A Fiery Hell on the Plains

Blinded by its excellent performance, he hadn't noticed, but there was no class in the world with only advantages. When he thought about it, it was only obvious! Compared to Kane's original class, his new class was far too powerful. Higher defense, a wider variety of skills, and fewer penalties! He should have analyzed it calmly back then. No matter how good it was, how could a class have only advantages?

Indeed. In exchange for its high performance, his new class was one that came with this kind of penalty.

A class that received a penalty if it didn't unconditionally protect the Avatar of Archisus!

No matter how cheap or dirty it felt, if he didn't protect the Avatar of Archisus, the penalty would kick in. Even if the Avatar of Archisus ordered him to run away!

Wait, isn't this a bit much?

Tae-hyun, hearing the explanation from Kane, was dumbfounded. To think Kane couldn't even run away if ordered to. This was an unexpectedly tricky condition. Especially in a situation like this.

"Seriously, why did I ever take this stupid class?!" Kane screamed in despair.

In that instant, a blinding blue light erupted, and all the debuffs afflicting Tae-hyun vanished.

To think dozens of curses had vanished in a single instant! Tae-hyun was dumbfounded to realize he had been carrying around such a massive compilation of curses. Just how much did those Orc shamans grind their teeth to pour this many curses on him...?

Honestly, it's a miracle I even fought with all these curses active.

His disbelief was one thing, but Kane's skill was even more astonishing.

"Wow, that skill ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is amazing. Dispelling all those debuffs at once."

A skill of this caliber was something even high-level Priest players could only use once every few days!

"I didn't dispel them..." Kane's complexion looked terrible.

"Then what?"

"I... transferred them all to myself... Anyway... the quest is cleared...!"

"..."

This guy... is way more useful than I thought. Tae-hyun stared at Kane.

Keeping Kane around was practically like having an extra life!

"Let's stick together for a long, long time from now on."

"What are you talking about?! Whatever you've prepared, do it quickly!"

Indeed, Karag, who had taken a counter-hit from Tae-hyun, was preparing something with a furious glare. It was even more terrifying to see a guy who would normally charge in blindly just standing there like that.

He's clearly preparing a powerful skill...

Since Tae-hyun kept dodging his attacks, it seemed Karag was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trying to unleash a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wide-range area-of-effect attack. As a boss monster, it was only natural for him to possess such an ability.

"Kane, thanks."

"You can tell me that later..."

"No, I'm telling you now because it looks like you're about to die."

"...You son of a bitch. Just do whatever you want!"

Kane gave up and nodded. The moment he transferred Tae-hyun's debuffs to himself, he had already prepared to die here. If he was going to suffer a penalty anyway, he might as well avoid the quest failure penalty!

Tae-hyun pulled out an item.

Click.

The small sound echoed strangely loud.

"Yeah. Use it."

And then, a fiery hell unfolded across the plains.

Smith and the Black Rock Sect had stepped back to watch Tae-hyun the moment the Orcs' attack began. Naturally, Orc warriors attacked them as well, but they could easily fend off attacks of that level.

The Orc warriors charging with spears and axes were utterly crushed before they could even touch the Black Rock Sect!

"Chwek! These guys are too strong!"

"The Great Chieftain will deal with them!"

Seeing no openings even after several attacks, the Orcs hesitated and backed away. After all, their primary objective was to eliminate Kane, the Great Chieftain's sworn enemy!

Thanks to that, Smith and the Black Rock Sect could watch the show at their leisure.

"Kim Tae-hyun is being pushed back."

"This is perfect. We can just wait, and when Mr. Kim Tae-hyun surrenders, we can step in and help him."

At Smith's words, Gu Sung-wook thought to himself:

I don't think Kim Tae-hyun is the type to do that...

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't imagine a scenario where Tae-hyun would shout surrender and hand over his items.

But then, the situation took a strange turn.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the Great General Orc player leading the Orcs charged forward with his guild members!

"Huh?!"

Then, he blocked Karag and rescued Tae-hyun!

"What?"

"Did that Orc over there know Kim Tae-hyun?"

"They seem close, seeing how he's saving him..."

If Kim Tae-san had heard this, he would have roared in anger, Who's close to whom?! But at that moment, Tae-san was too busy fighting Karag to care.

The members of the Black Rock Sect were completely captivated by the sight of Tae-hyun and Kim Tae-san fighting Karag. Players fighting a powerful boss monster always had a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way of drawing people's eyes.

The sheer pressure exuded by an Orc several times larger than a human!

And the players charging in without backing down!

Moreover, they might have to fight Karag themselves someday. Thus, the members of the Black Rock Sect focused all their attention on Karag, trying to learn everything they could.

Because of this, they failed to notice.

They didn't notice that Jeong Su-hyeok's group had begun to slip through the Orcs and run as far away as possible.

"...?"

"What's wrong?"

"Something is strange."

Smith's expression hardened. The other players following Tae-hyun were fleeing far into the distance.

"Yes? Aren't they just running away from the Orcs?"

If Tae-hyun lost to Karag, the others had to survive. Since the Orcs' attention was focused on Tae-hyun, it was easy for the others to escape.

But Smith frowned. He had an uneasy feeling.

"I feel like... we're missing something..."

In comparison, Lee Se-yeon was much better off. She knew what kind of person Tae-hyun was far better than Smith did.

Raising the undead to block the Orcs while watching Tae-hyun and Kim Tae-san fight Karag, Lee Se-yeon tilted her head. The other players were slipping away from the battlefield.

This is weird.

While Kim Tae-hyun was holding off the Orcs, the others were slipping away? Would Kim Tae-hyun really do such a selfless thing?

No way.

Then, what was the reason for what was happening?

Wait, could it be...?

A shiver ran down Lee Se-yeon's spine. Sending allies away could mean letting them escape, but it could also mean something else.

An area-of-effect attack!

She couldn't quite imagine how he would pull off an attack massive enough to affect this entire vast plain, but if it was Kim Tae-hyun, it was entirely possible.

"Clear a path! Let's put some distance first!"

"Yes, Master!"

The Death Knights summoned by Lee Se-yeon began to cut down the Orcs, carving out a path.

Slash! Clang!

"Out of the way, you lumps of living flesh!"

"Kneel before the Master of Death!"

"Chwek! Where do these filthy undead think they're going?!"

"Chwek! Do you look down on us?!"

Unfortunately, the area where Lee Se-yeon stood was teeming with the Orc army, so breaking through took more time.

If only Kim Tae-hyun hadn't destroyed my golems!

Not all golems were created equal. The Red Iron Golems Lee Se-yeon had controlled were high-level golems that required a massive amount of rare Red Iron Ingots, magic reagents, and golem cores, followed by a long waiting period to craft just one.

They were originally her trump card for dealing with rankers or boss monsters, but Kim Tae-hyun had destroyed them far too easily.

Using Divine Foresight to locate the cores, and then unleashing explosive burst damage with his Ancient Hammer and various skills! Thanks to that, Tae-hyun had basically gotten a free level-up!

Seriously, all my skills have terrible compatibility with Kim Tae-hyun.

Lee Se-yeon grumbled as she mounted her phantom steed. She didn't know exactly what was about to happen, but she intended to put some distance between them. Tae-hyun always did the unexpected.

At that moment, a wave of intense heat rushed in from behind.

"Stop raising my Luck, you bastards!"

"Okay, this is actually pretty good."

Why is my Infamy rising too? Is it because I blew up the entire area?

Tae-hyun didn't feel even a shred of guilt. However, looking at what was happening behind him as he ran with all his might, it would have been stranger if his Infamy didn't rise.

Whoosh!

The plains were now a literal living hell of fire!

"Chweeeek! Run! We have to run!"

"Chwek! That crazy human... unleashed fire upon the plains!"

"Chwek! Protect the Great Chieftain! The Great Chieftain is injured!"

Flames raged across the entire plain, but the one who took the heaviest damage was Great Chieftain Karag, who had been closest to the Breath of the Fire Demonic Beast when it detonated. The moment Tae-hyun set it off, Karag took a direct hit!

Great Chieftain Karag wasn't dead, but he seemed to be heavily afflicted with status ailments, as he didn't budge after taking the direct hit from the Breath of the Fire Demonic Beast.

Seeing this, Tae-hyun didn't get greedy. He turned around and began to sprint away with all his might. He wanted to finish him off, but the situation didn't allow for it.

A fiery hell was spreading in all directions!

And this wasn't just ordinary fire. True to its origin as a boss monster created by the Sadiq Cult, various skills were naturally erupting all over the place.

Flames spread outward, centering on the spot where Tae-hyun had detonated the item. Naturally, the epicenter was the most dangerous and violent.

Even though he had started running away immediately and successfully evaded most of it, his HP was still steadily draining!

Staying behind in the middle of this fiery hell just to kill Karag would be...

Pure greed.

Moreover, seeing their trusted leader fall, the Orcs who had been watching from a distance began to charge forward like madmen.

Loyalty to save their Great Chieftain!

They didn't even seem to fear the flames.

"Chwek! Pull the Great Chieftain back and retreat!"

"Chweeeek! Human! I will never forget your face!"

"..."

Sprinting through the flames with Kane in tow, Tae-hyun felt a sudden chill down his spine as he heard the Orcs' bitter curses echoing behind him.

He felt like he hadn't reduced his enemies, but rather added more to the list!

I really wish that Karag guy would just die here.

Hoping for an easy win, Tae-hyun smacked his lips.