But There's Always Something Holding Me Back!
"...Still, they say there's no such thing as a useless item in this world."
Ed-an stealthily opened his bag and slipped the artifact inside. He didn't know what kind of god Carbanog was, but wouldn't he be able to sell it for a fortune if he visited that god's temple later?
"-Chweek. That mage's gaze was sinister. We must prepare, just in case."
"-Chweek. Why would a mage be interested in our weapons? Aren't you worrying too much?"
"-Chweek. Are you saying you don't trust me?"
"-Chweek. It's not that, but..."
"...?!"
Ed-an was horrified. He could hear the Orcs conversing right outside. He hadn't heard them approaching at all!
"-Chweek. Unless the Great Chief comes out after recovering from his wounds, we must do better."
"-Chweek. You speak the truth."
"...!!!"
Hearing their conversation, Ed-an immediately realized who they were. He wasn't called a Great Thief for nothing.
His opponents were none other than the elite warriors directly under the Great Chief! They belonged to the Great Chief's personal guard, a group composed of only the strongest and most vicious Orc warriors in the entire Uruk Region.
They were far more terrifying than an entire Orc tribe led by some mediocre chieftain.
'I'm doomed!'
"-Chweek. No matter how much I think about it, that mage is suspicious. The Great Chief hasn't stepped out since then."
"-Chweek. But didn't his wounds heal?"
"-Chweek. Well, yes, but..."
Ed-an swallowed hard. Because his opponents were so exceptionally skilled, they had clearly approached without making a single sound.
As a result, Ed-an's escape route was completely cut off.
If he went outside now, he would run straight into them. Even if he stayed inside, he would encounter them the moment they stepped through the entrance. He had his stealth skills, but he doubted he could fool opponents of their caliber.
The only option left was...
"Take this!"
Ed-an pulled a torch from his breast pocket and hurled it.
Whoosh!
"-Chweek! What is this?!"
"-Chweek! An intruder! An intruder!"
"I set the place on fire! If you don't put it out, all your precious items will burn to ashes! The Great Chief will weep when he sees this!"
"-Chweek! How dare you?!"
Ed-an bolted forward desperately. If he got caught, he was dead!
"-Chweek! I'll rip you apart, intruder!"
An Orc of the personal guard swung his weapon with eyes burning with rage.
Slash!
"Argh!"
Ed-an shrieked in terror as a red aura sliced through the air behind him, and he ran even faster.
"-Chweek! Beat the drums! We have an intruder!"
"-Chweek! An intruder! An intruder!"
"Huh? Why are the drums beating?"
"...Has something gone wrong?"
"Haha. No way. The Orcs are probably just bored and beating them for fun."
"How does that make any sense..."
Saruon protested, staring at Tae-hyun.
The sound of drums echoed from the distance. No matter how one looked at it, this was not a normal situation.
"Isn't it dangerous for us to stay here?"
"No, it's fine. Probably? Anyway, I should get going. I have a fortress to visit."
"W-Wait a minute...!"
Tae-hyun quickly scurried away. For some reason, his retreating figure looked incredibly ominous!
Saruon stood there, debating whether it was truly safe to remain.
If the Orcs from the deepest part of the fortress came out and began a search...
'Isn't this extremely dangerous?'
Saruon was a demon, but his combat capabilities were pathetic. He seriously pondered his options.
'I should lay some traps first.'
"-Chweek! Monroso. You must have seen this! An intruder has breached our defenses. And it's a human!"
"What do you want me to do about it?! Are you saying this is my fault?!"
"-Chweek. This never happened when there were only Orcs here. Ever since you arrived and brought those other bastards, these incidents have been happening!"
"Don't talk nonsense! Do you have any idea how many adventurers have gathered nearby just to attack you? Did it ever cross your mind that they might have slipped in? You failed to keep a proper watch, and now you're trying to shift the blame to me? There's a limit to how shameless you can be!"
"-Chweek! How could those adventurers out there, so far away, penetrate the tight security network surrounding the mountain fortresses and get inside? Don't speak such absurdities. This is the work of the human inside the fortress!"
"Absurd! Do not doubt my deputy! He is the most vicious, wicked, and trustworthy fellow in the world!"
If Tae-hyun, who wasn't present, had heard this, he would have cringed in embarrassment.
Because Monroso refuted so fiercely, the elite Orcs couldn't press him any further. Instead, they targeted another prey.
"-Chweek. Then what about that guy? The one we captured?"
"What?"
"-Chweek. He's still alive and kicking in the cage! He's suspicious. We must kill him!"
"That... fine, I understand."
Monroso nodded after a brief moment of contemplation.
Although he had the Great Chief in his grasp, the personal guard still harbored hostility and suspicion toward him. He could afford to grant them this much to quiet their complaints.
Of course, Cain, who was resting inside the tent, had absolutely no idea what was coming.
"Ah, how much longer do I have to stay like this?"
Cain was rolling around on the floor.
If it had been Tae-hyun, he would have used this spare time to practice his skills, but Cain had already grown bored and given up.
With so many other fun things to do, repeatedly practicing tedious skills wasn't something just anyone could pull off.
There was a reason Tae-hyun was so extraordinary, and there was a reason he held Jeong Su-hyeok in such high regard.
It required sheer grit and perseverance!
Rustle!
"...?!"
The tent flap opened, and as someone stepped inside, Cain immediately began to wail.
"Argh! Arrrgh! Save me! Gack!"
Then he peeked open one eye to look.
Was it Kim Tae-hyun?
Unfortunately, it wasn't.
"-Chweek. Drag him out."
"-Chweek. Can't we just kill him?"
"-Chweek. Monroso said he would kill him personally, so let us watch. That would be better."
"...???"
Cain was dragged out, utterly bewildered.
Outside, Monroso stood waiting, shaking his head.
"My deputy said he would handle you, but it can't be helped. I shall dispose of you myself. Consider it an honor."
"Wait, what? Hold on a second! Just a second!"
"Hold him."
Two Orcs grabbed Cain by his arms. Cain resisted, but he couldn't budge.
The difference in strength is overwhelming.
You cannot move.
'Are these guys boss monsters or something?!'
They weren't members of the personal guard for nothing.
Monroso approached and held a bowl over Cain's face. Inside, a dark, reddish liquid was boiling furiously.
It looked incredibly ominous.
'This looks exactly like the stuff Kim Tae-hyun cooks up when he wants to screw people over!'
Suddenly, Cain was reminded of a historical drama he had watched in the past. In those shows, criminals always died after drinking stuff like this!
"No! No!"
"Be deeply moved to become my glorious test subject."
• Demonization is in progress.
• Resisting due to your character's unique traits.
• HP is rapidly decreasing.
• Fire Resistance has decreased.
• Cold Resistance has decreased...
Dozens of debuff notification windows popped up. Cain was horrified.
Am I just going to get logged out like this?!
Monroso looked down at Cain, who was writhing and trembling on the ground, and shook his head.
"As expected, unrefined blood is too potent. It seems it was too much for a human to handle. Get him out of my sight."
"-Chweek. Is he dead?"
"He will die soon anyway. I want to inspect the corpse, so place him over there. I shall use him as an undead."
"-Chweek. Mage, you are disgusting."
"Shut up."
The Inner Fortress.
Among the numerous Orc fortresses established around the central area, this one was relatively close to the innermost sanctum. Perhaps because of this, its exterior resembled a massive castle.
Its walls were reinforced with steel plating!
To lay siege to such a place, one would normally need siege engines, powerful magic scrolls, or at least a party of high-ranking mages...
But they had none of those.
Yet, the faces of the gathered players were brimming with confidence.
"Jang Ssu-an! Jang Ssu-an!"
"What should we do?!"
Hundreds of eyes stared intently at Jang Ssu-an.
Jang Ssu-an panicked. In truth, they had won the previous siege not because of his brilliant leadership, but because Tae-hyun had opened the gates from the inside...
'But I can't tell them that!'
"Uh, um, well... Charge!"
-Are you out of your mind?! Lee Da-bi asked in shock.
He was ordering a charge against that terrifying fortress?
-T-Then what should we do?
-We should keep up the ranged attacks until the walls crumble! This fortress is clearly on a completely different level from the last one!
-Ah, I see! What a profound strategy...!
-...
Jang Ssu-an hurriedly tried to call the players back.
"Everyone, come ba—"
"Waaaaah!"
"Charge! Charge!"
But it was already too late.
The players began to rush forward in a massive wave. A reckless charge, completely ignoring whatever attacks rained down from the fortress walls!
"-Chweek! You foolish adventurers, die!"
"-Chweek! Fire!"
A shower of arrows thick enough to blot out the sky descended upon them.
Yet, the players pushed forward, tanks leading the way. It was an all-out assault without any regard for self-preservation, a sight rarely seen even in large-scale guild wars!
Watching from behind, the members of the Power Warrior Guild were dumbfounded and turned to Lee Da-bi.
"D-Did these people eat something bad? Why are they acting like this? They aren't even in the same guild!"
"...It's a misunderstanding."
"Pardon?"
"They are under a collective delusion!"
Lee Da-bi finally understood the situation.
The players gathered here were under a form of mass hypnosis. A hypnosis of optimism! The problem was that the previous siege had been too successful.
They had barely done anything, yet they charged, the gates opened, and it was over! Because of that, the players gathered here were thinking, 'Ah, leaders like Jang Ssu-an must have prepared something.'
'They must have figured everything out.'
'Huh? He's telling us to charge? Charge straight into that fortress wall?'
'Well, there's no way he'd order a charge without a plan, right? He must have something up his sleeve. Maybe the wall will just crumble when we get close?'
'If I'm the only one staying back, I'll miss out on the rewards. I have to run with everything I've got!'
'Whoa, the enemy attacks are brutal! But hey, since no one else is running away, it must be fine. Let's just chug potions and push through. I've got a spare shield anyway...'
Realizing the truth, a Power Warrior guild member asked in horror, "I-Is this really going to be okay?"
"...Let's fall back for now."
"Yes, ma'am!"
When it came to things like this, the Power Warrior Guild was always in perfect agreement.
"Man, did I take too long talking to Saruon?"
Tae-hyun clicked his tongue as he rushed toward the rear of the fortress.
'Well, Da-bi is there, so surely they didn't do anything crazy. Ssu-an... is a bit of a wildcard, but with Da-bi around...'
He didn't have an ounce of trust in Jang Ssu-an.
"...?"
Arriving at the fortress, Tae-hyun blinked.
Who were those people swarming all over the fortress walls?
The answer came immediately. They were players.
"Attack! Attack!"
"-Chweek! These adventurers are insane! They don't know how to retreat!"
It was a reckless charge with no regard for the consequences. The casualties were disastrous. About twenty percent of the gathered adventurers were logged out on the spot.
Even with tanks receiving all kinds of skills and buffs at the front, they still suffered that much damage! This was the price of charging blindly while thinking, 'Oh, it'll be fine!' even as the Orc archers intensified their barrage and all kinds of shamanistic spells rained down from above.
However, they had also gained something in return. Despite lacking proper siege equipment, they had successfully scaled and captured the fortress walls.
Human wave tactics! It was the result of the gathered players brute-forcing their way through sheer, mindless numbers.
"Whoa! The Orcs are retreating!"
"I knew we'd win! I knew they had a plan!"
"Jang Ssu-an is actually amazing!"
"..."
Jang Ssu-an, who had scaled the fortress wall late, broke out in a cold sweat.
If... if these players ever found out the truth, what would happen to him?