Five days in reality, or fifteen days in Athenae.

Director Kim Daesik was thrilled beyond words when he saw Team Leader Park entering the door with sunglasses on his face while saying, ‘Aloha~’.

“Team Leader Park!” Director Kim greeted Team Leader Park as he strode forward and hugged him tightly, saying, “I missed you so much!”

Team Leader Park looked at Director Kim Daesik in confusion after he hugged him as though he had finally met his long-lost relative. He turned to look at Lee Minhwa. He did not voice it out and just mouthed at her, ‘What’s with him?’

‘A lot of things happened,’ Lee Minhwa mouthed back, smiling wryly at him.

Director Kim Daesik let go of Team Leader Park and said, “I finally realized how much work the Special Players Management Team is doing and how sincere you all are!! You’ve worked hard!! You guys are the pride and joy of Joy Co. Ltd!!!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he whisked himself away and disappeared from the room. When he met President Kang Taehoon, Director Kim said, “The Special Players Management Team is a key part of our Joy Co. Ltd. Considering the heavy workload and mental toll, I think they should be given frequent bonuses and vacations.”

“I see. Ah. How was it? I’m thinking of using you as a substitute when the people from the Special Players Management Team finally get some extra vacation time.”

“In that case, I think it’s better to take out the vacation and just give them more bonuses!”

That was the kind of talk that went on between them.

Meanwhile, Team Leader Park’s face turned black after hearing the briefing. He asked, “What is Player Minhyuk’s current status?”

“He received the Monarch’s Seeds and is now currently heading to Athenae Temple housing the Athenae Religion.”

Team Leader Park’s expression crumpled. His expression was that of hearing bad news as soon as he came back to work.

“Monarch’s Seeds? Athenae Religion…?” Team Leader Park asked in disbelief.

Lee Minhwa bitterly explained the process of how Minyuk had acquired the Monarch’s Seeds.

“The bastards from Haochen Guild did such a thing? It’s a good thing that Beas Village did not disappear… but I can’t believe that the Monarch’s Seeds that’s supposed to appear three months later are now in the hands of Player Minhyuk…”

Lee Minhwa nodded and said, “That’s a huge amount of power.”

“That’s right. Based on Player Minhyuk’s nature, he will do anything to awaken the Monarch’s Seeds because he believes that something delicious will come out of it.”

“Yes. That’s why he’s heading towards Athenae Religion’s temple now.”

“It’s fortunate that he will not be able to meet Loyna, even if he went to the temple.”

“Yes.”

Compared to Sword Emperor Ellie, it was much harder to gain Loyna’s favor. Of course, the quest for the Monarch’s Seeds would only proceed if Minhyuk met with the pope or Loyna. However, it was still too early for him. The Athenae Religion was the greatest religion existing in Athenae’s worldview and it was filled with proud and arrogant people. Team Leader Park believed that Minhyuk would not be able to meet Loyna in such a place.

“And no matter how high Player Minhyuk’s Holy Power is, he will still not be able to pull out the Saint’s Sword yet,” Team Leader Park said, feeling a bit relieved.

The Saint’s Sword would only be pulled out if Minhyuk had at least 4,000 Holy Power. In total, Minhyuk’s Holy Power, as well as the various artifacts that he had that could increase the Holy Power by X times, still fell short of that threshold. He felt relieved at such a thought. However, he would soon realize that there was nothing to be relieved at.

***

Minhyuk saw a large temple when he arrived at the Athenae Religion’s church. The temple was as splendid and magnificent as those in Greece.

Minhyuk knew that Athenae Temples existed in each and every server of the world. Among these NPC priests, there were special existences that could warp into Athenae Temples from all over the world. He had heard that those people were the pope and Loyna. It was said that Loyna and the pope could move to their rooms in the Athenae Temple in each country’s server. In other words, they were the only NPCs that existed uniquely throughout the servers in the world. It was also the same for the Saint’s Sword. It existed on every server, but there was only one item in the entire world. The moment someone drew it out, it would be removed from the rest of the servers.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk had finally entered the temple at a price of 10 million gold. Although he was allowed entry in the Athenae Temple, he could only view everything in his sight. He was not allowed to touch anything. This was how the system had set everything inside.

In addition, when someone made a fuss inside, they would immediately receive a curse that would turn them into a ‘Chaotic’ player. The admission fee was also extremely expensive, so the only ones that could enter would either be the extremely rich, or those who wanted to challenge the Saint’s Sword.

Minhyuk glanced at his admission guide, Priest Kenneth, the moment he entered the temple. Admission guides were priests who would stay with the player together from the moment they entered until they exited the temple. His guide, Kenneth, was a priest with neat blonde hair and an overall aesthetically pleasing appearance.

Minhyuk called out carefully, “Kenneth.”

“Yes.”

“By any chance, may I have an audience with Miss Loy…”

“No.”

“…”

“…”

It seemed like a lot of people had asked this question to the point that Kenneth answered him a second after… no… before he was even done talking.

“Is there a way…”

“There’s none.”

“Just once…”

“Do you want to leave immediately?”

Kenneth felt bad for refusing Minhyuk from the very beginning. Even though Kenneth knew that Minhyuk was very polite and kind, he still could not allow the things that really could not be done.

Minhyuk bowed in silence as he looked around. He thought, ‘There’s got to be a way.’

There was always this thing called ‘flexibility and adaptability’ wherever people lived and interacted. Of course, Minhyuk had also searched the official website for answers. And the people’s reactions were simple.

[Loyna’s Great: Let me explain how you can meet Loyna.

The comments below the article were mildly acceptable. The joking tone of the post was clear, but when he looked through it, he realized that the quest that would connect to Loyna was still not confirmed. Still, Minhyuk believed that there was always a way.

Meanwhile, he continued to walk through the crowd. He could see a huge greatsword stuck in the ground. The hilt of the sword was made out of gold and the image of a bull was imprinted on the body of the sword that represented the Athenae Religion.

‘That bull looks delicious…’ Minhyuk thought as he watched the players step forward and challenge the swords. However, all of the players failed miserably. Then…

“It’s the eighth in the local Paladin Rankings, Randos!”

“Randos!! He’s the one with the tremendous Holy Power at 400, right?”

The players began to whisper together in admiration. 

Then, Randos, a man in flashing silver armor and bulging muscles, walked forward. He silently approached the sword and grabbed its hilt before pulling strongly.

“Heeeeeeeup!” Randos groaned. Unfortunately, as time went by, his face slowly turned redder and redder while the sound that he let out became weirder.

“Keuaaaaaaaaa!”

The Saint’s Sword did not budge at all.

“Will that sword be pulled out at all?”

“Isn’t it practically impossible at this point?”

“According to the official website, if you pull out the Saint’s Sword, you will be able to receive a great quest from the Athenae Religion. Right?”

“I heard the rewards are great.”

“I don’t think the contents have been posted though. I wonder how much Holy Power is needed to pull it out?”

The players’ discussions rang loudly in the area. Minhyuk looked at them and decided to try it once. So, he turned to Kenneth and said, “Will I be able to meet Miss Loyna if I pull out the Saint’s Sword?”

“You’ll be able to meet with her,” Kenneth said, a subtle smile flashing on his face before he shook his head.

Hence, Minhyuk challenged the sword. However, just like Randos, he also failed miserably. Minhyuk’s Holy Power stat was at 1,000, and it was actually more than 2,000 in actuality. This was thanks to the effect of Pandora’s Helmet. Even so, it was still useless.

Minhyuk sighed. Instead of wallowing in self pity, Minhyuk decided to look around with Kenneth first. In the meantime…

“It’s lunch time.”

Kenneth smiled at Minhyuk and said, “Brother, you do know that it’s not possible to eat meat here. Right?”

“Ah. Yes. I know.”

“If we go to the restaurant, you will be able to eat a vegetarian meal. Foreigners and priests all go there to eat. Let’s go there.”

It was a strict and rigid discipline!

No one would even dare to eat meat in Athenae Temple. But when Minhyuk followed him to the restaurant and saw the menu, his eyes bulged in shock.

‘What is this!!’

Minhyuk was very surprised. A bowl of raw garlic salad cost 10,000 gold, while lettuce salad was about 20,000 gold. Even the unseasoned spinach was about 20,000 gold. This price range was definitely shocking. Minhyuk ended up not buying anything. He sat in front of Kenenth and thought, ‘I’m hungry…!’

Minhyuk felt sad as he muttered to himself, “There are many animals running around in nature, how can I eat grass like this? Brother.”

Then, Minhyuk saw the food that Kenneth ate. It was a bowl of salad with no sauce at all. He was reminded of himself eating those cherry tomatoes.

Minhyuk turned to look around. He could see that most of the players had the same expression as him while the admission guides continued to eat comfortably, as if the food that they ate were naturally delicious. However, Minhyuk knew.

‘I know that they want to eat something delicious!!!’

He knew that this place would not accept any artificial seasoning as their seasoning. The only thing that they could eat were pure ingredients that were harvested from the ground. In other words, MSG was not allowed. As he watched them like that, Minhyuk suddenly came up with a brilliant idea.

‘Pe…perhaps…!’

First, he needed to get close to the people in here for him to be able to meet the king of this place. Loyna was the king, and the priests were her subjects. Minhyuk thought that his idea was brilliantly clever.

Not long after, he said, “Priest.”

“Yes?”

“Is that delicious?”

“No.”

Kenneth continued to speak with great conviction, “It’s like I’m chewing paper.’

“Ahhhhh. My goodness!”

Minhyuk felt pity towards him. He could sympathize with him more than anybody else.

“But, it can’t be helped.”

You sound just like a monk, Kenneth!

Then, Minhyuk went closer as he whispered in his ears, “How would you like it if I treated you to a more delicious meal, using those vegetables?”

“…?”

Kenneth’s response was unenthusiastic. Then, he asked Minhyuk.

“What are you going to make?”

Everyone was interested in new food so Minhyuk was confident that he would get his attention. When he heard his words, Minhyuk grinned widely at him and said, “Tofu steak.”

***

The priests of the Athenae Religion all lived nearby in a ‘priest shelter’. Kenneth was still in a daze when he went back to the shelter.

His fellow priest, Raven, asked, “Kenneth. Why have you been in a daze since a while ago?”

“…N…nothing.”

“Really? That’s weird.”

Kenneth’s colleagues looked at him in confusion. Kenneth just stood there in a daze, and he moved robotically as if he was possessed by something.

“What’s wrong with Kenneth today?” 

“I don’t know. I heard that a foreigner made him tofu steak in the restaurant a while ago. He has been like that ever since he ate it.” 

Kenneth was still in a daze even when he was already lying in his bed. He could not help but imagine those well-done tofu steaks. He remembered cutting the steak into pieces himself. With the fork in his left hand pressing on to the tofu steak, his right hand sliced a piece of tofu steak that he brought towards his mouth. The texture of the tofu steak in his mouth was spectacular. 

Kenneth’s mouth moved by itself. He looked like he was chewing on it in his sleep. He mumbled, “That soft and warm piece… Chew, chew, chew… That light yet savory flavor…” 

Kenneth had never eaten meat ever since he was born. Even though he had never eaten meat, he believed that real meat would taste and feel the same way with the ‘meat’ that he ate today. He was covered in cold sweat and his arms were shaking during the entirety of the night. In short, he was experiencing symptoms of tofu steak withdrawal!! In the end, Kenneth could not sleep at all so he stood up.

‘I want to eat it again… Tofu steak…’ 

Then, he opened his eyes.

‘Bro…Brother Minhyuk!’ 

That was the beginning. That was the moment when the Athenae Religion’s priests turned around and followed Minhyuk’s Religion.