Minhyuk understood that this was a hint, although he did not know what answer the hint was leading to. If he reached a certain level of favor, would they willingly and obediently hand over the Ingredient Heaven to him? Or maybe, they would give him the best crops and produce that they have harvested? Or perhaps…

‘Will I become their king…?’

However, Minhyuk decided to put this question aside for the moment. He did not have enough time to ponder over this thing deeply. There was something else that he needed to do. He quickly descended from the walls to carry out what he had told Beth that he would do earlier.

“Now, it’s time for us to eat.”

“Ah. Uhm… Alright…”

Beth had his doubts when he first saw the strange knights that Minhyuk had summoned, but after seeing them fight, his doubts had long disappeared. Rather than doubt him, he came to believe and trust in Minhyuk more. But even if that was the case, the situation that they were in made him a little hesitant to respond positively to Minhyuk’s suggestion of eating. It took much consideration for Beth to decide to place his trust in them.

“Can I have some of your ramyeon noodles here?”

“How many do you need?”

“Enough for 500 servings. It would also be good if you can provide me with some eggs and cheese.”

“Alright. We’ll bring it to you.”

Beth immediately ordered his men to bring the ingredients. Minhyuk asking for the ingredients from them meant that he would not need to spend his personal money to buy it. Following Beth’s orders, their troops brought enough ramyeon noodles, eggs, and cheese for 500 servings. Minhyuk hurriedly checked the information of the ingredients.

(Ancient Chicken’s Egg)

Ingredient Grade: S

Special Abilities:

• Can sharply increase the defense. However, it will be entirely dependent on the chef’s skills.

• Can sharply increase the natural recovery rate. However, it will be entirely dependent on the chef’s skills.

• Buff Ingredient.

• There will be no special effects or abilities if the dish fails.

Description: It is an egg born from one of the ancient chickens, the gamecock. These chickens can only live inside the Farmer's Kingdom, where the air and water is good and pure.

(Fantastic Sliced Cheese)

Ingredient Grade: S

• Battle Qi, Bravery, and Will will increase. However, it will be entirely dependent on the chef’s skills.

• Buff Ingredient

• There will be no special effects or abilities if the dish fails.

Description: It is a cheese made from the milk of the ancient cows that can only live inside the Farmer’s Kingdom, where the air and water is good and pure.

The part that surprised Minhyuk the most was the part that said ‘ancient’. A species being tagged as ancient meant that there were only a few of them left. They were very great existences that had survived through the eons.

“Your chicken and cows are very special, huh?”

“Special? I don’t know about that.”

However, Deputy Commander Beth looked like he was not aware of this fact. It was only natural since the Rocard Kingdom had been cut off from the outside world for a very long time now.

‘We must obtain the power of this kingdom no matter what!’

What Minhyuk wanted to cook was none other than ‘Chapagetti’. However, the amount of chapagetti that he had to make was so large that it would be a bit difficult for him to cook. The biggest problem was the ‘noodles’. Noodles would eventually get soggy, what more if he had to make 500 servings? So, the first thing that Minhyuk prepared was the fried eggs. Minhyuk immediately enlarged his frying pan and coated it with cooking oil.

“Mister Beth, there’s something very important that I need you to do with the knights.”

“Yes!”

The knights of Rocard Kingdom all nodded solemnly when they saw the serious expression on Minhyuk’s face. Minhyuk’s troops were doing a very exceptional job, so they wanted to do something too!

“Please crack an egg over the frying pan! This is very important. If you break the yolk then you’ll be in big trouble!”

All of them looked like they could not understand what was happening for a moment. But it did not end there.

“Also, please gather the noodles of these 500 chapagetti noodles in one place. Please make sure to place the flakes and soup powder in separate bowls too!”

Minhyuk would cook the noodles for himself and use the soup powder, flakes, and olive oil in a separate bowl. The noodles that he would use for them would be the Special Ramyeon Noodles, while the noodles in the pack would be left for himself.

The people of the kingdom were speechless and doubtful, but the urgency in Minhyuk’s voice was unmistakable.

“Do it, quick!”

“Ah. Yes!”

“Fire!”

Minhyuk casted Fire Magic underneath his gigantic frying pan. His Legendary Frying Pan had the function where it could automatically control the temperature that was most suitable for the dish that he was cooking by using magic. The oil gradually reached a high temperature from the heat of the flames that spread underneath the pan.

‘This is a new challenge.’

He had to make 500 servings of chapagetti while in the middle of a war! Minhyuk also joined in on cracking the eggs.

Crack, crack—

They held the egg with both of their hands, cracked the shells apart, and let the egg fall on the pan.

Sizzle, sizzle—

Sizzle, sizzle—

The sound of the eggs being fried rang loudly in the area. In particular, Minhyuk’s skill of cracking eggs with only one hand was spectacular, especially when compared to Beth and the knights of Rocard Kingdom that cracked eggs with both of their hands.

“Aaaah! Wait! Mister Beth, you broke the yolk! Please be careful.”

‘I’m the deputy commander but… I’m being scolded for breaking the yolk…’

“Hey! That knight over there! There’s a piece of egg shell in your fried egg! Do you know how disappointing it would be if someone ate that shell?!”

“I’m, I’m sorry. Hic! I have committed a mortal sin…”

Some of the knights felt ridiculous after seeing the severity of Minhyuk’s expression. The way he scolded them made them feel like they had committed a grave sin and betrayed their kingdom without realizing it! It was truly a sight to behold. Rocard Kingdom’s elite troops were all cracking eggs together while Minhyuk divided the fried eggs!

Fried egg was a single dish, and yet, so much more. There were fried eggs with runny yolk and only one side cooked. There were also fried eggs with both sides cooked thoroughly and fried eggs whose yolks were fully cooked and broken. There were some people that like their yolks broken too but Minhyuk believed that there were not that many of them. So, while he was dividing, he made sure to divide it equally while keeping in mind to keep only a few of the ones with yolks that burst.

After finishing the fried eggs, he quickly fished them out of the pan and placed them on a large tray. Then, he used the frying pan’s automatic cleaning function to clean the frying pan, before making it large again and pouring water inside it.

From this point on, he needed to completely focus on the task at hand. Minhyuk needed to make at least 500 servings of chapagetti, on top of the restriction: ‘There will be no special effects or abilities if the dish fails.’. If he failed because he cooked the noodles the slightest bit more than necessary, they would be in trouble.

Unfortunately, the severe time constraint and the current situation forced him to take on that risk and challenge the dish.

In the blink of an eye, the knights had already added the flakes in the pan. The 500 servings of flakes swam and danced around in the boiling water. Then came the 500 servings of Special Ramyeon Noodles.

Surprisingly enough, the item that Minhyuk took out to cook the noodles was a shovel! To be exact, it was a cooking shovel used for mixing. Since he was cooking a huge amount of noodles, the task was extremely taxing, to the point that sweat had already started to pool on his forehead.

“Keuaaaack!”

“Kiyaaaack!”

Screams were ripped out of the mouths of Minhyuk’s troops that were standing above the walls but he tried his best to concentrate on the task at hand.

‘The heat is quite good.’

One of the problems when cooking large amounts of a dish was the heat. In fact, cooking 500 servings of a dish was not that uncommon. This was something that was usually done in cooking units, cafeterias, and other similar places. However, most of the dishes that these places offered were not cooked with proper heat control, so their taste tended to be less than satisfactory.

The most important part of cooking is heat and its control. Some dishes required low heat while some required a quick stir in high heat.

One of those dishes with tricky heat control was ramyeon. The best method to produce an amazing serving of ramyeon was to lift and stir the noodles while they were being boiled. But, how could one lift and stir 500 servings worth of ramyeon noodles? The answer was simple.

Ali quickly gulped some Mana Potions!

“Ali, please lift the noodles in the pan from time to time.”

“Ah. Yes…”

Mage Ali used his magic to lift the 500 servings worth of ramyeon noodles from time to time! Ali, the world’s strongest mage, was tasked to use his power to lift noodles from the pan!

But his work did not end there, Minhyuk continued to solicit Ali’s help after they had cooked the noodles. After all, it was very hard to transfer 500 servings worth of noodles. Also, they would not know when the noodles would get soggy so…

“Ali! Please use your Dehydration Magic! Make sure to leave enough water inside the noodles!”

“…”

Golden Mage Ali, the world’s strongest mage, used Dehydration Magic on noodles.

Shwaaaaaa—

The excess water from the noodles were removed, leaving only the appropriate amount.

“Nice!”

Then, Minhyuk added the soup granules and olive oil that the knights had separated earlier. Of course, mixing the noodles, the soup granules, and olive oil was something that Ali also helped with. The noodles slowly got mixed following the movements of his hands as the unique aroma of olive oil wafted through their noses. Anyone would know that chapagetti was being mixed as soon as this smell started to linger in the air. The smell alone could make anyone’s mouth water and gulp.

Once everything was done, Minhyuk scooped the noodles in a bowl before topping it with cheese and a fried egg. With that, the notifications rang for Minhyuk, which caused delight to bloom on his face.

Then, Beth approached and asked, “…Ho. What’s the name of this dish?”

Beth looked at the bowl of chapagetti that was handed to him in wonder. Rocard Kingdom was a kingdom that was populated with people that had poor cooking skills. So, what was their way of cooking ramyeon noodles?

“We just add the ramyeon noodles in boiling water and season it with salt…”

“Uhm…”

It was the worst recipe to have ever existed. If that was the case, then they would be more welcoming and delighted once they got a taste of the chapagetti.

“Do it like this. Get some chapagetti and place some on your own bowl, then add some cheese and fried egg to your liking.”

Minhyuk’s instructions were quick and easy so that the 500 servings worth of chapagetti would not get soggy. The knights hurriedly moved as they followed his instructions.

Minhyuk also got a bowl of chapagetti on his own. The fried egg that he chose was the one that was only cooked on one side with the slightly cooked yolk.

The knights continued to look at Minhyuk. They watched him take out some ponytail kimchi, well-ripened radish kimchi, pickled radish, and many more from his ‘aging jar’. Of course, the server was also Ali. He used his magic to serve these side dishes to the point that he wanted to give up on everything and wonder why he was here!

‘I’m the best and strongest mage, but I’m actually using my magic to deliver kimchi…’

Minhyuk demonstrated first. He poked the yolk of his egg on top of his chapagetti noodles and let the runny yolk cover the noodles. After that, he grabbed some cheese and chapagetti noodles, before lifting them high up and slurping them in one go.

“Sluuuuuurp!”

A sweet taste lingered in his mouth from the chapagetti noodles which was immediately followed by the special scent and flavor of olive oil. The taste of the yolk and the cheese also made an appearance, creating the perfect harmony of flavors in Minhyuk’s mouth. Minhyuk smiled happily as he grabbed a piece of ponytail kimchi and placed it in his mouth.

Crunch, crunch—

The ponytail kimchi was crunchy and brought forth a burst of spiciness in his mouth. Minhyuk lifted his chopsticks again. This time, he sliced his fried egg. Then, he grabbed some noodles with it and slurped it up. A bright and happy smile graced his lips as he munched on the noodles.

Chapagetti and jajangmyeon might have plenty of similarities, but they were also inherently different dishes. There were times when chapagetti triumphed over jajangmyeon in terms of taste and flavor.

Minhyuk once again slurped the noodles. He did not forget to eat up the remaining pieces of his fried egg together. There were also small pieces of meat in the flakes! It was always a fun and interesting activity to try and pick each meat before eating them one by one. Soon, he came to the last bit of the dish from his bowl.

When Minhyuk came back to his senses, the people around him were already in a buzz.

“My goodness! I have never tasted such a delicious dish in my life!!!”

“Hoo. I was very ignorant and naive! I can’t believe we just boiled our ramyeon noodles and seasoned them with salt!”

“How can this be… This is very delicious… Oh my god! I feel like I’m going to cry with how delicious this dish is! Sob!”

That was right. They just boil their ramyeon and season it with salt! So, for them, tasting this chapagetti was like opening the doors to a new world. After eating this delicious dish, the notifications rang for them.

[You have eaten a Chapagetti that has reached the Legendary Grade.]

[You can’t receive any duplicate buffs during the duration of the buff retention period.]

[Legendary Chapagetti.]

[Your farming efficiency will increase by 17%, attack and defense power by 39%, and natural recovery rate by 80% for 20 days.]

[Your skill cooldown will decrease by 15% for 20 days.]

[All of your skills’ level will increase by +1 for 20 days.]

[The Large-Serving Chapagetti has reached the legendary grade. The ‘no effects when shared’ penalty will be ignored.]

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

All of them were shocked. The people of Rocard Kingdom were not the only ones that heard a set of notifications.

[The favor that you have received from Deputy Commander Beth has reached the highest level. You have exceeded the set level.]

[He now dreams of becoming one of your people.]

[The favor that you have received from Knight Hayden has reached the highest level. You have exceeded the set level.]

[He now dreams of becoming one of your people.]

[The favor that you have received from Soldier Hecan has reached the highest level. You have exceeded the set level.]

[He now dreams of becoming one of your people.]

[The favor that you have received from Soldier Kaylin has reached the highest level. You have exceeded the set level.]

[He now dreams of becoming one of your people.]

The notifications rang for all 500 of them! All of them dreamt of becoming one of Minhyuk’s people! But, the notifications did not end there.

[You have gained the Title: The One that Bewitched a Kingdom with a Single Dish.]