A Masterclass in Aggression
"Write it down! You're writing this down, right?"
"Of course. Why are you even asking? Obviously!"
Behind Tae-hyun, the players whispered among themselves, buzzing with excitement. *So this is Kim Tae-hyun's advice! Words of absolute wisdom...!*
"Still, it's best to look after your own teammates while you play," Tae-hyun said casually.
"I-I see. If you don't mind me asking, how do you personally look after your teammates, Player Kim Tae-hyun?"
"In my case, I usually just eliminate the players targeting my teammates first."
Tae-hyun had an incredibly simple method of problem-solving.
Offensive situation? Attack.
Defensive situation? Attack to make defending easier.
Evasive situation? Pour on the attacks to make evading easier.
The magic of solving everything with attack, attack, and more attacks!
Hearing Tae-hyun's words, the players were so deeply moved that tears welled in their eyes.
'Yes! This is exactly what we were lacking!'
'We claimed we were focusing on damage, but we didn't truly believe in our own damage-dealing capabilities!'
'We should have trusted our damage just like Player Kim Tae-hyun does...!'
"I don't have a whole lot to teach you," Tae-hyun continued. "I'll just show you in actual combat. How to manage your damage output while using skills, how to counter... Oh, right. Teamplay. Make sure to do some teamplay. Got it?"
Feeling a bit guilty for barely saying anything useful, Tae-hyun threw in a mention of teamplay at least once.
"Yes!"
"We will absolutely focus on teamplay!"
'Huh. What's this? They're surprisingly receptive.'
Tae-hyun was slightly pleased by the players' reactions. Usually, damage dealers of their caliber had a screw loose somewhere. If you told them to focus on teamplay, they'd usually whine, 'Why do we have to play as a team? Even if the team loses, as long as I win my matchup, isn't that a win?'
For all of Evangeline's complaining, they seemed surprisingly normal.
"Alright. Get into the arena! I'll teach you while we clash skills."
"Yes!"
"And don't forget teamplay!"
"Yes!"
"Teamplay! Teamplay!"
The players excitedly chanted "teamplay" as they trotted right behind Tae-hyun.
'Teamplay!'
'Teamplay means if our healer is about to be targeted, we kill the enemy first, no matter what!'
'We must hone our damage even further!'
'That has to be what Player Kim Tae-hyun meant.'
Tae-hyun's broad back seemed to speak to them:
—You call yourselves damage dealers, yet your damage is lacking! True teamplay is perfected through overwhelming damage! I shall demonstrate this myself!
'Ugh! I will follow you for the rest of my life!'
'He's... he's so incredibly cool...!'
Though Tae-hyun didn't realize it, he actually had a knack for teaching. In truth, since he had practically raised most of his companions, starting with Cain, it was only natural that he possessed excellent coaching abilities. Fundamentally, Tae-hyun had exceptional analytical skills.
"You seem to be using a combo where you apply a debuff and link it to a follow-up attack, but there's no need to do that. Just use the debuff, save your MP, and use the follow-up later. Don't just spam your skills because you're excited."
"!!"
"Now, your problem is that you're holding a shield but barely using it. If you have a shield, you should use it, right? What shield skills do you have?"
"Well, first I block and then use a skill..."
"Don't try to deal damage with your shield; land a stun first. A lot of people ignore stuns, but in Pan-On, stunning is the absolute basics of the basics. If you're going to use a shield, you have to land stuns."
"!!!!"
Tae-hyun effortlessly laid out their playstyles, weaknesses, and areas of improvement after only a few brief clashes. To the players, it felt as if they were possessed by a ghost.
"Judging by the way you move, it looks like you're hiding a skill that heals you while dealing damage. Am I right?"
"!??!!?"
He had even sniffed out a skill they had never once revealed publicly!
"H-how did you know...?"
"You were acting awfully bold when you should've been backing off during the fight, so I figured you had something up your sleeve. Anyway, if you have it, don't hide it—just use it."
"B-but it's my trump card... my ace in the hole..."
"Yeah, which is why it's pointless, so just use it. It's not even that much of a trump card anyway."
Tae-hyun pointed out their inefficient skill combos, helped them filter out the useful skills from their arsenal, and finally gave them key pointers to keep in mind during combat. Although the session went on for quite some time, not a single player grew bored; they listened with absolute, razor-sharp focus.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
While the players of Team KL took Tae-hyun's value for granted since they were always around him, to foreign players, Tae-hyun was already becoming nothing short of the Emperor of Pan-On. To think they could learn from someone like him... I wish time would stop!
'He's teaching us like this without showing a single hint of boredom or annoyance...'
'Where else could you find a person like this...!'
Tae-hyun also thought to himself:
'Wow. They learn way faster than Cain.'
These players understood in one go what took Cain five explanations to grasp! Was teaching always this easy?
"I think this should be enough," Tae-hyun said. "Do your best in your matches, and try not to drive Evangeline crazy."
"We deeply respect our coach!"
"We really try our best to listen to her, but the moment we step into a fight, the blood just rushes to our heads..."
The players offered apologetic excuses. Evangeline would rage like a madwoman, and no player could easily ignore that. But... but the moment the match started...!
Tae-hyun nodded understandingly.
"Well, habits aren't easily broken. Just keep what you learned today in mind, and keep teamplay close to your heart."
Tae-hyun didn't really know what teamplay meant either, but he made sure to emphasize it anyway! The players nodded vigorously.
"Yes! Teamplay!"
"We'll definitely show you something in our next match!"
"Huh? You're watching a Second Division match?" Choi Sang-yun asked, looking puzzled.
Tae-hyun usually found even First Division matches a chore to watch, so why this?
"These guys are Toronto."
"Ah...! Those guys! Did the coaching go well?"
Choi Sang-yun didn't expect much even as he asked. It wasn't uncommon for high rankers to serve as temporary coaches, but they rarely produced eye-catching results. It was simply too difficult for a team's performance to skyrocket after just one lesson. Usually, rankers were brought in as temporary coaches to design a one-off strategy targeting a specific skill or opponent. No matter how amazing Tae-hyun was, surely he couldn't produce results that easily, right?
"They were pretty good. They learned fast."
"Oh? Really?"
"Yeah. I mean, they won't suddenly go on a massive winning streak just because of one lesson from me, but I helped them patch up a lot of their weaknesses."
"Oh... impressive."
Cain, who had been listening nearby, slinked over and asked, "Who's better, them or me?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Tae-hyun, Choi Sang-yun, and Jeong Su-hyeok—everyone in the lodging fell dead silent. Tae-hyun offered a warm, gentle smile.
"You, of course!"
"R-right?"
"Naturally. There's a world of difference between the First and Second Divisions."
Cain happily skipped away. Choi Sang-yun whispered on the sly, "Don't tell me they're actually better?"
"Well, if we're talking purely about mechanical control..."
"..."
"..."
Everyone stared in Cain's direction with pitying eyes.
"The match is starting!"
[Caster] Welcome, everyone! The match between Toronto and their opponents is about to begin. Mr. Commentator, what are your thoughts on this matchup?
[Commentator] Both teams have been maintaining solid records in the Second Division. However, I'm personally inclined to give the edge to the opposition.
[Caster] Oh? I'd love to hear your reasoning.
[Commentator] As you know, the opposing team is highly flexible and can adapt their strategies depending on their opponent. It's a viable approach for them, especially with so many talented Korean players on their roster. In contrast, Toronto is a team with a rather narrow strategic pool. They are a team that pushes forward relying entirely on their distinct strengths, but...
[Caster] If they get caught off guard, they'll be at a severe disadvantage?
[Commentator] Exactly. In fact, didn't we see a strategy of fielding four tanks and one healer to counter Toronto recently? It's one of the trending strategies these days. The opposing team will certainly be able to utilize it effectively.
[Caster] Ah, thank you for your insight. Toronto is undoubtedly a strong team, but it's hard to call their performance stable! Didn't they throw a completely won game last time due to mistakes from their damage dealers? Oh, and as expected, the opposition is indeed fielding four tanks!
[Commentator] What did I tell you? Haha!
[Caster] Still, you never know. Isn't Toronto the very team that didn't falter even after their head coach resigned mid-season, and has actually shown better results since? Those players have immense potential.
[Caster] Ah, the first match is underway! It's the Grasslands map. This makes it even tougher for Toronto, who rely heavily on melee damage dealers... Wait, they're charging! They're charging right in!
[Caster] They're splitting up and charging! Oh! Toronto!
[Caster] No, they shouldn't be doing this! Toronto! No matter how much they love attacking, charging headfirst into four tanks—and splitting up to do it—is suicide! They're going to break themselves first!
[Caster] This seems far too reckless... Wait, they're striking simultaneously! Toronto is piercing straight into the enemy formation!
[Caster] They're in! They've successfully breached the formation! The opposition is panicking! They can't even cast their skills!
[Caster] Toronto! They're targeting only the healer! The damage output is insane! The healer's HP is plummeting!
[Caster] They completely caught the opposition off guard! I think the opponents thought, 'There's no way they'd charge like this!' Oh, oh! The healer is down! Toronto! They've successfully secured the kill! Despite having less than 30% of their own HP remaining, they took down the healer! Ah! They're running! Toronto is scattering in all directions! The opposition can't let them escape! If they let them go, the game is over! They have to catch at least one of them! Ah! They missed them...!
[Caster] They all got away! With this, the game heavily tilts in Toronto's favor!
[Caster] The gap is widening! They're being pushed back! They're continuously being pushed back! Ahhh...!
Amidst groans of disbelief, the match began to roll entirely in Toronto's favor. Toronto never let go of the advantage they had seized. The players landed blow after blow with an almost infuriating level of composure! Furthermore, unlike before, the damage dealers showed an astonishing level of tenacity.
'Did these bastards eat something weird?!'
'What on earth? Why are they so...'
In truth, Toronto's damage dealers hadn't actually planned on killing the healer. They had only intended to dive in, disrupt the enemy formation, and somehow lure them out to fight... But perhaps because the opposition hadn't expected such a reckless move, their defense around the healer had been surprisingly lax.
"Bwahahaha! We did it! We actually did it!"
"Do you think Player Kim Tae-hyun is watching?"
"He must be! He's definitely feeling proud of us right now!"
Watching the match, Choi Sang-yun asked in sheer bewilderment, "The way they play looks just like you. Did you teach them that strategy?"
"...No, I didn't."
He had taught them how to fight, not a strategy like that!
"But the way they're doing it is so similar to..."
A surprise hit-and-run, run-and-gun strategy! The only difference was that while Tae-hyun did it solo, they were doing it as a coordinated group. They had likely been deeply inspired by watching Tae-hyun, thinking, 'Hey, let's try that too! We learned from him, didn't we?' and 'Really? Since we learned from him, maybe we can pull it off too!'
Evangeline clutched her forehead as she watched the match unfold.
"Ughhh... Can't you guys play just one standard match?!"
When the players had asked, 'Can we try scouting and poking them lightly at the start?' she had replied, 'Just hit and run while managing your HP, and don't take any unnecessary risks!'... And they had been plotting this the entire time!