My Character is Getting Weird

"I feel like my character is getting weirder and weirder..." Cain muttered to himself.

Jeong Su-hyeok, who was watching him, looked utterly shocked.

You're only realizing that now?!

Cain's character concept had crossed into the bizarre a long time ago! But Su-hyeok didn't point it out. He was too nice of a guy for that.

"But hey, as long as you're strong, does it really matter?"

"I guess...?" Cain was easily swayed, his ears perking up at the encouragement.

Su-hyeok didn't miss the opportunity and pressed on.

"Think about it! Everyone else is just boringly following the meta! But you, Cain, are building your character in a completely revolutionary way!"

"Wait, isn't the meta supposed to be good? That's why it's the meta."

"No! You can never become the absolute best by just following the beaten path!"

"I... don't think I ever really wanted to be the best, though..."

Cain's dream wasn't anything that grand. He just saw everyone else getting popular, famous, and rich off Pan-On, and wanted a small piece of that pie!

"Now that you've started, you have to aim for the top!"

"Is... is that so?"

"Exactly. Think about yourself right now, Cain. What do you see?"

"What do you mean, what do I see?"

"Aren't you famous and popular?"

"I... I guess I am?"

It was easy to forget when he was always tagging along behind Tae-hyun, but objectively speaking, Cain was indeed famous and popular.

"Then that's all that matters!"

Cain nodded, looking utterly spellbound.

As they talked, the fact that his character's race had become half-demon, and that he would have to eat demon-related food from now on, suddenly felt incredibly positive.

Tae-hyun overheard their conversation and muttered to himself, "I don't remember Su-hyeok being like that. I wonder how he ended up so twisted."

"...??"

"Yohas. You've worked incredibly hard. Go soak in some hot water and get some rest."

"No, I am quite alright, Your Majesty. I barely did anything."

"Nonsense! Your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠face is pale and you have dark circles under your eyes. You're clearly exhausted!"

That's because of you, Your Majesty... Yohas swallowed his words.

For some reason, tagging along with Tae-hyun felt like a non-stop emotional rollercoaster. He was definitely doing exactly what Lord Phytos had commanded, so why did he feel so uneasy and anxious?

"Now, go on! Get some rest!"

There was only one reason Tae-hyun was so eager to send Yohas off ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to rest now that they had returned to the capital.

I need to meet Dervene and get my reward!

At first, Tae-hyun had briefly hesitated, wondering, Is it really possible to squeeze rewards out of both when the demon and angel are mortal enemies? Am I being too greedy? But those doubts were long gone.

Turns out, it works perfectly.

If things went well, Tae-hyun would receive support from the demons, support from the angels, and ultimately recruit Yohas to his side.

"Pelmas! Prepare a bath! Yohas needs to wash up!"

"Your Majesty, I am not a mere servant..." Pelmas grumbled as he hurried over. He was supposed to be a highly respected figure in this capital now!

"Your Majesty, do you have any idea what I have accomplished in this capital in the name of Archisus?"

"Quiet down and just take Yohas with you."

Defeated, Pelmas eventually led Yohas out.

Suddenly, a strong sense of unease washed over Tae-hyun.

Wait. Did I ever tell Pelmas to do anything in the name of Archisus?

He had absolutely no recollection of doing so.

Don't tell me this guy did it again...?

Pelmas's track record of antics within the church was nothing short of spectacular. Of course, Tae-hyun had no intention of denying Pelmas's contributions. But Pelmas's methods were always wildly out of control! If Tae-hyun hadn't kept him in check, the Archisus Church would have already been branded as an evil, brainwashing cult.

Well, whatever. I locked his gold access, and he doesn't have any NPCs under his command anyway. What could he possibly do?

Tae-hyun brushed the thought aside and walked away.

"Oh, Your Majesty...! You seem to have grown even more powerful since I last saw you. This aura radiating from you...? Don't tell me, did you actually defeat him?"

"Of course. Would I ever break a promise?"

"Indeed, Your Majesty is a man of great honor."

Dervene smiled slyly. Tae-hyun returned the sly smile. Two demons facing each other, sharing a wicked laugh! Well, technically, only one of them was an actual demon.

"Then... could you show me the proof?"

"Of course."

Tae-hyun immediately pulled out the horn. Dervene gasped in admiration at the sight of the magnificent demon horn.

A cascade of message windows popped up. Looking at them, Tae-hyun once again thought that demons were far better than the church. They were a race that gave so generously! In contrast, the church required Tae-hyun to handle absolutely everything from scratch...

"By the way, Your Majesty, did you happen to find any treasures when you defeated that demon?"

"Ah. He was trying to guard some sort of treasure vault, but I ended up setting fire to the place, so I couldn't salvage anything."

"A... a fire, you say?"

"Yeah. If you don't believe me, go check it out yourself. The entire surrounding area was completely incinerated."

Dervene's face fell with disappointment. The treasures Freid had stolen from Mosrak were no ordinary items. To think they had all been reduced to ashes. Dervene, who had hoped to return the treasures to earn Mosrak's favor, was deeply disappointed.

He wouldn't lie about something that can be verified so easily.

A burnt-down forest wasn't a lie you could hide. Anyone who went there would see it instantly.

"In any case, you have done well, Your Majesty. I shall report this to Lord Mosrak and seek you out when the next task arises."

"Wait."

"?"

"I would like to meet Lord Mosrak in person to express my deepest gratitude for this matter. Would that be possible?"

A question loaded with ulterior motives! There was only one reason Tae-hyun was asking such a blatant question.

Now, all that's left is to take down Mosrak!

Having played both the angels and demons to squeeze out every drop of profit, his final step was to defeat Mosrak and claim his token. Frankly, there was nothing left to extort from them anyway.

"You wish to meet... Lord Mosrak in person?"

"Yes! Please arrange a meeting! I have always held him in the highest regard."

"?"

Dervene was utterly bewildered. The Avatar of Archisus, holding Mosrak in high regard? How did that make any sense?

"Ah, yes. I shall pass along your words..."

"I'm counting on you."

*Boom! Crash!*

"..."

Videos featuring Tae-hyun always set the community boards ablaze. This time, Tae-hyun had wiped an entire forest off the map!

It was an utterly unbelievable display of power! It was a level of destruction that could never be achieved with a single skill, and to players who didn't know the context, it was naturally hard to believe.

And for the Guild Alliance, who had just barely managed to defeat Sadiq's Avatar and clean up the aftermath, the video sent a cold shiver down their spines.

- What do you all think of this?

- The power of those bombs is incredible. Should we go buy some more?

- ...Drag this idiot out.

- W-Wait! Su Ning! I'm sorry!

The guild member who had spoken out of turn was promptly dragged out of the meeting room. Su Ning spoke, his face twisted with irritation.

- Working with people like this... Forget it. Just forget it. How are the preparations coming along?

- We are rapidly restoring the territories destroyed along the border. We've mobilized all of our crafting players, so we should have everything cleaned up within half a year.

- Good. All issues must be resolved before the coronation ceremony.

Now that Sadiq's Avatar had been dealt with, Su Ning intended to wear the crown of the Auston Kingdom in the name of the Guild Alliance's leader. Normally, this would have been a highly prestigious coronation event—the very first player-led coronation in Pan-On—drawing immense attention from everyone...

But Tae-hyun had already snatched that title away.

That bastard!

Just thinking about it made Su Ning's blood boil!

Just you wait...!

Su Ning gnashed his teeth. Extensive preparations were underway for the Auston Kingdom's coronation event. Since they had lost the title of "first," they had to make their coronation far more grand and overwhelming!

An awe-inspiring ceremony where dozens of high-ranking players and countless guild members would gather in perfect order, chanting the name of the Guild Alliance. He planned to display a level of dignity that was on a completely different level from Tae-hyun's coronation, which had resembled a chaotic, free-for-all marketplace.

Once they saw it, the players of Pan-On would finally realize who the truly dominant force in Pan-On was!

Tae-hyun might have high reputation and excel at all sorts of unorthodox playstyles, but in the end, the ultimate power lay in raw, simple strength. Numbers and levels. That was the only answer.

- Is the engineering blacksmith still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not ready?

- We're sorry. Their growth is... proving to be quite difficult...

Although engineering blacksmiths had been heavily criticized in the early days of Pan-On, people continued to covet the class as long as someone like Tae-hyun kept pulling off such spectacular feats. And of those people, very few actually stuck with engineering.

Learning the engineering skill meant that, unless one possessed overwhelming luck like Tae-hyun, they had to essentially give up on leveling and gear! Malfunctions and explosions occurred constantly, leading to frequent deaths. Even if one endured all the trial and error to raise the skill level, it only improved by a tiny margin. The risk never fully disappeared...

Thus, even with full guild backing, it was impossible to nurture such a character properly. Furthermore, engineering was one of the few skill trees in Pan-On where information was never shared. Because every player who actually knew a thing or two about engineering was already working under Tae-hyun! Honestly, it was far more stable to just learn standard blacksmithing skills.

- Ugh... It can't be helped. Mobilize every single method we have to stop Kim Tae-hyun. Ah, didn't we send some guild members to his capital? Did they infiltrate successfully?

- Yes. We received reports that they have successfully infiltrated.

- Excellent. Tell them to find a new weakness of his and report back.

- Yes, sir. We will do so.

"???"

Zhang Shan was taken aback when a whisper suddenly arrived from another member of the Guild Alliance.

Wait, have I still not been caught?

He wondered what his superior was up to; it seemed they were still keeping his betrayal a secret.

- Zhang Shan, are you there?

- Ah, yes. I'm here.

- Investigate Kim Tae-hyun further. If there are any undisclosed weaknesses, find them and report back.

Are you insane...? If I could do that, would I be slaving away here? I'd have gotten a job as a coach for a professional esports team.

Zhang Shan cursed the guild member inwardly. They weren't even paying him, so why were they ordering him around?

How on earth am I supposed to do that?

Even now, looking at the community boards, there were posts like "What is Kim Tae-hyun's Weakness?" and "Complete Analysis of Kim Tae-hyun's Weaknesses." Of course, if you clicked on those clickbait titles out of curiosity?

Only completely useless, low-effort posts that anyone could write popped up. Professional esports coaches and analysts were probably analyzing Kim Tae-hyun's weaknesses with utmost seriousness, but how could Zhang Shan possibly know any of that?

Whatever, I'll just tell them I couldn't find anything.

- By the way, Su Ning has promised a reward for those assigned to this task. Gold will be paid out for every valid weakness of Kim Tae-hyun reported.

- !!!

Zhang Shan's eyes widened.

- Is that true?

- Of course. So work hard.

- ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠U-Understood!

He had accepted on impulse, but thinking it over, finding a real weakness still seemed like an impossible task. As he groaned and agonized over the problem, a brilliant idea suddenly struck him.

That's it! I can just make up some fake weaknesses!

Here was a talent that would make even the members of the Power Warrior Guild weep with admiration!