“Was he aware of the trial from the very beginning?!!!” Team Leader Park shouted in shock.

The only thing that they witnessed earlier was Minhyuk eating like a madman. But, from what just happened, it almost seemed like he had been conscious of the fact that it was a trial the moment he entered.

“A person can still be conscious of what he has to do, despite being faced with his greatest desire?”

Most people would deny the truth and reality when faced with the sweetest of dreams. They would always want more.

“By the end, he took away at least 40 servings of bingsu. He really has my respect!” Lee Minhwa, a promising glutton herself, exclaimed in awe.

“…”

Team Leader Park went speechless at Lee Minhwa’s words. Then, he thought, ‘Player Minhyuk suffers from eating addiction, how did…’

Lee Minhwa might not know this fact, but Team Leader Park was fully aware. It was mainly because he knew that Minhyuk was suffering from a disease where he needed to constantly eat. That was why he thought that Minhyuk would not be able to overcome his desires. It was a very rare disease, what can a human’s willpower do against it? It was even a very terrifying and ridiculous disease that had killed someone just a few years back.

However, after thinking about it further, Team Leader Park wondered how Minhyuk stayed sane despite the hardships brought about by his disease. It must have been very hard, right?

‘It seems like he has been controlling his monstrous appetite with his strong mental power…’

The disease that Minhyuk had was a disease where he would not be able to stop himself from eating. But Minhyuk was able to control it to some extent. Based on that, Team Leader Park could tell that Minhyuk had a very strong willpower. After all, he was a man that was literally wrestling with his disease just using his strong mentality.

“He’s really cool, huh…?”

Fighting a disease with his willpower? Nothing could be cooler than that. Just as he was admiring the fact, the voices of the temporary employees rang loudly through the monitor.

[H…how can he eat 131 plates of food in an hour by himself…?!]

[Is…is he still human?!]

Then, Lee Minhwa said, “For Player Minhyuk, this trial was killing two birds with one stone. He can eat well in a buffet, and clear the trial at the same time.”

That was right.

However, the truth was the Production Team was very proud about the trial of desire, so much so that they had bragged about it. Alas, the trial that they were so proud of just made Minhyuk full and become stronger!!!

Meanwhile, Team Leader Park looked at Minhyuk through the monitor. He was smiling as he thought, ‘It was because it’s him. That’s the only reason why he can catch two rabbits at the same time[1].’

***

[The Innocent Hero’s Second Trial will now begin.]

[You will be undergoing the Trial of Desire. Please get your senses together and get away from your current situation and go to the next trial.]

[Completing the trial will give you +1% in both physical and magical defense.]

These were the notifications that Minhyuk heard when he entered the Second Trial, the Trial of Desire. However, this notification rang when Minhyuk was immersed in his happiness after seeing the variety of dishes in front of him. Minhyuk had always been constantly monitoring what kind of food, and just how much he ate, whenever he sat on the table to eat.

‘All I need to do is step on those stairs.’

That was all he needed to do to complete the trial.

Minhyuk was someone that constantly toed the line between reality and dreams. He could just grab his wallet and run out of the mansion to relieve his intense hunger anytime that he wanted, but he did not do so. There was one time when he got so hungry that he got angry and screamed inside the mansion. However, even if he shouted to vent out his anger, he still did not eat.

Minhyuk’s everyday life was a balance between ‘fantasy’ and ‘reality’, and he had always chosen reality. He had chosen to live longer for his father, for the people that cared for him, and for himself. Minhyuk was truly someone that had the power to overcome his desires and fantasy.

So, when he came in, he thought, ‘I can just leave here as long as it’s still within the time limit, right?’

This was the precarious balance between fantasy and reality! But this time, it was a bit different. Minhyuk would be able to eat to his heart’s content and earn rewards, despite still being conscious.

After eating well at Aeshley’s Buffet, Minhyuk made a huge serving of bingsu enough for at least forty people, before walking away with the basin in his arms with a hum. When he ate a spoonful of the deliciously sweet bingsu, the sweetness immediately pervaded his mouth.

“Kggghk~ Brain freeze!”

Then, he stepped on the stair’s third step.

[You have completed the Second Trial.]

[You have gained 5,000,000 EXP.]

[You have gained an additional +1% to your physical and magical defense.]

Unfortunately, there were no notifications that popped up in the Second Trial that mentioned anything about gaining ‘ingredients’. That was in fact the main reason why Minhyuk took his own sweet time in completing the Second Trial, as he decided to leisurely enjoy his food.

Through this trial, he was able to gain an additional 1% in his physical and magical defense. For rankers, the amount of physical and magical defense were usually in the hundreds. With that number, an increase of 1% meant that they would gain at least around 4 or 5 points in their defense, which was not small at all. There were even 23 steps left in this trial. What would happen if Minhyuk was able to conquer all of these steps?

‘Won’t I completely change by then?’

The reward that Minhyuk received from the First Trial was an enhancement of one of his artifact’s special abilities. The reward had strengthened Minhyuk’s Monarch Armor’s special ability to recover 100% of his HP and MP, and changed it to:

‘HP and MP will recover to 100%, while your physical and magical defense will increase by 50% for ten minutes.’

In other words, his artifact’s special ability had improved dramatically.

“Kyaaa!”

Minhyuk arrived in the Third Trial while still eating his 40 servings of bingsu. He even added plenty of Hawaiian mangoes and fruits, and made sure to add some condensed milk on top of it. Just as he was eating like that…

Step, step—

…he heard someone approaching.

***

Asgan Continent was home to countless towers. There were towers for non-combat classes like the Chef Tower, the Blacksmith Tower, the Painter Tower, and many other towers. There were also towers for combat classes like the Knight Tower, the Mage Tower, the Archer Tower, the Warrior Tower, and the Assassin Tower.

These towers acted as a source of strength for the novice Athenae players that just received their classes, as well as a source of class quests. In fact, it was a well-known fact that the masters of these towers had power comparable to the kings of kingdoms.

The most powerful towers among the combat towers were none other than the ‘Knight Tower’ and the ‘Mage Tower’. The person that served as the Knight Tower’s first tower master, as well as its founder, was none other than Knight Arakhan, a knight that once dominated the entire continent. He taught the members of the Knight Tower the amazing swordsmanship called Faramil’s Swordsmanship.

However, Arakhan had once made a shocking and unbelievable statement. He said, ‘This swordsmanship was not created by me, but by a little boy.’

Arakhan’s statement brought shock to the entire continent. However, none of them believed his words. They just thought that he was being ‘humble’. They also thought that he wanted to create a legend so he was just spouting baseless nonsense.

However, what Arakhan said was the truth. The creator of the Faramil Swordsmanship had taught Arakhan the swordsmanship. The only thing that he did was to modify it and make it much easier to learn, before spreading it to the world. Although Arakhan was hailed as the best knight of the continent, he was completely defeated under the hands of a boy. The boy that defeated him was named ‘Conir’.

Arakhan walked as he thought, ‘Only the chosen ones could awaken the Pinnacle.’

Arakhan had been temporarily awakened because of the Innocent Hero’s Trial. He had readily responded to Conir’s request based on his pure admiration for the young man named Conir.

‘I wonder how great the person that overcame the Second Trial is?’ Arakhan thought as he walked, only to stop in his tracks.

“Kgggghk~ Bingsu is really more delicious if it’s already starting to melt, right?”

Arakhan stood as he stared at the man standing in front of him.

“Ah! Hello!”

“Huh, oh? Ah. Hello?”

Arakhan returned the man’s polite greeting as the man continued to say, “Please wait, let me just finish my bingsu!”

The man was polite and amiable, so Arakhan ended up nodding and waiting for him to finish his food. The man in front of Arakhan ate bingsu deliciously, while Arakhan thought, ‘Huh? Why did I agree to wait for him?’

Arakhan was confused and bewildered. He watched as the man covered his bingsu and ate it up, only to look like he lost everything in the world after finishing it. He even had tears in his eyes as he looked at his empty basin.

“Sob… I ate everything… What to do… I feel like I will cry just from the thought of not seeing you anymore…”

His eyes were so sad, it was as if he had lost his brother!! He truly looked like he was going to cry!!!

“I’ve been too complacent… Ha… Please comfort me…”

“Ah, oh… R…right…” Arakhan said, momentarily forgetting about his mission, as he approached the man and patted him on his back.

“It…it’s alright. The bingsu went to a better place… In your stomach…”

“Sob. Really? I can eat it again, right?”

Arakhan patted the man’s back in confusion. He wondered to himself, ‘Why am I comforting him?’

To be fair, the man looked so innocent and pure! Since he was polite, Arakhan had forgotten his pious obligation for a moment. After coming to his senses, Arakhan hurriedly widened the distance between them, as he stared at the man.

‘Why do I feel like this is somewhat familiar…?’

Arakhan felt a sense of familiarity from the man. After pondering deeply, he realized, ‘He’s similar to Conir…’

Innocent, pure and polite. The man kneeling in front of Arakhan strangely resembled the Sword Saint Conir of the past. For Arakhan, this thought was a little amusing.

Then, the notifications rang for the man, Minhyuk.

***

[The Innocent Hero’s Third Trial has now begun.]

[Arakhan, the Legendary Sword of Asgan Continent of the past, has entered the trial as your guide.]

[Challenger Minhyuk’s status will temporarily change.]

[All of your stats will reflect your body’s condition in reality.]

[All of your equipped artifacts will be restricted and cannot be used.]

[You can use whatever means necessary to hunt the monsters that will appear in front of you.]

[You will get a reward with every monster that you hunt. Successfully hunting all five monsters will give you a better reward.]

[With the influence of the Wishing Stone, you might be able to obtain ingredients whenever you hunt a monster.]

“Hmmm,” Minhyuk hummed as he looked at his stats.

(Minhyuk)

Level: 1

Class: Food God, Eccentric Gourmand

HP: 213 MP: 50

STR: 13  AGI: 10 STM: 14

WIS: Unmarked INT: Unmarked

Fullness: 100%

Minhyuk nodded. Reflecting his body’s condition in reality meant that whatever status his body had in reality would be expressed as stats.

‘Isn’t this trial quite extraordinary?’

For some reason, Minhyuk felt that this was similar to the trial that he took for Sword God Valen in the past. However, he could also tell that it was subtly different.

First off, the words ‘whatever means necessary’ was added in the notifications. Ordinary players might overlook this phrase, after all, it did not matter what they did, since they were just going to hunt monsters, right? However, Minhyuk interpreted it differently. Based on the notifications, he inferred that he could literally make use of everything around him and take full advantage of their usefulness.

Minhyuk looked around. He felt that the trial area was similar to a military training ground with swords, spears, bows, and even horses lined up. It looked like a common military training ground.

‘Normally, I would go for one of the swords over there.’

It was only natural. After all, he could not use his current artifacts now and he could not fight barehanded, right? However, what if he thought differently and leaned towards something unconventional?

“Oh! Isn’t Sir Arakhan’s sword very cool and amazing?”

“Boy, you have very keen eyes, huh?”

“Ahahaha! Is there anyone in this world that wouldn’t be able to recognize the greatness of your sword?”

“Hahahahaha! You’re good with words!”

Minhyuk grinned to himself and thought, ‘Let’s get on with it. Fufu.’

***

The Production Team and Story Team were both currently inside the Special Players Management Team. This was because the Third Trial was part of an important category.

Lee Suk-hoon, the Development Team Leader, was impressed as he said, “Wow. He noticed that in just one glance?”

He was amazed with Minhyuk’s sharp, keen eyes. However, Lee Suk-hoon smiled. He did not seem worried at all as he said, “Arakhan is not an idiot. Will he even willingly lend him his sword?”

Arakhan’s sword was truly available for use in this trial. However, it was nigh impossible to be used. After all, the NPCs in Athenae had a high degree of freedom! And for them, their swords were like their own lifeline, especially for someone like Arakhan, a once prominent figure in the past. He had often showed off his great love and care for his sword!

The Production Team willingly removed Arakhan’s sword’s ‘restriction’ for this trial. This was because they were confident that no one would be able to accomplish such a feat. Was there even someone that could borrow the sword of a past Legend, Arakhan?

At that moment, a very ominous voice rang in the room.

[Have you eaten?]

They could see Minhyuk smiling through the monitor. Lee Minhwa’s mouth opened blankly as she thought, ‘It…it started! Player Minhyuk has used his devil’s whisper…!’

Then, Arakhan said…

[It’s been hundreds of years, so it’s safe to say that I haven’t had a meal, right?]

[Nooooo!!!! This! You haven’t eaten anything for hundreds of years…?!! This breaks my heart!!!!]

Then, everyone in the room saw the corners of Minhyuk’s lips curling up ominously!

1. Might be referring to the proverb ‘If you try to catch two rabbits at the same time, you will not be able to catch one‘. A proverb that means trying to do two things at once won’t yield anything fruitful. ☜