Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 898

After seeing the Labyrinth of Death, they firmly believed that this dungeon, with its elite mobs and mini-bosses with ridiculously high levels, was the most difficult. After all, it was a place where even the Great Luvien Empire was suffering.

However, something extraordinary happened. Player Ethan suddenly appeared and led a group of armored weapons to attack and slaughter the troops of the Luvien Imperial Army. Because of that, there was a lot of buzz among the viewers.

[Ethan is one of the Transcendentals’ Holy Land mobs?]

[No. Ethan is an armored weapon pilot. He is a player.]

[So... why is he leading those armored weapons inside that dungeon?]

There were quite a lot of speculations going around. However, this one stood out the most among the people's wildest beliefs. Why? Because it was the most realistic.

[Ethan had been kicked out of the Luvien Empire just recently. However, he wasn’t ‘removed and excluded’ as a member of the empire just yet. After being kicked out, Ethan wanted revenge and probably searched for armored weapons.]

Everyone turned their attention to focus on this story.

[Ethan, who searched for armored weapons, found them inside the Transcendentals’ Holy Land and signed a contract with the Transcendental Being.]

[Oh. That makes sense.]

[Yes, that’s the most realistic explanation.]

[Ethan’s not yet excluded from the Luvien Empire. Yes. That explains why he can enter the dungeon and why he is standing among the Imperial Army.]

[He must have been hiding among them.]

However, that theory was soon torn apart. Why? The last thing Ethan did before he collapsed was put on the cape carrying the Beyond the Heavens Empire symbol.

[...?]

[...?]

[...?]

Everyone was at a loss for a moment. They just could not understand what just happened.

Then, the Transcendental Being that appeared and sent Duke Ruffiso flying away with one swing of his sword emerged from the flames left behind by the armored weapon’s explosion. And just like Ethan, he was also wearing the Beyond the Heavens Empire symbol.

[Don’t tell me...]

[Ey.]

[That’s impossible.]

[That’s a bit...]

[No. That doesn’t even make any sense.]

[Then, let’s all think about it for a moment. Does this mean that Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor Minhyuk also came to the Transcendentals’ Holy Land and signed a contract with the Transcendental Being?]

[Didn’t we discuss that the Transcendental Being signed a contract with Ethan?]

[That’s right.]

[I’ll just believe this one and leave it be.]

[No. I’m telling you, this is impossible!]

The viewers went wild and flooded the comments section as they focused on their screen to watch the confrontation between the Luvien Empire and the Transcendental Being.

***

Everyone was tense and nervous. The 185-centimeter tall and silver-haired Transcendental Being looked like an older man. However, he gave off a fresh and energetic feeling with the white robe on his body and the sword in his hand.

Gulp–

Bastien gulped dryly and asked the man standing beside him, “How high are the chances that the guy over there is Minhyuk?”

“Maybe 15%? No, 20%? Ah, no. Maybe 4%?”

“What bullshit are you talking about?”

“I don’t know either.”

“Right. To be honest, I also don’t know.”

All of them were left in doubt with the situation in front of them. They almost entertained the idea that Minhyuk might have accidentally received a quest related to the Transcendentals’ Holy Land, which was why the Transcendental Being was wearing a robe carrying the Beyond the Heavens Empire pattern on his back.

‘No. That doesn’t make any sense.’

However, the theory that Minhyuk was the Transcendental Being also did not make any sense.

The Sword of the Gods looked around. They saw that approximately 15,000 troops of the Luvien Imperial Army had disappeared from the Transcendental Being’s previous attack. Now, there were only about 80,000 troops left. However, thankfully enough, the remaining forces were the most prominent figures of the empire. Most of the Sword of the Gods were also alive and well.

“It’s impossible to be Minhyuk, right? Even if Minhyuk is very strong, do you think he can deal with Duke Ruffiso and us alone?”

“Right?”

Although they did not know why the Transcendental Being wore a robe carrying the Beyond the Heavens Empire symbol, this fact remained.

Meanwhile, Duke Ruffiso was frowning. ‘What the hell is happening?’

There were quite a few things that Ruffiso could not understand. However, he decided that killing the Transcendental Being was far more critical than figuring it out immediately.

Bastien, the number one summoner, rode on top of his Divine Beast.

“Let’s beat him up first!”

With those words, more than 30,000 summoned beasts jumped out and charged forward to kill the Transcendental Being.

Click–

“Yeah. It’s not that important. We just have to kill whoever’s in front of us,” God of Archery Miao was already prepared for battle. Then, she explained, “It’s either one of the two. If we can kill him easily, then he’s Minhyuk. If it’s difficult, then he’s the Transcendental Being.”

“...!”

That was right. That would give them the most evident answer. This was because Minhyuk was just a lone player. No matter how strong he was, there was no way that he could deal with all of the Level 600 Sword of the Gods present here, together with Duke Ruffiso and the almost 80,000 surviving Luvien Imperial Army troops. Besides, the Transcendental Being only had one advantage over them right now; he was not exhausted.

Then, at that moment, the Transcendental Being made a move. A blazing hot flame shot out from his sword and covered the sky.

‘Sword of Absolute Death.’ This was the skill that Minhyuk used. However, because he became the Transcendental Being, the way his skill manifested changed. At that moment, hundreds of feathers made from light turned into sharp knives and rained down upon the Luvien Empire’s troops.

Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping–!

The sharp feathers made of light pierced through the bodies of the troops of the Luvien Imperial Army.

Staaaaaaab–!

“A- aaaaaaaaaack!”

“Keuaaaaaaaaack!”

“My- my eyeeeees!!!”

But that was not the end; the feathers immediately exploded when it made contact with something.

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

Powerful explosions engulfed the army one after the other.

“Huh...” Valentino uttered in a daze. “I vote for him being the Transcendental Being.”

Even if Minhyuk was strong, Valentino had judged that there was no way for the man to deal such a tremendous amount of damage by himself. There was no way that Minhyuk could release an attack that could easily kill these high-leveled and outstanding tankers all at once.

“You should consider Minhyuk’s buffed dishes, too,” Alex piped up.

However, Valentino thought differently from him. No matter how fantastic the effects of the buffed dishes were, there was no way to bring this much effect. He could tell the opponent’s basic power was much stronger than they had imagined.

However, It wasn’t really that impossible. After all, Minhyuk had cooked dishes using the best ingredients he had harvested from the Field of the Gods and had received the buff effects from these dishes.

After unleashing those sharp feathers and devouring thousands of the Luvien Imperial Army, the Transcendental Being leaped forward and began to cut them down one after another. The Transcendental Being looked so cool and handsome with his silver hair and white robe fluttering with the wind that everyone could not help but sigh in admiration.

Baaaaaaang–

However, God of Archery Miao and Alex immediately shot their arrows and magic toward such a being.

Baaaaaaaaang–

Valentino also slammed his shield down while Bastien commanded his Divine Dragon to release its Breath, which could melt tens of thousands of enemies in one go upon the Transcendental Being.

Shwaaaaaaaaaaaa–

However, the Swords of the Gods were left stunned and speechless when they heard a voice coming from the thick cloud of dust that bloomed from the explosion caused by their attacks.

“Disappear.”

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

Disappear was the Supreme Overlord’s Technique. Because Minhyuk became the Transcendental Being, the Overlord’s flames changed in appearance and turned into white flames that exploded and devoured its surroundings.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaang–!

The mighty white flames exploded and spread in the area, devouring the Swords of the Gods and the troops of the Luvien Empire.

“Keheuuuk!”

“Keheup!”

“Keok! Cough, cough– That’s not Minhyuk. That’s the Transcendental Being.”

[A total of 954,513 troops of the Luvien Imperial Army have died!]

With just one attack, 25,000 of the Luvien Imperial Army disappeared. The worst part? Transcendental Being Minhyuk suffered no damage because he used Absolute Defense on time.

Crackle–

Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack–

The white flames licked the area clean and revealed a harrowing scene. However, Minhyuk, standing at the center of it all, knew he was running out of time.

‘If I fail to kill as many as I can with the little time I have left, then that means I lose.’

Minhyuk had received special privileges by becoming the boss mob. This unique privilege was a 1.5x increase in his total HP and MP. However, that was all. This meant that he had a clear limit to how much damage the enemies could deal upon him he could endure.

At that moment, Minhyuk heard Valentino’s voice.

“If that guy’s Minhyuk, then I will become Minhyuk’s dog from now on!”

“We already know! So, shut up for a bit! Ugh...”

Minhyuk did not blame them for their choices. After all, a player would always take the path that would bring them the most significant benefits. However, the problem was that they were now clearly standing on the side that opposed the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

‘Let’s take out the Swords of the Gods first.’

For Minhyuk, the most difficult enemy to deal with was Duke Ruffiso. However, if he dealt with Duke Ruffiso, he would be unable to deal with the Swords of the Gods simultaneously.

Thousand Swords. The skill that could release a thousand swords that would target the enemies’ vital points. And it was not just that. It could also determine who was strong among the enemies and concentrate the attacks upon them. Just like before, the manifestation of the skill changed. Instead of a thousand sword lights, a thousand awls made of stone appeared. But a powerful force came behind him just before these thousands of awls rained down upon the Luvien Empire.

Slaaaaaash–!

It was Duke Ruffiso.

‘Ugh!’

It seemed like it was timed perfectly when the duration of the Absolute Defense was lifted. Minhyuk immediately turned around, his sword clashing against Duke Ruffiso’s own. The two engaged in a fierce clash of swords.

‘I already received the effects of my buff dishes, but I still can’t overwhelm you?!’

The power that one of the strongest in the world, Duke Ruffiso, could wield was stronger than Minhyuk had expected. However, there was a bigger problem at hand.

Staaaaaaab–

An arrow stabbed through Minhyuk’s back as he fought against Duke Ruffiso.

“Ugh!”

Duke Ruffiso quickly took advantage of the moment Minhuk’s balance was broken to drive his sword through him.

[Your HP has dropped below 65%!]

Alex and the mages immediately followed up with a bombardment of magical attacks.

Bang– Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang–!

[Your HP has dropped below 45%!]

If Ruffiso’s power were within Minhyuk’s expectations, then the winner of this battle would most definitely be Minhyuk. However, the duke’s power went beyond his expectations.

‘Damn it! If only I could summon the puppet doll..!’

Viel’s Puppet Doll was Minhyuk’s strongest damage dealer. His presence would be enough to deter and block the Swords of the Gods from interfering with his fight against Duke Ruffiso. However, when Minhyuk became the boss monster, he was only allowed to get the help of the players and his vassals. Even though his puppet and pets were under his ownership, he still could not use them inside the dungeon.

Although he was stuck in a very desperate situation, Minhyuk could not back down. Why couldn’t he back down? This was because some people tried their hardest for his sake and endured being called the awkward name of Fragment in this place. And if they could not win this battle, then there was a high chance that the Beyond the Heavens Empire would continue to be pushed back by the Luvien Empire. If that happened, the only future for them was their downfall.

Baaaaaasaaaang–!

Minhyuk was sent rolling on the ground after he received another bombardment of magic.

[Your HP has dropped below 30%!]

[Controlling your body will become harder!]

Duke Ruffiso knew that victory was close when he saw his enemy stumbling and struggling to stand. “Don’t give him any room to breathe! Just push him a bit more, and this battle will end!”

As long as they did not give the Transcendental Being enough room to cast his skills, they could kill him. However, at that moment, a notification rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

[...has entered!]

“...!”

A smile slowly formed on Minhyuk’s face, a smile that appeared on the old face of the Transcendental Being. He squeezed the last of his strength and ran in the middle of his enemies. Then, he immediately cast the Supreme Overlord’s Technique that he had saved using his Save skill.

Baaaaaaaaaang–!

At that moment, another storm of blazing white flames engulfed the enemies around Minhyuk.

[A total of 979,890 troops of the Luvien Imperial Army have died!]

***

Hundreds of cameras turned to focus on the white flames that appeared once again and devoured the Luvien Imperial Army. The camera showed how the fire killed 20,000 of the troops all at once. However, the flames soon died down and disappeared.

Seeing this scene, the commentators hurriedly shouted at the top of their lungs.

[Look! The Swords of the Gods escaped the attack's aftermath by squeezing behind Valentino’s massive shield!]

[They are high rankers! They are not fools that would be hit by the same attack twice!]

[The Transcendental Being has burned tens of thousands of enemies. However, you have to know that the only thing he could do was reduce the number of his enemies. Nothing more, nothing less.]

[Duke Ruffiso was able to pull himself out of the range of the flames quickly!]

[Now, all that’s left is to wait for the death of the Transcendentals’ Holy Land’s boss monster, the ‘Transcendental Being.’]

That was right. They could tell that the Transcendental Being had squeezed the last of his strength to burn tens of thousands of the imperial army’s troops. However, this previous hurrah did not damage the Swords of the Gods or Duke Ruffiso.

“It’s only a matter of time before we kill the Transcendental Being.”

The remaining Swords of the Gods ultimately agreed with Valentino’s declaration. However, at that moment, the hundreds of cameras floating all over the place caught something entering the dungeons in a flash.

[Wh- what was that?!]

[What was that thing that moved so swiftly like that?!]

The commentators could only catch the flash of movement because they could see the overall situation with the cameras. As for the Swords of the Gods? They were utterly clueless, waiting quietly for the white flames to disappear around them.

Spurt–!

Then, at that moment, blood suddenly spurted from all over God of Archery Miao’s body.

“Huh...?” Before she could even realize what happened, Valentino appeared right in front of her.

“What’s the matter...?”

Spurt–!

But before he could even finish his words, blood had already started spurting out of his body. Well, to be exact, blood spurted from the bodies of the Swords of the Gods hiding behind Valentino’s huge shield.

The cameras did not take too long to show the figure of the unknown being that attacked the Swords of the Gods in a flash. Just like the Transcendental Being, the man, whose face was covered except for his eyes, had long black hair that reached his waist, was wearing a white yet blood-stained robe, and held a sword in his hand. However, they could tell that the man was relatively short compared to the Transcendental Being, reaching only 160 centimeters in height.

Meanwhile, these notifications rang in the ears of the Transcendental Being.

[‘Sword God Conir’ has entered the Transcendentals’ Holy Land!]

[Sword God Conir is recognized as a mini-boss level being!]

[Transcendental Being’s Fragment Goneir. Level 776.]

Through the gaps in the mysterious being’s long black hair, they could see that his eyes were cold and sharp. He glared at the enemies and said, “I am the Sword God.”