Intruder! Intruder!

"Intruder! Intruder!"

"Glub, gurgle!"

'Is the Orc Shaman who set up camp in this dungeon some kind of slime enthusiast?'

Beginners often made the mistake of assuming slimes were weak, simply because the ones they first encountered were low-level trash mobs. But that was far from the truth. Just as there were weak rabbits and strong rabbits, there were weak slimes and strong slimes. And the slimes in this dungeon were definitely on the stronger side.

To make matters worse, their traits varied wildly from one individual to the next. For Jeong Su-hyeok, who possessed almost no summoning magic, slimes with magic resistance were absolute poison. Meanwhile, Cain struggled immensely against slimes with physical damage resistance and high elasticity.

"Ha-yeon! Are you watching? Here I come!"

Cain roared at the top of his lungs as he charged the slime—only to be instantly bounced backward.

"Yong-yong. Heuk-heuk. Go help him out... and Golgol-i, go assist Su-hyeok."

Seeing that it might finally be his turn to shine, Ji-su looked at Tae-hyun with eyes full of anticipation.

"Should I shoot?"

"No, let's save your arrows."

Tae-hyun turned a benevolent gaze toward the broadcasting crew standing behind him. At first, he had thought, 'Why on earth did they bring these people? I'm going to kill Cain,' but his perspective had shifted.

'Hmm. Come to think of it, meeting fans isn't such a bad thing. Is this why celebrities host fan meetups?'

His reasoning was slightly skewed, but there was no one around to point that out.

"Customer number three!"

"Me! Me, over here!"

Before anyone realized it, the crew members had actually drawn numbered tickets! Tae-hyun shook their hands and cast his Living Bomb skill on them.

"Off you go!"

"Yahoo! This is awesome!"

"..."

"..."

Jeong Su-hyeok and Cain watched the spectacle with expressions that suggested they were witnessing the most horrific sight in the world.

The Orc Shaman, Gorsuk, returned with his robes fluttering majestically behind him.

"The Orc Shaman is back! We've been working hard!" one of his subordinates called out.

"Good job," Gorsuk said, nodding. If nothing else, the physical capabilities of the giants were incredibly useful. No other intruders had dared to even approach! Recruiting the Wilderness Rust Giant tribe had been an absolute stroke of genius.

'I really am brilliant. Yes, yes. Those other orcs can't even begin to compare to me.'

"The Orc Shaman is so kind! He even sent us a chef!"

"That chef's cooking is amazing! Truly amazing!"

"?"

Gorsuk tilted his head in confusion.

"What?"

"?"

"!!"

Horrified, Gorsuk kicked open the dungeon doors and rushed inside.

The speed at which Tae-hyun's party cleared the dungeon was terrifying. It was a pace achieved by literally grinding up and throwing people at every obstacle they encountered! It was pure madness.

'Is this really okay? Is it really alright to do this?!' Cain fretted to himself as he ran. He felt as though his entire understanding of common sense was crumbling. And the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠culmination of that madness lay right here, in the deepest chamber of the dungeon.

"Oh...?"

In the center of the massive chamber lay a piece of parchment. Having a specialized class, Tae-hyun recognized it immediately.

'What is that?'

A translucent barrier of sorts was stretched around the parchment, and massive crystal pillars towered nearby.

'This looks incredibly ominous...'

Tae-hyun was about to tell Cain to go check it out. In times like this, Cain was always the most reliable meat shield! But before he could, someone else raised their hand. It was one of the remaining five members of the broadcasting crew.

"Excuse me, is it okay if I touch that?"

"Haha. Of course." Tae-hyun offered a bright, refreshing smile.

Seeing this, Cain panicked and tried to intervene. "Wait, that looks danger—"

"Do you want to do it instead?" Tae-hyun asked.

"..."

These cheerful folks possessed a completely different set of common sense compared to hardcore Pandemonium Online players. If they saw something unique and dangerous-looking, their first instinct was to walk right up and touch it!

'The more I use them, the more...' Tae-hyun struggled to restrain himself, realizing he was becoming addicted to this sheer convenience. He couldn't afford to get too used to this!

Ding—

"Aaaaargh?!"

"Now there are four left... I'll have to budget them carefully."

"Wait, you aren't thinking of using Ha-yeon like that too, are you?!"

"Haha. Right, right. Three left, then."

"Hey!"

A precious count! Tae-hyun tallied up his remaining resources and surveyed the surroundings. It seemed the trap was designed to trigger exactly like that.

With wet, squelching noises, slimes began pouring out of the holes in the walls.

'Just how obsessed is this guy with slimes?'

"Everyone from the crew, get to the center! Su-hyeok, don't cast anything yet; just stand by. The rest of you, prepare for battle! Yong-yong, Heuk-heuk, I need you two to use wide-area ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spells."

With the Holy Relic of Archisus sitting right in the middle of the room, he couldn't let Jeong Su-hyeok go wild with his magic. If the clumsy mage accidentally triggered an earthquake or something...

'Just thinking about it gives me chills.'

"Understood, Master."

"Yes, Master!"

Both Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk were divine beasts whose levels exceeded 300. While one couldn't compare players and NPCs on the exact same scale, there was no denying that both dragons were exceptional mages. By nature, dragons were absolute masters of magic!

Rumble! Crash! Yong-yong began blasting the area with lightning magic, while Heuk-heuk unleashed a torrent of fire and poison magic, incinerating the surrounding slimes.

'Is Sadiq's Flame their weakness?'

Tae-hyun wondered as he prepared his own fire magic. "Ji-su. I'll imbue your arrows with fire, so start shooting."

"Yes, Hyung!"

Ji-su's face lit up with joy. He had been waiting and waiting for his chance to shine. Let me shoot!

'I'm going to do amazing! I'm going to carry this fight!'

'Why does he have that terrifying look in his eyes?' Tae-hyun thought. The look in Ji-su's eyes reminded him of the players back in his territory.

"Just let me spin it one more time! I know it'll hit this time!"

Whoosh! Thud! Thud! Thwack! Arrows flew in a blur too fast for the eye to follow. Ji-su began firing with frantic, almost manic speed.

"Die! Die! Die!"

"...Has Ji-su been going through some personal issues lately?" Tae-hyun muttered.

While Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk pushed back the golems, and Tae-hyun, Cain, and Ji-su picked them off one by one, the Orc Shaman, Gorsuk, finally burst into the chamber.

'He's here!' Tae-hyun spun around. If they defeated this boss monster...

"W-What on earth are you doing?! You wicked villains! You filthy intruders! This is why I hate humans! *Sob, sob!*"

"?!"

"How... how could you do this to my research?!"

Somehow, they suddenly felt like the bad guys. Cain glanced at Tae-hyun, looking bewildered.

'Should... should we attack?'

"I curse you! Humans! I curse you all!"

The Orc Shaman, Gorsuk, wailed and glared at them through his tears. Taken aback by the display, Tae-hyun instinctively blurted out an excuse.

"Whoa, hold on a second. That item over there actually belongs to me. I only came here to retrieve my property."

"To barge into someone else's dungeon and slaughter their summons indiscriminately?!"

"Well, that's because you blocked the entrance. You didn't let anyone from the outside even get close."

"Hmph! That was only natural to keep out intruders like you! And your property? What a shameless lie!"

The Orc Shaman snorted loudly and sneered.

"Even your excuses are as cowardly as any human's! Fine, tell me which item is yours. If it truly belongs to you, I will apologize and hand it over!"

"That parchment over there."

"...?"

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Orc Shaman turned his head to look, then exploded in rage.

"You despicable human, you really are vile to the very end! How on earth is that yours?!"

"I am the Avatar of Archisus, so of course it's mine. Or are you claiming it belongs to you?"

Tae-hyun reached for his weapon. It seemed talking wasn't going to resolve this.

"What kind of nonsense is that?! What does you being the Avatar of Archisus have to do with the Holy Relic of the Shiiba Cult?!"

"?"

"?"

'Thanks, Karbanog.'

"That thing is a Holy Relic of the Shiiba Cult?"

"Yes!"

"...But it's a Holy Relic of the Archisus Church?"

"????"

The Supreme Eloquence skill had the power to make even the most unbelievable lies cause a target to hesitate and reconsider.

"...Stop lying!"

"I'm not lying. It really is a Holy Relic of the Archisus Church. Let me ask you instead: why did you think that belonged to the Shiiba Cult?"

"Because... well... it was written, 'This god bound both angels and demons, rendering them unable to move, and is therefore truly magnificent'...?"

"..."

"..."

"...That's Archisus."

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"Let's do this. Have you actually been able to use the power of that 'Shiiba Relic' properly?"

"W-Well, no... but..."

Gorsuk stammered. Although he worshipped Shiiba, the relic had never granted him any power. That was why he had been trying to forcibly extract its energy using his orc shamanism!

"If it's a Holy Relic of Archisus, it will grant me its power. If it isn't, nothing will happen."

"But... but..."

"What? Don't tell me you lack confidence?"

"Fine! Go ahead and try!"

Gorsuk flared up in anger.

'Hmph! How does that description point to Archisus at all? That is clearly the power of Lord Shiiba!'

Binding others and rendering them unable to move—was that not the quintessential power of Shiiba, the God of Slimes?!

Tae-hyun stepped into the center of the room and reached out toward the parchment.

'I doubt the Auston Kingdom would ever invite me.'

Since the Guild Alliance had taken over and Su Ning had ascended to the throne, there was no way they would invite him. If they did, it would basically mean, "Come here so we can kill you!"

Instead, the fact that the Church's influence had spread to the Erangs Kingdom and the Salz Kingdom was highly positive. If things went well, he might even be able to meet their kings face-to-face and ask for favors!

'What should I do if I meet a king... Hmm. I probably shouldn't serve them Abnormal Cooking, right?'

Using Abnormal Cooking on royalty could easily get him arrested for attempted regicide.

'So it's this skill after all.'

The cursed necklace that Mosrak had been wearing! This was the very skill used to craft that necklace.

Furthermore, this skill synergized perfectly with his Blacksmithing Skill.

Tae-hyun closed his eyes. How could he exploit this skill to its absolute limit and make a legendary name for himself?