Chapter 1028

Chapter 1028

Rumble–!

The sound coming from Beradon’s stomach was as loud as thunder. He might be starving, but he had a smile on his face.

‘Fufu. He’s probably receiving a beating from the Lord of the Mountains now.’

The Lord of the Mountains had been protecting these mountains for a long time. What Beradon asked Minhyuk to dig were ingredients that had been growing with the nourishment of the power and energy of that Lord of the Mountains.

The truth was, Beradon had tried countless times to pick some of those ingredients but every single time resulted in failure. That showed how ferocious, strong, and swift the Lord of the Mountains was.

‘I could kill it if I wanted to.’

But there was no reason for Beradon to kill the Lord of the Mountains.

This test he presented to the young man was by no means easy.

‘It’s because the ingredients that grew from the energy of the Lord of the Mountains will wither on the spot the moment it dies.’

What if the young man was able to suppress it? Well, Beradon was sure that he still could not get those ingredients. The ingredients would eventually wither if they were forcibly taken from the Lord of the Mountains.

The young man was the one who was able to resist Beradon's power. He might just be stronger than he expected. But even if the young man was strong, the only way for him to obtain those ingredients was for the Lord of the Mountains to give it to him willingly.

“Fufufu!” Beraden laughed happily.

However, just ten minutes later, he was taken aback,

“I brought the ingredients.”

“...?”

“It’s a bit hot, right?”

Beradon stared blankly at the young man, who was carrying the ingredients in his hands, while two cows who took the form of humans followed behind him with flushed faces.

“Sir Hanwoo, why is your name Hanwoo?”

“Fufu. Do you know the meaning of Hanwoo?” Hanwoo chuckled, his words carrying a deep meaning. And Minhyuk? He laughed awkwardly on the side as Hanwoo said, “My master said that Hanwoo is the best and most outstanding cow.”

“Oh my! That’s so cool...!”

“I heard that there’s 1+ and 1++, but my master said that he named me Hanwoo because I’m a great and amazing cow greater than 1++.”

“That’s amazing! Excuse me, can you give me a name too?”

Minhyuk was left flustered. He knew that the Bull Demon King would be hurt if he knew the true meaning of Hanwoo 1++. So, he hurriedly racked his brain to find a suitable answer to the Lord of the Mountain’s question and be done with the topic altogether.

‘This is the American Server.’

And based on the American beef grading system, their best and most fantastic beef was graded prime.

“P- Prime. How does Prime sound?”

“Oh my! Prime, huh? That sounds amazing! What does the name mean?”

“In America, it’s the best tasti— no... It’s the most outstanding and excellent cow on this continent.”

“Thank you! I will return this favor to you later!”

[You have given the Lord of the Mountains a name.]

[The Lord of the Mountains is delighted with the name “Prime.”]

[Prime’s favor has increased.]

[The Lord of the Mountains Prime promises to do you a favor once.]

As he looked at the Lord of the Mountains Prime and Hanwoo standing together, Minhyuk thought, ‘Even so, Hanwoo is still the best.’ This fact remained unchanged.

Beradon looked back at Minhyuk. He was amazed by how thorough he was.

“The Lord of the Mountains is one of the few remaining members of the Bull Demon Race. She must have felt lonely because she could not meet any members of her race.”

He thought that the young man named Minhyuk was experienced.

“I did not expect that you would take advantage of the fact that she is a member of the Bull Demon and win her over with a handsome man.”

“...”

Minhyuk actually wanted to subdue the Lord of the Mountains. As for the rest... It was taken care of by the Bull Demon King.

“That’s amazing. You wouldn’t be able to get those ingredients even if you overpower and subdue the Lord of the Mountains. I can’t believe that you can get what I couldn’t from the Lord of the Mountains by using such an out-of-the-box thinking and method.”

Beradon sincerely admired Minhyuk’s ways.

“I have to acknowledge and recognize you with this.”

This was what Minhyuk had been waiting for. Then, the notifications rang.

[Beradon has given you a slight recognition.]

[You have leveled up.]

Minhyuk looked at the notifications in awe. He thought, ‘This is really cheat-like.’

And the situation was more cheat-like because it was Minhyuk. The increase in his level once he received Beradon’s recognition was not restricted by the amount of EXP he had in his EXP bar. As long as he received the recognition, his level would increase by one, no matter what. So, whether at Level 1 or Level 500, they would level up by one.

As someone who stood at the top of the official rankings, Minhyuk received the greatest effect from this.

‘At my level, it has become tough to level up. An increase in my level is worth a lot.’

[The Growth Cultivator has started to chase after something related to the Battle God.]

The notifications grew silent for a moment. At the same time, Beradon closed his eyes and muttered, “Hmmm. This is much better.”

Beradon was quite shocked. He did not expect that the Food God would also be the Battle God.

Not long after, the notifications began to ring once again.

[The Growth Cultivator is creating something related to the Battle God.]

Beradon opened his eyes. Then, a smile that was by no means gentle appeared on his face as he looked at Minhyuk. He said, “As I have mentioned, I have no intentions of taking any more disciples.”

Minhyuk understood what he meant.

[The Growth Cultivator has started to increase the difficulty of something related to the Battle God that it is creating!]

‘Hey- Hey! This gramps...?’

Then, Beradon opened his mouth again and said, “But if you can accomplish this, then I will accept you as...”

A sparkle appeared in Beradon’s eyes.

“...my last disciple.”

Ring!

[The Class Quest: Visit to the God’s Prison has been created.]

[Class Quest: Visit to the God’s Prison]

Rank: Class

Requirements: Level 650.

Rewards: ???, you will become Beradon’s final disciple.

Penalty for Failure: You will no longer be able to meet Beradon. The level of a random Battle God’s skill will drop by 1.

Description: Visit the God’s Prison. Find Erach, the God’s Prison Warden, and listen to their story.

‘...’

Minhyuk was stunned.

“I did not create something out of nothing.”

Minhyuk’s ears perked up as he listened carefully to Beradon’s words.

“I’m just converting something that already exists into something that has been set for you.”

That was right. Not everything could be linked to a quest because it was related to the Battle God. But Beradon had this overpowered and cheat-like power that allowed him to link something related to his target into a quest and add rewards.

That was when Minhyuk saw the “???” written in the rewards portion of the quest.

***

President Kang Taehoon, who had finished the third-anniversary announcement press conference, boarded the car and returned with Team Leader Park Minggyu.

“Player Minhyuk has met Beradon, who can create a foothold for players to grow further. He will definitely achieve shocking growth during this period.”

He may also obtain greater power that could help him fight against Helenia.

‘It’s still not enough.’

This was what President Kang had concluded.

But not long after, Minggyu’s eyes widened when he checked his phone. He said, “President. I received a message from Lee Minhwa.”

“...?”

Minggyu hurriedly gave his report, “The Teacher, Beradon, has created one quest related to the Battle God with the power of The Growth Cultivator.”

“Ahem... He’s really an amazing NPC.”

NPCs could create quests related to themselves. But The Teacher? He could make a quest for the Battle God even if they weren’t related to each other at all.

“If Player Minhyuk completes this quest, he will reach even higher heights.”

Nevertheless, Kang Taehoon believed that it was just limited to that.

Then, Team Leader Park opened his mouth again and said, “The quest rewards include ‘???’ and ‘Final Disciple’.”

“WHAT?!”

The Teacher would accept a final disciple?! This was very shocking. When he first heard the report, Taehoon thought Player Minhyuk had just received another quest to help him gain a foothold to grow even further.

Team Leader Park relayed the hypotheses he created based on the message he received from Lee Minhwa. He said, “The quest has ‘???’ on it, right? Beradon set the rewards. Assuming that Player Minhyuk truly becomes his final disciple... then I think he will be able to gain a foothold that will allow him to continue to grow.”

“The reason?” President Kang asked, tension evident in his tone.

Team Leader Park said, “That ‘???’ written as one of the rewards... there’s a chance it will allow Minhyuk to use ‘The Growth Cultivator’ temporarily for a few months.”

“...!”

President Kang Taehoon’s eyes grew wide. A player would be allowed to access The Growth Cultivator. Of course, it would be impossible for them to obtain this power permanently. However, as Team Leader Park said, they could still use the skill, albeit temporarily. And if that happened?

“Player Minhyuk will probably create a variety of quests related to his classes and charge straight toward Level 700.”

And there was also one thing that they had to take into consideration. The Growth Cultivator was a power equivalent to the Eight Pillar’s Disaster.