Gourmet Gaming

[The first player to convert their race to Demon has been born.]

Reagan, who gained the honor of becoming the first demon among the players, posted this on the Athenae official homepage. Of course, he posted this after obtaining the approval of King Minhyuk.

[You have changed your race to Demon.]

[Your previous class was ‘Knight.’]

[Your class will now change from ‘Knight’ to ‘Demon Knight.’]

[All of your attack has increased by 17%. Your INT and WIS stats have increased by 20%.]

[Your attack and movement speed have increased by 20%. Your skill cooldown has decreased by 20%.]

[The skills that you possessed as a knight will now be changed to the Demon Knight’s skills. Your skills have become stronger.]

[Your recovery and buff skills have been deleted.]

[You have gained 100 Demonic Energy stats.]

[Your level has decreased by -50.]

[You have turned into a demon through Great Demon Elpis.]

[You have become Great Demon Elpis’ subordinate. You are now the first Demon Knight.]

All of the players were amazed to see the benefits that they would obtain if they changed their race to demon.

[As expected of a battle race… just look at that 17% increase in all of your attack… there’s even a 20% increase in movement speed…]

[It seems like the Demon race does not rely on skills.]

[However, from what it looks like, the benefits that you can get are worth it. Just the fact that one can increase their attack speed by 20% compared to other players of the same level…]

[What a pity. Why is it that only players at Level 500 or higher can change their race?]

[If you look at Reagan’s skills, you can tell that his skills have become a lot cooler and stronger.]

There were certainly huge benefits and merits in changing one’s race to Demon. However, many players expressed their dissatisfaction. After all, only players at Level 500 or above could change their race. But there was one thing that they were sure of.

[Because the demons changed their race through Great Demon Elpis, they must consider him as an object of worship.]

[Then, that means…]

[That means that the master of the demons is the vassal of our Lord the Food God…?]

[…]

The players could only sit in silence, jealous of the fact that Minhyuk had become the grand master of all of the demons.

***

Bran, the second in the global explorer rankings, was a holder of the ‘Explorer’ class. He explored unknown lands and ancient dungeons, while searching for special artifacts, surprising cooking ingredients, and many more. Explorer Bran was a talent that was sought after by forces from all over the world. One of the main forces that sought him for his talent was the Luvien Empire.

The Luvien Empire wanted Explorer Bran. In fact, they already had Ian, the current global number one explorer. If they added Bran to their list of talents, then they would be able to hoard a huge amount of information regarding ancient items, and even legendary and god-rank artifacts. They would then be able to monopolize all kinds of dungeons and hunting grounds.

However, Bran refused their offer. As a result, the Luvien Empire began to openly pressure him, keeping him in check. He was often chased by someone, and his search for a dungeon had been interrupted several times.

Right now, the Luvien Empire almost had all of 100 of the world’s most famous explorers in their hands. Because of that, Bran was being forced to become a lone wolf.

At this point, Bran suddenly found a way to grow faster.

‘Whenever explorers level up, they will be able to get enlightened and receive a new skill that will help us find new dungeons.’

This was also the reason why the explorers were all eager to level up. Of course, most of the EXP that they acquired came from finding something new. So, what method did Bran find to grow faster? It was none other than ‘Evelyn’s Dish.’

Bran rejected Luvien’s proposal and immediately moved to the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom to eat Evelyn’s dish.

“All of the dishes for the twenty people have been served.”

“…”

Unfortunately, the high rankers had rushed to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom as soon as they heard the news. There was no time for them to check whether there were any of the dishes left. Many of them went there and applied for migration. One of them was Bran.

A permanent 8% increase in EXP Acquisition Rate. That was a huge benefit. Bran was very frustrated at the fact that he lost out on this benefit. That was when he thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be solved if I just met with Minhyuk?’

That was right. If he met Minhyuk, then everything would be solved. He was the only person with the power to change the limit from twenty to any number he wanted. However, there was no way that he would willingly give preferential treatment without any price.

‘If I gave him the information about that place then…’

Bran immediately made a move.

***

Bran did not actually migrate because there was something special about the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. He migrated purely because of his conditions.

Using the name ‘Dungeon Explorer’, Bran was able to meet countless kings and emperors. Every single one of them had treated Bran as a tool. Their usual scenario always went like, I’ll give you money, so find a dungeon for me. Or, I’ll give you something, so dig up an ancient ruin for me. It always happened without fail. Because of that, Bran thought that Minhyuk would be no different.

When he actually met Minhyuk in person, he was greeted with a soft and warm smile.

“Your reputation precedes you, Bran.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Although this was a virtual reality game, Bran still showed courtesy when he greeted Minhyuk. He knelt on one knee, looked up at Minhyuk, who was sitting on his throne, and said, “I have asked for an audience with Your Majesty because I have some useful information to offer you.”

“Useful information?” Minhyuk asked, intrigued. He knew that any information that came from the global number two explorer, Bran, would definitely be huge.

So, Bran began to tell his story. According to Bran, he had a special skill that even Dungeon Explorer Ian did not have. That skill was none other than the ‘Ancient Relic Tracker’ skill, one that he could only use once every five months. From what he said, the skill allowed him a minute to look at where the relic was and view its information.

“That’s an amazing ability.”

“Yes, it’s thanks to this ability that I was able to come this far. When I used that skill recently, the place that I was able to see for a minute was none other than the ‘Tomb of the Kings.’”

“…Tomb of the Kings?”

“Yes. The Tomb of the Kings has been standing for a very long time, and it is the place where all of the kings that once existed were laid to rest.”

It was a tomb for all of the kings that had ever existed. It was both a strange and interesting story.

“However, the most important thing about the place is that it contains a lot of rewards. It has the ‘Legendary Cavalry’ of the Locae Kingdom, a kingdom known to have the most excellent cavalry. It has the ‘Blacksmiths’ Legacy’ from the Avon Nation, a kingdom that was hailed as the Kingdom of Blacksmiths. It also has ‘Abannon’s Mages’ Relics’ from the Kingdom of Magic…”

“Wait. Wait up,” Minhyuk interrupted as he took a deep breath.

Bran smiled deep inside. ‘Right, that’s right.’

All of the kings and emperors that he met acted the same way. Whenever he said that he found something, they would all grow excited, and their faces would be filled with desire. It would also be the same for the man in front of him. No one could resist the desire to obtain rare and important artifacts. He believed Minhyuk would also turn out to be a hypocrite that would make a huge fuss about him, but eventually only end up talking about his own benefits and profits.

On top of that, the Tomb of the Kings could help with the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s quest to establish an empire. Bran expected Minhyuk to sport a greedy look on his face while saying, ‘Then, are you telling me that I can get my hands on all of that?’

However, Minhyuk said something completely different from what Bran expected.

“Then, does that mean…”

“Feel free to ask me.”

“There must be a lot of delicious things in there!!!”

‘Eh?’

Bran looked at Minhyuk weirdly. This was because Minhyuk had been exuding a king’s dignity and majesty earlier, but was now shining brightly like an innocent child.

“Hiyaa. Since that place has the most outstanding cavalry and even the relics of a Magic Kingdom, then that means that there should be a banquet from a kingdom with the most delicious dishes, right?!!!”

Bran unknowingly felt at ease when he saw the smile on Minhyuk’s face. He did not even feel like he was talking to a king. He felt like he was talking to a friend that he had met a few times.

“That’s… that’s right. In fact, from what I recall when I was looking through the list of rewards, there’s this thing called the ‘Banquet Enjoyed by the Kings.’”

“…Oh my god,” Minhyuk exclaimed as he stood up from his throne and strode to where Bran was, grabbing both of his hands with his own. “Thank you for this very useful information. Thank you.”

The king in front of Bran was a friendly king, his bright smile was enough to put a smile to his own face. However, a small part of Bran still thought that the man in front of him was pretentious. The bright expression was probably just a facade. After all, he was a talent that anyone coveted.

“I know the way. I will guide you there, Your Majesty. However, you have to know that it’s very dangerous.”

“Alright,” Minhyuk said as he looked at Bran gently. “What do you want in return, Bran?”

Everything had a price.

“I want to eat Lady Evelyn’s dish.”

“Hmm.” Minhyuk nodded. He understood that the 8% permanent increase in EXP Acquisition Rate was enough to attract a talent like Bran. “That’s not difficult. Alright. Then…”

Minhyuk’s words turned into a mumble. Bran thought that it had finally come to this point. Now, Minhyuk would tell him to find plenty of dungeons and relics for the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. With those lips stained with greed, he would say, ‘I will also make sure to take care of your share.’

However, the words that Minhyuk said were completely unexpected.

“…Thank you for joining us here in Beyond the Heavens.”

“Eh? There’s nothing else? You won’t ask me to dedicate my body and soul to the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom? Or find dungeons and relics for you?”

“Well, that’s your choice, Bran. Aren’t we playing this game because we want to have fun? I hope that you have a pleasant gaming experience in Athenae with our Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.”

“…”

To Bran, Minhyuk was a very strange king. And because he was a very strange king doing unexpected things, Bran thought, ‘Perhaps it’s my greatest luck that I came to the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?’

***

After the Rothschilde Kingdom declared that they would hunt Gaerna, one of the Six Monster Gods, they ended up staying by the sidelines while Minhyuk and the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom did the actual hunting.

As a result, many of the people of the kingdom migrated and left the Rothschilde Kingdom, which brought a crisis to those that they left behind. Thankfully, King Calauhel was able to find a solution and a way to overcome this crisis. He had paid a huge amount of money to a dungeon explorer and learned about the ‘Tomb of the Kings.’

[Only those with the qualifications as a ‘king’ can enter the Tomb of the Kings!]

[You can lead your soldiers inside the Tomb of the Kings.]

[However, if you lead too many soldiers, the difficulty of the Tomb of the Kings will increase.]

[If the ‘king’ that challenges the Tomb of the Kings fails, the greedy kings will take away a lot from you.]

[They can take away a variety of things including stats, classes, gold, artifacts, skills and many more.]

[Would you like to challenge the Tomb of the Kings?]

Calauhel had no other choice. Several other kingdoms had already bared their fangs, threatening to tear apart the crumbling the Rothschilde Kingdom. Even the Luvien Empire was looking at them with drool dripping down their chins. In fact, no one would find it strange if the Rothschilde Kingdom collapsed at any moment.

The bigger problem here was the fact that the Luvien Empire would definitely issue an extermination order against Calauhel once the Rothschilde Kingdom fell.

‘If that happens, then my life in Athenae will be over.’

Athenae was a very precious place for Calauhel, a rich young master who only knew about money. For someone like him, who had always been bored with life, the game brought him something new, something fun. The game also taught him that there would always be someone better than him.

Calauhel led 20,000 mercenaries, who he had a hard time gathering, and the 10,000 surviving elites of the Rothschilde Kingdom.

“I will challenge it.”

However, the price that he paid for this challenge was terrible.

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

“U, uwaaaaaaaaaaack!”

“Keuaaaaaaaaaaaack!”

“Your, Your Majesty Calauhel! Please live long and healthy!”

“Keheooook!”

Within just a few short minutes after entering the dungeon, more than half of their troops were lost.

Since Calauhel led a huge number of troops, the difficulty of the dungeon was increased. Fortunately, it seemed like the difficulty of the dungeon was gradually decreasing as their numbers decreased.

However, the problem laid elsewhere. The moment they entered the depths of the Tomb of the Kings, a startling notification rang in their ears.

[The blessings of one of the Eight Pillars, Aegaeon, is protecting the Tomb of the Kings.]

“…”

Calauhel did not know. He truly did not know that the Tomb of the Kings was owned by one of the Eight Pillars. All he could do was to move forward despite the despair that was filling him. He could no longer escape or leave this place.

The further inside they went in, the stronger their opponents became. Their troops only had 500 surviving players, 700 NPCs, and around 200 mercenaries. The soldiers' moans and groans rang all over the place.

Calauhel had truly changed. He had learned about the importance of the NPCs during Gaerna’s hunt.

‘Even here…’

Calauhel saw his soldiers shout, ‘Long live the Rothschilde Kingdom, long live His Majesty Calauhel!’ as they died one after another. Many of the soldiers, who came here with him, pleaded as they died, ‘Please don’t lose your pride. Please don’t give up.’

He felt bitter. Calauhel could tell that everyone here would be wiped out in an hour. How could he not lose his pride at this point? He felt like he was the most incompetent king in history.

‘I should just give up here and end my career in Athenae…’

Then, the mercenaries approached him and said, “We will definitely be forced to log out here. Please don’t forget our payment.”

The arrogant Calauhel just nodded, exhaustion evident in his face. At that moment, someone’s face flashed in his head.

‘I wonder what the situation will be like if it’s that guy and his comrades?’

It was none other than Food God Minhyuk. If it were him, then his comrades would say this to him:

‘Don’t worry. We can get past this.’

‘Let’s move forward, Minhyuk.’

‘We can do it.’

The high rankers and NPCs that lived in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and surrounded Minhyuk did not go there because they were enticed by material things. It was because they liked Minhyuk. They were in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom because they really, really liked Minhyuk. That fact made Calauhel envy him.

‘I really envy you,’ Calauhel thought.

Calauhel was the richest man in the world, yet he was standing here, envious of another man.

“Kghhk…”

“It hurts.”

“I’m going to die.”

Calauhel thought that he at least wanted to save the NPCs that fought for him because he was their king and not because they were enticed by money or material things. If someone could save them, then Calauhel would give them whatever they wanted.

‘I’m sorry…’

He felt sorry for these people, who served such an incompetent king. But then, something very surprising happened.

[Another king has entered the Tomb of the Kings!]