The Gathering of Eccentrics

While Kim Tae-hyun was having such a grim conversation with Carbanog, the guild members, who had stepped out late, were staring in sheer shock.

Wait, did he seriously solo it??

"Did you... did you defeat it all by yourself?!"

"Of course I did. Who else would have done it? A crowd?"

Tae-hyun's casual reply left the guild members utterly speechless. They had fought a few times while wandering the desert themselves. Granted, those battles had been far more desperate and grueling...

But the minions of the Hungry Chaos were foes that even high-ranking players struggled to solo. It wasn't just their high levels; their skill sets were incredibly obnoxious.

Sealing the opponent's skills, absorbing the enemy's health to heal themselves, casting debuffs to disrupt skill casting, and so on!

Even Lee Se-yeon, a top-tier Necromancer, had to sacrifice her elite undead just to deal with them.

Yet Kim Tae-hyun had soloed one?

This makes no sense.

No matter how high his level is...

These aren't the kind of monsters you can solo just because you're high level.

The guild members were deeply confused. No matter how high your level, getting hit by those skills would inevitably bind you hand and foot.

But they didn't know.

Tae-hyun's traits made him the absolute worst matchup for these enemies! With his sheer number of Authority skills—meaning he wouldn't even blink if a few got sealed—and his Authority Devouring passive, it was only natural that the flustered enemies crumbled instantly.

While Tae-hyun and his guild members were steadily hunting monsters as they navigated the desert underground, people were also gathering at the fortress.

Not only the forces of various religious orders, but also famous NPCs from across the continent had arrived.

To clear the quest, they had no choice but to gather not just the church NPCs, but other influential NPCs as well.

"...Ah. I should have just followed Kim Tae-hyun..."

Lee Se-yeon let out a deep, heavy sigh. The state of the fortress was an absolute disaster.

"Where do these savages think they are?!"

"I'll show you the strength of us savages! Step outside, Grand Holy Knight of the Phytos Church! I'll take your skull and use it as my drinking cup!"

"Everyone, please, calm down!"

When only the church NPCs were gathered, things were at least manageable. Even though they kept each other in check, they had built some semblance of a relationship while working together on various matters in the Central Continent.

They could at least maintain their dignity and hold rational conversations!

- My, my. If it isn't the Phytos Church? Weren't you all so high and mighty, going around ignoring our order?

- What... You're the ones who insulted us, claiming we do nothing but get beaten up! How dare a bunch of ignorant fools who can't even cast a proper spell speak to us!

- Haha. Everyone, please calm down.

- I-I apologize for that.

- Compared to the greatness of magic, aren't holy knights and warriors equally pathetic?

- You bastard!

...Of course, Tae-hyun had thrown in a few instigating words before he left, which soured their relationships, but at least they were still capable of rational discourse!

However, once the non-church NPCs arrived, even that bare minimum of civility was completely shattered.

Wardpeng, the Great Warrior of the Frozeland Black Mane Tribe!

Drekal, the Vampire Master of the Blood Archipelago!

Ba-eorma, the Great Mage of the Uruk primitive human tribe!

Igwadu, the ferocious blind giant known as the Destroyer of the Giant Mountains!

Even if one deliberately tried to handpick the most bizarre eccentrics from across the world, they would struggle to assemble a lineup like this.

If she had it her way, Lee Se-yeon would have loved to just shout, "Fight all you want!" and go do her own thing.

But she couldn't. This was her quest, and she was the one who had gathered these people.

She had to appease them somehow!

"Keep the church factions separate, keep the warriors separate... The vampires should be fine next to the undead. Place them over there."

"The giants keep demanding food..."

"We have some leftover stale bread in stock. Give them that."

- Tastes bad, tastes bad. Igwadu does not eat this garbage.

"...They say they won't eat it."

"Don't giants eat literally anything you give them?"

"Well, they're refusing this..."

"...Oh, for crying out loud!"

"An enemy! It's an enemy!"

"Everyone, get out here! Catch them before they can escape!"

The players inside the fortress quickly rushed out. They didn't fully understand the situation, but an assassin had arrived, so they might as well kill it!

- Urgh! To think you laid a trap! Such a pathetic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trick...!

The assassin of the Hungry Chaos gnashed its teeth. How dare they lay such a trap!

It wasn't actually a trap; it was just a basic passive feature of the fortress...

Spotting the assassin, the church NPCs pointed their fingers and shouted.

"I knew it! That bastard must have been the one sowing discord among us!"

"Indeed! Otherwise, there is no reason for us to be fighting like this!"

- What nonsense are you spouting? I literally just got here—

The assassin was dumbfounded. What kind of gibberish were these mortals talking about?

"Let's capture that evil minion and crush him!"

"Trample him!"

- Hmph. Just try it! O Hungry Chaos! Accept my soul and grant me power!

The players panicked. Who would have thought an assassin could use such a massive summoning skill?

- Aaaaargh! Crunch, munch, snap!

Watching the assassin put on a whole dramatic show only to end up devouring itself to death, the gathered crowd stood in stunned silence.

...What on earth was that guy even doing?

"Hmm. Wandering around and picking them off one by one isn't bad, but when is their main force going to show up?"

"We aren't too sure either..."

Tae-hyun and his guild members had quickly grown accustomed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to moving through the underground tunnels.

Whenever the vanguard forces sent by the Hungry Chaos crossed their path, they would pop out, slay them, and retreat back underground before the rain stopped...

Unlike their previous endeavors, this was a much faster hunting method! Thanks to this, the number of vanguard troops showing up was steadily dwindling.

It was definitely effective, but...

Their actual target was the main force!

"I want to find the main force and take out their leader."

"You're already doing an incredible job as it is."

"Exactly. We haven't even been able to fight this efficiently until now."

The only reason they could fight like this was entirely thanks to Tae-hyun.

His ability to dig underground tunnels and endlessly pull out food and drink! In this harsh desert, that was an absolute, god-like power.

Furthermore, Tae-hyun was constantly expanding the underground tunnels as they moved.

Even during their brief breaks, Tae-hyun would say, "Let's rest while doing some light shoveling," and keep expanding the tunnels!

Digging tunnels whenever they needed a path, eating and drinking whenever they got hungry...

The guild members couldn't help but feel that something was deeply off.

Wait. Am I actually playing Pan-On right now? This is weird. It feels more like a construction site simulator.

It felt like they weren't logging in to hunt, but rather to endlessly swing pickaxes and shovels...

Before I knew it, my Construction skill surpassed the Advanced rank.

To think both his Mining and Construction skills had surpassed the Advanced rank!

If he had known it would turn out like this, maybe it would have been better to receive Construction instead of magic or singing.

Well, having a high Construction skill isn't a bad thing...

Tae-hyun had built quite a few structures himself. From fortresses to castle walls! There was absolutely no downside to having a high Construction skill.

When doing large-scale construction, having a bonus from both Tactics and Construction will make things much easier.

The problem was that Tae-hyun currently needed to raise his magic and singing skills!

Making the undead work tirelessly did contribute to his magic skill, but the experience gain was simply too minuscule.

"I think Lee Se-yeon lent me undead that are way too weak."

- !!

A statement that instantly triggered the listening undead!

We're weak?!

- We are legendary warri—

"Look ahead and keep shoveling."

- Yes, sir.

Tae-hyun fell into deep thought. To raise his magic skill, he ultimately had to delve into Nevuchadnezzar's black magic or use his Cold Curse...

Should I just summon undead? But that's a waste of MP.

The skills Tae-hyun possessed from Nevuchadnezzar's black magic were Summon Undead and Corpse Explosion. They weren't bad skills, but at Tae-hyun's current level, they were a bit of a white elephant.

What was the point of randomly summoning undead when he didn't know when they would actually become useful?

Tae-hyun's MP pool was far too small to overwhelm enemies with sheer numbers.

Instead of using those, the Curse of Archisus was much more efficient...

Singing was also a problem.

Even if I sing to these guys, the effect is barely there anymore.

Naturally, Tae-hyun had been singing while they worked.

His Song of Labor was an incredibly addictive masterpiece that even made the guild members shut their mouths and listen. However, there was a clear limit to how much skill experience he could gain from it.

Advanced Singing Level 4... It's too slow.

If anyone else heard him, they would have screamed, You crazy bastard, how is that slow?!

Compared to normal players, his growth rate was mind-bogglingly fast.

He had raised his singing skill by performing for an overwhelming entity like Alexeos, and his Speech skill provided additional bonuses, so it was only natural...

Still, Tae-hyun wanted faster growth.

Ah! Was there no good audience to perform his songs to?

Come to think of it, Lee Se-yeon said she would find someone to help me with my singing skill...

"The Korean Pantheon Association?"

"They probably called us regarding our participation in the upcoming Pantheon World Cup."

"Just the two of us?"

"It's a bit embarrassing for me to say this, but... well..."

Lee Se-yeon hesitated.

"Technically, the two of us have the highest probability of being selected as representatives, right?"

"Oh dear. To think you'd say something so embarrassing..."

"You're the one who asked!"

Lee Se-yeon flared up at Tae-hyun's mock horror. He was the one who asked in the first place!

The Korean Pantheon Association, formed by a coalition of major Korean gaming teams, hadn't been around for very long.

In fact, Tae-hyun didn't even know it existed. There was such a thing?

However, as a member of the corporate-backed Yuseong Gaming Team, Lee Se-yeon naturally knew all about it.

I heard their reputation is pretty terrible, though.

Players like Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon, who competed on a global scale, rarely had to deal with the association. What did it matter to them when they were already playing in the elite 1st Division?

However, players in the lower leagues—those below the 2nd Division—frequently crossed paths with them.

The association constantly poked its nose into various domestic exhibition tournaments and trainee leagues.

Rumors were rampant that they were a corrupt organization that happily accepted bribes from major gaming clubs and gave special treatment to those who paid the most...

Should I tell him this?

Lee Se-yeon pondered. Tae-hyun's personality was quite a bit of a psycho... no, he was bold and direct. She worried that telling him might needlessly start a fight.

Well, I should tell him anyway.

Tae-hyun was different from before. Leading a team had given him a sense of responsibility, and his demeanor had grown much more mature. Surely, he would act like an adult!

"Hmm. I see."

Tae-hyun spun around on his heel.

Lee Se-yeon blinked in confusion. "Where are you going?"

"My father told me not to hang out with people who have bad reputations."

"Hey...!"

"Just kidding... Anyway, thanks for letting me know."

Tae-hyun spun back around.

As the owner of his own team, he couldn't just ignore ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it. Let's go hear what they have to say!