Gourmet Gaming

When Helenia descended to the world, albeit only briefly, she declared that her dungeons would appear with her fragments and assist her in her complete and final descent.

The experts immediately predicted that there would be around 300 Helenia’s Dungeons that would appear. With the dungeons’ standard, they expected that high-rankers would attack it by the time they appeared. Everyone firmly believed that the appearance of Helenia’s dungeons and her fragments would be an unprecedented yet exciting and fun event.

But they were only half right. They believed the current high-rankers were strong enough to deal with the dungeons. However, that was an assumption that was only made with conditions. They would only be able to deal with the dungeons if no timers and monsters were pouring out of them like what was happening now.

There was also the expected number of dungeons. They expected there would only be around 300 Helenia’s Dungeons that would appear worldwide. However, only half a day had passed, and there were already around 200. They did not know how many more would be created after this day.

Beyond the Heavens Empire and the Luvien Empire, the two empires that received the world’s attention would be flooded with overwhelming requests for support troops, likely termed “Helenia’s Fragments’ Hunt Request.”

Of course, the Luvien Empire, with its strong troops that were ten times the number of Beyond the Heavens, would be the ones that would receive far more requests for support. After all, they would be able to fight this battle rapidly.

In other words, Minhyuk was left in a crisis. He might be deprived of his title as the Battle God’s Descendant. However, giving up and letting things go like that just because they were in a crisis would be the most foolish thing to do.

Only those who do their best to continue moving forward despite being faced with a crisis are considered the best of the best. This was also why Minhyuk was going to try to turn this crisis into an opportunity.

“Those are the rewards that Your Majesty has received from the Infinite Battlefield, right?”

Minhyuk nodded. At this moment, Haze wanted to be given a chance to take a peek at how Minhyuk’s head was working.

‘You’re given far worse conditions than the Luvien Empire in this battle for the position of the Battle God, yet you haven’t lost the will to fight at all?’ Haze thought, marveling at how amazing her emperor was.

The reason why Minhyuk thought of using these potions was straightforward.

After having a conversation with Valentino and Ali, who had become the Gods of Shields and Magic, respectively, he realized that even though they had become gods, they had not yet taken over their powers completely and that the gods would stay with them for a few years to make up for their shortcomings.

And from what he heard from the God of Shields Valentino, there was something that he and the God of Magic Ali had in common. First, they received additional skills and stats the moment they successfully inherited the throne of their respective gods.

‘The second level of their powers will open by Level 660.’

And the third would be the opening of their final power level, which would only happen once they reached Level 700.

Of course, Minhyuk was already the Food God. Since he had already inherited the position, there was a chance that he would not receive any more powers. But what if?

‘What if I can also open up new powers once I reach Level 660?’

It was not entirely impossible. The Food God was a Continental God, and no succession happened. However, did that mean he would receive no rewards once he reached Level 660? That should not be the case, mainly because Joy Co. Ltd. was a company that gave fair rewards to its players.

Either way, it would still be alright even if Minhyuk did not open any new power as the Food God once he reached Level 660.

‘If I take this opportunity to increase my level, then I will still be able to grow even stronger. Furthermore, if I become the Battle God, what would happen if I’m already in a situation where my Level has reached Level 660?’

Even if the Food God did not have any hidden power, he would still be able to inherit some of the powers of the Battle God. In other words, no matter the result, it would still open up a new path for further growth and development.

That was right. Minhyuk had found a way to grow further even though he was in the middle of a crisis. Now, he only needed a way to help the Beyond the Heavens Empire hunt more of Helenia’s Fragments.

Minhyuk said, “Once the Luvien Empire starts attacking Helenia’s dungeons and fragments, they will move ten times faster than us.”

This was an undeniable fact. They needed reinforcements if they wanted to close this gap.

Knock– Knock–

Just in time, someone knocked on the door.

“That’s why I called for two reinforcements.”

Two people entered just as the doors opened. One of them was Richard, who received Minhyuk’s help just a few hours prior. Richard not only possessed the skill Absolute Monarch’s Stigma but also a variety of AOE attack skills. He would be of great help to the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

“A- Alexander...?”

“...?!”

Alexander, the hottest issue these days, was waiting for Minhyuk to contact him. He did not join the Beyond the Heavens Empire’s hunt for Helenia’s Fragment for their sake.

Alexander also knew he could receive enormous rewards and EXP if he hunted Helenia’s Fragments. And he needed to find a way to accelerate the process to obtain a lot. He thought of the method of taking advantage of Beyond the Heavens’ Minhyuk’s buffed dishes and the support request that their allies would send them.

With Alexander’s help, Minhyuk could now increase the number of fragments that his Beyond the Heavens Empire could hunt by a significant amount.

“Grandpa Ben and the Beyond the Heavens’ troops will attack all of the dungeons in the vicinity of our empire and prepare for monsters that may come charging out of the dungeons at any given moment.”

After all, there was a chance that more than 300,000 monsters could come rushing out of the dungeons all at once.

“As for the Beyond the Heavens’ high rankers, go and form teams of your own so we can hunt Helenia’s Fragments quickly.”

Everyone perked their ears up and listened to Minhyuk’s orders.

“Brod, Elpis, and Luo, you three will move individually.”

Minhyuk believed that no fragment could threaten the three people he mentioned, especially if they were in a state where they had his dishes.

“Everyone has to eat my buffed dishes first before hunting and attacking Helenia’s Dungeons.”

With this, the meeting ended. He would make sure that they turned this crisis into an opportunity.

Minhyuk looked at the Beyond the Heavens Empire executives and said, “There’s one thing that you all have to keep in mind.” A faint smile appeared as he continued, “Hunting Helenia’s Fragments is the only time we can technically steal dungeons and monsters. This opportunity will not come knocking at our doors twice.”

***

The entire world was plunged into chaos.

The experts immediately realized that their earlier predictions were wrong. However, they declared that even though the numbers were much higher than expected, the dungeons that would appear would only be around 400 at most. But just half a day later, the number of dungeons that appeared worldwide had already reached 350.

After several calculations and estimates, they determined the fragments’ level would be around Level 630~660. However, the funniest thing was that there were rare cases where a single dungeon had around two or three fragments inside. There were just far too many anomalies that appeared alongside Helenia’s Dungeons.

The commentators started weighing in.

[The Luvien Empire has declared they will focus on hunting Helenia’s Fragments. Currently, they are organizing dungeon attack parties and deploying the Swords of the Gods and their elites to deal with the dungeons and the monsters that charged out of the dungeons once the timer ran out.]

[In just three hours, the Luvien Empire could successfully hunt seven fragments. Their pace will go faster once they have deployed their large armies.

[On the other hand, the Beyond the Heavens Empire is said to have only started targeting the dungeons in their vicinity.]

[As of today, there are a total of 675 territories that were unable to stand against the onslaught of monsters and had collapsed.]

[There are also several kingdoms left in precarious situations.]

[These kingdoms have one common factor. And that is the appearance of several dungeons near their territories. The ones that had it worst were those with dungeons appearing right in the middle of their kingdoms’ capitals.]

[The greatest example is the Revsen Kingdom, which collapsed today.]

[The Revsen Kingdom might be a small nation. However, they weren’t a kingdom that would easily collapse and fall under the monsters’ attacks.

The Revsen Kingdom fell most because two of Helenia’s Dungeons appeared inside their capital. When the timer of these dungeons ran out, more than 400,000 monsters came pouring out. Even the outstanding NPCs of the Revsen Kingdom could not handle such a vast number of enemies.

The problem is that the kingdoms could not respond appropriately to the various variables accompanying Helenia’s Dungeons.]

[Many nations worldwide are in the same situation as the Revsen Kingdom.]

[And it’s not just one or two kingdoms; many kingdoms and empires are in danger.]

[And we are “expecting” many more nations to be in danger too.]

[This is not an episode event. This is quite literally a disaster.]

[South Korea, China, Russia, Japan, America, Vietnam, France, Greece, and various other servers are in a similar situation. In other words, the kingdoms and empires from various continents could not respond appropriately to this disaster and are now seeking help from empires and kingdoms from their neighboring continents.]

[News just came in. Two Helenia’s Dungeons appeared in the capital of the Ruwado Kingdom, located on the Cairon continent in the Chinese server. From what we have received, one of the dungeons had a timer set at one hour, while the other had a timer set at only ten minutes. They are trying their best to keep Helenia’s Fragment and the expected 250,000 monsters that would pour out of the dungeons.]

As the commentators said, the Ruwado Kingdom was now in danger. The worst part? Two of Helenia’s dungeons appeared in the middle of the capital at a time when almost 40% of their elites and 60% of their troops had gone outside to attack the dungeons that appeared in the vicinity of their kingdom.

The two dungeons had different timers, one set at one hour and the other at ten minutes. Just one look revealed that the Ruwado Kingdom would not be able to successfully clear this dungeon.

When the ten-minute dungeon timer went off, around 80,000 monsters immediately rushed out. The kingdom immediately ordered the troops to evacuate the people so they could focus on stopping the monsters.

However, the results were not looking too good. The troops had to stop the monsters while helping the civilians evacuate safely. But the worst was yet to come. They could see that the timer on the other dungeon was ticking, and monsters would once again pour out and wreak more havoc in the capital.

‘Damn it! How did things come to this...?!’

Surprisingly, the Ruwado Kingdom’s First Knight Order Commander was a player. After all, even though the Ruwado Kingdom was not huge, it was by no means weak.

Bo Jing, the commander of the First Knight Order, had been a soldier of the Ruwado Kingdom since he was Level 10. He had been active in the kingdom’s army and had put his all into this kingdom. He was currently at Level 599, which was not that impressive compared to the rankers but was undoubtedly high.

Despite being gathered in a hurry, the troops were doing an excellent job of stopping the more than 80,000 monsters pouring out of the first dungeon while protecting the evacuating civilians. The problem was Helenia’s Fragment.

[Helenia’s Fragment. Level 618.]

The level of this Helenia’s Fragment, which was a minotaurus, was high. They would need the aid of high-rankers.

One swing of the fragment’s axe and countless soldiers died. In a situation like this, many would abandon their kingdom and flee. However, Bo Jing was blessed with a fabulous king. Although the king had ordered the evacuation of his people, he did not run away. He was even running around and sending carrier pigeons to request support where he could.

“Commander, there are just far too many enemies! If things continue at this rate, we will all be wiped out...!”

“We will protect and defend our people and kingdom until the end!” Bo Jing shouted at the knights, who were deep in their thoughts.

Many of Bo Jing’s friends had laughed at him when they heard that he started as a kingdom’s soldier in the game.

‘You’re playing as a kingdom soldier in the game?’

‘Even if you increase your level, what will happen next?’

‘Haa... You can’t hunt as you please, you can’t work as a mercenary, and you can’t even take on quests whenever you like. What’s the point of playing like that?’

Back then, Bo Jing vowed to ensure he stood in a high position in the kingdom and showed everyone what he could do. And thanks to that, he obtained good results and was even at the point where he was only one step away from reaching Level 600.

Once Bo Jing filled in the remaining 20% of his EXP, he would be the commander of the kingdom’s first knight order and a Level 600 player. However, all of the effort and hard work that he had done was about to fall apart.

This was not just about one’s effort or hard work. He started his game here. From Level 1 to Level 10, when he became one of the kingdom’s soldiers, to Level 599, he had always stayed here. He did not want to see the people of this kingdom die.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaack!”

There was only one way for them to survive, and that was to hunt the fragment in front of them before the timer of the other dungeon ended. If he could do that, then he would be able to reach Level 600 and obtain greater power that would boost his strength and help him respond appropriately to the other dungeon.

Slash–!

When fear started to gnaw on the soldiers' nerves, Bo Jing showed them why he became the kingdom’s knight commander as he slashed the minotaurus with his sword.

“Vlad’s Swordsmanship. Fifth Chapter.”

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash–!

Blood spurted out as a total of thirteen consecutive slashes landed on the fragment’s body.

[Dungeon Timer: 50... 49... 48... 47... 46...]

“Kuhwiiiiik!” Helenia’s Fragment shrieked.

A ray of hope, hope that he could protect the Ruwado Kingdom, bloomed in Bo Jing’s chest when he saw this.

Slaaaash–

He quickly moved and stabbed his sword in the fragment’s abdomen. But when he was about to pull his sword out, the fragment swung his axe and almost cut down Bo Jing’s shoulder.

“Aaaaaaaack!”

The fragment raised its free hand to punch and pound Bo Jing’s head non-stop. Helenia’s Fragment kicked the now bloodied and bruised Bo Jing away. As he rolled on the ground, he saw the screaming people and soldiers. He realized everything was falling apart and crumbling right before his eyes. If he could just reach Level 600, he would be able to protect them. He would be able to do it!

[The dungeon’s timer has reached 0!]

[The monsters inside Helenia’s Dungeon will now begin to rush out!]

At that moment, the monsters in the other dungeon began to rush out. Bo Jing blinked as his consciousness began to fade away. In his blurred vision, he seemed to see a man passing by him.

Shwaaaaaaaaa–!

Helenia’s Fragment shrieked. It died with just one swing of the man’s sword. And immediately after that, the notifications rang out.

[Congratulations! You have achieved Level 600.]

[Another Level 600 has been born to the world!]

[Your class Knight will change to Legendary Class “First Foreigner Commander”!]

[All of your stats have increased by 28%!]

[You have gained 2,000 CHA.]

[Your HP and MP have recovered.]

[New skills for your commander class have opened!]

Bo Jing was very emotional. He could now protect his kingdom even more. He was happy that he patiently endured the harsh looks and the fingers that pointed at him when the others ignored and mocked him. Everything has paid off now.

Strictly speaking, Bo Jing could almost hunt the monster before him. What the man, who swung his sword once to kill the fragment, did could be considered a steal. However, given the circumstances, he would not complain.

Meanwhile, the man who killed the fragment looked at him and said, “I can’t believe that you rose to the position of a commander from only being a mere soldier. And you even did it as a player. That’s commendable. You have my respect.”

The words that this man, a player everyone in Athenae knew, uttered were utterly different from those that the people who mocked him and called him a mere dog of the kingdom said to him. He even gave him a thumbs-up.

“They’re all yours.”

Bo Jing, whose entire body was covered with bright light, grabbed his sword tightly with both hands as he looked at the man in front of him before turning to the mobs rushing out of the other dungeon. Using his newly acquired power and commander’s skills, Bo Jing slaughtered all the enemies rushing out of Helenia’s Dungeon and became his kingdom’s legend.

On this day, the figure of Minhyuk was engraved deeply in Bo Jing’s heart. This was the man who recognized his efforts and helped him find the new path he would walk on.

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