The entire world was in an uproar.
Articles were being written and published non-stop all over the world. That was not all; news and other media outlets had been sharing stories about Minhyuk and the Beyond the Heavens Empire.
They not only dominated the articles and media reports, but they were also the main topic of discussion in all of the community sites worldwide.
Many players were curious about the Beyond the Heavens Empire. It was only natural. After all, the ones who actively hunted Helenia’s Fragments while they were all in despair were the Beyond the Heavens Empire. And it was even the empire ruled by the new Battle God.
After the succession and inheritance ceremony ended, Minhyuk checked all of the articles and comments published about him and the Beyond the Heavens Empire before again accessing Athenae.
Once connected, Minhyuk looked up and said, “Do me a favor, Obren.”
Minhyuk had obtained the Growth Authority. He needed to find someone who could meet the conditions of And Obren, the guardian deity of the Beyond the Heavens Empire, had a keener eye than Minhyuk regarding things like that. That was why he was asking him a favor.
A faint smile appeared on Minhyuk’s face when he heard that. Then, he said, “Fortunately, you’re by my side, Obren.”
Minhyuk chuckled deep inside when he heard Tsun-Bren’s answer. This was a testament to the fact that he had reached the maximum level of training when it came to Obren.
At that moment, a notification rang in Minhyuk’s ears.
Minhyuk did not hesitate to answer,
Haze entered the office with a brief knock and began reporting, “Your Majesty, the Luvien Empire has sent fifty million platinum. We already have the list of the selected players among those who have lost their valuable artifacts.”
Some of them could not laugh even though they had won. Most of the 300 players who had participated in the battle had lost their precious artifacts and EXP. They had selected the ones who had suffered the greatest loss in terms of artifacts and would send them to the Luvien Empire’s Treasure House.
Then, Haze said, “We only have six months. During this time, the Luvien Empire will try to find a new emperor and quickly regain their stability. We have to use this time to grow as quickly as possible.”
Fifty million platinum was a considerable amount of money. There were even some empires that could not dream of managing a vast sum. They could only use the money left over from buying and managing their hundreds of territories. However, this money was still insufficient for the Beyond the Heavens Empire to catch up with the Luvien Empire.
“We have to secure more funds. We also have to strengthen the Minhyuk Religion.”
“I know, Haze.” Minhyuk nodded.
Haze, who was about to leave, said, “Sir Valentino’s evaluation has improved greatly.”
Minhyuk had also watched the video. Valentino, who hurriedly connected with the broadcasting station, sacrificed himself to save Athenae. During the process, Valentino’s level dropped, and he lost many of the artifacts he cherished. It was evident in the video that Valentino had sacrificed himself for the sake of the Beyond the Heavens Empire and Athenae. And from what it looked like, Haze was also aware of it.
“Because of that, I think it would be better for the Beyond the Heavens Empire to relax some of the restrictions we have placed upon Sir Valentino and give him a small portion of the profits that he would gain from here on out.”
Minhyuk found it completely unexpected that Stingy Haze was the first one to propose giving Valentino money. Well, Valentino of today was the type of person who deserved this much.
“We’ll give back 4% of his profits.”
“...?”
But just as expected, Haze was extremely stingy.
With an awkward smile, Minhyuk said, “Let’s keep it clean and make it 5%.”
Haze, sporting a solemn look, pondered the matter for a long time before nodding and agreeing. “I understand.”
With that, she left.
At this moment, Minhyuk was about to check the Food God’s quest that he received when he reached Level 650. But before he could do so, someone knocked on his door again. This time, it was Godly Editor Carron.
“I’m sorry for barging in; I was in a hurry.”
“What’s the matter?”
“How about doing a broadcast showing off the NPCs of the Beyond the Heavens Empire?”
“Do a broadcast that shows off the NPCs of the Beyond the Heavens Empire?”
“Yes. After Your Majesty has successfully inherited the position of the Battle God, many have grown curious about the daily lives of the NPCs of the Beyond the Heavens Empire. Isn’t it good to strike while the iron is hot? I think this will generate quite a lot of revenue for us.”
“But I’m busy…”
Minhyuk wondered if such a brief live broadcast would truly give him huge profits. To be honest, he was very busy.“I have to go and eat something delicious. I also have to check the Food God’s quest.”
“But you’re not in any hurry, no?”
Minhyuk was actually in a hurry to eat something delicious. But Carron had always performed beyond his expectations and given them outstanding results. Besides, he had not been telling him to do a broadcast for a long time. He just wanted him to do it today.
“Do I only need to focus on the lives of the NPCs? Will I even have viewers? Aren’t the profits for broadcasts dependent on the number of views?”
Then, Carron said, “The money would roll in via a sponsorship system. The number of views wouldn’t matter.”
“Carron. How much do you think we can gather from sponsor donations?”
“More than half a billion.”
“...?!”
Minhyuk was beyond shocked. Could a broadcast done in just a single day truly earn more than 500 million in profits?
“Right now, there are a lot of people in the world that are grateful to the Beyond the Heavens Empire. I’m very sure that we will be able to reach this estimate.”
The Beyond the Heavens Empire was in dire need of funds.
And just as Carron said, this was when the Beyond the Heavens Empire was in the spotlight. They had to strike while the iron was hot.
So, Minhyuk went out with Carron to continue their conversation.
***
The entire world was still buzzing. The players who loved Athenae dearly were extremely grateful to the Beyond the Heavens Empire and clamoring to show their gratitude.
People had been heaping praises on Beyond the Heavens Empire on various community sites worldwide. Even Ilhwa Group’s stocks had soared by 30% today. Then…
A spark was lit in the community sites. Most of them were talking about how ridiculous Minhyuk was regarding eating.
The people began to flock to Ztube, clicking on the live video named “Emperor’s Daily Life Vlog” as quickly as they came. Then, the scene on the live unfolded in front of them.
“Good meal!”
The comments exploded the moment Minhyuk appeared on their screens. Minhyuk said, “Today, I’m going to show you how the people of my empire go about their daily lives. To be honest, I don’t think it’s anything special. It’s just everyone’s normal daily routine. I don’t know if many of you will like seeing it.”
The broadcast had just started, and many people had already begun donating through the sponsorship system.
Although the viewers could not tell if the amount was already huge, everyone could see a constant stream of donations. These donations came from young students, college students, office workers, professionals, and others who were grateful to the Beyond the Heavens Empire.
To top it off, the vlogger’s face was extremely handsome. So, even those who did not know about Athenae started to join the live broadcast.
Minhyuk planned to just walk through the Beyond the Heavens Empire and capture anything and everything that he could see in the empire. As he walked, the first NPC finally appeared on the screens of all curious viewers. The first NPC was in the middle of the street and spread out on a sunbed with a tray table carrying a glass of mojito right next to it. This was none other than Beanie.
Beanie had a pair of sunglasses perched on his snout, was lying down on the sunbed, and was working on his tan. When he saw Minhyuk, he raised one of his paws arrogantly in greeting. Then, he stopped paying attention to him and turned to the mojito beside him. He grabbed the straw and drank everything in one go.
Donation notifications continued to ring. On everyone’s screens, they saw Minhyuk walk past Beanie to find the next person.
***
One of the richest men in the world, Jeep, owned a company called . He used to run a small site where he sold books and finally created his own success story after he dipped his toes into various businesses.
Jeep’s estimated assets were worth around 200 trillion won, making him one of the top ten wealthiest men in the world. Although he became one of the world’s wealthiest at such a young age, there was something that he could not achieve no matter what he tried.
As he sat in his private jet, Jeep looked at the articles about him on various social networking sites.
“...”
That was right. Jeep might have everything he ever wanted, but he just could not eliminate the curse of baldness. Of course, he had learned not to pay too much attention to it now. But in that small corner at the back of his mind, there was still this lingering heaviness and sadness.
Then, at that moment…
“It seems like Mr. Minhyuk is doing a live vlog.”
“A vlog?”
Jeep was a young entrepreneur, not like those old-fashioned chairmen. As a young chairman of the new generation, he also went and played Athenae to relieve his stress. He was Minhyuk’s fan and was very grateful to him for what he and his people had done for Athenae.
Hearing that Minhyuk was doing a live, Jeep hurriedly pulled out his tablet and clicked on the vlog. Jeep chuckled when he saw the baby piggy lying on the sunbed and working on a tan.
Then, he heard Minhyuk speak.
Jeep tilted his head in confusion when Minhyuk started to whisper. Then, he turned the camera and showed the scene before him.
He saw a kneeling man crying loudly as a man stood in front of him and gently held his head. Jeep jumped from his seat when he saw this. Why? Because the crying man on his knees was bald.
Although Jeep played Athenae and was a fan of Minhyuk, he was not clear about the intricate details of the Beyond the Heavens Empire. After all, he was too busy to pay attention to everything and anything.
The man, who looked like a paladin, asked on his screen.
“It’s hard.”
Jeep started to lose his hair in his early twenties. He might have everything, but he could empathize with the person.
He had heard these words so many times that he felt like he would have calluses in his ears.
Then, the kneeling man shouted, despair tinting his voice.
Sweat pooled in Jeep’s hands. His throat had gone dry, and he could feel the tension in his body. Then, he saw a bright light shine from Corr’s hands as black hair grew from the kneeling man’s once shiny head.
The kneeling man shed tears of joy. And Jeep? A tear trickled down his chin as he watched the scene. Jeep empathized with the man's hardships, adversities, and pain.
People played games, read fantasy novels, and watched ZTube so they could live vicariously through others and feel the same satisfaction they felt. And right now, Jeep was laughing in delight and satisfaction when he saw the man obtain something he could not even get in this world.
With tears dripping down the delighted smile on his face, Jeep donated to the live.