It Started with a Quiet Complaint

At first, it started with a quiet murmur of discontent.

In response to the pleas of the players active in the cities, the guilds offered "heartwarming" replies.

They weren't called large guilds for nothing. In Pandemonium Online 2, they had flown under the radar slightly because everyone was getting criticized, but at their core, large guilds were fundamentally selfish bastards! Now that a situation had arisen forcing them to show their true colors, their real nature was laid bare.

Already stressed from being unable to step outside, the players translated their fury into action. One should never underestimate low-level players. In Pandemonium Online, even low-level players were fully capable of making someone else's life a living hell!

As players swarmed into the plaza, blocking every entrance and packing the space shoulder-to-shoulder, the plaza—usually a bustling hub of trade—ground to a complete halt. For the guilds managing the territories, the revenue from these plazas was astronomical. This was a situation they absolutely could not tolerate!

"Su-hyeok, Ji-su, Yong-yong, Heuk-heuk! Fire your skills the absolute second they're off cooldown! I don't care what it is, just pump out damage. Don't drop your DPS! Every second you waste resting, our damage output plummets. Gong-gong, get in there and disrupt their formation before the spells fly, then get back! The rest of you, charge in and mince them once the ranged attacks are done. Cain! Hey, you punk! Hold your shield straight! If the healers or damage dealers in the back get hit, are you going to take responsibility? For every single point of HP they lose, I'm confiscating one of your meat side dishes!"

"Uwahhh! Sob, sob!"

Cain wailed as he swung his shield. Back when he was getting beaten to a pulp by rankers to farm titles, he had thought, Ah, I think it was better when I was clearing quests with Kim Tae-hyun. But not anymore. Getting beaten by rankers was a luxury compared to this. Tae-hyun, having fully entered "nagging mother-in-law" mode, was draining their very souls. It was so intense that even Jeong Su-hyeok and Lee Da-bi were visibly tense!

This field hunt wasn't an abnormally high-difficulty quest. Although the monsters had grown stronger and more numerous, it was still a difficulty level that Tae-hyun's party could easily handle. Which meant...

Tae-hyun wouldn't just overlook mistakes with a casual, Well, the quest is just that hard, so it can't be helped. If they didn't hone their fundamental skills now, when would they ever?

"Sang-yun, move! Take down the semi-boss monster first! If you fail..."

"I know, I know! Stop nagging me!"

Choi Sang-yun bolted forward, utterly repulsed. Traumatic memories from Pandemonium Online 1 came rushing back.

—Ah! What are you doing?! Why can't you kill that? Just handle two boss monsters by yourself!

—Are you out of your mind?!

—Just drive your attack into their weak points to land a critical hit, twist your body to teleport, spin around, and strike again. Then you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠can take down both boss monsters!

...Only you can do that, you absolute psycho!

The words surged up to the tip of his tongue, but Choi Sang-yun swallowed them down. If he failed to kill it, the nagging would return threefold!

"Hyaaaah!"

"Uwooooh! For the glory of our tribe, we shall not retreat!"

"Do you think you're more desperate than me?! If I fail even once, I'll be demoted to Cain's level!"

The elite warriors of the tribe were formidable, but they were no match for Choi Sang-yun's sheer desperation.

"Keep moving! Don't rest just because you killed one!"

"..."

Before he could even feel a shred of pride, the nagging flew from behind! Choi Sang-yun stole a glance backward. In the blink of an eye, Tae-hyun had already slaughtered dozens of monsters in his vicinity and was charging forward. Seeing that, Sang-yun couldn't even argue if he wanted to.

Why on earth did heaven bestow such talent upon a guy like him?

Choi Sang-yun gripped his sanity and ran after him. If he fell behind, the nagging would be five times worse!

"Tae-hyun! I can't keep up with the healing speed!" Lee Da-bi cried out, her head spinning.

Currently, Cain and Choi Sang-yun were the ones receiving priority heals. Even though Tae-hyun wasn't receiving any heals, the healing speed was still struggling to keep up. That was how insanely fast they were hunting.

Normally, when monsters lunged from all directions, a party would fall back, reorganize their formation, and then strike... but Tae-hyun completely ignored such tactics.

"Hey! Charge! You grow by getting hit! Learn how to dodge and deflect with micro-controls!" he roared.

"Just do what you can!"

"What?! Won't they die if I don't heal them?"

"If they don't want to die, they'll learn how to survive!"

Grit! Grind!

The sound of Cain and Choi Sang-yun gnashing their teeth echoed through the air. You absolute piece of—!

Despite his harsh words, Tae-hyun was keeping a close eye on Cain and Choi Sang-yun. If they were truly on the verge of death, he would have to use the Authority of Archisus!

Great idea, Carbanog!

Dozens of monsters lunged at Tae-hyun. They were barbarian warriors wielding various weapons! Tae-hyun slashed, bashed, struck, stabbed, and threw them to the ground. In Pandemonium Online, where players had to move their bodies manually, such endless combat drained an immense amount of mental stamina.

"I... never... thought... I'd... say... this... in... my... life... but... I... miss... the... Archisus... Artillery... guys... so... much!"

Cain wailed as he flailed his six arms. With two arms, he held a massive shield to push back the approaching enemies, while his other four arms pumped out damage. Tae-hyun never excused a tank from dealing damage.

"Waaaaah!"

"Is it over? It's over, right? Meat side dish?"

"What do you mean, 'meat side dish'?"

"He's so exhausted his speech center is broken. Anyway, let's take a short re—"

Roaaaaar!

"???"

"Aren't those monsters not supposed to spawn here?"

"I had Yong-yong lure them over."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Guys, you still have plenty of energy left. Let's move!"

Yu Ji-su stared in silence for a moment, then raised her bow and aimed it directly at the back of Tae-hyun's head. Lee Da-bi hastily held her back.

"You can't do that!"

"B-but... but...!"

For such a small group, Tae-hyun's party was grinding down the monsters near the town at a terrifying speed.

The players of the Atali Kingdom shed tears of gratitude. From the [...] to the Mage Order and Holy Knight Order, Tae-hyun's party had left them all behind to fight with their bare bodies! It was so deeply moving that they almost seemed to emit a holy halo.

"Uaaah! Meat side dish! Meat side dish!"

"Did Cain just say 'meat side dish'?"

"I think he did...?"

"Heavens, could that post actually be true?"

It was a running joke on the community boards! Whenever Cain underperformed in a match, fans would ruthlessly demand:

Everyone had naturally assumed it was just a joke, but...?!

Regardless, the players were thoroughly enjoying watching Tae-hyun's party hunt like possessed demons. Unlike a massive raid easily sweeping through enemies, watching a small group fight with absolute desperation was incredibly entertaining. The immersion was off the charts! It was truly fun to watch.

...Until Tae-hyun turned his head with a murderous glare!

"What are you guys doing?"

"Oh, uh, well... we were just watching?"

"A-are we not allowed to watch? Should we go over there?"

"No! Why are you just watching? Can't you see this is a monster wave? Join in!"

"What??? We... we can join?"

"There are so many monsters, and you're not going to hunt them? Just jump in anywhere and kill what you can! If you draw too much aggro, just run away immediately!"

"B-but..."

The players were flustered by this highly unconventional demand. Normally, intruding on another party's active hunt was considered extremely rude. No matter how many monsters there were, the party that arrived first would rarely be pleased. Furthermore, joining in on a hunt with the Kim Tae-hyun's party felt far too overwhelming...

"Just join in! Hurry up and join!"

"Where do you think you're running off to?!"

"Get down here this instant!"

"!!!???"

As the players hesitated, Tae-hyun's companions roared fiercely. Help us already! Stop just watching, you bastards!!!

This isn't the time to hoard experience points! We're actually going to die at this rate!

We have to lighten the load somehow!

The party's eyes were half-rolled back in sheer exhaustion. They were desperate to drag more players in to share the burden!

"W-we'll gladly join—"

"Get down here right now! Do you want to get beaten up?! Huh?!"

"Cain. You're talking too much. Confiscating a meat side dish."

"...Aaaaargh! Uwoooooh!"

Cain transformed into a berserker of pure rage and charged forward. His momentum was so terrifying that even the monsters hesitated and backed away!

"T-then we will gladly join!"

"Let's go down too!"

"Call your friends! Post on the boards! Just get anyone over here!"

...They aren't being held hostage, are they?

Hearing the desperate cries of Tae-hyun's party, the players couldn't help but let their imaginations run wild. Nah, what am I thinking!