[Step.]

[You can instantly travel a distance of one meter allowing you to quickly narrow or widen your distance from your target.]

Minhyuk left an afterimage as he quickly moved a total distance of one meter in just two steps, placing himself in front of Ruwan.

[The Battlefield's Ruler.] 

[You will receive a +10 increase in all 5 of your basic stats and a 10% increase in your critical hit damage.] 

The first thing that Minhyuk did was to activate his title, Battlefield’s Ruler. The title effect would help him deal with opponents that were twenty levels or higher than him once activated.

[Ellie’s Swordsmanship.]

[All stats will have a 15% increase for 5 minutes.]

[Your Evasion Rate has increased by +30%.]

[Your Critical Hit Rate has increased by +30%.]

A shining streak of red light flowed through Minhyuk’s body as a strong current filled his every fiber.

[Rampant Sword.]

[A flurry of rampant swords with additional 30% attack power will be created for 5 seconds.]

The pickaxe in Minhyuk’s hands turned into Ellie’s Sword. Then, a flurry of afterimages appeared in front of him the moment he triggered Rampant Sword while swinging his sword.

Fwoosh!

[You have dealt a critical hit.]

[You have leveled up.]

Fwoosh!

Fwoosh!

[You have dealt a critical hit.]

[You have leveled up.]

A single strike from Minhyuk’s sword blew away several Iron Wolves. The monsters shrieked as blood flowed down from their bodies.

“Keureaaaack!”

“Keuaccck!”

An Iron Wolf quickly tried to launch an attack towards Minhyuk…

[Step.]

[You can instantly travel a distance of one meter allowing you to quickly narrow or widen your distance from your target.]

…but he was quick to move back and use his Rampant Sword again to send a strike towards the attacking Iron Wolf.

Fwoosh!

Another wolf was eyeing Ruwan in the midst of the commotion. However, the effects of Rampant Sword had already died down. After all, five seconds had already passed.

[Sword of Fury.]

[There will be an additional 50% for strong lunges and stabs, if a vital strike is successful there the additional attack power will be 80%.]

Minhyuk accurately stabbed the lurking Iron wolf.

Stab!

The Iron Wolf exploded from the powerful stab that pierced through its thick iron fur and landed on a vital point.

Bang!

Ruwan’s eyes widened in shock at the death of the Iron Wolf. He turned towards Minhyuk and exclaimed, “H…how...”

“Gasp...!”

Everyone was shocked. From what they heard, Minhyuk was still at Level 90. It was an established fact that Iron Wolves were Level 150 monsters. By all common sense, Minhyuk’s sword would not be able to graze, let alone stab through the Iron Wolves’ hide. However, as they had just witnessed, Minhuk was able to easily deal with these wolves.

‘It’s all thanks to Food God’s True Worth and my delicious meals!’

Minhyuk had always used Food God’s True Worth as he continuously ate delicious food even after the tournament had ended! In fact, Minhyuk and the minotaurus from before had a 70-level gap but right now, the gap was much larger than that. However, he could still fight easily thanks to the epic-ranked skill, Ellie’s Swordsmanship!

“W…who are you...” Ruwan muttered. However, he flinched when Minhyuk suddenly started walking towards him. His legs shook as he backed off, trying to get away from Minhyuk.

“Hiiiik!”

Minhyuk just walked past him. That was when Ruwan realized that there was something behind him, and that was none other than the Mithril Ore.

[You have acquired a Mithril Ore.]

[You will be able to receive a special chocolate if you want to.]

‘Receive it!’ Minhyuk thought. The moment he thought of receiving it, the surface of the Mithril Ore turned into a foil. What appeared under the foil was a box.

‘Oh... Oh... Oh...!’

Minhyuk was in awe. 

He was a bit surprised by what he saw. This was because what appeared was a ‘Louis Chocolate’[1]! However, he hurriedly stuffed the chocolate into his inventory.

‘I’m going to eat them later!’ Minhyuk thought. He understood their situation. Right now, Minhyuk had to work and take the miners out to safety. He said, “Let’s go.”

“Yeaah. R…right.”

“Okay...”

Ruwan and the miners nodded as they followed behind Minhyuk. That was when they encountered a group of people coming in from outside. The group of people parted, revealing a man with a smug expression, smirking at Minhyuk. This person was none other than Brony.

***

Stab!

“Keuack!”

Horden Guild quickly dealt with the NPCs stationed outside the mines. Brony even killed the Centurion.

[You are a Chaotic player.]

[Your Chaotic Level has increased.]

[You will now be tracked and pursued by the Barras Kingdom.]

Brony saw that the troops were easily dealt with. He ordered, “Keep the miners from getting out of the mines, the monsters will kill them anyway!” 

The Horden’s elite was composed of ten people. All of the mages, healers, dealers, and tanks were of excellent caliber. Brony grinned as they walked towards the mines where the Fifth Mining Team was located. He was going to deal with them first because Kang Minhyuk was there. He thought, ‘I’ll be able to kill that bastard in five minutes anyway. No, maybe he’s already dead?’ 

Well, if that was the case, then his thirst for revenge would not be fulfilled. However, he might be able to get some good artifacts from the drops. After all, he saw some pretty expensive artifacts on Minhyuk’s body when he scouted earlier. Brony and the others kept their leisurely pace, only to encounter a group of people rushing out of the mines. 

Brony’s brows wrinkled as he said, “Th…they’re fine?”

“Huh?”

“What?”

According to Kald, there would be a sudden influx of stronger, higher-leveled monsters inside the mines the moment he inserted the key in. There was no way that this mine would be an exception. That meant that someone from this group hunted the monsters. Brony thought, ‘What exactly happened?’

That was when Brony saw Minhyuk. He saw him walking in front of the group of miners. So, Brony stepped forward with a wicked grin as he said, “Long time no see?”

“...”

However, Minhyuk did not answer him. He just looked at Brony, his companions and their surroundings. Brony said, “Isn’t this situation a bit similar to the past? Of course, your numbers might have increased, but they’re all just useless luggage for you. Kahahaha!”

Minhyuk’s expression turned strange. He seemed like he was trying hard to understand his words. Then, Minhyuk said, “Ah. It seems like you know me...”

“That’s right, you damned...”

“I don’t remember you though.”

“...”

“...?”

“You don’t know me?! I’m Lee Sangmin. Lee Sangmin, you know!”

“I don’t know you though...?”

Brony was very frustrated. Minhyuk was the main character of the dark history that was still deeply embedded in his mind! However, the main cause of his nightmare looked completely oblivious.

“You shit! You took my money in the past!”

“I did?” Minhyuk asked, looking extremely puzzled. It seemed like he still did not remember.

Brony was frustrated and agitated, he shouted, “That’s right. I even begged you to stop...”

Brony was shocked at himself. He did not know why he said that. What was worse was the fact that his guild members were here. The members of the Horden Guild started to whisper among themselves as they looked at him skeptically.

“He said that he was robbed of money in the past...”

“Based on his words, he sounds like he wasn’t that popular?”

“Uhmm... Our Guild Master... Uhmm...”

“...”

Brony gritted his teeth and said, “Phew. Anyway, this situation is a lot different from back then, right?”

Brony grinned darkly. This was a game. However, just like in reality, one could not knock down someone that had much superior and excellent physical abilities than them. Besides, Minhyuk was just someone below Level 100, while he and his guild members were much superior to him in terms of level! Brony said, “Get him down on his knees and make him beg for his life in front of me!”

Ras, a Level 160 warrior player, stepped forward at Brony’s words. He said, “Yes!”

To be honest, Ras could not understand why his GM[2] had to dig up old memories when they were already busy enough. All he knew was they had to kill this person quickly so that they would be able to move on smoothly. So, Ras rushed towards Minhyuk. He thought, ‘He won’t be able to avoid this one since he’s below Level 100!’ 

Ras was sure that Minhyuk would not be able to keep up with his speed. Just like what he expected, Minhyuk was just standing there and not reacting to his attack at all. His ax struck down as if he wanted to hack him in two.

[Chaotic player.] 

[No penalty will be incurred when PK-ed.] 

[There is a high probability of an item dropping.]

If Ras’ attack was not successful, then the notifications for chaotic players would ring for both parties.

“Step,” Minhyuk said as he appeared in front of Ras. Minhyuk’s movement was so fast that an afterimage was left behind him. The only thing that Ras struck down with his ax was the ground.

Bang!

[Sword of Fury.]

[There will be an additional 50% for strong lunges and stabs, if a vital strike is successful there the additional attack power will be 80%.]

Minhyuk’s sword flashed red as he stabbed Ras' waist.

‘You may be able to evade his attack with a skill, but the difference in level won’t let you get past Ras' armor with your attack,’ Brony thought, grinning widely. However, at that very same moment, Minhyuk’s sword pierced Ras’ flank deeply.

Shing!

Minhyuk’s sword penetrated and cut through the full plate armor that Ras was wearing, before a huge explosion came from the sword embedded in his body.

Bang!

“Keuaack!” Ras shrieked. The huge force that exploded made him fly sideways until he crashed into the walls. Ras’ quickly checked his HP and said, “My HP got... cut off by 40%...!”

Brony looked completely shocked. He thought, ‘What?’

Brony looked at Minhyuk and wondered about the monsters that came out of the mines. He thought, ‘Did he hunt all those monsters alone? How in the world can a Level 90 do that...!’

That was impossible. Brony instantly had a bad feeling. He quickly said, “All of you, go and kill him!”

When they heard his words, the guild members behind him quickly moved. Ero, a Fourth Tier Mage, used his Lightning spell.

[Lightning]

[There’s a 10% chance of stunning enemies.]

Ssszzzt, szzzzt, sszzzt!

The lightning flashed and slithered towards Minhyuk!

[Absorption] 

[You have a 50% probability of successfully absorbing the skill.] 

[Lightning has been successfully absorbed.] 

[You can only use the absorbed skill once and only within ten minutes of absorption.]

Ssszzzt, szzzzt, sszzzt!

The lightning that was crackling menacingly was absorbed by the ring in Minhyuk’s hands.

“Gasp?!”

“Gasp?!”

Everyone let out sounds of exclamations! And then, Minhyuk stretched his hand forward.

[Lightning]

[There’s a 10% chance of stunning enemies.]

Ssszzzt, szzzzt, sszzzt!

“Ugh!”

“Aaaack!”

The melee classes that were inching forward, trying to kill Minhyuk at close distance, were caught within the spell’s radius and electrocuted.

[You have been stunned for one second.]

One of the players was stunned. Without missing the opportunity, Minhyuk approached the player. He said, “Step.” before slashing at the stunned player.

[You have dealt a critical hit.]

“Ugh!” The player groaned as he took a step back from the force of the attack. He was very shocked to see how much HP he had lost in that one attack. However, Minhyuk did not let the stunned state go to waste. He continuously hit the player’s head until he was forced to log out.

“G…Guild Master... He…he’s strong?”

“What the hell is this...” Brony muttered. He could not understand what was happening. However, he still chuckled darkly and proclaimed, “We will still be able to kill him.”

Minhyuk might be strong, but Brony believed that they were strong enough to kill him. Then, he heard the footsteps coming right behind him. It seemed like the guild members that he sent off to finish off the other miners from the other mining teams had already arrived. No matter what happened, Minhyuk would still die here. Although his strength was a bit unexpected, Brony was confident that Minhyuk would still die.

That was when Brony saw one of the miners creeping towards the walls. Brony realized that there was something unusual, he shouted, “Stop that bastard!”

Leton moved fast as the guild members of the Horden Guild tried to stop him. But then, Minhyuk jumped in between them and stabbed his sword into the ground.

[Earth Quake!] 

[A violent earthquake is triggered within a ten-meter radius.] 

“Ack?!” 

“Gasp?!”

The guild members who were running after Leton shouted in surprise. One of them said, “Shit! Are you a warrior, a mage or a blacksmith?!”

No. There was no way that a character could be good in swordsmanship, magic and blacksmithing at the same time. What kind of situation was this? In response, Minhyuk pulled out his sword and calmly stepped out of the radius of the skill before saying, “I’m a chef.”

“...” 

Brony was left speechless. All of his guild members had been stopped by the violent earthquake that erupted. The miner that they were trying to chase fumbled on the wall and pressed down on something. At that moment…

Rumble!

A huge transparent barrier came crashing down and blocked their way. It was like a wall that separated the guild members of the Horden Guild and the miners.

Thud!

They were completely blocked. Brony, who was quite confident earlier, watched helplessly as Minhyuk hunted and killed off his guild members that were trapped on the other side of the transparent barrier. It looked like he was just cleaning up trash with how fast he disposed of his members.

‘Damn it. I didn’t know that there was a barrier like this!’

Brony did not know that a button would trigger and activate a barrier. The barrier would close off entry to the mines after the troops entered to hunt and kill off the monsters. This was so no monsters could escape and cause harm to the miners that were waiting outside. Agitated, Brony struck the barrier.

[You have dealt 1,701 damage to the barrier.]

Brony’s damage was not enough to deal a huge amount of damage to the barrier. However, it seemed like they would still be able to break it down if they were to attack continuously. Brony smugly called out, “Right now, more monsters will come out from there. You’ll have to deal with them alone. Once this barrier breaks down, you’re going to die. What are you going to do now?” 

Minhyuk looked as if he was pondering deeply about the actions that he would take next. Then, as if he got enlightened, he hit his palms with his fist and said, ‘Aha!’ before smiling widely, and said, “I’m going to tell my noona about this!”

“...”

“...”

“...”

Brony and his guild members who heard those words looked strangely at him. Then…

“Puhahahahahahaha! Noona? You’re gonna tell your noona?”

“Kahahahahaa. Are you going to tell your noona because you're scared?”

“Keuhahaha, is your sister the number one in the rankings?”

“She’s an NPC though? Are you disregarding my noona?”

“Keuhahaha. Wow, I’m so scared that I will pee myself just by seeing your noona!”

“...You’ll regret it.”

“Wow. We have been very rude to your extremely scary noona. Sorry. Isn’t it obvious? Your noona must have been a f*cker like you who’s hiding behind his mask and pretending to be nice. So, when is your noona coming? Huh? That f*cking noona of yours!”

Minhyuk looked blankly at Brony after he finished his outburst. Then he muttered to himself, “You’ll definitely be sentenced to 1,000 years in prison. Poor thing...”

“Well, once your noona comes, I will press her down with just a finger!”

Brony was quite confident with himself. Suddenly, one of his guild members asked him, “But what will we do if it’s really some amazing NPC?”

Brony whispered to him, “Amazing NPC? No, which NPC will let someone like that call them noona? Can’t you see his level? And, don’t you know? The client that commissioned this mission said that he was close to Marquis Calenon of the Barras Kingdom. We also have a backing!”

“A…a Marquis...!”

It was great to have ties with a Marquis! The guild members who heard his reassuring words looked like a heavy weight was lifted off of their shoulders. Meanwhile, Minhyuk was seen rubbing the phoenix symbol on the back of his hand.

1. Louis Sherry Chocolates, famous for their chocolates placed in tin cans. Usually filled with truffles. ☜

2. short for Guild Master ☜