Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 904

Every empire and kingdom had a national anthem. It was like the symbol of that nation. Usually, kingdoms and empires would not change once they had designated a national anthem. That was why the national anthem was deemed much more important than it seemed.

Many nations had tried to create an outstanding national anthem. Often, dozens of famous bards, even the best of the current era, would sit together and create a national anthem. However, no nation had produced a jaw-dropping and outstanding national anthem for decades.

Among the production classes, the bard was a class that was greatly influenced by their emotions and inspirations. Because of that, the kingdoms and empires realized that making an outstanding national anthem was not in their hands. They knew that they would only be able to get an empty shell of a national anthem with a beautiful and colorful melody if they forced it. So, in the end, everyone gave up on it.

Likewise, Minhyuk had always understood the importance of having one. However, he also knew that it was impossible to force it. So, the national anthem was left empty until now.

[Would you like to register the Valiant Warriors as the Beyond the Heavens Empire’s National Anthem?]

Minhyuk nodded his head.

[Valiant Warriors has been registered as the Beyond the Heavens Empire’s National Anthem.]

[The masterpiece Valiant Warriors was born from what Bard Erwell had heard, seen, and felt!]

[This song contains Bard Erwell’s soul, his anticipation for the Beyond the Heavens’ future, and his praise for the Beyond the Heavens Empire!]

[A ‘Legendary’ grade song has been born, the first in decades!]

[The Beyond the Heavens Empire’s National Anthem, Valiant Warriors, resonates in the empire!]

[Everyone from the Beyond the Heavens Empire who heard the Valiant Warriors will receive double EXP Acquisition and Artifact Drop rates for one week!]

[The ordinary citizens of the empires that heard the song will not be tired. Their vitality would remain at an all-time high for one week!]

After killing all of the knights of the Luvien Empire, Minhyuk turned to look at the dying Erwell, who was leaning on his son, Evan. Erwell had turned everything he saw and felt and his expectations into a national anthem for the Beyond the Heavens Empire. A magnificent melody escaped from the lips of the dying man.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A song slowly came into existence from Erwell's lips.

[Aah~ Advance. Advance. Let us advance.]

Erwell saw the Beyond the Heavens Empire’s emperor, who would lead his empire to stand up against hardships and adversities.

[Strong winds and typhoons might try to stop them.]

But they would survive these storms and winds.

[But we’re brave and valiant warriors. We will go through the fierce winds and raging typhoons. We will go over high hills and march under the blazing sun.]

They would march over a high hill and brave the heat of the blazing sun. But it would be fine. Erwell had seen that the Beyond the Heavens’ emperor would become their shade.

[Even if we fall in battle, we will continue to stand back up!]

They would be able to get back up. The Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor would hold their hands with his warm and gentle hands and help them stand.

Erwell’s voice continued to slip out of his dry and cracked lips.

[Aaah~ We~ are valiant warriors!!!]

And finally, the song ended. Erwell raised his hands, hugging and patting his crying son.

“Evan.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Go and live a new life, serve a new person.”

At the moment of his death, Erwell felt extremely happy and relieved. This was because he could entrust his son to the Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor, someone who would come running even for the sake of one person, and not to a kingdom that abandoned them for profits.

Erwell did not have any regrets. He did not regret the fact that he sang praise for the Beyond the Heavens Empire. Erwell, who left his final masterpiece, closed his eyes in the comfort of his son’s arms.

Minhyuk paid Erwell his final courtesy with a slight nod of his head.

***

Minhyuk returned to the Beyond the Heavens Empire with Evan, who was carrying Erwell on his back. The moment they returned, Minhyuk ordered Erwell’s funeral and held it with great sincerity.

After doing that, Minhyuk checked the song Erwell made for them.

(Valiant Warriors)

Type: Beyond the Heavens Empire’s National Anthem

Rank: Legendary

Special Abilities:

•Effects only apply to those from the Beyond the Heavens Empire who have heard or sung this song.

•Can only be applied once a week.

•You will receive a 3.5% increase in your physical and magical attack power.

•You will receive a 4% increase in your physical and magical defensive power.

•You will receive a 5% increase in resistance to abnormal statuses.

•Your fear will disappear, and courage will resonate with you.

•The song duration is two hours.

Description: This is the final work and masterpiece that Erwell left behind after meeting the Beyond the Heavens Empire’s emperor and getting inspired by the man.

Minhyuk was left shocked.

‘The effects apply to everyone from Beyond the Heavens that sing or hear the song?’

In other words, they could obtain these buff effects permanently. Any citizen from the Beyond the Heavens could receive this buff effect by simply humming the tune of the national anthem. If the Beyond the Heavens Empire soldiers marched to battle and sang this song together, then all of them would receive the buff effects.

‘This level is beyond Legendary, no...?’

Minhyuk was highly grateful to Erwell. However, there were still quite a lot of things that Minhyuk had to check. He had dipped the beef set that Erwell gave him in the Sun’s Salt. Because he was so into the food, he failed to check the notifications that rang in his ears. So, now, he was scrolling back to the notifications he did not hear. But after checking everything, he sat frozen in his spot for a long time.

[You have eaten the Sun’s Salt.]

[You have obtained the Easter Egg: The One that Pursues the True Seasoning.]

[The ability hidden within the Sun’s Salt is being revealed!]

[You ate more than one gram of Sun’s Salt.]

[Your Fire Attribute has increased by 2%.]

[Your Fire Attribute will increase by 2% if you eat one gram of Sun’s Salt for a week.]

Minhyuk was very shocked when he heard the first set of notifications. Did just eating a gram of the Sun’s Salt increase his Fire Attribute by 2%? A 2% increase in fire attribute would typically increase Minhyuk’s attack power by 1% when using a fire-attributed skill.

The surprise did not end there.

[You can now hear the story about the birth of the Sun’s Salt. Would you like to listen to it?]

Earlier, before he could confirm this, Sebastian and his knights had stormed into the restaurant.

“Let’s listen to the explanation.”

[The Sun’s Salt was originally one of Helenia’s Ores, far surpassing God’s Ores.]

“...!”

Minhyuk was extremely shocked.

‘This is one of Helenia’s Ores?!’

Minhyuk had met Immortal Sorceress Helenia once before. She was one of the Eight Pillars, a monster that not even the Luvien Empire and the current players could not go against.

[Helenia’s ores each correspond to the four attributes. When put together, these ores allow her to express far greater magic.]

Mages put great attention into increasing all four typical attributes–fire, water, earth, and wind–in their stats. Some of the mages would end up focusing on increasing only one attribute. However, that did not necessarily mean they were on the wrong path. Why? Because when mages that focused on their fire attribute use fire-related magic, the damage they could deal would be much higher.

[High Sorceress Helenia used the power of the four-attributed ores to threaten the earth and the Land of the Gods.]

Helenia’s Ores were believed to have the power to increase the power of the four attributes significantly. The worst part? It was not just one. She had all four of the attributes.

‘What the hell? How strong was she in the past?!’

[Then, someone took away and ran away with two of her ores. One was the Sun Ore, and the other was the Mountain Ore.]

[With two of her ores lost, the power of Helenia’s fire-attributed and earth-attributed magic had also weakened.]

[And the one that stole the two ores? He realized that the heat from the Sun’s Ore was enough to burn almost everything around it. While the Mountain Ore frequently caused earthquakes.]

[The man succeeded in sealing the Mountain Ore using the sealing stones in his hand.]

[However, he had no way to seal the Sun’s Ore. He tried to put the Sun’s Ore, the ore with the heat that could burn through anything, into the Eres River that could freeze anything and everything.]

[However, the Sun’s Ore began to melt the river, which could freeze anything. Worse still, he only had one week left.]

[So, he ran to the village where he lived.]

“...?”

Minhyuk was confused at the incomprehensible description.

‘Why did he go to his village?’

A village was a place where people lived together. Was there a way for him to seal the Sun’s Ore in the village that he used to live in? Was that why he went back there?

[They tried various ways to seal the Sun’s Ore. Also, they had to find ways to erase the energy that it emitted so that Helenia could not track it down.]

[However, it wasn’t that easy to break apart. The blacksmith that tried to smash the Sun’s Ore burned one of his arms, and it was rendered permanently crippled.]

[But finally, they found the answer.]

“...?”

Minhyuk found it more surprising that they found the solution. In an ordinary village?

‘No. Wait. What kind of guy was the guy that stole the ores?’

The question flashed in his head while the explanations continued.

[With the help of the chefs and alchemists, the village's blacksmiths began to make special artifacts.]

[The artifact could break down the Sun’s Ore and suppress the energy that flowed out of it to prevent Helenia from discovering where exactly the ore was, even if she could find them.]

[They decided to change it into a completely different type of material.]

[What they created was none other than the ‘Transcendentals’ Grinder.’]

[They put the ore into the completed Transcendentals’ Grinder and ground it from an ‘ore’ into a completely different material called ‘salt.’]

[They named it the Sun’s Salt and hid it in a small glass bottle where no one could find it.]

“...Transcendentals’ Village,” Minhyuk murmured.

In Something that He was Chasing Duke Ruffiso dropped when he died, there was a portion that stated that a Transcendentals’ Village existed. And from what it seemed like, they were the ones that ground the ore into salt form. So, even if Helenia found the ore, she could not see that it was the Sun’s Ore. The salt was then placed in a small bottle and turned into a necklace hung on the neck of the baby Ruffiso.

The two pieces of the puzzle, the piece that assumed that Duke Ruffiso was born from the transcendentals and the piece that stated that the Transcendentals’ Village existed, were finally put together.

Just when he was pondering the matter, he received a notification.

[You have obtained the Easter Egg’s reward: Transcendentals’ Grinder!]

The smile on Minhyuk’s face deepened as he thought, ‘There’s another one in the Transcendentals’ Village.’

The ore was none other than the earth-attributed ore, the Mountain Ore. According to the explanation, the Mountain Ore had been sealed by the one that stole the ore from Helenia. From what he could tell, the power of the Mountain Ore was enormous. However, that was not what Minhyuk was excited about.

‘The Salt’s Sun is the best salt I have ever tasted.’

It was so delicious that Minhyuk felt a thrill run down his spine. And after checking the Transcendentals’ Grinder, the smile on Minhyuk’s face grew wider.

‘It’s called the Mountain Ore, right? I wonder what it will taste like if I make it into soybean paste?’

Then, what would happen if he turned that soybean paste into doenjangjjigae?

‘I’m already drooling at the thought.’

At this moment, Minhyuk’s new goal was set.

‘I already have salt. So, I only need some sugar, soybean paste, and gochujang, and I will have all the best condiments in the world!’

And from what he could tell, these condiments would have the same enormous power as the Sun’s Salt.

[The secret behind the birth of the Sun’s Salt has finished.]

[You will be guided to the ‘Path to the Transcendentals’ Village’ for your Easter Egg’s reward.]

[Fixing the reward!]

[The Transcendentals’ Village has already disappeared!]

[Searching for the traces of the Transcendentals’ Village!]

[Cannot find any traces of the Transcendentals’ Village because of your low level!]

[Searching!]

[Cannot find any traces of the Transcendentals’ Village because of your low level!]

[The Level Requirement is Level 700!]

“...”

Minhyuk’s expression grew ugly. Indeed, the Transcendentals were probably at a point where no players could meet them yet. Minhyuk wondered if his dreams of making soybean paste using the Mountain Ore were ending right before they started.

[An unknown being gives you a hint so you can find the Transcendentals’ Village!]

“...?”

Minhyuk stared at the notification in confusion. An unknown being?

[The hints are ‘Conir’ and ‘Sword God Valen’!]

[The secrecy and disclosure ban on Conir and Sword God Valen will now be lifted!]

Minhyuk realized, ‘Is the transcendental summoning me?’

***

At the same time.

Immortal Sorceress Helenia was creating her dungeons all over Athenae in preparation for her attack on Earth.

‘I must hurry and find the Sun’s and Mountain Ore.’

Her attribute magic could only exhibit around 70% power with only two ores.

‘Where the hell are they?!’

The woman was deeply troubled by this problem. However, she was unaware that the Sun’s Ore had already turned into salt that Minhyuk had used as a dip for beef, or that Minhyuk had already entertained the idea of turning the Mountain Ore into soybean paste using the Transcendentals’ Grinder.