Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 128: Joining a Guild

It was another legendary artifact! It seemed like the skill Extreme Fear was automatically applied before, when they fought Rumad. From what Minhyuk saw, anyone with more than ten levels in gap with Rumad would receive the skill’s effects. However, what was disappointing was that it was an artifact for warriors.

Minhyuk approached Genie and offered her a handshake. Then, the transaction window popped out showing the legendary artifact and the skill book that Minhyuk had obtained.

“A…a legendary artifact and a legendary skill book!”

There were no legendary artifacts that were officially released yet in the country. Still, there were many unofficial ones. Nevertheless, none of the members of the Legend Guild had a legendary artifact in their possession. Even the skill book was legendary. This was the biggest merit and reward of the raid.

‘You can ignore the requirements and learn any skill.’

Between the skill book and the artifact, the skill book was the one that had a higher value. First, the skill book could ignore the number limit effect. Everyone in?Athenae?knew that swords, armors, boots and even helmets could never be worn in duplicates, but with this effect, it could be ignored. There was even a much more powerful effect in this skill book. It was the ‘ignore all defenses’ that they had experienced when they were facing Rumad earlier.

‘How do I even distribute this?’?Minhyuk thought, worried. He knew that all of the members of Legend Guild had their HPs at almost zero. This was because they did their best to hunt Rumad. However, the one that received the ownership of the drop was not them, but him.

After a moment, Genie asked, “...How about the gold?”

“50.2 billion gold.”

“Minhyuk will get the skill book, while the rest of the guild and I will divide the 50.2 billion gold among us. Then, we will sell Rumad’s Demon Sword, and we’ll each take half of the profits. How about that?”

“...?!”

Minhyuk could not help but be surprised. Genie was basically giving him a free meal. 50.2 billion gold was still less than the amount of gold that they need to buy potions for the whole guild. Even the Legend Guild members were shocked. If you randomly picked one among the members and asked them, they would tell you that they earned around 1-10 billion each month. Furthermore, in today’s context,?Athenae?was not just a simple game. The virtual reality game?Athenae?could well become a business opportunity if someone did well in the game. However, Genie was willing to abandon their greed and let go of a ‘Legendary’ skill book in exchange for the gold.

“Why are you doing it like that?”

“No, it’s not just like that. When I first encountered Rumad, it said that the person who successfully hunted him would get the rewards and the person who dealt the final blow to him was Minhyuk. If he wasn’t able to kill Rumad, then we would have been wiped out already.”

If all of the members of Legend Guild had been wiped out, they would really receive a huge blow. All of them had spent a tremendous amount of time just to get to their ranks, and it would take them a long time to achieve their placings again if their levels dropped.

“Besides, we have more to gain from this than what you think.”

In fact, the Legend Guild was more likely to receive good territory from King Varen. If that happened, then, they would be able to collect taxes from their territory and they would be able to receive huge benefits and profits from the NPCs in their territory. They did not lose any money at all. It was just because they felt that Genie gave in too easily.

“Does anyone have a problem with it?”

“None!”

“How dare we disobey the orders of the flower piggy!”

Genie smiled at them as she said, “As for Rumad’s Demon Sword. We will get the price for a legendary artifact, and you will also receive the same price.”

“Huh?”

“Did you forget?”

Genie smiled and continued to say, “King Varen promised that he would buy all our artifacts at twice the price if we escorted him to Ellie safely.”

“...Ah!”

Genie was right. Minhyuk would be able to receive the price for the legendary artifact and the same would also be true for the Legend Guild.

“What are you going to do with it?”

“Well, I…”

Minhyuk smiled widely and said, “I’m going to buy something delicious.”

“...?”

Genie and the rest of the guild members were taken aback by his choice, but it was his own decision so they did not say anything about it. At that moment…

“Keuaaaack!”

…Locke suddenly screamed loudly.

“...?”

“...”

Minhyuk, Genie, and the rest of the members of Legend Guild turned their heads to look at him.

“This is impossible...! What kind of golden treasure box would only give 417 gold?!”

“...Oh. Uhm... Cheer up.”

The golden treasure box laid open in front of him!

The treasure box was an item that could be obtained during events that were held from time to time. This treasure box was literally a lucky draw.

Normally, old treasure boxes would give something between 1~50 million gold, E~D ranked artifact materials, or normal~rare artifacts. Regular treasure boxes would also give something between 10~500 million gold, C-A ranked artifact materials, or unique artifacts. Then, there were these golden treasure boxes, they would usually give something between 100 million~5 billion gold, A~SS ranked artifact materials, and unique~epic artifacts. In fact, the higher the level of the treasure box, the higher the chances of the player receiving better artifacts, artifact materials and even gold.

And Locke, who had no luck at all, managed to get only 417 gold after opening his treasure box. One by one, the people started opening their treasure boxes. They were able to draw artifacts from their treasure boxes too.

“Kyaa! An epic artifact!”

“Oooooooh. 47 billion gold!”

“Wow! Wow!”

“...It would be good if everyone were quiet!”

“Kyaa. An epic item!”

“Hey. Ace! Be quiet!” Locke shouted. He swung his ax in irritation each time a member of his guild drew greater items than him. In the end, only Minhyuk was left with an unopened golden treasure box.

“You?”

“I haven’t opened it yet.”

“Open it and let’s see.”

Minhyuk nodded, He closed his eyes and prayed intently.

“What are you praying for? Are you asking for a good artifact?” Ace asked in confusion.

Then, Minhyuk opened his eyes and clicked on the golden treasure box in his inventory. The golden treasure box popped open in front of everybody.

Clatter, clatter!

The treasure box suddenly shook furiously. Minhyuk cried in anticipation, “Come out! Something delicious, please!”

“...Huh?”

“OMG?”

The members of Legend Guild looked at him in surprise. You’re telling them that you wanted something delicious instead of 50 billion gold, or an epic artifact? Ace twirled his finger beside his head. Seeing this, Khan smacked him on the head.

Slap!

“You punk! That's Hyung's friend!”

“Ouch! That hurts!”

[Please open the treasure box.]

A hologram appeared out of the treasure box together with the notification. Then, Minhyuk heard another set of notifications.

[You have picked the best golden treasure box.]

[You have acquired the Heart of the Basilisk.]

[You have acquired 50 billion gold.]

‘Oh?’

Minhyuk was quite surprised. He heard before that the DEX would have a slight effect whenever there were lucky draws. However, he did not believe that it was true, until now. Minhyuk even won two rewards at the same time.

“Heart of the Basilisk?”

“Gasp?!”

“...Keuaaaa! Why am I the only one with 400 gold?! Why?!”

Minhyuk took out the heart-shaped stone, the Heart of the Basilisk, and a pouch carrying 50 billion gold.

“W…what was that just now... There were 2 rewards in the treasure box?”

“I have never seen anything like this before…”

This was the first time that they had seen something like this. After all, Minhyuk’s DEX was at 1,200 so this was their first time seeing such a thing. Then, Minhyuk checked the information on the Heart of the Basilisk.

(Heart of the Basilisk)

Material Grade: SS

Special Abilities:

?Defense between 500~900.

?Magical Defense +300

?You can imbue an artifact with a power that can turn your enemies into stone.

Description: The Basilisk, the ruler of the desert, is a legendary monster. Its heart, which is a noble and grand existence, has the special ability to turn anyone into stone.

“How is it? Wow. Minhyuk, you’re so lucky. How can you get the Heart of the Basilisk in just one draw?”

“...Huh? Uh... Y…yeah.”

“Huh? Minhyuk, why aren’t you happy?”

Minhyuk promptly placed the Heart of the Basilisk into his inventory. He looked like he was throwing out some piece of junk with how nonchalant he was.

“I can’t eat something like that right?”

“...Huh?”

Genie was taken aback. What was this punk saying?

Then, at that moment, another set of notifications rang.

[You have completed the?Kingdom Quest: Bring Varen, the Valkyrie Kingdom’s King, to the place where he is supposed to meet with the Imperial Army of the Eivelis Empire.]

[One of the people who had received the quest will be able to receive the title of a Baron.]

[You can use Varen’s Treasure Trove once.]

[The Eivelis Empire has won the quest related to the Northern Continent Update.]

[The EXP Acquisition Rate of all players in Eivelis Empire will increase by 30% for three days.]

[The skills and abilities of all players in Eivelis Empire will increase by 10% for three days.]

***

It was on fire. The internet was on fire.

The video showed the members of Legend Guild fighting against Rumad. It also showed the scene of Minhyuk using Step and stabbing Rumad’s abdomen, eventually killing him. Then, the screen switched, showing two members of Legend Guild running away with Varen and meeting Ellie and the Phoenix Knight Order. The scene showed Varen sighing in relief as Ellie welcomed him.

Then, all of the players in Eivelis Empire all heard the same notification.

EXP acquisition rate will increase by 30% and skills and abilities will increase by 10% for 3 days!

This was literally their chance to bomb their way to higher levels. A 10% increase in skills and abilities would naturally mean that they would have an easier time hunting monsters that they would originally have a harder time hunting before. It was also natural that the fame of Legend Guild would rise and improve among the players. Even the young students were making a ruckus.

“Hey, hey. Isn’t the Frying Pan Killer so cool? When Legend’s GM’s neck was being strangled, he suddenly stood up and?kyaaa! So cool!”

“...Shut up! I’m a Collodis Empire player.”

“Huh? Oh. Y…yeah... Hey, so do you admit that he’s cool?”

“...Y…yeah.”

Even office workers could not help but talk about it. They spent their entire lunch breaks talking about?Athenae.

“Did you see the video?”

“The?Athenae?video? Of course I did! If you didn’t watch it, you’re not an?Athenae?player. Wow, Legend Guild is the best.”

“I saw it too. I suddenly felt my heart thumping and burning with a fighting spirit!”

A new employee even clenched his spoon tightly as he declared, “Korea may be a ruined gamer country! But Legend Guild appeared! And even the new strongest man, the Frying Pan Killer appeared here in our country!”

“Kghhk!”

“Boy, aren’t you eating?” Department Head Park asked. His words made the rest of the people turn as quiet as a mouse.

Then, the new employee whispered, “Wasn’t Department Head Park a guild member of Ares Guild?”

“The Ares Guild is being flooded with curses right now... A lot of people have left too.”

It was not just them. Even the country’s top rankers were paying attention to them. This was from an interview with the second-ranked player on the Swordsman Ranking, Baran.

[Reporter: How did the Legend Guild and the Frying Pan Killer do in this Northern Continent Update?]

[Baran: They weren’t too bad. Especially that Frying Pan Killer, he even beat that god class, Cursed Knight, Kohei. I even felt a bit of joy when he did that.]

[Reporter: Can you evaluate their fight comprehensively?]

[Baran: I’m afraid the Frying Pan Killer was just lucky. When he said that his level was only 221, I wondered if what he said was true. Of course, I’m not trying to shoot down the Frying Pan Killer. (Smile)]

[Reporter: Why do you think so?]

[Baran: The Curse God’s Power that Kohei wields can cast a tremendous curse. But, the Frying Pan Killer was able to resist all of the curses using an unknown force. In fact, Kohei’s ability to control his curse among people at the same level as him is quite limited, however, his physical abilities are no joke at all. If it was a different god class player at Kohei’s level, perhaps the Frying Pan Killer would have lost.]

[Reporter: It seems that you have the same opinion as the other rankers.]

[Baran: Yes.]

[Reporter: How about the battle with Rumad?]

[Baran: It was surprising. It’s the rise of Legend Guild. Each and every one of them was as strong as the rankers. They also have strong skills. In fact, I believe that the rankers right now could take on one of the Most Powerful Men in half a year. Of course, I believe that they also had great luck when they fought with Rumad. As for the Frying Pan Killer... He’s an unknown player. He has great strength, abilities and potential.]

[Reporter: What do you think of his potential and growth?]

[Baran: I think this is the birth of a new strong gamer who can lead our country to fame.]

[Report: Well, I am looking forward to that. Finally, what do you think about the Legend Guild’s move this time?]

[Baran: It was amazing. I believe their power is on par with the four great guilds. But, I don’t think that they’re the best. As you know, Legend Guild has always remained tight-lipped... And you know, once the world server has been stabilized and connected, there would be more powerful and monstrous players that would pop out. We’ll never know but they might be comparable to our country’s Legend Guild.]

***

The situation was the same especially for the players who were living with Minhyuk.

“Wow. Is Minhyuk really that strong?”

“He actually raided one of the Pinnacle Strong Men with Legend Guild!”

Then, Minhyuk came out of the capsule. Strangely enough, he looked serious and troubled. He was even sighing deeply.

“Why, what’s wrong...?” Changwook asked curiously. Was it because he did not want to become famous?

Minhyuk finally opened his mouth and said, “You know about Genie, Khan and Locke, right?”

“Yeah. Ah! The Legend Guild’s GM, the guy who killed Ares and the crazy ax-wielding guy, right?”

“Yes. They…they’re my middle school friends.”

“...!”

“...!”

“Ack!”

Everyone was surprised. They had missed the part where the four of them reunited since the video had switched views. They were Minhyuk’s friends? However, the surprise did not end there.

“They’re coming to see me.”

“Pffffft!” Changwook spat out the coffee that he was drinking.