The Perfect Disguise
"We're just worried. Please understand our position. We were assigned to help you, Tae-hyun. If you end up getting logged out, what do you think our Guild Leader will say?"
"Uh... 'Good job'?"
"..."
"..."
Lee Se-yeon's guild members looked dead serious.
"Our Guild Leader is not that kind of person!"
"Exactly! She would never say something like that!"
"Ah, right. My bad."
Are they wearing rose-tinted glasses, or are they just blind? Tae-hyun thought to himself. Knowing Lee Se-yeon's personality, if Tae-hyun got logged out, she would probably bite her lip to hold back her laughter and say, "Oh dear~ What a shame~" with mock sympathy. But to her worshippers, she had no flaws. Just like how Lee Da-bi saw Tae-hyun as a righteous and kind player... Lee Se-yeon's guild members saw her the exact same way!
"I appreciate the concern, but I'll be fine. It's not my first rodeo. I've done plenty of undercover infiltrations using disguises."
"But there's a first time for everything, isn't there? The quests related to the Hungry Chaos are far more difficult than anything we've faced before, and we have no idea what those things are capable of. We barely have any information, so if something goes wrong..."
These guys are surprisingly persistent. Tae-hyun was slightly impressed. Persistence was a trait of a good player. The kind of stubbornness that keeps you prioritizing what you believe in, even when others scold you! If it were Cain, he would have just said, "Oh, really? If you say so," and brushed it off.
"Just trust me. Besides, it's not like I know nothing about the Hungry Chaos. I've already got a rough grasp of how they fight."
"Wait, you're going in with just a 'rough grasp'..."
The guild members were horrified. What kind of reckless approach was this? Normally, high-difficulty quests required thorough preparation and a foolproof plan. But Tae-hyun was different. Once he gathered a decent amount of information, he dove right in and relied on improvisation! It was a method only possible because of his absolute confidence in his mechanical skills and abilities.
"If anything happens, you must call us immediately."
"Don't try to handle everything on your own."
"Got it, got it."
Being worried about like this was a novel experience for Tae-hyun.
My own party members would never worry about me like this...
- Oh, you're leaving? See ya.
- Who are you planning to beat up this time?
Using the item!
Invoking the power of the Hungry Chaos!
Disguising as a minion of the Hungry Chaos!
Rumble!
As he used the Chaos energy items, an immense power poured out and enveloped Tae-hyun.
Race temporarily changes!
HP greatly increases...
MP greatly increases...
Skill cooldowns...
...
...
"Whoa..."
Tae-hyun was amazed as his HP, MP, and all other stats skyrocketed. This was the power of Chaos!
I can see why people fall for this. It was easy to see why some would succumb to a suspicious entity like the Hungry Chaos. There was a reason for everything in the world. The Hungry Chaos granted power quickly and easily. This was incredibly good.
Karbanog yells at you to snap out of it!
I told you, I'm fine, Karbanog. Is this my first time using someone else's power?
Karbanog yells back that they can't argue with that!
Indeed. Tae-hyun was a master of extorting others' power—the Pope of Archisus! Even the Hungry Chaos was no exception.
The energy of the Hungry Chaos is corrupting you!
The higher the corruption level, the closer you draw to the Hungry Chaos.
As you draw closer to the Hungry Chaos, your soul...
...
Your Holy stat is extremely high!
You possess Divine Authority.
You possess [ ]!
The Archisus Church's...
Sadiq's...
Phytos's...
...
...
You are immune to the corruption of the Hungry Chaos!
"!"
Tae-hyun was surprised. He was immune to the corruption?
Nice. All his hard work gathering various divine authorities from different churches had paid off. Those achievements were now protecting him.
The rate of hunger accumulation slows down.
The rate of thirst accumulation slows down...
Tae-hyun stepped out onto the desert sands and looked around. Now that he was disguised, he needed to find some suitable targets.
Maybe I shouldn't have hunted so many of them.
Because he had relentlessly hunted down their vanguard, their numbers had dwindled significantly.
Tae-hyun activated a skill. With his massive MP pool, the cost was barely a drop in the bucket.
"!"
Having successfully located them, Tae-hyun composed himself. He couldn't get caught. He had to trick them into revealing their main base.
Karbanog. How do I look?
Karbanog says you look like a total lunatic... No, a perfect fit for the Hungry Chaos faction!
With dark chaos energy billowing from his entire body, anyone would mistake him for a minion of the Hungry Chaos.
"Hey! Over here!"
- !
The approaching black mages paused. Seeing Tae-hyun's appearance, they let down their guard.
Supreme Eloquence skill...
Disguise using the power of the Hungry Chaos...
...
Successfully deceived the enemies!
Eloquence skill proficiency increases.
- What's this? Why are you all by yourself?
"Some crazy bastard attacked us! I'm the only survivor!"
- Ah. You must mean that crazy bastard. Karbanog's crazy bastard.
- I heard he was Idergo's crazy bastard?
The black mages whispered among themselves. It seemed rumors about Tae-hyun had spread quite a bit. And no wonder. He had been hiding beneath the desert sands, popping up to ambush them whenever they passed by, and then vanishing. Rumors were bound to spread.
- How dare a minion of a petty god like Idergo...
- Isn't Karbanog the same?
- At least Karbanog is cute. Back when I was human, my hobby was raising rabbits.
- I don't care about that. Just find the enemies' location.
The black mages of the Hungry Chaos murmured, reminiscing about their past lives as humans.
- Fine. We'll let you join us. What was your occupation before?
"?"
Karbanog says they seem to be asking for your class!
The minions of the Hungry Chaos forgot their original names and referred to themselves only by their former classes. Their original names had been devoured by the Hungry Chaos!
"Uh... I... well... I was a Bard."
- A Bard?
- Hmph. The Hungry Chaos really gathers all sorts of trash. I suppose that's why you lost and had to run.
The black mages looked at Tae-hyun with pity. A Bard. He looked weak just by default.
Karbanog asks why of all classes you had to choose Bard.
To raise my singing skill during the ability test.
......
Are you out of your mind?! In this situation?!
"By the way, how are you all moving around in this blazing sunlight? The others usually make it rain or move when it's dark."
- Haha. That's because we aren't technically alive. We don't feel hunger or thirst.
"Are you Liches?"
- No. We used this elixir to temporarily transform.
You have discovered the Chaos and Death Potion!
Magic skill proficiency slightly increases.
Your Magic skill level is too low to fully comprehend the contents...
"C-Could I have some of that too? This sunlight is really unbearable..."
- Well, it must be tough for a Bard to endure.
- But we can't just give it away for free. Sing us a song.
The black mages said, looking at Tae-hyun. They were merely running errands as minions of the Hungry Chaos. If they didn't enjoy themselves now, when would they? Although they had lost most of their pleasures, a small fragment of their human memories remained. Recalling those memories, they requested a song.
Sing a Song
The minions of the Hungry Chaos have requested a song. If you sing a song that satisfies them, you will receive the Chaos and Death Potion.
🎁 Reward: Reputation within the Hungry Chaos, Chaos and Death Potion, ?, ??
Hmm.
Faced with the opportunity, Tae-hyun hesitated. Should he have said he was a blacksmith or a chef instead?
No. I need to prioritize leveling up my singing skill.
If it were a comfortable setting, he would have experimented with different songs, failing and succeeding. But here, a single failure meant failing the quest. What kind of songs would these black mages like?
"What do you think of Nevuchadnezzar?"
- Nevuchadnezzar was a great black mage.
- Indeed. Though he perished due to the underhanded tricks of those Ancient Empire bastards...
The black mages reacted very favorably to Nevuchadnezzar, as if they had lived since the days of the Ancient Empire.
"Then what about the Erangs Kingdom..."
"The Atali Kingdom..."
"Sadiq..."
"Archisus..."
- Don't speak that cursed name. It brings bad luck.
"..."
Why does everyone hate Archisus!
Karbanog says that since they are black mages on Nevuchadnezzar's side, they were likely subjugated by the Archisus Church during the Ancient Empire era, so their reaction is only natural.
I suppose that makes sense.
And unlike other churches' subjugation campaigns, the Archisus Church's methods probably pissed them off on a whole different level. While others would march in with an army and try a direct assault, the Archisus Church probably snuck in, poisoned their wells, sowed discord, and infiltrated in disguise...
Your understanding of the Black Mages of the Hungry Chaos has increased!
Additional bonus applied to your song...
...
The song he made last time wouldn't work. Tae-hyun changed the lyrics of his previous song to fit the theme!
You have created the song, 'Nevuchadnezzar's Successor'!
It is a song of blatant flattery, asking who else could possibly be Nevuchadnezzar's successor!
The song applies an additional bonus against undead...
...
...
Since the song is not entirely original, the rewards are reduced.
Successfully singing to a very powerful opponent...
Tsk.
The system judged his recycled song strictly. If he wanted to raise his skill level quickly, he needed to create a more novel and fresh song!
I don't have the confidence for that, so I'll just keep reusing the melody and changing the lyrics.
- This song...
- It's truly moving! Yes, we are indeed Nevuchadnezzar's successors!
- Exactly, exactly!
The black mages rejoiced, exchanging nods. They were the successors of Nevuchadnezzar!
"No, you are not."
- What?
"In my opinion... you all have the potential to surpass Lord Nevuchadnezzar."
- ...!
Supreme Eloquence skill...
...
Affinity with the black mages increases significantly!
- To say such touching words...!
- As expected of a Bard! You truly know your stuff! Come here!
◈ Description: A potion of death crafted from the power of Chaos.
◈ Effect: Upon consumption, all incoming damage and debuffs are drastically reduced.
◈ Warning: May cause corruption/curse if the power of the Hungry Chaos is invoked.
This is broken.
A potion that made the body simulate death to reduce all damage and debuffs! Since it was made with the power of the Hungry Chaos, its effects were incredibly potent. Of course, the curse and corruption were concerning, but...
The Hungry Chaos faction is always high-risk, high-reward.
Tae-hyun thought to himself. What if he had advanced to a class like this at the beginning?
...
- Yes! We are greater than Nevuchadnezzar. Because we are trying to achieve what Nevuchadnezzar never could!
"And what is that?"
- To capture and control a dragon.
"...!"
Tae-hyun was shocked. A dragon?
"If it's an undead like a Bone Dragon, even Nevuchadnezzar..."
- Not a pathetic undead like that!
Calling a Bone Dragon "pathetic." It was a blasphemous statement that would have enraged countless Necromancers. It was an incredibly powerful undead monster!