Monster Horde Payback

"This time, I'll definitely kill him."

"Hey! What if he never shows up in the village again?"

"I don't care! Even if I have to stay logged in 24/7 and camp here, I'm killing that bastard at least once no matter what. Recruiting him or whatever comes after."

"Ugh. Think it through. If the guild finds out... I'm out. You know how much effort the guild master put into getting that thing? Screw up, and the higher-ups might get involved."

"Shut up. I'll handle it, so if you're scared, back off."

The five players who had lost their lives to Vulcan—no, to the flame storm from the terrain collapse—ground their teeth in fury as they waited for him in the village. By some stroke of rotten luck, they'd dropped their most expensive items, but they still believed their combat power was overwhelmingly superior. The level gap was over 100, after all. There was a huge difference even between level 99 and 100, so how could they lose to some mid-200s scrub in a proper fight?

They'd let their guard down, a bunch of ridiculous crap had piled up, and they'd slipped away—then gotten killed. But that wasn't about skill or power; it was just an accident. In a real fight, a nobody like him couldn't touch them.

With that conviction, they spread out across the entire village, eyes bulging as they waited for Vulcan to return.

"Huh? Didn't he respawn? Why's he coming from over there?"

"Doesn't matter—chase him down. We can't let him get away."

And soon enough, they spotted Vulcan entering the village in a completely different getup.

Did he somehow survive and escape from inside? They'd assumed he'd respawned after dying, so walking in on his own two feet was weird, but nothing else registered. Their minds were filled with nothing but revenge. They wouldn't sleep until they'd paid him back for humiliating them. They tailed him immediately.

The auction house NPCs had halted operations for evacuation, so they lacked proper weapons, but that was actually perfect. Vulcan wouldn't snag teleport scrolls to flee to another village or zone.

He'd entered the Kabura Temple and hadn't emerged for ages, making them anxious he might have logged out. But when he finally appeared with other NPCs, their killing intent flared ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anew.

'He's just casually doing quests while we're like this.'

Moving with NPCs suggested a quest in progress, which pissed them off even more. Sure, they'd started the beef—his little bro and him—but that didn't matter anymore. Ready to go full PK if needed, they followed, leading their group. This time, they'd make Vulcan grovel. Once he begged on his hands and knees, they'd kill him one more time and reclaim the Blizzard Staff. Smirking sinisterly at their soon-to-be-realized revenge plan.

"What the—?!"

"What is this?!"

"R-Run...! Arghhh!!!"

...Or so they'd planned. But moments later, reality flipped their expectations completely.

Had monsters like these always lived in Hirros Inactive Volcano? These weren't the level-100-weaklings they knew—mobs that, upon snapping to their senses, were charging at them in hordes.

"You bastard! What did you do!!"

No—actually, the mobs were targeting Vulcan. But he'd rounded up dozens and herded them straight at the group.

"Trying to take us down with you?!"

And not from one direction—they were swarming in from all sides, tightening like a noose. Easily over a hundred. Where the hell had they come from? And how had he gathered so many?

"With me? Nah, just you guys!!"

The reason was simple: the alchemy item they didn't know about, Lesser Darkness Aura, sprayed on himself. Less potent than the superior version, but it made nearby enemies recognize him. Not as strong as a tank's aggro pull, but it widened the detection radius enough.

Without wandering far, Vulcan had amassed the horde and charged them straight at his stalkers like a suicide run.

"What a crazy bastard...!"

The overwhelming sight darkened their faces. They could take them sequentially, but all at once in melee chaos? Unpredictable. The level gap was big, but damage still landed. Physical attacks, maybe tankable—but these used elemental, hard to mitigate. No healer meant even breaking through was suicidal.

"Damn it! Even if I die, I'll kill you myself!!"

Finally, Heriyak snapped first. Better die to the mob train than let Vulcan escape—he surged with rage and resolve.

"?!"

But the moment Heriyak struck at Vulcan, something shocking happened. As escorts, Vulcan was aligned with the Flame Crusaders—so attacking him meant hostility to the entire group. Naturally, that pitted them against the Kabura Temple that formed it, and all Schnell Village NPCs—actually, the whole Schnell domain and its lord—erupted in fury.

"Man, you're a slow learner."

Stab!

Before they could react, Vulcan—amped with Agility Boost—lunged, piercing Heriyak's thigh with his sword.

"Gahhhh!!!"

A glancing stab, but Heriyak's body stiffened, mind reeling, vision blacking out. He stood frozen, facing the oncoming monster swarm.

***

"It actually worked."

While moving with the Flame Crusaders, Vulcan fed items from his warehouse to the Pain Eater Serpent one by one. He'd pondered what "feed" meant, but the snake carving on the hilt flicked its tongue like a living thing, devouring them.

Fragments from the Heresy Negation. Destroyed lanterns used in dark rituals. Still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unsatisfied, smacking its lips—Vulcan offered one more: the Pain Eaters.

Still alive, but demon realm critters—maybe edible? Or kill and feed corpses, or grind to powder? Experimenting nailed it. The snake devoured the Pain Eaters, and after hundreds, it evolved.

The evolved Unique-grade Despair Serpent was monstrous. Higher attack, better Unbearable Pain proc, guaranteed disable on first hit. Massive stat boosts, bigger scaling attack ramps.

- Interesting.

"Fucking insane."

But what hit Vulcan hardest: the equip restriction change. No longer limited to Criminal/Murderer states—now just evil alignment and Agility 300+.

"Attack alone rivals 200s Uncommon gear, right?"

Without level limits, Item Master let him wield full power—even raw attack intact.

"Viable up to 200s easy."

He scrapped plans to grow and sell it pricey. Attack covered to 200s; options pushed near 300s. But constant evil alignment and 300 Agility deterred non-PK specialists. Profitable upgrade, but selling meant losses. Pity when outgrown, but growth foundation made it worth it.

"Perfect test dummy showed up too... Just right?"

Vulcan's glee-filled eyes flicked back. Pretending not to notice, a casual glance revealed their info via Dragon Eye.

The five from Hador's Nest who'd targeted him. Down Rare ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠weapons, weakened—but shoddy gear from storage made ideal guinea pigs.

Grinning wickedly, Vulcan checked his prepped legendary alchemy product.

"That way."

"Pardon? But the path to the summit is..."

"Volcano activity drove monsters to the main roads. Trust me."

"Understood."

Leading the Flame Crusaders via Dragon Eye to monster-scarce paths, he angled carefully.

"Go first. Straight to the summit."

"And you, Vulcan?"

"I'll herd nearby monsters elsewhere."

"Ah, for us... Understood. We'll never forget your noble sacrifice. And we'll succeed, no matter what."

At the perfect spot, Vulcan bid the Crusaders temporary farewell. He'd pull mobs, they summit ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the gap. Other motives aside, NPCs bought it hook, line, sinker—praising his sacrifice, vowing success.

- Scamming the temple guys now too?

'Good's good, right? I'll actually mob-pull some.'

Escort quest or not, no need to stick close. As long as they reached safely—any path to Seoul worked.

Spray!

Vulcan instructed them, then left first. Spritzing his prepped Lesser Darkness Aura potion—even out-of-range mobs whipped toward him. Already pissed, they charged for payback.

"Alright, let's run!"

Tailing the horde, Vulcan bolted. No need to attack—just approach range, and the aura made them aggro naturally. He zigzagged, herding effortlessly.

"What the—?!"

"What is this?!"

"R-Run...! Arghhh!!!"

With the full swarm gathered, he charged the stalking five.

"Agility Boost."

One panicked, skilling at him—but Vulcan closed triple-speed.

"Gahhhh!!!"

No reaction possible. Vulcan's speed had leaped—Despair Serpent's +150 Agility filled gaps, tripled it outpaced their reflexes.

'Done.'

Unbearable Pain: 100% first-hit proc. Heriyak froze solid—the warning man down, others attacked blindly. Criminal-stiffened, they faced the monster rush.

"Bye-bye~."

Leaving the frozen five, Vulcan doused himself in white potion. Legendary alchemy counter to Lesser Darkness Aura—mobs' gazes snapped to the paralyzed group.