Gourmet Gaming

Bastien, the number one in the summoners rankings and the seventh among the Sword of the Gods’ Second Order, had recently drawn the attention of the masses. Why? Because he achieved Level 600 and obtained a God-rank monster. This God-ranked monster was none other than a Divine Dragon. The Divine Dragon boasted a tremendous attack power, with its level surpassing Level 660.

However, other things drew the attention of the masses. Bastien was a summoner, and summoners specialized in large-scale battles. He could summon the Divine Dragon and countless other high-level monsters.

‘This is an opportunity. I will show the Great Luvien Empire my greatness and make them remember my face. I will also use this opportunity to show the other players what I am like.’

The Luvien Empire had immediately approached Bastien the moment he achieved Level 600. They offered to help Bastien, who struggled with the challenging Level 600 quests. And thanks to their help, they were able to obtain the Divine Dragon.

So, Bastien wanted to show the world once again how he was after achieving Level 600 and obtaining a Divine Dragon! However, Bastien faced a significant challenge inside the Labyrinth of Death. The Transcendental Being’s Fragment wielding the spear, the same one they saw earlier, was before him.

But that was not all. A Transcendental Being’s Broken Fragment sporting a large horn that could rival the Demon Lord and a scythe in hand had also appeared.

[Transcendental Being’s Broken Fragment Deis. Level 609.]

Standing atop an Evil Dragon, the level of the broken fragment was not that high. However, the space behind him suddenly opened, and more than 100,000 demons poured out. Their numbers already far exceeded the number that Bastien could summon. The worst part? They were stronger than his summons, too.

“Kihyeeeeeeeek!”

The Divine Dragon he acquired was not shining as brightly as he imagined. However, the surprise was not yet over.

Baaaaaaaaaang–!

When Bastien turned his head, he saw 20,000 of the Luvien Imperial Army slowly melting into nothingness. The sight was utterly unbelievable. Bastien knew that the level of Fragment Bein was high. But was this feat even possible? Although the knights in Bastien’s division were the most outstanding in existence, Bein was able to slaughter hundreds of them per second.

“Kghhk!”

However, Bastien did not have the leisure to care about them. The demons looked like they had lost their sanity as they mindlessly slaughtered the monsters that were in their vicinity.

At that moment, Bastien triggered his Divine Dragon’s ability. The Divine Dragon could trigger a Breath with four attributes. However, it was an ability that was accompanied by a considerable penalty. Bastien did not plan to show off all of his cards in this dungeon. But the Transcendentals’ Holy Land had gone beyond his expectations. So, he immediately changed his mind.

Shwaaaaaaaaaaaa–!

The Divine Dragon’s four-attributed breath devoured the demons charging towards them.

***

“Our viewership ratings have reached 45%!”

ATV Broadcasting Station’s viewership ratings were only 30% when the Luvien Imperial Army first entered the dungeon. This rating fell to 26% when they saw how easily the Luvien Imperial Army had taken care of the dungeon’s mobs.

The players tuned in because they were excited to see the most challenging dungeon. However, they immediately changed the channels after seeing how disappointing the true level of the mobs inside the dungeon was.

However, when they entered the Labyrinth of Death, everything was turned upside down.

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash–

Fwoosh, fwoosh–

The first camera showed the scene in the labyrinth where the Ninth and Tenth Divisions, led by Miao and Valentino, were. It showed how the Ninth and Tenth Divisions, made up mostly of mages, archers, and tankers, struggled hard against the dungeon elites and mini-boss.

With every flash of Broken Fragment Arie’s staff, hundreds of magical attacks would appear and rain down on the troops of the Luvien Imperial Army. Fragment Rho, an assassin class, also swept away the archers and mages with low HP volume. Rho moved like the wind, blood spurting out like fountains everywhere he passed. There was also Ruk, the broken fragment wielding axes in his hands, sitting atop Hydra. The two combined their powers and melted away the troops of the imperial army.

The second camera showed the scene where Bastien, the number one in the summoner's ranking, ordered his Divine Dragon and blasted 30,000 demons simultaneously with its breath. It was a jaw-dropping force. However, surprisingly enough, the broken fragment called Deis summoned another wave of demons and dragged Bastien to the pits of despair.

Slaaaaaaash– Slash–

Fragment Bein was also wielding his spear and slaughtering the best knights of the Luvien Empire with skills that could be said to be on par with the Spear God’s own.

With the sudden increase in difficulty, the viewers that left in disappointment quickly came back. Then, at that moment, a notification flashed on their screens.

[213,677 of the Luvien Imperial Army troops have died.]

The Luvien Empire lost around 20% of its troops in just ten minutes. Because the Transcendental Being had not yet appeared, the Luvien Empire might be in a crisis.

At the same time, on another screen. A dungeon expert invited by the ATV Broadcasting Station was conversing with an announcer.

[As you can see, the Transcendentals’ Holy Land is a rare dungeon. There has never been a dungeon with more than seven mini-bosses beyond Level 700.]

This was a fact. The strength of the Transcendental Being’s Fragments, a mini-boss level monster, easily went beyond Level 700. But was that all? Of course not. The Transcendental Being’s Broken Fragments were also on par with the Sword of the Gods’ Second Order members, with more than ten of them in that dungeon.

[Then, there’s a chance that the Luvien Empire might fail to attack the Transcendentals’ Holy Land successfully?]

This was what one would think of when viewing what was being broadcast on their screens. PD Kim Daeguk and the rest of the viewers also shared that thought.

[Ten minutes.]

The dungeon expert repeated his words.

[The flow of the game would change in ten minutes.] novelbuddy(.)com

[Yes? But looking at the current situation...]

The announcer looked at the expert in confusion. And the same was true of PD Kim Daeguk.

[Because the Transcendental Being’s Wrath will end after ten minutes.]

[Ah...]

The announcer nodded. The debuff from the Transcendental Being’s Wrath left the Luvien Imperial Army miserable, mainly when the debuff was applied to all of the troops of the imperial ar. However, it still made everyone tilt their heads in confusion. Was the release of the debuff truly enough to change the game's flow?

[The most important thing to note is not the Transcendental Being’s Wrath’s debuff effect. Once the Transcendental Being’s Wrath is released, the restriction on using parchments and potions will also be lifted.]

The announcer’s eyes grew wide when he heard those words from the dungeon expert. PD Kim Daeguk also had the same reaction.

[You should know that the players had a high rate of attacking dungeons, right? Usually, the dungeon’s boss mobs had higher levels and were stronger than players. However, a dungeon’s attack rate remains at 80% or even more. Players and NPCs can use potions and parchments, unlike dungeon mobs.]

This was the truth. The dungeon’s attack rate would drop below 50% if the players could not use potions and parchments.

[And you have to know that each of the soldiers and knights of the Luvien Empire would drop something whenever they died.]

[What do they drop?]

[It’s ‘Elven Tears.’ Elven Tears can restore 30% of one’s HP and MP and slightly increase one’s defensive power. Its effects can be duplicated. However, one could only consume two bottles. It is a very precious resource. Even high-rankers would be unable to finish something like this because one bottle costs hundreds of platinum.]

However, that was the case for players. PD Kim Daeguk thought, ‘But if it’s the Luvien Empire, then...’

[The Luvien Empire is the richest and the strongest nation in Athenae. And it shows. After all, it distributed Elven Tears to its ordinary soldiers and knights. That means they would have also paid the price for excellent parchments. Of course, among the potions in existence, a few rare ones are far superior to the Elven Tears. However, it would be difficult for them to arm the high-rankers and Duke Ruffiso with that many high-grade and rare potions.]

The dungeon expert’s words were very convincing.

[The Luvien Imperial Army has sacrificed a lot; most are severely injured. So, what would happen if the Transcendental Being’s Wrath is released? Would the situation remain the same as before?]

The announcer thought for a moment before replying.

[The Transcendental Being’s Fragments would be exhausted. Since they are mobs, they wouldn’t be able to take potions. So, the flow of the game would change.]

[That's right.]

However, a quick-witted announcer was able to pick one point and ask.

[But Mr. Expert, there’s something that I don’t understand. Why didn’t the Transcendental Being’s Fragments attack the Sword of the Gods from the beginning?]

It was a very sharp and to-the-point question. Wouldn’t the fragments have a higher chance of winning if they first attacked the Sword of the Gods?

[They are doing their best to attack. However, they also know it would be difficult to kill them while dealing with hundreds of thousands of troops simultaneously.]

The dungeon expert took a sip of water and continued to explain.

[For example, the Ninth and Tenth Divisions face the assassin class fragment, Rho. He could attack Miao, but he’s not doing so. Why? Because he instinctively knows Miao has a skill that can deal with assassins, no?]

[Ah...]

[They would die the moment they focus on them. The Transcendental Being’s Fragments were not tasked to hunt the Sword of the Gods in the first place.]

While the expert was explaining earnestly, a notification rang in the ears of everyone present.

[The Transcendental Being’s Wrath has ended!]

At that moment, the screen captured the small smiles on the faces of the Swords of the Gods. Then, the dungeon expert ended his explanation.

[Their mission is to stop the ‘small fries’ from reaching the ‘Transcendental Being.’]

By the end of his words, the situation with the Ninth and Tenth Divisions had turned around. Miao, who endured the occasional attack from Assasin Rho, consumed the Elven Tears while tearing a parchment at the same time. At that moment, her arrows’s attack power increased by 40%.

“Guided Lethal Shot,” Miao said while pulling her bow strings.

Baaaaaaaaaaang–!

An arrow flew like light and followed Rho, who was running around the mages, and stabbed through his back.

Staaaaab–!

Rho stumbled after getting hit by the arrow. Then, Miao pulled the strings of her bow once again. This time, her target was Arie, who was bombing them with magic from the sky.

Fwooooooosh–!

Then, another arrow flew out and pierced through Arie’s heart. Just like that, Arie fell to the ground.

Thud–

And in another place...

Bastien tore a parchment and immediately jumped on the back of his Divine Dragon. His Divine Dragon began to prepare a lethal skill as he flew above the sky. The moment the Divine Dragon opened its mouth, the 50,000-strong demons charging toward the imperial army were devoured and killed by the divine power it spewed out.

***

The Transcendentals’ Holy Land’s Transcendental Being looked at the Labyrinth of Death with a sad expression even though he had already expected this to happen.

The Transcendental Being murmured, “Everyone, thank you, and I’m sorry.”

Then, he looked at another place. In that place, Duke Ruffiso, Brood, and Effis were there. Duke Ruffiso had been preventing Brood and Effis from working together. Right now, Effis had one of his arms cut off, and he was even coughing up blood. The worst part? Duke Ruffiso immediately recovered his HP and MP by taking potions when the debuff ended and taking down Fragment Brood.

Baaaaaaaaaaang–!

***

Haze was walking with a bitter look on her face.

‘Your Majesty...’

She could never forget the expression on Minhyuk’s face when he left for the Transcendentals’ Holy Land. She knew that he was feeling very sorry for his vassals. However, his vassals only told him.

–I will try to stop the small fries from going deeper.

–We will make sure to kill as many troops as we can and fight for as long as we can.

–Hoho. Please don’t worry, Your Majesty. After all, death in that place is not an actual death, right?

Minhyuk could only laugh bitterly as he watched them try to comfort him. However, Haze was still very worried about them.

‘Will they be able to do it?’

Even at the expense of their vassals, they were still unsure what would happen in this fight against the Luvien Empire. She regretted, thinking, ‘It would be better if we had stronger people with us. It would have been better to equip them with stronger power.’

The bitter Haze opened the door to her office only to be met with the back of someone who was waiting for her. The man was around Haze’s height. However, he wore a blood-stained robe while holding a sharp and curved katana. The man slowly turned his head, revealing a large bruise marring the side of his young face right next to his eyes. He was the one that Haze missed the most.

And this young man said, “I am the Sword God.”

New novel 𝓬hapters are published on (f)reeweb(n)ovel.com