Alcott Did Not Die
Alcott did not die. In that split second, Tae-hyun pulled out a bizarrely shaped spear and thrust it deep into Gardu.
—What kind of foolishness is th—urgh?!
Gardu has been knocked down!
You have pierced Gardu, a monster who has roamed the seas for over hundreds of years, with the Spear of Karbanog. Karbanog rejoices in your feat!
The Rabbit God, Karbanog, is...
You cannot change classes because you are the Avatar of Archisus.
Karbanog is sorrowful.
Tae-hyun was looking at yet another legendary class quest window—something most players would be lucky to see even once in their lifetime! As soon as it was automatically rejected, the next quest window popped up.
The Generous Rabbit God
The Rabbit God Karbanog has realized that you cannot become the Avatar of Karbanog because you are already the Avatar of Archisus. Though saddened, Karbanog is a generous deity. Instead, he has decided to settle for placing a statue of Karbanog in a corner of your church's temple. If you reject even this proposal, Karbanog will be truly heartbroken.
🎁 Reward: Title Acquisition (?, ???, ????)
'…Why is this god so clingy?!'
—Accept!
With Gardu glaring at him with bloodshot eyes right in front of him, he couldn't afford to waste time debating a quest. Tae-hyun accepted immediately. Besides, this wasn't a particularly difficult quest.
Karbanog is overjoyed!
Karbanog laughs wickedly.
'…Huh?'
He wondered if he had misread that last part, but there was no time. Now that Gardu was knocked down, this was his chance!
"Gardu is dead! I have defeated Gardu!"
—What kind of nonsense is—
—Aaargh! Lord Gardu has fallen! This can't be!
—...
You possess the Advanced Rhetoric skill!
You possess the Intimidate skill. You receive an additional bonus!
You possess the Soul-shaking Threat skill. You receive an additional bonus!
You possess the Mass Demagoguery skill. You receive an additional bonus!
Gardu's subordinates fall into a state of panic!
Your Speech skill increases significantly!
Word of Power (Lv. 1)
Creates skill effects simply by speaking short phrases. As the skill level rises, you can use more words with greater power.
'!!!!!'
Tae-hyun was genuinely shocked. It wasn't just because his Advanced Rhetoric had upgraded to Supreme Eloquence. He had expected it to take a bit longer, but considering he had successfully pulled off a speech skill against Gardu, it made sense that it shot up this much.
Nor was he shocked because he was the first player to reach Supreme Eloquence. Honestly, Tae-hyun was probably the only player crazy enough to level up his speech skills this high anyway.
What shocked him was...
The reward for mastering Supreme Eloquence was simply too good.
'A skill as a reward for a speech-related skill? Isn't this a skill that even top-ranking mages haven't learned yet?'
As far as Tae-hyun knew, no mage player had managed to learn Word of Power yet. And yet, it had suddenly popped out of a speech skill. He had every right to be stunned!
To be fair, Tae-hyun hadn't leveled up his speech skills because he wanted to. It had just leveled up on its own as he went about his business. That was how bad the speech-related skills were considered in Pandemonium Online. There was a reason why nobody bothered to level them.
While Tae-hyun was quickly scanning his skill window, Alcott, who had finally broken free from Gardu's grasp, cried out.
"Kim, Kim Tae-hyun...!"
"No need to thank me. You can just pay me back later. Deal?"
"No! That's not it! That spear...!"
—You little rat!
The fallen Gardu dragged his cursed body back up. Sensing that the pirate was about to cast some sort of wicked skill, Tae-hyun moved instantly.
"Friend Shield!"
"What kind of skill is th—urgh?!"
Tae-hyun shoved Alcott toward Gardu and leaped backward to create distance. Whatever that skill was, he definitely didn't want to get hit by it!
—Shackles of the Deep Sea!
"Are you insane?!"
Tae-hyun wasn't the only ranker here. Alcott also realized that the incoming curse was no ordinary spell. If he got hit by that, he might end up getting logged out of the game if he was unlucky!
Alcott immediately pulled out a curse-protection ring he had been saving. It was a single-use item, but now was not the time to be stingy.
Flash!
The ring has been destroyed. The skill is deflected!
Cain, who had been running from afar to help Tae-hyun, stood frozen with his mouth agape as he watched Tae-hyun ruthlessly shove Alcott.
'I am so incredibly glad I wasn't the one standing there!'
Gardu, whose curse had failed, gnashed his teeth and glared at Tae-hyun.
—You miserable rat. Don't get cocky just because you dodged a single curse. I will bind your soul with my next spell. And don't gloat about deceiving my men with your silver tongue. They cannot die, and they will snap out of it soon enough—urk! Oof!
"Shut up, man."
Tae-hyun swung the Spear of Karbanog once more, knocking Gardu flat on his back!
No matter how much HP the target had, the Spear of Karbanog proved its worth by guaranteed knockdown. And Tae-hyun wasn't trying to kill Gardu right now; he was just buying time.
Now that Gardu was down again and his subordinates were in utter chaos, this was the perfect moment!
"Archisus's Divine Territory! Archisus's Blessing!"
Archisus's Divine Territory is declared!
Archisus's Blessing is shared with all allies!
"And, also, um... ah. Storm!"
Wondering if there was any other skill he could use, Tae-hyun decided to test out his newly acquired skill. He needed to disrupt the battlefield by any means necessary.
A wind with random attributes is summoned to the area.
A tempest-attribute wind shakes Skull Island!
Rumble...
In an instant, the sky darkened, and a violently fierce wind began to howl.
Crack! Boom! Crash!
Blinding flashes of lightning began to rain down mercilessly around Gardu.
A cursed pirate warrior fails their luck resistance! Lightning strikes!
A torrential barrage of lightning! Even if a group of top-ranking lightning mages gathered to cast their spells, they couldn't have unleashed a storm of this scale. Natural disasters operated on an entirely different level.
—Argh! What! Have! You! Done!
"Wow. This is working way better than I expected."
The storm itself was devastating, but because Archisus's Divine Territory was active, only the enemies were taking one-sided damage from the tempest.
Whoosh! Crash! Bang! Boom!
The howling winds began to batter and tear apart Gardu's ships anchored along the coast.
—Lord Gardu! The ships are being destroyed!
—We must protect the ships, Lord Gardu!
—I know, you fools! Fall back! Fall back and protect the fleet!
The elite subordinates standing behind Gardu hurriedly began to retreat toward the ships.
Tae-hyun let out a sigh of relief. Half of his goal had been achieved.
—As-sem-ble! My min-ions!
Gardu uses Sovereign's Call!
The pirates' status ailments have been cured!
'Damn it.'
Tae-hyun wasn't the only one with powerful skills. Come to think of it, it was only natural for a boss monster leading an entire pirate fleet to possess such an ability.
—Lord Gardu! You didn't die!
—Lord Gardu!!
—You id-i-ots! Snap out of it and listen to me! Do you really think a pathetic weakling like him could ever kill me?!
Whoosh!
Tae-hyun tried to swing the Spear of Karbanog again, taking advantage of the distraction. But Gardu was no Cain. This time, he dodged before the spear could even reach him.
"Tsk."
—Keep playing your little games. I will tear this entire island down. Summoning Beast of the Deep Sea!
Pop!
Gardu's hand suddenly exploded, and his skill was canceled.
Tae-hyun grinned widely. "You should've lived a better life."
—Lord Gardu! You must board the ship! It's too dangerous!
—If the fleet is destroyed, we will be trapped here!
—Grrr...
Gardu glared at Tae-hyun. The storm was growing progressively worse, and with Archisus's Divine Territory active, capturing Tae-hyun right now was practically impossible. The sheer agony of having to leave behind the one man he wanted to kill more than anything!
—Grrr... Don't celebrate just yet, Kim Tae-hyun. The next thing to burn will be your territory.
Tae-hyun, who usually brushed off such threats, flinched slightly at those words.
"...!"
—Retreat!
"Hey! Wait! Let's finish this right here!"
Ignoring Tae-hyun's shout, Gardu and his men began to board their ships. The cursed pirate warriors retreated like an ebbing tide.
Rumble! Crash!
The typhoon grew even more violent, tearing through everything near Skull Island. The ships of the Red Sea Outlaws were shattered to splinters the moment they touched the raging waves, and Gardu's fleet fared no better.
But that was as far as the damage went.
—Submerge!
Splash!
Gardu's fleet began to dive beneath the ocean waves.
Tae-hyun cried out desperately toward the retreating fleet. "Hey! Gardu! I said let's settle this here!"
Pat.
"...?"
Kada walked up and placed a hand on Tae-hyun's shoulder.
"Truly magnificent!"
"...?"
"The courage to stand tall and face Gardu alone! The leadership to rally and command the outlaws of the Red Sea! And even the sheer audacity to demand a rematch as that monster fled...! I am deeply moved. And I have realized something! The only one fit to lead the Kada Pirates is you!"
Gardu has retreated. Quest complete!
Kada has yielded his position as Captain. You are now the Captain of the Kada Pirates!
"I don't need that—"
"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"
The surrounding pirates began to clap and cheer his name.
By successfully completing the quest, your reputation with the Archisus Church among the Red Sea Outlaws has risen significantly!
The Red Sea Outlaws join the Archisus Church.
The Uruk Region now belongs to the name of Archisus.
Your Holy stat increases significantly!
Other religious factions have caught wind of this and are beginning to move.
"Vice-Captain Kim Tae-hyun—no, Captain Kim Tae-hyun is more than qualified to be our leader!"
"That's right! Let's elect Kim Tae-hyun as our Overlord!"
"With enemies like Gardu out there, we need an outstanding leader!"
The Red Sea Outlaw tribes wish to elect you as their Overlord.
[Overlord] is a highly honorable and heavily responsible position among pirates, requiring you to lead and defend them when great crises arise.
In short, it was a position that offered very few benefits but demanded an immense amount of work! Tae-hyun grimaced in disgust. Why on earth should he accept such a burden for these brainless pirates?
Evangeline watched this bizarre spectacle from the side and muttered, "Honestly, it suits him perfectly..."
The other players nodded in silent agreement.
Of course, Tae-hyun had no intention of agreeing. "Who said you could just elect a lead—"
"Tae-hyun. Tae-hyun."
"...?"
"If you become the leader of these pirates, wouldn't we be able to squeeze quite a bit of money out of them? Judging by the size of this Skull Island..."
Lee Da-bi said, making a circle with her thumb and index finger.
Tae-hyun shivered as the realization struck him.
"Excellent! I shall accept. Since I am now your leader..."
You have accepted the position of Overlord.
Your Reputation increases significantly!
Your Infamy increases significantly!
Rumble! Crash!
"..."
"Uh, Overlord Kim Tae-hyun. When is this storm going to clear up?"
While they were talking, the storm that had torn Gardu's fleet to shreds was now creeping up onto Skull Island.
"Well... since I am your leader now... I can give you orders, right?"
"...?"
"Let's get the hell out of here! Before our ships get wrecked too!"