[You can choose to remain anonymous or post your ID or a different name.]

“Anonymous.” 

[You will receive additional rewards for entering the Hall of Kings.]

[You have acquired 10,000,000 EXP.]

[You have gained a ticket to Athenae: Korean War.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

Considering that Minhyuk needed five times the normal amount of EXP to level up, leveling up five times in a row was already a considerable amount of reward. As usual, he chose to remain anonymous. However, when he saw the ticket to Athenae: Korean War, he could not help but feel even more confused.

‘Huh?’

Minhyuk did not know this, but the notifications for entering the Hall of Kings would ring for the first person to get a ‘Demigod’ skill, the first person to create a ‘Demigod Artifact’, or plenty of other ‘firsts’ for the same rank.

If that was the case, what was the reason why no one had experienced such a notification? Simple, it was because no one had ever received or created one yet. In fact, players could gain ‘Demigod’ artifacts or skills through the Hall of Kings. Athenae had already planned these ‘Demigod skills’ and ‘Demigod artifacts’. However, players would only reach the ‘Demigod’ realm when they had reached a much higher level than the rest. In other words, Minhyuk had become the first ever player to have learned a ‘Demigod Skill’.

In addition, the ticket to Athenae: Korean War meant that he could skip the qualifying round and advance straight to the finals. Of course, he would still need to undergo a strict examination by the organizers. Even so, compared to the others, he would have higher chances of being the ‘National Representative’ once he received the approval of the organizers. However, Minhyuk still had no thoughts nor intentions to participate right now.

Minhyuk checked the information of the Fluttering Sword in detail. The damage was exceptional, but it needed five seconds of cast time. In addition, the cooldown was too long. It could only be used once every two days. The amount of mana that it required was as high as 3,000.

“Why don’t you try it once?”

Valen clapped his hands and...

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud─

…hundreds of monsters appeared ahead of them. Without wasting any time, They ran straight towards them. The monsters that appeared were around Level 350~400.

‘How will he hunt them?’

Valen was unaware that the skill that Minhyuk previously wielded was Ellie’s Swordsmanship. So, it was natural that he would be unaware of the strength of the skill that his swordsmanship had incorporated into.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk heard a notification.

[The Skill Cooldown will not be applied once you leave the site for Gremory’s Trials.]

Minhyuk nodded in understanding. This meant that the cooldown of the skills that he used inside would be restored to normal once he went outside. Among the various skills that got incorporated and created, he was most curious about the Fluttering Sword. He already had thoughts of trying it out.

The hundreds of monsters ran fiercely, as if to show how threatening their presence was.

“Kiieeeeee!”

“Kyaaaaahaaaack!”

“Fluttering Sword.”

A light breeze suddenly started to blow around Minhyuk. Then, the wind that was created from the breeze began to blow and follow his sword.

Shwaaaaaa─

Hundreds of silver leaves appeared and fluttered with the wind. The leaves were fluttering gently as if they had just fallen from the branches of the tree. The Fluttering Sword required a cast time of five seconds, that was why there were a lot of things that happened before it was completed.

Valen looked in interest. After the grueling five seconds, Minhyuk moved his sword. Then, the falling leaves that were almost going to touch the ground suddenly rose in the air and began to fly towards the monsters at an unbelievable speed.

Shweeeeeeeek!

Fwish─ Fwish, fwish, fwish, fwish, fwish, fwish!

Minhyuk heard the leaves tear through the air as they flew towards the crowd of monsters. Then, silence followed soon after.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

The monsters began to collapse one by one. There was not a single monster left standing. Then, the falling and fluttering leaves swirled and turned into a whirlwind before disappearing in the air.

‘As expected, a demigod skill is really strong.’ 

Minhyuk nodded in satisfaction. When he realized that the person beside him was unusually quiet, he turned back and looked at him curiously.

“...” 

Valen was looking at Minhyuk in shock.

***

Valen could not feel anything. His head was blank and the only thought that was running through his head was, ‘Wh…what the hell is this?’ 

Valen gave Minhyuk the skills that he had honed and perfected through his life, allowing Minhyuk to incorporate it to his own skill. At first glance, he thought that it was just a unique or epic ranked skill. After all, any swordsmanship placed in front of Sword God Valen’s skill that held an infinite amount of power would look shabby. Alas, that was not the case. When his swordmanship was combined with Minhyuk’s skill, the results were completely ridiculous.

It was hard for him to put it into words. If the number of monsters that died was only 1/3 of their total, then Valen would have definitely clapped his hands. This was already in consideration of Valen believing that Minhyuk was an outstanding foreigner at Level 350. In fact, he really could not ascertain Minhyuk’s entire strength since the only time that they had crossed swords was when their power and strength were equal. This was the reason why he was unaware of the fact that Minhyuk could exert strength equivalent to someone at Level 450. As a result, he was shocked when he saw what happened in front of him.

“How was it?” 

“It…it’s not that bad.” 

Somehow, Valen had created a monster. He said, “Let’s also look at the other skills. I’ll also teach you how to control your strength and force.”

***

Minhyuk cooked for Gremory the moment they came back. Every time he cooked for her, he got information in return.

“Chew, chew. If you go to Area 88 in the Demon World, you will meet a demonic race called Andanis. If you go to that demonic race, you will be able to get the quest ‘Poor Soul’.”

“Chew, chew. Wow. This spicy seafood noodle is really good, you know? If you go to Area 77 in the Demon World, you will be able to find a Demon World’s Earthworm. Unfortunately, it’s a legendary monster...” 

Minhyuk made sure to sweep all of the information that he could get from the soon-to-be-opened Demon World. He was certain that the information could help him in the near future.

After getting all of the information that he could, Minhyuk went out of Gremory’s Temple with Kaistra and Ben. Not long after they stepped out…

“...Did you really just tell them everything?”

“Well, anyway. I’m one of the three great demons.”

“...” 

Valen looked at her incredulously before turning into a light and going back to the life of being an instructor.

***

Time flowed like a stream. A week had already gone by and the Athenae: Korean War was already starting. In the VIP stands, Alicia, Cain and Lucia were all sitting together, while hundreds of thousands of spectators were sitting in the general stands and looking forward to the start of the competition. As usual, Alicia and Cain were sitting close to each other, while Lucia just sat there in the room with them.

“There’s a total of 12 MVPs that will be selected.”

“And those 12 players will get a ticket to Athenae: World War.”

MVP was a prestigious title that was given to the winners of the various events of the competition. It was something similar to a gold medal. In the case of the Athenae: Korean War, there were no bronze and silver medals. Only the winners of each event will be given the gold medal, the title of MVP. In addition, players were allowed to participate in different events and it was said that the ‘Best MVP’ of the Athenae: Korean War would be given a huge amount of rewards. However, this information was not released yet.

“I’m looking forward to it.” 

“What’s today’s game?” 

Cain answered Alicia’s question. He said, “Speed Eating Contest.” 

“Ah. Is that so? Wait.” 

Alicia shook her head and said, “It’s for the production classes, right?” 

Cain nodded. The Speed Eating Contest was a competition where production classes would fight it out.

Then, Lucia said, “Based on how the world sees us, our country’s combat classes are already weak and the same goes for the production classes. I wonder if our country’s production class MVP players will be able to defend themselves once they enter the World War.”

Alicia turned her head to look at her. She said, “That’s right. It’s a bit difficult.” 

Cain nodded as he looked at the list of the participants of the Speed Eating Contest.

List of Players

Group 1: Hepas’ Descendant Hyemin’sDaddy, Labor God Hayi.

Group 2: Painting’s Monarch Vhad, Bomb Mage Fabian.

Group 3: Twilight Sculptor Lucan, Bard Master Kennedy.

Group 4: Trap Installer Valcharan, Prince of Bandage Hartz

Group 5:......omitted

Group 6:......omitted

Group 7:......omitted

Nominated Player: Legendary Fisherman Kerry

“What’s a nominated player?” Lucia asked.

Cain said, “There are 20 people who entered and a total of 10 teams that participated in the Speed Eating Contest. Just in case something unexpected happens, they added one more person. After all, if any of the other players were not able to play, there would be a setback in the competition.”

“But isn’t that something that is unlikely to happen?”

“Yeah. Well, the Legendary Fisherman Kerry is kind of...” 

Cain could not help but smile bitterly.

“He’s neither one nor the other. What’s more unfortunate was that he wasn’t able to join the competition because he failed to pass the qualifying round by a narrow margin.”

While they were talking, Cain remembered the notification that rang loudly not too long ago.

“Anonymous, the one that caused the notifications about the Hall of Kings to ring twice. Is he not going to participate in Athenae: Korean War?”

“...That seems to be the case.” 

They had expected that a new wind would blow in their favor. When the notification for the Hall of King’s rang twice, the whole country was on fire. They also knew that the person who secretly entered the Hall of Kings was given a ticket to the Athenae: Korean War, bypassing the ‘Qualifications War’. However, all of the participants were people that Cain and Alicia knew. Among them, there was no one that was able to enter the Hall of Kings.

Then, at that moment...

[Athenae: Korean War! The search for the best dancing ‘Pet’ begins now!]

[Search for the best dancing ‘Pet’?]

[Yes. The official mascot of Athenae: Korean War has not been decided yet so Joy Co. Ltd. decided to choose the mascot as an event! Just like in America where they selected Iron Pooh as the American Mascot during the Athenae: American War. Even in Japan, their mascot was chosen to be ‘King of Shibas’. Our country’s mascot will be decided through the search for the best dancing ‘Pet’.]

[Oh, that sounds like it’s going to be fun.]

[The ‘mascot’ will be determined depending on the judge’s votes as well as the audience’s votes. And for the ‘Pets’ that will participate, only the pets of the participants in the Athenae: Korean War will be able to join. Ah. Of course, getting first place in this does not mean that you will get the title of the MVP.]

[So, the 3,000-year-old Eel that’s a great medicine will be given to the mascot?]

[Of course. 3,000-year-old Eel. Ah, just thinking about it is making me feel energetic. I think my wife will love me more if I eat it!]

Then, music began to play in the large coliseum. It was Psyn’s Kangchon Style[1].

[♪Oppan, Kangchon Style, Kangchon Style~♪]

The participants and players in the audience felt relaxed and comfortable because it was a song that was once a huge hit in the world. The song, together with the horse-like dancing, was quite popular back in the day. Right on cue, as if they were willing to become a mascot, more than a hundred pets came out to dance in the coliseum.

“Puhahaha. What’s this? There’s nothing war-like in this.”

“It looks fun.”

Cain grinned as Alicia laughed loudly. It looked like some pets had felt that their pride would be lost, so they did not budge even if their players shouted loudly at them.

[♪Oppan Kangchon Style~♪]

[The bear over there looks like it extremely despises dancing.]

[Ah, I don’t think I’d like to see that either. A Kangchon Style with that huge body and sharp claws...]

[Wait. This is a cute event. Huh? Who’s that entering right now?]

[Oooh? S, sunglasseeeeees?]

[Wow, his sunglasses really look great on him! It’s like I’m really seeing Psyn’s Kangchon Style!]

The commentators sounded surprised which caught the attention of Alicia, Cain and Lucia. Not long after, the screen showed the being that they were talking about. The scene on the screen was showing a baby pig with black sunglasses on his face running towards the stage. The mysterious baby pig wore sunglasses that were as big as his head as he pompously and proudly headed to the center of the stage.

Not long after, the highlight of the song began playing again.

[♪Beautiful, cutie~♪]

[♪That’s you, hey! Yes you, hey.♪]

[♪From now on, let’s do it until the eeeeeeeeeeeeend~♪] 

[♪Oppan Kangchon Style!♪]

Along with the booming sounds of the speakers, the lights in the coliseum flashed!

[♪Oppan Kangchon Style!♪]

At the same time, the mysterious baby piggy also started to dance Psyn’s trademark horse dance! The baby piggy looked like he was in a trance as he danced dazzlingly. It was like he was in a world of his own.

Then, loud and passionate cheers began to pour out from the audience.

1. This is a parody of Psy’s Oppa Gangnam Style ☜