No Price to Pay?

"There is no price," Chesiza replied, having overheard.

"As if!"

"Exactly! Who do you think you're lying to?!"

Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon teamed up to attack Chesiza in perfect harmony. Chesiza stared at them, utterly dumbfounded. They were supposed to be heroes, yet did they live their lives constantly getting scammed?

"Your Majesty. It is the truth. Please believe me!"

"Kim Tae-hyun. That might be a trap."

"Now that you say it, that actually sounds plausible..."

When it came to being suspicious, these two were easily in the top tier of Pandemonium Online. Chesiza was starting to feel genuinely wronged. He already had a nasty, eccentric personality, and he was only keeping his head down because he was in front of Tae-hyun. But to be persecuted like this!

Should I just go ahead and resurrect him right now...?

"Then I shall just go ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ahead and do it!"

"Oh. Chesiza. Did you just speak casually to me?"

"...No, Your Majesty."

Chesiza missed the days when Tae-hyun wasn't the king. Back then, their dynamic was the exact opposite!

"So all we really have to do is use Incarnation Descent? Is it really that easy?"

"It is not easy, and there is one condition..."

"I knew it!"

"I told you so!"

"...Becoming a follower of Nevuchadnezzar."

"A follower? That's it?"

"As you know, Nevuchadnezzar was the most outstanding mage of the Ancient Empire..." Chesiza shrugged.

"Why are you shrugging?"

"Ah, no. It is just that a black mage was the most outstanding, you see. Ahem. At any rate, he was the greatest mage, and he was a mage who sought to transcend that and become a god. He was an archmage who tried to become a new god of death by plunging the entire world into demise. Of course, he failed, but his attempt was successful to some extent, making him a demigod-like existence."

"I know that much from what I've heard."

No matter how powerful a Lich was, it shouldn't be able to survive having both its physical body and phylactery destroyed. Yet, the fact that he hadn't died meant Nevuchadnezzar had transcended the level of a Lich.

"During his lifetime, Nevuchadnezzar split his soul and sealed the fragments into the equipment he used. He did this so that his followers could summon him using these items."

"Then we need those pieces of equipment, don't we?"

"I possess Nevuchadnezzar's Staff and Nevuchadnezzar's Robe. These two should be more than enough to summon him."

"...Wait. If you had things like that, you should have told me beforehand, you bastard!" Tae-hyun grabbed Chesiza by the collar.

"Th-they are merely worn-out items with absolutely no effects! They have no power unless Nevuchadnezzar himself arrives! Just because they contain soul fragments doesn't mean they possess any great power."

"I don't mean that! If such items are required, we could have just stopped him from being resurrected instead of resurrecting him ourselves!"

Since he could be resurrected through other means, they were trying to resurrect him preemptively to stop him!

"Well... someone else might possess other pieces of Nevuchadnezzar's equipment. It is not as if Nevuchadnezzar only scattered one set..."

"That is true." Tae-hyun calmed down and held out his hand. "Hand over the equipment."

"...You must not take them, Your Majesty. This is the Black Magic School's..."

"...Are you sure you're not actually on Nevuchadnezzar's side?"

Tae-hyun shot him an extremely suspicious look. It wouldn't even be surprising if Chesiza immediately started chanting "Loyalty! Loyalty! Loyalty!" the moment Nevuchadnezzar was summoned.

"Your Majesty, please believe me! Why would I give up my own position?"

"I shall trust in your greed."

There's really nothing to them. Tae-hyun closed the descriptions with a slightly disappointed look.

If these were the actual, fully functional equipment of Nevuchadnezzar, they would easily be the most powerful and magnificent Necromancer set items in existence. Lee Se-yeon would probably sell her soul just to get her hands on them! But perhaps because Nevuchadnezzar was currently dead, they had absolutely no effects.

What a waste.

"...Your eyes look incredibly suspicious."

"What? What did I do?"

"..." Lee Se-yeon shot him an extremely doubtful look.

"!"

It wasn't a class, but a skill name. And that skill, true to its name, summoned a god to descend!

Can I do this with Akisus too?

If he could summon Akisus to descend, just like Sadiq or the other deities of various orders, there would be no better skill in the world. Of course, the information was currently so scarce that a quest hadn't even triggered yet... But the anticipation of being able to do it someday was more than enough. If he took it step by step, he would eventually obtain it!

"Here they are, Chesiza. It's true."

"I have never lied once in my life."

"Same here. I guess because we're both from the Black Magic School, we're naturally honest with each other."

"..." Lee Se-yeon clenched her fists. Don't get mad, don't get mad!

"Then shall we proceed? You just need to cast the magic while offering a prayer of faith to Nevuchadnezzar..."

"Wait. If we offer a prayer of faith to Nevuchadnezzar, won't we get bound to something? Like having to obey his orders later on."

"No. You can simply say you don't believe in him anymore after he is summoned. Even with other religious orders on the continent, if you stop believing, you might receive a minor curse, but they won't stop you. Besides, we will have to fight Nevuchadnezzar the moment he appears anyway."

An opponent whose faith they could discard immediately! In that instant, Tae-hyun's and Lee Se-yeon's eyes gleamed. They had realized something.

"By any chance, are there any benefits to believing in him?"

"Yes. As a black mage, you receive a buff..."

Smack! Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon reached out their hands at the exact same time.

"Kim Tae-hyun. I am an orthodox black mage who inherits the lineage of the Ancient Empire's black magic. Nevuchadnezzar would be delighted if I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were the one to believe in him."

"Lee Se-yeon. I am the successor of the Magic Tower's Black Magic School, and my Speech skill is at the Highest rank. Even a suspicious guy like Nevuchadnezzar will come if I'm the one calling."

"Highest-rank Speech?! No, wait a minute." Lee Se-yeon faltered mid-sentence. She was that shocked. Just what on earth had he done to raise his Speech skill to the Highest rank?

She could understand combat skills like Swordsmanship and Magic, or crafting skills. There were plenty of things to do and use them for. But for non-mainstream skills like Speech, there was barely any way to raise them even if one wanted to. It didn't go up from practicing alone, and it only rose by a tiny fraction when haggling with NPCs... Just what kind of skill tree did he take?!

Ah, focus. Lee Se-yeon shook her head. Every time Tae-hyun spoke, it was so mind-boggling that it threw her off her pace.

"In the first place, you're the Pope of the Archisus Church! Can a Pope even believe in another god?"

"I asked him while praying earlier, and he said it was fine."

After bickering fiercely for a long time, Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon realized that persuading each other was impossible.

"Fine. Let's settle this."

"Just what I wanted. Let's roll a die—no, wait!" Lee Se-yeon stopped herself mid-sentence. Her usual habit had slipped out.

So close. Tae-hyun smacked his lips inwardly. If it had been a die roll, it would have been a free win...

"Rock-paper-scissors?"

"Not bad. Shall we go with that?"

"Fine. No backing out."

Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon stood facing each other. Watching them, Carbanog and Chesiza smiled warmly. After all that fighting, they were resolving it in such a cute and peaceful way, weren't they?

But that was a complete misunderstanding.

"Agility of the Death-Bringing Knight!"

"Triple Vision Enhancement!"

"In the Name of the Necronomicon!"

"Auto-Reaction Magic!"

Lee Se-yeon was frantically spamming agility-related spells! Indeed, neither of them had any intention of playing a pure game of rock-paper-scissors from the very beginning. Read the opponent's hand shape first, then change yours accordingly! That was the true way to play rock-paper-scissors! To achieve this, the Agility stat was absolutely essential.

Lee Se-yeon stared at Tae-hyun while boosting her Agility like crazy.

"Agility Enhancement."

"Agility Enhancement."

"Agility Enhancement..."

Word of Power!

She had known Tae-hyun could use Word of Power magic since she saw it in the previous video, but seeing it again was still shocking. How on earth did someone who wasn't even a mage learn the Word of Power skill? The NPCs who taught Word of Power magic were by no means easy to deal with... Lee Se-yeon could never have imagined that raising the Speech skill to an absurd level would unlock the Word of Power.

But Kim Tae-hyun, I am a pure mage, and you are a hybrid. You can't match me in magic efficiency!

Word of Power magic was a high-level magic, but surprisingly few people used it. Although it was a versatile magic that could handle any situation, its MP consumption was far too high. Rather than calling forth a fire arrow through a Word of Power, simply casting Fire Arrow was several times faster and more convenient. The same went for Tae-hyun! However, Lee Se-yeon did not know.

"Fortune Conversion!"

Suddenly, an immense light began to radiate from Tae-hyun's body.

Please let it be Agility! Please let it be Agility! If a stat like Strength came out, he would have no choice but to smack Lee Se-yeon.

Yes!!

Lee Se-yeon stamped her foot as she saw Tae-hyun's expression shift to one of absolute confidence. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was obvious he had rolled a favorable outcome on a risky random skill.

"Rock! Paper!"

"...Scissors!"

Lee Se-yeon threw Rock first. It was because Rock was the easiest shape to transition into either Scissors or Paper. In contrast, Tae-hyun started with Paper. Lee Se-yeon's dynamic visual acuity was no joke either. Her hand immediately began to unfurl, transitioning into Scissors.

Too naive, Kim Tae-hyun! No matter how fast you are, transitioning directly from Paper to Rock is bound to be slow—

Snap! Tae-hyun pulled back his right hand, which had started as Paper, and thrust forward his left hand instead. His left hand was clenched into a tight fist.

"..."

"I win."

Wow, what a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thorough bastard!!

Judging by Tae-hyun's speed, his Agility already seemed higher than Lee Se-yeon's, yet he had laid an extra trap just in case.

"I lost!"

"Whew. With this, the feud that has dragged on since Pan-On 1 is finally over. We shouldn't fight anymore."

"...What kind of nonsense is that? Wait a minute. Don't tell me you..." Lee Se-yeon was horrified. Was Kim Tae-hyun planning to use that legendary method?

There was a player in Pan-On 1 who was famous for dueling. That player used to go around saying:

-It's fine to lose 99 times out of 100. You only need to win once.

Once he won that single victory, he would thoroughly run away and refuse to fight ever again, notoriously mocking his opponent with, "Hey, remember when you lost to me back then?" The victims of this player were so infuriated that they eventually organized a subjugation squad just to hunt him down and trample him.

"Hey! Rock-paper-scissors isn't a fight!"

"Maybe you lost because you took rock-paper-scissors so lightly?"

"...Fine. Even if we count rock-paper-scissors, isn't our record 1-1? Who was the one who lost in Pan-On 1? It's not over!"

This time, Tae-hyun flinched. "It was so long ago, I don't really remember?"

"Is that so? I remember the exact date down to the hour, so let me refresh your memory."

"I can't hear you! It's too noisy in here..."

Chesiza, who was holding the robe and staff, stared blankly at the two of them before placing the items down.

"O Lord Nevuchadnezzar. I offer my prayers..."

I'll just do it myself!