A Lifeline of Pure Exhaustion

"Then let's all give it our best."

"Yes, sir!!"

The LK Galaxy players clenched their fists and shouted with roaring enthusiasm. Little did they know, they had just stepped right into the gaping maw of hell. One more step, and they would be dead men walking!

Lee Da-bi tried to throw them a lifeline one last time. "But LK Galaxy has their own coaching staff and a head coach. Won't training with us disrupt their official schedule?"

"Ah. Good point." Tae-hyun paused, considering her words. Messing up another team's carefully planned schedule would indeed be...

"No, not at all! It's perfectly fine!"

"We have the chance to train with Kim Tae-hyun. Who cares about regular team training? We can easily cancel it. Please, use us however you like!"

"Our head coach is absolutely thrilled too. He asked us to pass along his warmest regards."

"..."

Lee Da-bi let out a long, heavy sigh. Fine, do whatever you want. I wash my hands of this!

"Hahaha."

"Ah, this is the life."

In the blissful absence of Tae-hyun, the rest of the party was lounging on a grassy hill, basking in a warm, cozy, and utterly peaceful rest. As the gentle sunlight washed over them, a deep sense of contentment filled their souls. Below the hill, a massive horde of monsters was swarming past, but everyone collectively agreed to pretend they didn't exist.

"I never knew just doing nothing could be this heavenly."

"Maybe we... were so obsessed with efficiency that we forgot how to actually enjoy Pan-On?"

"You're so right. Haha."

"..."

Only Yu Ji-soo remained sane, staring at her companions as if they had completely lost their minds.

I should record this and show it to Sunbae later. How dare they slack off from hunting? What a bunch of lazy slackers! Of course, Yu Ji-soo had also plotted to backstab Tae-hyun in the past, but that was under extreme mental duress. Cain, Choi Sang-yun, Jeong Su-hyeok, and the summons happily munched on premium popcorn, thoroughly enjoying their rare moment of peace.

"Hey, Cain. Just because you have six arms doesn't mean you get to grab three handfuls at once. That's cheating."

"Ah, don't be so stingy, Hyung."

"Unbelievable. This guy is actually using his Chimera mutations to hoard popcorn...?"

In the middle of their bickering, a whisper suddenly popped up from Tae-hyun.

"..."

"..."

Thud. The box of popcorn slipped from someone's hand and rolled down the hill. The entire party sprang to their feet in sheer terror.

"What?! Why?! He went out to coach! Why is he logging back in already?! He shouldn't even be home yet!"

"This is no time to ask questions! We have to start hunting right now!"

"R-Right! Get ready! Positions, everyone!"

"Are we already busted?!"

Flash!

"..."

"..."

The party froze like statues. Tae-hyun, who had just materialized alongside Lee Da-bi, stared at them with a puzzled expression.

"What are you guys doing?"

"R... resting?"

"Hmm. I see. Well, it's good that you're well-rested. That means we can jump straight into it."

Tae-hyun turned around to lead the way. The moment his back was turned, the rest of the party and the summons practically pounced on Cain.

"Hey! Why the hell did you tell him we were resting?!"

"You idiot! Now he's going to push us even harder because he thinks we're fully charged!"

"Th-Then what was I supposed to say?!"

"You should've lied! Say we were hunting like crazy and just came up here for a quick breather!"

"Wait, though. Why is he back so early anyway? Is the coaching session already over?"

Before anyone could answer, the LK Galaxy players materialized nearby and ran over. Their faces were bright, fresh, and brimming with eager anticipation as they bowed.

"We look forward to training with you!"

"We'll give it everything we've got!"

To these second-division players, the members of Team KL—a legendary, top-tier first-division team—were like dazzling gods. They wanted to learn from them! They wanted to follow in their footsteps!

But Tae-hyun's companions only stared back at the newcomers with profound pity and bewilderment.

"Uh... were they taken hostage?"

"Did their management threaten to kick them off the team if they didn't show up?"

"Why on earth would anyone willingly come here?"

No matter how hard they racked their brains, they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠couldn't comprehend why anyone would volunteer for this!

"They wanted to train, so I told them they could tag along," Tae-hyun explained casually.

"..."

"..."

The rest of Team KL wore expressions of profound, unspeakable complexity. Seeing those faces, the LK Galaxy players began to sweat. Why... why were they looking at them like that?

"Is... is it because you don't want to train with us?" one of the rookies stammered.

There were rumors that Cain was actually a selfish, mean-spirited jerk in real life. Was it actually true...?

"Ah, no! Not at all! You're more than welcome!"

"Yeah, absolutely. The more the merrier for us... though you guys are absolutely screw—"

"Uh-uh. Shh!"

The veterans quickly hushed each other. Cain waved all six of his arms in a grand gesture of welcome.

"Let's all give it our best!"

"Just remember, there's no quitting halfway through. You guys won't give up on us, right?" Choi Sang-yun asked.

The LK Galaxy players scoffed at the very idea.

"We might be a bit lacking in raw skill, but our grit and determination are second to none."

"You can bet your lives on that!"

"..."

Team KL smiled warmly. Watching them, Lee Da-bi sighed. Wait, why do their smiles look exactly like the one Tae-hyun makes when he's about to scam someone...?

"Why did they suddenly go completely silent? It's kind of creepy."

"Do you think they're going to snap and try to murder us?"

Tae-hyun's companions whispered anxiously among themselves. The LK Galaxy players, who had been so bright, cheerful, and talkative at first, had suddenly fallen dead silent. It was terrifying!

Regardless of their terror, Tae-hyun was pulling and slaughtering monsters like a man possessed.

"Surround them!"

"There are barely twenty of us! How the hell are we supposed to surround a horde of this size?!"

"Compensate with pure skill! Go, Cain! Block the flank! Don't let a single one through!"

"@#$%&!"

Cain sobbed as he charged forward. There were easily several hundred monsters rushing toward them, and he was being told to surround them alone? Was this a joke?! But as always, Cain did what he was told. He expanded his physical form as much as possible, flailing his six arms, and began spamming his skills to draw the aggro of every single monster in sight.

"Hey! You ugly, brainless freaks! Don't you dare ignore me! Bring it on!" Cain roared.

If nothing else, Cain possessed an absolute, god-given talent for infuriating others. Combined with his flawless skill execution, the entire horde's aggro instantly locked onto him.

"Huuup!"

Cain braced his shield with all his might, his vision swimming. No matter how high his stats and level were, having hundreds of monsters trample over him at once was a terrifying experience.

"W-Whoa, incredible!"

The half-dead LK Galaxy players' eyes snapped wide open at the sight. The mechanical control was one thing, but the sheer, unyielding confidence was awe-inspiring. Was this the mindset of a world-class player? The absolute certainty that he wouldn't die even if he threw himself into the jaws of death...?

"Argh! Kim Tae-hyun! Save me! *cough, splat, gurgle*!"

"Welearnedalottodaywefinallyfixedourhabitofhesitatingwhenchainingskills!"

"Wewillneverforgettoday'slessonsforaslongaswelive!"

The LK Galaxy players rattled off their words in a single, breathless gasp. It was as if they feared that taking a single breath would give Tae-hyun the chance to drag them back into the meat grinder!

Tae-hyun clicked his tongue in disappointment. "Oh, what a shame. I feel like I barely taught you anything. Why don't we do one more round? To completely iron out those bad habits and clean up your playstyles..."

"Go Kim Tae-hyun! Go Team KL! We're rooting for you!"

*Scurry!*

The players bolted, sprinting away without a single backward glance. One player tripped and fell, but instead of wasting time standing up, he scrambled away on all fours like a panicked crab.

The remaining members of Team KL watched their retreating figures with profound, burning envy. Must be nice... Once you guys log out of your capsules, you don't have to deal with Kim Tae-hyun anymore! We still have to face him in real life!

The system notifications suddenly flashed before their eyes in the middle of their frantic slaughter. Having hunted like absolute lunatics, it was only natural that Team KL received an astronomical amount of experience points. As the golden light of leveling up enveloped them, cheers of pure joy erupted from the party.

...Except for Tae-hyun!

"I leveled up! Whoa, that was seriously crazy—I mean, all that hard work really paid off! Tae-hyun, how many levels did you gain?" Cain asked excitedly.

"Zero."

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere instantly plunged into a freezing, awkward silence.

Tae-hyun offered a gentle, serene smile. "Don't worry about me. I didn't hunt to level up anyway. My goal was to grind skill experience and work on our team coordination. Besides, I had to manage the kingdom's affairs simultaneously."

"Whoa! I leveled up again! I got a solo bonus for holding the line on my own—"

"Shut your mouth, you brainless idiot!"

Choi Sang-yun delivered a swift, brutal slap to the back of Cain's head. This absolute moron couldn't read a room to save his life! If Tae-hyun suddenly said, 'Alright, let's keep hunting until I level up too,' they would be trapped in this digital hell until they literally died of exhaustion.

"Relax, guys," Tae-hyun said, chuckling. "I have my own quests to take care of, so I don't plan on spending all my time mindlessly grinding monsters. Now that the wave is over, the kingdom's situation should stabilize, which means we can finally go clear our own quests."

"Phew..."

"Thank goodness. Sunbae has finally returned to sanity."

"I was seriously contemplating backstabbing you from behind just to make it stop," someone muttered.

"..."

"..."

The party's expressions instantly turned grim. Hey! Are you kidding me right now?! Adding boss monsters on top of this endless grind? They were already on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion!

"...!!"

"W-We're saved!"

The party cried out in unison. To think their grueling, sweat-and-blood labor would pay off in such a spectacular way! Honestly, this news brought them infinitely more joy than their recent level ups.

"Sniff... sob... waaaah..."

"Cain, are you seriously crying?"

"I-I'm not crying! I just got some digital dust in my eyes, okay?!"

Well, that wasn't exactly my intention, but sure... Tae-hyun thought.

Still, the fact that some of the monsters would evolve into bosses was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠serious threat. Regions where players had slacked off on hunting would now be facing absolute catastrophes. Thanks to Tae-hyun's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠relentless, slave-driving grind, the Atali Kingdom had unknowingly executed a flawless preemptive defense.

"Hmm. It's a relief, but also a bit of a shame," Tae-hyun murmured. "This was actually a golden opportunity to grind our skill masteries..."

At those words, Cain let out a bloodcurdling, inhuman shriek. For a split second, Tae-hyun wondered if he had accidentally summoned one of Archisus's wild Chimeras. Wow, the resemblance in their desperate wails is uncanny.

"I didn't say we were actually going to keep doing it, Cain. Calm down."

"???"

A flurry of unexpected notifications flashed before him. Tae-hyun's expression turned sour at the news that envoys from these orthodox churches—with whom he had frosty relations and zero recent contact—had suddenly arrived. What do they want? It was always deeply suspicious when people who disliked you suddenly showed up on your doorstep.

"...!!!"

Tae-hyun's eyes widened to the size of saucers. Wait, don't tell me...?!