Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 506: Beyond the Heavens Kingdom versus Akhan

Since Minhyuk was on a private plane bound to America, he could not receive any messages. In other words, it was only when they landed and he got off the plane that he was able to learn about the situation in Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and Baroque Kingdom. That was also when Minhyuk saw the number one topic in the real-time search words.

[1. An Undying Veteran.]

A deep sense of ominous foreboding came over Minhyuk’s body the moment he saw the topic. He immediately clicked on it and learnt that the ‘veteran’ was none other than Ghost Spear Ben, a person that Minhyuk loved and cherished.

Minhyuk dropped everything and hurriedly ran toward his Athenae capsule. He headed straight to where Ben was the moment he accessed the game.

“Ah…” Minhyuk uttered in shock as he screeched to a halt.

Ghost Spear Ben might be quite playful and mischievous, but he was a strong and very reliable person in Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. Now, his once healthy and lively figure was kneeling on the ground, while his body was slowly crumbling into black ash that scattered in the wind.

Minhyuk felt the strings of his rationality snap when he saw Ben’s miserable figure. The first thing that Minhyuk did was break down and close the passage that led to the drainage pipe that Luna and Haze entered in. Then he rampaged and swept through everyone around him.

“Th, that… the Beyond the Heavens King…!” Renzie shouted in shock. He could not believe his eyes. This was because the king in front of him was much stronger than what they had heard. But Minhyuk’s strength did not come from his wrath at seeing Ben’s situation. It was because he had gained a lot of power in Japan and came back stronger than ever.

By the end of his rampage, he even brought down Dragon Elder Velach to his knees. As Minhyuk stood in the air, his eyes caught the sight of Ghost Spear Ben reaching out.

Minhyuk, who suffered from eating addiction, did not have any proper friends in real life. Ever since he started playing Athenae as some sort of therapy, he was able to build a lot of connections. Among his countless connections, Ghost Spear Ben was the very first person that stayed by his side as a vassal and a retainer. Although Minhyuk claimed that Ben was his personal ‘barista’, he always felt reassured whenever he saw him standing at the frontlines. The coffee that Ben made was the warmest, sometimes the coldest, and most of the time, the sweetest coffee that Minhyuk had ever tasted.

Minhyuk had always viewed Ben like he viewed his grandfather in reality. And this very same Ben was now slowly sinking into his eternal rest after doing his damndest to protect those that were precious to Minhyuk.

Minhyuk approached Ben slowly. He grabbed Ben’s outstretched hands and wrapped it with his own warm ones. Ben’s eyes, which had already lost focus, began to shine once again with vitality.

‘His hands are cold.’

They were also rough from his endless training, swinging his spear until his hands got torn, and bloody and calluses formed thickly on them. But Ben’s cold and rough hands felt the warmest right now to Minhyuk as he brought it to his cheeks.

“Ho… Hoho… Hohoho…”

Ghost Spear Ben’s stalwart body shook violently as tears fell down his cheeks. Minhyuk fell down on his knees as he hugged Ben tightly. The two of them hugged for a moment until Ben pushed his body away to wipe the tears off of Minhyuk’s face.

“Don’t cry, my king,” Ben said, grinning widely. “This old man is very glad that I get to see you, Your Majesty. Please forgive my recklessness this time…”

Ghost Spear Ben’s body started to turn into black ash and disappear from his feet upwards.

“N, no…” Minhyuk cried, tears falling nonstop. He could not let go of Ghost Spear Ben just like that. Especially not after hearing his story from Locke, who met with Haze at Valencia. He knew that Ghost Spear Ben’s death here would not be a simple death.

From what Minhyuk heard, Ghost Spear Ben would suffer pain and torment for thousands of years in hell. Even his shot at salvation, a ‘reincarnation’, had been taken away from him. Although Athenae was a game, as long as Athenae existed, they would be people that lived in this world and the pain that they would experience would be real.

‘I need a method. Damn! I need a way to deal with this!’

Minhyuk felt the top of his head turn cold from the snow as he thought of a way to get Ben out of this dire situation.

‘Ah…!’

That was when Minhyuk recalled an item that he had obtained from one of the rewards that the ‘Absolute Gods’ bestowed upon him not too long ago. This item was none other than the ‘Resetting Potion’.

(Resetting Potion)

Potion Grade: God

Special Abilities: You can only choose one person. Upon use of potion, this person’s everything will reset and return at a designated time.

Description: It is a very special and rare potion that only one among the Absolute Gods have. None of the other gods have it in their possession.

Without further thought, Minhyuk had chosen one person for this very amazing and outstanding potion. And that person was none other than Ghost Spear Ben. This was because Ben was always standing at the frontline. On top of that, he was someone that never backed down.

In a way, the Resetting Potion’s use should be deliberated carefully. After all, it was a miraculous potion that would return one’s body’s state back to its state at the designated time. However, the potion was a double-edged sword. After all, it would be a waste if the chosen person was extremely stronger than when he was in the past. But, it had not been that long since Minhyuk had chosen Ghost Spear Ben.

Besides, Ben was already at the crossroads of death, this was the perfect time to use the potion. His lower half was already gone. In fact, even his upper body was slowly disintegrating.

Pop—

Minhyuk popped the potion bottle quickly and poured it into Ghost Spear Ben’s mouth.

‘Please…’

Minhyuk desperately pleaded and prayed that Ghost Spear Ben would be able to remain by his side, that he would return to a time when he did not need to receive a terrible punishment.

Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp—

Ben struggled to gulp down the potion that was given to him. By the time the final drop of the potion was gone, his entire body was already glowing in a brilliant light.

[You have used the Resetting Potion.]

[Everything will now go back to your specified time.]

.

“…!”

Minhyuk smiled brightly. He was very glad to know that he did not have to separate ways with Ben.

“Grandpa! You’re not going to die!!! You can stay with me…!”

But at that moment, a shocking set of notifications rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

[The effects of the Resetting Potion are temporarily suspended.]

[Ben needs to receive punishment from Aerdes. Using the Resetting Potion to undo everything will break the laws of causality.]

“…!”

Minhyuk’s smiling face turned stiff. Fortunately, Ben’s body stopped disappearing.

[Athenae and the Absolute Gods have begun a discussion with the other gods.]

Minhyuk’s heart thumped wildly in nervousness after knowing that the gods were having a discussion. They had been silent and had not given him any answer for a while.

Then, Ghost Spear Ben’s body started to disintegrate once again.

“Wh, what…?!”

Minhyuk had definitely used the Resetting Potion but the power that Ghost Spear Ben had temporarily inherited was too much. The burden that Ben’s body had to take was too much. Then, the notifications rang again.

[Ghost Spear Ben’s Absolute Gods’ Trial has begun.]

[Your connection with Ghost Spear Ben will be cut off.]

[If Ghost Spear Ben fails to complete the trial, he will receive punishment from Aerdes.]

[If Ghost Spear Ben clears the trial, he will be exempted from Aerdes’ punishment.]

[You cannot see what type of trial Ghost Spear Ben will undergo.]

[The trial’s duration cannot be disclosed.]

“What, what in the world…?!”

Minhyuk was extremely flustered. His connection with Ben as a vassal had been forcefully cut off and he could not check Ben’s status window. Minhyuk hurriedly reached out for Ben, who was now slowly starting to disappear.

“D, don’t go! Grandpa! Please stay with me!”

“Your Majesty…” The disappearing Ghost Spear Ben looked at Minhyuk resolutely and said, “This old man will definitely return to Your Majesty’ arms.”

Minhyuk gently touched Ben’s disappearing cheeks as Ben’s figure slowly slipped away and disappeared. The remnants of his body slipped through Minhyuk’s hands and fluttered in the air.

“Surely, definitely…”

Ghost Spear Ben had promised Minhyuk. He said that he would come back someday. Perhaps this separation was no different from Ben’s death. After all, it was a trial given by the Absolute Gods.

However, Minhyuk firmly believed in Ben.

“Come back soon. When that time comes, I will make sure to make you a nice cup of coffee.”

The Ghost Spear Ben that Minhyuk knew was stronger, tougher, and greater than anyone else. He knew that he would come back to his arms. Minhyuk stood still for a moment as he watched the ashes flutter in the skies. Only Ben’s clothes remained on the ground as his body disappeared into the air.

That was when Minhyuk found a small pouch hidden in Ben’s clothes. When he squeezed the pouch, he realized that it was filled with coffee beans. Ghost Spear Ben’s final words rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

[These are the best coffee beans that I have collected. Hoho. My son… no… Your Majesty, please make sure to brew some and drink a cup.]

Minhyuk clutched the pouch tightly. For some reason, he felt like Ben’s warmth was still lingering in the pouch. After hugging the pouch for quite some time, Minhyuk’s face turned ugly.

Grit, grit, grit—

Minhyuk was gnashing his teeth. Anyone that saw him right now would be very shocked. This was because he was radiating undisguised killing intent, something that he had never shown in Athenae, or in reality, ever.

At this very moment, Minhyuk made a promise, ‘I will do everything I can…’

Minhyuk vowed to return everything to Akhan, the main culprit behind this. He had no intention of granting someone like him any forgiveness. After all, Akhan took away a precious person from him. That was right. Akhan had provoked the wrong person.

***

In front of Baroque Kingdom’s capital.

Up until now, a large army of more than 50,000 troops was spread out, barricading the fortress like the Great Wall of China. These troops were the troops enlisted by the Baroque Kingdom and the conscripts that the other kingdoms had sent as support. They were able to successfully gather their troops with the help of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, who earned them more than half a day of reprieve.

Before the battle, Genie asked King Lloyd, ‘Do you need our help? But if you decide to enlist our help, you will have to pay us 40% of your task.’

Genie was business-oriented. She would squeeze out everything from her opponent and never lose money. Regardless, 40% of a kingdom’s task was a huge amount. That was why King Lloyd refused.

‘What difference would it make if Beyond the Heavens Kingdom helped us?’

It was already a good thing that they bought time for them. However, the number of troops that a small nation like the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom had was only 1/20th of the troops that Baroque Kingdom had.

What difference would it make if they lent them their strength?

King Lloyd rejected Genie’s offer and decided to fight the battle on their own. But the result?

‘How, how can this be…?’

They had around 80,000 troops in total, but this army was wiped out in just seven hours. The biggest reason for their complete and utter defeat was the appearance of Akhan. Akhan had brought more monsters that were 30% stronger than usual, along with a translucent shield that covered their bodies.

The worst part? They did not have anyone skillful enough to stop the bombardment of magical attacks that were pouring out from the dragons in the skies.

In the end, Lloyd had to run to find Genie.

To his bewilderment, Genie’s expression was extremely ugly when he saw her. And it was not just her. Even the Named NPCs and the foreigners that belonged to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom were all sporting the same expression. When Lloyd saw them earlier, they were either cooking ramyeon or reciting some strange words.

But now, all of them looked like wild beasts ready to pounce on their prey.

‘What, what the hell?’

Plunged into confusion, King Lloyd had no choice but to look around somewhere. And the place where he looked was where Akhan and the troops that he led were. The dragons, who had been resting for a moment, were suddenly flying once again to launch another attack at them.

“Hiiiiiiiiiik!”

Lloyd hurriedly said to Genie, “I’ll, I’ll do whatever you want! So do something about this! I’ll do whatever you say, just do something!”

Actually, Lloyd did not expect much. But, the people from the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom were the only ones that he could lean on right now. Meanwhile, Genie, with her distorted expression, heard the notifications in her ears.

[Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s Great Hero, Ghost Spear Ben, has died in battle.]

[Honor him from the depths of your hearts.]

[He is a true hero that fought for Beyond the Heavens Kingdom until the very end. His achievements will remain in the history of the kingdom forever.]

[You can now set up a tombstone or a statue in honor of Ghost Spear Ben, a great hero and warrior.]

For Minhyuk, Ghost Spear Ben disappeared to take the Absolute Gods’ Trial, but for the rest of them, his disappearance was relayed as his death. And Ghost Spear Ben was a very precious existence to them.

Then, the dragons flew up above the walls. Then, at that moment, Genie, whose lips were curled up in a gruesome smirk, said, “Don’t worry. We’ll kill all of those bastards. Don’t leave a single one of them alive!!!”

Grit, grit, grit—

The sound of Genie’s gritting teeth was horrific to the ears.

Baaaaaaaaaaang—

A huge explosion shook the entirety of Baroque Kingdom. Then, King Lloyd was presented with an incredibly unbelievable sight.

Elpis threw one of the dragons to the ground while Gorfido, who arrived at Baroque Kingdom, grabbed one of the dragons by the neck with a huge hand made of water. Even the boy, Conir, flew up to the skies and slammed one of the dragons down.

Akhan had unknowingly incurred the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s blazing wrath. He touched someone that should never be touched.