Chapter 1349

Chapter 1349

Rumors began to circulate in the Land of the Gods.

“Have you heard? A vote will be held a week later to determine if the God of Cooking and the God of Will’s qualifications as Absolute Gods should be revoked.”

“Of course. I’ve heard about it. Nonetheless, these two have been around for a very long time. So, why now?”

A man listening to the two piped up, “To be honest, I don’t get why the God of Cooking and the God of Will are amongst the Absolute Gods. Are the two of them better than the other gods? I don’t think so.”

“Hmm. After listening to you, I feel convinced of the logic.”

The story spread like wildfire among the ordinary citizens of the Land of the Gods and eventually reached the ears of the ordinary gods.

“Isn’t this only natural? You see, I believe I’m no different from the God of Cooking or the God of Will, why can’t I be in that position?”

“I have long doubted those two. Why the hell should they be Absolute Gods?”

“Then, will you vote to agree or to disagree with the disqualification and removal of the two gods in their position as Absolute Gods?”

“I’m going to agree. Maybe this will bring changes to improve the Land of the Gods.”

“As for me, I think differently. I’m against it. The two of them had kept their positions and remained Absolute Gods for a long time now, you see.”

“Don’t you think that it’s a bit contradictory? Letting them keep their position just because they had been in that position for a long time?”

“Hmm...”

A controversy slowly and silently brewed among the people as they discussed the qualifications of the God of Cooking and the God of Will. At first, the opinion was 50:50. Just then, the members of Raker’s faction began to sow discord.

“The Battle God leads all of the troops in the Land of the Gods and strives to maintain the peace.”

“The God of Judgment applies the laws to the land and reduces the crime rate in the Land of the Gods.”

“Although he has now become a Pillar, the God of Death has been and always has been in charge of the entire realm of Hell.”

“What do the two of them do?”

“The dishes made by the God of Cooking do not fill our stomachs, while the power of the God of Will only applies to those who show hard work, firm will, and determination. But what if the God of Ingenuity Raker is placed in the position of the Absolute God? What do you think will happen?”

“He will strive to make a better and brighter world for us.”

“I hear you. Perhaps we need to see a reform, just like you said.”

The public’s opinion toward the voting started to tilt in favor of the removal and disqualification of the two gods rapidly. And the one standing at the heart of it all was none other than Raker.

***

Team Leader Park and Lee Minhwa’s eyes were fixed on the monitor before them. The scene on the monitor showed Minhyuk standing with the God of Cooking and the God of Will.

“Minhyuk will help the God of Cooking.”

Minhyuk would make a great assistant. That was an excellent choice.

“Many things will happen if the God of Cooking and the God of Will were removed from their position, right?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

They were unsure what changes this would bring to the Land of the Gods. Because of this, the Story Team had to move accordingly and pay close attention. This just went to show how vital the role of the Absolute Gods was in Athenae.

“Coincidentally, this is happening when Minhyuk can receive one of the skills of the Absolute Gods every five years.”

Minhyuk can choose one of the Absolute Gods and ask for one of their skills.

“Whatever skill he could get would be up to the Absolute Gods.”

The chosen Absolute God could give Minhyuk the weakest or greatest skill in their possession.

“It seems like the most suitable choice for Minhyuk to get power from is the God of Will.”

“That’s right.”

Each Absolute God had a power with an overwhelming force that represented them. Of course, Minhyuk would only be able to get the power of the God of Will if he chose the God of Will and if the God of Will willingly gave him the power.

Team Leader Park and Lee Minhwa believed that the God of Will’s strongest and most significant power was the most suitable for Minhyuk.

“Of course, this will only happen if the God of Cooking can surpass the greatest dish.”

The two kept silent as they watched the monitor in front of them.

***

After confirming the most outstanding dish created by the God of Cooking, Minhyuk headed to the Land of the Gods’ central plaza with the two gods. The three could feel the stinging gazes of the people and the whispers and murmurs among them.

‘The rumors have spread this far already?’

It was Raker’s handiwork. However, they have expected this much. Even though Raker had used gossip mongers to create discord and spread the rumors quickly, they knew this would happen sooner or later.

‘We need to correct the most fundamental problem here.’

And the most fundamental problem was their views on the two gods. They had to show them that these two gods were not incompetent or lacking in any way.

Minhyuk’s words were the same as his thoughts. The two gods were essential in this world. The God of Will was closest to humans, while the God of Cooking could exert great power by creating permanent dishes. The problem was that they could not see this. So, they needed to prove themselves to the world.

When the celestial dwellers arrived in the central plaza, they showed courtesy toward the three Absolute Gods.

Arlene waved them away, saying, “I have 7,685 God-grade ingredients in total.”

“...Wow.”

Minhyuk was rendered speechless for a moment. But this should be natural. After all, she was the God of Cooking.

“How can the God of Will help you?”

Minhyuk glanced at the God of Will. He was a man with an ordinary appearance who gave off an ordinary impression. Yet, Minhyuk had a very strong impression of the God of Will, primarily because the man had bestowed upon him the Divine Will. The fact that this god responded to his hard work, effort, and determination left a long-lasting impression on him.

The God of Will spoke timidly. “It’s not a special power, per se...”

“What kind of power is it?”

“I have this skill called Infinite Will, Effort, and Bravery.”

“Can you share it with us?”

The God of Will readily accepted and allowed them to view the skill.

(

Infinite Will, Effort, and Bravery

)

Rank

: Absolute God

Active Skill

Level

: None

Penalty for Use

: None

Effects

:

•You will fall and be immersed in the power of the Infinite Will, Effort, and Bravery.

•Through the power of the Infinite Will, Effort, and Bravery, you can continue to do things in your dreams. Of course, your body will remain in reality.

•Whether you stay in your dreams for 7 days, 150 days, 300 days, 1,000 days, or more, only seven days will pass in reality.

•The skill will be terminated if the repetitive action has been interrupted for more than ten minutes.

•You will gain the power to continue to exert your infinite will, effort, and bravery.

•The targets chosen by the God of Will will not get tired. Even the damage caused by the repetitive actions will always be restored to 100%.

•The targets chosen by the God of Will will continue to recover from mental fatigue and damage caused by repetitive actions.

•You must select only the most important and designate them as the primary target.

•The near infinite will, effort, and bravery exhibited by the primary target, the assistant, and the skill user will bear fruit at the end of the skill.

•The fruit that the power will bear will depend on how much effort, will, and bravery you have shown.

•A protective shield will cover and protect you.

•The number of days you repeat your actions will be displayed above your head for everyone outside to see.

The description of the skill was quite vague. According to the skill description, this power would reward their hard work, determination, and bravery. It did not say how much it would reward them, but it did state that they would definitely be rewarded.

Minhyuk tried to ask for specific details about the skill, but the God of Will shook his head and said, “I am the God of Will. I don’t want to tell this to someone who only sees the rewards first without giving any hard work or showing firm determination and will.”

“Since the God of Cooking will be the main target, are you saying that we should all show our hard work, determination, and will, together?”

“That’s right.”

“I have one thing that I’m curious about. Can I ask about it?”

“Ask away.”

“Have you ever used this before?”

“No. Never.”

Minhyuk smiled wryly. He did not need to ask why. He already knew the answer.

‘There’s no target to apply the skill to.’

The God of Will governed hard work, effort, will, and determination. Were gods just mere symbols of what they governed? Of course not. The God of Will was a hard-working genius with determination and will that far surpassed Minhyuk’s own.

Minhyuk was a hard worker whom the players recognized. At the very least, the skill could only be used on someone with as much will and determination as Minhyuk, or so the God of Will had said. If no one could be chosen as a target, then it was only natural for this to be the first time the God of Will had ever triggered the skill.

[Infinite Will, Effort, and Bravery has been activated.]

[Those chosen by the God of Will will fall into a dream together with him. The power will be applied to those showing great will, effort, and determination.]

The three entered the dream space together. Surprisingly, it had a nice, well-equipped kitchen.

“The only thing you have to do is to repeat whatever actions you want to do,” the God of Will said as he took something out.

Minhyuk and the God of Cooking stared at the god standing at the pinnacle of repetitive actions. They wondered what kind of action this man, who excelled at this, would do and repeat.

Tak, tak, tak, tak.

“No... wait. Where did you even get that?”

The item that the God of Will took out was none other than a muyu.

“I saw some of the foreigners carrying this around? It looked good for repetitive actions. So, I got one myself.”

His words made it sound like he could repeatedly hit the muyu 108... no 10,800 times with ease.

Anyway, the God of Cooking turned to the kitchen and began to cook. Minhyuk also stood next to her and started to cook. The two did not have to cook together. They just had to do what they had to do.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk was worried about one thing. The God of Cooking was different from Minhyuk and the God of Will. She was not a god who could do crazy repetitions like them. And according to the skill, if any of them broke the cycle of repetitive actions, the dream would end.

Tak, tak, tak, tak.

Nevertheless, Minhyuk quickly realized that his concerns were unnecessary. Soon, ten days passed in the dream space.

[You have recovered from the mental and physical fatigue from the repetitive actions.]

Twenty days have passed.

[You have recovered from the mental and physical fatigue from the repetitive actions.]

Fifty days have passed.

[You have recovered from the mental and physical fatigue from the repetitive actions.]

Tak, tak, tak, tak.

The rhythmic tapping of the muyu continued to ring in the dreamspace.

Tak, tak, tak, tak.

The sound of the knife hitting the chopping board continued to echo.

Sizzle!

The sound of ingredients being stir-fried in the frying pan did not stop.

Amidst all this, Minhyuk was surprised that Arlene was not lagging behind them.

‘It seems like she’s the one who wants to prove herself the most among us.’

Minhyuk turned to look at the God of Will, still tapping the muyu in his hands.

‘He’s the one who suggested that we come to the central plaza, no? I’m sure he wants to prove something too.’

The days continued to pass by just like that.

***

The central plaza, the Land of the Gods.

One of the celestial dwellers, Lonz, stared at the God of Cooking, the God of Will, and the Battle God, who had fallen into a dream while declaring that they would prove their worth. It hadn’t been that long since they went to their dreams.

Lonz clenched his fists and thought,

‘Everything in this world depends on what you’re born with.’

More often than not, the rich were born rich. And the same was true for geniuses.

Lonz was a soldier who dreamt of becoming a knight, and because of that, he worked harder than others. He was very proud that he had worked harder than his peers, but recently, he was defeated by someone born with talent and a golden spoon in his mouth. Unfortunately, this defeat resulted in his promotion to a knight falling through.

Lonz resented the world.

‘The God of Will?’

Wasn’t it only right that such a god disappeared from this world? Lonz looked around him. He could see that almost everyone was entertaining the same thought as he was.

“Tsk. What’s the point of trying five times harder than my peers? That won’t let me keep up with those born with talent and skill.”

“Maybe things would be different if he were the God of Inheritance instead! Haha!”

Tens of thousands of people laughed and mocked them in the central plaza.

‘The same is true for the God of Cooking.’

No matter how hard the God of Cooking tried here, she could never keep up with the Absolute Gods born with talent and excellence. She wanted to make a dish that surpassed the limits? That was impossible for her or for any other living being, for that matter.

Lonz intended to vote in favor of the disqualification of the two gods in the upcoming vote.

“Keuhuhuhuhuhuhu. They’re crazy. They’re showing this off to the people when they want to continue to become Absolute Gods?” Raker mocked them.

Hearing that, Lonz realized that Raker felt the same way as he did.

“If something like this would work, they should have done it earlier.”

This was an undeniable fact. Lonz turned around without any hesitation. He believed that this farce was no longer worth watching.

***

Lonz had been training out of town with the other soldiers for a few days and had just recently come back. When they arrived near the central square, he could not help but tilt his head in confusion.

“Crazy...”

“Is this even possible?”

“No. How can this be...”

A commotion broke out among the hundreds of thousands of gods and celestial dwellers gathered in the central plaza. Raker was also present among them.

“This is ridiculous! It’s impossible! This is fake. The intelligence of gods and humans is essentially the same. If that’s the case, then how can this—hmph!”

Raker shut his mouth when he realized that he had unknowingly voiced his thoughts.

As for Lonz, he had nudged through the crowd and stood before the three gods in a dream. Then, he finally saw the days they had spent doing repetitive actions without any break, which the people had been talking about for ten minutes.

[Total Days Doing Repetitive Actions: 114.]

“...”

The people’s murmurs grew louder and louder. They said...

“I’m going to vote against the disqualification of the God of Will.”

“Me too.”

“Me three!”

“Hasn’t he proven himself here? I think he’s saying that there’s nothing impossible if we work hard for it.”

Lonz was left stunned when he saw the three of them. This was not mere hard work, firm will, and determination. If they could not work five times harder than the others, then...

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

‘I should work ten times harder. And if I worked ten times harder and could not achieve what I wanted, I should try thirty times harder.’

Perhaps the reason why he denied the God of Will was because he just wanted to find someone to blame for the fact that they could not do it, no? A thrill ran down Lonz’s spine as he realized this.

‘Even though we worked hard, the God of Will did not respond to us. Maybe it’s because we did not work hard enough, and our will and determination are not strong enough.’