Chương 68

Inside the headquarters of the S. A. Group, the operations team was wide awake. Director Yoon Sangmin stood in front of the main monitor. He rubbed his tired eyes. The screen displayed a single, glowing system message that had just been updated. [Player 'Rudra' has reached Advanced Cooking (Lv. 1).]"How is this even possible?" Yoon Sangmin asked, crossing his arms.

"It takes chef classes years of grinding to reach the Advanced level. He did it in a year." Yoon Nahee, the head of operations, pushed her glasses up her nose.

"He completely bypassed the normal leveling curve. Regular chefs cook boars and rabbits. Rudra just cooked the heart of an S-rank Labyrinth Boss. The experience point scaling for using Unique-rated, high-level monster meat is massive."

"If he made a Unique dish, why didn't he trigger a Legendary Chef class quest?" Yoon Sangmin asked. Chairman Lim Cheolho, who was sitting quietly in the back of the room, finally spoke up.

"Because production classes have much stricter rules than combat classes. To become a Legendary Chef, a player has to leave a lasting mark on history. But honestly? He doesn't need the legendary class right now. That title alone is Legendary-grade." Yoon Sangmin looked at the details of the [Chef Who Touches the Soul] title on the screen.

"Empathic Cuisine... If he feeds a high-ranking noble or a king, he can force them to feel his exact emotions. He could manipulate NPCs easily."

"Exactly," Yoon Nahee nodded.

"And that's not all. He also cleared Phase 2 of his combat quest."

"The Staff Saint," Yoon Sangmin nodded slowly.

"We knew the system generated this new class path specifically for him, but I didn't expect it to rival the original nine legends so quickly."

"It is a highly volatile path," a deep, robotic voice echoed from the room's speakers. It was Morpheus, the supercomputer that ran the game.

"A Sword Saint can cut through anything. A Bow Saint never misses. The Staff Saint relies on endless momentum. The longer he swings without stopping, the heavier and faster his weapon gets. If an enemy does not stop him in the first few seconds, it becomes physically impossible to beat him." Yoon Nahee tapped her tablet, bringing up a new profile.

"He also recruited Elysia as his Knight. She is a Super-Named NPC." Lim Cheolho smiled, but then shook his head.

"It is an amazing achievement. But it's a shame. For now, she is only half as useful as she could be."

"What do you mean?" Sangmin asked.

"Elysia is an alchemy genius," Lim Cheolho explained.

"She can brew great potions on the road. But to truly unlock her limitless potential, she needs a proper Alchemy Tower. Without a facility, she has hit a standstill in four major areas. She cannot raise the rating of minerals, she cannot create weapon and armor enhancement stones, she cannot make special magic items, and she cannot give existing items extra options. Until Rudra builds her a tower, her alchemy won't grow." Meanwhile, inside the world of Satisfy, the new Unified Rankings had just updated.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. High on a freezing, snow-covered mountain, a lone swordsman swung his blade. He wore a simple white tunic. A giant Yeti collapsed at his feet, turning into grey ash. [You have defeated the Snowy Peak Yeti.] The swordsman, Kraugel, didn't celebrate. He opened his system interface. For nearly a year, he had sat comfortably at Rank 1. But today, the golden crown icon next to his name was gone.

[Rank 1: Rudra Level 153] [Rank 2: Kraugel Level 152] Kraugel stared at the name. He wasn't angry. He didn't curse. Instead, a genuine, excited smile spread across his face.

"Rudra," Kraugel whispered, his breath visible in the freezing air.

"I guess I need to try harder." He closed the window, gripped his hilt, and walked further up the snowy mountain. He vowed to take his throne back. Far away, inside the massive headquarters of the Snake Guild, Zibal slammed his fist onto a wooden table.

"Rank 1 changed!" Zibal shouted, looking at his guild officers.

"Rudra took the top spot. He was 4th a couple of month ago, then he dropped out of the top 20 completely. Now he just bypassed Kraugel out of nowhere! How did he bridge that gap so fast?" None of his officers had an answer.

"Find him," Zibal ordered.

"I want to know exactly what hunting grounds he is using." At the exact same time, in a completely different kingdom, Chris sat in the grand hall of his Giant Guild. Chris leaned back in his large chair. He held up a piece of parchment from his top information brokers.

"I just got the report," Chris told his vice-master.

"Our guys matched the movement patterns. The new Rank 1, Rudra, is the masked player who defended the coast a while back. He's also the guy the Yatan Church put that massive bounty on." His vice-master looked surprised.

"Should we hunt him for the bounty?"

"No," Chris said, a serious look on his face.

"We need to recruit him. Before Zibal or anyone else does. If a guy like that joins a rival guild, the balance of power is ruined." Deep inside a rocky canyon, a dark purple explosion lit up the shadows. A Level 180 Armored Troll roared before a barrage of dark magic spheres blasted it into ash. Yura lowered her hands. Her elegant black dress was untouched by the dirt of the canyon. She opened her ranking window to check her progress, but stopped dead when she saw the top spot.

[Rank 1: Rudra] Her perfectly calm face twitched. Instinctively, she raised her hand and touched her cheek. She could still feel the sting of the slap he gave her in the swamp.

"Rudra," Yura muttered, her dark eyes flashing with deep annoyance.

"Enjoy it while it lasts. I haven't forgotten what you did. I will pay you back for that." Yura, Zibal, and Kraugel weren't the only ones reacting. The name "Rudra" had just become the biggest target in the game. In a dark, quiet tavern, the infamous assassin duo, the Black and White sisters, giggled as they looked at the updated bounty boards. Far away in a ruined graveyard, a player named Agnus sat on a tombstone, laughing like a maniac as his undead army marched past him.

And in a military camp, Ares, the God of War, grinned widely as he commanded his small but elite battalion. He wanted the new Rank 1 for his army. The world of Satisfy was finally waking up to the monster swinging a heavy ironwood staff. But Rudra didn't know any of this. At that very moment, he was just standing in a quiet forest outside the volcano, staring in total shock as Elysia knelt in the dirt in front of him.

"My Liege," Elysia said, her face completely serious.

"Your shoelace is untied. Please allow me to tie it for you."

"Stop calling me that!" Rudra groaned, throwing his hands in the air.

"You're an elite knight, not a butler! Just stand up!"

"Understood, My Liege," Elysia replied, standing up with a perfect, crisp bow. Rudra rubbed his temples. He was really starting to regret tapping that 'Accept' button.