The Chaos of Baltaror Castle

The other rankers, excluding the one who had been forced to write an eleven-line acrostic poem, stared at Baltaror Castle with burning eyes.

"I'm coming for you, Baltaror Castle!"

'What on earth is inside?'

'The unrevealed Eranse Kingdom... I hope there's a good sword. Maybe with a level limit around 400...'

'Armor would be best... hopefully with magic defense.'

'I hope it's a powerful skill book.'

Imagining what they wanted, the rankers dashed forward.

Twenty slots seemed generous, but they weren't. Considering the number of rankers who would flock here after seeing Lee Se-yeon's post, it was an incredibly tight squeeze! They had to get inside and secure their spots as quickly as possible.

Creeeeak—

Passing through the door opening from the inside, the rankers rushed in.

"Ooh..."

"But is it really okay to just barge into the 1st Prince's castle like this?"

"Who cares if our affinity drops a bit?"

"True."

The rankers weren't particularly afraid of the 1st Prince. Even if they got on his bad side, the worst that could happen was being banned from Eranse Kingdom or getting a bounty placed on their heads...

For rankers of their caliber, they could easily handle that much.

"Not bad."

"Hello, subscribers! Welcome to Ranker XX's stream today..."

"Look at that guy, turning on his stream immediately."

The rankers chatted as they looked around. The entrance of Baltaror Castle was quiet and peaceful.

But the moment they passed through the corridor and entered, a massive circular prison appeared, and terrifying undead began shouting, "Whoa, prisoners!" ...

"Is everyone here?"

"Lee Se-yeon. Those two over there arrived late, so don't count them in the twenty."

One ranker quickly snitched. The two who arrived outside the twenty-man limit gnashed their teeth inwardly. What a petty bastard!

"L-Lee Se-yeon. Just let us join too."

"Sure."

"?"

"???"

Everyone was taken aback when Lee Se-yeon agreed. Huh? Why did she agree? Usually, Lee Se-yeon would say something like, "Why should I? Are you crazy?"

"Now, everyone here is in a party, right?" Once Lee Se-yeon finished confirming, she opened the door.

"Whoa...!"

"An undead dungeon? Nice."

"I just swapped my gear. Let's do this."

"Tanks to the front! Priests, buffs please!"

"Give the signal when you're ready, and we'll start DPSing!"

Despite having just met, the rankers coordinated with practiced ease. It was a skill born from countless party plays! They could do this kind of basic party play with their eyes closed.

"Hey, those Death Knights look pretty tough."

"Hmph. No matter how tough they are, they're still just monsters."

One of the rankers snorted. Every single player gathered here was a prominent, high-ranking ranker in their own right. And they had formed a party together! On top of that, Lee Se-yeon was with them. No matter how difficult this dungeon was, they didn't think they would be pushed back. They would clear it immediately and uncover the castle's secrets!

"Charge! Charge!!"

—Assault of the Giant Earthquake!

—Sword of the Burning Lion!

—Eternal Cycle of Light!

Boom, boom, crash!

Flashes of light and flames erupted as the castle interior began to shake. When the rankers unleashed their full-force attacks, the destructive power was beyond imagination.

However...

Yet Goraki deflected all their attacks and charged forward. The tanks instinctively realized things had gone horribly wrong.

Crash!

"We're screwed! Fall back!"

"The raid is going to wipe!! Retreat!"

True to their vast experience, the rankers were quick to assess the situation. They never expected to be repelled right at the first floor, no matter how difficult the dungeon was, but now that things had turned out this way, they had to get out immediately.

"Run! Run!"

"Get back!!"

"Wait, where did Lee Se-yeon go?"

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

"By the way, Se-yeon. I appreciate the help, but is it really okay to assist them like this?"

Lee Da-bi asked, sounding puzzled. If the rankers realized they had been tricked later on, they might direct their anger at Lee Se-yeon...

"It doesn't matter. They won't notice anyway... and even if they do, it's their own fault. I didn't tell a single lie."

Lee Se-yeon hadn't lied. She had simply stated that Baltaror Castle was open! If they called themselves rankers, they had to take responsibility for clearing the dungeon themselves. Otherwise, they didn't deserve the title.

'Wow. She sounds exactly like Tae-hyun...?'

While Lee Da-bi was thinking that, Tae-hyun came running from ahead.

"Pant, pant..."

Slung over his back was a corpse with a very familiar face.

"..."

"..."

Although they had already heard about it, Lee Se-yeon and Lee Da-bi couldn't help but feel lightheaded.

...He really looks like a criminal!

"Da-bi! Summon Towang-i!"

"Right!"

Tae-hyun stuffed the corpse of the King of Eranse inside Towang-i. Towang-i's eyes practically screamed, 'Are you seriously stuffing this kind of thing in me now?' It was truly going too far!

"Alright, it's done. Let's get out of here. I used every skill I had, so I need to wait for my cooldowns. I also got hit by a ton of curses..."

Even with all the aggro he had drawn on the first floor, escaping the castle was incredibly difficult. On top of that, Tae-hyun had to carry the King of Eranse's corpse out. The difficulty was multiplied several times over. If Tae-hyun weren't a genius, it would have been impossible!

'Whew. I had to spam every Authority skill I had just to break out.'

"Out of the way! The noble King of Atali and Pope of the Archisus Church is passing through!"

—Wait, how did you get out, Your Lordship!

—Why are you calling an escaped prisoner 'Your Lordship'! Block him!

"Archisus's Protection!"

—My god! That noble is a follower of Archisus!

—And a highly advanced one at that! Everyone, watch out! He's an Archisus follower! Spread the word!

—Damn it! No wonder he managed to break out of prison...!

The Death Knights gnashed their teeth. Hailing from the Ancient Empire, they were all too familiar with the Archisus Church. If it was the Archisus Church, it wouldn't be surprising even if they escaped from the depths of hell!

—Hold him down! Until Lord Goraki arrives!

—I'll cast a curse!

"I am not with the Archisus Church!"

—Huh? He says he's not.

—Don't fall for his nonsense!

'Damn it.' The Ancient Empire jailers knew exactly how to deal with the Archisus Church. Instead of basic attacks, they focused on casting guaranteed-hit skills to bind his feet!

—Archisus's Dice, Archisus's Charge!

—This damn Archisus Church should be outlawed!

—Block the entrance! Don't let him pass!

"...Look! I have a hostage here!" With his path blocked, Tae-hyun held a blade to the neck of the already deceased King, taking him hostage.

"If this prisoner, whom you must keep safe, gets hurt, it will be your responsibility!"

—...Hey! Isn't this going too far!

—Act with honor!

"Shut up! What honor is there in the Archisus Church!"

—...

—...

The Death Knight jailers were left speechless. Well, that's true!

"Out of the way! If you don't move, I'll slit his throat!"

—Ugh!

Having had to use Authority skills and even resort to a hostage situation...

"Hold still. <Purify>."

Lee Se-yeon waved her staff and cast a spell. Necromancers rarely possessed recovery skills, but curses were an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exception. Since they dealt with so many curse-related skills, they even had spells like this!

"Oh... where can I learn that skill?"

"It's a class-specific skill, so keep dreaming. Let's move."

The first floor was in utter chaos. Tae-hyun's group slipped through the commotion and escaped.

"Aaaaaaaaargh!"

A horrific shriek echoed from above.

"W-what is that? What's that sound, Kim Tae-hyun?"

"The 1st Prince just realized what happened."

"Just because he realized the situation, he screams like a madman like that?"

"Well, I left a note saying I was taking the King. I also wrote that if he pursues us, the King's life is forfeit."

"...!"

Tae-hyun had kindly left a note on the bed. It stated that he, the King of Atali and Pope of the Archisus Church, was taking the King of Eranse to look after him!

From the 1st Prince's perspective, this was enough to drive him absolutely insane. His entire plan was completely ruined.

"—Catch them!! Do not let them escape under any circumstances!"

"Run!"

Tae-hyun's group immediately summoned their mounts. For now, they had to flee toward Tae-hyun's kingdom no matter what. They had no desire to face the 1st Prince's royal guard.

"Lee Se-yeon! We're not too late, are we?!"

"..."

The rankers who had arrived late, completely oblivious to the situation, spoke with bright faces.

"Ah, it's Kim Tae-hyun!"

"Is Kim Tae-hyun joining the Baltaror Castle dungeon party too?"

"That's not bad. Honestly, someone like Kim Tae-hyun is easily worth three or four people."

"Lee Se-yeon! Let us join the party too..."

The 1st Prince climbed the spire atop the castle walls and shouted, borrowing the power of the Hungry Chaos.

"—Hear me, my subordinates! Capture that shameless bastard immediately! He dares to..."

The 1st Prince, about to shout, hesitated. He couldn't publicly announce that Tae-hyun had the King. The moment he did, his own treasonous actions would be exposed!

Since Tae-hyun had the King, if the King were to reveal what the 1st Prince had done...

—...How dare... how dare you...

"How dare what? Why can't you finish your sentence?"

Tae-hyun scoffed at the 1st Prince, realizing the situation. Come to think of it, the 1st Prince was the one in a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tight spot right now!

"Hear me, all nobles and knights of the Eranse Kingdom! The 1st Prince has contracted with the evil Hungry Chaos and seeks to rule the kingdom using its power!"

The 1st Prince's forces nearby, as well as Count Besgo's knights who had followed Tae-hyun, stood dazed before snapping out of it in shock. Wait, what on earth is he talking about?

"I entered his castle and uncovered his conspiracy! He is trying to kill me now to silence me!"

"—Capture and kill him! That is an order!"

—Your Highness, we do not step outside the castle. Our oath is to defend this fortress.

Goraki drew a firm line with a serious expression. No matter who held the key, there were strict limits to what they could be ordered to do.

Enraged, the 1st Prince called out to his subordinates outside.

"—Capture him!! That is an order!"

"...The situation..."

"...seems to be going completely crazy..."

The rankers looked around. Which side should they join?