<h4>Chapter 290: Dangerous Company</h4>


    Cuhel had always stood on top of others. He had never experienced being robbed of anything ever since he was young. He became known for his extraordinary brain and genius, and his superb body meant that he was fitter than most. Even his enormous wealth left no one that could possibly dare to mess with him.


    But right now, the man named Minhyuk had taken away from him something that he was craving for. Then, the existence of the Dragon Monarch also appeared. He had taken the title of being the first Royal ss, something that he had been coveting. This was the man who had taken that title away from him and he was looking indifferently at Cuhel.


    Then, people began to show up from the ray of lights that surrounded Minhyuk.


    <i>Keuaaaaaaaaa!</i>


    Kaistra, the Envoy of Incarnation, and Penrus, the Incarnation of Light appeared. Then, another man who had his left arm raised also appeared.


    “Frieeeeeeend!!!”


    It was ck Mage Ali. But it did not end there.


    “<i>Hyuuuung!</i>”


    Even the Sword Saint Conir appeared and hugged Minhyuk with a bright smile on his face. There were a total of four people who appeared and stood next to Minhyuk.


    “B…ck Mage Ali?”


    “Envoy of Incarnation Kaistra?”


    The number one in the Global Tamer Rankings, Leverlin, immediately recognized the unofficial ranker, the African boy who was well known as the Envoy of Incarnation, Kaistra. She also recognized the existence called the divine beast right beside him.


    Bardol, a mage on Cuhel’s side, also recognized ck Mage Ali. Bardol was ranked first in the Global Mage rankings. However, he knew that the difference between him and ck Mage Ali was like a deep, dark abyss.


    <i>‘What kind of party members are these? Isn’t this too fraudulent…?!’</i>


    <i>‘Crazy…!’</i>


    All of them were shocked. The people whom Minhyuk had invited were people who would not be easily pushed back by Cuhel’s forces.


    <i>p―</i>


    Kaistra, who was summoned while doing the dishes, took off his rubber gloves. He carefully ced his rubber gloves in his inventory, before taking out his spear.


    ck Mage Ali was also casting his magic casting, while huge ck wings unfurled behind the Dragon Monarch, ck Dragon.


    Silence pervaded the area. A drop of cold sweat dripped down Leverlin’s forehead. The moment her perspiration dropped on the ground…


    <i>Drip―</i>


    …a fierce battle began, starting with the energy bolts from ck Mage Ali. Ali’s energy bolts made the wand on ck Mage Bardol’s hand tremble.


    <i>[Dispel]</i>


    <i>[Nullifies and voids magical attacks.]</i>


    As soon as he cast the dispel, Bardol shot forward to Ali. Leverlin waved her hands and arrows appeared from the sky.


    <i>Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh―</i>


    Dozens of arrows flew down from the sky and caused explosions.


    “<i>Kiyeeeeeek!</i>”


    “<i>Kyaaaaaaack!</i>”


    Dozens of wyverns emerged from the explosion site. Leverlin quickly climbed on top of a wyvern and flew up into the sky.


    Kaistra followed suit and climbed on top of Penrus.


    <i>sh―</i>


    “<i>Keuaaack!</i>” Penrus roared as he leaped high up in the sky.


    Then, Assassin Amber and Tanker Cardo rushed towards ck Dragon. On the other side, Cuhel and Minhyuk made eye contact.


    <i>Dash―</i>


    Cuhel moved quickly while he opened his fan.


    <i>[Blood Wind]</i>


    <i>[Upon impact, blood and wind created from the fan will tear your enemy apart.]</i>


    Cuhel folded his fan with a simple hit on his fan, while Minhyuk swung his sword.


    <i>Sword of Fury.</i>


    <i>Shwaaaaaaaaa―</i>


    <i>Creak, creak, creak―</i>


    Cuhel’s fan moved fast, as if he was an assassin ss wielding daggers. He easily pushed away the tips of the sword lights created by Sword of Fury with his fan.


    <i>Pipipipipipipipi―</i>


    Cuhel dispersed the Sword of Fury as his attacks rained down on Minhyuk.


    “<i>Urgh!</i>”


    At that exact same moment, the Armor of Immortality’s special effect was suddenly triggered.


    <i>[Physical Damage Reflection! Returns double the damage received.]</i>


    <i>Peep!</i>


    <i>Shwaaaaaaa!</i>


    Blood spurted out from Cuhel’s body, but he did not stop moving. He even continued to jump up and dash forward.


    <i>[Soaring Hawk]</i>


    <i>[The soaring hawk will fly down andnd a powerful strike on your enemies.]</i>


    Wind flew from under Cuhel’s feet. They formed into a gleaming de that strangely resembled the feathers of a hawk. It was a single strike that would stab straight through and kill an enemy at once.


    <i>Bang!</i>


    In response, Minhyuk used ‘Like the Wind’ and narrowed the distance between them by a meter. Cuhel had no choice but to pull back the de that he was going to stab into the ground, while Minhyukunched a fierce assault on him.


    Dozens of afterimages from Minhyuk’s sword rained down on Cuhel, who quickly spread out his fan and swung it to create shields that protected him from the raging swords.


    <i>ng, ng, ng, ng, ng―</i>


    By the time Rampant Sword had ended, Cuhel had already calcted his next move. He immediately wielded his fan as the wind des stabbed the ground and attacked Minhyuk.


    <i>Spurt―</i>


    “<i>Kghk!</i>”


    But, Minhyuk was not the only one who received an attack. Minhyuk had already stabbed his sword on the ground as soon as hended from his assault.


    <i>Blooming Sword.</i>


    <i>Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh!</i>


    Hundreds of sword des appeared on the ground. Some even stabbed Cuhel at his ankles.


    <i>Stab!</i>


    <i>Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!</i>


    Explosions rang out loudly all over the ce. When the dust finally settled down on the ground, Cuhel could be seen standing with a ck cape wound around him and protecting his body.


    <i>‘We’re on equal grounds…?’?</i>


    Cuhel could not believe it. He had seen Food God Minhyuk’sbat videos, but <i>Athenae</i> was a game after all, so there was bound to be a difference between their strength because of their level gap. Furthermore, he knew that Minhyuk had a much lower level than him. Therefore, he was taken aback that Minhyuk could stand toe to toe with Cuhel right now.


    Cuhel was unaware, but the reason Minhyuk could match his strength, despite being of a lower level, was because he had raised his stats by eating countless food during his journey in <i>Athenae</i>. Basically, it all went to Minhyuk’s bonus points. He had increased his bonus points to the point that he could stand his ground against Cuhel, a yer around Level 500.


    Cuhel found it strange. He thought, <i>‘He said that he only eats.’?</i>


    There were rumors floating about Food God Minhyuk, saying that he was a weirdo who only loved to eat.


    <i>‘If he’s only eating, how can he fight toe to toe with me? It’s strange.’</i>


    Cuhel took a few steps back.


    However, he could not help but burst out inughter, “<i>Keuhahahahahahaha!</i>”


    He was Cuhel. He was the owner of Rothschild, a noble family. He had not shown everything yet. He was also someone who had the qualifications to challenge the Royal ss, so he had acquired some of the skills of the Maestro of Destruction.


    One of them was Tyrant’s Mask. A white mask emerged from his hands. And as soon as Cuhel ced the mask on his face…


    <i>[Tyrant’s Mask]</i>


    <i>[All stats will dramatically increase when used. There will also be a +3 increase in skill level.]</i>


    Cuhel dashed forward. His speed dramatically increased as he targeted Minhyuk’s arms.


    “Scattering…”


    Cuhel’s fan immediately pierced Minhyuk’s arms even before he could finish his words.


    <i>Baaaang―</i>


    <i>[Your HP has dropped below 60%.]</i>


    A huge chunk of Minhyuk’s HP disappeared with just one attack. He was surprised and quickly prepared for a counterattack against the iing Cuhel. s, Cuhel used his ghostly skills and attacked him all over his body with his fan.


    <i>p, p, p, p, p―</i>


    <i>[Your HP has dropped below 40%.]</i>


    <i>[Your HP has dropped below 30%.]</i>


    Minhyuk was being attacked indiscriminately. Despite that, Minhyuk just continued to prepare his own attack.


    <i>p, p, p, p, p―</i>


    Cuhel attacked Minhyuk continuously. He even attacked Minhyuk straight in the middle of his forehead.


    <i>Bang!</i>


    Minhyuk received a powerful shock to his head. Still, he continued to wait for the right moment. Then, Cuhel’s fan sharpened like a sword as it prated through Minhyuk’s abdomen.


    <i>Spurt―</i>


    Minhyuk suddenly grabbed Cuhel’s wrist as he threw the kitchen knife into the air.


    “Rain of Kitchen Knives.”


    “…!”


    Cuhel hurriedly tried to escape, but he could not. Minhyuk’s grip was too tight. Then, a knife fell down and stabbed him in the shoulder.


    <i>Bang!</i>


    “Wh…what…! Are you going to die with me?!”


    “No?”


    Minhyukughed as he hugged Cuhel to prevent him from escaping. Then, Rain of Kitchen Knives engulfed the two of them<i>.</i>


    <i>Pipipipipipipipipi―</i>


    <i>[Your HP has dropped below 80%.]</i>


    <i>[Your HP has dropped below 70%.]</i>


    Cuhel’s ck cape moved and wrapped around him once again when he started receiving damage. The damage that he had received had been reduced from the Rain of Kitchen Knives that had just finished its duration. Meanwhile, Minhyuk’s body started to lie limply on him.


    <i>[Your HP has dropped below 30%.]</i>


    Cuhel had survived, while Minhyuk drooped and sagged on his body.


    <i>‘I won.’</i>


    Cuhel felt like his anger had been relieved after he had sessfully killed him. At that moment…


    <i>[You have used the Armor of Immortality’s Special Ability.]</i>


    <i>[Your HP and MP are being rapidly restored and recovered.]</i>


    …the wounds on Minhyuk’s body immediately recovered.


    Cuhel fell back. He felt flustered when he saw Minhyuk recovering quickly. However, the smile on his face did not disappear. The state of Tyrant’s Mask was still not over yet. He would be able to pressure and defeat Minhyuk much more easilypared to before. In the end, Minhyuk would still lose. The members of ckstone that were here with him were also top rankers, so he believed the conclusion was set in stone.


    “Those top rankers on my side will finish your colleagues ande here to rejoin me. This will be your end.”


    Minhyuk tilted his head as a voice rang behind him.


    “That’s right. It’s the end.”


    “Yep. The end.”


    Cuhel immediately turned around, only to see Leverlin being forced to log out. Assassin Amber’s body had also started to go cold, while ck Mage Ali just had his arms crossed across his chest.


    “…!”


    It had only been a few minutes since their battles had started.


    <i>‘Instead of them, it was my colleagues that had been wiped out? And in just a few minutes too?’</i>


    What was worse was that the Dragon Monarch, ck Mage Ali, Kaistra and even the mysterious boy Conir all looked fine.


    “Y…you bastard! You dragged the time…?!”


    Cuhel just realized the reason why Minhyuk was desperately blocking him. Right now, this would be a tough fight to win for Cuhel.


    <i>‘If that’s the case…’</i>


    Cuhel moved lightly as he stretched his hand out.


    <i>[Monarch’s Sacrifice.]</i>


    <i>[Sacrifice your own life to revive a targeted individual.]</i>


    <i>[All the abilities of the revived individual will be reduced by 15%.]</i>


    Monarch’s sacrifice would make use of one’s own life to revive another being. The reason why this skill was so brilliant was because he would not receive any penalty aside from the sacrifice of his HP. At the very least, doing this would be better than being forced to log out. The screen in front of Cuhel began to turn ck.


    <i>‘Goddamnit!!!’</i>


    In the end, he was forced to run away. Cuhel was furious. However, he soonughed. Everyone left in that ce would definitely be killed by Diablo. The target that he had chosen was Diablo. He had actually resurrected Diablo.


    Just as he was about topletely leave the game…


    <i>[An unknown force has revived you.]</i>


    <i>[Return scroll and teleporting will not be avable for 30 minutes.]</i>


    “…?”


    Cuhel tilted his head in confusion. When he opened his eyes, he could see his character being revived in front of Diablo.


    “What the hell?”


    ck Mage Ali was standing in front of him. He said, “I also have the ability to revive someone.”


    Ali smiled wickedly. Then, he immediately rushed to Minhyuk, his friend, as he cast a barrier that covered them all. The only people left outside the barrier now were Cuhel and Diablo.


    Diablo slowly trudged toward Cuhel. The only thing that Cuhel could do was to gulp dryly. If he died like this, he would definitely be forced to log out. What was even more irritating was the fact that Minhyuk was mocking him from inside the barrier. He kept on shouting at him as he waved his hands vigorously.


    “y! y! y! Diablo! y, y Diablo! Come on, hit Diablo!!!”


    Then, he pulled out a fishing chair, sat down and began to eat popcorn. He said, “<i>Hiyaaa!?</i>Caramel popcorn is the best popcorn!!!”


    Minhyuk was really good at teasing and aggravating his opponents.


    “Th…that b*tch!!!”


    In the end, Cuhel screamed a string of profanities after being fooled and tricked by his opponents.