Ground into the Dirt

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Tae-hyun unleashed a relentless barrage, as if determined to literally bury Igoloyak deep beneath the earth. With every swing and downward thrust of his spear, shockwaves erupted, carving massive craters into the ground.

Like peeling the layers of an onion, Tae-hyun tirelessly battered his foe. When one possessed overwhelming stats and levels, there was no need to overcomplicate things with intricate skill rotations or combo setups. It was far simpler to just spam a single powerful skill and bury the opponent under sheer force.

"Asvian's Strike!Asvian's Strike!Asvian's Strike!"

"Urgh! Cough! Argh!"

Even in the midst of this onslaught, Igoloyak desperately attempted to counterattack. Realizing that defending and creating distance was impossible, the boss tried to trade blows to force an opening. But Tae-hyun simply ignored the attempt and took the hit head-on.

"Demon Spear of Hungry Chaos!"

With his absurd Luck stat, divine Authority skills, and the triple buff combo of Archisus's Soul Hall, Sacrifice of Archisus, and Archisus's Radiance active, Tae-hyun's health pool remained virtually untouched even after taking the dark magic of Hungry Chaos directly to the chest.

"Hungry Chaos's—"

"Asvian's Strike!"

Kwoooooosh!

Finally, every last layer of Hungry Chaos's Protection shattered, and direct damage began to register on Igoloyak's actual body. The overflowing, chaotic magic lashed out wildly, clawing at Tae-hyun, but he didn't even blink as he pressed his advantage.

I'm finishing this right here!

Crack!

Igoloyak was a being who should have died long ago. As the dark power of Hungry Chaos that had been artificially sustaining his life leaked away completely, his body began to crumble into ash, starting from the extremities.

Accompanied by a cascading waterfall of level-up notifications, Igoloyak collapsed into the very crater that would serve as his grave.

"Whoaaaaaaa!"

The watching Expedition members erupted into cheers before they could even register what they were doing. It had been such a fierce, nail-biting battle that even the archbishops of the rival churches—who had done nothing but complain up until now—clenched their fists and cheered at the top of their lungs.

"I... I thought we were dead."

The raid party composed of rising rankers had barely managed to escape. When the earthquake struck and the labyrinth walls suddenly began slamming into one another, they thought they were done for. However, rankers were rankers for a reason. Through cool-headed judgment and precise skill coordination, they had successfully navigated the crisis.

Of course, even after escaping ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that trap, they had to fight tooth and nail through a chaotic free-for-all of monsters brawling with one another just to clear a path. Still, against all odds, they had managed to break through.

"Still, a dungeon collapsing like this is definitely not normal."

"Did something get summoned?"

"Did the party that went in ahead of us trigger something?"

"No way... How could anyone cause something of this scale?"

The rankers nodded in agreement. No matter how star-studded Kim Tae-hyun's Expedition lineup was, they shouldn't have been capable of triggering an earthquake of this magnitude inside a dungeon—unless they had somehow lined the entire underground with explosives and detonated them all at once.

"...Hey. What is that?"

The ranker with the widest field of vision pointed a trembling finger ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠forward. In the far distance, a terrifyingly brutal battle was unfolding. Not only was the Expedition clashing with giant beasts, but Tae-hyun was locked in a duel against Igoloyak, who was riding a moving castle!

To the rankers, who had no idea what had transpired in the meantime, it simply looked as though Tae-hyun was utterly dominating Igoloyak. They couldn't possibly imagine that this was the result of skills like Sacrifice of Archisus, Soul Reliquary, and Archisus's Radiance. Even if Tae-hyun was a top-tier ranker, this was completely absurd. How on earth was he beating down a boss like that?

"...He's beating him like a dog!"

"S-Seriously? A boss monster???"

"It has to be the boss. If that's not the boss, then what is..."

The rankers tried to deny reality, but the battle raged on before their eyes. Tae-hyun slammed Igoloyak into the ground, impaled him with his spear, and repeatedly hammered him deeper and deeper into the dirt! It was a savage display of raw violence that sent shivers down their spines even from a distance.

"......"

"......"

"Hey. We agreed to jump into their raid. Aren't we going?"

"Uh..."

The rising rankers looked utterly demoralized. They had assumed that even if top-tier rankers had higher levels, better stats, and superior gear, the gap wouldn't be insurmountable. They had believed they could close that distance with superior control and strategy. But watching this spectacle, those delusions vanished instantly, leaving them thoroughly intimidated. How could they ever hope to match that monstrous combat power?

Originally, their plan had been to wait for an opportunity to sneakily piggyback on the raid and steal a share of the rewards. Now, however, they didn't even dare to harbor such thoughts. It was terrifying! If they tried to interfere, wouldn't they just end up buried in the dirt alongside the boss?

"That was truly a sublime battle, Your Holiness!"

"To think you would sacrifice your own self..."

"He really sacrificed himself?!"

Lee Se-yeon was the most shocked of all when she heard the archbishops' remarks after the battle. She had assumed it was just a misunderstanding or a delusion on their part, but to think it was actually true!

At Se-yeon's outburst, the other archbishops immediately began to scold her.

"This is exactly why greedy, despicable, and filthy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Necromancers are hopeless! You have absolutely no concept of noble sacrifice!"

"Do you not see the magnificent display of devotion put forth by the Pope of the Archisus Church?!"

"...Hey. You guys were throwing all kinds of tantrums about the Archisus Church until just a moment ago. Do you really think acting like this changes anything?"

Se-yeon felt a vein throb in her temple. She was used to religious NPCs picking fights with Necromancers, so that didn't particularly bother her. But this was different. Seeing these hypocrites, who had looked down on and harassed the Archisus Church just minutes prior, suddenly flip their attitudes like a spinning coin was utterly exasperating. Shouldn't they at least apologize first?

"It was merely an unfortunate misunderstanding, which has now been happily resolved."

"Indeed. It is a joyous occasion that our doubts have been cleared."

"......"

"......"

Not only Se-yeon, but even Tae-hyun found himself dumbfounded. It was technically a positive outcome, so why did they have to be so incredibly annoying about it?

I'm not going to, Tae-hyun thought.

Though they were indeed highly irritating, Tae-hyun decided to graciously accept the praise of the rival archbishops. Thanks to his self-sacrifice via Sacrifice of Archisus, all prior hostility had evaporated, and their affinity stats had suddenly skyrocketed. While this hadn't been his original intention, he wasn't about to let a perfectly good opportunity to take credit go to waste.

"Yes. I did indeed sacrifice myself out of the nobility of my heart."

"......"

While Lee Se-yeon stared at him, completely speechless, Tae-hyun continued with a solemn, righteous expression.

"I knew that if we fought conventionally, countless lives would be lost. I simply couldn't stand by and watch that happen."

"I knew it...!"

"That was truly a moving deed, Your Holiness!"

The religious NPCs of the Expedition had completely forgotten all the warnings they had received prior to the journey and were now thoroughly swept up in emotion. Even though they had been warned repeatedly to 'never trust the Archisus Church,' they were utterly powerless against the sheer, manipulative magic of Archisus!

"Sigh... It breaks my heart to think about it. I constantly worry for the safety of the continent, yet I am always met with suspicion and hostility due to these unfortunate misunderstandings."

"Once we return to our respective headquarters, we shall report your noble deeds in full detail! Do not worry, Your Holiness—we will severely punish anyone who dares spread malicious rumors about you!"

"Is that truly so?"

"Of course!"

"Excellent. Those who slander me may very well be spies of Hungry Chaos, so we must deal with them thoroughly."

"Ah... well, we are not quite sure about that part..."

"Regardless, we shall ensure that no one speaks of Your Holiness with anything less than absolute respect!"

"Indeed! Everyone must learn of the great deeds the Archisus Church has performed for the sake of the continent!"

"Archisus! Archisus! Archisus!"

It felt as though he was receiving a lifetime's worth of cheers all at once. Tae-hyun nodded solemnly and spoke.

"I appreciate your praise, but we still have much work left to do."

"To think he is humble as well!"

"That is a true hero!"

The religious NPCs reacted with dramatic, full-body enthusiasm to his every word. Watching this, Lee Se-yeon felt a pang of disappointment. She had actually enjoyed the camaraderie of being mutually despised by the other churches alongside him, but that era had apparently come to an abrupt end.

"Before the Labyrinth of Hungry Chaos collapses completely, we must salvage what remains inside. Deploy the paladins and priests to search for any items scattered throughout the maze."

This Expedition was far from the first group to enter the labyrinth dungeon. Over the years, various churches had sent their own forces here. The lost equipment and treasures left behind by those failed attempts were exactly what Tae-hyun was targeting!

"Ah, indeed. Recovering the relics buried within this labyrinth is a highly righteous endeavor."

"Yes. And since they might be contaminated by the energy of Hungry Chaos, make sure to bring them directly to me first."

"Heavens...! To go to such lengths for our safety!"

"......"

Lee Se-yeon stared at him, utterly flabbergasted. It had been incredibly annoying when the church NPCs picked fights no matter what Tae-hyun said, but seeing them praise his blatant greed as a holy act was somehow even more absurd. I guess some people are just destined to be insufferable no matter what they do, she thought.

"Wait! There are adventurers over there!"

"?"

Only then did the players notice the group of rankers standing in the distance, watching them with awkward, hesitant expressions.

"Who are you guys?"

At Tae-hyun's question, the rankers all turned their gaze toward Tegosa. Although they were a loosely knit group of individualists, Tegosa and Cikil had taken on the roles of their de facto leaders. Answering such a query was naturally the leader's duty!

...In truth, the other rankers had simply shoved her forward because they were too terrified to face Kim Tae-hyun directly. Regardless, Tegosa stepped forward.

Hey. Is it really okay to let Tegosa do the talking?

One of the rankers suddenly felt a cold sweat break out. Tegosa was notorious for being arrogant and toxic. Right now, they needed to summon every ounce of politeness they didn't even possess.

...Oh, right.

The other rankers realized this a second too late and began to panic.

Tegosa! Please, for the love of God, speak like a normal, civilized human being!

Don't pick a fight!

Don't tell him why we actually came here!

Think of your family!

"We..."

Gulp.

While the rankers swallowed hard, Tegosa opened her mouth.

"...We are huge fans of you both, so we came all this way just to catch a glimpse of you from afar."

"......"

"......"

The rankers were utterly dumbfounded. Tegosa... you...! You actually knew how to say things like that?!

I thought she didn't have a single polite bone in her body!

Kim Tae-hyun is terrifying. To think he could make Tegosa speak like that...

"They look incredibly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠suspicious."

"Yeah, they have the exact look of freeloaders who got caught red-handed."

Lee Se-yeon and Tae-hyun whispered to each other. With their years of experience in the gaming industry, there was no way they would fall for such a flimsy excuse. What kind of crazy fan would assemble an entire party of high-level rankers just to watch them from a distance? Their real intentions were painfully obvious.

"But there is one thing I find strange," Tae-hyun muttered.

"What?"

"If they came here to steal our kill, why didn't they jump in? They had plenty of opportunities."

"...Are you seriously asking that?"

Lee Se-yeon stared at him, utterly dumbfounded by his question.