The Nightmare Returns

"This is all your fault! No matter how I look at it, it's definitely your fault! What on earth did you do to make a boss monster harbor a grudge like that?!"

"When you play Pan-On with a strong sense of justice, villainous boss monsters naturally tend to flock to you. Let's not be too harsh, especially since you're a Vampire yourself."

"I don't drag boss monsters around like this!"

While the two bickered, a bloody battle was already underway on the shores of Skull Island.

Boom! Crash!

"Hold them back! Don't let them make landfall!"

The pirates hastily unleashed a barrage of attacks, but perhaps due to their rush, they failed to inflict any significant damage on Gardu's fleet.

Thud-thud-thud-thud! Weathering the onslaught, Gardu's fleet finally succeeded in landing!

"Push through and advance! Get close and take their heads!"

"Pant, pant... I thought I was a goner."

Alcott barely managed to swim his way to the shores of Skull Island. When he had fallen into the sea, he truly believed his life was over. Cursed pirate warriors, far more adept at swimming than he was, had lunged at him. It was solely thanks to his own skill that he had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠survived.

Those petty bastards... leaving me behind without a single hand to help... Huh?

As Alcott dragged himself onto the shore, a system message popped up before his eyes. It was the notification stating that Gardu's fleet had weakened upon landing.

This is my chance!

For an Assassin player like Alcott, a surprise attack was far more familiar than a head-on clash. A stealthy strike while the tanks drew attention from the front!

Those bastards... I'll make them regret looking down on Alcott! I'll show them what I'm truly capable of!

"Everyone, gather over here. I will cast my buff skills on you."

Smith began casting various buff skills on everyone—except Evangeline.

"Ah. No thanks, I'm good..."

"..."

Evangeline belonged to a race that took damage whenever they received holy buffs!

"Does that mean you can't believe in any gods at all?"

"I think evil gods are fine. Like the vampire deity, or gods of that nature."

"I see."

As Tae-hyun spoke, he suddenly realized something was off.

Wait. Didn't she receive the blessings of Archisus just fine?

He recalled her having no trouble receiving skills related to Archisus. Tae-hyun was about to ponder deeper, but shook his head. Hundreds of cursed pirate warriors were currently surging toward them.

"Establish a defensive line! Protect Skull Island!"

"Hmm. Can't we just run away?"

"Do not retreat! There is no retreat! We shall defend this island with our blood!"

It was as if they had heard Tae-hyun's suggestion! Evangeline turned to him.

"They said no running away."

"These guys are weird."

Tae-hyun grumbled as he prepared for battle. Of course, the moment an opportunity presented itself, he fully intended to slip away.

Well, we have to block a few attacks first to create an opening or whatever...

"Everyone, follow my command!"

For Tae-hyun, who possessed the Advanced Tactics skill, a large-scale battlefield like this was the perfect stage to shine. As a thunderous roar erupted from Tae-hyun, the pirates let out their own battle cries in response.

It was an unexpected bonus. He had only used the skills to rally the pirates, but the results were far better than anticipated.

"Follow the commands of the Kada Pirates' Vice-Captain over there!"

"So the Kada Pirates actually have someone useful! Bwahaha!"

The pirates, who had been afflicted with status ailments due to Gardu, began to gather one by one. As brilliant skill effects erupted around Tae-hyun, the pirates moved in perfect, orderly unison.

"Are those pirates or kingdom soldiers?"

"Just what is Kim Tae-hyun's Tactics skill...? Smith, aren't you at the Intermediate rank? I'm pretty sure you said so on your stream."

"Yes. I am at the Intermediate rank. But looking at Tae-hyun, it seems he is at the Advanced rank..."

"What?! How do you even reach the Advanced rank in Tactics? He doesn't even have a Knight or Commander-type class!"

Regardless of the rankers' shock, the pirates were busy unleashing a devastating barrage of fire upon Gardu's cursed warriors.

"They're falling!"

"Whoa! Long live the Red Sea Pirates!"

Once the pirates regained their senses and unleashed their ranged attacks, the cursed warriors began to melt away!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Not only did the warriors suffer from the curse penalty upon landing, but Tae-hyun's Advanced Tactics and Incarnation's Cry had also cleansed the pirates' debuffs and granted them powerful buffs. The gap in their combat power had instantly flipped.

Even so, for them to melt away like this?

While Crawford, a Mage, failed to notice the nuance, rankers like Smith and Roy fully realized the sheer absurdity of what was happening.

Currently, the average level of the Red Sea Pirates was around 160 to 180. In contrast, Gardu's subordinates were easily over level 200. Since even the common warriors exceeded level 200, there was no telling how high the commanders' levels were.

Yet, they were melting them down despite a level gap of several dozen. Even with the curse penalty, this was insane! Once again, they realized just how monstrous Tae-hyun was.

Is there even another ranker in existence who can adapt to a chaotic, variable-filled situation like this?

"Rise... ye cursed souls!"

"...?!"

Before the rankers could even process their shock, Gardu drew his blade and swung it. Instantly, the fallen warriors on the ground began to rise once more. Shattered limbs rolled back together, reattaching themselves seamlessly, as grotesque, octopus-like tentacles sprouted from their bodies.

"This is insane..."

Now was not the time to celebrate the spread of the Archisus Church. Gardu's cursed pirate warriors were resurrecting instantly, without even a single second of cooldown!

"We have to attack Gardu!"

"Pirates, rally to me! I, Captain Dtruk, shall lead the charge!"

"Dtruk! I won't let you go alone. I'm coming too!"

"Wait, no matter how I look at it, you guys are..."

Before Tae-hyun could stop them, several pirate captains charged headlong at Gardu. It was a display of devotion and courage rarely seen in other NPCs! Of course...

"Curse boiling from the abyss!"

Crunch! Splat!

"Ugh!"

"Argh!"

With a single skill, Gardu seized the captains, disarmed them, and then—

"Grudge of the Deep Sea!"

"Aaaaargh!"

—obliterated them on the spot. It was a chilling display of power, wiping out named NPCs with a mere two skills!

If he's this strong even after being weakened...!

Tae-hyun's mind automatically began running the calculations. The conclusion was...

Raid impossible!

Damn it. It's not like I can just back out now either!

Dash! Tae-hyun lunged toward Gardu. Whether they retreated or did something else, they needed to create an opening first. With Gardu standing so strong and leading his subordinates, they couldn't escape even if they tried.

If I unleash a burst of high-damage skills on Gardu, I can at least buy some time. I'll deal just enough damage to stop him from resurrecting his minions, and then back off!

"Ah! Tae-hyun! It's dangerous to go in alone!"

Seeing Tae-hyun charge, Smith rushed in to support him. Evangeline gasped in sheer horror at the sight.

"Why are you guys charging in?! Hey! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Get back here! I said, get back! Oh, for crying out loud!"

Grumbling all the way, Evangeline ultimately chased after them. Left behind, Roy looked around in panic before scrambling to follow. Crawford, now completely alone, muttered in sheer bewilderment.

"What is wrong with them? Have they all lost their minds?"

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud! Tae-hyun unleashed his skill combo at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow! It was a flawless chain of skills that left every nearby player staring in absolute awe. It was the absolute limit of burst damage Tae-hyun could muster at his current level! Yet, Tae-hyun's expression remained grim.

This is bad!

Tae-hyun bit his lip. Despite the relentless onslaught, Gardu absorbed all the damage with a body as resilient and rubbery as a giant mass of polymer. The fact that he didn't even bother to dodge made it all the more despair-inducing.

"Watch out! Tae-hyun!"

Boom!

"Solar Focus!"

"You monster! I won't let you pass! Tae-hyun! Fall back, quickly!"

"No, Smith. I can dodge this easily, so you don't need to take the hit for me. There's no need to tank like you usually do."

"Ah. I see."

Smith lowered his shield with an embarrassed look and stepped back. He had jumped forward out of concern for Tae-hyun, only to end up taking a beating for nothing.

But if I keep hitting him...

...Son of a...

Tae-hyun felt a wave of bleakness wash over him. The fact that his opponent didn't even try to dodge and just took every hit made the situation feel incredibly hopeless. This was just like...

Right. He's a high-tier version of Smith.

The exact type of character Tae-hyun had the worst compatibility with. In other words, a character who completely ignored control and mechanics, relying solely on a monstrous health pool and healing skills to endure! Smith was precisely that kind of Paladin-type character. When an opponent stubbornly tanked like that, they became incredibly difficult for Tae-hyun to deal with. Smith was annoying enough, but Gardu, his superior counterpart, was on a whole different level.

If it were an enemy that relied on their own mechanics or a diverse skill set to run wild, Tae-hyun could have overwhelmed them with pure control, or exploited an opening to end it with a burst of high damage. But against an opponent like this, there was no choice but to grind them down in a textbook raid fashion, enduring their attacks while slowly chipping away at their health.

The problem was that textbook raids only worked against boss monsters that matched the players' level. If they tried to fight a boss monster with an overwhelming level gap like Gardu that way...

"Bwahahaha! Go on, keep trying!"

Boom!

"Ugh!"

Violent waves erupted around Gardu, sending Smith, Evangeline, and Roy flying.

"Damn it!"

Evangeline cursed as she backed away from the surging waves. She needed to put some distance between them first...

"Kim Tae-hyun! Get out of there! What are you doing?!"

Yet, Tae-hyun remained standing firm right in front of Gardu.

"You carry a peculiar blessing. Then how about a curse?"

Sharp bastard. No wonder he's a boss monster...

Tae-hyun smacked his lips and focused his senses. He couldn't afford to miss a single one of Gardu's movements. That was the only way to dodge his skills. Unlike other boss monsters, a single mistake here could truly mean instant death. This was a realm of pure, unadulterated control, completely independent of any skills or stat blessings!

Here it comes!

Gardu's fingertips pointed toward Tae-hyun. At that exact moment, Tae-hyun prepared to use his skill to widen the distance.

"Die, you bastard!!"

"...?!"

Alcott leaped out from behind, driving his skill straight into Gardu.

"Look at that, Kim Tae-hyun! This is my true power! This is who I am!"

"...Just read your system logs..."

Tae-hyun let out a deep sigh. He felt like an idiot for momentarily harboring a shred of hope when Alcott appeared. Against Gardu, no amount of burst damage mattered unless it was a single-strike instant kill.

"Huh? What?"

Whoosh!

Gardu instantly seized Alcott with a tentacle that shot out from his neck.

"Die, trash."

"Wait—!"