Kenneth stood up with dark circles under his eyes as he prayed eagerly.

‘I hope Brother Minhyuk did not go back yet!’

Kenneth had prayed tens of thousands of times but he had never been so desperate before. Once he met Minhyuk…

“Athellujah!”

“…Yes?”

Athellujah was a word that those who serve Athenae used to praise him. In reality, one could say that it was the same style as the word hallelujah.

“Brother Minhyuk,” Kenneth said, squeezing Minhyuk’s hands as he looked at him with sparkling eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“That… the one you made for me yesterday… Do you still have that tofu steak?”

“Ah. Yes.”

“I want to eat it one more time, what should I do? Ah! I’ll pay you as much as you want!”

Kenneth’s eyes sparkled brightly. He was so eager that he looked like he was a drug addict.

Then, Minhyuk said, “Aaaaah~ Wait~ But I’m a bit busy…” 

Minhyuk slowly dragged the words out of his mouth, although he was smiling deep inside.

‘Everything is going according to plan!’

Minhyuk could not help but jump up in happiness. However, the more he jumped, the more restless Kenneth became. Kenneth continued to fidget as he asked, “Y…you’re busy?” 

“Yes. I have to listen to the harp played by the priests, lie down and eat potato chips… hmmm…” 

“…C…can you not do that?”

“I’m sorry.”

“How about a million gold?” 

“I have a lot of money though?” 

Kenneth became even more restless when he heard Minhyuk’s words. 

‘Aaaaaah! My goodness! I can’t even eat it, even if he’s right in front of me!!! How can this be?’

Kenneth agonized over the things that he could offer. Then, he opened his trembling lips and said, “Ble…blessings… Do you want to be blessed?”

“What?”

“The Priest’s Blessings!”

Back then, when he was in Valkyrie Kingdom, Priest Eidni gave Minhyuk a Priest’s Blessings due to a bet. He was able to receive as much as an increase of 100 in Holy Power thanks to that. Usually, to receive the Priest’s Blessings, a player must complete an ‘A’ ranked quest. But Minhyuk was now being offered such a reward just for a single dish.

“I’m a bit busy but… Okay!”

***

At the restaurant.

Minhyuk was currently cooking. But this time, it was not tofu steak. Meat was a truly delicious ingredient, but vegetables could taste just as good as meat. Furthermore, Minhyuk’s superb cooking skills, as well as his high DEX, could guarantee the deliciousness of the food.

“What’s this smell?”

“Oh, it’s the smell of cheonggukjang[1]…”

The players mumbled and discussed among themselves as Kenneth looked at the dishes set in front of him in awe.

“Today’s dishes are cheonggukjang and bean sprouts bibimbap.”

“There should be no artificial seasoning, brother.”

“Don’t worry. It doesn’t contain any artificial seasoning.”

Everything was made by Minhyuk himself and he did not use any artificial seasonings at all. Kenneth thought that the smell was quite nasty. Then, a bowl of piping bean sprout bibimbap as well as cheonggukjang was placed in front of him.

‘Why does this dish smell so bad?’

Kenneth thought that he would rather eat tofu steak than this. Then, Minhyuk sat in front of him with the same cheonggukjang and bean sprout bibimbap before saying, “Follow me.”

“Yes.”

Minhyuk stretched his spoon towards the earthen pot filled with cheonggukjang. Minhyuk personally liked having plenty of tofu in his cheonggukjang so he placed quite a lot inside the dish. It was even tofu that was made by grinding soybeans in the Lightning Millstone. His spoon clattered loudly as he cut the tofu and cheonggukjang out of the pot. The pristine white tofu, together with some beans from the cheonggukjang and the savory soup, all gathered in his spoon. Then, he placed it on top of the piping white rice before mixing the tofu and cheonggukjang together.

Kenneth imitated his movements awkwardly. Then, Minhyuk took a spoonful and placed it in his mouth with Kenneth following closely. Kenneth, who was initially skeptical about the taste of this nasty smelling dish, ate a spoonful. As soon as the spoonful entered his mouth, he could hear a heavenly harmony playing in his head.

A~thellujah, A~thellujah, A~thellujah~

“D…delicious. How can something with this terrible smell taste like this… the…the rice. I want to keep eating rice.”

This time, they scooped a spoonful of soup before taking a sip. The flavor was plain, yet delicious. It was exceptionally tasty.

Then, Minhyuk sprinkled some sesame oil on top of his bean sprout bibimbap, before he began to mix it thoroughly. He was already mixing it, and was still drooling unconsciously. Kenneth made sure to follow what Minhyuk did.

The savory scent of the sesame oil and the red chili paste was making both their mouths water. Minhyuk also did not forget to add three spoonfuls of cheonggukjang on his bean sprout bibimbap.

“It tastes better this way.”

“Oh. I see.” 

Kenneth copied what Minhyuk did to his bowl. Then, he placed a spoonful of the bibimbap in his mouth.

The moment he felt the texture of the bean sprout bibimbap in his mouth, he could tell it was superb! The various fresh greens and vegetables, together with the spicy red chili paste, combined to create a fantastic taste. There was also a savory aftertaste after every bite which rounded up the flavors of the dish.

‘The cheonggukjang that we added earlier perfectly complements the dish!’

Kenneth ate his bibimbap while eating some tofu and cheonggukjang from time to time. Just like that, he had once again finished another delicious dish.

“It’s really delicious, Brother.” 

“Haha. It’s just something simple.” 

Then, the two of them stood up and moved to the place where Minhyuk would receive his blessings. Right in front of them was the faceless statue of God Athenae. Kenneth gently placed his hand on Minhyuk’s head as he gave him his blessings.

[You have received Kenneth’s blessings.]

[You have gained 50 Holy Power.]

[You have gained 10 REP.]

Although the blessing was not as good as Priest Eidni’s, Minhyuk was still able to receive 50 Holy Power points. In the first place, a blessing like this could only be given by high-ranking priests and most of the priests in the Athenae Religion were at least as powerful as Kenneth.

While Minhyuk and Kenneth continued to chat after the blessings. Then, Minhyuk said, “By the way, Mister Priest.”

“Yes, Brother?”

Minhyuk had been constantly informed about the continual increment of Kenneth’s favor. Due to that, his mouth had been filled with smiles.

“Priests share and give good things when they encounter them? Right?”

“That’s right. If there’s anything good, then we’ll share it.”

“I see. Fufufufu. Priest, are you going to eat this delicious food alone?”

Indeed, Minhyuk was truly crafty. If he had one customer, then he would definitely have thought of a way to entice two more, three more, four more, or even five more customers. He intended to recruit this Athenae priest under his ‘cause’.

At first, Kenneth did not want to do that at all. If he did that, then he believed that it would be harder to eat Minhyuk’s delicious food. However, Minhyuk’s next words shook his resolve.

“I want to share it with them. That’s why I want Mister Priest to tell the other priests. If you do that, I will give you tofu steak.”

‘If you hesitate, I’ll just throw a carrot after the whip!’ This was the sales method that Minhyuk’s dad had taught him before.

“Yeeeeeees!” Kenneth answered loudly as he nodded furiously.

The next day.

Priests with dark circles and sunken eyes appeared one by one, while Minhyuk stayed in the restaurant as he cooked for them.

[You have received Carndi’s blessings.]

[You have gained 60 Holy Power.]

[You have gained 10 REP.]

[You have received Varc’s blessings.]

[You have gained 70 Holy Power.]

[You have gained 10 REP.]

[You have received Ornic’s blessings.]

[You have gained 50 Holy Power.]

[You have gained 10 REP.]

The priests would gather every night until dawn to pray to God Athenae. The contents of their prayers were…

“Athellujah! Please let Minhyuk cook something delicious tomorrow!” 

“Athellujah! Please let Minhyuk stay here a little longer!” 

“Minhyuk-llujah! Please let me continue to eat his delicious dishes!” 

“Uwoooooooooh! Minhyuk-llujaaaaaaaaaaah!”

They even raised their hands high up in the sky as they shouted loudly! Athellujah had even started to change to Minhyuk-llujah!

***

Team Leader Park and Lee Minhwa were both speechless.

“Cr…crazy…!”

“N…no. How can they do that?”

The two of them were both shocked.

[Minhyuk-llujah!]

The Athenae priests looked like hardcore fanatics with what they were doing. When Team Leader Park saw this scene, all he could do was hold his forehead helplessly. Then, he asked, “How high is Player Minhyuk’s Holy Power now?”

“…It’s at 3,011.” 

“I’m going nuts.”

Some people would abstain from eating meat or talking, they would even pray all night just to raise their Holy Power by one, but Player Minhyuk raised his Holy Power to 3,011 just like that.

There’s even the double effect from Pandora’s Helmet, right?

This meant that his Holy Power could now exert a little over 6,000 in practice. The only good thing was that the effect would not be added, even if his attack power against the undead was based on his Holy Power. That was because he already had a 100% additional attack power against them.

“Team Leader, if he pulled out the sword…” 

“Yeah.” 

Both Team Leader Park and Lee Minhwa nodded solemnly.

“The quest will proceed.” 

Lee Minhwa shook her head while Team Leader Park rubbed his face. Both of them were worried. The biggest problem in front of them was the quest. This was because that quest was the core of the episode quest that was supposed to be released in the future.

***

Minhyuk was blessed by the priests and the Holy Knights of Athenae Religion. The Holy Power that he had received from the two groups was at least 300. Minhyuk knew that everything was now ready.

If I pull out the Saint’s Sword, I can meet Saintess Loyna.

“Brother, I believe that you can do it.”

There were several priests surrounding Minhyuk. He looked calmly at them as he asked them a question.

“Everyone…”

“Yes, Brother!”

“Yes, Brother!”

“Yes, Brother!”

“Do you believe in me?”

“We believe in you!”

The priests nodded fiercely. Then, Minhyuk started to move towards the Saint’s Sword. As soon as he moved, the players began to whisper and create a buzz.

“The guy with that tattered helmet is trying to pull out the Saint’s Sword?”

“I heard that there are more than a thousand challenges each day, what’s the big deal with that?”

The players acted the same as usual. In fact, they were all new faces. After all, it was rare for players to stay in the temple for a long time like what Minhyuk did. Who would even stay for a week in the temple just to see the museum? This was the reason why they did not know about what happened with Minhyuk.

“Gasp…! Did you see the priests giving him water?”

“Crazy…! The priests of Athenae are all at Level 450. They also ignore most players who tries to talk to them every day. Yet, you’re telling me that they’re offering water to that guy?”

“Who the hell is that player?”

The players began to make a fuss as Priest Kenneth handed Minhyuk a cold glass of water. Kenneth said, “Haha. Our leader… No, Brother. Please drink a glass of cold water.”

“Ah. Thank you. Kenneth.”

Minhyuk smiled brightly as he slowly stood in front of the Saint’s Sword. Then, he slowly grasped the hilt.

“But it’s still not moving~”

“Yeah. No way~ If it moves then I’ll give you my hands.”

“It did not even move when the Bavecka’s Child, Julian, challenged it before so it doesn’t make sense. I bet that guy can’t do it.”

“What if he pulled it out?”

“If he can do it, then I’ll shave my head and become a priest here.”

“Oh~ You~ Didn’t you just get out of the army not too long ago? What if you lose your hair again?”

“Only make logical comments.”

All the players were saying that it was impossible and ridiculous. But then, one player said, “But why are we talking about the sword moving, and not the sword being pulled out?”

“The Saint’s Sword is a symbolic treasure of the Athenae Religion. If you pull it out then it will be yours, so how can the developers give it to us easily? It’s basically ridiculous if someone is able to move it. Athenae has made it impossible to pull that one out. The Saint’s Sword is literally a sword that can’t be pulled out.”

It was a fact that Athenae had declared that it would be possible to move the sword. However, they believed that it was not yet possible for the players to pull it out. Minhyuk was aware of this fact too.

As soon as his hands held the hilt of the sword, the notifications rang in his head.

[You have challenged the Saint’s Sword.]

[The Saint’s Sword. This is a sword given by God Athenae and is considered to be the holiest sword in the world. This is a holy sword that has killed the demons in the past and has now become the sacred treasure of Athenae Religion.]

Minhyuk also exerted some strength to try and move the sword. To his surprise, all he did was exert a bit of strength, and the sword got pulled out.

“Eh?”

Then, a bright light flashed from the Saint’s Sword as it began to envelop the entire Athenae Temple. The sword radiated a light that shone brighter than any other light in existence. Then, a world message rang loudly in the entire continent.

[The player who pulled out the Saint’s Sword has been born.]

[You have gained 500 REP.]

[You have gained 1,000 Holy Power.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You are now the owner of Athenae Religion’s treasured Saint’s Sword.]

[The Saint’s Sword is now attributed to you.]

At that moment, an unidentified voice suddenly shouted at Minhyuk.

“Why did you pull it out!!!”

Minhyuk turned his head and saw a woman dressed in a white, pristine priest robe by the railings of a tall building. Minhyuk was flustered. He was told that he could move the Saint’s Sword, but he was not told that he could pull it out. So, he said, “Ah! That’s right! It moved at my touch. Wait! Sorry!”

Then, he rammed the sword back in.

“Cr…crazy…!”

“OMG?”

“N…no. Why did you put it back inside!!”

“Ah. All right!”

Minhyuk thought that she was weird but nevertheless he still pulled it out again.

“Keok!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

All of the players in the area were left speechless.

Meanwhile, Kenneth, who was standing behind him, was thinking about something else. He thought, ‘As expected of the leader of our Minhyuk Religion. Minhyuk-llujah!’

1. (청국장) food made by fermenting soybeans. ☜