Let's Resurrect the Lich
Surprisingly, the persuasion had been incredibly easy!
'Wait, is my sister the one unilaterally clinging to him?' Looking at Tae-hyun's attitude, Kim Hyeon-ah couldn't help but feel that way, but she quickly denied reality. There was no way the cool, chic Lee Se-yeon would do such a thing!
"But this isn't a trap, right?"
"..."
Scratch that last thought. Kim Hyeon-ah realized once again why Lee Se-yeon growled like a feral beast whenever she saw Tae-hyun.
"It's not a trap. My sister... well... I think she felt she went a bit too far after getting that angry."
At those words, Tae-hyun's companions muttered from behind.
"She did go a bit too far..."
Half a city had been destroyed! That was the result of Ehas and Jehas versus Lee Se-yeon. And considering the cause of that fight was a petty argument... it wasn't just "a bit" too far, it was way too far! It felt like catching a glimpse of what top rankers could achieve if they truly set their minds to it.
"Lee Se-yeon thinks she went too far?"
"...Yes," Kim Hyeon-ah replied after a brief hesitation.
Of course, Lee Se-yeon didn't think that at all. She and Kim Tae-hyun were in a relationship where they spared no means or methods against each other. Ehas and Jehas? They had dug their own graves because they wanted to die! Lee Se-yeon was completely shameless and proud, without a single speck of guilt in her heart.
And Tae-hyun, knowing her personality all too well, cast a highly suspicious gaze.
"There's no way Lee Se-yeon would think that..."
"Why not?"
"Her personality is... No, never mind. Don't tell her I said that."
Even if he hadn't said so, she had no intention of relaying it. If she did, they would probably be at each other's throats!
"Then I'll take that as an acceptance."
"Sure. Bring Lee Se-yeon over."
Kim Hyeon-ah let out a sigh of relief. Persuading Kim Tae-hyun had been the primary hurdle, but it had been resolved easily.
"Then, I shall take my leave."
A ninety-degree bow! Of course, the bow wasn't directed at Tae-hyun, but at Yu Ji-soo. Yu Ji-soo's face turned beet red as she waved her hands, telling her to stop.
"Did something happen between you two?"
"Nothing happened at all!!"
"Sister. Kim Tae-hyun seemed to feel really sorry."
"What? That's ridiculous. There's no way he would..."
"..."
Kim Hyeon-ah thought to herself. They behave exactly the same way!
"But if he says so, I suppose I have no choice."
Lee Se-yeon recovered her spirits in a single second and stood up. Seeing this, Kim Hyeon-ah felt incredibly happy. Who cared if it was a lie! Her sister was this happy!
"Shall we go do the Nevuchadnezzar quest?"
"Yes! Oh, and Sister. Don't talk too much about useless things with Kim Tae-hyun."
She said this fearing her lie would be exposed, but Lee Se-yeon interpreted it differently.
"I understand. I'll stop showing such an unsightly side of myself."
"You're not unsightly, Sister! Kim Tae-hyun is the unsightly one!"
"Right, right. Kim Tae-hyun is unsightly."
"Chesia. The mages of the Magic Tower have gathered to help. Now, your role is crucial..."
Chesia proudly nodded at Tae-hyun's words.
"Trust in me, Your Majesty. In this endeavor, no one will achieve greater merit than the mages of the school I lead."
"Reassuring."
"Those insignificant insects won't be of any help whatsoever, mgh-mgh—"
Tae-hyun covered Chesia's mouth. They can hear you, you bastard!
"Shut up and just find Nevuchadnezzar's resurrection site."
"Mgh-mgh-mgh." Chesia nodded with his mouth still covered.
"So, where is Nevuchadnezzar resurrecting? Do you have any guesses?"
"Theoretically, it is possible anywhere."
"...Why?"
"Nevuchadnezzar's original body has completely decayed and vanished. No matter how great a Lich is, they cannot move without a physical vessel to inhabit, can they? Nevuchadnezzar will somehow find a body he can use, borrow it, and attempt to descend upon the continent."
The first Lich, Nevuchadnezzar, had become an existence akin to a demon or a demigod. Normally, as long as a Lich's phylactery—the vessel containing their life—remained intact, they could return once they recovered their power, even if their physical body was destroyed. They weren't called the highest-tier undead for nothing! Nevuchadnezzar went beyond that; he was a Lich who could maintain his existence even without a phylactery. Existences like demons summoned to the continent or descended avatars did not die even if they were killed. They were merely banished from the continent. Nevuchadnezzar was the same.
"Lord Nevuchadnezzar—no, Nevuchadnezzar can be considered a god of death... well, at least a demigod."
"You sound like you highly revere him."
Respect practically dripped from Chesia's voice. A grand senior who had gone beyond a Lich to become something akin to a demigod! If only he weren't trying to take my position, he'd be a truly wonderful senior!
"I, too, merely wish to one day gather the souls of countless people and rule over death."
"Sure. If you ever want to do that, make sure you go to the Auston Kingdom to do it."
As he spoke, Tae-hyun fell into thought. Nevuchadnezzar's resurrection was similar to a religious order's quest. If the conditions for resurrection were met, Nevuchadnezzar would descend and resurrect!
'It's just like the Avatar of Sadiq quest.'
Just as preparing the conditions and calling Sadiq summoned his descended avatar, Nevuchadnezzar would also appear.
'And even now, there must be bastards preparing to summon Nevuchadnezzar, right?'
Seeing Chesia's reaction, he immediately got a feel for it. Necromancers were fundamentally twisted bastards, so even if Nevuchadnezzar threatened to destroy the world, there would definitely be those who would resurrect him just to see what happened. Finding and capturing all those bastards across the continent was realistically impossible. There was no telling when or where he would be summoned.
'In that case, it would be better to...'
Carbanog asks, just in case.
'...What if we just summon Nevuchadnezzar ourselves?'
Since he had Chesia and the Black Magic School, obtaining the method to resurrect Nevuchadnezzar would be easy. Much faster than any secret necromancer societies hiding in the shadows of the continent!
Carbanog slams its head into the ground.
Meanwhile, the top ranker of a fundamentally twisted class arrived. It was Lee Se-yeon.
"E-Even Lee Se-yeon...?!"
"No way!!"
The mage players at the Magic Tower were astounded by the unexpected guest. Lee Se-yeon rarely visited the Magic Tower. Because she had obtained a Legendary Class, her quest routes were quite different from those of the Magic Tower. If Lee Se-yeon had been there, the successor of the Black Magic School would have been her!
"I knew they were close! What did I tell you? She came to help Kim Tae-hyun with his quest!"
"Then the articles saying they fought were fake news!"
"Journalists are always the problem. Saying their relationship has been bad since Pan-On 1. Make it make sense. If they hate each other that much, how did they win the tournament together?"
"Exactly, exactly."
"..."
As soon as Lee Se-yeon heard those words, regret washed over her. I should have just stayed home...
"Kim Tae-hyun."
"Lee Se-yeon."
The two shook hands while looking at each other. On the outside, they appeared highly cultured and friendly, but the reality inside was a bit different. Countless players were watching them. The first one to act unsightly would lose!
"Asking to do a quest together. I was surprised."
"Because I thought it would be a difficult quest to do alone."
'What's wrong with her?' Tae-hyun found Lee Se-yeon's attitude puzzling. Even with so many eyes watching, she was far too docile. He expected at least one sarcastic remark! Was she really thinking, as Kim Hyeon-ah said, that she had overreacted too severely?
Of course not. Lee Se-yeon was behaving herself purely due to capitalism.
"Please! We beg of you!"
As soon as news broke that she was doing a quest with Tae-hyun, the marketing team of Yuseong Gaming mobilized in full force, kneeling and begging.
"Please turn on your stream! I've worked in marketing for ten years, and I've never been this sure of a massive hit. If I miss this, I'm no marketing expert!"
With such passion, the employees begged and begged. Lee Se-yeon had no choice but to accept. And right now, Yuseong Gaming's official stream was absolutely exploding.
Out of the countless Pan-On game streams broadcasting worldwide, theirs proudly sat at the very top. Instantly sweeping aside numerous rankers, they claimed the number one spot in real-time viewership! Moreover, the gap between them and second place was more than double. It was an overwhelmingly dominant lead.
The Yuseong Gaming staff hugged each other and shed tears of joy. Events? Plans? Advertisements? None of it was needed. Just put the two of them together! Even without asking journalists, articles were popping up in real-time.
Of course, the other half of the articles were about Tae-hyun.
Tae-hyun, who generated as many articles on his own as an entire gaming team! Honestly, it couldn't be helped. Everything Tae-hyun did became news. When he caught Lalgrgal...
...such clickbait articles, along with all sorts of other news, had flooded the internet. Whether he liked it or not, Tae-hyun was the journalists' bread and butter, a perpetual newsmaker. Just putting "Kim Tae-hyun" in the title boosted views four- to five-fold, so what journalist could resist? To make matters worse, articles like these even appeared:
"Let's resurrect Nevuchadnezzar."
"...???"
Lee Se-yeon blinked. Did I hear that wrong?
"Hyeon-ah. The quest is to prevent Nevuchadnezzar's resurrection, right? Not to resurrect him?"
"Y-Yes. That's what I heard too."
Had there been a misunderstanding about the quest? However, Tae-hyun calmly continued his explanation.
"Think about it carefully, Lee Se-yeon. Now that the quest has popped up and the omens have appeared, Nevuchadnezzar is destined to resurrect. It's only a matter of time; he will resurrect eventually."
"Omens?"
"There are such things. You can ask Chesia about it later."
Tae-hyun glossed over it. If he explained the omens in detail, the only response he would get would be, "...Wait, you're the one who did that!"
"Wouldn't it be much more advantageous if we could decide the time and place? Imagine a Lich like Nevuchadnezzar resurrecting somewhere out of our sight, recovering his strength, and fully preparing."
"That is... a bit horrifying."
Lee Se-yeon nodded. Necromancers grew stronger the more time they were given. A newly resurrected Lich might have no legion and no subordinates, but give him just a week, and that Lich would appear leading an entire army.
"That's why we have to resurrect him."
Lee Se-yeon held out her hand and said, "Let me think about this for just a moment..."
His words made sense, but why did it sound like such a crazy idea?