Most players would be reluctant to train at the chestnut demons hunting ground, since the mobs provided low experience and item drops. It was why the place had plenty of mobs roaming around. 

However, based on time efficiency, the place could be considered to be the better choice compared to other hunting grounds. There were plenty of mobs, and if a player was supported by enough skills, they would definitely level up fast. 

‘Besides, what better opponent than those that are higher than yourself, right?’

Armin soon arrived at the chestnut demons' hunting grounds. 

Swish! 

"Kuek!" 

Chestnut demons were quite strong compared to other mobs of their level. However, they were no match for her, who was labeled as one of the top GodCon[1]. 

Slaaash! 

Armin quickly hunted some chestnut demons and shot to Level 4 in an instant. 

'Too easy.' 

Just as she had that thought, a huge chestnut came out of an overgrown bush. It had its thorny skin peeled off with part of its fleshy kernel showing. To be exact, that was on the monster's head as its body started to rise up. 

She soon saw the whole thing in its entirety… 

It was a chestnut demon that was three times bigger than normal, but still a bit smaller than an orc. 

‘Chestnut Demon King?’ 

Her forehead creased as she looked down at her weapon. 

'A wooden sword… Can I even use this wooden sword to defeat a Level 15 Chestnut Demon King? Should I run away?’

‘No, that's an 11 levels gap, it would be good if I could challenge it with just a wooden sword. It's the easiest way for me to level up.’

With that thought in mind, she rushed straight at the monster. 

Slam! 

"Kuhack!" 

Her wooden sword struck at its neck. The monster swayed for a bit, before swinging its arms at her fiercely. The two started to exchange multiple blows. 

This was definitely the Light Knight of the past, Armin. She quickly narrowed the distance between them and pressured it. 

Slash! 

Slam! 

Every time she struck it with her wooden sword, thorns would rain down on her. 

'How can its HP be this high!' 

Just as she thought that, the Chestnut Demon King narrowed their distance in an instant. 

Slam! 

Its arms struck past her body. 

Bang, bang, bang! 

Sharp thorns rained down on her and penetrated her body. 

"Kyaaa!"

She let out a small scream as the Chestnut Demon King approached her. 

[Your HP is below 20%]

"...Damn it." 

Her HP fell drastically in one shot. It would definitely not be an issue if it had been a party of Level 4s.

At that moment, a man suddenly appeared out of the thickets. The man's eyes widened when he caught sight of the huge chestnut hanging on top of the head of the Chestnut Demon King. 

"It… it's the great king of chestnuts…!" 

'What's with this person?' 

"It's a huge chestnut! I’ve never seen a chestnut this big!! Woow! It's very fleshy, it must be hard to roast. Wow! Wow! Wow!"  Minhyuk kept on nodding as he exclaimed in joy.

"Are you going to help me or not?!" 

"...If I help you, will I be able to get that chestnut?" 

Armin had seen that kind of bright look before. 

'Those are the eyes when someone gets at least an Epic item… and yet, his eyes were shining brightly when he saw the chestnut on top of the Chestnut Demon King?’

"You can have it, what's your level?" 

She was dragging herself away from the approaching Chestnut Demon King. 

"Level 7."

"Crazy…" She breathed a sigh in defeat. 

The chestnut king would definitely kill her and this crazy person together. 

"Can I have it? Please don't do anything like stealing it, yeah?" 

"How can a Level 7 like you face the Chestnut Demon King……?!"

[Bardy Swordsmanship] 

[+9 to all 5 basic stats for 5 minutes.]

Rustle, rustle—

Minhyuk pulled the Sword of Rebellion out. 

Dash! 

He quickly narrowed the distance between him and the monster. 

'He…he's fast…!' 

‘He's only Level 7? That speed does not make sense. It’s not just that… ‘

He quickly pierced through the sides of the Chestnut Demon King at a high speed. 

'He looks like a player who has trained for quite a long time…!' 

As Armin thought this… 

Slaaaaaash! 

[Dauntless Strike] 

[Each attack inflicts additional 20% damage.]

"Kuuaaaaaaaaack!" 

The Chestnut Demon King shrieked, its thorns shooting up in the air. 

Fwooom! 

The arms of the Chestnut Demon King moved to catch the fleeting man. At that exact moment, Minhyuk's eyes shone brightly. 

[Vital Strike] 

[Additional 17% ATK power for each successful strike.] 

Minhyuk could see all three of the vital points of the Chestnut Demon King. The ‘+’ effect would not be activated if he did not stab any of those three spots. He accurately thrust his sword towards one of the vital points, which was the bottom of the stomach, of the Chestnut Demon King. 

[Additional 17% ATK power.] 

Creeaaak! 

"Kuaaack!" 

'It's accurate… Like a person who has striked a thousand, no… ten thousand times… Just how many years of kendo did he do to get to this point?’

At that moment, the Chestnut Demon King collapsed very slowly.

Thuuud! 

Minhyuk struck the head of the Chestnut Demon King. 

Slash!

Then… 

[You have leveled up.] 

[You have leveled up.] 

"Oooooooooh! I’ve gained a chestnut that's as big as my head!" Minhyuk held up the chestnut, which came from the head of the chestnut demon king, as he shouted with joy. 

Minhyuk felt happy. He was in a very good mood. This was because he had gotten a big chestnut unexpectedly. 

"Miss, miss, do you know of an acrostic poem for 'Bam'[2]?"

Armin stared at him blankly. 

"Beautiful chestnuts; Absolutely tasty; Make me a ton!"

"......" 

"What about this one?" 

"......" 

"Blanched chestnuts are bland; Additional sugar I add; Man, it tastes great!"

'He's definitely a crazy person…!' Armin sighed.  

Minhyuk went on his own way as he held his chestnut and hummed happily. 

"You should take the items. A good one came out," Armin called out.

In fact, a situation like theirs could be considered vague and ambiguous. It would definitely create plenty of trouble between players if not handled carefully. 

However, for her, it was just a mountain of artifacts.

"The items? It's already very kind of you to give me the chestnut…!" 

'Someone who heard us might think that the chestnut is the epic item.' 

"I don't have any use for it anyway." 

"Thank you!" Minhyuk did not refuse anymore and took the items. 

[You have acquired Chestnut Demon King's Polished Thorn.] 

[You have acquired Chestnut Demon King's Necklace.] 

[You have acquired 26,431 gold.] 

‘Come to think of it, I think I might have heard that I leveled up twice. I'm Level 9 now.’ 

He could soon leave this place after raising another level.

Minhyuk first checked the Chestnut Demon King's necklace. 

(Chestnut Demon King's Necklace) 

Class: Rare

Durability: 1,000/1,000

Defensive Power: 40

Special Abilities: 

•STM+4

•+100 DEF against chestnut demon's thorns

Description: The probability of this dropping after hunting the Chestnut Demon King is very rare. 

It was a rare-class item. When hunting for chestnut demons, the defensive power will increase by 100, in addition, there was a +4 in STM which was equivalent to having an increase of 40 in one's defensive power. 

The reason why the defensive power of the necklace was lower than an armor was because it was an accessory-type artifact. These types of artifacts tend to have a lower defensive power. However, what was usually worth considering were the special abilities attached to the item. 

He then checked the Chestnut Demon King's Polished Thorn. 

(Chestnut Demon King's Polished Thorn) 

Material Grade: D

Special Abilities: Additional attack power when making weapons. 

Description: The Chestnut Demon King's polished thorn. Can be used as a quest item or be sold in stores. 

"Nice, nice." 

Minhyuk disappeared into the thickets with a satisfied look.

Armin struggled to get up to look at where he ran to. She then leaned her back against a nearby tree. 

"Beginner Recovery." 

[Beginner Recovery is activated for players below Level 10.] 

There were plenty of convenient welfare systems for players below Level 10. In this case, once the player took a rest, their HP could recover by itself. 

After pulling out the thorns from her body and throwing them away, Armin could see light seeping through her wounds as they slowly recovered. 

'That player… how can he be that strong?' 

She had some doubts. 

‘Did he get a legendary class at that level? No… that doesn’t make sense, his skills were a bit too ordinary. And yet… his skills and artifacts don’t make sense for his low level?' 

She then recalled another aspect of the fight. 

'No matter how good his artifact is, his movements were still too good to be true.' 

Armin had seen plenty of real-life athletes among the Rankers. Control was, after all, very important in Athenae as it was a virtual reality game. Minhyuk's skills were very similar to that of those in the rankings. 

'Sigh… I don't know anymore.' 

She leaned her head comfortably against the tree. With the sole exception of the Chestnut Demon King, the other mobs in here would not attack first. 

She relaxed and took a break for a moment, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep. When she opened her eyes again, she realized that an hour had already passed. She had fully recovered as well. 

'If I were more skilled, I could have taken down the Chestnut Demon King… Looks like I've really come to rely too much on magic…'

Armin bit her lips as she rebuked herself. It was a reason for her to grow and develop, moving forward. 

At that moment…

Zoooom—

Zoooom—

It was the sound of a weapon swinging through the air. Curious, she moved to take a closer look. As she pushed past the bushes, she saw the player from before swinging his sword. 

'...Is he training?' 

She was quite surprised. 

'Who will train without anyone pushing them to do it?' 

She felt as if her world had been turned upside down. The player was full of perspiration as he swung his sword diligently. 

'He should know that what he's doing is practically inefficient…' 

Ordinary training, except for attacking the scarecrows, would not yield any increase in the stats. 

Of course, if one trained their swordsmanship repeatedly, they could become more skilled at it. However, before reaching Level 10, it was common sense and much better use of one's time to just hunt monsters and use the points gained to increase their skills. 

'So why… Do..don't tell me…?!' 

She suddenly felt like she understood it. 

'Did he develop himself through repetitive training?! He's fine with it even if his stats don't go up?!' 

It was the only thing that made sense to her. Training continuously would eventually help a player improve, even if there was no increase in their stats. 

'Aaaah…' Armin bit her lips. ‘Even a high-level person like me has lost my initial spark.’

In the past, she used to cast her magic repeatedly, just so she could improve her skills. Right now, that player was in the middle of a rigorous training session himself. 

Armin hid as she watched him silently.

After he finished exercising, Minhyuk mumbled to himself as he tried to catch his breath. 

"Hoo…… In real life, I have to exercise for 5 hours before taking a break." 

'He… he has to exercise for 5 hours in real life?!' 

She was very shocked. 

‘Who the hell is this player? As expected, strength is not something you can have in a snap…! Having a higher level doesn't mean that one has reached the summit!’

Regardless of their standing, even a low level person had something that she could learn from. 

She watched as Minhyuk started to prepare something again. He took out a burner, a pot, and one bottled water. In addition, he pulled out a chicken from his inventory. 

'Huh?' 

She tilted her head in confusion. 

"Huhu… Spicy braised chicken with chestnuts!" 

‘The harmony created when the sweet, potato-like texture of the chestnuts meets with the spicy taste of the spicy braised chicken… ‘

Minhyuk started making spicy braised chicken with chestnuts on the spot. As soon as he finished cooking five chickens, he began to bite on it with a happy smile. 

The smell floated towards Armin’s nose. 

'It…it smells delicious…' 

Drool! 

She unknowingly wiped her drool away. 

‘What did I eat in real life today? A handful of cherry tomatoes, a salad, oh, and a detox drink too.’

'Wow, he really eats deliciously. Wow, no, no! How can you eat that in one bite!' 

She was very surprised. Just when there were only two chickens left… 

'How can he eat this deliciously?' 

Her body moved unconsciously. She really did it unconsciously. 

"He, hey…!" 

She came out of the bushes then said, "Ca..can I have a bite?!" 

"...?" 

***

Minhyuk looked very puzzled when he saw the female player from earlier coming out of the bushes. 

"Ca..can I have a bite?!"

Minhyuk felt conflicted. 

'Kgghk, there's only two chicken left, if I put eight bowls of rice in here, it would barely be enough.' 

However, she had given him the big chestnut. That was not all. She had not hesitated in giving him the other drops as well. 

"I understand. Then, just a bit…" 

"Thank you!" 

She quickly sat in front of Minhyuk and picked up a big chicken leg. 

Then… 

"Waoooow!" 

Chomp! She ripped off a big piece. 

'De..delicious…!' 

The dish was well-seasoned and the sweetness of the chestnut had penetrated the soup well. It was cooked well and the meat was very tender, not tough at all. 

Chew, chew—

She ripped another big piece off and started eating without restraint, before turning to Minhyuk to say, "I know now." 

"What?" 

"How you're so strong compared to other players. Don’t you train repeatedly every day? I want to be strong too." 

"...?" 

1. Godly Control ☜

2. Pronounced as B-ah-m. This is the Korean pronunciation of chestnut. ☜