The Boss Monster of the Battlefield
"The opponent is a boss monster. The opponent is a boss monster."
While Tae-hyun was steeling his resolve with that mindset, Smith was also undergoing his own form of mind control.
—Do not think of the opponent in front of you as a fellow player.
—The opponent is not a player you can face one-on-one.
—The opponent is fundamentally a boss monster that must be taken down with a party raid!
Smith's preparations were far more vicious than Tae-hyun had anticipated. To take down the absolute top player, this level of preparation was actually considered modest.
'But still...!'
Smith felt a suffocating sensation. Pressure! It was an overwhelming pressure, as if he were facing a raging storm with his bare body. Right now, his defensive skills were active, so he was barely taking any damage, and his HP was still plenty. He even had his allies surrounding him. Yet, he was still terrified!
Smith realized anew the sheer weight of the player named Kim Tae-hyun. A presence that struck fear into his opponent's heart just by standing against them!
'A downward slash, then a fake into a thrust, then another side-fake after the thrust, followed by a heavy swing... Urgh. Kgh.'
Despite practicing countless times using vast amounts of simulated data, Tae-hyun's movements in actual combat were completely different. He was the very definition of ever-changing!
"Lord Smith! I am going!"
Due to Sacrifice, Archisus's Curse has been transferred to Jeran!
"!"
Tae-hyun's jaw dropped. Absorbing the curse!
'A countermeasure even for Archisus's Curse... No, thinking about it, there's no way he wouldn't have prepared one.'
He had practiced the mechanical controls, so of course he would have set up a countermeasure for the curse. Of all things, the Demer Church had to hold him back in a place like this.
'The most effective debuff against Smith right now was Archisus's Curse, but it was blocked. Then, the next move is...'
Tae-hyun's mind spun rapidly in a fraction of a second. The Authority of Archisus? Sadiq? Or should he shake things up with the Spear of Karbanog?
Smith, glowing with dozens of active buffs, looked like an impenetrable steel wall designed to break the will of anyone facing him, but Tae-hyun did not waver. His mental fortitude had grown far too strong to be shaken by a single opponent!
'Smith is too solid to create variables... and there's a high possibility he has already devised a countermeasure for the Spear of Karbanog as well.'
He spotted several figures waiting behind Smith with tense expressions. There was a high chance they were positioned there to counter his other methods, just as they had absorbed the curse.
'Wait, it's one thing if it were Lee Se-yeon, but isn't it cheating for a guy like Smith to use a method like that?'
Using a friend shield was something people like Tae-hyun or Lee Se-yeon would do, not Smith!
⊳ Karbanog says that people naturally tend to get a bit extreme when dealing with Archisus!
'Is it time for the Emperor Slayer after all?'
Tae-hyun's hand twitched. Right now, he was pouring attacks like a storm, forcing Smith to focus entirely on defense. The onslaught was so fierce that even with his defensive skills active, Smith could do nothing but block and evade.
However, due to Tae-hyun's MP consumption and skill cooldowns, he would eventually have to pause. Tae-hyun contemplated whether he should draw the Emperor Slayer. Even if Smith was drastically reducing damage with various broken skills, the Emperor Slayer ignored all of that and dealt percentage-based HP damage—a terrifyingly broken weapon! Since he had acquired it recently, Smith likely had no countermeasure prepared.
'I thought I'd save it for Lee Se-yeon...'
He had made it with Lee Se-yeon in mind, but looking at it now, it wasn't actually that effective against her. As a Necromancer, her base HP wasn't that high to begin with. It was a weapon meant for targets with stupidly high HP.
But...
'The moment I draw it, my own HP will also drain rapidly. Do I really need to go that far in an unprepared situation like this?'
The surrounding area was chaotic, burning hot with excitement from witnessing the epic clash of Kim Tae-hyun vs. Smith. Even Smith looked visibly excited. Out of everyone present, Tae-hyun was the only one who remained completely calm.
—Why gamble in a situation like this?
His current goal was to buy time, not to kill Smith. Furthermore, there was too much he didn't know about Smith's current state. Because Smith had hidden his information and focused solely on training for a while, he was covered in unseen skills and strange followers. It was the exact opposite of Tae-hyun, whose information was fully public down to the Arena League.
'Since Smith has ended up fighting the Guild Alliance anyway, he won't be able to hide his cards forever. Information will start leaking out soon. I can just ask Lee Da-bi to look into it...'
"You boss monster! How dare you attack Lord Smith, the supreme dignity and King-God-General-Emperor of our guild...!"
A furious shout echoed. Smith's Royal Guard had finally arrived, barely breaking through the onslaught of Tae-hyun's summons! They were furious at Tae-hyun's attack on Smith, blaming themselves for not arriving sooner. How dare he!
"Do you play around making your subordinates say stuff like that? Even Su Ning wouldn't go that far..."
"N-no! I didn't make them say that!"
Smith, who had been fighting silently with his ears shut, reacted for the first time. Honestly, that was a bit embarrassing!
"Smith. You still have a long way to go."
If shameless people like Tae-hyun or Lee Se-yeon had heard that, they would have shrugged it off, thinking, 'Well, I can live with hearing that.' Smith's skin was still far too thin!
"!"
Exploiting the moment of confusion, Tae-hyun lunged forward.
Critical Explosion
Archisus's Fourth Attack
Smith's shield had multiple skills stacked to absorb Tae-hyun's burst, but that only worked when he blocked properly. Piercing precisely through a gap in the armor to land a critical hit, Tae-hyun dealt proper damage to Smith for the first time.
⊳ Swordsmanship skill has triggered a critical strike!
⊳ Additional effect applied to the enemy!
⊳ Slow status applied!
⊳ The enemy's movement has slowed down!
—Demer's Complete Recovery!
—Phytos's Great Divinity...
With immediate heals coming from behind and Smith's own recovery skills activating, his HP filled back up in an instant. However, Tae-hyun was not flustered. He had only unleashed that burst to make his escape anyway. It was absurd how Smith shrugged off all his attacks, but Smith had been equally unable to land a single blow on Tae-hyun. Having bought enough time, it was time to retreat.
"Farewell—"
"Boss monster! How cowardly of you to use tricks!"
"Do you even realize how many of you are fighting right now?"
How could people fighting a hundreds-to-one battle be so shameless? But the Royal Guard did not care in the slightest.
"When dealing with a boss monster, that much is only natural!"
"...Wait. These bastards, since a moment ago...?"
Tae-hyun realized a certain fact. These guys...
They were calling him a boss monster!
'Wait, this is actually kind of offensive.'
He understood what they meant, but it still left a bad taste in his mouth. Tae-hyun was utterly dumbfounded.
"Lord Smith! We are going!"
"Wait, not yet..."
"!"
Several Royal Guard members who had chosen classes in the Phytos Church shouted solemnly. Tae-hyun sensed something unusual in their demeanor. No skill used with a willingness to sacrifice was ever weak!
"!"
The holy domain of the Phytos Church had a terrifying effect that nullified all equipment and forced a bare-bodied fight. Even before the message window finished displaying, Tae-hyun realized their intent.
'These bastards did this to land a curse!'
Since his Adamantium Armor made curse effects too weak, they had resorted to this! Honestly, it sent a shiver down his spine. The curse following this would definitely be powerful.
However, this time, Tae-hyun had the advantage. Why?
"Farewell, Smith!"
Because he had been planning to run away from the start!
Tae-hyun used every escape skill at his disposal and dashed away. The Royal Guard members, who had set up the holy domain to curse him, were utterly dumbfounded.
"Boss monster! Where are you going?!"
"Boss monster! Fight us again!"
"Boss monster! Boss monster!"
This was the side effect of training with Tae-hyun as the simulated enemy: they had never expected such a terrifying, monster-like entity to just run away. But Tae-hyun was a cool guy who would run away whenever he wanted.
'Ugh, those guys are seriously annoying.'
Of course, his annoyance at being called a boss monster was a separate matter.
Tae-hyun was a man who became a headline just by breathing, so it was only natural that his clash with Smith made the news. Thousands of articles reported the incident.
While a few people holding grudges against Tae-hyun wept with joy, the vast majority of the community was indifferent.
The party was left speechless. Smith was something else, but Kim Tae-hyun was truly on another level...!
It was a perfectly logical statement. Right now, Tae-hyun had no reason to fight Smith. It would consume immense time, effort, and resources, only for the Guild Alliance to sit back and smile. Prioritizing his class quest was the rational choice.
Yet, normally, anyone ranked at the very top of Pan-On would have some pride, fuming and shouting, "I will have my revenge!"
Tae-hyun, however, seemed to have no such feelings.
'Well, I can always beat him up later...'
And in truth, Tae-hyun had landed far more blows. Smith had barely managed to hit him once.
"So, chefs. What are your thoughts on the debt of gratitude for saving your lives?"
"......"
"......"
The players who had escaped in a daze finally came to their senses. Ah, it was time to pay up!
"Since Kim Tae-hyun is a top ranker, won't he go easy on us?"
"Hey, you don't know him. I heard from the guys who got dragged to Nodranche, he works you to the bone without mercy."
"I heard from some Guild Alliance members who got captured. By the time they finished everything he ordered, their construction skill level had reached the high-end of Intermediate..."
"...Wait, isn't that actually a good thing?"
"...I-Is it?"
If it raised their levels that much, doing his junk quests might actually be worth it.
"There's no need to worry so much. I'll keep it similar to what I've done before. I'll build food carts for you, so just cook there."
"...!"
"R-Really?!"
The players were instantly enticed by the offer of something similar to Tae-hyun's Steel Food Cart. Such a precious item?
'I should command these chefs in bulk to get the additional bonuses.'
Cooking in massive quantities alone to gain skill EXP, plus commanding other chefs for extra bonuses! He planned to brute-force his skill level through sheer volume.
"Are you really going to build... carts for us?"
Tae-hyun nodded with a benevolent expression.
"Of course. It's not like we're strangers, so that's the least I can do."
How touching! In situations like this, a casual word like that really struck a chord in people's hearts. The chefs turned their heads to hide their watering eyes.
"Hmph. It's not like I'm touched or anything."
"Exactly. Who would be foolish enough to fall for a single line like that?"