CH 65

Minhyuk once again received a reward after Ellie's favor towards him had increased! However, he did not care. All he did was continue eating spam while the imperial palace chefs continuously refilled his plate. In the end, they had to speak up.

“W…we’ve run out of spam!”

“...Exactly how much did he eat?” Ellie asked, looking at Minhyuk strangely.

One of the imperial palace chefs answered, “He ate a total of 356 cans of spam, 120 packs of salted squid and shrimp, 160 sheets of laver, and 600 packs of instant rice.”

Ellie blinked blankly at the sheer amount of food. Then, Minhyuk smiled happily and said, “Noona, we ate a lot right? See, I told you. If we put a lot of food on the table, then we would be able to eat a lot too, right?!”

Minhyuk flaunted his high-level flattery skills that even Ellie was left with no choice but to agree. She said, “...Y…y…yeah. That, that’s right.”

Those were the only words that came out of Ellie’s mouth. It seemed like she was speechless. Just then, Minhyuk recalled something, ‘Ah, there’s that...’

When Minhyuk first met Ellie, he had received the notification that he had completed the quest ‘Meet Ellie’. He even gained 15,000 EXP and leveled up. He said, “Ah, wait. Ellie-noona. I know that I came here to see my pretty noona, but I also came here because Master Len asked me for a favor.”

“Len...” Ellie mumbled. She had seen Minhyuk use Ellie’s Kitchen Knife during the competition. She had not forgotten that fact yet. She nodded silently and asked, “Okay. What did he ask you to do?”

“He asked me to cook something delicious for you.”

Minhyuk had obviously cooked some spam for her, but he did not get notified that the quest was completed. It seemed like Ellie was as much of a foodie as he was. So, Minhyuk thought,  ‘I’ll definitely receive a delicious quest!’

However, Ellie’s forehead crumpled in distress. She said, “He didn’t come to meet me in person in the end... but…”

Ellie knew that Len left this place because of her, and she had just meekly accepted everything that happened back then. However, that was already a long time ago. Even her feelings were bound to fade to some extent.

“What dish would you like me to cook for you?”

“But Minhyuk, you… Aren’t you a warrior player?” Ellie asked, confused. She had clearly watched Minhyuk hunt down the minotaurus during the tournament. His moves were completely unconventional and so overwhelming that Ellie herself thought of recommending him to become a member of the Phoenix Knight Order.

“Uhmm…” Minhyuk hummed, thinking deeply. He was a chef and a warrior at the same time. However, he was also a farmer. He could also learn and use magic skills. His conclusion?

“I can do everything.”

“You learned a lot of different things?”

“That’s right.” 

“How surprising,” Ellie said, impressed. This was her first time seeing a foreigner learn a lot of different things. But what was most surprising was…

‘How can a foreigner be so strong when he has learned a lot of different things?’

…his strength was beyond normal, despite not specializing. Just looking at him right now and seeing the aura that emanated from his body made Ellie realize why he had won the tournament back then.

“I wonder where your strength comes from.”

“I just eat well and work out well.”

“...Right,” Ellie said, smiling brightly. For some reason, Ellie felt at ease with him here. At that moment, Ellie realized that she was catering to his every whims. After realizing this, she decided to just steer the topic back to the main point. She asked, “Can I ask you to make me anything that I want to eat?”

“Of course.”

“I want to eat flatfish and rockfish sashimi.”

“...!”

Minhyuk’s eyes widened in shock. Flatfish and rockfish? There were people who went to the fish market just to say, ‘We can eat flatfish, rockfish and eel there!’ He imagined himself dipping the white, translucent piece of flatfish and rockfish in soy sauce and wasabi, before putting it in his mouth and savoring the delicious, savory and chewy sashimi! Then, after eating that?

‘Auntie, can we please have the spicy fish stew right now! Please add ramyeon too!’

Once everything was set up, Minhyuk would take a sip and say, ‘I need to boil it some more, the longer you boil it, the more delicious it gets.’

Then, he would take another spoonful and take a sip after boiling it some more. What would happen then? Minhyuk would definitely taste the perfect amount of spicy seasoning and the refreshing flavor of the soup! 

And Ellie was telling him that she wanted to eat that flatfish and rockfish?

Minhyuk was completely excited at the thought of eating those fish, and in his excitement, he blurted, “Why did a rockfish blush?”

“...?”

“Because it saw the ocean's bottom.”

“Minhyuk, I’m going to get angry right now.”

Pause!

Minhyuk trembled in fear because he felt that she was definitely telling the truth. Then, Ellie continued on with a serious look on her face. She said, “I once went fishing with my late father, the Emperor, His Majesty Ellen. That was the first time that my father cooked for me. He used the fish that we caught to make me a rockfish sashimi and a spicy fish stew.”

Her lips unconsciously curled up as she recalled the memories of the past. She continued to say, “His Majesty Ellen always stressed that I should become a strong empress. It was also the reason why he always forced me to practice my swordsmanship. I have always hated him for that. However, I realized that after he had left me, I couldn’t forget the taste of the spicy fish stew and the sashimi that he made for me.”

Ellie smiled slightly at the memory. She said, “My father wanted me to become a strong empress because he loved me. His figure is still vivid in my eyes.” 

She closed her eyes, as if she could still see the vision of her father watching over her during her training. Then she asked, “Help me to relive the taste of my father’s cooking.”

[Linked Quest: Make a Rockfish Sashimi for Ellie.]

Rank: B

Requirements: Meet Ellie

Rewards: Ellie’s Swordsmanship, Ancient Cooking Ingredients

Penalty for Failure: Lose Ellie’s favor.

Description: Ellie just recalled the memories of her past. She wants to eat the fresh rockfish sashimi that you make. Give her a rockfish sashimi!

Minhyuk thought that she would ask for the dish that Len cooked for her in the past. It turned out that she actually wanted to eat the food that she could not forget in her memory. However, it made sense. After all, he also had that kind of food. Whenever Minhyuk went over to visit his late grandmother, she would always grill some rice cake for him and drizzle it with honey. The crunchy grilled rice cake was truly delicious especially when it met with honey. Whenever he ate the grilled rice cake, his grandmother would always bring him some fruits and chestnuts that he could eat together with the rice cake.

‘Grandma, I’m stuffed.’

‘My baby, you should eat some more. You’re eating so well.’

Whenever he went to his grandmother’s house, he would always eat a lot. It was such a good memory. Then he looked at the rewards listed on the quest. He saw 'Ancient Cooking Ingredients listed there'. Although Minhyuk did not know what it was, he was sure that it was something ‘delicious’. He declared with anticipation, “I’ll give you a delicious rockfish sashimi!”

“Don’t forget the spicy rockfish stew.”

“Of course. That’s something that can never be forgotten. Hohohoho!”

Ellie grinned at him as she stood up. Then, she said, “Let’s go now.”

“Where are we going?”

“You need to learn my swordsmanship.”

“Ah, that’s right. I have to learn swordsmanship, wait. Ah~ I really have to work hard~” Minhyuk answered half-heartedly as he stood up to follow behind her.

Ellie looked at him strangely and asked, “A…are you not happy to learn my swordsmanship?”

“I’m happy, I’m so happy that I’m going to burst into tears!”

“...”

Ellie was left speechless for a moment. She thought, ‘Does he really only care about eating?’. Foreigners all over the world were clamoring to learn her swordsmanship. Not long ago, there was someone who made a ruckus because he wanted to learn her swordsmanship and as a result, was sent to prison for 10 years. However, Minhyuk was not even the slightest bit interested in it since it was not related to eating.

Then, Ellie suddenly thought of a brilliant idea. She said, “Every time you complete a portion of the swordsmanship, I will give you the opportunity to get one special ingredient from the Imperial Palace’s Ingredients Warehouse.”

“...What are we waiting for, let’s go!” Minhyuk answered loudly, his steps quickening. Not long after, the two of them arrived at the training grounds.

“As you can see, the wooden puppets are divided into blue and white.”

“Yes!” Minhyuk answered. He was filled with excitement and enthusiasm, making Ellie feel that her carrot tactic was successful.

“The blue wooden puppets can be destroyed easily depending on your damage. But the white wooden puppet is different. Would you like to try hitting the white wooden puppet?” Ellie asked, throwing a wooden sword towards Minhyuk. 

Minhyuk grabbed the sword and tried to slash at the white wooden puppet with all his might, while thinking in his mind, ‘Imperial palace’s ingredients! Let’s eat them!’

Slash!

As soon as he slashed, a notification rang in his head.

[You have struck the training wooden puppet.]

[499/500 hits until the puppet is destroyed.]

“Oh?”

It was a unique wooden puppet. The puppet couldn't be destroyed with damage, but with the number of hits.

“This wooden puppet can only be found in the Eivelis Empire. Every time that you destroy it, you will be able to get a bonus point. You can raise your stat that cannot easily be raised otherwise, via this bonus point.”

“T…then can I increase my DEX?”

Ellie nodded and said, “It’s possible, everything is possible, unless it’s a really special stat. This is my gift to you.”

Ellie grinned at him. If she did not teach him swordsmanship, then Minhyuk would not be able to lay his hands on these wooden puppets. Minhyuk pondered about how he would go about doing this.

‘If I use Three Consecutive Quick Assault and Haste, then I can probably strike faster.’

However, Ellie could guess what he was thinking. She immediately said, “Sadly, you can’t use skills to raise the strike count. You have to strike the wooden puppet with your pure strength. And if you hit it repetitively, then a variety of your stats will increase. Just like when you first came to Athenae.”

“I see.”

“Now this time, hit the blue wooden puppet. You can use your skills, just hit it with your most powerful strike.”

When he heard her say that, Minhyuk prepared himself to give his most powerful strike.

[Bardy Swordsmanship] 

[+20 to all 5 basic stats for 10 minutes.] 

[Vital Strike]

[Additional 28% attack power for each successful strike.]

The vital points appeared all over the blue wooden puppet’s body. Minhyuk chose one and stabbed it with all his might.

Stab!

However, the wooden puppet did not move an inch, let alone crack and be destroyed. Ellie took a step forward and said, “Now, I’ll show you. Ellie’s Swordsmanship’s first chapter has the same movement as what you did earlier. Chapter 1: Sword of Fury.”

Red light covered her wooden sword. Although she said that the movement was similar, her posture was completely different. She was just standing there and holding her sword, but her posture was overflowing with grace and dignity. Then, she stabbed the same blue wooden puppet that Minhyuk stabbed earlier. Her stab was accompanied by the sound of air ripping in two.

Rip!

Stab!

Ellie stabbed the blue wooden puppet directly, shattering it into pieces.

Bang!

However, it did not end there. The blue wooden puppets behind the puppet that she struck were shattered one by one, with the force that came out of her sword.

Bang!

Bang!

Shwaaaa!

The remnants of the puppets scattered in the air like ash falling from the sky.