A Royal Target and the Grand Stage
Your reputation with the Archisus faith in the Garuda Kingdom has risen to C+ Rank!
The Garuda warriors no longer feel ashamed of the Archisus faith.
If it rises to B-Rank or higher, the Garuda warriors will take pride in the Archisus faith.
Still, his cooking efforts hadn't been entirely in vain. Thanks to Tae-hyun's relentless quest grinding, his reputation had been steadily, if slowly, climbing.
...Though, of course, the reputation boost just now had come from feeding them poison...
Carbanog remarks that the Garuda race would probably love whatever the Apostle does at this point.
If they praised him even when he mixed poison into their food, what on earth was he supposed to do to make them hate him?
"Why are you only giving it to him?"
"Here."
"Ohhh!"
Tae-hyun tossed over his failed dishes with a half-resigned heart. These were dishes that, with a single bite, would send a sharp, tingling jolt of poison through the mouth! Yet, the royals happily devoured them. Tae-hyun gave up, pulled out the rest of the food, and joined them.
Might as well raise my Constitution stat...
"Didn't you say those were failures?"
"They still raise my stats a bit."
Lee Se-yeon looked utterly appalled at his response. She was well aware of the practice—deliberately taking damage or consuming poison to grind stats. But if you messed up and ended up injured or dead while doing it, there was no greater embarrassment. Besides, other stat-grinding methods or quests were bound to be far more efficient...
Seeing him meticulously squeeze out every single stat point like this only filled her with a sense of awe at his sheer absurdity.
The feast has concluded!
Quest successful.
The Garuda royalty are highly satisfied!
"So, where is the Garuda princess?"
Tae-hyun's tone had become incredibly blunt. He knew that if he spoke too politely, he might actually end up dragged away to serve as their permanent sky chef! Yet, the Garuda royals found Tae-hyun's bold, unceremonious speech style highly satisfying.
"Who?"
"The Garuda princess. Stop stuffing your faces with meat and answer my question."
"...Wait. If it's the princess, doesn't that mean her? Garettia?"
While there were quite a few members of the Garuda royal family, only a select few held the actual titles of prince or princess. And there was only one princess. The Garuda royals stared at Tae-hyun with bewildered eyes. Their expressions practically screamed:
Why on earth?
Is he crazy?
Has he lost his mind?
Tae-hyun sighed at their reaction. This is bad.
She's clearly no ordinary NPC.
Carbanog asks if you hadn't already braced yourself for this.
"So, where is this Garettia?"
"Garettia is in prison."
"..."
An ominous dread crept over him with every word spoken.
"Kim... Kim Tae-hyun. Exactly what kind of NPC are you looking for?"
"The descendant of the Archisus Holy Knight Commander..."
"..."
Lee Se-yeon fell silent at his unexpected answer. But why is she in prison?!
"Ah, don't misunderstand. It's not like she's in prison because she committed some crime."
"Well, technically, it's not like she didn't commit any crimes, but either way, she's not in prison because of a crime."
The Garuda royals chuckled as they offered this highly unconvincing explanation. In prison, but innocent?
"Then why is she in prison?"
"For her training."
"...What?"
[???]
"Garettia often looks for quiet, undisturbed places to train, and that place happens to be the prison."
"Tae-hyun, we have a problem. I don't think she's just ordinary crazy."
"I was thinking the exact same thing."
Lee Da-bi spoke with a deadpan, serious face for the first time in a while. Tae-hyun thoroughly agreed.
"Let's think about this for a moment before we try to summon—"
"Oh, look at that. Did they already bring Garettia? That was fast."
"Well, we can't ignore a request from the Sky Blacksmith!"
"..."
Before Tae-hyun could even finish his thought, the Garuda royals had already taken the initiative to fulfill his request! The Garuda royals gathered here had affinity levels with Tae-hyun that were practically maxed out.
Sky Blacksmith achievement + Kaojedacha hunt + Sky Chef - Archisus = Maximum Affinity!
Rumble, crash!
With a thunderous roar, the massive main gates of the Garuda Palace swung open, and a warrior heavily clad in full plate armor stepped out. With the wings spread wide behind her back, anyone would have mistaken her for a battle angel.
⊳ You have encountered Garettia, the Iron-blooded Knight of the Garuda Kingdom!
⊳ Entering Fear state...
⊳ Successfully resisted!
⊳ Garettia uses <Fear Aura>!
⊳ You are unable to move!
⊳ Successfully resisted with <Tenacity>!
⊳ Garettia uses < >...
⊳ ...
Carbanog is appalled, wondering what on earth is wrong with that person!
Just how many passive skills did she keep active at all times to unleash such a massive area-of-effect pressure just by showing up?
"She looks... surprisingly normal?" Lee Da-bi whispered in a low voice.
To be honest, Lee Da-bi had been expecting something resembling an Archisus angel. Something with three heads and six arms...
"That's an Archisus angel, not a Garuda," Tae-hyun corrected.
"Still, she looks way too normal."
Lee Da-bi found it hard to believe. Generally, NPCs associated with the Archisus Church shared a distinct vibe. A vibe that screamed, 'Yep, definitely Archisus.' It was an aura shared only by those who were missing a screw or were just plain bizarre... But Garettia was beautiful, flawless, and clearly high-level. Was she really an Archisus-related NPC?
"Adventurer... No, you are the Pope of the Archisus Church!"
The moment Garettia stepped out, she recognized Tae-hyun's identity. For a split second, Tae-hyun contemplated pretending to be someone else. But before he could even try, Garettia forged ahead.
"Then there can only be one reason you have come here. To find the descendant of the Archisus Holy Knight Commander!"
"Why is this quest so damn linear? No dialogue options, just straight ahead?" Tae-hyun grumbled, but Garettia didn't even pretend to hear him as she continued.
"You have found the right place! For I am the one who has inherited the teachings of the Archisus Holy Knight Commander!"
The Descendant of the Holy Knight Commander
You have found Garettia, the Iron-blooded Knight who inherited the teachings of the Archisus Holy Knight Commander. The reputation of the Archisus Church increases!
...
...
The Iron-blooded Knight's Trial
The Iron-blooded Knight Garettia believed that one day, a successor to the Archisus Church would find her. However, as a proud Garuda warrior, she does not acknowledge the weak! Complete the Great Task alongside the Iron-blooded Knight Garettia. If you succeed, she will join the Archisus Church as its Holy Knight Commander!
🎁 Reward: ?, ???, ????
What is this 'Great Task'?
Reputation increases!
The Authority of Archisus kept by Garettia has been added!
You have acquired the Authority, <Archisus's Shape>!
...
...
An Authority skill held by Garettia had been added! Tae-hyun clenched his fist. This alone made all his suffering in the Garuda Kingdom worthwhile. He had successfully reclaimed another scattered Authority.
Archisus's Shape... Is it a powerful buff skill?
Skills like Dragon's Shape temporarily channeled the power of a dragon to grant a massive, all-around buff. Simple, straightforward, yet incredibly potent! Generally, the simpler a skill was, the better. Whenever a skill description was long and convoluted, it was bound to be either unusable or related to Archisus. Simple boosts like 'Cooldown reduced by 300%, MP recovery increased by 300%' were the best. Things like 'Declare a domain in the name of Archisus, where the laws of Archisus apply...' were just a headache.
<Archisus's Shape>
Manifests the form of the target's greatest fear and disguises you as that entity. The disguise is dispelled upon entering combat.
"..."
It's not a buff skill...
Tae-hyun, who had been hoping for a simple and powerful buff, was deeply disappointed. It wasn't a useless skill, but of course, it had to be something like this...
The quest popped up for his party members as well.
"What is this 'Great Task'?"
"Wait, this is an Archisus Church quest. Why is it being shared with us...?"
Usually, other religious faction quests were highly exclusive, but the Archisus Church didn't care about such trivialities and just shared it with everyone. Even Ryu Da-young, who was a Paladin of the Phytos Order, received it!
"Well, there's no harm in accepting a quest, but it is pretty strange."
"Indeed. Is it really okay to just share something like this?"
Getting rewards was great, but...
After reading through the message window, Tae-hyun looked up and asked Garettia.
"So, Garettia. What is this Great Task? Is it something like hunting a Kaojedacha?"
If it was hunting a Kaojedacha, it would be tough, but they could manage it somehow. They could drag it out into a war of attrition, or if things got desperate, he could just draw his demonic sword Carbanog to shred its HP.
At Tae-hyun's question, Garettia burst into a peal of laughter.
"Hunting a Kaojedacha is far too easy for the Pope of the Archisus Church! Do you think I would commit such an insult?"
"No, it's not an insult..."
"Do not worry, I have had something prepared for the Pope for a very long time!"
The Great Task: Vengeance of the Archisus Church
Long ago, the royal family of Eranse ordered the eradication of the Archisus Church within their kingdom and shut down all its temples. Even if the seas dry up and the earth turns upside down, the grudge of the Archisus Church shall never fade! Having grown up hearing tales of the Eranse royal family from her ancestor, the Holy Knight Commander, Garettia has long believed that vengeance must be exacted. Offer the noblest bloodline of the Eranse royal family to the Archisus Church!
🎁 Reward: ?, ??
⚠️ [Notice] The current King of Eranse is deceased.
⚠️ [Notice] The quest objective has been changed to the 1st Prince of Eranse Kingdom.
🎯 [Objective] Defeat the 1st Prince of Eranse Kingdom!
"..."
"..."
"..."
The faces of the party members turned pale with shock at the completely unexpected quest.
"Uh, is it really okay for me to do this?"
"If not Player Kim Tae-hyun, then who else? Please show the world a performance worthy of the first season's champion."
Tae-hyun had been invited by the Pandemonium Online developers and entered the World Cup Arena. He was the very first player to step foot inside, with no one else around! Even for someone like Tae-hyun, entering a brand-new arena for the first time made his heart flutter. Besides, this wasn't just any ordinary arena. It was a dedicated venue built solely for the World Cup.
By the way, why are they all staring at me with such wicked grins?
The Pandemonium Online developers wore a wide variety of gear. Some were high-level, some were low-level... but they all shared one thing in common: a wicked, expectant smirk plastered across their faces!
Even Kim Tae-hyun will be shocked, right?
Of course he will!
Tae-hyun's role was to reveal this historic arena to the public for the very first time. Countless players and gaming teams had clamored for this honor, but the developers had made a firm decision. Who else but Tae-hyun could possibly grace this glorious stage?
"Now, Player Kim Tae-hyun. The broadcast will go live to the entire world shortly. Please, step inside the arena and take a look!"
"You didn't set up any traps inside, did you?"
"Haha! What a sense of humor...!"
"I'm not joking..."
You have entered the World Cup Arena!
Determining map...
The Sky Battlefield is being generated.
You have been granted Special Commentary Authority.
"?"
While Tae-hyun stood there in surprise, the broadcast began. Every player across the globe was watching with bated breath.
"Hello, everyone! The World Cup Arena has finally revealed itself to the world. Pandemonium Online's top player, Kim Tae-hyun, will be personally guiding us through the Arena! Player Kim Tae-hyun, how do you feel? Please, show us around!"
"Is this a trap?"
"Bwahahaha! Player Kim Tae-hyun, you really are a natural comedian!"