A Nostalgic Reunion
"Chwik! You bastard!"
"...Who were you again?"
[......]
Both the Orc locked in the cage and Carbanog were utterly dumbfounded. They had never expected him to completely forget.
"No, seriously, who are you? You're not my dad, are you?"
"Chwik! You murderous human! What kind of nonsense is that?!"
"Phew. You looked so angry at me, I thought maybe you were. So, who are you then?"
Tae-hyun had captured so many Orcs that he couldn't possibly remember them all.
"Chwik! I am the rightful successor of the Orc Great Chieftain, Kazak!"
"Kazak? Uh... hmm... hold on. Who was that?"
Tae-hyun quickly sent a whisper to Lee Da-bi. She replied almost instantly.
Tae-hyun nodded warmly. Back then, Cain, a PK player who had picked a fight with him, ended up taking the fall for the Orc Great Chieftain's wrath. It was a delightful, heartwarming memory—well, for Tae-hyun, at least! Because of that, Cain's guild was destroyed, and his gaming life was utterly ruined.
Tae-hyun consoled Kazak with a pitying look.
"My bad. You were so insignificant that I completely forgot."
"Ch... Chwik! I'll kill you! My father will have his blood vengeance upon you!"
"Uh... well... about that..."
Tae-hyun stammered. If he told Kazak that he had already defeated the Orc Great Chieftain Karag too, would the guy get even angrier?
"Chwik! Are you listening! You trash of Akisus!"
"Right, right."
Tae-hyun pretended not to hear and moved to the next cage. He had a general idea of what this place was now. It seemed to be a space containing the souls of the boss monsters he had defeated.
Akisus has sealed the souls of your defeated enemies within his kingdom.
A true Apostle can borrow the power of these souls.
It's not borrowing, it's stealing...
Carbanog says that is simply the Akisus way of phrasing it.
Phrasing it like that doesn't change what it actually is.
Of course, he was going to steal and use them anyway! But even if he did, he wouldn't steal Kazak's power. Honestly, out of all the boss monsters he had defeated so far, Kazak was...
The weakest of the bunch. Yep.
Tae-hyun was confident he could take Kazak in a 1v1 even now. The Authority of Akisus skills generally had incredibly long cooldowns, and Kazak was far too weak to justify using one of those slots. If he was going to use it, he wanted someone strong!
"Kuooo..."
"Ah! You're...!"
Tae-hyun was startled by the creature inside the cage. A blazing beast of fire! Who was this again?
Carbanog begs you to remember at least one of them.
"Ah. You're the Fire Magic Beast raised by the Sadiq Church!"
Tae-hyun clapped his hands. The Fire Magic Beast nodded in satisfaction and gave a thumbs-up.
"Kuooo!"
"My guy. I remember you."
The very reason Tae-hyun got his territory! When the Sadiq Church, which was hiding in the Valley, failed to assassinate the king, they revealed themselves and prepared this beast to fight the kingdom's army. Of course, the plan didn't go as expected. Thanks to Tae-hyun, the Fire Magic Beast went berserk and wiped out the Sadiq Church instead.
The Fire Magic Beast, which had been giving a thumbs-up, suddenly realized Tae-hyun was the one who had defeated it and roared in anger.
"Kuaaa!"
"Hey, calm down. I had no choice back then. Besides, I'm the master of the Sadiq Church now, so let's make up."
"Kua! Kua!"
"Hmm. I should come back later!"
Seeing that the Fire Magic Beast wasn't going to be easily persuaded, Tae-hyun moved on.
"Ah... you're...!"
"It has been a while."
An elegant-looking noble was inside the cage.
"Marquis Marde—no, Marquis Marden!"
"..."
"But you're not really worth much, are you?"
Tae-hyun bypassed Marquis Marden. Honestly, unlike the Fire Magic Beast, Marquis Marden's power wasn't even worth borrowing. Vampire abilities? If he wanted those, he could just borrow the power of the vampires from the Blood Archipelago, the Salavian Church, or Towang-i. Why on earth would he borrow Marquis Marden's?
"Y-you insolent brat! Get back here this instant!"
Marquis Marden shrieked in outrage at being ignored, but Tae-hyun had already walked past. Honestly, the only valuable thing about Marquis Marden was the mask he wore! Tae-hyun would probably use that mask until he quit the game.
Whoosh!
Tae-hyun suddenly remembered something and turned back, startling Marquis Marden. He hadn't expected him to actually return...
"As expected, you need my power—"
"Not really. Hey, Marquis. Do you happen to have any hidden fortunes? If you donate them to me, I'll put them to good use for the sake of the continent."
"Get lost!!!"
"Tsk. Stingy bastard."
Tae-hyun smacked his lips in disappointment and moved on.
Next was...
"Edaor?! Wait, shouldn't you be in the Demon Realm?!"
Tae-hyun was shocked to see Edaor. Come to think of it, he had first met Lee Da-bi in Abalab City, where Edaor was. Their meeting had started with the events at the arena there.
Hmm. I feel like there were some other weird guys there too... the Guild Alliance... and their lackeys... and some paladins with a perverted guild name... well, not important.
"I am merely a fragment of Edaor that you captured."
Edaor's soul has not been fully sealed.
You cannot utilize Edaor's full power!
"Oh. If I go to the Demon Realm and capture the rest, will it fill up here?"
Tae-hyun asked casually, as if he were playing Pokémon. Edaor gnashed his teeth and roared.
"Just try coming to the Demon Realm, you young Apostle of Akisus! I will tear you limb from limb and nail you to the darkest depths of the abyss!"
"That's a bit harsh. Next."
"This is absurd! Me! Locked in the cage of a mere Apostle!"
"Uh... who are you, seriously?"
Tae-hyun was bewildered by the unfamiliar face. It looked like some kind of beast, but he had no memory of it.
"You forgot me?! I am the despair of all Apostles! The death of all churches! The God-Devouring Monster!"
"Ah...! Right!"
The God-Devouring Monster! Every church had formed an expedition to hunt it down, but honestly, it hadn't left much of an impression. Before the creature could even transform, Tae-hyun had shot an Orichalcum arrow straight through its head.
"Hmm. But are you actually strong?"
"...!!!!"
"The dungeon you were in was quite lucrative, but I never actually fought you properly... Let's put you on hold for now."
Next were the Archbishop and Holy Knight Commander of the Sadiq Church. The two of them were sharing a cage quite cozily.
"...Are you two in that kind of relationship?"
"What kind of nonsense is...!"
"I'll rip that mouth right off!"
"Never mind then. Anyway, I generally know what you guys can do. Perfect. I'll call on you later if I need you."
"May the eternal curse of fire be upon you!"
Both of them had decent, solid abilities. If a moment came when he needed a massive amount of fire, he could borrow their powers. Next!
"Ah. I remember you. Gardu. Long time no see."
"I should have dragged you down to the bottom of the ocean!"
The Great Pirate Gardu. He had chased Tae-hyun, thinking he was just an easy pirate subordinate, only to be counterattacked and killed. A tragic fate. By the way, the overpowered health-regeneration necklace Gardu used to own was currently being worn by Cain.
"I'm not even the one using your necklace, so why are you mad at me? Why don't you go be mad at Cain instead?"
Instead of answering, Gardu gave him the most insulting hand gesture in the world. Tae-hyun felt slightly hurt.
"Next is... ah. The leftovers of the Salavian Church. Moving on."
"You son of a bitch!!!"
The Archbishop of the Salavian Church and Dominic cursed in fury. Being ignored so casually was far more humiliating than being yelled at.
"You guys are similar to the Sadiq Church crowd... I'll call you if I need you later."
Next was Karag. It was fascinating to see him looking so normal, compared to how he had been corrupted by demon blood in life.
The moment they met, Karag violently hurled his weapon.
Crash! Bang! Clang!
Tae-hyun shook his head and walked past. Ah, why can't people just let go of the past?
[......]
The next cage sent a shiver down his spine just by stepping near it. A colossal cage. Inside, a pair of slithering, snake-like eyes belonged to the Black Dragon Hakkaras.
Your current power is too weak to borrow Hakkaras's power!
Attempting to force it may result in severe side effects.
Hmm. I don't know what it is, but it's terrifying!
Would Hakkaras try to possess his body? Just thinking about it was chilling.
Your current power is too weak to borrow Uipoatl's power!
Your current power is too weak to borrow Nevuchadnezzar's power!
Two cages remained. They were reserved for Uipoatl and Nevuchadnezzar, the most recent additions. Of course, warning messages popped up just like with Hakkaras. Messages warning him that ignoring them and trying to borrow their power anyway would get him completely screwed!
The Fire Magic Beast, Edaor, the Sadiq Church NPCs, the Salavian Church NPCs, Gardu, Karag, and the God-Devouring Monster. That's about it.
Tae-hyun organized his available cards. Of course, he wouldn't be able to use all of these NPCs' powers at once. But even using just a fraction of them would be incredibly beneficial!
I might need to use the God-Devouring Monster or Edaor a lot.
Church quests or Demon Realm quests. These were the types of quests that would find him even if he didn't want them to. He had started so many things that it was inevitable. Considering those two questlines, those two souls would be highly useful.
The problem is I don't really know their exact stats... Do they have some kind of bonus against holy power?
Gambling should only be done when you know your own hand. Using a power without even knowing what it did wasn't gambling—it was self-destruction.
"Deactivate skill."
With that, he returned to reality. Not even a second had passed!
Anyway, I got a much better skill than I expected.
Tae-hyun was satisfied with Soul Reliquary. Everything he had done up until now was becoming his strength. Everyone was pushing him forward!
Carbanog says this isn't really a story that should be wrapped up in such a touching way.
Strictly speaking, it was plunder!
Regardless, Tae-hyun pondered his next plan with a satisfied face.
It would be great if I could completely seal Edaor...
The stronger the boss monsters he defeated, the richer his Soul Reliquary would become! It was a skill that truly sparked his motivation.
* * *
"T-Tae-hyun. I'm a merchant..."
"It's fine. The trend these days is hybrid classes. Just like how people do magic, swordsmanship, cooking, and engineering all at once."
"..."
Lee Da-bi accepted Nevuchadnezzar's gear with a bewildered expression. After Nevuchadnezzar was defeated, a message window had appeared:
Nevuchadnezzar has been defeated!
As Death's Golden Merchant, you do not need to serve Nevuchadnezzar. Continue to eat well and live well just as you have been doing!
She thought everything had been resolved perfectly, but then Tae-hyun suddenly made a ridiculous proposal: "Da-bi! You should lead the Nevuchadnezzar Church!"
From Da-bi's perspective, this was utterly absurd. I mean... she had been a merchant her entire life, and now he wanted her to be a priest?!
"It would certainly balance things out," Choi Sang-yun said, nodding.
Cain asked, looking puzzled, "What balance?"
"Our party didn't have a priest."
Although Tae-hyun's class was filled with holy power, he was far from the healer role expected of a priest. He did protect his party members... by killing the enemies first!
In Cain's case, he had great self-regeneration. Jeong Su-hyeok and Yu Ji-soo stayed completely in the back, while Lee Da-bi and Choi Sang-yun had their own defensive measures. That was the only reason the party functioned at all, but normally, no one would ever run a party composition like this. It was only normal to have at least one priest!
Hearing the explanation, Cain asked skeptically, "...Isn't a priest of the Nevuchadnezzar Church closer to a necromancer than a priest?"