Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 867

Jack stared at Minhyuk, who vomited a mouthful of blood but was still able to accept the Great Spirits.

‘Even if they have successfully assimilated with the Great Spirits, humans cannot borrow much of their power.’

Great Spirits did not like people who harbored greed and envy. Only the elves could call for the spirits out of all the races. The reason? Because they were noble and straightforward. Jack expected Minhyuk to be able to accept only around 25% of their power.

Not long after, the Great Spirits of Wind and Fire had assimilated entirely into Minhyuk’s body. Then, a set of notifications rang in Jack’s ears.

[Minhyuk can use 70% of the power of the Great Spirit of Fire!]

[Minhyuk can use 70% of the power of the Great Spirit of Wind!]

Jack’s eyes grew wide from shock. Could someone truly use the power of the Great Spirits to that extent, with the body of a human being and not an elf? Still, he could not deny that the Great Spirits had recognized him as the owner of a pure soul. A faint smile appeared on Jack’s face.

A long time ago, the humans drove away the elves from this land. However, just like Gorn said, the humans of the current era differed from those of the past. But Jack had fallen for Helenia’s temptation. He went on to invade the humans' land and even killed plenty of them.

‘Someone will resent me, just like how I resented those humans in the past.’

Perhaps, everyone here would die. However, Minhyuk could give them a small hope.

Shwaaaaaaaaaaa–

Helenia felt that something unusual was happening after seeing the fierce winds blowing around the man named Minhyuk. Because of that, she lost concentration, and the overwhelming pressure and gravity that weighed down on everyone disappeared.

Elven King Argon, whose bones were almost crushed into powder, recovered from some of his injuries using Mother’s Blessings. Then, he quickly approached the dying Jack and held the dark elf in his arms. “Father.”

“...”

Argon looked down at the father of the elves bitterly. Jack knew that he was a sinner. However, that did not mean the elves deserved to be pointed at by others because of him; they deserved to live and be protected. That was why Jack summoned the Great Spirits, even at the expense of his own life.

“Please rest in peace.”

Even when Dark Elf Jack’s breathing started to become ragged, he could not help but look back at Minhyuk. He was concerned about the elves.

“He is the purest and most noble being I have met.”

“...”

“He is someone you wouldn’t believe to be a human. He would sometimes show uncharacteristic strength and would sometimes show great weakness. The only greed in his body is eating. However, even that greed is brought about by a curse. So, only one thing can be considered as greed in him.”

Hearing his words alone, one could tell that Argon had a close relationship with Minhyuk. Jack could not understand this. It should have been impossible for the Elven King to forge a close relationship with a human being. Especially Argon, he knew the humans had driven the elves out of their land.

“Trying to protect the ones around him. Yes, that would be his only greed. To be exact, it is his sacrifice.”

Jack felt relieved when he heard Argon’s words.

“Argon.”

“Yes, Father.”

Jack blinked slowly, his voice cracking from the strain as he said, “Make him the greatest emperor.”

Argon nodded as he watched Jack slowly fall into his eternal rest. But before Jack died, he heard these final words.

[Viel’s Puppet Doll can use 90% of the power of the Great Spirit of Lightning!]

[Viel’s Puppet Doll can use 90% of the power of the Great Spirit of Earth!]

***

[Sudden Quest: Protect the People from Helenia.]

Rank: SSS

Requirements: The One Dark Elf Jack, who had sacrificed himself, had chosen to borrow the power of the Four Great Spirits.

Rewards: Will depend on the number of people that you have protected.

Penalty for Failure: Pay the price for borrowing the power of the Great Spirits.

Description: Many humans, elves, and dark elves are already on the brink of dying. This is especially true for the elves. Most of their population has come here, which leaves them at risk of being extinct as a race. Fend off Helenia’s attacks for two and a half minutes to get over this crisis and save everyone.

This quest appeared when Dark Elf King Jack summoned the Four Great Spirits. Then, another notification rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

[The Father of the Elves and the leader of the dark elves, Jack, has died.]

Why did Jack hand over the authority to command the Great Spirits to Minhyuk? Perhaps it was because Jack also felt the same way as him. They both wanted to stop Helenia’s attacks.

Click, click, click–

Minhyuk turned to look at Viel. He could see that Viel’s eyes had opened a few moments prior and had changed colors. The left side had turned brown, representing the earth, while the right had turned yellow, representing lightning.

Rumbleeeeee–

The notifications constantly rang in Minhyuk’s ears as he assimilated and accepted the powers of the Great Spirits of Wind and Fire.

[All of your stats have increased by 54%!]

[Your attack has increased by 41%!]

[All of your skills have become 30% stronger!]

[Your resistance to abnormal statuses has increased by 60%!]

[All of your skills have been imbued with the power of the Great Spirits of Wind and Fire.]

[You can use 70% of the power of the Great Spirits of Wind and Fire.]

As for Viel? He could use more of the power of the Great Spirits than Minhyuk.

Crackle, crackle, crackle, crackle–

Rumbleeeeeeee–

Lightning crackled in the gaps of the dark clouds that suddenly appeared in the sky above them as sparks danced all over Viel’s body.

‘I think it’s correct to say that Viel is the strongest weapon.’

What Minhyuk and Viel needed to do was not kill Helenia but defend against her attacks. However, Helenia just looked at them as if she found them fascinating.

‘Life came back to his eyes once again.’

And there was something that Helenia never expected.

‘The knight chosen by Athenae.’

Athenae was the greatest god and the God of Origin. The fact that she chose a foreigner to be her knight was surprising in and of itself. And he was also the same guy that landed one successful attack on her after sending more than a hundred attacks.

‘Interesting.’

Helenia found it quite fun. She did not expect that there would be someone who could entertain her after not showing up in the world for a very long time.

“Then, should you try and block it at least once?” Helenia grinned. “If you can block it, I will give you a present. But if you can’t, then...” Helenia’s expression turned cold as she continued, “Everyone here will die.”

Then, Helenia, who had not yet used even a tenth of her strength before, began to show the full extent of her powers. Helenia was the Immortal Great Sorceress. She was also one of the Eight Pillars and the sister of God of Origin Athenae.

Shwaaaaaaaaaaaa–!

Shwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa–!

Shwaaaaaaaaa–!

Shwaaaaaaaaaaaa–!

A notification rang in Minhyuk’s ears as dozens of Meteors appeared in the sky above them.

[If you can stop Helenia from killing everyone present, you can obtain a reward from her.]

The Meteors that had started to fall upon them were extremely huge. Their sizes, many times bigger than the Meteors cast by Black Dragon Vormon and God of Magic’s Descendant Golden Mage Ali, were unlike anything anyone had ever seen.

Minhyuk glared fiercely at the Meteors as he flew up to the sky.

***

Lee Tae-Sung, the new Special Players Management Team employee, was selected among several thousands of candidates to be a part of the team because he had a strong mentality.

He exited the bathroom and started to wash his hands while thinking, ‘Why do they view the Food God so highly like that?’

Lee Tae-Sung had been monitoring the situation with the Food God and Helenia a few moments prior. When the episode started, Team Leader Park rushed to the conference room, leaving him alone with Lee Minhwa. However, he saw Minhyuk immediately lose his will to fight when he encountered a strong opponent like Helenia.

When Lee Tae-Sung saw that, he immediately turned to Lee Minhwa.

–I can’t understand why people are so crazy about the Food God. It might be true that the Food God is Athenae’s Supreme, but he is just the Supreme among the players. If you think about it more deeply, Athenae is a game. So, it makes more sense that there are far stronger NPCs than players.

Players could not surpass the levels of NPCs.

–But look at him. He immediately lost his will to fight when he encountered a strong opponent.

This was Lee Tae-Sung’s blunt and honest opinion and assessment of Minhyuk. Yes, he only viewed Minhyuk as someone who would lose his will to fight when he met someone stronger than himself.

However, Lee Minhwa opened her mouth.

–I have been watching the Food God for a very long time. I have watched him since he started playing Athenae.

Lee Tae-Sung had heard about it. Perhaps Lee Minhwa held a deep affection for the Food God because she had watched over him from the beginning.

–There are times when he’s as fragile as glass and times when he’s stronger than steel. I know why people are going crazy about the Food God. He’s the strongest player that I know.

When Lee Tae-Sung heard that, he just clicked his tongue and excused himself to the bathroom. He was greatly disappointed in Lee Minhwa, who continued to praise the Food God despite the current situation. Rather than praising and talking about him, he thought that they should try to find a way to overcome the crisis.

As he washed his hands, he thought, ‘Perhaps they are all dead by now?’

Helenia was a catastrophe. Her level was something that the current players would not be able to overcome and defeat. And when Lee Tae-Sung thought about how Food God Minhyuk shook and trembled in front of her, he felt that perhaps that was the only outcome.

The moment Lee Tae-Sung opened the doors to the Special Players Management Team, he was greeted by dozens of monitors flashing the same window: an enormous red WARNING!That was when he caught sight of the scene on the monitor. It showed one man flying toward the more than eighty gigantic Meteors falling from the sky.

Lee Tae-Sung caught sight of the man’s face, and what he saw made his eyes grow wide. Minhyuk’s face was no longer shrouded in helplessness and despair. It showed firm determination and the belief that he could do it.

[Craaaaaaaaaaackle–]

A pillar of blazing flames shot out from Minhyuk’s body. The flames spread until they covered the entire sky.

“Wh- what is that?” Lee Tae-Sung did not know the power that shot out of Minhyuk’s body because he momentarily stepped out of the department.

However, the pillar of flame that served as a backdrop for Minhyuk, who showed a firm and determined expression on his face while his hair fluttered with the wind, made Tae-Sung’s eyes grow round from awe. He could not help but be impressed by how incredible the scene was. At that moment, he recalled the words that Lee Minhwa told him.

–There are times when he’s as fragile as glass and times when he’s stronger than steel. I know why people are going crazy about the Food God. He’s the strongest player that I know.

Lee Tae-Sung did not want to hear the end of her words earlier, so he quickly excused himself and told her that he was going to the bathroom. But now? The end of the words that Lee Minhwa told him before unknowingly flowed out of his mouth.

“He’s the only true Supreme that I have acknowledged.”

***

The Meteors falling from the sky were four to five times larger than the size of the Meteor that an ordinary mage could cast. However, all eyes–including the viewers watching from their screens, the people of the Beyond the Heavens Empire, the coalition army, the dark elves, and even the elves on the ground–were on Minhyuk as he flew alone toward these blazing and fearsome Meteors.

Crackleeeeeee–!

Blazing flames shot out from Minhyuk’s body. The flames, which were emitting extreme and intense heat, covered the entire sky.

[The Great Spirit of Fire’s Blessings of Fire has been triggered!]

[The power of the Great Spirit of Fire is imbued in the skill that you are using!]

[If the skill you are using is a fire-attributed skill, it will have much stronger power than usual!]

Rumbleeeeeeee–!

Scorching flames roared from the blade of the Sword of Aeon that was in Minhyuk’s hand. The flames that licked the blade of his sword were several times bigger than usual. The flames danced and burned so fiercely that one had to wonder if a weak human could handle them.

The king of all Fire Spirits, the Great Spirit of Fire, asked Minhyuk, ‘Do you think you can block everything?’

Even the Great Spirit of Fire had never seen or heard about a Meteor as powerful as the Meteors that appeared above them.

However, Minhyuk replied, “I have to do it.”

‘...’

The Great Spirit of Fire lent this human that carried a will that burned brightly like fire with a stronger power.

[You can use 80% of the power of the Great Spirit of Fire!]

Crackleeeeeee–!

As the flames grew even hotter and raged wildly, the Great Spirit of Fire triggered God’s Voice for the small human being trying to go against all odds.

[The weak flame.]

Meanwhile, Minhyuk’s ears continued to get bombarded by notifications.

[Helenia’s Meteor is a force that no human can handle!]

[Warning!]

[Danger!]

[Warning!]

[Danger!]

[Warning!]

At this moment, Minhyuk transcended the limits of both humans and gods.

[Overlord’s Technique.]

[The Overlord’s Fire, with an additional 10,000%~16,000% attack, will strike everyone within a 120~160 meter radius.]

[With your assimilation with the Great Spirits of Wind and Fire, the effects of your skill have become 30% stronger!]

[The Great Spirit of Fire’s Blessings of Fire has been bestowed upon the skill!]

[The skill has been recognized as an excellent fire-attributed skill!]

[The Great Spirit of Fire’s Blessings of Fire has allowed the skill to display a more powerful force!]

Crackleeeeeeee–!

The notifications rang non-stop for Minhyuk, holding the Sword of Aeon with both hands amidst the burning flames.

[The Overlord’s Technique has transcended the realm of human beings!]

[The Overlord’s Technique has transcended the realm of human beings!]

[The Overlord’s Technique...]

[The Overlord’s Technique...]

[The Overlord’s Technique has gone beyond its limits. It has evolved into a stronger and better skill!]

[You have acquired the Supreme Overlord’s Technique!]

[The Supreme Overlord’s Technique is a God-grade skill!]

[With the evolution of the new skill, you can use the MAX-leveled Supreme Overlord’s Technique once!]

Craaaaaackleeeeeee–!

The flames that covered the entire sky, and the evolved Overlord’s Technique, combined in Minhyuk’s hands.

“Supreme Overlord’s Technique.”

Crackleeeeeee–

The blazing flames surged and devoured the falling Meteors. At the same time, the Great Spirit of Fire’s voice ended.

[The weak flame...]

[...set the world on fire.]