Leveling Up Through Eating

Minhyuk finally turned on the notifications he had turned off while writing his autobiography. Then, the notifications began to ring non-stop in his ears.

[The number of visitors that have visited Kravok Territory has increased by 1,136 times.]

[98,970 people from other existing territories have applied to move to the Kravok Territory.]

[The taxes gained from the Kravok Territory are being kept in the Beyond the Heavens Empire’s treasury.]

[You have gained 1,287 platinum in taxes.]

Minhyuk was in awe. He immediately called for Haze and finally caught up with what happened.

‘The Beyond the Heavens’ vassals have set up their stores.’

Of course, they weren’t able to run and manage their stores every day, but the effects were great.

At this moment, Minhyuk remembered Gadon, who had just visited him and applied for migration. At first, he did not recognize Gadon because he was covering his face, but Minhyuk knew he was a world-class chef.

Gadon declared that he would work hard to create a chain of restaurants for Beyond the Heavens Empire in exchange for the chance to learn how to make coffee from Grandpa Ben.

“A chain of restaurants, huh?”

The first reason they needed to open a chain of restaurants was to solve the inconvenience that their customers were currently experiencing.

According to the reports that Minhyuk had received, Conir’s Ramyeon, Herakel’s Gimbap, the restaurant that Conir and Herakel set up, had a line that stretched for several hundreds of meters after Gadon’s live broadcast. So, their top priority was to remove the inconvenience the customers were subjected to.

The second reason was to generate more revenue. Naturally, the more chains they opened, the more profits the Beyond the Heavens Empire would generate.

However, there was one decisive factor for Gadon.

‘Chain stores and franchises are not necessarily limited to the Beyond the Heavens Empire.’

They could also set up chain stores in their allied nations. Once this happened, the demand for their stores would continue. Perhaps they would be able to secure enough funds to increase their territories at a faster rate.

But there was one problematic point.

“The flavor of the dishes served in those chains will never be able to keep up with the flavor of Conir’s ramyeon and Grandpa Ben’s coffee…”

Of course, their face value would create a huge buzz and allow them to generate an enormous profit during the initial sale period. However, because their chains would never be able to keep up with the flavor of the original, there was a high chance that their sales would eventually fall. Their chains might close down in the future. If that happened, then it would negatively affect the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

As he worried about this, Haze suddenly said, “Wasn’t there someone among the merchants with a special power?”

Minhyuk tried to recall if there was such a merchant; to his surprise, there really was one.

“From what I recall, that merchant’s class is Liaison Merchant.”

Each merchant standing at the Merchants’ Rankings possessed a special power closely related to the merchant class. If someone generated a sale of 1, the merchants could create a sale of 1.1. Various systems would help a merchant to make money.

And among these insanely outstanding classes was a merchant who possessed a very unusual ability. And that merchant carried the special name Liaison Merchant.

“His name is Brau. He was very famous during the early stages.”

Brauden possessed a special power: whenever he opened a chain store, he could let the other chain store owners increase the flavor matching of their dishes with the flavor of the food served by the main store by around 90%. How could this be possible?

‘First and foremost, Athenae is still a game.’

The problem was that Brau was hired by the Luvien Empire, although they had already abandoned him.

“At first, things were flourishing well. But things went south in the end. And this was mostly because of not being ‘popular.’”

That was right. The Luvien Empire had set up a chain of high-end restaurants using the cooking skills of their best and greatest imperial chefs. Of course, this chain of fine-dining restaurants had spread all over the Luvien Empire. But in the end, things fell apart. The flavor of the dish was not the problem. The problem was the Luvien Empire’s faulty judgment.

“They set up dozens of restaurants with expensive dishes that only the nobles could buy. It’s only natural that they would go out of business.”

Ordinary people usually frequent chain restaurants with more than a hundred branches. But was there any high-end and fine-dining restaurant with over a hundred branches? There was none. Nevertheless, the Luvien Empire decided to push through with the plan because Brau could make it so the taste was similar. And the result? Of course, the chain was ruined.

“Their contract was filled with loopholes and a toxic clause. The player was eventually kicked out of the Luvien Empire with nothing but a debt to his name.”

They passed on their huge losses to the players who could not afford to mess with them or to pay off the losses.

“What’s his situation now?”

“We’re still trying to find out. There’s a high chance that he has already ‘shelved’ Athenae, if we were to use the words of the foreigners. I don’t think it will be easy for us to coax him to our side.”

With one look at Haze’s expression, Minhyuk could already understand what she was thinking. It was basically because the man already had a bad experience with an empire, no?

“If we find him, then what should we do?”

“I’ll go and find him myself.”

“I understand.”

“Ah, wait. Which store earned the most profit in the Kravok Territory?”

This was something that Minhyuk was very curious about.

‘It should be Conir’s Ramyeon, Herakel’s Gimbap, right? After all, they are very popular…’

“Sir Conir’s the second highest earner. The difference between him and the top earner is a dozen times.”

“???”

“The one who gained the most profit is Sir Obren.”

“From what I heard, the only thing that Obren did was to lie down on a tree and read…?”

“Yes. He only read a book but earned around 713 platinum in just a day.”

“...?”

‘As expected of God-Bren.’

***

Joy Co. Ltd.’s meeting room.

Joy Co. Ltd. was doing their final checks regarding their large-scale update, which they would launch soon. This next update was unusually huge.

‘The level of the players has increased significantly.’

But just because the players became too powerful did not mean they rushed to do this update. In the first place, this update was set to be launched when players reached a certain level.

They have set many conditions during the early stages of Athenae. Among them were:

–High rankers’ average level has to be at Level 670.

–The information about the Greatest Weapons has been released.

–The percentage of players owning God-rank artifacts does not exceed 5%.

Funny as it might sound, the value of money was also included in the conditions. Players could actually buy gold with cash. Compared to the past, the value of money in Athenae had already fallen by a third. In other words, a lot of gold had been released, which resulted in a decrease in the value of Athenae’s currency.

Surprisingly enough, the players have met more than ten conditions they have set.

Flip–

President Kang Taehoon looked at the report that was handed over to him.

Naturally, the NPCs also grew accordingly.

When the Luvien Empire first appeared, the average level of the Swords of the Gods was in the early Level 600s. However, their levels had been raised significantly, and they had already reached Level 720. As for their dukes, their levels had already reached around Level 800 to mid-Level 800s. In the case of the Absolute Gods, like the Battle God, their levels had already exceeded Level 900.

Compared to the early stages, the NPCs had grown around 1.3x stronger than before. Of course, it was only natural for them to grow and become stronger. After all, time passed, and they weren’t idle.

“Some of them might be unwilling and reluctant, but many people will be satisfied with this.”

In most cases, updates were set to be against the players. But this update was different. It would create a new foothold for the players who had already started to feel stagnant in their growth. There would also be key figures for this update.

“Gaia’s invitation will be sent tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Gaia was the name of the new continent. And yes, Joy Co. Ltd. planned to unveil a new continent with this update. And the standards of the new continent would be utterly different from those of the ordinary continents.

The invitation mentioned was the invitation that they would send to the Exploration Team. This Exploration Team would lead the expedition to Gaia and has an even mix of players and NPCs. Of course, only a select few were chosen to be a part of this Exploration Team.

The number of people that they selected was around twenty. The list included the strongest NPCs and the strongest players. Of course, if the strongest person refused the invitation, the invitation would be redirected and given to someone of a lower ranking. Also, the Pillar Candidates, with Minhyuk’s exception, were excluded from this. On top of that, an empire would only be able to receive two invitations at most.

There were two types of invitations. The first was blue, which the Exploration Team would receive. The second was red, which those who would be the Guardians of Gaia would receive.

All of the invitations for the Guardians of Gaia had already been sent. This invitation was sent only to those in the top 1,000 rankings or possessing a God class.

Upon receiving the invitation, they would be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement before they could view it. After signing the agreement, they would be able to read the contents of the invitation. Even if they refused, they were still supposed to sign the deal. After all, they could only release information once all the updates were completed.

Around 99% of those who received the invitation agreed. The Guardians of Gaia were tasked with preventing the Exploration Team from exploring the new continent. They accepted the invitation for only one reason: they were very curious about the power of the top ten players and top ten NPCs. But the biggest reason was that they wanted to confirm the gap between them and Minhyuk.

“This is going to be very interesting,” President Kang Taehoon murmured excitedly.

Just because they were strong did not mean that the top ten strongest people from both the NPCs and the players’ sides could break through them. Of course, those who received the invitation to become a Guardian of Gaia were not necessarily strong enough to stop them. Strength should be supported with great control and skill.

“The advertisement video should be ready by the time the expedition is launched, no? Everything is as scheduled?”

“Of course.”

Joy Co. Ltd. would always take advantage of every opportunity. They were prepared to send advertisements and commercials to announce the new updates when the Exploration Team set out for their expedition.

***

Liaison Merchant Brau, or Kim Chang-Sik, watched the news from his ‘Amazing Gukbap’ restaurant.

[The global virtual reality game Athenae is set to launch a large-scale update soon. Many people are…]

Kim Chang-Sik promptly turned off the TV when he heard what the female announcer said. It had already been a year since he had shelved Athenae. Just thinking about the game was enough to make him shake with nervousness.

The Luvien Empire had made Kim Chang-Sik, or Brau, sign an unfair and biased contract.

‘I’m also at fault for signing it without checking.’

He had no idea that the restaurants the Luvien Empire boldly launched would collapse horrendously. The worst part? A clause from the contract stated that Brau would shoulder the deficit and losses if the chain stores ran into problems.

Of course, the Luvien Empire had offered an astronomical deposit. Although Brau was very hopeful about the prospects of a chain restaurant, he did not expect it to fail miserably. As a result, his debt grew thirty times more than the deposit he received.

At that moment, Brau decided to shelve Athenae.

‘Those f*cking bastards are nothing but slick talkers.’

At first, they kept on saying that this was just what was written on the “contract” and that they would be the ones to take responsibility for the losses if such an event occurred. But when their losses reached a certain level, they chased him out with their swords and even threatened him.

“Haa…” Chang-Sik sighed.

Whether it was this guy or that guy, Chang-Sik was still forced to live a hard life to the point where he had to die because of other’s tyrannical rule. Of course, he knew that not all people were like that, but he just could not bring himself to trust anyone anymore because he suffered too much.

‘Ah. I have to leave this Gukbap restaurant in a week.’

Chang-Sik’s gukbap restaurant became very famous for his good gukbap. But then, the building owner suddenly demanded that he leave. Before his restaurant became famous, the building owner wanted to extend his lease, but now? That was no longer the case.

At that moment, a tall middle-aged man entered Chang-Sik’s gukbap restaurant.

“Hello. I am Ilhwa Group’s chief secretary, Park Munsoo.” The man handed his business card and introduced himself.

When Park Munsoo explained the reason for his visit, Chang-Sik immediately crumpled the business card and said, “A chain store?! If I open another chain store in Athenae again, I will no longer be a person! Get lost!”

For him, it was the same whether it was the Luvien Empire or the Beyond the Heavens Empire. Of course, this was the most upsetting thing for him.

“Every single time, someone will come to visit me saying that they came to find me on someone’s orders and ask me to serve them, but I have never even seen their faces, ever!”

Whenever he said something like this, those who were sent to him would always answer like this:

–They’re just swamped.

He was just so sick and tired of those f*cking bastards trying to hide behind the people dealing with him!

“If they need me, then they have to personally…!”

Ring~

“Hello!”

“???”

Chang-Sik looked at the door in surprise. This was because Minhyuk, the successor to Ilhwa Group and the emperor of the Beyond the Heavens Empire, had just entered the doors of his restaurant.

“I was waiting outside in case you have other customers. They might feel uncomfortable if I suddenly went inside.”

“...?”

‘He came here personally? The most famous person in the world is in my gukbap restaurant right now?!’

Even so, Chang-Sik still did not believe them.

“Even if I see your face, I will not change my mind.”

“Then, if one time does not work, should I go and show my face and visit your gukbap restauranttwice, thrice, ten times until you believe me?”

“Hmph! Do as you please! Get lost!”

Chang-Sik threw them out of the door. Would someone like Minhyuk come to his door every day? That was impossible. It was nothing but bullshit.

But then, the next day…

“Please give me one gukbap.”

And the next day…

“One gukbap over here, please.”

“???”

And the day after that…

“Today, I’ll have some spicy hot gukbap, please.”

The next day…

“For today, I’ll have some suyuk gukbap, please.”

And the day after that…

“This time, I’ll have one spicy hot gukbap and one suyuk gukbap.”

Minhyuk came to visit him every single day, and he always acted courteously toward him. Finally, the day came when Chang-Sik had to move out. Without fail, Minhyuk came to visit him again. But this time, he saw him packing his stuff and moving.

“I’m not selling any gukbap today. They kicked me out.”

“...”

Minhyuk tried to grab a bowl and help Chang-Sik pack up, but Chang-Sik stopped him and even told him not to touch anything.

“Why do you keep coming here?”

“It’s because the gukbap is delicious? Also, I want to win over the owner of the restaurant?” Minhyuk answered honestly. He was a man who possessed a talent where he could melt anyone’s heart.

‘With how sincere he is, I think I can look at his contract once…’

At that moment, someone entered the restaurant. They were none other than the building owner and his son.

“Boss Kim, we’ll pay for your moving expenses and everything you have spent on the interior. In exchange, let us use the name of your gukbap restaurant and don’t touch anything here.”

When the two entered the shabby gukbap restaurant, they were surprised to see Minhyuk inside. Despite seeing the man, they still turned their attention to Chang-Sik.

But Chang-Sik shook his head. “You want to buy my fame with just a few million won? After kicking me out?!”

Chang-Sik was furious. He could not let them get their way. He felt disgusted with their actions. He furiously finished packing his things for moving while grumbling to himself. Then, he looked at the restaurant, the building owner, and his son with tears of anger in his eyes.

At that moment, someone stepped forward and sprinkled something on him. It was salt.

“I don’t throw away food because I find it a waste. But you’re just so unlucky. Let me sprinkle some on you.”

“...?” Chang-Sik looked at Minhyuk in confusion.

“Is this storefront very precious to you?”

It was very precious for Chang-Sik. After all, he had been selling gukbap in this place for almost twenty years. But after he became famous, the building's owner demanded that he leave. Chang-Sik felt sadness envelop him.

Minhyuk looked at the building, turned to look at him, and said, “Shall we make a promise here?”

“...”

Chang-Sik’s confusion grew as he continued to look at the young man.

With a small smile, Minhyuk said, “After one year, Boss Kim will become the owner of this building.”

Whether it was a bluff or not, Kim Chang-Sik could feel the young man’s sincerity. He could not help but laugh. “Can you show me the contract?”