Gourmet Gaming
Chapter 1339

Chapter 1339

Chapter 1339

Minhyuk had taken the lead in running toward the peak of the mountain.

[Wow. He’s running so fast. Lololol.]

[But don’t you think a hundred laps is too much?]

[Yeah, yeah. Isn’t that too petty? Lmao.]

[Minhyuk sounds like he’s bragging, too.]

Rance was following behind Minhyuk and had the same thoughts as the viewers.

‘I can probably do a hundred laps with my physical abilities.’

The troops present were Ares’ Elite Troops and the soldiers of God’s Army, and they were on a completely different level from a human army. Their physical abilities alone were superior to those of humans. How? If a human could run fifty meters in ten seconds, they could run the same distance in just five seconds. They also did not get easily tired when running or climbing.

The greatest obstacle for them here was their mental power. People hated to perform repeated actions. No matter how great their physical abilities were or how they did not sweat or run out of breath when climbing the mountain, it would still take them at least a few days to complete a hundred laps, which was at their full speed. This meant that the action would take a significant toll on them mentally.

‘Only a madman can do something so ridiculous like that.’

They believed that Minhyuk would stop by the twentieth lap. Regardless of when Minhyuk stopped, the troops did not want to lose against Minhyuk, mainly because he was the one who brought harm to Ares.

Rance put strength in his legs and sped up.

‘Impudent bastard. How dare someone who only knows how to eat tell us that those who finish after him will have another ten laps?’ Rance thought, vowing that he would make sure that this cheeky bastard would never be able to say something so arrogant like that again.

All soldiers of Ares’ Elite Troops possessed the power of Physical Limitations. It was a power that rapidly increased their stamina, agility, strength, etc., whenever they encountered and surpassed their physical limitations. That was why these people believed that this was an easy task. They were sure they would grow faster and even get closer and closer to Minhyuk.

[Physical Limitations.]

[You have surpassed your limitations. Your top three highest stats will increase by 1%.]

Ares’ troops' mental power was beyond what any ordinary human could expect. This was because they had been subjected to a lot of torture and had suffered through countless ridiculously high-intensity training sessions since they were young.

[Physical Limitations.]

[Physical Limitations.]

[Physical...]

[Physical...]

Rance and the other soldiers behind him began to run in earnest.

‘Now, we should be slowly catching up to him, right...?’

Alas, Rance almost choked when he finally saw the scene before him. Minhyuk was already swiftly descending the mountain.

“Wh-what... We’re not even halfway up the mountain yet?!”

The more shocking part? There was a cliff before the mountain peak. They had to not only climb a mountain but also scale a cliff.

“I have left a triangular stone at the top,” Minhyuk said, stopping briefly before them.

Then, he swiftly continued his descent. The rest of the troops, just about to start their climb, were speechless when they saw Minhyuk leaving already.

And just like Minhyuk said, Rance found a triangular stone after scaling the cliff with his bare hands.

‘I already know that he has amazing physical abilities. Regardless, is something like this really possible...?’

It was beyond what he could comprehend. However, Rance did not back down. He prepared to descend the mountain while thinking, ‘No matter how fast he climbs and goes down the mountain, he will not be able to beat us! After all, his mental power is weaker than ours!’

Just like that, Rance began his descent.

***

[You have eaten a Special Choco Bar.]

[Your body is filled with overwhelming energy. You will not tire easily.]

[Your STR has increased by 7%, your AGI has increased by 5%, and your STM has increased by 5%.]

[The buff will remain in effect for three days.]

As Minhyuk descended the mountain, he grabbed a decent snack from the thousands he had kept in his inventory and began eating. Once he reached the foot of the mountain, he took a moment to breathe before climbing again.

The people of the Gaia Continent did not know one thing: Minhyuk was one of the hardest workers, if not the hardest worker, in the Western Continents. Not only was he a hard worker, but he also had the tenacity, mental power, and various abilities to support him.

[Wow. Look at how fast Minhyuk is...]

[Hey. Even so, it’s challenging to complete a hundred laps... lolol.]

[I know, I know. We all know that Minhyuk is a hard worker. Still, do you think that’s possible?]

Still, Minhyuk continued to run. He continued climbing the peak and descending to the mountain's foot.

As he repeated this process, his lungs expanded and shrank repeatedly, as if asking for more air. The muscles in his calves and thighs were bursting and twitching from overwork, and even the skin of his palms began to peel off from the constant wear and tear from grasping the rocks with his bare hands as he scaled the cliff.

Despite all of this, Minhyuk continued to run.

‘The beginning is the most important part.’

He had to make the most significant impact and impression from the beginning. He had to show them who he was and what kind of person he was so that these soldiers would never dare to go against him.

‘Only by then will they be able to simply and sincerely obey and follow my orders.’

Making the soldiers submit through orders alone lacked the power to make these soldiers believe in Minhyuk and follow him sincerely.

Night finally came.

“Haaa... haaa... haaa....”

The great and mighty Ares’ Elite Troops had been nonstop climbing and descending the mountain all day. Because of this, their breath was the only thing that circulated the mountain.

Then, morning came.

Minhyuk chugged some water down and began climbing the mountain again. He barely looked tired.

[The Skill: Divine Will has been triggered!]

[All of your skills and abilities related to DEX will temporarily increase by 30%.]

[All of your stats will increase by 8%.]

[Your attack power and defensive power will increase by 6%.]

[The Skill: Divine Will has been triggered!]

[The Skill: Divine Will has been triggered!]

Divine Will was not a skill that would be exclusively triggered when doing something related to DEX. It was a skill that could be triggered as long as Minhyuk performed a repetitive action beyond his mental limits.

[The Skill: Divine Will has been triggered!]

[The Skill: Divine Will has been triggered!]

[You have gained 1 STM.]

[You have gained 1 AGI.]

[You have gained 1 STR.]

Even Minhyuk’s stats continued to increase.

Climbing the mountain continuously required a lot of STR, STM, and AGI. Any player who climbed a mountain for a few days straight would definitely be able to get a pretty hefty amount of stats. Most of the players would not do anything like that.

[What the hell? I just came back from sleeping, and what’s this? Minhyuk’s still going on?]

[Is he even a person?]

[God Minhyuk! You have my praise!!!]

[How can he...?]

The answer to that was simple.

People knew that certain things were good, but could not bring themselves to do them. For example, students learned that studying hard day and night would help them attend a good university. However, they found it hard to do something like that. People also knew that exercising would give them a healthy, pretty, incredible body, but they would not do it.

Minhyuk was different. He was the type of person who would do what he had set his mind to, do the things that others would just set aside and ignore.

Night passed by, and morning came again.

“S-spare me...”

“PLEASE!”

“Please end this crazy thing!!!”

The great and mighty Ares’ Elite Troops had undergone intense training, including hanging huge and heavy iron on their legs and jumping into the water to cut ropes and set themselves free. They had also survived in minus eighteen-degree weather outside and overcame the pain of their bodies being torn apart by blades. They were an army that looked like it could do anything and everything.

Alas, this very same great and mighty army was screaming nonstop and begging for this torture to end.

“I can’t do this anymore! Please! No more!!!”

Eventually, the very first dropout appeared. Minhyuk saw the dropout on his way down the mountain. He glared at the soldier and said coldly, “Weren’t you very confident in the beginning? You heard what I said at the beginning, right? If someone falls and drops out, you will have another two laps!”

“WAAAAAAH!”

“F*ck this!”

“F*ck you commander!”

Screams echoed in the mountain once again. They were forced to carry their comrades and climb the mountain again. Of course, they alternated to get some rest.

‘I want to give up.’

‘I want this to end.’

‘Damn it! I want to go home!’

Unfortunately, such thoughts lingered in their heads. Of course, Rance was also among those who had started to think like this.

Rance looked down at his hands, which were covered with dried blood. His hands looked very hideous, with both dried blood and fresh blood covering every inch of them. This resulted from the constant scaling of the cliff with his bare hands.

However, they could not stop.

‘The commander is still running.’

The highest person in the position was still running, so how dare someone like them stop? Stopping here would prove they were weak and far worse than the commander they had mocked.

“AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!” Rance shouted, cheering himself up as he gathered all his strength.

***

[For real...?]

[How many days did it take?]

[Press F for respect for Minhyuk hyung! I genuinely respect Minhyuk hyung! F! F!]

[Woah. He’s really fcking crazy. Lololol.]

[He’s not the Supreme for nothing...]

It had taken Minhyuk four days and four nights to complete the hundred laps he had set. As for Ares’ Elite Troops? They were still on their seventieth lap.

Every single one of them suffered from both small and large injuries and were gritting their teeth as they stared at Minhyuk. The one with the worst expression among them was Rance.

‘Now, you’re going to lounge and relax and look at us as if we’re insignificant beings, huh?! F*ck!!!’

Then, something strange happened. Minhyuk did not rest. He climbed the mountain again.

“Are there any injured here? I’ll take care of the injured and bring them back down.”

[The bandage has been wrapped perfectly.]

[The bandage has been wrapped perfectly.]

[The bandage has been wrapped perfectly.]

[The bandage has been wrapped...]

Minhyuk took out bandages and personally bandaged those suffering from sprained ankles and minor injuries. He gave those who looked worse for wear potions to drink. As for those left behind because their mental power could no longer keep up, he helped them and pushed them from behind.

“Just a bit more. Endure for a bit more, and you can take a rest. Can’t you see your comrades who are still running?!”

“Yes, sir! We understand!”

Rance was in disbelief. Minhyuk had already met his quota but did not stop to take a break. He climbed the mountain again and led those who had been left behind. What was even more surprising was...

‘What’s this? Why does my body feel lighter?’

‘I feel like it’s easier now than before we started running.’

In reality, muscles would constantly be pushed to their limits as they were repeatedly torn. If rest were added to these tired muscles, they could achieve growth and development. That was not the case in Athenae. The increase in stats had completely overridden this fact.

However, as the greatest troops in the Gaia Continent, they had already reached the limit of the stats’ increase. In short, they could no longer increase their stats. It was similar to high-ranking players not being able to improve their stats from doing repetitive actions.

Surprisingly, this training increased their STR, STM, and AGI by at least twenty points in four days and three nights. Why? Their mental power had reached its limits during this training. Even their muscles were constantly being torn apart and pushed to the limits, which is why they were able to grow further.

Rance was the first to finish the one hundred laps. One by one, the soldiers reached the foot of the mountain and completed their quota. The tens of thousands of soldiers were all sprawled on the ground, gasping as they finally reached the end of their goal. At the same time, they felt a sense of enjoyment and fulfillment for accomplishing such an impossible task.

As for Minhyuk, the culprit who left them in this state? He was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s the commander?”

They all waited for a very long time. After about two hours or so, Minhyuk appeared. He was helping a soldier down from the mountain.

“This guy’s the last one.”

Minhyuk looked like he wanted to rest. However, he did not stop moving and returned up the mountain to help bring the soldiers down until he returned the last one.

All of the troops looked at Minhyuk nervously. He had told them that he would add a few more laps to them if they finished after him, if someone was left behind, and if someone dropped out. Nonetheless, Minhyuk was not that cruel. He did not intend to do that.

“Good job.”

The soldiers already had enough rest. On the other hand, Minhyuk continued to look around them and monitor the soldiers’ situation even though he could just take a rest of his own.

“Stand up.”

Swoosh!

Swoosh!

Swoosh!

They could not understand why they stood up when Minhyuk ordered them to stand up. Their bodies just reacted on their own.

“Do I still look like a pushover to you, huh?”

“...”

None of them could answer. They just stared at Minhyuk. This time, their gaze was different. This was a commander for whom they could risk their lives.

“Now, will you take my training seriously?”

At this moment, they realized something. They, the troops personally raised by Ares and viewed as untamed and crazy dogs, had come to respect someone who was not Ares.

“Yes, sir!!!”

Then, Rance stepped forward and asked, “Did you not want to rest? Why didn’t you take a rest?”

Minhyuk smiled at the simple question. “Someone has fallen behind in the army that I am leading. Why should I, as the commander, remain on the sidelines? Can I even be considered a commander if I leave my men behind?”

Minhyuk’s words were a contradiction to what was generally known by everyone. The commander was the highest in command. If one of the hundreds of men the commander led fell, the commander would throw them away or let them be. Of course, no commander would run the same one hundred laps as the soldiers.

Rance realized that Minhyuk was different. He promptly declared, “From this point on, I will make sure to punish any of the soldiers who dare to violate the orders of Commander Minhyuk.”

[Ares’ Troops have shown great respect toward you.]

“If we have to go through hell to train with you, then we will do so.”

[They will give up their own lives if it means they can train with you.]