Gourmet Gaming

The kings that wanted to sweep Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and the South Korean rankers first before they proceeded with the Battle of the Thrones were all left flustered.

Baaaaaaaaaaang—

Infighter Anton was sent flying up in the air after receiving an attack from Ares, which was immediately followed by Khan, who punched him down to the ground.

“Giant’s Downward Strike!!!”

Baaaaaaaaaaam—

Right next to Khan and Ares was Elpis, one of the strongest, charging toward their enemies. The only reason why Lesser Demon Elpis was having a hard time fighting against the other kings was because the kings’ powers had become 1.5x stronger. Assuming the kings were initially at Level 600, with the special privilege of 1.5x strength, they were able to exert the power of someone at Level 900 during the entire duration of the Battle of the Thrones.

But thanks to the buff effects of the dish that Minhyuk made for them, Elpis had now become 30% stronger.

Thuuuud—

Elpis grabbed Kentaro, who was trying to escape with a poof—, by the collar and slammed him on the ground.

“Urk!”

On the other side, a tremendous vibration shook the ground beneath Disaster Qigong Master Demetrys, as the young boy Conir and the Divine Beast Owner Kaistra pushed him back with their fierce attack and momentum.

Boooooooom—

Demetrys tried to manipulate the energy in the air and restrain them, but it was useless. Kaistra and Penrus charged forward, with Kaistra swinging his spear and Penrus snapping his huge teeth and swiping his sharp claws at Demetrys. Of course, the young boy, Conir, was not to be outdone, as he swung his sword and displayed his outstanding swordsmanship.

But the bigger problem that the kings faced was the 10,000 rankers running behind them.

“Fire Sword!”

“Summon Spirit! Undine!!!”

“Great Shield!”

“Fire Wall!!!”

After becoming 30% stronger, the rankers were now able to exert the power of someone at around the Level 700 range. Normally, this would not be a problem for them since they were stronger, but the problem here was that there were around 10,000 of such rankers. On top of that…

Baaaaaaaaang—

“Urghhh!”

…Minhyuk joined the battle against them after wiping out the rest of the large army. He sent Calauhel flying back with one of his attacks as he dashed forward and cast his ‘Sword of Frenzy’ toward Master Archer Miao, who was under the onslaught of Root’s arrows. A tremendous force erupted within Miao’s body the moment Minhyuk’s sword stabbed one of her vital points.

Baaaaaaaaaaang—

“Kyaaaaaaack!” Miao screamed, her body collapsing in a heap.

Minhyuk also took advantage of the ‘Reflector Master’, attacking Xu Jiaqi in her flanks while she was busy reflecting the attacks of the rankers in front of her.

“Food God…!”

Xu Jiaqi and Minhyuk had already clashed once when she drove Ellie to her ‘death’ before. When Xu Jiaqi saw Minhyuk gearing up for another attack, she hurriedly cast her ‘Miracle Reflection’ to ward it off.

Miracle Reflection was a skill that Xu Jiaqi recently gained. With this skill, she would be able to reflect 100% of the attacks with 100% of their damage in one minute. However, in return, the skill user would also receive damage. However, that did not matter, especially since Xu Jiaqi was considered to be the strongest ranker and China’s king. Furthermore, Xu Jiaqi’s HP was high.

Minhyuk used Sword of Tempest against Xu Jiaqi.

Rumbleeeeeee—

Sword of Tempest was a skill that could unleash hundreds of blades with 250% speed and indiscriminately slaughter everyone within the radius of attack for six straight seconds! In just a few short seconds, Minhyuk would be able to deal dozens, if not hundreds, of attacks to his enemies.

“Moron! If you use that skill, then you will also… Kyaaaaaack!”

Rumbleeeeeee—

Hundreds of blades slashed China’s King, Xu Jiaqi, blood spurting out from each and every cut. The same wounds and injuries appeared on Minhyuk’s body. However, Minhyuk just ignored them.

‘What…?!’ Xu Jiaqi could not understand the situation.

In the end, the one whose HP reached zero was Xu Jiaqi; she was the one that died. Yes, Xu Jiaqi had a high HP volume. However, Minhyuk’s stats were far higher than any of the ordinary rankers’ stats. No matter how high Reflector Master Xu Jiaqi’s HP was, it was only slightly higher than a mage or an assassin. Minhyuk was just a ‘chef’, but his HP had improved tremendously thanks to the skill that he had in the past where he could increase his stats just by eating alone.

Swoooooosh—

Finally, one of the kings had disappeared, triggering the notifications that signaled Xu Jiaqi’s death.

[Verrado Kingdom’s King has perished!]

[Verrado Kingdom has started to shake!]

[The kingdom that hunted Verrado Kingdom’s King has earned a high amount of contribution.]

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

The notifications came as a huge shock to the kings especially because they never expected that any of the participating people that wanted to push out South Korea and Beyond the Heavens Kingdom first would die. But not long after…

[Alveir Kingdom’s King has perished!]

[Alveir Kingdom has started to shake!]

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[The kingdom that hunted Alveir Kingdom’s King has earned a high amount of contribution.]

…Calauhel perished.

‘This…’

Alexander’s face turned ugly. At the same time, Spear God Ben’s fierce and unrelenting spear continued to thrust at his body and aim at his weak spots.

‘If things continue at this rate, then we will all be in danger.’

Alexander looked around. Their enemy was just one country, one out of the 28 participating countries. And these people were facing 27 of the top ranking kings in the world. However, this small country managed to kill two of the kings as they continued to struggle against them.

In the end, Alexander was forced to give an order that would shock the entire world, “Retreat.”

“…!”

“…!”

“What…?!”

“Alexander!”

All of the kings protested. This would be a smear in their names, a disgrace that they should never had to carry! Especially since they had received the support of their country’s government in this Battle of the Thrones. But Alexander was telling them, the pride of their own countries, to retreat right now.

“We have to retreat,” Kentaro nodded and agreed, “More kings will die at this rate if we continue to stay here. Ah, but if you want to stay, then feel free to do so.”

“…”

“…”

The kings had to choose. Should they escape or should they remain here, let their ranks collapse and suffer more casualties? It was a matter of choosing whether they should die, or protect their lives but swallow their pride.

But then, Alexander drove his point deeper home, “Our 500,000-strong troops are already advancing here. Our job here is done. We have been defeated by Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

No, the truth was Beyond the Heavens Kingdom would be wiped out soon. However, none of the kings present could deny Alexander’s declaration of their defeat. The fact that they were struggling so much against these few people was already a mark in the book of defeat. In the end, they chose to retreat, rushing out as they left behind the 10,000 Korean rankers.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The members of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and the surviving Korean rankers all shouted loudly, their voices ringing clearly in the ears of everyone watching from all over the world. Even the commentators could not believe the sudden turn of events.

[This is very surprising. The 25 surviving kings are fleeing.]

[This is something that none of us expected. The strongest and greatest people in the world are running away from one small country.]

[This will forever be a humiliation to the kings from all over the world. Once all of the servers have been integrated, no country will think that Asgan Continent is easy to deal with.]

“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!”

The shouting and screaming Korean rankers had a lot of thoughts flying in their heads during this battle.

‘I thought that it was impossible to survive throughout this day.’

‘I thought that South Korea would easily collapse.’

‘We did it.’

‘It was only possible because of Genie, Khan, Locke, Carr and the Beyond the Heavens King’ Food God.’

‘I want to go to Beyond the Heavens too.’

Many had started to dream of joining Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

Boom, boom, boom, booom—

Not long after, a steady and loud beating of the drum resounded in the area. In front of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s castle stood the 25 kings that fled, followed by their 500,000 strong troops. All of the kings were seen gritting their teeth. It seemed like they were trying hard to erase the disgrace that they suffered just a few moments prior, with the majesty of their 500,000-strong troops.

However, none of the South Korean rankers nor the members of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom were afraid of them.

“Fight until the very end.”

Shiiiiiiiiiing—

Shiiiiiiiiiing—

Shiiiiiiiiiing—

Shiiiiiiiiiing—

Minhyuk announced the start of their final battle by pulling his sword out of its sheath. Among them stood Allein, the Spear Knight that willingly became a new member of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. She thought, ‘I’m not afraid because I am fighting with you,’ as she ran together with the guild members of Beyond the Heavens and charged toward the 500,000 enemy troops.

And on this day…

[Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s King has perished.]

[Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s King Statue has collapsed!]

[Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s troops have been wiped out.]

[Beyond the Heavens Kingdom is recorded as the first country to be destroyed.]

South Korea ranked last in the actual rankings of the Battle of the Thrones. However, the 10,000 of them were able to kill 230,000 of the 500,000 troops that came to wipe them out. And in terms of the contribution rankings…

[Beyond the Heavens Kingdom (South Korea) : 97, 113, 311.]

[Ariot Kingdom (United States of America) : 31, 001, 100.]

…they had completely crushed America, the country that took the Supreme Throne. But the Battle of the Thrones was not yet over. President Kang Taehoon announced…

[Dear players, if you access Athenae right now, you will be able to enter the ‘King’s Banquet’ server. This server will allow you to access the castle of the king that you wish to meet. You are free to meet the kings and congratulate them in person.]

Anyone, no matter their country or nationality, would be able to congratulate the king that they wanted to congratulate by accessing the ceremonial hall where the kings that participated in the Battle of the Thrones are currently located. Just like that, hundreds of millions of players immediately moved to access the game.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk left his capsule after terminating his access to Athenae, a bitter smile on his face as he said, “I lost in the end, Dad.”

“Sometimes experiencing defeat is more meaningful than gaining victory,” Minhyuk’s father, Kang Minhoo, smiled softly at him.

Minhyuk sighed. After his participation in the Battle of the Thrones had ended, he went for a meeting with Joy Co. Ltd. to talk about the ‘King’s Banquet’ and meet with the ordinary players. Minhyuk already predicted that more than 90% of the people would go to see Alexander, the one sitting on the Supreme Throne.

After he freshened himself up in the bathroom, Minhyuk accessed the game again. He thought, ‘Let’s not look so dispirited! I have to do my best for the people that will be coming to see me.’

Although Alexander would receive most of the spotlight, Minhyuk believed that he did well himself. There was nothing he could do about that. Even though his shoulders were drooping from the thought, Minhyuk still tried to comfort himself as he went back inside his capsule.

***

Alexander sat on the ‘Supreme Throne’, a throne shining with a golden light. However, there was a bitter smile hanging on his face as he looked at the tens of millions of people that were cheering for his victory.

The reason for his bitter smile? It was all because of the call that he received from Joy Co. Ltd. before he accessed the game again. From what he heard, more than 500 million people had accessed the King’s Banquet Server. However, only tens of millions of people came to see him.

‘I won’t lose next time, Minhyuk,’ Alexander smiled bitterly.

***

A person’s heart was very complicated.

‘It’s alright, I’m proud of myself for doing well enough in this event.’ 

That was the thought that flashed in Minhyuk’s head. However, he still could not help but feel sorry for himself as envy toward Alexander flared up in his heart. Minhyuk wondered if he was already listening to the people’s enthusiastic cheers, a crowd that was larger than any of the crowd’s present in the kings of the other countries.

After accessing Athenae once again, Minhyuk reappeared in the castle that he was in earlier. The castle and all of its facilities had already been repaired. The bitter smile continued to hang on the corners of Minhyuk’s lips as he thought, ‘Just like expected, huh?’ 

Minhyuk could not hear any shouts or even voices from where he was. At this moment, he was already sure that most of the people came to see the Supreme Throne.

Then, Genie, who had accessed the game much earlier than him, appeared and said, “Minhyuk, let’s go?”

“Yeah.”

“Why do you look a bit disappointed?”

“What do you mean by disappointed? I’m not. I just think that it’s a bit of a pity,” Minhyuk said bitterly.

Genie walked by his side and consoled him, “You did well enough, Minhyuk.”

“We did great but we still came in last place~”

“Hmm…”

Genie knew that Minhyuk was saying this as a joke but she could tell that there was a huge weight on the man’s shoulders. He looked like he was very sad to have disappointed the people’s expectations of him. The two people walked together, their steps bringing them closer and closer to the walls.

“Minhyuk.”

“Huh?”

“You are the best king. And many people believe this to be the case.”

“…Right. It would be nice if they think so,” Minhyuk said, the bitter smile on his face getting deeper by the second.

The corners of Genie’s lips curled up into a bright smile as she grabbed the handle of the door and said, “Ready?”

“Huh?”

“Are you ready to sit on the true ‘Supreme Throne’, the throne that the entire world is cheering for?”

At that moment…

Creaaaaaaaak—

…Genie twisted the handle and opened the door wide to present to Minhyuk the view outside of the walls of the castle.

What greeted Minhyuk was a huge crowd, huge enough to cover the entire area. There were so many people present that not a hint of the ground that they were standing on could be seen from above. According to Joy Co. Ltd., the total number of players that appeared in Minhyuk’s castle have reached an astounding 340 million.

Minhyuk stepped forward, confusion evident on his face.

“Woaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Beyond the Heavens! Beyond the Heavens! Beyond the Heavens! Beyond the Heavens!”

“Food God! Food God! Food God! Food God! Food God!”

More than 300 million people cheered and shouted enthusiastically, calling for Beyond the Heavens and his character name. Actually, Genie asked these people’s cooperation to stage a ‘surprise’ and surprise Minhyuk. She said, “This is proof that you are a great king.”

Minhyuk felt a shiver run down his spine at those words. At that moment, he realized what he had to do. Minhyuk walked slowly and looked at the people around him. There, in front of him, was an old, shabby throne. The very same throne that was given to the lowest ranking king on the Battle of the Thrones. He slowly sat down on his throne.

This felt new to him. As someone that lived with a rare disease called eating addiction, Minhyuk lived every single day of his life thinking that he would die anytime. He had lived alone in his dark room as if the world had abandoned him.

But he was able to experience the game called Athenae, became the Food God, and made friends in the Legend Guild. Then, he became the king of Beyond the Heavens and came to enjoy the company of many people. Minhyuk was once a loner that suffered from eating addiction. But now, hundreds of millions of people came here to see him and celebrate with him. That was right. Everything that Minhyuk did was enough. It was enough for him to take pride in himself.

Minhyuk looked at the crowd of people, the hundreds of millions of Athenae players, that came to see him and said with a dignified voice, “I am the king of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.”

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

A loud roar shook the world as Minhyuk sat on the true and genuine ‘Supreme Throne’.