Chapter 586: A True Comrade

Orleed lifted a piece of the glistening red chicken leg to his mouth and took a huge bite out of it. The chewy texture of the meat, as well as the harmonious sweet, spicy flavor wrapped around his tongue the moment he took a bite.

‘It’s, it’s spicy… but it’s delicious…’

For Orleed, a dish like braised spicy chicken was truly on the spicy side. However, it tasted so divine that he could not stop himself from eating.

All of the new guild members stared at Orleed. Their king, Minhyuk, used his ‘Joy of Eating Together’ skill and ate a plate of braised spicy chicken by himself while sitting in front of Orleed. However, the new guild members were all focused on Orleed.

“How does it taste?”

“Is, is it spicy?”

“Just say something Orleed. Please.”

But Orleed did not answer them. He had lost his voice in front of the braised spicy chicken. All he did was look at Minhyuk, who was sitting in front of him, and follow what he was doing. Orleed scooped a mouthful of warm white rice and thought,

‘Korean-grown rice is more glossy and more flavorful than any other rice.’

Orleed continued to copy what Minhyuk did, getting some of the well-seasoned potatoes and sprinkling some of the braised spicy chicken’s red sauce on it, then mashing it well before adding it to his rice and placing everything in his mouth.

“…”

Orleed felt like tears were about to flow out of his eyes.

‘So, Korean food is this delicious?’

However, Orleed shook his head not long after. He thought that it must be delicious because His Majesty personally made it for him.

‘I think I will be able to live happily for the rest of my life after eating something delicious like this just once.’

What could bring happiness in one’s life? Wasn’t it eating delicious food like this? Would there be something else that would make him happy and delighted like this? Orleed scraped up the rest of the braised spicy chicken with a huge smile on his face. Then…

[You ate a dish from a recipe specially made for you.]

[You won’t be able to eat another dish from a recipe specially made for you for a month.]

[You can’t receive any duplicate buffs during the duration of the buff retention period.]

[Braised Spicy Chicken.]

[All of your stats will increase by 17%, your Affor Swordsmanship’s skill level will increase by +1 for 22 days.]

[You will have an additional 22% increase in your EXP acquisition rate for 22 days.]

“…”

Orleed was left speechless. Truth was, he also thought that Food God Minhyuk’s dishes were over exaggerated by the people that tasted it. After all, how could someone become 1.3x stronger just by eating something? Based on common sense, that was something that was completely impossible. If it was really that much, then a player with a normal rank artifact would be able to exert the same power as a player with a legendary rank artifact.

‘It’s actually true?’

Orleed thought that it was crazy. It was jaw-droppingly OP. The food not only tasted delicious, it also had excellent buff effects. Then, Orleed saw Minhyuk, with a soft smile on his face after finishing his own dish. For some reason, he thought he saw a halo shining brightly behind the man.

As for why Orleed thought that buffed dishes were overpowered? A single dish like this could give anyone an opportunity to hunt opponents that they could not originally hunt on their own.

‘With this, it will be possible for a Level 300 player to hunt a Level 330 boss monster all by themselves.’

For players, hunting monsters that were lower in level than them would give them lower EXP. As for monsters with a higher level than them? Of course it would give them tremendous EXP and high rewards. But what if they were able to eat Minhyuk’s dishes?

‘I will be able to hunt boss monsters that I couldn’t reach before. This is far more surprising than getting a better artifact.’

After all, artifacts were limited by the players’ slots. Earrings, necklaces, gloves, boots, armor, helmets and even weapons. If these were excluded, then the only way a player could strengthen themselves was through their stats. And one of the ways for them to raise their stats tremendously was…

‘The Food God’s dishes.’

Minhyuk approached Orleed and said, “I hope you’ll continue to work hard, Orleed.”

“…!”

It shocked Orleed, “You, you know my name?”

He was surprised because he knew that a king was the monarch of thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people. That was why in most cases, people like them would not remember or even know the names of their subjects. This was the case with Richard. Richard did not know the names of his men except for his key executives and the people that had been with him for the longest time possible. And in Athenae, it was impossible for someone to confirm their nickname because it did not appear above the players’ heads.

In response to Orleed’s question, Minhyuk answered casually, “Of course. It’s not just you. That friend over there is called William, he specializes in the bow. That one over there is Rolles, he’s good with the spear. Over there is…”

Minhyuk named the new guild members one after the other. That was when Orleed realized that Minhyuk took the time to memorize their names before they went on this expedition. It might seem small but it was a form of consideration for them. A way to show that he cared for them.

‘A king like him is going to such an extent like this…’

Orleed was both in awe and admiration of Minhyuk.

‘This is… the king that I should truly serve…’

Orleed knew that he would not be afraid of anything if he was with a king like Minhyuk.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

“…Alright,” Minhyuk answered, thinking that Orleed was thankful because he cooked for him.

However, it was for a completely different matter. Orleed thanked him for becoming his ‘new king’. He had sneaked into the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom as a spy but he found a new king to serve wholeheartedly.

[Would you like to block Richard?]

‘Yes.’

[You have blocked Richard.]

Orleed looked at Minhyuk as he climbed on top of his white horse.

‘My loyalty will remain with you forever.’

At the same time, a notification rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

[You have gained Orleed’s loyalty.]

[You have earned 2,000 cash.]

***

Time attack dungeons were dungeons that could be repeatedly challenged and broken through. It was a dungeon where one had to clear it either in a set time, or a shorter time and break a record. Time attack dungeons had appeared as events in Athenae for a long time now. The way they held the event was simple, the one that cleared the dungeon the fastest would be the event’s winner.

Back when the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was still Legend Guild, they were able to gain fame with Minhyuk’s help by beating America in a time attack dungeon. And now, time attack dungeons, a challenge loved by many, had appeared one after the other in the Stars’ Path.

Time attack dungeons were dungeons that fit the level of the players. It also had a system where players of all levels could compete equally. Because of that players at around Level 50~100, Level 100, Level 200, Level 300 could participate. As for those at Level 400~500, there were many events and contents that they could participate in so they were excluded in the time attack dungeons this time.

And now, the name Maserrati was dominating all of the time attack dungeons in the Stars’ Path.

[Melancholic Undead’s Dungeon.

1st

: Maserrati Guild. 15 minutes 11 seconds.]

[Lich’s Refuge.

1st

: Maserrati Guild. 13 minutes 40 seconds.]

[Abyss’ Dungeon.

1st

: Maserrati Guild. 15 minutes 59 seconds.]

Of course, the level of the time attack dungeons were varying, which made it more surprising. On top of that, those that participated in the Stars’ Path’s time attack dungeons and failed would not be allowed to participate again. Because of that, the consequences of their actions became greater, which made the entire world focus more on this matter.

[What kind of guild is the Maserrati Guild?]

[Wow… They broke the records of America and Japan in the time attack dungeons and took control of all of them.]

[The American and Japanese players are struggling to regain first place but they can’t do anything because the record is too out of this world.]

[The name ‘Maserrati Guild’ has been placed on almost 40% of all the time attack dungeons in the Stars’ Path.]

[Are they a new powerhouse?]

[Maserrati. From what I heard the one leading the guild is Richard, the person that recently obtained the Absolute God class.]

[That’s right. It’s the guild led by Richard. It’s well-known among my peers.]

Anyone, as long as they were not stupid, would know who Richard was. He was the person that changed his class into the Absolute Monarch, the Absolute God class. They could also tell his intentions through this. He was informing the world that he and his guild would start engaging in full-fledged external activities. This act would also increase the attention and curiosity of people toward Maserrati Guild, and would allow them to increase their guild’s size tremendously.

At the same time…

“Actually, Richard already has enough military forces and a large enough territory to build a kingdom of his own and ascend to the throne. However, he’s saving the opportunity to make a splendid debut. If he can make a jaw-dropping debut, then he will be able to attract more talents,” Orleed reported to Minhyuk.

Orleed had immediately changed sides and supported Minhyuk. Minhyuk was not too surprised to know that Orleed was a spy. This was because he was already assuming that someone had planted a spy in their midst.

‘Even if we get their personal information, those that want to hide what they want to hide will still be able to conceal things from us.’

However, this also gave them a cause, a justification of sorts.

Since the Beyond the Heavens was the kingdom that was built the fastest, countless people were targeting them. Besides, if they were able to devour Beyond the Heavens, then they would be able to gain greater wealth and honor. But the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom did not have any cause and justification to attack them first.

If they did that without any cause, the entire world would say,

‘The Beyond the Heavens is no different from a PK guild.’

It was truly a strange thing. The one that challenged them would not be criticized but if Beyond the Heavens, a kingdom that had already climbed at a higher place, tried to deal with their enemies, the people would point fingers at them and tell them that they were just slaughtering innocents.

But now, Beyond the Heavens was given a very good reason. The enemy had planted a spy in their country. This single justification was more than enough.

“What kind of person is Richard?”

“…I don’t dare to say anything recklessly. The one that climbed and became the Absolute Monarch. That’s who Richard is.”

“…”

Minhyuk groaned lightly. Another Absolute God class had appeared in the world. Minhyuk had personally experienced the power of an Absolute God class in the form of Lu Bai, the ‘Savior’. Lu Bai had shown tremendous power that no ordinary player could keep up with. In fact, the scene where Lu Bai used his ‘Judgment’ skill and melted nearly 40,000 of the members of a PK guild in an instant was still fresh and vivid in Minhyuk’s mind.

“Richard’s class was originally Swordsman, and not Monarch.”

“He was a Swordsman?”

“Yes. He originally had the Swordsman class. However, he had an amazing talent for attracting people to his side. He used this talent to gather and create a strong army and started taking control of a territory. Because of that, he was able to gain the ‘Monarch’ class as his sub-class. It has now changed into the Absolute Monarch, an Absolute God class.”

“How was Richard able to nurture a strong army filled with great talents?”

“Richard is a former colonel in the United States’ Special Forces. He knows a few tricks in raising and training people. On top of that, the Monarch class that he received works incredibly well when nurturing soldiers. Just by being a part of his own territory and kingdom, they would be able to grow stronger several times faster than others. That’s why there are a lot of strong people gathered around him.”

The fact that being Richard’s subordinate alone would make them grow stronger was something that Minhyuk found to be grave.

“What’s the difference between their forces and the Beyond the Heavens’ forces?”

“…I can’t guarantee who will win.”

Orleed used to be one of Richard’s trusted aides, so his words were close to, if not the truth.

“Actually, me saying that there’s no guarantee on who will win is based on what I know and the info from a few days ago. He became the Absolute God class, Absolute Monarch recently. I can tell with great certainty that it would not be possible for them to dominate the time attack dungeons like they do now if Richard still had the power that he had before, even if he could nurture soldiers well. After all, these time attack dungeons are being challenged by powerhouses from all over the world. But they made it possible now.”

“Can you figure out how they made it possible?” Minhyuk asked, but he shook his head not long after. There was no way for Orleed to know about it, right? But then…

“Can you please wait for a moment?”

…Orleed began to send whispers to the players that he was close with in the Maserrati Guild.

[

Orleed

: Connector?]

[

Connector

: Hi. Ah, Orleed, GM is looking…]

“Block.”

[You have blocked Connector.]

[

Orleed

: Rucko?]

[

Rucko

: Orleed! GM is…!]

“Block.”

[You have blocked Rucko.]

“Block.”

“Block.”

“Block.”

“Block.”

Orleed continued to block people.

“…”

Minhyuk could only stare blankly at Orleed. Then, finally…

[

Orleed

: Gaide?]

[

Gaide

: Hi, Orleed. What’s up?]

[

Orleed

: I was just shocked to see how our Maserrati Guild has taken control over all of the time attack dungeons. As expected of GM, huh? Do you know what kind of power Richard gained from becoming an Absolute God class, Absolute Monarch, to make this possible?]

Orleed thought that there were quite a lot of people that would know about this in the Maserrati Guild. After all, it would be stranger for them not to know, since the guild had already taken over all of the time attack dungeons.

After gathering information, Orleed reported, “Richard has gained the power ‘Absolute Monarch’s Stigma’, the person that will receive this stigma will gain 20% more power. Of course, the skill can’t be used indiscriminately.”

“Ah. Oh… R, right.”

Minhyuk, who watched Orleed block people more than thirty times in a row, thought,

‘Is he going to block me too?’

However, the thing that he was worried about would never happen. Orleed could only do this because he had seen how Minhyuk was a better king than Richard. Besides, he had already sworn his allegiance to Minhyuk. And Orleed was someone that would strive to remain loyal to the person that he swore his allegiance to, trusting them from the bottom of his heart and following them to the end of the world. At the very least, Orleed would not turn his back on Minhyuk. Well, unless he could find someone that would walk a more reliable, stable and greater path than Minhyuk. That was the reason why Orleed would do all this.

As for the person that Orleed got the information from…

“Block.”

[You have blocked Gaide.]

‘Orleed would be known in the future as the professional blocker.’?

This thought flashed in Minhyuk’s head as he said, “Then, all we have to do is take over the first place in all of the time attack dungeons.”