Eternal Empire Online: The Rise of the Mythical Detective

Chapter 27: The Gourmet Labyrinth 2

“I can’t believe you refused Falk’s offer,” Oner said to Wilhelm. “What you receive here in a month, the Adventurer Institute can give it to you in a day.”

“Yeah, it’s a shame. But I have to, Mr. Oner,” he replied, without any hint of regret on his expression. “My responsibilities here are not done yet.”

Oner nodded with a wide smile of admiration. “I’m truly grateful. Kids with virtue like yours these days are rarer to find than precious gems.”

“You’re giving me too much credit, sir. It wasn’t much. I was simply fulfilling what I’d pledged to accomplish when you gave me this job.”

“Exactly, that’s why it’s praiseworthy. The world right now,” Oner stated as he slowly shook his head. “It’s filled with people driven so much with power and profit. Honor is the last thing they have in mind.”

“Again, that’s very flattering, sir. But truth be told, I’m the same as those that you’d mentioned.” Wilhelm admitted truthfully. “I’m here and aiming to reach Varkas because, just like anybody else, I am lusting for a much greater power. It just so happened that I’m more comfortable with discreetness than dirty works.”

“Still admirable nonetheless,” Oner persisted. And after that, all the sudden, he went silent. He began doing a chin stroking gesture as he mused deeply. “And perhaps…”

“What is it, Mr. Oner?” Wilhelm asked, increasingly getting curious.

“Wilhelm, wouldn’t you mind if I ask you for a request?”

“Of course not, sir,” he replied. “If it’s within my capabilities, then I will surely complete it without fail.”

“Don’t worry, it’s something that you can surely handle,” Oner assured. “Come on, follow me.”

Wilhelm complied and Mr. Oner then brought him to the storage room located at the basement of the restaurant. And after assisting him in pushing aside several barrels and boxes, Mr. Oner pressed a certain spot on the wall. When he let it go, that part of the wall disappeared, revealing a passageway leading into darkness.

‘A secret passage!’

“My boy,” he started to explain. “When I was younger, I used to be a Gourmet Hunter, an explorer whose passion was to search and discover unknown and new tastes and ingredients that are hidden and scattered all over the world. It was a fine job, very fulfilling. Until about 30 years ago, I decided to retire. I established this restaurant where underneath it is the secret lair where I kept the Greatest Ingredient that I had discovered during the prime of my adventures.”

Wilhelm listened intently and with great interest. He already knew where this is heading and he’s very intrigued what it would unfold.

“However, despite having it, I had only tasted it once,” he said with melancholy. “This ingredient is a special preparation. It can only bring forth its best flavor after it’s cultivated for at least 25 years. Well, seven years ago, that cultivation time had at last reached its c****x. Unfortunately, this aged and weakened body no longer has the strength to subdue this lair and retrieve the ingredient. But still, I still wanted to taste that ingredient one more time before my lifetime ended.”

Oner then looked at Wilhelm with a pleading expression.

“I heard from Falk about your true strength. That’s why I’m confident that if it’s you then it’s highly possible that it can be accomplished.”

Ting!

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NEW QUEST ALERT: INGREDIENT RETRIEVAL

Porthos Oner, a former Gourmet Hunter had kept and cultivated a very rare ingredient within the hidden lair underneath his restaurant. However, due to his age, he no longer has the strength to retrieve the said ingredient.

Difficulty: B+

Quest Requirement: Subdue the hidden lair and retrieve the ingredient.

Reward: Unknown

Warning: Quest will result to failure if you die or if you exit the hidden lair without retrieving the ingredient.

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“So, what do you say? Would you accept my request?”

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Do you wish you accept?

[YES] [NO]

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Wilhelm barely held a whisper of triumph. This quest is a rare one, he’s sure about it.

Here in the City of Adventurers, where everything is about killing monsters and proving one’s strength. The chances of a Warrior Type user preferring to work in a restaurant are very slim, and refusing the invitation from the Adventurer Institute just to continue working in the same restaurant the way he did is even slimmer.

Therefore, this quest has a very tricky triggering condition. And base from experience, Wilhelm knew that such quests harbors great rewards when completed.

So there’s no point thinking about it. Wilhelm nodded to Mr. Oner. “Gladly, sir. I will surely retrieve that ingredient for you.”

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You Accepted the Quest!

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◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

The passageway was longer than Wilhelm expected. After coursing the seemingly endless tunnel, he had to descend into a spiral staircase next which seemed to lead to the deepest part of the earth. How far did he go? He could not tell. Then suddenly, he felt a cool essence creeping on his skin. And it wasn’t simply a feeling of a decreasing temperature. It was like cold chains, trying to grip his entire being, infusing him with fear.

“That’s fancy, but no thanks,” Wilhelm simply said, unfazed by the horror that his destination is emitting.

And finally, the stairs ended and a huge cave appeared.

Ding!

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New Dungeon Alert: [Gourmet Labyrinth]

A very tricky and maze-like cave created by Prothos Oner to cultivate his treasured ingredient.

You are the First Player to discover Gourmet Labyrinth

Fame increased by 300 (+300 FAME)

Double EXP gain and Double Common Items drop rate for 4 days(IGT)

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‘It’s the dungeon!’ No. To be more precise, his very first dungeon, and Wilhelm is barely containing his excitement.

But…‘Mr. Oner didn’t give me much information about the dungeon so I have to be extra cautious.’

This dungeon is associated to a Class B+ quest which is also a quest with a very complex triggering condition. So it can be expected that this dungeon is a high level one.

Wilhelm pulled out some consumables from his bag, dishes that he cooked himself. To increase his Health recovery for the next two hours, he ate the [Sunflower Cookies], for the movement and attack speed he took the [Spicy Beef Curry], to temporarily increase his Strength and Agility by 33% for the next 30 minutes, he drink the [Zest Chocolate Milkshake] and so on before entering the dungeon and moving on.

Grrrrrrr!

Wilhelm had barely made an advance inside the labyrinth when a huge horned creature carrying a mace emerged from the darkness and engaged confrontation.

The huge figure quickly rushed towards him but Wilhelm calmly avoided the hammering mace by quickly moving to the left side. A speed so fast that he even left an afterimage, deceiving his attacker that it’d hit its target.

SMASH!

The mace bore into the ground with an impact so powerful that I shook the entire area.

“Whoa, what is this guy?” Wilhelm’s golden brown eyes turned yellow and examine the creature.

It’s a humanoid brute type, with a humanoid body and a bull’s head with two thick horns spiraling up from the forehead. Its total height is roughly 20 meters and is lavishly clad with heavy armors. However, Wilhelm is more interested on its content rather than its appearance.

Wilhelm’s eyes revealed that the monster’s name was the Shio Minotaur. That’s pretty obvious from the very beginning. And it’s a Level 200 Class B Oversoul monster.

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What is an [Oversoul Monster]?

An [Oversoul Monster] is a monster that possesses 30% to 40% far greater strength compared to the general monster with the same name.

They are considered the elites among their brethren, thus, they gave several times more EXP and items as they are several times harder to handle.

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But instead of dreading, a huge smile spread across Wilhelm’s face after knowing the Minotaur’s enormous power. “Interesting! You’re going be a good debut fight after my long break,” he said as he clenched his fists.

He dropped his waist and poised himself before vigorously kicking the ground, launching himself like a speeding bullet towards his target.

“Drill Burst!” And rotating his arm with great speed, he intensified the attacking power being amassed within his fist.

KABLAAM! ROARRRR!

Wilhelm’s punch ignited a deafening impact the moment it connected against the jaw of the Minotaur. It was an impact so strong that the huge brute, despite its massive size, was blasted for at least a couple of meters before falling to its knee.

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+You dealt a Heavy Damage.

+Minotaur had partly fallen, [Off-Guard for 2 seconds].

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And after that successful attack, Wilhelm didn’t waste any precious second and immediately initiated his next move.

Utilizing that 2 seconds margin that the Minotaur was off-guard, he bombarded the brute with swift kicks and heavy punches, perfectly targeting the eyes, the temple, the jaws, the chin, and the other weak areas that are unprotected by its thick armor.

And though the brute had somehow managed to deliver some counter attack, its defense and composure was completely shattered, so it couldn’t last long. Thus, it fell to off-guard status for several times, hindering it from unleashing its full power.

Then thirty minutes had passed of such confrontation and the points on the Minotaur’s Health Gauge were steadily shredded until it reaches the critical level.

“Now, for the finisher.” Wilhelm appeared behind the Minotaur head and unleased an explosive roundhouse kick underneath its right ear.

KABLAM! ROOAAAR!

The brute was struck with a critical hit and roared as it collapsed lifeless to the ground.

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Your Level has risen

Your Level has risen

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“Huk, huk, I beat it. However…” Satisfaction is nowhere to be found on Wilhelm’s expression.

He sat on the ground with a thud. Truly, he did indeed beat the mighty brute, bare-hand and with his guts alone. But, the time it took him to take it down, and the amount of Health, Stamina, and Satiety that got shaved from him despite the doping he had prepared beforehand. The result was far from satisfactory.

“It’s too weak,” he said with a pant. “This form is still far too weak.”

He’s referring to his Game Avatar, in which until now, despite being Level 149 is still not at the same level as the strength of his real body. And though he had the option to switch into his other form, he preferred not to rely too much on that persona. It’s too powerful that it literally takes away all the fun part of battling.

‘Anyhow, that was a good stretch and a very useful means to assess my current power level. However, with a strength amounting only to this, it’s questionable if I can subdue this dungeon.’ Wilhelm thought deeply as his teeth clenched.

He’d already checked the structure of the dungeon through his personal Intel and it turns out that the Gourmet Labyrinth is consist of 10 descending underground floors, with each floor harboring at least 150 monsters.

And if the Minotaur that he’d just defeated is the weakest in this dungeon, which is highly likely considering that it’s the very first monster that he’d encountered…then his fate in this dungeon is sealed.

The Minotaur is already a handful, not out of his league but definitely a handful. Therefore, if he encounter stronger monsters later on as the floors progresses, then it will be several times tougher for him to handle. So if that were the case, then there’s no avoiding it, he has to shift. However, it doesn’t mean that he has to do it right away. He’ll do it when he already needed to. But as long as he can still go on this way then there’s no point of undertaking it.

Wilhelm nodded to himself and agreed to that kind of setting. ‘For now, let’s check the spoils. The Minotaur appears to have dropped some good stuff.’

Ding!

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You acquired [Heavy Plate Armor]

A heavy armor designed to be used by an outstanding warrior who has a remarkable strength and attacking power.

Type: Armor

Durability: 56/90

Defense: 80

Restriction: Level 150, 350 Strength

Equipped: (+20) Strength, Magic Damage Reduced by 5%, Critical Damage Reduced by 3%, (+50%) Increase in Defense, Movement and Attack Speed Reduced by (-10%)

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Checking it, Wilhelm decided that he can’t equip it. It’s a neat armor with a good defense and all but for someone like him who mainly relies on his speed and agility in combat, the movement and attacking speed penalty that the armor’s hefty weight endues is a great loss.

Settling on that, he proceeds checking on the other drops. But as he does so, he noticed something unusual that really bewilders him.

Looking at the defeated Minotaur, he noticed that…he’s looking at it.

Its body is still intact.

Usually, when a monster is slain in this game, their bodies disintegrated into ashes and disappear like they never existed. But this Minotaur, after losing its life from battling him, its body remains. It didn’t disappear and it didn’t turn into ashes as well. It just stopped breathing and left its body around just like how normal living beings in the real world die. And Wilhelm is trying to figure out the reason.

And then, he suddenly remembered the new set of Passive Skills that he had acquired while working at Mr. Oner’s restaurant.

“Skill Window.”

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Butchery [Passive: Beginner Level 2 (12.11%)]

Using a knife, you can obtain meat from animals and monsters to be used as an ingredient for various dishes.

Sword and Dagger Slashing Damage (+25%)

Effect: Monsters of the Beast and several other types that are composed of flesh, blood, and bones will not immediately disintegrate when slain. Instead, their bodies will be remained intact for an specific period of time to make them available for cutting and meat extraction.

Primal Cutting ~ The art of perfectly slicing, extracting, and separating the portions of the butchered livestock in order to exhibit their best quality.

Extraction Success Rate: 20%

Chances to Extract Prime Meat: 2%

Animals and monsters all possess a Best Meat Portion in their bodies. However, obtaining them depend on how adept you are in the art of Primal Cutting.

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Cooking [Passive: Intermediate Level 3 (6.28%)]

Success Rate of Recipe Dishes (+84%)

Success Rate of Invented Dishes (+43%)

Recovery Effect of Completed Dishes (+84%)

(+19%) Reduction in Stamina Usage

(+19%) Resistance to Hunger

Health (+19%)

All Basic Stats +5 points (+5ALL)

Resistances related to Fire and Water increased by 10%

Unlocked [Cocktail] after performing alcohol mixing repeatedly.

Cocktail ~ The construction of any beverage that contains three or more ingredients where at least one of them contains alcohol.

Cocktail enables Bartending Skill.

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Bartending [Passive: Beginner Level 1 (99.75%)]

The know-how of formulating and serving alcoholic beverages, ideally behind the bar of a licensed establishment.

When serving alcoholic beverages, depending on the quality of the product that you served and the reputation of the establishment where you work, you can gain Fame, receive gratuity, and obtain information from your customers.

Compensation per Serving: 10-50 Fame, Gold[varying amount]

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Just as he suspected. Through the effect of Butchery Skill, he can now extract meat ingredients from animals and from the monsters that he defeated. That’s why the Minotaur’s body didn’t fade away like it should normally have. After losing its life in the hands of a person with the Butchery Skill, the body of the Minotaur had turn into a captured ingredient, an ingredient that can be retrieved or not at its capturer’s convenience.

Titing!

Realizing that, a huge exclamation point appeared in Wilhelm’s head. ‘Hey, that’s a good arrangement. Alright, I should do that.’