Chapter 117: The Chasers

"Carbonated?" Minhyuk asked, almost standing up in shock.

"Yes. It's a sweet, sparkling, carbonated drink."

"Wow!" Minhyuk exclaimed! Not only would he go there to get some carbonated drink, but he would also even be able to meet the Legendary Chef. He was sure that the Legendary Chef’s dishes would be very delicious!

"Since the two of you are here together, why don't the two of you bring me some Kong Qing Elixir together?"

[Hidden Quest: Meet the Legendary Chef and get the Kong Qing Elixir!]

Rank: S

Requirement: Met Boroto

Rewards: Boroto's Buffed Dish

Penalty for Failure: Boroto's Favor will decrease

Description: The Northern Continent has not yet been explored. However, Boroto has been to that place before. He even knows the whereabouts of the Legendary Chef that he met in the Valkyrie Kingdom.

Genie accepted the quest after she heard and read the same quest notifications as Minhyuk.

[You have acquired a map that will lead you to the Valkyrie Kingdom.]

'This has led us to an unexpected companion, but I still have to wait and see,'?Genie thought as she went out with Minhyuk.

"The croquette was really delicious. I'll see you later!"

"Huh? Wait? Where are you going?" Genie asked, flustered.

Minhyuk was just saying goodbye and walked away without looking back at her! He replied, "I'm going to get the Kong Qing Elixir."

"Y...you should come with me."

"...Why?" Minhyuk asked in confusion.

"B…because we got the quest together."

"Hey. Then there will be another mouth to feed."

"...?"

"See you later!" Minhyuk shouted as he started to walk away again.

Genie was now panicking.

Shit, what am I supposed to do? Do I really have to introduce myself?

Minhyuk was getting farther and farther away. Then, she said, as if by instinct, "I'll buy you something delicious!"

Step, step, step, step!

"Let's go! I'll make the journey comfortable and easy for you, Miss!"

In the past, whenever she said this, Minhyuk would always carry her bag for her. This was how the two of them came to accompany each other in a quest.

"Ah. I still have to stop by the village."

"The village?" Genie asked, looking at Minhyuk in confusion.

"Because I really have a lot of miscellaneous items to deal with."

***

Root was standing in Raven Village’s central plaza, shouting loudly among the people buying and selling their wares. He said, "I'm buying items! I don't care how much, I'll buy whatever you have! I'll buy it at a higher price from wherever you're selling them! Even at 1.5 times higher than the normal price!"

Root thought that buying miscellaneous items would allow him to see how strong the player was. After all, one could infer what kind of monsters the player hunted and what kind of hunting grounds they went to from the artifacts and items that they gathered from the drops. Besides, there were quite a lot of high-leveled hunting grounds around Raven. Root was sure that he would be able to find some strong players among them. His plan was buying the players’ items and recruiting them as foreigner escorts for King Varen.

As he continued to buy items, a man and woman approached him. Root thought,?'Another Frying Pan cosplayer? I'm so sick of it, so sick!'

Then, Root’s gaze moved towards the woman. He could not help but chuckle shyly at the great beauty in front of him.

"Hey, mister. I have some miscellaneous items that I want to sell. Are you really going to buy all of them at a higher price?"

"Yes. I'll buy it at a price 1.5 times higher than in other places~"

"But there's quite a lot..."

"It's alright. I have a lot of money~ haha!" Root said, smiling greasily as he casted a furtive glance towards the woman. However, the woman did not look interested at all, so Root decided to just stick to his task and get it done.

"I’m warning you, there’s really a lot!"

"...It's fine. A merchant would not run out of money when they're buying things. Haha!" Root said, looking at the man from head to toe. The man was wearing a frying pan on his back, a horned helmet and a ragged-looking armor! However, his sword was pretty good.

'Hmm. Did he buy it with cash?'?Root thought as he stretched out his hands and shook hands with the man. Whenever players and NPCs initiated a trade, they only needed to shake hands. Once the trading window was opened, the man quickly tapped on his own screen.

[The Trading Window is full.]

There were a total of sixteen slots in the Trading Window, and Root was looking through all sixteen of the items placed in these slots. His eyes widened in shock as he continued to browse. He thought,?'W…what?! The Twin-headed Ogre's Gauntlet? The Orc Chieftain’s Greatsword? Ack?! More than five Twin-headed Ogre's Blood?!'

Root was now shocked stiff. Then, his eyes stopped on one of the items.

'The Phoenix Lord's Feather?'

Phoenix Lord! It was a legendary monster that had not been found yet! Its level was estimated to be somewhere between Level 450~500 and was comparable to the current number one in the official rankings. Yet, this man in front of him actually had such an artifact material?!

'This person… He's high leveled!'

Root was very excited. He quickly decided to put a price and finish the transaction.

'There are two Orc Chieftain's Greatsword... One is priced at 50 million gold... the Phoenix Lord's Feather is priced at 80 billion gold and...'

After finishing his calculations, Root blinked blankly. He said,??"Th…the total is 30.7 billion gold."

"...What?" The woman standing next to the man reacted to his words. She asked, "H…how much did you say?"

"30.7 billion gold. Ah, I said that it's 1.5 times higher than others so I'll have to give you more."

"...?"

The woman looked at the man beside her like she could not believe what was happening. This was exactly what Root was feeling. Then, he remembered something. He said, "Ahhh. I didn't put a price on the Twin-headed Ogre's Gauntlet, because it's an epic item..."

"..."

"So it's almost 80 billion gold?"

"Oh, that's a lot. But, I still have at least one to two times the amount of that."

Root’s eyes widened. He asked, "Wh…what did you say?"

“I have at least one to two times the amount of that.”

Root thought that this was it! This man was the benefactor that would lead him to clear his quest successfully!

"I'm sorry, but can you please excuse me for a moment?" Root asked, pulling the sword out of his waist. This was the sword that Varen lent to him, the Sun's Sword. Even if Root was a meter away from his target, he would still be able to check their reputation. The brighter the light that would shine out from the sword, the higher the reputation the player had.

"...Gasp?!"?Root gasped in shock. The sword shone brightly the moment he pointed the sword at the man. When he aimed the sword at the woman, the sword also shone brightly, albeit slightly weaker than the man’s light. Regardless, the Sun Sword shone brightly when he pointed it at both of them!

Genie finally noticed. She thought,?'Isn't that a sword that a King or an Emperor has? The sword that can determine the REP of others? A…are you telling me that Minhyuk has an extremely high REP right now?'

It was another shock! Then, Root immediately prostrated on the ground and said, "P…please help me!"

The two people looked at him curiously as Root explained their situation like a rattling gun. ?Genie thought.?'Wow, I must grasp this opportunity! It's the chance to build a relationship and increase my favor with the King of a new continent!'

As he finished explaining, Root looked at the man's expression.

'W…what's this? Why is he so indifferent?!'

Minhyuk yawned widely after listening. He said, "Speaking of kings, I want to eat king dumplings..."

"..."

"..."

"A…anyway please help us! If you help us, I'll tell the king to buy your items at 1.5, no, at double the price!"

"Hmmm..." ?Minhyuk hummed as he rubbed his chin in thought. His expression slowly turned worried. Genie did not know what he was worried about, but she whispered something in Root’s ear.

"Eh? If I say that... Then he'll be extremely motivated? Hmm..." Root said, also turning a bit worried. He finally realized that there was something weird with this party. However, he still obediently followed the woman’s suggestion and hinted at the man. He said, "I'll buy you something delicious on the way."

Swooosh!

"How dare they threaten the king, I'll protect you with this sword...! Let's go!"

This was how Minhyuk and Genie joined Root’s party.

"I really want to eat a giant gummy worm."

Root firmly believed that this party was both strange and weird.

'No matter, they are really strong!'

***

Varen sat helplessly on the bed. He was currently inside the inn. He said, “Root…I hope he has good intentions.”

Varen was aware that they desperately needed the aid and strength of a strong foreigner right now. Of course, Varen was also willing to give out generous compensation to the foreigner that would help them arrive safely at their destination. However, it seemed like it would still be tough. The foreigners who were pursuing them earlier looked like they were quite strong.

‘Damn it!’

The king himself did not know why his situation had become like this. As he was thinking about his situation, Varen suddenly heard a loud growl from his own stomach.

“I’m hungry.”

Being a king did not mean that he would not get hungry. He ran nonstop just to survive, so it was only natural that he would feel hungry.

‘I can’t just go downstairs and eat.’

Their pursuers would be able to find them once he did that so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and bear with it as he waited for Root. Then, Varen heard a light knock on the door of his room. Varen’s lips curled in a slight smile. Root finally arrived with the foreigners! Once he came in, he would definitely ask him to go downstairs and bring him something to eat. The door soon opened.

“Your Highness. I have brought the foreigners.”

“I see.”

Varen nodded. The first person to come inside was a woman. Just when the woman was about to greet him, a creature as small as a fist suddenly barged in.

“Huh?”

Varen looked at it strangely as he asked in a solemn voice, “What kind of a pig is this?”

“I’m a pig named Minhyuk... no, I’m a foreigner.”

“I asked about the pig so why did you answer, boy?”

Varen looked at the strange pair of man and woman.

“I used to be called a pig so I couldn’t stop my...”

Varen was left speechless as he looked at them. The foreigner, the man, looked quite strange with a frying pan on his back. Even the woman that came with them looked a bit shabby. Varen thought that something might have gone wrong but he did not think that things had gotten so bad to such an extent.

Shaking his head, Varen asked the man, “Boy, what’s your class?”

“I’m a chef.”

“...No. Why did you bring a chef here?”

When Minhyuk heard Varen’s words, he could not help but jump up to defend himself. He said, “I came here because he told me that he will buy me delicious food. Your Highness...!”

“...”

For a moment, Varen wanted to sock Root in the gut, but Root’s expression was really flustered. It was as if he did not expect it.

“Ar…are you really a chef?”

“Why, yes. Of course.”

“...”

Root was left speechless. He thought,?‘Wh…what the hell. I thought he was a big shot character because of the sword on his waist... D…don’t tell me that he’s just skilled as a chef? He got a high REP just by cooking?’

Root saw Varen beckoning at him. Varen asked, “What in the world is going on, Root!”

He turned his head and looked at the three, no two people and a little pig, standing by the door.

“There are hundreds of soldiers, knights and monsters. Are you telling me that he’s going to break through all of them and lead me to where Empress Ellie is? Is the fate of the Valkyrie Kingdom dependent on them?!”

“Y…yes...?”

Varen supported his forehead in disbelief. He felt like he wanted to kill himself on the spot. A strange chef, an unidentified baby pig and an unknown woman with a pretty face.

‘That woman isn’t even in her right mind!’

It was definitely not natural for someone to walk with such a strange man. She was definitely crazy herself!

‘This is how the 300-year-old history of the Valkyrie Kingdom falls apart!’

Then, Varen was suddenly struck with a great idea. He turned to Root and told him, “Root, why don’t we get some more help?”

“I don’t think that’s possible. When I was in the plaza, I saw a crowd enter the village. We really have to leave this place soon.”

It was a pity. Varen sighed in defeat. For now, they have to get out of this village alive. Then they could find other ways to survive. As they left the inn with them, Genie thought,?‘The chasers... I wonder which guild it was? What about the NPCs that attacked them?’

Genie tilted her head in confusion. When they arrived near the carriage that was prepared in the forest, she approached Varen and asked, “Your Highness. Looking at the situation right now, wouldn’t it be better for you to have more reinforcements?”

“That would be for the best,” Varen said, looking down. He was stricken with grief as he recalled the faces of those people tortured and bleeding as they gave him a chance to survive.

“Then, I should go ahead and call my colleagues.”

“Thank you,” Varen said. His voice sounded normal, but his shoulders were tense.

At that, Genie opened her guild chat.