The Weakest Link

Knowing what they needed to prioritize right now, the two of them stopped bickering. It wasn't like they could settle their score here anyway. Seeing them call a truce, Lee Da-bi asked Tae-hyun in a surprised voice, "You're not going to fight anymore?"

"...Did you want me to keep fighting?"

"O-oh, no. It's not that, but I just thought you two would keep going at it."

Knowing Tae-hyun's usual personality, Lee Da-bi expected him to keep his claws out until the bitter end. Yet, both of them had taken a step back. It was nothing short of a miracle.

"Did something happen... Ah, is it because you met Se-yeon in real life? Ow, ow! Ouch!"

"Quiet."

Tae-hyun ignored her teasing and tried to steer the conversation back to the Galgral raid. But at that moment, a question in Kim Chul-soo's stream chat caught his eye.

"Do Dong-su!"

"Hey!"

Lee Se-yeon gasped in shock and tried to stop him, but the words had already left Tae-hyun's mouth.

"I told you not to start drama!"

"I was just stating a fact."

"Even if it's a fact, you can't just say it out loud like that!"

"Um, excuse me. Everyone can hear your conversation..."

At Kim Chul-soo's awkward intervention, Lee Se-yeon's face went pale. Do Dong-su was already a ticking time bomb of resentment within the team, and she had just accidentally poured gasoline on the fire.

Tae-hyun, struggling to hold back his laughter, smirked. "You said it this time, not me."

"...You jerk!"

"It's fine. We can win even without Do Dong-su."

"..."

Lee Se-yeon sighed and shook her head. What was done was done. Regretting it now wouldn't change a thing.

The rumors were spreading like wildfire, with people adding things they hadn't even said! There was no way Do Dong-su wouldn't hear about this.

Tae-hyun tilted his head as he read the exaggerated rumors. "How did these guys read my mind so perfectly?"

"Shut up! Let's get back to Galgral. Come on!" Lee Se-yeon clapped her hands to draw everyone's attention.

"First of all, we have incredibly little information on Galgral. What we do know is..."

Everyone's eyes slowly drifted toward Tae-hyun.

"Why are you all looking at me?"

"You're the only one here who's actually been to the Demon Realm. Don't you know anything?"

"Hmm..."

Know anything? He had literally scammed the guy... But if he admitted that here, it would immediately lead to: "So Galgral showing up is all your fault!" He had to keep his mouth shut.

"I picked up a few rumors while wandering around the Demon Realm. For starters, he's not very bright."

"A dim-witted boss monster, then." Lee Se-yeon nodded, organizing the information in her head. Not all boss monsters were highly intelligent and cunning. There were plenty of bosses that lacked intellect entirely or were just plain stupid.

Novices often assumed that a brainless boss would be easier to raid, but that was a massive misconception. A boss monster's raw power had absolutely nothing to do with its IQ.

"Since he's stupid, his physical stats must be off the charts. And since he's leading a demonic army, there will likely be magic-casting demons among them..."

"What if you lead your undead army and clash with them head-on?" Tae-hyun casually suggested. If Lee Se-yeon's undead legion clashed directly with the demon army, the chances of her unleashing her Authority skill would skyrocket.

But Lee Se-yeon shook her head. "Initiating an all-out war without proper reconnaissance is a waste of resources."

"Tsk."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"We have the Woodstock Guild members with us, so a brief skirmish to test the waters wouldn't be a bad idea. It would help us gauge the enemy's strength."

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Currently, Kadalta Castle was occupied by Galgral and his demon army. No player was brave enough to linger nearby. At most, they hunted stray demon packs far from the castle walls.

"Usually, Thieves are the best class for this kind of scouting."

At Lee Se-yeon's remark, Kim Chul-soo hesitantly spoke up. "Should we call Mr. Do Dong-su..."

"No."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Even I think that's a stretch."

"Ah, right..."

Everyone rejected Do Dong-su in unison! Kim Chul-soo, who had only tried to look out for him, awkwardly lowered his hand, feeling sheepish.

"Then shall we go take a quick look? Want to come with?"

"Why would a Necromancer go on a scouting mission?" Lee Se-yeon asked, puzzled. Since they weren't going to engage in a full-scale battle, there was no reason for her to tag along.

"Tsk."

"...???"

"Wow, this is truly incredible! To think even Lee Se-yeon and Kim Chul-soo would show up. Absolutely amazing! As expected of Kim Tae-hyun! I have no other words!"

"G-Guild Leader..."

As the Woodstock Guild Leader rubbed his hands together and showered Tae-hyun with blatant flattery, his guild members blushed in sheer embarrassment.

"What's wrong?"

"Isn't that a bit... too shameless?"

If you're going to flatter someone, at least make it subtle! Who sucks up to someone so blatantly? Behind them, Cain and Lee Da-bi were staring at him with cold, judgmental eyes, clearly thinking, What is wrong with this guy?

Yet, the Woodstock Guild Leader remained completely unbothered, utterly oblivious to how pathetic he looked. "What are you talking about? This is the bare minimum! He really is amazing!"

"I am pretty great," Tae-hyun agreed smoothly.

They were currently making their way toward Kadalta Castle.

Grrrrr...

Packs of demons were roaming the outskirts of Kadalta Castle.

"If we get any closer, we're going to trigger a fight. What's the plan?"

"I shall reel them in!" Chairman Yoo raised his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fishing rod, looking like he was itching for some action. He had been bored out of his mind earlier, unable to join in while the youngsters were bickering.

"No, no, wait a minute." Tae-hyun quickly held Chairman Yoo back. He had no desire to pick a fight before they were even spotted.

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"Why are you stopping me? I want to fight those bastards!"

"Since when did you become so bloodthirsty, Elder..." Tae-hyun stared at Chairman Yoo in disbelief. Where had the dignified old man who only cared about peaceful fishing gone?

"Actually, fighting them now might not be a bad idea. We need to test the waters anyway. There aren't many demons around, so why not take them out and see how the castle reacts?"

"Mmm... Well, about that..." Tae-hyun trailed off.

When raiding an enemy-occupied territory, that was indeed the textbook strategy—luring out and picking off the weaker scouts to gauge the enemy's response. However, Tae-hyun knew exactly what kind of demon Galgral was. That textbook strategy would not work here.

"Oh! Look over there!"

"What? Who is that?"

A party appeared from the opposite plain. They were complete strangers.

Seeing them, the Woodstock Guild Leader fumed. "Those dirty scavengers...! They heard Kim Tae-hyun was preparing a raid and came to steal our scraps!"

Word had already spread that Tae-hyun was gathering top rankers for a Galgral raid. Upon hearing this, some opportunistic players had thought, Wait, if we form a party and strike now, can't we snatch some of the loot for ourselves? and rushed over.

Cain watched them with a look that said, Are these idiots suicidal? "They must have a death wish."

"Well, they should be able to handle those low-level demons, right?"

"No, I meant they have a death wish for trying to steal from Kim Tae-hyun..."

"..."

The Woodstock guild member who had spoken to Cain quietly shut his mouth.

"So, are we going to kill them? We're going to kill them, right?"

"Huh? No, let's just leave them be."

"?!?!"

Cain stared at Tae-hyun in shock. "Hey, hey! Those guys are trying to leech off your raid!"

"They won't be able to leech anything. They're volunteering to be guinea pigs, so let's just sit back and enjoy the show."

Tae-hyun's party halted and watched the distant players. The scavengers engaged a few roaming demons on the plain and easily defeated them.

Seeing this, Cain grumbled. "See? I told you they could handle that much. If we just let those freeloaders... Huh?"

Rumble—

The massive gates of Kadalta Castle swung open, and a colossal demon came charging out at a terrifying, full-speed sprint.

"W-wait, what?"

"Huh???"

It was Galgral.

"Wha-wha-what?!"

Cain and the Woodstock Guild Leader panicked, but their shock was nothing compared to the sheer terror of the party on the plains. What kind of game had the final boss charge out the front gates the moment you pulled a trash mob?!

"Why is Galgral coming out here?!"

"Run! Run!!"

"Ah..."

CRUNCH!

With a single, devastating blow, Galgral pulverized the paralyzed players. In an instant, they burst into gray light and vanished.

"Crazy..."

"What the..."

Everyone present fell dead silent. If the boss monster inside the castle reacted like this, scouting or testing the waters was completely out of the question. If it hadn't been for that scavenger party, they would have been the ones turned into gray dust. The realization sent a cold shiver down their spines.

Only Tae-hyun nodded calmly. "Yep, just as I thought."

"You knew?!"

"No, I didn't know for sure. But since he's such a simple-minded, brute-force demon, I figured any attempt to poke at him would trigger an immediate counterattack... though I didn't expect him to charge out personally."

Galgral turned and marched back, having obliterated an entire party in the blink of an eye. Watching his imposing figure, the players began to murmur anxiously.

"What do we do now?"

"Maybe we should gather players with high movement speed who can escape quickly and have them scout?"

"Do you want to go?"

"M-me? I'm... not really confident..."

"Alright. We're infiltrating."

"...!"

At Tae-hyun's words, the murmuring stopped instantly as everyone turned to look at him.

"Infiltration?"

"Are we going in using Stealth?"

"Should we gather players with high Stealth skills?"

"No, no need."

"You're going in... alone? As expected of Kim Tae-hyun!"

"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"

The terrified Woodstock guild members instantly erupted into cheers. Infiltrating alone—he truly was a legend!

But Tae-hyun immediately shattered their expectations. "Huh? I have no intention of going alone."

The Woodstock guild members fell into a panic.

"W-wait, we're going too?"

"Our Stealth skills are too low! We'll only get in your way!"

"This guy's Stealth skill is actually decent! I'm completely useless at it!"

"You bastard!"

Tae-hyun stepped in to stop their bickering. Smiling warmly, he said, "Haha, it's fine. No need to fight."

"...?"

"Because we're all going together."

"..."

For a moment, the Woodstock guild members doubted their own ears.

"Seriously, isn't this a bit much?"

"..."

"Guild Leader! Isn't this crazy?!"

"Shut up."

The Woodstock Guild Leader ignored his members' protests. They had already come too far to back out of Tae-hyun's plans now. Whether they succeeded or crashed and burned, they were committed!

Right before their eyes, Tae-hyun was marching forward. He was walking straight toward the main gates of Kadalta Castle, completely exposed—and accompanied by winged demons!

At this sight, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Woodstock guild members panicked all over again.

"No, no, no! This is seriously insane!"

"Quiet back there!"

Regardless of the chaos behind him, Tae-hyun continued his approach without a care in the world.

Monsters in Pandemonium Online all had different traits. One of those traits was whether they were open to dialogue. Some monsters were too stupid to communicate with. Others, however, refused to talk even if they possessed high intelligence. Demon-type monsters fell into the latter category. They looked down on players as insignificant insects, refusing to engage in conversation. Consequently, most players believed that communicating with demons was impossible.

But Tae-hyun knew better. There was no such thing as an uncommunicative monster! They just hadn't found the right method yet. And for demons, there was a very specific, tailored approach.

"Greetings! We have come seeking to enlist in the glorious army of the esteemed Lord Galgral!"