Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 44: Pumpkin Sweet Potato?

Translator: ChubbyCheeks

PR: MattForgenti

His level increased by 3 in one go. It seemed like it was the truth when they said that the subjugation force would give a substantial amount of EXP.

Minhyuk smiled with satisfaction.

At that moment…

"What?! My son-in-law is here?!"

Minhyuk became very nervous when he suddenly heard Venetto's voice. He then looked at the golden key in his hands.

Well, I'm going to the Hidden Dungeon immediately anyway. I have gathered enough Sun's Wheat so I have enough delicious food to eat.

He pressed the key to the hidden dungeon tightly.

[Would you like to enter the hidden dungeon?]

"Yes."

Minhyuk heard the notification. The moment he answered, a bright light enveloped him.

***

Hidden Dungeon.

Bran, who was guarding inside, was notified that a user had entered the dungeon.

"Hoo, I'm tired."

He was wearing shabby clothes with a straw hat on his head and a pair of boots on his feet. He looked very much like a farmer that no one would be able to mistake him for something else.

He went out of his shabby hut to go and prepare to meet the foreigner.

He thought…

'I feel like this guy will leave right away once he understands what this place is.'

This hidden dungeon was special. It was so special that a total of five users have come and gone already.

And each and every one of them said…

'Eyy, fXcker. Do you think I would dig up sweet potatoes while I'm playing games?!'

'Ah, what the hell! What 2x the experience, what 2x the drop rate. There's not even a single mob here!'

'I have never seen a dog-like dungeon like this!'

Bran who kept on hearing those words thought that this user would be no different. However, Bran who kept on walking had no choice but to stop.

"N, no way… Is this for real?!"

He tilted his head in confusion.

Then he saw the man, who appeared in the middle of the large farmland, look up to the sky and clasped his hands together. He heard him start to pray to the God of Athenae.

"Athenae's God-nim, you gave me this blessing so I could eat more delicious things, right? Thank you. Namu Amitabul [1]!"

"Eeeng?"

Bran was puzzled. He thought that maybe this man had heard what was inside the dungeon before he came here.

He would dig up the ground and get sweet potatoes in return then he would receive an increase in his EXP.

It was a very rare and unusual farming dungeon.

It may sound terribly dry compared to other dungeons but this dungeon had a hidden reward. No one was able to clear the dungeon because they just looked at the rewards right in front of them.

But then, he heard the man in front shout.

"It's sweet potato pumpkin, huwaaaa!"

When he heard his words, Bran thought that he was truly a very strange foreigner.

He coughed lightly.

"Ahem! I'm Bran and I am this place's guardian."

"Oooooh. I see. Bran-nim, you have an excellent taste in fashion! Your new boots look great!"

"Haha, you're a very delightful foreigner. Ah, and this is not sweet potato pumpkin but pumpkin sweet potato."

"Yes. I understand. Sweet potato pumpkin."

"No, it's pumpkin sweet potato…"

"Eh? Yes. Sweet potato pumpkin!"

"That's right. It's sweet potato pum… Huh?"

Bran understood in that moment that he was one-upped by the man's slyness.

"Ahem! Enough of that. This dungeon is not a difficult dungeon. You just have to dig up the pumpkin sweet potato with the hoe. If you continuously dig up the pumpkin sweet potatoes then you will encounter sweet potatoes that have a black glow on them. Those guys are very bad news, they suck up the nutrients from the other sweet potatoes. You should bring me 20 of those black sweet potatoes. You have three days to do it."

[User Minhyuk has accepted the quest Dig Up 20 Black Sweet Potatoes.]

"I have a question!"

"What is it?"

"Can I eat the sweet potatoes that I dig up?"

"As much as you want."

Bran smiled at him.

'How much can you eat?'

This was the main point of the quest, digging up the black sweet potatoes that suck up the nutrients from the others. Once he finished that quest, then it would evolve into a linked quest. And if he cleared all of the quests, he would be able to get a huge reward.

"Wow! I understand. I'll work hard on digging up the pumpkin sweet potatoes!"

"No, this friend. It's not pumpkin sweet potato but sweet potato pumpkin."

"......But it's pumpkin sweet potato?"

"Ah, that's right. It's pumpkin sweet potato. Wait."

'I must be dragged into confusion by this foreigner earlier……'

He coughed loudly to clear away his embarrassment.

"Cough. Digging up sweet potatoes is much harder than you thought. You have to remember that it's completely different from digging sweet potatoes in your world."

Bran knew that.

Most of the users who came to this hidden dungeon were between Lv 20~50. Even if they steadily improved their dexterity as a blacksmith, a cook or even a painter, they would still find it difficult in the end.

"Then, here's your hoe."

"It's a good hoe."

Not long after, the sword in the man's hand turned into a hoe. He was a bit stunned at what he saw.

"Then, work hard. But keep in mind that if you are not able to get at least five today, then you have to leave this place on your own."

"Yes!"

Bran turned around and headed back towards his hut.

***

Once Bran disappeared from his sight, Minhyuk looked around him in pure bliss.

'I can't believe that he's giving me sweet potatoes just by digging them…! My god!'

How can there be such a happy and ridiculous quest and hidden dungeon in this world?

Sweet potatoes with its tantalizing sweet taste was best eaten when you're lying down with a blanket on a cold winter day. It would also be best paired with dongchimi [2].

Once you peeled the skin off of the sweet potato, its piping hot, golden flesh would appear. Once you blew on it to slightly cool it down, the sweet and authentic taste of the sweet potato would spread in your mouth.

Then you would grab some kimchi and place it in your mouth, it would add a smile to your face. Adding kimchi to your sweet potato would definitely add a bit of dryness in your mouth which could be solved by drinking a sip from the refreshing dongchimi. You would definitely scream out a 'Kuhaa!' in happiness.

And that wasn't all.

The different ways of cooking sweet potatoes were endless.

The dishes that first came to his mind were sweet potato mattang [3] and sweet potato pizza.

'Hoo… There should be enough Sun's Wheat so I should try it after digging up some sweet potatoes!'

Minhyuk confirmed something before he started digging up sweet potatoes.

[Farming Skill.]

He received the skill the moment he accepted the quest.

Once he achieved a 100% proficiency in this skill then he would be able to learn farming. Furthermore, it was stated in the quest that he would receive 500 EXP every time he dug up a sweet potato. That wasn't all. It was also said that he would also receive beginner's farming EXP.

There are plenty of EXP to gain in this hidden dungeon compared to hunting an orc!

Minhyuk soon started to dig the ground with his hoe.

Thud!

'What? Why isn't it working?'

The hoe did not dig in the ground at all. It was as if the ground was frozen solid.

Minhyuk looked at the ground strangely as he dug with his hoe again.

Thud!

And as he expected it also did not go well.

Minhyuk could now understand what Bran was saying earlier.

But then he thought…

'Do you think that this can stop me from eating pumpkin sweet potatoes!?'

He began to show great tenacity.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

He began to use his hoe with great strength.

After about 25 minutes…

He finally was able to dig up one sweet potato.

"Oooooooooooh, sweeeet potatoooo!"

The sweet potato was extremely solid. A delighted smile naturally curled on his lips when he looked at it.

It took him another 25 minutes to dig out the second sweet potato. Minhyuk did not rest and just continued to dig up sweet potatoes continuously.

After two hours.

He was able to gather six sweet potatoes. Bran originally calculated that he would be able to dig up five but because of Minhyuk's tenacity he finally showed signs of getting used to the work. It was evident with the additional sweet potato that he dug up.

As he dug up those sweet potatoes, he was also able to dig up some of those black sweet potatoes.

Minhyuk looked at it sullenly.

"......You can't even eat this!"

It was true that Minhyuk got the black sweet potato for the quest but he was still somewhat disappointed. Why? It was simply because the black sweet potato couldn't be eaten.

Minhyuk went back to dig up sweet potatoes again.

After quite some time, he heard the sound of a notification…

[You have gained 1 DEX.]

The notification arrived since it was also a way to increase DEX. He was quite satisfied since he would be able to increase his DEX, increase his EXP and most importantly eat sweet potatoes.

'Wow, how in the world can such a dungeon exist?!'

Personally, he thought that this dungeon was extremely fraudulent. Other users might think that this was just a shocking tale but Minhyuk did not care and just went on and continued to dig up his sweet potatoes.

***

The 3rd in the rankings, Cain.

There was also his sister, Lucia.

Cain, with his short hair, was a lively and cheerful man. However, on the contrary, his sister Lucia was his complete opposite. She had her short silver hair in a bob-cut that strangely worked well with the cold expression on her face.

The two of them were seen together. Along with countless reporters and users who were watching them.

Click, click, click, click, click, click!

The users who were part of the press were continuously filming them.

"Many unprecedented super rookies are expected to join this competition, what do you think about this Miss Lucia?!"

"I think that it will be fun."

Click, click, click, click, click, click!

"Miss Lucia has acquired the country's 30th legendary class , the Shadow Warrior! According to Athenae's official announcements, this class was considered to be among the best in the legendary classes. Miss Lucia, what's your secret into getting such great physical abilities and acquiring such a legendary class? A lot of people are curious about it, please impart us with your words!"

"Isn't it only natural that strong users get something special, right?"

She had a small smile hanging on her lips. When she turned to look at her brother, Cain, she saw that he had a worried expression on his face.

'It's released too early.'

His sister was drawing a lot of the public's attention. The problem was with her sister's skills and physical abilities. No mid-level user could defeat her. However there was a thought that always crossed through Cain's mind.

'Nothing is easy in this world.'

No person in this world could keep on winning. However, his younger sister, Lucia was already this conceited. It was as if she had already reached the pinnacle.

He was worried about how she would handle it if she finally suffered a loss. However even if he was worried, he still had to admit that his sister was still superior in all aspects.

"Miss Lucia, if you learn Ellie's Swordsmanship won't you have too much to yourself?!"

"Hohohoho!"

"Hahahahaha!"

A reporter said those words to her with a smile.

Lucia smirked lightly.

"Cain-ssi, can you please tell us something about this tournament?"

"The world is big, and there are plenty of strong people. You will not be able to predict far in this tournament."

"You're quite modest."

However, it was really what was in Cain's mind.

'There are plenty of variables that exist in this world.'

***

"Hoo! Huu! Pumpkin sweet potato!"

Thud, thud!

Minhyuk dug up the sweet potatoes for seven hours straight.

As he continuously dug up sweet potatoes, the amount that he could dig increased. Right now, he could dig four sweet potatoes in just an hour. On top of that, he has already dug up more than 10 black sweet potatoes.

Minhyuk wiped a drop of sweat on his forehead.

He was having a lot of fun.

[You have gained 1 DEX.]

"Oh yeah!"

He might have felt tired digging sweet potatoes for eight straight hours but it did not show on his face at all.

[You have leveled up.]

He also found it fun to raise his level up. His speed was also quite good.

The amount of sweet potatoes that he had dug up was already close to forty.

Thud, thud!

Minhyuk, who was still digging up sweet potatoes, saw the pot begin to boil. The sweet potatoes that he dug up earlier were already washed and placed inside of it.

"Huhuhu."

He approached the pot and lifted the lid off of it. Steam was steadily rising out of it and he could see the sweet potato, with its golden luster, was well done.

'Well then, shall we try it?!'

***

After eight hours, Bran walked out of his hut.

'I haven't heard any notification about him getting out yet.'

He arrived at the place where he left Minhyuk off earlier. What he saw there made his eyes go wide.

"B, boy…… what's all of this?!"

"Chew, chew, I'm eating sweet potatoes!"

"No, I can see that… What I wanted to know is why you're doing that in there……?"

"Eating it this way is delicious!"

'What……? This crazy guy……?'

Bran tilted his head in confusion.

There was a blanket laid down on the ground and Minhyuk was lying flat down on his stomach while he ate sweet potatoes!

***

Footnotes

[1] 나무아미타불 : a KR buddhist chant like Amitabha. It can also be said as Namo Amitabha which means to take refuge in immeasurable light. Idk much from what I searched but I saw that it was like expressing their will to buddha.

[2] 동치미 (dongchimi) radish water kimchi. Kimchi prepared with radish harvested from late autumn or early winter. These radishes are plump and sweeter than normal ones.

[3] 맛탕 (mattang) : caramelized sweet potato. Or candied sweet potato

TL's corner!!!

The ambience is needed! It's the best way to eat sweet potatoes. ㅋㅋ

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