Mixed Novel Haha93.37%

197 - 205

Chapter 197: Chapter 197

In response to Min Sung's mention of the Demonic Realm…

"What are you talking about?" Ho Sung Lee asked.

Min Sung looked up at the tree with crooked lips.

"The devils and Devil Gods probably acted as fertilizer."

"What do you mean…?"

Ji Yoo Kim trailed off due to her lack of understanding.

"It's simple. The ruin that resulted from the defeat of the devils and Devil Gods became manure that allowed this tree to grow. After that, they began to absorb the earth's nutrients."

Ho Sung Lee and Ji Yoo Kim both looked at the tree in shock.

'That means a new world is about to open up.'

Min Sung thought about the man in his dreams and clenched down on his teeth.

"Oh yeah, Sir. About your Durandal. Didn't you say you lost it while trying to level it up?" Ho Sung Lee asked Min Sung.

"It's just a +0 now."

After finding out that he simply kept the Devil's Durandal as an extra, Ho Sung Lee dropped his jaw.

But after thinking about all the devils and Devil Gods he defeated, he realized this was nothing to be surprised about and simply nodded.

"Is it hard to take down this tree because it's not +7?"

Ho Sung lee laughed awkwardly after seeing Min Sung's cold gaze.

"I-I'm just kidding, Sir. Haha. But what do we do? This tree doesn't get affected by your attacks. That makes me anxious."

"What else can we do? We'll just have to keep an eye on it. Continue your research."

Min Sung left with an uncomfortable look on his face.

***

They arrived at a restaurant to eat.

This restaurant was also recommended by Ho Sung Lee.

Since Min Sung was a little sensitive due to the tree in his yard, Ho Sung Lee arranged a restaurant ahead of time so that he didn't have to bother him.

[Grandma Kim's Bossam]

How would it taste?

Min Sung entered with great anticipation.

Since they booked out the entire restaurant ahead of time, there were only employees inside.

Min Sung sat down at a table that had comfy chairs with backrests where he could rest his head.

An employee then approached and asked, "Would you like to taste various dishes from our restaurant?"

Min Sung said no and asked for the menu.

He had no intention of overeating just because he rented out the entire restaurant.

He just wanted a simple meal.

That was what Min Sung liked.

His belief was that anything in excess was unnecessary.

After checking the menu, he ordered Bossam for 1 person as well as rice and Kimchi stew.

That was going to be enough.

After ordering, the dishes Min Sung ordered began to come out.

The first thing to arrive was basic side dishes.

Eggplants, onions, fried potatoes, Kimchi, and beansprout soup.

Also, there was garlic, peppers, spicy dip, and salted shrimp.

That was all.

The side dishes were overly simple, but that was the key trait of this Bossam restaurant, and since their main dish was Bossam, Min Sung waited for it to come out.

Not long afterward, an employee brought a brazier that could cook the Bossam and lit it up.

On top of that, a beautiful plate was placed, and then the main dish came out.

On top of the plate was Bossam Kimchi and Daikon Kimchi laid out like a flower.

The main dish appealed itself in a vibrant manner.

It was intense yet colorful, and the colors alone made Min Sung gulp.

As soon as the Bossam came out, rice and Kimchi stew appeared on the table as well.

'Let's start this thing.'

Min Sung picked up his chopsticks and picked up a piece of pork.

His first piece was wrapped with just the meat and Kimchi.

He put it into his mouth.

The taste of the refreshing Kimchi spread throughout his mouth.

On top of that, the meat was soft and chewy.

The skin was especially bouncy in texture.

The taste of the deep-flavored and bouncy meat along with the red Bossam Kimchi filled his mouth with flavors and saliva.

'This is delicious.'

Min Sung became so obsessed with the Bossam that he forgot about his stress regarding the tree growing in his backyard.

Following a bite of white rice, the

daikon Kimchi was sweet and savory, making for a fantastic combination.

'I can't just eat Bossam like this.'

After wiping his hands with the wet towel, Min Sung picked up a piece of lettuce.

He put a piece of Kimchi on it, followed by meat, garlic, peppers, and salted shrimp, and he put some spicy dip on it before rolling it up.

After eating some white rice, he put the beautiful wrap into his mouth.

Om nom!

Min Sung chewed on the wrap with all his might.

The garlic and pepper burst inside the lettuce, and the flavors of the spicy dip, salted shrimp, and the meat satisfied his tastebuds.

After finishing his first Bossam wrap, Min Sung proceeded to make his second.

This time, he used cabbage instead of lettuce, and the combination of Bossam with cabbage was so explosive that he didn't think it was fair.

He put some spicy dip on the lettuce, followed by meat, garlic, and pepper, before putting it into his mouth.

As soon as he bit down on the cabbage with his molars, the scent spread through his nose, and the flavors of the meat and Daikon Kimchi made it sweet.

In that state, he chewed on some of the flavored onions, which made for the perfect experience.

The Bossam all went into his stomach.

Min Sung fell into a Bossam trance.

***

The researchers, who were keeping an eye on the tree in Min Sung's backyard, grew more and more fearful as it grew bigger.

As Min Sung said, this tree was dangerous enough to swallow the earth whole.

A tree that was deeply rooted in the earth to swallow it whole.

The researchers' faces grew darker over time.

The more they researched, the more stressed they looked.

While the tree was growing faster and faster, the research was no different from being in a state of halt.

And at the same time, their anxiousness and fear grew exponentially.

***

Min Sung returned home to World Tower after finishing his meal.

He felt sluggish.

He saw the sun in the sky across the window.

Aside from eating, napping was Min Sung's favorite thing to do.

Unlike the Demonic Realm, where he always had to stay awake, being able to sleep while the sun was still up was Min Sung's favorite pastime.

He took a quick shower and laid on his bed.

And as soon as he laid down, he fell asleep in his soft covers.

But Min Sung's mood for napping didn't last long.

***

It was a completely white space.

It was a dream, but it didn't feel like it.

His senses were more alive than ever.

Min Sung realized that that person entered his dream without his permission once again.

Although it was his dream, his consciousness was very well present.

Step, step.

Min Sung sighed at the familiar footsteps and looked back at the person who disturbed his sleep.

The young man with pale skin showed a very heavy expression on his face, which was different from last time.

He didn't say anything and simply stared at Min Sung.

He was annoyed at the tree that kept growing at his house as well as this human who kept showing up in his dreams without his permission.

However…

Something suddenly crossed his mind.

"Does that tree in my yard have something to do with you?" Min Sung asked.

"No, it doesn't. It has to do with…"

The man pointed at Min Sung.

"You."

"What's that tree about, and why does it have to do with me? Explain."

"You'll find out soon enough. Really. By the way… have you been preparing after what I told you last time?" The man asked.

"Prepare for what? Are you talking about that new world?"

Min Sung smiled and continued, "I've never prepared for anything in my life. That's just a waste of time."

The dead gaze in the man's eyes suddenly sparked with interest.

"What gives you the basis to say that?" The man asked with sincere curiosity.

"That's how I've lived so far, and changes are inevitable in any situation, and those changes can't be predicted, so it's more rational to act on instinct."

"The world that you'll see soon enough is on a whole another level from the worlds you've experienced. Are you sure you can face it without any preparation?"

"You don't' listen, do you? I don't want to worry about stuff like that, and the one thing that bothers me the most is you. You, who keeps showing up in my dreams. Who are you anyway?" Min Sung asked directly while knitting his brows.

The man looked down and sighed before lifting his head to look at Min Sung with his blue eyes.

"You'll regret this. I was expecting more than this. I'm disappointed."

"Answer me. Who are you?"

The man showed the first vague smile since they've met.

"Your halo."

"… What?"

"My name is Mire Caste. Remember that."

Min Sung raised his eyebrow.

The conversation ended there.

When he blinked once, the man disappeared.

He really disappeared in the blink of an eye, and even when he tried to look for him in his surroundings, he couldn't be found anywhere.

Min Sung, who was now alone in the white space, spat on the ground.

"I don't need any advice, so it'd be nice if he stopped showing up in my life."

As soon as Min Sung said that, his head became heavy, and the white space turned into darkness.

Since this had happened multiple times before, Min Sung did resist and allowed his consciousness to swallow him up.

He always hated the feeling of being controlled.

Just like that, Min Sung lost consciousness.

Chapter 198: Chapter 198

***

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a bright light bulb.

He fell asleep with his lights on.

After getting out of his bed, Min Sung opened the curtains.

He realized that he took a nap in the afternoon but woke up in the middle of the night.

Min Sung clicked his tongue at the thought of that man and headed to the kitchen in order to quench his thirst with some carbonated water.

At that moment, the elevator doors opened to Ho Sung Lee running into the living room with an urgent look on his face.

Min Sung put down his water glass and entered the living room.

Ho Sung Lee spotted Min Sung and gulped.

"Sir…"

"What's the matter?" Min Sung asked.

"… The gate has opened," Ho Sung Lee said with an anxious look on his face.

"Where?"

"The tree growing at your house. The tree that everybody is calling the world tree. It turned out to be a type of dungeon gate. A system message popped up," Ho Sung Lee said in annoyance.

On the other hand, Min Sung sat down on the sofa without much surprise and laughed bitterly.

He realized what that man in his dream was talking about.

Ho Sung Lee looked at Min Sung strangely.

"Sir…?"

Min Sung ignored Ho Sung Lee and checked his items including his '+0 Durandal'.

"Do you have the Levelling Up Order Sheet?"

In response, Ho Sung Lee checked his own item window.

"We only have 3 left."

"Call Ssol. I need to level up all my items."

"Ssol probably doesn't have many order sheets either. It'll take some time for me to go and buy order sheets."

"Be as quick as possible."

"Yes, Sir. Also, did you turn off your phone?"

"No. Why?"

"I called you before I left, but you didn't answer."

"Oh, I was sleeping."

"Oh, I see. Then I'll call you as soon as I secure order sheets. Please turn on your phone if it's still off."

Min Sung gestured for Ho Sung Lee to go, and Ho Sung Lee bowed to him before rushing to the elevator.

***

Goblins were greedy.

They were also very impulsive and true to their instincts.

In that sense, the golden goblin Ssol was a little different from the average goblin.

He was often swayed by extravagant and expensive items, but his emotions were more developed, and that made him completely different.

For that reason, Ssol was inside a fancy room with many female goblins wanting him, but he wasn't in a very good mood.

At first, what he wanted the most was to meet a female goblin, but after being acknowledged by the males, Ssol's opinion about the female goblins changed.

The female goblins started to look more and more disappointing, and they looked desperate.

They drooled and acted solely on their instincts, and it was impossible to speak to them or communicate in any way.

At this point, he was actually annoyed when a female goblin touched him.

Ssol felt empty inside as a result, but when Ho Sung Lee knocked and appeared through the doors, he sprung up with excitement.

Compared to goblins, humans were impressive organisms.

"Ssol, your master wants to see you."

'Master!'

Ssol's eyes jolted wide open in response to that one word.

These days, Ssol felt his heart feel very empty.

One of the reasons for that was because he was too far away from the person he signed a contract with, and when he realized that, his heart pounded like crazy.

He wanted to see his master right away.

Ssol pushed the female goblins away and left the fancy room.

The female goblins began crying and screaming while watching Ssol leave.

***

"Sir, I'm back," Ho Sung Lee said as he got off the elevator with Ssol.

Min Sung, who was looking at the scenery beyond his window, looked back at Ho Sung Lee and Ssol, and Bowl, who was mopping the floors, quickly ran over and clung onto Ssol.

Bowl danced around Ssol with a big smile on his face as if he missed him very much.

"Stop."

In response to Min Sung's order, Bowl immediately stopped spinning around Ssol.

"Ssol, take out your best item, and Ho Sung, give me the order

sheets."

Ho Sung Lee took out a whole stack of order sheets from his item window and put it down in front of Min Sung.

There were hundreds, no thousands of them.

"It was hard finding them, haha."

Ho Sung Lee laughed while scratching his head.

"Good work. Let's begin."

Ssol was already taking out items from his golden pouch, and Bowl watched in fascination.

Items continued to come out of the golden pouch with no end.

Since the golden pouch had a capacity of nearly infinity, the items continued to come out.

If left alone, the entire house was going to be filled with items, so Min Sung proceeded to use the order sheets on the items immediately.

"Is the first one the Devil's Durandal?"

Ho Sung Lee asked while looking at the '+0 Durandal' in Min Sung's hands with disbelief.

"It's not like order will affect the success rate."

In response to Min Sung's calm worlds, Ho Sung Lee shook his head.

"That's true, but people tend to push off the best weapons out of nervousness."

"This isn't even that great."

"… Pardon?" Ho Sung Lee asked with his eyes looking like that of a rabbit.

Min Sung didn't answer and used a weapon order sheet on the '+0 Durandal'.

Since he had tried it before, Min Sung used the order sheet on the weapon without any hesitation.

The '+0 Durandal' ended up evaporating at just +4.

Min Sung brushed off his hands while glancing over at Ho Sung Lee.

"Why aren't you joining in?" Min Sung asked Ho Sung Lee.

"Pardon?"

"You need to level up our items. Do you expect me to do this alone?"

"Me too?"

"Don't you want to do it?"

"It's not that, Sir, but these are amazing weapons. Is it okay for me to put my hands on them…?"

"Stop blabbering and get a move on."

"Yes, Sir. I'm just so honored. I'll begin."

Ho Sung Lee picked up an item with a dazed look on his face.

"Bowl, come here and level them up, too," Min Sung ordered.

"Oh, really? Thank you, Master!"

In response to Min Sung's command, Bowl ran over with excitement and began picking up the items, and the conversation ended there.

It was normal for competitive tasks to kill a conversation.

The process of leveling up Min Sung's weapons in the middle of the World Tower penthouse's living room almost looked like the sight of a factory.

Just like that, the valuable items were being leveled up with magic order sheets in a factory-like process.

***

"Phew… This is no joke," Ho Sung Lee said while sighing at the items.

The number of items that came out of Ssol's golden pouch was astronomical.

To the right of the living room heading toward the entrance were the items that were successfully leveled up.

And the left side was filled with items still to be leveled up, but there were so many that the washroom was blocked off.

"We lost so many, but we still have tons. I can't believe this."

Ho Sung Lee drooled at the items.

"On top fo that, wow. This is crazy. Pfft! It's not like this is a dragon lair or something. This is hilarious."

Ho Sung Lee laughed in shock.

The leveled-up swords to the right were +7 and up, and the shields and accessories were at least +4.

On top of that, the items were new items that had never been revealed to the world before.

These items were so valuable that it was unacceptable that they were rolling around on the ground.

But as a slave of Min Sung, he had no choice but to succumb to his environment.

"Normally, leveling up weapons is a process that makes you nervous and excited, but since we have too many, it just feels like we're working."

"Shut up. Be quiet like Bowl and keep going."

"Yes, Sir, but I think we need to buy more order sheets. I'll go for a smoke and make a call for some more."

"Then take a 10-minute break."

"Phew, this is impressive. I brought more than 1000 order sheets."

Ho Sung Lee dropped his jaw and continued, "Oh, I'll also check up with Central Insitute to see how the tree in your yard is doing."

Min Sung nodded and headed to the kitchen for a beverage while Bowl rolled on the ground because he was just too tired.

***

"How many hours has it been since my last smoke?"

Ho Sung Lee enjoyed his cigarette while calling the supplier where he got his order sheets.

"Oh, hello. Yes, President Park. It's Ho Sung Lee. I need more order sheets. Do you have more in stock?"

You already bought more than 1000. You need more?

"Haha, I know, right?"

Why do you need so many anyway? Are you running a business?

"You know I'm Min Sung's aide."

Wow, the scale is no joke.

"Seriously. Anyway, do you have more?"

How many do you need?

"Let's see."

Ho Sung Lee smoked his cigarette while checking the items through the glass window.

"Maybe 300? Please send me that much. I'll send you the money right now."

Jeez. We have just enough. You're wiping our storage clean.

"At least you earned a lot of money."

President Park snickered.

Yeah, that's true. I'll buy you a drink sometime. I'll call you.

Ho Sung Lee clicked his tongue.

"I don't know if I'll have the time to drink. Actually, I'm not sure if I'll even return alive."

Hm? What do you mean by that?

Ho Sung Lee realized he made a mistake.

The fact that there was a gate on the tree growing in Min Sung's home was top secret.

Chapter 199: Chapter 199

"Never mind."

Don't be like that. Tell me. Can't you tell me? Hey, you know I'm good at keeping secrets.

"It's really nothing. The thing is… Min Sung has a tough personality. I have to be careful."

Hm. That's true. Since he's an impressive man, you need to take good care of him. You must be having a hard time.

"That's just life, haha."

I feel like becoming friends with you was the best thing I did in my life.

"Don't say that. Anyway, we're in a rush, so please send it to us via express shipping."

Don't worry. I'll send it to you in a flash.

"Great. Talk to you soon."

Okay.

After hanging up the phone and putting out his cigarette, Ho Sung Lee immediately called General Ji Yoo Kim of Central Institute, but the 'the recipient is unavailable at the moment' message came on, so he failed to get through.

Ho Sung Lee tilted his head. He looked down at his phone and returned to Min Sung.

"Sir, I ordered the order sheets, but General Kim won't answer the phone. Do you think something happened to her?"

"Turn on the TV."

Ho Sung Lee found the remote. He pushed the things that were covering the TV aside and turned it on.

They scanned through the news, but there was nothing in particular.

"Central Institute would have called us if something happened. Start working."

"Yes, Sir."

Ho Sung Lee clapped his hands. He rubbed them together and then focused on leveling up the items.

After a short break, the factory operations started up again without a word.

Bowl also lit up his eyes with black flames and focused on leveling up the items with his small hands.

Meanwhile, Ssol scanned the items with a worried look on his face.

***

"Have you decided, General Kim?"

Ji Yoo Kim's face was stiff and overcome with conflict.

Ji Yoo Kim's secretary recognized that she needed more time.

The secretary greeted her and stepped out.

Once she was left alone, Ji Yoo Kim covered her eyes with her hands and sighed deeply.

There was no need for her to reveal to the world that the tree in Min Sung's house had a gate connected to it.

After all, they were going to find out sooner or later.

The tree was being called the world tree and received lots of love and affection from people all over the world.

If this truth happened to get out, it wasn't going to be easy dealing with the aftermath.

The public was going to feel betrayal, resentment, rage, and fear, and they didn't have anything prepared to deal with the chaos that would result.

Ji Yoo Kim closed her eyes and made her decision.

Min Sung Kang was going to pass through the gate in the tree.

Just like how he stopped the Demonic Realm, he was going to stop this crisis as well.

This was the topic and message to be conveyed to the citizens.

Currently, even religious groups were forming around the mysterious tree in Min Sung's house.

She had to reveal the truth as soon as possible and reassure the anxiousness of the citizens.

Since she made her decision, she couldn't hesitate.

Ji Yoo Kim immediately acted on her decision.

***

The sorting was finally complete.

The only ones left were the +7 weapons and the +4 shields.

It was time for the real leveling up to begin.

It was time for their second round of leveling up.

They were all nervous but not Min Sung.

Min Sung was actually annoyed.

He didn't like the fact that he had to rely on such weapons.

He pretended to be strong in front of that man, Mire Caste, in his dreams, but it was true that he was preparing for the next world.

After all, he was currently leveling up his items to prepare for that new world.

Min Sung clicked his tongue and acknowledged that he was feeling a sense of pressure from the new world.

He couldn't move forward without acknowledging change.

This was the wisdom that he acquired after his 100 years in the Demonic Realm.

"Let's begin."

In response to Min Sung's command, they began the 2nd

round of leveling up.

Min Sung was in charge of the weapons while Ho Sung Lee, Bowl, and Ssol took care of the shields.

The higher the enchant number, the lower the chances of success.

For the weapons that were +7 or +8, the chances of success were just 30 percent, but since luck was a big part of it, it was more like 10 percent.

The chances of failing were very high.

For that reason…

Poof, poof, poof.

The items began evaporating as if they had never existed.

They disappeared so easily that they felt frustrated, but one weapon finally succeeded.

Since their objective was to gather the successful weapons to make one ultimate weapon, they agreed to gather the +8 weapons to one side.

"Wow! You succeeded. Congratulations!"

Ho Sung Lee jolted his eyes open and clapped his hands.

Bowl and Ssol also followed along and clapped with him.

Min Sung threw the '+8 Super Sword' on the couch and went back to leveling up his items.

Min Sung thought that he at least needed a +9 sword to stand a chance.

+7, +8, +9.

They were only 1 point apart, but that made a big difference in their function.

The higher the number, the more damage it could cause, and on top of that, there were random hits and critical damage that could be made as well.

That was why Min Sung was greedy for leveling up his items.

He also experienced first-hand the utility of the weapons, so he continued to fulfill the boring and repetitive task.

***

The 2nd sorting was complete.

The items, which previously filled the entire house, shrunk to a much smaller number.

But in return, the remaining items were so powerful that it was suffocating.

The successfully leveled up items were as follows.

'+8 Super Sword' – 2

'+8 Gungnir' – 1

'+8 Muramasa' – 3

'+8 Play Sword' – 2

'+8 Mythical Bow' – 1

They ended up with a total of 9 +8 weapons.

Min Sung thought this was a small amount, but that was just his opinion.

The fact that he had 9 weapons that were +8 gave him an incredible amount of power.

What he reaped could be perceived as a huge blessing, but Min Sung just wanted one weapon that was the very best.

Among the 5 different types of weapons, the most effective one was the '+8 Gungnir'.

It was a valuable treasure that was used by Odin of Northern Europe.

Of course, this particular weapon was not used by Odin, but when looking at its abilities, it was definitely outstanding.

After all, even Min Sung, who didn't care much for these weapons, worried about trying to make this particular one a +9.

"Sir, you should do the rest from now on. I'm too nervous to go on. Sigh."

Ho Sung Lee scratched himself to get rid of the goosebumps.

It was understandable.

The weapons that remained were the very best.

They were difficult to find, and since they were even stronger now, just looking at them made Ho Sung Lee feel nervous.

"Let's take care of the swords first."

Min Sung picked up the three Muramasas out of the 5 different types of weapons.

The Muramasa was famous for being cursed with a dark enchantment.

Since the weapon was just average in terms of ability and power, Min Sung decided to level them up first.

If all three Muramasas happened to evaporate, that would mean that the chances of success would be a little higher for the next weapons he leveled up.

Min Sung placed the '+8 Muramasa' on the table side by side and proceeded to level them up with the order sheets.

And the results were of satisfaction to Min Sung.

'+8 Muramasa' has evaporated.

All three of the Muramasa disappeared.

There was a feeling of emptiness that the weapons were gone, but since he was just trying to make one ultimate sword, the chances of success only got higher, so he wasn't off to a bad start.

The problem was that it was possible for the other +8 weapons to evaporate as well.

However, Min Sung didn't care about losing all his weapons, since he could just use the tree gate to find some more, so there was no hesitation.

While Ho Sung Lee, Bowl, and Ssol held their breath while watching…

Clack! Clack! Clack!

Min Sung put the remaining weapons on the table.

The weapons that were left were the Super Sword, Gungnir, the Play Sword, and the Mythical Bow.

Min Sung looked down at the weapons and thought about which weapon to sacrifice next after the 3 Muramasas.

And the first thing that Min Sung used his order sheet on was the Super Sword.

Ho Sung Lee nodded.

Since Ho Sung Lee was nervous that he could use the order sheet on the best weapon, Gungnir, he sighed out of relief when Min Sung made a different decision.

Since the weapons were so impressive that just watching made them suffocate, Ho Sung Lee, bowl, and Ssol were at their most anxious state.

The weapons that were placed on Min Sung's table were some of the best in the entire world.

They were so impressive that not many stood a chance.

They tried not to think about the fact that they lost many other valuable weapons in the process.

That was because they were all focused on making one +9 weapon.

But all of a sudden…

"I'll just do the Gungnir first."

Min Sung changed the order of which one to level up first.

Ho Sung Lee looked at Min Sung in surprise.

"Huh?! You're going to level up the Gungnir first? Wait, Sir, you just lost 3 weapons. That means it's highly likely you'll lose your 4th. What if you lose it…?"

Min Sung glared at the Gungnir and scoffed.

Chapter 200: Chapter 200

Min Sung glared at the Gungnir and scoffed.

"This is a game of probability and dragging on time won't help. It's all about luck."

Min Sung smirked at the Gungnir.

"And I'm lucky."

"B-but, Sir! I'm not ready yet… What if we lose it? Agh! I can't look."

Ho Sung Lee covered both of his eyes with his hands, but Min Sung's hands didn't hesitate.

Ssol's eyes widened, and Bowl also watched the Gungnir with his black eyes.

And then…

As soon as Min Sung ripped an order sheet…

Flash!

A strong blue light radiated from Gungnir.

Ho Sung Lee removed his hands from his eyes and dropped his jaw.

'+9 Gungnir' is shining blue!

Min Sung clicked his tongue at the system message.

On the other hand…

"Wow! I can't believe the Gungnir is +9 now! Omg! We did it!"

Ho Sung Lee screamed and caused a fuss.

Ssol stared at the '+9 Gungnir' that was floating in the air, and Bowl lifted both of his hands in the air and snickered while jumping up and down.

In the midst of the celebration, Min Sung grabbed the '+9 Gungnir' floating in the air.

Kaboom!

A loud impactful sound could be heard as soon as it landed in its owner's hands, and the light spread from all four directions.

"Sir, t-t-t-t-the stats. Tell me the stats."

Ho Sung Lee stuttered because he was way too excited.

Min Sung checked the stat of the +9 Gungnir and explained the contents.

[+9 Gungnir]

Rank: Superior

Attack Power (Small/Big monsters): 49/52

One-handed/Two-handed: One-handed

Option: Agility +4, Power+90, Additional hits +138

Material: Hephaestus Fragments

Room for damage: X

Level Restrictions: X

Magic: Disintegrate

As soon as Min Sung finished explaining the stats, Ho Sung Lee almost fainted.

"… That's epic. Wow, with that damage, it's still just one-handed? This is seriously the best weapon in the whole world, no the whole universe. Wow…"

Ho Sung Lee cut himself off.

"Wait. But Sir. Disintegrate? What's that?" Ho Sung Lee asked.

"Probably a magical trait," Min Sung responded.

"No, I mean the conditions of the magic."

"It probably consumes magic power."

"No, not stuff like that. Something similar to a cool time that's needed to activate magic again."

"There's no such thing."

"…"

Silence overcame their surroundings.

"There's nothing?"

"Nope."

"What kind of cheat weapon is this…?"

"Shut up. What about the shields?" Min Sung asked.

"As I said before, I can't do it because I'm too nervous. You do it."

Ho Sung Lee explained the prepared shielding equipment.

The remaining shields and accessories were as follows.

+7 Hades' Ring – 1

+7 Devil's Ring – 4

+7 Ryukishi Ring – 1

+7 Wisdom Ring – 1

+7 Destruction Necklace – 1

+7 Ring Belt – 1

+6 Thorn Boots – 1

+7 Mystical Armor – 1

+7 Destruction Breath Set (2 shields/ 1 helmet/ 2 gloves/ 1 gaiters)

+7 Blood and Iron Hunting Set (3 shields/ 2 protectors/ 2 armors/ 4 gloves/ 3 gaiters)

There were many more, but they weren't that important.

Following Ho Sung Lee's explanation, he looked at the shields and accessories and scratched his head.

"Sir, most of the good items are sets. If we lose even one of them, we won't see the effects of a set. It's actually a miracle that they're even at +7. So I suggest you be careful when it comes to the set items.

Ho Sung Lee grew anxious after seeing the expression on Min Sung's face

"Sir, the most effective one seems to be the Blood and Iron Hunting Set. It has great compatibility with your Gungnir, so it'd be wiser to just leave it at +7 and only level up the individual items."

Ho Sung Lee dripped in sweat out of worry that Min Sung wouldn't be careful.

"Sir, you have to be thoughtful. There's no use in leveling up to +8 if you lose the benefit of having the set."

"I know," Min Sung said as he picked up a magic order sheet.

Ho Sung Lee shook

his head.

"Sir, I'm going for a smoke. I can't watch this any longer."

Ho Sung Lee ran to the terrace. He took out a cigarette and put it into his mouth.

His heart pounded like crazy even while he smoked.

'He'll leave the set as a +7 unless he's stupid.'

'I'm sure of it.'

Ho Sung Lee smoked his cigarette while praying in his head.

'I wonder where he'll be once I finish smoking and go back inside.'

Gambling with items was the biggest gamble of all.

But since the probability of leveling up his items was quite low, it was foolish to rush through it.

However, Min Sung had to enter through the tree gate to the new dungeon.

For that reason, he had to equip himself with the best items, but the chances of winning were way too low.

'Please leave the +7 set alone.'

Ho Sung Lee put out his cigarette. He took a deep breath and entered the living room.

There were shields and accessories floating in the air.

Ho Sung Lee stared at the equipment with a blank look on his face.

The equipment that Ho Sung Lee was looking at was as follows.

+9 Hades' Ring – 1

+8 Ryukishi Ring – 1

+8 Wisdom Ring – 1

+8 Destruction Necklace – 1

Blood and Iron Hunting Set (+9 shield/ +9 helmet (1)/ +9 shield (1)/ +8 gloves (1)/ +9 gaiters (1))

Ho Sung Lee wiped his eyes with his hands.

He didn't know if this was reality or a dream.

And at that moment, Ho Sung Lee looked at Min Sung as if he was crazy.

"What made you think to make 8 items into +9 equipment?" Ho Sung Lee asked in annoyance.

Min Sung asked, "It just turned out that way. Should I keep going?" He then looked at the equipment in his hand with his chin.

"Please stop. You can't lose them," Ho Sung Lee said while almost being in tears.

"But the gloves in the Hunting Set is still just a +8. It doesn't feel right."

"Don't!"

Ho Sung Lee screamed, but Min Sung was already picking up a magic order sheet.

"S-Sir. I think you've spent all your luck already. Please stop. Please! You'll lose it."

"It's more likely that I'll lose it for sure. This is a miracle, but if I need more equipment, I'll just go find more."

Min Sung's eyes lowered from the items.

"Besides… My weapons have to be the very best."

Min Sung ripped a magic order sheet for the +8 Hunting Set gloves, and an intense light burst open.

'+8 Hunting Set gloves' are shining in blue!

"Aaaaaaaaaagh!"

Ho Sung Lee screamed while plopping down on his knees with his hands held together.

"It worked, it worked! It's a +9. This is crazy. Wowwwwwww!"

Min Sung looked at Ho Sung Lee, who was screaming, and knitted his brows.

"Shut up."

"I can't help it! It's a +9 item. On top of that, it's a Hunting Set equipment!"

Ho Sung Lee screamed as he rolled on the ground like a ball.

Bowl also snickered in excitement, and Ssol flashed a smile and hugged Ho Sung Lee on the ground.

Meanwhile, Min Sung put the items into his item window.

Since the items inside the item window could get damaged with just one touch, there was no need to equip them unless necessary.

"Ho Sung," Min Sung called while putting on his fall jacket.

"Yes, Sir," Ho Sung Lee answered with a tired look on his face.

Min Sung sighed at Ho Sung Lee, who didn't seem to be in a good condition.

"What's wrong?"

"Sir, I was so nervous that I might have gastritis. I think I need to get some rest."

"I'm going to eat and head straight to my house where the tree is."

"If you call me before you leave from eating, I'll meet you at your house," Ho Sung Lee said with a sick looking face.

"Which restaurant do you recommend?"

Ho Sung Lee checked the time.

It was already 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

Since many restaurants took breaks around this time, he excluded those restaurants from his list inside his head.

He thought about the possible restaurants that he could eat at and soon thought of one place.

Ho Sung Lee nodded and looked to Min Sung.

"Sausage stew it is. You're probably hungry, so it'll fill you right up."

"Text me the address."

"Yes, Sir. Enjoy your meal," Ho Sung Lee said with a tired face and voice before bowing down to him.

Once Min Sung left with Bowl and Ssol, Ho Sung Lee plopped down on the sofa.

He then looked up at the high ceiling and mumbled to himself, "Wow… Damn it. +9 Dragon Hunting Set. Hahaha… How is that guy so lucky? What isn't he good at? This is so unfair. How could he be okay after leveling up such amazing weapons? My stomach hurts just thinking about it."

Ho Sung Lee gulped and grabbed his grumbling belly.

"Ugh, gastritis…"

Ho Sung Lee cowered up like a shrimp and breathed heavily.

Ho Sung Lee's head was already hurting, and they hadn't even left for the dungeon yet.

Chapter 201: Chapter 201

***

The supercar made loud exhaust noises as it slowed down in front of a ship.

As soon as the supercar parked, Min Sung got out from the driver's seat.

Min Sung closed the door and looked at the store sign.

[Filling Meal]

He came to the address Ho Sung Lee gave him.

The sign had a black background with the words 'filling meal' written in cute letters.

It looked more like a fancy café than a place that sold sausage stew.

He didn't know if this place sold sausage stew just from looking at the sign, but he realized they did as soon as he saw their menu.

Min Sung entered through the glass door.

"Hello…!"

The employee greeted him, but when he saw Min Sung, he stopped himself and flinched.

Almost everybody knew who Min Sung was.

And the same went for the employees at this restaurant.

Including the employee, the rest of the customers inside the restaurant also stopped and looked at him blankly.

Since he wasn't a celebrity but a hunter, he was harder to approach, which meant it was hard to go up to him and ask for a photo.

As a result, Min Sung's appearance caused an awkward silence

Just like right now…

"I'll have one order of sausage stew, please," Min Sung said as he looked at the large menu board.

A moment later, the employee came to his senses and woke up to reality.

"Oh, sure! I-I'll get that ready for you right away, sir!"

Min Sung sat down at a table near the window and looked around him.

Just like the fancy sign outside, the interior also looked clean as it was mostly made out of wood.

And compared to the interior, the prices were fair.

The sausage stew was 7 thousand won, and if he wanted to order Bossam with it, it was 9 thousand won.

Since Min Sung had already had Bossam not long ago, he ordered the sausage stew, but above everything else, the prices were decent.

Min Sung drank some cold water and wiped his hands with a wet wipe as he waited for his food.

After waiting anxiously for a moment, the rice and side dishes came out.

There were 4 different types of side dishes.

Garlic roots, Kimchi, fried potatoes, and macaroni salad.

Min Sung took out the chopsticks from the box and tasted the macaroni salad.

It was sweet and soft.

It was also chewy and hearty.

Because it was made with mayonnaise sauce, it had quite the stimulating flavors.

The only downside was that it was too heavy to eat continuously.

Min Sung proceeded to taste the garlic roots and enjoyed the sweet flavors.

While he snacked on the side dishes, his one order of sausage stew arrived.

What was unique about the sausage stew was that it came in a stone bowl.

But the fact that it came in a stone bowl made it convenient for one person to eat it.

And most importantly, the way it boiled and stayed hot in the stone bowl made for fantastic visuals.

Above the sausage stew was ramen and melted cheese.

Just looking at it made his stomach grumble.

Min Sung went for the ramen first with great anticipation.

The ramen had steaming cheese on it as he brought it up to his mouth.

Min Sung slurped the ramen with cheese on it into his mouth.

As he chewed on the curly noodles, the scent of the cheese filled his nose, and after that, he ate a spoonful of rice followed by some hot sausage stew.

The original flavors of sausage stew were evident, and the fusion of the cheese and ramen made the flavors comparable to a mural created by a genius.

The sausage was so delicious that it made him dizzy.

Min Sung ate the rice and the hearty sausage stew as he charged his energy right back up.

Once Min Sung finished his meal, he headed back home.

Since he was driving home, he saw the tree before his house.

In that short period of time, the tree had grown exponentially.

It was growing faster and faster.

It was already 2/3 the height of an apartment building.

Min Sung looked at the tree in dissatisfaction and stepped on his gas pedal.

As soon as he got home, many reporters were

standing by to film him.

He hadn't even gotten out of his car yet, but the flashes were going off like crazy.

After parking his supercar in his garage, Min Sung quickly headed inside.

Ho Sung Lee was already there.

"You're here."

He accepted Ho Sung Lee's greeting as he looked around.

"Where's Ji Yoo?"

"She's getting ready for an official press conference regarding the tree here. There must be a lot to prepare."

"They're revealing it already?"

"No, not right away, but she's getting it ready just in case that situation comes."

Min Sung nodded.

"Let's go," Min Sung said as he headed to the yard.

Ho Sung Lee breathed in and out before gulping.

"Sir. Since you took care of the Demonic Realm, you'll be able to clear it easily, right?"

"I'm not sure. We'll see."

Min Sung wasn't positive.

"You said the fight against the Demonic Realm would be really difficult, but it was easier than you expected. I trust you, Sir."

"Don't trust anyone. Only trust yourself," Min Sung said coldly.

That sounded like he was saying he could be abandoned at any moment, which made Ho Sung Lee feel miserable.

As soon as Min Sung appeared, the researchers stopped their work to greet him before stepping back.

They already knew the gate on the tree had opened, and they received notice that Min Sung would come, so they quietly stepped out for him.

They were busy enough anyway.

If Min Sung was to go to the dungeon through the tree, the researchers were ready to study how the tree would change in the meantime.

For that reason, the researchers were either on their computers or organizing data material.

"Sir, General Kim called."

At that moment, Ho Sung Lee handed him the phone.

Min Sung looked up at the tree and knitted his brows."

"No."

In response, Ho Sung Lee said, "He's a little sensitive right now. He'll talk when we're back" and hung up the phone.

"Let's go in."

Min Sung touched the tree, and Ho Sung Lee, Bowl, and Ssol ran over and stood behind him.

[Gate Open]

[Player Check]

[Loading…]

[Ho Sung Lee may accompany as a supporter, but Ho Sung Lee is likely to die. Would you still like to take him along?]

"What do you want to do?" Min Sung asked.

"Pardon?"

"If I take you, it's highly likely that you'll die. Do you still want to go?"

"Am I allowed to stay?"

"Yeah."

Ho Sung Lee wasn't expecting that answer, so he looked at Min Sung and laughed bitterly.

"If you say that, that place must be really horrifying. That new dungeon that's supposed to swallow the earth whole."

"Stop the nonsense and tell me. Are you going or not?"

Min Sung asked while glaring at Ho Sung Lee.

"I told you. I've changed. Let me show you the results."

Ho Sung Lee spoke confidently as he glared at the tree.

Min Sung touched 'accept' without any hesitation.

At that moment, their bodily senses felt weird.

They began to feel numb as if they were losing sense in their bodies.

While they felt their bodies stiffen, Min Sung, Ho Sung Lee, Bowl, and Ssol saw the tips of their fingers shatter as if they were computer graphics.

This was probably the process of entering the dungeon.

A moment later, their entire bodies shattered like CG, and their consciousness was overcome with darkness.

The entire world around them wasn't dark for long, but it felt long to them.

And then…

Chirp! Chirp!

Min Sung, Ho Sung Lee, Bowl, and Ssol heard birds chirping.

The four players slowly opened their eyes.

They saw a green forest.

Ho Sung Lee, Bowl, and Ssol looked around them with big eyes as if they were very surprised.

And beyond the cliff was a beautiful scenery.

They saw a waterfall as well as a lake.

"Welcome to the new world. This is a world where legends and myths live and breathe. This place is called 'Beatrice'. Congratulations on entering Beatrice for the first time!"

They heard an unfamiliar voice.

Min Sung turned toward the voice first, followed by Ho Sung Lee, Bowl, and Ssol.

They spotted a small baby floating in the air while fluttering its wings with just leaves covering its private parts.

Above the organism read [Fairy 'Arin'].

"… Who are you?"

Ho Sung Lee asked as he took a closer look at the fairy Arin.

"I'm a fairy who's here to explain more about Beatrice to you!"

"Haha, you're cute."

"Really? Thank you!"

The fairy Arin's face flushed with joy, and it grabbed its cheeks out of embarrassment.

"Are you a boy or a girl?" Ho Sung Lee asked.

"I was born in the forest, so I have no gender. I'm a fairy, after all," Arin said with its thumbs up.

"I see. So this is Beatrice? This is a dungeon, right?"

"Is that what they call it in the human world?"

At that moment…

Min Sung approached the fairy Arin.

The fairy Arin saw Min Sung's cold expression and flinched out of fear.

"The tree connected to this world is called Beatrice. The tree in the human world. What do I have to do to get rid of it?"

"You want to protect the human world, huh? It's simple."

"Really?!" Ho Sung Lee asked.

The fairy Arin nodded up and down.

"If you rank at 1st place, you'll get a special benefit. One of those benefits is to make the Iris Tree, which acts as a gate to this world, wither away," the fairy Arin said while smiling.

"1st rank? How are the ranks decided? Does that mean there are other people here?" Ho Sung Lee asked.

The fairy Arin crossed its arms and opened its mouth with a serious look on its face.

Chapter 202: Chapter 202

"The ranking can be increased through points, and in order to acquire points, you need to catch monsters within Beatrice. The second way is to complete the system quests in Beatrice, and the third way is through 'reputation'," Arin explained.

"Reputation?" Min Sung asked.

He was asking for a more detailed explanation, and the fairy Arin caught on quickly and answered his question, "In other words, the 'players' in Beatrice have different levels of fame. Since you can check your information just by looking at the status windows, you can keep an eye on your ranking as well as your reputation score right now," Arin explained nicely.

Min Sung did as Arin said and immediately checked his status window.

[Status Window]

Player: Min Sung Kang

Power: 60

Accuracy Rate: 22

Stamina: 32

Magic Ability: 8

Magic Widsom: 7

Leadership: 8

Attribute: Thunder

Ranking: None

(Details…)

[Status Window]

Player: Ho Sung Lee

Power:11

Accuracy Rate: 11

Stamina: 16

Magic Ability: 8

Magic Wisdom: 7

Leadership: 8

Attribute: Supporter

Ranking: None

(Details…)

"Huh? There isn't much difference between Min Sung and I."

Ho Sung Lee asked Min Sung about his stats and was surprised after comparing their numbers.

At that moment, Arin jumped in.

"Just 1 point in the stats is a huge difference. For example, STR 1 and STR 2 show very big differences in power. It's almost like the difference between an egg and a rock."

"Oh, I see, hahaha…"

Ho Sung Lee laughed awkwardly.

"Then tell me about the connection between earth and Beatrice. Why did that tree called 'Iris' pop out of nowhere?" Min Sung asked Arin.

"They're cleaning the universe," Arin replied.

"Who? The Gods?"

Arin smiled and nodded in a cute manner.

"Yes. Them."

"So they're saying they'll only let the players in Rank 1 stay alive."

"That's right, hehe."

Arin smiled and looked amused.

"Do you think that's funny?" Min Sung asked sharply.

Arin was discouraged by Min Sung's attitude and immediately lowered its shoulders.

"… I'm sorry."

Min Sung sighed and looked around him.

"That Beatrice tree, which acts as the dungeon gate. How do I stop that tree from growing so quickly? Is there any other way other than ranking first?" Min Sung asked Arin.

"You just need to collect the 8 signs of divination. If you do, you'll be able to stop the growth of Beatrice for a set period of time!"

"Where do I get those?" Min Sung asked.

"Once you succeed in beating the boss raid, you'll have a small chance of obtaining one of the 8 divination signs."

"Where is it? The boss," Min Sung asked.

Arin started to tear up.

"I don't know that either."

Min Sung clicked his tongue and opened his item window.

"We should get moving."

He then took out the '+9 Gungnir" from his item window.

Kaboom!

As soon as Min Sung put his hands on the Gungnir, it made a loud, thunderous noise.

"Agh! I haven't finished talking yet," Arin urged.

Min Sung, Ho Sung Lee, Bowl, and Ssol, all looked at Arin.

Arin explained about the interface.

It explained who they could look at the map through the system screen as well as a condensed explanation of the world.

Beatrice.

This place was like a reverse world that could be accessed through a mysterious tree called Iris.

Since all of the strongest players from all the planets were gathered here, it was the best of the best.

It was a world of heroes where the humans looked like they were from legendary tales.

Beatrice was one of the worlds just like that, and it was separated into the inner continent, inner sea, outer continent, outer sea.

And according to the system map, Min Sung and his party were currently in the outer continent.

"If you head toward the inner continent, you'll be faced with stronger monsters! Since this world only contains the most powerful heroes, you have to be careful. Most of them are aggressive and fight for their own reputations. Of course, there are others who are not like that as well," Arin explained seriously.

"What happens if we die here? Do we just die? Or disappear? We

can't go back to earth, right?" Ho Sung Lee asked with a nervous look on his face.

"Of course, it's over. You don't have two lives. What made you come to Beatrice anyway, Ho Sung? You look really weak."

Ho Sung Lee dripped in sweat.

"I'm going to do my best to support my hunter here, so don't worry about me."

On the inside, he agreed with what Arin said, but he didn't want to look so weak on the outside.

"I'm not looking down on you. I'm actually worried. You might even end up dying during the tutorial stage."

"I-Is it that dangerous here?" Ho Sung Lee stuttered.

"Of course. Go back right now. You can log out in the interface settings, so you can go back to the human world at any time."

"Oh… Really?"

That gave him some hope.

To Ho Sung Lee, it sounded sweet to his ears that he could go back at any time.

"Sir, it sounds like you can go back to eat if you're hungry. This is good news."

Min Sung nodded.

As Ho Sung Lee said, this was an important matter to Min Sung.

"Okay then, on to my last explanation."

Everyone was focused on Arin.

"The Dionysus Gods are watching over Beatrice. For that reason, gods take great interest in this world. The gods will gift players they have interest in, and those gifts are a big part of what helps the players rank up."

It bothered him that the gods could mess with the game, but since there was nothing he could do at the moment, Min Sung knitted his brows and listened.

According to Arin's explanation, this place was a gaming world belonging to the Dionysus Gods.

They invested in heroes within this game, which led to a compensation, and that compensation could be acquired by picking a prospective player and help them grow, allowing them to gain power and authority.

Although it was just a game, this world was very important to the Dionysus Gods, and they were serious about it.

But whatever the case, it was undesired to become puppets of the gods.

If a monstrous tree called Iris hadn't begun to leach off of the earth, they never would have become the gods' puppets in the first place.

Min Sung didn't like this at all, but he was rational.

He had to get rid of the Iris tree.

He couldn't let his emotions get in the way.

"But it's difficult to gain attention from the Dionysus Gods. There are countless heroes with great capabilities in Beatrice."

"That's enough explaining. I just want to gain reputation, but in order to do that, I have to collect points. Where's the raid boss?"

"You can't start with the raid boss. You have to follow the steps, and then you'll begin to collect points."

"That's too bothersome. Can't I skip the steps?"

[You're beginning to gain attention from a small number of Dionysus Gods.]

A system message popped up.

This was the response of the Dionysus Gods that Arin was talking about.

"Oh! They're showing interest in you already. I guess great confidence and vigor are bound to get their attention. I'll be cheering you on, hehe. However, you have to follow the steps starting with the tutorial. If you achieve new records, you can obtain benefits, so do your best. I'll give you your first quest, so you can get going."

Ding!

The system alarm went off.

And then…

[Main Quest 1: Find Aransia Village]

They received their quest.

"Then see you next time!"

Arin waved her hand and disappeared into thin air.

Min Sung began walking with his '+9 Gungnir' in his hands.

Ho Sung Lee, Bowl, and Ssol followed behind him.

They were inside a forest of trees the size of Iris in his backyard.

There were no roadsigns or proper paths to follow, but the system map was telling them that 'Aransia Village' was to the north, so they figured their first quest wasn't going to be very hard.

"How powerful do you think the monsters are here? Since this is just a tutorial, they'll be weaker than devils, right?"

When Ho Sung Lee showed some hope, the first monster in Beatrice appeared.

"Roarrrrr…!"

A monster resembling a wolf growled and walked toward them with its guard up.

Above the monster read, 'Grey Wolf' in system letters.

It was a wolf as big as a tiger.

Its eyes were red. Its fangs were sharp, and its body was covered in muscles.

It was no ordinary wolf, but they had dealt with plenty of monsters like this one in the dungeons on earth.

"It doesn't look like a strong monster since this is just a tutorial," Ho Sung Lee said with a grin.

But in contrast to Ho Sung Lee's prediction, the grey wolf gave off a murderous vibe.

It brought upon so much threat, that it was hard for him to breath. So much that the whole area around them became suffocating.

After that, around 10 other grey wolves with red eyes surrounded Min Sung and his party.

Min Sung scanned the grey wolves with calm eyes and clenched onto his '+9 Gungnir'.

Kaboom!

The Gungnir caused lightning to show off its force.

But the grey wolves weren't intimated by the thunderous sound and approached them with an even bigger threat.

They were about to attack with full force without an ounce of hesitation.

Chapter 203: Chapter 203

In order to prevent Ho Sung Lee, Bowl, and Ssol from getting attacked, Min Sung began to deal damage.

However….

Grey Wolf.

Their name sounded ordinary, but the attack power of the monsters in Beatrice was far from average.

Min Sung swung his Gungnir and attempted to unleash his magic power, but the monsters were quick and agile.

They quickly dodged Min Sung's magic power, and once they got close enough, they opened their mouths in order to get a bite out of Min Sung's neck.

Min Sung stabbed a grey wolf's body with his Gungnir.

The blade of his Gungnir pierced through its body with a large slashing noise, but the problem came after that.

Min Sung was certain.

He didn't know about Bowl and Ssol, but he knew that Ho Sung Lee wasn't able to defend himself from their attacks.

But Ho Sung Lee exceeded Min Sung's expectations.

[Skill, Shadow Magic]

Ho Sung Lee transformed into a shadow and hid on the ground.

It was the best skill that could buy him some time to dodge the attacks of the grey wolves.

While the grey wolves looked for Ho Sung Lee everywhere.

Bowl summoned his devils, and Min Sung stabbed his Gungnir into the neck of a second grey wolf.

Slash!

As soon as Min Sung took out his sword, the grey wolf's blood spread everywhere as its body plopped on the ground.

Meanwhile, Bowl put his devils up against the grey wolves.

The grey wolf monsters were so quick that they were capable of dodging any magic power, so it was a much effective strategy to let them come close before attacking.

It was hard to believe just how fast they were in the tutorial.

That was when they realized just how difficult the new world was.

Min Sung instinctively felt it.

This place was so dangerous that it couldn't even be compared to the Demonic Realm.

"Back off, Bowl."

In response to Min Sung's command, Bowl withdrew his devils and stepped back.

Kaboom!

His Gungnir made a thundering noise as it went in for an attack.

But the grey wolf dodged Min Sung's powerful attack by twisting its neck to the side and then swung its large toenails.

Right before the grey wolf's nails slashed through Min Sung's side, Min Sung's Gungnir made another thundering noise as it slashed through the grey wolf's body first.

Even after seeing the death of a grey wolf, the other grey wolves fearlessly charged toward Min Sung all at once.

The grey wolves' eyes flashed with white light.

Swoosh!

A great force came out of Min Sung's Gungnir.

A white light containing the magic power covered the remaining grey wolves.

Once the magical light disappeared, all of the grey wolves had vanished without a trace.

All that was left were the items on the ground, proving that the grey wolves were now dead.

[You've acquired 300 points.]

[Your reputation has risen by +1.]

[The Dionysus Gods are beginning to take an interest.]

[Congratulations! A small number of Dionysus Gods have favorited you.]

When he checked the status window, he saw his performance points and reputation score, and the number '5' was an indicator of the number of Dionysus Gods that had favorited him.

When Min Sung closed the status window, Ho Sung Lee appeared from his shadow form.

"Phew. Why is the tutorial so hard? I think this is the hardest it's ever been." Ho Sung Lee said while glancing around.

"Is the great and almighty support you were talking about nothing more than hiding?"

In response to Min Sung's criticism, Ho Sung Lee laughed and shook his head.

"I didn't have to show you my abilities yet. You'll see my development soon enough. Haha."

Min Sung ignored him and looked at the system map as he continued moving.

Ho Sung Lee sniffled and followed behind him.

Bowl snickered at Ho Sung Lee while Ssol beamed a smile.

"Are you having fun?"

Ho Sung Lee expressed his discontent at Ssol and Bowl.

Bowl and Ssol didn't answer and Ho Sung Lee fooled around with them as they followed behind Min Sung.

"I feel like I'm the outcast here."

A vein popped out of Ho Sung Lee's horsehead as he twisted his lips from side to side.

***

It didn't take them very long to get

to Aransia Village via the system map.

But before they arrived at the village, they had to make a choice.

They had to decide between hunting to gain more performance points and clearing the quests first.

Min Sung had to make a decision at the crossroads.

"Sir, in most games, it's most effective to clear the quests than to hunt."

"But this isn't a game."

"That's true, but you're not weak, and since your beginning stats are high, you should complete the quests so that you can obtain the benefit of being able to stop the growth of the Iris Tree first."

Min Sung nodded.

"Good idea. Let's head to the village…"

Min Sung stopped himself and looked in a certain direction.

Ho Sung Lee looked at Min Sung with a confused face, and a moment later, he understood.

Min Sung was looking at men and women.

One blonde man and two beautiful women.

The man looked handsome and young, but the women looked a little different.

The tall and skinny woman showed off doll-like visuals and pointy ears while the small and cute woman had animal ears.

It was an elf and a cat creature.

Only the man standing between them looked like a normal human.

"Hello."

The blonde young man smiled and greeted them.

Despite the fact that he wasn't speaking Korean, English, or any foreign language, they were able to understand everything he was saying.

That was probably a consideration made by the world of Beatrice.

After all, the language watch couldn't interpret a language that it didn't know.

"Haha. No need to keep your guard up. We're novices just like you."

Novice.

It meant inexperienced, rookie, and beginner, which meant that they were new here as well.

"Is it your first quest to get to Aransia Village?" The young man asked.

Ho Sung Lee stood in front of Min Sung.

"Yes. We're heading that way," Ho Sung replied in Min Sung's place.

"Then how about we travel together? We're much safer if we travel in big numbers," the young man said with a smile.

"What do you think?" Ho Sung Lee asked Min Sung.

Min Sung scanned the unfamiliar people with a cold gaze.

"Is there a way we can call the fairy again?" Min Sung asked the young man.

"I'm not sure. I'm also a novice, so I don't know much about this world."

There was one thing he was curious about.

He was either a human or an alien from another planet.

He wanted to know if his reputation would go up by killing that alien.

But if he asked that question to these strangers, he couldn't be sure that they would tell the truth, and he couldn't kill them recklessly either.

That could lead to a very bad situation.

It was even possible that his reputation would fall to a minus.

"Tell them to get lost."

In response, Ho Sung Lee delivered the message and continued walking.

After saying goodbye to the 3 men and women, he followed Min Sung.

The 3 men and women watched quietly as Min Sung's party took off.

***

"Wow… That's so cool. Elves and cat creatures. I've only seen them in fairy tale books. We just saw different species in this world. Wow, I can't believe it," Ho Sung Lee rambled on on their way to Aransia Village.

"Shut up. We're not here to have fun."

"Yes, Sir."

As soon as Ho Sung Lee shut up, they approached Aransia Village.

They saw a small village in the middle of the trees.

Once they got there, their 1st quest would be complete.

It was a relatively easy quest.

[You've cleared your first quest.]

[You've acquired 50 experience points.]

[Main Quest #2 – Plundered Village – This village was abandoned after being plundered. You must find the culprit and make them face judgment.]

Their second quest appeared.

Just as the quest explained, all of the houses within the village were destroyed, and there were also remnants of a fire.

Even the ground was black due to the burning.

Min Sung scanned the ruins of Aransia Village and knitted his brows.

'Find the culprit?'

'It's not possible for the culprit to still be here on this land where not a single ant can be seen…'

That was what Min Sung thought before raising his head.

The tutorial wasn't over yet.

There was no way they would have given them such a ridiculous quest.

No matter how playful they might have been, there was no such thing as a game without rules.

The 3 beings they encountered before reaching Aransia Village.

He was certain that they had something to do with the quest.

Min Sung extended his senses in all four directions in order to find them, and 3 beings got caught by Min Sung's senses.

North.

They were looking their way.

"The 2 people we saw on our way here…"

Min Sung pointed north as he continued, "I think they're the culprits."

Ho Sung Lee, Bowl, and Ssol all looked north with shocked faces.

"Keep guard," said Min Sung before running with a large explosive noise.

At the same time, he took out his Gungnir.

Kaboom!

Along with the sound of thunder, the magic power destroyed the tree that was in Min Sung's way.

As the tree split into half due to the powerful magic power, the magic power split into all directions.

Min Sung slowed down and looked ahead of him.

He began to see the 3 beings they encountered on their way to Aransia Village.

The young man stood in front of the two women as he smiled with a thin sword in his hand.

He looked completely unfazed by Min Sung's attack.

Chapter 204: Chapter 204

"Let me introduce myself. I'm the prince of Persis, Yulice. Oh, and by Persis, I'm talking about where I'm actually from outside of Beatrice."

Min Sung glared at the man who introduced himself as Yulice without much interest as he gripped on to his Gungnir.

"You're the one who plundered Aransia Village, right?" Min Sung asked Yulice with cold eyes.

"That's correct."

He revealed his identity easily.

"If we were going to fight anyway, you should have lifted your sword when we first met. If you waited this long…"

Yulice smiled.

"We're novice hunters. We have to catch you when you have more experience points in order for us to obtain them when we defeat you."

Yulice was full of confidence.

He didn't keep any promises.

"Whether it's plundering or murder, that'll affect your reputation here."

Yulice laughed.

"You really don't know anything, do you? Didn't the fairy explain it to you? The reason why the Dionysus Gods created this world is simple. They're trying to reduce the number of stars in the universe. They're going to get rid of the trash and only leave the most powerful. That means we need to prove ourselves," Yulice explained while staring at Min Sung.

"Is that your opinion or a rule of Beatrice?"

"I'm going to make it so that my opinion becomes Beatrice's rule, and you're simply a part of the process."

"Are you saying you plundered Aransia Village just so that you could hunt down novices?"

Yulice laughed.

"Is that a problem?"

Min Sung sighed.

"No."

"Then why do you look so dark? Are you scared?"

Yulice captured every single aspect of Min Sung's facial expression and forced a smile.

"I'm just hungry."

"… What?"

Yulice showed a blank look on his face in response to Min Sung's unexpected answer.

Meanwhile, Min Sung prepared to attack.

Beatrice was a world where only the most powerful could enter.

For that reason, Min Sung was curious about his power.

He had to fight to find out.

Min Sung walked toward Yulice.

Yulice slightly smiled as he gestured for the elf and cat creature to back off before preparing with his long and thin sword in hand.

He stood up straight. He broadened his shoulders and filled his eyes with confidence.

Beatrice was a world where only the most powerful gathered.

For that reason, Min Sung focused as much as he could.

The prince of Persis.

He just looked like a geek.

But it left quite the impression that his magic power didn't work on him.

Once Min Sung got close enough, he prepared to attack first.

***

Yulice watched Min Sung approach with a smile.

It had already been 2 months since he began hunting down novice hunters.

When they first met, he lied that he was a novice as well.

Beatrice was a world where the most powerful gathered and established their respective ranks.

In a place like that, the fastest way to grow was to kill other players and steal their performance points.

He approached other novice players in a friendly manner in order to betray them, and once he acquired performance points from a few of them, everything went smoothly after that.

That was how they managed to build their stats and reputation.

Evil reputation was still a reputation.

But half of it was a gamble.

He was worried that killing players could put him at a disadvantage, but his judgment was correct.

This world was created based on blood.

It was also a place where the person that stood at the top of the bloody tower could prove to be the very best of the universe.

In a place like that, he decided that acquiring performance points the old-fashioned way wasn't going to cut it.

Yulice used the other novices as scapegoats and made them his shortcut to growing as fast as possible.

And up until now, that decision yielded great results.

Since the monsters in Beatrice were very powerful, it was much easier to acquire performance points from killing novices rather than the monsters.

And compared to hunting monsters, his way was much more efficient.

As a result, Yulice was full of confidence.

He had experience as well as confidence in his abilities.

He fully believed that he

could use this novice as another scapegoat so that he could steal his performance points.

But…

As the distance between them grew closer, Yulice sensed something strange.

His growth in Beatrice was beyond imagination.

So it was a given that he could defeat any novice, but the novice standing in front of him seemed to be at a whole different level.

Yulice regretted keeping his guard down.

Min Sung's Gungnir made a thundering noise as it charged toward him.

The end of the Gungnir was sharp, and its magic power was definite.

The basics were strong, and it was clear that it possessed great force, which caused Yulice to start sweating.

He was known as the one-and-only genius of Persis.

He lived a life without a single moment of frustration or defeat.

He even thought he had clear foresight.

But today…

He got a sense that he might have picked the wrong opponent.

Swoosh!

Yulice clenched down on his teeth and twisted his head.

Min Sung's Gungnir cut the side of Yulice's ear.

Yulice ignored the pain and prepared to fight back.

Before Min Sung could pull his sword back, Yulice swung his favorite sword, 'Piane'.

His Piane gave off an aura as it formed the shape of a cross that flew toward Min Sung.

However.

Min Sung's eyes flashed as he struck the aura with his left hand.

Boom!

Yulice quickly dodged backward with a shocked look on his face and looked around him.

'This won't be an ordinary fight.'

He didn't think he would have had to use his new skill against a novice.

Yulice stiffened his face and prepared to use his skill.

The skill he acquired in Beatrice was powerful beyond imagination.

'It's not something a novice can fight back against.'

A powerful light began to shine from Yulice's thin and long sword, and from that light appeared a phenomenon of 3 dragons.

That phenomenon flew toward Min Sung like wild animals.

Yulice was certain that his attack would 100% guarantee his win.

He had already confirmed that his opponent wasn't agile nor was he outstanding in stamina.

As a result, he strongly believed that just by using one of his normal skills, his opponent would acquire great damage.

***

Min Sung opened his item window as soon as he saw Yulice's 3 dragons.

He then touched a shield.

And immediately, he was equipped with a shield on his left arm.

Since he could equip himself with an item just by touching the item once in the item window, he was able to quickly prepare himself.

The aura in the form of 3 dragons came at a slower speed but had great accuracy.

Min Sung had already known this.

He calmly looked at the attack, and rather than dodging it, he charged forward.

He pulled the shield toward his shoulder and directly blocked the 3 dragons that Yulice had unleashed.

Kaboooooom!

He felt a great deal of pain.

Since Min Sung had never faced off against an opponent with such strong offense, he was a little surprised, but he had to focus on fighting Yulice.

The 3 dragons Yulice unleashed clashed against Min Sung's '+9 Dragon Hunter Shield' and disappeared.

It was Min Sung's turn to attack.

Yulice tried to back off with a shocked look on his face, but Min Sung wasn't willing to give him that opportunity.

A loud thundering noise rang from his Gungnir.

Kaboooom!

Min Sung's magic power roared and charged toward Yulice.

The magic power flew over from the Gungnir at an incredibly fast speed.

Slashhhh!

The magic power from the Gungnir penetrated Yulice's right shoulder.

"Ugh!"

Yulice grimaced and wobbled from side to side.

Meanwhile, Min Sung approached closer and swung his Gungnir.

After Yulice lost his right shoulder, he swung his sword to his left hand and quickly blocked out Min Sung's attack before backing off.

But that was it.

When Min Sung unleashed his special skill, Yulice didn't stand a chance.

All that was left for him was defeat and death.

Slash!

His Gungnir slashed through Yulice's body with a large thudding noise.

"Ugh…!"

Yulice dripped in blood as his strength left his body.

He plopped down on his knees.

"H-how can a novice be this powerful…?"

Yulice looked at Min Sung in disbelief while coughing out blood.

Min Sung allowed Yulice to stare as he grabbed onto his Gungnir, which was currently within Yulice's body.

Min Sung saw Yulice's eyes.

His eyes were shaking.

He was afraid of death.

But there was no more hope in his eyes.

That was because it was a perfect defeat without any lingering feelings.

Yulice struggled to breathe as he looked up at Min Sung with dying eyes.

"… I thought this was just the beginning, but I guess not," said Yulice with a face that was draining away.

Min Sung took out his sword from Yulice's body without a word.

Swoosh!

Yulice plopped down on the ground with his mouth and eyes still open.

Since he wasn't a monster or an organism from the Demonic realm, he didn't disappear.

Since he was a species of another world, he remained on the ground without moving.

No items came out of him, but the system compensated him.

[You may choose between 'power output' and 'Yulice's Beatrice Skill'.]

[Yulice's Skill, which he acquired in Beatrice, gives off an output of 1.25 times.]

[Power output is accumulated, so it can be a useful choice in the long run.]

Chapter 205: Chapter 205

[Please choose between power output and 'Yulice's' player skill.]

Min Sung picked 'power output' without any hesitation.

He had no desire to have Yulice's shabby skill.

[You've chosen power output.]

[Your magic power output has increased by +1.]

[All stats have increased by +1.]

[10 Dionysus Gods have favorited you!]

[Mers God gifted you with 300 performance points.]

[(TIP) You can use your performance points to buy a kill or item in the store.]

Min Sung looked down at his arms and body.

There was a cloud of white smoke coming from it.

And at the same time, Min Sung felt it.

He sensed the incredible power flowing through him.

Although his stats only increased by +1, he felt completely different.

Min Sung looked down at the dead Yulice.

He understood why he put his life on the line for player kills.

But since he didn't know very much about this world, he couldn't just go around killing everyone.

If he did, he would have had to take on risks, or his objective of getting rid of the Iris tree would grow fainter.

He couldn't let himself get seduced by power.

He had to maintain his rationality.

That was what Min Sung thought as he looked beside him.

An elf and a cat creature.

The two women were looking at him.

They both looked horrified.

They looked at him in fear, but they didn't try to run away from him.

They were frozen still.

"Why didn't you fight with him? Aren't you a team?" Min Sung asked.

"We… just followed along because we couldn't beat him," the short cat creature replied.

The elf also nodded in agreement.

"I heard only the most powerful beings gather in Beatrice though."

Min Sung took turns scanning the elf and cat creature.

"What are you?" Min Sung asked.

In response, the elf responded, "Beatrice used to be our world. Before you appeared, that is."

That was when Min Sung understood.

It appeared that the Dionysus Gods took over a star that was already inhabited.

If that was true, that meant that if they weren't a player, they were natives of Beatrice.

"Did you use to live in that village?"

The elf and cat creature nodded.

Seeing from their faces, it didn't look like they were lying.

It was possible that they were amazing actresses, but that wasn't important.

The important thing was time.

Time was passing, and the Iris tree was sucking up the earth's resources as they spoke.

"I know this sounds ridiculous… But can we go with you to the next destination?" The elf asked with a face as scared as that of a deer.

At that moment, Ho Sung Lee, Bowl, and Ssol arrived.

"We came here because we thought you were okay, but who are they?" Ho Sung Lee asked while pointing at the doll-looking elf.

At that moment…

Ding-

[Main Quest #3 – Find a safe home for the lost elf and cat creature.]

"They used to live in Aransia Village. We got another quest."

"Oh, I saw that as well. I'm a part of your party, so I get the same notifications as you."

Min Sung nodded and checked the system map.

There was a place labeled as a city nearby.

The city was called Vanguard Frontia.

It was located only 12 kilometers away.

"We're going to Vanguard Frontia."

Min Sung led the way, and the elf and cat creature showed their relief as they followed Min Sung and his party.

***

On their way to their first city, Vanguard Frontia, Min Sung's party was able to hear more about the city from the elf and cat creature.

According to them, there were 3 dungeons around Vanguard Frontia.

The city was a place where Beatrice natives sold and bought items from novices.

But recently, there had been less and less novices, which led to the city being quite empty.

They were also able to hear what they couldn't hear from the fairy from them.

"The time in Beatrice flows differently from everyone's homeworlds. I heard that a month here is the same as an hour in the players' homeworld."

As soon as he heard that, one thought crossed his mind.

"Sir, that means if we log out and go back to earth to get

food, we have to come back right away. Since time goes by faster in reality, we won't be able to eat in Beatrice for the time being."

Min Sung agreed with Ho Sung Lee.

Since the passage of time was different, that meant that they were able to buy time in reality.

And meanwhile, Min Sung's party also found out that they had to log out in each city.

It was easier to find each other after logging out that way, and they could use the city's warp gate to pass over to other cities.

For that reason, they had to get in the habit of using cities as their base.

And not long afterward, they began to see Vanguard Frontia in the distance.

He was able to get there in no time if he put his mind to it.

But they just found out that the passage of time in Beatrice was different from earth.

And as for the quest, they had to safely deliver them to the city in order to complete the quest and acquire performance points, so he had to go at their pace.

But the elf and cat creature was faster than average, so he didn't have to go as slowly as expected.

At this rate, they were going to arrive in Vanguard Frontia in no time.

"Can you see the ranks on the players that are high in rank?" Ho Sung Lee asked the elf with curiosity.

The elf explained that she couldn't tell him that much and shook her head.

Since they weren't players in Beatrice, they didn't know such details, so the conversation ended there.

Min Sung sped up a little, and in order to get to Vanguard Frontier quicker, the entire party sped up as well.

The person who broke the long silence was Ho Sung Lee.

"Sir."

"What?"

"When we get to the city, can I log out and go get groceries? I think we should get the food while we're in the city."

Min Sung nodded.

"Do that."

"Yes, Sir. Anyway, those gods sure live fun lives. They watch humans as if they're watching TV and even add game systems into the worlds."

Ho Sung Lee sighed as he continued, "But I guess that's why there's a job called hunters now."

Ho Sung Lee mumbled to himself as he smoked his cigarette.

They began to see the entrance of the first city, Vanguard Frontia.

As soon as they escaped the forest, they were met with a path, and they even saw two guards as well.

This was the first city they were to enter in Beatrice.

***

"Stop right there."

The two guards put up their long spears and stopped them in their tracks.

They were both tall and large in stature.

"You're not just novices. Why is there an elf and a cat creature trying to enter Vanguard Frontia?" The guard on the right asked with a stiff way of speaking.

"They lost their village due to a player. We're the only survivors of Aransia Village."

The guard on the left whispered to the guard on the right.

The right guard nodded and looked at Min Sung, Ho Sung Lee, Bowl, and Ssol.

"Are you novices who just arrived in Beatrice for the first time?" The guard on the right asked.

Ho Sung Lee answered yes, and the guard ordered them to use the system interface to register themselves as novices.

Registering as novices as a type of identification, they were able to do that through their system interface.

The party made their novice cards, which would be used as their identification in Beatrice, with the help of the guards.

The novice card contained information such as their names as well as which star they came from.

It appeared that that was what they used to confirm the novices' identities before letting them pass through.

But it wasn't particularly intricate.

It only took them 5 minutes to register as novices and enter the city.

"Welcome to Beatrice."

Min Sung accepted the guard's stiff welcome as he entered the city, Vanguard Frontia.

***

Just as the elf and cat creature had said, the city, Vanguard Frontia, was empty.

There was a shop selling items to novices, and they only saw a few Beatrice natives here and there in the large city.

"This city's so empty."

When Ho Sung Lee said that, he received a system notification.

[Main Quest #3 – Clear]

[You've acquired 50 performance points.]

[You currently have +700 performance points. If you collect 300 more, you'll be able to use the shop.]

They were notified that they acquired performance points, but there was no word of their next quest.

"Thank you for helping us."

"We were forcefully getting dragged around by Yulice. We're free now thanks to you."

The elf and cat creature expressed their gratitude.

"No need to thank us. It was our quest."

Min Sung answered seriously, but the way the elf and cat creature saw it, Min Sung's eyes were full of kindness.

"If you're not planning to go to another city, I can introduce you to accommodation. Would you like my assistance?" The elf asked Min Sung respectfully.

Ho Sung Lee asked what Min Sung was going to do with his eyes.

"We'll go to our accommodation, and then you can go get groceries, Ho Sung."

"Yes, Sir."

Min Sung expressed his desire to follow, and the elf and cat creature smiled with delight.

Since they looked innocent and pure, they didn't see any harm in settling down in an accommodation of their introduction.

Min Sung followed the elf and cat creature to their accommodation.

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