In the midst of the chaotic battlefield.

“Roar!” 

Minhyuk heard a wild, violent roar somewhere nearby. It was the roar of the Orc Chieftain, the mob boss of the orcs, standing at around 2 meters and 40 centimeters. It was wearing a necklace made out of animal bones around its neck, and wielded a rusty greatsword in its hands.

Slash! 

"Chwiik!" 

Crackle!

[Salamander's Blaze] 

[The attack will inflict continuous damage to the enemy.]

Minhyuk finished off another orc before he rushed forward and penetrated through the orcs’ ranks.

Slash! 

Slam! 

Minhyuk’s movements were smooth and efficient, looking like a veteran as he hacked through the swarm of orcs. Before anyone else knew it, he was already in front of the Orc Chieftain.

Vwoom! 

Clang! 

The Orc Chieftain swung its rusty greatsword. Minhyuk quickly took a step back and avoided the incoming attack.

[Haste] 

[Your movement speed and attack speed have increased by 1.3 times for 10 seconds.]

Minhyuk’s movements sped up.

'There's 10 seconds before the skill is released from the cooldown,' Minyuk thought. He was still waiting for the cooldown on both Vital Strike and the Three Consecutive Quick Attacks to finish. In the meantime, he wanted to shave down as much of the Orc Chieftain’s HP as he could. 

Swoosh!

Slash! 

"Chwiiik!" 

The Orc Chieftain’s greatsword slammed into another orc and made it fly away. Seeing the opportunity, Minhyuk stabbed the Sword of Rebellion towards the sides of the Orc Chieftain.

Bang! 

However, Minhyuk’s stab could not penetrate through the Orc Chieftain’s thick leather armor.

'My stab is too shallow, this will not work.' 

Fwoom! 

Slash! 

The Orc Chieftain’s greatsword fell down upon him. Minhyuk quickly rotated his body to avoid the blow, causing the greatsword to stab straight through the ground.

Minhyuk quickly analyzed the situation. He thought, 'The greatsword is heavy and the swings are bigger. I probably have two chances to attack with every failed attack from the Chieftain.’

Just as Minhyuk had thought, the Orc Chieftain showed a huge gap in its defense each time it executed an attack.

'Just like… now!' 

Minhyuk kicked the Orc Chieftain’s shins.

"Groaaar!" The orc roared as it flinched in pain. Before it could pull its greatsword out of the ground…

Slash! 

Minhyuk slashed his sword twice on the Orc Chieftain’s chest, finally succeeding in cutting through its thick leather armor. Green blood started to drip from the cross-shaped wound that Minhyuk had inflicted on it.

"Roaaaar!" The orc roared viciously as it swung its greatsword with abandon in Minhyuk's general direction. 

Fwoom! 

Fwoosh! 

‘This kind of opponent relies on STR and STM. However, they will be at a disadvantage in a fight against someone with speed and techniques.’

However, those with speed and skill would usually only be able to inflict minimal damage.

Slash! 

"Hyaa!" Minhyuk shouted as he kicked the flank of the Chieftain once again. The force of his kick was so strong that he was able to widen the distance between them as the Chieftain breathed roughly. Minhyuk rolled away as he checked the cooldown on his skills. 

[Three Consecutive Quick Assault] 

[Your attacks will strike three times.]

Seeing the end of the cooldown, Minhyuk stood up and slashed his sword towards the Chieftain’s flank once again.

Swoosh! 

The tip of his sword stopped after digging into the Chieftain’s thick leather armor. However, the second afterimage of the sword was able to dig through the gaps in its armors and stab deeply into its body.

Stab!

"Keuhaaaaack!" 

And the final afterimage… 

Stab! 

"Aaaaaaaack!" 

[Vital Strike] 

[Additional 17% attack power for each successful strike.]

Minhyuk quickly moved his sword to stab through the Chieftain’s neck.

Stab! 

His sword penetrated through the Orc Chieftain's neck, ending its life in one fatal blow. 

[You have leveled up.] 

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[..... leveled up.]

Counting all of the notifications he heard from earlier, his level had increased by a total of 7.

Spurt! 

Blood spurted out as Minhyuk pulled his sword from the Orc Chieftain’s neck. He spat out a heavy breath and looked around the battlefield, taking in the entire situation. Seeing their rookie and new chef recruit taking on the Orc Chieftain all by himself, the soldiers could not help but burst into loud cheers.

[You have successfully hunted a boss monster that is 30 levels beyond your current level.]

[You have obtained the title: The Battlefield's Ruler.] 

Minhyuk discovered that an item and an artifact had dropped from the Orc Chieftain. They were a small bottle of about 200 militres in volume and the greatsword of the Orc Chieftain, respectively. A huge amount of gold of more than 100,000 had dropped as well. 

[You have acquired Orc Chieftain's Essence.] 

[You have acquired Orc Chieftain's greatsword.] 

[You have acquired 172,313 gold.] 

Minhyuk quickly moved after hearing the notifications, he could not afford the time to check on the items that he had just received. The overall morale of the soldiers might have increased and they were fighting vigorously against the orcs, but there were still one or two of them who were helpless against the enemies. 

"I, is that really a chef...?" Runie asked dumbly as she watched Minhyuk move.

"...Wow!" 

She couldn't help but let out a gasp of admiration. Minhyuk went all over the battlefield chasing the orcs, inflicting critical blows, or rendering them immobile by cutting their legs. Then, the soldiers would swarm towards the fallen orcs and dispose of them quickly. Finally, Venetto stabbed the last enemy orc with his spear. 

"As expected of my future son-in-law, you're amazing! You definitely deserve my daughter!" 

'...I wholeheartedly refuse!' Minhyuk thought, quickly averting his gaze. 

"Wow!" 

"Minhyuk! Minhyuk! Minhyuk!" 

Vald calmly looked at his troops. Every single soldier was gathered around Minhyuk. Minhyuk was only able to quickly check the items that he received when he managed to take a breather. 

(Orc Chieftain's Essence) 

Material Grade: C

Special Abilities: Has the ability to revive the sense of taste. 

Description: It was said that the essence of the Orc Chieftain can maximize or revive a person's sense of taste. It is a quest item, it can also be sold in stores. 

'As expected…!' Minhyuk thought. It seemed like his guess was correct. It really was a quest item. He then proceeded to check the remaining items one by one. 

(Orc Chieftain's Greatsword) 

Class: Unique

Requirements: Lv40, 70 STR

Durability: 3,261 / 5,000

Attack Power: 320

Special Abilities: 

•STR +7, AGI +5

•Skill: Fighting Spirit

"Well, it's not that bad." 

The item might be unique, but Valan, the Sword of Rebellion, was still leagues better than it. After all, even though the greatsword’s attack power was at 320, the movements of the wielder would be limited, and its size would slow down the player. Minhyuk was a player that preferred to hone his technique and skills and use his speed in fighting. Therefore, this item was also added to the list of 'Things I will sell to buy delicious things'. Finally... 

(The Battlefield's Ruler) 

Unique Title

Requirements: Below Level 150

Effects: A +10 increase in all 5 basic stats and a 10% increase in critical hit damage when fighting monsters with a 25 levels difference or higher. 

The title was quite good. Compared to the other titles that Minhyuk had received, this one had a restriction. This title’s restriction simply meant that the title effects would disappear once the player exceeded Level 150. When he finally finished checking all his loot… 

"How about the injuries?!" 

"Reporting! There are four soldiers with minor injuries, and one soldier that was seriously injured." 

The damage that the troops had received was certainly less than what they had expected. Had Minhyuk not take the lead, the damage that they could have incurred would definitely be greater.

At that moment… 

"Ugh, aaaaack!" 

A commotion suddenly broke out among the players. When Minhyuk turned around, he saw a player surrounded by other players. It was the one who led the orcs towards them.

"Ah, f*cker. You were the one who kited the orcs. You bastard! You're the reason why all of us almost got forced to log out!" 

Then… 

Staaab! 

The player was brutally forced to log out. 

'Tsk.' Minhyuk clicked his tongue at the player. Then, he saw Len giving him a thumbs up from a distance. Minhyuk smiled brightly at him. 

***

The Bordy Plains subjugation ended safely. After finishing the subjugation, the troops immediately began their return to Isbin Village. There was something called 'The Light of the Sun' in the Bordy Plains. It was said that ‘The Light of the Sun’ was not able to work properly because of the invasion of the goblins. The subjugation of these goblins was considered to be a common quest. 

Now that the subjugation was over, the Sun's Wheat could be grown and harvested in Isbin Village once again. The rewards would be given four days after returning to the village. They would be receiving it in front of the military training center. 

Len recalled the conversation that he had earlier with Minhyuk. 

'You're telling me not to have lunch tomorrow?' 

Minhyuk nodded excitedly and said, 'It would be best if you’re wearing comfortable clothes, ones where you can scratch your butt in! Let's have a relaxing day!' 

"Scratch my butt?" Len muttered to himself as he grinned and stared at the sky.

Len did not witness it personally, but he heard from the others that Minhyuk had killed the Orc Chieftain alone. He thought that maybe it was fate. This was definitely a way to avoid the sanctions from the God of Athenae. Len felt that the item in his hand really wanted to find that fated person. 

'My disciple will save my sense of taste.' 

He wondered what he would feel like once he could taste food. Would he feel happy? Would it make him laugh? Or would he cry the moment he ate it? Nevertheless, Len was still looking forward to it.

***

The weekend was quiet and tranquil. Today was a day where one really did not want to go anywhere. A day where they would only lie down and breathe. It was a day where a person would sleep around until around one o'clock in the afternoon and wake up feeling a little hungry. Only food would come to mind at times like this. 

Maybe a Chinese dish like black bean noodles. After eating 5,000 won worth of black bean noodles, one would definitely feel like lying down on the sofa and watching TV aimlessly. 

Minhyuk loved to feel that way. He also wanted to give Len that feeling too. So, Minhyuk quickly logged in to Athenae and went to the cooking carriage. The soldiers' lunches were replaced with combat rations since they were preparing to return today. This was the reason why Len had a leisurely break.

Minhyuk first made black bean noodles and spicy seafood noodles. After all, the sweet flavor of the black bean noodles and the refreshing, yet stinging, taste of the spicy seafood noodles were essential for days like this. 

‘Right?’ 

Minhyuk quickly placed the finished dishes in his Food Storage Inventory. Then, after frying the pork for the sweet and sour pork, he started making its sauce. 

The sauce of the sweet and sour pork could be made from either ketchup or soy sauce. If one preferred a sweeter taste, then it was possible to use fruits like pineapple or kiwi. Right now, Minhyuk chose soy sauce. He prepared the ingredients like onions, carrots, wood ear mushrooms, water, vinegar, sugar, and starch. The starch here would act as the thickener for the sauce. 

He proceeded to stir fry the onions and carrots.

Fwiiiish!

The smell of onions being cooked inside the pan was quite stimulating. The carrots made the dish more appetizing by adding a splash of color. Minhyuk was doing his best in cooking this dish. After all, it would be the first dish that Len would taste so he wanted to make it more delicious for him.

Once all of the ingredients have been stir-fried, Minhyuk added the water. Of course, the water was none other than the Orc Chieftain’s Essence. Then, he added soy sauce and sugar. This was a dish that used a lot more sugar than any other seasonings. Sugar could make the flavor penetrate deeper into the dish. After seasoning the dish properly, Minhyuk added some starch in a separate bowl of water, stirring it well before pouring it slowly into the boiling sauce. He then stirred the sauce until it gradually thickened. The sauce was finally completed after it thickened.

Minhyuk turned off the fire and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. This was his first time feeling this nervous. He was sure that he would enjoy the food himself but he wondered what Len would say after tasting his food. 

‘Would he feel happy? Would he find it delicious? What would he feel after tasting something for the first time in his life?’ That was what he thought. 

"Done," Minhyuk said as the notification rang in his head. 

[Please choose the main dish.] 

As per usual, he was asked to choose the main ingredient of the dish by the skill, ‘Food God’s True Worth’. He would also be asked to choose the main dish whenever he prepared a variety of dishes. Whenever Minhyuk was 'done' eating or 'completed' a dish, the notification would not wait, instead just popping out in front of him. 

"Sweet and sour pork. Increase the buff to the max,” Minhyuk said, hands moving quickly to prepare the dish. He has already accessed Athenae and checked all of the recipes through Athenae's search function. His hands continued to move skillfully. At that moment, he heard the notifications ring in his head. 

[You have completed a Sweet and Sour Pork.] 

[Trance. It's a dish that has your 'soul' poured into it.] 

[The dish is graded Rare.] 

[You have acquired 1 DEX.] 

[You have acquired 2 REP.] 

[You have acquired 200 Achievement Points (AP).]