Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1136

Chapter 1136

[The Sudden Quest: The Sacred Being’s Wish has been created.]

Rank: SSS

Requirements: The one who offered sacrifices to the Briah’s River.

Rewards: Upon triggering the Ingredient Creator Skill, all ingredients will become 5% better than those of the same grade.

Penalty for Failure: You will never be able to communicate with the Briah’s River’s Sacred Being again.

Description: According to the legends, a sacred being lives within the waters of the Briah’s River. The only way for the sacred being to eat and taste a God-grade dish offered as a sacrifice is for someone to bow 20,000 times successfully. The sacred being sincerely hopes to taste the dish you have made and offered as a sacrifice. So, let’s go and complete this condition!

Minhyuk marveled at the quest. If he could complete the conditions, then the ingredients he would create would be 20% better than those made and distributed worldwide. But if he could complete this quest, his ingredients would become 25% better. He could not even imagine the waves that this would bring.

But that was not what made him very happy. There were two reasons for Minhyuk’s joy. The first was because his assumptions were correct. There was a unique existence living in the Briah’s River, just like he thought. As for the second one, it was the sacred being enjoying the food that Minhyuk had offered as sacrifices. Although he could not see the sacred being, he was happy to know that he could enjoy the dishes he had made.

[The sacred being revitalizes your exhausted body.]

[The sacred being temporarily increases the stat acquisition rate for repetitive actions.]

At this moment, the muscles of Minhyuk’s thighs, which he felt were about to explode, stabilized with the help of the sacred being. Refreshed and motivated, he bowed to Briah’s River. Then, with a broad smile, he asked, “Were they delicious?”

A fish jumped out of the water in response to Minhyuk’s question.

“Since someone is eagerly waiting to taste my cooking, I can’t stop.”

His motivation grew even more as he steadied his posture and continued bowing.

An hour passed by.

Two hours passed by.

Three… four hours…

Sweat dripped down Minhyuk’s forehead as he continued the tedious and repetitive action of bowing. And because the sacred being had helped him with his power, there was a constant influx of notifications in his ears.

[You have gained 1 STM.]

[You have gained 1 STM.]

[You have gained 1 STM.]

It was quite a surprise for Minhyuk. The increase was not specifically indicated in the notifications, but based on the speed at which he acquired the stats, it seemed like the stat acquisition rate for repetitive actions had increased by more than eight times.

Despite that, Minhyuk again reached the point where he was exhausted and out of breath. But the most painful and annoying thing was the sweat that covered and dripped down his body. The sweat made him feel hot all over.

At this point, Minhyuk had already made the 9,000th bow.

“So hot…”

Just when he voiced his suffering…

Shwaaaaaa–

A wind blew along the river and caressed Minhyuk’s sweaty body. This wind immediately cooled him down. Minhyuk could see this was a form of encouragement from the sacred being.

So, he spoke to the Briah’s River once again. “Is this your first time eating food?”

As expected, another fish jumped up.

Minhyuk chuckled. “You’re not grabbing those fish with your bare hands and throwing them up to answer, are you?”

Minhyuk imagined the scene and thought the sacred being was quite cute. The waters of the river rippled in answer to his question, and it seemed like the sacred being was answering Minhyuk with a no.

“Have you ever stepped out and appeared in the world?”

The waters of the river rippled once again.

In most cases, doing something like listening to exciting music or watching TV could lessen the exhaustion and fatigue when doing something repeatedly. And for Minhyuk, that was conversing with the Briah’s River’s sacred being. So, he began to converse earnestly with the sacred being.

“Then, does that mean you know nothing about the world outside this river?”

A fish jumped out.

“Alright. My name is Minhyuk.” Minhyuk introduced himself to the Briah’s River’s sacred being. Then, he slowly told his story from when he started this game to the present.

“So, what do you think about me?”

This time, five fish jumped up. It seemed like the sacred being was trying to tell Minhyuk that he was a very interesting person.

Then, Minhyuk asked, “Should I tell you stories about the outside world? Do you want to hear about politics?”

No fish jumped out.

“Love?”

This time, the river remained calm.

“Or, the empires?”

Vwooooong–

“...”

A tiny whirlpool appeared in the river. The sacred being clearly expressed his dislike for the topics presented.

Minhyuk, who pondered deeply after receiving such a response, said, “Then, food?”

At that moment, something suddenly rose from the depths of the river.

“...?”

A seven-meter-long being popped out of the water's surface and jumped out.

Thwack–

The being was none other than a Giant Dolphin. A Giant Dolphin was a rare monster native to the waters of Briah’s River.

“You must want to hear about food, huh…”

‘This guy… He must have been pleased about the taste of his first food.’

So, Minhyuk began to talk about food. “Food can be largely divided into land, sea, and air.”

Personally, Minhyuk believed that one was the winner.

“For me, the most delicious food comes from the land. You see, the land houses livestock like pigs and cattle.”

Minhyuk explained to the Briah’s River’s sacred being about food one after another. The more he talked, the faster the time went by. Before the ninth day ended, Minhyuk had already surpassed the 15,000th mark.

“There’s this food called samgyeopsal. When you cook it, the fat would turn into oil that would boil and gurgle on its surface. It tastes great paired with kimchi.”

Minhyuk talked non-stop. Every time he spoke of a new kind of food, the river would surge and create waves. It was as if the sacred being was shouting, ‘I want to eat that too!’ at him.

“Soon, you’ll be able to taste one of the foods from the land too!”

Minhyuk made a God-grade spicy stir-fried pork dish among the sacrifices. Once Minhyuk finished the 20,000 bows, the sacred being could eat this dish.

“I’ll let you taste it. I’ll finish this so you can eat the spicy stir-fried pork that I made,” Minhyuk said with a smile.

In response, two fish jumped out of the river and swam side by side. When Minhyuk saw this, he instantly understood what the sacred being meant.

“Ah. You’re saying that we’re friends?”

As his words ended, hundreds of fish broke out of the river water's surface and jumped simultaneously. It was quite a beautiful sight.

Minhyuk smiled as he nodded. “Yes. That’s right. We’re friends.”

But when Minhyuk reached the 19,000th bow, he was met with another crisis. Nevertheless, Minhyuk continued with gritted teeth.

“You said… that this is your first time eating food.”

Shwaaaaaa–

The river responded to Minhyuk’s words.

“That’s why I want you, my dear friend, to be able to eat this great dish that I have made.”

Shwaaaaaaa–

Despite his words, Minhyuk’s body shook fiercely. And when he finally made his 20,000th bow…

[You have offered all the required sacrifices and bowed 20,000 times to the Briah’s River’s Sacred Being.]

[You have met all of the conditions. Regardless of their grade, all of the ingredients you create will be 20% better than other ingredients of the same grade.]

[You have completed the Sudden Quest: The Sacred Being’s Wish.]

[Regardless of their grade, all of the ingredients you create will be 5% better than other ingredients of the same grade.]

Now, Minhyuk's ingredients would be 25% better than other ingredients of the same grade.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk wondered if the sacred being was now tasting the God-grade dish he had made. As if to answer his thoughts, the river's waters surged and created ripples.

Minhyuk’s job here was over. However, he did not leave. He continued to sit there with a small smile on his face as he watched the waters of the river ripple and splash.

***

All of the branches in the world were turned upside down. They had sent the Special Audit Team because they were worried that Minhyuk could create better ingredients with his Ingredient Creator Skill. But this notification rang at the same time to all the branches all around the world.

[Player Minhyuk will be able to create ingredients that are 25% better than other ingredients of the same grade.]

Even though they sent the Special Audit Team, they were met with such results. Because of that, all of the branches held an emergency video conference.

In response to their allegations, President Kang Taehoon presented the plan that the headquarters made first and the plan that the audit team presented and implemented. He told everyone this happened because the audit team had abused its authority.

Everything went swimmingly fast. All branches immediately decided to remove the Special Audit Team’s leader from his position and hold him responsible for this incident. In addition, they requested and urged the headquarters to take care of and deal with the current situation.

“...”

Meanwhile, Chen Shihao stared blankly at Minhyuk, who was shown on the screen before him. Still unaware of the discussion between all of the branches, he continued to write their audit results. He paused when he reached the last question.

[After the audit, did you find any corruption in the branch? Are there any secret deals and transactions between the branch and the players?]

Chen Shihao looked down at the paper silently for a very long time.

“How can a person…”

Could someone truly work hard like this?

But it was not just him who was reacting like this. The entire audit team was rendered speechless, their eyes still glued to Minhyuk’s figure.

“He’s amazing…”

“I want to pay my respects to him…”

“Should I move to the Beyond the Heavens Empire too?”

The headquarters’ emergency response team stormed inside the Special Players Management Team along with President Kang Taehoon.

President Kang Taehoon informed everyone present about the current situation. He said, “Every single branch has voted and decided to dismiss the leader of the Special Audit Team, Mr. Chen Shihao, after you have lowered the level of difficulty that the headquarters had initially set.”

Chen Shihao could not believe it. However, he had to raise his trembling hands in defeat. In the end, he wrote this on the paper containing his report…

‘Nothing has been found. There has been no circumstance that indicated any form of corruption on the part of the headquarters.’

This was the conclusion that he had made.

But things were not yet over for him to make such a conclusion. Minhyuk, who finished bowing 20,000 times, looked at the river with a small smile. Then, he said…

[Was it delicious?]

“...”

Chen Shihao was now witnessing the true Supreme. He was already aware that he would be dragged into the mud. Yet when he saw the smile on the face of the Supreme in front of him, he could not help but shudder.

Then… goosebumps rose all over Chen Shihao’s body when he saw the man slowly bend his knees.

[You can only eat a God-grade dish if I bow 20,000 times to you, right?]

Everyone in the room was left frozen at that moment. Even President Kang Taehoon was left shocked.

“Do-don’t tell me…”

Athenae made it so the sacred being living in the Briah’s River could only eat food after it received sincere reverence and respect. This also included the fact that the sacred being had to receive 20,000 bows before he could eat one God-grade dish. So, to eat another God-grade dish, he has to receive another 20,000 bows.

That was right. It was not yet over. Despite the sweat covering his entire face, Minhyuk smiled faintly and slowly bowed again.

Chen Shihao jumped out of his seat. “Why?! Why the hell?! Why?!”

Chen Shihao hurriedly tapped on the keyboard to check something. They had not yet released the notifications about Minhyuk receiving additional rewards if he bowed more. So, why was Minhyuk doing something like this?

Team Leader Park Minggyu explained it to him. He said, “Because he wants the sacred being to eat.”

“...?”

Chen Shihao looked at Team Leader Park in confusion.

“Didn’t you watch the monitor yourself? This is the first time that the sacred being has ever tasted food. Minhyuk has found out about this fact and that the only way for the sacred being to eat a God-grade dish that he offered as a sacrifice was for him to do 20,000 bows.”

“That’s why I’m asking you! Why?!”

It was nigh impossible for the stupid and dim Chen Shihao to understand.

Team Leader Park grinned at him and said, “The reason is simple. First and foremost, he helped Player Minhyuk.”

Indeed. The river’s sacred being was the one who approached Minhyuk first and lent him a helping hand when he had become exhausted. The sacred being patted him on the back and cheered him on. Of course, the main reason was probably because he wanted to eat the delicious food that was sacrificed to him. However, the fact that the sacred being helped Minhyuk remained the same. In other words, Minhyuk was indebted to the sacred being.

President Kang Taehoon’s face showed a grave expression as he said, “Bad news breeds more bad news.”

Of course, this bad news was only for Joy Co. Ltd. Why would it be considered bad news if no rewards were written explicitly on their side? Chen Shihao frowned.

“You do realize that that river is related to the creator's skill from the beginning, right?”

‘Of course, I know that.’

Nevertheless, Chen Shihao still perked his ears and listened to Team Leader Park’s explanation.

“The sacred being living in that river had used his powers to save the lives of many of the dying a long, long time ago. However, his existence could only go into hiding because of greedy humans. As he hid, the effects that the river had in the past also disappeared.”

Chen Shihao looked at Team Leader Park, wondering what this had to do with everything.

Kang Taehoon clicked his tongue and said, “Just because it’s not written there does not mean it’s not a reward.”

The emergency response team had been hastily formed. Their members were randomly pulled from headquarters. They immediately grabbed Chen Shihao by the arm and dragged him out of the department.

“That river, which is now owned by the Beyond the Heavens Empire, might now showcase its true ‘power.’ And…” Kang Taehoon stared at Chen Shihao coldly. “...it’s all thanks to you.”

After six days, Minhyuk finished all of the necessary bows required for the sacred being to eat the God-grade dishes that he offered as a sacrifice; he smiled and lounged comfortably as he listened to the notifications that rang in his ears.

[The Sacred Being reveals the hidden power of Briah’s River for you.]

[The River of Life finally regains its true and complete form.]

[The River of Life can bestow greater power to the Ingredient Creator Skill.]

[All ingredients made using the water from the River of Life will be 8% better than other ingredients of the same grade!]