A Very Special Training Session

"And for the arrows, Ji-su is going to call the Tyrum Ranger NPCs to shoot with her," Tae-hyun said.

"I'll do my absolute best to shoot as hard as I can!" Yu Ji-soo said, clenching her fists tightly.

Seeing the murderous glint flashing in her eyes, Cain asked hesitantly, "Y-you don't have any personal feelings behind this, right?"

"Of course not. Why would I? Oh, by the way, Unni. Does the Power Warrior Guild warehouse happen to have any arrows that deal extra damage to Chimeras?"

"You definitely have feelings about this!" Cain shrieked, on the verge of tears.

In the past, Cain had been hated by the girls for acting too close to Tae-hyun. But ever since Team KL's dorm was revealed to the public, that hatred had morphed into: 'The trash who orders his senior around while doing zero housework!'

Lately, whenever they played in a party together, Cain would often feel a sudden chill run down his spine. He was now absolutely certain it wasn't just his imagination.

Tae-hyun spoke with a deadpan, serious expression. "Cain, we don't have that much free time. Breaks between quests are extremely rare."

"That's because you keep taking massive, legendary quests back-to-back without giving us a single second to breathe...!" Cain protested.

Normal players usually took a break to rest and reorganize after clearing a single quest! But Tae-hyun didn't even pretend to listen and simply carried on.

"If we don't farm these titles during brief breaks like this, you'll never have the time. Besides, when else will you get a chance to be helped by so many rankers?"

Before Tae-hyun could even finish his sentence, new guests arrived. It was Alcott's friend, the high-ranking fire mage Crawford!

The moment Crawford arrived, he asked eagerly, "Can I really set Cain on fire? Wow. I've wanted to do this for ages."

"..."

Cain's face went past pale, turning a sickly shade of leaden gray.

"Of course, Crawford. Burn him all you want," Tae-hyun replied smoothly.

"Man... Kim Tae-hyun, aren't you too kind? How can someone be this nice?"

"Take away my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠consideration for others, and I'm basically a corpse."

Crawford and Tae-hyun exchanged warm greetings. The other high-ranking mages who had tagged along with Crawford also approached Tae-hyun politely.

"H-hello, Player Kim Tae-hyun. Can we really attack Cain too?"

"Can ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I freeze him with my frost magic...?"

"Haha. Of course. Feel free to beat him to your heart's content."

"Thank you! I've really wanted to hit him at least once!"

"Hey! You bastards! What grudge do you even have against me?!" Cain roared in frustration.

He could understand Crawford, but he had never even met these other rankers before.

"You were just so annoying in the videos, I really wanted to blast a spell at you..."

"I wanted to see what it feels like to launch a spell directly at the world's best tank."

"I was curious about how much damage magic actually does to the Chimera race..."

"I just came because I thought this would get great views."

The rankers had gathered to beat up Cain for an incredibly diverse array of reasons.

"Oh, right. The entry fee." Crawford handed a heavy pouch of gold to Lee Da-bi.

The other mage rankers followed suit, handing over their own gold pouches.

"...???!"

Alcott stared in utter shock. Wait, he called in rankers to do manual labor, and instead of paying them, he's charging them?!

"C-Crawford... you paid gold to do this?" Alcott stammered.

"Hey, would you let someone do this for free? This is a steal. Who else gets an opportunity like this?" Crawford scoffed.

"He's right," another mage chimed in. "If we auctioned this opportunity to the Guild Alliance, it would turn into a massive bidding war."

"You got to hit Cain for free? You'd better thank Kim Tae-hyun. That's an incredible privilege. The rest of us had to draw straws because so many wanted in."

For a brief moment, Alcott genuinely wondered if he was the one losing his mind. The world... the world was going mad!

Regardless of Alcott's existential crisis, a luxurious training squad had been assembled—composed entirely of dozens of top-tier rankers.

Choi Sang-yun spoke in an admiring voice. "Cain, you're really a blessed guy. Who else would go to such lengths just for you?"

"...Then do you want to join me?" Cain muttered.

"Hahaha. I already did my title farming on my own. That's why you should've gotten them out of the way when Tae-hyun was nagging you."

"I've been working hard on mine too, so I'll pass," another teammate added.

"Hang in there, Cain!"

"Fighting, Cain!"

Once the team's warm encouragement ended, Tae-hyun delivered the final blow.

"Cain. While I'm out, make sure you farm at least five titles. If you don't, you're grounded."

"..."

At those words, the surrounding rankers began to whisper among themselves.

"Whoa. I feel like I've seen this situation somewhere before. Right, like that old fairy tale, Cinderella..."

"Then are we the helpful animals that come to aid Cinderella? Hehe, we really are kind-hearted."

"Shut up! You guys are just thrilled to beat me up!" Cain screamed.

"Wow, look at his attitude when we're trying to help."

"Cinderella my foot. He's more like the wicked stepmother."

"By the way, where is Kim Tae-hyun going?"

"A charity event in Korea. Apparently, they invited all the famous Korean players."

"Oh, man. I want to watch. Is it broadcasting?"

"Yeah, it should be. Let's watch it together while we beat up Cain."

"Are they playing Pan-On at a charity event?"

"No, probably other games."

"Still, since it's Kim Tae-hyun, I really want to watch."

"Right? Me too."

"I kind of want to see Kim Tae-hyun suck at a game for once. Is there any game like that?"

"Probably not."

To be honest, everyone believed Kim Tae-hyun would excel at absolutely any game he played.

"How about this outfit?" Lee Da-bi asked.

"Hmm... It looks like someone who has never bought expensive clothes in their life dragged something out of their closet to dress up..."

"..."

"Hey! How can you say that so bluntly!"

"B-but I have to be honest! What if Unni actually ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠goes out like that? She can't dress like this in the future. Unni needs to buy some new clothes."

Lee Da-bi's younger sisters had gathered to give their brutal, honest evaluations. Since Da-bi was going to a charity event with Tae-hyun, they couldn't let her just walk out looking like anything.

"Wouldn't a suit be better? You have a suit, right?"

"No way. Everyone else will be dressing casually. If Unni is the only one in a suit, she'll stand out way too much."

"Ugh, we should've forced her to buy some clothes when we went shopping...!"

"It's my fault...!"

As the two younger sisters began to wallow in self-blame, Da-bi let out a soft sigh.

"It's my fault, so you don't have to do that."

Since it was an informal charity event gathering famous Pan-On players, they had been told to dress casually. But Da-bi actually preferred a suit. At least she owned a decent suit.

"Let's rummage through the closet again. Maybe there's something else."

"Jeans, jeans, jeans, jeans, and a denim jacket."

"T-shirt, t-shirt, t-shirt, t-shirt... Wait, why do you have so many of these? And the design is so tacky...!"

"...They were giving them away as promotional items, so I took a lot..." Da-bi mumbled, looking away.

"..."

"...Unni! We're so sorry! Uwaah!"

As her sisters burst into tears, Da-bi hurriedly tried to comfort them.

"No, it's not like that! I just chose not to buy new clothes! Calm down, girls!"

Even though her income had multiplied by hundreds of times and she had completely cleared her family's debts, a person's habits did not change so easily. Even when she bought premium ramen for her sisters, she would eat the cheapest budget brand herself—that was Lee Da-bi! There was no way a person like her would cast aside perfectly wearable clothes to buy a bunch of new ones.

"And these clothes look perfectly fine the more you look at them," Da-bi insisted.

"Unni."

"Yeah?"

"I really respect you, and I'm so grateful for everything you've done for us. But wrong is wrong. This outfit is absolutely not it."

Hearing her sisters speak with absolute, dead-serious gravity, Da-bi's shoulders slumped. She actually thought the jeans and denim jacket looked quite nice...

Knock, knock, knock.

"?"

"Ah, Oppa is here."

"?!?!?"

Da-bi panicked. It wasn't even their meeting time yet!

"Who called him?!" she hissed.

"W-well?"

"I don't know, Unni. Maybe he just came early?"

"..."

You two definitely called him! Da-bi realized. She knew Tae-hyun and her sisters got along well, but still, for them to do this...!

"Oh, Da-bi. Those clothes look good on you," Tae-hyun said as he walked in.

"..."

"..."

The sisters' faces went completely blank. Wait, Player Kim Tae-hyun, what are you doing here...?

'We thought if we called Oppa, Unni would give up and change her clothes...!'

'We were too naive!'

"Hmm. I brought some clothes for us to wear, but I wonder if they're okay?" Tae-hyun said, pulling out some garments.

They were clothes sent by Prosdas, their sponsor. Prosdas had already taken charge of manufacturing the Team KL uniforms, but the moment they heard Tae-hyun was attending a charity event, they had frantically contacted him.

The Prosdas team leader had pleaded fiercely. Prosdas was currently one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry, and the primary reason for that was Team KL. The contract between Team KL and Prosdas had already become a legend in the business world—a massive, historic hit!

Back when Team KL was still a nobody, Prosdas had provided full, unreserved support solely based on Tae-hyun's name value. This was because a department manager, who happened to be a massive fan of Tae-hyun, had pushed for it with absolute conviction.

As a result, Team KL won the championship and had been utterly dominating the league since its opening. Team KL's uniforms were selling like hotcakes, generating astronomical promotional effects for Prosdas.

Meanwhile, other sports brands that had hesitated or looked down on Team KL were green with envy. There were even rumors that the executives who had rejected the Team KL sponsorship had been forced to resign.

Thanks to this, Team KL held an incredibly special position within Prosdas. The staff assigned to handle Team KL were the absolute top elites of the company.

Even though frantic shouts of "Are you crazy?!" and "Team Leader, have you lost your mind?!" could be heard echoing in the background, the team leader remained unyielding.

This charity event was the perfect opportunity to promote their new winter uniform design. Honestly, if it were up to him, he would have loved to dress Kim Tae-hyun in a different uniform every single day, but that was practically impossible. They had to make the absolute most of opportunities like this.

Instead of a verbal answer, a roaring shout echoed through the receiver: "Everyone! Overtime!" followed by a chaotic symphony of swearing, screaming, and the sound of heavy objects being hurled across the room.

"...I'll hang up now, then," Tae-hyun muttered.

Contrary to his worries, Prosdas had perfectly met the deadline and delivered the new winter apparel. Tae-hyun had briefly considered telling the other team members, but ultimately decided against it.

'If they find out a new uniform is out, they'll go crazy trying to show it off.'

He really didn't want to imagine Cain wandering around crowded streets in his uniform, clearing his throat loudly to draw attention.

"When did this come out?" Da-bi asked, staring at the clothes.

"When they heard I was going to a charity event, they said they'd make and send a new winter uniform in time. I didn't tell Cain because he'd just make a fuss. Anyway, I thought it'd be nice to wear this together, so I brought it... but maybe not?"

Tae-hyun looked at Da-bi's outfit. It seemed she had chosen it carefully from her closet, so if she really wanted to wear it, he didn't want to force her—

"NO!!!" the sisters screamed in unison.

"SHE MUST WEAR IT!!!"

"Whoa, you startled me." Tae-hyun blinked in surprise, looking at the sisters. Perhaps because they had shouted louder than ever before, their faces were flushed bright red.

"Unni really wants to wear those clothes! Please let her wear them!"

"Da-bi hasn't even said anything yet."

"I'm her sister! I can tell just by looking at her eyes!"

"Do you two whisper to each other in real life too?" Tae-hyun asked, thoroughly bewildered.