A Beast Unleashed

Gulp.

Someone swallowed hard. It was the sound of someone staring at the Fire Magic Beast in sheer terror.

"Should we... go for it?"

"Are you insane? Can't you see the absolute destruction over there?"

The gathered players muttered among themselves, their eyes glued to the Fire Magic Beast. Having claimed the hill, the beast let out heavy, ragged breaths as it surveyed its surroundings.

Whoosh. Whoooooosh.

With every breath it exhaled, plumes of fire erupted. Both the Sadiq Cultists and the players flinched.

Please don't let that thing come over here!

Witnessing the beast's rampage, everyone came to a stark realization: the Fire Magic Beast was monstrously powerful!

Because it was far stronger than they had anticipated, the crowd hesitated.

Is there really any need for us to go first?

If we charge in now, we'll just end up as dog food...

I wish someone else would step up and fight it first!

These were the thoughts running through everyone's minds.

In contrast, the large guilds were calculating a different angle.

"That thing doesn't seem to be listening to the Sadiq Cult, does it?"

"Looks like it. We got worked up over nothing."

"If it's not on their side, there's no reason for us to rush in and fight it first, right?"

If the Fire Magic Beast had been allied with the Sadiq Cult, it would have been a massive headache. They would have had to fight both the beast and the cultists simultaneously. But due to some unforeseen glitch, the beast was completely ignoring the cult's commands.

"Let's wait and see. It'd be perfect if they just wiped each other out."

"But why is it acting like that?"

"Who knows? Maybe the Sadiq Cult screwed up the summoning?"

None of them even dreamed that a single player had gone in and caused this entire mess.

"When are they going to start fighting?" Tae-hyun muttered, watching the Fire Magic Beast put on a spectacular light show in the distance.

Beside him, his knights were practically vibrating with anxiety.

"My Lord, we... we wish to join the fray as well!"

"Zip it."

The knights' shoulders slumped in unison. To be left out of the battle while everyone else was fighting felt like a stain on their honor.

Boom!

"Oh. It's starting."

The Fire Magic Beast finally began to move!

And its trajectory was... straight toward the Sadiq Cult's camp.

"What kind of crazy-ass monster does this?!" Burford screamed as he sprinted for his life.

The Fire Magic Beast was thundering directly toward the tents where he had been stationed. They had gone through all the trouble of resurrecting the damn thing, and the very first thing it did was team-kill!

I was an idiot to join the Sadiq Cult! I should've just joined a normal, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠decent order!

Screams of Sadiq Paladins echoed behind him. It was the sound of them being obliterated by the beast's fireballs. The Fire Magic Beast's power was so overwhelming that it tore right through the barrier spells of the Sadiq priests!

"In the name of Sadiq, I bind thee...!"

"O power of Sadiq! Descend upon this place!"

The high priests of Sadiq buffed the paladins and launched counterattacks, but the Fire Magic Beast didn't even flinch. It was absolute pandemonium!

"Aaargh!"

"T-this makes no sense...!"

Antonio, the uncle of King Damiano II of the Atali Kingdom, trembled violently atop his horse. The entire battlefield had been turned upside down by a single beast! They had been holding their ground perfectly fine, but the beast turning around and laying waste to its own summoners had completely shattered the Sadiq Cult's lines.

"You must flee, Lord Antonio!"

"Flee where?! Where?!"

"We must get you out of here first! Lord Antonio, your life is far too precious! You cannot remain in this place! Escort Lord Antonio!"

The elite Sadiq Paladins surrounded Antonio and began retreating toward the back of the valley.

And then, a quest window popped up in front of Burford.

?!?!

Burford couldn't believe his eyes. They had wrapped it up in fancy quest descriptions, but...

This is just telling me to be a meat shield!

"We're going to run, so you underlings go die to buy us time!" It was so blatantly shameless, perfectly fitting for an evil cult.

Should I just run?

As Burford hesitated, a system message immediately flashed before him.

...

Joining a religious order and serving a god came with great benefits. That was why so many players chose to become paladins or priests. However, divine classes weren't all sunshine and rainbows. They had very clear, devastating drawbacks!

One of the biggest disadvantages was the massive penalty for disobeying an order from the church. While other classes could decline guild requests or general quests with little to no consequence, paladins and priests who served a deity faced catastrophic penalties for insubordination.

Their Holy stat would plummet, their Reputation would tank, their divine magic levels would drop...

In short, they were the ultimate underdogs, completely at the mercy of their employers!

And it was no different for the Sadiq Cult. In fact, because Sadiq was an evil god, the penalties were even more ruthless. Burford had absolutely no choice but to accept.

"Uwaaaah!"

Sobbing, Burford drew his weapon and charged forward alongside the other paladins.

How did my life turn out like this?!

His rosy future was falling apart in real-time.

"Good job, Fire Magic Beast!"

"Wipe out those Sadiq bastards!"

One man's misery is another man's treasure. The players' side was practically a festival. The Fire Magic Beast had suddenly turned on the Sadiq Cult, throwing their entire camp into chaos. Thanks to that, the notoriously stubborn cultists were actually retreating.

Aside from a few greedy players grumbling, "Hey, we need to farm contribution points," everyone was thoroughly enjoying the show.

Until the Fire Magic Beast turned around.

"Uh..."

"Why is it looking over here?"

"Haha. It probably just has a stiff neck and turned its—IT'S CHARGING US!!!"

"Hey! The beast is coming! Buffs!!! Give me buffs!!!"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Having thoroughly trashed the Sadiq Cult, the Fire Magic Beast spun around and charged straight toward the players!

For the players who had let their guard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠down, it was an absolute disaster.

"Fireballs!!! Dodge!!!! To the side!!!!"

Their screams were useless. The unlucky players were forced to log out one after another.

"Let's kill it! We have to take it down eventually anyway!"

"⟨ Horn of Polar Frost! ⟩"

"⟨ Advanced Freezing Curse! ⟩"

The Fire Magic Beast was fire-attribute. Naturally, frost-specialized mages swarmed forward. This was their time to shine!

Thud! Thud-thud-thud! Crackle! Crack!

Groooar! Groooar!

As the high-level mages bombarded it with powerful frost magic, even the Fire Magic Beast flinched. Every hit froze parts of its massive body!

"It's working! It's actually working!"

"Keep pouring it on!"

Seeing the beast falter, the players erupted in cheers. Even those who had been fleeing halted in their tracks.

"Wait, can we actually kill it?"

"Maybe it's not as tough as it looks?"

The players began swarming back!

"We engaged first! Don't you dare KS!"

"Are you kidding me? Did you put a reservation on it or something?!"

The players bickered and shoved as they tried to land hits on the Fire Magic Beast. With contribution points on the line, everyone was incredibly tense.

Groooar... Groooar...!

"?"

The Fire Magic Beast took a massive, deep breath. It was a pattern they hadn't seen before.

A few quick-witted players realized what was happening, spun on their heels, and bolted at full speed. That was definitely a wipe mechanic!

"Uh, wait, wait..."

Fwooooooooosh—!

A colossal tidal wave of fire swept across the entire plain.

"My Lord Tae-hyun, what are you doing?"

"Practicing magic."

"Such low and filthy magic is hardly fitting for a noble soul like yourself—"

"What did you say, punk?"

"Nothing, my Lord."

One of the knights spoke up but immediately shut his mouth.

Tae-hyun was indeed practicing. He had tried repeatedly inside the valley, but because his Dark Magic level was too low and his targets' levels were too high, he hadn't been able to summon anything properly.

But this plain was littered with fresh corpses. It was the perfect environment to grind his necromancy skills. Plus, there were no church NPCs around to watch and judge him!

Normally, other mages would suffer penalties to their MP or Wisdom stats every time they failed a spell, but Tae-hyun barely received any. Thanks to that, he could spam the skill indefinitely even after failing!

And in the midst of his spamming, his Beginner Dark Magic skill finally hit Level 5.

"Oh...!"

Did you... summon me...

What appeared was the translucent specter of a warrior. It looked exactly like a ghost. It seemed incredibly weak, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but Tae-hyun wasn't disappointed. After all, every skill was garbage at the beginning!

Tae-hyun didn't stop. He kept raising more undead.

"Summon Undead."

"?!"

The power of his Luck stat applied to magic as well! He hadn't just summoned a regular Beginner Undead, but a Beginner Elite Undead. Of course, it still wasn't particularly strong.

Hmm. They look weak as hell.

Tae-hyun nodded, inspecting his new minions. Wraith-type undead were highly resistant to physical attacks but extremely vulnerable to elemental, magical, and skill-based attacks. Of course, that only applied to high-tier wraiths; the ones Tae-hyun had raised were just plain weak.

Once he raised ten, a system message popped up telling him he had hit his limit.

Tae-hyun shrugged. Rome wasn't built in a day.

Eight warrior wraiths, one archer wraith, and one mage wraith. At the very least, he had a balanced party composition. Plus, one of the warriors was an elite wraith—even if it was only Beginner tier!

Death... to our enemies...

Do not... stand in my way...

"Aren't your lines a bit too dramatic?"

Judging by their words, you'd think they were final boss monsters. In reality, they looked so frail that a stiff breeze might blow them away.

Hehehe... All that lives... must die...

"Yeah, yeah, shut up."

Tae-hyun silenced his undead and turned his gaze back to the Fire Magic Beast.

When and how should he intervene? Timing was everything. If he jumped in too early, he would just end up doing all the hard work for someone else to reap the rewards. If he was too late, someone else might steal the kill.

The Sadiq Cult is retreating... and the Fire Magic Beast is heading toward the players.

The Sadiq Cult had completely collapsed under the beast's rampage and was fleeing. Sadiq Paladins were staying behind to hold the line, preventing the other religious orders and the kingdom's army from pursuing them.

Normally, the players would have happily given chase, but the Fire Magic Beast was blocking their path.

The Rankers and large guilds need to step up and put in some work.

Tae-hyun was aiming for one specific moment: the exact second when the Fire Magic Beast and the other players had battered each other to the point of absolute exhaustion.

That would be the perfect moment to swoop in and snatch the prize!

It was a level of shamelessness that would have made the large guild members currently fighting the beast on the front lines faint from sheer outrage if they ever found out.