Gourmet Gaming-Chapter 1383

Chapter 1383

The viewers from every corner of the world were boiling with excitement.

[Wow!!! Minhyuk cleared it faster than Obren?!]

[ㄴ(ㅇ0ㅇ)ㄱ]

[Chance and fate met and made everything work?!]

The commentators from around the world were also jumping with excitement.

[Oh my god! I saw it with my own eyes, but... I still can’t believe it!]

[Minhyuk has pulled ahead of the strongest participant, Obren!]

[Even though he was cutting it close, a win is still a win!]

[According to the news that I have received, the ATV Broadcasting Station’s viewership ratings have soared to 50.1% during Obren’s raid, and then 51.9% when Minhyuk appeared.]

[He’s Korea’s pride! Our nation’s incredible talent!]

Just like them, Obren was laughing happily. He watched Minhyuk gasping as he stood in front of the disappearing Pillar of the Battlefield with joy evident in his eyes.

[That’s right. Come on, come up and chase after me just like that.]

***

The Pillar of the Battlefield’s Raid proceeded in an orderly manner.

[It’s just as we expected. Hephaestus has strengthened the artifacts of the 10,000 players and pushed them to their strongest state. Their weapons’ attack power increased by 110% while their armor’s defensive power increased by 95%.]

[As expected of a Pillar. With weapons possessing 110% stronger attack power and armor of extremely high defensive power, the players could be said to be invincible. They were able to slaughter the monsters easily!]

[Amazing! The moment the Pillar of the Battlefield appeared, Hephaestus instantly lowered his artifacts’ effects by 50%!]

[However, the players had become exhausted after dealing with the boss-class monster from Hell’s Abyss. What a pity.]

[Hephaestus eventually fails the raid at 59 minutes and 31 seconds.]

[The fourth contestant, Master of Life and Death Louis has started his raid.]

[Ho... I... I’m utterly speechless. He summoned hundreds of thousands of the undead the moment the raid started.]

[The Undead Corps and the players are charging forward together!]

[He has reached the quasi-boss mob’s point. The Master of Life and Death has cursed the boss mob! It’s starting to hurt itself!!!]

[He’s a bit slower than Obren and Minhyuk, but he was able to clear the monster within just twenty-five minutes.]

[Kghkk! What a pity. Just a tiny bit more! Unfortunately, even the Pillar of Life and Death has failed to kill the Pillar of the Battlefield.]

[Louis has turned into ashes and is disappearing with the wind. It took 47 minutes.]

[The Persistent Beladon’s challenge has started.]

[Uhm... It has been 3 hours and 48 minutes now.]

[The more the players struggle and the more desperate they fight, the higher and stronger their abilities become!]

[This is the fifth hour. The quasi-boss monster has killed Beladon.]

[To be honest, The Persistent is not specialized in hunting monsters.]

[Taking that into account, we can say that he has done enough. In fact, he had done a good job.]

[There are no hiccups or unexpected events.]

[With this, Minhyuk has established himself as the Pillar of the Battlefield’s Raid’s MVP! He was the one who hunted the Pillar of the Battlefield at the shortest possible time!]

[The entire world is cheering loudly for Minhyuk!]

[As the MVP of the first Pillar Great War, Minhyuk can choose one of the special items as a special privilege and benefit for the next great war.]

[The Second Pillar Great War: Pillar’s Endurance will begin tomorrow!]

[In this event, one Pillar will have to endure and hold out for a very long time in a fight against the four other Pillars.]

Ilhwa Group’s conference room.

The Ilhwa Group’s vice president was shocked when he heard the non-stop shouts and excited cheers that rang from outside the room.

‘Did I make a mistake in my judgment?’

He was the one who insisted on hiring professional managers, confident that Minhyuk’s eating addiction would never be cured. After all, eating addiction was a disease that had existed for a very long time, and there had never been a case where someone experienced a complete recovery and cure.

The vice president looked at Chairman Kang Minhoo, who was smiling lightly. He could see the deep faith and trust reflected in the chairman’s pupils.

***

The American Institute for Rare Diseases was a gathering place for prestigious and well-renowned doctors from around the world, who came together to study treatments for rare diseases and research the causes of their outbreaks and occurrences.

Dr. Kevin, the doctor in charge of eating addiction, had gone to Korea not too long ago and had conducted hundreds of tests on Minhyuk.

One test was conducted by attaching wires to Minhyuk’s head and checking dozens of his brain waves and reactions. They also tested his food cravings, the degree of activation of his salivary glands whenever he caught sight of food, Minhyuk’s feelings when he saw food, and many other tests. Yes, they had conducted countless tests.

At that moment, Dr. Kevin was checking the examination results.

If the examination results showed a score of 95, then the patient could be said to have only had an appetite that was slightly larger than the average person. In other words, if Minhyuk could get a 95, then they could confirm that he was completely cured of the disease. Unfortunately, it was almost impossible for a patient suffering from eating addiction to get a score of 95.

One of the doctors looked at Dr. Kevin, who was intently examining the results, and asked, “He has always scored a 5, right?”

In the early stages of his disease, Minhyuk had consistently scored a devastating five in these tests.

“That’s right,” Kevin answered, his expression growing more serious as he continued to check the results one by one.

“Minhyuk has already scored a 90 recently.”

That was the result of the tests that they had done recently.

Then, the doctor said, “I don’t think a complete cure is easy to achieve. Even though he scored a 90, we can only say that he has improved.”

“It’s because the judgment of a complete cure will only be given if we have determined that he will never get the disease again.”

In the first place, they weren’t sure about most things when it came to rare diseases. Regardless, there was one thing they were sure about, and that was the determination of a complete cure once a score of 95 was achieved.

Kevin checked the results of every single test until he reached the final test. With a dark and somber expression on his face, he stood up with the test paper in hand and declared, “I’m going to Korea.”

“Again? No, wait. More than that, the results...”

But Kevin had already gone outside.

Kevin would always travel to Korea and personally deliver the test results. Why? This was because Kevin was a Korean-American. Not only that, he was also a scholar funded and raised by the Ilhwa Group.

And thus, Kevin left for Korea with the test results in his hands.

***

[The order for the Pillar Great War: Pillar’s Endurance will now be determined!]

[Number 1: Pillar of the Gourmands Minhyuk.]

[Number 2: The Maker Hephaestus.]

[Number 3: Evil God Obren.]

[Number 4: Master of Life and Death Louis.]

[Number 5: The Persistent Beladon.]

Minhyuk’s face grew incredibly ugly.

‘I’m going first...?’

Minhyuk had no idea of the other four Pillars’ inherent powers. Regardless of their powers, being the first participant was always disadvantageous.

‘Even Obren had to use ridiculous and outrageous stunts when he came out first...’

But Minhyuk was different from him. To be honest, Minhyuk did not have the confidence that he would be able to play freely as the first candidate.

[Please choose your MVP Special Item.]

There was only one way for Minhyuk to make a breakthrough. He had to take advantage of this, the special privilege that only he could have. Minhyuk checked the items one by one carefully.

[30% HP and MP Recovery Potion.]

[30% Skill Damage Increase Potion.]

[15% All Artifact Reinforcement Scroll.]

[Three-Second All Enemy Stun.]

‘They’re not as grand as I’d imagined.’ 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

If he had to pick one, he would choose the Three-Second All Enemy Stun item. For people at their level, three seconds was a considerable amount of time. Minhyuk could even cut down a lot of enemies in that same amount of time.

‘But there’s a problem...’

Minhyuk might be able to kill a lot of enemies in those three seconds, but that was not the case for the monstrous Pillars. In three seconds, he might only be able to shave 50% of their HP.

Minhyuk continued to scroll through the items. That was when one item stood out.

[Use Enemy Attacks as an Opportunity.]

‘Hmm?’

He quickly checked the item’s detailed explanation. According to the description, he could convert the damage that he obtained from the start of the Pillar’s Endurance and turn it into his attack power once. There was also a second option that could allow him to convert the attack skills and debuff skills that he received from his enemies into buff effects that could be applied to himself.

‘In short, it’s a gamble.’

Dozens of simulations appeared in Minhyuk’s head. After countless simulations, a conclusion finally appeared.

[You have chosen the ‘Use Enemy Attacks as an Opportunity’.]

***

[The Pillar’s Endurance will start soon.]

[You can convene a meeting for thirty seconds.]

All of the Pillars, including Minhyuk, were warped into the venue. A line was drawn on the ground, dividing them into two sides.

Hephaestus glanced around before their meeting started.

‘Even so... it’s still Minhyuk.’

For a moment, the blacksmith felt his heart waver. The truth was, they could kill Minhyuk in thirty seconds if the four of them gave their all and did their best. No, it was not just Minhyuk. As long as the target was not the Evil God, anyone could be killed within thirty seconds under the onslaught of attacks from the four Pillars.

[Give it your all. This is our way of caring for Minhyuk.]

However, Obren’s words snapped Hephaestus out of it.

‘Obren does not want to lose to Minhyuk. Yes, that’s right. Right now we’re all competing.’

Hephaestus understood what Obren meant. So, they began to plan the most efficient operation that they would follow later. The operation would revolve around Obren.

[As soon as the event starts, we will immediately weaken Minhyuk’s artifacts with your skill. What was it? Blacksmith’s Order? The moment you activate it, all of the effects of the equipped artifacts will decrease by 90%, right?]

“That’s right. It takes a minute before it can be triggered, though.”

[Once your skill is activated, I will use my Evil God’s Books to restrict Minhyuk’s skill usage and send attacks to him. And if Louis and Beladon give it their all, we will be able to finish him off in thirty seconds.]

Everyone nodded. They all agreed to kill Minhyuk in thirty seconds. They had considered it a done deal.

[The allotted time for a meeting has ended.]

[The Pillar’s Endurance will begin soon.]

[The moment the event starts, the attackers and defenders will be warped to the same place.]

At that moment, Minhyuk’s voice rang in their ears.

“I seem to hear that you plan to kill me within thirty seconds?”

The four whispered in the smallest voice possible, but Minhyuk was still able to hear precisely what they intended to do in thirty seconds.

Obren smiled wryly.

[Can you endure for thirty seconds?]

They were friends. However, in this competition, they were enemies.

Minhyuk chuckled at Obren’s provocation. “Who knows?”

[The Pillar’s Endurance will start in two seconds.]

Both the attacker and the defenders were enveloped in bright and blinding lights.

***

[After listening to the meeting between Obren and the other Pillars, we can expect them to force Minhyuk to log out in thirty seconds!]

[That’s possible. No. They can do more than that. The key here is how Player Minhyuk can overcome this hurdle.]

[The Pillar’s Endurance is starting!]

The four Pillars appeared around Minhyuk. The moment Hephaestus appeared, he pointed his hammer at Minhyuk’s head.

[Blacksmith’s Order.]

[Following the orders of the Blacksmith, the abilities and effects of all of your artifacts will be reduced by 88%!]

A deep smile appeared on Hephaestus’ face.

‘Everything depends on chance. I can weaken my enemy’s artifacts from 60~90%.’

The fact that he was able to trigger an 88% reduction was amazing in and of itself. It was a massive drop in abilities.

‘If we do well, then maybe we can force Minhyuk to log out in ten seconds...’

[Use Enemy Attacks as an Opportunity!]

[Following the effects of the special item that Minhyuk has chosen, the abilities and effects of all of his artifacts will increase by 88%.]

At that moment, a bright light shone from the Evil God’s Books.

[All of your skills will be restricted...]

[The enemy’s abnormal status resistance is too high. Skills cannot be restricted!]

Minhyuk finally made his move. Not only did he move 1.5x faster than usual, but there were also his artifacts. An 88% increase in abilities and effects was tantamount to increasing Minhyuk’s level by hundreds.

Before the Evil God’s Books’ lightning fell...

“Absolute Defense. You asked me if I can even endure and hold out for thirty seconds, right?”

Minhyuk swung his sword, the same sword with an attack power of more than 7,000, and cut down Evil God Obren. He smiled when he saw the surprise that flashed on Obren’s face.

“Instead of enduring and holding out, I plan to sweep everyone away.”