Chapter 1118
Special Players Management Team.
Team Leader Park Minggyu groaned. “Player Minhyuk has received the quest to enter the ‘Supreme’...?”
Even Lee Minhwa, sitting next to him, was sporting a severe expression on her face.
“Originally, quests that enter the ‘Supreme’ will only be triggered once players reach Level 1,000, but...”
From the beginning, Joy Co. Ltd. had set it so that some players would only be able to achieve the Supreme once they reached Level 1,000. Based on the players’ current speed of growth, Level 1,000 would not appear until at least three years later.
Yet Minhyuk achieved that Supreme exactly twice in a row before he even reached Level 700. The first was achieved by making the Supreme Dish, while the second was achieved by killing the Supreme Monarch.
Nonetheless, there was something strange.
“In the first place, Rundalk should not have offered such a quest to someone below Level 1,000.”
“It’s probably because of variables. And there should be a lot involved in this.”
“I see.”
If it was someone else present at the banquet, Rundalk might have easily judged them to lack qualifications. Minhyuk was different. He had built a high favorability with both Beradon and Rocado. Because of that, both men willingly explained to Rundalk what kind of person he was. This resulted in Rundalk offering the Supreme-related quest even though it was just like a shot to the moon.
“The ingredient is already at the Fantastic grade.”
The Ingredient Brimming with Potential had just grown into a Fantastic-grade ingredient. Also, once King of Destruction Rundalk’s power had been applied to it, the Fantastic-grade ingredient would be unconditionally upgraded to the next grade.
“If Player Minhyuk accepts and goes with Rundalk, he will most likely obtain a Phenomenal-grade ingredient.”
If the Fantastic-grade ingredient was equivalent to a God-grade ingredient, then the Phenomenal-grade ingredient would be comparable to an Absolute God-grade ingredient.
“But there’s a bigger problem here, right?”
“Indeed. There are a lot of bizarre rewards inside the Supreme. Perhaps the ingredient in his hands will be upgraded another time there.”
The situation was highly unpredictable, to the point that they could not imagine the results. All of this was based on the assumption that he could complete the quest.
“I think it’s going to be very difficult this time,” Lee Minhwa said.
This was the same Lee Minhwa who used to raise objections whenever someone from Joy Co. Ltd. said it was impossible. Even she thought that Minhyuk couldn't complete this quest.
The real name of the Supreme was Pandemonium. The Land of Pandemonium. This was the perfect term to describe what that kind of place was.
‘The most difficult dimension to exist in the past, the present, and future.’
***
[You have completed the Quest: Prove the Qualifications of the Pillar of the Gourmands.]
[You can choose among one of the residents of the Land of Leaders and acquire one of their abilities.]
[You will receive the additional rewards offered by Rundalk.]
[You have acquired 10 million platinum.]
[The Delicious Ingredient that Suits Your Taste has grown one level higher from Fantastic-grade Ingredient.]
The condition for making the Ingredient Brimming with Potential grow was for Minhyuk to complete the quests given to him in the Land of Leaders. However, after using the Growth Cultivator, another condition was added. And that condition was the completion of three tasks.
After breezing through(?) the three tasks, Minhyuk heard what kind of person Rundalk was.
‘The Supreme?’
Rundalk was as old as Obren. However, unlike Obren, who had become famous, the world had forgotten him. Of course, Minhyuk had heard about Rundalk from Obren.
He jokingly asked the Guardian God, ‘Obren, how do you compare against the other members of the Eight Pillars in your prime?’
[Aside from Athenae, everyone was below me.]
Obren’s words were filled with nothing but bravado. Regardless, there was one thing that Minhyuk could glean from his words.
When he was trapped in the Puzzling Seasoning Jar, Obren was already severely weakened. After he became the Guardian God, he lost most of his power as the Evil God. Even so, Obren remained a powerhouse that neither Brod nor Ben could do anything about.
With all those in mind, Minhyuk thought Obren’s words were probably valid.
[But among those who failed to become Pillars, there are those we wonder about. We wonder what they would be like if they became a Pillar.]
[If that guy became a Pillar, he probably would have been on par with me.]
‘Why didn’t he become a Pillar?’
[Well, I don’t know about that. But he was called the Supreme.]
There was a fact that even Obren, who knew everything under the sky, did not know. And this fact flew out of Rundalk’s mouth.
“It seems like you’ve heard about it,” Rundalk said when he saw Minhyuk react to the word Supreme. “Then, it will be easier to explain.”
First, he explained the Supreme’s extraordinary power. Rundalk said he would get stronger every time he achieved a Supreme. It was quite a surprising power.
“I was too arrogant. I touched something that I should not have.”
“Something you should not have touched?”
“You probably know Chaos, right?”
Chaos hand-picked all of the Pillar Candidates.
“I killed all of the evaluators. That feat allowed me to achieve my ninth ‘Supreme.’”
Minhyuk gladly agreed to his request.
***
The group members that would go on the expedition to pick up Rundalk’s daughter were all from the faction of the King of Destruction.
“Why are you participating in this expedition?”
Their answer was simple.
“Because we’re scared...?”
“...”
Minhyuk immediately understood. They would live here for a very long time. If they did not follow the King of Destruction, then they would suffer and be bullied in this place. So, they chose to follow him and help him.
“As time went on, it also became our goal.”
“I don’t know what the King of Destruction was like in the past, but he’s definitely a good man now.”
Although they started out of fear, they were now moving solely to allow the King of Destruction Rundalk and his daughter to meet.
‘Now that I look at them...’
Minhyuk realized that perhaps this was why the members of the King of Destruction’s faction were mostly dominated by combat and offense-class people.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone who can give you buffs?”
“In the first place, the members of the faction of the King of Good and King of All Creators have nothing to do with us. I don’t have any intention of asking them to participate. And like I said, there’s a limit to the number of people who can enter that place.”
When he looked at the people walking with him, their number corresponded perfectly to the number of people that could enter the passage.
“And it’s better to have those who have worked with us for a very long time to go with us.”
Not long after, Minhyuk arrived in front of Pandemonium. Looking at the entrance, Minhyuk thought the word “pandemonium” was the perfect word to describe it. The entrance was like a vast black hole that was sucking everything and anything in its path.
“Please cook for us the moment we enter.”
They could not take any buffs in that place because Pandemonium’s difficulty was too high. They would often die shortly after entering the place. There was also the fact that they could not receive buffs from the outside. They could only use buffs applied from inside the place.
“Yes.”
Rundalk and the forty members of the expedition immediately entered Pandemonium.
***
The notifications rang in Minhyuk’s ears the moment he entered.
[You have entered Pandemonium.]
[Pandemonium has the highest level of difficulty in all of Athenae.]
[The Pandemonium that you entered is the Sky Pandemonium.]
Pandemonium was said to be divided into two: the Sky Pandemonium and the Earth Pandemonium. Of the two, the Sky Pandemonium was considered a hunting ground.
[You are the first player to enter this place.]
[Your EXP Acquisition Rate and Artifact Drop Rate will increase three times.]
Minhyuk looked around.
Universe. That was the most straightforward term to describe the place around him. It was a universe where oxygen and gravity existed.
Minhyuk quickly cooked and fed the expedition's members in this dark and universe-like Pandemonium. Everyone looked surprised as they ate the dish that Minhyuk prepared for them.
“This is crazy...”
“I also felt like I had to ignore him just because he’s the Pillar of the Gourmands, but...”
“We were too rash.”
Amidst their shock, they realized that Rundalk’s choice was not wrong. However, they wondered if they would be able to return successfully this time.
“You’re weak, so stay back.”
They had heard stories about how Minhyuk had hunted Helenia. According to that story, he was only able to do so because Obren sacrificed his life to help him. They judged that it was mostly thanks to Obren, who they believed was still incredibly strong.
Axeman Wels might be strong, but he could not get near them. So, even if Minhyuk was good at cooking, they believed that the actual level of his power was only on par or perhaps even lower than theirs.
‘Their average level is at Level 840.’
Seeing forty people with that level was astounding.
‘I think their level is higher than any other gods?’
Of course, just like the players, the gods were also growing. But the gods were still powerful, considering that a god's average level was around Level 800.
“Stay back!”
At that moment, the candidate standing right next to Minhyuk pushed him behind him. At the same time, Minhyuk saw a man wearing black armor walking through the beautiful universe and approaching them.
[Supreme Monarch. Level ???. HP and MP: infinite]
“...?”
Minhyuk was very shocked to see a very familiar face.
“Why are you coming out of there...?”