Chapter 303

Over the course of their stay in the entry passage, Mei Wei and Conir became extremely close. She even willingly taught Conir ‘business etiquette’. Conir also liked Mei Wei very much. He felt like she was a person that was as warm and kind as his hyung. So, he willingly opened his heart to her. In response, Mei Wei was also open with Conir, perhaps it was because his image overlapped with the image of her younger brother.

As they got closer, they were able to learn a lot of things about each other. Especially Mei Wei, she was very surprised when she learned that Conir was a 'vassal' and was serving under a master. However, it did not really matter to her.

Conir remained focused on his goal. He kept on tasting his ramyeon, wondering why he could not sell a single bowl of his delicious food.

Grin―

Mei Wei chuckled at his confused appearance.

‘It’s just… it’s quite hard to sell ramyeon because your only customers here are monsters, right?’

Mei Wei thought that Conir should learn business etiquette to some extent before leaving the entrance passage to start doing business outside. However, as she watched him move around in a busy manner, it caused a pang of pain in Mei Wei's chest and unknowingly made her cry.

“Conir! Conir’s heart breaks when Noona cries, don’t cry!”

“...You see, I used to have a brother like you, but I lost him because of my mistakes. You reminded me of him."

Conir was restless as he cast a worried look toward her. He looked extremely cute and kind like that, despite being an NPC.

Perhaps that was the reason, or perhaps she just wanted to relieve some of the pressure that was suffocating her. Nevertheless, Mei Wei still felt like she could open her heart out to Conir and tell him the pain that she had hidden deep in her heart.

“Do you want to listen to this noona’s story for a bit?”

Conir’s eyes shone brightly at her words, his ears perking up to listen carefully.

Then, Mei Wei began to tell her story. She told him about the death of her younger brother, about how she blamed herself for having a fat body, and about the resulting anorexia that she suffered from in the foreigner’s world.

Conir looked like he did not fully understand her story. However, his next action was completely unexpected for the relieved Mei Wei.

“A fingerflick, Noona!”

Thwack!

“Ouch! Conir, why did you do that?”

Mei Wei looked at Conir strangely as she nursed her forehead. However, Conir did not answer her question, he just told her what was on his mind.

“It’s not Noona’s fault!! Noona’s an idiot!!”

“It’s not my fault? How do you know?”

Conir had the answer to her question. However, it was a bit too difficult for him to explain. To be frank, it was because of the words that Minhyuk had told him before, reminding Conir that things were not his fault.

“My Hyung is always correct! Whenever Conir blamed himself, Hyung would always do that!!! I’ll tell Noona what Hyung told me!!!”

Then, Conir began to tell his own story.

When Conir first became a vassal, he unknowingly did a lot of rude and improper things that made the people in the territory dissatisfied. Because of his actions, Minhyuk received severe criticisms. Realizing what happened, Conir blamed himself immensely.

“Conir is an idiot!!! I’m completely useless!!! I shouldn’t have been born!!!”

However, Minhyuk never once blamed him. He only asked him gently, “Why do you think so, Conir?”

“I’m… I’m more stupid than ordinary people… There’s nothing I can do…"

Minhyuk saw the disappointment on Conir's face. He knew that the boy was blaming himself. He smiled softly and patted him on his head.

“There were times when your hyung also thought the same. Why did the world curse me and made me this fat? Why should it be me? I’m useless. I’m a pathetic person who can’t do anything by myself.”

Conir listened to Minhyuk's words intently.

“However, there are a lot of people around me. They all cheered for me and cared for me, which made me realize… Ah, this disease is not my fault.”

Just like him, Conir’s intellectual disability was not his fault.

“It’s alright. I’m alright. There’s just one part of me that’s more uncomfortable than the others.”

Minhyuk had continued to speak, “Conir, you’re a precious person. So, I will just fill in and help you with your inconvenience. It was not your fault that you were born in this world. But know that you are more precious than anybody else. You’re just a bit more uncomfortable in one part compared to others.”

And Conir, who was standing in front of Mei Wei, repeated the words that Minhyuk had told him.

“Noona is a precious person. It’s not Noona’s fault that she’s uncomfortable with one part of her body. That one part that’s uncomfortable…”

Mei Wei's down-trodden heart began to lift at his words, eyes widening in surprise.

‘It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. Your illness, your brother’s death. It's not your fault.’

And the part that she was uncomfortable with…

“...would be nothing if Conir helps you.”

Mei Wei was left speechless as tears flooded her cheeks. Every word that Conir had told her struck a chord deep in her heart. These words had become her salvation. She could not help but wonder who Conir's master was.

‘Conir, who is your master? Who is he that can comfort both you and I this much?’

Despite countless visits to psychiatrists and psychotherapists, they could not stop Mei Wei from blaming herself. However, just those simple and sincere words from Conir were able to loosen the tight knot of self-blame in her chest. She did not know that the vassal Conir’s master and lord that she was curious about, was the very same Food God that she was looking for.

Minhyuk was also unaware that the world’s number one player, Valkyrie Mei Wei, already had a favorable impression of him because of the words that he had spoken to Conir.

***

After getting over the shock that the Chinese Server was not too far away from them, the Legend Guild realized a lot of things.

‘Does this mean that we are getting closer and closer to the day where the continents become integrated?’

‘Maybe the Chinese Server and the territory are extremely close?’

The Chinese Server, Cairon Continent, was visible from where they were, despite the wide Dragon King's Sea, the sea famous in the Northern Continent, separating them.

However, even if they found it to be mystical, Legend Guild's current goal was not to cross the sea and go to Cairon Continent. Their mission was to go to the legendary territory, Atlas.

They hurriedly rushed forward and defeated countless powerful monsters and mobs. Only after doing it for a long time were they able to reach the destination marked on the map.

The map was pointing them towards the place covered in thick and thorny vines. After dealing with the vines, a long and dark passage appeared in front of them.

Minhyuk took the lead and entered the passage. They continued to walk, trying to reach the end of the dark passage. After about twenty minutes…

Shwaaaaa―

Light suddenly appeared in front of them, as the gentle, pleasant sound of cascading water welcomed them.

Their steps hastened as if they could not wait to see what awaited them at the end of this long passage. Then, a spectacular view unfolded and greeted Minhyuk and his party the moment they stepped out of the dark and monotonous passage.

In front of them was a gigantic waterfall gushing down a cliff, while huge monsters lurked around and blocked the entrance to the territory. The scenery around the territory was so beautiful and abundant that it could easily rival any utopia created in people's imaginations. Some distance ahead was the colossal castle of the lord made with shining metals and special stones, surrounded by splendid and abundant lands. In fact, it was more like a stylish and decorative armor than a castle, with how sparkly and shiny it was. The territory, spread out in front of them, looked so stunning that anyone who saw it would only be able to gasp in admiration.

“I… I have never seen this kind of territory before… incredible...” Genie burst out in admiration.

Locri, a territorial lord hailed as one of Athenae's Richest Men, was a player famous for being one of the world's richest in reality. He owned an extremely splendid and beautiful territory that most players tagged it as the place that everyone had to visit at least once in their life. The territory was also well equipped with strong military power that everyone believed that would be the fastest territory to develop into a kingdom.

This territory was named Bentleisa. Yes. The owner of the territory was none other than the chairman of Bentleisa, a famous automobile company.

However, even Bentleisa paled in comparison to the territory in front of them. Atlas looked more stylish, stunning and colorful than that territory.

“So, this is a legendary territory?”

“The territory that would become the kingdom the fastest…”

The members of Legend Guild were all in awe. They also felt thrilled and delighted at the fact that they would become the new masters of this place.

However, their dreams, which had just taken flight, were immediately shattered.

Shwaaaaaa―

Minhyuk felt the wind pick up around them.

The surroundings began to change, as if the wind was tearing away the facade that was placed there to put everyone in awe. The once gushing waterfalls had dried up, while the beautiful and splendid trees turned withered. The fertile and abundant fields that seemed like they could grow anything looked so dry that even grass would dare not grow on it. Even the splendid and gigantic lord’s castle turned old and weathered with spider webs hanging on its eaves.

In just a blink of an eye, the dream-like territory had become a ruined nightmare.

“Wh…what…!”

A being suddenly appeared in front of the flustered members of Legend Guild. It was a short old man, about 150cm tall, with short white hair and bulging red muscles.

[You have encountered one of the Legends: Golden Hammer Dwarf Lant.]

[You have gained 50 REP.]

[You are the first to meet a new species that no one has met yet: Dwarf.]

[You have gained 80 REP.]

[The trial for the ownership of the territory, Atlas has now begun.]

[The trial will only be given to those who had received the ownership of the territory, Atlas.]

The notifications were extremely unexpected. It seemed like the only one who could proceed further and take the trial was Minhyuk.

The trial was like a test to check the qualifications of the owner of the legendary territory, Atlas, the one who would rule this land as its king.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk recalled a vague memory about the ‘Golden Hammer Dwarf Lant’. He seemed to recall Gordon, the deputy tower master of the Chef’s Tower, speaking about him when he visited that place in the past.

From what he said, the Food God had asked Golden Hammer Dwarf Lant to make him a cooking tool that could fry the ends of the pancakes well. In other words, Lant, the person in front of him right now, had met the Food God in the past.

“Just like you heard, only one person can become the true master of this place. Only that person can take on the trial. And that person must choose one of these trials.”

Then, several more beings appeared behind Dwarf Lant.

[You have encountered one of the Legends: Sword and Shield, Crusoe.]

[You have gained 50 REP.]

[Crusoe. He is a legendary man who had raised 100 of the lowest soldiers in the Empire’s standards and made them into knights. It was said that anyone who passed through his hands would become a person comparable to a hundred men in force.]

That was not the end of it all.

[You have encountered one of the Legends: Mother of Life, Eden.]

[You have gained 50 REP.]

[Eden. She is the mother of all farmers. She could grow fruits and grains abundantly, even on wastelands. She could also grow crops with surprising special abilities among the fruits and grains planted on her fields.]

[You have encountered one of the Legends: Saint Louis.]

[You have gained 50 REP.]

[Louis. He was the one that developed a treatment for a pandemic that killed hundreds of people and plunged the entire continent in terror overnight. He is an outstanding alchemist and a legend among the believers of God.]

Minhyuk could tell just by looking at them.

‘These are my choices.’

He could already tell that he was being asked about the direction in which he would develop the territory, Atlas.

If he chose the Legend Crusoe, the Sword and Shield, he would be able to gain great military power. If he chose Eden, the Mother of Life, everything would become abundant, and the fruit that they harvested from this abundance would also have a chance to give them the power to gain special stats. If Louis were chosen, they would be able to receive an outstanding priest and have a high probability of cultivating plenty of priests.

And finally…

[Lant. The King of Dwarves hailed as the Golden Hammer. He is a legendary figure famous for not losing against Hepas, the God of Blacksmiths.]

Including Lant’s trial, there were a total of four trials. Yet, he could only choose one among the four.

For Genie, the most efficient choice was the ‘Sword and Shield’, or the ‘Golden Hammer’.

Sword and Shield Crusoe would be able to help them develop a strong and excellent military power. It was not just military power and might. It seemed like he was a genius instructor. In other words, if they brought a commander to him, they would become an outstanding and excellent commander under his tutelage, and if they brought an archer, they would become an excellent and outstanding archer. He was very useful in so many ways.

In Dwarf Lant’s case, they would be able to strengthen their territory on their own. Of course, Hyemin’s Dad was still in their guild, but he was just considered to be the best among the players, not the best among everyone, including the NPCs. Through Lant, they would be able to reinforce their artifacts. Hyemin’s Dad would also be able to enter and walk a higher path through him.

After hearing the choices, the guild members all hoped and prayed.

‘Please… Please…’ 

Minhyuk pondered deeply. He wanted to take into consideration everyone’s best interest.

Minhyuk pondered for a while, before turning to look at the Dwarf Lant. Then, he asked him politely, “Is there no way for me to do all of them?”

That was right. That was the wisest and most proper question for their situation.