A Plague on Both Your Houses
Tae-hyun was the Pope of the Archisus Church. While his class might not be a conventional one like a Paladin or a Priest, he undoubtedly held some incredibly powerful class related to Archisus. Yet, here he was, disguised as one of Idergo's followers, slinging Idergo's plague magic left and right. It was an utterly absurd sight. Normally, doing something like this would trigger a triple penalty combo:
Your reputation with the Church has decreased.
Your Church Contribution Points have decreased.
Your affinity with the Church has decreased.
And then he'd get kicked out of the order, right? But Tae-hyun, currently having the time of his life, didn't seem to care in the slightest. It was the kind of bizarre situation that made the onlookers far more anxious than the person actually doing it!
• You have grown accustomed to using the power of Idergo!
• You possess titles related to Abnormal Cooking. You receive a bonus to handling poisons.
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• Idergo's low-grade poisons are evolving! You can now use colored poisons!
• Idergo's Red Poison...
• Idergo's Blue Poison...
• [...]
Idergo's colored poisons were advanced-grade poisons that boasted a wide variety of effects depending on their hue. They were created by combining the existing low-grade poisons!
Carbanog is utterly dumbfounded by how quickly you are adapting.
"Summon: Idergo's Poison Pool!"
"Summon: Swarm of Poisonous Insects!"
"Toxic Explosion!"
"Summon: Toxic Cloud!"
"Disperse: Toxic Mist!"
"Rapid Fire: Toxic Arrows!"
"Toxic Mana Conversion!"
...Carbanog is left speechless!
Tae-hyun was slinging spells like a fish in water. Normally, when a player suddenly swapped to a new class, they needed some time to adjust. They had to check their stats, inspect their gear, review their skills...
But Tae-hyun's adaptation speed was downright terrifying. It was so fast that one might wonder if he had been playing a Plague Mage his entire life!
Rumble! Crash!
In the blink of an eye, he chained several plague spells together, completing a devastating combo that maximized their destructive power! As pools of plague bubbled up around them and toxic insects carrying pestilence swarmed the area, the Idergo priests shrieked in terror.
No matter how unhinged the Archisus Church was, how on earth could he wield Lord Idergo's power with such flawless mastery?!
"Is that guy really an Archisus bastard?!"
"Something is seriously wrong here!"
• As the plague seethes and prospers, Idergo's power grows stronger!
• As Idergo's power grows stronger, the voice of the fragment also grows louder!
Fueled by the chaotic environment, the fragment tucked away in Tae-hyun's bag finally spoke up. It had been forced to keep its mouth shut because Tae-hyun had told it to shut up, but it had finally managed to reclaim its right to speak.
Idergo declares that this is indeed his true power! He screams for you to submit immediately if you wish to taste the true depth of his might! If you become his faithful servant, he promises even greater power...!
Well, I wouldn't go that far.
Tae-hyun, who had been running wild with excitement, suddenly regained his cool. Using spells he normally couldn't access made him feel like a grand archmage on the level of Lee Se-yeon, but he wasn't so intoxicated by the feeling that he would actually convert to Idergo.
Slinging magic like this once in a while is what makes it fun. If I had to do nothing but cast spells all the time, it'd get boring pretty fast. Right, Carbanog?
Carbanog readily agrees! It notes that such things are indeed only fun when done occasionally.
The fragment of Idergo flew into a rage at the infuriatingly rational responses of both the Avatar and his divine beast. How could anyone be so utterly shameless as to use his power to their heart's content and then act like this?
Idergo fiercely screams that if you are going to act that way, you should stop using his power altogether!
Hey, do you think I'm doing this because I want to? Your priest is the one who forced this power onto me. Sheesh.
He was only using it because he had been practically forced to spend his accumulated points before they expired, so why was this god getting so angry?
Tae-hyun promptly ignored the fragment once again. The fragment ranted and raved, but there was nothing it could do. Of all the people to end up with, why did it have to be this particular Avatar?! If it had been anyone else, it could have corrupted them a dozen times over by now!
"Whew. The Archisus Church... They really are terrifying bastards."
• Your influence on the Mysterious Island has increased!
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"It is truly terrifying. How can they steal and wield the power of another god like this? Even among the evil cults, no one does such a thing."
"H-Hey now. That's not something only the Archisus Church does, is it? Anyone would do it if they could, they just don't have the ability."
Tae-hyun defended himself, feeling slightly wronged. However, the Idergo priest shook his head and replied:
"I have never, in all my years, heard of any evil cult stealing the power of another deity."
"..."
[...]
In truth, this wasn't because the other evil cults were righteous, but rather a matter of pride. Who in their right mind would abandon their own god's authority to steal and use another's? Doing so was practically declaring that their own god's power was garbage. But regardless of the reason, it was a fact that almost no one besides the Archisus Church pulled stunts like this!
By the way, looking at what this guy did earlier...
Tae-hyun fell into thought as he looked at the amnesiac Idergo priest.
...He seems to hold a pretty high rank, doesn't he?
Both the Idergo NPCs' reactions and the skills the priest used were far stronger than expected. Just look at how he had gathered all the surrounding divine power of Idergo and transferred it to Tae-hyun in one go. That was not a power a mere low-ranking priest could wield!
Didn't they call him the successor?
Carbanog asks if he might be the successor to the Holy Knight Commander, the Archbishop, or perhaps the High Priest.
That sounds plausible.
The successor to a high-ranking position within the cult! If he was an NPC in a disciple-like position, it would explain those absurd skills. His potential would be astronomical.
...Wait a minute. If that's the case, shouldn't I stop him from regaining his memories? It feels like it'll be extremely dangerous if he keeps recovering them.
Even now, the priest was slowly piecing his memories back together. If his memory fully returned...
"That Archisus bastard dared to trick m-me...! I will drag him to the grave with me to wash away this humiliation!!"
...He couldn't even begin to predict the reaction!
Carbanog remarks that you have no one to blame but yourself for tricking him in the first place.
The Avatar was entirely to blame for getting them into this mess! Since he had no counterargument, Tae-hyun simply smacked his lips.
"Can we repair this temporary temple and use it?"
"No. The poison is too thick, I don't think it's possible. Even if I just stand here, my HP is constantly draining."
"Kim Tae-hyun...! We're exhausted! I think we need to get out of here!"
The healers of the Black Rock Sect groaned. Because Tae-hyun had gone wild and sprayed poison everywhere in his excitement, the entire area had been transformed into a literal toxic wasteland.
• Due to the poison, your HP is...
• Your equipment is...
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A deadly poison zone where one could die just by standing still!
"Alright. Let's move."
There wasn't much to gain from capturing this temporary temple anyway. Tae-hyun nodded and prepared to lead the group. He didn't know how long this Idergo Avatar state would last, but it was actually quite decent. He needed to fight as much as possible while he still had it...
Thud!
"?!"
A sudden noise startled everyone, and they quickly turned their heads. A crowd of enemies was pouring out from a well-hidden forest path. It wasn't the Idergo Cult.
It's the Erangs Kingdom!
The players recognized them instantly. The armor they wore was the standard issue for the knights of the Erangs Kingdom. And there was only one reason for knights to be on this island right now: the 1st Prince's knights!
They look completely battered. It seems they've had a rough time too.
The island was equally unforgiving to everyone. The fact that the knights looked somewhat bedraggled and ragged wasn't just his imagination.
"Kim Tae-hyun, aren't those the 1st Prince's knights?!"
"Looks like it. We'd better be careful."
Even if they were battered and ragged, a knight was still a knight. Furthermore, the 1st Prince's knights were famous for their exceptionally high levels. Each and every one of them was practically on par with a high-difficulty dungeon boss.
Level 600? Surely they aren't level 700, right?
"Aaaargh! It's the Idergo Cult?!"
The appearing knights cried out in shock. They had followed the noise thinking it might be the 1st Prince, only to stumble right into an Idergo stronghold.
"We are not the Idergo Cult! We were just fighting them!" Hallus quickly shouted.
There was no point in fighting if they could avoid it, so he tried to defuse the situation.
"Like hell you aren't, you Idergo bastards! Look at that state! How dare you tell such a blatant lie?!"
The knight pointed directly at Tae-hyun. A mage radiating a terrifying aura of plague and toxic poison from his entire body, looking like a literal Lich! With someone like that standing there, it was utterly impossible to claim they weren't the Idergo Cult.
"To think they would fight among themselves and then lie about it!"
Hearing the knights' reactions, the amnesiac Idergo priest felt a surge of conviction. Ah, so we really are the Idergo Cult!
"Let us slaughter those knights of the 1st Prince!"
"...Fine. Dammit. It was something we had to do eventually anyway."
Tae-hyun clicked his tongue. To be honest, he would have preferred to fight under more prepared circumstances. He wanted to lay down traps, prepare some bombs, and shave off at least half of the knights' HP beforehand... But things in life rarely went exactly as planned. Sometimes, you had to fight even when you weren't fully prepared!
"Prepare for battle!"
"H-Here?!"
"At least clear out the poison first!"
"Don't worry. I'm starting to get the hang of the controls now."
"...Wait. Does that mean you were using those spells without even being used to them?!"
The members of the Black Rock Sect were horrified. What did he just say?!
"Subdue the Idergo Cult!"
"Whatever, let's just fight!"
The kingdom's knights activated their skills. A brilliant light erupted from their bodies as various buffs were applied. In response, Tae-hyun unleashed plagues and poisons indiscriminately. The toxic mists and pools scattered across the area coalesced into a single mass, surging toward the knights.
ROOOOOOOOOOOOAR!
"?!?!?"
Suddenly, a massive monster burst out from the forest. At first, it was so colossal that they thought a mountain was rolling toward them, but it wasn't. What appeared was a giant rabbit.
"..."
"..."
Both Tae-hyun's side and the knights' side were utterly dumbfounded. Every single monster on this island was incredibly powerful and ferocious. If even the rats were that strong, how powerful would a rabbit be?
...Wait. Carbanog. Since it's a rabbit, couldn't you try talking to it?
Carbanog hesitates, explaining that while the rabbits of the continent are indeed its kin, it doesn't actually know the rabbits on this island very well.
The rabbits on the continent were all under Carbanog's domain. But this island was a place even Carbanog didn't know. There was no telling whether these rabbits would understand its words. What if it tried to strike up a conversation and said, "I am your god," only to be completely ignored?
Still, we should at least try to talk...
"It's a monster! Kill it!"
Fortunately, the knights' side was much stupider. Without a shred of tact, they initiated a preemptive strike on the rabbit.
"Sword of the Great Knight! Blood of the Erangs Nobility!"
With a flashing aura, the knights' terrifying attacks slammed into the giant rabbit.
BOOM! CRASH! BANG!
The sheer force of the impact was enough to blow away the entire surrounding area. The players gasped in shock.
Holy crap...!
What level are they?!
It was a relief that they weren't the ones taking that hit. If they had allowed a charge like that, several of them would have been wiped out on the spot.
Squeeeak.
Yet, despite taking such a devastating attack, the giant rabbit did not fall. It slowly turned its massive body, let out a cry, and stared down at the knights.
Squeeeeeak.
"Th-This monster! Fall! I said, fall!"
If anything, the attacking knights seemed to be the ones growing more terrified.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Wait. It's not counterattacking?
Carbanog watches in pity, wondering why the foolish thing is just taking all those hits.
While the rabbit was drawing all the aggro, Tae-hyun finished his preparations.
Whoosh!
• Your magic skill has increased!
• Your magic skill has increased!
• Your MP has been depleted. You cannot use skills.
• The surrounding area is filled with plague and poison. Your MP is rapidly restoring!
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Even those formidable knights were completely overwhelmed by the sheer pressure, barely managing to hold their ground. Was this the literal hell of poison?!