Argh! I'm Dying! I'm Dead!

"Argh! I'm dying! I'm dead!"

"Oh, shut up, you idiot. You're not going to die, so quiet down and chug a potion."

Kim Tae-hyun was running while carrying Cain. He wanted to be in a position to block any incoming fire attacks aimed at the chimera. Having absorbed all those debuffs, Cain was practically on the brink of death! He was barely keeping himself alive by chugging potions.

"Oh, look, it's Smith."

"What?! Smith?!"

"It's fine, man. They don't have the luxury to fight us right now anyway."

And indeed, they didn't. Smith and the members of the Black Rock Guild were currently filming their own desperate escape sequence.

"Nothing ever goes right when you get involved with Kim Tae-hyun!!!" Gu Sung-wook screamed as he ran.

He could feel the blistering heat pressing against his back. Even when Tae-hyun was fighting the Great Chieftain, Gu Sung-wook hadn't expected things to spiral this far out of control. How could a situation flip so completely in an instant?

The massive Orc army had surrounded Tae-hyun's party. Since Tae-hyun's group was their target, Gu Sung-wook had assumed Tae-hyun would never make it out alive.

Yet now, the plains were in absolute chaos, and that massive horde of Orcs was screaming and fleeing for their lives.

As the crazed flames swept toward them, the members of the Black Rock Guild were also running for their lives, casting every buff they had!

—Roaaar!

"Seriously, we're busy enough as it is!"

"I'll handle it!"

Smith, mounted on his horse, pierced the Fire Wraith like lightning. The wraith's form distorted before exploding outward.

This wasn't just a place with fire; Sadiq's various fiery disasters were manifesting all over the battlefield! The once-ordinary plains of the Auston Kingdom were transforming completely.

"Aaaah! What is going on?!"

Lee Se-yeon was also galloping away in a hurry. Unlike Smith, who had a large group to look after, Se-yeon was alone, which made things much easier. On top of that, she possessed numerous movement skills and had already put some distance between herself and the center of the chaos, allowing her to escape the plains safely without taking much damage.

"Wow, it's absolute chaos..."

Lee Se-yeon shook her head. She had never underestimated Tae-hyun, but to think he would pull off something like this. It was a literal living hell!

The massive Orc army, which had exuded such terrifying pressure on the plains just moments ago, was now in complete disarray, running around like headless chickens.

Because Great Chieftain Karag had been hit with a status effect, no proper orders were being issued! As a result, the Orc tribes were acting entirely on their own.

After all, the Orcs Karag had brought were a coalition of various tribes from the Uruk region.

"Chwek! Where is the Great Chieftain?"

"Chwek! We cannot contact him!"

"Chwek... For a Great Chieftain to fall! He is unfit to lead! We will act on our own!"

The chieftains of each tribe took their Orcs and scrambled to escape the plains. Even so, their numbers had dwindled significantly. More than half of them had been swept away by the flames and wiped out.

Tae-hyun, who had barely managed to escape while carrying Cain, was greeted by a series of pleasant system messages.

The experience points gained from burning down the plains and slaughtering the Orc warriors! On top of that, he even received a bonus title: Hero Who Stopped the Orc Horde.

It was a title that granted additional bonuses when dealing with Orcs. Somehow, Tae-hyun's anti-Orc capabilities were becoming increasingly formidable.

Am I only level 63 now?

He felt once again how absurdly high his stats were. Looking at the sum of his stats, even excluding Luck, he was by no means lagging behind a high-level ranker.

It's a bit of a shame they're spread out so randomly, but there's nothing I can do about that.

The massive bonus stats he had gained from his class effects! Since his HP and MP increased every time he leveled up, Tae-hyun actually possessed surprisingly balanced stats, excluding that one weakness. Though it was forced upon him by his passive skills...

Let's check the special stats.

"..."

Tae-hyun froze for a moment. His Terror and Infamy stats had risen far too much.

Wait, what did I even do?

Tae-hyun's reaction was always the same.

—I have nothing to be ashamed of under heaven!

Of course, even if Tae-hyun felt innocent, the game system didn't let him off the hook and calculated everything coldly.

Although ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his Holy and Reputation stats were keeping things in check, his Infamy was at a level where it wouldn't be surprising if a city guard suddenly screamed, "You murderer! How dare you try to enter our city! Get lost!"

Ah, seriously. But it's not like I could just not do what needed to be done...

Tae-hyun fell into deep thought. To manage his Infamy stat, he had to avoid doing bad things. For example, attacking other guild members, pickpocketing them, stealing their castles...

Hmm. I'll just let my Infamy rise, whatever.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Tae-hyun coolly gave up! Even if he was cursed and chased out of every city he visited, Tae-hyun was going to do whatever he wanted.

"Gasp, pant... Am I alive?"

"Yeah. You're alive."

"Ugh... I'm never doing this again..."

Cain muttered as he tried to stand. He had received so many debuffs that just walking made his head spin.

"..."

Cain felt a sudden surge of anger.

"Are you kidding me right n—"

"...All hail! All hail! All hail!"

His anger vanished instantly. Cain stood up vigorously. The reward was enough to make him completely forget the suffering he had just endured! In fact, if this was the kind of reward he was getting, he felt it was well worth doing again.

Cain stared at Tae-hyun and thought, Is this guy going to get into danger again soon?

"...I have a bad feeling. Were you just cursing me in your head?"

"...!"

And Tae-hyun, like a ghost, immediately picked up on his inner thoughts.

"Still, everyone managed to make it out alive," Tae-hyun said calmly.

However, everyone else looked half-dead, their souls practically departed from their bodies.

"Sob... Why did our Guild Master say she was going to follow Kim Tae-hyun..."

"She said we were going to live a long, quiet life, sob... What is this..."

The members of the Power Warrior Guild had followed Tae-hyun with a lighthearted "Yay, fun!" attitude, only to experience a life-or-death roller coaster!

Fighting the Su Ning Guild, stealing their castle, going underground only to fight the ranker Smith, and even fighting Lee Se-yeon...

Tae-hyun truly started a fight everywhere he went! It was as if he was actively looking for a way to die.

The Power Warrior Guild members whimpered and complained, but Tae-hyun pretended not to hear.

"Well, let's look on the bright side. The Orcs are split up and their Great Chieftain is heavily injured, so there won't be an Orc offensive for a while, right?"

"Um... But won't it be dangerous again once the Great Chieftain recovers from his injuries?" Lee Da-bi raised her hand and asked.

Tae-hyun gestured for her to come closer.

Lee Da-bi innocently stepped forward.

Grab!

"Mmph!"

Tae-hyun grabbed Lee Da-bi's hand and forced her to cover her own mouth with it.

"We avoided the danger for now, so do we really need to make ourselves sad by worrying about the future? Huh?"

"Mmph! Mmmph!"

"People shouldn't be so negative. You have to look on the bright side. Now, doesn't it look bright?"

Nod, nod.

"Good."

"Gasp, pant. No, I was just predicting the situation..." Lee Da-bi said, backing away from Tae-hyun.

"You're going to scare your guild members even more. Stop making things difficult. I have a lot to do."

Though he had silenced Lee Da-bi, Tae-hyun actually agreed with her. The Orc army had scattered and retreated, and the Great Chieftain was heavily injured, but once he recovered, the cycle would repeat.

At least they won't be able to launch a massive offensive like this again soon.

With over half of them dead and the tribes scattered, they wouldn't be able to band together easily again.

"So, what are you planning ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to do now?"

"I'm planning to stay here for a bit. And call the rest of your guild members. The Power Warrior Guild has strength in numbers, right?"

"Huh? What for?"

"To gather the items left on the plains."

"..."

To look at that sea of fire and think about looting items... Lee Da-bi was filled with admiration.

No matter how I look at it, this man should have joined the Power Warrior Guild.

It was a thought that would have made Tae-hyun furious if he had heard it! Lee Da-bi hid her inner thoughts and spoke.

"But when is the fire going to go out?"

"Don't know. It'll go out soon, probably."

And so, they waited. But something was strange. The flames engulfing the plains showed no signs of dying down. In fact, they seemed to be...

"...The fire isn't going out."

"No, more like... is it coming this way?"

The flames were spreading. It was slow, but they were definitely expanding.

"Nah, no way. Hey, someone spray some water."

"Chwek. I will try."

One of the Orc Shamans raised his staff and fired a succession of water arrows.

Splat! Splat!

"...Then what do we have to do to put it out?"

As if waiting for Tae-hyun's words, a quest window popped up for everyone at the same time.

"..."

It wasn't just Tae-hyun who received the quest. It popped up simultaneously for every player currently in the Auston Kingdom!

The others present stared blankly at Tae-hyun. No one said a word, but their expressions made their thoughts crystal clear:

What are you going to do about this now?!

"Well... it's not like my territory is in the Auston Kingdom anyway, right?"

If other players had heard him, they would have grabbed him by the collar.

"No, are you seriously okay with this?!"

"Can't we just run away? The Orcs are split up and probably worrying about their own survival now anyway."

"You have an image to maintain! If you just cause a disaster like this and leave, what happens to the cool image of Kim Tae-hyun?"

"Did I have one of those? I don't really care."

And he truly didn't. Tae-hyun had never cared about his public image. Even if others cursed him, he just went about his day.

Tae-hyun suddenly fell into thought.

But can other people even know I did this?

What about the people here? Excluding his own party, there was Lee Se-yeon and Smith's group.

Lee Se-yeon and Smith were both streamers. They did broadcasts in partnership with broadcasting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stations as well as personal streams.

I doubt they'd reveal they lost the crown they were trying to get. That would just invite more competitors.

Tae-hyun's prediction was spot on.