The Midnight Escape
"What? What is this?!" The ranker shrieked in horror as his HP plummeted. What did these pathetic bandits do? Did they use some kind of special item?
But before he could even process it, more attacks rained down on him. While each individual blow was manageable, being beaten from all sides was no joke. Especially now, with his HP already critically low!
I need to heal first...
The skill has failed.
HP has decreased instead.
What?! A skill he had cast thousands of times had failed! It was the first time the ranker realized his own skills could actually fail.
No...!
"Whoa! We got him!"
"We did it! We actually did it!"
The players jumped up and down, ecstatic with the thrill of taking down a ranker for the very first time. Tae-hyun watched them with a warm, proud smile.
Ah, youth. This is their golden age. Step by step, they are blossoming into true bandit players.
To think that not just one, but several rankers had gone to Bektel City and returned completely empty-handed! To make matters worse, one of them had been ambushed by bandit players and forced into a hard logout.
If word got out, it would be an absolute embarrassment. They would lose all face within the guild. Faced with this disaster, the remaining rankers had only one option left: spin the narrative!
"Honestly, Bektel City was nothing special. We could have taken it over easily, but we figured there was nothing to gain from it, so we just left."
"Exactly, exactly. Why get down and dirty in a mudfight when there's no profit in it? Rankers have to maintain their dignity, right?"
"It seems like a job better suited for the regular guild members anyway. Let them handle it. It's a bit beneath us."
Of course, to Su Ning, who had witnessed the rankers' actual performance, this was utterly preposterous.
"You bastards made absolute fools of yourselves out there, and now you dare run your mouths?! Every single one of you is suspended!"
"President Su Ning. Even so, suspending all the rankers at once is..." A guild executive expressed concern.
Even if the rankers had completely botched this mission, they were still elite players who could easily do the work of several ordinary members elsewhere. Suspending them would be a massive loss for the guild, and it would only breed resentment among the rankers themselves.
Su Ning gnashed his teeth.
"I've been walking on eggshells around these rankers so much that I can't tell if this is my guild or theirs. Fine. I'll let the suspension slide. But they won't be getting any of the newly acquired gear. All of it is confiscated! I will personally decide who gets what."
The guild executives exchanged uneasy glances. Considering the rankers had mobilized specifically for the Archisus-related gear, this was a harsh punishment. Moreover, it was bound to spark rumors that Su Ning was playing favorites and only distributing the gear to his close associates. Rumors about the Archisus gear had already spread like wildfire throughout the guild. Even for someone as powerful as Su Ning, forcing this through would cause a major backlash.
"While it would serve as a harsh lesson, wouldn't it breed too much resentment?"
One of the executives quickly offered an alternative.
"I have an idea. Why don't we select one of the pieces and bestow it upon Alcott?"
"Didn't he say he didn't want it?"
"Even if he refuses, we must force it into his hands. At the very least, it will prove that we do not discriminate among our rankers."
Their plan was to silence any accusations of favoritism by giving a piece of gear to Alcott, who was notoriously distant from Su Ning. Su Ning nodded in agreement.
"Very well. Pick a piece of gear, give it to Alcott, and announce that I will handle the rest of the distribution!"
Su Ning's decision was quickly broadcasted to the guild. Naturally, the rankers who were left out, along with those who had been watching with keen interest, exploded in outrage.
"Just because the mission failed, he's taking it all away? He was planning to confiscate them from the start, wasn't he?"
"He's distributing them himself? Typical. Just showing his true colors."
"He's obviously going to give them only to his cronies."
"If the mission failed, we should decide on a different course of action. Why does he get to arbitrarily distribute them?"
"Giving one to Alcott is so transparent. It's basically a bribe to keep him quiet."
As the discontent grew increasingly vocal, the guild executives contacted Alcott.
"Alcott. Tell the other rankers yourself. Tell them you personally dedicated this Archisus gear to the Guild Leader! That way, the Guild Leader has the official right to distribute it!"
The other rankers weren't about to sit idly by either. They also bombarded Alcott with messages.
"Alcott. You donated this gear to help the guild, right? The entire guild? Tell everyone you gave it to the guild as a whole, not just to Su Ning!"
... Alcott was utterly speechless. He couldn't believe a single piece of donated gear had escalated into a full-blown civil war within the guild. Was this for real?
More importantly, I donated it because I didn't want to wear the damn thing. Why is it coming back to me?
Alcott stared at the gear with deep skepticism. Anyone else would have snatched it up in a heartbeat, but not Alcott. No matter how he looked at it, the item seemed incredibly suspicious!
Should he side with the Guild Leader and the Chinese faction, or should he side with the opposing rankers? Alcott pondered his options. Then, he blocked both sides.
"I'm a lord of the Erangs Kingdom. I should just mind my own business!"
Gorsuk lay prostrate on the ground, his face flushed with overwhelming emotion. Finally, the promise had been kept. Gorsuk had been granted permission to construct a temple for the Shiiba Cult in a corner of the Valley of Despair and Sorrow!
"You can build it right here."
"However, I have one question."
"What is it?"
"...Aren't those paladins of the God Sadiq?"
"Ah, those are paladins of the Archisus Church who used to worship Sadiq."
"...????"
Gorsuk stared at the Sadiq paladins, his eyes filled with utter incomprehension.
"It's a long story, so just accept it. We have a lot of things like that around here."
"...May I ask one more thing?"
"Sure."
"Is that... a demon?"
"Oh, they're just demons helping out the Archisus Church."
"..."
Gorsuk stared at the demon blacksmith, Saruon, as if he were looking at the most bizarre sight in the entire world. Is this place really a holy sanctuary?
"I see... Then I suppose that demon over there, grabbing people and forcing potions down their throats, is also perfectly normal."
"Wait, what is that?"
"!?" Tae-hyun flinched in surprise. Who the hell is that guy? I've never seen him before.
"Ah... that's Freid. He's just a hanger-on. He claimed to be good at alchemy, so I gave him a chance."
"...Do people normally give 'opportunities' to demons just because they claim to be good at something?"
"Tsk, tsk. Giving opportunities to demons is the official policy of the Archisus Church. What you just said was rather discriminatory, Gorsuk. I'm disappointed. I didn't think the Shiiba Cult would be so narrow-minded."
"N-no, that's not what I meant! It was a slip of the tongue."
Gorsuk hurriedly finished constructing the small shrine, acting as if Tae-hyun might try to sabotage him at any moment!
"Gorsuk, don't forget. In exchange for allowing you to build this tiny shrine, you have to patrol the surrounding area, train the Orc Shamans, go to the garden farm to raise some slimes... and what else was there again...?"
Tae-hyun pulled out a list that was absolutely packed with tasks.
"When are we leaving?"
"When are we actually leaving??"
"Are we even leaving at all?"
Gorsuk had grown increasingly desperate during their long stay in Bektel City! And Tae-hyun had systematically exploited that desperation to swindle him. Thanks to that, the mountain of chores Gorsuk had to complete had grown exponentially.
"You have to do all of it. Got it?"
"...Understood..."
• The Temple of Shiiba, the God of Slowness and Slimes, has been completed!
• Your Reputation has increased significantly for building a temple to a forgotten, rare god in your territory.
• Your Holy stat has increased significantly.
• Shiiba is grateful for your devotion and bestows an Authority upon you as a gift.
Oh! Tae-hyun was deeply moved. What incredible kindness. Minor gods really were the sweetest!
Carbanog is feeling smug.
...Well, whatever. He had already obtained an Authority from the staff last time, and now he was getting another one.
You have acquired the Authority: Slime Restraint Chair.
"...What?"
• The number of slimes near your territory increases.
• A physical defense buff is applied to the residents of your territory.
• An equipment durability buff is applied to the residents of your territory...
• [...]
A cascade of message windows popped up before he even had time to read the skill description. Shiiba was actually a much better god than he had expected, offering some decent buffs. Though he wasn't quite sure what it meant for the number of slimes near his territory to increase!
Creates a restraint chair made of slimes. A target trapped in this restraint device cannot disobey your commands until the device is destroyed.
* The durability of the restraint chair is influenced by your Engineering skill, Blacksmithing skill, and Holy stat.
* You cannot create another restraint chair until the current one is destroyed.
* The restraint chair cannot be used on players.
A restraint device shaped like a chair. To make any use of it, he first had to get someone to sit in it.
How do I use this?
Since he could only have one active at a time, he had to choose his target wisely. The first things that came to mind were demons or angels! Capturing one, forcing them onto the chair, and making them obey his commands sounded absolutely perfect.
Carbanog is shocked that Shiiba possesses such a sinister Authority.
Right...?
Come to think of it, for a divine power, it was incredibly wicked.
Hmm. I'd love to go to the Demon Realm later and get a suitable demon to sit on this. I'll have to figure out a way.
No demon in their right mind would willingly sit on a chair radiating such suspicious holy power. But Tae-hyun was confident. If they wouldn't sit on it while sane, he would simply have to drive them out of their mind first!
"But is it really okay to just leave without saying anything to Gellendel?" Cain asked anxiously.
To him, Gellendel was an incredibly unhinged NPC. For Cain—who had spent so much time around Tae-hyun—to label someone as crazy, it meant they were truly off their rocker!
"It's much better than telling him. I didn't want to get caught and forced to go hunt down Orc skulls with him."
When he heard that the rankers had vanished and that infighting had broken out among them, Tae-hyun was certain that Bektel City would be safe for the time being. That meant it was time to leave! He had to make his escape before Gellendel and his knights finished scouring the mountains and realized there weren't actually any Orcs here.
Normally, he would have gone to Gellendel, given a smooth explanation, and bid him farewell... but even Tae-hyun found Gellendel unpredictable. The Elf was simply too wild.
It'd be a massive headache if I got held back or forced into a sudden quest.
In times like this, the correct answer was a midnight escape! There was no way Gellendel could chase Tae-hyun once he was far away.
"Are you sure it'll be fine?"
"Why wouldn't it be? He's not completely brainless. Once he searches for Orcs a bit longer and finds nothing, he'll give up and look elsewhere. He might even head back to the Espa Kingdom."
"..." Cain still looked uneasy.
• You have acquired the Sacred Relic of the Orcs.
• The battle cries of the Orcs echo across the mountain range!
A massive, thunderous roar of Orcs reverberated through the air. It was a magnificent, awe-inspiring spectacle that made the hearts of all onlookers race. An astronomical number of Orcs packed the mountain range, stretching from one peak to the next!
Kim Tae-san wiped under his nose as he took in the sight. It reminded him of his old days playing Lineage. Back then, the entire server's population would line up just like this...
• As the Great Orc Chieftain, you have proven your capability by acquiring the Sacred Relic of the Orcs.
• Now, all that remains is to prove if your resolve as the Chieftain is sufficient.
Would you like to proceed with the quest?
"Of course!"