The Ultimate Human Totem
“Whew. I should set aside half of this, boil it down into a nice broth, and give it to Cain.”
“You really seem to look out for Cain, Tae-hyun,” Lee Da-bi remarked with a gentle smile.
“Haha. Did I?” Tae-hyun wiped under his nose, chuckling.
It was a heartwarming atmosphere. Everyone laughed—except for Cain, who was listening from behind with a pale face.
I don't think I can ever eat beef bone soup again if he's the one serving it...
Coincidentally, the menu at their lodging today was beef bone soup.
“Dragon bones are great and all, but they shouldn't keep coming out this weak. This is weird,” Tae-hyun muttered, looking puzzled.
No matter how he thought about it, the dungeon's difficulty was bizarre. Was it because they had received all sorts of buffs before entering?
Hmm... Will it get harder if we go deeper? If it stays like this, my skills won't even level up.
To raise swordsmanship or other skills, one had to fight strong enemies. Tae-hyun wasn't even a Swordsman class, so he didn't have any correction or bonus skills. Because of that, he had to work even harder to level up his swordsmanship... but this unexpectedly low difficulty was holding him back.
“Well, that's that, and this is this. Golgol-i, come here.”
“Yes, Master.”
Squelch!
“Ugh?!”
Implanting Dragon Bone into Death Knight Golgol-i.
Golgol-i's overall stats have increased.
Acquired Passive Skill: <Summon Modification>
“...!”
After boiling down the essences of all kinds of monsters, feeding them to his summons, and now even modifying Golgol-i, a new title had finally unlocked.
You can now equip new parts to your summons. The stronger and higher the quality of the materials used, the greater the effects will be.
Magic skill has increased.
Alchemical skill has increased.
Cooking skill has...
Abnormal Cooking skill has...
A sudden shiver ran down their spines!
Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk were utterly terrified. Until now, only Golgol-i had been subjected to these bizarre experiments, but they both had a terrible premonition that they would be next on the chopping block!
“Hmm. Come to think of it, Heuk-heuk might look better with the claws or fangs of Sadiq's demonic beasts...”
-Master! I am perfectly satisfied with how I am now!
“As for Yong-yong, maybe we can find a lightning-attribute monster and attach something better to him.”
-M-Master! I will work even harder! I swear it!
At this rate, he might even feed them parts of the Salavian Church's demonic beasts! The two dragons desperately tried to persuade Tae-hyun to change his mind.
“Aaaargh! Kuaaaaah!”
Just then, a scream echoed from far away. It was Do Dong-su's voice.
-Master! We must go help him!
-Master! We have to help!
The two dragons cried out in perfect unison.
Seeing this, the secret society members were deeply moved.
“As expected of the great Dragons...! To think they would try to save even such profane sinners!”
“Do Dong-su...”
“Mr. Do Dong-su...”
The players who rushed over were dumbfounded. Do Dong-su was currently being thrashed by Dragon Tooth Skeletons! By the looks of it, he was on the verge of death.
“Hey! Help me!”
“Wait... you're joking, right?”
“You crazy bastard! Does this look like a joke to you?!”
“You can't even handle these guys?”
The players whispered among themselves as they stared at Do Dong-su. Do Dong-su's reputation was hitting rock bottom today! However, Tae-hyun noticed something. The monsters Do Dong-su was facing were significantly stronger.
“Do Dong-su!”
“K-Kim... Kim Tae-hyun!”
Do Dong-su was startled. While his own teammates were talking nonsense, Tae-hyun was actually stepping forward. You really never knew how things would turn out in life...
“You sneaky bastard. Trying to hog all the good stuff for yourself?”
“...?!?!?!”
An incredibly unfair accusation out of nowhere!
“I came all this way to help, and this is the attitude I get? I'm losing my motivation.”
“Hey! Hey!! Save me! Seriously, save me, you asshole!!”
Originally, he had been prepared to die, but the moment Tae-hyun's group arrived, he suddenly felt a massive wave of injustice. If he died here, he would just look like an idiot. Do Dong-su screamed desperately.
“Can't I just shoot him?” Yu Ji-soo asked with a dead serious expression. Why did this obnoxious guy keep acting so arrogant?
“Let's shoot him later. He's still useful.”
“Okay! Let me know when it's okay to shoot him!”
As their ominous conversation concluded, Tae-hyun moved.
You are loved by dragons. The Dragon Tooth Skeleton Warrior grows weaker!
You are loved by dragons. The Dragon Tooth Skeleton Shaman grows weaker!
“…….”
Tae-hyun had a sour expression. Why did they keep getting weaker?
Boom! Crash! Bam!
The weakened skeleton monsters were nothing more than one-shot fodder. Every time Tae-hyun attacked, the skeletons shattered into pieces and scattered. Watching this, Do Dong-su was horrified.
K-Kim... Kim Tae-hyun, just how strong is this guy?
Do Dong-su was a ranker in his own right. Yet Tae-hyun was one-shotting monsters that Do Dong-su couldn't even handle properly. Even if top-tier rankers like Lee Se-yeon or Smith came here, that seemed impossible.
How much did he level up while I wasn't looking? This is terrifying...!
Do Dong-su swallowed hard. He thought to himself: Kim Tae-hyun was definitely the undisputed number one in Pandemonium Online. People always argued about who the top player was, but seeing this, it was undeniably Kim Tae-hyun. Who could possibly deny it after witnessing this!
“By the way, do you have some kind of bad history with dragons? Like, did you hunt in a dragon's territory, or do you have a class that has a bad relationship with dragons, or maybe you're carrying a weapon made of dragon bones?”
“...?!?!?”
Do Dong-su was shocked. How on earth did this guy know?!
“H-how... how did you know all of that?!”
Wait, he fits all of them? Tae-hyun was speechless. It would be hard to pull that off even if you tried!
Anyway, now that he knew Do Dong-su was experiencing this dungeon on extreme difficulty all by himself, there was only one thing left to do.
“Do Dong-su. Is your HP fully restored?”
“Huh? Yeah...” His HP had dropped below 3%, but he had fully recovered it using potions.
Tae-hyun smiled and said, “Great. Come here.”
“?” Do Dong-su suddenly felt a chill. What was this guy up to?
“Untie me, you bastard! Untie me or I'll kill you!”
“Should I shoot? Can I shoot him? Really, can't I?”
“If he keeps talking, you can shoot him.”
“…….”
Do Dong-su quickly shut his mouth. Yu Ji-soo looked like she genuinely wanted to shoot him.
Who the hell is that?!
In truth, Cain and Lee Da-bi weren't particularly terrifying. The scariest one was Tae-hyun! But Yu Ji-soo's eyes held a terrifying sincerity.
Let me shoot an arrow!
Do Dong-su was currently tied to a pillar and being carried in the middle. He was being treated as a sort of totem to raise the dungeon's difficulty! The other players were bewildered. Was this really okay?
“Player Kim Tae-hyun. Couldn't we just leave him in the middle?”
“Do Dong-su doesn't follow orders well. If we don't tie him up, he might run off somewhere else.”
“Ah, I see!”
“What do you mean 'I see', you crazy bastards?!”
They had barely met, but the players had already abandoned Do Dong-su and become Tae-hyun's loyal fans! From Do Dong-su's perspective, it was utterly absurd.
He said he didn't care, but he's so petty...!
He could have just told him, but tying him up and carrying him around like this was definitely petty revenge for the tournament.
“Cain. You holding him steady?”
“Y-yeah.”
Cain tried his best to ignore the murderous glare Do Dong-su was shooting at him from behind. First killing Do Dong-su in the past, and now carrying him around tied up like this...
Ugh. I'm not doing this because I want to!
“They're coming. Stick close to Do Dong-su!”
Standing right next to Do Dong-su caused the Dragon Tooth Skeletons to grow exponentially stronger. This was a skill-leveling method utilizing that mechanic!
“They're coming! Block them!”
“Hey! Hey! You bastards! At least put me down! I'm up here taking all the hits! Aaaargh!”
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Dragon Tooth Skeletons completely ignored Tae-hyun's group and desperately tried to attack only Do Dong-su. The melee skeleton warriors were fine, but whenever archers appeared, Do Dong-su felt his life flashing before his eyes.
Swordsmanship skill has...
You have endured continuous battles against powerful monsters! Constitution has increased.
The message windows kept popping up. The players finally began to understand what Tae-hyun meant.
The harder the difficulty, the greater the rewards.
These players had only ever grown through standard, safe, and well-known dungeons. To them, hunting alongside Tae-hyun was nothing short of revolutionary! The method was shocking, but the efficiency was several times higher. It was incomparable.
“Uwooo! Uwoooo!”
“They're pushing in from the side! Don't let them get to Mr. Do Dong-su! Block them!”
The players swung their weapons with excitement! Tae-hyun offered them some wisdom.
“Just let him take a hit! Do Dong-su won't die anyway!”
“Brilliant!”
“Understood!”
“Mph! Mph-mph! (You absolute bastards!)”
The players were learning all the right things!
Ah. Is this how you truly conquer a dungeon!
This is way better than what the coaches teach us!
Once the fierce battle ended, everyone had a proud look on their faces. Except for Do Dong-su. Do Dong-su closed his eyes, looking completely defeated.
“Mph mph mph... (Do whatever you want)...”
“Alright! On to the next one!”
“Huh? Aren't we taking a break?”
Tae-hyun kindly answered the question. “You can rest when you're dead. Resting is completely unnecessary! Potions restore everything anyway, so why rest?”
In real life, your body would get tired, but in the game, chugging a potion restored everything. So why on earth did they need to rest!
“Ah, indeed!”
“I'm learning so much today!”
“Player Kim Tae-hyun, by any chance, does Team KL accept reserve players?”
“Look at the state of the Auston Kingdom! The northern port has been seized by those elves, public security is in the gutter, and bandits are running rampant. Their vaunted elite army is too busy trying to maintain order in the Capital and its surrounding areas. In short, they're a bloated, empty shell! If we don't strike now, when will we?!”
“Waaaaah!”
“When I abandoned my beloved territory and came to Uruk, there was one thing I never forgot. Revenge! Revenge! Look at our territory. It has become a contaminated zone! And whose fault is that?!”
“The Guild Alliance! The Guild Alliance!”
-...Wait, didn't our Guild Master blow that place up himself...?
-Shh. Shut up.
“Who is it that cowardly oppresses players with brute force?!”
“The Guild Alliance! The Guild Alliance!”
“Who is it that deceives people and throws Pandemonium Online into chaos?!”
“Tae-hyun... No, the Guild Alliance! The Guild Alliance!”
“The Guild Alliance! The Guild Alliance!”
Kim Tae-san gathered his guild members and a massive horde of Orc tribes to begin his speech.
The Great War of Uruk
📍 Objective: You have initiated a Great War leading the Orcs of Uruk!
🎁 Reward: The more satisfactory the results of the war, the more you will grow. If you meet the conditions, all Orcs of Uruk will recognize you, allowing you to change your class to <Orc Warlord>!
This was on a completely different scale compared to the territorial war in the Auston Kingdom. Back then, he had only led his guild members into battle, but now, he was leading Orc tribes that blanketed the entire plains. Though their individual levels were low, numbers were a strength in themselves.
“To the Auston Kingdom!”
After the territorial war of the Auston Kingdom ended, this massive war that broke out after a long hiatus immediately took the Pandemonium Online forums and websites by storm.
[Great War Breaks Out! Choigang Jizon Moossang Guild Declares War on the Guild Alliance!]
[What is Choigang Jizon Moossang's Strength? Predicting the Outcome of This War!]
[Why Was Choigang Jizon Moossang Named This Way? Revealing the Hidden Backstory!]
Articles poured out, and players focused their attention.
Guild Alliance shills and players who had suffered at the hands of the Guild Alliance fought fiercely on the forums.
Meanwhile, an emergency was declared among the executives of the Guild Alliance. The Guild Alliance was already in a precarious situation. The kingdom was too bloated compared to the guild's finances, making it difficult to even hold their ground. And now, they were being struck from the side!
“Those cowardly bastards! To strike at a time like this!”
“Su Ning, we're short on budget right now! We need to stabilize the Capital and its surrounding areas to collect taxes, but if we withdraw the army, the damage will be too severe! What do we do?”
“Those damn bastards...!”
Su Ning gnashed his teeth. To think he would have to use the trump card he had prepared for Kim Tae-hyun on someone else. How could this father and son duo screw him over like this?!
But there was no other choice.
“Send an envoy to the Black Dragon Hakkaras!”
“!!!!”
The executives were horrified. To think he would actually play that card!