The Hidden Weakness
Having made up his mind to fight again, Kim Tae-hyun heard the voice of the Gold Dragon, Yong-yong, whisper in his ear.
"Master. Master."
"Huh? You were still awake?"
"...What exactly do you take me for?"
"For a guy who fired off a few breaths and then shrank."
"That was a mistake. If my power had been complete, such a thing would never have..."
"Yeah, yeah. Not now. I'm busy, so if you've got something to say, save it for later."
"That's not it. I wish to speak of that thing's weakness."
The Gold Dragon, Yong-yong, indicated the Specter of the Ancient God.
"Weakness?"
"That thing is hiding its power. Its true power is somewhere else. You must strike there."
"...!"
Kim Tae-hyun instantly understood what Yong-yong meant.
The Specter of the Ancient God was using some kind of special trick right now!
The fact that it was still perfectly fine after taking such a beating had been strange. There had to be some secret behind it.
And Yong-yong was saying that secret was hidden somewhere else in this place.
I got stupid because the bastard was too stupid.
The Specter of the Ancient God had been so gullible, so mind-numbingly dumb, that Tae-hyun himself had stopped thinking while fighting it.
Normally, he should have noticed this right away.
A boss monster that was nearly impossible to bring down unless you fulfilled some special condition.
Bosses like that weren't all that rare.
"Thanks, Yong-yong. You're finally earning your keep."
If even after spending all that Luck it still didn't help, that would've been downright unfair.
At least it was useful like this.
Yong-yong puffed up proudly and answered.
"I am a great Gold Dragon. Seeing through an enemy's true nature is hardly difficult."
"So when's your body recovering?"
"..."
Yong-yong instantly clammed up.
Kim Tae-hyun shook his head.
Looks like he couldn't expect a recovery anytime soon.
"How feeble you are, intruders! The fault lies with you, for failing to understand your place!"
The Specter of the Ancient God began rampaging gleefully.
First, it lashed the entire wide hall with whips of black tentacles.
"Shield of Holy Power!"
"Greater Mana Barrier!"
As the Specter of the Ancient God attacked ferociously, the mages and priests immediately shifted into a defensive formation.
The soldiers rushed inside, and vast defensive barriers spread out!
The mages and priests were unquestionably impressive.
Even the vicious black whips slamming down couldn't pierce their barriers.
Once everyone had retreated inside, the soldiers immediately prepared to attack again.
The archers nocked arrows, and the spearmen raised their spears and readied their skills.
The fundamentals of party play!
Reliable. Very reliable.
But there was no time to relax.
The mages and priests were high-level NPCs, yes, but the Specter of the Ancient God was no easy opponent either.
And it seemed to be drawing power from something inside this dungeon, because its recovery speed was absurdly fast.
If things kept going like this—both sides trading blows—the one who'd win in the end would be the Specter of the Ancient God.
"You will never reach my source! Bwahahahahaha!"
I can't believe I was getting fooled by that idiot...
Listening to the Specter of the Ancient God's lines, Tae-hyun moved quickly.
That was the kind of line that practically screamed, I'm hiding something!
Seriously, is it okay to advertise your own weak point that openly? What is this, narcissism?
Tae-hyun was suspicious by nature.
Which was why, when someone advertised something that openly, it only made him more suspicious.
If Yong-yong hadn't said anything, he would've doubted it even more and thought, Is this some kind of trap?
But the Specter of the Ancient God wasn't thinking at all.
Why was it a specter? Because it was far removed from anything resembling normal judgment—that's why it was a specter!
Divine Foresight
The target's level is too high.
Failed to identify the weakness.
As a penalty, additional MP has been consumed.
"...!"
It was the first time Divine Foresight had failed.
Tae-hyun hesitated.
Should he try it one more time?
If it was completely impossible, trying again would just be a waste.
Doesn't matter. I've got plenty of MP anyway.
Tae-hyun didn't use that many skills to begin with.
And with this many priests and mages around, he could afford to waste a little MP.
Divine Foresight
The target's level is too high.
Failed to identify the weakness.
Additional penalty applied.
More MP has been consumed.
Damn it!
Divine Foresight
Successfully identified the target's weakness.
Divine Foresight has leveled up.
A red path began to appear.
And where it led was...
Inside the altar!
The Specter of the Ancient God was standing on top of the central altar, holding its ground while pouring out attacks.
And the red path led inward—inside the altar itself.
No wonder it wasn't moving. So that was it.
Somehow, he had to lure the Specter of the Ancient God away from there and then attack the inside of that altar.
"Rise, my servants!"
"...!"
After some time passed, the Specter of the Ancient God started raising Specter Warriors again.
"Take them down! In the name of the Royal Navy!"
"Do not retreat under any circumstances!"
The naval soldiers charged the Specter Warriors with their spears. Behind them, the mages and priests lent their strength.
Boom! Crash!
"Chain of Surging Thunder!"
One of the mages unleashed a spell he'd been preparing for quite a while.
He seemed to be one of the higher-ranking mages among them.
The Specter Warriors were swept away in an instant as lightning exploded through the area.
It was powerful enough that even the Specter of the Ancient God had to defend itself.
Magic really is enviable.
Melee classes like warriors and rogues had powerful survival tools.
High HP. High Agility for easy dodging. Or, if nothing else, easy ways to run away.
Mages had none of that.
Low HP, and once they allowed an enemy into melee range, staying alive became difficult.
And yet magic compensated for every one of those weaknesses.
One devastating blow!
Tae-hyun smacked his lips and looked at the mage with open envy.
I really ought to learn at least a few spells.
Even if not advanced, specialized high magic like a true mage used, other classes could still learn magic.
If he picked up a few useful spells, they'd come in very handy.
"Mm!"
"...?"
Tae-hyun turned to Ju Hyeon-yeong.
While the Royal Navy fought, the other players besides Tae-hyun had been hiding in the back.
The two blacksmiths had poor combat ability.
Of course, during a fight like this, blacksmith-type classes usually hid near the mages.
In a way, it was shameless—but that was normal for blacksmiths.
The abnormal one was Tae-hyun, the blacksmith charging around at the front!
But now Ju Hyeon-yeong was stepping forward.
Dragging a cauldron with her.
"What are you doing?"
"Pardon? Ah. I thought I might be able to help."
"With a cauldron?"
"With cooking."
Ju Hyeon-yeong's calm face was completely serious.
Anyone else would've thought she was joking, but Tae-hyun realized right away that she meant it.
"Cooking? Right now? We don't have time to eat. And we already got all our buffs."
"No. I was going to make holy water and throw it."
"...!"
That was the kind of idea only a chef would come up with!
The Specter of the Ancient God was undead, and the minions it kept summoning were undead too.
Naturally, holy water dealt heavy damage to them.
The priests were using holy magic, but they were conserving their strength and not casting too much.
If they spent too much power now, then later, when they really needed it, their MP might not recover in time.
"That's a great idea. Start making it. Need help?"
"It's heavy, but I can handle it alone."
"Heavy? You two. Get out here and help."
Tae-hyun pointed at the two blacksmiths.
"What??"
"You're blacksmiths, so you're strong, right? Pick it up and carry it. Help with whatever she needs."
The two blacksmiths looked up at the Specter of the Ancient God.
It was laughing wildly and attacking in every direction.
If they went forward, they could get hit.
"Uh... can't she just make it here?"
"If you want to make it and start throwing it right away, it needs to be made farther up front."
"What if attacks come in?"
"Dodge."
"No, that is not a simple solution! How are we supposed to dodge that?!"
"Watch for it, and dodge before it gets here. Simple."
Even as he said that, a black tentacle stabbed in from directly behind Tae-hyun.
A total blind-side attack.
That wasn't something anyone should've been able to dodge.
The two blacksmiths' eyes widened in shock.
But at that very moment—
Whip—
Tae-hyun merely tilted his head slightly and avoided the attack.
The tentacle stabbed through the exact spot where his head had been and swept back away.
"H-how did you dodge that?"
"Heard it coming."
What are you, a monster?!
"Anyway, help make the holy water. It's not like you've got anything else to do. You didn't come here just to be dead weight, did you?"
Each one of Tae-hyun's words landed like a punch to the solar plexus.
Of course they didn't have anything else to do, but still!
While the two blacksmiths went to help Ju Hyeon-yeong, Tae-hyun also sat down and hurriedly began crafting items.
What they needed right now was—
Big, flashy bombs.
After all, even if Tae-hyun took a few hits from the Specter of the Ancient God's attacks, it was manageable.
The soldiers and other players were in danger, but Tae-hyun could dodge.
They needed to blow the altar apart, but the Specter of the Ancient God was wrapping itself around it and getting in the way.
Get close and blow it up with a bomb.
This was exactly why he'd learned Mechanical Engineering.
You break the Specter Warrior's armor into sharp fragments.
You turn the Caterand Pirate's single-edged sword into shrapnel.
You add poison to the contents.
One ominous message window after another popped up!
Tae-hyun intended to pack all of it inside the bomb and gift it to the Specter of the Ancient God.
You do not have enough gunpowder.
Would you like to craft it while accepting a penalty?
"Of course."
Crafting with penalties applied.
The completed item may malfunction.
Mechanical Engineering has increased.
Bomb Crafting has increased.
◈ A bomb stuffed with every kind of junk imaginable.
◈ Made with too little gunpowder and an alternate method, making it unstable and dangerous.
◈ Whoever made this clearly had no intention of using it personally.
I absolutely am going to use it myself.
Thinking that, Tae-hyun kept making more bombs.
He had no intention of stopping at one.
Meanwhile, Ju Hyeon-yeong and the two blacksmiths finally finished making the holy water.
"The holy water's done! What should we do with it?"
"Give it to the soldiers, and bring the rest over here!"
"How are we supposed to give it to them when they're in the middle of fighting?"
"You run!"
The two blacksmiths, holding back tears, started running with the cauldron.
The soldiers were fighting desperately.
"Bring the rest of the holy water over here. I'm going to pack it in and throw it."
Tae-hyun shredded a leather armor, then quickly stitched the leather into a round waterskin.
Tailoring has increased.
Mechanical Engineering has increased.
You have acquired the skill Deconstruct.
You can break down items and use them for other skills.
The higher the skill level, the fewer penalties you receive.
A must-have skill for someone walking the path of the jack-of-all-trades!
Tae-hyun skimmed the message window and finished the item.
"Good. Let's go!"
Tae-hyun signaled to the mages.
"Hit it with every spell you've got! Right now!"
Tactics has increased.
You are commanding allies far above your skill level.
Penalty applied.
The penalty has been negated by the Incarnation's Charisma.
The mages were startled for a moment, but they didn't hesitate at Tae-hyun's command and unleashed the spells they had prepared.
"O fire, boiling like molten lava..."
"O lightning that strikes with blinding brilliance..."
As soon as the incantations were complete, the magic erupted one after another.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAAAANG!