A City Built on Tears

The rankers would whisper, "Hey, keep this to yourself. It's a secret, but..." to just one person, but there was no way such a secret would actually be kept. Word of mouth quickly turned the rumor into public knowledge. Even rankers who previously had no interest began to perk up. "What? An opportunity to beat up Cain? Seriously? Just for a bit of gold? I'm on my way!"

Honestly, it was an offer no one could resist. Beating up Cain! Whether they liked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him or hated him, whether they were damage dealers or tanks, combat classes or crafting classes... anyone who heard about it reacted the same way: "Whoa... they really let you hit him? For real?!"

"No way! Get lost! Go back!" Cain rejected them coldly, leaving the newly arrived rankers looking utterly dejected. They had rushed all the way here with high hopes after hearing the news...

"Haha. Welcome, please come in."

"You can ignore what Cain says."

But Tae-hyun and his companions were ruthless. Regardless of Cain's protests, they ushered the visitors inside. The more attacks Cain received from a diverse array of rankers, the more titles he could unlock.

"Here I come, Cain! Raise your shield!"

"I won't! I'm not raising it!"

"Excuse me, if I pay a bit extra, can I skip the line and hit him first?"

"It was a good tournament."

"Ah. Yes."

"Lee Da-bi. Why do you keep avoiding my gaze?"

"Oh, well. Yes."

Lee Da-bi was flustered, unable to look Tae-hyun in the eye. It was mainly for two ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reasons. First, she had gotten an incredibly easy question wrong... and second, because Tae-hyun had openly declared that she was the one he cherished most!

"Lee Da-bi. I told you, anyone can make a mistake on a question. We won anyway."

Thanks to their victory, the charity tournament's prize money had been donated under both Tae-hyun's and Lee Da-bi's names. They were currently on their way back from doing a good deed!

"I-I'm not letting it get to me."

"Then why is your head turned all the way to the side?"

Her head was turned in the exact opposite direction of Tae-hyun!

"I slept on my neck wrong..."

"You were perfectly fine until just a moment ago."

"A sudden muscle spasm?"

"Why is that a question? Fine, let me massage it out for you."

"No! No! I'm fine!"

Lee Da-bi finally surrendered and turned her head back. As expected, there was no muscle spasm.

"Don't beat yourself up over a single mistake... There's someone who makes dozens of mistakes and still walks around with his chest puffed out."

"Ah. Yes."

"..."

Tae-hyun watched her and fell into thought. It seemed Lee Da-bi was taking her single mistake deeply to heart.

Well, she does have a bit of a perfectionist streak.

If Lee Da-bi had heard his thoughts, she would have cried, Look who's talking! But Tae-hyun, unlike Cain, was not someone whose mind could be easily read.

Even if I tell her not to blame herself, she's not the type to just stop... She could stand to be a little less diligent. I should do something to cheer her up.

If Carbanog had been there, it would have smacked him on the back of the head, but the giant rabbit was absent. The only ones present were the two Pan-On maniacs! Tae-hyun changed the subject to distract her.

"By the way, the president there showed a surprising amount of interest."

"Ah, yes. It was a bit strange. It felt like too much interest to be just polite small talk."

"I suppose as an adult, since he hosted the charity tournament, he felt responsible for treating his guests with the utmost sincerity. I was actually a bit touched."

Tae-hyun nodded, praising President Yoon. For an old man who had zero interest in Pan-On to study it so diligently out of a sense of responsibility for hosting the event... Tae-hyun felt a sliver of respect!

"He was quite good at joking around, too."

"Ah. That?"

"Should I accept that one-day coaching offer from LK Galaxy that came in recently?"

"Would that be alright? Your schedule is already so tight because of the league."

"Well, I'm not so busy that I can't spare time for a single day of coaching. Besides, they hosted such a wonderful tournament, so it feels a bit rude to just flatly refuse."

The bizarre strategy of the LK Electronics PR team had initially yielded zero results, but by a stroke of pure coincidence, it had somehow worked out in the end.

"Exactly! It really was a great tournament."

"Since it was an event held for a good cause... Wait, Lee Da-bi. You're talking about the donation, right?"

"O-Of course."

"Cain! Did you finish filling the bottomless jar with water and tilling the field with a wooden hoe?!"

"Tae-hyun, that's the story of Kongji and Patji."

"Ah. Sorry. Force of habit. Cain! You've unlocked all the titles I told you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to get, right?"

"..."

Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi stared at Cain in shock.

"Wait, what's wrong with Cain...?"

"He looks like a Pokémon right before it evolves...!"

A serious aura, something they had never seen on him before, was radiating from his body. Had the hellish training actually changed him as a person?

Thud, thud, thud—

Cain walked forward, step by step, with a terrifying momentum. Then, he threw himself flat on the ground.

"..."

"..."

"I am so sorry!"

Having six arms meant he could beg for forgiveness with three times the efficiency! Lee Da-bi watched in awe as his three pairs of hands rubbed together in desperate supplication.

He probably would have made a great merchant...

"What did you fail to do, and by how much?"

"I couldn't get about a third of them..."

Cain had worked hard. He had endured the rankers hitting him with fire, frost, lightning, poison, dark magic, holy magic, daggers, blunt weapons, swords, and every other attack imaginable... But unlocking titles required a certain knack. Those with a knack could execute the requirements perfectly in the correct sequence, while those without had to stumble through hundreds or thousands of attempts!

"You got two-thirds of them? That's actually pretty good."

"What? Really? I did well?"

"Yeah, you did. I didn't expect you to even get that far."

"I knew it...! I knew I did a good job!"

He's literally insulting you, though...

Lee Da-bi looked at Cain with pity. Saying he didn't expect him to get that far was a blatant insult!

"So, does this mean I get to be in the movie?!"

"No. This is only Phase One. Think of it as just laying down the basic foundation."

"..."

Cain's face went completely blank. What a son of a—!

Although countless people suffered (mostly the Guild Alliance), the Nitinger quest had finally drawn to a close. When the heatwave ended, everyone in Pan-On wept tears of joy.

"It's finally over...! Finally!"

"That weather was more horrific than a Korean summer!"

"Whoa. I was planning to travel to Korea next year, is it really that bad?"

"Wait, why did the curse have to be lifted now?! I bought a ton of frost-attribute items!!"

While a few disgruntled players complained, the vast majority were simply overjoyed. That was how terrible the heatwave had been.

"I heard a southern city completely vanished. I was planning to do a quest there..."

"No, they're rebuilding it right now. If anything, there are way more quest opportunities now. Plus, they say it's Nitinger's territory."

"N-Nitinger's territory? For real?"

"Yeah. Apparently, NPCs sent by Nitinger are all over the city."

A few quick-witted players perked up at the news of it being Nitinger's territory. An opportunity to build connections with a dragon (or at least, the NPCs sent by one)! How often did such a chance come along in Pan-On? This was an opportunity they had to seize at all costs.

"Let's go together!"

"Haha. I figured you'd say that, so I've already prepared everything."

Filled with happy dreams, the players headed toward the city.

"Whoa...!"

"It's true! The rumors were real!"

As they received a stream of buffs that could only be obtained in a rapidly developing city, wide grins spread across the players' faces. Moreover, countless players were already sweating profusely as they worked on construction! The atmosphere was undeniably vibrant.

"Excuse me. Where do we get this construction quest?"

"What?"

"We want to complete the quest you're doing to raise our reputation in the town..."

"Get lost."

"Huh?"

"I said get lost! Before I beat the crap out of you!"

"H-Hieee! What's wrong with this guy?"

"No idea. Must be a weirdo."

Startled by the hostile response, the players quickly backed away. Come to think of it, the expressions of the people working on the construction were bizarre. For some reason, they looked utterly miserable, as if they carried all the grievances of the world!

"Kim Tae-hyun... you bastard..."

"I hope Team KL goes bankrupt..."

"Su Ning, that piece of trash... How could he, as our guild leader, just accept a deal like this and force us to do this crap...?"

The construction site was thick with curses and rage! These workers were none other than members of the Guild Alliance. They hadn't done anything wrong, yet due to orders handed down from above, they were forced to spend their precious time grinding away at these menial labor quests. It was only natural for them to be seething!

But regardless of their misery, the city was running perfectly. The guards were minions sent by Nitinger, the construction was handled by the Guild Alliance, the city's revenue was generated by the flood of players arriving after hearing the news, and the profits went straight into Tae-hyun's pockets... It was a cycle of happiness for everyone!

"It's being built much faster than expected."

"Hmm. I didn't anticipate this."

Meanwhile, members of the Midas Guild had gathered in the center of the city. When Nitinger had vaporized one of the Auston Kingdom's cities, the Midas Guild had been the happiest of all. Your misfortune is my joy! They had hoped to take advantage of the ruined city to establish their own foothold, but Tae-hyun had subdued Nitinger and built Nitinger's own city instead. They were trying to figure out a way to sink their teeth into this opportunity, but the math just wasn't adding up. Dealing with Kim Tae-hyun was a headache, and dealing with the dragon Nitinger was equally terrifying...

"Should we try to buy it from Kim Tae-hyun?"

"They say Nitinger is the owner, so can he even sell it?"

"Well, you never know."

"True. There's no harm in trying."

Currently, the western region of the Auston Kingdom was occupied by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Midas Guild, while the central and eastern regions were held by the Guild Alliance. As for the south... starting with the Plague Wasteland, it was a complex, treacherous territory that no one dared to touch! Although the Midas Guild and the Guild Alliance were locked in a stalemate, trading blows for minor advantages, both guilds shared a single ultimate goal: to drive the other out and claim the entire kingdom for themselves! The projected profits from unifying the kingdom were astronomical. Just like the Guild Alliance, the Midas Guild had attracted massive investments, and their backers were constantly pressuring them to go to war.

However, the sheer numbers and raw power of the Guild Alliance were not to be underestimated. The Midas Guild knew this all too well, which was why they had been steadily conserving their strength...

"If we can just secure this city, we'll be able to pincer the Guild Alliance from both sides, right?"

"Should we make an offer?"

"Yeah. Let's pitch it to the guild leaders. I'm sure everyone will agree."

Whether they liked Kim Tae-hyun or not, one thing was certain: when it came to dealing with the Guild Alliance, Kim Tae-hyun was the absolute best! Honestly, he was a talent they wished they could recruit as their commander-in-chief just to crush the Alliance. But before the guild members could even begin plotting their scheme, a massive new server-wide quest notification arrived.

"...!?!"

"What is this?!"