Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 935

Because of that, a constant stream of players moved to the Beyond the Heavens Empire. Most of them went there to see Spear God Ben or join the empire of a great emperor who had built such a tremendous and deep bond with an NPC.

At this time, Carron went to find Minhyuk, who was very busy.

Minhyuk was actually in the middle of listening to Haze’s report.

“We have found strong monsters believed to be at least Level 600 in the southernmost region of the Aveid Territory. I believe we should send a subjugation force to eliminate them.”

“Send the Pinnacle Strong Men and their disciples so they can show their power and strength to the Beyond the Heavens Empire soldiers.”

“I understand.”

Minhyuk, who had been discussing with Haze, could finally take a breather when he saw Carron enter his office. He sighed and said, “Phew. Is something the matter?”

“You’re quite busy.”

“There’s a lot of things that I have to take care of in Aveid Territory.”

The Aveid Territory was a considerable piece of land that the Luvien Empire spent much time and effort developing. This vast territory, abundant resources, and diverse hunting grounds were sure to benefit the Beyond the Heavens Empire, so they were swamped sorting it out.

Minhyuk set the matter aside and sat face-to-face with Carron.

“Talks about Your Majesty have been boiling on the internet since the Succession Ceremony ended.”

Although Minhyuk did not defeat Nerva, he got an equal score with him and stood on the same footing. The fact that Minhyuk could record the same credibility rating as Nerva when the players had deemed it impossible for anyone to deal with the emperor and be on the same ground as him was already enough to cause an issue.

“Whenever I turn on the TV, all they talk about is you, Your Majesty. I believe all the channels talk about you.”

Minhyuk shook his head. He felt both happy and undeserving of such things.

Then, Carron continued, “A lot of people want to see Your Majesty’s advertisement video right after Ben’s advertisement video.”

Of course, that was a given. This was mainly because everyone saw how Minhyuk played a considerable part in Ben’s ads. Even those who did not know of Athenae were curious about Minhyuk.

“Didn’t you decide to leave the advertisement video about me to be released at the end?”

They recently released a video about Minhyuk on Ztube. Of course, it addressed the balance collapse that people were clamoring about. Since they had just recently released this video, Minhyuk thought they would not be able to achieve the best effect if they released the advertisement video centered on him.

“That’s right. Your Majesty’s advertisement video will still be released last. What I want to suggest to you right now, Your Majesty, is a Q&A interview.”

Carron signed a contract with Joy Co. Ltd., but this contract also included Beyond the Heavens Empire. Carron’s job and responsibility was to give his all to promoting Beyond the Heavens Empire.

“I would like to involve some of the hottest figures from the Succession Ceremony this time. That includes you, Your Majesty, Death, and Ali.”

Of course, discussions about other players aside from them who had become gods were also on the rise since they were displaying a better performance than before. But Ali and Death had rapidly risen in the Beyond the Heavens Empire. Although they had not yet wholly inherited the gods\' power, many people still wished to join their religion.

“With the Q&A interview of Ali, Death, and you, Minhyuk, we will be able to recruit more people to the Beyond the Heavens Empire.”

“Will an interview have a huge effect?”

“There will be some influx with your interview, Your Majesty. However, there will definitely be more influx from Ali and Death’s side.”

“Ah...”

“You just need to answer one question,” Carron said as he raised one finger. “Why did you choose the Beyond the Heavens Empire?”

Minhyuk was in awe. He was aware that there were quite a lot of necromancers and mages who were hesitating on whether they would join their religion. This was because joining Ali and Death’s religion was like coming under the rule of the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

“There will only be one video. However, it will consist of three interviews. The first would be Ali, then Death, and finally you, Minhyuk.”

Minhyuk nodded. He could tell that the final interview would have the most impact. So, he asked, “Should I exaggerate my answers?”

But Carron shook his head. “It’s best for you to be honest. I have already received Ali and Death’s approval for the interview. Once I get Your Majesty’s approval, I will immediately proceed with the interview.”

“Alright. You can go ahead with it.”

Carron’s words fully convinced Minhyuk. The moment Carron received the go signal, he immediately went to find Ali and Death and conducted an interview. During the interview, a bright light flashed in Carron’s eyes.

‘Yes, this is it...’

Carron was left in admiration. Ever since the beginning, he had encouraged Ali, Death, and Minhyuk to be very honest, and there was one reason for that.

‘They are not actors.’

Their sincerest expression would only be shown if they spoke honestly.

After interviewing Ali and Death, Carron returned to Minhyuk and started another round of interviews.

[Q

: What kind of person were you before you started Athenae?]

[Q: ...when you first started Athenae?]

[Q: In your life...]

Questions were constantly asked.

“...”

While Minhyuk answered, Carron looked at him with a faint smile.

‘Amazing.’ Carron had confirmed everything. ‘Ali, Death, and Minhyuk’s answers to this interview would have a huge effect.’

***

Valentino, who was forced to suffer three forced logouts after one execution, stared blankly at his bloody feet chained to the walls of the Prison of Indolence.

[You are detained inside the Prison of Indolence.]

[Your EXP is decreasing little by little!]

[This state will continue until you are forced to logout!]

This was a completely terrible punishment. Usually, players would hunt monsters the moment they connected to the game. Why? So they could level up and grow stronger. But now, Valentino was imprisoned in the Prison of Indolence for a year. Not only would his growth be stopped, but it would also eat away at his EXP and level.

These were all of the assumptions that Valentino had made in a short amount of time:

‘I will lose my position as the top tanker in the rankings in just a month.

‘I will be pushed out of the top ten thousand in the rankings in three months.

‘The people will forget me in six months.

‘I will have no more place to stand and stay in a year.’

Valentino grew even more despondent the longer he stared at the chain on his feet. He probably would not be able to access Athenae for a while, so Valentino, also known as Valentino in reality, logged out.

He grabbed a bottle of whiskey and chugged it before cradling it to his chest for a very long time as he sat in front of his computer. However, his eyes remained unfocused after seeing that his public execution was among the top ten in the real-time search term rankings. There were even several videos circulating on websites like ZTube. Not only that, there was also the “Ali vs. Valentino” search term sitting snugly on the 16th ranking of the real-time search term rankings.

‘Damn it.’

In just a moment, a ranker collapsed. His expression remained downcast as he checked the top three in the real-time search rankings. He confirmed that the first was Minhyuk, the second was Ali, and the third was Death.

He found it a bit strange, but it only took a moment before he grinned to himself. The shouts of “Frieeeeeeeend!!!” during the Succession Ceremony were still fresh in his ears. But now that he reflected on it, he found it fun and exciting.

Valentino had also taken his chances before the Succession Ceremony had ended. He had gone to Minhyuk and asked.

–I really can’t come and join the Beyond the Heavens Empire?

Minhyuk frowned at him before he replied.

–Maybe you’ll have a chance if you become the Beyond the Heavens Empire’s loyal dog. Otherwise, my answer will remain no.

The words were scathing, but Valentino completely understood where Minhyuk was coming from. He had fought and clashed with the Beyond the Heavens Empire time and time again. The worst part? He made a terrible mistake toward Ali, a deed that he should never have done in the first place. He had to throw away at least everything for them to accept him. And even if he threw everything away, they would only look at him if he accepted being treated like their dog.

He chugged his whiskey once again as he wondered why those three had topped the real-time search rankings again. Then, he soon found the words “God’s Interview” rising to fourth place. He was sent to a ZTube video when he clicked on the term. Valentino stared blankly at the screen as he played the video.

Crackle, crackle, crackle, crackle–

The video showed a static screen for a moment before revealing the figure of a beautiful man with golden hair. This was Ali. Then, words appeared in the middle of the screen.

[Q: What kind of person were you before you started Athenae?]

The man hesitated momentarily before saying, “Can I be honest?”

The scene swayed as if the camera was nodding in answer to the man’s question.

“I’m a patient with severe social phobia, an otaku, an orphan, and a loner.”

[Q: What was it like when you first started Athenae?]

“I think it’s the same with everyone. Everything was fascinating to me. It was fun...”

[Q: Was there something that you really, really wanted to do when you started playing Athenae?]

There was a twinkle in Ali’s eyes as he answered, “I wanted to have more friends. Frieeeeeeeeeeend!!!”

[Q: Were you able to do what you wanted to do?]

Ali chuckled when he heard those words. His face was devoid of pretense as he stared at the camera silently with a shy smile. Then, after a few moments, he nodded.

“I believe I have the most precious friends in the world.”

[Q: What is your life like after you started playing Athenae?]

Ali’s smile deepened. As he had mentioned before, he was suffering from severe social phobia, an otaku, and a loner. But now?

“I have become an otaku who has overcome his severe social phobia, a person with precious friends who treat me like family, and someone who is no longer a loner.”

The video showed a series of questions and answers.

[Q: Why did you choose the Beyond the Heavens Empire?]

Ali confidently answered, “Because that’s where my friends and family are. Because that’s where the people I want to protect, even if I lose everything, are.”

[Q

: How does it feel like to be the God of Magic...?]

[Q: As the God of Magic, do you have confidence that you can lead the mages...?]

Several questions passed by once again.

[Q: How do you feel right now?]

“I am happy.”

[Q: Lastly, would you...]

After the last question, the screen turned static once again.

Crackle, crackle, crackle–

Then, the static disappeared to reveal the figure of a slim man with dark and dreary eyes. This man was none other than Death.

[Q: What kind of person were you before you started Athenae?]

Death remained impassive; there was no sadness or joy in his expression as he answered, “I was a monster with half of my face covered in burns.”

The first question was the same as the question that Ali answered. However, the following ones were different.

[Q: How did you get to know the Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor Minhyuk?]

With no expression, Death said, “He... he was the first one.” Then, he turned to look at the camera and continued, “He called a monster, with half a face covered in burns, like me a ‘friend.’ And he was not being pretentious. He called me every single day saying that he was bored. He even came to my house and dragged me to a PC room.”

[Q: What kind of person is the emperor of the Beyond the Heavens Empire?]

The nonchalant Death could not form his words for a long time. He sat there with his eyes misting and a lump in his throat. He even needed to cough to speak as he choked up with emotions.

“He’s a wonderful friend that I am very grateful to have. One day, I received a call from this dear friend of mine. He sounded delighted, as if it was his sole purpose, as he said, ‘I got you a doctor! A doctor that will treat your burns!’ He was even more excited than me, so much so that he nagged and chatted on the phone for an entire hour. It was quite ridiculous, no? He was more excited than me, the person in concern.”

Then, the final question came. This question was the same for both Ali and Death.

Valentino, who had been watching the video, had already watched Ali’s answer earlier.

[Q: Lastly, would you... Can you say it’s okay even if the Beyond the Heavens Empire gets destroyed and you lose everything?]

Ali, who appeared in the video earlier, did not hesitate to answer, “I have no regrets.” He stared at the screen and emphasized, “Not even one bit.”

Bzz, bzz, bzz, bzz–

The screen turned static once again. Just like before, a new face appeared when it disappeared. The person that appeared was Minhyuk.