The Prince's New Clothes
While Carbanog was reeling in shock, Tae-hyun organized his thoughts.
'Indeed, this could very well be a trick of the Hungry Chaos.'
It was highly suspicious that the corrupted prince had retained his sanity so perfectly while moving. Of course, it could simply be because the prince was high-level and powerful, but what if the Hungry Chaos had laid a trap?
'If the prince chooses death to escape the control of the Hungry Chaos, it might just resurrect him again to do its bidding...'
Carbanog is creeped out, wondering how you understand the psychology of the Hungry Chaos so well.
'Hey, you pick up a few things when you fight them.'
To be honest, Tae-hyun's train of thought was remarkably similar to that of the Hungry Chaos. The only difference was that Tae-hyun was the successor of a good god, whereas the Hungry Chaos was just a common thug.
“Your Highness. What if we defeat you, only for the Hungry Chaos to take complete control of your physical body?”
“That... what... absurd... Urgh! But indeed...! Aargh!”
The energy of the Hungry Chaos was corrupting his body, making it difficult for the prince to even speak.
“O adventurer...! Ugh! I shall trust you! Use the proper method...!”
“Understood!”
Tae-hyun dashed forward. Then, he began wrapping chains tightly around the prince's body.
“...Is this... the... proper... method... Urgh!Aaaargh!”
He wanted to ask why on earth he was being bound in chains, but the prince didn't even have the energy to do so.
“Lee Se-yeon! Help me!”
“...I haven't been able to follow what's happening for a while now,” Lee Se-yeon finally spoke up.
She had been agonizing over whether they should defeat the prince, only to find Tae-hyun wrapping him in chains. Why?
Tae-hyun quickly explained. Fortunately, Lee Se-yeon caught on immediately.
'Indeed...!'
The idea of it being a trap sounded plausible. The leader of an evil force could easily pull off something like that.
“What do you need me to do?”
“Cast every curse and sealing magic you have on the prince!”
“Got it!”
Lee Se-yeon stepped forward to assist Tae-hyun. A powerful chain of curse magic to suppress the prince's struggles!
Prince Persotelton of the Ancient Empire resists the curse magic with his mysterious ancient bloodline!
The spell has failed.
Your Magic skill has increased!
The spell has failed...
...
Quite a few spells failed, but Lee Se-yeon didn't care. As a Necromancer, she frequently encountered opponents immune to curses. In times like this...
'You just keep going until it works!'
—High-Tier High-Speed Magic, Instant Chantless Casting, Curse Amplification, Curse Chain, Additional Curse of the Grudge, Ring of Curses...
As an insane barrage of curse magic began to rain down, a shiver ran down Tae-hyun's spine.
'Wait, did she prepare all of those to use on me?'
“Argh!Ugh!”
“...Hold on. Lee Se-yeon! Tag out!”
“Why?!”
“I need to level up my magic skills too!”
“...Is this really the time for that?!”
Lee Se-yeon was dumbfounded, but Tae-hyun was dead serious.
—Nebuchadnezzar's Blackmagic, Ancient Frost Magic of Akisus, Sadiq's Flame Magic, Dwarven Metal Magic!
The spell has failed.
Your Magic skill has increased significantly!
Insufficient MP.
...
Gulp, gulp—
Tae-hyun chugged down MP potions—something he rarely did—and spammed his spells.
“*Ugh, khh, argh, urgh, hngh...*”
Persotelton is, by your actions...
'Ah. Was I too obvious about it?'
Tae-hyun paused. Come to think of it, even if the prince had requested help, treating him like a training dummy and spamming spells on him was a bit too much. If the prince's affinity dropped, it would be dangerous! The prince was only giving him this opportunity because he trusted Tae-hyun; otherwise, they would have had to fight a corrupted prince head-on.
...deeply moved! Affinity has increased!
“I have... met a truly good adventurer. To put forth such sincere, passionate effort...”
“…….”
Lee Se-yeon closed her eyes at the prince's words. To be honest, she felt guilty. Tae-hyun, however, didn't care in the slightest and kept hammering him with magic.
“I'm out of MP. Lee Se-yeon! Tag in!”
“...Why does playing with you always turn into such a bizarre experience?”
Ignoring Lee Se-yeon's remark, Tae-hyun began utilizing his Blacksmithing and Engineering skills.
The chains Tae-hyun possessed were made of a powerful alloy mixed with rare metals obtained from the Demon Realm and Sky Island, but it was true that he still felt uneasy in a situation like this.
'Should I mix in a bit of Adamantium? No, I'm still uneasy. Engineering equipment? No, engineering gear has low durability, so it won't be able to withstand the prince's strength. I need to craft something new...'
Tae-hyun made his decision.
Artifact Crafting of Akisus
Crafting an artifact imbued with the power of Akisus!
The result will be randomized...
...
...
...
'If nothing useful comes out, I'll take the prince and run to the Sky Castle above the Valley.'
Tae-hyun prepared his skill while formulating Plan B.
Carbanog asks what you plan to do after taking the prince to the Sky Castle.
'I'm going to sit him on Shiiba's Binding Chair right next to the frost core.'
[...!]
Carbanog was utterly aghast. To think of such a thing in this situation! It was a method that could only be conceived by the Avatar of Archisus, who surely spent twenty-four hours a day studying how to screw people over. A wicked authority that forced anyone who sat on it to obey commands!
“What's going on?!”
“They're raiding the prince!”
The players who arrived late were shocked to see Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon. They were unleashing a fierce barrage of attacks against the prince.
...They didn't know why Tae-hyun was doing whatever he was doing behind the prince's back, but it wasn't the first or second time Tae-hyun had used a bizarre strategy...
“As expected of Kim Tae-hyun! I knew it! He was trying to catch the prince off guard before taking him down!”
One of the rankers shouted in a delighted voice. Of course! There was no way the legendary Kim Tae-hyun would get scared and tuck his tail. Wasn't he the man who had defeated formidable foes like the Orc Great Chieftain, Giant Warriors, and Demon Dukes? No matter if it was a prince of the Ancient Empire, there was no way he would be afraid!
“We're not killing him, you idiots!”
“?!”
“Just help me!”
Tae-hyun barked at the rankers. Suddenly labeled as idiots, the rankers were flustered.
“If we're not killing him, then what are we doing?”
“Cast debuff magic to weaken him!”
“Isn't that basically the same as killing him...?”
Though confused, the rankers began pouring out their weakening skills.
—Hunter's Mark!
—Obscured Vision!
—Brand of Weakened Constitution!
As the rankers joined in, the prince grew weaker and weaker.
'Damn it. I'm running out of time.'
Archisus's artifacts became more powerful the more time was invested in them. However, he didn't have the luxury of time right now. He had no choice but to craft it quickly, relying on his accumulated achievements and skills.
Item crafted!
Reputation has increased!
...
◈ Durability: 9999/9999
◈ Properties: Skill 'Archisus's Confusion' always active. Skill 'Archisus's Weakening' always active. Skill 'Archisus's Absorption' always active.
◈ Description: A chain crafted by a heroic blacksmith and Avatar of the great Archisus to bind powerful enemies. Once bound, no monster can easily escape, but one must beware of the chain's fickle nature.
'It worked!'
Tae-hyun breathed a sigh of relief that something usable had come out. If he had been unlucky, he might have ended up with something like 'Chains that make the target stronger when bound.' For now, he was satisfied with the fact that it had a sealing effect.
“Move!”
“Can you really stop him with a chain like that?!”
The gathered rankers watched with bewildered expressions. By now, almost everyone knew that Tae-hyun was an outstanding blacksmith, but even so, binding a monster well over level 700 to 800 with a single chain seemed impossible. Could that really work?
Clank! Clank! Clank!
But Tae-hyun didn't care. He spun the chain around and bound him. The way he pinned the prince to the ground and tied him up looked like the work of a seasoned kidnapper.
Arkisus's Chain has been activated!
Reputation...
The prince has entered the Bound state!
“Well... well done, adventurer! My strength is draining. Very well done!”
The prince's voice sounded noticeably better. As the chain absorbed and weakened his power, the influence of the Hungry Chaos was also diminishing.
“Does it seem to be working?”
“Yes! Now, what do you plan to do next, adventurer?”
The prince spoke in a voice full of anticipation, trusting Tae-hyun's abilities completely.
“…….”
“…….”
Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon briefly exchanged glances.
—Did you think of something?
—No... I was thinking we should lock him in a cage.
—...I think it's best not to tell him.
The other rankers were also watching, assuming Tae-hyun had a plan. Just how was he going to handle this rampaging prince?
“For now, until we find a way to restore Your Highness, we will have to accommodate you in a carriage...”
The cage he used to transport demons was technically a type of carriage. Just a highly unusual one.
“I would prefer a chariot... but I suppose it cannot be helped.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
Like the good-natured prince he was, he didn't complain in a situation like this. Above all, overcoming the power of the Hungry Chaos was what mattered most.
“Kgh... Aaaargh!”
“!?”
At that moment, the prince suddenly began to thrash.
... has been activated!
Persotelton uses ...!
Even though he was completely bound, a skill suddenly activated in front of the prince. A powerful spear-throwing skill that pierced forward like a massive tornado!
“Aaaaaah!”
The ranker caught in its trajectory screamed and rolled to the side.
Kaboom!
If his reaction had been even a fraction of a second slower, he would have been logged out on the spot along with the skill.
“We... we have to kill that prince! He tried to kill me!”
“No, it was just an accident.”
“How on earth was that an accident?! Are you insane?!”
The ranker was fuming, but it really had been an accident. Having regained his senses, the prince looked ahead in shock.
“Did... did I use that skill?”
“Look at him pretending to know nothing! Kim Tae-hyun! Do you really think that prince is clueless?! He's been corrupted by the Hungry Chaos and is playing tricks on us!”
“What kind of nonsense is that? How can you say that after looking into those innocent eyes?”
At Tae-hyun's response, Lee Se-yeon chimed in.
“The prince is not a bad person. It must have been because of the skill.”
These two were the type of people who would keep even a Demon Duke alive and locked up if it helped them level up or complete a quest. To them, a minor flaw in the prince was easily tolerable.
“If we leave that prince alone, he'll definitely try to kill us—”
... has been activated!
Persotelton uses ...!
KABOOM!
“...I was wrong.”
The ranker shut his mouth, utterly terrified. He felt that if he opened his mouth any further, his body wouldn't remain intact.
“Still, since we captured the prince like this, doesn't that count as clearing the city quest?”
“It seems like we've cleared the elders' quest too... but I don't know how they'll react,” Lee Se-yeon said worriedly.
The elders had worried about the prince awakened by the power of the Hungry Chaos and had asked them to defeat him.
...But how would they react when they saw the prince bound tightly in chains like this?
“We just have to persuade them.”
“Your confidence is truly astonishing.”
Just how far could his persuasion go? If his skills improved any further, he might actually be able to convince the Sky Island NPCs that he was a descendant of the Ancient Empire's emperor.
“Adventurer... O adventurer. You... you must receive the things I have prepared... for my successor. Come closer... closer.”
“Do I absolutely have to go closer to listen?”
Tae-hyun replied with an extremely reluctant expression. 'Is he going to go wild again?'