<h4>Chapter 289: Dangerous Company</h4>


    President Kang Taehoon did not leave the office of the Special yers Management Team. He just sat there and continued to monitor the situation on the screen.


    It was not just him. Even the team leaders of various other teams, including the Episode Production team, as well as the Customer Center, were present. They were all here to witness Cuhel’s transfer to the Maestro of Destruction ss. After all, once that happened, something earthshaking would happen in <i>Athenae</i>.


    “What will happen if yer Minhyuk kills Diablo?” Lee Minhwa asked as he continued to look closely at the monitor.


    Team Leader Lee Seokhoon, the one in charge of the development team, answered, “The rewards that Cuhel would get if he transfers sessfully to the Maestro of Destruction ss is something specific and in alignment with his ss characteristics. On the other hand…”


    Development team’s Team Leader Lee Seokhoon looked solemn as he continued to say, “If yer Minhyuk seeds in killing Diablo first… then he will receive a reward that has nothing to do with his ss. Instead, he might just be the fastest person with a territory to own a kingdom. He will be the owner of As.”


    ***


    Cuhel believed that having different artifacts, superior control, and overwhelming strength were the most important things in ying the game <i>Athenae</i>. Due to this belief, he had dismissed Minhyuk’s excellent cooking abilities as something insignificant. However, his thoughts were bound to change after witnessing Verogan bow deeply to Minhyuk.


    <i>‘How can a dish like that appear…?’?</i>


    This was something that shook him deeply, far more than any artifact or skill that he had. The others approached the dazed Cuhel.


    “Cuhel, what’s the matter?”


    “Cuhel…?”


    Cuhel recalled the information of the samgyetang that he had just checked earlier.


    <i>(<strong>Gigantic Samgyetang</strong>)</i>


    <i><strong>Ingredients Grade</strong>: SS</i>


    <i><strong>Requirements</strong>: Can only be eaten by Giant Verogan.</i>


    <i><strong>Shelf Life</strong>: 28 days</i>


    <i><strong>Preservation Time</strong>: 28 days</i>


    <i><strong>Special Abilities</strong>:</i>


    <i>?Giant Verogan’s attack power and defensive power will increase by 26% and 25% respectively.</i>


    <i>?Giant Verogan’s magical attack and magical defense will increase by 40% and 31% respectively.</i>


    <i>?With Giant Verogan’s recovery, all of his stats will increase by 3%.</i>


    <i><strong>Description</strong>: This was a gigantic samgyetang made by Chef Minyuk with all his might for the hungry monster, Verogan.</i>


    He could not help but murmur unknowingly, “…That…Want…”


    “Yes?”


    “What did you say?”


    The others looked at him in puzzlement but Cuhel seemed not to hear any of them at all.


    “I want to have him… that man…”


    “…!”


    “…!”


    Everyone was caught by surprise. They knew Cuhel as a man that had always kept a straight face. However, right now, his face was showing a great ‘longing’ for something. Cuhel came back to his senses not long after. He continued to look at Minhyuk and Verogan.


    ***


    ck Mage Ali started to speed up. The fact that ck Dragon had be the ‘First Royal ss’ when they began climbing the tower put pressure on him.


    The condition that he had to meet to transfer to his Royal ss ‘Moldoron’s Descendant’ was to receive recognition from the giant snake called Predatory Snake.


    While he was climbing…


    <i>[<strong>Minhyuk</strong>: Ali.]</i>


    He received a whisper from Minhyuk. Ali grinned as he sent a reply to Minhyuk.


    <i>[<strong>Ali</strong>: Yes, Minhyuk!]</i>


    .


    <i>[<strong>Minhyuk</strong>: By any chance, can you lend me a handter?]</i>


    <i>[<strong>Ali</strong>: Lend you a hand? I’ll definitelye whenever Minhyuk calls for me. We’re friends after all!]</i>


    Ali proceeded to listen to Minhyuk’s story. Then, after their long talk, Minhyuk said…


    <i>[<strong>Minhyuk</strong>: Can you tell this to my dad too?]</i>


    Ali nodded in agreement while thinking, <i>‘ckstone.’?</i>


    ***


    Cuhel naturally approached Minhyuk after he finished clearing the Sixth Trial. Minhyuk was looking at the fragment of the broken de.


    “Now, please give me that de. Will you?”


    Everyone turned to look at Minhyuk.


    <i>‘Eight billion…!’?</i>


    <i>‘I can live my whole life without worrying about money…!’?</i>


    Of course, it was not only the fragment of the de that was worth eight billion, it was also Diablo. In a way, once Minhyuk handed over that de fragment to Cuhel, their situation was already no different from having achieved the best ending. Everyone was now looking at Minhyuk nervously.


    <i>‘What if this punk knows?’?</i>


    <i>‘Did we make any mistakes?’?</i>


    Perhaps they had identally acted like they were still yers and talked about stories in their reality. When everyone was focusing their attention on him, Minhyuk stood facing Cuhel.


    “If you give me that, I will fuse the pieces and destroy the Sly Devil Diablo.”


    Minhyuk nodded as he handed the piece of the broken de to Cuhel.


    <i>[You have collected all six fragments of the broken de.]</i>


    <i>[You can now fuse it to form the Dagger of Mortality.]</i>


    Cuhel felt delighted. He finally got closer to the throne that he had desired for so long. He quietly mumbled and let the pieces fuse together.


    <i>[The fragments of the broken de have now fused.]</i>


    The six fragments of the broken de emitted a dazzling light as they floated and hovered in the air while merging one by one. Then, the ‘Dagger of Mortality’, a curved red de, appeared in front of him.


    <i>[You have acquired the Dagger of Mortality.]</i>


    “Thank you,” Cuhel said, smiling lightly. At first, he wanted to kill Minhyuk after making use of him. But now, he did not have to.


    <i>‘I can just hunt Diablo before doing that.’?</i>


    This trial required and needed considerable faith from the monarch’s subordinates. If someone else broke the trial and did not hand over the fragment of the de, the trial would not be cleared. That was why he was not sure whether they would go back to square one if one person died. If that happened, then everything that they had done would be all for nothing.


    Then, they began to advance. After a bit of a walk, they arrived in front of a huge iron gate. Just standing in front of the iron gate was giving them a great sense of pressure.


    <i>Creaaaaaak―</i>


    Cuhel pushed the iron door and was met with a huge altar. A man was currently standing on top of the huge altar. The man looked pure and innocent, with skin that was as white as snow. The handsome man looked like a human, except for the horn stretching out from his forehead and the bat-like wings folded behind his back.


    <i>[You have met with the Lesser Demon?Diablo.]</i>


    <i>[You have gained 200 REP.]</i>


    <i>[Those who sessfully hunt Diablo will receive rewards.]</i>


    Then, Assassin Amber identally made eye contact with Diablo.


    <i>[Diablo’s Momentum.]</i>


    <i>[Diablo’s momentum has ced a huge pressure on you.]</i>


    “Urgh!” Amber groaned as she fell down on one knee and gasped for her breath.


    <i>‘W, what the hell. This is a game…!’?</i>


    Diablo’s eyes looked wretched and creepy. Amber did not fall on her knee just because she was simply frightened. It was clearly because of Diablo’s skill.


    <i>‘Amazing,’?</i>Cuhel thought, smiling as Diablo gazed at them from above the altar.<i>?</i>The existence in front of him was so superb that his body shivered from the chills that ran down his spine.


    Then, Diablo took one step forward.


    <i>Step―</i>


    And another.


    <i>Step―</i>


    He tried to step down from the altar but Cuhel did not let the opportunity go. He quickly took out the Dagger of Mortality as he used the ‘Mortality’s Stun’ that the dagger possessed.


    <i>[Mortality’s Stun]</i>


    <i>[Stun any target for three seconds.]</i>


    The majestic Diablo suddenly stopped. He paused in his movements just as he was about to go down the altar.


    “Finally…!”


    Cuhel felt delighted. He quickly grasped the Dagger of Mortality as he pulled out a fan from his inventory. He unfolded the fan before throwing the dagger with all his might.


    <i>Shweeeeeeeeeek―</i>


    The Dagger of Mortality flew straight towards Diablo’s heart. Everyone felt happy at the sight.


    <i>‘This is eight billion!!!’</i>


    <i>‘Cuhel is finally going to be the king!!!’</i>


    A smile was also painted on Cuhel’s lips. He would be the first King in <i>Athenae</i>, he could even be the Emperor!


    Then…


    <i>aaaaaaang―</i>


    …a kitchen knife suddenly dropped down and intercepted the Dagger of Mortality. And along with that, a huge spear stabbed Diablo’s heart from behind.


    Someone suddenly poked their head out and said, “Oops? It’s about time I stop pretending that I don’t know, right?”


    “…!”


    “…!”


    It was Minhyuk. Then, Diablo leaned forward and fell down to the ground. Everyone could tell with just one nce that Diablo was killed. All of the people present in the room fell into shock.


    The first thing that they felt was confusion. The question ‘How?’ floated in their heads.


    <i>‘What the hell?’?</i>


    <i>‘How did Diablo…?’?</i>


    From what Cuhel had learned, the power of the Demon King or the power of Ankhassad’s Judgment was needed to kill Diablo.


    <i>‘Does this mean that this bastard has Ankhassad’s Judgment?’</i>


    The second feeling was being taken advantage of. They were wondering how they got fooled.


    <i>‘How did he know?’?</i>


    All of their meticulous ns with the help of Great Thief Elion had fallen apart. It was even them that got hit on the head.


    Then came the anger and rage. They had been preparing for a long time. It was not only Cuhel, but all of them that had sacrificed their blood, sweat, and tears, just to reach this point. In the end, everything was ruined by this guy.


    What was worse was…


    “Yayy! This is a crazy level up!!!”


    He was mocking them. Just like that, Minhyuk had received surprisingly shocking notifications.


    <i>[You have acquired 1,113 tinum.]</i>


    <i>[You have leveled up.]</i>


    <i>[You have leveled up.]</i>


    <i>[You have leveled up.]</i>


    <i>[You have leveled up.]</i>


    <i>[You have leveled up.]</i>


    <i>[You have learned the passive skill: ‘Momentum’ after sessfully hunting Diablo.]</i>


    <i>[You have acquired Diablo’s de Fragments.]</i>


    <i>[You can now be the owner of As after sessfully hunting Diablo.]</i>


    A notification about the territory As rang in Minhyuk’s ears, but he did not have the time to check about it. Then, the notifications rang for Cuhel too.


    <i>[You have failed to meet the transfer conditions for the Royal ss ‘Maestro of Destruction’.]</i>


    Meanwhile, Minhyuk spoke as brightly and as cheekily as he could, “<i>Woooooooooow!?</i>Look at all these level up notifications! This is a big catch! A big catch!!! And these rewards! <i>Wow! Wow! Woooow!!!</i>”


    It was the final straw for Cuhel, whose temper and reasoning snapped after hearing his mocking words. This was the first time in his life that he felt this furious.


    Cuhel was someone who had everything. And this was a man who had stolen his things. What was worse was that he was even mocking him.


    “Die!!!!!” Cuhel snarled loudly.


    The worst that could happen was them being forced to log out of here, so everyone took their position andunched an attack on Minhyuk.


    Cuhel’s fan was engraved with the skill ‘Hurricane Wind’ so when he fanned it, huge des of wind immediately assaulted Minhyuk.


    <i>[Wind de]</i>


    <i>[A wind de that can cut anything. Has additional 220% attack power.]</i>


    And that was not the end of it. Even Assassin Amber had her speed boosted by three times as sheunched her attack.


    <i>[Vital Strike]</i>


    <i>[The speed of your movement has increased by x3. You will be able to attack a vital point. Sessful hits will give you an additional 180% attack power.]</i>


    Just like that, their attacks poured down on Minhyuk.


    However, at that moment, Minhyuk took out and tore a parchment in his hands.


    <i>[You have used the Guild Member Summoning Parchment.]</i>


    <i>[Only the Guild Master and the Lord of the Guild Territory will be able to use the Guild Member Summoning Parchment.]</i>


    <i>[The Guild Summoning Parchment is a special parchment that can also summon members of your allied guild if you were given their explicit approval.]</i>


    Several rays of light appeared in front of Minhyuk.


    The man who appeared in front of him quickly moved as his left arm changed into a dragon’s head momentarily. The dragon’s head immediately nullified all of the attacks that were pouring down on Minhyuk. It looked like the dragon devoured their attacks.


    “…!”


    Cuhel was shocked. Dispel or attack nullifications would only be possible if the levels of the enemies were lower than the caster. The man that stood in front of them nullified all of their attacks. And…


    “I’ll give them back to you.”


    <i>Shwa, shwa, shwa, shwa, shwa―</i>


    Cuhel stared at the wind de that had been returned to him.


    <i>‘This is ridiculous…!’?</i>


    But their shock and dismay did not end there. The other members of ckstone were also hit by the skills that they had used on Minhyuk.


    <i>sh―</i>


    <i>Stab!</i>


    <i>Bang!</i>


    “Urkkk!”


    “Kggghk!”


    “Ugh!!!”


    Shrieks rang loudly in the area. By now, Cuhel could tell that the man in front of them was the first Royal ss in existence, the Dragon Monarch.