Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 617: Defensive War (Bottom)

Mob luring was one of the most clever hunting methods developed by players that existed since the era of classic RPGs. It basically meant that one would lure a group of mobs, run away from them and finish them off by using an AOE magic skill or AOE attack skill.

It was a hunting method that would give the player the pleasure of killing many monsters in one go and gaining high EXP. Because of that, many players had used this method. In fact, this was also one of the most used hunting methods in the present day Athenae.

“Ughhhh…” A strange groan flowed out of Gods’ Sword Ruven’s mouth, shocking the entire world.

Minhyuk clearly said, ‘Before the Third Army arrives, all of you will be dead.’?He had truly kept his words. Even Minhyuk would receive serious damage if Hanwoo grazed him just a tiny little bit. No matter how strong Ruven was, he would not be able to stand if he received a direct attack from Hanwoo. After killing all of the remaining troops, Minhyuk stood in front of Ruven.

Ruven was a genius that dominated his own era. He was chosen and given the title ‘Sword of the Gods’ and lived in the world of the Gods. As for the being that trampled on him? It was none other than a cow.

Minhyuk stabbed Ruven’s neck with his sword without a shred of hesitation.

Stab—

None of the Gods’ Swords had been hunted before. That was why everyone was interested in what rewards one would get.

[You have killed one of the Sword of the Gods, Ruven.]

[You have acquired the Title: The Luvien Empire’s Enemy.]

[You have gained 2,000 REP.]

[You have gained 1,000 CHA.]

[You have acquired 2,516 platinum.]

[You have acquired Ruven’s Unrepaired Sword.]

[You have acquired the right to use Ruven’s Treasure House twice.]

[You have acquired the skill book: ‘Aura Operator’.]

Minhyuk quickly checked the items that he acquired before the Third Army came. For the title ‘The Luvie Empire’s Enemy’, he would receive a 7% increase in all stats when fighting against the people of the Luvien Empire. However, anyone from the Luvien Empire would show great hostility toward Minhyuk. As for Ruven’s Unrepaired Sword…

“…?!”

Minhyuk was shocked after seeing the details of the sword.

‘A God-rank sword?!’

This was the second God-rank sword that he received after the Continent Destroyer Sword. However, no notification rang despite obtaining the ‘God-rank’ Ruven’s Unrepaired Sword. Why? Anyone would understand after they have read the description of the sword.

(Ruven’s Unrepaired Sword)

Rank: God

Requirements: Level 500 or higher. Sword Saint or higher.

Durability: 50 / 20,000

Attack Power: ???

Special Effects

????

????

????

????

?This is a sword that has been left unrepaired for a long time yet still kept carefully by Ruven.

?It can be said that the sword has basically lost all of its function.

Description: Ruven was once ranked 10th among the Sword of the Gods. But because this ‘sword’ was no longer available for his use, his rank dropped to the 20th.

Although God of Blacksmiths Hepas used a variety of outstanding metals in this sword, there was a coercive pressure placed upon him during production. But God of Blacksmiths Hepas was a very clever man. They might have forced him to create a God-rank sword, but he made it so no one would be able to repair the sword easily. Hepas made it so this sword would never be able to be used again if it was repaired recklessly. A true waste of good materials.

“…”

The item obviously looked like trash. However, that was not the case at all for Minhyuk. First, Minhyuk was someone that could meet God of Blacksmiths Hepas in the Abyss. Second, he could use this sword’s ‘materials’.

When it came to cooking, God-grade dishes would only come out if at least one God-grade ingredient was used. As for artifacts, how many materials were needed to create one? On top of that, the most important material when making a sword was used for making the ‘sword blade’. If Minhyuk could salvage the materials used for the blade, then the artifact that he would obtain would be able to exert a tremendous amount of power.

‘I have to go back to the Abyss.’

What Minhyuk did was already enough. Besides, this was Eivelis Empire’s war and Ellie would definitely not want Minhyuk risking his own life to cut down any more of their enemies. Instead of that, Minhyuk thought of helping Ellie in another way.

Before returning to the Abyss, Minhyuk thought of the hundreds or thousands, perhaps even more, of transparent drones hovering above him and filming the scene. Then, he looked at Hanwoo, who he was about to send to the summoning room, and thought of a brilliant idea.

Minhyuk was the heir and successor of Ilhwa Group. If he could increase the sales of not only the dog food but of other food items too, then it would have a good influence on his standing, and he would be able to present a better image to the board members of the company.

“As expected of our country’s native cow breed, Hanwoo. Its power is truly amazing.”

As if to prove his words, the name ‘Hanwoo’ appeared on top of the head of the sealed Bull Demon King. Then, Minhyuk turned his body and said, “Hanwoo has the most excellent flavor, on top of being good for your health. To celebrate today’s victory, I will purchase and eat Ilhwa Group’s Ilhwa Hanwoo. A green tea-fed A+++ beef that melts in your mouth, whether it’s stir-fried, boiled, or grilled. One bite and you will definitely recover the energy that you’ve lost!”

By the time the Third Army arrived, the culprit had already disappeared.

***

Ilhwa Group’s vice chairman, Kim Deok-Hwa, had been drinking with all of the board members that chose his side and believed in him.

After having a discussion with Chairman Kang Minhoo three weeks ago, they were able to force his successor, Kang Minhyuk, into a situation where he had to boost the sales of Royal Woof Woof. And Royal Woof Woof had been launched two weeks ago. But what was the response? They were indifferent.

In the first place, the dog food market was already over-saturated by several brands that were promoting their products saying that they were filled with good and healthy ingredients. Because of that, most of these dog owners did not feel the need to try and test new brands, especially when they were already using a proven and tested brand. And so far, Royal Woof Woof’s sales did not show any signs of increase.

“Keuhahahahahahaha! Drink up! Drink up!”

“Congratulations, vice chairman! Ah, should I call you the next chairman now?”

The board members tried their hardest to flatter Kim Deok-Hwa. Kim Deok-Hwa looked at them with a straight face and said, “No, this guy. You should watch what you say. What do you mean by saying the next chairman?”

“…Yes?”

The board members looked at him in confusion. Why did he suddenly get so serious while they were singing to his tune and calling him the next chairman?

“I’m not the next chairman. It’s safe to say that I will almost be the chairman now!”

“Ah? Ahahahahahaha! That’s right!!!”

“Chairman Kim Deok-Hwa! Here, have one more drink!!!”

“Wahahahahaha!”

Kim Deok-Hwa was in a very good mood. This was his first shot.

Actually, the Royal Woof Woof truly could be considered the best dog food in the market. However, it would disappear into nothingness if it failed to attract the public’s attention. If things continued at this rate, then Royal Woof Woof would soon be out of business. And who would be responsible for this?

Of course, it would be Minhyuk. He would be the one to take responsibility and swallow this loss. Kim Deok-Hwa would use this as an excuse and talk about Minhyuk’s qualifications as the next chairman. He would make sure that it was just the right amount of heart wrenching.

But then…

Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring—

One of the board members’ mobile phone rang. Kim Deok-Hwa chuckled and nodded generously at the man, “You have your mobile phone on? On a day like this?”

“No, sir! How dare I do that?”

All of the board members present immediately turned their phone off and began to chug down their drinks.

Unbeknownst to them, Minhyuk had promoted Royal Woof Woof through Bichor at that very moment, and even promoted ‘Ilhwa Hanwoo’ an hour later.

They drank until the wee hours of the morning, stopping only after they passed out. Kim Deok-Hwa greeted the new day at the bar on the top floor of the building.

Kim Deok-Hwa pulled the curtains open and looked out of the window and thought, ‘I have lived a hard life.’

The one that saved him from that life was none other than Chairman Kang Minhoo. However, over the years, he hoped to become a true king.

‘I feel sorry for the chairman, but what did he mean by passing on the company to Minhyuk? A child that has a rare disease and could kick the bucket at any given moment?’

He thought that it was truly a pity. However, that was not all. Kim Deok-Hwa coveted the position of chairman, to the point that he was greedy for it.

‘I’ll make sure to leave a seat for you on the board.’

After admiring his own gracious generosity, Km Deok-Hwa turned on his phone. That was when he noticed the hundreds of missed calls. A flash of doubt appeared on his face as he quickly contacted his secretary.

Kim Deok-Hwa’s secretary has been waiting in the car because he had explicitly told him to not interfere with their fun, no matter what. After receiving Kim Deok-Hwa’s call, the secretary hurriedly came to his room.

“I got a lot of calls from you last night. Is something the matter?”

“It’s because of Royal Woof Woof, vice chairman.”

“Royal Woof Woof?”

The board members woke up one after the other after hearing the secretary’s voice. It seemed like the words Royal Woof Woof caught their attention.

“Did something bad happen in the two weeks after its release?” Kim Deok-Hwa sounded worried, but deep inside he was hoping for its downfall. If their sales dropped even lower, Minhyuk would collapse faster.

“No, that’s not it.”

“Huh? That’s not it? Then, why are there so many calls about Royal Woof Woof…?”

“Royal Woof Woof’s sales have dramatically changed overnight.”

“Huh?”

“Young master Minhyuk had used an ingenious method of promotion in Athenae which increased the sales of the dog food in a single day…”

This was an era of smartphones. Since most of the people could pay via the internet or their mobile phones, it was easier to check the sales of an item. Another advantage of this era was the fact that anyone could purchase whatever items they wanted from anywhere in the world.

“It increased by about 8,000 times.”

“…???”

“…???”

“…???”

For a moment, all of the board members present were jolted awake and left dumbfounded. And that was not all, even Kim Deok-Hwa was tongue-tied. He blinked blankly before laughing crazily, “Hahahahahaha. My dear secretary, you got me there. That was a good joke!”

“…”

The secretary was speechless.

The board members hurriedly turned on their phones and saw the words Royal Woof Woof plastered all over global portal sites.

[Royal Woof Woof. The dog food that Food God Minhyuk has promoted is quickly being recommended by SNS stars.]

[Ilhwa Group’s Successor’s Kang Minhyuk pre-arranged promotion. All of the Ztubers and BJs that received the dog food in advance have poured out positive reviews…]

[People from all over the world are ordering Royal Woof Woof. Royal Woof Woof’s site, paralyzed…]

[Royal Woof Woof’s syndrome, larger than the Homey Butter Chip Syndrome.]

[All of Ilhwa Food’s sales have increased.]

“And that’s not all. Currently, the sales of Ilhwa Food has significantly increased. Just to inform you, this is just the first day. They expect the sales to reach their peak in a week.”

If it would reach the peak in a week when the sales had already increased by 8,000 times currently, then the expected sales would be at around 15,000 times. Was that possible? Yes, it was possible.

In the first place, Royal Woof Woof’s sales were extremely low. But with this ingenious method by Minhyuk, it had increased. In fact, all of the entire Ilhwa Food’s sales had increased.

“The sales of Ilhwa Hanwoo have also increased significantly. It has increased by about eight times more than usual.”

The product with the highest sales among Ilhwa Food was Ilhwa Hanwoo. Unlike dog food, Hanwoo was very popular. That was why the sales were high. An eight time increase in sales was no joke.

Suddenly, the board members began to pack their things and stepped out while calling people on their phones.

“Oh my, this is Director Lee Taemin. I was just wondering if young master Minhyuk is doing well? Oh, that’s not it. I’m just wondering how the young master is doing these days.”

“Director Lee, I’ll call after you.”

“I’ll call next, then.”

The board members immediately changed their tune. At this moment, all of them must have recognized Minhyuk as the successor. There was only one board member that was left looking around.

At that moment, Kim Deok-Hwa’s phone rang. The caller? It was none other than Kang Minhoo.

[What do you think? Do you think he’s still not fit to become a successor?]

“…”

Kim Deok-Hwa did not have ten, nor a hundred mouths, to say anything about the matter. Unfortunately, it did not end there. Kang Minhoo made sure to take things a step further.

[Isn’t there a new project that you were working on? From what I saw, there are a lot of problems that cropped up from that project. You should know that the responsibility will fall upon you, right?]

“…You’re absolutely right, chairman.”

The chairman ended his call with Kim Deok-Hwa. The only board member that was at a loss with what to say, summarized their current situation.

“Vice chairman…”

“Yeah…”

“We’re fXXXd, aren’t we?”

“…”