Of Course, the World Isn't That Easy

A merciless message window popped up for every single person who entered!

Even those who had entered with low expectations at first seemed to grow stubborn after being repeatedly rejected.

"Let's try wearing gear that unicorns might like!"

"No! We should offer food that unicorns would love...!"

Watching from behind, the PD was grinning from ear to ear. He couldn't help but be happy, as entertaining footage was practically writing itself even without Team KL doing anything.

The viewers watching the broadcast were buzzing about the Unicorn's Forest. To think such a place existed in the Salz Kingdom!

When it came to the most famous mounts in Pan-On, the motorcycle series crafted by Tae-hyun was always at the top of the list. A powerful mount that satisfied both performance and style! Moreover, putting performance aside, this motorcycle possessed overwhelming rarity. Even if you wanted one, there was no one who could craft it for you!

Because of this, clickbait posts like "Selling Kim Tae-hyun's Motorcycle" or "Offering Crafting Services for Kim Tae-hyun's Motorcycle" still popped up on the community boards.

'They're reacting to the Infamy stat.'

After running through most of the possible experiments, Tae-hyun was able to reach a conclusion. They had swapped out gear, offered food...

After players with relatively high cooking skills stepped up and failed, Tae-hyun had stepped up as well. He had tried to win them over with his Weird Food! Of course, the unicorns didn't come anywhere near him.

The condition for unicorns to be slightly less avoidant was having a low Infamy stat and a high Reputation stat. While Tae-hyun's high Reputation could cover some ground, he was also someone who had accumulated a monstrous amount of Infamy! Consequently, the unicorns teleported away the moment they caught even a glimpse of Tae-hyun's shadow.

"If even normal unicorns are this difficult, how are we supposed to get a Corrupted Unicorn...?"

"Isn't it basically impossible?"

The gathered crowd was murmuring, starting to think it was a lost cause. The actual unicorns were disgustingly strong. Even when the stubborn cast members tried to use magic or various items, the unicorns ignored everything and fled!

Just in case, they also tried to lure out a Corrupted Unicorn, but the Corrupted Unicorns didn't show themselves at all. Sensing the presence of players from afar, they refused to even approach.

As things turned out this way, the atmosphere of the broadcast shifted.

The PD calmed his racing heart and pondered how they could capture it. He desperately wanted them to catch one!

'It would be perfect if they could catch that...!'

Following Team KL's quest and ending with the capture of the notoriously elusive Corrupted Unicorn! It would be a touching, perfectly structured narrative arc.

The problem was the method!

"Player Kim Tae-hyun! I have a great idea."

"?"

"I will mobilize all of my connections to recruit players with high Infamy stats!"

The PD declared resolutely. Summoning them on such short notice would cost a lot in various ways, but if it meant Kim Tae-hyun could catch a unicorn, he was more than willing to do it!

Tae-hyun was taken aback by the PD's sudden, passionate outburst and shining eyes.

'What is wrong with this guy?'

"No, it's fine. It won't be easy to find them right away..."

"No! I want to do this!"

While the PD was busy searching for notorious lunatics, Cain asked, looking thoroughly confused.

"You have a high Infamy stat too. If you go, wouldn't the Corrupted Unicorn come to you?"

"Sigh..."

"Cain..."

"Seriously..."

"Cain, please..."

"?!?!"

The cast members who weren't part of Tae-hyun's group let out deep sighs. Their eyes practically screamed, 'What a total game noob!'

"Cain, you already got so much flak for bossing Player Kim Tae-hyun around, and now you're doing it again..."

"No matter how close you two are, making jokes like that will just get you hate again."

Cain had already made headlines with "The Player Who Bosses Around His Boss?!" If he stirred up another controversy here, placards reading "Expel Cain!" or "Go to Hell, Cain!" might actually hang in the stadium.

"N-No, seriously...! His Infamy stat really is high...!"

"Even if it's high, it's probably only a few dozen or a few hundred."

"How can you call that high?"

Most players had no idea what Tae-hyun's actual Infamy stat was. They mistakenly assumed, 'Kim Tae-hyun has a great image and doesn't bully weak players, so his Infamy stat can't be that high, right?'

Of course, Tae-hyun was a man who wiped out Guild Alliance members in the morning, crushed kingdom nobles for lunch, and blew up castles as an evening palate cleanser. There was no way his Infamy wouldn't accumulate!

Tae-hyun played in the tens of thousands, not dozens or hundreds.

'My Infamy is... Whoa. It's over 70,000.'

It was a relief his Reputation was more than double that, otherwise things would have been truly troublesome. The higher one's Infamy, the more restrictions were imposed on gameplay in various ways.

"And even if Player Kim Tae-hyun's Infamy is high, it's still impossible," Lecia said confidently.

"Player Kim Tae-hyun has a church-related class. He's fundamentally holy, so there's no way a Corrupted Unicorn would ever approach him. Right?"

There was no way a Corrupted Unicorn would like holy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠energy.

"Ah. Yes. By the way, could you step back a bit? I'd prefer it if you stayed glued right next to Cain over there."

"?!?!"

Lecia was flabbergasted by Tae-hyun's iron-wall defense. Why? What did I do wrong?!

Sensing a Cain-like aura radiating from Lecia, Tae-hyun kept his guard up completely. He didn't know why, but he felt like she would end up complicating things!

"And since the game is structured in a way where your Infamy stat is bound to rise eventually, a player who has cleared as many quests as Player Kim Tae-hyun is bound to have a high stat. Right?"

The MC, seemingly knowledgeable, guessed that Tae-hyun's Infamy stat would be quite high. Since he had blown up castles and fought nobles, his Infamy might indeed be pretty high! Maybe around a thousand?

"...It is quite high."

"Oh, really? That's unexpected."

"Just how high is it? Five hundred?"

"They're letting us appear on the broadcast? Is that for real?!"

"On MBS of all places?! I can't believe it!"

"H-Has our time finally come?"

Raider players were fundamentally unpopular on broadcasts. People didn't particularly enjoy watching villains go around tormenting others. It might fly on personal streams, but doing that on an official broadcasting station's program was out of the question!

Yet, an offer had come from none other than MBS!

"Wait. Is this a trap?"

"What kind of trap? Why would a broadcasting station set a trap like that?"

"What if we go and they're running a show about hunting down guys like us...?"

"The PD said it himself, would he really go back on his word? We need to get to the Salz Kingdom right now!"

"Why does it have to be the Salz Kingdom of all places?"

The trio rushed over in excitement. Their eyes widened when they saw the gathered group.

'I-It's Lee Jae-guk! The famous...!'

'That's Kim Su-a over there?! It really is MBS!'

'Whoa, Lecia is here too! I heard she got cast as a regular on MBS...'

'A-An idol too...!'

Everyone they had always admired was right there. To think we're standing in such a dreamlike place!

-Don't let your guard down! We have to show them what we've got.

-But what exactly are we supposed to show them?

-We have to show our rough side, just like we always do!

-Should we start by swearing?

-No, if we swear, we might get edited out...

-...Let's just answer fiercely for now. If they talk to us...

"Ah. You've arrived? Excellent. Come on in."

Hearing that the helpers had arrived, Tae-hyun stepped forward to welcome them. The raider players prepared to respond fiercely and aggressively as planned.

"Who are you to talk to us like we're frie—"

"?"

"...Thank you so much for speaking to us...!"

The raider player quickly changed his tune while trembling in fear! His companions behind him were utterly dumbfounded.

'What the hell are you doing?!'

'If this bastard is a raider, he should act like one! Why is he suddenly doing a comedy routine?'

'Is he trying to be funny?'

"Move! I'll do the talking. Who are you to act friendly with my party mem—"

"?"

"...Thank you for speaking to them. We will work hard from now on."

'?????'

'Has the party leader lost his mind?'

However, they too quickly came to a realization.

"Kim... Kim..."

"It's Kim Tae-hyun?!"

"Ah, Cain is here too!"

"The Cain who even scams his own boss?"

"Watching that, I thought to myself, 'Wow, there really are people more trash than us'..."

"..."

Cain hung his head low. I really need to help out with some chores around the house from now on...!

The raider players couldn't even breathe properly in front of Tae-hyun. The difference between them and Tae-hyun was like the difference between the sun and a firefly!

They vividly remembered watching Tae-hyun's gameplay videos, skill combinations, and combat strategies, constantly discussing things like, 'Can we copy this?', 'Hey, what do you think of this combo?', or 'Should we try fighting like this too?'

If it had been any other ranker, they would have said things like, "Ah, I need to take this guy down and climb up someday~" or "Isn't this guy totally overrated? I'll definitely crush him if I get the chance."

But Tae-hyun was an exception! He was on an entirely different level. Having single-handedly crushed countless rankers and parties, Tae-hyun was already practically a myth.

The role model of all raider players! The most successful raider player of all!

Of course, if they had voiced those thoughts to Tae-hyun, they would have been PK'ed on the spot.

-Who the hell are these bastards comparing me to?

"Pant, gasp, wheeze... pant..."

'I feel like there are too many weirdos around lately.'

That Cain-like energy he had sensed from Lecia... that exact same energy was now radiating from these raider players. Tae-hyun wondered if he should go pray at the Archysis Temple.

"W-What would you like us to do, boss...?"

"...You just need to lure out the Corrupted Unicorn... But wait, where did that tone of voice suddenly come from?"

'Were they always like this?' the PD wondered. He was pretty ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sure they had been much rougher when he recruited them...?

"Aaaaargh!"

"Uwaaaaah! Graaaah!"

"Behold the wickedness within me! My Infamy stat is over 6,000!"

After hearing the explanation, the raider players ran into the forest like obedient sheep and began shouting. Since the Corrupted Unicorn reacted to the Infamy stat, this was the perfect opportunity for them!

Of course, even if that weren't the case, they would have done exactly as they were told out of sheer terror of Tae-hyun standing behind them.

"Wow... An Infamy stat over 6,000..."

"Just how wickedly must they have lived..."

"Oh. By the way, what is Player Kim Tae-hyun's Infamy stat?"

Lecia struck up a conversation to get Tae-hyun's attention. Of course, those words only caused her score in Tae-hyun's mind to plummet even further.

'Is she a spy sent by the Guild Alliance?'

A complete stranger constantly acting friendly—this was highly suspicious!

"A C-Corrupted Unicorn!"