Chapter 792

Chapter 792

What was Minhyuk’s biggest strength? It was none other than his power to attract people.

Minhyuk was kind and polite to the point that people often forget the fact that he was the successor to a large company. He had always stood against the strong and never ignored the weak. On top of that, there was often a pure, innocent and child-like smile whenever he was eating his food, which fascinated a lot of people. Many people benefited greatly from Minhyuk’s buffed dishes as well.

Just like that, people started to gather around him as he continued on his journey in Athenae. Before Aegaeon knew it, Minhyuk was already surrounded by countless people.

‘To be loved by all.’

Aegaeon looked at Valen, who had already stood up, with his sword aimed at him. Then, he looked around him. If he did his best, he was sure that he could devour Minhyuk right here and now. However, the problem came after that. If he devoured Minhyuk, the people who appeared here would make sure to hunt and destroy his fragments to the point that no trace would be left behind.

‘I can’t have that.’

If Aegaeon was honest, just the fact that Minhyuk was loved by all and had such power was enough for him to covet the child more. However, he knew that this was not the time yet.

Shwaaaaaaaaaa—

“I’ll stand down for now.”

All of the people present were glaring coldly at Aegaeon as he disappeared from their sight.

“Fwaaaaa...”

The moment he disappeared, Sword Emperor Ellie released a shaky breath. Many others also breathed a sigh of relief. They would be lying if they said that they did not feel fear at the thought of fighting a battle where their odds were completely unknown. Thankfully, it did not get to that point.

Then, Sword God Valen lowered himself once again and swept Minhyuk’s hair away. “You’re truly amazing, Minhyuk.”

Valen looked at the people around him. He did not expect Minhyuk to be loved by the Absolute Gods.

“Hmmm... want to eat... samgyeopsal... jokbal...”

Valen stared at the sleeping Minhyuk for a very long time.

***

Joy Co. Ltd. conference room.

Everyone felt very relieved. The ones that had been summoned and gathered in the Tomb of the Kings were now returning one after another through the paths opened by Athenae.

Kang Taehoon, who had recently connected Supercomputer Athenae to the conference room, called out, “Athenae.”

The screen in front of them immediately turned black.

[Speak.]

“Did you judge that this disaster could be prevented by opening that path?”

Everyone held their breath. Supercomputer Athenae was the one that managed and maintained the balance of everything inside the game Athenae. The choice that had been made earlier might have been done through Obren’s request, but this might have also been a decision made by Athenae herself to prevent the dire consequences.

[I cannot confirm nor deny anything.]

“...”

[I have opened the path because it is the ‘only method’ available.]

Athenae continued to speak, not stopping to hear whatever was in everyone’s mind.Diiscover new stories at novelhall.com

[I did not predict anything like this.]

Even Supercomputer Athenae did not predict that this would happen. All she did was do her best to try and correct the error that suddenly appeared. The officials and operators of Joy Co. Ltd. remained silent. They felt extremely insignificant at this moment.

President Kang Taehoon smiled bitterly and said, “So, it’s not us, not you, but Minhyuk, who prevented this disaster?”

Silence enveloped the room for a few seconds. Then, Athenae said...

[That’s right.]

“Hahahahaha!” Kang Taehoon laughed loudly.

It was not the operators of Joy Co. Ltd. nor Athenae who did this. Perhaps even the supercomputer Athenae was hoping that there would be many people who would respond to her call when she opened the path earlier.

Then, Team Leader Park Minggyu, who vowed to further improve after reflecting and blaming himself for being incompetent and helpless in such a situation, said loudly, “Player Minhyuk... has truly become the heart of Athenae.”

***

[You have achieved amazing feats while clearing all of the trials of the Tomb of the Kings!]

This was the notification that rang in the ears of all of those present in the Tomb of the Kings. Calauhel and the Rothschilde Kingdom army felt that this was a very novel feeling.

‘We have been on the back foot since the very beginning.’

‘Thanks to Minhyuk, we were able to overcome these trials and even got amazing achievements.’

Minhyuk, who finally returned from the space that he was dragged into, was truly worthy of their admiration.

However, none of them was aware of what Minhyuk had gone through in that place. As for Minhyuk, he could check the situation through his guild chatting window.

[Vice Guild Master Genie: Minhyuk, are you alright?]

[Locke: Hoo... When I said that I will make him into an eunuch... everyone turned around. That f*cker...]

[Khan: You should get some rest when you get back. You must be very tired.]

[Ascar: We’re in trouble. Grandpa Ben, Brod and Elpis are making a fuss. They said they wanted to find Aegaeon’s fragments.]

[Ace: Looking for a girlfriend in Athenae. I’m Firefist Ace of Jungsan Middle School! My type are girls that are like Robin.]

[Crow: Hey, hey. How can you put a macro[1] here?]

[Ace: Aaack! Sry, sry. Minhyuk hyung, are you okay?]

Minhyuk smiled faintly. He was very grateful to all of them. Just when he was about to give his thanks, a constant stream of notification windows popped up in front of him. Well, Minhyuk thought that it would be better to just go back and personally give his thanks, so he looked at the notifications first.

[You have achieved amazing feats while clearing all of the trials of the Tomb of the Kings!]

‘Those two bastards must have already been forced to log out.’

When Aegaeon was temporarily awakened, the two mercenaries that he hired to stir up trouble had been forced to log out.

Ian felt his heart thump wildly.

‘It’s not only Calauhel, but even Food God Minhyuk that has died in this place.’

The challengers of the Tomb of the Kings would lose their skills, artifacts, and a variety of things in their possession upon failing in their trial. The most interesting fact here was the fact that the skill that they lost would not be deleted but dropped, just like when killing a monster.

‘They will not be able to survive against Aegaeon.’

Each of the top three dungeon explorers held special skills and abilities that allowed them to stand on top of other dungeon explorers. In the case of Bran, the 2nd in the rankings, he had the skill ‘Ancient Relics Tracker’. As for Ian, he had the ‘Dungeon Explorer’s Eye.’

If the Ancient Relics Tracker could track relics once every five months, the Dungeon Explorer’s Eye could be triggered once every month. It was much better than the Ancient Relics Tracker since it could help Ian read, analyze, and grasp the system of the dungeons, even in this Tomb of the Kings that he was currently tracking.

‘In the end, they had to awaken Aegaeon. Even if they defeated the kings and obtained amazing achievements, it would be impossible for them to defeat Aegaeon.’

Ian grinned widely. In the unlikely scenario they had killed Aegaeon, he would have gotten the notification. However, there was no such thing.

However, there was one thing that Ian had overlooked. Each skill had its own advantages. For example, Bran knew through his ‘Ancient Relics Tracker’ that one would be able to obtain the class King Above Kings inside the Tomb of the Kings. That was something that Ian did not know.

‘Who’s the one that got the King Above Kings?’

However, Ian quickly threw that question to the back of his mind. With his eyes stained by greed, he quickly entered the Tomb of the Kings.

“You’re still resorting to dirty tricks to gain benefits for yourself?”

“...!”

Ian was shocked when a voice suddenly rang in his ears. A figure emerged from the darkness, and it was none other than Bran. Ian had always ignored Bran. In fact, he believed that Bran would not be able to catch up to him. However, this was only because Bran did not resort to immoral and dirty methods.

“H, how...?” Ian stuttered, disbelief clear on his face.

“You must be the one that leaked that information to me.”

Another figure emerged from the darkness. This man was none other than Calauhel. Ian’s pupils dilated when he saw that the man was still alive. He took a step back.

“W, wait...”

Ian was a dungeon explorer. His power could only rival that of a high-level player, and he was absolutely no match against Calauhel.

Thump—

Unfortunately, when he took a step back, he was blocked by a tall man.

“When one enters the Tomb of the Kings, they will be subjected to greater penalties upon being forced to log out.”

The person blocking his path scoffed. This man was none other than the Luvien Empire’s greatest nemesis, the Beyond the Heavens’ King, the Food God.

“This... shit...!”

It was only then that he realized that these people had cleared the Tomb of the Kings.

‘Im, impossible...!’

Minhyuk, who was standing behind the shocked Ian, whispered, “Did you know? I obtained a lot of interesting things when I hunted the Evil Incarnate.”

Minhyuk took out an artifact from his inventory. This artifact was a one-time use artifact called the ‘Dagger of Despair.’

Staaaaaaab—

The moment the dagger stabbed Ian’s back, he received chilling notifications.

[Your penalty for being forced to log out will be doubled!]

[You will drop 30%~80% of your platinum once you are forced to log out.]

“W, wait. Let’s make a deal...”

However, Minhyuk’s sword had already pierced through his heart even before he could finish his words.

Staaaaaaaaab—!

[You have been forced to log out!]

[You have received the Tomb of the Kings’ Penalty!]

[The Dagger of Despair has doubled your penalty for forced log out.]

[You will drop 71% of your platinum.]

[You have dropped 44,313 platinum.]

[You have dropped the Veteran Dungeon Explorer’s Armor.]

[You have dropped Farimi’s Nimble Boots.]

[You have dropped your skill: Breaking Through Dungeons.]

His thoughts turned blank. The notifications that continued to ring in his ears made him fall into the depths of despair.

[You have dropped your skill: Dungeon Explorer’s Eyes.]

The nail in the coffin was when the best skill that had kept him at the top also dropped.

‘N, noooooooooooo!!!’

Ian screamed. Then he saw Minhyuk grinning, “Hey, thanks a lot.”

Finally, Ian’s vision turned dark.

1. automatic program that repeatedly inputs a specific command ☜