Chapter 377: Chapter 366: God’s Ox Bone Soup

(The Only One Acknowledged by the Sword Saint)

Unique Title

Title Effects:

• Ellie’s Swordsmanship’s cooldown and MP consumption will decrease by 10%.

• Physical and Magical Defense will decrease by 5%.

(The One who Exceeded God’s Expectations)

Unique Title

Title Effects:

• You have acquired the Sword of Absolute Death, a sword skill made from the combination of Sword of Frenzy, Heaven Tearing Sword, and Sword of Tempest.

• A 3% increase in all stats.

• Ellie’s Swordsmanship’s cooldown and MP consumption will decrease by 20%.

“Oh my god…”

Minhyuk was very thrilled. He received numerous benefits, even though all he did was concentrate on his task and move repeatedly, as if he was in a trance. Thanks to these two title effects, the high MP consumption of his skills had been reduced by 30%. And there was also the fact that he could combine his three newly acquired Half Pinnacle skills and use it in one go, thanks to the effects of the title ‘The One who Exceeded God’s Expectations’.

Simply put, the skill that he acquired from the title’s effect was a skill that combined all of the advantages of the three Half Pinnacle skills.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Minhyuk’s breath was taken away after he checked the description. He thought, ‘This is really crazy…’

The skill was beyond anyone’s imagination. In fact, the Half Pinnacle Swordsmanship that Minhyuk had just learned was already far superior to any swordsmanship that currently existed. However, the Sword of Absolute Death was far beyond his Half Pinnacle Swordsmanship.

‘Pinnacle?’

That was right. Just one look and Minhyuk could tell that this single skill had reached the Pinnacle.

Then, Conir approached Minhyuk and said, “It’s time for you to go out now.”

Minhyuk nodded in understanding. The two of them had made a promise earlier. Conir had promised that he would tell Minhyuk about his own story, his past, and the story of his younger self, once Minhyuk learned and awakened his own Pinnacle. So, Conir started to tell his story.

***

Aide Ruth felt his heart clench at the sight of Ellie. Her skin was growing darker, and even her face had started to turn black.

‘Your Majesty, forgive me for not being able to protect you…’

He wanted to take her place and die for her instead. Ruth had been Ellie’s aide and assistant ever since she was born. She might be a woman but she loved to wield the sword more than anybody else. She shined so brightly that anyone could see her brilliance. The late Emperor feared that she would also grow and become a tyrant like him, with the way she liked the sword. Thankfully, she did not.

One day, Ruth asked Ellie, ‘Why do you wield your sword?’

‘Aide Ruth, I want to gain the power to protect my people when I grow up!’

‘Hoho? So, you’re wielding your sword to protect your people?’

‘That’s right! I’m also going to protect Aide Ruth. Hehe!’

At that moment, Ruth made a vow. He would also protect her with his own life. However, even though he made a vow like that, Ruth could not do anything for her right now, but watch her die. It might not be his fault but nevertheless, he blamed himself more than anybody else.

Then, at that moment…

“Aide, Minhyuk has arrived.”

“Let him in.”

Minhyuk was one of the few people that Ellie cared for, and loved. Ruth was also very grateful to him. For the longest time, Ellie was like a person that had lost her own personality and soul. She was only the ‘Empress’. However, Minhyuk made her smile once again, and showed her that she could also be someone’s ‘noona’, and not just an Empress.

Minhyuk always had a bright and cheerful expression whenever he was with Ellie, while Ellie always had a smile on her face whenever she saw him. But right now, Minhyuk was unusually grave as he entered the room and looked at Ellie. Although he was silent, his breathing was heavy and labored. It was obvious that he was holding himself back.

Minhyuk did not think that Ellie was just artificial intelligence. For Minhyuk, who had shut himself and turned away from the rest of the world for a long time, Ellie was his dearly beloved friend. That was why she was a very precious existence to him.

Ruth bowed silently to Minhyuk and went outside to leave them for a moment. Not long after, Ruth came back with the box containing the Deep Sea Beef which he handed over to Minhyuk.

“Her Majesty told me to give this to you once you awakened to Pinnacle. This is Deep Sea Beef. It came from a legendary cow that only dwells deep under the sea.”

“…”

Minhyuk silently accepted the box that Ruth handed over to him. Then, he looked down on the box and asked, “How’s her current condition?”

“…It’s very bad.”

“Can I check it myself?”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

Before Minhyuk came here, he stopped by the Athenae Temple and personally visited Saintess Loyna to get the scroll ‘God’s Eye’,an item that could only be received by Athenae Religion’s benefactor. God’s Eye was a scroll that could ignore the difference between the level and power of two people and reveal the other person’s illness and method of treatment.

[Both the body and the mind are being devoured by a powerful force. It’s still in its infancy stage, but is about to reach the middle stages. Once it reaches the late stages, the person will lose all her skills and stats and slowly succumb to eternal rest.

Method of Treatment: There’s no known treatment.]

Minhyuk’s heart sank after seeing the method of treatment and the words ‘eternal rest’.

‘There’s no known treatment…?’

Minhyuk could not understand why there was no known treatment. In the end, the patient and silent Ruth burst into tears.

“Sob, sob, sob, sob!!! Mister Minhyuk! Please, I beg you, save Her Majesty Ellie!!!”

Ruth had already commissioned the best priest in the Empire and discussed the state of Ellie’s body. However, he also did not find any cure. Even the best potions and artifacts in the Empire were not working. In a way, he knew that this was just an old man’s whims, but Ruth could not help but beg, as if he was grasping at straws.

Then, a quest window appeared in front of Minhyuk.

[Imperial Quest: Save Ellie.]

Rank: SSS

Requirements: None

Rewards: Eivelis Empire. Ellie’s Savior and Benefactor.

Penalty for Failure: Ellie’s Death

Description: Ellie, the Empress of Eivelis Empire, is now on the brink of death. Right now, you’re the only one that has a chance of saving her. If you save her, you will be Eivelis Empire’s hero, as well as Ellie’s benefactor and savior.

Minhyuk looked at the box containing the Deep Sea Beef that Ellie had prepared for him. Ellie had always given him delicious food. She would always watch him with a pleased smile on her face, as he ate the food that she gave with relish. This time, it was his chance to make a dish for her.

“I will do my very best,” Minhyuk said as he used his ‘Create a Recipe’ skill on Ellie. He also made sure to set the buff effect to focus on healing Ellie.

[Creating a recipe that the other party desires.]

[You can now check the recipe for Ox Bone Soup.]

[The amount of buff that can be used has been decreased due to creating a recipe.]

(Ox Bone Soup Recipe for Ellie)

Required Ingredients

: White Cow’s Marrow Bone, White Cow’s Knuckle Bone, Steel Cow’s Shank, Steel Cow’s Brisket, Somen made from Moon’s Wheat, (omitted)

Expected Dish Grade: Unique ~ Legendary

Expected Effects: The dish can slow down the effects of Ellie’s disease for two weeks.

“…”

Minhyuk frowned. He had already focused all of the buff effects to focus on Ellie’s healing and treatment, but the expected effect could only delay her condition by two weeks. In the end, a cooking buff was still just a buff, it could not have a permanent effect. Minhyuk’s expression was shrouded in darkness for a moment. However, his face soon cleared up.

“What difference will it make if we become frustrated?”

“…”

Meanwhile, Ruth felt his heart throb in pain again, after hearing Minhyuk’s words. He had begged Minhyuk to do something, although he knew that it was just a vain, meaningless hope. Since they could not do anything, he tried to grasp straws and asked Minhyuk to do something, but Minhyuk was different. He still had not lost hope, and he would do everything in his capability to make this hope a reality.

“Aide Ruth!”

“Yes!!!” Ruth hurriedly wiped the tears from his eyes as he straightened his posture and answered Minhyuk’s words that were filled with great momentum and pride. This was not the foolish Minhyuk that he had seen before.

“Get all the chefs out of the Imperial Kitchen right now.”

Minhyuk had already thought about it. The ingredients listed in the recipe from the ‘Create a Recipe’ skill were the best ingredients among all of the known ingredients. There was a chance that the buff rating would increase if the grade of the ingredients used were the highest.

However, these applied to only known ingredients. Any unreleased ingredients would obviously not be included in the recipe from the ‘Create a Recipe’ skill.

Right now, Minhyuk had ingredients that were not yet released with him. The first one was the Legendary Sun’s Wheat, one of the Five Legendary Ingredients. There were still quite a few left in his hands after he participated in the Gourmet Dragon Banquet. The second one was the Five Legendary Ingredient Box, the reward that he received after winning the Gourmet Dragon Banquet.

(Five Legendary Ingredient Box)

Ingredient Grade: ???

Special Abilities: The owner of the box can choose the ingredient that will come out of the Five Legendary Ingredient Box. This is an amazing box that will release a Legendary grade ingredient, no matter what kind of ingredient the owner chooses.

Description: Originally, there were only four legendary ingredients. But this Legendary Ingredient Box created the fifth legendary ingredient. It has an amazing power that could make any ingredient reach the Legendary grade. However, it remains unknown whether the ingredient that would come out can be cooked.

Because of that, Minhyuk had two legendary grade ingredients. Besides, there was also the fact that Minhyuk heard the following notification after he created a legendary ‘large pizza’ during the Gourmet Dragon Banquet: ‘Perhaps there’s a chance that you can make a better dish’. The ‘Create a Recipe’ Skill only showed the buff effect until the ‘Legendary’ grade. Hence, there might be a chance.

Minhyuk quickly went to the Imperial Kitchen. Right now, all of the Imperial Chefs had already left the kitchen.

‘The notifications meant that there’s a chance that I can make something of a higher grade.’

Minhyuk rolled up his sleeves and wore an apron. It was time for him to challenge a new grade of dish for ‘Ellie’.

***

Not too long ago, Black Dragon Order received harsh criticisms from Chinese citizens after they failed to hunt Ellie. There were also countless rankers from all over the world that have pointed their fingers at them. If the Black Dragon Order were able to successfully hunt Ellie at that point in time, the public opinion would not have swayed towards this direction. But, they failed.

In order to calm the public’s anger and change their opinion, the Black Dragon Order announced that they would move, and play an active role in the Continent Cloud. This meant that the players from Cairon Continent had gained a huge power. After all, they were players that pushed Ellie to her limits, even though they failed to hunt her. Although it was not something that they liked, they had already decided to take command and lead their continent to victory.

There were three locations that they wanted to attack. The first was Berdk, located in the Center of Continent Cloud. The second was Atlas, located somewhere at the rear of Continent Cloud and near Asgan Continent. And the third was the Korean Defense Base, the place where most of the Korean rankers had gathered to create a huge defense base. If all three of these places were destroyed, the Cairon Continent would basically win. Just like that, hundreds of thousands of troops made up of players and NPCs began to march forward.

Chinese Rankers, Black Knight Rajan, and Trap Dismantler Hans, together with 1,000 troops, headed towards Food God Minhyuk’s Territory, Atlas.

Trap Dismantler Hans was someone famous for being able to see through all kinds of traps and poisons. At night, when all of the stars were already out in the sky, Hans led the Chinese’s troops as they moved stealthily. Just like they expected, Trap Dismantler Hans was able to quickly dismantle the traps and poisons along the way and inform them of the path that they should take. The only reason why he could easily do so was because Hans had reached a higher level than the Master Trapper Roadol and Poison Specialist Smooth.

In the first place, Roadol and Smooth were people that had also focused their time to increase their fighting power. So, for someone like Hans, who had focused solely on dismantling traps, it was easy for him to neutralize the traps and poisons that they laid out on the ground.

Black Knight Rajan, on the other hand, was the number one player in the Chinese Knight Rankings. A knight was a class that was armed with quick sword attacks and impressive sword skills. The class was quite similar to a warrior, but knights had the Sword Master Level 1 as their specialty in the very beginning.

Currently, there were plenty of Chinese broadcasting cameras following behind them. Once they reached Atlas, they would immediately begin broadcasting. The reason for the delay was to catch Atlas in surprise. After all, if they start broadcasting even before they arrive, the people in Atlas would be notified in advance.

Finally, they were able to reach the entrance of the magnificent and splendid Atlas Territory. However, what they saw was a man holding a huge dog bowl in front of the gates.

“Chu, chu, chu~ Our Love, Happiness and Hope, aren’t you coming out? Are you tired because you took a walk with your dear hyung today? Are you sleeping? Chu, chu, chu~ Hyung wants to sleep with you too~”

This person was the one that the Chinese netizens have scolded as ‘Big Head’. However, he had the name Crazy Priest among the rankers. This person was none other than Locke. The place was covered with darkness and the only thing that they saw was Locke trying to enter the obscure house labeled ‘Love, Happiness and Hope’.

Meanwhile, the live broadcast finally started, and the commentary also began.

[Contrary to his looks, it seems like Player Locke loves cats and dogs.]

[Love, Happiness and Hope… Just by hearing those names, we can already tell that they must be cute.]

[Although we can’t see that well since it’s dark inside the Athenae game, perhaps they’re a special breed like a giant poodle, or a giant golden retriever?]

Then, Carden, the Abnormal State Master moved.

Abnormal State Masters were literally a class under the field of debuffs, with abilities that could give ‘abnormal states’ to their opponents. It was a rare class that only existed in China, with less than one hundred holders. Carden was the person that ranked first in the Abnormal State Master Rankings. He was a player that utilized his class the best among the other players of the same class. The only drawback of his skill was the fact that it took a long time to cast.

Locke was currently unaware that the Chinese players were there, so Carden was able to safely finish his casting and send out his abnormal state debuff.

[The Paralyzed One’s Shrieks]

[The paralyzed person will not be able to move for five minutes and could only speak. If the caster dies within five minutes, the state will be released.]

“Huh? Huuuuuuuuh? Huh?!”

The abilities of the person that ranked number one in the Abnormal State Master Rankings were amazing. He was able to subject the High Ranker Locke to an abnormal state. In fact, Locke’s low Magical Defense also played a role in this.

Then, one of the mage players pounced on Locke and made him fly in the air. The Chinese players, including Rajan, approached Locke.

“Kekekekekeke.”

“My goodness. What’s this? One of Korea’s top rankers sleeps in a dog house? What?”

“Y… you…!”

Locke looked around and saw at least a thousand troops in the area. Their numbers were truly plentiful.

‘How were they able to get to Atlas safely?’

Then, Rajan drew his blade.

Shiiiiing—

“Don’t worry, I will kill you and the pups that you care about.”

“…”

Locke looked at him wide-eyed.

[So, Player Locke is going to die, huh?]

[His death will be in vain.]

But then, Locke smirked and said, “Was it you? Were you the one that placed an abnormal state on me?”

Carden, the Abnormal State Master nodded in answer to Locke’s question. Then, Locke asked, “Hey, have you seen Rocket Monsters?”

“Of course, I’ve seen it! That’s a masterpiece… Cough! What bullshit are you talking about?!”

Rocket Monster was an animation series that aired in Japan. In this animation, the people would throw small balls and catch the monsters called ‘RocketMon’.

Rajan was a huge Rocket Monster fan. After all, it was a show that instilled hopes and dreams in its viewers!!! And among all of the RocketMons, Rajan liked ‘Ppikachu’ the best.

As Rajan tried to hurriedly swing his sword, Locke shouted, “Love, Happiness, Hope!!! Body smashhhhhh!!!”

“…?”

“…?”

[Uhmm… I think Player Locke is still dreaming.]

[Is he drunk?]

Just when the commentators were questioning Locke’s sanity, and the Chinese players were giggling at Locke…

Thump, thump, thump—

In a split second, really, just a few seconds after Locke’s words fell, the whole ground shook. Under the darkness of the night, something that they could not see was approaching fast. Then, a loud bang reverberated in the area.

Baaaaaaaaaang—

A giant creature suddenly ‘Body Smash’ed Carden, the Abnormal State Master. The most surprising part was the fact that Carden was instantly forced to log out.

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

The creature that showed up was a five meter tall, shockingly cool, demonic beast, with three heads. It was Cerberus.

The commentators were all in disbelief at the sight.

[That’s… that’s Love, Happiness and Hope…?]

[Which part of that figure screams Love, Happiness and Hope…?]

[…OMG?]