Every empire and kingdom had a national anthem It was like the symbol of that nation. Usually, kingdoms and empires would not change once they had designated a national anthem. That was why the national anthem was deemed much more important than it seemed.

Many nations had tried to create an outstanding national anthem. Often, dozens of famous bards, even the best of the current era, would sit together and create a national anthem. However, no nation had produced a jaw-dropping and outstanding national anthem for decades.

Among the production classes, the bard was a class that was greatly influenced by their emotions and inspirations. Because of that, the kingdoms and empires realized that making an outstanding national anthem was not in their hands. They knew that they would only be able to get an empty shell of a national anthem with a beautiful and colorful melody if they forced it. So, in the end, everyone gave up on it.

Likewise, Minhyuk had always understood the importance of having one. However, he also knew that it was impossible to force it. So, the national anthem was left empty until now.

Minhyuk nodded his head.

After killing all of the knights of the Luvien Empire, Minhyuk turned to look at the dying Erwell, who was leaning on his son, Evan. Erwell had turned everything he saw and felt and his expectations into a national anthem for the Beyond the Heavens Empire. A magnificent melody escaped from the lips of the dying man.

A song slowly came into existence from Erwell's lips.

Erwell saw the Beyond the Heavens Empire’s emperor, who would lead his empire to stand up against hardships and adversities.

But they would survive these storms and winds.

They would march over a high hill and brave the heat of the blazing sun. But it would be fine. Erwell had seen that the Beyond the Heavens’ emperor would become their

They would be able to get back up. The Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor would hold their hands with his warm and gentle hands and help them stand.

Erwell’s voice continued to slip out of his dry and cracked lips.

And finally, the song ended. Erwell raised his hands, hugging and patting his crying son.

“Evan.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Go and live a new life, serve a new person.”

At the moment of his death, Erwell felt extremely happy and relieved. This was because he could entrust his son to the Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor, someone who would come running even for the sake of one person, and not to a kingdom that abandoned them for profits.

Erwell did not have any regrets. He did not regret the fact that he sang praise for the Beyond the Heavens Empire. Erwell, who left his final masterpiece, closed his eyes in the comfort of his son’s arms.

Minhyuk paid Erwell his final courtesy with a slight nod of his head.

***

Minhyuk returned to the Beyond the Heavens Empire with Evan, who was carrying Erwell on his back. The moment they returned, Minhyuk ordered Erwell’s funeral and held it with great sincerity.

After doing that, Minhyuk checked the song Erwell made for them.

Minhyuk was left shocked.

In other words, they could obtain these buff effects permanently. Any citizen from the Beyond the Heavens could receive this buff effect by simply humming the tune of the national anthem. If the Beyond the Heavens Empire soldiers marched to battle and sang this song together, then all of them would receive the buff effects.

Minhyuk was highly grateful to Erwell. However, there were still quite a lot of things that Minhyuk had to check. He had dipped the beef set that Erwell gave him in the Sun’s Salt. Because he was so into the food, he failed to check the notifications that rang in his ears. So, now, he was scrolling back to the notifications he did not hear. But after checking everything, he sat frozen in his spot for a long time.

Minhyuk was very shocked when he heard the first set of notifications. Did just eating a gram of the Sun’s Salt increase his Fire Attribute by 2%? A 2% increase in fire attribute would typically increase Minhyuk’s attack power by 1% when using a fire-attributed skill.

The surprise did not end there.

Earlier, before he could confirm this, Sebastian and his knights had stormed into the restaurant.

“Let’s listen to the explanation.”

“...!”

Minhyuk was extremely shocked.

Minhyuk had met Immortal Sorceress Helenia once before. She was one of the Eight Pillars, a monster that not even the Luvien Empire and the current players could not go against.

Mages put great attention into increasing all four typical attributes–fire, water, earth, and wind–in their stats. Some of the mages would end up focusing on increasing only one attribute. However, that did not necessarily mean they were on the wrong path. Why? Because when mages that focused on their fire attribute use fire-related magic, the damage they could deal would be much higher.

Helenia’s Ores were believed to have the power to increase the power of the four attributes significantly. The worst part? It was not just one. She had all four of the attributes.

“...?”

Minhyuk was confused at the incomprehensible description.

A village was a place where people lived together. Was there a way for him to seal the Sun’s Ore in the village that he used to live in? Was that why he went back there?

“...?”

Minhyuk found it more surprising that they found the solution.

The question flashed in his head while the explanations continued.

“...Transcendentals’ Village,” Minhyuk murmured.

In Duke Ruffiso dropped when he died, there was a portion that stated that a Transcendentals’ Village existed. And from what it seemed like, they were the ones that ground the ore into salt form. So, even if Helenia found the ore, she could not see that it was the Sun’s Ore. The salt was then placed in a small bottle and turned into a necklace hung on the neck of the baby Ruffiso.

The two pieces of the puzzle, the piece that assumed that Duke Ruffiso was born from the transcendentals and the piece that stated that the Transcendentals’ Village existed, were finally put together.

Just when he was pondering the matter, he received a notification.

The smile on Minhyuk’s face deepened as he thought,

The ore was none other than the earth-attributed ore, the Mountain Ore. According to the explanation, the Mountain Ore had been sealed by the one that stole the ore from Helenia. From what he could tell, the power of the Mountain Ore was enormous. However, that was not what Minhyuk was excited about.

It was so delicious that Minhyuk felt a thrill run down his spine. And after checking the Transcendentals’ Grinder, the smile on Minhyuk’s face grew wider.

Then, what would happen if he turned that soybean paste into doenjangjjigae?

At this moment, Minhyuk’s new goal was set.

And from what he could tell, these condiments would have the same enormous power as the Sun’s Salt.

“...”

Minhyuk’s expression grew ugly. Indeed, the Transcendentals were probably at a point where no players could meet them yet. Minhyuk wondered if his dreams of making using the Mountain Ore were ending right before they started.

“...?”

Minhyuk stared at the notification in confusion.

Minhyuk realized,

At the same time.

Immortal Sorceress Helenia was creating her dungeons all over Athenae in preparation for her attack on Earth.

Her attribute magic could only exhibit around 70% power with only two ores.

The woman was deeply troubled by this problem. However, she was unaware that the Sun’s Ore had already turned into salt that Minhyuk had used as a dip for beef, or that Minhyuk had already entertained the idea of turning the Mountain Ore into soybean paste using the