Ace had just arrived in Roscul Village, Elvenheim.

Elvenheim was the name of the area in close proximity to the Elven Forest where the large-scale war started. Since the players could not directly warp to the Elven Forest, they first needed to warp to Roscul Village, then pass through a group of monsters to get to the area that they wished to go to.

Ace recently attended an elementary school trip for the past few days so he had to join the conquests at a later time. Since he was currently alone, he was facing a lot of difficulties. The mobs that he had encountered on his way to Area A were not as simple as he thought they would be. Fortunately, perhaps because of reasons similar to Ace’s situation, there were a lot of players looking for party members in the village.

“Hurry! Join our party and let’s go to Area A together!!!”

“We can accompany you to Area A with great manners! Ladies are extremely welcome!”

Ace looked around and found people that were saying things that he liked.

“We’re looking for a warrior who will aid us in helping save those poor elves and cross the path of life and death with us!!!”

“Give your heart to the elves!”

The players surrounding them gave them a strange look and stepped back.

“We…weird…”

“What the hell? A chuuni?”

“Are they hearing themselves?”

However, the seven people, in particular, did not mind what the others were saying about them. All of them were wearing masks. Among them, there was only one person wearing a black mask.

“Those who join us will be our blood brothers!!!”

As for Ace…

“…C…cool!!!”

…his eyes shone brightly as he stared at them.

‘Oh my god! Isn’t that an amazing line? A warrior that will save the elves and walk the path of life and death!!’

Ace hurriedly approached them and said, “Great warriors! I’m Fire Fist Ace. Do you mind if I accompany you on your long journey to save the world?”

“Oho? Fire Fist? That’s a great name.”

“Kid. You got a cool name.”

“Kid?”

Fire Fist Ace looked at them seriously and said, “I’m Fire Fist Ace. Please call me Ace.”

“Oho. I see. You’re such a cool kid. Ace.”

“Fufufufufu! You warriors are very cool too!”

That was how they started accompanying each other. Ace moved towards the wagon with them. He could see the man in a black mask sitting in front of the wagon with his arms folded on his chest.

“He’s quite a taciturn man.”

“Yeah. He’s a quiet person, but once he opens his mouth, you will see that he’s a wonderful man.”

Ace stared at the man sitting in front of the wagon with glittering eyes as he boarded the wagon.

‘H…his coolness is exploding…!’ 

The taciturn man’s armor glistened under the sunlight and his black sword was quite a rare sight to see. He was even wearing a mask!

At that moment, the surroundings suddenly became noisy. The players that were walking in front were suddenly fleeing to the back.

“What’s happening?” The man with the black mask asked.

“A titan appeared up front!”

“A titan?”

Ace's brows furrowed.

A titan was a legendary boss mob with a level that was over Level 450. It was said that there was only a slim possibility of encountering this monster en route to Elvenheim’s Area A. It was a very tricky monster to deal with since it could wield magic with every swing of its huge club. What was worse was that it was always accompanied by several one-eyed giants, also known as the cyclopes.

Most of the large guilds started early and were far ahead of them. Those who were left behind were either latecomers, or small guilds. Since most of the people that remained in this place did not have any cohesion at all, it would be very hard for them to hunt this kind of monster.

All of the players ran back from the wagons. Even Ace wanted to flee, but the man standing in front of him said, “Coachman, speed up.”

“…?!”

Ace was caught in surprise. The titan was a monster that was quite hard to hunt. Even he, a player from Legend Guild, thought that way. However, the man sitting in front of him just spoke deeply with his arms still crossed on his chest.

The wagon dashed forward.

Clack, clack, clack, clack!

Clip, clop, clip, clop!

Their wagon was dashing forward, a sight that was completely contrary to the fleeing wagons.

“Wow… Others are running away but we’re moving forward.”

“Ace, don’t you think that it’s better if we try and confront it once?”

Ace nodded at the man who spoke. They were really nice old men.

Then, the titan and the cyclopes appeared in their sights. All in all, there were six cyclopes in front of them. These were monsters that were equipped with strong armor, and a strength that was enough to tear apart an ogre.

At that moment, the titan swung its club.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

It was a sudden and unexpected attack!

“Gasp! I’ll stop you!”

However, just as Ace was trying to summon Hell’s Fire, the man that was sitting silently in front turned his head to look at him. Ace’s eyes met with the man’s quiet gaze. Then, the man said, “Everything’s fine, boy.”

Then, he looked straight ahead again.

Ace suddenly realized that there was a huge magic attack coming straight towards them. It was the wind that was generated from the swing of the club. The magic that was shot from the club destroyed the trees and rocks in the surrounding area. Just then, an unidentified presence suddenly wriggled on the man’s right arm.

“Roar. Destiny.”

Grrrr!

A giant ice dragon suddenly appeared from the man’s right arm! The ice dragon created a huge ice wall in front of them and successfully blocked the incoming attack.

This time, the man stretched his left arm.

“Go wild. Britney.”

“Kiiiiiieeeeeeck!”

Crackle!

A giant fire dragon appeared this time, and it unleashed a huge Flame Breath.

Puhaaaaaa!

“Keuaaack!” The titan shrieked in pain.

Not long after, the man leaped gracefully up in the sky.

Tap!

Then, he landed on the back of the giant dragon that was named Britney.

The titan and cyclopes had been easily hunted and killed, which was the complete opposite of what Ace had expected. After dealing with them, only then was Ace able to ask for their names.

“E…everyone! I want to know your names. It’s such an honor to be with wonderful people like you!”

“I’m Killei. A mage.”

“I’m King God.”

“I’m Emperor.”

“I’m Magister.”

“Ah. I’m…”

A man with bulging muscles hesitated for a moment before reluctantly spitting out his name. He said, “Ge…General…”

And finally, there was only one man left. The man spoke deeply.

“Black Dragon. That’s my name.”

“…!”

Ace thought that it was really a great name.

***

Knight Rouverge was a temporary member of the Iron Blood company. Currently, he was extremely hungry. He thought, ‘I can even sell my soul, just to eat one sandwich.’ 

The problem was that they were in a very desperate situation. It would still take them another day to get out of Zone 1, which meant another day of dreaming about eating just a little more.

Grooooowl—

“I…I’m hungry!”

“…I’m going to die of hunger…”

“Does anyone have any jerky or nuts to spare?”

Then, at that moment…

Sniff, sniff—

…Rouverge’s nose twitched. There was a delicious smell wafting from somewhere.

“Who is it? This is definitely the smell of someone grilling meat?!”

“Where’s this smell coming from?!”

“I’ll give you 300,000 gold, please share some with me!”

After all, what was the use of their money if they were not alive to eat the food! Money did not matter at all.

The knights were all in a buzz. The smell that was wafting over was like the smell of the meat grilling in a restaurant that they always passed by whenever they were very hungry. Their mouths were watering at the thought.

Then, one of the knights suddenly cried out, “Over there!”

“O…over there…?”

Then, they saw the scene of the Rice Supplement company huddled together in front of a huge tent while having a meat party. They did not know how they made them, but they could see them grilling some pork ribs on a grill. One of the knights even made a big wrap with the pork ribs.

“Th…that’s right. Yeah… Put the pork ribs on top of it, add some pickled onions, some garlic and dip it in some mustard sauce.”

The knight that was making a big wrap did what the other knight said. Then, he placed everything in his mouth.

Chew, chew.

Rouverge’s mouth moved by itself. He could already imagine the taste of the pork ribs that the knight was eating. If it was him, he would chew the pork ribs gently as soon as he placed them in his mouth. He was sure that the sweet, savory and juicy flavor of the meat would definitely bring a huge smile to his face. Alas, Rouverge’s mouth was only filled with his own saliva.

Grooooooowl!

It was the sound of their trembling stomachs.

“I…I want to eat…”

“Wow…”

“H…how are they able to eat pork ribs here?”

They were not aware, but it was only possible because Minhyuk had his aging jar which could immediately ripen the marinated pork ribs.

The knights looked at the Rice Supplement company in a daze. They were mesmerized by the sight in front of them. What was worse was that the Rice Supplement company looked like they were on a field trip, having so much fun.

“Do you see that tent? It looks warm…”

“How are we going to sleep in such a cold place today after seeing that…?”

In the end, Rouverge could not take it anymore. He stood up and declared, “I’m going to go there to get a bite!”

“Don’t you have any pride?”

“None! At the rate we’re going, I’m going to die anyway, can my pride let me stay alive?!”

It was obvious that they served under different Empires. However, he could not stand it anymore. Rouverge approached them and asked, “Th…that… Can I have some meat and eat with you?”

To his shock, the commander of the Rice Supplement company just said, “Ah. You’re hungry, right? By all means.”

“…Ca…can I? Really?”

Rouverge was in shock.

‘I was not expecting this to be this easy?’

Then, the commander that was sitting in front of him continued to say, “There is still some food left while there are still hungry people. Even though our empires are at odds, feeding the hungry is a different matter.”

Minhyuk smiled kindly at him. Rouverge could not help but feel excited. Their commanders were foreigners that would not bleed even if they were stabbed. Hence, they continued to quickly push ahead, without a care for the soldiers, until they collapsed. In contrast, the man in front of him was gracious and kind.

What was more…

“Yo! What’s your name?”

“Welcome, come sit here!”

“It’s good to eat together! Welcome!”

The members of the Rice Supplement company also reached their hands out to tempt him.

“Th…thank you!”

Rouverge quickly sat down and wolfed down the meat.

Meanwhile, the Rice Supplement company and the head of the religion, Minhyuk…

…each and every one of them had mischievous smiles on their faces.

***

[You have received Rouverge’s favor.]

[You have received Rouverge’s favor.]

[You have received Rouverge’s favor.]

There was a spike in the enemy NPC’s favor! Then, Minhyuk made eye contact with the Rice Supplement company.

‘They finally took the bait.’

‘They took the bait.’

Yes. That was right. They were baiting the enemy knights like those big-time scammers. Right around this time, the other members of the Iron Blood and Reapers company were gradually coming toward them.

“C…can we also eat together with you?”

“Can we eat with you? I only ate nuts and jerkies for three days straight…”

“Ahhhhh. That…!”

Minhyuk and the members of the Rice Supplement company all lamented at their woes, showing extreme expressions of sympathy.

“This, this! Ah! Come on here and eat!”

“Sit, sit!!!”

“Oho. Don’t rush while eating. You must have been very hungry, huh?”

“Sob, sob, sob! This is delicious! Everyone back home gave us the impression that Eivelis Empire was bad, but it seems like it’s a place that’s filled with affection!”

“Ah. Eat slowly. Hohoho! I know how you feel. You were really hungry, huh? Here, have some water.”

“Gulp, gulp!”

One of the members of the Rice Supplement company patted the back of one of the hungry knights with a fishy smile on his face.

Minhyuk and the members of the Rice Supplement company were all fishing as a group to increase their numbers. Again and again, the members of the Iron Blood and Reapers came over.

Well, according to Minhyuk’s calculations, around this time…

“What are you doing?!!”

“You punks!!!”

…the two commanders would appear.

The two of them wanted to build their prestige, so they roared at them loudly.

“You’re not going to go back right now?!!!”

“At this rate, do you even have the pride to be in the Collodis Imperial Army?!!!”

Minhyuk also chose to speak at that time. He said, “Aaah. Wait~ What’s so bad about feeding hungry people?”

The members of Reapers and Iron Blood all looked at him as if they were looking at their savior. They were very comforted with Minhyuk’s actions.

‘Aaaaah! He’s arguing with our commanders! And he even gave us food to eat!’

His favor among the hungry knights increased dramatically.

Meanwhile, the two commanders…

“We’re done!”

“We don’t need that favor from you!!!”

…turned around to protect their pride. Now, what do you think would happen if they did something like this? Their soldiers have already tasted Minhyuk’s magical pork ribs. In the first place, it was something that they could not eat, but they ended up eating it. This meant that their hunger would just increase if they suddenly stopped.

‘All we have to do is wait for them to come to us first.’

***

Eclei and Bach were both in disbelief. Their knights left without their permission to go and eat meat. What was worse was…

‘They even ate from that goddamn bastard too!’

At that time, Knight Commander Nelson said, “Even though we separated, I don’t know why you refused to let us go there when they were willing to share with us!”

“Wipe the pork ribs sauce on your mouth.”

“Everyone is complaining of hunger. At this rate, there will be people that will not be able to stand it and die. It’s because of your pride that you’re stopping us…”

“Shut up!”

Nelson was suddenly enlightened when he heard Eclei’s words. He soon came to this conclusion, ‘My goodness, why are you refusing what they gave us?’

‘You’re completely different from the commander over there.’

‘I envy the men under the Rice Supplement company.’

Then, Eclei and Bach heard a totally unexpected notification.

[The Knights Order’s distrust in their commanders has reached the highest level.]

[They will not listen to your orders well.]

[Nelson’s favor has decreased.]

[Coman’s favor has decreased.]

[Atejua’s favor…omitted.]

[Your members may defect.]

[The percentage of your commanding ability has dropped sharply.]

“…?!”

Minhyuk clearly did not swear at them nor pick a fight with them, yet somehow, at this very moment, he and the rest of his company caused Eclei and Bach to eat some big shit, all by themselves.