A Contingency Plan of Madness

"-...Haha! Your Majesty! You do love a good joke!"

Under normal circumstances, Tae-hyun would have spoken to them kindly. However, he was currently in an incredibly annoyed state—all thanks to these extra subordinates (read: dead weight) who had suddenly spawned!

"I'm telling you, your king was chased out by a traitor."

"-That cannot be! His Majesty has merely retreated for a short while. He will return shortly!"

"He hasn't been heard from in ages, so what do you mean he's returning? He's probably gone to Archisus's kingdom in the sky by now!"

"-Sob, sob! No! That's not true!"

These knights possessed minds so unyielding that even Tae-hyun's silver tongue had failed to persuade them!

Urgh. Tae-hyun winced. Come to think of it, what did he have to gain by taking his frustration out on the Death Knights of the Auston Kingdom? He decided to break the news to them gently.

"Your king went to heaven..."

"-......"

"...Whew. No, what am I even saying? I don't know what actually happened to the King of the Auston Kingdom, but the one sitting on the throne right now is someone else."

"-What accursed bastard is it?!"

"Uh..." Tae-hyun hesitated. He had signed a truce with Su Ning, and he was currently borrowing this mine from him. Was there really any need to give away Su Ning's name? Should he just let it slide this time?

...Or so he thought, but the rankers standing behind him, who had been blankly listening to the conversation, suddenly had their eyes light up.

"It's a guy named Su Ning!"

"And there's also the Midas Guild! Those bastards carved up the Auston Kingdom together!"

"To think mere adventurers would dare ascend the throne. What a bunch of arrogant, low-class trash who don't know their place... Ah, wait. Kim Tae-hyun. You know I wasn't talking about you, right???"

"I know, but you do realize you're on a live broadcast right now, right?"

Tae-hyun's stream was currently being watched by people all over the world. While his quest windows, class, and stat screens were blurred out, their conversation was being broadcast loud and clear. He had already slapped the Guild Alliance and the Midas Guild in the face, and now he was essentially landing another blow!

The rankers flinched in shock, but surprisingly, they quickly regained their composure.

"Well... it's fine."

"It's already too late anyway."

"It's not like those guys would lift their kill-on-sight orders just because we play nice now. If anything, we should strike first. Hmph. We can't just sit back and take it."

Tae-hyun admired their resolve.

"You guys...! Yes! That's exactly the spirit! I told you, all we have to do is fight!"

I'm just going to stick to Kim Tae-hyun.

As long as I follow Kim Tae-hyun, everything will be fine.

I need to glue myself to Kim Tae-hyun's side.

Of course, the rankers' true thoughts were the exact opposite of what Tae-hyun imagined—they were purely parasitic.

The viewers watching the broadcast were utterly bewildered. They had expected him to sweep away the undead, but instead, he had suddenly recruited them and started giving them orders. If he had used a skill, there should have been some sort of sound cue, right?

I didn't even try to recruit them, okay?

I didn't even want to give them any...

"-Your Majesty, we are deeply sorry. But we must go up to the surface and tear those traitors limb from limb!"

"...S-Sure, go ahead. You can do it." Tae-hyun cheered them on. It wasn't like he was the one losing out!

Hey, this is seriously unfair...?! Tae-hyun felt a surge of indignation. Sure, a slight increase in his Infamy stat wouldn't hurt him, but... this really wasn't his fault!

Sigh. Fine. Let's look on the bright side. Tae-hyun decided to keep a positive mindset. First of all, now that these undead had cleared themselves out, navigating the 6th and 7th floors would be a breeze. The reason previous raid parties had failed was due to the overwhelming numbers of powerful elite undead monsters on those floors. That problem had been solved in one fell swoop. At this rate, they could even take on the Lich blocking the entrance to the 8th floor!

Nebuchadnezzar's Blackmagic isn't all bad. Let's weigh the pros and cons.

Pros: He could boss the undead around without needing to cast complex spells or consume MP.

Cons: He had to persuade and recruit the undead every single time. Since the undead automatically regained their memories of when they were alive, the difficulty of persuading them was incredibly high. If he failed, he would have to fight an even stronger enemy. Even if he succeeded, he had to constantly manage them. Since they came from all walks of life, they might bicker among themselves and cause unrest.

...Is it just my imagination? The cons list seems way longer.

"To solve it like this... As expected of Kim Tae-hyun."

"Our judgment was spot on. He really can clear a dungeon that other guilds couldn't even touch."

"...But what about our hunting...?"

The rankers suddenly came to a realization. They were supposed to sweep through the undead on the 6th and 7th floors to rake in experience points and loot, but now those monsters were completely gone.

"!!!"

"N-No, wait. There's still the 8th floor, right? It'll be fine."

"Y-Yeah, exactly. They said a Lich is guarding the 8th floor. A Lich is a high-tier, classic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠undead monster. There's no way he can just subjugate it with magic like he did earlier."

The rankers pinned their hopes on the Lich, the notorious gatekeeper of the dungeon. It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the epitome of a true boss! While other undead monsters—even Death Knights—often felt like mindless minions, a Lich was different. It would definitely fight!

If a fight breaks out, the rewards will be mine...

As soon as it starts, I'm shoving the guy next to me out of the way and launching an attack.

Come to think of it, Kim Tae-hyun is streaming right now. Getting caught on his camera is way more beneficial than streaming on my own channel, isn't it?

While the rankers were busy with their useless calculations, Tae-hyun was wrestling with a different concern.

"...By the way, if you guys run into a Necromancer like a Lich, aren't you going to betray me?"

"-What are you saying... Your Majesty! Do you doubt our loyalty?!"

A uselessly unshakeable loyalty that remained steadfast even after being emotionally wounded! While impressive, loyalty was entirely separate from magic. A Necromancer of a Lich's caliber possessed dozens of undead-related spells. Naturally, this included spells that could hijack another person's undead! This was precisely what Tae-hyun was worried about. When facing top-tier Necromancers like Lee Se-yeon, would these undead troops really be able to maintain their loyalty? Relying on the voluntary loyalty of the undead, rather than controlling them through his own magic, felt far too risky.

"I do indeed doubt your loyalty, but what if you get stolen by the enemy's magic?"

Carbanog tilted its head in confusion at Tae-hyun's words. Normally, wouldn't someone say, 'It's not that I doubt your loyalty, but...'? Yet, the Death Knights didn't even catch the insult and answered earnestly.

"-We shall overcome it with our loyalty!"

"...Right..." Tae-hyun sighed. These guys were just as brainless as the NPCs of the Archisus Church!

"Here, take this."

"-Ah! Your Majesty...! To think you would bestow such a gift upon humble knights like us... But what is this?"

"A bomb. Everyone, hold onto one."

"-?!"

Tae-hyun pulled out bombs one by one and strapped them to the Death Knights' bodies. This was his contingency plan in case they were hijacked by the enemy Lich! If they were any other NPCs, they would have said, 'Your Majesty, excuse me, but have you lost your mind??' resulting in a massive drop in Affinity and a rejection message. Unfortunately, these Death Knights were loyal to a fault. They tightly strapped the bombs to their chests and backs!

"Let's go."

The viewers watching this display of pure madness went absolutely wild. This was Kim Tae-hyun! This was what real bombs were for!

Although the Lich of the 7th floor was a cunning and meticulous boss monster, Tae-hyun was someone who had grown thoroughly sick and tired of dealing with such bosses.

The undead are gone, but the boss is nowhere to be seen.

It was clear that once the undead had temporarily rejected its commands and deserted, the Lich had gone into hiding. The 7th floor was like an anthill, with paths branching out in every direction, providing plenty of hiding spots. There was no telling when or where it might raise new undead to launch an ambush. In that case?

I'll just burn it all down.

Whoosh!

Tae-hyun began setting fire to the passages and intersections indiscriminately. Anyone else might have been fine, but a Lich—being undead—was highly vulnerable to flames brimming with divine power. If it didn't want to die, it would have to crawl out on its own!

"......"

"......"

Standing at the entrance of the 7th floor, the rankers could only swallow hard, not daring to step into the roaring sea of fire. How did he manage to come up with a brand-new brand of insanity every single time...?! He was truly a specialist in madness!

"Aren't... aren't you hot?!"

"I'm fine."

Tae-hyun strolled through the flames as casually as a restaurant owner carrying a boiling-hot stone pot with bare hands. It didn't take long for a reaction to occur.

"-You absolute lunatic of a human! Where do you think you're setting fires?! Do you want to die?!"

"!"

The Lich had actually appeared from the ceiling. Dropping down from above, the sight ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the Lich left the party utterly stunned, delaying their reactions. The only one who reacted instantly was Tae-hyun. The moment the notification window popped up, he raised his weapon, and the second he caught a glimpse of something on the ceiling, he readied his skill combo.

I'll strike before it can pull any tricks on my undead!

But Lich Zaggaran was one step faster. It had already raised its staff, its mouth muttering an incantation.

Damn it. The distance is too far. Is it going to get the first strike? If my undead get stolen...

"-Ah, hot! It's hot!!!"

"......"

Instead of attacking, Zaggaran was frantically trying to put out the flames surrounding it. Tae-hyun was momentarily dazed before snapping back to reality.

"Die—"

"-Wait, looking at you again, you're actually a decent human. What brings you here?"

"...?!" Tae-hyun was shocked.

"N-No way!" The rankers behind him were shocked too—but for an entirely different reason!

No way... Don't tell me they aren't going to fight here either? Please, tell me it's not true!

But ignoring the rankers, the Underground Alliance Goblins spoke up.

"That's our line! A Goblin becoming a Lich?! Aren't you ashamed to face our ancestors?!"

"-You old-fashioned, stubborn geezers! Get lost!"