Just when Rovan was about to answer Genie’s question…

"Are you talking to Legend's GM?" 

"Did you say errand?" 

"I said Legend," Hilton said, smiling grimly as he sent a message in their guild chat. 

[Guild Chat | Hilton: Rovan doesn't seem like he's too willing to join us. He didn't even blink at my generous proposal. Let's start with Rovan's death.] 

[Guild Chat | Minmin: Then, how about the player beside him?] 

[Guild Chat | Hilton: Rovan is not easy to deal with. Wait for my signal. Once I send it, the mages should start with an intense attack with the magic that they casted in advance.] 

[Guild Master Ares: I knew this would happen in the end.] 

Hilton looked around. He nodded to the guild members around him. Then…

[Ice Arrow!] 

[Ice missiles are launched to attack the opponent.] 

[Prison] 

[A fog of ice will freeze and trap the opponents.] 

[Black Touch] 

[An additional 25% damage will occur once a critical strike is dealt.] 

[Back Attack!] 

[A strong attack! Additional 36% damage to your attack.] 

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh! 

The attacks came so suddenly that they looked like lightning out of the blue. Rovan immediately re-equipped his artifacts. However, he could not help but frown when he saw the magic attacks that came raining down on them. He thought, 'This... I won’t be able to stop this...' 

Rovan thought that it would be better if he just forced himself to log out. At the very least, he would not be able to see their dirty mugs. Then, the silent Minhyuk suddenly dashed in front of him.

[Frying Pan Gigantification.]

[You can adjust the size of your frying pan depending on the mana that you will input.]

Minhyuk increased the size of his frying pan until it was about four meters wide, large enough to block all of the incoming attacks.

"Gasp?!" Hilton gasped audibly at the sudden turn of events.

At the same time, notifications rang in Minhyuk’s head.

[Your Frying Pan has been excessively enlarged.] 

[The amount of mana consumed has been doubled.] 

Despite the doubling of mana consumption, it was still bearable. Minhyuk had enough MP after eating the Thousand-Year-Old Tuber Fleeceflower that Rovan had willingly given him earlier. Then, Minhyuk swung his gigantic frying pan, slapping away the attacks and skills that were flying towards them.

Fwooooosh! 

The people present heard the air ripping apart from Minhyuk’s swing. Then, the magic attacks and skills slammed in the frying pan one after the other.

Claaang! 

Clang, Clang! 

Bang! 

Ding! 

Clang! 

[Player Bedo have committed an act of poor etiquette.] 

[Player Bedo is in a temporary chaotic state.] 

[If the receiving party initiate an attack, they will not receive any penalty.]

[Magical Reflection]

[You have returned the magical attack back to your enemy.]

[Player Hororong have committed an act of poor etiquette.] 

[Player Hororong is in a temporary chaotic state.] 

[If the receiving party initiates an attack, they will not receive any penalty.]   

[Magical Reflection]

[You have returned the magical attack back to your enemy.]

[...act of poor etiquette.] 

Hilton watched as five magic spells were deflected and sent back to the players that casted them.

"Keuaaaack!" 

"Keuaaack!" 

Hilton looked around at the shrieks of his guild members. At some point in time, Rovan had already drawn his red sword and narrowed the distance between them.

“...What the hell is that frying pan?!” Hilton screamed.

Rovan appeared in front of Hilton and shouted, “It’s the Frying Pan Killer!”

[Golden Double Swords.]

[Additional 20% damage to a single hit.]

Hilton quickly pulled out his two double swords and blocked the greatsword that was attacking his side.

Crash!

‘H, he’s extremely strong...!’ Hilton thought, shocked. Among all of the Ares Guild members present here, Hilton was considered to be the strongest and most talented. However, he could not withstand the power that coursed through his sword from the collision with Rovan’s greatsword, and ended up flying away.

Roll, roll━

Hilton rolled on the ground twice before stabilizing his body. However, Rovan was already swinging his sword at him even before he could stand up.

Slash!

“Aaack!”

Rovan’s greatsword struck down on Hilton’s leg. Hilton could see that a huge chunk of his HP had disappeared from that strike alone. Then, Rovan saw three more players running towards him. They were trying to rain down skills and attacks on him as they rushed forward.

[Beast's Dash] 

[Attacks will be launched indiscriminately.] 

[Power Strike!] 

[Additional 26% damage will be added to one blow.] 

[Brilliant Spear] 

[Explodes upon successful attack.] 

However, Rovan did not retreat. His eyes glinted sharply as he looked at all the incoming attacks. 

[Greatsword's Linked Swordsmanship]

[You will be able to swing your greatsword at four times its normal speed.] 

Vwooooom! 

Slash! 

Rovan’s first swing was light as he narrowed the distance between him and another player. His second swing however, pierced through the chest of the player.

Stab! 

Rovan swiftly leaned back and avoided the attack of the other player as he slammed the player with his greatsword.

Bang! 

"Argh!”

Rovan dodged another attack that was fired at him from behind, before stabbing the player that launched the attack.

Stab! 

The player flew back from the strong attack that he received. All of these happened in just a short, fleeting moment. Rovan breathed heavily as he watched another wave of players rushing towards him. Their numbers were now more than ten. Even the mages that received the reflected attacks from Minhyuk’s frying pan had caught their bearings and were already preparing to cast new magic.

[Sword of Fury.]

[Additional 50% for strong lunges and stabs. If a vital strike is successful, the additional attack power is 80%.]

Minyuk ran towards Rovan, stabbing a player that tried to attack him on the way. His attack was accurate and precise.

Crack!

Ellie’s Sword swiftly penetrated through the red armor. Then…

Boom!

…The man’s armor exploded loudly, making him fly back from the direct hit.

“Ugh! T…that’s impossible...! How can my HP drop by 60% with just one hit...!” 

Hilton was very shocked when he saw that. He thought, ‘Is he a member of the Legend Guild too?’

Minhyuk was already standing beside Rovan. Rovan thought, ‘We don’t have any chance of winning right now. No matter how strong the two of us are, we won't be able to beat all of these players.’

They needed to find another way! Then, Rovan thought ‘Ah!’. It seemed like he finally thought of something. He muttered, “The Power of Sin...!”

“Yes?”

“Minhyuk, please follow me from now on.”

“...I understand,” Minhyuk said, nodding obediently.

This was what Rovan thought, ‘Once we reach the place where the Power of Sin resides, everyone would be in an abnormal state. Fortunately, Minhyuk and I have high magical defense. Especially Minhyuk, he has an absurd amount of magical defense. So, this might work. I hope it works…’

Rovan was hoping that Minhyuk’s high magical defense would be enough to protect him once they entered that place. In his case, he brought a consumable artifact called Angel’s Wings, an artifact that would increase his immunity by +100. Now, all they needed to do was lure the people that were after them, to where the Power of Sin was. They needed to get there!

Dash!

Rovan and Minhyuk started to run. Meanwhile, Minhyuk looked behind at the enemies that were chasing after them.

[Rampant Sword.]

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

The group that was chasing after the unlikely duo suddenly saw a flurry of sword attacks with dozens of afterimages coming straight at them! 

‘Most of these attacks are definitely far less effective than the real attacks!’ The player named Ken thought, as he tried to run through the flurry of swords. To his dismay…

[You have received a critical strike.]

Slash!

The sword attacks slashed all over his body and forced Ken to log out.

“...Gasp!”

Slash!

Slash!

Slash!

The players behind Ken stood still. If they recklessly passed through that flurry of swords that lingered there for five seconds then they would also be forced to log out! So, they tried to carefully pass through the attack. However, they could not help but groan from the effects of the Rampant Sword. They could not even stand straight nor keep their balance after taking the attacks.

“Healers. Quick, cast heal!” Hilton shouted as Minhyuk and Rovan ran away from them.

[Guild Chat | Hilton: Quickly chase those escaping bastards!]

[Guild Master Ares: What’s the situation right now?]

[Guild Chat | Hilton: GM! The chef caught us by surprise. In my opinion, that player with the frying pan is just pretending to be a chef!]

[Guild Master Ares: What do you mean by pretending?]

[Guild Chat | Hilton: The chef’s estimated level is at Level 200. I’m sure that Legend Guild is trying to raise that chef with great care!]

[Guild Master Ares: ...That’s unexpected. So what’s the situation right now?]

[Guild Chat | Hilton: They’re on the run and we’re chasing after them.]

[Guild Master Ares: Five people have already been forced to log out, are you sure you can do it? I don’t want to experience such shame and disgrace if you let those two go.]

[Guild Chat | Hilton: They’re just trapped rats.]

Hilton stood up and chased Minhyuk and Rovan with the remaining guid members. Why did they run away? Perhaps it was because they realized that they had no chance of winning against them. So, Hilton thought, ‘I’ll kill the two of you, then I’ll take that frying pan for myself!’

Hilton did not know the exact abilities and functions of the frying pan, but he was sure that it was something that should not be underestimated. He was confident that it had great value. Just like that, the Ares Guild began to chase after the two of them quickly.

***

Gasp, gasp.

Gasp, Gasp, Gasp.

Minhyuk and Rovan were running at their fastest speed. Rovan took the lead and guided him along the way, while Minhyuk covered for the both of them.

Fwoooooom!

Claaaang!

Slash!

The person that struck with his dagger was sent flying back. He got embedded in one of the trees. Meanwhile, Minhyuk looked behind them and saw that the bandit-like players were running in between the trees.

“Are we there yet?”

“We’re almost there.”

The road that Rovan was leading him to was getting rougher and harder to traverse.

“Hurry, catch those bastards!”

The two of them ran faster when they heard someone shouting right behind them. Then, Rovan saw the changes in front of them. The ground, the air, the grass, the trees and even the vapor rising from the ground were all black. He thought, ‘It’s here... The hidden place where the Great Mage’s Power of the Seven Deadly Sins is hidden...!’

Rovan’s hidden quest would only be cleared once he overcame the trials of all Seven Deadly Sins. Then, he turned towards Minhyuk and said, “Let’s stop here. We have to go inside together with them. Once we go inside, the curse of the Power of Sin will fall upon us, Minhyuk. The same will also happen to them.”

After stating his piece, Rovan took out the Angel’s Wings and ate it.

[Your Immunity against Abnormal States has increased by +100 for 30 minutes.]

“Ack! It tastes disgusting... I’m sorry. I don’t have one for you, Minhyuk.”

“You don’t have to give me one if it tastes bad.”

The two men finally saw Hilton and his group once again. They thought, ‘Did their numbers rise again?’

It seemed that the number of people had increased while they were chasing after them. Perhaps it was because Ares Guild had sent for more backups during the chase. Currently, the number of people surrounding them were at thirty. This was quite a large number of people dispatched just to deal with two people.

“Phew. Have you gone tired after running away like rats?”

Rovan raised his middle finger and grinned.

“Why don’t you just leave Legend Guild and come to Ares Guild?”

“You want me to work under Ares? Why would I want to work for that weakling of a bastard?” Rovan said. He was a very prideful person, not just anyone could order him around.

Hilton’s forehead creased in irritation, however, he could not refute what Rovan said. Once Rovan developed well, he would probably be able to surpass Ares. This was how great his potential growth was. Hilton said, “So that’s what you think. How about you, Frying Pan? We will offer you a billion in cash. It may not be much, but we intend to pay you that much in a year.”

Once he heard that, Minhyuk answered him calmly, “It’s really not that much.”