A Legendary Harmony
Bisodir, the former Bard Master and the grandfather of the current Bard Master! Upon hearing his identity, Kim Tae-hyun felt a spark of anticipation.
Oh. Was our composition actually good?
"Truly..."
"?"
"...a dreadful song!"
"..."
"..."
Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon's expressions turned deadpan at the exact same time. What was with this old man?
"Do you know who this person is? In the kingdom down there..."
"And this person is the Emperor of a distant Empire..."
Furious, Tae-hyun and Se-yeon immediately tried to pull rank and suppress him with their titles. Do you have any idea how much effort we put into writing that song!
Nam Seol-yeon was horrified and quickly intervened.
"You can't do that in the Bard's Tower!"
This tower was a place where authority and noble titles held absolutely no sway. Trying to force their way with titles would only backfire!
"Then does a sword work?"
"Don't worry, unni. I won't fight with my title, but with magic."
He already looked quite advanced in age—the absolute perfect candidate to be turned into an undead! There was a reason Tae-hyun and Se-yeon were so incredibly angry. It was because the old man had insulted the song the three of them had worked so hard to create. If it had been a solo piece, they wouldn't have cared as much, but they couldn't stand by and watch someone trash an effort they had all poured themselves into.
I'm going to kill this guy today!
"Please, both of you, calm down!" Lee Da-bi hurriedly held them back.
Tae-hyun glared at Bisodir and muttered, "That guy must be from the Phaitos Church..."
Oblivious to the fact that he had just narrowly escaped dying and being raised as an undead, Bisodir slowly continued speaking.
"If the three of you made it together, you should have joined forces, but I felt absolutely no teamwork!"
"Hmph. Is that so? Let's settle this one-on-one, old man."
"Hey. Da-bi worked so hard to cooperate on this song, and you say there's no teamwork? Step outside."
Their fury blazed even hotter.
Bisodir is selectively deaf and cannot hear words disadvantageous to him.
The Speech skill does not work.
"..."
Tae-hyun was utterly dumbfounded. To think such a powerful opponent existed! Hearing only what was convenient and blocking out the rest—this old man was incredibly petty.
Carbanog is shocked, declaring that a true rival to Akisus has appeared!
Well, he's not quite on that level, but...
"However, it is also a magnificent song."
Flinch—
Tae-hyun and Se-yeon froze just as they were about to brandish their weapons.
"To create such a grand song despite having zero teamwork... It is so vivid, as if you witnessed this achievement with your own eyes!"
Well, because we did...
"It is unbelievable that you created such a great song without the mutual consideration that bards must possess. Therefore, I have decided."
Rustle—
Bisodir opened a box and pulled out a piece of worn parchment.
"I shall gift this ancient song to the three of you. Understand the meaning of cooperation contained within this song!"
◈ Bisodir has gifted you <Song of the Ancient Empire>!
◈ You have acquired the skill, <Song of the Ancient Empire>.
◈ Reputation has greatly increased!
◈ Knowledge of the Ancient Empire has greatly increased!
◈ Your current knowledge of the Ancient Empire is high. You can sing <Song of the Ancient Empire>.
◈ Your class is <Imperial Successor>. You can sing <Song of the Ancient Empire>.
The song skill, Song of the Ancient Empire! It was a powerful song skill that depicted the brilliant and beautiful Ancient Empire. To sing this song properly at 100% effectiveness, one needed a class related to the Ancient Empire, knowledge of the Ancient Empire, a title related to the Ancient Empire...
"I have all of them?"
"I have all of them too?"
"I have them all as well."
...But the three of them possessed every single requirement. They were practically Ancient Empire experts!
It was a beautiful song symbolizing the Ancient Empire. It could not be sung alone; it could only be activated when sung together with the other two who had received it.
A chorus song.
A song that only triggered when sung together! After all his lecturing about teamwork, they finally understood why he had given them this specific song.
"What a bizarre thing. How is this supposed to help with teamwork?"
"Exactly, Kim Tae-hyun. Teamwork is built through long-term party play or training, not by singing some song. Frankly, we can just not use it."
"Exactly. Real bards are..."
Tae-hyun and Se-yeon grumbled in unison. Beside them, Nam Seol-yeon looked at them with a look of utter pity. She had wondered why the two of them were so close, but their personalities were truly...
"Um, can we just try using it once?"
"In the first place, why is that guy even here if he's not the Master..."
"I said, let's just try it once!"
Lee Da-bi snapped, scolding them both. Startled, Tae-hyun and Se-yeon quickly nodded. "S-Sorry..."
They activated Song of the Ancient Empire!
You have used <Song of the Ancient Empire>.
The <Protection of the Ancient Empire> buff is applied.
All damage is negated until the song ends.
"..."
"..."
Tae-hyun and Se-yeon were left completely speechless, their mouths hanging open. What... what did the message window just say?
<Song of the Ancient Empire> has stopped. The skill is canceled.
Flash!
The difficulty of Song of the Ancient Empire was absolutely insane. If their breathing or rhythm was off by even half a beat, the skill would immediately cancel and end. However, Tae-hyun and Se-yeon weren't shocked by the difficulty right now.
An invincibility skill!
There was no skill more precious in Pandemonium Online than one that granted temporary invincibility. Why was Smith considered a cockroach... no, one of the top-tier rankers? Besides his own physical mechanics and level, it was because his class, Paladin, possessed invincibility-related skills. Even among rankers, invincibility skills were extremely rare and highly valued. In the Pandemonium Online League, players with invincibility skills were incredibly annoying to deal with.
—Kim Tae-hyun! I expected you to come after me! How do you plan to catch me?
—Hmph. I should probably catch the others first.
—Hey! Hey! Don't go! Fight me!
...Actually, maybe Smith hadn't been *that* difficult to deal with, but still...
To get such a precious skill just by composing a few songs. Tae-hyun suddenly saw Bisodir as a wise sage.
"Thank you, Master Bisodir. I have realized the true meaning of cooperation."
"Thank you so much, Master Bisodir. I truly feel that the title of Bard Master isn't given to just anyone."
Lee Da-bi and Nam Seol-yeon looked at them with deadpan expressions. Good grief, these two...!
Bisodir nodded with a satisfied expression.
"When you have completely mastered that song, come find me again."
Song of the Ancient Empire (1)
As a legendary bard, you have earned the right to seek the songs of the Ancient Empire. Completely master the first song of the Ancient Empire and gain the recognition of its successor!
🎁 Reward: ?, ???
💀 Quest Grade: Legendary
"...?"
"???"
"A-Ah. This looks like a class quest for bards..."
Tae-hyun, Se-yeon, and Da-bi were all taken aback. Seeing as it was Legendary grade, it seemed like a highly important class quest... Why was it appearing here?
"...But doesn't that mean if we clear this quest, he'll give us the second song too?"
At Tae-hyun's words, Se-yeon's eyes sparkled.
"This skill has a long cooldown, which is natural for an invincibility skill... but above all, the fact that it consumes so little MP is absolutely broken."
What made it even more broken than other invincibility skills was its incredibly low MP consumption. For rankers who had to constantly calculate their MP usage during battles, this was a massive advantage. However, there was one other problem: the skill control! While maintaining the skill, they had to continuously match their breathing and sing together. Since none of the three could afford to miss even a single beat, the difficulty was astronomical. Moreover, in the heat of battle, it would be even more chaotic...
"We can just practice, right?"
"We can just practice."
But Tae-hyun and Se-yeon weren't worried in the slightest. They were rankers who didn't feel a shred of fear when faced with high-difficulty quests. Only Lee Da-bi looked anxious.
Will we really be okay...?
When Tae-hyun stepped outside, the Demon Duke Gusirek was waiting for him and spoke.
"Apostle. My strength has recovered enough to open the gate to the Demon Realm."
"What, you're leaving already?"
"..."
Gusirek glared at Tae-hyun. Tae-hyun had even drained his blood when crafting the sword, and seeing him try to squeeze out even more made him genuinely terrified. Is this what Archisus is? At this rate, Tae-hyun might cut off his demon horns next.
"I will not forget the grace of saving me, Gusirek, from the Hungry Chaos."
"You shouldn't forget other favors either, like dragging you around disguised as 'Gusirak', hiding you from other churches, and feeding you expensive holy water."
Carbanog says that the holy water was definitely not a favor.
"Take this."
◈ [Cannot view properties]
◈ [Cannot view properties]
◈ Effect: Summons the Demon Duke Gusirek of the Demon Realm upon use.
An item that could summon Gusirek! The item itself seemed powerful, but Tae-hyun lacked the requirements to use it. The options didn't even display...
"But why a harp? It doesn't suit you at all."
"What are you talking about? This Gusirek's primary weapon is a song infused with the power of hell."
Gusirek was a Demon Duke who specialized in sound attacks. A powerful demon whose single shout could fell countless demons!
"...Wait, you bastard, you just sat there silently watching me learn a song skill without saying a word??"
"Kyaho!"
As Tae-hyun grabbed Gusirek by the collar, Bulbul-i leaped in and bit Gusirek's shoulder.
"Bulbul-i! You can't eat that! It's dirty!"
Tae-hyun quickly pulled Bulbul-i away. Then he scolded Gusirek.
"What are you doing, Gusirek! Letting your blood get taken so carelessly!"
"Y-You... knowing full well I haven't fully recovered my strength..."
Gusirek was dumbfounded. What kind of treatment was this for a demon who had spent most of his energy trying to return to the Demon Realm?
"Kyao."
"What? You want to drink more of that? No, Bulbul-i. That's dirty."
"Kyaoo..."
"Even if you look at me with those sad eyes, absolutely n— Dammit. Fine."
Tae-hyun sighed and looked at Gusirek.
"Hey. Give us some more blood before you go."
"...What???"
I saw nothing.
Tae-hyun pretended not to see it. He wanted to focus on the continent's quests right now!
"Tae-hyun-nim! Tae-hyun-nim!"
The Power Warrior guild members ran up to him frantically.
"What's wrong?"
"It's that Dorango guy!"
Dorango. Count Besgo's bastard son, whom Tae-hyun had rescued from the Idergo Cult's sanctuary. A completely useless fellow whom Tae-hyun had left with the Power Warrior guild's chefs and forgotten about. Although he had drawn the ire of the Idergo Cult, honestly, Tae-hyun figured they would target him rather than Dorango. But for them to run over so suddenly and shout...
"Did the Idergo Cult attack Dorango??"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"...No, never mind. What is it?"
"A quest related to Dorango popped up!"
"Reconciling him with Count Besgo? That's a garbage quest."
"No! A quest popped up saying Count Besgo collapsed and someone needs to succeed him!"
"!!"