The Price of Admission

"Is that so? Shouldn't they be able to offer at least that much?"

"I-is that how it works...?"

Lee Da-bi was utterly bewildered by Yu Ji-soo's words. Is that really how it is? Have guild admission requirements changed this much lately? Handing over your entire fortune before you can even join... What is this, some kind of cult?

—Karreung!

Beside her, Towangi squeaked, which translated to: You already worship Archisus, so why the sudden surprise? But the sentiment didn't quite register with Lee Da-bi.

"Yes, yes. Are you hungry?"

—Karreung...

Towangi wanted to protest that that wasn't what he meant, but he decided to keep his mouth shut. Why argue when you were getting petted and fed? Pure bliss!

Towangi thought of Yong-yong far away, and Heuk-heuk, who was currently working his bones to the grindstone in the Demon Realm. Compared to those guys, I am one incredibly happy rabbit! It really pays to choose the right master!

"Ah, yes... Well... Then I suppose I can give you... an officer position."

"Really?!"

"Sure, why not..."

To think there was actually someone in this world willing to pay such an exorbitant price for an officer position in Power Warrior! Yet Green was simply overjoyed.

"Hehehe... With this... I will soar...!"

"Unni. Is that guy crazy?"

"I told you so."

—Cain. You have two roles. One is to soothe the prince, and the other is to keep the fortress's raid parties in check.

—I get the first one, but why the second...?

—What do you mean, why? The parties that came to conquer the Demon Realm must be in a terrible state right now. The expedition is taking forever to arrive, and on top of that, I've pulled out. If we leave them be, they might fall into despair and do something crazy. You know how brutal the Demon Realm's difficulty is.

Once people lost hope, they began to do crazy things. The raid parties in the Demon Realm were all high-level players with strong individual goals, so they were barely holding onto their sanity for now... but there was no telling when they might just give up.

—Hehehe! My game is over! I'm just going to die and respawn!

—Let's set the fortress on fire!

This was the absolute worst-case scenario. It was necessary to keep them grounded before things reached that point.

Cain understood Tae-hyun's explanation... but he didn't accept all of it. Hey, so you left me all by myself in a place like that?! By Tae-hyun's logic, he had abandoned Cain alone in an incredibly brutal environment!

—Cain. I'm counting on you. I can't trust anyone else with this. You're the only one who can do it.

—...!

He trusts me more than the likes of Lee Da-bi or Choi Sang-yun! Cain felt a sudden surge of emotion. I knew it, Kim Tae-hyun really knows how to appreciate talent...!

—Just leave it to me!

—Ah, no. Cain. Don't overdo it...

—I said, leave it to me!

Cain cut off the whisper and quickly stripped off his armor.

"...But wait a minute. What do I do about my race change?"

If he went out like this, it wouldn't be surprising if people gasped and mistook him for a monster.

"Great Chimera Warrior. Do you require assistance?"

The ones who came to Cain's aid were the Shadow Elves.

"I do, but why am I a Chimera Warrior..."

"Wearing this bracelet will allow you to transform into an elf. We can bestow this treasure upon a hero like you."

"...You guys...!"

Overwhelmed with emotion, Cain tried to hug the Shadow Elf. The Shadow Elf deftly stepped back.

"Even if you are a hero, a Chimera is a bit much..."

"..."

Regardless, Cain transformed into a Shadow Elf.

...Though his heart had sustained a minor injury!

"Hear me!"

"What's this all of a sudden... Who... Huh? Cain?"

"What?! Cain was here?! I thought he wasn't around?!"

"I was performing a separate Demon Realm quest," Cain declared.

"Wait a second... those ears... When did you change your race to Shadow Elf?"

"It must have been a quest reward."

"Ah, I see! Cain was doing a separate quest with the Shadow Elf Tribe!"

No wonder they hadn't seen him around. The raid parties accepted the explanation immediately. It had felt strange that Tae-hyun was here but Cain wasn't... and now it finally made sense.

Having accepted this, the raid parties immediately regained their hope and began to chant Cain's name at the top of their lungs... Or not.

"Cain! Why do the guys here keep scamming us?!"

"Yeah! Aren't they being complete thugs?!"

"Can you do something about those giants over there?!"

A deluge of complaints flooded in! They were too terrified of Tae-hyun to approach him, but Cain was a much softer target.

The fortress, which had been collectively wallowing in depression, instantly heated up with protests. This was a slightly different direction from what Tae-hyun had intended! Flustered, Cain scrambled to think of something.

"Uh, uh, uh..."

"Fix this, Cain!"

"Do something about these scammers!"

"...The person in charge isn't here right now, so I don't know anything about it!"

"..."

"..."

The players were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠left utterly speechless by Cain's response. Excuse me?

"I am not the person in charge of that matter! I have no knowledge of this!"

Since he had already started, Cain decided to push through to the end. If there was one thing he had learned from hanging around Tae-hyun, it was how to be absolutely shameless! As he kept deflecting with excuses like, "I don't know anything about it," "I'll pass it along when the person in charge returns," and "We are currently experiencing a high volume of inquiries and cannot verify at this time," the players eventually grew exhausted first.

"What a piece of work...!"

"That Cain guy is completely shameless...!"

"There's the true colors of the Red Zone guild leader!"

"Who said that?!"

"Hmph."

Someone had insulted Cain, but they quickly hid back into the crowd. Cain gnashed his teeth.

"I came all this way to help you guys progress through the quest... Fine. My feelings are hurt. I'm not doing it!"

"!"

"Ah, no... Lord Cain!"

"It wasn't me! It was this bastard!"

"This guy insulted you, Lord Cain!"

"Hey! Are you seriously throwing me under the bus?!"

Their camaraderie dissolved into betrayal in an instant!

"Was it you, punk?"

"U-uh..."

The player caught badmouthing Cain chose a different tactic instead of begging for forgiveness: dragging everyone else down with him!

"This guy insulted you too, Cain!"

"W-when did I?!"

"Hmph! I even have a video recording of it!"

"Y-you bastard?! He insulted you too! He said the only thing Cain knows how to do is blow himself up!"

It was a complete circus! Of course, the only one getting hurt in this fight was Cain.

"...I'm really not doing this."

His feelings deeply wounded, Cain retreated inside his tent.

"Ah... No! We're sorry, Cain!"

"We were wrong! We were really wrong!!"

"Come back!! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Cain!!!"

The raid parties knelt in a group in front of the tent, desperately calling out Cain's name.

...It was different from what Tae-hyun had anticipated, but things were somehow working out.

"Guild Master! Here is the head of a golem!"

"Ah. Yes. Good job."

"Guild Master! Here is some fresh, high-grade copper ore!"

"..."

"Guild Master! Here..."

"You don't need to report every single thing to me."

Green was desperately sucking up to survive! Of course, from Lee Da-bi's perspective, he just looked more and more ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like a madman. Although the guild's policy was to accept everyone, she was starting to wonder if they really should have accepted him.

"What's up with him?"

"He joined Power Warrior. He even donated his entire fortune."

"...Hmm. Well. That can happen!"

Tae-hyun replied, maintaining his poker face.

Lee Da-bi spoke in a sullen voice.

"You can just say he looks like a crazy person..."

"Ah, no. Why? What's wrong with investing in the future of Power Warrior?"

To show his sincerity, Tae-hyun called Green over.

"Green. Joining Power Warrior was an excellent choice. It's a decision that guarantees your future."

"...!!!"

Green's eyes widened. It's here... It's already here! I... I wasn't wrong...!

He looks like a lunatic, so I shouldn't talk to him for too long.

Carbanog even provided a highly specific reason!

"Mining is completely finished!"

"Let's see if it's really—"

"I said it's really finished! Just trust us for once!"

The rankers yelled at Tae-hyun in sheer exasperation. Please, just let it go already!

"Holy crap. Why are there so many?"

"This is a bit..."

The rankers grimaced upon seeing the undead of the 6th and 7th floors, which they had only heard rumors about. No matter how strong the undead were, they had clear weaknesses, so the rankers had wondered why the guild raid parties hadn't been able to break through... but seeing it in person, they finally understood.

The narrow, winding dungeon was absolutely teeming with undead. On top of that, there were so many side paths that one could easily foresee being attacked from all directions the moment they stepped inside. Even for a proper raid party, a single moment of carelessness would mean instant death!

Even as the rankers recoiled in dismay, Tae-hyun did not hesitate to issue orders.

"Rankers, flank the sides. Jeong Su-hyeok, Yu Ji-soo, Lee Da-bi, take the inner position. I'll break through the front. Da-bi, can you counter the undead?"

"Just leave it to me."

Lee Da-bi replied with absolute confidence. She used to be a merchant, but now she was (technically) a priest. She had acquired various new skills since then.

...Though it did require spending quite a bit of gold!

Wasn't she a merchant?

How is a merchant going to counter the undead?

Is she going to bribe them?

"Goblins. You can send in the golems when I give the signal, right? We might be short on tanks since Cain isn't here."

"Of course, Your Majesty! Just leave it to us!"

The goblins were more than willing to sacrifice their expensive golems for Tae-hyun's sake! They were truly a race that gave without expecting anything in return.

"Then, here we go."

"!?"

The rankers were taken aback by his sudden declaration. Shouldn't we prepare a bit more and draw up a plan? However, the original members of Tae-hyun's party remained perfectly calm. It was as if this was just their daily routine.

Dash!

"Archisus's Divine Territory!"

Charging at the very front, Tae-hyun activated one of his divine authority skills. Since their opponents were undead, nothing boasted better compatibility than a holy skill. Furthermore, the narrow, winding layout of the dungeon made it even more ideal for deploying his divine territory. A single activation would blanket the entire area!

Flash!

As the divine territory expanded with a brilliant radiance, the undead began to thrash about in a frenzy. It was an authority skill that inflicted random misfortune upon enemies within its domain! And when the targets were undead, its efficacy was beyond question.

Lucky Strike, Lucky Strike, Lucky Strike...

In an instant, Tae-hyun stacked his damage to astronomical heights and locked onto his target.

"Archisus's Second Attack!"

Archisus's Second Attack. Aside from the fatal penalty of permanently consuming stats, it was an incredibly powerful skill. It was a wide-range AoE, and its cooldown reset under very easy conditions...

But I can afford to lose a bit of Luck.

Although the Archisus Swordsmanship had the penalty of consuming Luck for its powerful skills, Tae-hyun didn't care much. ...His Luck stat was simply too high to begin with!

Crazy. I haven't checked in a while, and it's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already almost at 7,000...

While he couldn't stop his stats from rising, it was indeed a cause for concern. At this rate, how am I supposed to level up later?

Rumble! Crash!

Contrary to his worries, Tae-hyun's hands moved with blinding speed. The elite ghouls in front of him were swept away instantly. In their wake, the Death Knights revealed themselves. In any normal dungeon, these monsters would have served as individual bosses!

"Offer his breath to the God of Death!"

"Die, mortal!"

"...?"