Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 1193

Chapter 1193

[Alex has requested to move to the Beyond the Heavens Empire.]

[You have accepted Alex’s request to move to the Beyond the Heavens Empire.]

Alex was one of the few mages who could use and was more skilled than Ali in Search and Exploration Magic.

Minhyuk, who had clashed with him more than once, knew Alex’s personality and attitude more than anyone else. Alex had a twisted personality. He was the type of person who usually did not mean what he said.

In fact, Alex was not the kind of person he could call or recruit with just an entry ticket to Gaia Continent. Nevertheless, he willingly moved to the Beyond the Heavens Empire because he was unknowingly waiting for an invitation. And just as expected, Alex moved when Minhyuk stretched an olive branch to him.

Of course, Minhyuk did not forget what he came here for.

[Minhyuk: Alex, this is an order. Come to the Gaia Continent and find Herakel’s location.]

[Alex: You’re giving me an order the second I sign up...?]

Minhyuk could already imagine Alex’s expression. It was screaming, ‘What the hell? Is there a scammer like this?’

[Minhyuk: Listen carefully, Alex.]

Alex wished to be the object of the masses' admiration, an idol, so to speak.

[Minhyuk: Herakel is someone who is deeply loved and cared for by the entire Beyond the Heavens Empire. You know this, right?]

[Alex: Yes, that’s right.]

[Minhyuk: While you are not on good terms with the people of the Beyond the Heavens Empire.]

[Alex: Uhm...]

[Minhyuk: But if you come here and find Herakel’s location, what will the executives, the players, and the people of the Beyond the Heavens Empire say?]

[Alex: Who knows...?]

[Minhyuk: ‘Wow. Alex made a huge contribution the moment he came here. Alex is really awesome! So cool!’]

[Alex: Oh...!]

[Minhyuk: Everyone will definitely look up to you.]

[Alex: Oooh! As expected! So that’s the reason why you gave me that order...!]

“???”

Minhyuk just wanted to find Herakel as quickly as possible.

[

“???”

[Alex: Give me three days. I’ll use any means necessary to find Herakel’s location in three days. Thank you. Even though we were once enemies, you still thought of me. I will do my best to help you while on your side.]

“...?”

Alex was putting on an entire show and blabbering. Nevertheless, Minhyuk was grateful, knowing he would do his best to fulfill his order.

‘First, I’ll let Alex and Abel do their job and locate Herakel.’

Of course, Minhyuk also whispered to Abel and sent him the entry ticket. It did not take Abel long to reply.

[Abel: I can’t believe this. For the first time, I have received a reward from you that’s not just ‘I’ll treat you to a meal’... I’ll do my best.]

Whenever Abel received a request from Minhyuk, he would often be only treated to a meal in return. Of course, Minhyuk would always eat everything up.

Anyway, Minhyuk recalled the notifications that rang in his ears when he watched Hera’s Dungeon collapse earlier. In the end, the Hera that appeared in front of him was not her original and complete body. Because of that, there were no notifications about her death. However, a different notification had rung.

[You have cleared Hera’s Dungeon.]

[You have gained 30, 689 platinum.]

[You have gained 3,648,474 EXP.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have acquired one of Hera’s accessories, Hera’s Bangle.]

[You have obtained the Title: God of Heroes.]

(Hera’s Bangle)

Rank: Gaia’s God

Requirements: Level 800 or higher.

Durability: ∞ / ∞

Special Abilities:

•Sealed

•The seal will be released and completely revealed once you reach Level 800.

Description: Hera’s Bangle with everything sealed because you have not yet met the required level.

(God of Heroes)

Unique Title

Title Effects:

•When something happens that requires the presence of the God of Heroes, all of your stats will increase by 15%.

•Sealed.

•Sealed.

•The seal will be released every time you save someone or something in crisis in the name of the God of Heroes. 2/2

Minhyuk frowned when he realized that both of the rewards that he received were sealed. Then, he realized, ‘Is it because everything in this place is at a higher level?’

Minhyuk was confident that these sealed rewards would have outstanding powers when their seals were released. After checking the reward notifications, another notification rang in his ears.

[Originally hidden behind Hera’s Dungeon, Hephaestus' Prison has appeared.]

An iron gate appeared in front of Minhyuk as a section of the wall at the end of the dungeon collapsed.

‘Hephaestus is the one who made the weapons of the gods.’

Perhaps he could be considered the most pitiful god in the entire world of Athenae. When he was born, Hera and Zeus saw how ugly he was and threw him to sea. That throw gave him a limp. After many twists and turns, he married the Goddess of Beauty, Aphrodite. However, she cheated on him. Then, Hera trapped him here, left alone to make weapons for the gods.

Minhyuk could not even imagine his pain, sadness, and sorrow after experiencing all that.

Ring!

[Linked Quest: Win Hephaestus’ Heart.]

Rank: SSS

Requirements: Herakel’s master.

Rewards: ???

Penalty for Failure: Your artifacts’ abilities will decrease by 1%.

Description: It is by no means easy to capture the heart of the god Hephaestus. Win his heart and receive his recognition.

Just like that, Minhyuk grabbed the handles of the huge iron gate and opened it loudly.

***

Everyone knew what kind of god Hephaestus was. Not only was he abandoned by his parents when he was born because he was ugly, his wife also cheated on him for the same reason.

Yes, anyone could see that he was ugly. He was short and had narrow shoulders. He also had a considerable patch devoid of hair right in the middle of his head. He also had a short neck that made him look like a turtle and a bulbous nose that made him look like an orc. Even his eyes lacked eyelids, making it look like they had been torn apart. The worst part? He could not use his other foot and only limp his way around.

One reason Hephaestus had not yet gone insane was his passion and devotion to his craft as a master craftsman. His determination to create the most extraordinary artifact in the world had fuelled him and helped him stay grounded.

But even after hammering for decades, he still could not complete his Olympus’ Guardian Spear. This was probably because Hephaestus lacked experience.

‘This is so ridiculous.’

Hephaestus had already reached the highest level in terms of production. So, it all boiled down to his lack of experience. After all, the only weapons and armor he could see were those he created himself.

Hephaestus had never seen an artifact beyond what he had made. So, there was no way for him to know how others smelt or hammered their creations. But gods could live forever. So, he made a vow. He would make sure to finish this spear one day.

He, still making artifacts until now, continued with what he was doing even after hearing the commotion outside. He did not even show any interest in what was happening outside. He had already cut himself off from the world. To him, whatever Hera did outside was none of his business.

‘I am going to run toward my goal. That’s my sole purpose.’

It was the only driving force that would keep him moving forward.

Creaaaaaak– Just then, the door opened.

Hephaestus’ expression grew ugly the moment the door opened. Although he was trapped here by Hera at first, he had now chosen to lock himself up in this place.

Did the other gods never come to visit Hephaestus? Of course, they did. Countless gods had visited him. They had told Hephaestus that they would take him out of this place. But Hephaestus threatened all of them away.

Hephaestus had the Nine Destruction Artifacts by his side. The Destruction Artifacts could destroy and break down the artifacts that belonged to others. Hephaestus had used his nine Destruction Artifacts to smash and break the artifacts of those blinded by greed who came here to find him. Every single one of them had screamed that they would get back at him.

Thump, thump, thump–!

[The Nine Destruction Artifacts will begin breaking apart all of the opponent’s artifacts!]

At the same time, Hephaestus' already ugly expression grew even uglier. This was because the man who entered through the opened door was handsome. He was even more attractive than Ares, known as one of the most handsome gods, and even more handsome than Apollo or Zeus.

That was right. Even if Hephaestus pretended it did not bother him, he still developed an inferiority complex. Perhaps it was only natural with all the things he experienced.

Regardless, Hephaestus’ will was inside the Nine Destruction Artifacts.

[The Destruction Artifacts will break the intruder’s artifacts with greater intensity.]

Was there a way to ignore the effects of the Nine Destruction Artifacts? Yes, there was one way. The other artifact had to be more outstanding than the Destruction Artifacts. Unfortunately, most people who visited Hephaestus only had Gaia’s God-rank artifacts equipped. That was why none of them had ever survived Hephaestus’ Destruction Artifacts.

The first artifact that flew out was the Destruction Sword.

[The Destruction Sword has a record of breaking 97,683 swords.]

Hephaestus destroyed not only the artifacts of the people who visited him but also those belonging to handsome people, heroes, or anyone loved by the masses. Nothing was going to be different this time.

The Destruction Sword shot straight toward the sword in the man’s hands.

[The Destruction Sword commands you to come out!]

Surprisingly, all the Destruction Artifacts possessed egos, allowing them to communicate with other artifacts without egos.

[The Sword of Aeon tells you to get lost.]

“...?”

‘What?’

Hephaestus was perplexed.

Artifacts could instinctively tell each other’s ranks and the gap between them. Usually, when the Destruction Sword gave its orders, the opposing artifact’s energy would be completely overwhelmed, and the sword would have no choice but to follow orders. It was a complete and absolute submission. But this sword was telling the Destruction Sword to get lost?

[The Destruction Sword tells you once again, ‘Come out!’]

[The Sword of Aeon says that you’re annoying.]

[The Destruction Sword...]

[The Sword of Aeon picks at its imaginary nose.]

[The Destruction Sword...]

[The Sword of Aeon yawns.]

“...?”

After hearing the conversation between the two swords and seeing that the Sword of Aeon treated his Destruction Sword as annoying, Hephaestus realized something was wrong. He tried to stop the Destruction Sword from doing anything else, but he was a step too late.

[The Destruction Sword tries to break the Sword of Aeon by hitting it strongly.]

Slash–!

The Destruction Sword moved independently, causing the handsome man to raise his sword to parry instinctively.

Crack, crack, crack–!

The moment the two swords collided, cracks appeared on the surface of the Destruction Sword, which had broken more than 97,000 swords so far.

One crucial fact about weapons with temporary egos was that they tended to resemble their owners' personalities.

[The Sword of Aeon sneers at you.]

Clang, clang, clang–!

Starting from the cracks, the Destruction Sword began to break apart. The other Destruction Artifacts immediately moved and flew out simultaneously when the Destruction Sword broke in half. The remaining eight Destruction Artifacts–a hammer, a saw, a spear, an iron mace, an armor, a pair of boots, and many more, flew out and surrounded the man.

The first to speak up was the hammer.

[The Destruction Hammer declares that it will break everything down.]

[The Sword of Aeon looks at you in annoyance.]

Swoosh–

“...?”

Hephaestus’ surprise grew as he watched the scene unfold before him. The Sword of Aeon, temporarily given an ego, returned to its sheathe on its own. It was as if it was saying everything was so annoying that it just wanted to go back and rest.

Hephaestus’ entire body shook. Why? Because the sword looked like the strongest predator, standing at the top of the food chain. It was as if the sword was looking at everything as if nothing was worth it making a move.

[The Destruction Hammer says that it will make you pay.]

[The Destruction Spear declares it will pierce through all the defensive artifacts.]

[The Destruction Iron Mace says you should grovel and beg for forgiveness.]

[The Sword of Aeon is annoyed. It points to an armor.]

[The Transcendental’s Armor sighs and activates the Silver Dragon Armor independently.]

Fwoosh–!

“...?”

Now, even the handsome young man was also puzzled.

[The Transcendental Armor says, ‘It’s very annoying, so come at me all at once.’]

“...?”

[The Destruction Artifacts are all furious. They attack the Transcendental Armor all at once!]

The iron mace struck the Transcendental’s Armor with all its might.

Crack, crack, crack–!

“...?!”

But the sound that followed did not come from the armor. It was the sound of the Destruction Iron Mace breaking.

Thud–!

The Destruction Iron Mace fell to the ground. But they did not stop. Immediately after that, the Destruction Spear stabbed the Transcendental’s Armor.

Clang, clang, clang–!

The Destruction Spear’s spearhead fell apart.

Boom, boom, boom–!

The Destruction Hammer stepped up and quickly hammered the Transcendental’s Armor. A loud and grating sound accompanied every hit. Alas, the crushed one was not the armor but the hammer. Just like that, the Destruction Artifacts broke and fell apart one after another.

When he saw the Destruction Artifacts fall to the ground, Hephaestus tried to check the information of the opponent’s artifacts. He was Gaia Continent’s greatest blacksmith and could do so.

[You have started your observation.]

[You cannot observe and see through everything.]

The first thing that Hephaestus checked was the cheeky sword.

[This is the most incredible sword created by a master craftsman after hammering it a million times.]

At this moment, Hephaestus realized there was a chance he would be able to complete Olympus’ Guardian Spear.

[This armor was created with the power of the master craftsman who made the most incredible sword. The master craftsman was inspired by the efforts and hard work that the man who would wear the armor had done. He used that inspiration to create this armor.]

He could tell that the armor would also be able to give him the wisdom and knowledge that he sought.

Thud–!

At that moment, Hephaestus knelt on the ground and crawled toward the man.

Although he pretended to be strong, Hephaestus was the weakest among the weak. He had always been trampled and belittled by the other gods. If he was not the greatest blacksmith in the Gaia Continent, he might be treated worse than a human being. That was why he knew how to bow down and act subservient.

He did his best to appear docile and submissive as he crawled toward the man. Then, he said, “Please. I beg of you, please! I will listen to anything you say. I will do whatever you want. So, please show me that sword and armor!”

At the same time, a notification rang in the ears of the extremely flustered Minhyuk.

[The God and Knight has been randomly activated!]