The Growing Volcano? What on Earth Does That Mean?

At those words, Tae-hyun reflexively turned his head to look at the distant volcano. A colossal volcano situated right in the center of the Kaf Volcanic Region! Although rivers of lava flowed instead of water and all kinds of fire-attribute monsters spawned there, none of the players ever imagined this volcano would actually erupt. It was just too sudden! But just as volcanoes erupted without warning in the real world, it was entirely possible in Pan-On as well.

Tae-hyun suddenly felt goosebumps prickling his skin. '...It'll be fine, right?'

"Is something wrong?" Lee Da-bi asked.

"Carbanog says the volcano's energy has grown stronger."

"...!" Lee Da-bi gasped in surprise. A volcanic eruption! There were countless things to watch out for in Pan-On, but natural disasters were near the top of the list. If you got caught in something like that and died, you couldn't even complain to anyone!

"A volcanic eruption would be incredibly dangerous. A storm wouldn't even compare..."

"Right? I should probably warn them first. By the way, why did their numbers swell ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so much?"

"...Probably because of your popularity..."

Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi scanned their surroundings. No matter how they looked at it, there were several times more players now than before! The moment Tae-hyun cast his gaze toward them, a few of them suddenly pretended to be working hard.

"Whoa! Look, a Flame Lizard! Let's go hunt it!"

"If we kill that, we might get a clue about the Phoenix!"

"..." They were making it way too obvious! In any case, Tae-hyun decided to warn the players.

"Everyone, attention!" Thanks to his Highest-grade Tactical Skill, he could have used a command to summon them, but there was no need to go that far. His Speech skill was also at the highest grade!

"??" "What? What's going on?"

"I've just received information that the volcano is in a dangerous state. If you're worried, I highly recommend backing off now."

Upon hearing Tae-hyun's words, the players gasped, cried "Oh no, a volcano!", and scrambled to flee... Not. Of course they didn't. The players gathered here were high-level players who had easily surpassed level 200! They simply laughed and replied:

"Come on, it's nothing to worry about."

"Kim Tae-hyun is surprisingly a worrywart, huh?"

"Well, watching his stream, it makes sense why he worries so much. It's definitely because of Cain."

"Seriously, it's all that bastard Cain's fault."

"You think Cain is the reason Kim Tae-hyun worries so much?"

"Of course. Back in Pan-On 1, he was a much cooler guy. But after seeing Cain, I realized that hanging around someone like that is bound to change a person."

"..." Cain was getting beaten up verbally out of nowhere! Tae-hyun spoke again with a dubious expression.

"No, I'm not just worrying needlessly. I'm telling you to seriously consider the possibility of a volcanic eruption."

"Even if it does erupt, it's not like it'll blow up instantly. With our skills, we can easily escape in time."

"Exactly. It's fine! Trust us!"

'They came here to help me, so let's not say things like that.' In any case, Tae-hyun nodded. Since they didn't want to back down, he had no intention of forcing them.

"Well, as long as you're aware. Just move with caution."

"Hahaha. Of course! We're not like Cain!"

"Yeah! We're several times better than Cain!"

'...I'm starting to feel a bit sorry for Cain...' Despite Tae-hyun's warning, almost no players backed out. They began scaling the mountain, fearlessly traversing the Kaf Volcanic Region. Their target: the Phoenix!

"What's that flying thing over there?! Is it the Phoenix?!"

"No! It's a different monster."

"Gah! Lava Crocodile ahead! Lava Crocodile ahead! Use a potion! Potion!"

"You crazy bastards! Why are you dragging that over here?! Deal with it yourselves!"

Because there were so many players, they frequently dragged aggroed monsters into each other and collided. Tae-hyun broke straight through the chaotic mess without dodging.

"Lee Da-bi. Ready?"

"Yes."

It was an absurdly lacking composition—just one damage dealer and one healer—but if it was Tae-hyun's party, the story was entirely different. Golgol-i acted as the tank in front of Lee Da-bi to prepare for any unexpected situations, while Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk took on the roles of ranged damage dealers, raining down bombardments!

"Archisus's Golden Donation! Archisus's Mind Shatter! Archisus's Bribery!"

Any monsters blocking the path that could be cleared were swept away with magic, and the rest were immediately bound with crowd control. The rest was up to Tae-hyun!

'Incredible!'

'They're breaking through with just the two of them, but what is this speed...'

The surrounding parties clicked their tongues in awe. The name Kim Tae-hyun truly lived up to its reputation. Even though only two people were attempting to break through, a path was carved out effortlessly. While Lee Da-bi's support was at a level any ranker could achieve, Tae-hyun's damage output was on a completely different dimension. He pierced straight through the monsters' rigid armor, melting them down on the spot!

"Hey... are you seriously not scared after seeing that?"

"I-I told you, it's fine. If you're always picking and choosing your opponents like that, when are you ever going to make it big? And I told you, we don't even need to deal damage to Kim Tae-hyun. We just have to steal his quest. The stream title has to start with 'Stealing Kim Tae-hyun's Quest'!"

"W-wait for us!"

"Don't stop, keep moving!"

The players, who had been watching Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi pass by as if hypnotized, snapped out of it and began chasing after them. If a path had been cleared, they had to follow it!

"Fortunately, this skill is working quite well now."

One of the most broken skills in Tae-hyun's arsenal was Advanced Tactics. Though it seemed plain at first glance, it was a skill that provided immense help in everything from crafting to combat and quest progression! However, Advanced Tactics was not invincible. Activating it blindly in a situation with absolutely nothing around wouldn't yield much of an effect.

Before arriving at the Kaf Volcanic Region, using Advanced Tactics only showed paths branching out in every single direction. In that state, it was a useless skill that did nothing but drain MP. But once they entered the volcanic region, the path began to form clearly.

'Three paths. They all lead toward the volcanic crater at the summit, but they're slightly different.'

One was a direct route climbing up a steep cliff. Another was a route looping all the way around to the right. And the final one led toward a cave on the left.

"Is the inside of the cave connected? But a cave is..."

"A cave is a bit..."

"Right? Same here."

The cave trauma caused by the Ancient Giant! Honestly, he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wanted to avoid caves for a while.

'Should I choose the cliff route? Even if there are a lot of flying monsters, I should be able to break through.'

Although all sorts of volcanic flying monsters were soaring around menacingly, Tae-hyun had enough confidence to blast through them using his various Authorities.

Rumbleeeeeee—!

At that moment, a massive sound that felt like the heavens and earth were turning upside down echoed through the surroundings. It sounded like the ground itself was weeping!

A warning message window appearing after such a long time! Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi immediately tensed up. But those who suffered the most were the players currently engaged in combat.

"We almost got it... W-what on earth is this?!"

The monsters had suddenly gone berserk! No matter how strong the monsters of the volcanic region were, a party could usually hunt one or two of them without much trouble. But once the buff was applied, all the monsters began to run wild as if they had eaten something rotten!

"We're being pushed back! Someone help!"

"We're in no position to help anyone right now!"

Parties that had been climbing smoothly just moments ago were now fleeing in rapid succession. Watching this, Tae-hyun clicked his tongue.

'I thought they'd do fine on their own if I just left them be.'

Better than Cain, my foot! They were worse than Cain!

"Are you going to help them?"

"I have to. There's nothing to gain from letting them die."

After all, these were players who had come to assist with Tae-hyun's quest. There was no benefit in letting their numbers dwindle.

"Let's move on the motorcycle!"

"Yes!"

He was concerned about drawing the aggro of the flying monsters, but he had to endure that much for now.

"Archisus's Divine Territory!"

Flash!

A massive white circle expanded outward with Tae-hyun at the center. Every monster caught within it was subjected to a massive misfortune effect.

Archisus's Divine Territory could essentially be considered a powerful, wide-area curse skill. Unless they were exceptionally formidable foes, it was difficult for any enemy to withstand this chain of misfortune.

"K-Kim Tae-hyun! You came to save us?!"

"And you guys said you were better than Cain?"

"..."

"..."

The players had no excuses to offer.

A few extremely unlucky individuals were logged out on the spot, but thanks to Tae-hyun deploying his divine territory, most of the parties managed to fall back. With half-dead expressions, they cried out:

"Did the monsters suddenly go insane?! What's wrong with them?!"

"At this rate, clearing this place is going to be impossible..."

Each and every one of them had become as strong as a boss monster. Most of the gathered players seemed thoroughly terrified.

'Hmm. This is definitely a bit problematic.' Tae-hyun pondered with a grimace.

'There are too many monsters in this volcanic region. Besides, if this is the [First Omen], it means there will be a second and a third...'

It was a highly dangerous situation to charge in alone relying solely on evasion. Even if everything resulted in an evasion now, it would become a massive headache ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠later if monsters with unavoidable attacks started appearing. The best option was to utilize these players!

'As expected, looking at the sheer numbers, I need to lead the players and wage a large-scale battle.'

Should he have brought the Archisus Artillery, the Knights, or perhaps the Kingdom's Holy Knights? Tae-hyun realized anew just how powerful the NPCs he usually dragged around actually were. Even though the players here were all high-level or above, they were struggling to break through.

'If I maximize their abilities with my Highest-grade Tactical Skill and chip away at them one by one from the outskirts... it'll be too slow. If the [Second Omen] triggers in the meantime...'

While Tae-hyun was racking his brain, a player raised his hand and stepped forward.

"Kim Tae-hyun!"

"?"

"Use me as a bomb!"

"???" What? Was this guy insane?

"Get it off me! I said get it off! Argh! Why are you guys just standing there and watching!"

"How are we supposed to touch it while we're pulling you up?! You did great!"

A battered and bruised Cain rolled around on the deck. At that, the waiting players quickly rushed over and pried the Siren off him. They had actually caught a Siren!

"Record this! You're recording, right?"

"Of course!"

"Wow, they actually caught a Siren! This is the first time I've ever seen one caught in Pan-On!"

Not only the staff but also the players on the other ships were absolutely thrilled! So that was how you caught one of those things!

"What an incredible guy...!"

"I-Is that really incredible? It looked like he was just getting beaten to a pulp."

"If there's anyone else who can tank a Siren's attacks underwater and survive, tell them to step up! It's truly amazing. That guy Cain... the claim that he's the world's best tank wasn't an exaggeration!"

A natural-born talent for taking a beating! The players of the expedition team marveled anew at Cain's bottomless resilience. The tank of Team KL was truly in a league of his own!

"..."

Lacking even the energy to get angry, Cain remained sprawled flat on the deck.