The Secret of the Black Gate
"Keep firing!"
As the undead fell, the tribal warriors let out a roaring cheer. But their joy was short-lived.
Sliiiide.
The undead rise once more through the skill, Land of the Dead.
The undead warriors picked up their weapons and stood back up as if their previous injuries had been a mere illusion! At that sight, the Necromancers cheered.
"This is the power of Lee Se-yeon!"
"God-Se-yeon! God-Se-yeon!"
"Exactly! This is what my sister is capable of!"
Even her younger sister, Kim Hyeon-ah, who was standing nearby, joined in the praise with excitement.
Meanwhile, Tae-hyun, who had just arrived at the gate fortress, caught wind of the shouting.
"Who the hell is shouting nonsense like that?"
Seeing Tae-hyun grumble, Burford beamed with joy. Look at him, he truly despises that invading Lee Se-yeon!
He really, honestly wants to join the Sadiq Church! What a guy!
Most players adored Lee Se-yeon. Even those who had been attacked by her!
Being able to say, "I once fought Lee Se-yeon," was a badge of honor.
Battles against Lee Se-yeon, who always fought fair and square with pure skill, rarely left a bitter aftertaste.
On the other hand, players who said, "I once fought Kim Tae-hyun," usually followed it up with, "And he is my sworn enemy for life!" But Lee Se-yeon was different.
"Hey, Burford! The undead are completely swarming the area down there!"
The "plunderer party" had completely dropped any pretense of polite speech. But because the situation was so urgent, Burford didn't even notice.
"Don't worry! The undead can't break through here. Necromancers have a terrible matchup against us!"
It was true. Just as Burford said, the Sadiq Church hadn't even launched a proper counterattack yet.
"Begin!"
As the command fell, the Sadiq priests began chanting holy magic in unison.
"—Sadiq's Flame!"
"—Spreading Wildfire!"
"—Wind of the Growing Embers!"
In an instant, a roaring blaze erupted in front of the gate fortress! This was no ordinary fire. It was a holy flame imbued with the power of Sadiq.
Undead caught in Sadiq's Flame are permanently destroyed.
The Undead Wolf Rider caught in Sadiq's Flame is immobilized.
"Damn it..."
Lee Se-yeon clicked her tongue. The magic of the Sadiq priests was stronger than she had anticipated.
To think her undead would be swept away by a few bursts of fire. Though their actions were questionable, the Sadiq Church was still a religious order devoted to a god.
Holy classes and dark magic classes always had a terrible natural matchup.
"—Summon Death Wyvern. Summon Death Knight."
Magic circles manifested in the air, and a skeletal wyvern along with a heavily armored Death Knight with glowing blue eyes stepped forward.
"Whoaaaa!"
"It's a Death Knight!"
The players cheered, completely oblivious to the strategic disadvantage! Even though the undead beneath the walls had been completely wiped out, the players remained unfazed. That was how much they trusted Lee Se-yeon.
The players' reactions were fundamentally different from those of the NPCs. And that reaction made Tae-hyun furious.
"Look at those... those brainless fools! Their undead are getting obliterated! What is there to cheer about?!"
"Exactly!"
Burford agreed, completely misunderstanding the source of Tae-hyun's anger. To Burford, the attitude of the players below was an eyesore as well.
They should have been trembling in fear and giving up, yet they were completely unfazed and enjoying themselves!
Of course, Tae-hyun was actually angry because the players weren't taking the assault seriously.
Attack harder! Put your lives on the line!
Flying over the fortress is out of the question. I'll have to stick to harassment.
Lee Se-yeon, who had summoned Death Wyvern Knights to attempt an aerial assault, quickly assessed the situation.
The moment they drew even slightly close, the high priests of Sadiq unleashed a barrage of powerful holy magic.
If she forced her way through the air, she would only lose her precious Death Knights for nothing.
"Sister! How can you waste Death Knights on a guy like that?!"
"It's fine. Compared to the golems... Ah, oops."
"You used those golems for him too?!?"
"No... not exactly. He was the one who destroyed them, but..."
The golems had been destroyed by Tae-hyun during the battle between Tae-hyun, Lee Se-yeon, and Smith. Each one of those golems had cost an astronomical amount of resources to craft.
Lee Se-yeon had asked her guild members for materials to replace them, and to think the culprit behind their destruction was Tae-hyun!
"He must die!"
"You'd probably be the one dying."
Lee Se-yeon calmed her sister down and commanded her Death Knights.
They launched ranged attacks at the forces on the walls, retreated, attacked again, and retreated...
It was the classic, petty hit-and-run tactic known as kiting.
"—That damn Necromancer!"
"—Curse you!"
The Sadiq paladins gnashed their teeth as the Death Wyvern Knights continuously poked at them from above the fortress walls.
Meanwhile, Lee Se-yeon sent a whisper to Tae-hyun.
—What are you doing? If you don't stir things up from the inside, we won't be able to push any further.
—Are the players you brought with you just for show?
—Yes, they are.
—...
—These people didn't follow me here with serious intent. If I don't break through first, they won't budge. And it's impossible for me to break through alone right now.
—Tsk. Fine. I'll shake things up. Just wait!
Tae-hyun closed the whisper and began moving swiftly.
Completely oblivious, Burford continued to chatter away.
"I'm telling you, the gate of this fortress is truly magnificent. Even in the one-in-a-thousand chance that they break through, the narrow passage that follows is perfectly optimized for defense. Those dark elves really know how to build a fortress. I'm not just saying this because I'm part of the Sadiq Church... Wait, where did you go?!"
Burford, who had been rambling on, looked around in confusion for Tae-hyun. But Tae-hyun was already long gone!
As Tae-hyun moved, two quests popped up simultaneously. Of course, it was obvious which one he would choose to complete!
—Cain, get to the main gate. If something happens, I need you to be my shie—cough, I mean, help me.
—...
—Hurry up, dude.
—I'm on my way!!
Hearing Tae-hyun's call, Cain felt a surge of emotion and began to sprint.
Meanwhile, Tae-hyun whistled casually as he approached the main gate of the fortress.
Just as Burford had said, the fortress gate was incredibly peculiar. It was pitch black from top to bottom!
What is this?
It felt completely different from a standard castle gate. It wasn't made of steel, nor was it made of any other metal...
Furthermore, there was no visible mechanism to open it.
While Tae-hyun was pondering, a patrolling Sadiq paladin spotted him and approached.
"What are you doing here?"
"I have come to wipe out those wicked subjugation forces!"
"Then head up to the walls! There is no fighting to be done here right now!"
"I refuse!"
Stab!
You have defeated a Sadiq Paladin inside the Sadiq Church's headquarters. It will be extremely dangerous if you are discovered!
As if this is my first time doing something like this.
Tae-hyun casually dragged the Sadiq paladin's body and stuffed it into a corner. Naturally, he didn't forget to loot the items!
The area near the gate was crawling with Sadiq paladins. If he approached any further, they would undoubtedly notice him.
If he was going to make a move, he needed a foolproof plan to blast that gate wide open.
—Lee Da-bi, can you check out that gate for me?
—On it!
Having Lee Da-bi, who held a merchant class, was incredibly convenient in situations like this. Her Appraisal skill was top-tier.
She could see things from afar that Tae-hyun couldn't perceive.
Should I use a bomb, or the hammer?
Tae-hyun had crafted bombs in a village that worshipped the Sadiq Church. He had poured all his premium materials into one devastatingly powerful bomb, and used the leftovers to make about a dozen minor ones.
◈ A bomb crafted with holy materials by a blacksmith who worships both gods. Under normal circumstances, such a bomb could never be created. It is impossible to predict how the Sadiq Church will react upon seeing this.
◈ (Warning) Do not detonate if you wish to remain alive.
An incredibly simple and straightforward item description! As if a true masterpiece required no elaborate explanation, this masterpiece of a bomb kept it brief: Do not detonate if you wish to remain alive!
It feels like a waste to use this just to break a gate...
He wanted to detonate it in the most effective spot possible, and plant the remaining minor bombs at other key locations. Of course, their effects would be anything but "minor."
Then, should I use the hammer?
Even without using a bomb, Tae-hyun had a Plan B. He possessed the Ancient Hammer, which was practically a death sentence for any inanimate object!
—Tae-hyun. Tae-hyun.
—?
—That gate... it's actually a slime.
—...What?
Tae-hyun's jaw dropped at Lee Da-bi's explanation. A slime? What kind of nonsense was that?
According to Lee Da-bi's Appraisal skill, the gate was actually one of Sadiq's demonic beasts!
It was a slime that possessed resistance to all elemental attacks, an astronomically high pool of HP, and an equally absurd HP regeneration rate!
Its attack power was close to zero, but all its stats had been poured into defense and survivability. It was a monster of a slime.
No wonder the Sadiq Church was so confident.
Frankly, even Tae-hyun was at a loss. If Lee Da-bi's words were true, he couldn't see a way to break through it right now.
Is my only option to stack damage using Lucky Strike and critical hits? No, for a gate of this scale, even that might not be enough...
Tae-hyun's damage-dealing capabilities were indeed unrivaled among players. But that was only relative to other players!
Pandemonium Online was filled with monstrous boss monsters, and Tae-hyun never harbored the delusion that he could defeat such entities in a single blow.
Since the Sadiq Church was so confident in this gate slime, its HP had to be astronomical. Defeating it would require dozens of hits rather than a single strike, but with so many Sadiq paladins patrolling the area...
Ugh. Is there really no way?
—This is actually great news, right?
—?
Tae-hyun tilted his head in confusion. Great news? What was she talking about?
—How is this great news?
—Isn't it perfect that the gate is a living slime? All you have to do is get close to it. With your Speech skill, passing through the guards should be a breeze, right?
—But how do I destroy it?
—What? Just use your skill. "Turns a touched target or a part of their body into a bomb. The explosive power scales based on the target's strength."
—...!!
Tae-hyun was struck with realization. How could he have overlooked this?!
—Don't tell me you hadn't thought of that?
Lee Da-bi sounded even more surprised. To think someone of Tae-hyun's caliber had completely missed such an obvious solution.
—Ugh... I was too focused on using it on Cain...
—...
Lee Da-bi was momentarily speechless at his absurdity. However, Tae-hyun did have an excuse.
Up until now, he had always used the Ancient Hammer to destroy gates, and he had never considered using Living Bomb on an enemy. After all, the skill required a casting time!
I thought I could only use it on Cain.
Now that he had a solution, the rest was easy. Tae-hyun cracked his knuckles and stepped forward. His Speech skill was fully loaded!
Persuasion successful. The Sadiq Paladins part to let you pass.
When Tae-hyun rushed over and urgently shouted, "Lord Antonio ordered me to inspect the gate!" the paladins immediately cleared a path for him.
Tae-hyun placed his hand against the gate.
—Living Bomb!
This skill required some time to cast. If he just stood there with his hand pressed against the gate, the paladins would eventually grow suspicious.
—Cain, now!
This was where Cain always came in! Cain's job was to cause a massive scene and draw the paladins' attention.
"Whew..."
Cain swept back his hair. Playing this role had become as natural as breathing to him by now!
Is this really okay?
Despite his internal conflict, his body moved on pure instinct!
"I am! Cain! Of the Sadiq Church!"
"What? Who is that guy?"
"What are you doing over there?"
In the meantime, Tae-hyun successfully completed the skill cast.
You have used the skill, Living Bomb. The skill cannot be cast again until the bomb detonates.
Your Engineering skill has increased significantly.
├─ Intermediate:Engineering ✓
└─ Advanced:Engineering — UNLOCKED ★
"Wait... what?"
Tae-hyun blinked, unable to believe his own eyes.