A Matter of Perspective
"...I don't know why you'd think that."
Did the Archisus Church run around causing trouble back then too? No, surely not...
To Tae-hyun's words, the Chimera prisoner replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Because the Church's situation wasn't very good?"
The former Paladin of the Archisus Church began to explain.
The latter half of the Ancient Empire was a chaotic era. The tyrant's rule bred discontent everywhere, and the demons of the Demon Realm attacked from all directions, eyeing the continent. On top of that, falsely accused princes and nobles were locked up in this remote northern wasteland...
"It wasn't a false accusation..." Tae-hyun muttered.
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. Keep talking."
During such chaotic times, it was the religious orders that stepped up. Among them, the Archisus Church showed dazzling activity! They defeated the demons attacking from all sides, invaded the Demon Realm to strike back, and the Pope himself even sacrificed his life.
"????"
????
Tae-hyun and Carbanog were shocked at the same time!
W-Wait... Really? Are they sure it was the Archisus Church? Could it have been the 'Arch-jesus' or 'Arch-sus' Church?
'I was sure they would have at least tried to assassinate the Emperor...'
"Your suspicion is way too extreme!"
What kind of Avatar doesn't trust his own god's church!
But the Chimera prisoner was dead serious.
"Though we managed to fend off the demons' attacks, the Church suffered devastating losses... The Pope vanished, and high-ranking priests and Paladins fell in battle. It wouldn't have been surprising if the Church had collapsed entirely."
"..."
Tae-hyun and Carbanog were still in a state of utter confusion.
- Maybe there was some misunderstanding? Like, they tried to play both sides to sow discord, but ended up forced to sacrifice themselves...
"No, the Pope could have actually been a good person."
- Carbanog. The Archisus Church is not a place where good people can enter. A person like that should have gone to the Demer Order. Be realistic. How could a good person ever rise to the position of Pope?
"......"
While Tae-hyun and Carbanog bickered, the Chimera prisoner spoke again.
"But to hear that the Church didn't collapse... I am truly overjoyed!"
"It did collapse, but I revived it."
"...!"
The Chimera prisoner gasped in shock.
"Your Holiness! You are truly magnificent! I had hoped to escape one day and work with the Bishop to revive the Church..."
"I appreciate the thought, but—wait. Bishop? There's a Bishop?"
A Bishop of the Archisus Church?
'Just hearing the title gives me a bad feeling.'
"He is held in the underground depths. Because of his high status, he wasn't put in a common cell like this, but in the subterranean special prison..."
High-status individuals like the Prince or the Archisus Bishop were locked in special underground cells, not the surface prison.
The security there was so brutal that no prisoner could ever hope to break through!
Of course, from Tae-hyun's perspective, he was thinking, 'Just what on earth did he do to get locked up down there?'
"Why was the Bishop imprisoned?"
"He was falsely accused of conspiring with demons..."
......
"Right. That's enough."
He didn't need to hear any more!
"By the way... you guys turning into Chimeras... that wasn't your doing, was it?" Tae-hyun asked subtly.
The prisoner laughed.
"You jest, Your Holiness. How could that be? How could I possess such power? Surely even Your Holiness does not have such an ability."
"Y-Yeah, of course. I was just joking."
What a relief!
To be honest, Tae-hyun had been sweating bullets, worried that the Archisus Church had pioneered the Chimera transformation.
'Well, I suppose Archisus didn't cause every single problem on the continent.'
"They probably caused about half of them..."
'Shut up.'
"We were able to become Chimeras because our mages, alchemists, and priests put their heads together to devise a secret technique. It was an incredibly grueling and difficult path, but we succeeded thanks to everyone's desperate desire to survive."
"You should have put that effort into something else... Never mind."
• You can obtain [Redacted]!
• [Redacted] requires a territory and facilities. Once installed, you can use the skill.
• [Redacted] is an extremely dangerous secret art. You may die during the process...
• Your stats may decrease...
• ......
• ......
• Your Reputation increases significantly!
• Your Magic skill has increased.
• Your Alchemy skill...
'Wow. It's been a while since I got a skill that feels this empty.'
Where was he supposed to use this?
"Why don't you install it near the Special Temple?"
For players daring enough to attempt mutating into a Chimera, this would be highly popular!
"Your Holiness. In this meeting, I felt the guidance of Lord Archisus."
"Really? I felt pure malice."
Ignoring Tae-hyun's remark, the prisoner continued passionately.
"This is destiny! For Your Holiness, who will soon become a Chimera, to find this fortress! It is your destiny to rescue the Prince, resurrect the Empire, and at the same time, rescue the Bishop to make the Archisus Church stronger than ever before!"
The Forgotten Bishop
It is said that there was a time when the Archisus Church was bright and righteous, hard as it is to believe. Though he has now become a Chimera prisoner, the Paladin of the Archisus Church still holds a powerful faith. He wishes to assist the Church's affairs alongside the Bishop imprisoned underground! While it is uncertain if accepting him is a good idea, it will undoubtedly be a massive boost to the Church's influence.
📍 Objective: Meet the Bishop of the Archisus Church and obtain information about the forgotten Authorities.
🎁 Reward: ?, ???
Two quests at once! Both related to the Church!
'Ah, damn it...'
He should have just left without listening to their story!
"It's too late for regrets."
'Ugh. I mean, it is what I wanted, but...'
The reason Tae-hyun had come to the Ancient Empire's prison in the first place was to find traces of the Archisus Church—various Authority skills, facilities, and the like.
But he never expected to run into a plump, perfectly healthy Paladin!
"At least you found what you were looking for, so it's a win."
'This is going to make the quest several times more annoying.'
First, head underground, find the Bishop, get information on the Authorities, and then...
'The Prince is absolutely staying behind.'
"I agree."
No matter how he looked at it, that guy belonged underground! Letting him out would bring nothing but trouble.
"By the way, what happened to the Sadique Order?"
The prisoner who used to be a Sadiq Paladin asked curiously from the side.
At that, the other prisoners began to scold him.
"They're probably doing great. Why are you even asking that?"
"Seriously, you love bragging about your order way too much."
"Why would you ask that in front of the Archisus Church, which collapsed once?"
A barrage of nagging fell upon him from the other prisoners!
"Hahaha... No, I mean, you never know. Maybe the Sadique Order collapsed too."
Even as he said that, the face of the former Sadiq Paladin was brimming with pride.
- There's no way the Sadique Order would ever fall!
His expression practically screamed those words.
"..."
Seeing this, Tae-hyun found it hard to speak...
"He's just a Sadiq Paladin, what's so hard about it?"
'True.'
Tae-hyun realized. Why should he show any consideration to a Sadiq bastard?
"Yeah. Your order is ruined."
"..."
"..."
It took a long time to calm down the Sadiq Paladin, who was in deep denial.
The other prisoners continuously comforted him.
"Hey, I mean, these things happen. You can always rebuild it, friend!"
"A lot of time has passed on the outside, so it's only natural!"
"Ugh... This makes no sense... The Sadique Order is ruined? That mighty and glorious order...?"
"Do you know what became of the survivors?"
"Uh... I took them in."
To be precise, he had beaten them into submission!
However, the prisoners seemed to misunderstand his words completely.
"My goodness! To take them in despite the bad blood between our orders... You are truly a benevolent soul!"
"An even kinder soul than the previous Pope...!"
• The prisoners of the Ancient Empire are deeply moved by your good deeds!
• Affinity has...
"When are you going to tell him that you personally destroyed the Sadique Order?"
'I don't really recall.'
He should probably keep that to himself for the rest of his life!
Since digging deeper would only lead to danger, Tae-hyun immediately changed the subject.
"Why don't you tell me about the special underground prison? I'll go down and rescue the prisoners locked inside—excluding the Prince."
"Ooh...!"
"What incredible courage...!"
• You have earned a massive amount of Reputation!
• Supreme Eloquence skill...
• ......
• ......
• [Redacted] is deeply moved by your words!
• [Redacted] accepts you as their commander!
• You temporarily become the leader of [Redacted]! The prisoners will follow your orders until their master appears.
"...No. Just give me the information."
He had more than enough of these guys already!
"Archisus! Archisus!"
"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"
Regardless of his protests, the prisoners excitedly chanted Tae-hyun's name.
To the Chimera prisoners who had been wandering the underground for ages without being able to break through, the appearance of Tae-hyun's party felt like destiny.
Besides, Tae-hyun's achievements, reputation, and eloquence were simply too overwhelming!
"Your Holiness. Thank you for helping our Sadique Order. I, too, shall pledge my absolute loyalty to aid your cause."
The former Sadiq Paladin made a solemn, heavy vow.
It felt incredibly bizarre. Were Sadiq bastards usually like this?
"T-Thanks."
Once the situation settled, Alcott let out a sigh of relief.
'I survived!'
He had been rolling his eyes in sheer tension while the conversation was ongoing, but somehow, it had wrapped up beautifully. The tension draining from his body made him realize once again how terrifyingly amazing Kim Tae-hyun was.
'What kind of monster is this guy, seriously?'
When they were first dragged here, Alcott had braced himself for a desperate battle. These Chimera prisoners were not the type you could reason with!
Yet, the moment Tae-hyun's party arrived, they completely dominated the room, and after a brief chat, they had actually recruited them. To command such powerful NPCs as subordinates with just a few words!
Of course, Tae-hyun hadn't wanted this outcome at all, but to Alcott, it didn't look that way. In Alcott's eyes, Tae-hyun had planned every single detail.
'Truly... truly magnificent...!'
From his bold entrance to his ability to completely sway NPCs. This wasn't a realm of mere high levels, good skills, or superior control.
Charisma!
There was an overwhelming charisma in Tae-hyun's play. The kind of charisma that had captivated and enchanted viewers ever since the days of Pan-On 1!
"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"
"You crazy bastard, why are you chanting too?!"
Cain flusteredly tried to stop Alcott.
Alcott, as if possessed, had joined the prisoners and started chanting Tae-hyun's name. Did his persuasion skill work on players too?!
"S-Sorry. The atmosphere just caught me for a second..."
"Well, yeah. That happens sometimes. I get it."
Cain understood immediately. Watching Kim Tae-hyun do his thing sometimes made you lose your mind for a moment!
"By the way, everyone."
"?"
"Are we not going to rescue those three? It's been quite a while since they were dragged away..."
"...Ah."
By now, their race change into Chimeras was probably long finished!
"We should rescue them right now—wait, we don't actually need to, do we?"
"Right? We don't need anything from them anymore. In fact, shouldn't we just kill them? Think of how much bounty is on their heads."
"Oh, perfect. Since we're here anyway, let's bag them too."
A rapid shift in objectives!
Since they had come all this way, they might as well make some side profit!