Digging Up the Past

Instead of entering the temple ruins right away, Tae-hyun checked the bulletin board to gather information. Since a massive change had occurred, people were bound to be talking about it.

As expected, they did appear. The southern part of the Auston Kingdom had been completely wiped out once, leaving the Temple of Carbanog and everything else in ruins, but other regions were different. Fully intact Temples of Carbanog had popped up all over the place!

"Congratulations, Carbanog."

"...But it seems there are no priests or paladins."

"Still, having the temples appear is better than nothing."

It was certainly true. Having a temple building was far better than having nothing at all. I didn't expect it to be convinced by just that. Tae-hyun was slightly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠surprised. It seemed Carbanog's standards had plummeted after suffering for so long.

"..."

Tae-hyun was left speechless. I'd better not tell it about this. Pan-On players were cold-blooded. Seeing a perfectly intact building suddenly appear in the field, they immediately thought, Whoa, can we just use this? and went right in. This was what happened when there were no NPCs to guard the place!

So there's more than one. Right now, information on dungeons was what he needed most. Above all, it was shocking that all the ruined temples had turned into dungeons.

What's going on? Surely the priests and paladins of Carbanog aren't hiding inside the ruins and attacking people, right?

Hmm. Even good people tend to lose their minds after a long time.

Huh? Tae-hyun was puzzled. Why was everyone saying it was easy? Is this particular dungeon exceptionally difficult?

Ah, right. He had temporarily forgotten due to the sudden influx of information about the massive temple ruins, but Tae-hyun's primary ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠goal was to find his slush fund. He needed to retrieve the treasure ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he had hidden in the past.

The statue of Carbanog... is over there. Tae-hyun skillfully located the statue. Then, he began to dig beneath it. *Thud, thud, thud—*

"Seriously, why did I bury it so deep?"

"Hmm. Doing this alone is going to be tough. Dragons..."

—Kyaoo.

—Zzz...

"..."

Tae-hyun glared at the dragons, who had collapsed right next to him and were pretending to be fast asleep.

"I wasn't planning on making you do it anyway. You guys can't dig delicately in the first place."

—"Master! That's too harsh!"

"If you're going to pretend to sleep, you should have committed to the act."

—"Ah...!"

"I was planning to call the Power Warrior Guild members anyway."

Currently, the southern part of the Auston Kingdom was crawling with excellent laborers. Since there were many new villages to build, there was plenty of work to go around.

—"Could you help me with—"

—"We're on our way!!"

Before Tae-hyun could even finish his sentence, the Power Warrior Guild members rushed over in a massive crowd.

"Aren't you guys in the middle of construction?"

"We threw down our tools and quit because we couldn't take it anymore."

"..."

Is Gudar, the construction leader, crying right now? Tae-hyun nodded and pointed to the pit.

"I buried something in here and need some help. Let's dig it out carefully together."

"Yes, sir!"

How much construction have these guys been doing...? Tae-hyun was amazed. Their skills had multiplied since he last saw them! As they dug deep into the earth in the blink of an eye, the guild members chatted among themselves.

"By the way, what did he bury in here?"

"Probably treasure, right?"

"I bet it's a plant. Like one of those man-eating plants of Archisus."

"That'd be awesome. We should plant it nearby."

Listening to the experienced guild members' conversation, Mubo, a rookie who had recently joined the Power Warrior Guild, spoke with a deeply impressed expression. "You guys are truly amazing."

"Huh? Why? Our shoveling?"

"We are pretty good at shoveling."

"No, not that. You're working alongside Kim Tae-hyun and you don't look awkward at all."

From the perspective of a newcomer like Mubo, seeing them casually shoveling right next to Kim Tae-hyun was mind-blowing. It was a familiar sight, clearly not their first or second time doing this! It was naturalness itself.

"..."

Hearing those words, the guild members suddenly became self-conscious. Is... is that so? Now that he mentions it, it does seem pretty amazing.

Come to think of it, there were players who bragged everywhere and talked on broadcasts just for completing a single quest with Kim Tae-hyun. Compared to them, they were practically legends. How many quests had they done together already!

"Hehe... I guess we do look pretty natural. Should we call ourselves masters of construction?"

"Actually, Gudar-ssi said he's forming a construction division. We're basically the aces. We probably built half of the Valley's walls."

"We've followed Kim Tae-hyun around so much that nothing surprises us anymore. No matter what comes out, we'll accept it naturally."

*Thud—*

"Aaargh, holy sh*t, you scared me!!!"

Before he could even finish his sentence, the guild member who had been shoveling screamed and fell backward.

"A-A corpse!!!"

"The system says it's a treasure?"

"Do you have eyes?! Does this look like treasure to you?! It's a corpse!"

"Wait, didn't you just say nothing surprises you..."

"How can anyone not be surprised when a corpse pops up!"

All the senior guild members, except for Mubo, scrambled to hide behind Kim Tae-hyun. Incredible speed! Even Tae-hyun stared in admiration. It was natural to become more fearful the more you knew, but even taking that into account, the Power Warrior Guild members were exceptionally cowardly.

"T-Tae-hyun-nim. Did anything come out of there?"

"It's not an active enemy, so you can come out. Stop hiding behind me."

"Yes..."

Watching this pathetic display, the rookie Mubo asked with wide, sparkling eyes, "Is it standard procedure to evacuate like this when you dig something up?"

"...O-Of course. It's the golden rule."

"It's not because we're scared, it's just the protocol... When you dig, monsters often pop out. Last time, we ran into an Earth Dragon..."

"Quiet down, everyone."

Tae-hyun pulled out the treasure buried in the ground.

—"L-Light... Is it light?! Bwahahaha! Human. Well done. Well done!"

The guild members gasped as the "corpse" suddenly spoke. It wasn't a corpse, it was a demon!

"U-Uaaah! It was a demon?!"

Mubo recoiled in shock. He was fine when he thought it was a corpse, but now that he knew it was a demon, he was terrified.

In contrast, the senior guild members quickly regained their composure.

"A demon? Meh. I wondered what it was."

"Got scared for nothing. Hey, do you have that demon snack? Pull it out."

"The one mixed with blood, meat, and mud? The demon loved it last time."

"..."

Mubo was deeply moved once again. Such a fearless attitude in front of a demon! Truly worthy of being the aces of the great Power Warrior Guild.

—"Do you desire power? I shall grant it! Open the gates of this prison!"

"No, I'll take care of my own power."

—"...? N-No, wait. You are...?"

Edager, who had been asleep deep underground for ages, didn't recognize Tae-hyun's face immediately.

—"Y-You!!! You're the bastard who buried me!!"

"My bad. I'll raise you alongside your friends instead."

—"Open this! Who do you think a Duke of the Demon Realm is?!"

"But you seem way too weak for a Demon Duke... Are you really a Duke? Demons are notorious liars."

Tae-hyun cast a suspicious glance. Demon Dukes usually boasted immense power even when crossing over to the continent. Edager, however, was too weak.

Of course, Edager had plenty to say. True to his title ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as the Summoning Duke, his specialty was summoning. But before he could do anything in the past, the paladins of Archisus had borrowed the power of Archisus and gone absolutely berserk, hadn't they? If given a proper chance to use his power, he was confident he could win.

—"Open it and I'll show you!!"

"Nah, I'll just take your word for it."

Tae-hyun pulled out the cage holding Edager, wiped it clean, and set it aside. Then he pulled out the other treasures. The treasures extorted from the priests of the Phytos Church!

How did these guys hoard so much...? Tae-hyun clicked his tongue at the sheer volume of the treasure list, which was too long to even read through. NPCs like Pelmas of the Archisus Church always struggled to raise operational funds, even rolling around on the streets trying to sell tickets. It was rare to see such a pathetic church NPC. But the amount of wealth gathered here was incomparably overwhelming!

Was exploitation and pillaging the answer all along?!

"...!!"

"It's just an ordinary temple."

"Maybe paladin ghosts or something will appear? The difficulty isn't that high anyway."

An impromptu party was excitedly preparing to enter the ruins of Carbanog.

"Stop right there!"

"?"

"Monsters... No, it's the Guild Alliance."

Members of the Guild Alliance stepped forward and blocked their path.

"This is the Guild Alliance's territory. Our guild will be using it first."

"..."

"..."

The party members had a lot they wanted to say, but they held it in. The law is far, but the sword is near.

Scumbags.

Bastards.

I hope Kim Tae-hyun robs them blind again.

—*Screeeeech!*

At that moment, a spine-chilling shriek echoed from deep within the temple corridor.

"W-What was that?"

The party members slowly backed away, suddenly feeling a wave of dread.

—*Screeeeech! Screeech!*

"???"

—"Kill the intruders! Kill the intruders!"

—"We'll be rewarded by the priests! We'll be rewarded by the priests!!!!"

"Uaaah, what is that?!"

*Rumble, crash, boom!*

The walls collapsed, and the demons took advantage of the chaos to begin hunting the players.