The Right Hand of the Death Lord
Philip III seemed to absolutely love Tae-hyun's aggressive stance.
"That is correct! I must go kill my children! Right this instant!"
"Your Majesty. You do remember their weaknesses, right? You must not forget them."
"What do you take me for?"
The Death Lord, Philip III, is highly pleased with you!
Affection has increased!
Infamy has increased!
"...Why is my Infamy going up?"
"Because you summoned an undead together and got close to him..."
Lee Se-yeon looked at Tae-hyun with pity. As a Necromancer, she was extremely familiar with the Infamy stat, but Tae-hyun's class was affiliated with a religious order. There was absolutely nothing good about his Infamy rising.
"Well, it doesn't really matter. What's a little more at this point?"
"...A little?!"
He thinks that's just a little?!
"Wait. Before I go wring my children's necks, there is something I must ask."
"What is it?"
"What is your status?"
"......."
Tae-hyun paused. It was a simple question, but for some reason, it felt like a test.
What is this?
"Are you perhaps a noble of the Erangs Kingdom? Do you harbor dark ambitions of inheriting my kingdom?!"
"How could that be! I am a citizen of the Atali Kingdom, as well as the Pope of my Church. My assistance to Your Majesty stems from pure, unadulterated faith."
Tae-hyun spoke with an incredibly wronged expression. And it was mostly the truth. He really had no interest in the Erangs Kingdom!
The Atali Kingdom is already exhausting enough to manage... why would I want another?
"Is that the truth? The Erangs Kingdom is my kingdom. I can never hand it over to anyone else!"
"You speak the absolute truth."
Nodding in agreement, Tae-hyun tilted his head.
"...But Your Majesty, aren't you already deceased?"
"Which makes it even better! Since I cannot die again, does that not mean I can rule for eternity?"
"...!"
"Excellent! Now that I know your loyalty, once I sit upon the throne again, I shall employ you in a position of great importance!"
The Death Lord's Right Hand
An evil Necromancer has raised the sacred King! Although Philip III was once a wise and sagacious ruler, that king vanished with his death. What remains now is the violent Death Lord, Philip III. Revealing his wicked and sinister power, he is tempting you. If you help him reclaim the throne of the Erangs Kingdom, he will make you his right hand!
🎁 Reward: ?, ???, ???
"...I just got scouted?"
"Just how much favor did you win with him on your very first meeting...?" Lee Se-yeon asked, utterly dumbfounded. Even though she was the one who raised the King, she wasn't particularly close to him yet, but Tae-hyun was already being scouted. The position of the right hand to the Death Lord!
"You're not actually planning to do it, are you?"
Lee Se-yeon asked, looking at Tae-hyun. Even though it was a bit rich coming from a Necromancer like her, undead were not exactly ideal rulers. By nature, they were violent, eccentric, mean, and sinister. No matter how benevolent a ruler someone had been in life, once they returned as an undead, they were bound to become a tyrant.
"Well... but wouldn't defeating the First Prince basically clear the quest anyway?"
Once the First Prince was defeated, the King would naturally try to sit on the vacant throne and summon the nobles. At that point, even if Tae-hyun said, "Why don't you step down?", the King would obviously respond with, "Are you out of your mind?"
"But if that undead becomes king, the Erangs Kingdom will fall into chaos, won't it?"
"It's already in chaos."
"I suppose that's true. Clearing it this way might not be a bad idea."
"Se-yeon?!"
Lee Da-bi, who had been listening from the side, panicked. She had stayed quiet because she thought Se-yeon was going to talk him out of it!
"It's not a bad quest, is it? Of course, Infamy might rise a bit and reputation might drop, but the experience and rewards should be massive."
As a Necromancer, Se-yeon didn't care much about reputation or Infamy anyway.
"But the continent is already in such disarray. Placing an untrustworthy race like the undead on the throne of a place like the Erangs Kingdom doesn't seem like a good choice..."
"It's fine, Da-bi."
"Do you have some kind of plan in mind?"
"No, not really. I was just thinking that if he goes completely wild, we can just sacrifice the Auston Kingdom to him."
"......."
"We are going to the Erangs Kingdom."
"The Erangs Kingdom!"
The members of the Black Rock Sect weren't surprised by those words. The Erangs Kingdom was an incredibly vast territory, and even though it was the kingdom with the highest player population, it still had countless uncleared dungeons and undiscovered locations.
Since it was such a place, it wouldn't be strange at all if Tae-hyun had found a boss monster or a hidden dungeon there.
There are plenty of good dungeons in the Erangs Kingdom.
If it's something Kim Tae-hyun found, it must be an extraordinary dungeon. Is he really sharing that with us?
Well, Kim Tae-hyun is surprisingly generous when it comes to these things...
Even though Tae-hyun was a ruthless, crazy slave driver who wrung people dry...
-A ruthless, crazy slave driver? Where did you even come up with that phrase?
-Cain said it, though?
...At least he never hogged the rewards for himself or betrayed his party members. This was a massive advantage compared to the large guilds that drove other players away to monopolize content. Letting go of greed so cleanly was something even top-tier rankers struggled with, but Tae-hyun had never once shown such greed. That was the secret to his popularity!
"And before we go, there is an NPC I want to introduce to you."
"Is it an NPC from the Archisus Church?"
"I bet it's a crafting-related NPC from the Valley."
"No, it's probably one of the Archisus Artillery NPCs he drags around."
Tae-hyun was so famous that most players already possessed a wealth of information about him. The guild members poured out plausible guesses even before Tae-hyun could speak!
"...He is the rightful King of the Erangs Kingdom, His Majesty."
"??????"
"????????????"
The members of the Black Rock Sect were utterly dumbfounded by the appearance of an NPC they had never even dreamed of. Uh... what??
"Could it be some kind of scammer NPC from the Archisus Church?"
"Even so, would he really go as far as impersonating the King...?"
"If it's Kim Tae-hyun, he definitely would."
"I can hear you, you know?" Tae-hyun said, his face stiffening. Just what did these guys take the Archisus Church for...?
The King of the Erangs Kingdom, Philip III, has appeared!
Due to [Disguise], Philip III's power increases!
The probability of Philip III's true identity being discovered decreases!
You receive a bonus to disguise due to your Highest-grade Eloquence Skill!
Philip III's identity is...
"Is everything alright?"
"I think we're fine for now."
Tae-hyun whispered with Lee Da-bi. Right now, the most important thing was to prevent anyone from finding out that Philip III was an undead. If the First Prince found out that Philip III was dead, how would he react?
"Look! That wicked Pope of the Archisus Church killed our father! The Archisus Church is indeed a den of evil that must never be trusted!"
Even if they were to be found out, they had to pin it on the First Prince first. To ensure that, Tae-hyun made various preparations. Along with dark magic buffs and disguises, he even crafted a custom carriage specifically for Philip III.
⚠️ Warning: Poor materials were used. A penalty has been applied.
⚠️ Warning: If discovered, Philip III may become enraged.
Of course, he hadn't used high-grade materials to build such a carriage. With Tae-hyun's skill level, he could easily construct a perfectly functional carriage even if he skimped on the materials and left the interior hollow.
...Of course, if Philip III ever found out about this disrespectful act, he would fly into a rage.
Regardless, Philip III was inside the carriage, and as long as he stayed inside, the chances of him being discovered were drastically reduced. Furthermore, guarding the carriage was the Archisus Artillery!
The Archisus Artillery, boasting a terrifying lineup, possessed destructive power on par with a high mage. On top of that, paladins from the Archisus Church were mobilized to provide airtight security...
"But why is the King of the Erangs Kingdom here?"
"Yeah, why...?"
The guild members were also well aware of what was happening in the Erangs Kingdom. A fierce civil war was raging between the princes! They had heard it happened because the King had vanished, so why on earth was he here?
"Alright! We're moving out!"
Having finished his preparations, Tae-hyun immediately gave the order. There was no benefit in letting them think about it for too long! Because of that, the guild members never quite figured out why the King was there.
"Your Majesty! To think you would grace such a humble place! What brings you here?!"
"The First Prince is an absolute bastard who deserves to die! Go kill the First Prince! Cut off his head and bring it to me—*mghh*!"
"Haha. It seems His Majesty is a bit excited."
Tae-hyun gestured behind his back. At his signal, the giants quickly shut the carriage window, effectively muffling the King's voice.
Right now, Tae-hyun's group was traveling all over the Erangs Kingdom, parading the King's face. Their goal was to prevent the nobles from supporting the First Prince or any other princes, thereby tanking their popularity!
...The problem was that the King was in an incredibly foul mood. Before the nobles could even speak, he would scream at the top of his lungs to go chop off the princes' heads!
The nobles had no choice but to be utterly bewildered.
"Are you truly His Majesty?"
"You insolent wretch! Frausch, you bastard! I bestowed my grace upon you and raised you since you were a child, and yet you dare doubt me?! I should cut off your head first! Come here!"
"N-No, Your Majesty! I apologize!"
"Do not give that bastard of a First Prince a single scrap of bread or a single copper coin! If you do, I will not let any of you off lightly!"
Count Frausch withdraws his support for the First Prince.
The First Prince's influence has decreased!
Though something felt slightly off, once the nobles saw the King's face with their own eyes, they had no choice but to obey his commands.
This reaction immediately began to manifest within the First Prince's faction.
[First Prince's Support]
The quest has been canceled.
All pending rewards have been revoked.
"???"
"What?!"
There was a fairly large number of players aligned with the First Prince's faction. The Erangs Kingdom itself was highly popular, and since the First Prince was the one issuing the quests, there was no shortage of takers.
But that was only when the rewards were actually delivered.
When their quests were suddenly canceled and their rewards vanished into thin air, the players fell into a state of rapid, explosive fury.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"Give us our rewards! Our rewards!"
"You greedy, insolent adventurers! How dare you, after everything you've already received!"
"W-What? If you made a promise, you have to keep it!"
"If you swore loyalty, then stay quiet! Before I have you punished!"
"These cheap, petty, Guild Alliance-like bastards are scamming us out of our quest rewards?!"
"Post this on the forums!"
"...Does posting on the forums even do anything when an NPC scams you?"
Posting on the forums worked when a player scammed you, but against an NPC...?
"It means we should tell everyone else not to do this quest."
"Ah."
"Hey, I heard Kim Tae-hyun is traveling around the Erangs Kingdom with the King, gathering the nobles. Wouldn't that be way better than the First Prince's quests?"
"!!"
The sudden news of a new quest caught the players completely off guard.
Between the First Prince and the King, it was obvious who seemed like the better option. Furthermore, Tae-hyun was a man who had never let anyone lose out on a quest.
"...Let's jump ship!"
"Let's go switch sides!"
"Do not be deceived! Do not be deceived, adventurers! My father is being blackmailed by the wicked Pope of Archisus!"
Hearing the news, the First Prince cried out in a voice filled with rage.
Upon hearing those words, the players did not cry out in anger, saying, "How dare he do such a thing!"
"Whoa. Kim Tae-hyun is freaking insane. He kidnapped the King and is blackmailing him?"
"Seriously, his quest-clearing methods are becoming less and less human."
Instead, they were in absolute awe!
Kidnapping the King and blackmailing him. If that was true, wasn't this quest going to be absolutely legendary?
"Let's go right now!!"