PD Kim Daeguk had been following Minhyuk for a long time. He knew Minhyuk since he was called the Frying Pan Killer. Of course, his affection for Minhyuk had grown over time.

When Minhyuk said in his broadcast that he would make twenty God-grade dishes in a row and Epic-grade dishes for everyone in the Beyond the Heavens Empire without failing once, it was utterly absurd, even to someone like PD Kim Daeguk, who had admired the young man.

It was natural that PD Kim Daeguk could not understand what was happening in front of him. These words had completely damaged Minhyuk’s image.

Right now, in the eyes of everyone, Minhyuk was just like those politicians who made ridiculous and futile promises before the election. After all, he looked like he was spitting nonsense just to gain their votes.

“If he’s going to act like that, then I will be utterly disappointed in him.”

As someone who did not do any activities and showcased their power during the previous days of the voting period, Minhyuk’s words sounded highly absurd. His words were enough for the people to view him as a greedy politician who often made empty promises.

PD Kim Daeguk, thinking like the rest of the people, suddenly jumped up from his seat when he saw the notifications from Minhyuk’s view.

“Heok!”

***

“Alright. Let’s start making twenty God-grade dishes in a row.”

Minhyuk was standing by the fountain area in the Beyond the Heavens’ central plaza and talking big. Hundreds of thousands had already flocked to the area to see Minhyuk.

“Boo!”

“That’s bullshit!”

“Minhyuk! I’m so disappointed in you! Stop the bullshit!”

“You said you will feed everyone in the Beyond the Heavens Empire an Epic-grade dish? Bullshit!”

A considerable number of viewers were also watching his broadcast.

Minhyuk, who watched the comments constantly flashing in his live broadcast, did not engage and did what he had to do. He immediately ate the dish that he had prepared in advance.

Despite the growing criticism about how he was just eating, Minhyuk continued eating the dish before him and ignored them. Anyway, the people watching his live broadcast could see the notifications he would see and hear soon.

The people who were criticizing Minhyuk had expected this much. They all knew he would increase his DEX as much as possible before cooking. But he’s going to make twenty God-grade dishes with just that much?

Then, Minhyuk took out a pair of worn-out gloves and put them on one after another. The moment he put them on, the gloves seeped into his skin and disappeared.

In just an instant, Minhyuk’s DEX increased by almost 50%. The clamoring viewers fell silent.

A series of notifications rang again as a beautiful, angelic woman stood by Minhyuk’s side.

The chat window looked like it had been frozen.

Soon, they returned to their senses and continued to speak of something more realistic.

Unfortunately for them, Minhyuk was not yet done. He put each of the Divine Drops he acquired from Archangel Michael on the gloves he had equipped and set a drop on each of the artifacts he had on.

Divine Drops could be applied to each artifact he owned and equipped.

Everyone was left astonished by the increase in Minhyuk’s DEX.

Then, Minhyuk took out a sprig coated with a bright, blinding light. It was also a precious item that he had obtained from Archangel Michael.

The effects of the sprig were basically what the notification had mentioned. If Minhyuk could successfully make a specific grade of dish or higher, his chances of making a higher grade dish would increase. But the Sprig of Realm Ascension would disappear if he failed to cook a dish with the specified grade.

The public, who had been continuously criticizing Minhyuk, was once again rendered speechless. The criticism was now overshadowed by one question.

Minhyuk was not yet done. A man suddenly walked out of the crowd that gathered and almost filled the entire plaza of the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

“Heok?!”

“Isn’t that The Strengthener Bragon?!”

“The Strengthener?!”

“Isn’t he the candidate in the 8th place in the polls?”

“Why is Bragon here?”

A faint smile appeared on Minhyuk’s face when he saw The Strengthener Bragon walk out of the path created by the crowd.

“I knew you’d come.”

Minhyuk had sent a message to The Strengthener Bragon through Brod. Why did he send Beyond the Heavens’ Commander Brod to meet with him? Of course, it was a show of respect and courtesy. The contents of the message that Minhyuk sent were simple.

Bragon, who received at most a few thousand votes more than Minhyuk, was sure that he would not be able to become one of the Pillars. Nonetheless, no one would feel happy if they were one of the bottom feeders.

“It’s just like you said. I also think that I can exert my greatest power at this stage. Of course, that does not mean I will side with you.”

They were just helping each other for the benefit.

“And just like promised, you will give me one million platinum if you fail to keep your pledge,” Bragon said as he stood before Minhyuk.

Minhyuk nodded slowly.

Bragon had the power to enhance and strengthen artifacts that could no longer grow. But because the extent of his reinforcement and strengthening was not that great and explosive, it failed to live up to the people’s expectations, so he was not very popular.

Regardless, the story would be different if the artifacts he would reinforce were already good.

Bragon actually had a more special power of reinforcement. It was the power that Minhyuk saw in one of his highlight videos and also one of the reasons why he asked for his cooperation. This power was none other than the power of Temporary Reinforcement.

A blue light appeared and covered Bragon’s hand.

The notifications rang constantly.

One reason reinforcement and strengthening could not remain in the spotlight was that excellent reinforcement and strengthening needed to be delivered before they were worth it.

However, the Temporary Reinforcement’s effects were only applied for three to six hours. In exchange for that, no materials were needed, and because it was temporary, the chances of successful reinforcement were several times higher than the typical and ordinary reinforcement. On top of that, it exerted a more incredible power because the one casting it was The Strengthener.

Thanks to that, the Imperfect Work Gloves could now display far greater power than before for four hours.

A faint smile curled at the corner of his lips as a subtle blue light appeared around his hands.

The notifications continued to ring in his ears. In the first place, all of Minhyuk’s artifacts were equipped with effects that significantly increased his stats. Just by strengthening these artifacts, Minhyuk’s DEX would also increase.

Of course, even if Bragon was The Strengthener, he could still not reinforce and strengthen artifacts non-stop. He eventually reached his limits and took a step back. Still, Minhyuk could increase his DEX by 25% thanks to him.

Minhyuk, whose entire body was now covered with a faint blue hue, looked at the crowd, which had been criticizing and cursing him just a few moments earlier.

“...”

“...”

All of them were looking at Minhyuk in shock.

One of the players murmured, “Then… how high is his DEX now…?”

Minhyuk has long been known for possessing a monstrously high DEX. Because of that, this series of actions made the live broadcast’s chat window go wild, asking about how high Minhyuk’s DEX was.

Minhyuk smirked as he displayed his DEX.

As the people expressed their shock in the chat window, the votes in the top left part of Minhyuk’s view changed.

Minhyuk’s votes, which were only at around 1%, experienced a significant increase.

He was still not yet done. Even with this much DEX, it was still not enough. Minhyuk still needed a lot of things before he could make twenty God-grade dishes in a row. Minhyuk started to carefully and diligently do every step of the process.

A dozen gas burners appeared around Minhyuk. Right now, Minhyuk intended to take advantage of the effects of the Sprig of Realm Ascension.

Minhyuk, who could use Large-scale Cooking, only needed to make one dish to serve tens of thousands of people. That was why the people and the viewers were left confused at the sight of the dozens of burners lined up around Minhyuk with pots on top of them.

Then, Minhyuk opened one pack of ramyeon after another and placed them in the pots filled with boiling water.

At that moment, Minhyuk said something that shocked everyone. He said, “I’ll make this dish into an Epic-grade dish.”

The viewers who saw the notification could not help but voice their confusion.

Soon, one of the ramyeons was done.

The viewer, who was typing excitedly on the chat window, was left stunned.

Dozens of pots continued to boil and cook several ramyeons simultaneously.

The chat window grew silent. It looked like it had been frozen by the notifications that rang every few seconds. They had never heard about someone cooking simple ramyeon and getting an Epic-grade dish.

At that moment, the shill that Minhyuk planted in the chat window appeared. This shill was none other than Chef Black, who now belonged to the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

Everyone was aware of this fact. They already knew, even without the appearance of the shill, Chef Black.

The logic was so absurd that the viewers could not find any words to retort.

Of course, the notifications continued to ring for them.

A different set of notifications about those Epic-grade dishes also appeared.

The notifications continued to ring.

The words that Black said were nothing but complete nonsense. There was something that Minhyuk did not reveal to Black. Of course, it was something that the public did not know either.

With the title “The One Who Reached the Pinnacle” any dish that Minhyuk made would always be Epic-grade at the very least. The effects of this title and the effects of the Sprig of Realm Ascension created a synergy that brought about this ridiculous and shocking situation.

Not long after, a hundred bowls of ramyeon was done.

The entire world was left in shock.

Minhyuk had yet to show all of his cards. He still had one that he has not yet shown to the world.

“This time…”

Everyone perked their ears up as they listened to Minhyuk. Despite the hundreds of thousands of people in the plaza, the entire area was silent. Even the chat window was so still that it looked like it had been frozen like before.

Minhyuk grinned. “I would like to ask for the help of the archangels.”

“...?!”

“...?!”

Heaven was a place that was still hidden underneath a thin layer of veil. It was one of the places that players wanted to visit. The presence of the angel Aemira by Minhyuk’s side was proof that Minhyuk had visited Heaven.