Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 582: Louvert Guild

Hundreds of millions of people gathered to see Food God Minhyuk during the King’s Banquet. There were actually two reasons for it.

First, it was because the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was able to endure plenty of attacks from the allied kingdoms and slaughtered many enemies, despite finishing last in the Battle of the Thrones. In fact, a fan base for Beyond the Heavens Kingdom had been created right after that. After all, even though they were enemies, what the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom had achieved was worthy of applause and admiration.

Second, it was because a dream had sprouted in the hearts of these people when they watched the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. They wanted to be a member of the Kingdom! As the server integration was released, everyone’s desire and longing to be a part of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom grew hotter and hotter.

Many had asked Minhyuk during the King’s Banquet…

‘How can we join Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?!’

‘Will you accept someone at Level 180?!’

‘What benefits will we receive if we go to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?!’

‘Please answer us, Beyond the Heavens’ King!’

Hundreds of millions of people spoke out in a fluster, resulting in a chaotic situation. However, Minhyuk did not look hurried or flustered at all. Perhaps it was because Chairman Kang Minhoo was standing right next to him? Regardless, a true king would not change or falter in front of any situation.

Minhyuk spoke briefly, ‘Anyone can join the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom as long as they have the will. However, there’s no assurance that our Beyond the Heavens Kingdom can accommodate all of you.’

That was the end of Minhyuk’s words. He did not say anything anymore. But the players that heard his words got the idea…

‘That’s right. Beyond the Heavens Kingdom cannot accommodate all of us.’

‘Then, I’ll be the first to join Beyond the Heavens Kingdom!’

‘I have to get in position before anybody else!’

The people began to prepare to run to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. They did not even have the time to do an interview about ‘Why are you going to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?’. Of course, some of them were able to do an interview, but the rumors about how they had gathered to ‘strike’ at Beyond the Heavens Kingdom had become bigger than the story about how they wanted to ‘join’.

Still, they did not care. They just ran to this place without a wink of sleep, only to find out that players of different nationalities were also running with the same goal in mind. All they could do was grit their teeth and run faster.

Among these players was Chinese player Veyron, a top ranker that was recognized for his prowess in China. His heart thumped wildly as he thought,?‘I… will become a member of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom…!’

As one of the few that ran the fastest, Veyron could not hide the confusion on his face as he watched the Beyond the Heavens King stand atop the walls and wait for everyone to gather.

‘Shit. If things continue like this, there will be no space left for me in Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. He should have accepted me quickly…!’

The reason why Veyron ran as fast as he could was because he knew that there would be no spot for him if he arrived a step later than the others. After all, the number of players that Beyond the Heavens Kingdom could accommodate was only limited.

As everyone waited, the Beyond the Heavens’ King finally took a step forward. Seeing this, countless people began to clamor for their acceptance to the kingdom. But the Beyond the Heavens’ King looked at them gently and said, “Your request is pending.”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

“W, What…?!”

“What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that…?!”

“What did you say?!”

Murmur, murmur—

A commotion began to spread widely, like a tidal wave in the ocean. Even the viewers and the commentators that were watching the broadcast were left in shock.

[The millions of players present are all shocked after hearing the words uttered by the Beyond the Heavens’ King.]

[These millions of people came to join the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. If they are able to recruit each and every single person present here, the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom will be able to wield a great power and even become an empire.]

[But the Food God just told them that their request is pending.]

“Are you kidding me?!”

“Do you know who we ran for like that?!!!”

“Food God!!! Are you trying to mock us?!!!”

“You have disappointed us!!! Do you want us to gang up on you, huh?!”

It was not that strange if these clamoring players ran wild and turned to attack Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. In a way, their reactions were understandable. Some of them gave up on the new content in the Stars’ Path, while some used their company vacation leave to run here.

But what were the words of the Beyond the Heavens’ King?!

“You told us that you will accept us as long as we come here!!!”

“That’s it. From this day onwards, Beyond the Heavens Kingdom will be destroyed!”

It would only take a moment for the public’s sentiments to change.

And Haze, who watched everything unfold, had been jumping for joy up until a few moments ago. After all, this was the bigger reward that His Majesty had mentioned to her a few days ago. But now, everything was about to turn to ruin. The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom could not afford to fight against millions of people.

‘What on earth are we going to do, Your Majesty…!’

Haze was at a loss as she watched the players prepare to attack. At that moment, Haze thought that Minhyuk would have probably realized that he did something wrong, so she turned to look back at him. But he was still smiling!

“…!”

That was when Haze finally understood something, ‘Th, that’s right…! We can’t just accept all of them!’

She was shocked at Minhyuk’s foresight. If they accepted all of the people here now, then it would only spell their destruction. If they recklessly accepted these people, the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom would be filled with countless spies.

That was not all. Assuming that the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was around 30 square meters, such a small piece of land could not accommodate hundreds of people. If all of these people entered Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, the kingdom would literally be oversaturated.

The inns and restaurants, as well as the security of the kingdom, would be lacking. Having a sudden influx of players was not necessarily a good thing. In the first place, the kingdom’s territory and land area had to be able to support it.

However, another question arose in Haze’s head, ‘If he knew that already, why did he let them come here?’?That was the reason why the foreigners were very angry. Why did he give them hope when he would just leave their request on hold?

Then, Minhyuk opened his mouth, “I have already told you that there’s no assurance that my kingdom would be able to accommodate you.”

“Then you shouldn’t have allowed us to come here in the first place!!!”

“Boooooo!!!”

No, Minhyuk had clearly told them, ‘There’s no assurance that our Beyond the Heavens Kingdom can accommodate all of you.’ However, they made the decision themselves and chose to come here on their own. Minhyuk just opened a ‘path’, a possibility, for them. However, the angry public could not be appeased with just those words alone. Then, Minhyuk turned around as Golden Mage Ali stepped forward.

[You have activated the Voice Amplification Magic.]

[You have activated the Translucent Gigantification Magic.]

At the same time, a 20-meter translucent figure of Minhyuk appeared on top of the walls of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. The translucent figure wore the same golden crown on his head and acted just like how Minhyuk was acting below. In other words, the magic was cast to make it easy for everyone to see Minhyuk.

“Silence!!!” Minhyuk said, his voice spreading via the amplification magic toward the angry players. For a moment, everyone turned silent. Minhyuk looked at them, his voice filled with dignity as he continued, “What kind of nation is the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom in your eyes?!!!”

Everyone that heard Minhyuk’s question, suppressed their anger and began to ponder deeply. What was the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom to them?

‘The best kingdom.’

‘An indomitable kingdom. A kingdom that will never collapse.’

‘A kingdom worthy of adoration and respect.’

‘The very first kingdom created by a player.’

Beyond the Heavens Kingdom had many titles under their belt.

Then, Minhyuk said, “Are you telling me to open the doors to you and accept all of you with no rhyme or reason?”

“…!”

“…!”

[…!]

[…!]

The moment those words registered in their ears, everyone present felt as if a huge hammer had struck them in the head. The players that requested to join them varied in level, their levels ranging from Level 100~500. Of course, the players that were around Level 400~500 were only less than 1% of the total number of people here. Most of the players present here were either novice or mid-level players.

So, why did they come here to join Beyond the Heavens Kingdom? Why did a large number of Level 100~300 players come here? If they allowed all of them to join, then Beyond the Heavens Kingdom would lose their worth. Obviously, they were the ones that came here on their own. If Beyond the Heavens Kingdom allowed everybody to join, then they would become a guild where no one would want to join.

“B, But shouldn’t you have told this to us in advance?!”

“In the first place, you shouldn’t have given us hope!!!”

The players around Level 100~300 still continued to complain about his words. That was right. If they were only going to accept rankers at around Level 400~500, then they should not have given them hope and allowed them to come here in the first place! Meanwhile, smiles appeared on the faces of the players at Level 400~500.

‘Right, our qualifications are sufficient.’

However, even among the players at Level 100~300, there would still be some people that were ahead of everyone and had the greatest potential to become rankers.

‘Your Majesty, you need to give them an answer.’

Cold sweat dripped down Haze’s back. The few words that Minhyuk would utter from now on would determine the fate of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. One wrong move and the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom might be destroyed from their attacks. If that happened, and they were able to fend off the attack, their kingdom would not be entertained and visited by foreigners in the future.

Then, Minhyuk said, “I also want to see you in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. I’m sure that’s what everyone wishes to do too. The people next to me are strong, I am strong. So, even if we are faced with tens of thousands of enemies, we will never falter and feel fear. I’m sure you want to become like that too.”

The notifications rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

[Brightest Sun]

[King’s Voice has been activated.]

[Your voice will sound more powerful and majestic to everyone hearing the King’s Voice.]

Then, he told everyone his key qualification requirement, “I’m sure everyone present knows about the Stars’ Path’s ‘Star Coin’.”

The Star Coin was a coin that appeared as part of the opening of the Stars’ Path. It was a gold coin shaped like a star and could be obtained as a special reward during hunts, for example: someone hunting a ‘boss monster’.

Boss monsters were not necessarily called boss monsters because they were high-leveled. They were called boss monsters because they were the strongest at the hunting ground’s level. As for the Star Coins, there was a small chance that they would drop when hunting a boss monster. However, one would be able to gain 25 platinum if they sold their Star Coin to the store. This was what made the event huge.

However, the most important part here was, players between Level 100~500 all had a chance of being able to get Star Coins in a fair manner. According to the system, they would prevent someone who was at Level 200 from getting a Star Coin upon the successful hunt of a Level 100 monster. Also, it was impossible for those doing a party hunt to obtain a Star Coin as a drop. In other words, only those that were stronger at the same level and had better control than their peers would be able to obtain a Star Coin.

“Only those that can collect Star Coins will be entertained among those that want to enter the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.”

Then, the notification rang for everyone present.

[The Kingdom Quest has started.]

[Kingdom Quest: Collect Two (2) Star Coins for your first qualification test.]

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

All of the players present felt their heart throb. This was because anyone of them could have the chance to join the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom as long as they were stronger than others on the same level as them. Even Level 100 players could join the kingdom as long as they were stronger than their peers. The same was true for those at Level 500. In other words, only 0.01% of them would have the qualifications to enter the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

Who would complain about this?

“I have given everyone of you an equal opportunity.”

This was the truth. On top of that, the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was also given room to breathe, to only accept hundreds out of the millions of people present here. If the 0.01% of the millions of Level 100 players that joined them grew, they would definitely become great rankers. If the 0.01% of the Level 500 players were recruited, then they would become the pillars of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

‘Your Majesty…!’

Haze trembled, goosebumps rising on her skin. And the same was true for everyone that wanted to join Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

‘I will be a part of that 0.01% and join the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom…!’

‘The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom will be able to retain its name as the best nation.’

‘I will be one of the best!!!’

Minhyuk even threw in a great finishing line, “The future owner of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom is you.”

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Long live Beyond the Heavens Kingdom! Long live!!!”

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Let’s go! Let’s collect Star Coins!!!”

“Run!!!”

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Millions of cheering players rushed to the Stars’ Path. After dealing with everything Minhyuk smiled softly. And Haze? She approached him and said, “That, that’s amazing. Your Majesty…!”

“…”

But Minhyuk’s smiling expression did not change.

“Your, Your Majesty…?”

“Fwaaaaaa…!?Ha, Haze… I almost got in trouble, right?!”

“…”

Only then did Haze realize that Minhyuk had taken a risk and won this dangerous game of tug-of-war. As Minhyuk looked at the running players, he said, “Haze, can you see?”

Haze looked at them as he listened to Minhyuk’s voice. They were the ones running forward to try and join Beyond the Heavens Kingdom! She felt her heart throb, a blazing flame alighting from within!

Aaaaaah! I’m so moved! Perhaps, His Majesty is also feeling the same way?

But the truth of the matter was different.

“Can’t you see my bundles of cash running swiftly…?!”

“Eh?”

The words of Minhyuk destroyed the feelings that bubbled up in Haze’s chest in an instant. The smile on Minhyuk’s face was quite vicious when he turned to look back at Haze. He said, “Didn’t I tell you that we will get something bigger than the material rewards? But we got them both. Both the material rewards and the people.”

“…Ah!”

Haze finally understood the reason why Minhyuk asked them to pay two ‘Star Coins’ to gain the qualification to join Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. Each Star Coin was worth 25 platinum, two of them would amount to 50 platinum. In other words…

‘My god… they will actually pay 50 platinum just so they can join us?!’

That was right. Each person would pay 50 platinum. So, if 1,000 people joined, they would receive 50,000 platinum. Simply put, they would be able to quickly fill the losses that they had suffered during the duration of the Battle of the Thrones.

“And do you think they’ll just bring coins from the Stars’ Path? Your Majesty, I got this in the Stars’ Path, please try this. I hunted this, would you like to try some??They’ll definitely say that and bring me food, right? Wahahahahaha!!!”

“…”

Haze was someone that was aiming for the title of the Legendary Swindler. As for Minhyuk?

‘The God of Swindling…?’

Without knowing the true purpose of their quests, the players ran swiftly with bright smiles on their faces.

“I will also have the chance to join the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom!!!”

“Let’s collect Star Coins! Let’s goooooo!!!”

“Long live the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom!!!”

“…”

Ah. What a beautiful world.