Minhyuk leaned his ears close to the door as he listened to his father’s story.

“Are you alright, Chairman?” 

“I’m fine. I just don’t know what to do about it. Hohoho!”

Minhyuk could hear his father’s laughter through the door, but the underlying bitterness in his voice was unmistakable. Then, his father said, “Fortunately, I got the special ice fragment from Callame’s Island. What a relief, right? I made sure to keep it safe too.” 

‘Callame’s Island?’ Minhyuk thought, chewing over the words ‘Callame’s Island’.

Callame’s Island was an island that was surrounded by a hellish coldness that most players dare not even challenge it. Most of the players that tried to challenge the island had died from frostbite. Even the trials that awaited the players along the way were extremely difficult. One player even said, ‘In reality, you’ll already go crazy even if the weather gets just a tiny bit colder. That place is so much worse. You can get frostbite there, you know?’ 

The thought of freezing to death, even if it was just in the game, was too scary. To think that his dad had actually gone to Callame’s Island?

‘It seems like he's probably much higher in terms of level?’

Kang Minhoo and Park Munsoo’s conversation continued.

“But, it’s still a relief. I started the game when that brat started playing the game too, and now, I can finally feed him this delicious ‘Neolbing’.”

“Chairman...” Park Munsoo trailed off.

Hearing those words made Minhyuk’s eyes turn watery, then his gaze became cold and sharp. This was the moment that he realized that his father also started playing when he started his treatment. He even played the game and worked hard to become strong, just for one goal… to feed Minhyuk delicious and good food.

Minhyuk’s fists clenched tightly.

‘Bachran Guild.’

The people that entered Ructo’s Tomb with him, Javin and Buckle, were also from Bachran Guild. Kaistra had told him while they rode on Penrus before, that the Bachran Guild was also preparing to ambush him, because they were targeting his millstone. Minhyuk quickly searched for Bachran Guild’s information. The guild was a notorious guild, but they were careful not to touch large guilds to avoid conflict with them. Therefore, the large guilds had also let them be.

‘Are they afraid of shit? Is it because they’re dirty so they try to avoid them?’

Minhyuk turned around and walked back to his room to access the game. 

Meanwhile, Park Munsoo sighed sadly as he watched Chairman Kang Minhoo smile and chuckle, while trying to look on the brighter side of things. 

“Well, it seems like the youngsters these days could really be like that, huh? Hoho! Ah, I need to get some rest. I haven’t slept yet since I kept on playing. Oh. Please don’t forget to clean my desk,” Kang Minhoo said as he opened the door and went out of the office.

Park Munsoo bowed silently until Kang Minhoo left the office. The moment Minhoo stepped out of his view, the expression on Park Munsoo’s face turned frigid. He slowly took off his horn-rimmed glasses and hung them in his chest pocket while thinking, ‘How dare...! How dare...! How dare you lay your hands on Chairman! I will never let those bastards go!’

This was the first time that Park Munsoo felt so much anger in his life. Of course, it was something that happened inside the virtual reality, but he still could not stand the thought of people laughing horrendously as they stabbed the chairman’s body. Park Munsoo took a while to stifle his boiling anger.

After he calmed down, he stepped forward to clear Minhoo’s desk. That was when he found a fountain pen stuck inside one of the Chairman’s notebooks. He silently reached out for the notebook and pen.

‘Hmm?’

When Park Munsoo opened the notebook to remove the pen, he inadvertently saw the contents written on it. What he saw made his eyes widen.

“...!”

[Hoo... I still feel bitter that I got PK-ed. It would really be great if there are people that can help me at times like these. Ah... I think I heard that Kim Taesik of Ilhwa Constructions also plays Athenae. Come to think of it, Lee Taejin, the Chairman of Nottogi also plays this game.]

Park Munsoo looked at the chair where Chairman Kang Minhoo was sitting on before leaving. In fact, there were only a few of the department heads in Ilhwa Group who were aware that Chairman Kang Minhoo was currently playing Athenae. Besides, Athenae was a game that a lot of famous people had played in recent years. There were even plenty of political and business leaders that were rankers, so it was not that strange to see older people in the game. However, Park Munsoo saw this as a ‘sign’.

‘How dare you mess with Chairman, I will make you guys pay for that...!’ Park Munsoo thought. Out of anger, he began to send messages.

At the same time.

Kim Taesik, the president of Ilhwa Constructions, was currently holding a meeting when he saw Secretary Park Munsoo’s shocking message in their emergency contact network.

[The Chairman said that he was PK-ed by Bachran Guild.]

“...!”

Jump!

Kim Taesik’s eyes widened as he jumped up in shock, plunging the entire conference room into silence.

“Continue,” Kim Taesik said, slowly sitting down.

He used to have nothing. He was a child and was forced to start working at a young age, to make ends meet. However, no matter how hard he worked, he had reached his limits and was pushed back because of his lacking educational background. Back then, Chairman Kang Minhoo accepted him despite his status and educational background. He was very grateful for the chairman’s kindness. That was when he thought of him as his benefactor.

He was now a Level 424 mage in Athenae. He definitely had enough power to help. So, he quickly went to his chatroom.

There were a total of four people in this chatroom, him, the president of Nottogi, as well as the presidents of Ilhwa Distribution and Ilhwa Electronics. The four of them teamed up to play and enjoy Athenae together until they reached Level 400, a level that was considered to be the minimum condition to be called high-leveled. They also wore black masks together with their expensive artifacts. Most players called them the ‘Four Hyenas’ after watching them wander around the hunting grounds.

Right now, their chatroom was on fire. After all, each and every one of them was indebted to Chairman Kang Minhoo! Then, President Kim Taesik sent in their chat...

[Kim Taesik: Hyenas, get ready to hunt.]

***

Crone had recently received a letter from Calauhel.

[You must get the disaster artifact from the Frying Pan Killer no matter what. You can also reach an agreement with the Legend Guild’s Guild Master. If that’s impossible, then hunt and wipe out Legend Guild and the Frying Pan Killer. You can also borrow the support of the Asgan Continent’s Nobility that’s connected to Black Stone, including the support of the Black Stone Member ‘Pharaoh’s Envoy’.]

Asgan Continent was one of the continents in Korea’s servers. It was an extremely extraordinary offer since there were plenty of Black Stone members in Korea. Among the local members, there were unique stone members in the country. One of them was the Pharaoh’s Envoy. The Pharaoh’s Envoy had an amazing ability that could make him summon ancient warriors.

‘No matter how strong Legend Guild is...’

It was going to be a hard fight.

Then, Crone thought, ‘Would Genie agree?’

The answer was definitely going to be a no. He did not even need to ask to hear such an answer. It was clear that the Frying Pan Killer already knew about the existence of the disaster artifacts. It was already too late for them to pay Legend Guild for the disaster artifacts, a group that consisted of only rankers that sought after the best of the best.

Crone raised his chin in thought, and before long, he thought of a trick. He could first disguise himself as a member of Legend Guild to kill one of his own members. He pondered deeply over such a trick as his mouth twisted in a nasty grin.

‘Right, we can use him.’

Crow, the bounty hunter. He thought that he could use Crow’s identity and make it look like they were attacked first.

Crone quickly stood up as he moved to make his plans work. He had already placed a bandit class player in Valhalla Town just in case he needed it. It was not that difficult to learn of their location since Legend Guild itself had posted their coordinates on the official community board. After all, it was best for them if players flocked to the small town of Valhalla, since they would be able to promote it faster if there were plenty of players who came into the town.

The man he had sent was currently looking at Valhalla’s current strength.

***

The player named Carn was currently looking around and examining the strength of Valhalla.

‘It has a long way to go. It’s not yet developed.’

Players could also construct buildings using their own resources and guild funds. Valhalla, which was just granted to Legend Guild, was still a desolate place.

‘The number of guards is too low...’

According to the information that Carn had gathered, the territory’s previous Lord, Hesdon, was an incompetent man. In addition, Hesdon was said to have recklessly sent his men to the subjugation force. Unfortunately, the men’s lives were lost during the subjugation. It was for that reason that he was stripped of his title and power by King Varen. It happened to be the right moment that Legend Guild came.

‘There’s clearly something in this territory.’

Legend Guild were the heroes of Valkyrie Kingdom. Such people would not have been given such desolate territory by the kingdom. It was clear that there was a high probability of having various quests and resources.

‘Hmm...’

Carn decided to look around and check the management.

First, the lord’s vassal. They have to check the vassals properly. The first vassals that people chose were usually very influential, powerful people, and were most likely to be placed in the position of the deputy lord. The reason was simple, it was because the vassals were in Athenae 24 hours a day. Then, Carn saw an old man coming out of the place that was said to be the lord’s home.

“Deputy Lord. Hello.”

The old man nodded at what he thought was a regular citizen’s words. He looked like he had quite some force in his body. Then, he turned and walked towards somewhere.

Carn frowned when he saw the old man. He thought, ‘That’s a strong person?’

Then, he watched the old man walk towards the farm nearest to the lord’s home.

‘Huh?’

Then, old man suddenly acted strangely. The old man picked up the tails of the cats that were being raised in the farm as he scrutinized their butts closely. Then, he began to take down notes in his memo.

“Good, good. It’s packed well~ The lord will definitely like some Luwak Coffee once he sees this.”

The Chatty Grandpa Ben has appeared!

‘What the hell is that old man doing?’

The old man was weird. Then, he heard the words of the citizens.

“Phew. Deputy Lord is like that again.”

“Yeah...”

“My goodness. I wonder what will happen to our Valhalla.”

“Deputy Lord lost his child before. You know? So what’s wrong if he loves coffee like that? Our new lord must be supporting the old man’s hobbies. I heard that he thought of our Lord as his child and that’s why he makes coffee like that every day.”

“I know. But, why is the old man the Vice Lord?”

“The people think that he’s a crazy old man, but the Lord put him in that position so that he would not be ignored. He placed him in that position to take care of him.”

“Sigh. But to have such an old man as the deputy lord… I think we have to make a counter-proposal.”

“Shhh! He’ll hear you.”

Rumors really had a strange way of circulating. Carn could not help but giggle when he heard their words. He thought, ‘The first vassal, the deputy lord, is an old grandpa that checks the butts of cats. What crazy shit!’

Perhaps it was because the Legend Guild still had not found a proper retainer so they had appointed a temporary deputy lord. With things going on like this, he thought that there would be no problem in terms of the vassals.

Meanwhile, he saw a man running while huffing and puffing.

‘I think he’s a vassal too.’

He had a big build and thick forearms! It was none other than Zank, one of the Thousand Heavenly Spear Masters. Not long after, Zank walked beside Old Man Ben like an attendant.

“Damn, you punk! Can we give the Lord coffee like this? What’s wrong with you? You’re strong but you’re not good at anything?!”

“I…I’m sorry.”

‘What’s this? A waiter?’ Carn thought as he chuckled to himself.

A waiter that got scolded by a crazy old man? He thought that it was no longer necessary for him to watch these people closely so he turned away to infiltrate the Lord’s house.

As soon as he entered, there was… an African boy washing the dishes. After washing the dishes, the boy crouched in the corner and munched on some bread. The African boy, Kaistra, smiled and laughed.

(Master Craftsman’s Dishwashing)

Active Skill

Rank: Unique

Level: 1

Proficiency: 36%

Mana Required: 20

Cooldown: None

Effects:

•Doubles your dishwashing speed.

•You can wash dishes quickly even when there’s no water.

Description: A dishwashing skill that appeared for someone like you who will die from washing dirty dishes! If you try harder, you might be able to learn God’s Dishwashing.

‘Minhyuk will compliment me if he knew that I learned that I got better at washing dishes, right?’ Kaistra thought, smiling widely as he continued to eat his bread.

“...” 

Carn suddenly felt tears well up in his eyes as he watched the boy from his hiding spot. He thought, ‘There really is a boy who will get happy with just a loaf of bread...’

He held back his tears and swallowed his sobs, as he took something out of his pockets and placed it on the floor. In any case, Carn was now sure.

‘This is the perfect time to attack the Lord’s Estate.’

Then, he disappeared.

When Kaistra stood up to wash the dishes again, he tilted his head in confusion.

“Huh?”

It was because he found one gold on the floor.

“Oh, I picked up one gold,” Kaistra said, smiling brightly.

***

[Carn: Legend Guild has only started moving a few days prior. And most of the things they needed, including the troops, are still lacking. Even the Deputy Lord, their first vassal, is a senile old man. I don’t think there’s anything in particular that we need to worry about.]

‘A senile old man as their vassal?’ Crone thought, grinning wickedly. He had already thought that this was the case since Valhalla was only granted to them not too long ago.

Legend Guild’s biggest problem was its severe lack of members. They had always been a small group made up of less than twenty elites. No matter how strong they were, sometimes having more people was still better.

Crone glanced to the side.

Pharaoh’s Envoy. He was one of the few god classes in the country. He had the power to summon Level 350~450 warriors of the ancient pharaohs. In a way, he was more of a summoner than an envoy.

“When are we going to start working?”

“We first have to pretend that Legend Guild attacked us first, then we’ll do it right away.”

Pharaoh’s Envoy was wearing an ancient pharaoh’s mask which made him look a bit weird and exotic.

“I heard that the pharaoh can summon the demons from the Demon World.”

Pharaoh nodded as he looked at Crone standing in front of him. Since they were going to work together for a long time, he opened his mouth and said, “I can summon Baphomet.”

“Oho. If it’s Baphomet...”

Crone’s eyes glistened and sparkled in mischief.

“He’s the ‘Sheep’ that can walk on two feet, right?”