The Boiling Ultimate Plague

"..."

The atmosphere suddenly turned ice-cold. Even Cain stared at Tae-hyun as if he were a complete lunatic. To barge into a shop out of nowhere and blurt out something like that!

But what happened next was even more unbelievable.

"Bwahahaha! To think you saw right through my disguise. Magnificent! You have passed the test!"

Poof!

The merchant's body was enveloped in a cloud of thick smoke, which cleared to reveal a muscular demon.

"How did you figure it out? Impressive for a mere human!"

...

Tae-hyun couldn't bring himself to tell the truth. He could hardly admit that his grand strategy was to grab literally anyone and force them to say, "Demons are sons of bitches!"

His plan had simply been to keep doing it until he eventually hit the jackpot.

"You must have known exactly who I was to utter such bold words, yes?"

"Of course! I couldn't possibly imagine any other reason!" Tae-hyun replied smoothly.

Ah, so he was literally going to harass random people until he found one...

Of everyone present, only Lee Da-bi saw through to the terrifying truth.

The titles he had accumulated over his chaotic journey! They were more than enough to win the demon blacksmith's favor.

Blowing up castles, deceiving demons, and self-detonating—these were precisely the kind of degenerate activities that tickled a demon blacksmith's fancy.

"You are truly extraordinary. I always knew someone would come seeking to be my apprentice one day, but you're so overqualified I don't even know what task to give you."

"Then how about you skip the task and just hand over the Arcane skill...?"

"Absolutely not."

Tsk. Tae-hyun clicked his tongue. Seeing the system prompt, he had hoped to get a freebie, but it seemed the game wasn't that generous.

Still, he had managed to bypass all the tedious prerequisite quests. It was all thanks to the sheer volume of catastrophes he had caused in the past!

I'm so glad I blew up all those bombs. Note to self: detonate even more in the future.

Tae-hyun entertained thoughts that would have absolutely horrified any normal player.

"Hmm. This is a real head-scratcher. A human of your caliber is so rare that I have no idea what kind of task would be appropriate."

"You could just give—"

"—is out of the question. What kind of quest would suit someone like you..."

As Saruon began pondering a quest that sounded dreadfully difficult, Tae-hyun grew increasingly anxious.

"Hey, does it really have to be difficult?"

"Quiet, you."

"At least tell me what the Arcane skill is! I deserve to know the reward!"

"A quest, a quest..."

Saruon was a demon with a personality just as warped and stubborn as Tae-hyun's. While the two of them bickered, completely ignoring each other's points, a massive, earth-shattering explosion echoed from outside.

BOOOOOOOOM!

"?!?!" Saruon snapped his head up and shouted.

"This sound... it's a bomb! An absolutely colossal explosion!"

"Did you set that off?" Tae-hyun asked.

"What are you talking about? Of course not! But now I'm highly intrigued. To think there is someone else in this city capable of detonating a bomb of this magnitude!"

"We will never be slaves!"

"We shall become the masters of Pan-On!"

"Long live Gabriel!"

Slogans that sounded strangely familiar echoed through the streets of the Erangs Kingdom. The voices were amplified to deafening levels using megaphone items!

"What is that lunatic doing?!"

"Take your roleplay back to your own room! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"You made me spill my food, you bastard!"

Despite the screaming, the surrounding players weren't panicked or intimidated. And for good reason. This was the street right in front of the Erance Royal Palace! It was a high-level hub crawling with powerful NPCs, starting with the Royal Knights.

If anyone dared to cause trouble here, they would be instantly suppressed by the guards.

Occasionally, attention-seeking players would try to make a scene, but they were always shut down in the blink of an eye.

"Wait, isn't that Gabriel?"

"Who's Gabriel?"

"You know, those blacksmiths who banded together and took down an entire guild a while back."

A sharp-eyed player recognized Gabriel. But that didn't change anything. Compared to the truly famous rankers, Gabriel was a complete nobody.

With dozens of new internet celebrities emerging in Pan-On every single day and the community boards flooded with endless drama, very few people remembered the name of a guy who had merely taken down a nameless guild.

"Hey! Shut up and get lost!"

"Are you going to keep ruining our day?"

A barrage of boos instantly rained down on him. Any normal person would have been flustered, but Gabriel didn't even bat an eye. His eyes burned with a fanatical fire!

"Hear me! All of you who have mistreated and looked down on us! You who treated us like garbage just because we chose the Engineering skill! We will endure this no longer!"

The moment he finished his sentence, another wave of jeers washed over him.

"How long is this guy going to keep going?"

"Why did he even climb up there? To throw a bomb? There are tons of Priests here, so even if you detonate a bomb, we won't take any damage!"

"Who do you think you are, Kim Tae-hyun?"

Gabriel snapped his head toward the voice. The player who had yelled "Who do you think you are, Kim Tae-hyun?" flinched under his intense gaze.

"Yes, well said! I am indeed not Kim Tae-hyun! But I have learned from him!"

If Tae-hyun had heard this, he would have screamed, When did I ever teach you anything, you absolute psycho! But unfortunately, Tae-hyun was not there to defend his honor.

"I learned that unless we show them our power, people will never change! Today, I will show you just how devastating the Engineering skill is, and exactly how powerful we are! Behold!"

"???"

"Wait, is that a real bomb?"

"How big could it possibly be?"

"Should we cast some shields just in case?"

Pitter-patter—

In the distance, royal soldiers could be seen rushing toward the scene. The players relaxed at the sight. However, the bomb Gabriel had crafted was not something that could be stopped by mere guards.

"This is the pinnacle of Engineering! The Boiling Ultimate Plague Bomb!"

BOOM!

"...!"

"...?"

As the bomb detonated, a thick, noxious green smoke erupted, spreading outward at an alarming speed.

"...???"

But that was it. No one took any damage. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠players who had briefly flinched at Gabriel's words looked around, realized nothing had happened, and burst into laughter.

"Did your bomb fail to go off? Bwahaha!"

"This is why everyone hates Engineering! You can't even blow something up properly!"

Even amidst the mockery, Gabriel remained unfazed. Instead, he shouted with absolute confidence.

"You fools. Explosion is not the only facet of Engineering! You will soon realize that you have been infected with a disease far more horrific than death itself!"

"???"

"What's he making such a big ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠deal out of this for?"

"Seriously."

The players scoffed. There were dozens of different debuffs and curses in the game. There was absolutely no reason to be terrified of Gabriel's bomb over a simple damage-over-time effect.

"Anyone who got cursed, come over here! I'll cleanse it for you!"

"I'll take care of the healing!"

There were quite a few Priests gathered in the plaza. Confident in their cleansing abilities, they raised their hands and called out to the crowd.

—Low-grade Health Recovery.

—Demer's Curse Cleanse!

However...

"???"

"W-What?"

"Why isn't the cleanse working?"

"It's not working! I can't dispel it!"

"What do you mean it's not working? Your level must be too low. We have a high-level Priest right here, so let them..."

"U-Um, it's not working for me either..."

At first, they assumed the low-level Priests were just failing, but as time passed, horror washed over everyone's faces. This wasn't a skill issue. It was the curse itself!

"Mwahahaha! You looked down on Engineering blacksmiths! You high-level tyrants who thought you could push everyone around just because of your levels! Let's see you try that now!"

"Hey, you crazy bastard! Cure this curse right now!"

"I don't even know how to cure it myself! Good luck figuring it out!"

With that, Gabriel abruptly logged out. Logging back in would land him straight in prison, and logging out while being pursued by soldiers carried a massive penalty. But Gabriel didn't care. He had already abandoned any attachment to his level, experience, stats, or skills. He wanted only one thing: to show the world of Pan-On what they were capable of!

And as if responding to his fanatical resolve, a quest window popped up in front of everyone present.

A continental quest! Despite being a continent-wide event, the description was incredibly brief and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠simple. Yet, experienced players couldn't hide their tension.

This is going to be insanely difficult!

First, we need to avoid this curse. Getting infected is going to be extremely dangerous!

"One of the most malevolent curses on the continent." Whatever it was, it sounded incredibly dangerous. Players who hadn't been in the plaza when the bomb went off quickly tried to flee after hearing the news. However...

"What the hell?!"

The sheer virulence of the curse meant it spread through mere physical contact! It was a simple yet terrifying mechanic. Horrified players began running for their lives. Staying here meant a 100% chance of infection!

A few quick-witted players immediately cast defensive buffs on themselves—various spells designed to ward off curses. But it was entirely useless.

"What kind of broken-ass game is this?!"

The title of "one of the most malevolent curses on the continent" was not just for show. It was completely unblockable, and it spread instantly upon contact!

"Where the hell did that Gabriel or pork cheek or whatever his name is go?!"

"Find him! I'm going to murder him!"

"Tell him to cure this before he leaves!"

The crowd descended into absolute panic! The plaza, which had been filled with the festive joy of the royal cooking contest just moments ago, was now a chaotic nightmare of screaming and cursing.

The more level-headed players among the infected tried to analyze the exact nature of the curse.

So, what does this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠curse actually do?

Their HP was steadily draining, but nothing else seemed to be happening. If that was the case, wouldn't the curse just disappear once they died?

"No! I can't afford to take a death penalty right now!"

"Where are my potions?!"

High-level players who had too much to lose struggled desperately to stay alive, but the plaza was also filled with low-level players who had very little to lose. They checked their status windows and tilted their heads.

"Won't it just go away if we die?"

"Yeah, let's just get it over with."

But they didn't die. Their HP stopped draining exactly at 1. Just 1! A single point of health where even a passing sewer rat could kill them with a gentle nudge!

"???"

"It's not dropping any lower?"

With their HP locked at 1, a few impatient players began attacking themselves to shave off that last sliver of health. Since their death penalties were negligible, they figured dying was the quickest fix!

All across the royal plaza, players began committing self-harm. One by one, they turned gray and dissolved into particles of light!

While low-level players could easily opt for suicide, the high-level players couldn't. They struggled desperately to survive.

"F-First, let's get out of here! Even if we manage to cure this, we'll just get reinfected if we stay in the plaza!"