The Wraith of the Ancient God Awakens

Huh?

Tae-hyun flinched. Did a rather ominous message just pop up?

"What?"

Rumble, crash, bang!

Before he could even ask what it meant for the Specter of the Ancient God to awaken, the altar exploded.

Although he successfully evaded the blast, Tae-hyun was blown off the altar and rolled across the stone floor. He had planted bombs all over the place just in case something appeared, but he hadn't expected the altar itself to blow up first.

"Who dares set foot in this sacred sanctuary?!"

"...!"

What emerged from the shattered ruins of the altar was a massive, writhing mass of darkness. The undulating shadow bellowed in a deep, resonant voice.

"The successor of the Avatar has finally arrived! I have been waiting for thee!"

"Huh?"

Tae-hyun, who had been tensing up, tilted his head. Waiting for me? Does that mean we don't have to fight?

"So, can I go now?"

"To repel intruders is my sacred duty. Yet, to witness the successor of the Avatar reclaim their rightful Authority fills me with boundless joy!"

Tae-hyun slowly began to take a few steps backward. It seemed like this guy was just talking to himself without actually listening. If so, couldn't Tae-hyun just slip away?

"However!"

Screeech!

"...!"

In an instant, the exit passage was blocked by a wall of solid darkness. Tae-hyun's face stiffened as his true intentions were laid bare.

"As sworn by the ancient oath, I shall test the rightful successor of the Avatar! Defeat me!"

"..."

Tae-hyun had to swallow a barrage of curses.

Boom!

A powerful shockwave erupted from the Specter ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the Ancient God. Any other player would have been instantly afflicted with a crowd-control status effect. However, Tae-hyun was able to withstand it thanks to his high Holy stat.

Damn it... Repelling intruders and testing the successor at the same time? Is that how it is?

He clicked his tongue inwardly, but the situation remained unchanged. Tae-hyun's mind raced. What could he do right now?

Run, obviously!

Without a moment's hesitation, Tae-hyun detonated the planted explosives.

Boom! Crash! Bang!

Along with the deafening explosions, holes began to tear open in the surrounding structures. Thanks to that, the path blocked by the Specter of the Ancient God was blown wide open.

"What are you doing, successor?! Face me in honorable combat!"

"Cut the crap! If I had planned on fighting you, I would've brought a whole raid party!"

In Fantasy Online 1, he had completed most of his conquests solo, but that was only after meticulous calculations. Charging in like an idiot to die when the odds couldn't be calculated was absolutely not Tae-hyun's style.

The Specter of the Ancient God was, by all appearances, an incredibly powerful boss monster. It was far too dangerous for Tae-hyun to face right now, relying on just a few skills and stats. He had to get out first.

Besides, he had already obtained the Authority. There was no need to risk his life to kill the boss and get extra rewards.

Pitter-patter-patter—

A flurry of rather humiliating system messages popped up!

While the skill attached to his Vagabond's Shoes gave him a temporary burst of explosive movement speed, the Swift Retreat skill steadily increased his movement speed while running away. What if he used them together?

"Stop right there...!"

"?!"

Tae-hyun, who had quickly pulled ahead, was startled. He had assumed the monster wouldn't be able to leave the altar area, but the damn thing had actually ventured out and was chasing him.

Just how far is it going to follow me?

He was curious, but he couldn't afford to stop. The absolute dumbest thing you could do when running away was to hesitate and look back. When escaping, you had to give it your absolute all!

Tae-hyun sprinted forward without looking back once.

"You've returned, living one!"

"Get out of the way!"

Lucky Strike, 4 stacks!

Tae-hyun slammed his Ancient Hammer into the Flesh Golem. The Flesh Golem staggered but held its ground, letting out a hearty laugh.

"Weak! Living one! Now, taste my attack! Wait... where are you going? Are you running away again?!"

There was a reason Tae-hyun, busy as he was, had pulled out his hammer to swing it. The Flesh Golem had opened up a path while bracing itself to counterattack. Tae-hyun quickly slipped through the gap and resumed his escape.

"Stop right there, living one! Come back this instant... Argh!"

"...!"

The Flesh Golem shrieked. The Specter of the Ancient God, pursuing from behind, had swallowed the Flesh Golem whole. The sight of the massive mass of darkness devouring the Flesh Golem was bone-chilling.

"What?!"

Tae-hyun was astonished even as he ran. No matter how frantic his escape was, this was too shocking to ignore. He hadn't even killed it directly, yet simply assisting had triggered an immediate level up.

If so...

Just how much experience do those specter warriors and Flesh Golems actually give?

A simple calculation made the staggering amount of experience obvious!

Tae-hyun bit his lip as he ran. If this was a hunting ground where leveling up was this easy, maybe he should have prepared to actually hunt in this dungeon. Who knew when he'd ever find a dungeon like this again!

But it was already too late. Tae-hyun wept silently in his heart.

"Will you not halt, successor?!"

And from behind, the persistent voice of the Specter echoed.

"Lord Tae-hyun! You've returned!"

"Run!"

"Pardon?"

"I said run, you idiot! Are you deaf?!"

Tae-hyun was not the kind of saint who would waste time explaining things to someone who couldn't take a hint. As he ran past, he smacked the back of Rufo's head and kept sprinting.

"???"

Rufo, who had been waiting at the dungeon entrance, was utterly bewildered. What on earth was going on?

But he understood immediately.

In the distance, a massive wave of darkness was surging toward them.

"Aaaaargh!"

Rufo shrieked and began to run. No matter how skilled of a swordsman he was, he had no desire to face an unidentified monster like that in such a narrow corridor.

"Wait for me! I said wait for me!"

The two of them dashed past the dungeon entrance and arrived directly beneath the hole in the ceiling they had descended from earlier.

"Throw the rope!"

"Yes!"

"I'm going first!"

"What?"

Before Rufo could even register what was happening, Tae-hyun was already climbing up the rope. Unable to even find the breath to curse, Rufo scrambled up the rope right behind him.

"Pant, gasp... What on earth is that thing?"

"I don't know either. It suddenly popped out of the altar!"

"The altar? Then you obtained the Authority of Archisus, right? Please tell me you got it!"

"Of course I got—"

Clack.

Clambering out of the hole, Tae-hyun blinked at the sight before him.

Heavily armed pirates, their eyes burning with fury, had them completely surrounded.

"Haha. I think there's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been a slight misunderstanding here."

Tae-hyun raised both hands as he spoke.

"What do you mean... *gasp*."

Rufo, who had climbed up right after him, took in the atmosphere and immediately shut his mouth. Armed pirates were pointing their weapons right at them.

It was glaringly obvious. They had been caught red-handed!

"Drop all your items immediately and follow us!"

The pirates in the front row pointed their spears. The pirates in the second row aimed loaded crossbows. Behind them, even the highly valued mages of the pirate crew could be seen.

Looks like they caught on quite a while ago?

No matter how he looked at it, this wasn't a force assembled in a hurry. It seemed they had prepared thoroughly after realizing the duo had gone down.

Tae-hyun whispered to Rufo.

"Rufo. Can you break through?"

"What? Through this encirclement?"

Rufo shook his head as if it were completely out of the question. The Caterand Pirates were by no means weak. Furthermore, looking at the men forming the perimeter, they seemed to have brought the elite members of the crew.

"How disappointing. We trusted you and let you in, yet you dare commit such a treacherous act."

"Exactly! You faithless thieves!"

As the pirate vanguard captain spoke, the other pirates chimed in with angry shouts. They had trusted them because they worked so well, and now they had been stabbed in the back!

However, Tae-hyun remained completely shameless.

"What are you pirates even talking about?"

"What?"

"You guys stole it first anyway! What's wrong with stealing back what was already stolen?!"

The pirates were left speechless.

Of course, winning the argument didn't help their current predicament.

"Silence! You thieves. You will all answer for this. No matter how clever your merchant guild thinks it is, you're still dancing in the palm of our Captain Denelson's hand!"

"The Captain is waiting outside! Let's bring them to him immediately!"

The pirates began to close in. Tae-hyun ran the numbers. Would things go according to his calculations? He needed to buy a little more time.

"How did Denelson find out we did this?"

"Heh. No one can deceive our Captain."

Believing they had already secured a perfect victory, the pirate readily answered.

While it was a good thing, Tae-hyun momentarily felt a sense of skepticism. Why was it always so easy for him to acquire speech-related skills?

The reason Denelson had been awoken from his slumber was due to a report from his subordinate.

"What is it?"

"Captain! We received a report from below."

"What report?"

"You know that noble brat we locked up in the basement?"

"Ah. That noisy fellow."

Denelson understood immediately. Count Marcel was famous even among the pirates.

A cowardly, incompetent fool of a noble.

Despite being held hostage, he had the audacity to casually demand more wine, acting as if he had no grasp of reality.

"Well, he woke up and started making a fuss... I thought I should let you know."

"What did he say?"

While half-asleep, Count Marcel had heard noises coming from nearby and had called the pirates over to complain.

"Stop making so much noise next door while people are trying to sleep!"

Hearing this, the pirate guard felt something was off and came to report to Denelson.

Upon hearing the report, Denelson's face hardened. Denelson was by no means a stupid man.

"Could it be..."

"Sir?"

"Follow me. We need to check."

At the far end of where the Count was locked up lay the pirate crew's treasure vault. Surely, they couldn't have opened it, but...

Rattle. Rattle.

The vault door wouldn't budge.

Only then did Denelson realize that the key in his possession had been swapped.

"Those filthy thieves!"

Denelson roared in absolute fury.

"Assemble the men ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠immediately! I'm going to tear those merchant bastards limb from limb!"

"What?!"

The pirate subordinate was taken aback. Thanks to the workers the merchant guild had brought recently, life on the island had been quite comfortable. However, seeing Denelson's wrath, now was clearly not the time to bring that up.

"Capture and bind every single worker on this island! Call the mages to open this door! I will absolutely not let them get away with this!"

Denelson bellowed at the top of his lungs.

However, he had no way of knowing.

What had just transpired was nothing more than a minor prelude compared to what was about to unfold.