Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 294: Splendid Return

While they fiercely struggled to recapture the area with Legend Guild at the forefront, notifications began to ring in their ears.

[Legend Guild has become the first guild to enter the city of Lapur.]

[You have gained 5,000,000 Guild EXP.]

[There’s not much time left to recapture Lapur.]

[If you tear down the Demon God’s Rock and defend the area for two hours, you will be able to recapture the city.]

The Demon God’s Rock was something that Commander-in-chief Rufel had applied in the city of Lapur. This Demon God’s Rock had also turned the city of Lapur into an aggressive city suitable for the demons. Extreme pressure and demonic energy were running rampant in the city as the summoned demons glared at the players.

“The end is just around the corner,” Genie said.

The commentators clamored as they watched the event unfold through their screens.

[Ah! Legend Guild is the first guild to enter Lapur City!!!]

[There were a lot of people saying that Legend Guild will not do well without their splendid allies, Black Dragon and the Boys, and Black Mage Ali. And of course, their guild member, Minhyuk! But, look at them now! They’re showing us that they’re truly the best guild in Korea!]

[The Sun Guild Alliance is trying to speed up and dig inside so they won’t lose against them!!!]?

[Ah, they’re going to try and break the Demon God’s Rock and snatch a lot of contribution points.]

[They can’t dig into Legend Guild! So, the Sun Guild Alliance immediately went inside to dig in using their numbers!!!]

Perhaps this was truly an unavoidable situation. The members of the Sun Guild Alliance had tried to take advantage of the gaps of the Legend Guild, but they found that the situation was extremely exhausting. So, instead of targeting Legend, they tried to take advantage of the city and sweep the mobs inside.

The comments from the viewers began to appear.

[Ah. Such a shame. Legend Guild entered first, but they’re not doing well.]

[But there’s nothing they can do. The Black Dragon and the Boys are missing, and even Black Mage Ali is not there.]

[Kgghk! In fact, Our Lord the Food God will be able to take care of everything if he’s here. Agree?]

[No, I disagree.]

[No, no. I don’t think so. If Minhyuk came with Black Mage Ali, then the situation may change. But with him alone? I don’t think so.]

[It’s not like he can handle what dozens of other guilds can do, by himself.]

Everyone nodded in agreement. No matter how strong Minhyuk was, they deemed it impossible for a single person to change the situation by himself. He had tremendous AOE attack skills, powerful one-shot kill skills, and high stats, but everyone was of the same opinion that he would not be able to turn the situation that Legend Guild was in now. This was what the viewers thought to be appropriate.

However, there was one fact that the viewers and the commenters had overlooked. It was the fact that Minhyuk had awakened Beanie and had undergone explosive level-ups during his stay in the Demon World’s Tower. He even gained plenty of excellent artifacts during his climb.

Then, at that moment. A magic circle suddenly appeared surrounding Lapur, the capital of the Elven Kingdom. Lava suddenly blasted out. It was as if an active volcano had just erupted in the area as it swept those who were trying to enter the city.

Puhaaaaaa―

Puhaaaa―

Puhaaa―

“Ugh, aaaaaaack!”

“Keheok!”

“Keuaaaaack!”

The number one tanker, Golden Shield Valdar, felt flustered after being hit directly by the lava.

[You suffered from Barach’s Roar.]

[Demon World’s Lava will corrode your armors and weapons and melt your flesh away.]

[Your HP has fallen below 20%.]

“Wh…what…?!”

Valdar’s HP was clearly full earlier. This was possible because he currently had the best HP recovery artifact, Rufad’s Stamina Ring, equipped. However, his HP fell below 20% in just one single attack.

‘Then, this means…’

“Eve…everyone’s already dead?”

It was just a moment earlier that the vicinity was teeming with people but now, almost everyone was forced to log out after being directly hit by the pillars of lava.

There was a name included in the skill that hit them.

‘Barach’s Roar? Barach?’

Along with that thought, a huge whip made out of flames swept around him.

Shwaaaaaa!

“Keuaaaaack!”

“Uwaaaaaaack!”

“Keok!”

As soon as the whip of flames touched the players, their bodies disintegrated and disappeared while being forced to log out.

The one in the center of it all was a six-meter-tall, red-skinned, muscular being with the head of a cow and two protruding horns on its head. The beast had a whip in one of its hands and a steel bar on the other. Thousands of demonic beasts surrounded and guarded the Demon God’s Rock with this monster at the center.

Then, notifications rang for the players in the vicinity.

[The Demon God’s Knight, Barach, has appeared!]

[Abnormal State. You have been subjected to extreme heat.]

[The heat has reduced your physical defense by 30% and your magical defense by 40%.]

[The heat has reduced all of your stats by 10%.]

[The one who successfully hunts the Demon God’s Knight, Barach, will receive rewards.]

The commentators immediately searched for information as they shouted loudly on their microphones.

[Aaaaaaaaaaah!!! The Demon God’s Knight Barach has appeared!!!]

[Commander-in-chief Rufel must have squeezed the last of Verus’ strength in him to summon him!!!]

[The Demon God’s Knight Barach is known to be an existence beyond Level 600!!!]

Then, Barach suddenly roared.

[Knight’s Momentum]

[A powerful explosion kills off all of the enemies in the vicinity.]

“Graaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

Loud and violent explosions bloomed under the feet of the elves and the players, swallowing them down and killing them at the same time.

Genie, who saw all of that happen, thought, ‘C…Crazy…! How can we kill that?!’?

Kaistra quickly avoided the explosions and approached Genie. After he had finished the work with Calauhel, Kaistra had immediately joined the guild to recapture the Elven Forest. He said, “Noona, I think it’s better if we avoid it and stay at the back.”

“Alright.”

Genie stared at the Sun Guild Alliance and the other guilds that were targeted by the skill. They were trying to push forward with their numbers at the thought of killing Barach. Looking at them, she thought that Legend, a guild that was no match for them in terms of numbers, was better off retreating while seeking other opportunities.

[Guild Master Genie: Legend Guild. Everyone should retreat and continue to watch the situation.]

Then, Genie asked, “When will Minhyuk arrive?”

Kaistra thought about Minhyuk’s words before saying, “Pretty soon.”

***

[Aruvel has become your subordinate and vassal.]

Minhyuk struggled to swallow back his tears as he accepted Aruvel as his vassal. There was a reason why he accepted him as a vassal.

He had received a lot of help from his guild members. They had always brought high-quality ingredients as payment for his buffed dishes. If Minhyuk received a powerful vassal, the vassal would become a great source of strength for him and for his guild members. Also, accepting Aruvel would also allow him to move forward and find more ways to eat delicious food. But…

‘Even though my head knows all of this, my heart still hurts… Sob!’

After sighing deeply, Minhyuk quickly used the second fragment of the golden crown on Beanie.

[You have used the Fragment of the Golden Crown.]

[The Fragment of the Golden Crown is applied to Beanie, the Incarnation of Gluttony.]

[All of the fragments of the Golden Crown must be collected first before the Golden Crown appears.]

[The fragment of the Golden Crown will open up a part of the Sealed Incarnation of Gluttony.]

[Beanie has acquired the Three Great Divine Beast’s Armor.]

[Beanie has acquired the Passive Skill: ‘Using Master’s Weapon’.]

(Three Great Divine Beast’s Armor)

Rank: Demigod

Requirements: Incarnation of Gluttony

Durability: 50,000 / 50,000

Defense: 1,287

Special Effects:?

?Penrus’ Active Skill: Speed of Light

?Dragon of Destruction’s Active Skill: Dragon’s Shield

?Predatory Snake’s Active Skill: Eye of Domination

Description: This is an armor that the three great divine beasts’ had created with their defensive and special skills. An item solely created for their King, the Incarnation of Gluttony.?

Minhyuk was speechless.

Beanie’s Three Great Divine Beast’s Armor had a higher defense than Minhyuk’s Armor of Immortality. Its rank was even at ‘Demigod’. And there were also the skills that he had seen in the video from before.

The Speed of Light had a cooldown that was only half of the mage’s movement skill, Blink. The distance that it could cover was even farther, and the speed was much faster. Dragon’s Shield was also tougher than the shields that ordinary mages could use. And lastly, the Eye of Domination was a unique skill that would brainwash the opponent, as long as their mental strength was weaker than Beanie’s own.

There was also the passive skill ‘Using Master’s Weapon’, where Beanie could use one of his master’s weapons. However, there was something that he should be cautious about. From the skill’s description, as soon as the weapon was handed over for Beanie’s use, the weapon’s attribute would completely change to a pet’s weapon, and would not be able to be used by the owner anymore.

Minhyuk thought of the efficiency of his weapons, but the answer came quickly.

‘Food God’s Kitchen Knife.’

The Food God’s Kitchen Knife was an auxiliary weapon that belonged to Minhyuk. It was not his main weapon. There was also the extremely lethal AOE attack skill, Rain of Kitchen Knives. Once Beanie owned it, he would still be able to use it through him. If Minhyuk cast another skill while Beanie used the Rain of Kitchen Knives, the effect would double. Besides, the Food God’s Kitchen Knife was small and appropriate for Beanie’s size.

[You have handed over the ‘Food God’s Kitchen Knife’ for Beanie to use.]

[The Food God’s Kitchen Knife now belongs to Beanie.]

It was clear that Using Master’s Weapon was a unique skill. After all, most of the pet’s weapons were artifacts that had much lower power than ordinary players’ weapons. But thanks to this skill, this weakness was easily covered and supplemented.

Then, he looked at the Three Great Divine Beasts’ Armor. It was an armor that was made entirely of gold. It was floating in the air just a bit earlier, but it had now moved by itself and approached Beanie. Then, the armor suddenly turned fluid as it covered Beanie’s entire body. After covering Beanie’s body, the armor solidified and protected Beanie’s upper and lower body. The armor looked quite impressive as it covered Beanie from his neck down to his toes. There were even a pair of golden boots that softly glittered and flashed on Beanie’s feet.

“I can tell that this armor is really made for Beanie.”

The reason was simple. The armor, as if aware of Beanie’s slightly protruding belly, also had its belly part protruding. Honestly, it looked a little comical.

.

“Oiiiiiink!”

Beanie stared at him confidently. Minhyuk could imagine how cool Beanie would look once the golden crown was placed on his head.

‘Come to think of it…’

There were no hints about the third fragment of the golden crown whatsoever.

‘Will a hint appear when the time is right? Or not?’?

Minhyuk did not know if it would appear when the time was right, but he was still somewhat disappointed that he could not see Beanie’s awakening immediately.

Then, finally, Minhyuk turned to look at the Four Great Heavenly King’s treasures. There was a mandolin, a pipa, a bronze sword, and an orb. By collecting the the Four Great Heavenly Kings’ treasures, the player would be able to obtain the artifact with a form that they desired. However, the problem was the part that said, ‘Instead, the performance of the artifact cannot be expected’. Of course, this was a fact that all of the players knew.

The operators already knew that the players were bound to find out this fact one day. Still, it seemed like it was a little hidden. Once the Four Great Heavenly Kings’ treasures were all collected, the artifact that it would produce would be similar to a disaster-level artifact. That would fall under those called ‘Authority Artifacts’.

In addition, Minhyuk was also doing more with his ‘Demigod Artifact Production Method’. He might not know it yet, but this was an unimaginable moment where he would create an artifact that was comparable to the Devil Judge’s Sword that he had received from Diablo. Of course, the form of this amazing artifact was already decided.

“I will make an oven using the treasures of the Four Great Heavenly Kings and the Demigod Artifact Production Method.”

Then…

Shwaaaaaaaaaak―

…strong winds suddenly blew. The wind was so strong that it looked like it was swallowing all of the demonic energy in the Demon World. The strong wind sucked up all the black demonic energy in the surroundings as it devoured the four artifacts and the Demigod Artifact Production Method. Then, a huge tornado was formed from the chaos.

Shwaaaaaaaa―

Minhyuk’s cape and hair were blown by the wind. However, he could see that the four artifacts and the production method met in the middle of the tornado. Inside, the production of the artifact began on its own.

Crack, crack, crack―

The strong wind became stronger and stronger as if it was going to devour everything in its path. Then…

Crackle―

…a huge black bolt of lightning fell down from the sky and struck the artifacts.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Notifications rang loudly not long after.

[You have acquired the Authority Artifact: Oven of Disaster]

[The Oven of Disaster has reached the Demigod rank.]

[The rank of the artifact has changed to Absolute Demigod.]

[Oven of Disaster, an Absolute Demigod Artifact that ranked second among all the other Absolute Demigod artifacts.]

At the same time, in the Special Players Management Team…

“This…this is impossible…!”

President Kang Taehoon, Team Leader Park Minggyu, and all of the people present in the room were all dumbfounded. No, they were more shocked that God Athenae, with more authority than them in the game, had intervened like that. This was a situation that they did not expect to happen.

“Demigod artifacts could change to Absolute Demigod artifacts…?! No, it wasn’t even a Demigod artifact at first. It was an Authority Artifact…”

However, when they thought about it more, the Absolute Demigod artifacts were the ten most outstanding to exist in that world. They could assume that it should not be unilaterally and unconditionally ranked as ‘Demigod’.

While Kang Taehoon was immersed in his astonishment, Team Leader Park said, “The second among the Absolute Demigod artifacts is an… an oven…”

Everyone present felt dumbfounded, and at the same time horrified, after hearing those words.