#7. Proposal

"Whaaaaaaaaat?!" 

Minhyuk found his glorious future as a foodie already in a crisis. 

"Twilight Graveyard only allows players between Level 10 to 15 to enter." 

"Is…is that so… ahem…" Minhyuk mumbled sadly, feeling disappointed at that moment. Despite his disappointment, he decided to have his fill of red bean jelly first. 

Allon went inside to get a carton of milk, and poured him a glass. 

"Here, don't be too disappointed. Drink this. I'm not usually this generous though." 

As Allon handed him the glass, Minhyuk's hands instinctively reached out for the carton of milk instead. 

"I, I don't know how to stop…!" 

He wanted to get more milk. Allon, who didn't know whether to laugh or cry, handed him the whole carton of milk. 

"Here, it's fine." 

Gulp, gulp—

Minhyuk took the carton of milk, all 1 liter of it, and gulped it down. Drinking milk while eating red bean jelly was like icing on top of the cake. 

"I have to go and level up…"  He mumbled to himself. 

Allon thought that right now was the perfect time. 

"Then boy, do you think you could do me a favor?" 

"Yes?" 

"If you go to Mount Rumad, there are 'Chestnut Demons' there. If you hunt those guys, they will drop 'chestnuts'. Can you bring me those?" 

Ring! 

[Quest: Collect 50 chestnuts.] 

Rank: E

Requirements: Available only to those who have tasted Allon's red bean jelly. 

Rewards: 50 chestnut red bean jelly, 20,000 gold

Penalty for Failure: You will lose Allon's favor, and you won't be able to buy any more red bean jelly from him. 

Description: A quest that can only be triggered if you have tasted Allon's red bean jelly. He's the master of making chestnut red bean jelly, however, he does not have any chestnuts to make them. Hunt chestnut demons and bring him chestnuts. 

"Chestnuts?" 

Chestnuts were usually piled together in a bunch, and grilled, but it was also an ingredient that could be used in a variety of dishes. 

For example, they could be used to make the delicious 'Chestnut Braised Spicy Chicken'. 

Minhyuk was keeping quite a lot of chicken in his food storage inventory. After all, he only thought about eating every day. 

Furthermore, there was the chestnut red bean jelly as a reward; the chestnut kernel that could be chewed inside the soft red bean jelly. 

‘Just imagining it makes me happy.’

"Hunting for chestnuts and eating chestnut red bean jelly sounds good, yeah?" 

"Oh, I think so too!" 

"You can only obtain the chestnut quest from me. Plus, if you give me 100 pieces instead of 50, then your rewards will double. In the same vein, if you give me 200, then your rewards will quadruple." 

Minhyuk nodded enthusiastically. 

‘I need to get to Level 10 so I could eat pork…  Before I do that, I should eat my fill of chestnut red bean jelly… Or I could also steam or grill chestnuts!’ 

"But, you have to be careful. The chestnut demons are stronger than you think. If you don't pay attention, you might die from their sharp thorns. Boy, I can see that you're quite stronger than others on your level." 

"I can do it. Hehe. Also…"

"Hmm?"

Allon saw Minhyuk reaching out his hands with a brilliant smile. 

"Please give me another 5,000 gold worth of red bean jelly!" 

"Keok, al..already?!… Are you a hippo?!" 

It had taken Minhyuk less than 40 minutes to finish off the 25 pieces of red bean jelly. 

Minhyuk bought an extra 5,000 gold worth of red bean jelly, before turning around and heading to the chestnut demon's hunting ground that Allon told him about. 

Allon thought about something as he watched his back. 

'Perhaps, he may be able to hunt the chestnut demon king and change the quest rewards? Hmm… Eyy, that's impossible. That young friend is just Level 1.'

He then found another player passing by. 

"Oy, come and taste my red bean jelly." 

***

When Minhyuk started climbing the mountain, he noticed that there were no other players present in his surroundings. 

Instead, what he saw was a patrol guard. 

"Boy, are you going to hunt chestnut demons?" 

"Yes. That's right." 

"I see. Usually, Most people form parties to hunt chestnut demons. Boy, I guess you're Level 10, huh?" 

"I'm Level 1 though?" 

"......Go back." 

"What?" 

Minhyuk looked at him strangely. 

The patrol guard, Hans, sighed. 

'There are always guys who come here without knowing anything.' 

"Chestnut demons are Level 4 but they're usually stronger than other monsters of the same level. Even though they can't take blows well, their attack power is still at Level 6. At your level, you'll be dead in one hit." 

"Ahh… Thank you for your concern!" 

"Yeah." Hans smiled innocently at Minhyuk thinking that he was a good listener. He decided to tell the latter more. 

"In addition, chestnut demons give you lower EXP and item drops compared to other hunting grounds. It's better for you to go somewhere else." 

"That's alright." 

However, Minhyuk still went past the guard. 

"B, boy! Do you think what I said was just for fun?!" 

It was Patrol Guard Hans' job, guiding those who were unaware, to the right hunting grounds. 

The hunting ground that matched Minhyuk the best was Cobalt Rock since it was where Level 1 to 4 players could easily hunt. 

"That's not it. I didn't look down on Mr. Patrol Guard!"

"Players who come here are at Level 3~5 and they usually form parties. Even so, no one was able to hunt properly…" 

Before he could even finish what he was saying, Minhyuk discovered a chestnut demon nearby. 

The chestnut demon that appeared was literally a thorny chestnut with tiny arms and legs attached to its body. Anyone could see that their hands were round because they did not have any fingers. 

"Kkaebi, kkaebi!"

The chestnut demon cried out loudly while Minyuk was observing it closely. 

'Delicious chestnut!' 

Minhyuk could not hear Hans, who was talking behind him. 

Fortunately, the chestnut demon was not an aggressive-type mob that attacked players first. 

"There are always those who don't listen." 

Hans clicked his tongue. 

[Bardy Swordsmanship] 

[+9 to all 5 basic stats for 5 minutes.] 

At that moment… 

Shiiing! 

Minhyuk pulled out the sword by his waist and slashed towards the chestnut demon. 

The sword flashed with a crimson light. 

[Dauntless Strike] 

[Each attack inflicts additional 20% damage.] 

Minhyuk believed what the guard said about hunting chestnut demons being dangerous. That was the reason why he had used Bardy Swordsmanship the moment he attacked. 

Slaaash! 

"Kuuaack!" 

The chestnut demon was soon felled. It took only one strike. 

Gasp! Hans’ eyes widened like a startled rabbit. 

"H..how?" 

Before he could speak, Minhyuk heard a series of notifications. 

[You have leveled up.] 

[You have acquired 3 chestnuts.] 

Since Minhyuk had received the chestnut quest, he could receive the chestnuts without touching them separately. He also reached out to pick up what dropped from the chestnut demon. 

[You have acquired 61 gold.] 

[You have acquired the chestnut demon's thorn.] 

"Hmm?" 

Minhyuk's forehead creased. 

‘The chicken gave about 50 gold. But, this common mob gives only 60 gold?’

He tilted his head in confusion, but he smiled happily when he saw the chestnuts in his inventory. He then proceeded to check his stats window. 

(Minhyuk) 

Level: 2

Class: None

HP: 230 MP: 200

STR: 19+11  AGI: 15+14  STM: 15+5

WIS: 15+5  INT: 15+5  Rep: 10

Fullness: 100%/10

Bonus Point: 5

Minhyuk added 3 bonus points to his STR and the remaining 2 to his AGI. 

He had sensed it when he was cleaning the chickens. It was easier for him to clean and trim the chickens when his STR was high. 

Minhyuk thought to himself as he observed his stats. 'It's really higher compared to other players.' 

The regular stats were already high enough, but with the addition of the stats from the items with '+', the total was at another level altogether. 

There was also the combination of Bardy Swordsmanship and the Dauntless Strike, so it was possible for Minhyuk to kill the monster in a single hit.

‘Maybe it's possible to actually finish it off without the skills.’ 

"Boy, you're not Level 1, right?" 

"Yes, I'm Level 1. Ah, right, I'm Level 2 right now."

"......" 

Hans stared at Minhyuk blankly. Minhyuk’s strike was neat, efficient, and without any superfluousness. His movements were very quick. 

'This guy.' 

He did not know how Minhyuk raised his stats, but he could not help but wonder. 

"Boy, I'm sorry I disregarded you. You're much stronger than I thought."

Hans cleared his throat. As a soldier, he wanted to know the secrets to getting stronger. 

‘If he’s that good at only Level 1, there must be something special, right?’

"So, is it possible for you to tell me your secret?" 

"Hmm…" Minhyuk hummed in a low voice for quite some time before he started speaking, "I eat well, and exercise diligently." 

"Is…is that it?" 

The guard looked at him with a blank expression.

Minhyuk quickly turned around and left to hunt more chestnut demons. It might have sounded weird to the guard back there, but what Minhyuk said was the truth. 

***

Minhyuk had a thought as he continued to hunt chestnut demons.  'There are no players around, and yet, there are a lot of mob monsters.’

And him? 

'Chestnut demon, one shot.' 

So what did it mean? He was able to monopolize the chestnut demons to level up. 

[Bardy Swordsmanship] 

[+9 to all 5 basic stats for 5 minutes.]

Fwooooom—

Minhyuk's body was filled with strength. Even without Dauntless Strike, he was still able to one-shot the chestnut demons with his sword, just by using the Bardy Swordsmanship. As Minhyuk's level continued to increase, it would eventually be possible for him to do it without the Bardy Swordsmanship. Minhyuk quickly continued to hunt the chestnut demons in his surroundings. 

Stab! 

"Kuek!" 

Lunge! 

"Kwaak!" 

Slash!

"Kgghkek!" 

***

Minhyuk took a break from his hunting. He had become skilled. Earlier on, he had been slightly afraid of the chestnut demons because they were considered to be real monsters. However, his obsession with food trumped his fear, which made it easier for him to overcome it. 

[You have leveled up.] 

[You have leveled up.] 

[You have leveled up.] 

Soon, he reached Level 7 in a flash, and through his usual allocation of 3 to STR and 2 to AGI per level, he soon had an additional 15 STR and 10 AGI. 

(Minhyuk) 

Level: 7

Class: None

HP: 248 MP: 200

STR: 37+11  AGI: 27+14  STM: 15+5

WIS: 15+5  INT: 15+5  Rep: 10

Fullness: 100%/10

Bonus Point: 0

He had also collected 100 chestnuts. Earlier on, the notification for the completion of the quest had rang out, but he continued to collect more chestnuts. 

His sole reason was so that he could build up his chestnut stash, and eat whatever was left after turning in the necessary amount for the quest. According to Allon, it would be impossible for him to gather chestnuts once he submitted the quest. 

Just then… 

"Kyaaaaa!" 

He heard a woman scream. Minhyuk quickly headed over with a curious look on his face. 

***

She was 12th in the local rankings, known as Alicia, the Witch of Agony, in the game. 

Her real-life name was…  

Lee Ji-ah. 

Lee Ji-ah sighed as she looked at the cherry tomato salad in front of her. 

'I don't know if I'm a gamer or a celebrity.' 

In a way, she could be compared to a female celebrity. The current Athenae Rankers were very popular all over the world. 

What else could she say? Lee Ji-ah's appearance was on par with celebrities, that it was like a slap to the actors' faces? 

She was experiencing the same popularity as the brightest stars these days, with her long black hair, misty doe-like eyes, sharp nose, slender jawline, and her flawless white skin. Her figure was also perfect. 

‘But did they think that this figure just came out of nowhere?’

Lee Ji-ah roughly looked over her capsule while chewing on her cherry tomatoes. 

'Damn it…'

It was not that long ago when she got defeated by a non-Ranker. At that time, she realized something.

'I'm too weak at close combat… too weak!' 

While it was true that she was playing a witch, she was still able to handle fights in close-combat. 

She had been a top-ranker in Versal, the game before Athenae rose in popularity. She was a Light Knight in Versal, which was why she was confident in her close-combat abilities, even though she was a Witch in Athenae. 

That was why she started practicing in her alt-account recently. 

In reality, Athenae did not allow an alt-account system, but Ji-ah had been given special permission. The reason was because she had reached the highest level when participating in the country's closed-beta testing for Athenae. 

Therefore, she practiced on her alt-account constantly, deleting the character and restarting it repeatedly. 

‘I have been lacking in confidence lately.’ 

She wanted to rediscover her initial passion. Perhaps, this was why she was utilizing such an extreme method, so she could fan the flames of her original excitement for the game. As per usual, she connected to the game, logging on as a new character that she could train. 

This time, her character's name was Armin. Her face was completely changed as well. Athenae gave her special permission to change her appearance since she was given two IDs. Another reason why she was training in her alt-account was to avoid attention from other people. 

As soon as she logged in, she went through the motions of the scarecrow training grounds, hunting training grounds, before quickly entering Isbin Village. 

As she walked through the village, she suddenly remembered… 

'Wasn't the chestnut demon hunting grounds considered to be difficult for beginners?'