Kill Them Before You Die

"We did it... We actually did it!" the guild members cried out in sheer, overwhelming emotion.

Normally, simply completing a construction project wouldn't grant enough experience points to trigger a level-up, but this project was entirely different. They had accomplished this feat in a literal hellscape where merely moving drained their HP and stamina.

If they hadn't gone underground, and if Tae-hyun hadn't supported them by whipping up all those bizarre yet highly effective dishes, this monumental achievement would have been utterly impossible. Looking at the incredibly long passage stretching across the subterranean depths, tears welled up in their eyes.

"Sniff... We actually pulled it off..."

"Did we really just build this in the middle of that desert? I'm so choked up right now..."

"But Mr. Kim Tae-hyun. Traveling back and forth through this tunnel is fine and all, but we'll eventually have to step outside to fight. What do we do then?"

Before they knew it, Lee Se-yeon's guild members had begun to follow Tae-hyun's lead. Of course, he was still terrifying and seemed like a total lunatic, but when it came to tackling these ultra-high-difficulty quests, he was strangely reassuring. It felt as though he could handle absolutely any situation thrown his way!

"Hmm. In that case..."

"In that case?"

"Maybe there's a skill that lets us fight up there? Or perhaps one of his dishes grants a buff for it."

"Will he summon undead to block out the sun?"

The guild members whispered among themselves, their faces filled with anticipation. If it was Kim Tae-hyun, he was bound to have some brilliant solution!

"...Well, you just have to kill them before your HP runs out."

"..."

"..."

The sheer, unscientific brutality of his method left the guild members utterly speechless.

No, wait... How was that any different from saying, "To walk on water, just step with your right foot before your left foot sinks"?

"Uh, Mr. Tae-hyun... I don't think that's quite right."

"Exactly. You're a top-tier ranker over level 300, so you have plenty of HP to spare, but our health pools aren't nearly that deep."

The guild members protested against his absurd logic. No matter how they looked at it, it was just too reckless! One tiny mistake, and they would drop dead on the spot.

Tae-hyun, however, looked genuinely bewildered by their protests.

"Why? Isn't it a great method?"

If it had been Cain or his usual crew, they would have accepted it instantly.

Standing beside him, Lee Da-bi leaned in and whispered softly.

"Tae-hyun. Honestly, I think that's a method only our usual group would accept. It literally requires putting your life on the line."

"Is it really that dangerous? I mean, you just calculate the rate of your HP decay while fighting and pull back when necessary. It's not like I'm forbidding retreats."

"...Normal people can't do that!"

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

While they were waiting after completing the construction, a heavy, grinding sound echoed from the desert above.

"!"

"Let's go!"

"W-Wait. If we go outside right now..."

"Then you guys can just wait here!"

Tae-hyun prepared to charge upward without a shred of hesitation. If their HP dropped, they would heal. If they got hungry or thirsty, they would eat and drink. He would adapt on the fly!

"!"

However, those worries quickly proved to be unnecessary. The desert was equally harsh on the forces of Chaos. Before marching, the enemy army had taken the basic precaution of altering the weather and blocking out the sun!

Whoosh—!

-Uh, Master. If it's going to rain like this, doesn't that make digging this tunnel a complete waste of effort?

-Are you insane? Shut your mouth!

Heuk-heuk desperately tried to muzzle Yong-yong. Was this dragon out of his mind? Heuk-heuk knew all too well that if Tae-hyun got annoyed, Yong-yong's tail might end up in a boiling pot of dragon essence.

The rain summoned by the enemy army was no ordinary downpour. It was a powerful, wide-area skill that inflicted a debuff with every drop that touched the skin!

Fortunately, Tae-hyun was able to resist the effects thanks to his armor, passive skills, and high stats.

'Is that them?'

Even from a distance, they were impossible to miss. A group of figures was marching forward, radiating a dark, ominous aura. They practically had "villain" written all over them.

'Now, how should I deal with them?'

Faced with this new type of enemy, Tae-hyun fell into deep thought. What would be the most spectacular way to crush them?

'Their gear looks fairly standard...'

There were heavily armored warriors, and in the center stood a shaman wielding a massive staff. Aside from the chaotic energy constantly seeping from their bodies, there was nothing particularly special about them.

'Should I throw a bomb to disorient them, dive in, assassinate the shaman, and get out?'

Tae-hyun considered a classic, textbook approach. He would use a bomb as an AoE attack to deal damage and inflict confusion, then systematically eliminate the weakest targets first. It was a tactic he had executed countless times during his league days!

Tae-hyun took Carbanog's warning to heart. There was indeed something deeply unsettling about these minions of the Hungry Chaos. Besides, the system messages had already warned him. This was a Legendary-grade quest; it wouldn't be surprising if they unleashed all kinds of bizarre, otherworldly powers.

'But there's no way to find out without clashing directly.'

Tae-hyun reached into his coat and pulled out a handful of bombs. The weapon of choice this time was the Flash Bomb! It was a sinister device designed to inflict debilitating debuffs rather than raw damage.

Thud—!

Flash—!

Tae-hyun kicked off the rain-soaked ground and lunged forward.

Instantly closing the distance, Tae-hyun targeted the shaman in the center. His figure vanished into thin air, only to materialize directly behind his target.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The elegant strikes of the Archisus Swordsmanship unfolded, and the shaman's body reeled as bursts of light erupted from the impacts.

"Argh...! You! Where did you come from?! This is no place for the living!"

Even after taking a brutal beating, the shaman relentlessly unleashed his skills. Lightning crackled from the dark clouds above, wrapping around the shaman's body.

"Crazy bastard!"

Tae-hyun was shocked. He finally understood the source of the unease Carbanog had sensed. To think the enemy could seal an Authority skill right off the bat!

Fortunately, Akisus's Deception was an Authority skill that Tae-hyun rarely used. He let out a quiet sigh of relief. If one of his frequently used skills from Akisus or Sadiq had been sealed, it would have been a major headache.

"Behold! This is the power of my Master! Now that your authority is sealed, kneel, assassin! Which church do you belong to?!"

"...Sadik's Flame!"

"Aaargh! How?! We sealed your authority!"

The Chaos Shaman had never imagined that Tae-hyun would possess dozens of Authority skills. Normally, even a high-ranking priest would only have two or three divine powers at most!

But Tae-hyun was a player who had systematically hoarded Authority skills throughout his growth due to his unique class and character traits. Having a few of them sealed didn't bother him in the slightest.

'Why isn't this guy dying? Is his level that high?'

The enemy's confusion was Tae-hyun's golden opportunity. Seizing the moment, he unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks.

"!"

Tae-hyun only realized it belatedly. Every time he struck the shaman, the stunned warriors standing nearby were dropping dead instead.

A literal "Friend Shield"!

'No way...! What an incredible skill! I'm so jealous!'

If Tae-hyun had a skill like that, he would have used it on Cain all the time!

The Chaos Shaman was redirecting every single point of damage he received onto his subordinates.

"Grrr... Power of Chaos! Power of Chaos! Even if I must sacrifice my very soul, I will devour your authority!"

"Whoa, hold on. We barely just met, and you're already making such an extreme choice?!"

Tae-hyun was genuinely taken aback. To resort to such a drastic measure when they didn't even know each other's names!

"..."

Tae-hyun was dumbfounded. Authority Devouring was a power he had obtained after defeating the Hungry Chaos's general in the past. To think he would encounter it again like this!

'Let's just kill him first!'

Tae-hyun renewed his assault on the Chaos Shaman. One by one, the surrounding warriors collapsed. Having already exhausted his lifeforce to summon the ultimate power, the shaman was left utterly defenseless, unable to cast another spell.

"!"

Just like Carbanog's system messages, the voice of the Hungry Chaos itself echoed directly in Tae-hyun's mind.

Flash!

At that moment, an item in Tae-hyun's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠inventory reacted automatically.

'Carbanog. Don't waste your breath on a guy like that.'

The Hungry Chaos seemed unable to maintain its connection for long with all its minions defeated.

"...!"

Tae-hyun was pleasantly surprised. What a remarkably generous "god"!

'Sure, he might not be a god, but why is he being so nice?'

To think that defeating his minions and gathering their aura would allow him to summon even greater power! And he didn't even have to be a follower of the Hungry Chaos to use it!

There was no such thing as a free lunch. Why would the Hungry Chaos offer such a convenient shortcut? It was obvious that invoking its power carried the risk of corruption. If one greedily signed up for the free trial, they might find themselves bound to it forever!

'Hmm. But surely using it once or twice would be fine?'

'What about three or four times?'

'Five or six? Seven is a lucky number, so maybe up to seven times...'