An Uncharted Haven

It was clear that the item belonged to the 1st Prince. Whether the Idergo Cult had attacked first, or the 1st Prince had struck first... either way, the 1st Prince must have pulled out the Chaos Sphere, and something had gone horribly wrong, causing it to go out of control. Otherwise, there was no way the equipment of the Idergo Cult NPCs would be scattered all over this area.

'Did the 1st Prince end up here too?'

'To use something yourself and not even be able to control it... what an idiot...'

Tae-hyun paused mid-thought. Come to think of it, weren't there plenty of uncontrollable authorities among the Archisus Church's powers?

...He probably shouldn't talk smack about others!

"Kim Tae-hyun. We can't even pinpoint our location here..."

The members of the Black Rock Sect tried to use scrolls and items to determine their coordinates.

No matter how they looked at it, this didn't seem to be the Central Continent or anywhere near it! Just how far had they been blown away?

"Yeah. I understand why you guys are frustrated."

It was completely understandable that the players gathered here were complaining. Players like the guild members ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and Silved had blindly followed Tae-hyun without a second thought, only to end up blown away to some bizarre, unknown place. It was only natural for them to be upset!

"Uh, we're not really upset though?"

"...?"

But surprisingly, everyone's reaction was quite calm. In fact, they actually looked grateful!

"We were actually about to thank you for all the levels."

"Yeah. I don't know how you managed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to defeat that Chaos Sphere, but thanks to that, we leveled up a ton. Thank you."

While playing Pan-On, getting blown away to random places was a fairly common occurrence. Entering the wrong dungeon, misusing a scroll, and so on. What mattered far more was leveling up. As long as they could level up, no matter where they ended up, it was a highly profitable venture.

"I barely even touched the Chaos Sphere, and I gained eight levels. If I knew it'd be like this, I would've kept hitting it even if it meant losing some gear."

"So this is how top-tier rankers level up. I've been stressing lately because leveling has gotten so slow, but this is eye-opening."

"Well, Kim Tae-hyun is just an anomaly."

"Sure, Kim Tae-hyun is unique, but honestly, once you pass level 300, is there any other way to level up? You can't make any progress using normal methods."

"..."

Tae-hyun nodded as he listened to them. He had resolved the vast majority of the quest, meaning the other players had only received a tiny fraction of the experience points. Yet, they had still leveled up that much...

But it was fine!

'I won't let things like this get to me anymore.'

Of course, it stung a little bit...

But Tae-hyun had also surpassed level 220. He was at a level where others would envy him... well, he envied them too, but at least he wasn't at a terribly low level anymore.

"Thanks for not complaining, everyone."

"..."

Silved had been about to complain, but he held his tongue. Everyone here was on Kim Tae-hyun's side, and above all, he had also leveled up quite a bit. Honestly, he hadn't expected to level up in a situation like that!

"First, we need to figure out our surroundings..."

Tae-hyun looked around. There was a forest behind them and the sea stretched out in front of them.

'Is this an island?'

Nothing could be seen on the distant horizon. It was just a vast, endless ocean.

'If I fly up on Yong-yong or Heuk-heuk... hm, no, that might be too risky.'

Since they didn't even know where they were, flying blindly into the air was dangerous. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Moreover, the skies and seas of Pan-On were not to be underestimated. They were places where all kinds of colossal monster beasts would suddenly leap out!

'We need to gather information first.'

"This forest looks pretty suspicious. The fog is insane."

"You can't even see anything from the outside."

"That fog looks like it'll instantly slap you with a status ailment if you step inside."

"Is it even safe to go in there?"

Fortunately, Tae-hyun wasn't alone. There were several highly capable rankers with him! Even without Tae-hyun giving orders, they began to carry out their tasks efficiently.

"We'll go check out the forest for a bit!"

"Oh? Sure. In that case, I'll build a simple fortress here."

"...?"

The Black Rock Sect guild members, who were about to enter the forest to map it out, froze.

A fortress, by himself...?

'Well, if it's Kim Tae-hyun, he probably can.'

'True...'

Having worked with him several times, the Black Rock Sect members accepted it and moved on.

Silved, of course, could not accept it.

"You're building a fortress?"

"Yeah. Not just the 1st Prince, but those Idergo Cult bastards might be here too. We don't know how many of them are around, so it's better to lay down some traps and set up a fortress."

"T-that makes sense, but we don't have a blacksmith here, nor do we have players to run daily quests for materials. How are you going to build that by yourself?"

"Ah, you're right. You can help me then."

"..."

The Black Rock Sect guild members held back their laughter as they slipped into the forest.

Thank you, Silved!

"Praise Philip III, the greatest king and the eternal ruler who shall dominate all of creation!"

"The King of Kings! The father of all kingdoms! The descendant of the ancient imperial bloodline! The one who inherits the crown! Philip III makes his entrance!"

"..."

"..."

Lee Se-yeon and the rest of the party, who had gone to receive their rewards, wore utterly dumbfounded expressions.

In the short time they hadn't seen him, Philip III's camp had become ridiculously extravagant. A crowd of noble NPCs they had never seen before had swarmed the area, and now that Philip III's victory was assured, they were all eagerly kissing his ass!

"It looks like daily quests are popping up like crazy around here right now," Lee Da-bi whispered.

From crafting various items for Philip III to celebratory events! Thanks to this, players with crafting professions were flocking to the area in high spirits.

"...Everything is great, but maybe we shouldn't participate in the cooking quests?"

"!"

Come to think of it, since Philip III was undead, most normal dishes would definitely not work on him. Lee Da-bi nodded in agreement.

"Mmm. I'm worried..."

"I'm sure Tae-hyun will be fine on his own. From what I heard, he's not in the Demon Realm or anything, and he didn't receive any penalties."

"No, I wasn't worried about Kim Tae-hyun."

"..."

Lee Se-yeon felt slightly embarrassed under Lee Da-bi's gaze. But Lee Se-yeon also had an excuse. Honestly, Tae-hyun was just too good at taking care of himself.

-Hey! I suddenly got hit by the Hungry Chaos and got blown away to some weird place!

-Yeah. Be careful on your way back. Bring back a souvenir.

-Sure, got it! See you later!

...That was the kind of conversation the two of them had!

"Then what were you worried about?"

'For some reason, Lee Da-bi's voice sounds a bit cold...!'

"Philip III's attitude is a bit..."

Lee Se-yeon was worried about meeting Philip III. By nature, undead tended to have eccentric and volatile personalities. Philip III was already practically advertising, 'I'm becoming a tyrant!' And having won so quickly in such a state, there was no telling what the arrogant Philip III might do.

To make matters worse, Tae-hyun, the only one who could control him, wasn't here...

'My affinity with him is high, but my Speech skill isn't as high as Kim Tae-hyun's. If something goes wrong, it could get dangerous.'

While Tae-hyun was naturally liked due to his reputation, class, and skills, Lee Se-yeon's position as a Necromancer naturally drew hostility from NPCs! Even though she was going to receive her reward, she couldn't help but worry.

"Uwaaaah! Sob, sob, sob!"

"..."

"...???"

"Has he lost his mind?"

"Shh. Quiet."

Philip III was weeping loudly. He had just received the report that Tae-hyun had gone missing after confronting the 1st Prince.

At that sight, Ryu Tae-su whispered in a panic. He looked even more terrifying than usual!

"What are you doing? You should be weeping as well! Is this tragedy not sorrowful to you?!"

"O-Oh, no... *sniff*, sob!"

"Uwaaaah!"

The nobles immediately began to cry along. It was supposed to be a joyous day, with Philip III reclaiming his throne... but above all, they had heard that Philip III's temper had become incredibly foul.

"...Why are you not crying?"

"I-I cannot squeeze out any tears... My apologies, Your Majesty."

"No, there is no need to apologize. The reason you do not weep is simply because you lack loyalty!"

"What? No! That is not true!"

"There are many noble scoundrels who served that bastard prince and only crawled back here to watch my reaction! You must be one of them. Guard! Drag him out!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! I will cry! I can weep for the Pope of Archisus! Please, just give me one more chance!"

"..."

"..."

As the noble NPC was seized and dragged away simply because he didn't cry, the atmosphere turned ice-cold.

'S-Should we start crying too?'

'Lee Da-bi is already crying, though?'

"*Sniff*. This is truly a tragedy."

Philip III wiped his tears and spoke.

"Unlike the traitors and cowardly trash gathered here, he was a man I could truly trust..."

"..."

"..."

This time, the faces of the nearby nobles turned sour. We're standing right next to you, isn't saying that to our faces a bit too much?

"Still, I am glad that loyal subjects like you remain."

'Phew.'

Lee Se-yeon breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Philip III wasn't going to completely lose his mind and run amok just because Tae-hyun was gone.

Philip III showered them with rewards without hesitation. The 1st Prince had vanished, and the other princes were currently fleeing. Since it was practically over, it was only natural for him to be so generous.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Thank you!"

The party quickly expressed their gratitude. What did it matter if Philip III's personality was a bit strange? If he showered them with this many rewards, he could be as strange as he wanted!

"The adventurers have made a great contribution to this endeavor."

"Your words are absolutely correct, Your Majesty!"

"For their sake, I shall open the gates of my Imperial Academy!"

"...?!"

This message window appeared not just to the players present, but to the entire kingdom! Everyone was startled by the sudden announcement. And it didn't end there.

"I shall grant the adventurers here the privilege of entering first."

"Th-Thank you!"

Lee Se-yeon's eyes widened. This was an incredible privilege. Being able to enter a newly opened map before anyone else!

"And I shall also grant the privilege of early entry to anyone who brings back the Pope of Archisus."

"And..."

"?"

Lee Se-yeon was puzzled when Philip III gestured for her to come closer. What was he trying to do?

"Necromancer. Find a way to wield the crown and the sword even with an undead body."

"..."