Assessing the Order's Might

"Avatar-nim, first, let's assess the military strength of our Order."

"Mhm," Tae-hyun nodded.

Tae-hyun didn't know exactly what level Ahdael expected, but he was reasonably confident. The Archisus Church was the very trajectory of everything he had accomplished in Pandemonium Online 2. It was the crystallization of his blood, sweat, and tears! Having revived a ruined order to this extent, it was impossible not to feel a sense of pride.

"First, is the [Scammed Demon Legion] still around?"

"...That's the first time I've ever heard of them. What on earth is that?"

"Ah, they're gone? Oh dear. They were quite useful fellows."

Ahdael sounded deeply disappointed. Back in the age of myths when the old gods walked the earth, it was a military unit composed of demons who had been swindled by Archisus. Every single one of them was a powerful entity of noble blood!

"..."

"..."

Lee Se-yeon and Lee Da-bi, who were listening from the side, watched with complicated expressions.

"Then I suppose the [Demon Knights] and the [Abyssal Vanguard] aren't here either?"

"We don't even have a demon legion in our Order to begin with."

"How could that be...! Wow, this is terrible."

Ahdael wore an expression of genuine disbelief. To think the Archisus Church had fallen this low!

"Then do we at least have the [Phytos Defectors]?"

"...Aren't those holy knights of the Phytos Church?"

"Oh, come on, Avatar-nim. Why are you acting like you don't know?"

Ahdael gave him a look that said, You know exactly what I mean, so why play dumb?

"If the warriors of other gods are useful, we can always borrow them. The [Phytos Defectors] were a group of heroes from the Phytos Church whom Archisus coaxed and bound to his service once upon a time."

Every single one of them was a legendary hero who had left their name in the annals of the Phytos Church, but they had been utterly powerless against Archisus's silver tongue.

"We don't have anyone like that either..."

Ahdael rattled off one bloodthirsty legion name after another, but Tae-hyun's answer was always the same: they didn't exist. Ahdael was genuinely sorrowful.

"Oh dear. Avatar-nim, it must have been so difficult for you. How on earth did you manage the Order without any of them?"

"Right?"

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

Tae-hyun brightened up. It was rare to find an NPC who truly understood the hardships of running the Archisus Church.

"But surely there is a Grand Temple established in every royal palace across the continent, right? And there must be Archisus believers among the royalty?"

"...No. We haven't recovered to that extent yet."

Ahdael's standards were calibrated to the ancient age of myths. A time when Archisus was one of the most renowned good deities, and his mighty warriors fought against demons! But that was an era even older than the Ancient Empire, and things had never been the same since the gods, including Archisus, departed. Furthermore, the Archisus Church had literally gone extinct at one point.

I worked so hard, so why do I feel like such a failure right now?

"Oh, it's quite alright, Avatar-nim. These things happen."

True to their angelic nature, Ahdael was incredibly supportive of the Avatar. Even if Tae-hyun had completely failed to revive the Order and spent all his time slacking off, Ahdael probably would have cheered him on, saying, Well, that can happen, Avatar-nim!

That only made Tae-hyun's heart ache more.

Just scold me instead...!

"If there were any Archisus believers among the royalty, I was planning to capture and 'persuade' them. What a pity."

"How exactly were you going to persuade... No, never mind. That was a pointless question."

Ahdael, the High Angel of Archisus, reminisced about the grand host of Archisus that had struck terror into the hearts of demons during the ancient age of myths. A magnificent army where countless demons and warriors of other gods fought under his banner! Ahdael wished for the Avatar to restore even a fraction of that grand host.

A long list of Tae-hyun's mobilizable forces scrolled down, each accompanied by a message stating they fell short of the standards. Ahdael's criteria were incredibly strict!

Of course, Tae-hyun had expected this to some degree, but seeing it laid out like this left a bitter taste in his mouth.

The standards seem exceptionally high.

"Oh! Avatar-nim, [The Valley Host] seems quite decent."

"Right?" Tae-hyun brightened up.

[The Valley Host] was a force that Tae-hyun had painstakingly built up, penny by penny, from the very beginning. Saving Dwarves, rescuing Giants, capturing demons from the Demon Realm...

Flash!

Oh...!

An angel wasn't called an angel for nothing. The difficulty was high, but once cleared, the rewards were absolutely solid!

"..."

Sadly, Tae-hyun couldn't deny it. Honestly, other orders probably had much easier quests...

"With your capabilities, Avatar-nim, it shouldn't be difficult to create even more wicked and powerful hosts, right? I believe in you!"

"No... Honestly, is it even possible to make a group more wicked and bizarre than [The Valley Host]?"

Was that even possible?

Yet, Ahdael genuinely believed in Tae-hyun's abilities. He was the Avatar of Archisus, after all; surely he could manage that much!

"And Avatar-nim, from what I can see, the Order is still lacking in many areas."

Tae-hyun nodded. Ahdael was right. Although the Archisus Church had been revived, there were still far too few high-ranking NPCs. Archbishops, high priests, holy knight commanders, high holy knights... A proper order needed these high-ranking NPCs to firmly support its backbone.

"In my opinion, this is all because of the interference from other orders."

"Hmm. That makes sense."

Tae-hyun was quite receptive to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ahdael's words, which scratched exactly where he itched.

But Tae-hyun was already halfway swayed by Ahdael's logic. As expected of his Order's angel, they only said the nicest things!

"If those bastards from the other orders hadn't interfered, how else could we have gathered so few heroes? A church dedicated to Lord Archisus should have gathered ten times more than this!"

"Indeed..."

"Let's gather them one by one, Avatar-nim. And if those other orders try to get in our way, we'll tear them apart together!"

Ahdael clenched their fists and shouted. Their voice was thick with murderous intent. If they actually clashed with another order, they looked ready to completely obliterate them!

Ahdael strongly recommended proceeding with this quest.

Ahdael advised him to first clear [The Sky Sanctuary], which was located up on Sky Island. For now, it was best to increase the number of Archisus's outstanding warriors.

"You must find it as quickly as possible before those other orders interfere again, Avatar-nim!"

"Understood. More importantly, how are your wounds?"

"I still need a bit more time to recover."

"Why don't you rest in the Valley?"

Not only was it the place where the faith of Archisus was most concentrated, but it was also a place where they could extract mana, blood, and meat from the captured demons. At Tae-hyun's explanation, Ahdael nodded happily.

"Thank you, Avatar-nim!"

"Ah. The Valley is going to go absolutely wild."

The moment Lee Da-bi saw the system message, she foresaw the future. Every time a buff like this was triggered, the Valley would explode with people going completely insane.

It felt like another wave was coming! And it would be the biggest one yet!

An angel's buff would certainly be nothing to scoff at...

Wouldn't people scrape up their very last pennies to open boxes?

"By the way, Avatar-nim. Don't we have far too few bishops?"

"That's true, but bishops don't just fall from the sky just because we want them to."

"Why don't we give a quest to a capable adventurer?"

"Is that possible?"

"If they accept this [Archisus Holy Scripture], ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they can undergo the class advancement quest. Now then..."

Ahdael turned all three of their heads simultaneously, scanning the surrounding players.

Lee Se-yeon waved her hands in surprise.

"I-I'm a Necromancer, so..."

Ryu Da-young and Ryu Tae-su were the same. The two, who had completely different classes, waved their hands in panic, denying any suitability.

That left only Lee Da-bi!

"...But I'm already a priest...?!"

"..."

Lee Da-bi suddenly felt a strong sense of déjà vu. She felt like her current class had also been forced upon her just as abruptly as this...

"Excuse me, but by any chance, are you two Player Choi Sang-yun and Player Jeong Su-hyeok?"

When Boiled Egg, an Archisus priest, approached and spoke to them, the two raised their heads.

"You know us?"

"Oh, please. Even if you don't know me, of course I know you two. You're incredibly famous."

"Well, this is a bit embarrassing."

"Thank you for the support..."

"And I'm actually a member of Power Warrior."

"Ah."

"Aha."

The two immediately understood. No wonder his playstyle was like that!

"Since you're with Power Warrior, do you think you could help us out a bit?"

"Yes. That's actually why I came over. You two seemed interested in the race."

Choi Sang-yun summoned his mount. It was a beautiful red horse he had named [Red Tempest].

"Isn't my mount, [Red Tempest], pretty decent? I don't understand why we keep coming in dead last."

Boiled Egg spoke with a deadpan expression.

"It's garbage."

"..."

"..."

"You guys don't even understand the basics of racing. Sure, the horse might look good. It's stable, runs well, seems easy to steer, and won't fall. But in this Sky Island Race, a mount that can't fly or take shortcuts is the absolute worst! You must never choose one!"

"I... I see."

"What about my mount, the White Eagle...?"

"Eagles tire out easily, and their wing durability is weak! Zero points!"

The two were flustered by his harsh evaluation.

Choi Sang-yun suddenly grew curious and asked, "By the way, we only came here for a skill quest, but aren't there way too many players? Even if it's fun and the rewards are generous, this is a bit extreme."

"Oh. You don't know about the real reward?"

"Huh? Isn't it just boxes, gold, and miscellaneous items when you win?"

"No, not that. Here in Spada City, the player with the most race victories each month is awarded the title of Lord."

"..."

"..."

Their jaws dropped. No, that's insane... Does that... even make sense?

"Up until now, the NPCs have been completely dominant, but players are constantly challenging them to break through that barrier for the first time. Of course, aside from that, the race itself is incredibly fun. The rewards are quite lucrative too."

"I... I see. It's much deeper than I thought."

"You've finally begun to understand this race, even if only a little."

Boiled Egg nodded with a pleased expression. Realizing that this race was deep and complex was the very first step.

"As for which mount is best for the Sky Island Race, everyone has a different opinion."

"Then a horse is also..."

"Horses are trash. What I recommend is an Engineering mount."

"En... Engineering? You want us to ride a bomb?"

"Oh, please. Engineering isn't just about bombs. Daniel-nim will help you."

"Who... who is Daniel-nim?"

"Oh, you don't know? He's a mechanical engineering blacksmith who hails from the Valley."

"..."

"..."

Jeong Su-hyeok and Choi Sang-yun stared at each other with terror-stricken eyes.

A mechanical engineering blacksmith from the Valley meant...

In other words, a certified madman!