A man wearing a black robe was walking towards the end of the dark cave.

‘I didn’t know this opportunity would come to me…!’

The man’s face was filled with delight.

The man walking towards the end of the dark cave was named Zhang Chen, widely known as Death Tamer Zhang Chen on Athenae’s Chinese server. He was one of the most brilliant rankers, ranking second in China, and was well known for mainly taming and handling the undead. However, he was still only second in the tamer rankings.

Whether one was in the top 30 in the class rankings, or in the top 30 of the overall rankings, as long as there was someone else standing in number one, one would always lag behind. Somehow, an opportunity came to him after a series of notifications.

[You have met the conditions to challenge the Royal Class.]

[You have met the conditions to become the Royal Class: Black Dragon Tamer.]

[Class Change Quest: Collect the artifacts of the Black Dragon, Vormon.]

Not too long ago, the very first Royal Class, the Dragon Monarch, was born and the world was abuzz. Even the second Royal Class, the Descendant of the Great Mage Moldoron, was also born. The Descendant of the Great Mage Moldoron, Black Mage Ali, posted a video showing off his significant increase in strength and posted it on the internet. The effects and aftermath were beyond imagination. He had proved that he and Alex, the current number one in the mage rankings, had a big gap and he was truly the best mage in name, and in reality.

Zhang Chen also believed that he would be able to defeat those world rankers with his opportunity.

Black Dragon Vormon!

Information about the black dragon was not difficult to gather, since Zhang Chen was going to change into a Royal Class.

Black Dragon Vormon was a dragon that showed enormous strength during the continental war and had a tremendous influence on the entire continent. Black Dragon Vormon was also known for being far stronger than any other dragon to ever exist. For Zhang Chen to rule and tame such a black dragon… it was something that made him shiver with thrill.

Finally, Zhang Chen was able to reach the end of the cave. And there…

‘The Wand of Destruction made from Black Dragon Vormon’s teeth!’ 

The Wand of Destruction was floating on top of an altar. Zhang Chen slowly approached and reached his hands out to it.

Shwaaaaaaa―

A black vortex suddenly appeared in front of it, as the soul of a being appeared.

“Finally… Arrived…”

The voice sounded as if it was delighted at Zhang Chen’s arrival.

Vormon was only in the shape of a dragon’s head when he appeared in front of Zhang Chen. Hence, Zhang Chen spoke to him arrogantly. He said, “From now on, I am your master. Vormon. You have to give your life to me.”

Zhang Chen was speaking cringy lines, but the thought of reaching number one in the world rankings was no longer impossible with Black Dragon Vormon under him. It made him forget himself and hence, his words. Besides, the name of the Royal Class that he would transfer to was ‘Black Dragon Tamer’. Then…

“My… Master… you… say…”

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

Blood spurted out of Zhang Chen’s body as small explosions broke out deep inside him. Zhang Chen was forced to kneel from the sudden blow. He looked at Vormon incredulously.

‘Wh, what…?!’

Was there a monster that would attack its owner?

“You bastard. You should only do what I tell you to do.”

“…”

At that moment, Zhang Chen realized that his Royal Class name was not ‘Black Dragon Tamer’ but ‘Black Dragon Pawn’. It was definitely something that one would be furious about. However, Black Dragon Vormon said, “If you follow me, you will be able to gain many things. I’ll have to go to my hidden lair too.”

‘I’ll be able to gain many things… Well, Black Dragon Vormon’s task was to dye the entire continent with chaos. It wouldn’t be impossible for him to grant his pawn at least a kingdom or an empire in the process, right?’

“I understand!!! Fine!!! I’ll give you my life!!!”

Zhang Chen’s arrogant and cocky expression from earlier was nowhere to be seen. Vormon gritted his teeth as he said, “Where… is he…”

Zhang Chen was quite curious. Who was the ‘he’ that he was referring to?

“The Supreme Divine Beast. It’s a baby pig.”

‘Supreme Divine Beast? A baby pig?’

Zhang Chen had obtained a lot of information about the continental war, and he had also heard some things about the Supreme Divine Beast.

However, the words ‘baby pig’ was something Zhang Chen was familiar with. Zhang Chen recalled Beanie, Player Minhyuk’s pet, the Food God from the small country called Korea.

“He’s in the Asgan Continent.”

“As expected, he has awakened too.”

Vormon’s eyes turned chilly. Then, a black jewel popped out of his spirit. Notifications rang in Zhang Chen’s ears after he had politely received it with both of his hands.

[You have acquired a Warp Gate Gem.]

[Vormon is not strong enough. You can only use it three times.]

“Once you go to my lair, you will be able to awaken most of my powers. But first, go to Asgan Continent through this gem. I want you to collect information on the power and status of the Supreme Divine Beast.”

“…!”

Zhang Chen was shocked.

‘Am…amazing…!’ 

From all the information that he had gathered, there was no item or path that could allow him to traverse continents. But at that moment, the power to move to other continents emerged. Of course, it was only limited to Chinese players.

Zhang Chen’s brain immediately worked non-stop, ‘I should post it on the black market.’ 

After listening to Vormon, it seemed like Zhang Chen would be able to move a lot of players once his power had awakened. No, perhaps there would be a path created to connect one continent after the other. But before that happened, this limited warp gem could have an astronomical value if presented to the players that did not know of this fact.

What Vormon wanted from this gem was information about the baby pig. So, it was enough if there were more than one or two people going together with him. If he sold the slots on the black market, people would definitely seek him for their own gain.

‘I need to ask about three billion in cash.’ 

The rich were spread far and wide in China. After all, it was a country that had the extremes when it came to the rich and poor. Three billion for a continental warp was a just price, especially for the top rankers.

Zhang Chen logged out of the game and posted it quickly on the black market. The players that joined the market consisted of informal rankers, top rankers, or rich players that had undergone strict screening before they could join in.

Not long after he posted, a player had sent him a note.

[I’ll offer you four billion for it.]

“…!”

Zhang Chen was shocked.

‘You want to offer four billion?’

This meant that they wanted to block other competitions. Zhang Chen found it unusual but…

[I understand. Instead, I would like to see something that can prove your identity. May I ask for your in-game name?]

‘A player who can pay four billion won. I wonder who it is?’

Not long after, he received a reply.

[Mei Wei]

“…!”

***

Valkyrie. This was what the maidens of war were called in Nordic mythology. Mei Wei’s class was exactly this, Valkyrie.

Mei Wei had finally logged in to Athenae after a week. Although she had bought the warp gem from the black market for four billion and had gone to Asgan Continent, she was only able to log in now since she fainted for a whole week.

Surprisingly enough, despite not being able to log in for that long period of time, Mei Wei’s ranking remained unchanged, and that was under the scenario that the top rankers’ rankings could change a lot in just a single day. The fact that her ranking remained unchanged meant that she was overwhelmingly strong.

‘I have to hurry up and find him…’ 

Mei Wei had to go see Food God Minhyuk. So far, Mei Wei was only able to contact the player named Zhang Chen.

“I was a little worried since your whisper was off and your note box was closed.”

Zhang Chen had continued to send whispers to Mei Wei, but she could not be reached since she usually refused to receive whispers from Athenae. However, Zhang Chen was urgently asking her to deposit the four billion in his bank.

Zhang Chen held a black jewel in his hand as he began to mutter something. Then, the space was torn as a warp gate was created. When they were about to enter the warp gate…

“Be careful.”

“…?”

Mei Wei tilted her head just as she was about to take a step.

“Actually, I’m your fan,” Zhang Chen said.

Zhang Chen had a gloomy appearance. Even though he was inside the game, his face still remained thin and his eyes protruding. Even his hair was unkempt and messy. Despite looking like that, he was also one of the leading players in China. However, he was also Mei Wei’s fan. This just showed that her power in Athenae was extremely overwhelming.

“What do you mean by that?” Mei Wei asked with her cold and enchanting voice.

Then, Zhang Chen said, “I actually told you to be careful, but I don’t know what you should be careful about.”

“…Pardon?”

“To be honest, I signed a contract with a ranker recently and sent him to Asgan Continent yesterday. However, I can’t get in touch with him. I think he’s in a whisper-restricted area. But thankfully, I was able to get in touch with him by accident. He only said two words.”

“Two words?”

“Yes.”

Zhang Chen shook his head and said, “Demon.”

And…

“Boy.”

“…?”

Mei Wei’s brows furrowed. She could not understand what he was saying. Then, Zhang Chen continued to say, “But you’re Valkyrie Mei Wei, so you probably have nothing to worry about.”

Mei Wei nodded. They seemed to be in danger as if they were being targeted, but that did not mean that she should delay.

‘I don’t have much time left.’ 

The doctor had told Mei Wei that her physical condition would start to deteriorate in a few months to the point that she would no longer be able to play games. No, in fact, her physical condition was so bad that it would not be strange if she died silently right now. Even her Athenae capsule would always flash a ‘Warning!!! You can’t access the game.’ and recommend her to log out and take a break before logging in again. However, Mei Wei deliberately tinkered with her capsule with the help of competent mechanical experts and hackers, just so she could continue playing Athenae.

And beyond that portal existed…

‘A dish that might be able to cure my sickness.’ 

A bright light engulfed Mei Wei as she walked towards the portal. Then, the notifications rang in her ears.

[You are a player from Cairon Continent.]

[You are warping to Asgan Continent.]

[You have entered the entrance passage.]

[If you fail to pass through the entrance passage, you will not be able to go to the Asgan Continent.]

[The use of return and teleport scrolls are restricted in the entrance passage.]

[You can’t send a whisper in the entrance passage.]

[Please note that if you are forced to log out, you will be connected at Cairon Continent again.]

‘So, there’s a system like this.’ 

Zhang Chen did not tell her, but it was likely because he did not know about it either.

‘Is that why he said something about a demon?’ 

Perhaps the boss monster at the end of this passageway was a demon. Then, Mei Wei began to walk. She encountered monsters above Level 540. The monsters that appeared included, but were not limited to, basilisks, giant snakes that could turn a person into stone, giant soldier ants and many more high-leveled monsters. However, Valkyrie Mei Wei just hunted them and moved forward.

After a long walk, it seemed like she had finally reached her destination. There, she saw a small cave. No… perhaps… it was an entrance to a mine. Just when Mei Wei was about to step forward, an unidentified voice suddenly rang out, “S…stop…! Please. It’s my fault!!! So, stop now! Please send me back!!!”

‘This voice?’

It was a voice that Mei Wei had heard at least once before. She quickly concealed her presence.

[Goddess’ Secret.]

[The Goddess of Secrets is helping you.]

It was an amazing skill that could conceal any sound or even the mana flowing in one’s body. Mei Wei slowly moved. And there, she saw…

[Conir’s Namyeon To-Go.]

‘…?’

It was a small handcart with a clumsy name. It seemed like the spelling was also wrong. The man sitting in front of the handcart was Ma Tianyu, the number one in China’s assassin rankings and number three in China’s overall rankings. He was sitting in front of a ramyeon shop and screaming, “S…Stop…! Let me go back! Just kill me!”

Then…

Dash―

Then, someone appeared in front of Mei Wei.

‘He…he saw through the Goddess’ Secret Skill…?!’ 

The Goddess’ Secret Skill had only been seen through once in her entire career.

A boy appeared in front of her after he had seen through her skills. He bowed and said, “A second customer! Welcome! I’m Conir!!!”

Then, he asked her with a big smile on his face, “Which do you put first in a ramyeon, the noodles or the soup?”