A Dragon's Despair
Unaware of Chairman Yoo's true feelings, the members of the Power Warrior Guild steeled themselves for a desperate, last-stand battle.
"Bring out the bombs."
"Gasp! But those are..."
"Do you think we can afford to be picky about items right now?! Use everything we've got!"
"Request backup from the guild leader! We can't handle this on our own!"
"Hey! Power Warrior Guild!"
"...!"
A shout echoed from outside! It was the sound of the gathered players yelling in front of the royal palace.
"We don't know how you guys got your hands on that crown, but don't get hurt trying to keep something that doesn't belong to you! Bring it out! Do that, and we'll spare your lives!"
The blatant disrespect made the Power Warrior Guild members boil with anger.
"Why, that little bastard..."
"Just because they have higher levels, better classes, superior gear, and slightly better controls, they think they can look down on us?!"
"...W-well, when you put it like that, doesn't it just make you sad?"
"If you don't come out by the time we break in, you're all dead!"
It was Neure's threat! He hadn't chosen the Bandit class for nothing; his skills immediately took effect.
Neure has activated a skill.
Morale has decreased.
"You seem to be relying on those royal merman warriors, but with our numbers, we can take over the palace before they even get here! I'll give you one last chance. Three, two..."
"Do you want the crown?"
Chairman Yoo stepped out onto the palace terrace and leaned over the railing.
"...!"
"Is that him...?"
The players stirred as they spotted Chairman Yoo wearing the crown.
"Is that guy really in the Power Warrior Guild?"
"His gear is way too luxurious..."
"..."
Neure ignored the chatter behind him and resumed his intimidation.
"Hey! Old man! Hand over the crown, and I'll let you live!"
He calls that a threat...?
Chairman Yoo shook his head. To him, Neure's intimidation relied entirely on system skills; his actual delivery was that of a complete amateur. However, he needed to make good use of Neure right now. If he played his cards right, he might actually get this crown taken off his hands!
"Do you want the crown?"
"...?"
"If you want it, come and take it. I'll give it to you."
Chairman Yoo's attitude was incredibly relaxed and leisurely! Neure flinched at his composure.
What... what is this?
He was so calm that it felt suspicious.
"I told you to come and take it. What are you waiting for?"
"What's wrong? Why aren't we going in?"
"Wait a minute... something's fishy."
"...?"
"Look at his attitude! It's like he's waiting for us to enter!"
"Indeed..."
The players waiting in the back, wondering why they weren't charging, froze upon hearing those words. Chairman Yoo's bizarrely relaxed demeanor was undeniably suspicious.
"Could it be a trap...?"
"It's highly possible. They say the Power Warrior Guild rolls with Kim Tae-hyun. I heard they use items crafted by those crazy mechanical engineering blacksmiths."
"And they do suicide bombings too..."
"Wait, is the palace rigged with explosives?"
"The palace is already rigged with bombs?!"
"They're going to blow themselves up with us if we go in?!"
The rumors snowballed rapidly! Neure, completely oblivious to the wild theories spreading behind him, fell into deep thought.
Should I go in? Or should I stay out?
If he charged in only to take all the damage himself, nothing would be more frustrating. The players gathered here were people he had just met today. There was absolutely no reason to sacrifice himself for them!
As he pondered, Neure slapped his knee. A brilliant idea had struck him.
"Hey. You guys go in first."
"What? Why us?"
Of course, it didn't work at all. Any player sharp enough to make it here had basic situational awareness. The first one in would bear the brunt of the trap!
"Your party has a lot of tanks."
"No way. This guy is just wearing heavy armor, but his HP is actually low and he barely has any skills. Aren't you guys better off? You have a priest and your levels are higher."
"O-our priest is a total noob! He can't even heal properly! You have no idea how slow he is..."
"Our tank is complete garbage too, okay?! He tries to deal damage instead of pulling aggro, he's useless!"
Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted into a heated contest of who could trash-talk their own party members the best.
"..."
"..."
The party leaders argued passionately, completely oblivious to the icy glares their own party members were giving them.
The Power Warrior Guild members looked down with utterly bewildered expressions. To think the enemies they thought would attack at any moment were bickering like this.
"Elder...! We've learned something new today. Bluffing like that works so much better than panicking!"
The guild members gasped in admiration. To dismantle an entire raid force and throw them into chaos with a single bluff!
Meanwhile, a very different development was taking place elsewhere.
"-Rise, rise, rise..."
Your Word of Power skill level is insufficient. Failed to summon undead.
"It seems... you are not at that level yet..."
"Tsk."
"More importantly... is it acceptable for the successor of Archisus... to command the undead...?"
"Is it not?"
"No... well... it is your freedom... *yawn*..."
Okenoas said, letting out a massive yawn.
"Have you not learned enough by now...?"
"I'll try a bit more!"
"...Are you not... bored...?"
"Not at all!"
"When... are you leaving... your companions must be waiting..."
You have stayed in the training ground for too long.
Okenoas's affinity has decreased.
Through your Highest-grade Eloquence skill, you realize that Okenoas desperately wishes for you to leave.
Reading a dragon's inner thoughts using the Highest-grade Eloquence skill! Of course, just because he realized it didn't mean he would comply. Tae-hyun completely ignored it.
├─ Skill Level:Increased ✓
└─ Level 2:UNLOCKED ★
You can now use up to two phrases!
"Oh... wonderful... will you leave now...?"
Tae-hyun ignored him and activated the skill again.
"Rise!"
Summoning undead using Word of Power. The type of undead summoned will be determined at random.
"Lord Okenoas. Since it's a Word of Power skill, is there no way to specify which undead I want to summon?"
"For that... you must be able to speak... longer and in more detail..."
As the level of the Word of Power skill increased, he would be able to speak longer and more detailed phrases. The power of lower-tier Word of Power skills would also increase!
• An Intermediate Skeleton Warrior has been summoned.
• A Low-grade Skeleton Warrior has been summoned.
• A Low-grade Skeleton Warrior has been summoned.
...
• A Low-grade Death Knight has been summoned!
• Magic skill has increased.
• Black Magic skill has increased.
Because he kept summoning using the Word of Power, his Magic and Black Magic skills naturally increased.
"To summon me from the darkness! Without the proper qualifications, you cannot summon— Wh-why is a great existence here?!"
The Low-grade Death Knight submits to the Dragon's Majesty.
High-ranking existences among the undead or demons couldn't be easily commanded just because they were summoned. If the summoner lacked the proper qualifications, they would often turn around and attack. But this time was an exception! With the ancient dragon Okenoas sitting right next to him, no undead dared to act up.
Oh? In that case, this is the perfect chance...
Realizing this was a golden opportunity, Tae-hyun activated his skills in rapid succession.
"Rise! Rise! Rise!"
"When... are you leaving...?"
"Rise!"
"Can you... not hear me...?"
For some reason, Okenoas's voice sounded incredibly pitiful.
Unfortunately, none of the demons who held a grudge against Tae-hyun were summoned. Of course, that didn't mean the summoned demons were friendly.
"How dare a mere human summon me! I shall burn you to ashes— Gasp! Why is a great existence here?!"
"You are noisy... shut up..."
When Okenoas glared at them with irritated eyes, most of the demons immediately shrank back in silence. Tae-hyun seized the opportunity to question them.
"What has Edaor been up to lately? What about Adad?"
The demons gave various answers.
"How should I know about guys like them?"
"Edaor? I heard he's laying low to recover his strength."
"Didn't Edaor go to the continent?"
"Adad... I heard he lost his subordinates to some wicked human. Just how evil must that human be?"
"They say Adad will appear on the Central Continent soon."
The time limit has expired.
The summoning of the demons has been canceled.
It was only because Okenoas kept restoring his MP that this was possible; normally, Tae-hyun was nowhere near the level required to summon and command these demons and undead. Tae-hyun knew this all too well, which was why he was desperately trying to squeeze out even one more skill activation.
"Do you have grudges with demons as well...?"
"Well, as you go through life, isn't it normal to make an enemy out of a demon or two?"
"...I do not think that is normal... More importantly... I think you can leave now... If you leave now... I will give you this necklace..."
When Tae-hyun stubbornly refused to budge, Okenoas pulled out a necklace that looked incredibly valuable even at a glance and dangled it in front of him.
"No, Lord Okenoas! I'm not doing this to get something from you!"
"Then... I will give you these gloves as well..."
"No, really! Lord Okenoas!"
"Please... just... leave..."
Okenoas finally understood why the other dragons had warned never to get involved with Archisus. Once you got tangled up with him, nothing good ever came of it. Regardless of the dragon's despair, Tae-hyun intended to keep holding out. At least, until he received word from the outside.
"Players are forming parties to attack the royal palace! Please help us!"
Tsk. What a shame.
Tae-hyun smacked his lips and prepared to leave. He wanted to stay here longer, but he couldn't. The Expedition forces from each denomination were waiting for him on the sea, and now there were idiots trying to attack the royal palace...
"Lord Okenoas. I'm thinking of heading out now..."
"...!"
Okenoas's eyes snapped wide open.
"That... is an excellent decision..."
"Is there anything else you could give me before I go?"
"..."
Okenoas's affinity has decreased.
Tae-hyun milked Okenoas for everything he could get.
"Lord Okenoas. Now that I'm wearing the necklace, my wrists feel a bit bare. I think a bracelet would go perfectly with it..."
"Oh, now that I have the bracelet, my fingers feel a bit empty..."
"Now that I'm wearing the ring, my feet are feeling a bit cold."
If Okenoas weren't such a lazy dragon, he would have unleashed a furious Breath on the spot. Tae-hyun made one final request.
"By any chance, Lord Okenoas, do you have any shed scales or perhaps a tail lying around...?"
"..."
He was truly planning to strip him bare down to his very bones! The area around Okenoas's eyes twitched uncontrollably.
"Here..."
"Ah. Did your tail not shed?"
"Accursed... Archisus..."
"Pardon? What did you just say?"
"It is... nothing..."
Tae-hyun was about to ask, 'Could you lend me your tail so I can craft something?' but decided against it. Even he knew Okenoas would probably fly into a rage if he heard that.
Well... the scales and claws should be plenty.
Any ordinary blacksmith would have immediately thought of crafting equipment with them. A dragon's body parts! Even if they were old and worn, they were worth whatever price one demanded. They were impossible to obtain anywhere else.
However, Tae-hyun planned to use them to craft Monster Essence.
My weapons are already good enough, and there's a limit to what kind of armor I can make with just a few scales and claws. I'd rather get armor elsewhere and turn these into Monster Essence.
With so many enemies gunning for him, Tae-hyun needed as many hidden trump cards as possible.
"Well then, I shall take my leave, Lord Okenoas. I'd love to drop by and visit the next time I'm in the area..."
"Farewell!"
If the dungeon gate had been physical, it would have slammed shut with a deafening SLAM! That was how swift and resolute Okenoas was in kicking Tae-hyun out. It was a reaction that practically screamed: 'Never come back!'