Chapter 1428: Side Story 37
Chapter 1428 - Side Story 37
Minhyuk’s eating addiction was already completely cured.
‘Even so, it’s only natural to want to eat good food if it’s right in front of you, no?’
Right now, he truly wanted to try to eat the black pork and the red banded lobster, the treasures of Aras Village.
‘I came to the Grania Continent to help with Philos’ treatment, but… it would be nice if I could also eat something delicious.’
Just when the thought flashed in his head, Barlan stepped forward and gave him this skill. Barlan’s You Eat, I Eat skill was perfect; it could satisfy his wants and needs.
‘It doesn’t necessarily need to have an overwhelming strength for it to be considered good.’
Skills that could supplement what the user needed, just like this one, could sometimes show more strength and power than God-rank ones.
After Minhyuk left Aras Village, he stopped by a secluded and quiet hill and activated the You Eat, I Eat skill with the black pork samgyeopsal and the red banded lobster as the targets. Then, he began to prepare everything that he needed to eat.
In just an instant, the table for eating the black pork samgyeopsal and the red banded lobster was set up. Of course, the grill was also firmly and steadily set right beside the table. He first set aside the red-banded lobster, a Jeju Island specialty. It required little preparation and was already delicious.
“Salted anchovies~ Come on, boil quickly!” He mumbled as he stared at the savory and salty salted anchovies that were being heated in a small steel dish on the side while waiting for the grill to heat up.
‘The samgyeopsal served in restaurants that serve black pork is different from ordinary samgyeopsal. The black pork samgyeopsal that they serve has thicker cuts.’
Minhyuk gently placed the thick samgyeopsal on the grill.
Sizzle!
The loud and cheerful sound of the fat meeting the hot pan echoed loudly and left his mouth watering. Minhyuk flipped the meat at the right time. In no time at all, the black pork samgyeopsal was grilled to a golden brown and was cut into bite-sized pieces.
Minhyuk grabbed a piece of the deliciously looking and well-cooked pork and ate it as it was. The juices of the thick black pork samgyeopsal immediately spread in his mouth the moment he took a bite.
“Kghhk! As expected! This oily flavor is really the best!”
This time, he grabbed a lettuce, placed two pieces of meat on top of it along with some garlic, red pepper, seasoned scallions, and wrapped them all together. Then, he put the entire wrap in his mouth. The various ingredients created a fantastic harmony of flavors that danced in his mouth.
‘Ahhh! Now, it’s time for the highlight.’
The salted anchovies had finally started to boil. It was now easier for him to eat.
‘If the salted anchovies are only boiled for a short time, then the taste will be a bit too bland. But if you boil it for a long time, then it will be too salty.’
This was the perfect time to take it out of the heat and eat it. He dipped a thick piece of the samgyeopsal in the perfectly boiled salted anchovies and put it in his mouth. The saltiness of the salted anchovies complemented and washed away the greasiness of the samgyeopsal.
Just like that, Minhyuk finished all of the black pork samgyeopsal on the grill.
‘Alright! It’s time to eat Jeju Island’s specialty, the red banded lobster!’
The red-banded lobster was cut in half and turned into sashimi that was plated beautifully. Of course, just like usual, Minhyuk tasted it as it was.
‘Woah! It’s sweet…’
The red-banded lobster’s slight sweetness immediately spread in his mouth the moment he took a bite. Even better, the subtle sweetness would spread every time he chewed on the sashimi.
This time, he dipped it in chojang before taking a bite. The meeting of the chojang’s sourness and the red-banded lobster’s unique sweetness created a fantastic combination of flavor that left him reeling.
‘This is it! This is the incredibly delicious flavor that I’m looking for.’
This was the flavor that he was looking for, enhanced by Athenae’s power and the deliciousness that went beyond the limits of what the human taste buds could taste.
‘It seems like there’s a lot of food like this here.’
The reason why the Western Continents had a shortage of this kind of ingredient was that Minhyuk had already eaten them all up. However, this place was different. After all, the Grania Continent was the chefs’ continent. Even though it was a smaller continent, there was a high chance that it had many more precious ingredients than the West.
Minhyuk took out the parchment that he received from Barlan, which contained information about several delicious ingredients.
[You will be able to get a hint after you tear the parchment apart.]
Rip!
[You will be able to hear hints about the three ingredients or dishes that represent the Grania Continent.]
Ring!
[An unexpected situation has occurred after you tore the parchment.]
[The Quest: Getting Close to the Village’s Girl named Padel has been skipped.]
[The Linked Quest: Rumors about ‘that’ being have been skipped.]
[The Linked Quest: The Power of the Three Sacred Beasts possessed by ‘that’ being has been skipped.]
[...Linked Quest…]
[...Linked Quest…]
[You have skipped most of the contents of the quests related to the village. Because of that, you may have overlooked some parts or failed to learn about something important.]
Ring!
[The Video-Form Quest: King Alrak’s Worries has been created.]
“Oh!”
Minhyuk had read about the video-form quest about a month ago. It was something that Joy Co. Ltd. released just recently through the Athenae Notice Board. Video-form quest was a type of quest that could be triggered even if the player had not yet met the NPC. This quest was often triggered with items or hints related to the NPC and the quest. From what Minhyuk had learned, it was not a very common quest.
[Would you like to view the contents of the quest?]
“Yes.”
At the same time, Minhyuk’s perspective changed.
On a stormy night, the man, whose name was floating above his head. It displayed King Alrak. King Alrak stared at the mountains with a bitter and miserable look on his face.
“This punk… Ah, my dear younger sister…” Worry dyed King Alrak’s eyes. “More than five years have passed since you took your children and went to the mountains.”
A sigh escaped his lips.
“Please be careful. You have to be cautious. I have heard that they have killed many already. You and your children have to survive. If it weren’t for that powerful barrier, then I would have already run to save you.”
King Alrak sighed once again as he stared at the mountains despondently.
“Cho-Rong, please be safe. I will rescue you!”
[You have finished viewing the contents of the Video-form Quest: King Alrak’s Worries.]
[Another Linked Quest will be triggered once you meet Cho-Rong.]
“Huh?”
Minhyuk blinked blankly. He was a bit… confused. But this was natural. Why? Because he had skipped a lot of quests. This meant that he had also missed a lot of content, and his knowledge was limited.
[You will now receive the hint.]
[...related to a folk tale.]
[Two young children. A single mother.]
[Omegitteok.]
“A folk tale? Wait. A traditional folk tale?” Minhyuk mumbled as he tried to infer what traditional folk tale it was with the video and the hint. However, the folk tale did not come to him right away.
‘Is there a folk tale related to omegitteok?’
No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't think of any traditional folk tales related to omegitteok.
‘Ah! If we’re talking about this, then maybe…?’
Perhaps the reward that he would receive from this quest was omegitteok? Minhyuk was in awe. Omegitteok was a Jeju Island specialty that was made with chajo[1] powder and made into round balls. It was usually coated with bean powder, red beans, sesame seeds, among other ingredients. It was also filled with sweet red beans.
‘The Grania Continent is modeled after Jeju Island. And since it’s the chef’s continent, there’s a high chance that this reward will be incredibly amazing.’
The thought of the reward alone was enough to put a smile on Minhyuk’s face.
In the past, Minhyuk had visited an omegitteok shop that his father knew of and tasted a freshly made omegitteok from Jeju Island. The freshly-made omegitteok’s flavor was incredible and truly the pride of the island. The warm, chewy, and sweet taste of the omegitteok was something that he could never forget.
‘Philos will definitely like it.’
Minhyuk continued to ponder over the hint and take a guess on what kind of scenario he had to face.
‘A single mother. Two young children. Cho-Rong.’
He was hung up on the ‘Cho-Rong’ part. From what he could gather, Cho-Rong was the king’s sister, right?
‘Was the name tailored after Koreans because it’s a traditional Korean folk tale?’
It was highly likely.
‘Oh? I think I’m a genius?!’
If that were the case, then he could confidently say that Cho-Rong was the single mother. And she lived in the mountains with her two children. Only after confirming this part did Minhyuk think of a traditional folk tale.
“The siblings’ story[2]!”
The siblings’ story was a story that anyone would think of if they heard the line, ‘Give me a piece of tteok. Then, I won’t eat you.’ Minhyuk was confident that this was the folk tale that the hint was talking about. Convinced of his guess, he began searching for the kingdom ruled by King Alrak.
The kingdom appeared shortly after he left the village. He even saw the same mountains that he had seen in the video.
Minhyuk stood at the foot of the mountain.
[Because of the powerful barrier set in place, the people of the Valkain Kingdom cannot set foot in this mountain.]
It was just as the king had said in the video.
‘The tiger is the ruler of this mountain.’
From what he inferred, the tiger was obviously in control of this mountain, and it was eating the people who set foot in here. Nevertheless, Minhyuk still stepped forward and began to climb the mountain.
After climbing the mountain for a very long time, Minhyuk saw a woman carrying a bag of tteok.
‘Kghhk! As expected! I’m really a genius!’
He immediately knew what traditional folk tale it was based on the hints alone! At this point, Minhyuk was sure that he had already solved all of the questions related to this “test”.
‘Now, all I have to do is go and check if that’s Cho-Rong!’
Minhyuk followed the woman from a distance.
***
Cho-Rong climbed the mountain mindlessly today, too. It was getting harder and harder to find something to eat after the severe cold fell and covered the entire mountain.
She was fine. But she could not stand still when she saw her children starving before her eyes. So, even if Cho-Rong was cold, hungry, and having a hard time, she still braved the cold and climbed the mountain.
Unbeknownst to Cho-Rong, a pair of eyes was watching her as she climbed the mountain.
***
Minhyuk hurriedly ran after the woman climbing the mountain with her tteok, whom he believed was Cho-Rong. At that moment, a huge, ferocious tiger jumped out and stood in front of the woman.
‘It’s just as I thought!’
It seemed like what he assumed was correct. This was the Siblings who turned into the Sun and Moon, the folk tale about a single mother and a pair of brother and sister!
It was a story where a tiger said, ‘Give me a piece of tteok. Then, I won’t eat you,’ to the mother to keep on stealing her tteok! However, the vicious tiger eventually devoured the mother and even went to the house where she lived to eat her son and daughter. At that time, the pair of siblings climbed a tree, asked God for a rope, and eventually became the sun and the moon.
‘All I need to do is save the mother, who climbed the mountain for her children with her tteok. If I save Cho-Rong, then I’ll be able to proceed to the next part.’
“Give me a piece of tteok. Then, I won’t eat you!” The gigantic and ferocious tiger shouted just like Minhyuk had expected.
However, Minhyuk decided to continue to watch the situation more before making a move. If that woman were Cho-Rong, then she would be the king’s younger sister. If he helped her in a more dire situation, then he would benefit more. Of course, that was not all. He also thought that he should wait and see for a bit more in case there was a different scenario.
The frightened woman screamed, “Oh my god! Lord Tiger, please spare me! Please! I… I’ll give you two tteoks instead of one! So, please!”
“Hngh! Good! Give me two pieces of tteok. Then, I won’t eat you!”
The terrified woman handed over two pieces of tteok to the tiger. The tiger gulped down one piece of tteok and left the other piece untouched for some strange reason.
“Hngh! Thank you, woman, for the tteok that you have given me. I will definitely repay you for this grace someday.”
‘Eh? Something’s off.’
Minhyuk truly felt that something was off. Why was the tiger so kind and courteous? The tiger that he knew from the folk tale kept on asking for more tteok until the woman ran out, and it eventually ate her.
Then, the woman reached into the cloth bag where she had taken her tteok and pulled out a dagger. She giggled as she licked the blade of the dagger and said, “Hey, you tiger bastard! The tteok that you ate is made with herbs that contain hallucinogens! I will kill you and peel your skin! Ohohohoho!”
“H… Hngh! I… I just ate one tteok… why…”
“This tiger! You talk a lot for someone who’s about to die!” The woman smiled viciously as she approached the reeling and staggering tiger. “You have two runts, right? Heh. With the hallucinogenic herbs in that tteok, I will be able to know where those brats are from your mouth. Hoho!”
Minhyuk finally realized that there was something wrong with the scenario.
“Cho… Cho-Rong!” Minhyuk shouted, calling out toward the woman with all his might.
Perhaps the folk tale has been twisted? Maybe Cho-Rong, the king’s younger sister, had undergone a personality change after climbing the mountain? But then…
“H… Hngh? How did you know my name…?”
This very unexpected discovery flustered Minhyuk. However, now that he had confirmed his target, he immediately leapt forward and kicked the woman away.
Thud!
“Keheooook! F*ck! Who the hell are you?!”
Minhyuk ignored the woman, whom he had sent flying away, and turned to look at the tiger. His pupils shook as he asked, “You… You’re Cho-Rong…?”
Despite her spinning vision, Cho-Rong still managed to answer. She said, “Th… That’s right. That’s the name that my oppa gave me!”
Minhyuk was now truly and utterly embarrassed.
“How… How can you be Cho-Rong! Don’t lie to me!”
“He gave me that name because of my sparkling[3] eyes.”
Sparkle, sparkle~ (Chorongchorong~)
Minhyuk’s pupils trembled as he stared at Cho-Rong’s fierce, brave, and beastly eyes.
‘Where the hell is the sparkle here?!’
Then…
[...you have discovered a portion of the folk tale.]
[You will be able to learn about the content that you have skipped.]
[The in-progress quest that you are currently working on is related to the ‘I Thought it was a Traditional Folk Tale but it was a Cruel Folk Tale!’ series.]
[You are currently working on the ‘Peeling Off the Tiger’s Pelt in Exchange for Tteok!’]
1. A type of millet once produced in Jeju in large quantities. ☜
2. This is referring to 해와 달이 된 오누이 or The Siblings who Turned into the Sun and the Moon or just the Sun and the Moon. ☜
3. 초롱초롱 (Chorongchorong) is a mimetic word for something sparkling. ☜