Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 786

To be honest, Calauhel was actually very jealous of Minhyuk.

According to Calauhel’s standards, he might find Minhyuk, a successor to Korea’s biggest company, to be ridiculous and laughable. After all, Calauhel had enough net worth to buy several companies. On top of that, it was not even that strange for the man that he was jealous of to die at any given moment, because he was afflicted with a very rare disease called ‘Eating Addiction.’

Yet, why was Calauhel jealous of Minhyuk?

‘He has the will to move forward.’

It was because Minhyuk’s strong will allowed him to stand tall and never back down.

‘There are many people around him.’

On top of that, Minhyuk was always surrounded by people who truly loved and cared for him. However, the utmost reason why Calauhel was jealous of Minhyuk was probably because even if he left everything behind, the man would still be very happy.

Why was someone that lacked a lot of things compared to him still happier than him? This was the main reason why Calauhel was jealous of Minhyuk. Despite his misgivings, as time went by, Calauhel began to unknowingly acknowledge Minhyuk.

During Gaerna’s hunt, Calahuel made a deal with Minhyuk. Back then, he gave him tens of billions of won more than their agreed price because of his goodwill.

However, Minhyuk had suffered from Calauhel’s tricks and antics for a long time. In fact, they were already at odds since the time when Calauhel was leading Blackstone.

But now, these notifications rang in Calauhel’s ears.

[The other challenger of the Tomb of the Kings is suggesting an alliance.]

[The person that suggested an alliance is ‘Beyond the Heavens’ King Minhyuk!]

[Would you like the Rothschilde Kingdom to form an alliance with the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?]

Calauhel was very surprised to see Minhyuk appear before him and split the spears aimed at him.

When he looked around, he saw a man standing a bit further away from them. It seemed like this man was the one that came with Minhyuk. That was right, only two people had come. The notification sounded so grand and majestic, saying that the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was suggesting an alliance, but there were only two people that came.

Calauhel had his own pride and ego. Especially when it came to Minhyuk. However, he abandoned it all.

“Minhyuk, I beg you. Please, please save my soldiers!” He shouted without any hesitation.

[You have accepted the alliance with the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom inside the Tomb of the Kings!]

“Your Majesty…!”

“No!”

“How can this be…”

Calauhel’s vassals were very shocked to see their king shout desperately at Minhyuk and beg him to save them. This was because they knew what kind of existence Minhyuk was to Calauhel. But for Calauhel, their survival was far more important than his pride and ego.

‘No matter how strong Food God Minhyuk is, the appearance of two people would not make any difference…’ Lesso thought as he looked at Beyond the Heavens’ King Minhyuk.

Lesso hated this man. He hated that this man forced his own king to humble himself and make him look shabby. Besides, there was no guarantee that they would be able to overcome this difficulty just because a single person appeared.

Then, Minhyuk said, “Calauhel.”

“…”

“Don’t beg so easily. This is not a favor; this is a deal between you and me.”

The soldiers of Rothschilde Kingdom, including Lesso, were very surprised. The words that Minhyuk said might have sounded crude, but it was undeniable that he was respecting and honoring the status and position of Calauhel, the current ruler of the Rothschilde Kingdom.

Minhyuk took out a parchment from his inventory and stretched his palm out. This parchment was none other than a ‘Memorize Magic Parchment’ that contained Golden Mage Ali’s ‘Compress’ magic. It had to be known that the higher Ali’s level was, the better his lower-tiered magic would become. Right now, his Compress magic had evolved to the point that it would only gather allies. All of the Rothschilde Kingdom’s troops, including Calauhel, were pulled back until they were gathered behind Minhyuk.

However, there were still hundreds of cavalrymen and soldiers that were charging toward Minhyuk, who was now blocking their path to the rest of the troops.

[Intangible Sword.]

[Your enemies will be attacked by invisible swords for five minutes. Your attacks will reach everyone within your ten-meter radius.]

[You can use Sword Manipulation and send hundreds of invisible swords toward your enemies.]

[Your sword’s attack will increase by 900%. The movement speed of your Sword Manipulation will also be ten times faster than your speed of wielding your sword.]

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish—!

The sound of the wind blowing strongly around them rang in their ears as hundreds of invisible swords cut through the charging crowd of cavalrymen and soldiers under Minhyuk’s manipulation.

“Hihihihihihihihihihing!”

“Hihihihihihihihing!”

“Keuaaaaaack!”

“Uwaaaaaaaaack!”

The sound of their flesh ripping and the enemies’ screams echoed in the area. However, Minhyuk remained cautious.

‘There are a lot of things that we’re still unaware of inside the Tomb of the Kings. I have to save my skills as much as I can for maximum efficiency.’

Of course, Minhyuk was wary of the Tomb of the Kings. After all, it was a dungeon that boasted a higher difficulty than what he imagined. That was why he limited the use of his skills and only focused on using passive skills that did not consume any MP or trigger a skill’s cooldown.

The passive skill that he used was none other than Explosion, a passive that had a 40% probability of getting triggered and inflicting 2,500% additional damage to his targets. But that was not all. It could also trigger an explosion that would inflict 1,400% additional damage to everyone within a ten-meter radius.

On top of that, Explosion belonged to the other passive Lightning, which corresponded to the ‘Absolute God’s Secret’ skill that he had, which could go beyond ordinary god rank skills.

The blade of Minhyuk’s sword carried the character ‘Explosion’ on it. When he swung his sword, a loud and overwhelming explosion bloomed and swept away the cavalrymen.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaang—

Meanwhile, the surviving troops of the Rothschilde Kingdom were rendered speechless after witnessing the aftermath caused by an ‘Absolute God’s Secret’ skill.

‘That’s ridiculous. Are you telling me that’s a passive skill?’

‘He can easily sweep away those powerful troops with just a passive skill?’

Minhyuk ould swing his sword thrice in a second. With the Explosion’s 40% probability of getting triggered, he could actually trigger Explosion once every second.

Baaaaaaaaaaang—

Boooooooooom—

Baaaaaaaaaaaam—

After triggering a series of explosions, Minhyuk also incurred damages. He had been stabbed and cut several times by the enemies’ spears and swords when he jumped at the gaps in their defenses.

However, bloody beads would often rise from the bodies of the enemies that he attacked and get absorbed into his body. These bloody beads were produced by ‘Slaughterer’s Absorption’, a skill attached to the Slaughterer’s Armor.

These notifications also rang in Minhyuk’s ears every time an attack landed on his body.

[Steel Skin.]

[Your physical and magical defenses have instantly tripled.]

The Steel Skin was a passive skill that Minhyuk had acquired from the God of Happiness through the Food God’s True Worth, and it had a 20% chance of getting triggered.

Minhyuk’s defense as the top high-ranker was already beyond one’s imagination. If it was tripled, then most of the Named Monsters in existence would not be able to inflict much damage on him.

‘This is ridiculous…’

‘Is the gap between us and the Food God really this large?’

Among all of the people present, the one who could not believe the scene in front of him the most was Lesso. Although he had been pushed out of the top 3,000 rankings, Lesso was still a high ranker. That was the reason for his struggle.

The soldiers and the cavalrymen, enemies that they had a hard time fighting, were unable to deal any significant damage to Minhyuk.

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

They saw the stalwart back of Minhyuk, who had been swinging his sword non-stop and sweeping away the enemy cavalry and soldiers, through the thick cloud of dust. He did not even look like he was out of breath.

At this moment, the people of Rothschilde Kingdom realized something.

‘Ah, we shouldn’t think that only two people came here.’

‘He’s just one person, but it feels like an entire army came here…’

Then, the notifications rang in their ears.

[You have wiped out the Legendary Cavalry of the Locae Kingdom!]

[You have acquired 100 Legendary Cavalry Parchments, parchments that can turn ordinary cavalrymen into legendary cavalrymen.]

[You have acquired 100 Nurturing Parchments, parchments that can turn ordinary soldiers into strong men that can rival the soldiers of the Fulcan Kingdom.]

[You have acquired 485 platinum.]

[You have acquired King Lebannon’s Treasure Box.]

[You have acquired 100 Legendary Cavalry Warhorses.]

[You have acquired 100 Fulcan Kingdom’s Soldier’s Storm Swords.]

The Rothschilde Kingdom’s troops were shocked when they heard about the rewards that they had acquired. The platinum was shocking enough. Somehow, they were also able to obtain 100 warhorses, as well as power that could turn ordinary soldiers into 100 legendary cavalry and another 100 strong soldiers that could rival the soldiers of Fulcan Kingdom.

‘Since this is the Tomb of the Kings, the rewards that they are giving are rewards that will help one develop a stronger and more powerful kingdom, right?’

‘The risks might be great, but the rewards are also superb.’

‘However, the difficulty is just too high for us to be able to clear.’

While the Rothschilde Kingdom’s troops were busy thinking about this, Calauhel had already approached Minhyuk.

***

When Minhyuk entered the Tomb of the Kings, he was quite surprised to find out that another kingdom was already there. Minhyuk moved quickly, hoping that the other kingdom had not yet monopolized whatever was inside the Tomb of the Kings. That was when he heard Calauhel’s voice.

Why did Minhyuk help him? He had many reasons.

One, Minhyuk believed that the Rothschilde Kingdom might really need some help in this place.

Two, Calauhel had given him tens of billions of won during Gaerna’s hunt as a show of good faith.

Three, he was moved by the fact that Calauhel had significantly changed from the past. Calauhel had a bitter rivalry with Minhyuk since a long time ago. But his changes had made Minhyuk move.

Of course, he also took care of the necessary while helping protect Calauhel’s momentum and prestige. The rewards that they got here were all taken by Minhyuk.

Then, Minhyuk recalled the notification that he had heard earlier.

[You might be able to gain the class: King Above Kings.]

There was a chance that this same notification was heard by Calauhel too. However, Minhyuk had heard something from Dungeon Explorer Bran before.

—Give up on the class King Above Kings. From what I understand, you will be able to trigger an easter egg if you give up on the class.

As expected of Bran, he was truly an amazing talent. Well, Minhyuk did not really need it in the first place. There was no need for him to abandon the Food God class or the Battle God’s Descendant class just for the King Above Kings.

At the same time, this notification rang in the ears of everyone present.

[There are currently two candidates for the class: King Above Kings.]

However, the two ignored the notification.

“Why did you help me?”

“What are you talking about? This is nothing but a deal. I’ll be taking 90% of the rewards from here on out.”

“…”

Calauhel felt an unknown emotion well up within him when Minhyuk insisted that this was a deal until the very end. If this was nothing but a mere favor, then Calauhel would be left struggling to keep his side alive. However, Calauhel was aware that Minhyuk did not help him just so he could obtain something.

Then, he received a whisper.

[Minhyuk: The almighty Calauhel has always been arrogant. Just be yourself.]

[Calauhel: …Thanks.]

Minhyuk was honestly surprised to see the whisper that Calauhel sent back. He never thought that the arrogant and almighty Calauhel would say ‘thanks’ to someone else.

Of course, after seeing Minhyuk’s whisper, Calauhel decided to truly act like himself.

“You must have also heard that this is the land owned by one of the Eight Pillars. It seems like you helped us because you thought that it was very difficult to clear on your own, right?”

That was right; this was the true Calauhel.

“But if I hadn’t come, then all of you would have already been wiped out, no?”

“That’s a different matter. You’re the one that suggested an alliance. And that’s because you needed our strength. Am I wrong?”

The players and soldiers of the Rothschilde Kingdom were very relieved to see Calauhel back to his usual self once again.

‘His Majesty has returned to his usual self.’

‘That’s right. He is someone that will not back down even after seeing the excellent display that the Food God had shown us just now.’

They were relieved to see Calauhel and Minhyuk bicker and argue back and forth like that.

“That’s right, I will acknowledge that. I need your help too. However, what can you even do for me now?”

“…”

Both Calauhel and his troops turned silent at that. This was the end of Minhyuk’s help. Now, Minhyuk was acting shrewdly and being very calculative. Besides, what he said was true. What could someone, who was on the verge of being wiped out, truly do?

“Calauhel, let’s make another deal.” Minhyuk brought forward another suggestion. “I’m sure you have heard the notification about the class: King Above Kings.”

That was right. Calauhel was also aware that it could only be given to one person.

Minhyuk had chosen to give up on this class from the very beginning. After all, according to Bran, this was the only way to trigger an easter egg.

“As you have heard, the class King Above Kings is a class that the souls of the kings sleeping in this tomb will give to the one that they have recognized and acknowledged. However, they do not acknowledge you.”

Calauhel wanted to be the King Above Kings. However, he knew more than anybody else that Minhyuk was the one with the qualifications to get the class.

Minhyuk licked his lips and lied without even blinking, “To be honest, I can have three classes. However, just like what I said earlier, let’s make another deal. I will help you to gain the recognition and the acknowledgement of the kings here so that you can obtain the King Above Kings.”

“…”

Calauhel was shocked. If he became the King Above Kings in this place that was owned by one of the Eight Pillars, then he might be able to obtain tremendous powers. But this man in front of him was actually willing to concede and give up on that opportunity.

Yes, Calauhel was very desperate. He needed the class King Above Kings to protect his Rothschilde Kingdom. However, he also thought that Minhyuk must also want the class.

‘He can have three classes?’

Of course, that was just some bullshit that Minhyuk spouted. He could only have two classes, and he truly did not need the King Above Kings. However, Calauhel did not know that. Hearing those words made Calauhel go down a very different path of thought.

‘Is he giving that class up for my sake?’

Calauhel had no other choice but to think that way. Then, he could not help but think of the times when he treated Minhyuk as his bitter rival and the times that he blatantly said that he hated him.

—You look tired, Calauhel.

When he thought back, he was certain Minhyuk’s eyes were filled with warmth(?) when he said those words. Calauhel felt deeply moved when he recalled the matter. That was right, Minhyuk’s generosity and kindness knew no bounds.

‘I wonder what I should ask for? If it’s Calauhel, then I can probably ask for a lot of things, right? Should I try asking for some God-grade ingredients?’

On the other hand, Minhyuk was considering what he would demand in exchange for the King Above Kings class that he was pretending to yield over.

Then, at that moment, Calauhel’s whisper arrived.

[Calauhel: From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I know that class is also precious to you but you’re willingly giving up on it for me. You even looked at me kindly and worried about my exhaustion and fatigue.]

“???”

[Calauhel: I could see the warmth in your eyes when you voiced your worries about me earlier. I felt like I saw an old friend. Don’t you think so too?]

“???”

Calauhel’s eyes were starting to shine with tears.

[Calauhel: I, Rausch, the head of the Rothschilde Family promise you in my name and my family…]

“???”

[Calauhel: …will repay you for this gratitude. When the time comes that you will need my help, I will utilize the entire power of my family to aid you.]

“…”

Minhyuk could not help but murmur under his breath, ‘A sudden windfall?’