The Basics of Coaching

The players who ended up joining the hunt were absolutely thrilled. To fight alongside the legendary Kim Tae-hyun and the players of Team KL! What greater honor could there be?

"Waaaaah! Uwooooh!"

"Sweep them aside and charge! Don't stop! If you stop just because you're taking a few hits, Kane, you're not even worth the rice you eat! Run! Break through! Shatter their formation! That's the only way we can maximize our damage!"

"..."

It was quite different from what they had imagined, but... once rose-tinted glasses are on, they don't come off easily. In the eyes of the ordinary players, Team KL's hunting style looked incredibly passionate and intense. Ah, so that's what it means to be a pro! Pros hunt with a passion that burns like a raging fire!

"Prepare to attack! Buffs up! Magic ready? Let's go!"

"Wow! This is so exciting!"

"Take this! Die!"

The players descended and began hunting the monsters that had been separated from the pack. Thanks to Team KL tearing straight through the center and absolutely devastating them, the monsters' morale and HP were already severely depleted. The hunt was incredibly easy. The gathered players chatted warmly and laughed merrily.

"CrabStick, your shooting is amazing! I had no idea you were this good."

"Oh, please. WellPressedPants did way more. She buffed everyone here."

"Jackson was incredible too!"

Clap, clap, clap! The players applauded and congratulated one another. Though they were all under level 100, they felt a heartwarming warmth in their chests. Ah, is this the true joy of Pan-On?

"Out of the way! Out of the way! Move, or I'll sweep you away too!"

"Kane, don't just run blindly! Check what's in front of you before you charge! If a tank attacks his own allies, he's disqualified as a tank! Watch out for friendly fire!"

"Aaaaargh! Aaaaack!"

Meanwhile, right next to them, a living hell was unfolding. The hell of Team KL! Is... is this the terror of Pan-On...? The players watched in sheer horror at Team KL's brutal hunting methods.

"I guess you have to go that hard to be a pro!"

"Wait, did someone just scream 'Save me!'?"

"Nah, you must have misheard. Why would a pro say something like that?"

"No, I'm pretty sure I heard, 'Someone rescue us!'..."

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Players who had been venting their frustrations all over the forums began migrating one by one. Not just from the Erangs Kingdom or the Auston Kingdom, but players from other continents were moving too! For players who had already settled in a city, changing their home base was a massive undertaking. Normally, they wouldn't dream of it. It meant throwing away all the affinity they had built up in that city, their relationships with NPCs, and various regional bonuses to start completely anew! Because of this, the major guilds had remained complacent, thinking, 'Come on, there's no way they'd actually migrate over something like this.' But once a trend caught fire, its momentum was fierce.

"Have a safe trip!"

"Have a safe trip!!!"

"Hmm..."

Tae-hyun stared at them. His teammates' reactions felt incredibly suspicious.

"I feel like you guys are just starting to solidify your basic skills, so leaving now makes me feel a bit..."

"No, it's fine! We can work hard on our own!"

"Yeah! We'll train diligently while you're gone!"

If we keep this up, we'll be physically pulverized before our basic skills are ever solidified! Kane and Choi Sang-yun waved both hands, practically pushing Tae-hyun out the door. Please, just take a break already!

Tae-hyun wasn't leaving because the sky was falling or because he had contracted an incurable disease. It was to conduct the one-day coaching session for LK Galaxy that had been agreed upon previously.

Even the most negative and skeptical person in the organization perked up at the words, 'Wait, Kim Tae-hyun is coming?' The name Kim Tae-hyun carried that much weight.

"But Tae-hyun, was there really a need for me to come along?"

"There are two reasons."

"?"

"First of all, rather than me explaining everything alone, it's much easier to have someone I work well with by my side. The LK Galaxy players won't have a clue what I'm trying to do... and besides, you have a great eye for these things, Da-bi."

"Y-you flatter me."

"No... you really do have a great eye."

The ability to look at a player and instantly deduce their class, skills, and even their salary was not something just anyone possessed.

"If there's anything I miss, you can point it out to me."

"But you did just fine on your own with the Beijing Fighters last time, didn't you?"

"Ah... honestly, with them..."

"?"

"I had no idea they would do so well. I just did it with a light heart. I thought they might fail, and if they did, well, whatever."

"..."

Lee Da-bi thought to herself, This must absolutely never be leaked to the public!

"But how are they doing so well? Isn't a successful league team usually well-balanced?"

"If you're asking me that..."

*If the one who coached them doesn't know, who does!*

The Beijing Fighters' momentum was terrifying. Most surprising of all was their team color: absolute, relentless offense! Attack when ahead, attack when behind—a fiery, uncompromising style of play. Before Tae-hyun, they had felt incomplete and often crumbled, but after his coaching, it was as if they had taken some strange medicine; they relentlessly pressed their attacks to the very end, securing victory after victory. This had fueled their incredible run. With stellar results and a distinct, exciting team identity, their popularity was through the roof!

"Man, the world is a strange place..."

"I find you much stranger, honestly. Oh, and Tae-hyun, if you needed a partner, wouldn't Kane have been a better choice?"

"Not really. Kane and I work well together, but that's only when we're fighting in-game. He wouldn't be much help when it comes to explaining things. Besides, it's not like they have a player like Kane over there."

"His analytical eye..."

"Da-bi, let me tell you one thing for certain. Kane... has absolutely no eye for these things!"

"!"

He said it with one hundred percent conviction!

"You remember what he suggested when I told him to think of a new tactic last time, right?"

"...I do..."

When asked to come up with a new strategy for the team, Kane had proposed a truly mind-boggling tactic.

"He's better off spending that time working on his titles and leveling up his skills. There's absolutely no reason for him to be there when I'm coaching others."

"...Understood."

Even Lee Da-bi couldn't argue with that.

"Oh. What was the second reason?"

"Did I say there were two? My mistake. There was only one."

"???"

Da-bi was puzzled, but she let it slide since Tae-hyun said so.

I'm glad she seems to be cheering up.

Ever since she had given that absurdly wrong answer about Kane during the quiz, Da-bi had seemed unusually downcast. She had also looked exhausted during their mob-hunting sessions in Pan-On (though, to be fair, everyone was practically dying of fatigue!).

A change of pace like this should help her refresh, right?

Tae-hyun scanned Da-bi with a keen gaze. She definitely seemed excited. There was no doubt she was in a good mood. While Tae-hyun was the type of person who could survive inside a capsule for an entire year if asked, normal people preferred going outside and moving around. Da-bi was no exception!

"I won't give them reckless advice like I did with the Beijing Fighters. I'll stick to safe, solid guidance."

"How so?"

"I've already analyzed their gameplay videos. I'll point out their weaknesses, analyze their current skills to optimize their synergy and combos, and advise them on item builds... You know, just the basics."

"Most people don't call that 'the basics.'"

Isn't that exactly what head coaches and tactical coaches get paid to do? Tae-hyun's definition of "the basics" seemed to have an incredibly high bar, but Da-bi chose not to point it out. After all, this was Tae-hyun they were talking about!

"Oh! Tae-hyun, have you seen the news?"

"What? Did Kane cause another incident?"

"...No..."

Dumbfounded, Da-bi handed him her smartphone. Breaking news articles were popping up on the screen.

"Dear me."

It was called a resignation, but it was essentially a firing. Who would actually believe someone quit of their own accord in a situation like that? Seeing Tae-hyun's expression darken, Da-bi asked worriedly,

"You don't look too good. Are you okay?"

"Ah. Did I look upset? It's not that I'm upset, but rather... I was just thinking that if our results slip, we could end up just like him."

Right now, because they were absolutely dominating the league, all sorts of corporations were lining up to offer sponsorships and advertisements. But all of this was contingent on their performance. A small-scale gaming team without a massive corporate backer like Team KL would instantly ruinous if their results dropped!

I'll have to do my absolute best to crush our opponents even harder.

Tae-hyun clenched his fist with a terrifying intensity. At that exact moment, Pan-On players all over the world felt an inexplicable chill run down their spines.

"Wow. Isn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this a bit too ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠much? Doing this to someone who already left."

Tae-hyun was genuinely puzzled. No matter how badly they needed a scapegoat, kicking a man when he was down like this was...