Chapter 589: Lady of the Snakes, Leona

Chapter 589: Lady of the Snakes, Leona

Did Joy Co. Ltd. create the Grumpy Gochujang for no reason at all? Everything in Athenae was related to ‘scenarios’, ‘quests’ or other events, so would they create a gochujang with an ego just for laughs? Minhyuk believed that it was unlikely.

As it turned out, it was a mysterious existence with a power that surpassed even the gods. It even blessed Minhyuk with a +2% increase in all of his stats. On top of that, the spiciness of the dish would vary depending on who would eat the gochujang-based dish.

‘What an amazing ability.’

The dish would set the most delicious spiciness level depending on the person that would consume the dish. Minhyuk had never heard of an ability like this. However, one thing was for sure. This was an ability that all of the chefs in the world would covet.

As for the Puzzling Seasoning Jar that Minhyuk obtained...

‘If it’s a seasoning jar that has the ability that I’m thinking of then...’

If it was as Minhyuk guessed, then its power was likely to be astronomical. In fact, the seasoning jar’s ability that Minhyuk was thinking of was simple. Just as the gochujang adjusted its flavor to suit the taste of the one that would eat it, what if the salt that he would get from the seasoning jar would also make the dish its most delicious version based on the person eating it?

‘That would be insane...’

Any kind of dish served to others all over the world would be seasoned by the chef that made it. However, everyone’s taste buds and palates were different. Some preferred it salty, some preferred it to be plain and simple, while some preferred it bland.

The first thing that Minhyuk did was to check the Puzzling Seasoning Jar.

(Puzzling Seasoning Jar)

Rank: ???

Special Abilities:

•???

•???

•???

•Something that possesses an ego is slumbering inside. It might wake up at unexpected times.

‘It really is a puzzling seasoning jar...’

It was exactly as its name suggested. The seasoning jar was truly puzzling and confusing. However, one particular thing stood out to Minhyuk.

‘That guy is slumbering inside this?’

It seemed like the ego of the Grumpy Gochujang was sleeping inside the Puzzling Seasoning Jar. Minhyuk did not know if its power that went beyond the gods was something temporary or not. However, he was sure that it was a noteworthy existence and it was now sleeping inside the seasoning jar that he acquired.

After he finished cooking and checking everything, Minhyuk finally saw the sad figures of his new guild members approaching his trailer. One look at their sullen figures and Minhyuk began to rush. He quickly prepared various fried fritters and even some rice balls to go with the Bizarre Tteokbokki.

“We’ve been smashed.”

“What kind of record did those guys make in the time attack dungeon?”

“Richard’s power is too strong...”

Most of the guild members that had returned were feeling lost and dispirited. It seemed like the wall that was blocking their path was a tad bit too high for them. From what it looked like they were under great pressure. Minhyuk hoped that his new guild members would forget the stress once they ate this Bizarre Tteokbokki. Of course, the same was true for Minhyuk. He had been very busy these past few days. Because of that, his stress had accumulated. After confirming that everyone had returned, Minhyuk began to distribute the Bizarre Tteokbokki.

Among them was the group that Orleed belonged to. They had experienced a level that they could not reach. All of them were at most only at rank 70.

“So, this is who Richard is...” Orleed said. He had decided to serve Minhyuk in the heat of the moment after seeing countless possibilities with him. However, he still could not hide the bitterness after witnessing how great Richard’s underlings were.

At that moment, Minhyuk gave them a portion of Bizarre Tteokbokki, some fried fritters, rice balls and a can of julpis. Minhyuk said, “This dish will definitely make you feel a whole lot better.”

After distributing all of the new guild members’ shares, Minhyuk settled down and began to eat himself. Orleed looked down at the white stretch of cheese on top of the blazing red tteokbokki.

“Is this the dish that you call tteokbokki?”

“That’s right.”

“Isn’t this super spicy?”

“It’s spicy but it’s also very delicious.”

There were Koreans among Orleed’s group and that was what they said about the dish. Then, Orleed looked at Minhyuk. Minhyuk was smiling happily despite the beads of perspiration dripping down from his forehead as he ate the Bizarre Tteokbokki.

‘This is not the time to eat like that, Your Majesty,’ Orleed thought bitterly, ‘I can’t eat something overly spicy.’

Then, Orleed picked up his chopsticks and clamped a piece of rice cake. Foreigners often had to smell their food first before putting it into their mouths whenever they tried food from other countries. Orleed did just that. When he finally placed it in his mouth, the spicy flavor spread in his mouth as the chewy texture of the rice cake greeted him.

‘It’s spicy... but...’

It was delicious as well. Orleed picked up another rice cake; this time, it was the slightly chubbier one. The rice cake that he picked up was none other than the cheese rice cake. The moment he bit on it, the rich, savory flavor of the cheese burst in his mouth and perfectly complemented the spicy flavor, washing away a bit of its edge.

“...Delicious.”

“Wow. This is really delicious.”

Even the Koreans that were eating together with Orleed were impressed by the taste. Next, Orleed tasted the fishcake that had been soaked with the gochujang-based sauce.

“This fishcake is the best.”

It seemed like Orleed preferred fishcakes over rice cakes in the Bizarre Tteokbokki. This time, he tried the vienna sausage.

“Mhmm~ Yummy!” Orleed shouted in admiration. His mouth felt hot as if a flame had been lit in his mouth and his forehead was covered in sweat. He quickly pulled out a handkerchief and wiped off the sweat on his forehead. That was when Orleed saw Minhyuk gulp down the drink called julpis.

Orleed immediately copied Minhyuk, pouring out the peach-flavored julpis in a cup. The cold temperature of the julpis seeped through the cup and was transmitted through his hand. Then, he immediately gulped the cold julpis.

“Kghhk~ What the hell? This drink tastes so good!”

The drink washed away the lingering spiciness in his mouth. This time, Orleed turned his attention toward the rice balls. The rice balls had some chopped pickled radish, tobiko, seaweed powder, sesame seeds, and the like. When he placed the rice ball in his mouth...

“Wow...”

Orleed wondered how a rice ball made up of the most ordinary ingredients could taste so divine.

“It will taste even better if you eat it like this.”

Orleed watched as the Koreans dipped their rice balls in the tteokbokki sauce before putting it in their mouths. He copied what they were doing and could only stare wide-eyed at the dish in front of him. This time, he tried the fried seaweed roll. Of course, he also dipped the fried seaweed roll in the tteokbokki sauce. And the moment he placed it in his mouth...

Crunch—

The tteokbokki sauce added a dash of flavor in the fried seaweed roll’s crunchy texture.

“Wow...”

Orleed continued to eat, admiration plastered all over his face. From the moment he ate, his mind had been completely empty. He did not realize this fact until he was full and satiated.

[...Oh? Beyond the Heavens is doing well, though?]

[Wow... 13 minutes and 30 seconds... that’s dope...]

[As expected, the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom is the best. They can’t stand the thought of the Maserrati Guild dominating the entire event.]

[Baroque’s Dungeon’s records have been refreshed!]

[Baroque’s Dungeon. 1st place. Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. 11 minutes and 56 seconds.]

[...???]

[...???]

[...???]

[...???]

[Blue Mermaid’s Dungeon’s records...!]

[Blue Mermaid’s Dungeon. 1st place. Beyond the Heavens Kingdom...]

[Gleaming Plain’s Dungeon’s records...!]

[Gleaming Plain’s Dungeon. 1st place. Beyond the Heavens Kingdom...]

[...records...]

[...Beyond the Heavens Kingdom...]

[...records have been refreshed...]

[...Beyond the Heavens Kingdom...]

It all happened in an instant. In just a short fifteen minutes, all of the records in all of the listed time attack dungeons, from one to fifty, had the name ‘Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’ written on them. Everyone that saw this just stared blankly at their screens.

[Hey... Isn’t this a bug?]

[I also think it’s a bug...?]

[Hey, operators! Why aren’t you doing your job properly?! You bastards!!!]

However, an announcement was posted immediately after this had happened.

[Joy Co. Ltd. has immediately reviewed the reports about a bug found on the homepage. However, we have confirmed that there are no bugs. We will continue to work hard to provide a smooth experience for the public. Thank you.]

[Hey, it’s not a bug!!!]

[OMG! Then, it’s true?!!!]

In just half an hour, the entire game was turned upside down. At the same time, words that were enlarged and in bold appeared above the screen where the time attack dungeon records were shown.

[The Time Attack Dungeon event is about to end!]

[Star Coins and Dungeon Master Rings will be distributed to the ones that won first place in the time attack dungeons.]

In the end, the one that got the last laugh was the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

***

Stars’ Path.

Absolute Monarch Richard was in disbelief after seeing the sudden reversal in the time attack dungeons.

‘How in the world...?’

Obviously, when he had just checked an hour ago, the Maserrati Guild was still dominating and monopolizing the top spot in the rankings. But everything suddenly turned around.

‘As expected, it’s not easy to get one over them, huh?’

Richard did not underestimate the Food God. Richard was a careful, meticulous man and was not someone that would grow upset or angry because he found out that he still underestimated someone. All Richard could do was laugh bitterly.

“What are we going to do?”

“It’s fine. We’ll just make our name known by hunting one of the Six Monster Gods’ children, Elizabeth’s child, the one called the Lady of the Snakes.”

The Six Monster Gods were the key roles in all of the quests and monster scenarios in the Stars’ Path. Just like what was mentioned before, the Six Monster Gods were Athenae’s children that were driven away and eventually settled down in the Stars’ Path. The weakest among them was Elizabeth, the God of Snakes. But even if she was the weakest, no human could fight against her.

But this was not the case for Elizabeth’s children.

The Six Monster Gods all gave birth to children of their own. Their children’s strength was divided according to their ‘class’. Their class followed the same class system in the demon world where they were divided into marquises, counts, barons, and the likes.

The one that the Maserrati Guild was about to awaken was the count-level ‘Snake’s Child’. Even if the child was only at the count-level, one could not ignore its power. In the first place, the Six Monster Gods were beings that had the power to confront the Absolute Gods. Of course, their children would also be born with a strong power. As for those at the count-level, they were beings that even a decent kingdom could not stop. However, the Maserrati Guild was determined to stop such a being.

And the one that would awaken the count-level being was none other than ‘Lion King Benrod’. Lion King Benrod was one of the active figures during the Battle of the Thrones and was a legend among all of the summoners. He was here to awaken the count-level monster. Then, the Maserrati Guild would immediately hunt the monster and declare the creation of their own kingdom.

“From what I heard, the Beyond the Heavens’ King is also here.”

“Are you worried that he will be able to raid the monster before we can even do so?”

“...Yes.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about. The count-level monster will already die under our hands even before he comes.”

But then, at that moment, the sky covering the Stars’ Path suddenly turned bloody red.

“Hiiiiisssss—“

“Hiiiisss—“

“...?”

“...?”

They were shocked to see thousands of snakes suddenly appearing from the trees, bushes, rocks and all over the place. At the same time, a horrifying notification hit them.

[God of Snakes’ Elizabeth First Child.]

[Marquess Leona has awakened to the world.]

A great catastrophe was about to befall the Stars’ Path.