Gourmet Gaming
Chapter 1334

Chapter 1334

Chapter 1334

Since the inception of this world, Chaos’s judgment had never been wrong. He had always based it on his data. Every single living being in this world had lived according to his expectations and produced the results that he had concluded.

Because of that, Chaos has never doubted his data. Even after Ruba had shown his Phenomenal Battle Will and created several unexpected variables, Chaos still thought the result would always be within his expectations. He firmly believed that his data were 100% accurate and the results based on this data would never change.

Unfortunately, the result presented to him completely differed from what he expected. His most cherished and beloved evaluator, Zearte, had allowed himself to be defeated. The unexpected result left Chaos staring at the scene before him with shaking pupils.

‘I lost.’

[You have lost the bet.]

[You must abide by the rules of the bet. You have to give Ruba and the evaluators their freedom.]

[You have to reveal the truth.]

As the very unfamiliar notification rang in his ears, Ruba appeared in front of him with bloodshot eyes. The same Ruba had unknowingly transcended his limits.

“CHAOOOOOOOOS!!!” Ruba cried as he ran past the fallen Zearte.

‘Just once.’ This was the thought that flashed in Ruba’s head. It would be nice if he could just stab Chaos in the heart once.

The power in Ruba’s body ran wild as he ran swiftly and made to stab Chaos.

“Enough.”

Minhyuk stopped him.

“If you land that attack on Chaos right now, then all the things you worked so hard for will go up in smoke.”

Of course, Minhyuk completely understood what Ruba was feeling right now.

“You want to kill him. You want to get revenge. However, if you try to injure or kill Chaos right now, you and your men will die here and now.”

Chaos has no reason to spare the life of someone who attacked him. Ruba immediately backed off and just glared at Chaos from behind Minhyuk.

Meanwhile, the evaluators standing on the sidelines were left agitated when they saw Zearte choose to lose the battle. Some even decided to deny the reality in front of them.

“Another truth? Open your eyes, you morons! Lord Chaos created us with his own hands. He’s the one who gave us life! We who were not blessed to be born!”

“That’s right! That’s the only truth. Lord Chaos is the one who created us!”

One of the evaluators in denial turned to look at Chaos and asked, “Isn’t that right, Lord Chaos? Come on, please tell us the truth.”

“Lord Chaos! Tell them the truth and bring judgment upon those fools!”

One of the evaluators knelt and cried, “Please tell us the truth!”

Another evaluator knelt and shouted, “Please let us know the truth!”

One by one, the more than a hundred summoned evaluators knelt on the ground.

Obren, Hephaestus, Philip, and the rest of the people of the Beyond the Heavens Empire stared at the scene in confusion. The citizens of the empire were also very, very confused.

“He’s a god. There’s no way that he will do something bad, right?”

“And isn’t he the god who supports the world?”

“What’s going on with His Majesty?”

The humans held blind faith toward the gods. They firmly believed that the almighty and omnipotent gods existed and lived for the sake of the poor and pitiful human beings. They believed that the gods existed to lead humans on the right path. This was what the humans believed, and the people of the Beyond the Heavens Empire were no exception.

Chaos stared at the evaluators kneeling before him and looking at him with gazes begging him to salvage the situation. There was no guilt, sadness, shame, or even the slightest hint of blame on his face as he spoke...

[You were chosen.]

[You were all destined to die as ordinary human beings. However, you were chosen to become an evaluator and keep the balance of the world.]

Chosen. The meaning of that word was utterly different from being created, made, or born. It meant that they had already existed in this world and were just pointed at and selected by someone.

“What does that mean?”

“Are you saying that we were originally humans?”

“Lord Chaos! If that’s the case, then why don’t we have any memories of being human?”

“Are you saying that we were born as ordinary people and not as evaluators?”

[That’s right.]

“Then... why are we here...?”

Chaos repeated his words.

[Because you were chosen.]

He sounded like the generic AI repeating the answer that he had already given earlier.

So, Minhyuk stepped out and gave the answer they wanted to hear. He said, “You were all living your lives as ordinary beings. Chaos erased your memories on the day you were chosen as an evaluator.”

“...?!”

“...!”

The restrictions that Chaos had placed upon them to prevent them from speaking the truth were now lifted. That was why Minhyuk could freely say it now.

Meanwhile, the evaluators were staring at Minhyuk and Chaos in confusion.

“You don’t have a choice. The moment Chaos chose you, you all became evaluators!”

“That...”

“That’s bullshit! What about my family? What about my friends? Did we even get the chance to say goodbye to them?”

Ruba shook his head. The confusion that marred the faces of all of the evaluators deepened.

“Lord Chaos, is this true?!”

[Maintaining the balance of the world is an honor for you.]

There was no remorse or regret on Chaos’s face and tone whatsoever.

Some of the evaluators began to cry, some were in a stunned daze, while some were left wondering who they truly were and what the people around them were like.

And Chaos? He remained unaware of the seriousness of the matter at hand. Like a computer with no emotion, he believed doing what he did was natural. After all, it was necessary to maintain the balance of the world.

Alas, the others did not think the same. This very scene was being transmitted all over the world. Currently, thousands... tens of thousands... no, millions of players worldwide were discussing this matter. And their words were being heard and relayed to the NPCs. Every single one of them criticized Chaos for his actions.

[The people’s faith in you is rapidly decreasing.]

[The bards sing songs about the people deprived of living their ordinary lives. They sing songs that blame and criticize you.]

[The poets write countless poems about Chaos and the evaluators.]

[The entire world is blaming and criticizing you.]

“Huhuhuhuhu...!”

“I can’t believe it! I was once a human being! I was deprived of the chance to live my ordinary life!”

Chaos could not understand why they were crying. Why were they so sad when they were given such a glorious and honorable job as maintaining the balance of the world? Why were the people looking at him in contempt and disgust?

“It’s a contradiction,” Minhyuk said. “If it was truly such a glorious and honorable job, then there shouldn’t have been any need to hide this fact, no?”

‘Ah. Is that it?’

Perhaps he knew it was not such an honorable job, so he hid it from them. He decided they needed to maintain the balance of the world, but perhaps that was not the case for them.

Chaos slowly nodded. He spread his wings and flew up to the sky. Was he running away? Well, it was half right.

[Chaos returns all the memories that he took away from the evaluators.]

[All evaluators have their titles revoked.]

[All evaluators’ bodies, except for Ruba and his team of evaluators, return to normal.]

[Chaos has created a quest.]

[Hidden Quest: Those Who Will Become Evaluators.]

The triggered quest was about choosing and picking those who wanted to become evaluators.

Chaos, the being most likely to remain as he was, was now slowly changing. At the very least, he would not do it like before. Nevertheless, Minhyuk’s disgust toward Chaos remained unchanged.

Meanwhile, the cries of the people whose memories had been returned began to grow louder in volume.

“Can we still track them down? I hope we can at least find a hint about them.”

“Elizabeth... Is it possible?” Ruba asked.

Minhyuk looked stunned when he heard Ruba’s words. Elizabeth nodded in answer.

[The Tracking Stigma has been engraved.]

Elizabeth handed Ruba a small stone and said, “This will help you find them.”

They all began running all over the continent, trying to find the places in their memories, the places they used to live in. They ran to where their family was. Ruba and his men stared at them before they ran to find their families.

Minhyuk did not stop Ruba. He just thought, ‘If it were me, then I would go to the place where I lived first.’

***

The Adures Empire, where Ruba lived, collapsed a thousand years ago. Ruba could only stare at the ruins of the Adures Empire in a daze. Still, he did not give up. He visited a nearby kingdom just in case he could find any news or story about his wife.

He entered a restaurant in one of the villages.

“The Adures Empire? Well, the Adures Empire is long gone. Still, it’s a place that holds countless famous legends.”

“Legends?” Ruba asked in confusion.

“The legends start with the man named Ruba. According to the legends, Ruba was the commander of the Adures Empire and had slain millions of monsters to save the empire.

“And Commander Ruba died after killing all of those monsters. Unfortunately, his body could not be found.

“The empire has built a statue to commemorate and honor him. But there was one woman who believed that he was still alive.”

The restaurant owner smiled bitterly as he wiped the cup in his hands.

“The woman kept on looking for him for a long time. She told many people her husband’s story and told them that if they ever saw him, please pass on her words. Her words remained in the legends and are still being passed down in the Adures Empire’s neighboring kingdoms.”

Ruba gulped and asked, “What did she say to them?”

The owner tried to remember the words. After a few moments, he said, “No matter where you are or what you’re doing, I will remember you forever.”

“...”

Ruba smiled.

‘What a stupid woman.’

She was told that he was already dead, but she kept on telling those stories as if she wanted to hear them from heaven.

Ruba chugged the alcohol in his cup.

“Isn’t it quite presumptuous to call this story a legend, especially since it ended like this?” The owner said.

Ruba looked at him in confusion.

“The woman gave birth to a son. The child grew up listening to his mother tell stories about his father.”

This was what Ruba was most curious about.

“The child followed his father’s footsteps and grew up honorably. He became the emperor of the Adures Empire and was known to be the best and the greatest ruler of the empire.”

“...”

‘Fortunately, my child lived a happy life.’

Ruba’s heart thumped wildly. Then, he asked, “What was his name?”

The owner smiled faintly and said, “Ruba. That is the name of the last emperor of the Adures Empire.”

***

A young man looked down at the world from the edge of a cliff.

The young man lived in a kingdom that existed a thousand years ago. Back then, he dreamt of using his abilities and skills for his mother's sake, who had raised him alone. As he grew more skilled, his name slowly spread to the world. Ultimately, he was even hailed as the kingdom’s Sword King.

Then, one day, Chaos appeared in front of him. He was forced to become an evaluator, and his memories were taken away. When his memories were returned to him, he found that the kingdom where he used to live was long gone. There was no memory of him left. Not a single trace for him to find or grab at.

The young man slowly walked toward the end of the cliff. Suddenly, someone called out to him.

“Hey.”

“...?”

When he turned his head, he saw a man standing behind him. He recalled this man. This was the man who rebelled against Chaos and demanded the truth. He was also the man who made Chaos reveal the truth.

“There’s a place where you can go.”

“...?”

The young man felt lost when he realized nothing awaited him. He did not know what to do anymore, so he followed after the man.

He followed the man who came to find the man who should have been one of the descendants of the Mercenary King in the past. When they arrived where the man was, they saw him bawling on the ground.

“...There’s a place where you can go.”

The man, Ruba, kept on walking. And the people followed him one by one, gathering behind him as he continued to walk. Even the people who worked directly under Ruba appeared behind him.

More than a hundred “ordinary” human beings, the same human beings once hailed as extraordinary, followed behind Ruba. Before they knew it, they were all standing in front of the walls of an empire. They all looked confused. Wasn’t this the walls of the Beyond the Heavens Empire? Weren’t they just here a few days ago?

“Let’s start over again.”

“...?”

“Let’s rebuild our stories here. Let us rebuild our lives and our families here.”

Many of the evaluators collapsed on the ground. They thought that since they no longer had any goals or purpose to live, they should just die. But Ruba stood before them and gave them a new lease of life.

Ruba turned his head and looked up at the walls. There, he saw a man looking down at them. He said, “Will you accept us?”

The man standing on top of the walls was wearing a cloak bearing the symbol of a fork and knife crossed together. He stared at them briefly and chuckled, “Come in, all of you.”

Once again, they would start to live their ordinary lives.

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