Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 758: The War of Destruction

President Kang Taehoon sat silently in a car headed back to Joy Co. Ltd.’s head office.

‘As expected of Minhyuk. He’s the true and legitimate successor of Ilhwa Group, no?’

He was on his way back after negotiating with Minhyuk.

Who was President Kang Taehoon? He was the person that had created Athenae, widely recognized as the ‘second world’. There were even rumors about him becoming the ‘World’s Richest Man that Surpassed Bill Gates at the Fastest Speed.’ However, that was not a rumor; it was the truth.

He was a businessman. That was why Kang Taehoon had to make sure that he would not lose out as much as possible when negotiating with the other party. However, President Kang Taehoon was completely outmaneuvered by Minhyuk.

Kang Taehoon pressed the answer button on his vibrating phone.

—President, the Food God has been approved as the Destruction Monarch.

“I understand.”

The contract had been completed. Kang Taehoon recalled the conversation that he had with Minhyuk back at the mansion earlier.

***

Minhyuk’s household became hectic from President Kang Taehoon’s sudden visit. After being led to the guest room, President Kang Taehoon was able to meet with Minhyuk, whose hair was still wet as if he had just finished working out.

“It seems like something has happened, huh?”

As expected of Minhyuk, he was quick-witted. President Kang Taehoon immediately began to talk about the ‘War of Destruction.’

“Originally, the Battle God’s chosen envoy for the War of Destruction should be Nerva. However, the Battle God… mumble, mumble…”

Minhyuk looked quite surprised as he listened to the story. ‘The Battle God chose me and not Nerva?’

It was quite a shocking story, unbelievable even. Minhyuk’s relationship with the Battle God stemmed from Brod. Not too long ago, when Minhyuk reached Level 600 and had received a chance to get a new class, the Battle God had even offered the Battle God’s Descendant class to him.

‘Is his favor toward me higher than what I think?’

If that was not the case, there was another possibility.

‘He does not have complete trust in Nerva?’

At that moment, President Kang Taehoon said, “Since this has already happened, we hope that you will accept and become the War of Destruction’s Destruction Monarch. Of course, our Joy Co. Ltd. will make sure to compensate you as well.”

President Kang Taehoon handed him the contract that listed the contents of the event and the rewards that he would receive. There was a two billion won deposit listed on the contract. There was also a 300,000 platinum payment in Athenae, along with the crown of the Destruction Monarch. The Destruction Monarch’s Crown was an item that was no less than a god-rank artifact. They were very generous rewards for playing the key role in an event just once.

“How will this work?”

“Originally, the Battle God would push Nerva into Farrow’s body to control the Destruction Monarch. Then, Nerva would become the Destruction Monarch and the Luvien Imperial Army would temporarily fight against the rankers in the Land of Destruction. However, it has become the opposite. You will become the Destruction Monarch and stop both the rankers and the NPCs of the world.”

Minhyuk rubbed his chin. The Land of Destruction was a place where an event would be held.

“In the first place, your story will eventually flow in a way where the Destruction Monarch will be defeated. The story will go like that. Once you become the Destruction Monarch, your power will gradually weaken with the help of the power of the Battle God. And once the Destruction Monarch dies, Farrow, whose soul is also inside, will also take an eternal rest.”

If the Destruction Monarch won against all of the players and NPCs in that place, then the Land of Destruction would remain and be preserved. If that happened, then it would no longer be an event.

Minhyuk got lost in his thoughts. ‘Did the Battle God choose me because he’s interested in me?’

He decided to look at it from the Battle God’s point of view. President Kang Taehoon had told Minhyuk about the timid Battle God Belson, his adventurous and courageous older brother Farrow, as well as the Evil Incarnate. Farrow had died in the place of his younger brother and because of that, Belson was able to take the position and become the Battle God.

‘The Battle God is the greatest and strongest god. Because of that, he has this responsibility and sense of duty where he has to prevent the Destruction Monarch from wreaking havoc in the Land of the Gods. After all, everything started because of him.’

However, what if he was thinking not as the Battle God, but as the younger brother, Belson?

‘If it was Nerva, then he would have accepted and followed the orders of the Battle God without any doubts. In the end, he would lead the Destruction Monarch to his inevitable death. But what does the Belson truly feel?’

That was right. What did the Battle God truly feel? The older brother Farrow sacrificed himself for his younger brother Belson. But the Battle God Belson had to kill him just like that?

Minhyuk, who had closed his eyes to think, slowly opened them.

‘Perhaps that’s the reason why he chose me?’

After he finished organizing his thoughts, he rested his head in his palms for a moment, before he picked up the contract and handed it back to President Kang Taehoon.

“It looks like we need to revise the contract.”

President Kang Taehoon had expected this. He knew that Player Minhyuk would not be satisfied with just this much.

“For the first revision, please make it so Joy Co. Ltd. will not interfere with me, ‘Kang Minhyuk’, after I become the Destruction Monarch.”

“…!”

President Kang Taehoon’s eyes grew wide at that. “What do you mean by that?”

“Just like what I said. What I want is for you to not impose any systematic restrictions on me inside the Land of Destruction. Literally. Do not interfere with anything.”

To put it simply, Minhyuk was not going to do what they say and do whatever they wanted. However, it was an impossible condition. They could not have that. The problem, however, was that Joy Co. Ltd. could not find a substitute. There was no one other than Minhyuk.

“The second one. Promote our Ilhwa Group in various advertisements and programs under Joy Co. Ltd.”

“…”

President Kang Taehoon was at a loss for words. Joy Co. Ltd. was famous for not promoting any company in any of their programs and advertisements.

“Third. Don’t interfere with the rewards that I will get from when I was the Destruction Monarch.”

Kang Taehoon nodded. The third revision was appropriate. However, the problem was the first and second revisions. Seeing that Minhyuk did not put forward any more conditions after stating these three meant that he was not willing to receive what Joy Co. Ltd. had previously offered in the contract.

“I can’t easily accept the second revision in the contract. This time, with the War of Destruction, our company has signed a cooperation with ATV Broadcasting Station. Only after ATV Broadcasting Station reaches 40% in viewership ratings would we allow the second revision to take into effect.”

In fact, achieving a 40% viewership rating was almost impossible. Of course, Minhyuk had set new records in terms of viewership ratings quite a few times by himself. However, it was very difficult to find such a record in broadcasting history.

“The third condition… Well, it’s the reward that you have earned so there’s nothing we could do about that. That’s not something that we can interfere with. However…” President Kang Taehoon looked confused. “What are you thinking?”

“President Kang Taehoon, weren’t you the one that said that Athenae is a world where NPCs and players work together?”

Athenae was not a world where only NPCs live. It was a world where players lived together with them.

“I just don’t want Joy Co. Ltd. to interfere with me in such a world.”

President Kang Taehoon understood what he meant. Joy Co. Ltd. had declared that it was a world where players and NPCs lived together, yet they had often interfered with the game. That logic completely caught Kang Taehoon off guard.

On top of that, they also discussed many more things.

“According to the president, the Destruction Monarch can use his vassals. If that is the case, then does that mean that I can also allow my vassals to move inside the Land of Destruction?”

“Yes, that’s right. Once you become the Destruction Monarch, your NPCs will be controlled by AI and act as usual. But in fact, the vassals that you will summon and call for are your real vassals. Since you will be under the influence of the power of the Destruction Monarch, their powers will be expressed in different ways and forms.”

“Then, inside the Land of Destructions, will my vassals controlled by AI suffer from mental damage if they die?”

“That won’t happen. It’s true that the ones controlled by AIs will have no thought of their own and would only move like robots. Well, it will be more convenient to think of them as robots in that sense. The same goes for you too, you will also have an AI there. We will analyze everything about you, including your behavior patterns so that it will act 99.9% consistent with your behavior.”

From what Kang Taehoon had said, it seemed like they did not have any intentions of revealing who the Destruction Monarch would be. Of course, Minhyuk was onboard with this plan.

President Kang Taehoon had planned for Minhyuk, not ‘Nerva’, to become the Destruction Monarch. Doing it this way would definitely increase the people’s interest and create a buzz, which would in turn increase the viewership ratings. Of course, it would also make Minhyuk’s side be seen in a better light.

President Kang Taehoon finally stood up after they finished their discussions. Before he could step out of the door, he heard Minhyuk say, “Please take care of the clean up.”

“…”

For some reason, there was this unknown sense of discomfort that welled up in President Kang Taehoon.

***

The Land of Destruction had finally made its appearance in the world. Along with that, the voice of the Battle God rang in the ears of all of the beings and NPCs in all of Athenae.

[Bring judgment and punish Destruction Monarch Farrow. Destroy the Land of Destruction.]

NPCs from all over the world began to march toward the Land of Destruction.

[As you can see, we currently have Overlord Raldo, Sword Emperor Ellie, Mercenary King, War God King Fren, Monarch of Magic Vlad. They are all here. The world’s greatest NPCs are gathering at the Land of Destruction under the orders of the Battle God.]

[We can also see the flag of the Great Luvien Empire.]

[Nerva has appeared along with the one chosen by the Battle God. It’s clear that the one that has become the current Destruction Monarch is not Nerva.]

[It’s not only the NPCs, even the rankers from all over the world are flocking in this place.]

[The Land of Destruction is a place where plenty of players and NPCs can fight and contribute. Obviously, the more they kill, the higher the contributions that they would accumulate.]

[That is not all. With the ‘God’s Comfort and Ease’ that the Battle God has bestowed upon the Land of Destruction, the players that are forced to log out will not suffer from penalties. Even the NPCs will just revive in the territory that they live in when they die in this place. Not only that, the Battle God’s Comfort and Ease will also decrease the pain that the players and the NPCs will feel if they were attacked.]

[The rankers and NPCs that are aware of this fact do not need to feel nervous at all.]

[Perhaps the rankers and the NPCs can even test their limits in this place.]

[There has been a lot of discussion and speculation as to who the Destruction Monarch is. After all, they have not revealed the person’s identity. It’s not Nerva, but someone that the Battle God trusts. Who could it be? We can only assume that they must be someone among the NPCs, however there’s not even a single clue about their identity.]

[There are some people that guessed that it’s Food God Minhyuk. However, from what we can see, the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom is also arriving at the scene.]

[Spear God Ben, Beyond the Heavens’ Sword Brod, God of Snakes Elizabeth, Food God Minhyuk and the other members of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom are all present.]

[It’s not Food God Minhyuk either.]

[The total number of people that can enter the Land of Destruction is 1.5 million. There should be around 500,000 players and around a million NPCs.]

[Even though there’s a limit in the numbers, they are all strong men.]

[As we can all see, all of the troops are now being warped to the Land of Destruction under Nerva’s control.]

Flash—!

A light flashed in front of them. When Nerva and the other Athenae high rankers had opened their eyes, they were already in the Land of Destruction.

[You have entered the Land of Destruction!]

[There will be no penalties for forced logout inside the Land of Destruction!]

[Kill the Destruction Monarch and give the soul of Farrow eternal rest!]

[The Destruction Monarch’s level will now be revealed!]

Everyone held their breaths as they walked out. The moment they walked out, they caught sight of the Destruction Monarch that was looking at them from a distant castle.

The Destruction Monarch was wearing a black cape and a black horned helmet on his head, his eyes glinting sharply from underneath the shadows of the helmet. Immediately after that, the level of the Destruction Monarch floated above his head.

[Destruction Monarch. Level 904.]

“…?!!”

Alexander, who was at the vanguard, was appalled.

“Isn’t his level far too high?”

Immediately as the thought flashed in his head, notifications rang out.

[The Battle God bestowed a Potion of Restriction to his envoy trapped by the power of Destruction Monarch Farrow!]

[The consciousness of the envoy trapped inside Farrow’s body has momentarily returned to him as he received the potion bestowed upon him!]

[Once the Destruction Monarch takes the potion, his level will decrease by -100.]

Everyone, including the rankers and Nerva, were very relieved to see this set of notifications. No matter how strong they were, fighting against someone at Level 904 seemed impossible.

The Destruction Monarch, in a way, it could be considered the envoy called by the Battle God that was trapped in his body, grabbed the bottle of potion.

Clang—

However, something unexpected happened. The envoy threw the bottle of potion back. It broke into pieces, leaving behind a puddle of potion on the ground.

Fwiiiiiiiish—

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

[The Destruction Monarch has refused to take the Potion of Restriction!]

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

[A transcendental being has engulfed you with his killing intent!]

Cold sweat dripped down all of the rankers’ backs. The same was true for the operators and executives of Joy Co. Ltd.

Joy Co. Ltd.’s conference room.

President Kang Taehoon jumped to his feet. ‘Minhyuk, was this the reason you told us not to interfere?’

Indeed. Minhyuk was going to ignore the scenario that they had set up where the Destruction Monarch was going to get defeated.