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Chapter 202: The Speed Eating Contest
[Oh! Beanie’s owner, Player Minhyuk, is quite handsome!]
[My goodness. Was there really such a handsome man in our country? He looks better than most actors!]
[He’s tall enough to be called a model, and he even has good proportions. The games haven’t started yet, but I don’t think that there’s any player that can compre to him when it comes to visuals!]
[If there was a ‘Handsome and Cool Contest’, the MVP will definitely be off the table already!]
[Yes. And there’s the baby piggy too!]
The buzz continued as the camera focused and shined brightly on Minhyuk and Beanie. Beanie was even proudly sticking its belly out as it stood up on Minhyuk’s shoulders.
[Beanie is feeling confident.]
“But, will I be able to participate?”
It was quite a concern, since all the 20 slots for players were full.
“We have registered you for now, Player Minhyuk. Furthermore, you can easily participate since you have been in the ‘Hall of Kings’ twice. However, it seems like you will have to participate alone. And if that happens...”  Team Leader Park stopped before continuing to say, “They will realize that you’re the player that entered the Hall of Kings.”
The people would notice that he was the sole player who entered the ‘Hall of Kings’ and it was something that Minhyuk did not want.
“...I just want to eat something delicious, but it isn’t going to be easy. Market food
 Just imagining it is making my mouth water. I can’t wait.”
Then, a voice suddenly shouted at the side. The voice said, “Market food? Such a crude market will definitely be stinky and disgusting, right? You’re telling me that there’s food in that place? Blegh! You’re even making it look like a **** great thing! Just thinking about it makes me want to vomit!”
“...?!”
Minhyuk’s expression slowly turned grave. He was talking about the market that held a considerable amount of good memories for Minhyuk. It was an obvious mockery. It was clear to Minhyuk that the person had made these remarks on purpose after he heard Minhyuk talk. When Minhyuk turned around, he could see a man that was pretending to vomit loudly, as if the man wanted him to hear it.
Team Leader Park said, “He’s the strongest favorite, and the most likely champion in the Speed Eating Contest. He’s also quite famous for his trashy personality.”
Even though Minhyuk was unaware of his intentions, it was clear to the others that Vhad was mocking the nominated player.  However, Minhyuk asked Vhad with a gentle smile, “Have you tasted shit?”
“Shit...”
Vhad laughed as if he found it interesting. However, Minhyuk’s eyes remained cold and frosty as he looked at Vhad.
“I’ll feed you some big shit today.”
“Look who’s talking,” Vhad said, moving away with a sneer on his face.
“Vhad is definitely trash but he’s still a solid player. Can I ask you a question though? What’s the point in arguing like this...?” Team Leader Park mumbled, tilting his head in confusion.
As soon as Vhad stepped away from them, Fabian stepped forward and asked him, “Vhad, what’s the point of provoking that player?”
“...Just because?”
Vhad might have said answered nonchalantly, but that was not his true reason. He thought, ‘That goddamn bastard. He’s trying to get all the attention in this Speed Eating contest.’
He was sullen when Minhyuk first attracted the crowd’s attention with Beanie, that pet of his. Then, he dazzled them even further with his visuals. It did not sit well with Vhad, especially because he thought that Minhyuk was just a nominated player. After all, nominated players meant that their status of participation was still ambiguous.
They were also just production classes. Among these production classes, Vhad was known as the ‘Painting's Monarch’. He would deal with the monsters by painting them like the undead. He could not even imagine that he would be eating some big shit today.
***
A huge balloon emerged from the coliseum. The balloon was none other than the figure of Beanie after he became the Athenae Olympics’ mascot. A huge Beanie balloon, complete with sunglasses and in his horse dance pose! It seemed like things would not stop there. The blacksmith guilds were already beginning to make dolls of the mascot Beanie, and produce them at a rapid pace.
[Right now, there are only five minutes left before the Speed Eating Contest starts.]
[Please explain the rules of the Speed Eating Contest.]
[There will be 250 candles in front of each participating player team. Normal wind will not be able to extinguish their flames. Monsters will start to appear once the candle flames are put out. Level 200 monsters will start to appear. As more candles are put out, stronger and more monsters will appear.]
[Ah. So if they blow out a lot of candles and kill them all together, then their score will increase rapidly. Right?]
[That’s right. But, as more candles are put out, higher level monsters will be summoned. That’s why it’s important to gauge the number of candles to extinguish. After all, there’s a time limit of 2 hours and 30 minutes. Since it’s a Speed Eating Contest, every time a monster is successfully hunted, a market food will drop as a ‘parchment’. The market food plays the role of the potion with a variety of hidden power-ups so we hope that they can eat it while they hunt.]
[As of this moment, the players are now entering.]
[Each player looks a bit nervous.]
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
[Loud cheers had erupted from the stands when the strongest favorite, Vhad, appeared!]
[Vhad is the Painting's Monarch, a production class under the ‘Necromancer’ category. He can summon the monsters that he hunted just by painting them.]
[Yes. That’s right. In his case, his summoning will definitely be slow at the beginning since he has to draw the monsters that he hunted and killed a few moments prior, but in the long run, we can expect that he will display a tremendous performance.]
[Huh? Wait a minute. The number of teams and team members looks strange. It’s not ten, it’s eleven!]
[Oh. It has been confirmed. Player Minhyuk has been approved to participate in the competition just a while ago. He applied for ‘information protection’, and the reason remains a ‘secret’. But! Since the organizing committee has approved his participation, this means that there is a good reason why his information is being hidden.]
[Ah. Then, Legendary Fisherman Kerry, who was originally listed as a nominated player, will go up and join the competition accordingly. Right?]
[It seems like some of the contents of the competition have changed. Joy Co. Ltd. had decided to not have any nominated candidates, so it’s only natural that the two of them will participate.]
“Nominated? If you’re a nominated player, does it mean that you’re the weakest player? Then, aren’t you a back-up player because you’re not qualified as a regular player?”
“According to the pro-gamers, aren’t they the second-string players behind the first-string players?”
The players were in a buzz.
[The Athenae: Korean War is a competition held to select the members of the national team. For that reason, Joy Co. Ltd. said that it would be better if there were more qualified players who can exert their power and show their strengths. In addition, the organizing committee has given the green light so there will be no problems.]
[But with the sudden addition of teams, doesn't it mean that Joy Co. Ltd. hadn't done enough preparation work for Athenae Korean War?]
[That’s what I think too. Huh? Please wait a moment. I just checked Player Minhyuk’s level...]
The commentator was confused. Since this was the country’s greatest competition, every player who participated were of a high level with most of them exceeding Level 400.
[He
he’s Level 355...]
[Ah. For real
 and that’s the only explanation. ‘I’m worried’. I’m literally worried. A nominated player that’s at Level 355 and a nominated player who wasn’t sure that they’ll even play today had met and teamed up!]
The audience laughed when they heard the commentator’s antics.
“Hahahaha. This is definitely dumb and dumber, right?”
“What is this, isn’t this just like a march of fools?”
“The faulty and defective people are teaming up and doing a competition together? There’s nothing to see there at all.”
“What’s wrong with Joy Co. Ltd.? Why did they put these two people together? I can’t understand them.”
“Well, shouldn’t one team be in charge of the ‘humor’ in this competition?”
***
Fifteen minutes before the games started.
Kang Taehoon finally came out with the permission letter that was stamped by the organizing committee. The organizing committee was composed of the guild leaders of the best guilds in Athenae and the heads of the overseas branches. The heads of the overseas branches also formed part of the organizing committee, since they held an interest in Athenae: Korean War.
However, even these people had to wonder about a player’s sudden registration. The player even requested for his information to be kept private. According to their personal investigations and interviews, Kang Taehoon said that the request should be stamped with a seal of approval since there were sufficient reasons to approve it. The organizers eventually agreed, even though they were puzzled and confused. Kang Taehoon, the president of Joy Co. Ltd., had showed enough courtesy to a ‘nominated player’ in Athenae, a game that the company created and called the shots in. President Kang Taehoon even said that having an additional new team would be better for the competition.
“I can understand President Kang Taehoon’s position. It’s true that we need to check the power and strength of more players and select the best of the best for our national team so we can exert great power once we go to Athenae: World War.”
“That’s right. Isn’t that why we agreed on having this ‘11 team’ idea? Hahaha!”
“Yeah! Kghk!”
“Keuhuhuhu!”
They laughed happily. Cain and Alicia were both upset at their attitudes. They were also a part of the committee that approved the creation of the new team. These people were laughing happily not because they were going to find new talents for Joy Co. Ltd., but because they felt that it was something ridiculous that they could laugh at.
“You think it’s funny?” Alicia asked them with a cold smile.
“Nope. I’m just imagining how interesting the performance of the 'nominated' players is going to be.”
Alicia grinned at them menacingly and said, “I can imagine.”
The image of Minhyuk’s smile flashed in her head out of the blue. She was expecting great things from him, after all, he always showed strength that exceeded Alicia’s expectations time and again.