A Shield-Like Sword

"That place inside isn't exactly a good spot to store treasures..."

"Haha. It's clear your Archbishop was a truly wise and deeply sagacious vampire."

A bit of an odd thing to say, coming from the very person who had just burned the Archbishop to ash! The vampires stared at him with eyes that screamed, Who on earth is this guy? but Tae-hyun didn't care in the slightest.

"So, where did your wise Archbishop put the treasure?"

"We don't really know either... *Gack!*"

Tae-hyun instantly grabbed the vampire by the collar.

"Where do you bastards think you're trying to pull a scam? Do I look like Sadiq or Salabian to you?"

"No, sir! You look exactly like Akisus!"

"You look one hundred percent like Akisus, seriously!"

The vampires screamed desperately.

"The Archbishop was highly suspicious and didn't trust us, so he never told us about those things!"

"Annoyingly plausible."

It was a reasonable excuse. If the NPC was highly suspicious, it made sense that he wouldn't tell ordinary cultists where such a precious treasure was hidden.

"But surely his close confidants would know."

"They're all dead."

"Surely at least one..."

"No. They're all dead."

"..."

Tae-hyun pretended not to hear. But the vampires repeated it anyway.

"They're all de—"

"Does that even make sense? The Archbishop's confidants would have been the elite warriors or priests!"

As Tae-hyun got angry, the vampires cursed him inwardly. You're the one who set that massive fire...!

He set such a devastating fire himself, yet he was angry that they died? There was no villain in the world worse than this guy. Even the Salabian Order was an evil cult, but they weren't *this* bad!

"Well... the warriors who directly served the Archbishop were right by his side..."

Since the Archbishop had died, the warriors right next to him naturally died with him. Besides, the Archbishop and his elite warriors were NPCs overflowing with confidence in their own skills. When the flames rushed in, the weaker vampires retreated as far inside as possible, dug tunnels, and trembled in fear. But the Archbishop proudly led his warriors to face it head-on. Of course, it was completely pointless. They were just swept away.

"Whew. Fine. At least the treasure itself didn't burn."

Tae-hyun let go of the collar. Just finding out that the kingdom's treasure wasn't incinerated was honestly a relief. He had originally assumed it was completely destroyed in the fire!

"Seriously..."

"Completely..."

"Everything is burned."

"His firepower is certainly something else..."

"I'm telling you, Sadiq really knows how to handle flames."

Tae-hyun's party whispered among themselves. The Salabian Order's cave fortress ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was indeed cleanly incinerated.

"..."

Nothing but ash came out! With every step, ash kicked up around their feet.

I should check my skills.

Tae-hyun opened his status window with a bittersweet feeling. Still, he had gained quite a lot from this campaign: a new skill, the legendary weapon, and even the Authority of the Salabian Order from defeating their Archbishop. It was an expedition with plenty of rewards, even without the treasure. It was just that the treasure felt like a waste!

Wow. What a crazy one-shot skill.

Sadiq's Divine Authority ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠+ Akisus's Wind of Fortune + various other factors combined to create this result! It was a powerful and rare skill that couldn't be obtained through normal means.

The penalty was just as severe. Not only did it consume all his MP, but his MP regeneration was sealed for a while. It was practically equivalent to being unable to use most of his skills, except for passives, for a set duration.

Fortunately, I still have Alexeos's Blessing right now...

Alexeos's Blessing was an unprecedentedly broken buff that drastically reduced all skill cooldowns. A dragon didn't put their name on a buff for nothing.

Just thinking about this blessing ending makes my stomach turn.

Even when fighting Hakkaras, it would have been extremely difficult without this blessing. He was already feeling regretful at the thought of it disappearing.

Next was the legendary weapon. Tae-hyun checked the item. Then he looked puzzled.

"??"

Is this... really a sword?

"..."

Tae-hyun was dumbfounded. To think there was a sword in this world that looked like a shield! It was a massive shield, large enough to cover three or four people.

Furthermore, the moment it was equipped, it even had an effect that blocked various magic from the front...

The performance itself is excellent.

Setting aside the absurd weapon classification, its stats were top-tier. Unrivaled durability. Defense comparable to decent armor. And even its attack power, though slightly low, was extremely high for something attached to a shield.

On top of that, the equip requirements were relatively easy. Although having to get permission from the Sadiq Church seemed incredibly difficult...

It seemed he needed permission from the Sadiq Church members he had under his control. It was a highly restrictive condition, but no such restriction appeared for Tae-hyun. Since he could order the cult around as he pleased, it was an easy condition to fulfill!

It's good, but it's a bit awkward for me to use...

First of all, Tae-hyun rarely used shields. His priority was always dodging rather than blocking. Its attack power was lower than his Dae-man-bul-gang-geom, and its defense was lower than the Adamantium Armor he was currently wearing...

"Cain. Come here for a second, will you?"

"??"

There was always someone perfectly suited for items like this. When Tae-hyun handed him the item, Cain equipped it with a bewildered expression.

"Why are you giving me something this good... Is this a trap?"

Cain was suspicious, but he didn't stop equipping it. A well-trained sucker!

"???"

Cain also realized that this sword—no, shield—was bizarre, and his face filled with confusion.

"What is this?"

"It's a sword that looks like a shield. You can use it, right?"

"I mean, I can use it like a shield, but..."

Cain stared at the sword in disbelief. What kind of weapon was this?

While Cain was swinging the shield (sword) around, Tae-hyun proceeded to check the final reward.

Lastly, the Authority of the Salabian Order.

The Authority skill he obtained after defeating the Archbishop.

"Ooh...!"

It was surprisingly a very solid Authority skill! A curse that prevented the opponent from regenerating HP for a certain period of time was useful in any situation. Whether in PvP or raids...

Not bad.

"Your Majesty. Apologies, but when do we depart?"

The waiting knights, seeing that Tae-hyun's party showed no signs of leaving, came all the way to the cave to speak to him.

"...!"

An unexpected breakthrough! If he just dragged his feet, the knights would leave on their own. What a golden opportunity!

"I feel a lingering evil energy here. We must search further."

"But isn't there nothing but ashes left?"

"Exactly. Look at the evil energy rising from these ashes!"

"???"

Of course, the knights didn't realize Tae-hyun's true intentions and looked utterly bewildered. Can he really feel something there? We don't feel anything, but since His Majesty says so, maybe there is something?

"Ugh..."

"Hmph..."

The knights grimaced as they circled around the ashes. Of course, nothing came out.

Having bought some time, Tae-hyun leisurely fell into deep thought.

More importantly, where did that Archbishop bastard hide it?

It was said that before his death, the Archbishop of the Salabian Order hid a massive treasure in a place only he knew. If Tae-hyun could find that treasure now that the Archbishop was dead, it would be entirely his.

But I need clues first...

The Archbishop? Tae-hyun killed him.

The Archbishop's confidants? Tae-hyun killed them.

The place where the Archbishop stayed? Tae-hyun burned it down!

Because Tae-hyun had cleaned up everything so thoroughly, he couldn't even complain to anyone!

"What are you worrying about?"

Seeing Tae-hyun lost in thought, Evangeline asked. It was rare to see a player of Tae-hyun's caliber looking so troubled.

"Is it perhaps the tournament..."

"Do you happen to know any vampires who were close to the Archbishop of the Salabian Order?"

"...Never mind, it wasn't a real worry."

Evangeline looked like she regretted worrying in the first place. Of course, there was no way Kim Tae-hyun would be nervous about a tournament! Even if it was the finals.

"What tournament? Oh, the Pan-On Dungeon Tournament. Come to think of it, it's about time to prepare for the finals."

He wasn't talking about preparing strategies for the match. He meant preparing to leave for the stadium!

He had already prepared everything for the match. He had hoarded various skills to use in the finals, and he was even under the effect of buffs like Alexeos's Blessing. Lee Se-yeon surely had some hidden cards prepared for the finals as well, but Tae-hyun was confident that his hidden cards were a step ahead.

Evangeline, being a ranker herself, couldn't hide ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her curiosity when Tae-hyun mentioned the tournament preparations.

"So you really have a separate strategy prepared for the finals?"

"Of course."

"Can I ask what you've prepared?"

"Of course not. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠You're Lee Se-yeon's spy."

"..."

Faced with such an absurd accusation, Evangeline was so dumbfounded she couldn't even answer properly.

"I... I'm Lee Se-yeon's spy?"

"You're stuttering. That means you're flustered."

"I'm flustered because you're talking absolute nonsense! Why on earth would I spy for her?!"

"A grudge against me?"

"That actually sounds plausible...! But still, no! You don't have to tell me anyway!"

Evangeline turned her head away in anger.

Then Tae-hyun asked again.

"But seriously, do you know any vampires who were close to the Archbishop?"

"..."

Casually ignoring the previous conversation and moving right along! Evangeline seriously considered punching him.

"Ah, I don't even have time to play Pan-On."

Tae-hyun grumbled as he got ready. In theory, the Pan-On tournament could be played from the capsule at home, but they couldn't just skip the physical event for the finals.

They had to show up at the dedicated stadium, show their faces, shoot in front of the cameras, and participate in various promotional events!

In the case of the Arena Tournament, it was hosted by a domestic broadcaster, so it took place at a domestic esports arena. However, this Pan-On Dungeon Expedition Tournament was directly operated by the game company itself. The stadium was set overseas.

In other words, Tae-hyun and his team had to board a plane and fly out to fulfill their schedule!

It made his stomach turn to think of all the people diligently playing Pan-On while he was wasting time like this, but the silver lining was that Lee Se-yeon would also be wasting her time in the exact same way.

"Still, I'm glad it's in the US and not China."

"...?"

Tae-hyun looked at Cain in confusion at his words.

"Why?"

"If it were China, your anti-fans might have ambushed you."

"..."

Surprisingly, that made a lot of sense!