A Voluntary Prisoner

"Summon Hellfire Crow."

As soon as Lee Se-yeon cast her skill, several crows materialized from a glowing magic circle.

"Advanced Undead Stealth."

The crows instantly vanished into thin air.

Tae-hyun stared at the incredibly practical skill with deep envy.

'Man, I wish I had something like that.'

Despite ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠being named the successor of Nevuchadnezzar, all that stupid black magic ever gave him was useless, randomized spells...

When Tae-hyun looked at her with eyes full of profound respect, Se-yeon tilted her head in confusion. There was absolutely no reason for him to look at her like that just for what she had done. It was the most basic combo in her arsenal...

'Why is he looking at me like that?'

The halls of the castle's first floor echoed with a bizarre song as a group of Death Knights marched past.

These Death Knights were far from ordinary elites. While Death Knights were already considered top-tier undead monsters, their actual strength varied wildly depending on their individual grade.

From their basic ranks—Low-grade, Intermediate, and Advanced—to the modifiers attached to their names, and most importantly, who their master was, their power levels were night and day. A Death Knight serving under Nevuchadnezzar was powerful enough to be classified as a higher-tier entity, like a Doom Knight or an Abyss Knight.

Se-yeon recognized this immediately.

'The Death Knights are insanely buffed!'

'Oh my god.'

Se-yeon realized the gravity of the situation. A magic circle dating back to the Ancient Empire was woven into the very foundation of this castle, driving the monsters' strength to absurd heights. This was a dungeon of monstrous difficulty!

"Lord Goraki! There are no prisoners!"

"It cannot be helped. A prisoner will surely arrive tomorrow!"

"We are the loyal servants of Goraki! In the name of the Empire, we watch over the prisoners!"

"Tomorrow, a prisoner will surely arrive!"

"...?"

Seeing Se-yeon's bewildered expression, Tae-hyun asked from beside her, "What's wrong? Are there too many monsters? Is the difficulty too high?"

"No... this place is just weird."

They had checked the first floor, the second floor, and even the basement, but the vast prison was completely empty of prisoners. It was just swarming with Death Knights. She couldn't even tell what they were supposed to be guarding!

"What is even the point of this dungeon?"

"Maybe they just really like guarding things?"

"...Kim Tae-hyun. That's not funny."

"No, I'm being completely serious."

Tae-hyun had extensive experience dealing with NPCs from the Ancient Empire. If they had one thing in common...

It was that every single one of them was completely out of their minds.

"If you were ordered to guard a castle back in the Ancient Empire, and all the prisoners died, and then centuries passed with absolutely nothing to do... you'd end up like that too."

"That... actually makes sense..."

Se-yeon found herself strangely convinced by his words. Even when Tae-hyun spouted utter nonsense, it always carried a bizarre weight. And looking at them, they definitely didn't seem sane.

"There's an upper floor to this castle, right? Have you been to the top?"

"The top floor is completely inaccessible. It's a literal breeding ground for the undead."

"Then if the King is indeed here, that's where he'll be. Can we break through?"

"If we pour in every single skill we have..." Se-yeon began counting on her fingers, calculating the sheer number of undead and their buffed levels. "With just raw strength, it's going to be tough. Should we recruit a party?"

"A party?"

"Yeah. If we announce that we've entered Baltaror Castle, other rankers will jump at the chance to join."

Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi stared at her, utterly dumbfounded.

Wait...! You could do that?!

"...Please don't look so shocked when I say something completely normal. It feels like you're mocking me."

"No, really. I'm genuinely impressed. I didn't know that was an option."

"We've just never used a method like that before..."

"..."

To think she could just call top rankers over so easily! Tae-hyun and Da-bi were used to threatening, scamming, or manipulating people just to get them to move...

"For now, since I have my high-grade Eloquence and the Successor of the Ancient Empire quest is active, I can at least talk to them."

Because of his connection to the Ancient Empire quests, Tae-hyun could at least initiate a conversation with the Ancient Empire NPCs. What came after was the real problem!

"Oh? Kim Tae-hyun, you received that quest too?" Se-yeon nodded in understanding.

It was a notorious quest that had been circulating among the rankers for some time.

"...O-Of course. They were absolute maniacs."

"Why are you stuttering?"

Tae-hyun stepped forward, feeling an unfamiliar sensation.

It was the first time in his life someone had actually worried about him! Usually, in any party he was in, Tae-hyun was the one doing the nagging.

He was always the one worrying (or rather, nagging) others. Receiving genuine concern like this felt incredibly bizarre.

"I have come to see Lord Goraki, the Imperial Jailer."

"!!!!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"A prisoner! A prisoner!"

"I-I'm going to lock him up! I'll put him in my cell and take such good care of him. In the summer, I'll blow a cool breeze, and in the winter, I'll give him a warm blanket..."

"Get out of the way! I'm the one locking him up!"

The Death Knights panted heavily as they stared at Tae-hyun. Having gone without a single prisoner for centuries, these knights were suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms! They were desperate to throw someone into their cells.

"I am not a prisoner."

"Aw... can't you just pretend to be a prisoner?"

"Hey! Watch your mouth."

"Ugh... why are we the only ones without any prisoners..."

"!"

Tae-hyun was taken aback by Carbanog's suggestion. Wait, that was actually an option? Although he couldn't see a way to do it right now, if he could somehow lure them to the Valley...

"!"

Wait, but that actually sounded like a great—

'Got it, got it.'

"Follow me. Lord Goraki ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠comes out at noon for an inspection and then heads upstairs. He should be out shortly."

The sheer pressure was insane, inflicting debuffs on every single stat except for fear resistance!

'Why is this guy even here?'

Looking at his raw specs, this guy shouldn't be a jailer in some dusty castle; he should be leading armies as a Grand General...

"Salute! Goraki, the Imperial Jailer, pledges his loyalty!"

"Oh."

Tae-hyun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was taken aback by Goraki's reaction, but his brain completed its calculations in less than a second.

'What? Do they just pledge loyalty to any noble of the Ancient Empire?'

"Can you guide me upstairs?"

"I cannot do that!"

"..."

His loyalty shattered in a single second!

"Wait... didn't you just say you pledge your loyalty...?"

"The upper floors are permitted only to those who possess the Baltaror Key. My apologies!"

Goraki was an NPC who drew a strict line between public duty and private loyalty. The upper floors of Baltaror Castle were strictly off-limits to anyone without the key, even a noble of the Ancient Empire.

"So if I bring that key, you will allow me?"

"That is correct!"

"..."

The First Prince must have it!

"Is the First Prince of Erangse upstairs?"

"Yes! Have you come to see His Highness?"

"Ah, no. I don't want to disturb him. By any chance, did the First Prince bring someone with him?"

"Yes. He brought an old man. Since he was labeled a prisoner, I assigned him to the cell on the highest floor."

"Can you bring him to me?"

"I cannot do that."

'What a stubborn bastard.'

Tae-hyun's pride was slightly wounded. Up until now, there hadn't been a single NPC who didn't bend to his words once he opened his mouth...

'The First Prince is on the top floor, and even if I sneak past Goraki, the place is crawling with elite undead...'

Tae-hyun pondered. Was there a loophole? Some command that Goraki wouldn't refuse, which would somehow let him slip inside? Or at least get guided to where the King was.

"Why did you lock that old man on the highest floor?"

"The more noble the status, the higher the floor they are imprisoned on."

"If I were to be locked up, where would I be put?"

Tae-hyun tensed up for a moment. He was terrified the system would say something like, 'For the Pope of Archisus, it's not imprisonment, but immediate execution!'

Fortunately, Goraki didn't say anything so unhinged.

"Your Excellency would be imprisoned on the highest floor."

"I see. Actually, I have committed a crime."

"Excuse me?"

"I attempted to assassinate the Emperor of the Empire."

"What? That makes no sense..."

Goraki looked utterly dumbfounded. If such an event had occurred, there was no way he wouldn't have known about it.

"I said I attempted to assassinate him! Are you ignoring a direct confession?"

"...Understood. I shall arrest you and take you away."

*Clang!*

After tossing Tae-hyun into one of the solitary cells on the highest floor, Goraki cast a barrage of sealing skills. These were powerful binding techniques that only the Imperial Jailer could use—skills capable of rendering even the highest-level rankers completely helpless.

But...

'I guess he didn't know I'm the Avatar of Archisus.'

The Avatar of Archisus was practically optimized for jailbreaking. Most of the prison's debuffs and sealing techniques simply failed to register on him.

The next obstacle was the cell door itself. Staring at the terrifyingly durable bars that could easily withstand even the Ancient Hammer, Tae-hyun fell into deep thought. Magic was forbidden, but he didn't have any spells to cast anyway...

Fortunately, the solution was surprisingly simple.

"Rabbit Transformation!"

*Whoosh—*

Shrinking instantly, Tae-hyun easily slipped right through the gaps in the iron bars.

'...Sure, sure.'

Even the architect of this legendary castle could never have anticipated that its ultimate security would be bypassed by a simple rabbit transformation.