The Art of the Double Agent

Silver was a highly successful raider guild. Even without their own territory, their members were exceptionally skilled at PK (Player Killing). They had gained fame by striking and fading away, occasionally trapping and taking down high-ranking players. This was the typical way a raider guild grew. Unless they were an exception like Cain, this was how they all made their mark. A few skilled, obnoxious players would band together, form a sworn brotherhood, party up to prey on easy targets, and upload videos of their exploits to rack up views—and draw massive hate in the process.

But now, the guild they had built was on the verge of total collapse! And it was all because of those bastards Douglas, Charles, and Harold, who had run off with the artifact.

"Who would've thought we'd end up hunted like this! We never should have let those bastards join us."

"Seeing over a hundred players chasing us gave me goosebumps. Seriously, how are we supposed to win this?"

The end of a raider guild was almost always the same. Once they became too successful, they drew aggro from all directions, got beaten to a pulp, and disbanded. Now, they were experiencing that firsthand. And it was a dozens of times more painful version! The moment a tip came in, players would swarm from everywhere to search for them, leaving them unable to do anything.

"We have to find them first, no matter what. Otherwise, we're the ones who are going to get wrecked."

Silver had quickly put out statements like, "We have nothing to do with this! It's all the fault of those rogue guild members!" but who would actually listen to that?

"They're all the same! Crush them!"

"Kill them first, ask questions later!"

Such were the immediate responses. This was the downside of being a raider player. The moment an excuse to beat someone up appeared, nobody hesitated to attack.

"But will finding that artifact actually lift this curse?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Huh? Aren't we trying to catch them and take the artifact back?"

"Ha, look at this guy. Still completely clueless. How the hell are we supposed to know if that'll work or not?"

"???"

The rookie raider tilted his head in confusion. "Aren't we searching for them to complete the quest?"

"No, you idiot! We're going to catch them, hand them over, and collect the bounty. How are we supposed to solve the quest? What, do you think we're Kim Tae-hyun?"

"I'm watching Kim Tae-hyun fight one-against-a-hundred right now, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it's absolutely useless as a reference. Do I need to be reborn first?"

The raiders tried to study by watching videos of Tae-hyun, their most successful role model. What should you do when hundreds of players are chasing only you?

"Should we buy some bombs?"

"Forget it, you psycho. If you mess up with those, you'll blow yourself up instantly."

While the raiders were bickering, a player walked up from below. He looked completely unremarkable. He wore low-level gear and carried a basket in one hand. A low-level player out to gather herbs!

-Should we kill him?

-Are you insane?? Do you not understand why we're in disguise? Do you want to summon every player in the town here?

Normally, they would have killed him just for a change of pace, but they were currently in hiding!

"Excuse me."

"?"

"Have you seen any of these around here? I need to gather them for a daily quest."

"Ah. You'll have to go further that way to find those."

Step.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Step.

"I see."

And one final step.

Having closed the distance by three steps while talking, the player grinned.

"Die!"

"!?!"

Slash! With the sound of splattering blood, a dagger sliced clean into his torso.

An assassin!! To pull off this much burst damage with a dagger at close range, he had to be an assassin-type class among the rogue tree!

He had been ambushed, the effects of his equipped items were disabled, and a flood of messages warning of various penalty debuffs filled his vision.

"Al... Alcott!!"

"It's Alcott!"

The assassin Alcott! Wasn't he one of the famous rankers of the Guild Alliance who had even obtained his own territory? Hearing his name, the raiders turned pale.

"Al... Alcott! We have nothing to do with—"

"Die!"

"Alcott, aren't you ashamed at your level?! Disguising yourself like this to launch a surprise attack!"

"What? Ashamed? You'd have to experience real underhandedness before you dare utter that word! Be grateful you haven't crossed paths with Kim Tae-hyun!"

Alcott gleefully swung his daggers, tearing them to shreds. Ashamed? What a joke! These raiders were still green. Even if their disguise skill was decent, huddling together on a mountain doing absolutely nothing was bound to look suspicious. If you're going to act, do it right! After using a scroll to verify their identities, Alcott had disguised himself as a novice to approach them.

"That's all of them."

"Splendid work, Lord Alcott!"

The members of the Guild Alliance looked at him with eyes full of deep respect. Even as the power dynamics within the Guild Alliance shifted, Alcott's position remained rock solid.

The Guild Alliance didn't mistreat a ranker who had even secured a territory in the Erangs Kingdom. Besides, Alcott himself had shown a highly loyal attitude... But in truth, Alcott was already practically a double agent. One of the most successful spies in history! The other was Zhang Shan, who was currently a Guild Alliance executive in charge of managing their spies.

"It's bloody hot."

"We've prepared some cold water here!"

"Ah, thanks."

"When are we going to hunt down the next batch, boss? Hehehe..."

"Don't rush me. We can't catch them all at once."

Alcott nodded in satisfaction. The Guild Alliance was currently engaged in fierce territorial wars, but Alcott, situated in the Erangs Kingdom, didn't have to get involved. Protecting his own territory and just putting on a show of cooperation was more than enough!

Hunting down these rogue guild members was all to gain reputation and views. At a time when everyone's hatred was piercing the heavens, catching even a single member of the Gukgangyeon Guild would have people singing his praises.

And this heat, we really need to do something about it.

Alcott wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was so hot that even the slightest movement made sweat pour down. If places that weren't normally this hot were suffering like this, the naturally hotter regions must be absolute hell right now.

Why isn't Kim Tae-hyun stepping up? I really wish he would...

As a Guild Alliance executive, thinking like this was insane, but surprisingly, even the Guild Alliance frequently talked about Kim Tae-hyun.

Right now, quite a few rankers were running themselves ragged trying to resolve this crisis, but Alcott didn't have high expectations. It wasn't that they lacked ability, but he just didn't trust them to pull it off! Legendary quests like this couldn't be cleared just because someone had a high level. They required something more. Tae-hyun had proven he had that extra factor through his track record, while other players had failed to do so.

"Lord Alcott, aren't you going to join the territorial wars? With your skills, you'd definitely make a huge impact."

"Idiot! Lord Alcott is far too busy managing his territory!"

"Don't fight. You're both right."

Alcott spoke with an air of strict, solemn gravity. Since acquiring his territory, Alcott's personality had changed quite a bit. He was acting like a true lord!

"Now that we've caught them, let's head down to the village."

"Yes, sir!"

Alcott was about to descend the mountain in high spirits with his guild members when he felt a strange sensation.

"?"

Alcott turned his head. The traces of the raiders they had just defeated were still there. There was nothing particularly odd about it. And yet... something felt off!

Having clashed with a monster like Tae-hyun several times, Alcott's intuition had become incredibly sharp.

What is it? What am I sensing?

"...Damn it!"

One of the raiders lying on the ground, realizing he had been made, suddenly scrambled to his feet and bolted.

"This bastard was playing dead...?!"

There was indeed a skill called Play Dead. To think he would use it in this situation! The guy certainly had some quick wits.

"I surrender! I surrender!"

"Fine! I'll kill you painlessly."

"You psycho! There is no pain in the first place! I surrendered!"

"I'll camp your spawn point and kill you again."

"Ah... No, I'm sorry."

When Alcott spoke with such chilling intent, the raider immediately tucked his tail. Alcott said coldly,

"If you've been hunting others down, you should accept it when you're the one getting caught. Farewell."

Seeing this, his guild members whispered among themselves.

"As expected of Lord Alcott. Utterly ruthless."

"Doesn't he look completely cold-blooded? He seems even colder than Kim Tae-hyun."

Hearing that, Alcott's eyebrow twitched.

Compared to Kim Tae-hyun, aren't I practically a saint?

"W-Wait! I have an offer."

"?"

"I know where the guys who ran off with the artifact are. I'll talk, so please spare me!"

"...!!"

Alcott was startled. He had only set out to farm a bit of reputation, but things were escalating far beyond his expectations.

Wait. Can I clear this by myself?

Alcott had absolutely no intention of diving into a dragon-related quest alone. Only a lunatic or Kim Tae-hyun would do that!

Should I call Crawford? Even with him, it won't be enough. What if I request support from the Guild Alliance... Ah, those guys are too busy to help right now.

The Guild Alliance rankers were fully occupied with the territorial wars. They wouldn't abandon that to come run an uncertain, highly dangerous quest.

...What is Kim Tae-hyun up to right now?

Alcott quietly opened a stream. What was Kim Tae-hyun doing?

"Hmm. As expected, I only see bear warriors."

"Maybe the other guys are frozen solid and just haven't melted yet?"

"I appreciate the extreme optimism, but honestly, that's highly unlikely," Tae-hyun flatly dismissed Cain's theory. Since they had already started appearing, they were only bound to see more of them, not less.

"Hmm. A week seems impossible..."

"Don't leave me behind! Please!" Cain quickly lunged forward and clung to Tae-hyun's ankles. A masterful transition of posture!

"I'm not leaving, so don't worry."

"R-Really? You're not lying to trick me, are you?"

"Have you lived your whole life being deceived? Well... actually, yes, you have."

Specifically, by me!

"..."

"Anyway, when there was nothing here, it was a waste of time, but now that there's an underground city, there ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠must be something of value."

If the difficulty was high, there was bound to be a reward. Of course, there were exceptions like the Archisus Church where they got absolutely nothing, but that was an anomaly...

"The forest fortress hasn't fallen yet, right?"

"No message has popped up, so they must still be holding out. Those guys really know how to fight."

Now that their escape route is cut off, they're fighting like cornered beasts! Tae-hyun looked toward the forest with a warm, satisfied expression.

"...Are you sure we shouldn't help them?"

"Ayy, come on. They're doing great on their own. If we keep helping them, they'll just grow weak."

Tae-hyun looked around as he spoke. Where had that giant beast gone—the one that had caused such a ruckus before they descended into the underground city?

Ah, there it is.

Fortunately, it hadn't headed toward the forest and was instead wandering around the island. Perhaps it was hungry or bored, as it let out an occasional roar!

"First, I should try to tame that thing."

"?"

-What?

-Pardon?

-Master... that's a bit much...

Spin, spin, spin!

The party rejected the idea in a wonderful variety of ways! But Tae-hyun was resolute.

"Even if we can't tame it perfectly, we need to be able to use it. There are just too many enemies right now."

In a situation like this, there was no way he could leave such a beast unused!

"How are you going to tame it?"

"With Abnormal Cooking..."

"If you feed it Abnormal Cooking, won't it just eat us instead? We should win it over with normally delicious food."

"Look at its size. The quality of the food isn't the issue; it's the quantity. Even a feast meant for a hundred people wouldn't make a single meal for that thing."

"Tae-hyun, should we pull out all our ingredients?" Lee Da-bi asked, grabbing Towang-i by the neck.

Towang-i let out a sorrowful squeak. It knew she didn't mean any harm, but her posture was terrifying!

"No. We don't know how much it'll take, so we can't waste our stock like that. I'll make something myself."

Creating something out of nothing! That was the power of a skill!