Gourmet Gaming

Various community sites were paralyzed after Joy Co. Ltd. released their new advertisement video. The Old Man and the Young Man ranked first, followed by Ben, Minhyuk, and the Beyond the Heavens Empire, ranked fourth on countless portal sites worldwide. It was a hot issue that everyone was talking about.

[I felt like I watched a short music video.]

[This is wild. I spaced out after the video ended, so I ended up dying from the mob that I was fighting.]

[I remembered something President Kang Taehoon said when they first released Athenae. He wanted to create a world where players and NPCs lived together. After watching this video, we can tell he had already made such a world.]

[That’s right. At least one player in Athenae is very close to an NPC.]

[Spear God Ben is one of the founding fathers of the Beyond the Heavens Empire. He’s also the NPC that everyone is most curious about. After all, he is the first NPC to become a god after the release of Athenae.]

[He’s a vassal, but he’s also a god. Everyone must be thinking the same thing, right?]

Everyone turned their attention to one of the comments. What were they thinking?

[How on earth did Ben become the Spear God?]

That was right. Everyone was curious: What blessing was Minhyuk born with, for him to be surrounded by so many strong and unique people?

[This video shows that Player Minhyuk has played a considerable role. They have only gathered and edited Ben and Minhyuk’s highlights to turn them into advertisements. Ah. Of course, the scene where they were at war with the Luvien Empire and the line, “On that day, a legend has begun,” appeared was staged and produced separately.]

When one of the players pointed out that most of the scenes that Joy Co. Ltd. used for the video truly happened in real life, the effect of the advertisement grew. The real-time search terms even welcomed two fast-emerging topics.

#1. Athenae capsule’s price.

#2. How to start in Beyond the Heavens Empire.

Immediately after the playing players watched the video, Joy Co. Ltd. published the advertisement video on ZTube and several broadcasting networks. Of course, the video was cut short and only showed the highlights of the advertisement for TV consumption. But surprisingly enough, those who watched the ad on TV quickly boarded the internet and added views to the video uploaded to ZTube. These were what the players felt when they saw the advertisement video:

[I also want to create a legend and form a strong bond with an NPC in Athenae.]

[My dad also wants to try Athenae now. So, he asked me how to do it.]

[Yep, yep. My mom and dad also want to go on a date in Athenae. When we saw the ad, they asked me, ‘Is that really how it looks?’. And when I told them it’s the same, they immediately bought capsules!]

On the same day, Minhyuk received a call from President Kang Taehoon.

“Our Athenae capsule sales have increased fortyfold. You must also feel the effect of the advertisement video, right?”

Hearing that question, Minhyuk answered, “Yes, very much so.”

***

The moment Minhyuk accessed Athenae, these notifications rang in his ears.

[Today, 43,311 new players have created their characters and chose to start in Beyond the Heavens Empire.]

[They will all become precious talents of the Beyond the Heavens Empire!]

Whenever new players created their characters for the first time, they would be asked to choose the empire or kingdom where they wanted to start. Considering the future, these new players would become very important and precious talents to their chosen nation.

These players would often choose to remain in their chosen nation. In this case, they would stay with the Beyond the Heavens Empire. Why? The reason was simple. This was because these players would have built bonds and ties to the Beyond the Heavens’ NPCs, whom they benefited from through various quests and tasks.

With the newly created characters, the number of players who chose to join the Beyond the Heavens Empire increased by around 87 times. And that was not all.

[Today, the Beyond the Heavens Empire has welcomed more than three million visitors!]

[You can expect to receive abundant taxes from the inns, restaurants, and various attractions visitors frequent!]

If the player belonged to a nation not at war with the Beyond the Heavens Empire, they could visit their empire after quickly checking their identities. The Beyond the Heavens Empire's streets were bustling and lively.

‘As long as we continue to release the ads, we will experience the same effects, if not more.’

Although Joy Co. Ltd. had yet to reveal its plans, Minhyuk knew this advertisement gig was a large-scale plan. Both Jackson and Joy Co. Ltd. would review and follow a step-by-step process before releasing the videos of their NPCs with tremendous stories. Based on what Minhyuk had heard, the final advertisement video would focus on him and the entire Beyond the Heavens Empire.

Minhyuk stood atop the walls and looked out of the castle. A small smile appeared when he looked down at the insulated vacuum bottle he was holding. Then, he checked the title he had received: The One with His Friend.

(The One with His Friend)

Unique Title

Requirements: The One with Ben

Title Effects:

•When fighting within one kilometer of Ben, your stats, attack, and defensive power will increase by 5%.

•When fighting within one kilometer of Ben, your HP will recover by 15% if either of your HPs drops to 10%.

•Your CHA increases by 10%.

•Passive Skill: Friend

Minhyuk could tell it was an excellent title with just one look. Of course, he also checked the detailed information of the passive skill named Friend.

(Friend)

Passive Skill

Level: None

Effects: If you say “Friend.”, you can summon Ben. However, summoning will not be possible in a place where summoning is restricted.

“???”

Minhyuk was left stunned. He usually summoned Ben and his other vassals using the Almond of Subordinates, but with this skill, he could now summon Ben without using the almonds. The only question was why the skill would only be triggered if he said the word Friend.

‘I think Ali will really like this...?’

Perhaps Ali would be envious of him once he knew that Minhyuk had a skill like this. Although Minhyuk was not aware, this title was personally and specially created by President Kang Taehoon himself. He, who had always been the main reason why Joy Co. Ltd.’s ads always had bad lines, felt a new hope and dream bloom in his chest when he saw Ali crying, “Frieeeeeeeeend!!!”.

That was why he made it like this.

After checking the title, Minhyuk opened the insulated vacuum bottle and poured its contents into a clear glass filled with ice.

‘The best coffee is iced americano!’

Even if he froze to death, Minhyuk was the type of person who would insist on drinking iced Americano. After making an iced Americano with the coffee Ben had made for him, Minhyuk gently put the glass on the table to take out the delicious snack that could be considered its perfect combi!

This snack was none other than chocolate-flavored Diguet[1]. Diguet was a round biscuit with a thick coat of chocolate on the other side. It had a sweet flavor and a crispy texture that would spread in one’s mouth and bring delight.

‘From what I recall, this is called the calorie snack from hell.’

But it was fine. If it was delicious, then it was worth zero calories. Minhyuk even deliberately made himself grow exhausted before he drank Ben’s coffee.

‘Coffee tastes best when you’re extremely stressed and craving caffeine!’

The ice of the iced Americano clinked loudly as Minhyuk took a sip with his straw.

Gulp, gulp–

The cold and bitter iced Americano gently flowed down Minhyuk’s throat on this hot and exhausting day. A sigh of admiration would often follow when drinking a genuinely refreshing and delicious coffee.

“Haa...” Minhyuk sighed as he picked up a Diguet and took a bite.

Crunch, crunch–

The thick Diguet biscuit's texture was to die for. Minhyuk wondered if he would first feel the texture of the biscuit, but the sweetness of the chocolate was the first thing that filled his mouth. It was sweet—so sweet that Minhyuk felt like his mouth was sticky with sugar. However, Minhyuk’s mouth did not stop. He continued to chew through the whole pack of Diguet just like that.

Didn’t they say that eating sweets would make one happy? That was the case right now. Minhyuk’s smile grew deeper with every bite of the Diguet. And whenever he felt like the sweetness was too much, he would take a sip of the cold iced Americano and cleanse his palate for a bit.

Sluuuuurp–

“Kghhhk!” Minhyuk exclaimed as he finished the Diguet and drank the last sip of his coffee. “Thank you, grandpa!”

The moment his word of thanks to Ben, who was far away and could not hear them, fell, a notification rang in his ears.

[You have drunk the Coffee made from the Coffee Bean that Bloomed Among Ten Thousand Flowers.]

[The one that extracted and brewed the coffee has the love, effort, and passion toward you.]

[It exerts more power than any other ordinary coffee beans.]

[You have gained 200 Will.]

[The exhaustion and fatigue you experience will decrease by 20%.]

The special stat Will could only be increased after continuous and repetitive labor. The fact that he could gain 200 just by drinking a glass of coffee was a truly remarkable and shocking reward.

Minhyuk looked down at the Beyond the Heavens Empire with a satisfied smile.

[You have received the invitation to the Gods’ Succession Ceremony!]

“Huh...?” Minhyuk mumbled as he looked at the notification in confusion.

***

Special Players Management Team.

Team Leader Park Minggyu and Lee Minhwa, who recently returned from her vacation, were sitting side by side and looking at the monitor in front of them.

“It has finally begun.”

This was an episode that Joy Co. Ltd. had prepared for a very long time. The players who have personally met and interacted with the gods could be counted on one hand; to be exact, just three fingers would be needed. Considering at least 1,000 God-class players, that number was far too small.

But even now, God-class players still carried the same name, XX’s Descendant. If their names still carried the word descendant, then the god had not yet allowed them to succeed their position. In other words, the god was still alive or had not given up their position.

“It’s a different case for the Food God.”

“That’s right.”

The Food God was a Continental God and a unique case among gods. Since he was considered a Continental God, his influence and impact were significantly smaller than the other gods. However, being the Food God also had its perks. Unlike the others, he could receive the full power of the Food God through level-ups, quests, or just plain receiving it. But for the ones carrying the name descendant? It was different.

“Unless they have fully inherited the position, they will only be considered half-baked gods.”

There were quite a few God-class players at Level 600. However, for the successors to show the true power of their God class, they must be at least Level 650.

“That is assuming that they could receive the recognition of the gods during the succession ceremony.”

The succession ceremony was a banquet where the gods invited and interacted with their successors. The successors, who could only hear their voices during their stay in Athenae, were happy to meet and interact with those gods. However, that was only because they did not know the real meaning of the succession ceremony.

“The succession ceremony would determine whether their path would end here or they would continue to move forward.”

Team Leader Park and Minhwa looked at each other. But then, someone watching from behind them said, “Is Player Minhyuk coming too?”

This man was none other than Jackson. Even executives would be required to give explicit approval before they could enter the Special Players Management Team, and this should be the case for Jackson, a contractual employee, too. However, Jackson’s contract included the clause, “You cannot disclose anything that you have seen or heard inside Joy Co. Ltd. It will be considered a breach of contract if you disclose even the tiniest detail that you have witnessed inside.” So, it was not a problem for him to stay here.

As someone who personally met Minhyuk and watched his videos when playing during the editing process, Jackson became a huge fan. That was also the reason why he was here.

“Maybe? I think he’ll come,” Team Leader Park said.

Lee Minhwa also added, “Yeah. There’s a lot of delicious food served during the succession ceremony.”

With interest flashing on his face, Jackson asked, “Player Minhyuk had attended the ‘Banquet of the Gods’ and recently cleared the ‘Argalis Dungeon.’ He’s also very familiar with many gods. He’ll probably come, no? Ah. Since the successors will attend, does that mean Nerva will also attend?”

Nerva might be an NPC, but he was still the Battle God’s Sword. His position was somewhat similar to a successor's, and he would have received an invitation, too.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap–

Jackson’s finger tapped the desk in front of him rhythmically. He was expecting a lot of exciting things to happen.

“There are the high-rankers who are excited to meet the gods for the first time. On the other hand, there’s a player who has already met with the gods and received their recognition.”

Closing his eyes, he drew a scene in his head. A grin appeared on Jackson’s face as he imagined what would happen.

“There’s also the Battle God’s Sword and the emperor of the strongest empire, who was not chosen as the successor and was set aside for someone else.”

Jackson continued with his eyes still closed, “The genre of this succession ceremony is... face slapping.”

1. A reference to Diget, a whole wheat biscuit produced by Orion ☜

This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om