The Real Reason They Welcomed the Pope

"Where is that new recruit who just came in?"

At the party's question, the Chimera prisoners pointed to the building behind them.

"He's probably undergoing the procedure inside right now. It's already begun."

At those words, the party was flustered...

"Oh dear! We must save him right a—actually, no we don't."

"I almost said we should save him out of habit. If it's already started, there's nothing we can do. Let's just take him with us if he survives."

...not.

If they luckily survived, they'd capture them and collect the bounty, and if they died, well... they died! Honestly, at this point, it was the definition of reaping what they sowed!

"Your Holiness, by any chance, can you use Archisus's Totem?"

"I can."

"What a relief! That will make things several times easier."

The Archisus Paladin breathed a sigh of relief. The powerful authority of the Archisus Church, Archisus's Totem! It was a mighty authority skill capable of breaking through even mazes or dungeons protected by various anti-detection magic. It wasn't destructive or flashy, but its effect was absolute.

"You know the authorities of Archisus well."

"Yes! I have personally witnessed some of them."

He-he's competent...!

Tae-hyun was surprised. How could the word "competent" ever suit the subject "Archisus Paladin"?!

Is it because their race changed? Should I change the race of all the NPCs? If Pelmas becomes a Chimera too...

Well, I suppose Pelmas wouldn't really change much even if he became a Chimera.

"Are there any other authority skills you remember?"

"Hmm..."

The Chimera prisoner fell into deep thought. The prisoners of the Ancient Empire here had lived for so long that they had even forgotten their own names. Their memories were understandably jumbled and chaotic.

"Ah, there was Calamity."

"What is this authority skill that makes my heart flutter just by hearing its name?"

Intrigued, Tae-hyun asked with sparkling eyes.

"Hmm. First, you must have the ability to summon the Wind of Fortune."

The prerequisite skill, Wind of Fortune! It was a wide-area skill that summoned winds with random attributes to a region and caused absolute chaos. Fortunately, it was a skill Tae-hyun already possessed!

"I have that. Oh, then can I use it right away?"

"No. That is just the baseline..."

"Tsk."

"Besides, how would a mere low-ranking paladin like me know how to unleash an authority skill?"

"I suppose that's true. Just explain the skill to me."

"First, Calamity is a skill split into several parts. If my memory serves me right, using Calamity turns rivers into blood and inflicts curses on nearby living things..."

"...Wa-wait. Is this really Archisus? Not Sadiq?"

"It spreads powerful misfortune to the surroundings, so it is indeed an authority of Archisus. Your Holiness used this very authority to fend off the demons' attacks."

"......"

Tae-hyun wore ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a dubious expression. Well, they did say even poison can be medicine if used correctly... but was this really a skill a benevolent god would possess?

"......"

So in the end... it's just a collection of the havoc the previous Popes wreaked?!

As long as it blocks the demons, who cares about the details!

Well, that's true. Besides, if it's an S-rank skill, it'll be highly useful.

Wind of Fortune was the strongest among Tae-hyun's wide-area skills. Except for the brutal penalty of consuming all his MP and preventing it from recovering for a while! But even so, it was undeniably a powerful skill. Having more of these would be reassuring.

"Is there anything else?"

"I will let you know if more memories return. Right now, I can't quite..."

A prisoner who was formerly a Paladin of Sadiq, listening to the conversation from the side, chimed in.

"The authority of Archisus is fine and all, but Sadiq's authority is far grander. It's called Sadiq's Flame..."

"Oh, I already have that."

"?!?!?!?"

"You're lucky."

"Truly lucky..."

"You three were definitely born under a lucky star. You have received Archisus's Blessing."

The three who touched the dragon's relic: Douglas, Charles, and Harold. These three were incredibly lucky. They had actually succeeded in becoming Chimeras! Even the prisoners who performed the secret art were filled with admiration.

"Welcome to our ranks, comrades!"

"Th-thank you?"

"Hey. Do you feel anything weird?"

"I think my stats went up? My defense too..."

"What about our looks? How do we look?"

The three stared at each other's appearances. Their appearance was what they feared most! Someone like Tae-hyun would say, "Hey, being strong is what matters most, who cares if you're a bit ugly?" But to surprisingly many players, appearance was an incredibly crucial factor. If you don't look cool, there's no point in playing Pan-On!

"W-we look fine? No stitch marks on our faces, both eyes are the same size."

"Our skin tone is uniform too. Nothing weird sticking out."

"Two eyes. Two ears. And... three arms..."

"No, wait. Four...?!?! What? Three?"

"Four?!"

Only then did the three realize. Their arms... they had multiple arms! Douglas had three. Charles had four. Harold had five! If they had just one more, they would have tied the Pan-On record for the most arms, held by Cain!

"M-madness. Why do we have so many arms! What is this!"

"No need to thank us. Heheh."

They protested, but the Chimera prisoners only smiled and nodded.

"No, you crazy bastards! We're not thanking you!"

In their panic, their polite speech vanished! But the prisoners still ignored them.

"Getting more arms is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the best possible option. You chose exceptionally well."

"Lucky, lucky."

"What on earth are these guys..."

SLAM!

Just then, the door burst open, and Tae-hyun's party barged in. Alcott's face was particularly grim. How much trouble had he gone through because of these three! Causing a nuisance across the entire continent, then fleeing all the way here...

"Douglas, Charles, Harold. Get out here, you bastards. Killing you a few times wouldn't even begin to—wait. Why do you guys have so many arms?"

Cain, watching from behind, asked in a dumbfounded voice.

"Are you copying me?"

"Who would copy that! Even if we wanted to, we couldn't!"

Quickly grasping the situation, Alcott burst into roaring laughter.

"Bwahahaha!"

They had failed the gacha while turning into Chimeras! Wait, is it really a failure? They survived, and having ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more arms is a good thing...

As Alcott mocked them, the three flared up in anger. We're currently in despair, and you dare laugh?

"Alcott, you... do you think you'll get away with mocking us?"

"And if I don't? Who do you think you're threatening right now?"

Alcott spoke coldly. He might be a pushover in front of Kim Tae-hyun, but in front of others, he was the fearsome Alcott! The three flinched at Alcott's icy expression. Only now did they remember just how terrifying of a ranker Alcott was. But they weren't about to back down easily.

"The Chimera prisoners here are our allies. If you touch us, these powerful NPCs will—"

"Huh? No, we're not. Sorry, but we heard the Pope of the Archisus Church, who will lead us, has arrived. He's the one giving the orders, so we must obey."

"......"

The Chimera prisoners cut ties instantly! Flustered, the three stammered, "But we're comrades..."

"Indeed. But sometimes, for the greater good, one must abandon even their comrades. Our hearts bleed to abandon you, comrade."

"Still, it's a relief we abandoned you before we got too close. Don't you think, comrade?"

"Hey! You bastards!"

They were making it even more infuriating! Alcott smiled with deep satisfaction. Thanks to Tae-hyun taking command of the prisoners, they were getting a free ride.

"Any last words?"

"Wait! Wait! You need the Dragon's Stone Tablet, don't you?"

"If we keep killing you..."

"...Don't think it'll just drop! We don't have it on us right now. You can check if you don't believe us. But the moment you touch us, even if we have to quit the game, we will never tell you where it is!"

The card they trusted most! It was the Dragon's Stone Tablet. They couldn't win by force, but they threatened never to reveal its location if they were killed even once.

"I wasn't going to say 'it'll drop if we keep killing you.' I was going to say 'you'll come to your senses if we keep killing you.'"

Alcott drew his sword.

"And we already found the tablet, you idiots."

"Nonsense! Don't lie. There's no way you found it!"

"Do you know who I came with?"

"Who did you come with...?"

Alcott paused for dramatic effect. Just then, the guild members who had tagged along behind him popped out and shouted:

"We came with Kim Tae-hyun, you bastards!!"

"Our guild was destroyed because of you! Die!"

"You absolute trash!"

"......"

Alcott, who had been about to dramatically utter Kim Tae-hyun's name, wore an annoyed expression. Ugh, these guild members are annoying from start to finish!

"As expected of Your Holiness. To clear that maze-like first floor in an instant."

"We believed in you!"

The prisoners enthusiastically praised Tae-hyun.

"How did you guys clear it when I wasn't around?"

"Well, we have plenty of time, so we just kept throwing ourselves at it until it worked."

"I-I see."

A tactic possible only because they were ageless Chimeras! The first floor they had just passed through was an incredibly tedious and annoying dungeon. No monsters or guardian golems appeared. The only thing present was a constantly shifting map! The moment you blinked, the walls would change, the paths would twist, the floor would rotate, and the ceiling would sink...

It was a good thing this was an underground dungeon hidden away here; if it had been an open dungeon outside, it would have been notorious among players as the absolute worst. A dungeon that was hard to navigate was far more dreadful than one filled with powerful monsters! It was mind-boggling that they had cleared such a place through sheer trial and error.

"From the second floor onward, it is a practical prison. We managed to break through the first floor somehow, but we haven't been able to enter the second floor."

"Is it that bad?"

To think these prisoners, burning with madness and obsession, couldn't enter? Just what kind of monster was waiting on the second floor?

"What on earth is down there?"

"Well, we couldn't find the key to the main gate leading to the second floor..."

"......"

Tae-hyun and Carbanog lost their words at the same time. You're not joking right now, are you? But the prisoners were dead serious.

"But now that Your Holiness is here, we will surely find it."

"It must be somewhere on the first floor, so if you look carefully with the luck bestowed upon you by Archisus..."

"...!"

Only now did Tae-hyun realize why the prisoners had welcomed him so warmly! Of course, his reputation and achievements played a part, but...

These bastards made me their leader just so I could find their lost items, didn't they?!