CH 424

The event that would mark the end of the first ever World War had firmly caught everyone’s attention. This event was none other than Prince(ss) Rescue Event.

One of the reasons why the Prince(ss) Rescue Event was gaining a lot of attention was because the players’ pets would be participating. Pets, while similar to summons in terms of appearance, were different in one aspect: they had an ‘owner buff’ effect, whereas summoned monsters did not.

Also, anyone could have pets even though they were not summoners, since pets were not exclusive to the summoner class. However, unlike other RPGs, pets in Athenae could not be purchased in stores and could only be obtained through sheer luck. In other words, although anyone could have one, the difficulty in obtaining one meant that the number of players that owned pets was not that high.

Another reason why the ‘Prince(ss) Rescue’ event was gaining a lot of attention was also because of the pets’ cuteness, which played a big factor.

Still, the biggest reason was because it was the final event. The Prince(ss) Rescue was the final game that would determine the winner between South Korea and America, the two countries that were neck and neck, and were tied in terms of gold medals won. Also, compared to players, information on pets was relatively unknown. This resulted in higher expectations for the battlefield where cool pets, cute pets, and beautiful pets would appear to fight.

Of course, there were also requirements for those that would participate in the event. Only one pet could participate per country and this pet should have a certain amount of intelligence, before they could be accepted to join the game.

The lights started to flash as the start of the game approached quickly. The first pet appeared in front of the screens that turned on all at once.

[It’s Japan’s Nyan-nyanmon!!! Nyan-nyanmon is a small bipedal cat acting as Japan’s mascot. He has plenty of fans under the fanclub ‘Nyanshaimase’. And as if to cater to Nyan-nyanmon’s small build, he also has a small katana hanging on his back!]

Then, another small figure made a splendid appearance, breaking through streams of black energy and slashing his sword down on the ground.

[Crack, crack, crack, crack—]

The ground cracked as a blast of heat burst out of the seams. What appeared in front of everyone was a small Death Knight the size of a goblin.

[Here we have a strong candidate for gold! Death Knight Lynn has appeared! Unlike Nyan-nyanmon earlier, he’s in charge of coolness.]

Pets started to appear one after the other. With over forty countries participating, various pets were making their appearance! Just then, one of the pets that appeared caught everyone’s attention the moment it made its appearance.

[Puhaaaaaaaaak—!]

A powerful flame burst out inside the stadium. What appeared after the flames died down was…

[Heooooooook!]

[It’s… it’s a hatchling! A hatchling!!!]

[Hatchlings are considered to be baby dragons. According to America’s Player Parker, a player that owns a hatchling, they are pets that will never grow past the hatchling stage. They’re also only as big as two adult man’s fists put together. However, you can’t look down on them just because they are small.]

…literally a hatchling. The overwhelming appearance of the hatchling gathered the attention of countless people. In fact, this was the first time that a hatchling has ever made its appearance in public. The hatchling, who was named ‘Dragonine’, was also a strong candidate for gold. Now, there were only two pets left to be announced.

[Ah. The pet that I’m going to introduce this time is a bit special. Ah, I stand corrected. It’s not the pet, but the pet owner that’s special.]

[How come?]

The commentators’ words aroused the curiosity of the viewers.

[Don’t worry, we have gained the consent of the pet owner before informing everyone. The pet owner, a Chinese, said that they had lived a lonely and sad life for the past thirty years and even got rejected by Athenae NPCs a hundred times. Ah~ My goodness~]

The stands sighed along with the commentators. Then, the commentator continued to speak…

[Just like that, they found an existence that was similar to them. It was their pet, another special existence. According to the owner, their pet, previously a monster, had waited for one person, and one person alone, in the Korean server for a very long time. But after waiting for a very long time, the monster decided to roam the world and look for this person. The ‘Goddess of Love’ Lovia, as if to respond to the monster’s feelings, blessed the monster and gave them a new strength, which helped them to wander the world to find the person that they were looking for. Well then, without further ado, we present you…!!!]

The viewer’s expectations soared at the commentators’ words. It was the encounter of a dignified man, who had been single for thirty years, and a pet that had been waiting for someone for a very long time! And that existence was none other than…

[China’s Immortal Monk!!!]

[Just like we have mentioned earlier, Monk was originally a monster. But with the power that Lovia has bestowed upon her, she has turned into a pet. It’s truly an unprecedented scenario.]

The monk, who appeared on the screens, shyly tucked her hair behind her ear.

[Okiikii!]

The viewers looked at the monk in curiosity. They were very surprised at the fact that a monster had turned into a pet.

Meanwhile, one man among those that would be ‘prince(ss) rescued’ sat in a large cage, trapped like a bird. This man was none other than Minhyuk. He sat up in shock and exclaimed, “M…Monk?!”

That was right. The monk that appeared was the same monk that Minhyuk met during the preliminaries of a competition that Eivelis Empire held a long time ago! Minhyuk could clearly remember her because she gave him bananas. And, he was someone that never forgot someone that ‘gave him food’.

‘I wonder who she’s waiting for?’

The dense Minhyuk did not know that the one that she was waiting for was actually him!

Amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd, one final pet stood on the stage. He was Korea’s mascot, the pet that played a huge role during Vormon’s hunt. Everyone knew him, that was why they were looking forward to his appearance.

Finally, he made his appearance. He was wearing a golden robe, the robe usually worn by wrestlers before they entered the ring, as well as a pair of sunglasses, and a snapback on his head. There was even a thick golden necklace hanging on his neck from who knew where.

[Beanie has appeared! What a strange appearance!]

[Beanie is dancing to the rhythm. He’s overflowing with swag!!!]

[He actually looks like a rapper.]

Minhyuk supported his forehead helplessly.

‘Where the hell did he get that?’

Beanie had been watching Show Me The Money[1] in the summoning room these days. Minhyuk did not think too much about it, but in the end, something this worrisome had happened due to his negligence. However, the more shocking part was when Beanie took out a small mic and held it in his tiny paws. It was as if someone had handed him the mic with his posture.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Waaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Cheers echoed loudly in the stadium. Then, Beanie raised one of his three fingers and gently placed it on his lips as if to ‘shush’ the crowd. Surprisingly enough, the tens of thousands of crowd in the stadium turned silent after seeing his action.

Beanie smirked while nodding haughtily, as if he was satisfied with their response. He then stood firmly before slashing his neck with his tiny finger in a gesture as if he was announcing to the world that he would slaughter all of his enemies! Then, his wrestling robe flapped loudly with the wind as he turned around smuggly amidst the loud cheers of the crowd.

“…?”

Minhyuk might not understand them, but the audience found the baby piggy’s unique style and appearance, together with his round and protruding belly, extremely cute.

***

The Prince(ss) Rescue Event was finally about to begin. More than forty pets appeared in the field. Every single one of them was maintaining a distance from one another. There, in the distance, was a huge castle where large cages, which imprisoned the pet owners, sprang up one after the other.

[It’s pretty self-explanatory, the pets’ owners are locked up by the cruel and vicious Adaels Kingdom.]

[The pets can gain attack points, defense points, and command points. Of course, the more enemies they hunt, the higher scores they would get. But if the pet saves their owner first then they would get the highest score.]

[In addition, the Adaels Kingdom will have the same number of ‘knights’ as the number of participating pets. And from what I heard, these knights are extremely strong.]

[I’m very excited to see the pets’ unique characteristics.]

With those words, a hundred troops with similar characteristics to each pet appeared behind them. Just like how a hundred 140cm small bipedal cats appeared behind Nyan-nyanmon, a hundred 140cm bipedal pigs also appeared behind Beanie.

“Oink, oink! Oink! Oink, oink!” Beanie squealed somberly while the hundred pigs behind him listened intently. By the end of his spiel, Beanie lifted his black kitchen knife up which…

“Hwiiiiiiiiiiiik!”

“Oiiiiiiiiiiiink!”

…effectively increased the morale of the pig troops.

[I’m sure what Beanie said to them was: ‘Evil and vicious people have imprisoned my master. I want to save and protect him so please lend me your strength! Let’s fight together!’.]

Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original.

[This is a pet’s firm will and determination to save his master!!! Beanie really cares for Player Minhyuk. This is really heart-warming.]

However, it was just their wishful thinking. The reality was different from the picture that they painted.

“When that master bastard called me early in the morning, there’s a delicious smell lingering on his clothes. He must have eaten something without me! Pigs, do you think that’s fair?! Let’s catch master and scold him! Also, my master has a lot of delicious food in his inventory!!!”

Of course, the pigs had no choice but to cheer loudly.

‘Let’s take all of my master’s food!!!’

“Oink, oink!!!” Beanie looked at one of the bipedal pigs grimly and asked it to walk on four feet. The pig, then, crouched down as Beanie rode on top of it. And with the golden crown on his head, Beanie glared at the battlefield. Then…

Vwooooooooooooong—

The blare of the horn that rang deep inside the castle marked the beginning of the war.

“Oiiiiiiiiink! (For the master’s food!!!)”

“Oink! (The master’s food!)”

“Hwiiiiik! (The master’s food!)”

‘Dragonine’, the hatchling, ran at the forefront, with 140cm tall dragon warriors following behind him, the moment the battle started. As he flew forward with his small wings, he opened his mouth and let out a huge breath of fire.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

The kingdom’s troops rushed out of the castle as the gate exploded from Dragonine’s attack.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!

Even archers and mages appeared on top of the walls! Meanwhile, Beanie, who was sitting on top of one of the pigs, dashed forward. A fire arrow flew straight towards him.

Fwooosh—

However, Beanie easily dodged the attack by ducking his head. He continued to run forward, with his hundred-strong pig troops, to get as close to the castle as possible.

Finally, the humans started to get serious and sent hundreds of their cavalry out!

[Aaaaaaaaaah! Nyan-nyanmon is running like a samurai!]

[Nyan-nyanmon is going to use his skill! It’s Nyan-nyan Punch!!!]

Nyan-nyan Punch was the skill name that Nyan-nyanmon’s owner had given the skill! The moment the skill got cast, something round and furry appeared in front of each member of the cavalry! These furry and round things were none other than Nyan-nyanmon’s paws! And each of these paws were holding a samurai sword.

Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab—

The samurai swords stabbed the horses and brought the cavalry down. In the end, the cavalry and the pet troops collided.

Baaaaaaaaang!

***

The Immortal Monk had been waiting for Minhyuk for a very long time! She felt impatient knowing that the love of her life was right here and being imprisoned by evil men! She was sure that this was what he would tell her once she saved him: ‘Monkie, thank you for coming to my rescue. Actually, I… to you…’

Then, they would go behind the bushes together and…

“Kiikii!”

Monk shyly tucked her hair behind her ears, her face flushing red at the thought! However, this was a momentary mistake. She should not be in a daze in the middle of a battlefield. The ground shook from the explosion spell cast by one of the human mages.

“Kii?”

Monk hurriedly tried to use Blink to avoid the attack, but she was already too late. But then, at that moment…

“Oiiiiiiiink!”

Someone hugged her tightly and brought her to the skies.

Baaaaaaaaaang—

Reflected in Monk’s eyes was a manly figure highlighted by the huge explosion behind them.

‘Aaaaaah. This pig is so handsome.’

The pig smirked at her as he gently put her down on the ground before sweeping his imaginary bangs up with his paw. And in Monk’s head, a BGM was playing…

♪~Moonlight is falling~♪

♪~Shalalala[2]~♪

Then, the pig, with his princely and gentle smile, turned around with his paw raised above his head, waving goodbye to her.

“Kiikii… (So cool…)”

Unbeknownst to Monk, Beanie fell into his own narcissistic thoughts the moment he turned around.

‘I’m so charismatic, oink!’

1. A SKr TV show that gathers Hip-hop entertainers to pick the best among them. ☜

2. A parody of the song Starlight is Falling by Bye Bye Sea. You can listen to the song here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=chIi--8tMkk ☜