Chapter 158: The Great Mage Arfield

General looked at Joo-Ah with her head buried down to her chest. He knew that she had taken it for granted. She used a video featuring other people and their faces, and made money with that. It was clearly a breach of privacy and a crime.

General knew for a fact that Minhyuk was a kind person. However, a kind man and a pushover were two different things. Minhyuk might be a kind person, but he was someone that would take care of everything, even to the finest details. Furthermore, he absolutely would not take any losses.

“I…I’ll do my best... t…to give... the highest amount of compensation...”

General finally decided to get to the main point. They both knew that Joo-Ah was a pretty famous Ztuber, so she probably had plenty of valuable information. He said, “Do you have any information about delicious food?”

“...Huh?”

Joo-Ah was taken aback for a moment. She could not understand why he suddenly asked her about that. Usually, this was the part where they would start negotiations until they had reached an agreement. The usual question would be?‘How much can you give me?’. However,?General’s?words were a bit different from the usual script.

“I want you to give us information about something delicious. Ah, also, it should be something special.”

“...S…something delicious?”

“Yes. Something delicious. I think something that can only be eaten in?Athenae?will be the best?”

“...”

Joo-ah pondered deeply. She quickly combed through all of the information that she had on hand, and there was only one thing that matched that request. It was a very valuable piece of information.

“It’s not something delicious, but it’s something along those lines...”

“What is it?” General asked, tilting his head.

“It…it’s information about a millstone.”

“A millstone?”

When General heard the word ‘millstone’ the first thing that he thought about was,?‘He who shuns the millstone, shuns the meal.’

He soon shook the thought out of his head. He said, “A millstone... that’s not something delicious... hmm...”

However, Joo-ah’s next words made sense to him. She said, “It’s not something delicious, but if you grind some soybeans, then you can make tofu and eat it. Also, it’s not an ordinary millstone.”

“It’s not just a simple millstone?” General asked. He was suddenly interested in her information.

Joo-ah nodded and said, “Yes. In fact, there is no exact and official information released yet, but according to what I have gathered, if you put something inside and turn it...”

“If you turn it...?”

“You will produce double the amount of what you initially placed inside.”

“...Go on,” General urged her. He could not help but be interested in her information.

“This millstone is rumored to have tremendous abilities. They say that it even has endless powers. It was said that if you make tofu with soybeans using this millstone, you will be able to produce a piping hot tofu that tastes better than any other tofu in the world.”

Gulp.

General gulped down his saliva as he listened to her. He started to imagine the hot, freshly-made tofu that was always sold on the sidewalks. He imagined buying a large tofu as the seller cut it up into bite-sized pieces then, they would add some stir-fried tuna and kimchi on top of it. Once he placed it in his mouth?

‘Just thinking about it is already amazing...’

“That... uh, your d…drool...”

Sluuuurp. “Ah. Yes.”

‘This is it!’ This was the thought that flashed in General’s mind. He knew that this was something that Minhyuk would definitely like. Also, it was clearly not an ordinary millstone based on what she had told him. This information was enough for them to reach an agreement with Joo-Ah.

“We need to find out more information about it, as well as its exact location. So, can you tell me your nickname so I can add you in-game?”

“...”

General could not help but wipe his drool at the thought of such an item.

***

Minhyuk and Ben came out of the restaurant only to see black souls flying all over the palace and trying to possess the people. Ben immediately used his Ghost Spearmanship and dealt with the enemies that surrounded them.

[You have leveled up.]

Since Ben became Minhyuk’s subordinate, Minhyuk was still able to get some EXP from him and level up. Not long after, they were able to push through the throngs of enemies and made their way to the front of a huge door. The enemies kept on flocking to where they were so they had no choice but to make their stand here.

“Open the door! We’ll stop these bastards here!”

If they opened the door and limited the area where their enemies could come through, they would be able to stop their fierce assault. This situation was much better compared to blocking their attacks from all sides. Minhyuk opened the door as Ben jumped up to deal with twenty enemies at once. Just then, a set of notifications popped out when Minhyuk touched the door.

[One of the Pinnacle Strong Men, Great Mage Arfield has appeared!]

[You have met one of the Pinnacle Strong Men as your enemy.]

[Whoever hunts and kills one of the Pinnacle Strong Men will gain plenty of rewards.]

“...!”

Minhyuk looked inside and saw the giant figure of the Dragon King. He looked no different than a catfish that could walk. However, he was wearing a luxurious king’s robe,?with the image of a dragon on it. Minhyuk watched as he approached a severely injured rabbitman.

‘...He’s the one that wanted to open up my belly and take away the Rabbit’s Liver that I ate?!’

Minhyuk would already get angry if someone snatched the food that was in his hands, what more if it was someone that wanted to steal and separate the Rabbit’s Liver that he had already eaten. So, Minhyuk threw his sword with all his might. When his sword shot past Arfield and got stuck in a wall, Arfield laughed at him as if he was looking at some ridiculous being.

“You bastard...?” Arfield said. However, before Arfield could finish his words, Minhyuk raised his hand.

‘While his guard against me is still down...’

The sword that was stuck neatly in the wall vibrated strongly as it got sucked back towards Minhyuk’s outreached hand.

Spuuuurt!

“Arghhh!” Arfield, with his back unguarded, screamed in pain as the sword grazed his back. He could see black smoke rising from the injury inflicted on his back.

Minhyuk clenched his sword tightly and thought,?‘I’ll definitely get that delicious snow crab and enjoy some snow crab pancakes, as well as snow crab ramen at the end of this fight...!’

He remembered eating plenty of snow crabs with his father back when he was a child. And every time they ate it, Minhyuk would always say,?‘Dad, it tastes like crab meat sticks!’

‘Haha. It’s an extremely delicious and hot crab meat stick!’

In fact, the taste of snow crabs was really too similar to crab meat sticks and Minhyuk wanted to taste the flavor of the snow crab again.

Minhyuk looked behind him and saw Ben standing by the door as he blocked the enemies from entering. He was fighting against them alone. Minhyuk grabbed Ellie’s Sword tightly.

Dash!

That was when he started running.

“Bastard!” Great Mage Arfield shouted as he glared at him fiercely before waving his hand in the air. Following his movements, a huge wand sprang up in front of him. Arfield grabbed the wand and waved in Minhyuk’s direction.

Suddenly, black mana flew out and surrounded Minhyuk’s body.

[Great Mage Arfield’s Seven Deadly Sins. Sloth.]

[You have become lazy. You do not want to do anything.]

[You have an invincible body that can ignore and resist all abnormal states.]

[You have resisted an abnormal state.]

It was the Seven Deadly Sins! The curse of Great Mage Arfield! Minhyuk had fought against one of his curses, the Sin Of Gluttony, before. Back then, he fought against it without any protection whatsoever against abnormal states. This time, he was able to resist it, thanks to his invincible body.

“...!”

Great Mage Arfield took a step back when he saw that Minhyuk was unaffected and was still running straight at him.

‘H…how...?’

Arfield was dumbfounded. He was well aware that his curse had a powerful force that could never be resisted. Once someone had fallen under the Sin Of Sloth, they would not want to do anything at all. Even if someone slashed them right in the neck, they would still do nothing. However, the young man in front of him was different. He was clearly running straight toward himself with no signs of stopping at all.

[Fire Field.]

[A huge area of flame will engulf your enemy in an instant.]

Puhaaaaaaaaaa!

Blazing black flames suddenly rose from all over the floor. Minhyuk quickly pulled the frying pan off of his back and held it in front of him. His frying pan could double his magical defense and was perfect in countering the flames that threatened to swallow him.

Crackle!

Minhyuk felt the heat that the flames were emitting. He thought,?‘It’s not that hot...’

It was not just his frying pan that contributed to the increase in his magical defense. Holy power was also a factor; it not only increased his physical attack and defense, but also boosted his magical attack and defense. Minhyuk’s magical defense could already be considered to be leagues beyond any ordinary rankers’ magical defense.

Minhyuk quickly launched a fierce magic attack towards Great Mage Arfield’s Fire Field. Dozens of spears of water flew off straight at the fire. Sparks were created when both magical attacks clashed with each other. However, Minhyuk was still able to blow away the black flames that surrounded the area.

Arfield stood just outside the range of the flames when he heard a weird sound.

Clang!

‘...Clang?’

Arfield’s forehead creased in suspicion.

At that moment…

Clang!

…another strange sound rang clearly in his ears, as a spear of water aimed straight towards him.

Shwaaaaaa!

Bang!

Arfield hurriedly blocked it with a black shield. Then, the remaining half of the magic attack that Minhyuk had casted arrived in front of Arfield.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

Clang, clang!

Puhaaa!

Minhyuk also took this opportunity to burst through the flames and went straight for Arfield’s neck. Great Mage Arfield quickly set dozens of black shields around him.

“I’m going to eat snow crabs...! I’m going to eat! Spicy braised snow crabs!” Minhyuk shouted as he triggered Scattering Sword.

[Scattering Sword has been completed.]

[A single attack will deal six additional damages with a 40% increase.]

Minhyuk raised his enlarged frying pan and used it to slap Great Mage Arfield.

Claaaang!

The frying pan collided against the black shields that Arfield created.

Crash!

Great Mage Arfield breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the shields had blocked Minhyuk’s attacks successfully. He thought,?‘You won’t be able to break my shields!’

Arfield decided to end this useless fight once and for all. He sent out a strong and ferocious attack towards this daring man that delivered himself in front of Arfield. However, just as he was going to move his arms…

Clang!

…another attack came through. This time, the shield was not able to endure. It started to crack.

Clang, clang!

Crack!

The shield soon shattered into pieces. Then...

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

…four straight attacks slammed on Great Mage Arfield’s head.

“Urk!”

The attacks seemed to take a toll on Arfield. He was left in a momentary daze. Then, Minhyuk appeared right in front of him with his sword, not his frying pan, in his hands.

[Sword of Fury]

[There will be an additional 60% for strong lunges and stabs, if a vital strike is successful, the additional attack power will be 100%.]

Great Mage Arfield saw that the sword in front of him was suddenly filled with a great force. He keenly felt that he would take heavy damage if this sword stabbed him.

Vwoooooooom━

Great Mage Arfield immediately gathered a huge amount of mana in his hands before quickly thrusting it towards Minhyuk.

Baaaaang!

The tip of Minhyuk’s sword and the explosive mana collided.

Swoooooooosh!

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The Sword of Fury ripped the mana into pieces, piercing through Arfield’s abdomen.

[You have succeeded in stabbing a vital point.]

[100% additional damage!]

Baaaaaaang!

A powerful force exploded and ravaged the insides of Arfield’s body.

“Kiheeeek!” A painful and indiscernible scream escaped from the mouth of Greath Mage Arfield. His black soul even popped out of the body of the Dragon King for a moment, before coming back inside.

“How dare you, how dare...!”

‘Is his HP really that high?’

Minhyuk’s eyes widened when he realized that his attack was not enough to bring Arfield’s HP down to zero. Then, he saw Great Mage Arfield waving his arm. When Great Mage Arfield waved his arm, all of the black souls that were scattered all over the palace that entered the countless creatures dwelling inside were suddenly pulled away from those bodies. Their numbers were in the hundreds at the very least. With another wave of his hand, these black souls shrieked before being sucked back inside the body of Great Mage Arfield.

“Kyaaaaaak!”

“Keuaaaaaack!”

“Aaaaaaaaack!”

[Arfield’s HP has fallen below 50%.]

[His Skill: Soul Devour has been triggered.]

[His magical attack and magical defense have temporarily increased by 1.8x]

[His Skill: Soul Recovery has been triggered.]

[All of his wounds are recovering at a rapid pace.]

“...!”

Minhyuk also remembered that Rumad, the person he fought before, also triggered some skills when his HP dropped below a certain level. He could easily fight toe-to-toe against Great Mage Arfield because of his tremendously high Holy Power. However, if this situation happened every time Arfield’s HP got reduced, it would be an entirely different story.

Crackle, swoosh, fwoosh!

The space between them was suddenly torn apart by a flame that was far bigger and hotter than a regular flame.

[Hellfire.]

[A huge fire summoned from hell has now been created.]

Any player that could cast this high-level magic was considered to be the best in the world. Such was the greatness and might of the magic called Hellfire.

Minhyuk felt it too. He thought,?‘If I get hit by that... then I’d die...!’

The items in the surroundings were slowly starting to melt. This just showed how terrifying the heat and might of this blazing ball of flame was. It was not even touching anything, but it could still melt the things in its surrounding. Minhyuk could still feel the heat even after widening the gap between him and Arfield.

“...!”

Ben also looked flustered when he saw the Hellfire spell.

“Die, you son of a b*tch!”

Shwaaaaaa!

The huge ball of Hellfire quickly flew towards Minhyuk at an astonishing speed. When Ghost Spear Ben saw this, he quickly dug his feet on the ground.

[Ghost’s Counter Spear.]

[The rotating spear will offset the enemy’s attack in an instant.]

Ben threw his spear with all his might. When he let go of the spear, a huge swirling vortex was formed as it flew straight towards the incoming attack. Once the spear and the hellfire met in the air...

Vrrrrrrrrrrrr!

…it tried to offset the Hellfire. However, when it was just about to dig straight into it and break the attack, the spear suddenly fell down on the floor.

“This...!”

Grandpa Ben’s eyebrows furrowed in distress. At this rate, neither he nor Minhyuk would be able to escape. Both of them would be swallowed by that huge hellfire.

However, right at that moment...

Shwaaaaaa!

…a huge wall of water sprung up from the ground and created a barrier between them and the hellfire. As soon as the barrier formed, the huge wall of water was formed into a tidal wave and rushed straight towards the hellfire.

Minhyuk and Ben’s heads both turned towards the source of the water. There, they saw the injured and bleeding Kiari lying on Jevis’ knees. Jevis also raised her hands shakily as she used her powers on them.

[The Chosen Child’s Blessings.]

[All stats will increase by 30% and magical defense will increase by 50 for ten minutes.]

Then, Kiari shouted at them weakly. She said, “Anything. I’ll give you anything you want...! That’s why, please... please... save... our Dragon King and... our Dragon Palace...!”

Minhyuk did not know the exact situation, but he could still guess to some extent about what had transpired. So, he nodded in agreement as he enlarged his frying pan to cover both him and Ben from the incoming attack. Then, the Hellfire collided with Kiari’s tidal wave.

Fwiiiiiiiiiiiiiish!

1. An idiom roughly meaning one who avoids work, turns down food