It took Minhyuk quite a while to clear the First Gate; hence, he was pleased to rest while the discussion was ongoing. After a lengthy debate, the notifications once again rang in his ears.

Minhyuk’s attention was immediately drawn toward the that the Fortress of the Transcendentals’ Fantasy had given him.

Every group had a who led and managed the members. And since the leaders stood above the group, they likely possessed something special.

Perhaps there was something delicious inside of that treasure chest. Maybe there were dishes that the Transcendentals enjoyed hidden there?

“Please, let something delicious come out! COME OOOOOON!!!” Minhyuk shouted at the top of his lungs, praying desperately for something delicious to come out as he opened the leader’s chest without hesitation.

The leader’s treasure chest, made from old and sturdy wood, began to shake and tremble like crazy.

Finally, the treasure chest’s lock opened. Surprisingly enough, there were two items inside the treasure chest. When he saw the contents, Minhyuk could not help but shout happily, “Let’s go!!!”

This was because one of the items inside the treasure chest was food.

Minhyuk did not know the Pinnacle Growth Elixir, but it was okay. Everything was fine as long as it tasted good. However, before he could check the items thoroughly, something very unusual happened.

Usually, treasure boxes would disintegrate and disappear after the contents inside had been taken away. But the leader’s treasure chest did not disappear at all.

“...?!”

The fact that Minhyuk could obtain additional rewards every time he leveled up was enough to show how rare and precious this item was.

Minhyuk hid the treasure chest. Before he ate the pork ribs, he checked the note they left for

“...!”

Minhyuk was shocked when he saw the note. Why? Because the child was named Ruffiso. Was it such a coincidence that he had recently taken the life of Duke Ruffiso as a punishment for his evildoings?

At this moment, Minhyuk finally grew sure of one fact. Duke Ruffiso was one of the transcendentals. And from the looks of it, he was the child of whom Minhyuk presumed to be their leader. Then, at that moment, something happened.

Duke Ruffiso was already dead. If it were any ordinary player, they would not expect any rewards from the dead. However, Minhyuk was different.

He had recently obtained the Star’s Armor Set, an artifact he could not equip because it was customized for Duke Ruffiso. But that was not all. It was also impossible to dismantle the armor and turn it into other artifacts unless he had completed the requirements. One requirement was to receive But how would one receive the recognition and acknowledgment of the dead? Minhyuk believed it to be impossible.

Minhyuk had asked Hepas’ Descendant Hyemin’sDaddy about the Star’s Armor Set; he said that it was made from artifact materials that were one of the rarest in Athenae. Minhyuk thought that he would have to throw the armor set away. But perhaps he would have the chance to obtain Duke Ruffiso’s recognition with this sudden quest.

Minhyuk gently folded the note and hid it in his inventory. There were far more important things that he needed to do before that. He was very hungry after hunting all of those monsters earlier, so he quickly prepared the pork ribs he had obtained as a reward. In just a blink, he had finished preparing the table. The vegetables for the wrap, including the parsley and the pickled onions, were ready and served beside the hot grill.

Minhyuk grabbed the tongs and quickly lifted a large piece of marinated pork ribs.

Smoke rose as the seasonings that covered the ribs flowed out of its sides and burned on the piping hot grill. After grilling one side for a bit, Minhyuk flipped it over and let it grill for a few more minutes. Then, he grabbed his scissors and began to cut the ribs.

Minhyuk picked up one of the pork ribs and placed it in his mouth. Then, a sweet flavor immediately burst out from the meat and coated the insides of his mouth. The more he chewed, the more flavor spread out in his mouth and the better the texture of the meat.

“Kghhk…!”

Minhyuk liked to cut the meat on the bigger side when eating meat.

He clipped another piece of ribs and dipped it in the before putting it in his mouth.

“Wahahahaha!”

The galbi sauce added another sweetness to the meat, filling his mouth. After that, he added some pickled onions to the pork ribs before grabbing them with his chopsticks and putting them in his mouth.

The pickled onions' sweetness and sourness perfectly complemented the pork ribs' slightly greasy flavor. This time, he spread some pickled radish on top of a piece of ribs and wrapped everything together.

“Kghhk…” Minhyuk sighed in admiration, his hands moving to take something out of his inventory. What did he take out of his food storage inventory? It was none other than

Minhyuk poked the yolk on top of the bibim naengmyeon and mixed it with the rest of the noodles.

The sweet, refreshing pear added to the bibim naengmyeon could easily mellow the dish's spiciness. Minhyuk first took a huge bite of the pears, cucumbers, and noodles.

“”

The spicy and refreshing flavor of the bibim naengmyeon washed away the greasiness left behind by the ribs.

Also, the sweet and cold pears and the crunchy cucumbers added more depth to the dish's flavor. Then, Minhyuk added a piece of ribs to a mouthful of bibim naengmyeon that he immediately placed in his mouth.

“Kihyaaa…!”

The sweet ribs and the spicy bibim naengmyeon met and created a fantastic harmony of flavors. In just a blink, Minhyuk finished his meal, his plates and even the grill clean and without a morsel of food left behind.

Then, the notifications rang one after the other.

“That’s crazy?”

Minhyuk was in awe. He had just eaten some pork ribs, but his level had increased by three. For players at Minhyuk’s level, it would take at least three to four weeks for them to be able to increase their level by one.

What in the world was a?

If that were true, then that elixir would be extremely cheat-like. Why? For example, if someone had reached Level 699, a threshold to overcome, and taken that elixir, they would reach Level 700 in one go.

Even though it was a precious potion, the leader of the Transcendentals used it to marinate pork ribs.

At this point, Minhyuk realized,

Minhyuk could tell that using the Pinnacle Growth Elixir in cooking was extremely difficult. That was why he knew only an outstanding chef could use it as a marinade.

Minhyuk could eat some delicious pork ribs and increase his level by +3. Was there anything better than this? Then, there was the Leader’s Treasure Chest, which would give him additional rewards every time his level increased.

Assuming that was indeed Ruffiso, they expected and believed that Ruffiso would return to them and become their leader. In other words, these rewards were left here to allow them to help Ruffiso reach the

“Ugh!”

A tremendous amount of pressure appeared and weighed down on Minhyuk.

This was far more overwhelming compared to the time when he met Helenia. And when Minhyuk was left struggling hard to endure the pressure, similar notifications rang several times in a row.

This meant that several Transcendentals appeared in this place. Not long after, Minhyuk caught the gaze of a bald man with a gigantic build. The man was just walking but was releasing overwhelmingly heavy pressure on Minhyuk.

Minhyuk realized,

It was an overwhelmingly powerful force. Nerva Sephiroth’s Emperor’s Authority was like a child’s play compared to the Transcendental’s passive skill that was weighing down on him right now.

Finally, the Transcendentals made their appearance.

Minhyuk was appalled. This was the first time he had encountered an NPC whose level was over Level 1,200! Even Helenia, whom he had met before, was only around Level 1,000. Of course, that was only the case because most of her powers had been sealed.

The rest of the Transcendentals had surpassed Level 1,000. This was very rare, even for the gods. Only a few of the gods had surpassed Level 1,000.

At this moment, Minhyuk realized what kind of existence the Transcendentals were. He could not help but grow tense when he saw them walk towards them.

That was why Minhyuk was very nervous. He might be nervous, but he never intended to lose to them.

His knees, about to fold and force him to kneel, stretched out again. This was one of the effects of the Eight Pillars’ Candidate title, The Unyielding One. The Unyielding One could help him resist any forces that tried to suppress him once.

The expression on the faces of Nekk and Bender, the two Transcendentals walking upfront, changed when they saw Minhyuk remain standing.

They could not understand the man at all. In just a blink, they had already arrived in front of Minhyuk.

Minhyuk looked apprehensively at the people standing before him, who were wearing serious expressions. Then, the man named Bender raised his hand and smiled awkwardly.

“Hi?”

“???”

Why was this man acting as if they were close? Minhyuk glanced at the other Transcendentals. He could see that the Transcendentals who had been looking at him with solemn expressions before were now sporting awkward smiles, just like the woman mage named Bernie. The guy named Nekk coughed while awkwardly asking him how he had been. Even the guys named Vaghan and Cochnus were smiling softly at him.

That was when Minhyuk saw them glancing at one spot. What spot were they secretly taking a peek at? It was none other than the place where Minhyuk had eaten the pork ribs earlier. As someone who had been hungry most of his life, he knew the tell-tale signs and actions of someone hungry.

Although Bender was trying his hardest not to show it, he gulped dryly as he licked his lips while glancing at that exact spot. Nekk’s nose was twitching. He looked like someone who had not seen nor smelled the scent of meat in a long while.

Minhyuk, who understood the situation quickly, grinned widely.

If he did this correctly, he might find himself in a situation in which both parties would benefit each other.