Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 724: The Sage’s Tower of Magic

Was the level of the player proportional to the strength that they wielded? Well, it was only half correct. When one’s level increases, they would be able to get bonus stats, as well as class quests and skill quests that were available to that level.

However, ironic as it was, the highest-leveled player Fabian was not the most influential player in the game. Fabian was at Level 592, the officially recognized highest level in the game. Rumor had it that this was because he was the ‘God of Growth’ and he could gain 2.5x more EXP than others.

There were not that many high rankers in the global top ten rankings. As for Food God Minhyuk? His level was around the top 500. But in just two days, he jumped to the top 450.

[The Food God leveled up.]

[He’s probably grinding levels? Well, he must have done it because it’s worth leveling up.]

[He deserves it, he’s been busy running his kingdom after all.]

Of course, everyone did not think too much about it at first. However, there were changes again just a day after he leveled up.

[…The Food God leveled up again?]

[OMG… He’s already at the bottom half of those at the top 300s.]

[What did he do to level up that much in a day? Is it a bug?]

The speed at which players at Level 550 or above leveled up was known to be extremely slow. In fact, there were many players that could not level up even once in a span of a month. And yet, Minhyuk was able to do so in just a day. On that day, just ten hours after he leveled up, the rankings changed once more.

[…The, the Food God leveled up again.]

[What?! Isn’t this a bug?!]

[This is obviously a bug! There’s an error in the official homepage!]

Everyone believed that there was a system error in the official homepage. So, they reported it to Joy Co. Ltd.

[We have checked Player Minhyuk according to the reports of some players and have found that there is no ‘bug’.]

Just like that, Minhyuk entered the top 200. For the actual high-leveled rankers, a small difference in level could bring about huge changes. Minhyuk was now only nineteen levels behind Fabian.

The rankings finally started to fluctuate.

***

[You have acquired the ‘Elixir of the Fast Growing One’ from Andeiro’s Magic Shop.]

[You have consumed the Elixir of the Fast Growing One.]

[Your EXP Acquisition Rate will increase to x3 for one week.]

Three days had already passed by but Minhyuk still continued to fight the monsters without taking a rest. The average number of monsters that Minhyuk had killed in a day during his non-stop hunt was around 50,000.

In fact, this opportunity to bomb his level up was very hard to come by. It was common for players to only hunt around twenty to fifty monsters that fit their level. They usually did not go past that number. After all, they had to take into account the monsters’ regeneration speed and the number of players that were with them on the field.

However, right now, monsters keep on regenerating for Minhyuk. Furthermore…

[You have hunted a Sheet Metal Owl Bear.]

[You have gained 1,316,000 EXP.]

[You have gained 43,038 platinum.]

[You have acquired the Sheet Metal Owl Bear’s Sturdy Sheet Metal (2kg).]

[You have acquired the Sheet Metal Owl Bear’s Skin.]

The monsters not only gave him EXP but also dropped artifacts. The concept of drops here was not the kind of drop where one had to pick them up manually. The drops in this place would automatically get absorbed in his inventory.

‘I have already gained around 15,000 platinum. If I count the miscellaneous items that I got, then I already have around 40,000 platinum on hand.’

That was not all. Since he took the Elixir of the Fast Growing One the EXP that he acquired was tripled. It was said that something special would happen once a player reached Level 600. This was a fact that even a Level 10 player would know. So, Minhyuk did not want to let go of this opportunity. Of course, three days of non-stop hunting was exhausting. But that did not matter.

More importantly, Minhyuk was still hunting the monsters with his basic attacks alone. What was his reason?

‘Andeiro’s Magic Shop. This shop is my only ticket out of the Valley of Death.’

Before doing something, Minhyuk would always draw a virtual simulation in his head. Seeing the spread of items from Andeiro’s Magic Shop, he instinctively knew, ‘I need to do hard and repetitive labor.’

What if he combined the items, especially the ingredients, with his own power?

‘I can break through this place.’

Was this a plan that anyone could execute? Not at all. This plan was something that only he could carry out because he had the Slaughterer’s Absorption, along with the cauldron lid’s special skill that allowed him to withstand and endure the named monsters’ inherent skills. As for how he could continue to stand tall and not falter? It was all thanks to the synergistic effect created by the combination of the Slaughterer’s Armor, Absorption Conversion, Lightning, and Minhyuk’s own mental strength.

[The Divine Will has been triggered.]

There was also the Divine Will, which would get triggered every once in a while and kept him from collapsing. Then, he bought another item.

[You have acquired Andeiro’s +1 Skill Enhancement from Andeiro’s Magic Shop.]

Minhyuk had only purchased cooking ingredients so far. At this point, he had already swept up all of the ingredients in the Magic Shop. So, he turned to other things and had now purchased quite a lot of them.

In addition to Andeiro’s +1 Skill Enhancement, he also purchased Andeiro’s 140% Skill Attack Power Enhancement Parchment and the 100% Probability Passive Skill Activation Parchment.

‘Andeiro is truly an outstanding mage.’

Mages could also create parchments and elixirs, albeit not all of the time. The items that Andeiro created could surpass any decent alchemist by a huge margin. The main reason was because there was an overlapping effect attached to all of the items that he created. However, in exchange, it had the disadvantage of being Andeiro’s item.

Piiiiiiiiiing—!

A Colossal-winged Gryphon opened its mouth and fired a ray of light at Minhyuk. Although the attack could easily melt away most rankers if they were in his position, he was able to block it with the cauldron lid.

Baaaaaaaaang—

However, Minhyuk could not balance out the power of the attack so he was sent flying back.

“Ugh…”

Minhyuk hurriedly stood up and threw the cauldron lid to deal with the crowd of monsters that gathered around him, which also created some space for him to fight back. Then, he pulled out his Continent Destroyer Sword and started another round of hunting.

However, he could not deny that he was getting exhausted. He did not expect that continuously hunting monsters like this would take a larger toll on his mental strength than his other quests before. He wanted to quit. However, he remembered how Brod fought all by himself without telling him at all.

‘This is all I can do for you, so I will not stop.’

Ping—

Minhyuk leapt to the skies and cut down the Colossal-winged Gryphon.

‘Is there a way for me to not get tired?’

He could not fall down until he collected everything that he needed. At that moment, he received a terrible notification.

[Your Vassal Brod’s HP has fallen below 10%.]

[Vassal Brod is on the brink of death.]

These notifications would ring if the NPCs that were registered as a player’s vassal were in any danger.

“…!”

Minhyuk’s face turned ugly upon hearing the notifications.

***

God of Conflicts Belovan was among the highest-ranking gods and was considered to be the one closest to an Absolute God. He looked at the warp gate that connected to the human realm that was blocked with some sort of red energy.

“I never expected that you would use such petty tricks.” Belovan was solemn, having watched the man endure and fight fiercely for days on end, while still standing until this moment. Then, he looked at the mountains of corpses formed by the bodies of hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Divine Army.

The reason why God of Conflicts Belovan was considered as the being closest to an Absolute God was because he possessed power that not even the other gods could afford to take lightly. But this very same god was both shocked and terrified by the power that Brod displayed.

“I can’t understand.”

Just when Belovan thought that he already had Brod in the palm of his hands, the man sealed the warp gate and pulled away from them. It was likely so he could prevent them from descending on earth and attacking the Food God, the king that he served. However, this could only delay them for ten days. And even though he escaped, he was gravely injured.

‘How… You are already in that state, so how…’

Brod had received several injuries, with several weapons sticking out of his body. And that was not all, he had also received an attack from Belovan himself. But even if his situation was dire, he was still able to deal a huge blow to Belovan and the Divine Army and escape from their grasp.

“There’s no way that he could go far. The Battle God has ordered to capture him alive!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Not only the soldiers of the Divine Army but even some of the gods that served the Battle God had joined in. Sooner or later, they would be able to find Brod.

‘Why does our Lord want to take him back so badly?’

Why did the Battle God let the man go despite him going against his own will? But as he looked at the blood-stained spot where the man stood, Belovan felt like he understood himself a bit.

At the same time, at another location.

Brod, who was gasping for breath, laid down on the ground behind a huge rock. The ground beside him was filled with blood-stained weapons that he pulled out from his own body.

“Haa… haa…”

A blizzard raged in the Land of the Gods, blanketing the area with a thick pile of snow. Every ragged breath that escaped his mouth would turn white from the cold.

“I can’t die yet,” Brod muttered as he applied the herbs that he had gathered here in the Land of the Gods to heal his wounds.

I can’t die yet. I need to protect His Majesty longer.

Flutter—

Brod’s eyes slowly fluttered to a close. All he wanted was to get one look.

“Your Majesty…”

Even if he died here and fell into eternal rest at the very least let him see the face of his beloved king one last time.

***

Grip—

“Brod.”

Minhyuk gritted his teeth as his hold on his sword tightened. He had not done anything for Brod yet but Brod was going to leave him

‘This is an order, Brod. Don’t die.’

He had to be there. So, Minhyuk began to move faster.

At the same time, Andeiro, who was watching him, was shocked. ‘…He’s gotten a lot faster?’

Only then did Andeiro realize that Minhyuk had been maintaining his pace to preserve his strength. But now, he was speeding up.

“Brod. Just wait a bit more. I’m coming. So, hang in there just a bit longer.”

Andeiro, who was watching this through his crystal ball, felt a throb in his chest. Then, he quickly used his crystal ball to check on another scene. He looked at none other than Brod, who was in the Land of the Gods. Andeiro could not take his eyes off of this man’s appearance, an appearance that looked like he was going to die for the man that he served.

***

Just like that, a day, then three days passed by. During that time, Brod desperately ran away to survive longer. He was doing his best and struggling to live to the point that he looked so shabby and unkempt that one would not recognize him as the Absolute God’s Sword.

Two days passed like that once again. However, the king that he served could not cross the threshold. It was impossible. That was just how it is.

However, Andeiro saw the man cook inside a transparent barrier. All of the ingredients that he was using were those that he purchased from Andeiro’s Magic Shop.

Andeiro looked away and turned his attention to Brod once again. Brod had allowed another attack to graze his body as he struggled to cut his enemies down and escape.

Clench—

Andeiro’s palms clenched into fists. He could not bear to see the state that Brod was in. A drop of tear unknowingly dripped down his cheek.

“Someone…”

The feeling that he had buried deep inside his heart, a feeling that he believed to have disappeared, once again resurfaced.

“Anyone, please save Brod.”

Then, something extraordinary happened.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaang—

A pillar of light shot down from the sky. As for the place that it landed? It was none other than the place where the king that Brod saved was in.

Andeiro hurriedly turned to look at the crystal ball. There, he saw the man with his black hair fluttering with the wind, his white cape that carried the symbol of a fork and knife crossed together, facing against 20,000 monsters.

Andeiro wore his own artifact, the ‘Eye of All Creation’ which was in the form of glasses, and looked at the man. The Eye of All Creation was an artifact that could see through the power that the opponent possessed.

He watched through the crystal ball as the man looked at the monsters and said, “Double Food.”

[The Eye of All Creation is scrutinizing the opponent.]

[Double Food can create a copy of a dish!]

“Overlapping Delight.”

[Overlapping Delight can allow buff effects of two dishes to take effect at the same time.]

[He received two buff effects at the same time using a God-grade dish!]

[He has received the Max Skill Enhancement effect from the Seafood Kal-Guksu!]

[Overlapping Delight has increased his Sword of Absolute Death from Level 9 to Level 13!]

“Use Andeiro’s Skill Enhancement.”

[Sword of Absolute Death’s level has increased to Level 14!]

“Use Andeiro’s 140% Skill Attack Power Enhancement Parchment.”

[Sword of Absolute Death’s damage has increased by 140%!]

“Use Andeiro’s 100% Probability Passive Skill Activation Parchment.”

[He has applied the parchment effects to Passive Skill: Double Skill.]

[Sword of Absolute Death’s force has doubled!]

At that moment, cracks appeared on the lenses of the Eye of All Creation.

[Warning! Immeasurable.]

[Warning! Immeasurable.]

[Warning! Immeasurable.]

Andeiro stared at Minhyuk in disbelief. At that moment, another notification rang. It was the voice of an unidentified Absolute God.

[The lowest God…]

Minhyuk glared sharply at the 20,000 monsters in front of him through his fluttering black hair. Then, he swung his sword and said, “Sword of Absolute Death.”

The moment his sword came down, tens of thousands of red sword lights appeared in the sky.

Clatter—

In the end, Andeiro’s Eye of All Creation broke apart as the unknown voice finished the words that they started.

[…wields the greatest sword.]

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!