Logical, but Highly Annoying

'Logical, but highly annoying.'

Tae-hyun agreed with the holy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knights' assessment. Every time Nebuchadnezzar's HP dropped, he unleashed an even denser shroud of deathly energy. With his HP now reduced by at least half, the surrounding area was rapidly transforming into a literal hellscape.

It was once a barren desert. But after this bloody battle, it was bound to become a massive undead hotspot. With a giant, temple-filled fortress right next door, it would undoubtedly become a must-visit destination for holy class players looking to farm undead! Of course, Tae-hyun and his party couldn't afford to look that far into the future right now. Just dealing with Nebuchadnezzar was taking everything they had.

'Damn it, even with Archisus's Authority to set up my own zones, there's a limit...' Tae-hyun had to receive all kinds of buffs from the priests just to minimize his cooldowns, yet Nebuchadnezzar laid down death zones as easily as breathing. The gap was simply too wide! Thanks to that, undead were constantly rising and growing stronger all around them.

"Keep pushing him!"

"Huff, puff... I'm running out of mana..."

"And you call yourselves a mage guild?! Cast more! Cast until you die!"

"Wait, did you know we were the Midas Guild—cough, wheeze!"

The mages and the Archisus Artillery continued to rain down area-of-effect spells like madmen, while the players and holy knights formed defensive lines to hold the line... but time was on the side of the undead! In the end, there was only one way out. They had to unleash everything they had and take down Nebuchadnezzar before he could fully recover.

'The problem is, I'm the one who has to do it.' Normally, he would pawn this off on someone else, but this was a task he couldn't delegate. Tae-hyun sighed and gripped his weapon. "Fine. I'll go."

"Ohhh! Your Majesty! We believed in you!"

"There were ridiculous rumors that Your Majesty has high Infamy, killed royalty, brought in evil cults, and even subjugated the Vampire race, but I never believed a single word of them!"

"..." Tae-hyun flinched. 'If my Infamy stat ever surpasses my Reputation, they're actually going to believe those rumors, aren't they?' Fortunately, thanks to defeating Uipoatl and fighting off the undead, his Reputation was nearly double his Infamy. It was a comfortable lead that wouldn't be closed anytime soon!

As Tae-hyun drew his sword and stepped toward Nebuchadnezzar, the high-ranking holy knights of each order breathed a collective sigh of relief. Though some knights still harbored ill feelings toward him, one thing was undeniable: there was no hero more reliable when he was on your side!

"Your Majesty! We shall follow behind you—"

"So, what are you going to give me?"

"Pardon?"

"Huh?"

"??"

"I asked, what are you going to give me?"

"..."

The utterly unexpected question left the holy knights completely speechless.

"Y-Your Majesty! Now is not the time for this! Look around you!"

The battlefield was a literal living hell! Undead were charging from all directions under massive buffs, and to make matters worse, they were resurrecting right in the middle of the players' ranks... It was a chaotic inferno of devastating magic and artillery fire exploding every single second! Who in their right mind would try to negotiate a deal here?!

"Holy knights. Listen well."

"??"

"Even if the continent were to perish tomorrow, I would still do my absolute best to squeeze every last penny out of you today."

"..."

The holy knights lost their words once more and stared at Tae-hyun. How could someone be so consistently, shamelessly diligent in his greed!

In truth, Tae-hyun was incredibly anxious as well. If Nebuchadnezzar managed to turn the tables, Tae-hyun would go down with them. But he firmly believed in one golden rule: in a game of chicken, the first one to hit the brakes loses!

"What do you want, Your Majesty?! Please, just name it!"

"You all owe me. Holy Knight Commanders, swear upon the names of the gods you serve. Swear that you owe me a massive debt."

"We understand, Your Majesty!"

"We owe Your Majesty a monumental debt, so please! We must strike Nebuchadnezzar now!"

"I know. Let's go, Yong-yong."

Tae-hyun mounted Yong-yong's back and charged toward Nebuchadnezzar. Deeply moved by his seemingly heroic valor, the holy knights followed suit. Where the Emperor went, they would follow! Their synchronized charge was so majestic that it instantly drew the gaze of all the surrounding players. It looked incredibly cool! Of course, the players had absolutely no idea about the dirty backroom deal that had just taken place.

'Ugh.' Tae-hyun charged forward while keeping an eye on the system alerts. He had to strike before Nebuchadnezzar could regain his footing! In one hand, he held his sword; in the other, he pulled out a bomb. It was a custom explosive filled with melted, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blessed pure silver—the kind of item that would make Lee Da-bi scream, "Ahhh! You'll be cursed by the heavens if you waste something like that as a bomb!"

"Dragon Bomb!"

'Please let it be Luck!'

'Phew.'

'You try having over six thousand points in Luck and see how you feel.'

'Stab and detonate!'

This was the absolute maximum burst damage Tae-hyun could muster right now! He intended to feed every single bit of it to Nebuchadnezzar. The deathly energy radiating from the Lich would undoubtedly grow stronger, but what choice did he have? It was far better than leaving him alone to recover.

"Huh?" Tae-hyun let out a startled gasp. The holy knights following closely behind him asked in confusion:

"Is something wrong, Your Maj—"

Nebuchadnezzar was staring directly at Tae-hyun, his eyes glowing with a chilling blue light.

"..."

"..."

He had recovered!

'Damn it. I should've just gone straight for the kill instead of negotiating!'

While Tae-hyun had been busy bickering with the holy knights, Nebuchadnezzar had somehow managed to pull himself together! As the Lich pointed a bony finger to aim, Tae-hyun instinctively twisted his body to dodge.

"Aaargh!"

A holy knight riding right behind him screamed and tumbled off his mount. Despite being well over level 400, the knight was instantly incapacitated by a single curse from Nebuchadnezzar.

'Yeah, I can see that!'

It wasn't his first time facing a boss monster that grew stronger as its HP dwindled. Knowing this changed nothing.

"You seem quite triumphant just because you managed to chip away at my physical form, Avatar," Nebuchadnezzar sneered. "But I am a god of death. The more of my flesh I lose, the more powerful I become! Now that you have lost your ally, what do you plan to do?"

"What ally? Oh..."

It seemed Nebuchadnezzar had been too busy getting pummeled to notice that Tae-hyun had actually slain Uipoatl. In that case, he might as well play along!

"Even if my ally has fallen, I will never surrender!"

"How foolish. Then perish."

Nebuchadnezzar didn't move from his spot, but his posture left absolutely no openings.

"!"

Once Nebuchadnezzar regained his rhythm and began layering spell after spell across the field, Tae-hyun's party found themselves completely pinned down, unable to break through. To make matters worse, a dark, shadowy barrier began to envelop the Lich once more. Tae-hyun's heart raced with anxiety. If that barrier fully reformed, they would be back to square one!

'Damn it. A variable... I need a variable...'

Tae-hyun's mind raced frantically. Should he have spared Uipoatl? He hadn't realized it when the Emperor was alive, but now that he was gone, his absence felt incredibly massive. He had been a truly magnificent hero, tanking Nebuchadnezzar's attacks with his own body, shrugging off curses, and constantly dealing damage!

"Avatar," Nebuchadnezzar spoke. "Now that the gods have abandoned this continent..."

"Why serve gods who are no longer here? But I am different. I am a being who ascended to godhood by my own hand! I shall offer you one final proposal. Serve me."

Seeing Nebuchadnezzar act this way, it was clear that Tae-hyun's performance had left a deep impression on him.

If you gave Tae-hyun a single dollar to buy bread, he was the kind of Avatar who would return with the bread, a drink, and two dollars in change! Such sheer, unprincipled efficiency was bound to make any deity drool.

"...I refuse!" Tae-hyun shouted.

"Your loyalty to your god is commendable."

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? I'm refusing because it would make all the suffering I've gone through up to this point a complete waste."

"..."

"Besides, seeing a guy like you act as a demigod makes me think I could easily do it myself! If anyone's going to be a god, it's going to be me! Why on earth would I work under you?!"

He was one hundred percent serious! Looking at Nebuchadnezzar, he was thoroughly convinced. If this guy could be a demigod, then literally anyone could do it!

"And if you're going to scout someone, make a decent offer! You call that a recruitment pitch? Even Cain wouldn't fall for a terrible deal like that."

What kind of recruitment offer started with, 'Come work under me! Of course, you have to die first!'?

"Are you finished speaking, Avatar?"

Nebuchadnezzar didn't even sound angry as he looked down at Tae-hyun. His attitude was one of absolute condescension—the supreme confidence of a being who knew he could crush his opponent whenever he pleased.

"Yeah. And one more thing."

"?"

"In the future, if you ever meet someone who's stalling for time, you'd better watch your back!"

With those words, Tae-hyun activated all his defensive buffs to shrug off the curses and retreated at full speed. Backward! A massive fire tornado was sweeping in from right behind Nebuchadnezzar.

'It worked!'

To notice a fire tornado approaching from behind while Nebuchadnezzar was casting his spells, and then deliberately stall for time to let it hit—what a devious mind!

"Your Majesty! You foresaw all of this..."

"Of course. I had everything planned out from the very beginning."

"To think... You are truly magnificent!"

"Wait, Your Majesty, how far is that fire tornado going to travel?"

"..."

Tae-hyun didn't answer. He simply kept backing away.

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty?!"

"Run, you idiots! Run!"

The sight of the towering pillar of fire incinerating the dark, malevolent energy was nothing short of spectacular. Nebuchadnezzar, who clearly hadn't expected to be blindsided by such an attack from behind, shrieked in absolute agony.

"Aaargh... Aaaaagh!"

All the active spells in the area were canceled as the deathly energy burned away. It made the battlefield incredibly hot, but this was infinitely better than the alternative.

"Nebuchadnezzar!"

Tae-hyun charged forward, weapon in hand. Even though the fire tornado was terrifying, it was a skill he had unleashed himself. He could withstand the heat.

"Argh! My armor is melting!"

"Are you insane?! The tornado is coming this way! The flames...!"

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for the other players! In the end, they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had no choice but to scream and flee for their lives. Tae-hyun was now the only one left standing near Nebuchadnezzar.

"Take this!"

"No—"

Boom!

A flurry of critical hit alerts and system messages flooded his vision, but the final notification confirming the kill had yet to appear. It didn't matter. He was going to see this through to the very end anyway!

Through the roaring flames, Tae-hyun spotted the weak point he had exposed earlier on Nebuchadnezzar's torso. He lunged through the fire and drove his blade precisely into the gap.

"Archisus's Fourth Attack!"

A thrilling sensation vibrated up his arm—the unmistakable feeling of a strike that guaranteed victory!