The Art of the Bait

"Ah, where do I use this? This is hard. Should I ask Kim Tae-hyun? No. I should probably figure this out on my own..."

Lately, Tae-hyun was getting stricter. Even if they managed to break through the first season with Tae-hyun's power, there was no guarantee they could do the same in the next. The team members had to be capable of fighting on their own! If he couldn't even figure this out and had to ask, he would definitely get chewed out.

"Ugh... Run away... Draw aggro and run? Run away, then use the chain? Ah, this is tough, sheesh..."

While Cain muttered and agonized, a bloody battle was raging behind him.

"Aaargh! Dammit! Cain, you bastard! Aren't you coming back?!"

"Just you wait, I'll get you for this!"

Unlike Cain, who was leisurely looking at his skills and contemplating, the guild members were dying!

Even though the guild members here were high-level players, just a step below rankers, the fight was grueling. This was due to the effect of the Plague Wasteland!

Since monsters received buffs and players received debuffs, the battle was incredibly fierce.

"Wow. That's no joke."

Tae-hyun was monitoring from a distance. At his level, he could guess what debuffs they were suffering from just by watching them flail around.

If they lost their direction and scrambled around, they were confused. If they suddenly stopped, they were stunned...

Their equipment looks rusted. Does it eat away at durability too? Terrifying.

"I'm back! *Pant, pant.*"

Clap, clap, clap, clap—

Tae-hyun and the others applauded Cain. This was truly a job well done!

"Cain! Well done!"

"Indeed!"

"I didn't understand why an Archisus's Slave was a tank, but now I see! You draw aggro incredibly well!"

Even the Sadiq priests admired him. Just as even a worm has its talents, an Archisus's Slave certainly had a knack for pissing people off. Truly worthy of the class!

Meanwhile, the guild members' battle was reaching its climax.

"This is bad! We're going to die at this rate. Don't hold back, pour all your skills on them! Don't save them just because the cooldown is long!"

"Can we use Epic-grade items too?!"

"Use them! Forget Rare-grade, you can use Epic-grade too!"

Though they weren't as extreme as Tae-hyun, players of high-level and above always kept a few trump cards up their sleeves. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Plus, they had scrolls and various potions ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠provided by the guild. Normally they wouldn't use them, but right now, they were in actual danger.

"Dammit!!"

They had won, but they weren't happy at all! The more they killed, the stronger the remaining enemies became, and the more penalties they received. Because they had fought together so nicely, they got to share the penalties just as nicely!

"My, everyone's fighting so well."

"……."

"……."

Glares filled with murderous intent poured over him for the first time in a long while! Tae-hyun approached ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them, completely unbothered.

It's been a while since I've been looked at like that.

Lately, Tae-hyun had been doing so well that no one dared to glare at him. If they did, they might end up dead! But the guild members, who had just stared death in the face, didn't care about that and growled as they glared at him.

"Kim Tae-hyun, you bastard... What the hell are you doing?"

"You did this to screw us over, didn't you?! Don't you dare make excuses that Cain did this on his own!"

The guild members swore they wouldn't fall for whatever excuse Tae-hyun came up with.

However, their expectations were entirely wrong. Tae-hyun didn't make an excuse at all.

"Make your choice."

"...?"

"Whether you want to clear the Plague Wasteland with me, or try fighting on your own again."

"What kind of crazy...?"

"Look at this bastard showing his true colors!"

How could someone be like this...?!

Seeing the attitude he used to show back in Pan-On 1, the guild members were utterly appalled.

"You jerk, aren't you even thinking about your fans? Your fans are watching!"

"I'll take care of my fans, so you guys just worry about yourselves."

Tae-hyun's fans wouldn't be shaken by something like this. They had already seen all his plays in Pan-On 1; why would they care now?

If anything, they'd react with things like: "As expected of Kim Tae-hyun!", "Wow, Captain Kim Tae-hyun completely turned the Guild Alliance upside down!"

Tae-hyun urged them even more shamelessly.

"Hurry up and choose. I don't have time to wait."

"Of course we ref—"

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

"……."

"……."

The sound of a beast approaching echoed from afar.

Come to think of it, Cain had disappeared again.

The guild members looked at Tae-hyun and asked in trembling voices.

"No way..."

"It's not what I think, right, Kim Tae-hyun? Don't tell me you pulled another monster in that short time..."

"Hurry up and choose. Five, four, three, two..."

"We'll do it! We'll do it, okay?!"

"You absolute son of a bitch!"

"Kim Tae-hyun. You need to know one thing. We are not on good terms."

"Hmph. That's my line. Kim Tae-hyun, I'd rather die than play in a party with that guy."

"Is that so?"

Tae-hyun immediately drew his sword.

Looking as if he was about to strike them down right then and there, Liu Song shrieked in terror.

"What are you doing?!"

"Didn't you just ask me to kill you?"

"No! I meant I didn't want to! Why are you twisting my words?!"

"My bad. I thought you were literally asking to be killed."

Liu Song panted, his heart pounding wildly. What a lunatic...!

"We're asking you to let us move separately! Don't force us into party play together!"

"Yeah!"

I think these guys are misunderstanding something...

The guild members were under a massive delusion. They thought that under the brilliant command of Kim Tae-hyun, they would coordinate perfectly and execute an ideal party play!

- McPhil! Draw the aggro! Yes! Just like that! Excellent! You're better than Cain! You could easily play for Team KL!

- Liu Song! Freeze the monster! Well done! You're the best among all the mages!

Since they had their own skills and their guild members with them, it wasn't unreasonable for them to dream such a dream.

But...

I have no intention of doing that, though.

What Tae-hyun wanted was bait.

In the first place, killing a lot of monsters in the Plague Wasteland brought no benefits. He just needed bait to hold out while he and the Sadiq Church captured a beast and persuaded it! That was more than enough.

But if I tell them that, they'll get mad.

"Fine. Since you want to move separately, I'll grant your wish."

"As expected of Kim Tae-hyun. I knew you'd understand."

"Of course!"

Tae-hyun searched for a suitable beast. It was a beast called the Plague Wyvern.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a beast originally from the Sadiq Church or any other orthodox church...

Whatever. Since it doesn't belong to anyone, it'll be even easier to steal.

"So, we just need to capture that guy and do our best to 'persuade' it with Sadiq's Flame, right?"

"However, there is one problem, Your Holiness."

"?"

Tae-hyun was puzzled by the Sadiq priests' words. They talked earlier as if everything was perfectly fine, and now they're bringing up a problem?

"Well... in the case of beasts originally from the Sadiq Church, they revere Lord Sadiq deep in their hearts. So no matter what state they are in, once they are purified by Sadiq's Flame, they regain their senses."

- This is the first time I'm hearing of this??

Heuk-heuk stared at them as if they were talking utter nonsense. I don't recall anything like that?

Although Sadiq's divine beast said so, the Sadiq priests pretended not to hear. That guy was a dragon who had been tainted by Archisus!

"But if it's a beast that Lord Sadiq didn't personally care for, even if we purify it of the plague, well..."

"...It just becomes a wild beast?"

"Yes!"

"……."

Even if it was freed from the plague, a wild beast was still a monster! The moment it saw the people in front of it, it would think, Oh, food! and pounce.

"Why are you only telling me this now?"

"Well... if possible, we wanted to go our entire lives without mentioning it, but... uh..."

"...Then once the beast snaps out of it, we have to tame it using the Taming skill."

"……."

"……."

Tae-hyun's group fell into a collective silence. Very few players specialized in leveling up the Taming skill.

"I don't even have the skill."

"Me neither..."

"I'm at Intermediate Level 6."

"I'm at Intermediate Level 2..."

"Hmm. That's going to be impossible."

Given the beast's level, trying to do anything with an Intermediate Taming skill was a fool's errand. People who tamed monsters to sell as pets had entire classes dedicated to that profession.

And it wasn't done with just the skill alone. They had to persuade, coax, lure, use items, and do all sorts of things to set up the perfect conditions!

"What if we attack the beast as much as possible to lower its HP, raise its Terror stat, and then try Taming after stacking all those conditions?"

"I don't know if that'll work. Even if we get a buff from my Luck stat... Well, let's give it a shot first. If it fails, there are plenty of other beasts."

Having made his decision, Tae-hyun called the guild members over and gave his orders.

"Wh-What?"

"Wait... Kim Tae-hyun?"

"What? You said you wanted to move separately."

"No, I mean... that's..."

The guild members were flustered. His order wasn't for them to fight in a cool, orderly rotation...

It was: "While the Sadiq Church and I set that thing on fire to purify it, you guys run around to draw its attention and buy us some time. Don't fight it."

This was just...

Bait, wasn't it?!

- Aren't we just bait?

- Shh. The party leader will get mad if he hears you. Even if you think that, just keep quiet and bear it.

"I let you move separately. Do you have a complaint?"

Tae-hyun asked, drawing his sword. There wasn't even a monster nearby yet, but his sword was already out! For some reason, the rest of his party members were also holding their weapons.

Intimidated by the overwhelming pressure, the guild members flinched.

"N-No. We were just asking to make sure we understood correctly. No complaints at all."

"Right? For a second, I thought you guys had some strange grievance. Now, get in there. I'll approach while you draw its attention."

"Okay..."

Before they knew it, the guild members were pushed forward.

A bait role—something they had never done back in their guilds! They were used to comfortably eating up whatever low-level guild members herded toward them. Now that they had to do it themselves, they felt incredibly bitter.

Why do we have to play the bait...

I should never make others do this in the future.

"Run!"

"Wait, let us prepare ourselves mentally—"

Of course, no such time was given.

Tae-hyun gave a look.

At his signal, Cain grabbed the guild members and threw them forward.

"Aaaargh! You lunatic! I said we needed to prepare! Prepare!"

"Draw the aggro!"

Swoosh!

The Wyvern hunted its prey by flying high and then suddenly diving. If you got caught when it descended, you'd be carried away!

The guild members scattered in all directions, looking miserable.

"Watch out! It's targeting you!"

"Aaargh! It's coming!"

"It's targeting the party leader!"

"You bastard! Take this!"

Still, since their levels were high, the guild members dodged quite well.

Seeing this, Tae-hyun and the Sadiq priests made their move.

"Let's go, Cain! Throw the chain!"

- Slave's Chain!

Clang!

The diving Wyvern was dragged down by the sudden attack.

"Pin it down with raw strength! We have to hold out until we can use Sadiq's skill!"

- Screeech! Screeech!

The entire group pounced and began to pin the Wyvern down.

A battle of raw Strength stats!!

Tae-hyun had already prepared his buffs for this moment.

"Your Holiness! Set it on fire!"

"What? Me?"

Tae-hyun froze. Carbanog was also taken aback.