Chapter 371: Turning the Tide of War

Minhyuk was faced with Atlas’ dire situation the moment he arrived. Without any hesitation, he jumped straight into the fray and began fighting against thousands of enemies.

“What the hell?!!!!”

“It’s…it’s the Food God!!!”

“Kill!!!”

The players that were trying to dig into the gaps of Atlas turned toward him and attacked him. But, Minhyuk just opened his mouth calmly and said, “Pinnacle.”

“…?”

“…Stop him from using his skills!!!”

“Did, did he just say Pinnacle?”

A red current of energy suddenly appeared and covered Minhyuk’s body, as a strong wind blew around him.

“Sword of Tempest.”

That was right. A tempest. There was literally a tempest of blades numbering in the hundreds that appeared around Minhyuk.

[Sword of Tempest]

[Hundreds of sword blades with 250% basic attack will indiscriminately slaughter your enemies within six seconds. During the duration of the skill, your movement speed will increase by 200%.]

Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping—

Hundreds of blades with 2.5x the regular attack speed created a violent storm, brutally massacring the players that flocked around Minhyuk. Even Minhyuk’s movement speed had increased by 200%, which allowed him to move swiftly across the battlefield, effectively slaughtering his enemies.

“Keuhaaaaaaack!”

“Ugh… aaaaaaack!”

“Keheooook!”

It only took an instant. In just a blink of an eye, Minhyuk had already pierced through thousands of players. They tried to approach him and attack him, but the hundreds of blades had tremendous speed that they could not easily break through, which allowed Minhyuk to ignore them. There were occasional magic attack spells that would land on Minhyuk’s body, but his magical defense was extremely high that the attacks did not cause great damage to him.

The scene looked quite similar to Moses’ miracle as a path was created in the places that he passed through. And finally, Minhyuk arrived behind Arcas, who was trying to punch Ali in the face.

[The duration of Sword of Tempest has ended.]

The skill ended and started its cooldown as Minhyuk attacked Arcas’ back to stop him.

[Critical Strike!]

“Keuaaaaaaaaack!” Arcas shrieked from the powerful attack that he received. The attack had instantly shaved 10% off of his HP.

‘A single attack skill?’

When Arcas turned to look behind him, he saw Food God Minhyuk and the remaining forces of Atlas gathering around him. And just when Arcas was about to attack him…

“Let’s Have a Meal!”

…Minhyuk triggered his skill and a large and translucent barrier appeared around them.

Baaaaaaaang—

Arcas’ fist slammed on the barrier but it did not even shake at all.

‘What kind of skill was that?’?

Arcas thought, wondering if he was just tricked by Minhyuk. After all, his HP had decreased by 10% in an instant. However, would a simple attack of the strongest ranker be able to shave off 10% of his HP? He believed that the answer would most definitely be no.

Then, Minhyuk did something shocking inside the barrier.

“

Pffft…

” Arcas burst out in laughter.

In fact, even the members of the Let’s Eat Sect Guild were looking at Minhyuk in doubt.

“You want us to eat this…?”

“So suddenly?”

This was because Minhyuk had served them a bowl of food, which was none other than

‘Rice Cake Dumpling Soup’.

***

Ali was in disbelief. His friend, Minhyuk, was here!

After not seeing each other for a long time, the first thing that Minhyuk did was to trigger his skill

‘Let’s Have a Meal’

, before distributing rice cake dumpling soup to them.

“We don’t have time. Eat the soup quickly.”

“What… what is this…”

“This rice cake dumpling soup is the only way for us to overcome this situation.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

They were just fighting a bloody battle. But, as if trying to match the name of the skill

‘Let’s Have a Meal’?

they were now being told to eat. It sounded completely ridiculous, but Ali remembered something.

‘Minhyuk’s buff abilities are extremely amazing. He’s definitely trying to help us become a bit stronger.’

‘This is a food that our Minhyuk has made for us. We have to eat it!’

Everyone present believed in Minhyuk.

“Thank you for the food, Minhyuk.”

“Thanks.”

“Minhyuk, I’ll eat it well.”

Compared to them, Arcas and the rest of the Chinese troops were looking at them ridiculously.

“They’re really going to eat…?” Arcas mumbled, his expression becoming the epitome of ‘?0?’, as he stood beyond the barrier and watched them eat. His rugged face and that expression was… truly quite a spectacle. The other players were also sporting the same look.

“They… they’re really eating…?”

“Excuse me? Aren’t you supposed to be fighting against us?”

“I heard that Koreans power up with a meal. It seems like it’s true…?!”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

Everyone turned to look back at one of the Chinese players when he said those words.

‘Ho. So they always eat when they fight.’

‘It seems like Koreans are quite unique.’

However, despite the buzz from outside the barrier, Minhyuk just continued to tell his guild members, “That’s the rice cake dumpling soup made from marrow bone broth.”

“Oooooooh!”

“Thanksss!”

Ali smiled at Minhyuk. In fact, he thought that it would be alright even if the rice cake dumpling soup did not exert that much power. The most important thing was that their friend, Minhyuk, prepared it for them. Of course, there was also the possibility that they would not be able to overcome this situation, even if the food did exert a great power. It did not matter how good the buff was, it was nigh impossible for them to survive.

Regardless, Ali still focused on his dish. Steam rose from the bowl of the rice cake dumpling soup. The soup was topped with egg garnish, green onions, and seaweed flakes. There was even a plate of well-ripened kimchi placed next to it. More steam rose when Ali stirred the contents of the bowl with his spoon.

Ali personally liked eating his rice cake dumpling soup in the morning. Of course, that did not mean that he thought that the rice cake dumpling soup in front of him would taste bad. He just preferred having it in the morning. Then, Ali took a sip of the soup.

“Wow…”

The soup made from the marrow bone was thickened using the wheat flour’s starch, which made the taste light and clean. Then, Ali cut the dumpling in half and scooped it into his mouth.

“

Chew, chew.

”

The inside of his mouth felt warm from the ingredients wrapped inside the dumpling.

“It’s delicious…”

It was so good that for a moment, Ali even forgot that they were in the middle of a bloody battle. This time, Ali scooped up a rice cake and placed it in his mouth.

Chew, chew—

The more he chewed, the more chewy the rice cake became. Ali smiled as he placed a piece of the bright, colorful kimchi in his mouth.

Crunch, crunch—

“Wow. This kimchi is really amazing…”

From the initial disbelief that colored his face when Minhyuk first brought out the dish, Ali was now in a rush to eat everything in his bowl. Finally, Ali picked up his entire bowl and tipped it over his mouth to drink every single last drop.

“Waaaa…” Ali smiled as he burst out in admiration. He had been living alone for five years, so it had been a long time since he had such a delicious meal like this. Then, the notifications began to ring.

[You have eaten the Rice Cake Dumpling Soup made from the Leftover Marrow Bone Broth.]

[Your HP will increase by 1.3x and your MP will double.]

[Your Magic Spell Cooldown will decrease by 50%.]

[During the duration of the buff, you can use the highest Eight Tier Magic spell.]

[You don’t need preparation to cast Fifth Tier Magic spells.]

[Your Magical Attack has increased by 40%.]

[Your Physical Defense has increased by 40%.]

[Your Magical Defense has increased by 40%.]

[Your Magical Critical Hit Rate has increased by 300%.]

[Your Evasion Rate has increased by 300%.]

[Your EXP Acquisition Rate has increased by 300%.]

[All of the skills in your repertoire will exert more power than usual.]

[The buff will last for three days.]

“…?!”

Ali was very shocked.

***

The major executives of

Athenae

South Korea had also gathered at the conference hall today to watch the events on the TV screen.

President Kang Taehoon groaned, “Hummmm…”

Aside from their large numbers, the other side also had plenty of rankers among them. In the first place, there was already a vast difference between the number of players in South Korea and China. Because of that, Cairon Continent was larger than Asgan Continent.

However, none of them expected that they would be extremely helpless in front of such numbers. Berdk’s ramparts were on the verge of collapsing, while the rankers and players in the Korean Defense Base were all screaming and howling. Even the Food God’s territory was on the verge of being taken away.

“I’ll turn off the TV,” Director Kim Daesik said as he turned off the TV amidst their disastrous and desperate atmosphere. Everyone sighed ruefully. They were not just

Athenae

executives, they were also Koreans.

Athenae

was no longer considered as a simple game in the world. This fact made them feel even sadder, and for some, despair.

Then, Director Kim Daesik turned to look at the community sites abroad.

[In the first place, a shabby country like Korea is not a match for a powerhouse like China.]

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

[I heard Athenae was created by Koreans so there should be a lot of benefits for their people, but look at the way it is. Hahahahahaha.]

[They kept on saying ‘Food God, Food God’, but isn’t he just a moron? In fact, they said that he’s the best in Korea right? What can he even do in Athenae: World War?]

[I agree. Food God is a non-combat class. In the end, he’s just like a rookie in front of the strongest people in the continent.]

[I’m looking forward to Athenae: World War. I wonder how Korea will rank? If there are 45 countries participating, they’ll probably rank 44th, right? Hahahahaha.]

Everyone here was aware that a lot of people all over the world were mocking the Korean players.

Meanwhile, President Kang Taehoon was talking with Team Leader Park Minggyu. They had sent Team Leader Park Minggyu to attend the meeting about the

Athenae

: World War, because he was a very straightforward person, with a clear head that went far beyond his position as a

‘Team Leader’

. President Kang Taehoon was confident that Park Minggyu would not lose any ground against the

Athenae

branch managers from the other countries, especially in that place where they had to hold their breaths and fight against each other.

Even President Kang Taehoon relied on Park Minggyu, his firm conviction, and beliefs sometimes.

[What do you think about the battle this time? It’s hard, right?]

An answer came right away.

[It’s hard, but we have to overcome it. The fight is not yet over. We don’t have the time to get frustrated yet.]

“…”

Kang Taehoon grinned. He had always liked this confidence and look in Team Leader Park Minggyu.

“The war is not yet over.”

“…That’s right.”

“It’s not yet over.”

Kang Taehoon was greeted with the small smiles of the executives in the conference hall. Then, at that moment…

“Waaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

“Food God!!!”

“As expected of Our Lord, Food God!!!”

“Uwoooooooooo!!!”

“Huh? Why are they eating when they’re in the middle of a fight?”

“That’s his skill

‘Let’s Have a Meal’

.”

Cheers suddenly erupted outside the conference hall. That was when Director Kim Daesik sensed that something unusual had happened. He hurriedly turned on the TV to see Arcas lying on the ground.

“Ar… Arcas?!”

But that was not the end of the surprise. Black Mage Ali flew high up, as a magic spell unfolded in the sky above him. Then…

[Grrrrrrrrroaaaar—]

With the loud roar, the sky was torn apart. Then, giant meteorites began to fall from the torn space.

“…!”

“…!”

President Kang Taehoon jumped up in surprise. Even Director Kim Daesik did the same. Then, Development Team Leader Lee Seokhoon shouted in disbelief, “Meteor…”

“Did… did he… he just used the strongest AOE magic spell, Meteor?”

They knew that Ali had already reached his limit earlier. Besides, Meteor was the top skill among all of the Eight Tier Magic spells. It was a skill that they expected Ali to only awaken and master in another year and a half.

So, how was he able to use Meteor right now? Then, at that moment…

Baaaaaaaaaaang—

The giant meteorites rained down upon the thousands of enemy troops and tore them apart.

1. ?? (literally food/rice power. Eating a meal/rice to gain energy.