Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 783

The entire Athenae community was turned upside down after the video posted by the world-renowned BJ Correspondent was released.

[That’s freaking crazy. He only ate a dish, and his EXP Acquisition Rate increased by 8%?]

[It’s permanent?]

[Wow… That’s f*cking crazy, right?]

[What the hell? Isn’t this complete nonsense…?]

There was only a very slight difference between most high rankers. And yet, this slight difference was what determined their rankings. It was also because of this that they had to often wear a ‘Growth Ring’ or a ‘God’s Blessing’s Ring’, items that were extremely valuable and could increase one’s EXP Acquisition Rate permanently by 3%. It went without saying that the item had to be equipped for the effect to manifest.

However, the dish made by God’s Hand Evelyn was something that did not require any equipping. In other words, they did not need to take up another precious ring slot because they only needed to eat in order to increase their EXP Acquisition Rate.

[There are 2,031 Level 300 players and above applying to migrate to the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.]

[There are 433 Level 400 players and above applying to migrate to the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.]

[There are 31 Level 500 players and above applying to migrate to the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.]

Soon, there was a huge influx of applications for migration.

‘As expected of His Majesty. He has his ways,’ Haze thought as she looked at Evelyn’s crowded gogi-guksu restaurant.

Minhyuk had used the ‘Create a Recipe’ skill on Evelyn and was lucky enough to produce a legendary-grade dish that increased Evelyn’s ‘God’s Loving Touch’ skill level by +3. The effects of the buffed dish would last for an entire week. Even so, Beyond the Heavens still limited the number of people to 20.

‘This is so those foreign talents will not have any time to consider and think things through.’

True, there might be many talents who would want to take advantage of the situation. However, what if they heard that it was limited to twenty people? Then, they would have no choice but to rush to be a part of that quota, despite still being conflicted over choosing between the Luvien Empire and the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

Actually, it was fine if they could not be a part of the twenty that could get the 8% permanent increase in EXP Acquisition Rate. Since the effect was already proven, those who failed to grab a slot believed that they would also be able to get that benefit someday.

‘Those twenty people will have to pay at least 100,000 platinum each through Evelyn’s quest.’

It did not matter if it was an ingredient or money; they had to pay that much. Evelyn’s dish was worthy of such a price. All Evelyn had to do was cook.

‘How in the world did His Majesty bring such a person here?’

Haze could see Evelyn’s astronomical worth. In fact, Minhyuk had said this to her.

—We need to get as many people as possible before they can finish the patch for Evelyn.

Patch was a part of the foreigners’ lingo. Based on what Haze understood, it was like God Athenae was putting a sanction to weaken some of Evelyn’s power.

Looking at the other side, Haze could see another crowd of people gathered. And the place where they were gathered was where Great Demon Elpis was.

***

[A new Great Demon has awakened to the world.]

[The newly awakened Great Demon can change your race to Demon.]

[You can only change your race to Demon if you are Level 500 or higher.]

[You can only change your race to Demon through the newly awakened Great Demon.]

These were the messages that rang in the ears of all of the players of Athenae the day Elpis descended as the new Great Demon. Many players were very excited and were looking forward to changing to a new race in Athenae.

On top of that, the demons were known to be beings born with stronger powers than humans. Battle Demons. That was what the demons were called.

This was the order that Elpis had received from Minhyuk.

—Elpis. Just live how you want to live. Do what you usually do. You’re already reliable enough, but now that you have become the Great Demon, I feel more assured.

Elpis was much stronger than before. In fact, his level had increased by as much as 80 levels. However, in truth, Elpis was still a ‘Probationary Great Demon.’ He was not yet at a level to completely finish Gorac’s trial. It was only thanks to Minhyuk’s help, as well as his own hard work and effort, that he was able to break through that system and became the Great Demon. Because of that, Elpis still had to take things step by step until he became a ‘True Great Demon.’

Right now, there was a huge crowd gathered around Elpis. Many people came to visit the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom to meet Elpis. However, they were unable to even utter a word in front of the demon. The title ‘Great Demon’ was already enough to make them feel numb all over. They could not even approach Elpis, who was sitting silently with his earphones plugged into his ears.

‘Ugh… So, scary.’

‘What kind of gaze is that…’

‘Just looking at him is giving me goosebumps.’

‘Is this the dignity and majesty of the Great Demon?’

Right at that moment, something happened.

“Yo, Elpis! Did you eat already?” An ordinary farmer, who was passing by, waved his hands and called out to the Great Demon. He was an ordinary resident of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

The onlookers watched Elpis wave back at the man with a small smile on his face and say, “Elpis… has eaten. Old man Halsen, stay healthy!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

The people were astonished. He, an object of fear to the people who were not a part of the kingdom, was smiling faintly and even wishing the ordinary resident of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom good health!

Seeing this, one of the players mustered the courage and approached him. He said, “Elpis, have you eat…”

“…”

However, Elpis just looked at him nonchalantly.

[The Great Demon’s Killing Intent has affected you. Your breathing has been constricted.]

[It is a power that you cannot resist.]

“Keheok…?!”

The player that spoke up looked like he was suffocating. The next moment, the children of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom appeared and came running toward Elpis with their swords.

“Hiyaa! Take this! I am the Hero Vagan, Great Demon!”

Then, the children swung their thin branches at Elpis.

‘Are those brats crazy?’

‘Hiiiik! Their limbs will be cut off!’

Everyone thought that a terrible tragedy would unfold in front of them. However, Elpis pretended to clutch his heart and said, “Urk. Hero, your sword is too… strong…”

Thud.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The players were left speechless when they saw Elpis pretend to fall down. Then, after playing with them, Elpis stood up and rubbed the children’s heads.

The players thought that the best way to change their race to Demon was to increase their favorability with Elpis. Now, they realized that the first step in increasing their favor with the Great Demon was to become a resident of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. These people quickly moved to apply for migration to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

[There are 32 players applying to migrate to the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.]

Those that applied for migration and were accepted, finally received a quest from Elpis.

[Demon Race Change Quest: The Great Demon’s Atrocious Envoy.]

Rank: S

Requirements: Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s Player, Level 500 or above.

Rewards: Successful change to the Demon race.

Penalty for Failure: You will no longer be able to change your race to the Demon race.

Description: Meet the Great Demon’s Envoy in the ‘Evil One’s Dungeon’ located not too far from the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and fulfill his orders.

“…!”

“…!”

The players could not help but tremble in fear.

‘As expected.’

‘I knew it; it won’t be easy to change one’s race to Demon.’

‘The Great Demon’s Atrocious Envoy…?’

Despite their shock, they could only take a step forward to change their race after meeting the Great Demon’s Atrocious Envoy and fulfilling his orders. The mere thought was enough to make them feel numb all over. Great Demon Elpis lived in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. From what they saw, he showed great favor toward the people of his kingdom. However, all of the demons were beings that killed humans so easily, treating their lives as if they were mere bugs.

‘What if the Great Demon’s Atrocious Envoy is such a being?’

However, to become a Demon, they had no choice but to take a step forward and fulfill the quest.

***

—You should listen to that ‘guy’ to the best of your abilities. He’s someone that cares for the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom more than anybody else.

Minhyuk had mentioned a particular person who cared for and helped the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom a lot. That guy came to Asura Ascar, King of the Dead Death, and Golden Mage Ali and asked them a favor, although his mannerisms made it more of an order.

This was because that guy was very ferocious and terrifying, and these three important figures were forced to stay in this dungeon together. The three could only sigh.

“We only have to do it once… well…”

“It’s better to do that ‘guy’ a favor than let him get angry and show us how ferocious he is.”

“Haaaa…”

The three, who were considered to be one of the strongest high rankers of the world, could only grit their shaking teeth at the thought of that ‘guy.’

***

[You have entered the Evil One’s Dungeon.]

[This dungeon is owned by the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.]

[Only Level 500 or above can enter the dungeon.]

There were a total of ten people who entered the dungeon to change their race to Demon. According to the data posted on the official Athenae home page, it was very difficult to convert to the Demon race.

“From what I heard, the Demon race should be the last race that we can convert into. However, Joy Co. Ltd. was forced to release the race quickly after Elpis became the Great Demon.”

“Yeah. Originally, the Elf, Orc and many other races should be the ones released first.”

“I think that’s the reason why only those with Level 500 or higher can change their race.”

It was just like what they said. The demons were a race of battle maniacs. That was why everyone was aware that they would be able to gain a stronger power if they could succeed in changing their race. However, there was no way that Athenae would allow them to do it so easily.

Reagan, one of the ten players that entered the dungeon, was a player that had lived in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom for a very long time now. He had a dream.

‘I also want to become as strong as Emperor of the Swords Carr, King of the Dead Death and Asura Ascar. I also want to be one of the powerhouses of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.’

Even though Reagan had been a resident of the kingdom for a long time, it was only natural that he had to take the same quests as everyone else.

“Let’s go inside.”

They all turned nervous as they entered the dungeon.

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

At that moment, countless explosion magic was triggered and swept away the area where they were. But that was not the end.

“H, Hell Warrior?!”

Even high-leveled monsters like the Hell Warrior had made an appearance. At this point, they realized that changing their race to Demon was even more difficult than they had imagined.

However, Reagan still stepped inside and fought a bloody battle alongside the rest of the players. He thought, ‘I will definitely meet the Atrocious Envoy.’

The thought of meeting such a being made Reagan feel some fear, that even his vision would start to shake. However, he pushed through. He gave it his all and led the charge toward the depths of his dungeon. He wanted to achieve his dreams.

When they reached the halfway point, half of the players that entered the dungeon had already been forced to log out.

“Haa… Haa… How about going back?”

“The level is too high for us.”

Even the people of the kingdom that owned the dungeon would be subject to penalties once they were forced to log out. They thought that it was not worth the risk at this point.

However, Reagan shook his head. “I won’t leave.”

“I will log out.”

“Me too.”

In the end, two of the surviving players left. After that, Reagan continued to break through the dungeon with the remaining players. Thankfully, Reagan was a bit of a talent himself and was able to reach the end of the dungeon and overcome the enemies. Unfortunately, the only one that was able to survive the process was Reagan alone. He could only gulp dryly as he recalled the terrible and hideous image of the ferocious devil.

As he walked toward the end of the dungeon, he heard the roars of a beast from the pitch-black darkness that awaited him.

“Graaaaaaaaaa!”

“Roaaaaaaaaaar!’

“Grrrrrrrrrrrr!”

Reagan almost shriveled and curled in on himself when he heard the roar.

[You have entered the Atrocious Envoy’s room.]

[The servants of the Atrocious Envoy have appeared!]

Reagan could see the silhouette of the servants through the darkness. Two of the unrecognizable silhouettes were holding staves, while the other one was holding a huge greatsword. And finally, the notification came.

[The Atrocious Envoy has appeared!]

The Atrocious Envoy riding on top of a gigantic beast has made his appearance. With his appearance, light slowly appeared in the dark dungeon and illuminated the entire area, allowing Reagan to see their true figures.

The Atrocious Envoy sitting on top of the gigantic beast was wearing a black cape on his back and had two large horns on his head. He also had a bloody red sword in his hands.

Then, the three servants of the Atrocious Envoy began to speak.

“Fufufu. You, who have come this far to become a member of a new race, bow down before the Great One.”

Reagan, who heard the voice, could not help but tilt his head in confusion.

‘Huh? I think I heard that voice somewhere before?’

Once the surroundings were completely illuminated by the light, Reagan was finally able to see clearly.

“Oink, oink oink oink, oink oink oink, (The One that wants to seize the evil power.)”

The baby piggy Beanie, who was wearing a huge horned helmet and a black cape from who knew where showed a vicious smile. This was the appearance of the ‘Demon Lord’ Beanie!

As for the beast that he was riding on, it was none other than Love, Hope, and Happiness.

‘Demon Lord’ Beanie cried, “Oink, oink oink oink, oink oink. (Do you want to obtain the dark and evil power, oink?!)”

Reagan’s gaze turned to look at the three, whose figures had completely appeared after the light shone on them. Each of them wore huge horned helmets on their heads and black capes on their backs.

‘My idols…’

They were none other than Golden Mage Ali, Asura Ascar, and King of the Dead Death.

The three trembled when they saw Beanie winking at them. Then, they hurriedly opened their mouths.

“Fufu. Congratulations on reaching this place.”

“We will now give you the right to become a member of the new race.”

“However, you have to pay the price. You have to bring at least an ‘epic’ grade ingredient that the devil wants.”

“Fufufufufu.”

“Kekekekekeke.”

“Keuhahahahaha!”

Reagan felt his heart break as he watched them laugh unnaturally like that.

‘My idols…’

Every single one of them was under the thumb of Beanie, the ‘greatest and cruelest being’ who would turn everything upside down once he became angry.

At this moment, Reagan realized that if Minhyuk was the number one in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, then the one sitting in the number two position was none other than Beanie.

Drip, drip, drip—

Reagan cried. So did Ascar, Ali and Death.