Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 180: Father’s Feelings

“Ho.”

Black Dragon let out a gasp of admiration. The fried rice placed in front of him was packed tightly in the shell of the snow crab. He quickly scooped up a spoonful of the steaming fried rice.

‘It’s really good.’

The fried rice was overflowing with the guts and meat of the snow crab, and there were even seaweed flakes and sesame seeds sprinkled on top of it, which highlighted the savory smell of the dish that was stir fried in sesame oil.

Black Dragon placed the spoonful of rice in his mouth.

‘It’s really delicious.’

The taste was, no doubt, superb. Even though Black Dragon had tasted a lot of snow crab fried rice, he knew that this was the first time he had tasted such a flavor in his entire life. After eating two spoonfuls of fried rice just like that, the spicy soup suddenly appeared in his sight.

The snow crab seafood ramyeon was presented to Black Dragon. The ramen was filled with plump squid, open-mouthed mussels, bean sprouts and?cheongyang?peppers. It looked both spicy and refreshing with just one glance. He quickly took a spoonful and chomped on it.

“Hoo.”

Black Dragon let out another breath of admiration from the refreshing flavor that burst out in his mouth. He quickly picked up some noodles and placed them on his plate before scooping more spoons of soup. Next, he grabbed a mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks, before dipping the bowl to sip the soup. The chewy texture of the noodles and the refreshing flavor of the soup brought smiles to the people that tasted such a delicacy.

“Really delicious...”

“Wow. How can it taste like this?”

It was not only Minhyuk, the rest of the people that ate together with him were all impressed. This was the result of Minhyuk’s Food God’s Cooking Skills, as well as his high DEX. This would definitely be the first time that the people he had invited for a meal would taste something like this. In fact, even the ambience and the mood of the place was really good.

Finally, everyone sliced the sweet potato cake and shared it with each other. Minhyuk quickly took his fork and sliced off a mouthful, before putting it into his mouth. The naturally sweet potato and the softness of the bread put a happy and bright smile on his face. Whenever he felt that his throat was getting dry and he got thirsty, he would drink some milk to moisten it.

“So General, tell us about the army.”

“Ack! Doc, please don’t call me General.”

After they finished eating, they talked and laughed together. Minhyuk was sitting in between them and laughing together with them. Black Dragon looked at everyone with both satisfaction and happiness. When he looked out of the window, he felt that the moon looked exceptionally brighter today.

Black Dragon had received the greatest birthday present of his life today.

***

After he finished preparing everything, Black Dragon prepared to leave.

‘I had a satisfying dinner today with my son.’

Now, it was time for the father to repay his son’s great meal. He had prepared everything he needed before going to Callame’s Island.

Callame’s Island was an extremely cold area. It was a place that was always filled with snow and ice monsters, even in the middle of summer. So far, most of the players had been reluctant to hunt in Callame’s Island since there were only normal monsters, normal drops and a normal EXP Acquisition Rate. However, even if they set aside those factors, Callame’s Island was truly too cold for them to do anything with joy. Any player’s perspiration that resulted from fighting the monsters would immediately become frozen. Many of the players that ventured into that place even died from frostbite. However, Black Dragon had to go. That place had the ‘Neolbing’ that his son wanted to eat so badly.

Black Dragon gently stroked Britney, the black dragon’s head.

“Kiiiiiyeeeeeee!”

Shwaaaaaaaaaa!

Britney flew so fast that he was able to reach Callame’s Island in just a blink of an eye. Black Dragon could see that huge difference between where he was and the island. He took out a telescope and looked at the island in front of him.

‘Ice Kingdom. I think the name suits it well.’

In addition to the cold, there was a fierce wind and an intense blizzard of snow. Flying through the sky was going to be a huge obstacle for him. Britney landed on the ground with Black Dragon on his back. Then, they started to walk together.

“It’s truly too interesting.”

Black Dragon, with his black armor, looked a meter ahead of him. The weather from where he was standing and just a meter ahead of him was so different that it looked like there was a transparent barrier that separated the two places.

The place where Black Dragon was currently standing was a place where there was warm sunlight, and the trees and grass were currently flourishing. On the contrary, the place a meter ahead of him was a place that looked like all life had been lost and frozen, while a raging blizzard covered the whole place.

Black Dragon slowly went inside that area. As soon as he stepped into that place, the notifications rang in his ears.

[You have entered Callame’s Island.]

[You have been restricted from using Fire Potion.]

[Your character will be affected by the cold if you logged out from a non-safe zone.]

One of the reasons why people were reluctant to challenge Callame’s Island was due to the restricted use of fire potions. Using fire potions could help heat up the body and fight off the cold. Some people could bring mages with them, but the place made it difficult for the weak ones to hold out.

Shwaaaaaa━

Black Dragon felt the biting cold immediately. He hurriedly took out the clothes that he had prepared earlier once he felt the cold permeate through his armor and straight through his bones. As soon as he wore the clothes, he felt his body heat up like he was wearing hot packs all over his body.

‘Fire Spirit Blacksmith’s Coat.’

It was an epic ranked artifact that could instantly heat up the body. To put it simply, it had a similar effect to a hot pack.

Crackle!

Then, a black fire suddenly burned on Britney’s body.

“Britney, save your mana.”

“Kiiiyeee.”

Britney gave off a dark aura as it complained in discontent after feeling the comforting heat for a short second. The two of them slowly trudged forward as they set off to conquer Callame’s Island. As they slowly trudged forward, Black Dragon saw a huge tornado of snow slowly approaching them as it devoured the things around them.

“Britney, the blood is boiling in my chest. I’m not afraid of such a storm since I’m with you. Is it the same with you?”

Britney would sometimes nod at its master’s words, even though they were cringeworthy.

“Kki, kkiyeeeee!”

“Well then, let’s go!”

There was no way for them to avoid the tornado so Black Dragon and Britney both soared into the sky and braved against such a huge tornado. Wounds of varying degrees littered their bodies one by one, but Black Dragon and Britney just continued forward.

Just like that, a day had already gone by.

Ice monsters like yetis and ice wolves continued to appear in front of him. Black Dragon, whose lips were slowly turning blue from being frozen, did not look discouraged even though he was among the swarms of monsters.

Riiip! Rip!

Britney also tore apart the monsters that tried to kill his master.

Night fell once more.

[Your hands and feet are suffering from frostbite.]

[Your STM is declining.]

[Your HP is continuously decreasing.]

Tremble, tremble, tremble━

Black Dragon was currently crouching inside the pit that he had dug earlier as his body trembled in the cold. Every breath that he let out had turned white due to the cold. His lips and nose had already turned white from the frost. He might be able to get out of the cold if he logged out, but he still would not be able to conquer the place. His character would still be affected by the cold and would be forced to log out in the end.

Black Dragon quickly checked the map with his trembling hands. He thought,?‘We’ll soon reach the Ice Cliffs.’

It was the Ice Cliffs that no one had ever conquered yet! However, Black Dragon wanted to make that happen. A safety zone would appear soon. Meanwhile, Britney stretched out its neck, while it looked at its master with worry as it continued to protect the pit.

“I…I’m fine, Britney. I can still go there! It…it’s there...! Th…the thing that my son wants to eat the most...!”

“Kkiiyeeeee!”

Britney let out a cry. Black Dragon’s thoughts and feelings for his son, Minhyuk, flowed through its mind.

Crackle!

Britney covered the pit with its body before summoning a mild flame. Black Dragon felt like his frozen body had somewhat warmed up.

‘How many potions do I have left?’

A person could not carry an unlimited amount of potions in their inventory. Of course,?Athenae’s?inventory itself had an unlimited capacity, but it worked differently for the potions. In the case of potions, the amount that one could carry would vary depending on their level. This was the reason why he had to look into the number of potions that he had left in his possession.

After taking a short break, Black Dragon began moving again. Finally, after walking for quite a distance, he arrived at the Ice Cliffs.

[There are plenty of restrictions in the Ice Cliffs with the sole exception of your stats.]

[Britney’s summoning will be recalled. You can only use climbing and hiking equipment if you want to climb up.]

This was one of the reasons why the Ice Cliffs were quite difficult to challenge. Britney was once again summoned back into Black Dragon’s left hand. Then, Black Dragon quickly wore the goggles that he had prepared beforehand, as he pressed down on the thick fur hat on his head, a determined look in his eye. After he finished his final preparations, he took out an ice ax and began his long trek up the cliffs.

Stab!

Black Dragon climbed up the Ice Cliffs with his sharp ice ax, slowly and steadily. The trek was so difficult, that he even lost his footing once.

“Keuheok!”

He was tottering over the edge, but he clenched his teeth as he looked at the top of the cliffs. Like his son, Minhyuk, he had also been doing various sports. They did not know if it was in their genes, but he was also talented in this aspect. And just like his son, he was strong-willed and stubborn that he had received the?Will?stat as well.

Clang! Clang!

Black Dragon felt like his hands and feet were starting to get frozen solid as he climbed higher and higher up the Ice Cliffs. There were times when he briefly thought of giving up but he would quickly shake his head and proceeded on.

‘I haven’t done anything for that rascal yet!’

Black Dragon was definitely a good dad. He thought that he was still lacking since he could not do such an easy thing like feeding his son with delicious food. Now, there was a food that his son wanted to eat so much nearby, so he could not give up that easily.

Clatter, clatter!

A piece of stone fell down from above the cliff and brushed past Black Dragon’s cheeks.

Chiiik━

His cheeks were slashed by the stone and the red blood that flowed out of the wound immediately became ice. However, he did not stop his movements at all.

‘Wait for me! Neolbing!’

Clang! Clang!

Black Dragon kept on climbing up. He did not have the luxury to rest in his situation, and it was only the thought of Minhyuk happily eating the food that he would give him, that gave him warmth. He felt that his body was filled with warmth amidst the bitingly cold wind. Just like that, he was able to continue climbing. At that moment...

[Your Skill: Will has been triggered.]

[You will have a 10% increase in all of your stats.]

He had a considerable amount of Will points. To be quite frank, it even looked like it was much higher than Minhyuk’s Will. As soon as the skill was triggered, his speed began to pick up.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

After climbing for quite some time, he finally caught sight of the summit. He pushed through the final stretch, and Black Dragon finally stood on top of it. Along with that, the notifications rang in his head continuously.

[You are the first player to conquer the Ice Cliffs.]

[You have gained +3 points to all of your 5 basic stats.]

[You have obtained the Title: The One Who Conquered.]

Black Dragon smiled in satisfaction. As he looked below the cliffs, he could see hundreds of huge icebergs standing erect from the ground. In the midst of these icebergs, a single white iceberg stood out among the transparent icebergs, its color akin to milk.

‘I…I’m sure... th…that’s the iceberg that I’m looking for!’

Black Dragon was filled with joy. The path that he needed to take to get there was downhill so it should be an easy journey. Intoxicated with the excitement and happiness of finding the thing that he was looking for, he immediately ran towards it without a care in the world.

Dash, dash, dash!

“Graaaaaaaaa!”

“Groooooooooar!”

Along with his presence, the roars of the monsters rang loudly.

[The Ice Witch has appeared.]

[The cold has grown more powerful.]

“You dare to step foot in this land, how foolish!”

The Ice Witch was literally a woman made out of ice who wore a transparent dress on her body. As soon as she wielded the staff in her hands...

Crack, crack, crack!

…water droplets started to rise from the ground where Black Dragon was. These water droplets started to freeze quickly, forming into sharp icicles. The icicles aimed at him, before shooting out at a fast pace.

Puhaaaaaa!

At that moment, Britney, who was forced to sleep in Black Dragon’s left arm before his climb, suddenly popped out.

Plop, plop, plop!

“Kkiyeeeeee!”

Britney’s hard scales stopped the descent of the sharp icicles which stopped the attack aimed at Black Dragon. He climbed up on Britney’s right arm as he patted him consolingly. The Ice Witch floated in the air as Black Dragon clenched his sword tightly. He looked at the iceberg that was not too far away from him.

“Let’s go crazy, Britney!”

“Kkiyeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

Crackle!

Britney let go of all the mana that it had saved up during their entire journey.

Puhaaaaa!

Britney’s entire body was covered with towering black flames. The flames were so hot that the surrounding ice, icebergs and snow started to melt.

[Britney’s Roar]

[The mighty power of Britney has fallen upon you.]

[You will have a 14% increase in all of your stats.]

[The attack power of Decalid’s Sword has increased by 20%.]

[Decalid’s Sword has been granted the fire attribute.]

Crackle!

A black flame bursted out from Black Dragon’s sword. His job class was a merchant, but he had been learning the sword from a merchant that was called ‘Master Fencer’.

Dash, dash, dash!

He gripped his sword tightly as he dashed forward. At that moment, he felt the ground vibrate loudly.

.

Brrrrrrrr!

Not long after, a creature popped out of the ground that was frozen solid.

“Kkiyyeeeeee!”

It was a different dragon. An Ice Dragon, to be specific, appeared out of the ground. Along with that, a notification and a transparent window popped out in front of Black Dragon.

[Legendary Quest: Hunt the Ice Witch.]

Rank: S

Restrictions: Below Level 400, The one who conquered the Ice Cliff.

Rewards: Legendary Ice Dragon.

Description: This opportunity is only given to those who have climbed the Ice Cliffs. If you successfully hunt the Ice Witch Javis, you will be able to acquire the Legendary Ice Dragon.

A smile formed on Black Dragon’s face.

‘A punk that I can seal in my other hand has appeared.’