Cain's Predictions Were Completely Off
Whooooosh—
You have arrived at the open area of the underground ruins.
All the cold air in the vicinity is compressed here. Warning! If you do not have cold resistance, you may die!
The monsters in this area are exceptionally ferocious.
“……”
An open sheet of ice stretched out before them as they emerged from the passageway. It looked completely peaceful and empty, but the system notifications said otherwise. It was warning them that this was an extremely dangerous place.
“I-I’m dying!”
“Tsk. What a fragile creature.”
At Galakpad’s nod, a robed NPC immediately cast a spell on Kim Jeon-mu. Then, they quickly cast it on Cain as well.
You have successfully resisted the surrounding cold.
“……!”
Cain was astonished once again. To think they could use such a powerful buff spell. Just what kind of group is this?
Since when did the Archisus Church have people like this?
Cain knew a thing or two about the Archisus Church. To put it simply, they were a gathering of absolute misfits! A self-proclaimed master thief, a retired knight, even a gambling addict! Honestly, it was rare to find a faction with such a pathetic lineup of NPCs. Other successful churches boasted NPCs well over level 200 or 300, whereas the Archisus Church had essentially been dragged this far by Tae-hyun grabbing them by the scruff of their necks.
Yet here were these incredibly powerful Archisus NPC believers. Cain couldn’t help but be bewildered. Having only ever seen the bizarre, slightly unhinged Archisus NPCs, seeing a perfectly normal, highly competent one felt utterly unbelievable!
Ah, right. I need to send a whisper first.
Cain organized his thoughts as he prepared to message Tae-hyun. So much had happened that he didn't even know where to begin. However, Cain remained calm. He had been through this kind of chaos more than once or twice. Calmly and rationally, he would convey only the necessary information to Kim Tae-hyun—
—or so he thought.
“Hey, hey! HEY!!! How could you give me a motorcycle like that?!”
The moment the whisper connected, all his pent-up resentment exploded! Cain ranted frantically without taking a breath. Tae-hyun immediately cut him off.
“Where are you? Explain.”
At that exact moment, another message window popped up.
A cold storm is approaching.
Seek shelter immediately or face instant death!
“What?!”
“It’s a cold storm! Move!”
“W-Wait, my whisper…! I need to use a skill to get out of here…!”
“Even with the blessing, we won’t survive a direct hit from that! We have to get inside!”
At the others' shouting, Cain hurriedly sent another whisper. The temperature was already plummeting.
“Ugh, hold on! Let me get to a safe spot first! It’s freezing as hell here! Brrr!”
Patter, patter—
Cain and his group dashed forward. In the distance, a swirling storm of blue light was rushing toward them. It was a terrifying sight just to look at!
Slither—
“Aaaah! It’s an Ice Dragon!” Cain screamed over the whisper.
“Get a grip! That’s just a block of ice!” one of his companions yelled.
“Ah. Never mind,” Cain whispered back. “Wait, then what about that one?”
“That’s a monster!”
“Aaaagh! It really is a monster! I’ll contact you again once we reach safety!”
With a storm chasing them from behind and bizarre ice-like creatures popping up ahead, Cain cut off the whisper and sprinted. Survival came first!
“Uh, is it really okay for me to use Sadique skills?” Burford asked, visibly flustered.
Could this be a trap?
“Yeah. Go ahead.”
“Of course you can. Hahaha,” Pelmas added.
Both Tae-hyun and Pelmas offered stiff, awkward smiles. Seeing this, Burford became absolutely certain. It’s definitely a trap! There was no other reason for them to look so incredibly strained. If he didn't completely renounce Sadique right here and now, Tae-hyun would suspect him and kill him!
“No! I will abandon Sadique! I’ll make sure all the Sadique Paladins I brought with me renounce the God of Fire as well—cough!”
Thud! Thwack!
“Are you doing this on purpose? Seriously, did you come here just to raise my blood pressure? Tell me the truth. You’re doing this to get back at me for what happened before, aren’t you?”
“N-No! I really… cough!”
You have fought barehanded against a Paladin of the Sadique Order.
Your Unarmed Combat skill has increased.
Your Agility has increased.
Your Divine Power has increased.
Tae-hyun had only intended to throw a few light punches and call it a day. After all, barehanded attacks had their limits. If he had truly wanted to kill Burford, he would have drawn his weapon immediately. But seeing the system notifications changed his mind.
“……?”
When Tae-hyun suddenly stopped, Burford cautiously raised his head. Is it finally over?
Clack.
“??”
“It’s a potion. Heal up.”
“T-Thank you.”
“Once you’re healed, let’s do a few more rounds.”
“Pardon?”
Thwack! Bam! Pow!
Fighting a strong opponent with a low-level skill granted a massive experience bonus. It was only logical that fighting barehanded yielded far more bonuses than using his Advanced Swordsmanship skill! Of course, that logic brought absolutely no comfort to Burford.
“H-How long do I have to keep doing this?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to join the Archisus Church? Endure it! You still have plenty of health left!”
“No, it’s just… I feel like…”
Burford felt exactly like a human punching bag. He had activated a Sadique skill that boosted his HP and health regeneration rate, only to stand there and take the full brunt of Tae-hyun’s relentless assault.
“Don’t just stand there! Move around and try to fight back! My stat growth is slowing down!”
I’m doing my best here!
Burford was utterly dumbfounded. Even as a punching bag, he wasn’t just standing still. He had activated all his buffs, was constantly in motion, and was defending himself to the absolute best of his ability. The system of Pandemonium Online was no fool. If you struck an opponent who offered zero resistance, your stats would barely rise, and the growth rate would plummet rapidly. To prevent that, the target had to put up a proper fight.
And yet…
Burford was getting completely pulverized. He was only using buff-type skills, and the two of them were engaged in a pure fistfight without any offensive active skills. In a situation like this, it was only normal for Burford to land a blow or two, but he couldn’t touch Tae-hyun at all. To make matters worse, Tae-hyun was shouting in frustration, making Burford feel incredibly wronged.
“Ugh, why are you so sluggish? What are you even doing?!”
You’re the one who’s abnormal!
Before Burford could even swing his fist, Tae-hyun would read his intent and land a counter. Whenever Burford tried to dodge, Tae-hyun anticipated the movement and drove a fist right into him. It was something Burford had felt even when Tae-hyun held a weapon, but his reaction speed was truly terrifying. In ultra-close quarters without any flashy skills, Tae-hyun’s monstrous reflexes were on full display.
“Hmm, it’s not rising anymore. Let’s stop here.”
“T-Thank you.”
The fear of the Sadique Order Paladins has increased.
The fear of the Sadique Order Priests has increased.
“Huh?”
Tae-hyun blinked at the notification and turned his head. In the distance, the NPCs of the Sadique Order were staring at him with pale, horrified faces. They had clearly misunderstood the situation.
“Ah, this was just a friendly—”
“Eek!”
“We’re sorry!”
“……”
The Sadique Paladins and Priests trembled as if they had seen a ghost. Tae-hyun finally realized what was going on.
Ah, I guess what I did to the Sadique Order in the past was a bit too extreme!
He had launched so many subjugation campaigns against the Sadique Order that it was only natural for their NPCs to harbor deep-seated terror toward him. Besides, they weren't enemies anymore; they had come to surrender!
Instead of trying to awkwardly convince them I’m a nice guy, maybe it’s better to just let them stay terrified. After all, Fear was a highly effective stat for ensuring NPCs followed orders without question!
Would you like to accept the NPCs of the Sadique Order into the Archisus Church?
[YES]
You have successfully accepted the Sadique Order NPCs.
……
……
“……?”
Tae-hyun tilted his head. The class name was incredibly bizarre.
“A Sadique Paladin of Archisus? What kind of class name is that?”
“I-I’m not entirely sure either…”
Burford looked equally bewildered. An Archisus Paladin was an Archisus Paladin, and a Sadique Paladin was a Sadique Paladin. What on earth was this unholy hybrid?
“Well, whatever. You still have your Sadique skills, right?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes. I do.”
“Good.”
Regardless of how weird the class name was, as long as the Sadique skills remained intact, it was fine. Tae-hyun had been worried that they might lose all their fire-related skills during the class change process.
Burford stared at Tae-hyun, his mind racing.
It really wasn’t a trap…!
Tae-hyun’s behavior was completely incomprehensible to Burford. If Burford had founded a new church like the Archisus Church, he would have treasured its purity above all else. If NPCs from another order converted, forcing them to abandon their previous skills would be the absolute baseline! Yet Tae-hyun was actively encouraging them to use their old skills. It made absolutely no sense!
While Burford and the Sadique NPCs were lost in their confusion, Tae-hyun spoke to Pelmas in a hushed voice.
“Well, that takes care of that. Right?”
“Hehe. Indeed it does, Lord Tae-hyun.”
“And whatever you received from Burford, don’t go spending it on anything weird. Put it straight into the treasury.”
“……Yes, sir.”
Tae-hyun knew all too well that if left to his own devices, Pelmas would run wild in the worst possible way. Knowing this, he shut down any potential schemes beforehand.
“I originally had something to ask you, but those Sadique guys interrupted us. So, about Galakpad—where is he and what is he doing right now?”
Flinch!
At the mention of Galakpad’s whereabouts, Pelmas visibly shuddered.
“G-G-G-Galakpad, you say? He is currently on the move to locate the Authority of Archisus. Just like everyone else!”
“I already know everyone except you is running around looking for the Authority of Archisus. But why are you so startled?”
“I-I-I’m not startled at all…”
A brief combination of Threaten and persuasion ensued. Ten seconds later, Pelmas was in tears, spilling everything he knew about Galakpad.
“Sob! Galakpad is the most dangerous bastard among us!”
“The most dangerous among you?”
Tae-hyun stared at Pelmas with a look of utter disbelief. As far as he was concerned, the current members of the church were already highly dangerous pieces of garbage.
“Lord Tae-hyun… I feel like you just insulted us in your head…”
“It’s just your imagination. Go on.”
“We searched for Lord Archisus with pure hearts!”
“You mean with the pure desire to use the Power of Luck to hit the casinos and get rich.”
“……Be that as it may, we all sought and served Lord Archisus with such pure intentions. But Galakpad is different. You should basically consider him completely insane.”
“Why is he insane?”
“……That bastard is a fanatic who worships Lord Archisus without expecting anything in return!”
“How shocking! ……Wait, isn’t that actually normal?”
Tae-hyun, briefly taken aback by Pelmas’s words, suddenly realized something was off. Usually, the NPCs of other churches in Pandemonium Online preached that 'believing without expecting a reward is true faith!'
“No, Lord Tae-hyun! Anyone who believes in a god that gives them absolutely nothing is a lunatic!”
“I now have an incredibly clear understanding of how you lot view me. So, is that it? He’s crazy because he believes without expecting anything in return?”
“If that were all, we wouldn’t have avoided him. The problem is that Galakpad forced that same attitude onto the rest of us!”
“……”
“Do you have any idea how much we suffered because of him?!”
“I see,” Tae-hyun said, a smirk playing on his lips. “In that case, I should summon Galakpad here immediately.”