Unintended Negotiations

Reaching the highest grade of any skill was enough to earn anyone praise. The highest grade was a realm reserved only for true masters! However, only one among those masters could ascend to the legendary realm.

While Engineering required Level 6, the legendary quest for Eloquence began at Level 4. However, both were equally difficult. In fact, Eloquence might be even harder. The higher the level, the more grueling it became to raise... to the point where it barely budged unless he was pulling off a negotiation with a dragon!

He had leveled up twice in one go, but Tae-hyun was in no state of mind to care about that right now. Nitinger's reaction was just... too far out of left field.

Tae-hyun had been weighing three main scenarios:

Scenario A: Nitinger takes massive damage from Incarnation's Strike -> Use Demer's time-reversal, hit him again, and start the raid.

Scenario B: Nitinger barely survives Incarnation's Strike -> Use Demer's time-reversal, then threaten him with Incarnation's Strike.

Scenario C: Incarnation's Strike doesn't even leave a scratch -> Use Demer's time-reversal and run like hell.

These were the three plans he had been considering... but "Nitinger successfully controls his anger after being hit by Incarnation's Strike and attempts to negotiate" was something even Tae-hyun hadn't anticipated!

'What is that guy thinking?'

'I see.'

Even to Tae-hyun's own eyes, his current power was astonishing. It was a strike delivered with every possible buff active, topped off with Incarnation's Strike. Having just taken a direct hit from those terrifying skills, and now facing the fearsome Battle Angels of Archisus, Nitinger had no choice but to be deeply concerned.

"Battle Angels. What do you think?"

"-It would be best to deceive him and bleed him dry, Master. Nitinger still has plenty of strength left."

"-If he fights with his life on the line, you will also be in danger, Master. It would be wise to extort him while he is still deceived."

Leave it to Archisus's angels to jump straight to extortion! However, even Carbanog agreed with that strategy. If they fought to the death, both sides would walk away with nothing but injuries. It was better to accept Nitinger's surrender now that he was bowing his head.

'Should I avoid using Demer's time-reversal? I've gained way too much from just that one strike.'

Two level-ups, swordsmanship skills, Eloquence skills, various titles, and rewards... If his life wasn't in immediate danger, it seemed better not to use Demer's time-reversal. One year... A one-year cooldown was long, but it wasn't an impossible amount of time to manage. The cooldown for Incarnation's Strike would eventually reset.

'And unless I'm facing another freak of nature like Nitinger, I can fight well enough without it anyway.'

As Tae-hyun remained silent, Nitinger grew anxious and spoke again.

"-Now that I think about it, you seem to have received the blessing of Lord Alexeos. I, too, have a connection to Lord Alexeos. He is a distant relative of mine."

"...I-I see."

Tae-hyun's mind reeled at this unexpected family card. Nitinger...! To think a hot-tempered Red Dragon would go so far as to bring up family connections...!

"-Master, I cannot bear to watch Nitinger act like this!"

"-Master, me neither..."

Carbanog, Yong-yong, and Heuk-heuk all looked away. Regardless, Nitinger stubbornly pressed on with his attempt at diplomacy.

"-Looking at it this way, Lord Archisus and I are not entirely without a connection, are we? Hahaha."

"I-I see."

Tae-hyun had been repeating "I see" like a broken record. That was how utterly bewildered he was!

"-I am well aware that Lord Archisus rules the Atali Kingdom. That is why I did not touch any of the Atali Kingdom's cities."

I was heading toward the Atali Kingdom because I was pissed off, but technically, I haven't touched it yet! Nitinger pleaded his case.

"-If there is any damage I have caused, I will compensate you. So please, appease your anger. Since Lord Archisus has also attacked me, surely your anger has been resolved?"

A dragon was indeed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a dragon. He was subtly steering the conversation toward, 'You hit me too, so let's call it even!' He hadn't lived for centuries for nothing!

"Hmm. Yes. I, too, am very close with Alexeos, so it wouldn't be good for us to shed blood to the bitter end. Besides, I have a deep history with dragons."

"-!"

As Tae-hyun agreed to negotiate, Nitinger let out a quiet sigh of relief. He had been bracing himself to fight to the death...

'The Avatar of Archisus... What a terrifying monster! How can a mere human possess such power? The rumors of him defeating Hakkaras weren't exaggerated after all!'

Having regained his senses, Nitinger was now rating Tae-hyun incredibly high.

First of all, the Reputation and Infamy Tae-hyun had accumulated were truly astronomical. Was he not a human hero who had raided everything from Demon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Dukes to dragons? Of course, a dragon of Nitinger's caliber wouldn't be intimidated by mere reputation, titles, or achievements alone. No matter how great a hero was, a dragon's first instinct would usually be, 'At the end of the day, aren't you just a lesser race?'

But Tae-hyun had proven himself with raw power. Starting with the terrifying Archisus's Army, and culminating in that final, devastating strike! That single blow was truly horrifying. It had bypassed all of Nitinger's defenses, shaving off his HP in a way that made it impossible to recover. It was a strike so brutal that it had completely snapped the Red Dragon out of his characteristic frenzy and rage.

'I wouldn't necessarily lose, but risking my life to fight a mere human is a losing proposition!'

As long as that strike existed, no matter how immense a dragon's vitality and defense were, he could never feel safe. Nitinger had no idea. He had completely misunderstood Tae-hyun's combat capabilities, believing that Tae-hyun could summon that army and unleash Incarnation's Strike as many times as he pleased!

"-It is wonderful to hear you are close with Lord Alexeos. I, too, was very close with him."

"I was incredibly close with him as well. Yes, indeed."

Both sides were tossing out blatant lies to curry favor with one another.

"-I was close enough to borrow his treasures."

"I was close enough to receive his authority and blessings."

'This human! He really must be close with Alexeos! How on earth did he get along with that foul-tempered lizard...?'

'Did this bastard really borrow those treasures? Didn't he just steal them?'

In any case, the negotiations had begun. A single dragon and a single human stood close together on the vast plains. The angels of Archisus formed a tight perimeter around them.

"-Grrr..."

"-Uh-uh. Quiet down, demon. We are in the middle of a meeting."

"...????"

"What are they doing right now?"

"Can someone explain what's going on?"

A sudden conversation with a dragon! It wasn't just the waiting raid force that was flustered. Quite a few people had risked their lives to come and watch. Players with nothing to lose were always drawn to spectacles, even when a Demon Duke was running rampant. There was no way they wouldn't be curious when Nitinger had just spectacularly vaporized two cities and was on the move.

Those who had been cautiously trailing from a distance witnessed a dazzling sight they couldn't tear their eyes away from. The angels of Archisus descending from the heavens. Tae-hyun, leading that army, charging majestically toward the Red Dragon! It was a breathtaking spectacle that even veteran players of Pandemonium Online had never seen before.

There were easily over several hundred players gathered nearby who didn't value their lives and had followed Nitinger. Every single one of them fell silent! No one had ordered them to shut up, nor had they consciously decided to do so. Yet, their mouths simply hung open. Truly, when humans witness something utterly unbelievable, they are left speechless!

Boom! The moment Kim Tae-hyun delivered Incarnation's Strike, the players clenched their fists in unison. Did he get him?! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Is it over?! But what happened next defied all expectations.

"D-Did Nitinger just kneel?"

"Is he really kneeling? It looks like they're talking."

"I can't hear anything! Do we need to get closer?"

"Are you insane? Who in their right mind would go closer...?"

They had come to watch, but they were keeping an immense distance. After all, if they got any closer, they wouldn't even have bones left to bury. Because of that, they couldn't hear a single word of the conversation between Nitinger and Tae-hyun. It would have been great if Tae-hyun had turned on his personal stream, but he was currently in no position to worry about such things. The players were practically dying of curiosity.

"What on earth is happening?!"

"D-Did Nitinger surrender?"

"Are you crazy? How do you make a dragon surrender?!"

"Oh, and hunting a dragon makes sense? Since when is anything impossible for Kim Tae-hyun!"

"Can someone go closer and listen?"

"..."

"..."

"You cowards!"

"It's not a matter of being a coward, it's a matter of whether you have a brain or not..."

"Approaching that is just suicide."

The players all agreed. No matter how good the show was, who would stick their neck into a place where death was an absolute certainty?

"Let's go! Get ready!"

"Yes, sir!"

"????"

Yet, there were those who stepped forward with immense bravado. It was the camera crew that had planned to shoot a movie about the raid. Originally, they had intended to capture a successful raid, turning a tear-jerking story of friendship and teamwork into a touching documentary... But somehow, they were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠filming a horror movie instead.

Movie streaming platforms wanted to host exclusive films on their sites. Movies that set them apart from the competition! And Pandemonium Online was the perfect game for creating such films, as it contained every spectacle people could ever want. This project was supposed to be their ambitious launchpad...

The camera crew dashed forward. Dozens of videos were already being uploaded, but to make a truly viable film, they had to get closer. Go! Closer!

"S-Should we go too?"

It is human nature to sway when others take action. As the camera crew ran forward risking their lives, the remaining players fell into the illusion that 'Maybe it's safe up to that point?'

Thud, thud, thud—!

Nitinger grew tense as he saw the crowd swarming from afar.

'This human... Is he subtly threatening me...?!'