Chapter 1420: Side Story 29
Chapter 1420 - Side Story 29
Two weeks passed by. While aiming for two thousand sets of the big three, the guardian beasts had many concerns and worries as they continued with their weight training.
[When we first started doing the big three, I quickly lost a lot of weight. But now? It’s too slow.]
The Minotaurus sighed. Unlike the rest, the Minotaurus did not carry a deep trust and faith in Beanie. He did not believe that Beanie was a good person. Of course, that did not change the fact that he was very grateful for Beanie letting them know about the big three and asking them to aim for two thousand sets.
At that moment…
“Oink. (Try this one. Oink.)” Beanie offered something unknown to the Minotaurus.
[Protein supplement? What is this?]
“Oink, oink. (If you eat this while exercising, your muscles will grow faster.)”
[...!]
The Minotaurus was shocked. [Is… Is this a miracle elixir…?]
The only thing that could help someone grow further or become stronger was if they consumed an elixir. Alas, even the Minotaurus, a guardian deity, could only produce one elixir or pill every year.
[Isn’t this a precious item?]
It made sense, after all, such miraculous drugs would not be easily obtained. Beanie nodded graciously and showed an expression that mimicked a reclusive master.
“Oink. Oink, oink. Oiiiiiiink… (I just want you to return to how you were in the past. Oink!)”
After all, that was the only way for Beanie to get out of Utopia quickly. Beanie had been thoroughly annoyed and bothered by this task that Athenae had given him.
The Minotaurus held the barrel filled with protein supplement tightly.
“Oink, oink, oink. Oink! (If you take this, you’ll be able to complete two thousand sets of the big three with the rest of our training time! Oink!)”
The Minotaurus watched as Beanie turned around chicly and thought that he had probably made a mistake with his judgment. He could tell that Beanie was thinking about the guardian deities. His eyes immediately turned red when he thought of Beanie going out of his way to go around and look for this rare and precious supplement.
Beanie handed over the supplements to everyone doing weight training, one after another.
The Phoenix, who was doing aerobics, was suddenly made witness to a very strange sight. He saw the guardian deities stand right next to the exercise equipment and begin shaking barrels diligently.
Beanie took out his smartphone, which he had taken from Minhyuk, and accessed the Athenae Market through it. The screen displayed…
[30kg for 5,590 gold! Big sale! Show them a flavor that they haven’t tried before! A flavor that is to die for!]
It only had one-star reviews, and there was a lot of negative criticism on the post.
[I can’t believe this. They’re selling this even though it’s already been fifteen years since it expired…]
[Maybe they don’t have any conscience?]
[It tastes weird.]
[Facts. My friend really died when he ate this…]
Beanie hurriedly deleted the purchase transaction.
Meanwhile, the Minotaurus drank the supplement with awe and admiration on his face.
[Kghhk! It’s sweet! Huh? Why did it suddenly taste sour?]
***
Beanie came to Utopia because his mother, Athenae, asked him to set the place back on track. His mother clearly told him that he would be able to obtain a reward if he could fix Utopia. The reward that he would get would come from Utopia’s Egg.
The egg had existed in Utopia for a very long time now. It was said that only he, the Supreme Divine Beast, could hatch this egg. From what Beanie had heard, whatever would hatch from this egg would depend on how well he fixed and set Utopia back on track.
Beanie’s mother told him that he could become the king of this place. However, if Beanie were to be honest, he found it quite annoying and troublesome.
‘Oink. (If mom had not asked me to do this, then I wouldn’t do this at all.)’
Regardless, now that they were three weeks into the guardian deities’ diet training, he suddenly grew curious. The egg had grown a bit bigger than before. He wondered about what kind of existence would come out of it. Beanie hoped that whatever would come out of it would at least be delicious.
***
The special diet training was finally going to end tomorrow.
The guardian deities were now doing exceptionally well during their thirty laps of morning run! In particular, those who had participated in weight training were showing impressive performances with their bulging muscles.
Before they knew it, the guardian deities had lost all of the weight that they had gained during their time of indolence. But was that all? Of course not.
[My body feels as light as a feather!]
[I can feel the power surging in my veins!]
[Uwooooooooooo!]
The guardian deities were strong. Unfortunately, their true strength and power had been hidden by the thick mask of their laziness and fat. As mentioned before, NPCs’ level would drop if they were left in a weakened state. This meant that the guardian deities’ levels had fallen when they gained weight. Nonetheless, after such an intense period of training, their levels were already back to what they used to be. The more shocking part? The Minotaurus and the other weightlifting guardian deities had grown stronger.
[So this is the result of working out and going to the gym!]
[I can do two thousand sets of the big three now!]
Their deltoids and biceps had grown magnificently after just a month of weight training. Even their quad muscles had grown noticeably during that time. Their muscles bulged every time they ran.
After finishing the thirty laps, they moved to mountain climbing.
Swoosh!
The guardian deities moved swiftly. At one point, they stared up at the sky in awe.
[Kihyeeeeeeeeeee!]
The fat bird that could not fly before was no more. The Phoenix had now regained his beautiful appearance and was flying in a grand manner above them. As he enjoyed the feel of the wind for the first time in a long time, he felt so good and ended up flying around nonstop.
“Oink! (I’ll be able to get out of this place soon, too. Oink.)” Beanie smiled wryly.
Finally! At long last! He would be able to get away from these guardian deity punks! As for becoming their king? In the first place, Beanie had no intention of doing that.
The Phoenix, who was flying around, caught the wry smile on Beanie’s face.
[Lord Beanie…?]
When he saw the wry and bitter smile on Beanie’s face, the Phoenix realized something.
[It seems like he does not want to leave us?]
They had heard that Beanie was Minhyuk’s pet. This meant that it would be tough for him to lead them even if he wanted to become their king. Perhaps he was smiling bitterly like that because he thought that they would soon walk their separate ways?
The Phoenix hurriedly told what he thought to the other guardian deities.
[I saw him smiling bitterly, too.]
[Me too. Do you think it’s like that too?]
[That’s right. That’s how I felt too.]
[He looks like he doesn’t want to leave us…]
The Phoenix pondered for a very long time. Finally, he made a decision.
[He’s the Supreme Divine Beast, right? That means that he already has enough qualifications, no? Then… how about we do this…?]
The guardian deities began to discuss and made a plan.
***
The next day.
The special diet training was finally complete, and the guardian deities had now recovered and were back to their former selves.
Beanie stared at every single one of them with a satisfied smile on his face. With this over, he could finally wave goodbye to them forever! He felt pleased at the thought.
At that moment, the Phoenix’s expression turned stiff from the notification that rang in his ears.
[The Eivelis Empire is in danger!]
[As the empire’s guardian deity, please save the empire from danger!]
The guardian deities looked at each other in confusion. The empire was in danger? Alas, they could not go. They all knew what the humans thought of the guardian deities.
The humans who had visited Utopia had all clicked their tongues and looked at them in disgust after seeing their condition. How could the guardian deities show themselves in front of them once again? They no longer had the confidence to stand in front of others.
Because of that, they had unknowingly ignored and avoided the notifications that rang in their ears.
“Oink? (So, you’re just going to continue hiding here? Oink?)
“Oink, oink! (Then, are you going to get fat again and rot here forever? Are you going to live the rest of your life like you did in the past decade?!)
“Oiiiiink! (Do not forget your duty and your responsibility! You are not only the symbol of the empire but also its guardian deity and its protector!)”
Beanie’s words were genuine and sincere. He hated seeing them back down and avoiding the situation, even though they had the mission to protect the empire they were guarding.
The Phoenix, who heard Beanie’s words, was the first to make up his mind and make a move.
***
Eivelis Empire.
An unusual and heavy snow hit the Western Continents. The snow, which had been falling for several days now, had dyed the entire Eivelis Empire white.
Ellie stood atop the walls of the empire and stared at the heavy snow that was falling on the ground as she listened to the report.
“Your Majesty, all of the crops have frozen.”
“The roads connecting us to the other territories have been blocked. We are cut off.”
“If things continue at this rate, many of our people will die.”
“I have heard rumors that the people are too scared to go out. They dare not go out even if they need firewood.”
“It seems like there’s a high chance of an avalanche occurring. If so, the capital and the portion of the castle facing the mountains will be buried in snow.”
“For now, you have to take refuge and evacuate. This takes precedence, Your Majesty!”
In the face of a natural disaster, Hegemon King Ellie was helpless. She could only watch as the snow continued to fall from above as if there was a hole in the sky that was torn open. It had been snowing so heavily that it even started to pile up and bury the hearts of her people.
“How about doing some snow clearing?”
“It’s impossible to conduct snow clearing. We need to have at least a path to start the process of snow clearing. But how can we find an open space to start when there’s this much snow?”
Plunged into a terrible and desperate mood, Ellie closed her eyes. At that moment, a figure flashed in her head.
“If we melt the snow, then will we be able to handle the matter?”
“We will be given enough room to breathe and evacuate our people, but…” The aide smiled bitterly. “How can we even melt this much snow?”
If the God of Fire descended, then that might be possible. Nonetheless, gods could not intervene and do something about natural disasters. Still, that was not what Ellie had in mind. She was thinking of an entirely different existence.
“The Phoenix.”
The Phoenix was the symbol of the Eivelis Empire.
“Your Majesty… I don’t think we can pin our hopes on the Phoenix.” The aide shook his head.
Some people had the power to visit Utopia directly in the Eivelis Empire. When these people visited Utopia, they were stunned to see the fat Phoenix who could no longer fly.
“The guardian deity, who should be the pride of the empire, is now the shame and the butt of the joke of the empire.”
Ellie’s lips pressed into a thin line. “It wasn’t their fault.”
The ones at fault were the humans. They had neglected the guardian deities and even left them sitting on the sidelines. However, this was not the time to find blame in each other.
At this moment, Ellie had judged that the Phoenix was also not capable of solving this problem.
“For now, let’s find a way to evacuate the people…”
At that moment, the gently falling snow turned into a blizzard. The snow, which had already filled the world, had started to block Ellie’s vision. To make matters even worse…
Rumble!
The mountains behind them began to shake and rumble. Ellie’s face grew blank. If the avalanche fell, the snow would devour the castle and bury the ground around them. Once that happened, the entire capital would be isolated. Ellie could live with her superhuman powers. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for her people. They would not survive this.
Ellie wondered if she could cut it down. But even if she could, she couldn't stop the snow from falling.
Boom!
A deafening roar enveloped the entire capital as the avalanche started to fall from the top of the mountain. The thick wall of snow rushed down like a roaring tidal wave. It moved so fast that it almost reached the walls of the castle in just a blink.
“Quick! Take refuge in the castle!”
Ellie would not die. Her retainers and servants, as well as the entire capital behind her, came first. Even though she stood there in front of the raging avalanche, Ellie did not know what to do or how to stop it.
“YOUR MAJESTY!!!”
The avalanche almost reached Ellie’s nose. Just when the thick wall of snow was about to devour her…
Kihyeeeeeeeeeck!
A loud cry echoed in the world and enveloped the entire Eivelis Empire.
[The Guardian Deity Phoenix has descended!]
[The guardian deity has sensed the crisis looming over the empire.]
[The guardian deities' special characteristics and power will double whenever the empire is in crisis!]
[The effect’s duration is ten minutes.]
[The Guardian Deity Phoenix has lit up the Flame of Extinction.]
[The inextinguishable flames have burst out and started to burn.]
[The Phoenix’s flames do not harm or cause any adverse effect to the empire.]
[The Phoenix’s flames will not feel hot or burn any living beings in the empire.]
A bright red flame burst into existence and fell from the sky. At the center of it all was the Phoenix. The fire that covered the Phoenix spread out as he flew just above Ellie’s head.
Crackle!
Kihyeeeeeeeck!
[The Flame of Extinction is burning even more brightly!]
The thick wall of snow that was about to devour Ellie melted away. However, the melting of the snow did not mean that the empire was out of risk already. There was still the risk of the water, which was created from the melting snow, flooding the entire capital. Regardless, the Phoenix’s flames took care of that, too. Not only did it melt the snow away, but it also evaporated the water that it turned into.
‘It’s warm…’
The Phoenix’s flames would not bring any harm or any adverse effects to any living being inside the Eivelis Empire. That was why the blazing flames only felt warm to her.
Ellie stared at the avalanche, which had completely melted away, in a trance.
Flap! Flap! Flap!
The beautiful Phoenix soared to the skies once again. Ellie looked up as if she were possessed.
She watched as the Phoenix flew over the entire capital. The flames of the Phoenix trailed behind him, melting away the frost and the snow that had frozen the whole capital and turned it white. Even the blizzard that had threatened to devour the world disappeared and evaporated mid-air with just a mere touch of the Phoenix’s flames. It was as if the falling snow stopped completely.
In just a blink, the Phoenix had flown to every corner of the capital.
“Mom! Look at that!”
“What’s that?!”
The people, who had been trapped in their homes, slowly came out and looked up at the sky.
Ellie descended to the capital, following along so as not to miss the Phoenix.
“Mom! What’s that?”
“Uwaaaaaah!”
“What’s that? What’s that amazing creature?!”
Ellie, who was absent-mindedly listening to their chatter, finally woke up from her trance. Answering on behalf of the similarly dazed mother, Ellie said, “That is the Eivelis Empire’s guardian deity, the Phoenix.”