Gourmet Gaming

After reconnecting, Minhyuk and the executives once again gathered in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s conference room. Silence enveloped them for a moment. Even Minhyuk, who was lost in his thoughts, was silent.

‘Why aren’t there any notifications from the God of Comrades?’

While he was pondering about that, the thought, ‘What should I say to them?’ also crossed his mind. In fact, they were only forced to log out slightly later than Minhyuk. It could be said to be just a hair’s breadth of difference. However, it did not really matter whether they had been logged out first or Minhyuk was logged out first. In the end, Minhyuk fought them alone and was still not pushed back by all of the executives of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

‘They must feel frustrated.’

He was fully aware of how much effort they had put in toward themselves and the kingdom. Each and every single day, they devoted most of their time in the game to hunt and develop the kingdom. In terms of their gaming sense, each and every single one of them could be considered as geniuses. However, they still failed to defeat one player.

The sense of frustration and the fact that they could not win against him might have hit them hard in the face. There was a chance that they might opt to not access the game for a few days too.

“You’re definitely strong.” The one that broke the silence was Carr.

He was an Olympic gold medalist in kendo. As someone in that position, he had more pride and arrogance than any other normal ranker. However, even though his expression was ugly, it was only for a brief moment. A grin flashed on his face as he continued, “But I don’t think you’re impossible to reach.”

“Huh?”

“I think my strength will be more than enough to give it another try once I reach Level 600.”

The Emperor of the Swords Carr’s class was under the ‘Swordsman’ class. From the information they had gathered, Normal or Legendary classes would receive huge benefits once they reached Level 600 or higher. This was a reward for those that worked hard, aside from those that had the God Class, for reaching Level 600.

“I now have another reason to speed up my leveling.” Carr smirked.

“That’s what I think too.” Ascar grinned.

One after the other, the executives began to pipe up in agreement.

“That’s right. If I work harder for a bit, then I’ll probably be stronger than you?”

“Minhyuk, once I reach Level 600, you’re over.”

“I have to work harder to level up. Who wants to go and hunt with me? Let’s go for three straight days.”

That was right. The executives of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom were not discouraged nor frustrated about such things. Rather than being frustrated, they took this as an opportunity to vow to become stronger as soon as possible. Of course, there was some exaggeration in the words that they said.

In fact, all of them were aware that Minhyuk did not eat any buffed dishes, one of his biggest advantages and his special skill. If Minhyuk ate his buffed dishes, then their chances of winning against him were very slim. That was considering even after they reached Level 600.

However, they said those words to ignite their will and determination to become even stronger. Of course, it was also in consideration of Minhyuk, who had been worrying about them all throughout the process.

In a way, this outcome could be considered to be very surprising. After all, no matter how close friends were, in such situations, jealousy might brew and there might be ugly feelings toward each other.

‘Thank you. You’re all amazing.’

Minhyuk had to wonder if he could have done something like this too if he was the one in their position.

[You have failed the God’s Bet: Win in a Battle Against Your Comrades.]

[You have lost the battle against your comrades.]

The content of the God’s Bet with the God of Comrades was to win in a battle against his comrades. Even though there was only a 0.1 second difference in their logout times, the system considered it as a loss for Minhyuk. However, when Minhyuk checked the contents of the bet earlier he found out that it strangely did not have any penalties. Then, suddenly, the situation changed.

[One of the Absolute Gods, the God of Comrades, smiles faintly as he watches you and your comrades who did not harbor any blame, envy or jealousy with each other and instead, are showing love and affection.]

[The God of Comrades has bestowed upon you a slightly special reward.]

[All of the ones that participated in the PVP match will receive an increase in their EXP Acquisition Rate. Your EXP Acquisition Rate will triple for two weeks.]

[The increase EXP Acquisition Rate that you have acquired before will be disregarded and deleted.]

[You have acquired the Title: Comrade.]

“…!”

“…!”

This set of notifications rang in the ears of all of the people present inside the conference room. Minhyuk had been the only one to hear the voice of the God of Comrades before, that was why he was the only one that knew of the bet and was the only one that received the quest.

However, based on these notifications, Minhyuk could tell that the God of Comrades had sensed something more special with him and his executives.

[The God of Comrades is looking at you with a delighted smile on his face.]

Grin—

Minhyuk might not be able to see the god but he had a feeling that the god was looking at them with a fatherly smile on his face.

Everyone hurriedly checked the title that they had suddenly obtained.

(Comrade)

Common Title

Title Effects:

•All stats will increase by 2% once three or more people with the ‘Comrade’ title are gathered together.

•All skill cooldown time will be reduced by 5% once three or more people with the ‘Comrade’ title are gathered together.

•All stats will increase by 7% and all skill cooldown time will be reduced by 10% once all of the people with the ‘Comrade’ title are gathered together.

•EXP Acquisition Rate will increase by 3% once all of the people with the ‘Comrade’ title are gathered together.

“This is good.”

“This is really great.”

The sudden reward made the atmosphere between the executives of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom turn easy-going.

“If we’re having triple the EXP Acquisition Rate for two weeks then… I think I should hurry and go out.”

“I’ll have to run and reach Level 600 in one go.”

The reward also gave them a special opportunity, having vowed to work harder and grow stronger than Minhyuk. At that moment, Minhyuk immediately stopped those that were raring to go and hunt.

“Wait, you guys.”

“Hu? Why?”

“Huh?”

Minhyuk looked at them with a small smile on his face as he said, “You should have a meal first, no?”

***

Minhyuk wanted to cook a delicious meal for all of the Beyond the Heavens’ executives, encouraging them to move forward with their goal of reaching Level 600. He collected all of the special ingredients that his guild members had on hand to make a dish.

As he looked through the ingredients, he decided to serve a Chinese-style cuisine.

Shwaaaaaaaaa—

Minhyuk stir-fried the black bean sauce in the frying pan while he boiled the hot and spicy jjamppong to the side. His hands were so fast that he looked like an experienced chef.

Clack, clack, clack—

After cooking the sauce, he mixed it with the noodles and poured the finished jjajangmyeon and jjamppong in separate bowls. Of course, he did not forget to make some tangsuyuk as well as some dumplings, which he promptly served together with the dishes from before.

“Hiyaa…”

“Look at that gloss…”

The colors of the black jjajangmyeon and the red and spicy jjamppong were both vibrant and incredible. Minhyuk turned to look at the jjajangmyeon and jjampong that was served in front of him. Of course, he had to eat a bowl of each.

“Let’s eat.”

Everyone grabbed their own chopsticks. Minhyuk also grabbed his own, immediately putting it in the bowl of jjajangmyeon and using it to mix the noodles with the sauce completely. Then, he lifted a mouthful of the evenly-mixed jjajangmyeon from his bowl and dug in.

“Sluuuuuuuuuuuuurp!”

The moment he put the jjajangmyeon in his mouth, the sweet black bean sauce spread along with the chewy and warm noodles in his mouth. Then, he ate another mouthful.

Sluuuuuuuuuuurp—

He also ate some sweet and sour pickled radish.

Crunch, crunch—

After that, he ate another huge mouthful of the noodles.

Sluuuuuuuuuuurp—

This time, Minhyuk stretched his chopsticks toward the perfectly golden tangsuyuk. Tangsuyuk always tasted best when it was fresh out of the pan.

“When ordering tangsuyuk in a Chinese restaurant, you wouldn’t know if what you ordered is truly tangsuyuk or if it's just a lump of fried skin. But Minhyuk’s tangsuyuk is the best. There’s a lot of meat and it’s fried very well.”

That was right. When it came to tangsuyuk, it was important to make sure that there was only a thin layer of batter and plenty of meat. If the batter was too thick while the meat was too thin, then the tangsuyuk would grow soggy and dry. The moment they dipped the meat in the tangsuyuk’s sweet and sour sauce and put it in their mouths, a very delightful crunch rang in their ears.

Crunch—

Their tongues were greeted with the thick and juicy meat right after they bit the crunchy and crispy skin.

“Kghhk…” Minhyuk exclaimed softly. After tasting the jjajangmyeon and the tangsuyuk, he lifted the bowl of the jjamppong.

It was quite strange. The taste of the soup of jjamppong after eating jjajangmyeon was excellent. Minhyuk felt like the spiciness of the jjamppong soup was curbing the greasiness of the previous dishes. He immediately grabbed a mouthful of the noodles and placed it in his mouth.

Sluuuuuuuuuuurp.

There was a sense of delight when the spiciness hit his taste buds. Of course, he would also grab some mussels and squid every once in a while as he ate the noodles.

“Sluuuuuuuuuuuuuuurp!”

Minhyuk and his executives quickly slurped and finished their meals. On top of the delicious meal, the buff effects that they received were excellent. This was because it was made from ingredients, which they had collected, of various grades.

[You have eaten the Chinese Meal Set.]

[Epic Grade.]

[All of your stats have increased by 11%.]

[Your skill cooldown time has decreased by 20%.]

[Two randomly chosen skills will receive a +1 level increase.]

[Your total HP and MP have increased by 7%.]

[The buff effect will last for one week.]

“Minhyuk, we’re going hunting.”

They all moved out after finishing their meal.

“We’ll do a group hunt in the Hellfire Dungeon.”

The Hellfire Dungeon was a dungeon where one could only come out a week after entering. They could only come out earlier if they were forced to log out. It was also a place where they could not receive whispers or chats from the guild. It was a high level hunting ground with extreme difficulty.

Those that received the title of ‘Comrade’ hurriedly warped to the hunting ground. Of course, this was only done after getting explicit approval from Haze.

“I’m going to rest for a bit too…”

Just when Minhyuk, who was sitting with Haze, was about to log out, he received a startling message.

[Black Dragon: Minhyuk. Req… t… ing… for… sup… t]

“???”

Minhyuk looked at the whisper in confusion. He quickly tried to send a whisper to Black Dragon.

[Minhyuk: Father, what’s going on?]

[You cannot send any whisper or communication to Black Dragon.]

Minhyuk realized that something unusual had happened. He hurriedly stood up to try and find out about the situation. Then, things got worse.

[Your pet Beanie is in danger!]

[Warning!]

[Your pet Beanie is in danger!]

[Warning!]

“…?”

Shocked by the notifications, Minhyuk hurriedly tried to recall Beanie’s summons. Once the summon has been recalled, Beanie would be sent back to the summoning room, allowing him to escape from the imminent danger that he was facing and recuperate and recover.

[Your pet Beanie has refused the summons.]

***

One hour earlier.

God’s Children was a group of players that had been working secretly in Athenae. They were a group that even the top high rankers were very reluctant to clash with. After all, they were people that stood above even the ordinary God Class players. However, two of the God’s Children had been dragged down to the pit by a single man.

One was Henry, the Money God’s Descendant. After clashing with Minhyuk, Henry, the owner of the Money Bag Merchant Group, was left with a huge debt to the Money God. The second one was Rex, the God of Stories. Rex tried to bring down the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom using the power of the God of Death, but he was defeated and even lost the God of Stories class.

However, just because they were dragged through the mud did not mean that they had completely disappeared from Athenae. They had been preparing for their ‘revenge and had been waiting for an opportunity for a very long time now.

The problem was that it was very difficult to find an opportunity to exact their revenge. It was impossible for them to attack the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, what with Spear God Ben, Fallen Emperor Brod, and Great Demon Elpis, and numerous heroes defending the place. It was very difficult for them to do something about the kingdom.

However, there were people that willingly went out of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. These people were none other than Beanie, Luna and Black Dragon.

Rex was a cruel and vicious person.

“What do you think will the Food God feel if the most important person to him dies?”

There were people that treated NPCs as real people. For people like these, the death of NPCs was like the death of a real person, and it would be as painful as witnessing the death of their most precious person. Rex and Henry had been waiting for this moment for a very long time. The moment they found out that the three went out, they used their connections and money to buy rankers and bring in NPCs.

“Kihyeeeeee. Kihyeeeeeee.”

Black Dragon, Beanie and Luna were taking a stroll leisurely. Luna was even flapping her tiny wings right next to Beanie, while Black Dragon chuckled darkly once in awhile, behaving like a ‘villain.’

‘It must be a hassle trying to laugh like a villain every time.’

This had been their most awaited moment. They were sure that the three would be very shocked once they saw them suddenly appear. They might even tremble in fright.

“Do you remember us?!!!” Rex shouted as they appeared in front of the three using the great mage’s Mass Teleport.

Luna, who was flapping her tiny wings, Black Dragon, who was chuckling darkly, and Beanie, who was picking his snout with his three paws, were taken aback.

“Oiiiiink…!”

Poooooooooot~!

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

Shocked by the sudden appearance of a group of people in front of them, Beanie’s butt had loosened while his paws pushed up his snout and induced a nosebleed. Then, while looking at them in a daze, he released another fart.

Pooooooooooot—

“…”

“…”

“…”