Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 34: Buffed Tonkatsu

Translator: ChubbyCheeks

QC: MattForgenti

To be honest, the skill that I expected the most was a skill that's along the lines of 'The Flavor will Taste Really Good.' or something like that!

"Ta, taste…?"

"Yes……"

Len and Brock were speechless for quite a while when they saw how sullen Minhyuk was.

Len found this absolutely ridiculous in particular.

'The guy who used E-ranked materials to make a dish that has a lot of buffs is disappointed because he didn't make it taste better.'

How can someone be like this!

Is his life solely dedicated to eating?!

Len approached the teary-eyed Minhyuk and tried to comfort him.

"Boy, the tonkatsu was fried well because of your cooking skills. Since it was fried well, then I'm sure that the flavor should taste even better."

Minhyuk's expression brightened considerably when he heard Len's comforting words.

'That's right, let's not be discouraged!'

Minhyuk, who got depressed when he received the Food God's Cooking Skills, got his energy back. Then, he checked the next skill which was God's Cooking Acquisition.

(God's Cooking Acquisition)

Passive Skill

Level: None

Effects:

— You will have great improvements in acquiring and learning cooking skills.

— You can acquire and learn better recipes for ingredients.

In short, God's Cooking Acquisition was like a godly assist to Minhyuk.

First, to check the first effect of having great improvements in acquiring and learning cooking skills, Minhyuk made a tonkatsu himself. He was like a skilled person who has fried plenty of tonkatsu as better recipes and techniques popped in his head to guide him while he cooked.

And finally.

(Ingredient Tracking)

Passive Skill

Level: 1 (Currently unable able to level up)

Penalty on Use: You will be unable to use True Worth of Food for the day.

Effects:

— You can choose what kind of effect and what kind of dish the ingredient needed to have. Once the skill takes effect, the system will search the ingredient with the needed effect within a 1-km radius. It will also propose recipes according to the effect + ingredients + type of cooking. It will also identify and suggest alternative ingredients.

— It can only be used 3 times

— Increase in uses can only be acquired after skill has leveled up.

— Current number of uses: 3/3

This skill was quite easy to understand. He could first set-up a dish, then enter his desired buff ability then search for the corresponding ingredients needed for the dish. If he made a dish from the ingredient then the dish would have the desired buff effect.

'This means…'

It was about making a dish that Minhyuk needed. In return, there was a restriction that the ingredient could only be found within a certain radius. There was also a one day penalty.

I don't know if it was such a big penalty to be unable to use it in a day.

Minhyuk still has questions after checking all of his new skills.

'Currently unable to level-up?'

The word currently meant right now. Therefore, it meant that he couldn't level up right now.

'That means……'

If he was able to accomplish and meet the conditions in the future then he would be able to level-up.

He looked at his status window strangely. He could also see that the 20% besides the Food Fighter has now increased to 50%.

'Heop?!'

Perhaps it was affected when I learned cooking skills.

Then he made an assumption.

'When it reaches 100% then I will be able to level-up, and……'

He assumed that he would be able to cook well and eat more deliciously in the future.

With that, Minhyuk finally finished checking his skills.

He exhaled deeply.

"Hooaaaa! I kept it in for too long.'

'I became hungry after looking at all those skills!'

In fact, the tonkatsu was what caught his eyes more than the skill window. Others would definitely look at him in shock if they knew what he was thinking.

They would definitely ask him this…

A tonkatsu is more important than a godly skill?!

Then, Minhyuk will answer them.

'Of course, that's obviously the case!'

However, he had no choice but to check his skills when he saw the sparkling eyes of Len and Brock.

He then hurriedly sat down in front of the tonkatsu.

"Can I eat it?"

"Of course."

Len did not specifically ask him about his skills. It was not because he believed that he did not have the ability or not, after all he believed that a chef was someone who cooked for others.

"Hiyaaa……"

Minhyuk rubbed his hands together in excitement.

Tonkatsu.

It was just a common food but he couldn't describe it in a word. It was a very delicious food that there were only a few people who did not like it.

Minhyuk first went to the thermos to get a warm soup.

This soup was often found in places like Gimbap Heaven, it was udon soup.

Then, Minhyuk dropped the knife in his hands on the table as he poured the special sauce on the tonkatsu.

The warm tonkatsu sauce was still steaming, you could even see the mushrooms and sliced onions in it.

"Kgghk!"

His mouth was watering.

Then, Minhyuk stabbed the tonkatsu with his fork as he held the knife on his other hand without using it. There was only one reason…

'This knife will be used to protect my tonkatsu, it's not for cutting!'

When you go out with friends to eat tonkatsu, once your tonkatsu was sliced your friends would usually say…

'Just give me one.'

Then one would become two, until two would become three.

"I……"

"No way!"

He had no hesitations at all! He just downright asserted his stance!

The moment Brock spoke, Minhyuk lifted the knife ever so slightly.

"...am sad."

"He…… It's my first ever tonkatsu so I wanted to eat it. Once I finish this, I'll fry you a different one."

However, Minhyuk did not want his intimacy to drop so he fixed his words meticulously.

Minhyuk took a big bite of the tonkatsu that was covered well with sauce.

Crunch, crunch—

The golden brown tonkatsu and the freshly poured sauce boasted a great harmony once they met. In addition, the well-fried tonkatsu was crispy on the outside and soft and juicy on the inside.

Every time he chewed on the tonkatsu, he would feel the crunchy texture. He could also taste the tonkatsu's strong meaty flavor. Minhyuk smiled at the feast in his mouth.

And when he felt a little thirsty and dry, he would sip a mouthful of the soup. The udon soup, with a hint of a taste of soy sauce, was always served as an appetizer.

Next, he mixed the cabbage with the kiwi dressing and skillfully picked it up with his fork.

The green salad had a faint watery sheen on it, as if it was telling everyone that it was fresh. Once it was placed in his mouth, he could feel the freshness of it with its crunchy texture and the refreshing flavor that spread out in his mouth. It was a perfect match for the greasy tonkatsu.

Then, there was the corn beside the salad. It came from a can but if you scooped up a spoonful in your mouth then you would be able to taste the sweet and savory flavor of the corn.

A plate of tonkatsu might look very ordinary but all of the food in it has a respective role that they fulfill loyally.

Minhyuk smiled blissfully as he ate his tonkatsu.

He was able to clean up a plate of tonkatsu in no time at all.

"He didn't even leave a drop of sauce at all…… I won't even need to wash that plate with how clean it is right now."

"He……?"

Len spoke at that moment…

"Boy."

"Yes, teacher!"

"You fry the rest of the tonkatsu and distribute it to the soldiers. You're halfway through right now, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

Brock replied succinctly.

"Okay, you fry it personally and I'll watch at the sides."

***

Runie.

She was a very beautiful woman to look at. She was taking a break between the users and the NPCs of the subjugation force.

The subjugation force, which was on its way to Bordy Plains, was just recently attacked by goblins. That was why they were taking a bit of a break to replenish their energies. This was also the reason why they were going to eat dinner at a later time.

These days, her attention was caught by a man.

'That man, I'm sure he's a chef.'

There was a very popular male user in the subjugation force. He was about 185cm tall and had a very handsome face. That man was kind and amiable but he was always chewing on something.

In fact, all of the other users only thought of one thing about him…

That user is a chef.

But Runie knew something. One of her friends chose the chef job class but ended up deleting her character and starting anew.

'The more the chefs play, the harder it is to level-up for them…'

She shook her head at the thought.

'Why should I worry about others?'

But whenever she looked at him she felt this strange feeling of calmness and ease.

'Does he have a tranquility stat or something?'

When she looked up after some thinking, she saw the man coming out carrying food containers.

"Everyone, please get your meals! Today's tonkatsu is specially made by this Minhyukie!"

"Oooh. You made the tonkatsu?!"

"Don't give us charcoal, okay!"

"It's not that, Mr. Wu. Don't get surprised when you eat it!"

He was in such high spirits, his expression even screamed He!

The distribution of food started, Runie was standing in line and waiting for her food.

'Maybe he doesn't know about it?'

It might be the case.

Some users usually chose their job classes without even knowing any concrete information.

No, there's quite a lot of them.

Before she knew it, it was already her turn.

"Enjoy your meal!"

"Ah, yes!"

Her cheeks blushed fiercely when she saw Minhyuk's face.

This man, he's really very handsome. He also has a nice smile.

'That's right, I should tell him.'

It's better to tell him now, he can delete it while he's still at a novice level so he could start over and raise a new class.

Of course, this was because Runie only has a little bit of interest and it was not because she was  'really curious and interested.' at him at all.

It was also entirely possible that her 'help' was just an excuse.

"E, excuse me."

"Yes?"

"......The higher the level of the chef, the harder it is for them to level-up."

"Ah, yes."

The man nodded at him and smiled calmly.

"An, and even if you get close to these NPC soldiers… You really wouldn't get anything from them at all."

"That's not true."

The man laughed, it seemed like he wasn't that much interested in Runie or what she had to say.

"It may look like I'm being nosy but……"

"Ah, thank you for your care. But it's fine. I only want to eat delicious food."

"...Eh?"

"I only wanted to eat delicious food. They're staring at us like they want to kill us……."

"Ah!"

When she felt those prickly glances, she immediately left and distanced herself from him.

"Tch…… He wasn't interested in me at all."

She then looked at the tonkatsu that she received.

It was a well-fried golden brown tonkatsu. She sat down at a nearby table.

'He said that he only wanted to eat something delicious? Does that even make sense? Just say that you don't like it.'

She sliced her tonkatsu as she grumbled to herself. Then, she placed it in her mouth.

'Huh?'

She tilted her head curiously and placed another bite in her mouth.

"De, delicious……!"

She was very surprised. The tonkatsu's flavor was something that she had not even tasted in real life.

This will be a huge success if he opens a store!

'The meat is quite thick, so how did he cook it so well? It's so crispy that it seems like it just came out of the frying pan.'

She would never know that the secret to the tonkatsu remaining crispy was due to Minhyuk's food storage inventory.

The surprise did not end there…

[You have eaten a tonkatsu.]

[Your attack power will increase by 3% and your defensive power will increase by 3% for 5 hours.]

She was both surprised and confused.

'What's this? Wasn't he a novice?'

This was the chef's buff ability. She overhead this from somewhere before. It seemed like the man was much better than a chef with a beginner's cooking skill.

'Didn't they say that they could only make one or two of these in a day?'

She tried to recall her friend's words but she stopped when she heard everyone around her.

"Huh……?"

"Heok?!"

"Hey, hey, this is amazing!"

She heard the astonished voices of the other users all around her…

***

TL's corner!!!

Wew. Those are pretty much fraudulent skills. Lol but Minhyuk only wanted a skill that would make his dishes more delicious. Kek. Sasuga Minhyukie! ㅋㅋ

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