Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 18: Proposal

Minhyuk tilted his head in confusion.

'But, I’m only exercising for the food to digest, so that I can continue to eat delicious food?'

However, he felt like he did not need to explain that.

"There are a lot of people in reality that do not even exercise at all. That's why you're?really?amazing. I have a suggestion for you, but before that, I have to tell you who I am."

Armin was determined. To be honest, it was not that big of a deal for her to reveal her identity. She could always restart her character if she had to.

"I'm the Witch of Agony, Alicia." As Armin said those words, she thought to herself…

'He's probably going to be surprised, right??I'm 12th in the local rankings, after all. I’m the Witch of Agony.’

She was quite confident of herself. No, in fact, she had the right to be proud of herself. She thought that Minhyuk would definitely be surprised, with his eyes wide open and mouth agape. However, what she saw was only Minhyuk putting a chicken wing in his mouth and then taking out the bones cleanly.

"Bone extraction magic! You're the Witch of Agony? I~ s~e~e~"

"You're not surprised…?"

"I'm surprised. So surprised! Ah, my chest is pounding! I fell off of my seat."

She looked at him suspiciously while he gave a nonchalant response.

"Ah, no. I'm really the Witch of Agony!"

"Who said you're not??Phew, it was so surprising that my chest… Even stopped beating for a moment."

Grab!

Minhyuk grabbed Armin's wrist.

‘Come to think of it, this guy is really handsome.’

Without realizing it, Armin's heart skipped a beat. Then, she heard Minhyuk speak in a serious tone.

"I'm begging you, are you still going to eat two chicken legs?! I’ve only three left… Wow, I didn’t expect you to be this kind of person?!"

"..."

Armin stared at Minhyuk blankly.

'Are chicken legs more important than my identity…?'

Minhyuk looked like he was extremely displeased. His eyes were glaring widely and he had a sulky expression.

Armin could not help but apologize when she saw his state, "S…sorry."

"Hmph,?it's good that you know. Watch out for the chicken legs next time."

After getting it off his chest, Minhyuk grabbed a chicken leg and chomped on it.

Armin giggled.

'What is this…'

A lot of people wanted to shake hands with her wherever she went. She was considered a top star after all.

‘It is really quite difficult to endure.?I can't even go out and enjoy things, for myself. I usually spend my time at home, reading books and exercising. It's really like hell.’

'Does this person like to eat so much?' This was a thought that suddenly came to her. ?‘There was only one reason why I became a sorceress.’

If Armin thought deeper about it, the reason was because she loved the Witch class. To be honest, she had not felt as much happiness as when she was playing the Light Knight class. Yet now, she could feel a different thrill every time she used magic, even more so when she was named as the Witch of Agony.

"Actually, I want to ask you to join our guild,?Artheon."

However, Minhyuk's attention was focused solely on the food. After Minhyuk finished the spicy braised chicken with chestnut, he lifted the lid off of a different pot, and started to loosen the rice he previously prepared.

"Hot, hot, hot, hot!"

He scooped a ladle of rice, mixing it thoroughly with the remaining sauce of the spicy braised chicken with chestnut.

Armin’s words would definitely have shocked others.

Artheon. Among the existing domestic guilds, it was widely recognized as the most powerful guild. And their guild leader was the Witch of Agony, Alicia, although she was currently playing as Armin.

She saw Minhyuk clearly.

'This person is motivated, he can grind and polish himself without any external push. Plus, he is very strong for his level.?He definitely has a great attitude.’

As the guild master, Alicia could determine whether a person will go far or otherwise. With that said, the man in front of her gave her an odd sense, from the moment she saw him training.

She grinned widely after she made her offer.

'He's totally unconcerned.'

Anyone else would have been thrilled.

In fact, Artheon was a guild that not everyone could join just because they wanted to. There were even rumors flying around that one could only get in the guild by bribing the members with?tens?of millions of hard cash.

Minhyuk saw Armin watching him as he ate.

Armin gulped in a daze as she watched Minhyuk mix his rice.

"Ah alright, I'll allow you to have a spoonful."

"Th…then I will have just a bit…"

Before Armin knew it, she found herself mixing rice together with the man. She took the spoon that the man handed over to her. Seeing the chestnuts peeking through the well-mixed rice and sauce, she opened her mouth and scooped a big bite. The sweet sauce that was mixed well with the rice made her smile.

"Ha…happiness…"

"Nothing can be more blissful than eating, right?"

"Yeah. In reality, I only eat cherry tomatoes, salad, and half an apple every day."

Minhyuk paused at her words. He was aware of that torment more than anyone else.

"Eeey. Then, you can have two more bites. Wow, I, Minhyuk, am such a humanitarian. I hope you still have your appetite!"

Armin grinned.

"You really don't care about me or Artheon, but you definitely care about eating. The average person would be jumping in joy at my offer…"

"Are you certain that you can have fun once you join a guild? Is it because you'll hear people say ‘woow~’?at your high level and good items?"

"Eh?"

"I’m playing this game because I enjoy eating… When you’re playing, you’re playing to have fun, right? I don't need to join a guild, nor chase and seek high level players. I think that's not necessary for me to have fun."

As Armin heard those words, she blinked her eyes at Minhyuk. A thought suddenly crossed her mind.

'That's right… you have to have fun when you're playing games...'

Before she even realized it, it had become her job.

‘Games were made so we could have fun and enjoy ourselves. Do I really have to train with the sword? I just should do what I want like this man in front of me.’

‘Isn't that what having fun means?’

"You’ve got a point," Armin smiled brightly. Before they knew it, the two of them had finished their meal.

Minhyuk and Armin stood up.

"Then, I'm going to go and find something more delicious…" Minhyuk proclaimed as he turned around.

Armin hesitated for a brief moment, before calling out, "Can…can I add you as a friend?"

"Hmm…"

"I'll buy you something delicious later."

"I'll add you now!"

"Not right now, I'll add you once I get off of my alt character. I'm very thankful for the spicy braised chicken with chestnut today~"

Armin flashed a gentle smile. Nodding, Minhyuk quickly turned and moved to leave.

"Just to let you know, I could eat 100 servings in one sitting. The price of my meals are as high as the price of a house."

"Pfft.?Yes, yes. It's fine."

‘He's a person that can make you smile until the very end. 100 servings alone??That's definitely impossible, right?’

Minhyuk disappeared from her sight. Armin nodded as she watched his retreating figure.

'Yeah. I should do what I want to do.'

She came to realize this truth at a strange place.

***

[You have leveled up.]

Minhyuk finally reached Level 10.

In total, he had received a total of 15 bonus points, 10 from the Chestnut Demon King, as well as the 5 points he recently received. He allotted 5 points to his STM, 5 to his AGI, and 5 to his STR.

(Minhyuk)

Level: 10

Class: None

HP: 343?MP: 200

STR: 42+11??AGI: 32+14 ?STM: 20+9

WIS: 15+5 ?INT: 15+5 ?Rep: 10

Fullness: 100%/10

Bonus Point: 0

He had already collected 200 chestnuts.

The chestnut demons were only around Level 3~4, the more he hunted, the less experience he gained. However, Minhyuk's hunting speed was still very fast. That was why he reached level 10 so quickly.

While he was hunting…

[Alicia has sent you a friend request.]

[Yes?/?No]

"Yes."

Minhyuk nodded. He then saw Alicia's information in the friend's window.

[Alicia / Sorceress / Lv. 412]

"Oh… For real?"

He was a bit surprised when she called herself Alicia. She was indeed very famous.

To be honest, Minhyuk had a lot of things to be suspicious about.?Athenae?had no alternative character system but she had called herself Alicia. Aside from that, Minhyuk was not that surprised, compared to normal people.

His father was the CEO of Ilhwa group, and he had been in the company of a lot of celebrities, before he started suffering from his eating disorder.

She had even asked him to join Artheon.

Minhyuk's mind, on the other hand, was set on eating. He knew he had to find a guild that could accommodate his whims. Even so, he had his father as his backer.

Right now, he might be enjoying what he was doing, but his real purpose for playing the game was still because it was his treatment. If Minhyuk was really determined to continue eating, then he could just ask for his father's support.

Items, high-leveled support, gold, he could have it all. But, Minhyuk was not doing this just for the fun of eating. Even if Minhyuk did decide to join a guild, he would definitely choose to join either General, or a friend. It was hard to be a part of?Artheon?where there was nobody that he knew.

"Wait a sec…come to think of it… I haven't added General as a friend yet."

He had forgotten about it.

'Where is the ‘add friend’ button…'

Not long after, Minhyuk discovered the search box in his friends’ list window.

He entered?General?and typed the code number that was given to him. Each nickname had an attached code number, that was why it was possible for different players to have similar nicknames in Athenae.

Once Minhyuk entered the code, he pressed on the "Friend Request" that popped up.

[You have become friends with General.]

He heard the notification and not long after a whisper from General came.

[General: Man~ You know how to add friends now? Oohjujuju.]

[Minhyuk: I'm such a man, yeayea]

[General: Did you eat sweet red bean jelly?]

[Minhyuk: I ate it, it was really delicious…]

[General: So where are you now?]

[Minhyuk: I'm heading back to the village now. Ah, more importantly I just met the player Alicia the Agony.]

[General:?Again, again. I told you not to lie to your hyung.]

[Minhyuk: She was a novice though, she told me that she was Alicia herself then suddenly wanted to add me as a friend. She said that she would buy me a meal.]

[General: It's not Alicia, maybe it's Olicia hehehehehehehe]

[Minhyuk: But it's really Alicia? Her level is 412?]

[General:...For real?]

[Minhyuk: Yes, for real.]

[General: Wow… crazy…! You're now friends with Alicia the Agony? The person famous for being extremely cold? No, what did you do, how did you get close with Alicia?]

[Minhyuk: I was just eating diligently…]

Minhyuk was also very puzzled. He had just been eating diligently, and was trying to finish his digestion.

[Minhyuk:?How about Artheon? She asked me to join but I refused.]

[General:...Why didn't you go there, you'll definitely get a lot of support from there!]

[Minhyuk: Is the guild important? Actually, I hesitated when she asked to add me as a friend, she wasn't even sorry about eating my chicken drumsticks.]

[General: What do you mean by chicken drumsticks again? Anyway, it's good to know more people in Athenae. You have received a contact. Congrats.]

‘Is this something really worth celebrating?’

If it was from the perspective of other players, then Minhyuk thought that it was quite possible.

[General:?Hyung's still hunting so I'll send you another whisper later. Have fun!]

[Minhyuk: Yes, enjoy!]

Minhyuk closed the?whisper?and continued down the mountain.

'When we really meet later, maybe…I could really eat enough food that's worth as much as a house?'

As he thought that, he walked at a brisk pace in order to get his chestnut sweet red bean jelly faster.

***

He practically flew straight towards Tasty Sweet Red Bean Jelly, standing still in front of the store the moment he arrived.

"Hello!"

Allon came out quickly with a warm welcome, "Oh, boy, you're back!"

"I've collected the chestnuts."

"How many did you get? 50?"

It had not been that long since he left the store, that was why Allon thought that Minhyuk only got 50 pieces.

"200 pieces."

"...200? In such a short time?!"

"Yes, it was quite easy though?"

The players who received Allon's quest in the past would sometimes tell him...

‘You're giving me such a difficult quest just to get some chestnut sweet red bean jelly?’

However, Minhyuk had gotten him 200 chestnuts in such a short amount of time.

"Ah, I also got this."

Minhyuk rummaged through his inventory. He then pulled out the Giant Chestnut. There had been no information at all when he inspected the giant-sized chestnut.

There were cases where the items were completely useless. Another possibility was that it was not technically owned by Minyuk, and the reason why there was no information was because he had taken it away.

Thud!

Allon's eyes widened and he dropped what he was holding when he saw the Giant Chestnut.