The Accidental Savior
"Is now really the time to be worrying about that?!"
"I know! Go ask that priest over there to cleanse your weapon debuff."
"Seriously? You think they'll actually do it?"
The priests of the Phytos Church snorted and turned their heads away the moment they made eye contact with Choi Sang-yun.
Just how much did Tae-hyun torment them for them to react like that...?
Splash! In the meantime, Cain, who had finally broken free from the tentacles, plummeted into the sea.
"Pfft, *cough*... Huh?"
As he paddled back to the surface, Cain spotted a massive, pitch-black abyss swirling directly beneath the Kraken.
"Hey, there's something that looks like an entrance down there!"
"Oh. When did you get free?"
"..."
"Just kidding. Anyway, you're saying the entrance is down there?"
Tae-hyun pondered for a moment. Should I just leave the Phytos Church as bait and charge straight into the entrance? Seeing how enthusiastically the Phytos Church was throwing themselves at the Kraken, it seemed the beast would be occupied with them for quite some time.
—Kweeeeeeeek!
The Kraken is casting a skill!
"Hold your ground, everyone! Lord Phytos is watching over us!"
Colossal waves surged all around them, sweeping away everything in their path. The Phytos Church erected a barrier to withstand the onslaught, while Tae-hyun's group quickly backed away to create some distance.
"Count! Please give us your orders!"
From behind, the voices of the other religious orders—excluding the Phytos Church—called out.
"Just buy us some time for now! Don't charge in recklessly!"
Tae-hyun was cautious, worried that the ships of the other orders might get wrecked. Having just the Phytos Church's ships destroyed was more than enough! If all their ships were destroyed out here in the middle of the open ocean, he had no idea how they would ever make it back.
"But Count! We want to help you!"
"Just attack from a distance, you idiots!"
Tae-hyun turned his head to see who had spoken. As expected, it was the Demer Order. What a needlessly kind faction!
Thud! Thud! Thud! Perhaps because the Phytos Church had drawn the most aggro, the Kraken was thrashing them relentlessly with its tentacles.
Ah. I feel like I could just dive right in...
Normally, he would have dove in immediately, but Tae-hyun was worried about something else. If he slipped away, not only the Phytos Church but all the other orders might be wiped out! If that happened, it would put Tae-hyun in a tight spot.
He had to return to the King of Atali and report back. He couldn't exactly say, "Everyone died except for me!" Even for someone as shameless as Tae-hyun, his contribution points and affinity ratings would take a massive hit.
"Fine. Let's kill it first."
"What?! Seriously?!"
Cain, who had assumed Tae-hyun would just slip away, flinched and froze mid-dive.
"Follow me!"
"But that thing looks way too terrifying..."
Tae-hyun dashed forward, dragging Cain along.
Slash! A massive body meant there were plenty of places to hit! While the Kraken was distracted by the Phytos Church, Tae-hyun drew his Dae-man-bul-gang-geom and landed a precise strike.
With a satisfying sensation of impact, the Kraken's tentacles began to thrash wildly. Tae-hyun focused his senses and dodged them.
Evading consecutive attacks on the unstable surface of the water was incredibly difficult, but for Tae-hyun, it was entirely possible.
Front!
—Circle of Counterattack!
Boom! After dodging all the other strikes, he redirected the final incoming blow with the Circle of Counterattack, causing the Kraken's massive body to shudder.
Flash!
The effects of Archisus Swordsmanship have revealed the Kraken's weaknesses.
Attacking a weakness will trigger additional effects.
Weak points materialized all over the Kraken's body. The problem was...
This bastard is way too damn big.
The weak points were too far away! Of all places, they were located near the Kraken's head, meaning he had to get all the way up there to strike them.
"Yong-yong, Heuk-heuk, come out!"
At Tae-hyun's command, the two dragons materialized. The sudden appearance of two dragons made the Kraken let out a wary screech.
—Master, what are your orders?
—Attack with everything you've got!
—B-But...
—...?
—My attacks are... lightning-based...
—...
Yong-yong's primary weapon was lightning magic. Of course, given his high level, his physical body attacks were also powerful, but that only worked against lower-level opponents. The Kraken was clearly a formidable foe whose level far exceeded both Yong-yong's and Heuk-heuk's! Fighting without magic was out of the question.
—Hmm... Go fight over there!
—Isn't that where the Phytos Church is?
—No time to explain! Move!
—U-Understood.
As Yong-yong fluttered his wings and flew off, Heuk-heuk let out a sly chuckle.
—Fufu. Master. Since I wield fire magic, in a situation like this, I am far superior to that gold dragon...
—No. I didn't summon you to fight.
—??
With the other religious orders watching with wide-open eyes, he didn't want to use Sadiq's skills for no good reason.
—I summoned you to carry me up there. Fly!
—Yes, Master...
With a dejected expression, Heuk-heuk took off into the air with Tae-hyun on his back. As they flew close, the Kraken's massive eyes dilated and shook.
—Kweeeeng!
A restriction skill has been activated!
[Flight is prohibited in this area!]
—?!?!
Heuk-heuk, who had been flapping his wings and flying swiftly, froze in sheer panic. And then, he plummeted straight down!
Splash!
"Can you not even fly properly?!"
—Sob... It's not my fault...
In any case, it was now absolutely certain that the Kraken's weak point was its head. Judging by the skill it had just used, its skill set was clearly designed to prevent anyone from approaching its head!
Hmm... Should I just climb up its body? But it's not like it'll just stand still...
"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"
"...?"
A familiar voice called out from above.
"I'll pull you up!"
"...Why are you up there again?"
While Tae-hyun had been busy dodging tentacles and fighting, Cain had somehow gotten captured again and was currently dangling in midair.
"I planned this!"
—Ack! Why me too?!
Because he had been riding Heuk-heuk, the chains struck Heuk-heuk and dragged him right along. Tae-hyun, who was riding him, was pulled straight toward Cain as well!
"Good job, Cain!"
"Please untie me..."
"Heuk-heuk, free him!"
Ignoring Cain's pleas, Tae-hyun leaped onto the Kraken's head. The squishy, slimy texture felt disgusting.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
You have struck a weak point! An additional effect has been triggered.
[A curse has been applied!]
You have struck a weak point! An additional effect has been triggered.
[A special effect has been activated!]
"Ah!"
As crafting materials suddenly began to drop, Tae-hyun stopped fighting for a moment and busily gathered them up. Cain, who was dangling in midair like he was on some forced amusement park ride, stared at him in utter disbelief. The guy was balancing on the head of a thrashing Kraken, yet he was still taking the time to loot trash items!
—This is too... tough... *grunt*...
Heuk-heuk slammed his claws into the tentacle, then cast a sneaky glance around. Nobody's looking, right?
Whoosh!
He unleashed Sadiq's Flame, scorching the tip of the tentacle. The tentacle severed instantly, dropping Cain.
—Kweeeeeeeek!
As the Kraken thrashed in agony, Tae-hyun, who was still riding it, was having a miserable time.
Damn it...
He had to maintain his balance on a violently bucking surface while simultaneously dodging tentacles whipping at him from above!
Stab! Tae-hyun drove his Dae-man-bul-gang-geom into the beast's head, trying to anchor himself.
Carbanog warns of imminent danger!
"Huh? What the..."
Splash!
The Kraken shook its body violently and dove straight back into the ocean. Beset by the Phytos Church and Tae-hyun's group, it had decided to submerge to escape them. Consequently, Tae-hyun was dragged underwater along with it!
—!
Tae-hyun quickly cast his Word Magic to allow himself to breathe underwater, then prepared to pull out his sword and escape. Fighting a Kraken underwater was a suicide mission.
Whoosh!
However, all paths of escape were instantly blocked. The Kraken had extended its massive tentacles, completely wrapping them around its head.
This bastard... Was its plan to capture me first?
To think it would target Tae-hyun instead of the Phytos Church just because of a few hits! Granted, it was Tae-hyun's fault for climbing onto its head and repeatedly striking its vital points, but from his perspective, it felt completely unfair.
If I get dragged down like this, I'm in real trouble!
As he plunged rapidly into the ocean depths with the Kraken, Tae-hyun tried to slash at the tentacles to carve an opening.
You have arrived at the entrance of The Exile.
Would you like to enter?
...!
As the Kraken dove rapidly, it brushed past the entrance of The Exile. Thanks to that, the entry prompt had popped up for Tae-hyun!
I can just go in and come back out later!
With that thought, Tae-hyun immediately accepted.
"Enter!"
Entering The Exile.
You are the first to discover and enter the path of The Exile. Your Reputation increases significantly!
Reputation: 21,620
Infamy: 21,160
Oh. My Reputation has finally surpassed my Infamy!
His Infamy stat had always been higher than his Reputation, but thanks to the string of achievements he had racked up recently, his Reputation had finally overtaken it.
Both stats were easily several times higher than those of ordinary players! Tae-hyun was the only player in the game who had a higher Reputation than players who specialized in farming Reputation, while simultaneously possessing a higher Infamy than players who actively sought to raise their Infamy.
📍 Objective 1: You can now escort the living trapped in The Exile out.
📍 Objective 2: The souls trapped in The Exile cannot be freed yet. To release them, you must defeat the sea monster left behind by the Pirate King, the Kraken.
Ugh.
Tae-hyun grimaced. His ultimate goal in coming here was to free the souls of the NPCs from the various religious orders trapped in The Exile. He had hoped that simply entering would be enough, but it seemed he would have to slay the Kraken after all.
"Kim Tae-hyun...!"
"Huh? Did Cain follow me in here too?"
Hearing a sorrowful, desperate voice calling his name, Tae-hyun momentarily thought Cain had followed him. But it wasn't Cain.
"You... To think you would actually come to save me...!"
Alcott was staring at Tae-hyun with teary eyes. Though taken aback, Tae-hyun didn't let it show and replied calmly.
"...Y-Yeah. Of course I came to save you."
"Waaaah!"
Alcott rushed forward and threw his arms around Tae-hyun in a tight hug. Behind him, Crawford watched the scene with eyes wide in disbelief.
"Unbelievable. I can't believe someone actually came to rescue that guy..."
"Y-Yeah, tell me about it."
Crawford and Roy, who had grown close during their confinement, whispered to each other in shock.
"Was Kim Tae-hyun really that close with Alcott?"
"No... I don't think so... You saw them too."
"Yeah, their dynamic was definitely less 'close friends' and more..."
A debtor and a debt collector. A prisoner and a warden. In any case, it was a bizarre, twisted relationship! Yet, while the members of the Guild Alliance were busy slacking off in the Arantis Kingdom, Tae-hyun had actually come to rescue him.
"Wait, were they actually close friends? Was what Alcott said true?"
Whenever they had asked Alcott, "Hey, do you owe Kim Tae-hyun money or something? Why do you tremble whenever you see him?" Alcott had desperately denied it.
"No, we're not! We're close! We're actually really close, okay?! We've been friends since Pan-On 1!" ...or so he claimed.
"Sob, sob! Those Guild Alliance bastards are absolute trash! They didn't even bother to come save me!"
"..."
Tae-hyun quietly started recording the scene. He never knew when it might come in handy later.
Completely oblivious to this, Alcott continued to express his endless gratitude. Under normal circumstances, Alcott would have suspected him, thinking, "Kim Tae-hyun came to save me? What kind of scheme is he cooking up now?" But it seemed his long confinement in The Exile had taken a severe toll on his mental state. He was currently incapable of making rational judgments!
"Anyway, thank you, Kim Tae-hyun."
"Thank you, Lord Tae-hyun! I knew you would come!"
Crawford and Roy also tried to sneak in and give Tae-hyun a hug. Seeing this, Tae-hyun peeled Alcott off himself and shoved him toward the other two.
"...?"
"Now then. It's time to settle the bill."
"...Excuse me?"