The Ancient Training Ground
You have entered the Ancient Training Ground.
Run without stopping and reach the other side!
"?"
"???"
The simple message window left the party bewildered at first.
They weren't supposed to hunt monsters, nor were they supposed to endure attacks. They just had to run and reach the other side?
It was a peculiar objective, quite different from a typical training ground.
"Kim Tae-hyun. What is this?"
"Hmm. It really is quite different from normal training grounds."
Tae-hyun also looked slightly flustered, as if he had never seen anything like this before.
Well, it was certainly better than fighting with all stats and skills sealed...
The party looked around.
In the vast, pitch-black space, they were the only ones standing atop a massive stone pillar.
Looking ahead, there was another stone pillar positioned at a precarious distance, seemingly reachable only by a leap of faith.
Were they supposed to jump and land on it?
If we fall, it's an automatic elimination.
Peering down, the abyss was so dark that the bottom was completely invisible. Falling meant certain death.
So this place is...
Carbanog is appalled!
Oh, Carbanog. Do you know this place?
Carbanog says that many of the Ancient Empire bastards were perverts who used to train like this.
How does a person become strong?
Classes? Stats? Skills?
Of course, those were part of the answer, but they weren't enough.
The answer the Ancient Empire had arrived at was pure, unadulterated strength.
The raw strength that manifested when absolutely everything else was sealed!
Oh, that actually sounds plausible.
Tae-hyun was thoroughly convinced by Carbanog's words.
While stats and skills were undoubtedly important for strength, that wasn't always the case in Pan-On.
Even weak players could defeat their opponents through strategy and tactics!
There were players who remained weak despite having high stats and powerful skills, and there were players who were incredibly strong despite having low stats and weak skills.
Carbanog tells you not to be fooled by such nonsense. He insists they are just perverts.
Why not? It sounds great.
Tae-hyun was highly satisfied with the training ground's purpose.
Cultivating pure judgment and control, completely independent of various stats and skills!
It was exactly the kind of training Tae-hyun's party desperately needed.
And to think they would even receive rewards for doing this.
Honestly, shouldn't I be the one paying gold for this?
......
Carbanog was utterly speechless.
Ah, right. This guy is Akisus's rabbit!
Regardless, this was the kind of training that money couldn't buy.
Tae-hyun, feeling thoroughly satisfied, explained the situation to the party.
Running with just their bare bodies to hone their control and judgment!
Pan-On wasn't a game played with a keyboard and mouse; players had to physically move their own bodies to fight.
Those who couldn't move fluidly or react quickly could never become truly strong.
While Tae-hyun explained this with sparkling enthusiasm, the others wore deeply skeptical expressions.
"...He looks way too excited about this, doesn't he?"
"Well, he's always loved this kind of crazy stuff."
Cain nodded in agreement at Choi Sang-yun's words.
Then again, Tae-hyun was a monster who possessed the raw physical ability to beat down professional martial artists in real life...!
While Cain spent his days off lounging around and munching on snacks, Tae-hyun diligently went out to exercise and train his body.
"Uh, Senior. But do I really need this kind of training too?"
Jeong Su-hyeok asked, looking thoroughly puzzled.
Did a mage really need this level of physical control?
"Of course. Mages usually go around saying, 'If they get into close combat, it's over anyway, so let's just prepare spells instead of worrying about close quarters,' but..."
Tae-hyun spoke coldly.
"A mage can engage in close combat as much as they want."
"Look at him. Just because he used to play a Battle Mage..."
"You played a Battle Mage?"
"He did, a long time ago."
"I'm not telling you to play a Battle Mage. I'm saying that when someone closes the distance, you should at least be able to see and dodge their basic attacks. Even if there's a massive stat difference, you can still dodge basic attacks if you predict them, even if blocking wide-area skills is out of the question."
At Tae-hyun's words, Jeong Su-hyeok tilted his head in confusion and turned to Cain.
"Is what he's saying actually true?"
"No. It's absolute madness."
Cain grimaced, warning him not to fall for it.
Predicting and dodging an opponent's attacks!
It was easy to say, but in a chaotic melee where attacks flew back and forth multiple times a second, being able to read an opponent's movements and predict them was already beyond the realm of humanity.
Only a handful of absolute freaks could pull that off!
As Cain whispered his warnings, Tae-hyun's sharp gaze suddenly shifted toward him.
"And Su-hyeok is a mage, so whatever, but you're the one with the biggest problem here, you know?"
"M-Me? I work hard! I'm sincere, diligent, and I'm great at self-destructing..."
"Wow. Talk about shameless."
"Cain has always suffered from a congenital lack of conscience."
As Choi Sang-yun and Jeong Su-hyeok piled on him, Cain flared up.
"I was just repeating what they said on the news!"
"Ah. Is that so? For a second, I was horrified because I thought you actually came up with that yourself."
Tae-hyun looked at Cain and said, "You rely far too little on actual control. Since you're a tank, you probably think you've done half your job just by standing there and blocking..."
Flinch!
Cain winced as the truth hit him dead center.
"Control is incredibly important for a tank too. You need to dodge the skills you can dodge while taking the hits you must, and throw in counters when the opportunity arises. If you just stand there and take a beating, it makes things way too easy for your opponent. You need to make them uncomfortable."
"Hmm. If it's about making people uncomfortable, Cain might actually be a natural..."
"He definitely has a talent for making people uncomfortable."
"A talent for making them rage, too..."
"Alright. Let's run!"
Tae-hyun clapped his hands excitedly, then took the lead and dashed forward.
A full sprint, followed by a leap!
A single moment of hesitation would send them plummeting into the void.
Thud—
The distance is a bit tight, but it's completely doable.
After landing his first jump, Tae-hyun turned around.
"It's not that hard, right?"
"......"
But there was no one there.
They had all fallen!
"Guys? Guys??"
Carbanog says that's why this is...
Tae-hyun clicked his tongue.
This was going to be much harder than he thought!
The eliminated party members immediately re-entered.
Tae-hyun, who had already cleared the first jump, was waving at them from the other side.
Cain spoke in a gloomy voice.
"Can we please not do this? I don't think anyone other than him can pull this off..."
- Tae-hyun, Cain is talking nonsense again.
- Senior. Cain is talking nonsense again.
Having received the whispers, Tae-hyun roared across the gap.
"Cain! Stop trying to wiggle out of it and jump already!"
"?!?!"
How did he know?!
Wait. Can that bastard actually hear me from all the way over there?!
Cain was terrified, but Jeong Su-hyeok and Choi Sang-yun knew exactly what had happened.
He got a whisper!
"Ugh. I wasn't even good at P.E. back in school..."
Meanwhile, Tae-hyun was studying the next jump. There was no way the trial would just repeat the exact same jumps over and over. That would be far too easy.
Should I test it out...
Tae-hyun took a cautious step forward.
At that exact moment, a massive stone pillar suddenly plummeted from the ceiling above.
Crash!
"!?"
Are you insane?!
Tae-hyun instinctively rolled out of the way. With no skills or stats to rely on, his only asset was his raw intuition. What kind of crazy design was this?!
So they want us to dodge traps that would be hard to avoid even with stats and skills, using nothing but our bare bodies!
It was a non-stop parade of traps!
Tae-hyun dashed forward once more, sidestepping a falling stone pillar, kicking off its side to gain momentum, and leaping into the air.
This time, a floating platform shot out from the empty air. Landing on it meant survival, but missing it by even a hair's breadth meant a straight drop to the bottom!
Step, step, step—!
"!!!"
The party members waiting to jump behind him watched with their jaws hanging open as Tae-hyun performed a solo acrobatic show.
"D-Did he somehow bring his stats in there?!"
"Didn't he just jump a second time in mid-air?!"
While everyone else was struggling to make a basic leap, Tae-hyun was moving as if he were using active skills!
After bypassing the third and fourth traps, Tae-hyun arrived at the fifth zone, only to realize something was off.
The distance is too far.
He needed to jump, but there was physically no way to reach the next platform under normal circumstances!
Carbanog sighs.
Carbanog. Do you know how to clear this?
...Carbanog says this wasn't originally meant to be cleared alone.
?
Carbanog says it is a trial meant to be cleared while competing with multiple people.
...?!?!
Tae-hyun was dumbfounded.
Which meant...
Step on someone else to jump!
"Wow. This is brilliantly designed."
?!?!?
Carbanog was horrified, but Tae-hyun's thoughts had already shifted.
He had been planning to reveal the Ancient Empire city eventually anyway. Keeping it hidden forever yielded no real benefit.
He had originally intended to call people over only after his party had swept up all the good loot, but...
If that's how it is, I'll have to gather everyone right now.
To clear this training ground, he needed as many bodies as possible!
Ah. And I might as well take care of what Evangeline asked for while I'm at it.
Tae-hyun decided to invite the Canadian players to Nodranche Island as well. Since there was an arena here, it would be the perfect place to help them out in various ways!
- Nodranche Quest Cleared!
- Ancient Empire City Discovered! Fully Opened!
- Available for use without any restrictions!
The talented editors of the Power Warrior Guild took Tae-hyun's quest footage and edited it beautifully.
Stealing the sealed ice to stash in the Sky Castle? Edited out!
Scamming the wolf beastmen? Edited out!
Basically, anything that could remotely damage Tae-hyun's public image was ruthlessly cut!
Tae-hyun asked, feeling a bit dumbfounded.
- Isn't this a bit too distorted?
- Distorted? What do you mean! It's all based on facts! Did I tell a single lie in this video?
- Well... no, but still...
Even to Tae-hyun, the final edited video felt a bit too much.
- A crisis strikes the peaceful Nodranche Island! As countless pioneer players tremble in fear, Kim Tae-hyun steps forward! Defeating the savage beastmen warriors alongside his companions, Kim Tae-hyun receives the heartfelt gratitude of the Ancient Empire city's residents! Wow! Truly spectacular!
...Technically, nothing in it was false...
But still... it was hard to accept!
Anyone watching this would think Tae-hyun had traveled to the island out of the goodness of his heart to fight off invaders!
"Tae-hyun, we live in the age of self-promotion!"
"I don't really need promotion... Ah, whatever. Sure. I'm sure you'll handle it well."
Since he had left it in Lee Da-bi's hands, he decided to trust her. Tae-hyun nodded.
As Tae-hyun walked out, Lee Da-bi gave instructions to her guild members.
"Add some more special effects to the teaser video. Make sure Tae-hyun stands out."
"Uh, Guild Master. If we do that, Cain is going to be completely obscured."
"And?"
"Fair point. It doesn't really matter anyway."
It had been a while since Team KL had uploaded a proper quest video!
Unlike the previous volcano quest, which had been broadcast live, this video was cleanly and dynamically edited, drawing cheers from everyone.
The view count exploded in an instant!
Tae-hyun's party's battle was fluid, spectacular, and packed with action. In reality, it was a situation Tae-hyun had engineered by scamming people left and right, but none of that was visible in the edited video. All that was visible was overwhelming power! Faced with the sheer force that pushed back the beastmen warriors who had previously slaughtered the pioneer players, everyone had no choice but to acknowledge their strength.