Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 532: Friend

Ascar, who was challenging the tenth floor of the Blood Tower, started to feel the weight of her exhaustion.

‘I don’t see any way to clear this.’

Ascar would only be able to clear the trial if she got her hand on the bloody greatsword, which was conveniently placed right behind the 60,000 monsters in front of her.

And the number of times that she died on the tenth floor?

[Asura’s Trial.]

[Tenth Floor. Number of Deaths: 299.]

[Upon failure in clearing Asura’s Trial, the penalty would be applied based on the number of tries used.]

That was right. She had already died 299 times. When top rankers target a dungeon, they would usually hunt repeatedly, analyzing it swiftly and in a thorough manner. This was the reason why it was not that easy to break the records set by these rankers, even if it was in a regular time-attack dungeon.

Of course, Ascar was among the top rankers. But at this point, she had already deemed it useless. She could not find any way to attack and clear this floor. She continued to break through in a head-on battle while thinking about other methods, wondering if there was a shortcut or another path that would open if she just continued to kill the monsters, but none of those happened. This meant…

‘Only the strong can clear Asura’s final trial…’

Most dungeons could be cleared even if the players did not meet the minimum requirements to clear it, as long as they knew the patterns to attack. Unfortunately, the tenth floor’s trial was too brutal; only those strong enough to deal with 60,000 monsters alone could overcome and clear this trial.

But what about Ascar? She was only ranked in the middle of the highest top rankers, and her power was definitely insufficient to deal with these monsters alone. This was something that she realized after dying for the 250th time.

“It’s time for you to give up. Admit it. You are weak, far too weak to inherit my powers. Just like how the humans compared some existences to ‘ants’, you are that. You are an ‘ant’.”

An ant. Humans could kill ants just by pressing on them with their fingers. Ants were infinitely weaker creatures compared to humans. But instead of rage, Ascar felt amused. That was right. She was an ant.

“It seems like you don’t know the story about the ant and the grasshopper, huh?”

The ants might be fools but they did their best in everything. Even in fairytales, there were times when ants were far better than humans.

“Hmm.”

Stab—

Just as Ascar rushed forward once again, one of the monsters stabbed her chest with its rusty sword. Immediately after, a gigantic monster that looked similar to an ichthyosaur opened its mouth and devoured Ascar.

[You have died 299 times on Asura’s Trial’s tenth floor.]

[You can challenge it for the 300th time.]

[However, Asura’s Trial’s penalties will reach the maximum after the 300th try.]

Ascar bit her lips tightly. Challenging the 300th trial meant that she risked the maximum penalty for failure. Of course, it represented a great burden on her, but she did not choose to give up.

“Start the challenge.”

[Starting the 300th Challenge.]

[You will receive the maximum penalty for challenging the trial for the 300th time.]

[Something special might happen once you challenge the trial for the 300th time.]

‘Something special…?’?Ascar wondered. However, the 60,000 monsters were already rushing at her before she could even delve deeper into her thoughts. They all had varying levels, starting from Level 200, up until Level 500.

‘Rush forward while conserving as much strength as I can, and only use my skills to break through if my life is in danger.’

Ascar might not have found a way to clear the trial, but she did find a way to endure longer. She even found a few ways to cut down the monsters faster. Ascar rushed toward the monsters that blocked her path.

Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping—

Her two katanas drew two beautiful lines as she cut down the monsters in front of her. Since her basic attack was among the top in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, it was not that difficult to cut down the monsters that blocked her path. The problem usually began when she got through the ones at the front and had delved deep among the monsters’ ranks.

Ascar continued to cut down the monsters all the while rushing deeper into their ranks. There were even times when she only needed several cuts to kill off monsters with high defenses. The monsters kept on swarming at her the deeper she dug inside.

‘When driven into a corner, the enemies will retaliate harder.’

Once that happened, her HP and defenses would not be able to keep up at all. So, she cast a skill.

[Sword Tempest.]

[A storm of swords will strike all of your enemies within a ten meter radius with additional 1,200% attack.]

Shwaaaaaaaaaaa—

Once she crossed her swords, a huge storm made of sword blades appeared and swept away all of the monsters within a ten meter radius. Then, she took the opportunity to dive deeper into the monsters’ ranks.

Ascar continued to cut through the monsters' ranks just like that. But as time went by, the damage that she incurred continued to take a toll, until she reached the point where her stamina was starting to run out. Her body was starting to reach its limits.

“Haa… Haa…” Ascar drew one ragged breath after another as she cut down another enemy.

‘But more and more appears in front of me…’

Ever since she started this, the most challenging attempt was the current 300th try. No matter how many times she tried, she was still far from enough. She was only halfway through, but among the monsters swarming in front and behind her, the number that she had killed was only around 6,000.

Slaaaaaaaash—

“Ugh!” Ascar fell down with a groan after blocking a three-headed ogre’s ax.

‘Is there really no other way…?’

Was this truly something that she could not achieve, despite giving it her all? Actually, Ascar knew it well. However, she was continuously rushing forward, trying to make the impossible possible, because she made a promise with him.

Ascar was already weak as she was. But if things continued as it was, then the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s Ghost of the Battlefield would disappear without doing anything at all.

Kiiick—

Ascar, who was hit by one of the monsters’ kicks, collapsed in a heap. Even her HP was already reaching rock bottom so it was about time for her to be forced to logout. Ascar fell down on the ground, her breaths turning ragged while her consciousness began to fade.

[Your Stamina and HP have drastically dropped in a short period of time.]

[You’re slowly falling into a fainted state.]

But the notifications did not end there.

[You’re the one that has tried to challenge Asura’s Trial for the 300th time.]

[You kept on challenging the trial despite knowing that it’s impossible for you.]

[Something special is now happening.]

[You can now choose a helper. If your chosen helper answers your summons within a minute, they would be able to participate and fight with you.]

[You will fall into a four-second fainted state.]

‘I can choose a helper… Then, the helper that I choose is…’

In the end, Ascar lost consciousness.

***

Haze was very excited to give her report to Minhyuk.

“On average, the members of the Shadow Knight Order are at Level 570. With the passive skill ‘Secret Knight’, we could expect them to exert 1.3x their original power in the dark, a tremendous display of power if I may say.”

Haze could not help but be excited after knowing what Minhyuk received from the Lumae Kingdom.

Mumble, mumble, mumble—

The moment Minhyuk’s new-found Uncle Raldo returned to his kingdom, he filled carts of weapons, armors, gold, and even their specialties and sent it to them. Haze continued to report excitedly, but she ended up pausing when she saw the look on Minhyuk’s face. It was because Minhyuk looked distracted as he stared at the Blood Tower that could be seen out of the windows of his office.

Actually, it was Haze that had reported to Minhyuk that Ascar was there. She could tell from Minhyuk’s expression that he was very worried about Ascar.

“Ah, sorry. Go on.”

“Yes. The funds that we received as compensation from Lumae Kingdom amounted to 50,000 platinum. It’s more than enough to repair all of the damages that we have received in this war. In addition, many of the foreigners have started migrating to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom after having seen the war and seeing plenty of possibilities in us. The number of people that migrated today…”

Haze suddenly stopped. It seemed like she had made a mistake and had forgotten to bring the tally of the players that have migrated today.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Please excuse me for a moment.”

“Alright,” Minhyuk answered as he turned to look at the Blood Tower again.

Haze went out while thinking, ‘Ascar is trying harder because you’re that kind of king.’

She smiled bitterly at the thought. After getting the report, she once again opened the door to Minhyuk’s office and entered.

“Your Majesty, the number of foreigners that migrated today…”

But Haze suddenly stopped in her tracks, head tilting in confusion. It was because Minhyuk was nowhere to be found. The only thing that appeared in the room was the wind blowing through the open windows.

“Your Majesty…?”

A little later…

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaang—

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

Strong and powerful tremors engulfed the entire Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. Haze hurriedly hid under the table at the sudden shaking and only came out to look after everything died down. What she saw outside were powerful black flames blazing on top of the Blood Tower.

“Your Majesty…?”

***

Ascar’s consciousness was slowly returning. She was able to choose a helper just before she fainted. And the helper that she chose was none other than Minhyuk. Perhaps it was because she was not fully conscious at the time. Ascar knew that nothing would change even if Minhyuk answered her call in that short minute and appeared here. Actually, the reason why she called Minhyuk as her helper was because she wanted to see him.

Once her consciousness returned to her, she saw his wide back in front of her.

Minhyuk, who was chosen as Ascar’s helper, was notified about the number of times that Ascar had challenged the trials the moment he entered the tower. Minhyuk was left in awe of Ascar’s perseverance, knowing that the trials were so difficult and mentally straining.

“You’re really great, Ascar,” Minhyuk said sincerely as he looked back at her.

But Ascar’s vision was still a bit blurry so she could not see his face clearly.

“Come, wrap one of your hands around my shoulders.”

Minhyuk hugged Ascar, who was now slowly coming back to her senses. With one arm wrapped around Minhyuk’s shoulders, Ascar mumbled groggily, “There are too many monsters…”

“It’s alright.”

Ascar thought that no matter how strong Minhyuk was, there was no way that he could help her against all these monsters that filled the entire floor.

Minhyuk hugged Ascar with one hand, while holding his sword with the other and casting his ‘saved’ skill, the Sword of Absolute Death.

Ping—

The attack immediately knocked down one of the tallest boss monsters that were blocking their path.

Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping—

Then, hundreds of sword blades appeared and swept away the monster corps that blocked them, creating a thirty meter long path. Minhyuk hurriedly ran while hugging Ascar.

[40 seconds, 39 seconds, 38 seconds, 37…]

Time continued to flow as they continued to run forward. Then, Minhyuk suddenly jumped to the skies, the sword in his hand pointing to the ground.

Shwaaaaaaaaaaaaa—

[Continent Destroyer.]

The Continent Destroyer Sword’s ultimate skill was triggered, sweeping the area around the two. Minhyuk continued to run while the monsters were still reeling from the sudden earthquake. He stomped on some of the flying boulders that flew from the earthquake, even going so far as to stepping on monsters that flew too.

At this moment, Minhyuk, who was running with Ascar in his arms and the explosions of lava behind him, looked like he was the main character of an action movie.

Shwaaaaa—

Shwaaaaa—

[19 seconds, 18 seconds, 17 seconds…]

The timer continued to tick but the podium holding the bloody greatsword was still far away from them. Suddenly, tens of thousands of monsters appeared and blocked Minhyuk’s path again. The problem was that there were even Named Monsters that exceeded Level 500 among the monsters that blocked their path here on the tenth floor.

‘It’s impossible…’?Ascar thought, biting her lips amidst the commotion.

But Minhyuk looked down at Ascar with a gentle smile on his face. His expression seemed to tell her that there was nothing to worry about as he said, “It’s alright, Ascar.”

Ascar felt her heart thump like crazy when she met Minhyuk's warm and soft gaze. Even her cheeks flushed red without her knowing it. Then, jet black flames bloomed on Minhyuk’s sword.

Crackleeee—

The powerful force that erupted from his sword shook the surroundings.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

The ground shook and the skies rumbled as the air in the surroundings heated up. And Minhyuk, who flew in the skies, struck the ground with all his might.

[Overlord’s Technique.]

[The one that has received the Overlord’s Technique will be able to trigger 150% of the power of the Overlord’s Technique without using the Overlord’s Mana for one time.]

[The Overlord’s Technique covers the entire world!]

[The Overlord’s Fire, with an additional 5,000%~8,000% attack, will attack everyone within a 60~80 meter radius.]

[The Overlord’s Fire is a fire that will not be extinguished so easily. If the fire licks and touches a body, it will continue to deal damage to that individual.]

The amount of damage that Minhyuk dealt was several times stronger than the original Overlord’s Technique’s power. This was because it was Minhyuk’s very first use. On his very first usage of the skill, he could utilize 50% more power without the need to fill his Overlord’s Mana.

As soon as Minhyuk’s sword struck down, a black wave stretched out as the power of the Overlord’s Technique was expressed to the world. The wave instantly turned the monsters that blocked their path into bones until they disappeared into ashes. The black flames opened the path for them. In fact, the power of the Overlord’s Technique was so strong that it even tore apart the walls of the tower’s tenth floor as strong flames burst out. The beautiful black flames mesmerized Ascar.

Then, Minhyuk looked down at Ascar with a gentle gaze as he lowered her into the ground and said, “It’s your turn now. You’re not going to give up, right?”

“…”

At that moment, Ascar felt as if the same Minhyuk that warmed her with his words in the past flashed in front of her.

‘That’s right. I won’t give up.’

Ascar immediately ran to the unblocked path created by the black flames with the last of her strength the moment Minhyuk lowered her into the ground. However, her HP was still at rock bottom and her stamina was going down. Still, all Ascar did was to grit her teeth and run.

“Kihyeeeeeeek!”

“Kihyaaaaaaaaaaack!”

[The monsters will desperately try to stop you the closer you get to Asura’s greatsword.]

Crackleeeeeeee—

Thousands of monsters devoured by the black flames rushed after Ascar until they disappeared into dust. Ascar continued to run forward alone without any fear as thousands chased after her.

‘There’s nothing in the world that I can’t do!’

Nothing was impossible. Especially after Minhyuk showed her his strength and power.

Dash, dash, dash, dash—

Ascar’s speed seemed to increase and become faster as time went by. Even the thousands of monsters that were chasing behind her began to throw themselves at her to stop her. Just when an ichthyosaur-like monster tried to devour her…

“I’ll make it, no matter what!”

Grab—

…Ascar grabbed the hilt of the greatsword.

Flaaaaaaaaaaash—

Then, a bright red light illuminated everything in the world, turning all of the monsters into ashes.

[You have successfully completed Asura’s Trial.]

[With your successful completion of Asura’s Trial, you can now change to ‘God Class: Asura’.]

[You have overcome your limit and completed the trial.]

[You have gone beyond your limits and even reached God. The powers of Asura that you will be able to inherit will be stronger.]

[With your transfer to a God Class, your level will drop to Level 266.]

Ascar smiled brightly amidst the shining red light. Her eyes curved up into crescents as her white and neat teeth peeked through the gaps of her lips. The red light even highlighted her white skin, straight nose, and sharp jawline. The smile that she showed right now was beautiful enough to charm the entire world. As she smiled like that, she turned to look at him.

“You know…”