Chapter 1440: Side Story 49
Chapter 1440 - Side Story 49
“S… Stooooop! Urk! Keoheok! Uwaaack!”
Tae-Hoo’s screams echoed throughout the mountains. Until the fiftieth person, he was confident that he could still keep his pride and ego. By the one hundredth person, he felt as if he had already lost his mind from the constant pain. When the two hundredth person came, Tae-Hoo felt as if he had already gotten used to the pain.
Then, Evil God Obren proved why he was called the Evil God.
[Evil God’s Pain.]
[The Evil God presents upon you the most horrifying and gruesome fear.]
[The pain you are suffering from has doubled.]
By the two hundred and fiftieth person, Tae-Hoo’s mind and spirit collapsed once again.
[Evil God’s Pain.] [The Evil God… horrifying and gruesome fear.]
[The pain you are suffering from has tripled.]
The effects of the Evil God’s power overlapped, exerting even more power. At this point, Tae-Hoo had already abandoned all of his pride and dignity.
“Please! Just kill me alreaaaadyyyy!”
He thought that it was better for him to die instead of suffering from this. As such, he begged and pleaded.
The Mythical Bird Who Cries Sadly For You had told those who attacked Tae-Hoo that he had laughed and mocked Minhyuk. But that’s not the only thing that it said.
The Mythical Bird Who Cries Sadly For You has been watching over Minhyuk since he met the haenyeo and was told about how the Immortals killed humans for their thrill and enjoyment. So, it talked about the Immortals who stood behind him and told them how they treated humans like ants and killed them at will.
If the upper beam were not straight, then the lower beam would be crooked. If those in authority set a bad example, those following them would not fare any better. Basically, the Immortals were made from the same mold as Tae-Hoo. Since their king was such a bad person, they also turned out to be bad. In fact, from the very beginning, Tae-Hoo’s dream was to wipe out the entire population of the Grania Continent before moving out and slaughtering the whole of the Western Continent with his army. He thought that it was only the right thing to do. Yet unlike him, the Immortals under his command had died a very comfortable death.
“I… I was wrong! I was wrong.”
Minhyuk stared at Tae-Hoo, who was begging with snot and tears running down his face.
‘This is madness.’
Even Minhyuk knew that he could not stop them once they started. Minhyuk’s gaze was calm, but the gazes of the people around him were filled with a strange sense of madness. After all, unlike Tae-Hoo, Minhyuk’s friends and comrades were those who knew how to cherish every living being.
After a while, all 296 people had cut him down and made him suffer unimaginable pain. Tae-Hoo felt incredibly relieved. He was finally going to die and would be free from this pain. Alas, he was utterly mistaken.
[The God of Death’s Judgment has been passed.]
[The person’s sentence will be determined by how much and how terrible the crimes they have committed before they died.]
[If their crimes were judged to be horrendous, they will be trapped in the most terrible Hell.]
Minhyuk cut Tae-Hoo’s head without any hesitation.
‘Now, I will be at peace,’ Tae-Hoo thought, a comfortable smile curling on his lips, oblivious to the notifications that rang for everyone else except him.
At that moment, a skeleton carrying thick chains appeared in front of Tae-Hoo.
[Your sentence will now be determined.]
[According to the severity of the crimes that you have committed, you will be imprisoned in Hell for 546 years. After imprisonment, your soul will then be extinguished.]
[The Hell that you are going to be imprisoned in is the Hell of Blades.]
[You will be cut and hacked and forced to suffer terrible pain until the moment you’re wiped from existence.]
Tae-Hoo would not be able to close his eyes and rest in peace even after he died. After Tae-Hoo disappeared, Minhyuk finally looked back at all of the people who came here.
“Yay! I leveled up!”
“Uwoooooooh!”
The players were all cheering in delight. The players had rushed here in anger because someone dared to touch the players’ Supreme. However, most of them still chose to come here because they received a quest. Now that the quest had ended, the players had nothing more to do here. So, they waved goodbye to Minhyuk and disappeared.
After the players disappeared, Minhyuk turned to look at the people who came rushing here without any promised rewards. All of these people came here purely for him.
“Everyone, thank you for your help.”
[Idiot. This is why I told you never to go and explore alone.]
Minhyuk smiled wryly. If someone heard this, they would think that the person being scolded was a ten-year-old kid.
Then, Ben stepped out while gently pushing Philos forward. He said, “It’s all thanks to Philos. This kid has informed us that Your Majesty is in grave danger.”
The Grania Continent was sealed off with Tae-Hoo’s barrier. Thankfully, the Land God possessed the extraordinary power that allowed him to go anywhere he wanted. This power also granted him the ability to bring along anyone he wanted without any restrictions on the number of people.
Minhyuk looked at Philos, who was sporting a very embarrassed expression on her face. The child’s cheeks were puffed out, but it was not out of anger.
During Philos’s stay with the Gods of Olympus, she realized how much Minhyuk cared for and loved her. Even the ingredients that he sent to her were all incredibly delicious. At the same time, she realized that she really, really appreciated Minhyuk, who came to this continent alone to find all those rare and precious ingredients for her.
Nevertheless, the fact that she acted childishly and ran away from home left her both embarrassed and upset.
“It’s alright, Philos. It’s normal for kids your age. It’s okay,” Minhyuk assured Philos, the usual sweet and gentle smile plastered on his face.
‘Ah!’
A sparkle appeared in Minhyuk’s eyes.
Two of the Three Scared Beasts, Leviathan and Cho-Rong, were on the verge of death as their power and energy were sucked into the Bow of Advent. But with the death of Tae-Hoo, the dying Leviathan finally woke up. Fortunately, Leviathan did not seem to have any significant problems. And with her awakening…
[The Hidden Quest: Saving Leviathan has been completed.]
Leviathan nodded at Minhyuk and thanked him.
[Thank you for saving me and the entire Grania Continent.]
[Please accept my personal show of sincerity.]
[Leviathan has bestowed upon you the Sea God’s Blessings.]
[All of your stats have increased by 0.4%.]
[Your Water Attribute Resistance has increased by 10%.]
[And this is the delicious ingredient that I have in possession.]
Leviathan’s Whole Belt Fish, the ingredient that the dolphin possessed, floated in the air, stopping just right in front of Minhyuk. Minhyuk’s mouth dropped open. Philos, who was standing right next to him, also stared slack-jawed at the ingredient in front of them.
The seventeen-meter-long Whole Belt Fish, just like the Mountain Monarch Cho-Rong had explained, was meaty and fat.
‘Kghhhk. If you remove the bones in advance, then use a spoon to scoop up the meat and put it on rice, then…!’
The thought alone was enough to make Minhyuk’s mouth water. Even Philos was the same. She was drooling over the fish in front of him. Just when her drool was about to drip down, Philos jolted back to her senses.
“Ah! Me too! Oppa! I also prepared something for you!”
“???” Minhyuk looked at Philos in confusion.
Then, she presented the gigantic fish to him.
“Saw-Edged Perch?”
The Saw-Edged Perch was so huge! At first glance, he could tell that it was at least a hundred kilograms. This was something that he had never seen in his life before!
Minhyuk was deeply moved by Philos. He was delighted to hear that his dear sister had come to the Grania Continent because she wanted to reciprocate his love and give him a gift.
“Philos. Let’s go. Let’s eat together.”
“Okay!”
Then, Minhyuk realized something. All of these people came here for his sake. They rushed to help him, so he wanted to treat them to a meal. But he only invited Philos. Then, at that moment…
“Hnnnngh!”
Cho-Rong, who was left snoring in her deep slumber, finally woke up. When she opened her big eyes, she saw King Alrak and his troops running toward them from a distance.
“Hey! You bastards! You can’t touch our Cho-Rong!!!”
Although they seemed to be running in a hurry, Minhyuk, who possessed the eyes of a certified scammer and con-artist, saw through the king at a glance.
‘Wow. He doesn’t even have a single drop of sweat?’
At a glance, Minhyuk could tell that Alrak and his troops had been waiting nearby and watching the situation. They just came here and pretended as if they were huffing from the strain of rushing toward here to save Cho-Rong.
“You brat! Do you know how worried…?”
“Grrrrr. What? You? Save me?! Brother, come. I’ll let you die so I’ll live!”
“Keuhaaack!”
‘His character is really… too obvious…’
Alrak’s character and personality were truly broken and beyond saving. And as if to respond to this, Cho-Rong playfully bit, tore him apart, tasted, and enjoyed the king.
Alrak, who looked completely disheveled, and Cho-Rong, who seemed to be satisfied with her handiwork, approached Minhyuk.
With her awakening, all three of the Three Sacred Beasts could be said to be gathered in one place. Each Sacred Beast was looking at Minhyuk with eyes filled with gratitude.
“Hnghh. As you know, the Grania Continent is known as the Chef’s Continent.”
Indeed. Minhyuk knew this fact well. That was the reason why he came here without any hesitation.
[We, the Three Sacred Beasts, want to return the kindness of our Grania Continent’s benefactor.]
Sea God Leviathan smiled softly.
The Land God, who has become Philos’ dear friend, raised his hooves and cried loudly. “HIHIHIHIHIHIHING!”
[We are very grateful to all of the people of the West.]
[As a show of gratitude, we want to treat everyone who has come here to help us with something. I hope that you all enjoy eating it.]
At that moment, blinding white light burst out of the Three Sacred Beasts. The white light created a pristine white bow that was utterly different from the Bow of Advent and shot countless arrows to the sky.
Thud!
After the arrows disappeared from among the clouds, something fell from the sky.
“Oh?” Minhyuk gasped. He looked pretty surprised at the thing that fell into his hands.
What fell from the sky? It was none other than tangerine. Jeju Island’s specialty, tangerine!
As if on cue, a rain of tangerine fell from the sky. At this moment, everyone realized what they meant when they said they hoped to enjoy eating it. The rain fell until everyone had ten tangerines in their hands to enjoy. With this, Minhyuk no longer had to worry and be self-conscious about his invitation earlier. Now, no one would say that they were the only ones eating delicious food.
Meanwhile, Philos stared up at the sky in awe. “Wowwwww!”
“Ooooooh…”
Even Minhyuk reacted the same way. In fact, he looked like he had returned to a world filled with innocence and imagination. Back when he was still suffering from eating addiction, Minhyuk would imagine a rain of delicious and mouth-watering ingredients falling from the sky from time to time.
And now, that unconscious wish finally came true.
While Minhyuk was busy admiring the rain of ingredients, someone crept up behind him. It was none other than King Alrak, who was still dripping with blood from his head.
Alrak said, “Master of the Western Continents.”
Minhyuk looked at Alrak in contempt. It was as if he were looking at a bug when he looked at him. But Alrak remained firm and unwavering.
“Haha. The Master of the Western Continents not only saved our continent, but you have also helped our kingdom get one of the Three Sacred Beasts, the Mountain Monarch. What I’m trying to say here is… I am humbly asking the Master of the Western Continents to give our Cho-Rong an epithet.”
Alrak laughed to himself. If Minhyuk agreed, then Cho-Rong would be given an epithet by the Master of the Western Continents and the savior of the Grania Continent! This would definitely be a massive boost to him and his kingdom.
Minhyuk looked at Alrak as if he expected him to go this low. With a gaze filled with disgust and contempt, Minhyuk asked, “What feeling are we going for?”
“It would be good if it fits and represents our Cho-Rong.”
“For example?”
“Powerful! Strong! Basically, a name that will make you feel pumped up, excited, and energetic just by coming to our kingdom!”
“Hmm.” Minhyuk pondered. Then, he came up with the perfect name.
Whisper, whisper.
Mumble, mumble.
Alrak’s eyes grew wide when he heard what Minhyuk said. “Really? Does that truly fit her?”
“That’s right.”
“Uwooooooh!” Alrak shouted in delight. He was so happy he felt as if he was floating in the air.
‘As expected of the Master of the Western Continents!’
Finally, Minhyuk, Philos, and the rest of the people from the Western Continents returned home.
***
There has been no information released about the Grania Continent before Minhyuk entered the continent. In fact, Joy Co. Ltd. had prepared to release that information just before the continent was opened.
But now, a lot of the players had learned about the continent through the quest earlier.
So, to respond to this very untimely incident, Joy Co. Ltd. changed tactics. They now opted to do an experiential marketing strategy. They chose 10,000 people to experience and explore the Grania Continent for an entire week.
Aras Village was the first village that everyone had to set foot in on the Grania Continent. This was the place where they could meet the guides and learn about the continent. Go Eun-Ah, one of the 10,000 selected people, also met with the guides the moment she entered the village.
–Hey. By any chance, do you know our dear Minhyuk?
–Do you know about Lord Minhyuk?
–Long live Minhyuk!
Go Eun-Ah felt dizzy just thinking about the encounter back then. Anyone who saw the scene would believe that the village was actually not Aras Village but Minhyuk’s Village. Nevertheless, she still pushed through.
After leaving Aras Village, she arrived at Valkain Kingdom. She arrived just in time for the king to make a huge announcement.
‘Whoa…’
She saw King Alrak standing atop the walls with Cho-Rong right next to him. The gates also had two magnificent statues made after Cho-Rong.
“Our kingdom is now a nation under the protection of one of the Three Sacred Beasts,” Alrak announced, his charismatic gaze scanning over his people.
‘It’s a truly majestic name.’
After all, it was a name given by Minhyuk, the Master of the Western Continents and the savior of the Grania Continent!
‘It’s really an amazing name. It’s very powerful. A name that gives you power, strength, and energy!’
He looked at his people and said, “I would like to announce that I will change Cho-Rong’s epithet. From Mountain Monarch, it would now be changed to another name.”
The people perked their ears. Everyone focused their attention on the king’s mouth.
‘Oh?’
Go Eun-Ah also did the same. She was very curious. What would be the new epithet of one of the Three Sacred Beasts, the tiger? The very symbol of bravery, strength, and power?!
With a heavy and solemn voice, King Alrak said, “Corn Frosd[1].”
“...?”
“It’s a name that represents the tiger’s power, strength, and energy!”
“O… oooooooh…!”
“Wowwww! Lady Corn Frosd!!!”
“Just hearing the name is making me feel all pumped up and energized!”
“So cool…”
Alrak, with a voice thick with majesty, said, “Long Live Corn Frosd!”
“Long live!”
“LONG LIVE!!!”
“UWAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”
Meanwhile, Go Eun-Ah was completely flustered and embarrassed.
‘You gave one of the Three Sacred Beasts, “Corn Frosd” as an epithet?!’
It felt bizarre.
The other players around her were also whispering to each other.
“Isn’t the epithet a bit too strange…?”
“I think it’s too much?”
“A name that represents the tiger’s power, strength, and energy…”
“I actually don’t have anything to say… because it’s true.”
Funnily, Go Eun-Ah could relate to what they were feeling.
1. 콘프로스드 a play on 콘프로스트, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, which is actually called Corn Frost in KR ☜