Heuk-heuk Had Great Situational Awareness
Heuk-heuk was quick on the uptake. It was a well-established academic consensus that Black Dragons were naturally more perceptive than Gold Dragons! Moreover, as a divine beast of Sadiq rather than Akisus, Heuk-heuk had to be even sharper. He needed to stay on the good side of the party's true boss, Lee Da-bi!
—But I'm the one who caught it...
—Ah, shut up already!
Heuk-heuk clamped his wing over Yong-yong's snout. This idiot has zero situational awareness! No wonder his entire species got scammed by Akisus!
Wait. Is this... a date? Lee Da-bi suddenly thought, her face flushing bright red.
Tae-hyun looked at her, puzzled. "What's wrong?"
"O-Oh, it's nothing! Let's go catch some more!"
"But we got them all...?"
"Then let's go find more! Even harder!"
Lee Da-bi was suddenly bursting with several times her usual motivation! Tae-hyun was bewildered, but he had no reason to complain about her working hard in Pan-On.
Cain needs to look at her and learn! Look at Lee Da-bi! Still unsatisfied, pushing herself to the limit!
I'll have to give him another earful when we log out later.
Tae-hyun was a master of multitasking. He was the kind of person who could hunt in Pan-On while planning tonight's dinner menu and simultaneously drafting a lecture for Cain!
Three players from Team KL in one place! Just that fact alone made the MBS staff's hearts pound.
I... I can hear it!
The sound of ratings exploding...!
In the Pan-On League, Team KL's viewership ratings were overwhelmingly dominant. It was only natural, given their incredible performance and results.
Aside from that, Team KL was the most elusive team among all professional players. They rarely did personal streams (to avoid exposing their quest routes) and never held team-sponsored events (since there was no real reason to).
Yet, here they were, gathered together! The MC swallowed hard without realizing it. The staff's eyes were practically burning with intensity. Even without receiving any direct whispers, their desperate thoughts were loud and clear:
—We cannot let this opportunity slip away!
—If you blow this, just hand in your resignation and get out!
"...Come to think of it, Team KL's recent performance has been absolutely stellar. Is there some kind of secret?"
"Haha. There's no secret, really... Everyone just works incredibly hard."
"That's right. We all came together with a shared purpose..."
Choi Sang-yun and Jeong Su-hyeok immediately offered textbook, exemplary answers. They weren't rookies to the tournament scene, after all.
"It's because Kim Tae-hyun nags us to death!"
"..."
"..."
Hey, you idiot! Choi Sang-yun and Jeong Su-hyeok stared at Cain in sheer horror. You crazy bastard, how are you going to handle the aftermath of this...?!
The MC bit his lip to keep from bursting into laughter. This is it! While having players give perfectly polished, exemplary answers was great for their image, it was incredibly boring for the broadcasters.
Cain, thank you! Absolute loyalty!
"How exactly does he nag you?"
"Oh, you have no idea! He'll yell, 'Block that damage dealer coming from the left!' or 'Block that stealth assassin sneaking up from behind!' He threatens me, saying if Su-hyeok or Lee Da-bi takes even a scratch, he'll beat me up twice as hard... And on our days off, he tells us to log into Pan-On immediately to grind stats and skill levels to raise them by even 1 point..."
"...B-But isn't that just normal?"
Isn't a tank supposed to block attacks? And grinding stats and skills is just basic common sense, isn't it...?
"No, but he says it constantly! Ah, you have to experience it to understand! It's a literal hurricane of nagging!"
"I-I see. Player Kim Tae-hyun doesn't seem like that type, but it appears he's quite the chatterbox behind the scenes."
Tae-hyun had always been known as a taciturn, charismatic player. He had been that way since Pan-On 1. Naturally, everyone assumed he was the kind of captain who led by silent example...
"Actually, Tae-hyun doesn't nag that much. He's usually pretty hands-off," Choi Sang-yun corrected.
"Senior doesn't really nag at all," Jeong Su-hyeok added.
"...????"
Cain stared at the two of them in utter betrayal. If you guys say that, what does that make me?!
MBS was also live-streaming this pre-broadcast on the internet. Normally, well-edited official broadcasts drew more viewers, but Team KL was an exception. Their loyal fans would tune in just to watch the ground they walked on!
"W-Wait, he only nags me? He doesn't do it to you guys?"
"..."
"..."
Choi Sang-yun and Jeong Su-hyeok couldn't bring themselves to say "yes" out loud, so they simply avoided his gaze. Realizing the harsh truth, Cain's face went completely blank. Finding the sight too painful to watch, the MC quickly changed the subject.
"Hahaha! Well, that could be it! It just shows how crucial Cain's role is!"
"No, it's just that Cain keeps forgetting to use his bra—"
"Shh. Let's not do that."
Jeong Su-hyeok stopped Choi Sang-yun. Have some mercy on poor Cain!
"Since Team KL was founded and led by Kim Tae-hyun, his role must be massive. Your gaming house became a hot topic a while back, didn't it? It's incredibly luxurious."
In terms of quality, their gaming house was easily one of the best in the country—if not the entire world! What other esports team got to live in a place like that?
"Ah, yes. We all live together."
"A lot has changed since then. How is life in the gaming house? Are there any inconveniences?"
"Not really?"
"Hahaha. Cain, you don't have to walk on eggshells. You can speak freely."
The MC targeted Cain, mistakenly believing he had been intimidated by the previous exchange. But Cain genuinely had no complaints.
If I say I wish there was more meat in our side dishes, I'll get flayed alive, right? Cain possessed at least that much self-preservation.
"Living together must bring up various chores. Ah, how do you handle meals?"
"Kim Tae-hyun cooks for us."
"...All of them?"
"...Uh... yes."
"T-Then do you handle the other chores, Cain? Like cleaning...?"
"...N-No, Kim Tae-hyun does that too... He told us to focus on Pan-On instead of wasting time on that..."
He fed them, housed them, and took care of everything else! Just focus on playing Pan-On well!
As Cain spoke, even he began to sense something was off. Wait... don't I sound like an absolute piece of trash right now???
The watching fans were utterly flabbergasted by the shocking reality of Team KL.
Cain looked at the other two and sent them a whisper.
—...D-Do I sound like a total scumbag?
—You're just realizing that now? That's why we kept our mouths shut.
—I didn't say a word.
Jeong Su-hyeok and Choi Sang-yun had quietly kept their peace because they knew exactly how much Tae-hyun pampered them. Only Cain, who had mindlessly grumbled like he always did, was left holding the bag!
"Wow... Player Kim Tae-hyun is... truly... incredible... isn't he?" Even the MC seemed stunned. His eyes silently screamed, Do you have no shame?
"I-I've actually always been extremely grateful!"
"Ah, I see. Moving on to the next topic—"
"No, please listen to me! Let me tell you just how much I appreciate Kim Tae-hyun!"
"You can edit this out, right?? You can edit that part out, right???"
"Well, we can, but this is already being broadcast live..."
"No! Everyone, it's a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! I truly respect Kim Tae-hyun!"
"Tae-hyun, about the broadcast."
"Why? Did Cain say something weird?"
Tae-hyun already knew they were filming Cain's segment. Since Jeong Su-hyeok and Choi Sang-yun were there too, surely nothing too bizarre could have happened?
"Cain is getting dragged pretty hard... People are calling him a shameless bastard..."
"?!"
Tae-hyun was startled. What on earth did that idiot say?!
"What did he do?!"
"W-Well, I didn't watch it closely, but it seems he was complaining a bit."
"Cain grumbling is nothing new. There's no need for people to curse him out over that..."
Tae-hyun let out a deep sigh and said, "Let's turn on the Team KL stream and clear things up."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yeah. We're on the Prica Continent anyway, so there's little risk of our quests being disrupted, and even if they are, it doesn't really matter... It's better to address this early. If we leave it alone, Cain will lock himself in his room and refuse to go outside again."
"..."
That is incredibly plausible!
Tae-hyun turned on the Team KL stream. Within ten seconds, a massive flood of viewers began pouring in like crazy.
What happened next was even more shocking. Tae-hyun actually started speaking to the stream. Normally, Tae-hyun was the type to just leave the stream running while doing his own thing, never actively engaging with the chat!
"Hello, everyone. We are currently on the Prica Continent..."
Tae-hyun, who was about to explain further while the chat buzzed, paused. Come to think of it, there was no need for a long-winded explanation. He just needed to get straight to the point.
"I'll just get right to the point. I turned on the stream because I heard Cain is getting hate for saying some weird things."
"Everything Cain said was just us joking around with each other. Thank you for your concern."
Team KL's fan base was truly global. Despite utterly crushing the Chinese teams, they still had an enormous following in China! It was to the point where some people even spread rumors like, "Isn't Kim Tae-hyun actually Chinese?" Even fans from other countries were starting to playfully copy the trend.