A Demon's Devotion

Seeing yet another message window where a demon highly evaluated him, Kim Tae-hyun seriously began to question his career path. Perhaps, instead of a holy class like Avatar of Archisus, a demon-related class would have been a much better fit for his aptitudes? After all, demons' favorability toward him rose just from him breathing!

"But, adventurer."

"...?"

"This plague curse is not something just anyone can create. Did you happen to see a demon when you resolved this curse?"

"...!"

Tae-hyun's eyes darted around rapidly. What was this about?

A quest message window. It was a prompt indicating that Saruon would react differently depending on whether Tae-hyun told the truth or a lie.

Tae-hyun deliberated. Saruon seemed like a relatively harmless blacksmith, but his true identity was undoubtedly a demon. Demons were a race where it wouldn't be surprising at all if they suddenly revealed their true colors and shouted, "Mwahaha, I shall kill you!" if things went south. In fact, demons were one of the most difficult races to handle in Pandemonium Online.

In other words, he couldn't just answer this question without careful thought. The best approach was to give an ambiguous answer.

"I did see a demon, yes."

Tae-hyun answered vaguely. He had nothing left to lose anyway. Since he had already received his reward, if Saruon decided to turn hostile and try to kill him, he would simply run away.

"What! Really?!"

"Yes."

As Tae-hyun spoke, he closely observed Saruon's reaction. How would the demon respond?

"Could that demon happen to be Lord Esla?"

"...!"

Saruon guessed Esla's name immediately!

What? How does he know?

Demons seemed to know each other surprisingly well, so it wasn't entirely shocking that Saruon knew of Esla. The key detail to note was that he had referred to him as "Lord" Esla. If so, there was a high probability they weren't enemies.

"Yes. I met Esla."

"I knew it! Only Lord Esla could create such a curse!" Saruon exclaimed, his voice trembling with excitement. Then, he looked at Tae-hyun with a suspicious glint in his eyes. "How did you come to meet Lord Esla? Even I couldn't find any trace of his whereabouts."

"I met him while searching for a way to lift the curse. More importantly, what is your relationship with Esla?"

"I am his loyal subordinate."

Saruon was telling the truth. He really was Esla's subordinate.

To think I'd run into him here.

Come to think of it, both Esla and Saruon possessed incredible Engineering skills. It wasn't strange at all for the two of them to be connected.

"Please, let me meet him!"

"Wait, Esla is currently sealed."

"I knew it...! That's why I couldn't find him! Which bastards sealed him?"

"The ancient dwarves and some other demons... I don't remember all of their names, but I believe the ones who played the biggest roles were Edaor and Adad..."

In the midst of this, Tae-hyun sneakily slipped his own enemies into the list! It was a remarkably swift and bold maneuver.

"Those wretched bastards! How dare they!" Saruon roared, his face contorted with rage.

Tae-hyun secretly pumped his fist in victory. Pitting the people he disliked against each other was always the most delightful moment of all! Intending to drive the wedge even deeper, Tae-hyun spoke up.

"I received a request from Esla."

"What request did you receive?!"

"A request to free him from his seal."

To break the seal, he had to collect not just one, but three primary weapons belonging to powerful demons. When Tae-hyun first received this quest, he had thought, There's no rush, so I'll just leave it be.

After all, the one trapped was Esla, not Tae-hyun, so he saw no reason not to procrastinate. Esla would probably be dumbfounded if he knew, but from Tae-hyun's perspective, it was only natural. The entire reason he had allied with Esla in the first place was because so many demons disliked him. Having to face those demons again just to break Esla's seal would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be like pouring oil on a fire.

But now, an unexpected figure had appeared. Saruon had suddenly declared himself to be Esla's subordinate!

To Tae-hyun, Saruon looked like nothing more than a golden goose that had willingly walked into his lap.

How should I exploit this guy to make sure everyone knows how brilliant I am...?

Even as he spoke, Tae-hyun's mind was working at a furious pace.

"I will help you. We must break Lord Esla's seal!"

Saruon was rolling right into Tae-hyun's grasp on his own two feet! Tae-hyun nodded with a highly satisfied expression.

"Yes. Let us join forces, defeat those wicked demons, and break Lord Esla's seal!"

An NPC of Saruon's caliber was incredibly reassuring. He was a demon, and he possessed both Engineering and blacksmithing skills. If Tae-hyun sent him to the territory of someone he disliked... the potential results were highly anticipating, to say the least!

There were quite a few bastards who hated me in the Auston Kingdom, right? Should I send him there?

"Excellent. When do you plan to head to the Demon Realm?"

"Oh? Ah, I'm currently gathering our forces. I'll let you know when we're ready," Tae-hyun said casually. Of course, he had absolutely no intention of going to the Demon Realm anytime soon; it was merely a placating lie to keep Saruon cooperative.

"Understood. In that case, I shall close down this shop and assist you."

"Naturally, you should!"

"I shall head to your territory and wait for you there."

"...What?"

Tae-hyun momentarily doubted his ears. What did he just say?

"To ensure we can set off immediately once preparations are complete, wouldn't your territory be the closest? I shall prepare myself there."

"Ah, n-no..."

A demon was going to enter the headquarters of the Archisus Church? No matter how shamelessly Tae-hyun behaved, he couldn't easily agree to that.

What on earth is going to happen?

Usually, when a demon hid in a city, they ended up causing massive havoc. Of course, Saruon was an NPC cooperative to Tae-hyun, so he probably wouldn't go on a rampage, but...

...I'm incredibly anxious!

The Valley of Despair and Sorrow was already overflowing with bizarre eccentrics. If Saruon went there as well, Tae-hyun couldn't even begin to guess what kind of chaos would unfold.

"What is it? Do you have some objection?"

"Ah, no..."

While Tae-hyun hesitated, Saruon made up his mind and began packing his bags. Tae-hyun could only watch the scene unfold in utter dumbfoundedness.

"Team Leader, did you hear the news? Kim Tae-hyun is participating in the upcoming Arena Pro League..."

"I heard."

"Ah, yes..."

At Choi Myung-sung's immediate response before he could even finish his sentence, Yoon Ju-hwan let his voice trail off awkwardly.

"Tsk, tsk. Your news is far too slow. I was the very first to know. Are you trying to show off your newbie fan status?"

"..."

Team Leader Choi Myung-sung was bursting with pride as an old-school fan! Although Yoon Ju-hwan usually respected his team leader, moments like this made him feel... rather ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠complicated.

No, no. He's still a kind boss most of the time...

"A-Anyway, did you see the reactions? Don't you think this Arena League is going to be a massive hit?"

Choi Myung-sung nodded in agreement.

"Hmm... I can't say for certain, but unlike Pan-On 1, I believe there's a very high chance of success."

They had corrected the flaws of Pan-On 1, and they hadn't stopped there; they were also promoting the event perfectly to maximize entertainment value. The participation of Lee Se-yeon and Kim Tae-hyun was particularly brilliant. Ordinary players were already cheering wildly just from that news alone.

On top of that, if they invited famous foreign player teams and pitted them against highly skilled teams that had fought their way through the qualifiers, success was practically guaranteed.

"MBS seems to have massive ambitions. They're already dreaming of a global league."

"Already? For a domestic tournament?"

"It might be a bit premature, but it's not an entirely absurd idea. The level of foreign interest is no joke. We already have a pile of love calls from overseas teams wanting to participate."

"Whoa..."

"It's good news for us as well."

The position of Pan-On 2 was already rock-solid and unshakeable. It was the most successful virtual reality game on Earth! However, Choi Myung-sung knew that resting on one's laurels always led to complacency. Even if they were doing well now, they had to constantly develop and improve.

In that regard, the Arena Pro League was an incredibly timely opportunity—a chance to cooperate with external companies and open up a brand-new market!

Choi Myung-sung browsed through the posts on the community boards. Most of the users were showing incredibly passionate reactions.

"Many people are completely misunderstanding the situation," Choi Myung-sung said, shaking his head.

The general public was currently under the illusion that all the famous domestic players were desperately eager to join the Korean invited team that featured Kim Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon. However, the reality was quite different.