Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 412: Penalty Shoot-Out

Calauhel, as the richest man in the world, did everything he could to improve himself. He used a tremendous amount of money to purchase countless artifacts, seeking to increase his power for the sake of trampling the man hailed as the Food God. That was why he was looking forward to meeting Minhyuk again.

And right now, Minhyuk was standing in front of Calauhel, using his Sword of Absolute Death. However, Calauhel was wearing the ‘Merciless Hero’s Armor’, an extremely expensive armor.

The Merciless Hero’s Armor was a legendary rank artifact, but after several strengthening and reinforcement, it could exert power that was more shocking than the ‘Demigod Artifacts’ spread all over the world.

Then, the Sword of Absolute Death engulfed Calauhel.

[Merciless Hero’s Will]

[All attacks will be nullified and all stats will increase by 15% for four seconds.]

Ping—

The Sword of Absolute Death did not deal any damage to Calauhel.

“…!”

Minhyuk frowned at the sight. As for Calauhel, he just smiled deeply as he watched hundreds of sword blades engulf him and the other players.

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

“Urk!”

“Keuaaaaaack!”

“Ugh, aaaaaaaack!”

Minhyuk’s Sword of Absolute Death was able to log out some of the players that tried to attack him and their team. However, as players that represented their countries, they had at least one skill that could counter skills like the Sword of Absolute Death. This skill allowed these players to safely stay in the game.

Calauhel, who held out firmly against the Sword of Absolute Death, approached Minhyuk slowly. There was only one reason for Calauhel’s confidence. And that was…

‘The Merciless Hero’s Armor may not be God rank, but it can reduce both the basic and skill damage by 60%!’

The Food God might be an excellent damage dealer, but what could a dealer do if the power that they could exert had been reduced by 60%? They would just be useless and ripe for the taking.

[Maestro of Destruction’s Rage]

[A tremendous force will stretch out from your sword. Once this force hits the target, it will explode and deal 1,200% additional damage.]

Calauhel grinned happily as he slammed his sword on the ground right in front of Minhyuk. Then…

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaang!

…a huge explosion engulfed Minhyuk and the rest of the Korean Team.

[Ah! It’s Calauhel’s forte! He cast the Maestro of Destruction’s Rage!]

[Calauhel is also well-known for reducing his opponent’s attack power by a significant amount!]

[It’s thanks to that ability that he was able to climb to the Summit Five.]

[Did you see that? The powerful Sword of Absolute Death did not deal any damage to Calauhel.]

[A powerful explosion and strong shockwave has devoured the Korean Team!]

[As expected of a Summit Five player. They’re really powerful. Will Player Minhyuk and his team be able to overcome this?]

Calauhel’s attack had caused a series of explosions. The ‘Red Dragon Sword’ was a supreme sword that ranked fourth among the Absolute Demigod Artifacts. The sword also had the special ability ‘Dragon Breath’ attached to it. This was the ability that was currently spreading wildly and melting anyone within a five-meter radius while dealing additional 2,000% damage.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaang—

Calauhel brandished his sword once again, which resulted in another set of explosions. However, when the explosions finally died down and the dust had settled, they were met with the Korean Team safely hiding behind a solid and thick golden barrier.

[It’s Barrier!!! The mages’ absolute invincible shield has been cast!!!]

[Barrier is a magic spell exclusive to high-leveled mages. This is a last resort magic spell that mages use whenever their HP and defense have reached a low level.]

[We can safely say that the Korean Team had used up a strong and great defensive measure.]

[Ah, as we speak, the American Team has taken the opportunity to surpass the Korean Team in rankings!!!]

[Alexander and James might have lost Alex in their team, but they are still making good progress in the game!]

[In the end, what we were worried about has happened! The collision between the other players had resulted in their teams being pushed back in the rankings!]

Calauhel also saw that the rankings had changed but he did not care. The main reason why he participated in this game was to hunt the ‘Food God’. Anything beyond that did not matter much.

Minhyuk swiftly rushed out the moment the golden barrier started to disappear.

[Sword of Tempest]

[Hundreds of sword blades with 250% additional attack will be created around your body that will indiscriminately slash your enemies within six seconds. During the duration of the skill, your movement speed will increase by 200%.]

Minhyuk’s speed, which was already fast to begin with, increased dramatically as hundreds of blades appeared and surrounded his body while slaughtering everything that blocked his path..

“You and I both know that your attacks are useless!” Calauhel laughed mockingly. The engraved words on Minhyuk’s sword instantly changed to Lightning Destruction. And when they collided…

Baaaaaang—

…his passive was triggered together with the Continent Destroyer Sword’s active skill that he cast.

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

Blood-colored lightning bolts fell down from the sky one after the other and devoured Calauhel. Naturally, Calauhel believed that he would be able to nullify and ignore the damage from the attack. But…

‘What the hell?! What kind of outrageous damage is this?!’

…all he could do was stare blankly at the man in front of him as hundreds of swords with damage far beyond what he could imagine tore his body apart.

Grab—

Minhyuk took advantage of Calauhel’s daze and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him to wherever Ali was pointing at. Ali, who stood behind Minhyuk, pointed his finger and cast his magic, “Compress.”

Shwaaaaaaaa—

With a flick of Ali’s hands, all of the players that tried to approach the Korean Team were all dragged by a powerful force and gathered together in one place.

“Heup?!”

“I… I can’t move!!!”

Minhyuk, with Calauhel in hand, ran to where the players were dragged to. The problem was…

“Heok?!”

“Crazy!!!”

…hundreds of blades were dancing around his body! The players, who watched Minhyuk approach them, could tell that they were facing impending doom!

Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping!

The bodies of the players that Ali gathered together were mercilessly torn apart and devoured by the sword blades that surrounded Minhyuk’s body. The worst part was that none of the players could stop nor avoid the sword blades. After all, the blades’ attack speed had increased by 250%. Just like that, the players were forced to log out one after the other. And Calauhel…

“You bastaaaaaaaard!”

…was only momentarily stunned by the tremendous damage that Minhyuk could deal. He firmly believed that the damage and power that Minhyuk had displayed just a few moments prior were not his own and were only caused by a skill, or some kind of buff.

Then, Minhyuk released his hold on Calauhel’s collar only to send him a very powerful blow.

Claaaang—

The tip of Minhyuk’s sword made contact with Calauhel’s Merciless Hero’s Armor.

Crack, crack—

Suddenly, an ominous sound rang faintly, yet clearly, in Calauhel’s ears. For a moment, he wondered if his ears were working properly. Calauhel’s Merciless Hero’s Armor’s durability was infinite and would not really sustain any damage, unless a God-rank artifact was used against it. But right now, thin, thread-like cracks started to cover his armor from the small chip created by the tip of Minhyuk’s sword.

Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack—

And finally…

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud—

…Calauhel’s armor fell down as it broke into pieces. The skill that Minhyuk used was none other than the Continent Destroyer Sword’s skill, ‘Armor Break’.

(Armor Break)

Artifact Skill

Level: None

Mana Required: 2,000

Cooldown: 24 hours

Effects:

? The sword that contains God’s power will have the ability to reduce an armor’s durability, no matter what kind of ore or mineral was used in making the artifact.

? You will be able to deal at least 5,000 damage to the armor’s durability. You will also have an 8% chance of bringing the armor’s durability to zero and bringing it to destruction.

Description: All armors are bound to be equal in the face of God’s sword. No matter what kind of armor it is, it will be nullified and destroyed by the Continent Destroyer Sword.

Coincidentally, Lady Luck had shone her light on Minhyuk. He was able to trigger the 8% chance in the skill and completely destroy the armor.

[You have been hit by the opponent’s Armor Break.]

[Armor Break has destroyed the Merciless Hero’s Armor.]

[All armors are bound to be equal and submit in the face of your opponent’s sword.]

[The armor’s durability has reached zero.]

[Artifacts that have reached zero durability cannot be restored and recovered.]

That was right. The armor that had made Calauhel one of the Summit Five had broken down into pieces. That was the moment when Calauhel realized that the notification about someone reaching the ‘God’ rank not too long ago was related to the Food God.

“You… you bastard! F*c…”

However, Minhyuk did not let Calauhel finish his words.

[Sword of Frenzy]

[You will have additional 400% damage to your attack upon a successful strike to your enemy’s vital point. The six consecutive attacks that would follow the attack will have additional 100% damage. Upon a successful vital point attack, enemies within a five meter radius will receive six consecutive attacks with additional 100% damage.]

The moment Calauhel’s armor broke, Minhyuk triggered Diablo’s Eyes and explored all of his vital points. Then…

Stab—

…a strike with 400% additional damage was sent out, quickly followed by one strike after another.

Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab—

The six consecutive strikes that followed the initial strike were even accompanied by lightning strikes thanks to the influence of Minhyuk’s sword’s passive skill.

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

And it did not end there. The surviving players within Minhyuk’s five-meter radius were devoured by his Sword of Frenzy.

Ping, ping, ping, ping—

The worst part was that they were also affected by the Continent Destroyer Sword’s passive skill. The very same passive skill that would only be triggered by chance. Bloody lightning bolts fell down and easily killed two players.

Collapse—

Just then, Calauhel, one of the Summit Five and someone with a power that could rival an entire kingdom, collapsed. Then…

[Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!]

[Woaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!]

[Something unbelievable just happened in front of us!!!]

[Calauhel, one of the Summit Five, collapsed in just under five minutes in a battle against Player Minhyuk!!!]

[This means that Korea’s Food God Minhyuk has now climbed to the ranks of the Summit Five!!!]

Shouts and cheers shook the world while the players that survived the onslaught of Minhyuk’s attack rushed to get up and disperse, putting distance between them and the Korean Team.

‘This guy has also suffered from a lot of damage.’

‘If we attack him a few more times then we can kill him.’

If they could kill Minhyuk, then dealing with Ali and Root would be a piece of cake. After all, the two of them were definitely vulnerable and weak when it came to close combat.

Just when they were all thinking that Minhyuk was already exhausted and weak, Minhyuk took something out of his pockets and started eating. What he took out was none other than ‘Choco Pie’, Korea’s signature snack! And the moment Minhyuk ate the choco pie…

Fwoosh—

…the injuries that he sustained started to recover one after the other. And he did not stop there.

“Bandage!”

Minhyuk wrapped his injuries with bandages and stopped the bleeding which allowed him to recover his HP by a lot.

“Ref… referee!!! Referee!!! You told us that we’re not allowed to use any potions, right?!!!”

“This is cheating!!!”

The players started protesting against the committee and the referees. Then, Team Leader Park Minggyu, who was watching the stadium and acting as the referee, said, “According to our findings, the Choco Pie is just a regular snack and does not have any special abilities nor any abilities that allow recovery. In addition, ‘Bandage’ only has the same effect as using bandages to cover wounds in real life for people that have not learned the skill. They are not against the rules.”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

Yes, only the Food God had the skill that could help him recover through eating. On top of that, the effects of the bandage from the Bandage skill would not be expressed if one has not mastered the skill. It was safe to say that both were the Food God’s skills.

“Ugh… Uuuuuuuuuuuuugh…”

“Shit… how can we beat someone like that?!”

Everyone looked at Minhyuk in horror. And just like that, the first half of the game ended and the scores of the teams were displayed.

[1st Place: America. 112 points.]

[2nd Place: Japan. 89 points.]

[3rd Place: South Korea. 66 points.]

[4th Place: Russia. 64 points.]

[5th Place: China. 62 points.]