A Short-Lived Glory
Ignoring the voices of his party behind him, Cain stepped forward. Right now, he was shining brighter than ever! This was the greatest moment of Cain's life!
"Let's go!!"
"Yeahhhhhh!"
With just a single word from Cain, the dozens of players who had gathered moved in unison. Cain trembled. The taste of power, which he had forgotten for so long!
This is it!
It was the exact same thrill he used to feel back when he was the leader of the Red Zone Guild. The sheer ecstasy of commanding and controlling people with a single gesture. However, this was on a completely different level from his Red Zone days. The Red Zone Guild had been a dumpster fire of a guild, packed to the brim with bastards who never listened to a word he said. But these players were different.
Their eyes sparkled with pure, innocent admiration, practically screaming, Cain-nim! Please give us your orders!
"Behind me! Get behind me! I will protect you!"
If his former guild members had seen this, they would have asked, Guild Master, have you lost your mind? It was a spirit of self-sacrifice completely uncharacteristic of Cain. Yet, at this very moment, Cain was radiant.
"Whoa! Cain-nim!"
"As expected of Cain-nim!"
Clad in heavy armor and utilizing his skills, Cain played the role of a mighty tank. Thanks to that, the ranged attacks poured down by the Orcs were concentrated entirely on him. Thud! Thud! Thud!
Slave's Tenacity
"Huh? Did I just hear the skill name..."
"You must have misheard."
Meanwhile, Jeong Su-hyeok and Kim Se-hyeong, who were in the rear, began providing fire support.
Continuous Fire Arrow Barrage
Swoosh! Pew-pew-pew! With sharp, piercing sounds, small and precise fire arrows flew true.
"Chweek! Chwek!"
The attack targeted the heads of the Orc archers stationed atop the village walls. The Orc archers fell like autumn leaves.
"T-That's amazing, Sunbae-nim!"
"R-Really?"
Jeong Su-hyeok's praise made Kim Se-hyeong puff out his chest. He was quite confident in this particular magic. Continuous Fire Arrow Barrage was a spell that sacrificed accuracy to unleash a massive volume of fire arrows in rapid succession. However, Kim Se-hyeong had relentlessly leveled up the skill to improve its accuracy and had constantly refined his control. It was a spell that would make any other mage player exclaim, Oh, that's impressive!
"I don't have any talent for control, so I'm really envious when I see your magic, Sunbae-nim."
"Aw, it's nothing... Wait, what?"
Kim Se-hyeong paused mid-reply. Who didn't have talent?
But Jeong Su-hyeok immediately began casting his next spell. He couldn't just stand around doing nothing either.
Kahladan's Lightning
Stone Thorn Barrage
Rumble! Crash!
"Chweeeeek! The wall is collapsing! The wall is collapsing!"
With a single spell, the wooden palisade in front of the village was completely obliterated. Massive stone thorns erupted from the earth, instantly shattering the wooden barricades to splinters. The charging players cheered and surged forward.
"Let's go! Charge!"
"...And you're envious of me?" Kim Se-hyeong muttered, staring blankly at the destruction.
Was this bastard mocking him?
Approaching a village or fortress was always the hardest part; once the walls were breached, the rest was relatively easy. Furthermore, since the players' levels and gear were far superior, it was nothing short of a one-sided slaughter. Naturally, the Orc warriors scattered throughout the village were pushed back and collapsed before the player party... Or so they thought.
Crack!
"...?!"
"What on earth is that?!"
"Chwek! This is a weapon enchanted by the mage!"
The weapon swung by the Orc was glowing with an ominous red light.
"That looks like it's about to explode for some reason, doesn't it?"
"Why would a weapon explode? They're Orcs, not Goblins... Whoa, it's gonna blow!"
Boom!
"Chwek???"
Even the Orc swinging the weapon was startled by the sudden detonation! Since these were Unstable weapons, explosions were a natural side effect.
"Chwek!! The mage tricked us! The mage tricked us!"
"I don't know what they're babbling about, but take them down! Watch out for their weapons!"
"The Orcs here are definitely weird. Earlier, my attacks kept missing for some reason."
"Maybe they have high evasion?"
"Why would an Orc warrior have high evasion? They're warriors, not rogues!" the players grumbled.
Meanwhile, Cain was pushing ahead of everyone else. A leader who led by example! A leader who took the vanguard, the very position everyone else dreaded!
That's right, that's me... Urgh!
• You have been hit by a sudden ambush. You are now Stunned.
• You have been afflicted by Orc Advanced Blindness Poison. You are now Blinded.
• You have been afflicted by Orc Advanced Skill Interruption Poison. Your skills are now Locked.
• ...
• ...
• You have been marked by the Orc Assassins of the Great Chieftain's Direct Guard. Your location is being tracked.
A barrage of debuff notifications flooded his vision in an instant! The Orc assassins cheered in triumph.
"Chwek. Got him!"
The Orc Assassins of the Great Chieftain's Direct Guard have bound you.
You cannot move.
You have entered the [Captive] state.
It all happened in the blink of an eye! Cain desperately tried to do something, but every single one of the Orc assassins under the Great Chieftain's direct command was higher level than him. Since such high-level NPCs had laid in wait specifically to ambush him, it was only natural that he was completely helpless.
I-I'm screwed!
He should have stuck with the others. Swept up in the thrill of looking cool by charging ahead, he had made a fatal blunder. He knew very well that things like this could happen at any moment! As Cain wallowed in regret, whispers began to flood in.
Lee Da-bi: Cain-ssi, where are you?
Kim Se-hyeong: Where did you go? I don't see you.
Cain: ...I got taken prisoner.
Kim Se-hyeong: Haha. Good joke.
Lee Da-bi: Yeah, that's not funny. Where are you really?
Cain: ...I really got captured, you bastards!!
Kim Se-hyeong: ?!?!?!?
Lee Da-bi: Wait, how?
Cain: Orc assassins... they were waiting in ambush and dragged me off...
Kim Se-hyeong: How do you get captured without even putting up a fight? Are you a rabbit released in a field? There are literally dozens of players right next to you!
Cain: I'm telling you, their levels were insane! Each of them was basically a boss monster! I couldn't even resist!
Lee Da-bi: ...
The remaining party members exchanged looks. Was he telling the truth?
"Is he just making a big deal out of it because he's embarrassed?"
"That's what I was thinking."
"Yeah, that's highly likely."
Kim Se-hyeong, Lee Da-bi, and Jang Ssu-an all agreed!
Cain: Hey, please don't tell the other players that I got captured!
Lee Da-bi: Is that really what you're worried about right now? Worry about your own skin. How are you going to escape?
Cain: Well, the thing is... the assassins blindfolded me and dragged me away, so I can't see anything...
Lee Da-bi: ...
For now, the party decided to handle the situation.
"Who's going to take charge?"
At her question, all eyes turned to one person.
"M-Me? Is it really okay if I do it?"
"You're more than qualified, Jang Ssu-an-ssi. You're a ranker, after all."
Recognition! It felt like it had been ages since he last received any. For some reason, Jang Ssu-an felt a lump in his throat. If he had looked at it objectively, he would have realized, I've been having such a hard time lately that even a simple compliment shakes me up. But Jang Ssu-an wasn't that level-headed. He had truly been suffering lately!
"Alright! I'll gather everyone. Cain had an urgent matter at home and had to log out! Everyone, assemble!"
The Orc Great Fortress, where the Orc Great Chieftain resided. And the smaller outposts stationed around it. The place Tae-hyun had arrived at was one of those outposts.
"I heard some insolent new mage crawled in here. Who is it?!"
The one who greeted Tae-hyun was a mage NPC who looked incredibly ill-tempered and irritated at a glance. Tae-hyun knew instantly. This is the bastard trying to awaken the Orc Great Chieftain and summon demons!
In times like this?
"Oh, greetings, esteemed elder! My name is Kim Tae-hyun, and I have been studying and practicing the dark arts in my own humble way. I have come all this way to learn from your great and illustrious name!"
Face flat on the floor!
• You possess the skill Advanced Rhetoric.
• You possess the title Successor of the Black Mage School.
• You possess extremely high Infamy...
• Demonologist Monroso's affinity toward you increases.
"You came to learn from me?"
"Yes!"
"But I smell the Magic Tower on you."
From Monroso's reaction, Tae-hyun's sharp intuition kicked in. Ah, he doesn't like the Magic Tower!
"Those Magic Tower bastards! They don't teach you a damn thing, yet they work you to the bone like slaves! They are absolutely wicked!"
"...Indeed!"
"And there's this guy named Chesia..."
With his silver tongue, Tae-hyun sold out the leader of the Magic Tower's Black Magic School in a heartbeat! He swiftly painted Chesia as the most despicable piece of trash to ever practice dark magic.
"He sent his own deputy to the Auston Kingdom to turn him into a Lich?!"
"Exactly! Who in their right mind does that? He's a terrible human being!"
"How envi—cough, I mean, what a wretched bastard! I knew those Magic Tower hypocrites were trash all along."
Why is this guy such an easy mark? Tae-hyun thought to himself.
Since Monroso was supposedly managing the massive Orc tribes, Tae-hyun had expected a mage with an overwhelming, intimidating presence. Instead, the man was practically a petty, narrow-minded weakling!
Well, whatever. It just makes him easier to manipulate...
"Wait. If you came here to learn from me, then why hasn't the demon I dispatched returned yet?"
"Pardon? I have no idea what you're talking about."
Tae-hyun flinched for a split second but immediately feigned ignorance. The ultimate poker face!
"I saw a massive horde of adventurers swarming this area earlier. Could they have attacked your messenger? Those wicked scoundrels!"
"Hmm... Is that what happened?"
"Hehe, could you perhaps untie me..."
"What should we do about this?"
"Yeah. What is this thing? Why is there a demon in an Orc village?"
Lee Da-bi and her party tilted their heads in confusion. Capturing the Orc village had gone smoothly, but they had stumbled upon a bound demon.
"I'm a good demon, but the Orcs tied me up... sniff... If you free me, I will never forget your kindness."
Seeing this, Jang Ssu-an spoke up.
"How pitiful. We should free him..."
"What kind of Cain-like bullshit is tha—Ah, sorry."
"..."
"Of course we shouldn't free him! Why do you think he's tied up in the first place?"
"B-But isn't it pitiful? He said he was captured..."
"You can't believe a word he says! Hold on. Let me send a whisper..."
Lee Da-bi contacted Tae-hyun. Do you happen to know anything about a captured demon here?
An immediate reply came back.
Kim Tae-hyun: Don't you dare let that bastard go!
The demon Tae-hyun had tied up to secure his own escape had been left behind in the village.
Jang Ssu-an smacked his lips.
"But he looks so pitiful..."
Watching him, Kim Se-hyeong whispered to Jeong Su-hyeok, "Was that guy always this soft-hearted? Strange. He didn't seem like that on his streams."
"Well, people's perspectives tend to change once they experience things firsthand, don't they?"
It was forced personality rehabilitation! Hanging around Tae-hyun had a way of making people realize how insufferable they had been in the past, leading to deep self-reflection. Of course, if anyone actually said that to Jang Ssu-an, he would have flown into a rage...
"I see. So it was the work of those filthy adventurers."
"Yes! It must be. How could I ever dare lay a finger on a messenger sent by the great Monroso-nim?"
"Hmm. That makes sense."
"By the way, Monroso-nim. May I ask you a few questions?"
"What is it you wish to know?"
"Well, I was wondering what you are currently preparing..."
"What?"
Ah, did I rush it? I only asked because he seemed like such an easy target...
Tae-hyun had asked to figure out what Monroso was plotting, but he instantly regretted it, fearing he had moved too quickly.
"You have a keen eye! As expected of someone who came to learn!"
"..."
But Monroso was far simpler than Tae-hyun could have ever imagined.
"I plan to use demons to seize control of these filthy, stinking Orcs."
"Ah, I see. But how? Are you going to summon and command demons?"
"Huhu. Foolish child. Why would I do something so tedious? Controlling powerful demons is an arduous task. They constantly struggle to break free. And if I did that, the Orcs would band together to fight back. How could I possibly control them under those conditions? No, by using the demon blood crafted through my secret art, I can force the Orcs to submit to me. In other words, I can seize the Orcs without ever having to summon a single demon!"
Huh? If that's the case, doesn't that mean it's not really my problem?