A Warped Sense of Reality
Even an absurdly broken existence like Tae-hyun, who possessed multiple divine authorities including Sadiq's Authority and the Authority of Archisus, could not get anywhere near the Frost Core. It was only natural that no matter how outstanding the heroes of the church were, they hadn't been able to touch it.
Come to think of it, Furneus really is an impressive bastard.
Carbanog finds your reaction absurd, pointing out that it's only natural since he is a Demon Duke.
Was he looking down on a Demon Duke too much? Of course he'd be impressive!
"So, you're saying we have to seal it?"
"Precisely."
"...That's a bit..."
"?!"
Asking him to seal the Frost Core. It was an incredibly difficult task for Tae-hyun. To seal such a powerful, broken item with his own hands! It wouldn't have been surprising if his heart tore to pieces and he wept tears of blood.
"W-Well... what is the matter? I said we must seal it...?"
"Did you not understand what we said?"
"No, I understood perfectly. But couldn't we use the Frost Core to do some good in the world?"
"????"
????
-????
A statement that left the heroes, the gods, and the summons all utterly bewildered! What on earth could be a "good deed" done with the Frost Core? Was there even such a thing??
"Is there... truly such a thing?"
"What in the world could that be?"
Of course, no such thing existed. Tae-hyun had to spin his gears quickly.
"If a curse of extreme heat ever falls upon the continent, we can block the heat with this Frost Core."
"Why would a curse of extreme heat fall upon us?"
"Well, couldn't it happen? We've had freezing cold curses, and plagues have spread before."
Carbanog tells you to stop talking because speaking of such things makes it anxious.
There was no basis for it, but hearing him talk about such curses made it feel like one would actually strike someday! Carbanog did not like hot weather.
"Young man. That seems a bit too vague..."
"There is more. If someone invades, we can defend ourselves with this Frost Core."
"Who?"
"Soldiers from other kingdoms, or perhaps players?"
The heroes gasped in horror at Tae-hyun's words. Was he suggesting they use that wicked demonic item against other kingdoms or adventurers? To think their church was such a terrifying place!
The heroes of the church have received a massive shock!
If left as is, the shocked heroes may take independent action.
The heroes were experiencing an identity crisis! Since they happened to be paladins and priests, the shock was even greater. Because they were people who lived by faith alone, once shaken, there was no telling what they might do. When naturally kind and diligent people went astray, they often went completely off the rails! Tae-hyun quickly changed his tune.
"...Why would we ever use it on them? Of course, we would use it against the demons."
"Ah..."
"That is true. The demons certainly won't just sit idly by!"
Your Speech skill has increased.
You have successfully persuaded the heroes of the church! Your Reputation increases.
Your Holy stat increases.
Your reputation among the heroes of the church increases.
Even though it was a simple persuasion, it gave quite a lot of experience.
This meant the heroes of the church were truly remarkable figures. Though they looked defenseless on the surface, each and every one of them was an extraordinary entity. The moment he brought even one of them to the church, a cascade of quests would trigger! In truth, Tae-hyun had been nervous while explaining. He still hadn't decided how to handle these heroes of the church.
Carbanog asks why you tell lies you can't back up.
I had no choice.
They were too talented to just let go. In fact, thanks to receiving these heroes of the church, the Archisus Church had obtained various holy skills for free. For the Archisus Church, which had been ruined for a long time and lacked high-ranking NPCs, this was a massive help!
Carbanog asks what you plan to do then.
Originally, I planned to go to the Valley once the quest was finished and accept them as church NPCs.
That was the safest method. Every church on the continent had high-ranking NPCs. High-ranking paladins and priests led by a Grand Paladin or an Archbishop. They could be at the church headquarters, or somewhere on the continent for quest purposes. Each of these individuals was a huge help to players who joined the church. Players could learn powerful holy skills, receive help with quests, and get various advice. And what the Archisus Church lacked most was high-ranking NPCs! Of course, they did have NPCs like the gambler Pelmas, the scribe Galakpad, and the great thief Ed-an.
Carbanog marvels at the spectacular lineup.
Don't marvel.
While they were capable, they were far from typical high-ranking NPCs. For starters, they couldn't use a single high-level skill among the Archisus Church's holy skills. In the end, the structure of the Archisus Church was simply divided into two tiers: Tae-hyun, who was struggling all by himself to find authority skills, and the newly recruited ordinary priests and paladins beneath him.
-We need to get high-ranking NPCs!
Normally, people would think of nurturing their own church's NPCs to turn them into high-ranking ones, but Tae-hyun's idea was unique. He would steal other churches' NPCs and use them!
Carbanog wonders why you don't just go to the Valley and accept them as planned.
Well, we already have so many weirdos in the church. I'm worried that accepting these heroes of the church will turn it into an absolute madhouse...
Carbanog asks why you're suddenly worrying about that now.
The church was already a madhouse! Carbanog was beating him down with hard facts.
"If it cannot be sealed, then it cannot be helped."
"Thank you for understanding."
"We shall stand guard!"
"That is an excellent idea!"
"No, you really don't have to go that far..."
Tae-hyun was about to stop them, but hesitated. If they didn't work -> the heroes would get bored, go outside, and cause trouble -> Tae-hyun would get a headache. If they guarded the area near the top floor of the castle -> they would be busy with that work -> Tae-hyun would be happy.
"...If you would do that, I can only be grateful. As expected of heroes...!"
"We are merely doing what must be done, young man. Hahaha."
The heroes of the church laughed and replied casually.
"We would like to reinforce the area near the top floor of the castle. Do you happen to have any Legendary-grade holy items? We wish to use them to cast a holy magic circle."
"...We do not have anything that expensive."
How could he have something like that! Not just Tae-hyun, but no other church player would possess such an expensive item. Legendary-grade? Even simple holy water or blessed items cost an astronomical amount, so a Legendary-grade item... would be a heavily guarded artifact of a church.
"Hmm. Then what about ordinary holy items?"
"If it's just that, then yes..."
"As long as the level requirement is over 500..."
"..."
Tae-hyun realized it. These heroes had a warped sense of reality! But thinking about it, it made sense. They were people from a long time ago, and prominent heroes of the church back then. They must have received astronomical support. They probably rinsed their mouths with Legendary-grade holy water in the morning and sliced their steaks with a Legendary-grade holy sword for lunch!
Carbanog asks why on earth anyone would do that...
"We don't have those either."
"Oh dear... The church has grown quite poor without our knowledge."
"It wasn't like this in my day."
The heroes looked at Tae-hyun with pity. Of course, from Tae-hyun's perspective, their gazes felt incredibly unfair. This is more than enough, okay...!
"Then we shall handle it ourselves. You may leave now."
"Thank you..."
Tae-hyun paused mid-sentence. Come to think of it, there was one thing he could set up near the Frost Core.
Carbanog asks if it's a bomb.
I don't only use bombs, Carbanog. Though I do use them a lot.
The skill Tae-hyun had in mind was different.
Shiiba's Binding Chair!
It was a terrifying authority skill of the Slime God Shiiba. Once someone sat on it, they had to obey commands until the chair broke. It couldn't be used on players, but that didn't matter. The probability of whoever came to target the Frost Core being a demon was basically 99%.
-Crafting Shiiba's Binding Chair!
You have used Shiiba's Binding Chair. A slime chair imbued with Shiiba's Authority is created.
The durability of the Binding Chair is influenced by your Engineering skill, Blacksmithing skill, and Holy stat.
The durability of the Binding Chair decreases each time you issue a command to the seated target.
The amount of durability consumed varies depending on the target's level.
...
Oh. I can adjust its appearance.
Tae-hyun reshaped the chair to look quite plausible. He changed it to match the landscape of Furneus's Territory in the Demon Realm, which was filled with crystals and ice. Then, he placed it as close to the Frost Core as possible.
Carbanog suggests writing 'आज्ञा' on the back of the chair.
What does that mean?
Carbanog says it means 'chair' in the language of the demons.
...I-I see.
Your knowledge of the demon language has increased!
Your Speech skill has increased.
Looking at the finished scene, it was quite convincing. The Frost Core radiating magical energy in the center of the top floor. And placed right in front of it was Furneus's chair (or what looked like it)! If someone were to carelessly sit here...
Hehehehe...
Tae-hyun smiled wickedly.
Carbanog asks what you'll do if the heroes of the church sit there.
Are you going to keep talking nonsense?
"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"
When Tae-hyun finally emerged, the World Tree rankers who had been waiting cheered. Wow! Awesome! A dungeon! The rankers were as excited as young children the night before a school field trip! Tae-hyun looked at them, puzzled.
Are these guys really not nervous at all?
It wasn't nervousness about clearing the dungeon. If they were rankers, they were past the level of getting nervous over a dungeon raid. Of course, even rankers failed in uncleared dungeons, but failure didn't necessarily mean getting logged out, so they didn't tense up. They all knew well that being nervous during a dungeon raid led to mistakes.
What puzzled Tae-hyun was a different aspect. Namely...
The nervousness of raiding a dungeon belonging to the Guild Alliance and the Midas Guild!
For Tae-hyun, who already had enough enemies to fill a stadium, adding one more wouldn't change a thing. However, rankers cared immensely about the relationships between giant guilds. The moment they raided this dungeon, it was practically a declaration of war against the Guild Alliance or the Midas Guild!
But of course, the rankers had something to rely on.
- Since Kim Tae-hyun is here, all the attention will be focused on him.
- Since Kim Tae-hyun is here, they'll naturally think he spearheaded the whole thing.
- Since Kim Tae-hyun is here, they won't pay much attention to me.
Tae-hyun's reputation was so beyond imagination that it completely overshadowed the rankers standing beside him. A cunning yet accurate assessment! The rankers were certainly smart. Their years of experience playing Pan-On hadn't gone to waste. They would reap the rewards of clearing an uncleared dungeon and leave Tae-hyun to deal with the aftermath. It was a truly selfish, ranker-like idea, and one well worth trying.
However, things in the world never go exactly as planned. They were overlooking two things.
First, both the Guild Alliance and the Midas Guild were currently too busy fighting each other to make an enemy out of Tae-hyun!
And second...
When people get hit by someone but can't take revenge on them, they vent their anger on someone else.
If they couldn't vent their anger on Tae-hyun...?