But He Saw It Clearly

...What kind of ridiculous penalty is this?

In Pan-On, the death penalty was no joke. Naturally, any item with a penalty like "death upon consumption" shouldn't even be worth a second glance, but...

...I'm so curious!

High risk, high return. The greater the danger, the greater the reward. Tae-hyun was dying of curiosity. A skill... with a penalty that massive, and a name like that...

Could it be a skill related to Archisus's Authority? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠If it's from the God-Devouring Monster, it's entirely possible...

He was curious. Incredibly curious! Sometimes, his instincts as an experienced gamer would send him a signal. This was one of those moments. Reason versus instinct!

For starters, dying once is fine since I have that skill. I can jump right back into the fight without any penalties. The problem is that we're in the Demon Realm right now...

He could consume it. It was all thanks to the skill he had obtained after founding the church. The real question was when! He wanted to do it right this second, but Tae-hyun held back.

I might actually die in the Demon Realm. I shouldn't waste that skill beforehand, just in case. The cooldown is ridiculously long.

Tae-hyun exercised restraint. No matter how strongly his instincts screamed at him, there were times when he simply had to resist!

"Should we try to persuade the priests of the other orders as well?"

"Leave them be if they don't want to," Tae-hyun replied coldly.

Priest Haron and the Demer Paladins were taken aback by his indifference, but Tae-hyun didn't care. Honestly, it would be much easier if they moved with the forces of the other orders. But there was only one reason he refused.

Once we find the dimensional portal, they'll crawl after us anyway...

If he found the portal without any help from the other orders? He could use that as leverage to rake in even more contribution points! Demand your reward before you even pull them out of the water! Having seized this opportunity, Tae-hyun had absolutely no intention of letting it go easily.

"Grrr!"

"Ugh, those things are back again!" Cain shivered in disgust.

Demon hounds kept spawning continuously across this desolate wasteland. And for some reason, these demon hounds absolutely loved Cain. Out of all the people present, they targeted only him!

Even without using any aggro-drawing skills as a tank, having monsters rush him like this was a completely new experience for Cain.

"Wow, look at you block! Truly a born tank," Tae-hyun teased.

"I! Didn't! Use! A! Skill!" Cain ground his teeth as he took a barrage of hits from the hounds.

Fortunately, he had a reliable group of priests backing him up. These priests possessed solid skills that couldn't even be compared to the Archisus Church! In an instant, they restored Cain's health.

Cain was internally amazed. They really are incredible!

Cain had a fair share of party play experience. Before he fell victim to Tae-hyun, he used to party with priest players. But the level of those priest players was abysmally low. Comparing them to the high priests of the Demer Order was like comparing a full moon to a firefly!

As the Demer priests chanted their spells, his HP filled up to the brim in an instant, his attack power surged, and his movement speed, evasion rate, and MP recovery speed all skyrocketed.

How nice would it have been if I had changed classes to something like this instead of what I have now...

A normal, respectable order like the Demer Church, completely free of bastards like Tae-hyun!

"Hey, watch out!"

"Huh?"

Crash!

Distracted for a split second, Cain was rammed by a demon hound and sent flying backward.

"Why do those hounds love Cain so much?"

With Cain blown back, Tae-hyun, the paladins, and the guild members were exposed to attack. Yet, the hounds ignored them and tried to chase after the flying Cain. Of course, the others weren't about to just stand by and watch.

"Yip!"

Tae-hyun slashed his sword across the ankle of a demon hound charging past him, then struck the stumbling beast's head in the blink of an eye. Then, a skill explosion! It was a lightning-fast sequence of attacks executed in under a second.

The guild members' jaws dropped as they watched Tae-hyun perform what looked like an acrobatic feat.

What kind of monster is he?

Was that a skill? No, no matter how I look at it, that wasn't a skill...

Priest Haron spoke up hesitantly. "Perhaps..."

"...?"

"These demons might harbor a particular animosity toward Archisus. Since different demons have different traits, isn't it possible there are specific gods they despise?"

"These dogs hate Archisus? Why?"

"I am not entirely sure of the reason either... Perhaps the demon lord of this floor has bad memories associated with Archisus..."

"..."

The theory that Edaor was the lord of this floor was rapidly gaining traction! However, Tae-hyun shook his head, denying reality.

No way. A god with a trash personality like Archisus must have plenty of demons holding grudges against him. It doesn't necessarily have to be Edaor.

"A village!"

"?!"

After defeating the hounds, one of the paladins pointed ahead and shouted. Aside from the walls being made of black bones instead of wooden palisades, and the entrance being a gate piled high with skulls, it looked remarkably similar to a village on the continent!

"Should we go in there?"

"We'll probably have to if we want to find the location of the dimensional portal."

"The real question is, will we even be welcome?"

The members of the Black Rock Sect whispered among themselves.

Not every village on the continent welcomed players. Some villages would scream at you to get lost just for approaching, and some would even attack. A truly skilled player was one who could lower a village's guard, raise their affinity, and turn it into a place they could freely visit!

But no matter how they looked at it, this demon village seemed to have an absurdly high difficulty level. Even with all their experience, it felt like a daunting task.

"What should we do?"

"Should we wait around here, grab a demon when they come out, and ask if they need any help?"

"Does that method even work on demons?"

"It worked on the dwarf tribes... so maybe it'll work on demons too?"

While the guild members bickered, Tae-hyun marched forward. Completely alone, and with absolute confidence!

"?!"

"T-Tae-hyun! What are you doing?!"

They cried out in shock from behind, but Tae-hyun walked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on with a majestic stride.

As he passed through the gate, a yawning demon spotted Tae-hyun and gasped. "A human?!"

The demon warrior wore nothing but trousers, flaunting a muscular physique. With horns on his head and crimson skin, he was unmistakably a demon!

"I heard stories that fearless humans used to visit the Demon Realm in the old days, but I didn't think it was true. Thanks for the meal!"

The demon promptly raised his spear and lunged at Tae-hyun. Tae-hyun sidestepped, dodging the attack. Although the demon's stance looked incredibly sloppy, the sheer power packed into the strike was no joke.

What level is this guy?

Even the ordinary-looking spear exuded an ominous energy, making Tae-hyun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worry if relying solely on his Luck stat to evade would be enough. With a sharp ring, Tae-hyun drew his weapon and faced the demon. His calculation was simple. Since he had his high-level speech skills, he planned to subdue the demon first and then force a conversation.

Thud!

The demon's spear thrust forward like an arrow. However, a simple thrust meant nothing to Tae-hyun. Rather than reacting to the attack itself, he used his supreme technique of reading the opponent's preparatory movements to dodge!

"You're quite nimble, human!"

Whoosh! Black flames erupted from the tip of the demon's spear, spreading explosively with a roaring sound.

As long as he evaded the immediate burst damage, he could escape the rest. Tae-hyun leaped backward quickly, escaping the flames.

Come at me!

The standard pattern was for an enemy to follow up immediately after unleashing a skill to deal damage. Tae-hyun planned to exploit that gap and counterattack. If he landed a clean hit, even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a sturdy demon would take massive damage.

However, the demon warrior did not attack. He hesitated, then lowered his spear.

"...?"

"That evasion just now... Don't tell me, are you associated with Archisus?"

The sloppy demeanor from moments ago was completely gone; the demon was now radiating intense bloodlust. It felt as though he might summon all his nearby allies to attack at any second!

And Tae-hyun was a man who could put on a completely shameless face in situations like this.

"What? Archi? Archisus? What on earth is that?" Tae-hyun asked, feigning ignorance.

Lies did not easily work on high-level monsters like demons or dragons. Tae-hyun felt deeply grateful that he had invested points in his Advanced Rhetoric skill.

"...Human. Are you trying to trick me? No matter how I look at it, what I just saw was the power of Archisus."

"What is this Archisus you keep talking about? Evading your attack just now was my skill, the... Wait, you bastard! Are you asking me weird questions just to sneakily pry into my skills?!"

It was a flawless, hundred-out-of-hundred performance by Tae-hyun! The demon's suspicion seemed to waver slightly.

"Hmm... Just to be sure. I've heard that humans find it difficult to betray the gods they worship. Fine. Say 'Archisus is a son of a bitch.'"

"What?"

"If you have nothing to do with Archisus, say 'Archisus is a son of a bitch.'"

The classic "say so-and-so is a bastard" test! It was primitive, but always highly effective. Especially for classes like priests or paladins, insulting the god they served would trigger immediate, severe penalties.

But the demon had no idea. His opponent wasn't just some random follower of the Archisus Church—he was the Avatar of Archisus himself!

"Hmph. Why should I?"

Tae-hyun didn't immediately hurl the insult. Spouting it too eagerly might actually arouse more suspicion. When it came to deceiving others, Tae-hyun possessed a truly genius instinct!

"But since I hate being misunderstood for no reason, I'll say it. Archisus is a son of a bitch! Archisus is a son of a bitch! Happy now?"

"...I must have been mistaken. Fine. Come at me!"

Having deceived countless NPCs, Tae-hyun was now pulling the wool over a demon's eyes! He swallowed hard in relief.

Whew. I thought I was a goner for a second.

For some unknown reason, the demons here seemed to despise Archisus above all other gods. Tae-hyun decided to switch his weapon to Edaor's greatsword. Although he felt a bit uneasy, he figured using this weapon would prevent the demons from mistaking him for an associate of Archisus.

"T-That weapon!"

Uh-oh!

Seeing the demon warrior's reaction, which was far more intense than expected, Tae-hyun clicked his tongue. That was definitely not a normal reaction.

Did I act too hastily because I was cornered about Archisus? What if this guy is actually Edaor's subordinate...?

"What is your relationship with the Archdemon Edaor of the 44th floor?!"

Tae-hyun keenly observed the demon before him. This guy was not Edaor's subordinate. If he were, he wouldn't refer to Edaor in such a manner.

And this floor doesn't seem to belong to Edaor either!

Tae-hyun's mind raced at breakneck speed. What was the best course of action in this situation?

"...We are very close friends!"

"?!"

The demon warrior gasped in shock. "Absurd! How could the Archdemon Edaor possibly strike up a friendship with a mere human?!"

"Then how else do you think I ended up with this greatsword?"

"T-That is true... Indeed..."

Tae-hyun clenched his fist in victory. The guy had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker!