I Shall Do as You Command, Your Majesty!

"I shall do as you command, Your Majesty!" Tae-hyun replied instantly.

With this, he could avoid resurrecting Uipoatl while still securing his own freedom to roam the empire. The Auston Kingdom was getting thrown under the bus, but that wasn't Tae-hyun's concern.

Well, they're far away. What's the worst that could happen?

"Guards! If there are any adventurers from the Auston Kingdom among us, throw them all into the sea!"

"?!"

Tae-hyun was startled. Talk about an unexpected side effect!

"A-Ah, wait. Your Majesty."

"What is it?"

"...That is an absolutely brilliant idea! As expected, my humble mind cannot begin to fathom Your Majesty's profound wisdom."

"Hahaha! Yes, indeed! You are an adventurer who knows his place!"

Uipoatl laughed, his skeletal bones rattling.

"Adventurer. I shall grant you six months. Bring back my crown."

"Understood," Tae-hyun answered immediately.

It didn't matter anyway. By the time the deadline rolled around, he would be long gone. How could an emperor who hadn't even fully resurrected chase him down? He couldn't even leave the imperial palace right now.

"Splendid. I shall bestow my blessing upon you."

What a lunatic!

Whoosh! Before he could even think of dodging, the skill took hold of Tae-hyun.

It was essentially a leash. It granted a massive buff until the deadline, but the moment the timer ran out, it would turn into a devastating debuff! For a player with as many enemies as Tae-hyun, carrying such a beacon around was a massive liability.

Tae-hyun cursed the emperor inwardly, racking his brain for a solution.

Wait. Don't I have that? Will it work?

Normally, a powerful curse ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like this would be immune to standard curse-dispelling magic. But Tae-hyun's Curse Transfer was no ordinary spell. It was an achievement skill earned by resolving a continent-wide curse!

Curse Transfer.

It works!

Cancel!

Curse Transfer was an incredibly potent skill that randomly redirected a curse to a nearby target. He was so glad he had acquired it!

Tae-hyun breathed a sigh of relief. If this skill worked, he had absolutely no reason to fear the curse. In fact, this was actually beneficial. It was a pure buff for the next six months!

He could just enjoy the stat boost, and right before the timer ran out, he'd find some poor sucker and...

Tae-hyun let out a wicked grin. Seeing this, Uipoatl seemed to misunderstand his reaction.

"You seem exceedingly pleased. You may withdraw. I grant you leave."

"Your Majesty!"

"?"

"By any chance, which do you prefer most among one-handed swords, two-handed swords, spears, shields, and bows?"

"??"

Uipoatl was bewildered, but he answered anyway.

"I prefer the one-handed sword above all."

"I believe two-handed swords are far superior."

"To dare oppose my opinion... How insolent. But I shall forgive you. You may withdr—"

"Your Majesty! Allow me to explain why two-handed swords are superior."

"??"

Tae-hyun had only one reason for refusing to leave: this was the perfect opportunity to level up his Speech skill!

If Lee Se-yeon had witnessed this, she would have looked at him as if he were a complete lunatic. Who in their right mind would use an emperor as a mere punching bag to grind their Speech skill?

But Tae-hyun didn't care in the slightest and launched into his persuasion.

"...And that is why two-handed swords are superior!"

"I see. Your words do carry some weight. Now, you may withdraw."

"Your Majesty! By any chance, which among Gold Dragons, Black Dragons, Red Dragons, Blue Dragons, and White Dragons do you hate the most?"

"...I despise Black Dragons the most."

"Well, I hate Red Dragons the most!"

Tae-hyun was relentless. He was the man who had stubbornly stood before the ancient Sea Dragon Okenoas to wring out the Word of Power skill. There was no way he would let an opportunity like this slip by!

He intended to cling to the emperor until his affinity dropped to zero and he got kicked out.

"Your Majesty! Which religious order do you favor the most?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Those fools who still worship gods that have abandoned the continent are nothing but idiots. They should only worship me!"

"Ah, I see."

Time to change the subject.

"However, I suppose the Archisus Church is somewhat useful."

"!!!!!!!!"

Tae-hyun was more shocked than he had been since arriving here. For the first time in his life, he had encountered an NPC who actually spoke highly of the Archisus Church!

Until now, the only NPCs who had ever praised the Archisus Church were those directly affiliated with it.

Has the emperor lost his mind? No. The emperor is the only sane one, and everyone else has been crazy! The Archisus Church was actually normal all along!

"Why is that, Your Majesty?" Tae-hyun asked, feeling a slight surge of excitement. He was even starting to feel a bit of fondness for Uipoatl.

"Did Archisus not scam the dragons? A truly magnificent god."

"..."

...

...

Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk remained dead silent.

Tae-hyun's expression turned sour.

Well... hey, at least he likes us. That's something.

"Your Majesty! In truth, I am the leader of the Archisus Church."

"Oh... how commendable... Wait. I heard that all Archisus followers are scammers?"

Damn it!

"No! Those are nothing but baseless rumors!"

"Right. I see. Step back a bit from me."

"Your Majesty!"

Though the emperor claimed to understand, his eyes were filled with blatant suspicion! He might have appreciated Archisus scamming dragons, but he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was clearly worried that Tae-hyun would scam him next.

Tae-hyun gave up on that angle and changed the subject. Actually, this was for the best. A higher difficulty meant it was even better for leveling up his Speech skill.

"Your Majesty. In that case, let us discuss the religious orders I particularly despise. I hate the Phytos Church the most. The reason is..."

Thirty minutes later!

"...And that is why!"

"I get it! I get it, so just get out!"

"Your Majesty!"

"Stop calling me that! Do my words mean nothing to you?!"

Unable to bear it any longer, Uipoatl threw Tae-hyun out. Once Tae-hyun started talking, his relentless persistence made it impossible to escape!

"Tsk. I could have leveled it up more."

"How did it go?"

"It went well. He gave me six months to find the crown, so I told him it was in the Auston Kingdom."

He threw them under the bus just like that. Lee Se-yeon was once again struck with admiration. It was truly a devilish talent!

"Well, I'm busy with my quest, so I'll be off. Don't forget to help me later if I ask."

"Sure. I won't hold you back... Wait a minute."

"You said you wouldn't hold me back."

"What quest are you doing?"

"...Asking about someone else's quest? Isn't that a bit rude?"

"N-No, it's not that... You just got here. Was there even a quest for you to take?"

"I have my ways."

"I noticed the Power Warrior guild has been releasing a lot of information about the ruins lately. You helped them with that, didn't you?"

Lee Se-yeon was sharp. For the Power Warrior guild to suddenly release so much information, someone had to be backing them. And there was no one more suspicious than Tae-hyun.

"Nope. The Power Warrior guild is highly capable and does everything on their own."

"...Your conscience... What are you up to? Tell me the truth."

"Ah, why are you being so clingy? We fulfilled our end of the deal, so let's just part ways coolly."

"You're definitely hiding something!"

Tae-hyun walked away quickly. Lee Se-yeon followed closely behind, glaring at him with suspicious eyes.

Just then, her guild members appeared.

"Un... Unni! The articles were actually true..."

"Did you guys seriously show up at this exact moment on purpose?!"

"Let's go raid some ruins!"

"Huh? Aren't we going to protect them?"

When the returned Tae-hyun shouted, the members of the secret society were utterly bewildered.

"Ah, right, protect them. Haha."

"..."

"Let's move quickly. There are many places nearby that we need to protect."

Tae-hyun led the secret society members toward their target dungeon.

"...?"

Normally, entering an undiscovered dungeon for the first time granted a first-entry bonus, such as extra experience or bonus item drops. But why wasn't anything popping up?

Someone got here first!

Tae-hyun was taken aback. The information he had leaked was definitely not about this area. Yet, someone had already entered. Someone must have stumbled upon it by sheer luck.

"Tae-hyun, the message didn't pop up..."

"Yeah. It looks like someone got here before us."

"How dare they cut in line!"

Yu Ji-soo made an angry face. She looked ready to loose an arrow the moment anyone appeared.

"No, it's fine. Come to think of it, the bonus isn't even that big anyway..."

To Tae-hyun, an item drop rate bonus was practically meaningless. Even without it, his drops were already at the absolute maximum.

"Besides, this gives us a better excuse."

Since other players had actually entered, it would be much easier to point at them in front of the secret society members and say, "These guys are the culprits!"

"By any way, Tae-hyun, how did your meeting with the Emperor go?"

"Huh? The Emperor? He's a terrible guy."

"Exactly! That tyrant deserves to be burned to ashes by dragon fire once again!"

"Since we have Kim Tae-hyun, the friend of dragons, we can surely assassinate the Emperor!"

"No... assassination is a bit much. We should choose a peaceful path. Even Yong-yong here agrees."

Huh? Huh? Uh... Y-Yes. Peace is the ultimate virtue!

"O Great Dragon! Why?!"

"Did you not purge the empire with fire?!"

Th-That wasn't my doing... Anyway, those were the dragons of the past. These days, pursuing peace is all the rage among dragons.

Yong-yong did his best to play along with Tae-hyun's unreasonable demand.

"Is that true?"

"To think such a trend exists among dragons..."

The secret society members whispered among themselves, but none dared to openly contradict Yong-yong's words.

Rustle—

Across the corridor they had entered, the backs of the party that had gone in first came into view. Seeing them, the group shouted in unison.

"Get them!"

"Let's kill them! I'll shoot!"

"I'll cast a spell!"

"Should I curse them?"

"...Didn't you say peace was the trend?"

Th-That's just a trend among dragons. Those humans don't always follow it.

Do Dong-su stood with his arms crossed, staring at the stone gate.

It was a dungeon puzzle. If they failed to solve it, a trap would trigger.

"Do Dong-su, are you actually solving this?"

"Just wait a second."

The players with Do Dong-su were members of the Beijing Fighters. The Beijing Fighters' training dungeon had been completely demolished during Tae-hyun's previous raid, and the first-string players who were there had been wiped out along with it.

Thanks to that, the second-string players had suddenly been promoted to the first string!

For Do Dong-su, it was actually a stroke of luck. Having fled the moment he saw Tae-hyun, Do Dong-su had suffered relatively little damage, which had made the original first-string players grind their teeth in anger.

That bastard ran away by himself!

Did he side with Kim Tae-hyun or something?

Son of a bitch. Just you wait!

If those first-string players were still around, it would have been a massive headache. But thanks to the roster swap, he had survived.

Who the hell would side with Kim Tae-hyun?

"Huh? Kim Tae-hyun?"

"Why the hell are you bringing up that cursed name?"

Do Dong-su snapped in irritation as he tried to solve the puzzle. He was busy flipping through a book to find the correct sequence, and now they were bringing him bad luck!

"Behind you..."

"????"