[The Cooldown of Ellie’s Swordsmanship has been reduced by 20%.]

[The Mana Required for Ellie’s Swordsmanship has been reduced by 20%.]

[The additional attack power has increased to 60% for stabs and lunges of Chapter 1: Sword of Fury, a successful stab at a vital point will give an additional 100% damage.]

[An additional 35% attack power has been added to the flurry of swords created by Chapter 2: Rampant Sword. The duration has also increased from 6 seconds to 7 seconds.]

[Chapter 3: Scattering Sword has been added. One strike would result in six attacks with 30% additional damage to each attack.]

[The increase in all stats for Chapter 4: Ellie’s Swordsmanship has increased to 20%. The duration has also increased from 6 minutes to 8 minutes.]

[The steps for Chapter 5: Step has been modified. Attacks are now allowed within those two steps. Each step lets you travel a one meter distance.]

The evolution was jaw-dropping. Chapter 1: Sword of Fury had now become much more powerful. There was even an additional skill, Chapter 3: Scattering Sword, that gave Minhyuk the power to attack one target six times in a row with one strike. Even Chapter 4: Ellie’s Swordsmanship had a 3% increase in all stats while the duration had increased by several minutes. As for the final chapter, Chapter 5: Step… Step was originally a skill that did not allow attacks while moving. This meant that Minhyuk could only evade and close the distance with this skill. However, it was different now. He could now freely attack and evade with those two steps.

Then, Varen summoned a monster in the dreamscape.

“Grrrrrrr!”

It was a giant ogre. Generally, ogres were mob monsters at Level 300. Varen had only one reason why he summoned an ogre. He thought, ‘I don’t know how powerful he is.’

In other words, Varen did not know Minhyuk’s level. So, he wanted to confirm how much strength Minhyuk had. After all, even a Level 10 foreigner would not be able to exert enough power with Ellie’s Swordsmanship. However, if Minhyuk was stronger than he thought, he would be able to exert a stronger power.

“This place is in our dreams and quite a lot of things are possible here. Let me see your skills.”

Minhyuk nodded as the furious ogre rushed to where he was. Its steps were so heavy and aggressive that each step was accompanied by a loud bang. Minhyuk quickly used Step.

[Step.]

[You can attack while instantly travelling a distance of one meter twice, allowing you to quickly narrow or widen your distance from your target. ]

Minhyuk used the first step to dodge sideways and chop the ogre’s leg off.

Spurt!

“Graaaaa!”

Then, he used the second step to move forward and slash its chest.

“Grroaaaaar!” The angered ogre roared loudly as it swung its ax heavily in Minhyuk’s direction.

Fwoooom!

Clang!

Minhyuk might only be at Level 210, but he still had monstrous stats that could easily surpass other players at his level. Minhyuk quickly used a skill to stop the heavy ax from falling down on him.

[Scattering Sword.]

[A single attack will deal six additional damages with each instance dealing additional 30% damage.]

Sparks flew from the collision of Minhyuk’s sword and the ax.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Minhyuk’s sword was suddenly covered with a bright red force as he swung it fiercely towards the furious ogre.

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash!

The ogre’s body was littered with slashes from the six powerful attacks that came from a single strike from Minhyuk.

Thud!

The ogre collapsed on the ground!

Fwooosh!

Minhyuk felt some movements behind him. He turned around only to see another ogre! Minhyuk quickly evaded the charge.

“There’s still some time left.”

“Why can’t you just tell me about it first?!”

Varen shrugged, while his eyes narrowed sharply. He thought, ‘I can’t believe it...’

Of course, Varen knew that Scattering Sword was a skill that could inflict six additional damages consecutively. However, no matter how strong the skill was, it would not be able to finish an ogre in a single shot. This only meant one thing…

‘He’s not just a simple chef.’

Minhyuk was strong. Varen’s expectations of him were rising. He felt like he was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It was as if his hope was coming back to life.

[Sword of Fury]

[Additional 60% attack power for strong lunges and stabs, if a vital strike is successful, the bonus will be 100%.]

Stab!

Minhyuk’s sword stabbed the ogre’s stomach. The energy that was condensed at the tip of his sword exploded.

Bang!

The explosion from the huge force condensed in his sword blew the ogre up in a single strike.

Splat, splat, splat━

“Phew,” Minhyuk sighed as he sheathed his sword. He had looked at Ellie’s Swordsmanship earlier and saw that its rank had changed to ‘Legendary’, although its level had reverted back to 1.

‘Ellie Noona told me that she will teach me more of Ellie’s Swordsmanship once I cook for her but...’

Did that mean that the skill would become even stronger?

“Let’s go now.”

Clap!

Varen’s clap returned them back to the carriage.

“How did it go? Did your skill evolve?”

“Yes. It’s not that bad. I have to get to the Valkyrie Kingdom fast.”

“Why?”

“I have to eat sushi!” Minhyuk said. It was a very Minhyuk thing to say that his evolved skill was not that bad, while being more excited about eating sushi. Then…

“Ack!”

…They heard a distressed cry from the person manning the carriage, Root. Then, the carriage shook heavily before stopping.

Bang!

***

As the carriage ran fast, Root thought, ‘I wish we could get away from our enemies and meet with Ellie soon.’

The place where Ellie and Varen were supposed to meet was not that far away from them right now. If they continued at this pace, they would be able to meet with them safely and complete the quest easily. 

‘If we meet enemies...’ 

The only one that looked reliable was the woman who was sitting in the carriage.

‘His Highness Varen, is not that good at fighting. His redeeming quality is his special ability...’ Root thought. But then…

Swoooooosh!

…An arrow that was as big as a spear flew towards them and pierced through the two horses all at once.

Spurt!

“Ack!”

Both horses could not even let out a scream as they fell down helplessly on the ground, making the carriage shake loudly as it stopped in its tracks. Root hurriedly pulled his bow and raised his awareness.

[Scan.]

[Your eyes can easily spot enemies near you.]

Although they were in the middle of the forest, Root was still able to see their enemies lurking behind the trees with his skill. The enemies were marked red.

‘Damn it. There’re a lot of them.’

It seemed like there were at least ten people after them. In particular, there were a lot of archers pulling their bows and aiming at them. From what Root could see, there was also a player among their enemies.

The player Red was aiming his great bow at Root and his party. The great bow was a very gigantic bow with an arrow the size of a spear. Red loaded an arrow and aimed carefully. Red was a player that stood among the top 100 in the Archer Rankings. He was well known for his wildly destructive arrows that could break and destroy anything on its path. Now that he had found their enemies, he could already imagine the enormous rewards that he would receive. So, he slowly aimed at the door of the carriage.

[Party Chat | Red: As soon as another person comes out of the carriage, I will shoot all of them down except for the king. You guys should keep that archer player in check!]

Red hurriedly closed the party chat window and took a deep breath.

Meanwhile, Root hurriedly took out an arrow and aimed at Red on his seat in front of the carriage.

[Aimed Shot!]

[An arrow that can hit a vital point.]

Twang!

The arrow flew in a straight line. However, white-colored arrows rained down from between the trees as soon as his attack fell.

[Induced Shot!]

[An arrow that can counteract an enemy’s arrow.]

The arrows that were flying straight at Root fell down helplessly on the ground. Then, the door to the carriage opened as a man appeared.

“What’s wrong?”

The man had a frying pan hanging on his back. Red hurriedly adjusted his bow and aimed it at the man.

[Power Arrow!]

[A powerful arrow that can easily penetrate the enemy all at once.]

Vwoooom!

Red grinned darkly. His Power Arrow was a very powerful skill, even Level 400 players would have a hard time dealing with this skill. Once they got hit with this skill square on, they would receive a huge amount of damage.

“Goddamn!”

Root quickly pulled his bow tight.

[Triple Induced Shot!]

[Three arrows that can counteract an enemy’s arrow.]

He pulled the bow hurriedly and shot the arrows but it was still countered by plenty of arrows from the enemy. Red’s arrow flew unimpeded towards the heart of the player with the frying pan. In other words, his arrow flew straight at Minhyuk’s chest.

“Gotch...”

Before Red could finish his words…

Ting!

The arrow hit the armor and fell down in vain. Then, a strong force bounced back to where he was. The attack ended up being useless.

[Physical Damage Reflection! Returns double the damage received.]

At the same time…

“Keuuuack!”

…Red shrieked in pain as a strong force penetrated his chest.

[Your HP has fallen below 20%.]

[You were struck by a heavy blow. You will be stunned for 3 seconds.]

‘W…what in the world is that damned armor!’

Red was astounded. The arrow fell down uselessly the moment it reached the man’s armor. He even took double the damage in reflection.

“Ho.”

Minhyuk rubbed the part of his armor where the arrow struck. He said, “Isn’t this quite good?”

Minhyuk grinned at the effects of the Armor of Immortality. Then… Genie popped out of the carriage. Her hand was holding a bright red whip.

Shwaa!

Genie swung the whip around and it caught the neck of one of the hidden archers.

Pull!

Genie pulled hard and the archer that got entangled with the whip was dragged out.

Crackle!

[Fire Whip]

[A strong flame that can easily incinerate the enemy.]

The flames that sprouted out of Genie’s whip immediately devoured the archer.

Crackle, fwoosh!

The archer was forced to log out after being subjected to a very strong flame. Genie was also a holder of a Legendary class, the Whip Conjuror. Each time Genie’s whip lashed out, another archer would be dragged out from their hiding spot.

[Party Chat | Red: Damn it, she’s strong. What the hell is this woman?!]

[Party Chat | Voltno: Crazy...! A damned whip can be used like that?!]

The person that was most surprised by the situation was none other than Root. He thought, ‘Im…impossible...!’

The enemies that were surrounding them were all at least at Level 300 but the woman easily entangled them. She could even drag them out in pairs and groups. That was not all… There was also the chef player, Minhyuk! The arrow that struck straight at his chest just bounced off and fell down uselessly.

‘These people... Who in the world are they...?’

Even though Root was surprised, he was still able to promptly come back to his senses and pull at his bow.

Twang!

As soon as he let go of the arrow loaded on his bow, the arrow flew swiftly and lodged at Red’s neck.

“Keok, keok!”

Root forced the player to log out and rushed to the carriage’s door.

“Minhyuk and Root should protect His Highness!” Genie shouted hurriedly.

Root turned to Varen and said, “Your Highness, we should run!”

“I understand.”

Just when they were about to move, Root felt it…

‘The enemies are coming...!’

…Their enemies emerged one by one at a speed visible to the naked eye and their numbers were not small.

“Don’t worry. Just run!” Genie said. She smiled at him as if it was just a piece of cake. Root nodded as he turned around to run with Varen and Minhyuk.

Swoosh!

Root quickly countered the arrow that was flying towards them.

“Wow...”  Minhyuk exclaimed in admiration.

“Haha. Even though I look like this, I’m used to shooting arrows quickly.” Root said and laughed at the thought. He felt that if he did not try to smile in the situation that they were in, Varen would be overcome with a crippling sense of anxiety and fear. The three of them ran as they left Genie alone behind. However, what they heard was not her screams but the shrieks of their enemies as they fell down one by one under her hands.

“Keuack!”

“Ugh, keuaaack!”

“Ack!”

Then, at that moment…

Vwoooooooooom!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

…The enemies began to blow their trumpets. It was a signal. A signal for the rest of them to flock to this place. Root was overwhelmed. He was panicking. He thought, ‘What should we do? How can we get out of this?’

Could he do it alone? Could they even escape from here with a chef with outstanding armor and Varen that could not fight? He did not know. All he knew was that they had to run.

***

Athenae’s Public Relations Team was moving urgently behind the scenes. They had been working tirelessly as they answered phone call after phone call.

“The live broadcast will begin soon!”

“Wait for the appropriate timing!”

Among them was the team leader of the Public Relations team, Lee Taejin. He thought, ‘Before the update, a live video of Varen and his escorts who are trying to fend off the attack of their pursuers will be broadcasted. I’m sure that we will get plenty of good responses for this.’

This was a unique way of promoting their content. However, he was still unsure of the effect. The attackers were one of the top four guilds in the country, Ares Guild. On the other hand, the escorts were also quite formidable. One is the guild master of Legend Guild, Genie, and the other was the currently trending Frying Pan Killer.

‘Really interesting.’

Team Leader Lee Taejin’s hands were sweating just as he watched the monitor. He did not know how this coincidence could happen that two opposing guilds would meet in this quest for the update. However, he was sure of one thing. They would be able to capture the best footage and garner the best response among the populace.

At that moment, Team Leader Park Minggyu of the Special Players Management Team and Team Leader Lee Seokhoon of the Development Team entered the room together.

“When will the broadcast begin?” 

“We will start at the most exciting time.” 

“The most exciting time?” 

“Look over there?”

Team Leader Lee Taejin pointed over at two monitors. One of the monitors was displaying Varen, Root and Minhyuk’s situation as they continued to run quickly. The other monitor displayed six people chasing after them. Team Leader Park could see that the person leading them was someone that he was familiar with.

“Iris’ Kohei?” 

“Bingo!”

Kohei was a gamer that Iris Guild spent billions of won just to bring him directly to the country from Japan. He was a pro-gamer in the same league as the number one gamer Rovan. However, what was more interesting was…

“Just like Player Minhyuk, he also has a god class.” 

…He had the Cursed Knight class, a god class like Minhyuk’s class.

“A story about the Frying Pan Killer and the Cursed Knight. It’s a very interesting sauce. I hope the Frying Pan Killer will be able to put up a fight,” Lee Taejin said. His tone showed that he believed that Player Minhyuk would lose unconditionally.

Team Leader Park grinned at him. He said, “What are you saying? I hope the Cursed Knight will put up a bit of a fight.”

Lee Taejin looked at him in confusion. Team Leader Park should know that the gap in their level was very wide. The Cursed Knight was at Level 300, but he was pretty much under the spotlight for his video hunting a Level 400 player just recently. On the other hand? Player Minhyuk was just at Level 221. However, Team Leader Park's expression looked like he was saying ‘We’ll see about that.’.

“I’ll bet a month’s worth of coffee that Player Minhyuk will win.”