Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 585: A True Comrade

For Orleed, the standard of a true and genuine king was Monarch Richard. He was someone with excellent foresight and a high ability to develop his military forces. In fact, the army that Richard had built was stronger than any other kingdom’s army. If Richard had an archer unit, perhaps they would be as powerful as the Beyond the Heaven’s forces.

Orleed thought, ‘So you weren’t entirely stupid. It seems like you intended to help us from the rear using the soldiers of your archer unit.’

That was right. If the troops were made up of outstanding archers, then their odds would increase. However, the new guild members were still a mess.

“Euaaaaaaack!”

“Aaaaaaaaack!”

“Someone, someone please help me!”

Amidst their screams, Orleed shouted, “The soldiers are all specialized in archery! With their support from the rear, we will be able to pull ourselves together!!!”

Hope was reignited on the faces of the new guild members.

‘An archer unit?’

‘Ah, come to think of it, their arrows were completely accurate!’

‘Their accuracy must be very high!’

That was what they thought. Not much was known about the Beyond the Heavens’ soldiers since they were not that famous. For most kingdoms, whether they were run by a player or an NPC, there were generally outstanding units among their army. And from what it looked like, the Beyond the Heavens had secretly raised an archer unit.

However, this line of thinking was wrong.

As if on cue, all of the soldiers of Beyond the Heavens slung their bows on their backs. Then, Centurion Park drew the sword on his waist and said, “Draw your swords!!!”

Fwoosh!

Fwoosh!

Fwoosh!

Fwoosh!

The soldiers all drew their swords and jumped into the fray. At the same time, Orleed witnessed how Centurion Park jumped in the middle of the battle and cut down three silver werewolves at once.

‘Heooook!’

Orleed was shocked. However, a startling scene was unfolding in front of him. The Beyond the Heavens’ soldiers skillfully moved around the battlefield, cutting down their enemies and rescuing the new guild members that were facing a crisis. Their sword strikes were precise, none of their movements wasted. Their spears accurately pierced through their enemies’ vital points. Even their axes easily split their enemies heads in one go.

The soldier named Hans, who they had ignored before, reached his hand out to one of the fallen new guild members and asked, “Are you alright?”

“…”

The new guild members were all ashamed. They knew that they were better than the average players which boosted their ego and made them ignore these soldiers. But when they were facing a crisis, the one that held their hand out to help them were the very same people that they had ignored.

The new guild member held Hans’ hand tightly as he stood up. However, he could not bring himself to look up from the shame that he was feeling. At the same time, he was in awe.

‘They are strong but they are not arrogant!’

But the most surprising part here was…

‘How were they able to nurture and raise soldiers like that?’

Everyone was shocked. Even if they were already part of the guild, they still had no way to check the actual skills or power of the kingdom’s soldiers. That was a feat that was only possible for executives. The only thing that they could check was the soldiers’ level. The new guild member was sure that Hans was only at the same level as him. But the truth was Hans’ level was lower than the guild member’s level.

As the new guild members were left reeling in shock, a series of notifications began to ring in Minhyuk’s ears.

[You have earned 101 cash.]

[You have earned 109 cash.]

[You have earned 67 cash.]

[…earned 51 cash.]

[You have accumulated a total of 18,144 cash.]

Who was the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s commander-in-chief? It was none other than Brod, who turned out to be the Absolute God’s Sword. Brod, together with Elpis and the Sword Saint of the past, Conir, taught these soldiers their swordsmanship. Then, who taught them archery? The man that taught them to shoot their arrows was Korea’s own Master Archer, Root. And that was not all. Their spearmanship was also personally taught by none other than ‘Spear God’ Ben himself.

The combination of the best instructors and the best soldiers would result in the strongest army. Minhyuk was very confident that the Beyond the Heavens’ soldiers would not lose out against any of the empire’s army in the world on the same level as them.

‘Except for one place. The Luvien Empire.’

Minhyuk could not gauge how they would fare against them, since there was no information available about the forces of the Luvien Empire.

And now, things went in the direction that Minhyuk wanted. The new guild members finally abandoned their arrogant thinking and began to respect the soldiers and fight alongside them.

“That’s dangerous!!!”

Some threw themselves in front of the soldiers that were met with danger. Some even helped the soldiers that were in danger of getting bitten on the neck by the werewolves. Minhyuk watched them with a small smile on his face. Surprisingly enough, they were able to kill all 1,500 silver werewolves, with only two casualties among the new guild members.

[Your retainers have gained an amazing achievement by completely destroying the enemies.]

[You have earned 5,000 cash.]

Minhyuk was able to gain 20,000 cash in one go. But then, Orleed, who was being supported by Centurion Park, burst out in anger. He approached Minhyuk and shouted, “What kind of king are you! Why did you just keep on watching us?! You should have helped us when you saw that we were in danger!”

“That’s right!!!”

“I’m so disappointed in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom!!!”

Some other new guild members immediately joined in the tirade, with veins protruding from their necks, after Orleed protested. From their perspective, it was unfair that they had to struggle like that when Food God Minhyuk could just swing his sword a few times and kill the werewolves in one go.

“Your Majesty, what…!” Park shouted when he saw Minhyuk raise his hand to let the soldiers stand back and stop restraining the new guild members.

Minhyuk looked at the new guild members, his eyes sporting a sharp glare and his expression vicious, as he said, “What kind of bullshit are you all spouting, huh?”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

The faces of the new guild members turned ugly when they heard his words. He was the king but he did not mean to help them? Minhyuk continued, “You have never trusted this king, let alone my men, yet you’re all spouting nonsense like this?”

Everyone turned silent at Minhyuk’s words. Minhyuk held his breath for a moment to maintain the coldness in his voice. Then, his voice turned a tad bit rougher as he said, “You wanted this king to save you when you never even placed an ounce of trust in me and my men? Did you think that I would not see you laughing at my men as you looked down at them?!!!”

Shame colored the new guild members’ faces when they heard Minhyuk’s words. There was no denying it. It was them that turned a blind eye to the comrades that were with them, the very same comrades that would fight together with them, just because they thought they were a bit better than them.

“Do you know how my soldiers got stronger? They grew stronger because they rely on each other, help each other, and trust each other.”

“…”

They all remained silent as they listened to how Minhyuk admonished them, “Fortunately, you’re all able to realize this fact early on.”

The new guild members turned to look at each other. The look in their eyes had changed as they looked at the soldiers that they had ignored before. Some of them supported a wounded soldier while some were looking at them in worry. Although this was just a game, they finally realized that this was what camaraderie was. In that short amount of time…

‘The Food God wanted to make us realize this fact…’

‘So the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was able to become such a strong nation because of?camaraderie?’

‘I will also have comrades that will run to my aid and protect me. What a wonderful thing…’

And Minhyuk? His eyes, which were filled with grace, nobility and greatness, looked at each and every single one of them as he said, “This is the ‘Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’, the place where you are a part of.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

The moment they heard that, goosebumps rose on their backs. Even though this was just a game to them, this kingdom would be able to make them feel like they were truly living here, and feel true, genuine camaraderie. This was the place where only the strong live! And this is the place where they were now a part of. The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom!

Orleed, who watched everything unfold, could not close his mouth after seeing how handsome and cool Minhyuk was. Suddenly, a crack resounded in his ears.

Crack, crack, crack!

That was the sound of a new king appearing in Orleed’s heart, someone who had only known and recognized Richard as his king. And the name of that king was none other than ‘Minhyuk’.

***

Event Planning Team.

Park Yi-Hyeon, the newly appointed event planning team leader, was the one that planned all of the events in the Stars’ Path. Right now, he was appalled to see the notifications that appeared on the screen of his monitor.

‘That’s, that’s impossible!’

Just like what he said in the meeting room, Park Yi-Hyeon was very confident that gaining MVP cash was a very difficult feat. After all, he was the one that planned the event. But now, Player Minhyuk had acquired more than 20,000 cash in one go.

‘It’s, it’s just mere luck. That’s impossible…’

Yi-Hyeon shook his head. But then, he suddenly remembered the conversation that he had with Team Leader Park Minggyu before he left the meeting room.

‘Team Leader Park Yi-Hyeon, you’re still new so you might not know this yet but the players in Athenae cannot be determined through mere calculations.’

Park Yi-Hyeon was a realist through and through. That was why he denied the words that Park Minggyu told him.

‘Right, it’s just a coincidence. This is the only time.’

But Yi-Hyeon suddenly felt uneasy.

‘But if he can truly earn 200,000 cash then…’

Just the thought alone was enough to make Yi-Hyeon dizzy. He closed his eyes and mumbled unknowingly, “He will be able to receive a far better reward than the god-rank artifact that Alexander received.

***

Additional notifications rang in Minhyuk’s ears after he told the new guild members that this was the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, the place where they would be a part of.

[The confidence and trust of the new guild members in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom have increased significantly.]

[You have won all of the hearts of your new guild members in a short amount of time.]

[You have earned 5,000 cash.]

Minhyuk earned additional cash.

‘I need to put in some more effort to earn more cash.’

Of course, everything that happened earlier was also a ploy to get more cash. However, Minhyuk did not help them earlier because he truly wanted the new guild members to realize some things.

And the way that Minhyuk chose to gain cash?

Well, there were actually many ways to earn cash. One was like before, where his men had to take care of a difficult opponent. Or when the people present here showed admiration toward him as a king. He could also earn cash if he showed his majesty and dignity as a king. There were many ways. In fact, there were methods that would only be revealed during an appropriate moment.

But what was the easiest way among all of these methods?

Minhyuk stood in front of Orleed, the new guild member that had been most active in all the battles so far, and said, “Orleed, I will give you a reward for getting the highest contribution.”

A commotion broke out among the new guild members after hearing Minhyuk’s words. What kind of reward was it?

“I’ll cook a dish for you. If there’s something you want to eat, then do tell me.”

Orleed was a spy sent by Richard, the one that would become the newly crowned king. So, why was he feeling excited when he heard that Minhyuk would cook for him?

‘I still haven’t rid myself of the lingering emotions from earlier. But the only liege that I will serve is you, Your Majesty, Richard!!!’

Orleed once again made a vow silently, as if he wanted to show off his firm will. The only person that he would serve was Richard, and Richard alone!!!

“What dish would you like to taste?”

“I have always been curious about the taste of Korea’s braised spicy chicken.”

Orleed was American. His friends had always told him that he should try a taste of the braised spicy chicken if he ever went to visit Korea! Minhyuk smiled kindly at him as he started cooking.

“Wow…”

“He’s a king but he’s going to cook for guild members like us?”

During the process, Minhyuk was able to gain the admiration of his new guild members. After all, Minhyuk was a very important and valuable figure but here he was, cooking for his guild members.

[You have earned 131 cash.]

[You have earned 111 cash.]

[…earned 104 cash.]

Of course, the cash notifications rang accordingly.

When the braised spicy chicken was finished, Orleed thought, ‘The Food God’s dishes are amazing but the only person that I will serve is you, Your Majesty Richard!!!’

He kept on chanting his own promise as if he was showing that his will would never break nor falter. Then, he took a bite of the braised spicy chicken.

***

Richard was the one that would soon be crowned as the new king. He had been working actively as an unofficial player so far, but there were quite a lot of people that knew him. He also had a lot of rankers by his side. There were also rumors that his forces were on par with the forces of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. This was a fact. No, perhaps they were well on their way to becoming the better kingdom.

Richard finally reached the end of his quest. The red crown that the Absolute Monarch, the same monarch that plunged the continents into despair, slowly landed on Richard’s head. Then, a world message rang in everyone’s ears.

[You will become a king that can fight against the Battle God!]

[Your legendary class: Monarch has changed to a god class!]

[The second Absolute God Class has appeared in the world!]

[Your class name is ‘Absolute Monarch’!]

[All of your skills and stats will change accordingly!]

Richard felt a thrill run down his spine after knowing that he was the second Absolute God Class to appear in the world. All of this was because he became the Absolute Monarch.

‘Everything is going smoothly.’

Richard smirked. At that moment, he remembered Orleed. Orleed did not have much time to play games so his level was not that high. However, he had been Richard’s comrade in Athenae for a very long time. Orleed willingly became a spy and entered the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom for him. With his help, Richard would be able to dig up Beyond the Heavens’ weaknesses, break them apart and make a splendid debut.

So, he sent a whisper to Orleed, believing that the man would be very pleased that he contacted him.

[The other party has blocked you.]

“…???”

Richard tried again, wondering if there was an error in the system.

[The other party has blocked you.]

[The other party has blocked you.]

[…has blocked you.]

“…???”

Rumor had it that the block was never lifted since that day.