No Way Tae-hyun Would Let This Slide

"No! Surely not! You're not lying to me, are you?! An angel serving the god they worship?! Really?!"

"..."

"If an angel serving the Archisus Church lied, I would have died of sheer embarrassment!"

"...I-I'm sorry."

"Right. Good as long as you know. So, who's the blacksmith on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the angels' side? Introduce me. I don't have any weird intentions... *Ahem*. Just tell them to stay in my territory for a bit before they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leave."

"There is no specific blacksmith among the angels. Everyone knows how to use the skills to some extent."

"Hooh..."

Unlike other races that focused on raising a few specific skills, angels knew how to use most skills at a very high level. An all-rounder race on a completely different dimension from the others! It was impressive, but to Tae-hyun, it only sounded like: I have many talents! Please exploit my talents!

They're way better than demons. How can I drag them into my territory?

If he recruited just one, they would be an all-purpose talent he could put to work for all kinds of tasks! The unfortunate part was that while demons were greedy enough to stay in his territory as long as their conditions were met (which, of course, only Tae-hyun could pull off), angels did not operate that way.

"Now, let's learn a bit."

"Um... aren't we going to hunt the demon?"

"To catch a demon, we need to make weapons to fight it first!"

"...Can we stop now?"

"Just teach me one more."

"You said that last time too!"

Tae-hyun walked a tightrope with Yohas's morale. The other party members, who had been taught angelic magic, swordsmanship, archery, and even merchant skills by Yohas, were grinning from ear to ear.

"Tae-hyun, look at this. It's a skill called Angelic Radiance."

When used during negotiations with an opponent, it displays dignity with a dazzling angelic light.

"Does this give you a bonus?"

To Tae-hyun, whose Speech skill had already reached the pinnacle, this didn't seem very useful. Lee Da-bi's Speech skill must be quite high too, right? In Pan-On, the class with the highest Speech skill was the Merchant class.

"Huh? No. I was thinking that since it flashes a bright light, maybe we could sneakily swipe some items in the meantime."

"That is an excellent idea!"

The party completely fleeced poor Yohas of everything he had. Unlike the demons, Yohas had come to support them empty-handed, so he had to pay the price.

Tae-hyun organized his gains with satisfaction.

I can use the angel blacksmith skills and recipes later.

Especially since angel weapons were recipes that hadn't spread across the continent yet, they could command any price.

Summon angel wings to increase the intensity of the flames.

Allows the separation and use of certain metals that only angels can handle.

...

...

And even these additional skills!

I need to go hunt Karag soon... Is there anything useful?

Even though his party was fine and they had Yohas, Tae-hyun didn't let his guard down. Karag, who was already strong, was definitely in a state of wild frenzy after drinking the demon blood.

No wonder Kim Tae-san and the middle-aged players, armed to the teeth with pay-to-win gear, had retreated multiple times.

Tae-hyun recalled how Karag fought. Originally, he was a warrior who charged like crazy, relying on his immense strength and defense. After drinking the demon blood, he became a perfect being who could even use magic.

His balance has become annoyingly perfect.

If he's slow, bind his feet and beat him up. If his HP is his weakness, close in and burst him down... Targeting weaknesses was Tae-hyun's specialty, but against such a well-balanced opponent, that wouldn't work.

The only weakness was that he was out of his mind. But seeing how well he fought even on pure instinct, it wasn't much of a drawback.

What did Count Osong and the other nobles have? Dominic too...

Tae-hyun checked the items he had obtained recently. There were so many that just checking them was a chore.

...

Most of them were great items, but nothing stood out as "This is the one to catch Karag!"

Can't be helped. I'll have to make do with what I have.

Tae-hyun cleanly gave up and changed his strategy. Since when did he fight with everything perfectly prepared? If it doesn't work, make it work!

"Hmm... Come to think of it, Yohas. Which god's angel did you say you were?"

"I told you I cannot disclose that."

"Is that so?"

Even though he said that, Tae-hyun had a rough idea of which god Yohas served. Because...

Yohas strangely had many hammer-related skills! And his affinity with Tae-hyun was at rock bottom, unable to drop any lower.

It was highly likely he served Phytos, the God of Hammer and Shield.

But why did Phytos send an angel to help me?

Looking at Yohas's attitude, he hadn't come to secretly interfere; he had definitely come to help. But his intentions were hard to guess.

Well, I can think about that later.

What mattered now was how to catch Karag! Of course, Tae-hyun had a plan. That was why he had asked Yohas which god he believed in.

If it's the Phytos Church, that works out perfectly.

"Um... right now... is this really necessary?"

Yohas muttered as if he couldn't believe the situation. And for good reason—there was a massive pit right beneath him.

Tae-hyun set up in front of the deepest part of the Orc fortress and began digging a trap. The opponent's weakness was that he had lost his mind. In that case, a trap like this would be highly effective.

Not just a simple trap, but a truly deep and massive one! Even for Tae-hyun, it was a major construction project that would take some time, but he had the Orcs of Uruk and the giants he could boss around...

And he had Cain.

"Look at that human! He digs faster than us!"

"Unbelievable! Unbelievable!"

A talent for shoveling that even amazed giants!

As a result, a pit almost the size of a dungeon room was completed.

And as soon as it was finished, Tae-hyun said to Yohas:

"Could you stand up here?"

"..."

Yohas doubted his ears. Stand on top of the trap? This, this was surely...

Bait!

"Can't... can't you use someone else...?"

"To make a demon's eyes roll back, an angel like you is perfect. The others might not get the right reaction."

Sadly, Yohas couldn't argue. Even he knew that a demon would target an angel first upon seeing one.

"Can I dodge when he charges?"

"No. We have to make him fall in. Stand still."

Tae-hyun mobilized all his available materials to install additional traps inside the pit.

The sheer persistence of packing traps tightly together! Once anyone fell in, it looked like even their bones wouldn't remain intact.

"Yohas. Do angels also hold grudges and seek vengeance?"

A highly suspicious question from Tae-hyun! Yohas glared and said:

"Yes, we do."

"Really? Even though you're an angel?"

"Yes, we do!"

"I see. Then I guess we can't use that skill..."

An ominous implication! Hearing that, Yohas shuddered.

"Alright. Everyone, get ready! Once Karag falls into the trap, attack as instructed."

Tae-hyun deployed his party and walked up.

A simple but terrifying message window. Tae-hyun paid it no mind, pulled out his musket, and aimed.

"Equipping Soul Shatter, Lucky Strike, Lucky Strike..."

"Grr... Grrr..."

Bang!

With a crisp sound, the bullet flew. At that moment, Karag reacted.

Boom!

"Damn."

"Graaaaaah!"

The attack missed, but Tae-hyun wasn't disappointed. This was just the beginning.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Karag charged. He ran from afar, but the distance closed in an instant.

Rumble—

Like a runaway tank! Tae-hyun quickly turned around and began to run without looking back.

A chilling sensation ran down his spine. Tae-hyun realized that the moment he got hit by that, he would be in deep trouble.

Boom!

A dark blue skull-shaped soul materialized where Tae-hyun had been standing just a moment ago and exploded.

Is it a curse that hits regardless of evasion?!

If his reaction had been even a fraction of a second slower, he would have been hit directly.

"Graaaah!"

Sizzle—

With the sound of something burning, Tae-hyun's armor hissed. Tae-hyun clicked his tongue. If this dragged into a long fight, it would be dangerous. He had to lure him into the trap quickly.

But Karag didn't just let Tae-hyun run away. The moment Tae-hyun dodged, Karag was already right in front of him.

"Archisus Swordsmanship!"

Slash!

For a guy who had lost his mind, Karag was insanely fast and clever. As if he knew Tae-hyun's sword was dangerous, he moved nimbly to dodge the attacks.

Tae-hyun was someone who usually read almost all movements in advance to land his strikes. Among boss monsters, there were few who would dodge every single attack like this rather than just blocking them.

Damn it. Annoyingly troublesome...

Tae-hyun felt like he was facing himself. A technician who nimbly and cleverly deflected and dodged the opponent's attacks. Moreover, thanks to his absurd stats, his basic movements were faster than Tae-hyun's.

It was actually better when he was the heavy, tanky Great Chieftain!

As Tae-hyun, who was supposed to be luring him, got caught up in a close-quarters fight instead, Cain sent a whisper.

-Hey! Are you okay!?

-Don't talk to me! You're breaking my concentration!

With Karag lunging like that, it was dangerous to just turn around and run. He had to somehow trade blows while gradually pulling him back...

"Here I go!"

"?!"

"Slave's Chain!"

Clang!

Cain used his Slave's Chain skill. Karag saw it but didn't even dodge. He was pulled directly in, landing right in front of Cain. Seeing this, Tae-hyun was horrified.

"Hey...!"

Pulling him in was fine, but how was he going to handle the aftermath? Cain wasn't Tae-hyun. Of course, his HP was incomparably higher than Tae-hyun's and his HP recovery was great, but that was only to a certain extent. Against a boss monster with such a massive level difference, one had to dodge without getting hit like Tae-hyun did. If he just took the hits, even a tank like Cain would die instantly despite his high HP.

What are you thinking, Cain?

"Uh..."

Having actually pulled Karag in, Cain blinked. He hadn't realized it when fighting from afar, but pulling him right in front of his face brought an extraordinary sense of pressure. Smoke was rising from Karag's blackened, green muscular body.

"He definitely did that without thinking! Activate, activate!"

Cain was flustered by the sudden message window. Ah, what is this?