The Legendary Quest of Love

The representative on the other end of the line seemed to completely misinterpret Tae-hyun's bewildered tone.

They must think Kim Tae-hyun is deeply moved!

"Player Kim Tae-hyun, please don't worry about it. There's absolutely no need to feel pressured."

"But I'm not carrying any?"

"Exactly! Just accept it with an open mind."

"No, I mean, I didn't even receive..."

"As long as you remember our sincerity, that is more than enough for us."

"..."

Tae-hyun felt like he was talking to Cain.

What is this? What does LK want from Cain? Are they trying to recruit him to a first-division team? No, their esports organization doesn't even have a first-division team, do they?

"Ah... yes, I see. Understood."

Tae-hyun hung up and gathered his teammates. What on earth had LK eaten to make them act like this?

"Aren't they trying to scout Cain?"

"They're a second-division team, though."

"Well, they could still try to scout him... though usually, no player would accept that."

"Who do you take me for?!" Cain barked. "What kind of lunatic tries to scout a first-division player down to the second division?!"

"Tae-hyun," Lee Da-bi chimed in, "do you think they're doing this to ask you for a favor?"

"?"

"You know, the team you coached last time is absolutely tearing up the league right now."

"Oh. Are they really doing that well lately?"

Tae-hyun hadn't watched a single second-division match since catching one or two games early on. It was hard enough keeping up with the first division; how could he possibly find time for the second?

"Yes, their momentum is incredible. From LK's perspective, they must be green with envy. That's why..."

"They sent me a gift?" Cain tilted his head in confusion. "If that's the case, shouldn't they have sent it to Kim Tae-hyun? Wait. Don't tell me..."

"Yes, exactly," Da-bi nodded. So Cain finally caught on!

"...They want me to coach them? Oh, dear. What am I even supposed to teach them?"

"..."

"Wow... what a shameless bastard..."

"It seems he lacks even a shred of conscience...!"

The entire group was dumbfounded. Cain looked flustered.

"W-what? If not that, then what is it?"

"Obviously, they're buttering you up because they know Tae-hyun comes as a package deal, you idiot! They figure if you go over there and completely ruin their team, Tae-hyun will feel sorry for you and step in to help!"

"!"

W-what an underhanded tactic! Yet, it sounded incredibly plausible.

"But even if I go and mess things up, can't Kim Tae-hyun just refuse to help?"

"Hmm... Cain. Do you really want to increase your anti-fan count?"

If he coached LK Galaxy and their performance plummeted even further...

Every single LK Galaxy fan would be screaming curses at Cain!

"...I shall decline the temporary coaching position!" Cain made his decision with lightning speed. "Should I return the gifts too?"

"No. They gave them to you, so you might as well keep them. Just use them."

As Tae-hyun spoke, a sudden thought crossed his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mind.

"Come to think of it, wasn't that charity event I was asked to attend hosted by LK?"

"I believe so."

...Wouldn't it have been much easier to persuade me through that?

It was a charity event hosted by LK Electronics, featuring Pan-On players. Since it was for a good cause, if the organizers had simply said, 'Player Kim Tae-hyun, since you're already here, could you perhaps give our players a few pointers?' Tae-hyun would have happily agreed, saying, 'Sure, I can do that much.'

Why on earth were they resorting to these stalker-like tactics instead of utilizing such a perfectly good event?

"Oh, wait. Da-bi, I almost forgot. I told you we should go to the charity event together, remember?"

"Ah...!"

Da-bi winced. She thought she had successfully dodged the bullet, but Cain had to go and bring it up again.

"Do you really hate the idea of going that much?"

"It's not that..."

It was a great event, and she would be going with Tae-hyun. Even if it were an event to delete her Pan-On account rather than a charity event, she would have happily gone with him. The real issue was her own insecurity!

Beside her, Jeong Su-hyeok and Choi Sang-yun began frantically signaling her with wild hand gestures.

"Well, if you dislike it that much, I suppose I'll just go by myself. It doesn't really matter if I go alone..." Tae-hyun muttered.

Choi Sang-yun flinched.

Jeong Su-hyeok flinched.

Cain, however, remained completely oblivious.

"I'll go!" Da-bi blurted out.

"Oh? Are you sure? You don't have to force yourself if you don't want to."

"I-I was just nervous about being on broadcast!"

"Really? Don't worry, I'll do my best to make sure you're comfortable."

Da-bi nodded, her face flushing bright red.

"Right. This is getting tense."

Tae-hyun gathered the Chimera prisoners. It was time to reveal the truth! Showing them would be much better than just telling them.

- To think there was a prison in a place like this...! This is too cruel!

- Even His Imperial Majesty went too far!

The prisoners raged at the freezing third-floor dungeon. How could such noble people be locked up in a place like this? On top of that, lowlifes like the fallen elf tribe, the Ard Tribe, were wandering around.

- How dare those wretched creatures...

- We shall wipe them out before we leave!

But the prisoners didn't even need to lift a finger. Bishop Pelmarne stepped forward and began unleashing a barrage of holy magic, sending the terrified Ard Tribe fleeing in all directions.

Normally, holy magic sacrificed raw offensive power for various utility and secondary effects. However, Pelmarne's destructive power was downright terrifying. As a ghost-type undead monster, his physical attack power was reduced, but his magic attack power was massively boosted! Combined with the abilities he possessed in life, a literal tempest of magic swept over the area.

Rumble, crash!

'My goodness!'

Tae-hyun watched from the sidelines, utterly stunned. Was this really a bishop? To display this kind of power all by himself...!

- Forgive me for showing you such a trivial display, Your Holiness. Surely, you could easily do the same.

"Ah, no. I actually can't."

- Haha. You are far too humble.

"..."

I really can't, you idiot! Unlike the bishop, Tae-hyun hadn't built his character around magic, nor did he know that many holy spells. This was a level of power only achievable by someone who had dedicated their entire existence to holy magic!

- Wait! Bishop! You are alive!

- To be precise, I am not exactly among the living. But yes, things have turned out this way.

Several Chimera ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠prisoners who recognized the bishop greeted him with immense joy.

"Now. The reason I gathered you all here... is because I have something to tell you."

- ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠?

- Ah! You must have found the Prince!

He had indeed found him. Though he was a corpse!

- Where is the Prince? Please, let us see him!

- Has the day finally come for the Empire's name to be resurrected?!

The Chimera prisoners looked up with faces full of anticipation. The excitement in their voices was palpable.

- Our voices must not have been loud enough for the Prince to come out!

- Ah, of course. Let us call out to him together!

- Your Highness! We have come to serve you!

- Your Highness! Please join us and carry on the name of the Empire!

- Your Highness! Your Highness!

"...I'm sorry. The Prince has passed away."

- ??????

The atmosphere instantly turned ice-cold. Tae-hyun prepared himself for the worst-case scenario. If the prisoners went berserk, he would subdue them by force and make his escape!

However, the prisoners accepted the news surprisingly easily.

- Waaaaah! Your Highness! To think you would leave us like this...!

- We should have turned you into a Chimera no matter what!

- Now that I think about it, there's no way he could have lived this long without becoming a Chimera!

- Sniff, sob! Waaaaah!

The area in front of the prison cell dissolved into a sea of tears. Tae-hyun stole a glance at his companions.

Hmm. Should we just slip away right now?

He figured it would be best to escape while the prisoners were too distracted to pay attention to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him. He had met the bishop, obtained information on the Authority, and secured the Dragon Tablet. He had accomplished everything he set out to do. The prisoners were just an extra. No, they weren't even an extra—they were more like a giant pain in the neck.

"Ahem. Well, we shall take our leave..."

Tae-hyun began to stealthily back away.

Suddenly, the Chimera prisoners stopped crying.

- Well, people die.

- Even the Prince was bound to perish eventually.

- I'm sure His Highness passed away peacefully. Yes. Let us pray for his soul.

"..."

Tae-hyun instantly regretted not leaving sooner. He should have run away much faster!

Sure enough, a quest window popped up right in front of his eyes.

He hadn't even cleared the Dragon Tablet quest yet, and now another Legendary Quest had appeared! Furthermore, this wasn't a quest exclusive to him. It had been issued to every single high-ranking player and lord across the entire continent.

In short: Since we don't have an Emperor, we will choose someone fit for the throne and crown them!

'What an absolute nuisance!'

Of course, the title of Emperor of the Ancient Empire was incredibly tempting...

But such a title only held meaning if there was actually an empire to rule. Right now, the Ancient Empire was completely non-existent. Even if he became the Emperor of a dead nation, it would only draw massive aggro without providing any real benefits.

- Your Holiness, you do not need to feel disappointed. While we will objectively evaluate all candidates to find the most suitable Emperor, we already hold you in extremely high regard.

- Your Holiness currently has a very high score among us.

The Chimera prisoners winked at Tae-hyun. It was an incredibly unsettling gesture.

"Wow... how thrilling. By the way, how exactly does one accumulate contribution points?" Tae-hyun asked.

He needed to know the evaluation criteria so he could do the exact opposite!

- Hmm. First, we will seek out famous individuals across the continent and subject them to various tests. We will evaluate their reputation, infamy, combat capabilities, appearance, fertility, personality, leadership, and so on...

- You could call it a preliminary screening. They must score high on these tests to pass. Ah, but Your Holiness does not need to undergo these tests. You have already been thoroughly verified!

"Wow..."

I'm already verified? How absolutely wonderful.

- Your Holiness, do you happen to know where the famous adventurers of the continent are gathered? We must find them to begin our testing.

"!"

Tae-hyun's eyes widened.

"If that's what you need, I can certainly help you! Pull out the map!"