Chapter 368: Chapter 357: Two Food Gods

Crackle—

The blazing flames brought a red tint to the wheat!

“No… no way…” Lucaro said in disbelief.

The Legendary Sun’s Wheat was something that he himself, and even the territory’s Lord Anton, could not harvest. No, to be exact, it was something that no one had ever harvested yet. The only one that had ever harvested this wheat was the true, genuine Food God. The tales about the amazing dishes that he created with the Legendary Sun’s Wheat had surprised the world and were still widely spread. In fact, it was not just Lucaro who was surprised by this feat.

“The… the Legendary Sun’s Wheat…?!”

“That superb ingredient that would never cool down…?!”

“That, that’s impossible…! H… how can a beggar like that obtain the Legendary Sun’s Wheat?!”

The audience was in a buzz. Even the gourmands jumped to their feet to get a glimpse of the shining red Sun’s Wheat.

Anton, on the other hand, was trembling. He said, “H…how can this be…?”

The Legendary Sun’s Wheat was an ingredient that the Sun God had gifted to Albero Territory after tasting the Food God’s delectable dishes. However, this ingredient was something that only one person could harvest and that person was none other than the true Food God. The Legendary Sun’s Wheat was known for its divine flavor, its ability to maintain the most suitable temperature at all times, and its ability to not let any food spoil forever. These special abilities were what made it deserving of the name ‘Legendary’. However, surprisingly enough, the man that was burnt black and was standing next to Lucaro, was actually able to get and bring the Legendary Sun’s Wheat!

“L… Lord… It’s the Legendary Sun’s Wheat…!”

“What should we do?”

Anton bit his lips and reluctantly shook his head at the words of the castle chefs. He said, “The Legendary Sun’s Wheat is not an ingredient that anyone can cook.”

The Legendary Sun’s Wheat was a very sensitive ingredient. Just one mistake in cooking would make it lose its flavor. The wheat would even go so far as devour itself and burn the entire dish. Whether it was in the past or the future, the only person that could cook the Legendary Sun’s Wheat was none other than the Food God. There was no way that the crippled Lucaro and his beggar assistant would be able to achieve such a feat. In fact, Anton’s mouth was already curled into a hideous grin.

‘No. I might be able to cook the Legendary Sun’s Wheat.’

From what Anton could see, the young man had an unknown power that allowed him to harvest the Legendary Sun’s Wheat. If that was the case, then?

‘I have to get that young man to my side and make him harvest the Legendary Sun’s Wheat for me.’

That alone would allow Anton to gain a lot of things. Money, honor, power. He would even receive a baptism and be reborn as the chef that successfully cooked a dish with the Legendary Sun’s Wheat. The thought alone made a smile appear on Anton’s lips.

It only took Anton a split second to finish the plot in his mind that he needed to play out, in order to take everything away from Lucaro. He smiled as he looked at the young man, Minhyuk, who was smiling while standing next to Lucaro and spreading the Legendary Sun’s Wheat.

***

Minhyuk realized what he needed to do in this trial after being scolded by Lucaro in the plaza and told to leave the territory. What he needed to do was to harvest the Legendary Sun’s Wheat, help Lucaro obtain victory, and reveal the fact that Anton was a fake, and did not deserve the title of ‘Food God’.

After a while, Minhyuk was able to reach the place that Lucaro said was where the Legendary Sun’s Wheat was located.

Shwaaaa—

A blast of hot steam engulfed Minhyuk’s entire body. The place was located near an active volcano. Minhyuk’s eyes darted around and saw the Legendary Sun’s Wheat spread out in a six meter radius, while blasting off hot steam. It was as if it was lava, with how hot the air was around it. The sight was very spectacular. The Legendary Sun’s Wheat glowed a reddish light from the flames that frolicked around it. It was an ingredient that was very hard to come by.

‘I want to have a taste of the Legendary Sun’s Wheat.’

On top of being a hard to come by ingredient, it was also wheat that could only be seen in Athenae. Still in awe at the greatness of the Athenae Production Team, Minhyuk took a step forward. The more steps he took, the stronger the heat that licked his skin. Minhyuk’s body was already soaking with sweat, even though he was still three meters away from the Legendary Sun’s Wheat. When he was only a meter away from it, he felt like his body was on fire from the heat that the Legendary Sun’s Wheat was emitting.

[Your HP has dropped by 2%.]

[Your HP has dropped by 3%.]

[Your HP has dropped by 3%.]

[Your body has sustained a huge burn.]

[Your movements have been restricted.]

[The damage from the burn has become higher.]

[Your HP has dropped by 5%.]

[Your HP has dropped by 5%.]

“Urk!” Minhyuk groaned as he hurriedly retreated.

He only stood a meter away from the Legendary Sun’s Wheat for around three seconds at most, but his HP had already decreased by 18%. The heat from the flames of the wheat was so strong that it could make his HP drop in percentages. The fact that this damage was only caused by the residual heat emitting from the wheat, and not from direct contact with the flames inside the wheat, was very frightening. In fact, Minhyuk’s shabby clothes were already burnt black just by the heat alone.

‘Once I get there…’

Minhyuk could not imagine what would happen to him once he went inside the six meter radius to harvest the wheat.

‘There’s not much information available about the Legendary Sun’s Wheat. However, I know that most of the chefs have given up on harvesting them because they can’t bear the heat and can’t get close to it.’

At least 90% of those that tried to harvest the Legendary Sun’s Wheat had fled from the heat. So, what about the remaining 10%?

‘They died after being devoured by the fire of the Legendary Sun’s Wheat.’

If that was the case, how did the Food God harvest the Legendary Sun’s Wheat?

‘The harvesting process doesn’t seem to be that difficult.’

Farming in Athenae was very difficult compared to reality. One needed to have a high DEX and excellent farming skills to be able to do so. However, harvesting the Legendary Sun’s Wheat became an almost impossible feat, since only those with skills above master craftsman could do so. But, even if there were master craftsmen available to harvest them, it would still take them a lot of time to do so. In other words, this place was the perfect burial for the slow master craftsmen that dared to harvest the Legendary Sun’s Wheat.

Based on those facts, Minhyuk confirmed that he would be able to harvest the Legendary Sun’s Wheat as long as he went inside that area. However, the problem still stood.

How could he overcome those flames and heat to go inside and harvest the wheat? Minhyuk had a high magical defense and high fire attribute resistance. Even his STM was high enough that it could surpass ordinary chefs several times over.

‘What do I have in common with the original Food God?’

What Minhyuk needed to do was to find his and the Food God’s common ground.

‘Maybe use God’s Cooking Skills? No. Cooking and harvesting are two completely different skills. If that’s not it, then what? Ignoring the penalty when eating? No. This has nothing to do with that either.’

Minhyuk pondered deeply about this matter until he finally reached a conclusion. He thought, ‘I can increase my fire attribute resistance.’

He did not need to last longer than an hour inside that area, all he needed was a scant few minutes. But for him to last those few minutes, he needed to increase his fire resistance. The pieces of the puzzle were finally in place. Thanks to Lucaro, Minhyuk learned and acquired the power to choose the buff that he wanted to focus on in a dish.

‘I’ll use all my buff to increase my fire attribute resistance in this dish.’

Originally, buffed dishes were dishes meant to increase various abilities and powers in the consumers’ body evenly. After all, a dramatic increase in STR would not result in a good outcome if the one that ate the dish did not have the speed (SPD) to hit the enemy with that STR. The only outcome would be failure.

The same was true for AGI. A dramatic increase in AGI would mean nothing if they could not deal enough damage from their quick attacks. That was why it was always recommended to have a balanced, even buff to dishes. However, Minhyuk’s situation right now would be an exception.

“Let’s Have a Meal!”

Minhyuk was done thinking. Now, he needed to try and execute the plan. He also made sure to use his skill Let’s Have a Meal, since he would be able to have a higher chance of getting a higher grade dish inside the barrier. Minhyuk continuously ate to increase his fire attribute resistance. Then, the notifications rang.

[You have eaten the Tonkatsu with Capsaicin Sauce.]

[Your Fire Attribute Resistance has increased by 52%.]

From what was seen from the notifications, the buff increase for resistances was much higher compared to stat increases. No matter how intense someone ate to increase their STR stat, the highest that they could get would be at around 30%. However, it was different for resistances. Minhyuk was able to increase his fire attribute resistance by 52%. After seeing the increase in his resistance, Minhyuk immediately stood up and jumped into the ring of heat.

Crackle—

A huge flame burst out and engulfed his body the moment he entered the area. However, Minhyuk thought that it would be worth it as long as he could endure the heat. He was willing to use all of the skills that he could use to harvest all of the wheat around him. Now, the only question was whether harvesting the wheat was as easy as what he heard. So, Minhyuk reached his hand holding a sickle out and tried to harvest the Legendary Sun’s Wheat.

Slash—

[You have successfully harvested 1 kilogram of Legendary Sun’s Wheat.]

[You are the first person to harvest the Legendary Sun’s Wheat.]

[You have gained 200 DEX.]

[Your Fire Attribute Resistance has increased by +10.]

“…!”

Minhyuk felt relieved. Thankfully, harvesting the Legendary Sun’s Wheat was truly easy. The game system was even generous enough to allow him to harvest in kilograms with every slash. It was not a small amount at all.

Minhyuk quickly moved to harvest the Legendary Sun’s Wheat. Although the heat was scalding and had engulfed his entire body, he endured and persevered through the task.

‘There’s someone who believes in me,’ Minhyuk thought as he recalled the warm smile on Lucaro’s face. The chef that had the same values and beliefs as himself. Someone that also did not want to see anyone go hungry in this world. Minhyuk endured the harsh and scalding heat and continued to harvest the wheat for this man.

Slash— slash—

[You have successfully harvested 1.2 kilograms of Legendary Sun’s Wheat.]

[Your Fire Attribute Resistance has increased by +5.]

Slash—

[You have successfully harvested 0.9 kilograms of Legendary Sun’s Wheat.]

[Your Fire Attribute Resistance has increased by +5.]

The amount of wheat that he could harvest after the first few harvests became smaller subsequently. But it did not matter. Anyone that would eat a dish made from the Legendary Sun’s Wheat would be able to receive a tremendous effect.

Minhyuk continued to harvest the Legendary Sun’s Wheat and was able to harvest everything by the time his HP reached below 4%. Then, something amazing happened. The blazing flames that emitted a scalding heat as it surrounded the Legendary Sun’s Wheat got sucked inside the wheat that Minhyuk harvested.

Crackle—

The flames burned brightly, but Minhyuk did not feel the heat at all. Then, the notifications began to ring in his ears one after the other.

[You have successfully harvested all of the Legendary Sun’s Wheat.]

[You have gained +15 to all five of your basic stats.]

[You have gained 200 DEX.]

[The Legendary Sun’s Wheat is an ingredient that can only be cooked by those that possessed the God’s Cooking Skill and the One Acknowledged by the Food God.]

[You have harvested one of the Five Legendary Ingredients.]

[What are the Five Legendary Ingredients? Please check the book.]

[You have acquired the Truth Droplets.]

[You can now reveal that you are the Food God in Albero Territory.]

[You have acquired the Sacred Drink for the One Acknowledged by the Food God.]

[Find the One Acknowledged by the Food God and give him the Sacred Drink.]

Minhyuk immediately ran to where the Gourmet Dragon Banquet Competition was being held the moment the notifications ended.

***

Lucaro could not say anything. Minhyuk had come back. He could not understand why he did so, but he could see that Minhyuk was still smiling softly at him. Then, he looked at the Legendary Sun’s Wheat that was spread out and shining brightly before mourning, “Why did you come back?! Look at you getting all injured like this! Your body is even black all over! Boy!!”

Minhyuk’s smile turned even softer after hearing Lucaro’s words. The man was more concerned about his state than the competition right now. He did not even give another glance at the Legendary Sun’s Wheat that was spread out in front of him after seeing the state of Minhyuk’s body.

Then, Minhyuk handed the Sacred Drink to Lucaro. He thought, ‘The Sacred Drink for the One Acknowledged by the Food God.’

Minhyuk could tell who this drink was for. That person was none other than Lucaro. He said, “Mister Lucaro, this drink is left by the Food God for you.”

“…?!”

Lucaro could not understand the words that Minhyuk told him. What did he mean by that?

“I received this after harvesting the Legendary Sun’s Wheat. He already expected this to happen. Everything that happened in this territory, the greed, the chaos, the disaster, he had anticipated everything.”

Lucaro’s hands were trembling as he accepted the drink from Minhyuk. The contents of the drink inside the transparent glass bottle was shining mysteriously with various colors.

“It seems like the Food God loves you dearly,” Minhyuk said as he smiled brightly at Lucaro.

However, Lucaro just looked at him as if he could not understand what was happening.

‘How can this boy in front of me harvest the Legendary Sun’s Wheat? How can he bring this drink that was left behind by the Food God? How can this young beggar, who loves food more than anyone else, and has a pure and innocent laugh, do such things?’

Minhyuk saw the questions flashing in Lucaro’s eyes. So, he opened his mouth and answered, “Because, I’m the Food God. And just like the previous Food God, I care deeply about you too, Lucaro.”

“…!”

Lucaro’s heart thumped wildly.

The man that he longed to meet once again. The man that he placed his trust and faith in. That man was now standing in front of him, with a bright and wide smile on his face.