Minhyuk was extremely satisfied with the Transcendental’s Armor Set that Nekk had made without sparing any effort.

“I’m truly grateful to you.”

Nekk only smiled faintly in answer.

He had already handed over hundreds of the seeds that Rumble had created over his twenty-day stay inside the fortress. With this, the Transcendentals would no longer grow hungry. It was time for Minhyuk to receive the other rewards promised to him.

Then, there was his final reward, the ‘Mountain Ore.’ Bender brought over an old wooden box wrapped several times with a thick chain. Before handing it over to him, Bender said, “Before I give you this, can you tell me about your relationship with Ruffiso?”

The Transcendentals did not know much about Ruffiso. All they knew was that their leaders tried their hardest to keep him safe even until their deaths and that he was the man who would probably lead them in place of their leaders in the future.

Minhyuk slowly told them Ruffiso’s story. As they listened, the Transcendentals could not help but lament. They also expressed a bitter expression when they heard that Minhyuk had killed Ruffiso.

Ruffiso had grown out of their reach, becoming the duke of an empire, and killed countless people. He was killed in the fierce battle against the Beyond the Heavens Empire. They weren’t stupid. The human world was like a jungle. It was a place filled with war, where only the strongest would survive. Even if Minhyuk killed Ruffiso in that world, there was no way for them to blame and resent him for that.

“Don’t be surprised,” Bender told Minhyuk, who was preparing the Transcendental’s Grinder.

Not long after, the chains fell and clattered from Bender’s hands. At the same time, Bernie cast a barrier that trapped Minhyuk and Bender inside.

The moment Bender opened the box, the ground beneath his feet began to twist and break rapidly. It quickly extended and devoured an area with a 200-meter radius.

The worst part? The earthquake’s intensity was so strong that Minhyuk felt it could break apart everything in its path in just a short amount of time.

“You are seeing this, right? This is what you have to grind.”

Who wouldn’t be disappointed, right? It carried such enormous power, yet he had to change its form so Helenia could not find it.

Indeed, Minhyuk did not even feel a shred of disappointment. Just like that, the Mountain Ore, which was covered with a shining bright light and felt like a living and breathing heart, slowly entered the grinder.

Once the lid was closed, the Transcendental’s Grinder started to run.

Then, a notification rang in Minhyuk's ears as he watched the Transcendental’s Grinder ground the Mountain Ore at a crazy speed.

“ (Soybean Paste)”

Bernie looked at Minhyuk sadly when she heard his words.

Bernie looked extremely sad. She felt unfortunate for Minhyuk, who seemed to have cursed while grinding the Mountain Ore. Since the ore was being ground, Bernie released the barrier and approached Minhyuk. She gently placed her hand on his shoulders. With a sad smile, she said, “...It’s alright. I understand.”

“???” Minhyuk looked at her in confusion. Not long after, the grinder stopped vibrating.

Minhyuk smiled happily when he saw the doenjang sitting snugly in his inventory.

“Thank you! Thank you! I’ll get going now!” Minhyuk shouted, quickly running away. This was so no one would ask him to share some of the doenjang with them.

Bender watched Minhyuk disappear after bidding them goodbye, and said, “Ruffiso is already dead. And the man who killed him has the leader’s treasure chest with him.”

“Perhaps that child will be the one to lead us, just like the leader wanted.”

Their eyes lingered at the place where he disappeared for a very long time.

***

When he lifted the lid of the earthen pot, Minhyuk was greeted by boiling doenjangjjigae. Right next to the pot were several side dishes, such as grilled hairtail, unseasoned laver, kimchi, and others.

“Kghhk…” Minhyuk sighed in admiration as he held a bowl of steaming white rice.

The first thing that Minhyuk tasted was a spoonful of clams and the refreshing doenjangjjigae’s soup.

“Keuhaa!”

The doenjang jjigae, filled with the spicy flavor of the Cheongyang red pepper, stimulated his appetite. Minhyuk quickly blew on a considerable spoonful of rice and pushed it into his mouth.

“Yes! Doenjang jjigae is a complete rice thief!”

Minhyuk scooped another spoonful of rice and pushed it into his mouth. Then, he scooped a spoonful of stew with various ingredients like tofu, zucchini, and onions.

After blowing on it, he opened his mouth and ate the spoon's contents. The jiggly tofu, soft zucchini, and onions danced along with the deliciously spicy and refreshing soup in his mouth.

Next, he turned his attention towards the grilled hairtail. Using his divine hands, Minhyuk removed the bones of the grilled hairtail. Then, he clamped a piece of the chubby meat and put it in his mouth. The salty and savory grilled hairtail met with the sweet and soft white rice, creating a pleasant flavor in his mouth.

“Wow…”

It was unbelievable. It was so delicious that Minhyuk felt like his mouth was filled with ecstasy. With a happy smile, Minhyuk wrapped some rice with the unseasoned laver. Then, he dipped it in a sauce made with chives, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, and the like. The crunchy laver, sauce and the rice met, bringing a harmony of flavors that brought even more delight to Minhyuk’s mouth.

This time, he scooped out the clams from the soup of the doenjang jjigae and added their meat to the rice. Then, he scooped some tofu, zucchini, and a bit of the soup. After that, he mixed them all and ate a huge mouthful.

Minhyuk finished three bowls of rice in an instant and smiled with satisfaction.

It was a very satisfying meal. Because he had two kilograms of the Mountain Doenjang, Minhyuk could increase his Earth Attribute by around 20% and have a 20% increase in EXP Acquisition Rate for 70 days.

He had been staying in the Fortress of the Transcendental’s Fantasy for quite a long time and had accumulated quite a lot of tension in his body. He was pretty exhausted. So, he logged out and rested.

***

Minhyuk, who woke up after a very refreshing sleep, checked the phone calls he had received before exercising. The call was from Joy Co. Ltd.’s President Kang Taehoon. President Kang Taehoon immediately discussed with him the moment he answered the call.

Minhyuk also knew that the Transcendental’s Armor he obtained this time would create another ruckus about how he forced the balance to collapse.

Minhyuk needed clarification. They wanted to upload a video about him on Ztube? Minhyuk had uploaded quite a lot of videos to Ztube. Most were mukbangs, but each of his videos easily exceeded forty million views.

Surprisingly enough, Minhyuk, who tried and worked harder than anybody else, did not think he was working harderthan the others.

Ztube editor. This was an emerging occupation. Depending on the editor's skills, the viewers who watched their videos would either feel the thrill or sadness from the video. These editors worked similarly to the authors. They created a completely different image and vision while using the same material as others. They needed a brilliant and outstanding editor to make it work.

To be honest, Minhyuk thought that it was also necessary for them to help them improve the image of the Beyond the Heavens Empire. Only by doing that would they be able to increase their migration rate.

“Will the profits for the Ztube video be 9:1?”

“It’s going to be a video about me, no?”

President Kang Taehoon grew silent for a moment. Then, he said…

“I’m sure you have quite a lot, no?”

After discussing the temporary division of profits with Taehoon over the phone, the president ended the call by saying,

Just when he was about to exercise, Genie or Jihye, Minhyuk’s girlfriend, called him.

“No. It’s fine. I’m coming back to the Empire today either way. Alright.”

After hanging up, Minhyuk quickly went and accessed Athenae. He returned to the Beyond the Heavens Empire and walked to their conference room. While walking to his destination, Minhyuk saw a bloody player restlessly pacing around in front of the door.

One of the guards told the man, “You should go and get some rest. Wait for a minute. We’ll notify you of the results.”

“Please go back now.”

“You won’t be able to hear what they’re discussing in the meeting here anyway.”

“I understand.” The player sighed and turned away. That was when he saw Minhyuk.

The player was none other than Carron, who rode his horse and carried Roarke Kingdom’s First Prince Beynan here. In reality, Carron might only be a player from a small kingdom in Athenae, but in reality, he was the Godly Editor Jackson.

He quickly rushed towards Minhyuk and said, “Please. I beg you, do not ignore the Roarke Kingdom’s plight! Please!”

“...”

Minhyuk, still completely unaware of the situation, bent down, gently placed his hand on Carron’s shoulder, and said, “I don’t know the situation yet. I’ll go inside the conference room first, so please return and get some rest first.”

“...”

Carron stared blankly at Minhyuk’s back. Minhyuk had been warm and gentle toward him, an ordinary player.

Minhyuk finally entered the conference room, sat on his seat, and heard the report.

“The Peiro Allied Nations?”

The Peiro Allied Nations was an alliance created by several small kingdoms. They have also declared war against the Beyond the Heavens Empire to flatter and curry favor with the Luvien Empire.

“They’re attacking a kingdom because the kingdom refused to join their allied nations?”

Minhyuk rubbed his chin in thought. Then, he recalled something. Minhyuk was one of the few people with an excellent memory.

“Wasn’t the Roarke Kingdom the kingdom that sent us some small gifts when we first established our Beyond the Heavens?”

Haze nodded. “Their late king, who died from this war, was very kind and benevolent. He was a pacifist who tried to maintain a good relationship with the other kingdoms and empires around him. That is also why they did not want to join the Peiro Allied Nations.”

“...”

As Minhyuk continued to listen, he realized that Haze wanted to avoid helping the Roarke Kingdom.

“Haze, I believe it’s better to speak straightforwardly. What they gave us back then might be a small gift, but it was a huge help.”

“...”

This was the truth. That gift might be too small for the current Beyond the Heavens Empire, but it was a massive help for them, who were struggling with financial difficulties back then.

“But Minhyuk… The movement of the Luvien Empire these days is very unusual.”

“We’ll have to deploy troops to each of our Beyond the Heavens’ fortresses and watch the situation.”

“I think giving back as much as we got is better. Nothing more.”

Most of the executives reacted negatively. And Minhyuk, who listened to everyone, finally made a decision.

***

Joy Co. Ltd.

President Kang Taehoon heaved a sigh as he ended his call with Minhyuk. “He’s someone that will squeeze every benefit he can get.”

But considering the high views of Minhyuk’s YouTube videos and the effects on promotions that would result from them, Taehoon knew that their company would be able to reap more than tens of millions of profit from them. Of course, Minhyuk and the Beyond the Heavens Empire would also benefit greatly from this.

Kang Taehoon moved and discussed this with the Recruitment and Proposal Team.

“Of course, the best choice would be Editor Jackson. He is the most sought-after editor on Ztube, whether by Ztubers or businesses. However, his face, name, and address are completely unknown.”

“He is like a god among the editors. He edited only one video for a small hamburger restaurant in America, but it helped them open dozens of franchises and chains.”

“Is that so? Then, did you offer a proposal?”

“Of course, I reached out, but I can’t really contact him. Editor Jackson is actually someone who cannot be moved by money. He’s completely different from the other Ztube editors, who are driven by money. He will only jump in and edit for companies and Ztubers once he sees their ‘value.’

“If that’s the case, we better find another editor.”

“An editor is making a name for himself in Japan. He’s not as good as Jackson, but he’s still quite good…”

“An editor from the United Kingdom is also quite good.”

“We also have a good editor from our country…”

The video that they had to produce this time was critical. This was an opportunity to quell the malicious rumors about Ilhwa Group and Joy Co. Ltd. making a deal and the controversy over the balance collapse.

After conducting this meeting, President Kang Taehoon had no choice but to sleep at Joy Co. Ltd. When he woke up the next day, he received a call from Minhyuk. What he heard from Minhyuk shocked him.

“...?”

A 9:1 profit division was already considered to be a good contract. But Minhyuk wanted to obtain all of the profits.

But then, he heard what Minhyuk said next.

“...?”

Kang Taehoon’s expression was filled with confusion, doubt, and anger. But with one word from Minhyuk over the phone, his expression completely changed. A smile appeared on his face as he replied, “Alright. Let’s sign a contract.”

. A play on words. 된장 (soybean paste) sounds like 젠장 (damn, damn it, shit). ☜