Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 888

[Combination successful!]

[The Passive Skill: Striking Will has been created!]

(Striking Will)

Passive Skill

Level: None

Mana Required: None

Cooldown: None

Effects:

•There is a 12% chance of triggering Striking Will. Upon triggering, the action you are taking will be replicated fourteen times when you do work related to DEX.

•Upon triggering Striking Will, DEX increases by 20%, and all stats increase by 6%. The buff lasts seven seconds.

•There is a 2% chance of triggering ‘Divine Striking Will.' Upon triggering Divine Striking Will, DEX will increase by 40%, and all stats will increase by 10%. The duration of the buff is twelve seconds.

Minhyuk was deeply moved when he read the skill’s description.

The ‘demon-like’ operators of Athenae made it very hard to harvest ingredients. Because of that, even Minhyuk, who had an overwhelmingly high DEX, had a hard time on the field. But with this cheat-like Striking Will, everything would be fine.

‘One strike would multiply into fourteen strikes.’

But the most important thing to note here was that the skill, aside from being unable to be applied to attack skills, had no other limitations. If Minhyuk did blacksmithing work, one hammer strike would turn into fourteen strikes. And if he went out on the field to harvest crops, one strike of his pickaxe would turn into fourteen strikes. Because Minhyuk’s striking speed was already breakneck, this skill would significantly boost him.

After confirming the skill, Minhyuk took out the ticket to the Field of the Gods immediately.

[You have entered the Field of the Gods.]

***

“Hiyaaaaa...” Heartfelt admiration escaped Minhyuk’s mouth.

When he entered the Field of the Gods, he was greeted by a vast field with all the crops buried deep underground. But since the names of the crops were marked right above them, Minhyuk thought it would not be that difficult to harvest what he wanted.

[God’s Juicy Samgyeopsal.]

[God’s Amazing Ribs.]

[God’s Fist-sized Sweet Potato.]

[God’s Fresh Bean Sprouts.]

[God’s Waxy Potato.]

A thrill ran down Minhyuk’s spine. All of the ingredients here were equivalent to God-grade ingredients. He was sure that the taste would be highly flavorful and fantastic. The first ingredient that Minhyuk approached was the God’s Juicy Samgyeopsal.

[5 minutes 48 seconds.]

[5 minutes 47 seconds.] The most update n0vels are published on Novᴇ(l)Fɪre .ɴᴇt

[5 minutes 46 seconds.]

Even at this very moment, the time he could stay inside the Field of the Gods was passing by swiftly. Seeing this, Minhyuk hurriedly grabbed his pickaxe and struck the ground as hard as possible.

Thud–!

[Your harvest yield has increased by 2%!]

Thud–!

Since Minhyuk could swing his pickaxe around three to four times per second, he could increase his harvest yield by around 8% every second.

‘Harvesting just one ingredient would take two to three minutes. Can ordinary players even harvest these?’

Minhyuk might not know this, but the operators of Joy Co. Ltd. created this opportunity to allow players to harvest the crops in the Field of the Gods freely. However, although they could gather whatever ingredients they wanted, it would still have to depend on their skills and abilities. Even though the players could enter the Field of the Gods, ordinary players with average DEX would probably only be able to harvest around one or two God-grade ingredients here.

Thuuuud–!

Thuuuuuud–!

Minhyuk increased the speed of swinging his pickaxe.

[Striking Will.]

[One strike becomes fourteen!]

[Your DEX will increase by 20%. All of your stats will increase by 6%!]

[The effect will last for seven seconds.]

At that moment, a bright golden stream of energy appeared and covered the blade of Minhyuk’s pickaxe.

Minhyuk looked very dashing. His white cape carried the symbol of the fork and knife crossed together, and his handsome face and pickaxe were covered with a golden energy.

Thud–!

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud–!

[...harvest yield... 14%.]

[...harvest yield... 16%.]

[...harvest yield... 18%.]

[...harvest yield... 20%.]

The crop’s harvest yield increased tremendously in such a short period of time, reaching 30% in one go. But it did not end there; the Striking Will was continuously triggered.

[...harvest yield... 42%.]

[...harvest yield... 44%.]

[...harvest yield... 46%.]

The passive skill Striking Will had a 12% chance of getting triggered. Although the probability was small, there was still a high chance of getting triggered by how fast Minhyuk moved. It has been mentioned that Minhyuk could swing his pickaxe around four times per second. This meant that Striking Will was being triggered every 2.5 seconds. Which, of course, brought about shocking results and overpowered effects.

A 20% increase in DEX also occurred, lasting seven seconds. This effect greatly increased the harvest yield with every swing of Minhyuk’s pickaxe. With the help of this skill alone, Minhyuk’s harvest yield more than doubled.

At that moment, a notification rang in his ears.

[You have harvested God’s Juicy Samgyeopsal.]

‘Shall we try checking God's Juicy Samgyeopsal?’

When Minhyuk checked the information of the samgyeopsal, he saw that it could be considered to be the highest grade if it was legendary. But for God-grade, it could only be considered the lowest grade.

But once he had chosen the amount of buff needed and consumed the ingredient, his attack power and physical STR would greatly increase. If Minhyuk combined this with his Food God’s Cooking skill, he could probably increase his attack power and STR by more than 30%.

The fact that the word ‘God-grade’ was attached to it meant that it would be very delicious, which made Minhyuk very happy.

Of course, Minhyuk’s hands had never stopped moving. He continued to harvest the crops around him, his speed increasing tremendously.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

[You have triggered Striking Will!]

Thud!

Thud!

[You have triggered Striking Will!]

[You have harvested God’s Amazing Ribs!]

[You have gathered God’s Fist-sized Sweet Potato!]

[You have harvested God’s Waxy Potato!]

As mentioned, the Field of the Gods was filled with countless God-rank ingredients. One glance revealed that more than 400 ingredients were planted all over the fields. In other words, if Minhyuk could move faster, he would be able to bring back as many as possible.

[...God’s...]

[...God’s...]

[...God’s...]

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

“Keuhahahahahaha!”

The bright and wide smile on Minhyuk’s face grew deeper and broader.

[The duration of your stay in the Field of the Gods has ended!]

[You harvested more than ten crops during your six-minute stay in the Field of the Gods!]

[Easter Egg: The One That Made an Outstanding Harvest.]

[The duration of your stay in the Field of the Gods has been extended by four minutes!]

“Lucky!!!”

The operators of Joy Co. Ltd. had expected that more than 80% of the players that would be able to enter the Field of the Gods would be chefs or other production-class players. They had estimated that these players could only harvest around two crops at most and that it would only be possible to harvest up to ten in such a short amount of time. That was why they confidently placed an easter egg inside. However, that easter egg had now given Minhyuk wings.

Thuuuuuuuud–!

Even during the four-minute extension, Minhyuk’s pickaxe still had a golden energy swirling around it. And when his stay had finally and truly ended...

[The duration of your stay in the Field of the Gods has ended!]

[The total duration of your stay is ten minutes. In that time, you have been able to harvest 17 God’s crops!]

One reason God’s crops were considered among the best was that each crop had different outstanding effects. Some of the effects of these God’s crops included a 4x increase in EXP Acquisition Rate, a significant boost in attack power, an increase in potential, or even improvement in all of the skills in one’s possession.

“Keuhahahahahahaha!”

Minhyuk’s laughter pierced through the ears of everyone in Joy Co. Ltd.’s conference room.

***

Haze was just listening to a very terrible report.

“Around 10,000 of the support troops, including Duke Locke, that went out to battle were killed.”

“...And the Luvaldi Kingdom?”

According to the reports, they were eventually captured by the Luvien Empire’s Duke Ruffiso and the army he led.

“...” Haze was left speechless.

The Luvaldi Kingdom had recently forged a great relationship with the Beyond the Heavens Empire after the incident with the human resource negotiations and the war with the Dark Elves. It was a tiny kingdom and needed someone's backing. And the support that they chose was none other than the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

Of course, knowing this, the Luvien Empire immediately launched an offensive against them. The empires and kingdoms that were against the Luvien Empire directly sent reinforcements. However, all of them died.

Duke Ruffiso, one of the Stars of the Luvien Empire, contributed significantly to this. The empire’s dukes were powerful. Their power easily surpassed the power that the Swords of the Gods could wield. They were monsters whose level might shortly exceed Level 800.

“That’s not all. According to the reports, many of the foreigners are killing the foreigners that belonged to the Beyond the Heavens Empire and foreigners that belonged to the empires and kingdoms that had friendly relationships with our empire. And just yesterday, Brachan’s Dungeon, the dungeon that our Beyond the Heavens’ held the monopoly over, had been taken away. They had removed our authority to operate the dungeon.”

Several foreigners were leaving the Beyond the Heavens Empire because of the pressure brought about by the Luvien Empire’s tyranny. The worst part? A significant number of the prominent figures among the foreigners had become the dogs of the Luvien Empire.

‘Your Majesty, I am missing you right now.’

Haze and the other executives had told Minhyuk to go and get a good rest. They encouraged him not to lose the main reason he played this game, which was to eat. Of course, Haze’s thoughts on this matter had not changed. She did not want her emperor to forget the joy of eating.

However, there was an implicit promise that came along with this. In the end, he was the emperor. If something happened outside of the Beyond the Heavens Empire, he still had to take the lead and command them.

‘We have to let the Luvien Empire and those foreigners who turned their backs on us take a huge shot.’

Otherwise, they would have no other way to stop the others from leaving. At that moment...

“Haze! How have you been?” Minhyuk returned after harvesting all the crops he could gather from the Field of the Gods and flashed a small smile toward Haze.

“Your- Your Majesty!” Haze’s eyes turned misty. She was really, really happy to see him right now. “I have something to report–”

“I have already confirmed the situation.”

Although Minhyuk had left to eat and be happy and merry, that did not mean he was out of the loop. He would always talk with his friends on the phone and listen to their stories.

“I have committed a crime worthy of death, Your Majesty!”

Today, Duke Locke had been forced to log out. But that was not all. They had also lost 10,000 of their soldiers. However, Minhyuk shook his head when he heard Haze pleading guilty for this mistake.

“I know that you and my friends have done everything to the best of your abilities.”

Minhyuk knew that the damage had only come to this point because Haze and his friends were doing their best. However, if they remained on the sidelines, the damage would increase. The Luvien Empire would continue to take over the Beyond the Heavens’ authority over their dungeons, strike at the empires and kingdoms that would forge friendly relationships with them, and use the players to take advantage of their gaps. And one day, they would invade the Beyond the Heavens Empire’s lands.

“Well, it’s time for us to retaliate.”

Haze nodded in agreement to Minhyuk. However, her expression remained dark and solemn. She had no idea how they were going to retaliate.

Then Minhyuk said, “You see, I have something very interesting and fun here. It’s called Authority to Run God-rank Dungeon. Let me share it with you.”

Haze, whose interest was piqued, looked at it and saw that it was an authority to run a dungeon. This was something that many of the foreigners and NPCs also had. However, the only thing that made it special was that it was an authority to run God-rank Dungeon.

Haze’s eyes grew wide in shock. “...Ah!”

She could tell that no other authority to run a dungeon could light a candle to this.

“Even though this is an authority to run a God-rank Dungeon, is this really even possible?”

“The person that gave me this authority to run a God-rank Dungeon is God of Dungeons Evas, the greatest God of Dungeons in history.”

When it came to authorities running God-rank dungeons, the most critical aspect was the kind of god that bestowed it. The one who gave this authority to Minhyuk was God of Dungeons Evas, the most outstanding God of Dungeons in history. Of course, the authority to run a dungeon he bestowed would have great power, right?

“Your Majesty, by any chance, can I glimpse what’s going on in your mind?”

Minhyuk, who was pondering over their situation, chuckled. “I plan to trigger an episode related to this dungeon and use it against the Luvien Empire.”

“...!”

“I also plan on becoming the ‘boss monster’ in this dungeon.”

A thrill ran down Haze’s spine. She could already imagine when the imperial army and the foreigners led by the Luvien Empire ventured inside the dungeon to clear it, only to be met with Boss Monster Minhyuk and his vassals.

“However, this would be difficult with our current power alone.”

That was certainly the case. No matter how strong they were, the Beyond the Heavens Empire would not be able to deal with all of them inside the dungeon. To be honest, Haze believed it would be even quite difficult for them to stop the powerful troops and forces of the Luvien Empire completely.

That was when Minhyuk suddenly started to take out unknown and mysterious items from his inventory.

Thud–

Thud–

Thud–

Among the items were things like steel bars and even something that looked like dragon bones. There were even some screws, iron plates, and a whole lot of items.

“What would happen if we recreate Divine Weapon Bless and use it to stop our enemies?”

However, the big picture that Minhyuk was painting was not yet over. He was still not done taking out items from his inventory. This time, he took out the ingredients he had acquired from the Field of the Gods.

“What would happen if I feed my vassals with dishes made from God-grade ingredients and allow them to grow stronger?”

Haze was completely at a loss. She just did not know what to say. However, rather than banking on their ability to do these things, she wanted to see if they could unconditionally do it.

“Your Majesty, I know that this authority to run a God-rank dungeon is amazing. However, not just anyone can utilize this properly. From what I can see, only the God of Dungeons will be able to utilize it properly and manage it easily.”

That was right. Minhyuk had only talked about how he would strengthen his vassals by feeding them dishes made from God-grade ingredients and recreating Divine Weapon Bless. He never mentioned anything about the one who would operate the dungeon. After all, no one other than the God of Dungeons would probably be able to freely and properly utilize the authority to run a God-rank dungeon at this caliber.

However, there was a very faint smile that appeared on Minhyuk’s face.

“What if the God of Dungeons became a human?”