The Lost Temple of Archisus

"No, it's fine. I know what Cain meant by that. Thank you."

"S-see? Right? These jerks keep framing me as the bad guy..."

"To be honest, it was the Beijing Fighters' management that was rotten. The players didn't really do anything wrong."

"But didn't a few of those bastards team up with management to trash you in interviews, Coach? Aren't they total pieces of trash?"

"..."

Smack, smack, smack!

A barrage of slaps rained down on Cain's back. But he wasn't wrong! Sabet nodded in agreement.

"Honestly, that's true. They really are terrible bastards."

"S-see! I told you! He agrees! Stop hitting me already!"

Sabet realized what kind of person Cain was. Ah, this player is... incredibly thoughtless!

I see. Now I understand why Kim Tae-hyun was so worried.

Sabet set Cain's primary objective: Think before speaking or acting!

It seemed incredibly simple and basic, but true training always started by addressing these fundamental issues. Correcting minor habits would naturally lead to an improvement in overall skill.

Scribble, scribble.

"What is the coach writing down?"

"Isn't it a training regimen?"

"Huh. He's really diligent. Quite reliable."

Fortunately, the place shown in the painting was near Miriban City.

...Though it was a cemetery.

While Tae-hyun and Cain were busy drawing, the rest of the party, who had been sightseeing around the city, returned. With snacks in one hand and souvenirs in the other, they looked like they had thoroughly enjoyed a rare vacation!

Cain felt a surge of resentment.

"You guys were playing around while I was suffering?!"

"Now, now. What are you talking about?"

"Scouting the city's layout is also an important task."

Normally, such a vacation would be unthinkable. From the moment they logged into Pan-On, Tae-hyun would ruthlessly grind them without wasting a single second. Utilizing every spare second was the true way of Team KL!

"...You make it sound so grand, but thinking about it, didn't you guys just slack off?"

"Shh. Ji-su. Don't say that out loud."

Lee Da-bi asked Tae-hyun about something she found curious.

"Tae-hyun, some players were looking for a familiar alias... That was you, right?"

"Ah, that. If I used a completely made-up alias, it might raise suspicions."

If it was an existing name, people would be less suspicious. But if a completely unknown player received such grand treatment from Count Besgo, people would immediately suspect something. Although new players did pop up out of nowhere occasionally, such cases were usually just aliases!

"Because of that, a fight broke out in the city..."

"What? Why?"

"Members of the Guild Alliance are trying to find you. Since this is the Erangs Kingdom and a war has been declared, other players are trying to hunt down those Alliance members in turn."

Thanks to that, the peaceful Miriban City was experiencing its first street battles in a long time. To make matters worse, Count Besgo, who should have led his soldiers to suppress the chaos, had already left to join the prince, making the fighting even more intense.

Let's not make baseless accusations.

Sure, a fight had broken out in Miriban City, but that wasn't Tae-hyun's fault! Tae-hyun confidently looked around the cemetery.

"By the way, Tae-hyun. Isn't this a quest to find a temple?"

"Yeah."

"...Senior. Normally, temples aren't located in cemeteries, are they?"

Indeed, Yu Ji-soo's words were correct. Unless it was a highly specific denomination, no religious order would willingly build a temple in a cemetery.

"But... this is the Archisus Church."

"...Well, that's true, but..."

Even the rest of the party couldn't argue with that logic. Indeed! If it was the Archisus Church, it wouldn't be strange at all for their temple to be in a graveyard!

Tae-hyun traced the path. The path pointed directly to the center of the cemetery.

Is it an underground temple after all? I don't see anything that looks like a temple...

Click—

As soon as he stepped on a certain spot, a mechanical sound echoed, and a trapdoor leading underground swung open.

"Whoa!"

"You actually found it?"

The skeptical party members gasped in surprise when a real path appeared. And the people inside were equally startled.

"...Sadiq's Flame!!"

"Aaaah! What the hell?!"

Tae-hyun's party immediately drew their weapons. They had been relaxing, so this sudden encounter caught them off guard! Of course, the ones who were truly shocked were the priests of the Idergo Cult. They had been quietly plotting in the city's underground, only for a bunch of lunatics to suddenly barge in.

"How did you find this place?! You annoying pests!"

"Protect Lord Idergo's treasure!"

"We will never let you pass—gaah!"

"Let's go inside!"

From the priests' dialogue, Tae-hyun realized something. Ah, these guys aren't just plotting! They've got something good!

Whether his opponents were the Sadiq Church or the Idergo Cult, if they had something valuable, Tae-hyun's first instinct was always to steal it.

"Sadiq's Flame! Sadiq's Flame!"

Whoosh!

Flames infused with powerful divine energy tore through Idergo's magic, blasting the corridor wide open.

"Wait, Kim Tae-hyun. If you set everything on fire, how are we supposed to get in?"

"Just hold your breath and run!"

"..."

The party held their breath and charged in. Well, if he said do it, they had to do it!

If they hadn't been wearing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠such expensive armor, they wouldn't have even survived the heat.

As they descended the stairs, a vast cavernous space opened up before them. Who could have guessed that such a massive temple lay hidden beneath the cemetery?

"Intruders! It's intruders!"

"Block them!"

Tae-hyun shouted with a look of sudden realization.

"I see! Those bastards from the Idergo Cult stole the Archisus Church's temple and were using it for themselves!"

"What kind of absolute nonsense is that?! This temple was originally ours—aargh!"

"Cain! Charge! We'll back you up! Yong-yong, Heuk-heuk! Unleash a barrage of magic!"

Tae-hyun immediately commanded the formation and dashed along the flank to strike the enemy from behind. The paladins of the Idergo Cult targeted Tae-hyun as he slipped through their lines, but every single one of their attacks missed.

"Circle of Counterattack!"

"Accursed Archisus bastard! As expected of a hero of the continent, you managed to find this place! But do not underestimate us! Lord Idergo's power is limitless! Even if you defeat all of us—gaah!"

...The quest's direction is completely off.

Although the quest update was welcome, Tae-hyun wore a dubious expression. The quest was essentially telling him, "This is a difficult quest, so join forces with other denominations to clear it."

But Tae-hyun was currently tearing through it with just his party. Frankly, Tae-hyun was far too overpowered for a player who had barely passed level 200. There was absolutely no need to follow the quest's instructions.

...I'm not doing something wrong, am I?

Tae-hyun's anxiety stemmed from a completely different issue. The quest seemed to advocate for a classic trope: "Let's unite the righteous churches to defeat the wicked!"

But Tae-hyun...

...was already on terrible terms with several major churches. Whenever other denominations suggested, "Shall we work together to prevent the continent's crisis?" he would reject them, saying, "That's the continent's crisis, not the Archisus Church's crisis! Right now, the Archisus Church is in much greater danger!"

Was he not supposed to do that? Should he have been socializing with other churches and doing their favors?

"Idergo's Shadow!"

"Cain! Block them no matter what! Don't let them slip past you!"

Tae-hyun commanded Cain while slicing through everything in his path. It would become a massive headache if assassins bypassed the frontline to target Lee Da-bi, Yu Ji-soo, or Jeong Su-hyeok.

Tae-hyun is delegating quite a lot of responsibility to Cain compared to before!

Choi Sang-yun thought to himself as he picked off the stray monsters near Cain. Normally, Tae-hyun would have wiped out all the surrounding monsters himself to relieve the burden on Cain, but he wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠doing that anymore. Cain needed to be able to pull and tank this level of monsters on his own!

This wasn't just for a simple hunt; it was preparation for the upcoming league. Their opponents wouldn't just stand by and take a beating forever.

"Hup! ! !"

With a succession of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠skills, the Idergo Cult assassins were drawn toward Cain as if pulled by a vacuum. Cain confronted them, wielding shields and weapons with his six arms. His multi-arm control had become incredibly proficient! The Idergo Cult assassins hesitated, unable to breach his shield wall.

"Perfect score, Cain!"

Choi Sang-yun excitedly stabbed the assassins from behind. When a tank locked down the enemies, a damage dealer couldn't help but feel thrilled. Choi Sang-yun was a damage dealer of a similar archetype to Tae-hyun. Of course, while their reputations were worlds apart, Choi Sang-yun was a textbook example of a stable, reliable damage dealer. In situations like this, he executed his supporting role flawlessly.

"Whoa. Your movements have gotten way better! What's the deal? Did you learn something from the coach?"

Sabet had been talking to Cain noticeably more than the others. The other ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠teammates didn't feel jealous of the new coach's affection. The members of Team KL weren't fragile enough to be shaken by something like that!

Just how many bad habits does Cain have to fix for the coach to focus on him that much...

I feel so bad for him. All I have to do is cast spells. If only he had chosen a class like mine, his life would have been so much easier...

At his teammates' praise, Cain spoke with a slightly smug expression.

"Of course I learned something."

"What is it?"

"To think before I move."

"..."

"...??"

"Wait, so you're saying you didn't think before you moved until now...?"

"N-no! That's not what I meant! That's not it! I mean, I analyzed when I should move first and when I should stop to think!"

Because he had phrased it so briefly, it sounded incredibly bizarre. Cain desperately tried to explain himself.

While the others followed behind, Tae-hyun single-handedly pulverized the enemies in the temple corridors. The flashing Dae-man-bul-gang-geom exploded with power, and Sadiq's Flame surged all around, incinerating the NPCs of the Idergo Cult.

It was a complete counter-matchup! With no way to stop Tae-hyun in such a narrow space, the Idergo Cult was suffering immensely. Even when they hurled curses at him, Tae-hyun evaded most of them, and the few that hit, he simply shrugged off with his raw physical defense.

"Run! Get away from that lunatic!"

"Retreat!"

"Give back the temple of Archisus!"

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?! This is our Lord Idergo's—aargh!"

"Those Idergo bastards are always so shameless...! I knew what kind of thieves they were ever since they stole someone else's divine beast!"

Tae-hyun firmly believed that if he completely cleared out and purified this place, it would return to being a temple of Archisus.