frustration. After all, the Pillar Ingredient would end up being cooked with the help of others. Yet even though they thought that it was regrettable, they could only accept this outcome.

[If he keeps cooking alone, his DEX will burn and disappear…]

[What a pity…]

This was the easy and comfortable path that would lead to the end of the Food God’s class and the start of a new path for Minhyuk. As they watched Minhyuk, who remained silent for quite some time, they felt a heaviness in their chests.

Everyone knew that Minhyuk was a very clever player. He was the type of player who would think of the most rational and appropriate path, which was why he was acknowledged by many worldwide.

Minhyuk stared at the Food Gods around him. Then, he said, “I’m sorry, Food Gods.”

He made eye contact with every one of them. Minhyuk, presented with the easiest and most comfortable path, made a different choice. His choice was the most Food God-like and aligned with his thoughts.

“As a Food God, I cannot allow the taste and flavor of a dish to drop.”

All of the Food Gods smiled at him. As the greatest Food God, he made the most Food God-like choice.

“I will complete this dish alone. This is the only way to get the most delicious dish.”

[Until the very end, you chose to walk the path of the Food God.]

[All of the previous generation Food Gods give you praise.]

The viewers cheered loudly.