Digging Through the Desert

'Well, if they try to run, I'll just catch them.' Tae-hyun didn't care much. It didn't matter if he took a slight penalty to his leadership. After all, his Tactics skill was at the absolute peak—the Master rank. At this level, he could command with his eyes closed and ears plugged and still do a better job than any other player. No one else in the game had raised their Tactics skill this high! It would have been nice to bring other subordinates, but the desert below imposed far too many penalties. Heat, thirst, hunger—there were too many factors to manage. Things players never had to worry about in normal areas of Pan-On were suddenly crashing down on them. It was much better to bring the undead.

'I can probably manage to look after Lee Da-bi. Any more than that, and it'll become a massive headache...'

While Tae-hyun was busy bullying the undead army to assert his dominance, Lee Se-yeon's guild members watched him, whispering among themselves.

"That's Kim Tae-hyun, right?"

"Looks like it."

"...But why is he doing that?"

Those were definitely the undead summoned by Lee Se-yeon, so why was he tormenting them? Was he venting his anger?

"If anyone's venting, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shouldn't our Guild Master be doing it to Kim Tae-hyun? Why is he the one taking it out on them?"

"True, true."

Tae-hyun was the one who took first place, not Lee Se-yeon. If anyone had a right to throw a tantrum, it was her!

"Anyway, let's go talk to him."

"Sure."

"..."

"..."

"Why aren't you moving?"

"...Why aren't you moving, senior?"

"..."

A heavy silence fell over them. Everyone was thinking the exact same thing.

'I don't want to go first!'

'To be honest, Kim Tae-hyun is terrifying...!'

As members of Lee Se-yeon's elite, small-scale guild, most of them had been playing since the days of Pan-On 1. And players from that era generally feared Tae-hyun, respected him, or felt a potent mix of both. Her guild members were no exception! Watching Tae-hyun spam holy skills on the undead felt like a subtle, unspoken Threaten.

"Well, we still have to go..."

One by one, they trudged forward with resigned expressions. From behind, they looked less like allies and more like a raid group marching to face a world boss.

"Ahem. Excuse me, Mr. Kim Tae-hyun?"

"?"

Tae-hyun turned his head. Lee Se-yeon's guild members were waiting behind him, standing in an incredibly polite, almost submissive posture.

'What's with them?'

Tae-hyun was baffled by their rigid, tense demeanor, which made them look like nervous new recruits on their first day of work. Why are they acting like this?

"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you... I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠look forward to working with you. We'll be doing a lot of things together while exploring the desert."

The guild members were shocked by Tae-hyun's surprisingly normal greeting. What?! Kim Tae-hyun is speaking like a civilized human being! He said he looks forward to working with us!

"W-we look forward to working with you too."

"Let's put the past behind us and do our best!"

"We used to talk a lot of trash about you, but it wasn't personal! It was just because we were rivals, so we couldn't help it...!"

"???"

Tae-hyun paused, catching the slip of the tongue.

"You talked trash about me?"

"..."

The guild members glared intensely at the tactless idiot who had blurted that out. Realizing his mistake, the offender immediately slammed the emergency exit button.

How terrifying must Tae-hyun be for someone to rage-quit the game out of sheer fear! The guild members understood completely, but Tae-hyun was just dumbfounded.

"I was just asking a question. Why did he log out...?"

Regardless, while players gradually gathered at the fortress, a vanguard party was formed to scout the desert. It consisted of Tae-hyun, Lee Se-yeon's guild members, and the undead army!

"Right now, the biggest issue is that there are absolutely no roads in the desert. We have to find a path or pave one ourselves."

"Secure a path. Next?" Tae-hyun asked.

"And there are no towns. We need at least a small outpost to rest..."

"Build a town. Next?"

"There's nowhere to get drinking water."

"Nowhere to get food, either..."

"The heat makes food spoil incredibly fast..."

"Just walking around drains your HP and stamina..."

"You practically can't wear metal armor. The penalty multiplier is insane."

The players who had ventured in earlier rattled off dozens of complaints. It was truly an extreme zone! Looking closely, the guild members had fully geared up for the desert. Instead of heavy metal armor, they wore cloth and leather. They didn't even draw their metal weapons unless they absolutely had to fight. Hearing this, Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi took off their Adamantium Armor. If their HP was going to constantly tick down anyway, it was better to strip. Tae-hyun was the one who suffered the least from losing armor anyway. He was a player who survived on evasion, not tanking hits. As for Lee Da-bi, before she put on the Adamantium Armor, she had always worn cloth gear befitting her merchant and priest classes!

"This should do, right?" Tae-hyun asked.

"I think you need a few more layers to block out the sun..."

"You should wear a thicker cloak too."

Despite his adjustments, the guild members still looked worried. That was how brutal the desert was.

"We'll have to move a bit, rest, move a bit, rest..."

"Alright, alright. I'll deal with it as we go, so calm down."

Tae-hyun pacified the anxious guild members. At this rate, they'd be exhausted before they even set foot in the sand!

"Are other players not coming?"

"Huh? No, of course they won't..."

"What kind of lunatic would willingly come to the desert?"

The guild members reacted pessimistically. They had only volunteered out of loyalty to Lee Se-yeon, but other high-level players had no such motivation. Why would they go down to the desert when they could just hunt nearby?

"Ah! Were you planning to use the name 'Kim Tae-hyun' to bait other rankers here?"

"Oh...! That's actually a great idea!"

The guild members gasped in admiration. What a brilliant scheme! But Tae-hyun hadn't even considered it.

"No, I didn't think of that. People aren't stupid. Why would they come just because I said a few words?"

'They definitely would...'

'They would absolutely flock here.'

"Besides, this place isn't easy. It's wrong to drag people in blindly. We should explain the risks properly first. Even if I do call people, I only want those who are fully prepared."

"But... do those people even exist?"

"Hmm."

Tae-hyun hesitated for a moment.

"I heard the Power Warrior Guild members have been throwing themselves at this area repeatedly. Can I bring them along?"

"..."

"...D-do as you wish...?"

The guild members screamed Why on earth?! in their minds, but they wisely kept their mouths shut. Because Kim Tae-hyun said so!

'He must have a deeper motive...'

'Or maybe the Power Warrior Guild has some dirt on him...'

'Either way, he's terrifying, so let's just stay quiet.'

The explorers from the Power Warrior Guild were far more bizarre than anyone could have anticipated.

"...Uh... well... they certainly have... unique personalities."

"They look very... experienced and seasoned..."

Unable to watch the awkward struggle, Lee Da-bi spoke up on their behalf.

"You can just speak frankly, you know."

The Power Warrior members were wrapped in strangely shaped leather hides, holding wooden pickaxes in their hands. They wore absolutely no other equipment!

'They look like beggars.'

'They look like people who sold all their gear, quit the game, and just logged back in...'

"Did you call for us!"

"Uh... yeah, I did."

Even Tae-hyun was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Can I ask why you're dressed like that?"

"Ah, this? This is Red Desert Lizard leather we sourced. It's the absolute best for surviving the desert. It absorbs the surrounding heat, keeping us much cooler!"

"And this pickaxe is made of white ironwood. It's more durable than most metal pickaxes, so it's great."

"What about weapons? Or bags?"

"If we run into monsters in the desert, we run away! Why would we fight them? And carrying a bag just increases our weight penalty, so we don't bother."

Normally, people entering the desert packed their bags to the brim with food and water. However, after countless trials and errors, the Power Warrior explorers had reached a different conclusion:

The lighter the load, the better!

In the desert, even a tiny bit of extra weight triggered a cascade of penalties.

No matter how much food and water they brought, it would spoil in no time under the desert sun. It was better to just leave it all behind.

Dumbfounded, Lee Se-yeon's guild members asked, "Then how do you survive without eating?"

"We eat as much as we can before entering, then just hold out."

"Besides, there's occasionally food in the desert. If you dig around in the sand, you can find stuff."

"Exactly. If you mix a bit of water with sand and eat it, it fills you right up. Of course, you take some damage, but that's just the price of survival..."

"..."

"..."

Lee Se-yeon's guild members were utterly horrified. What kind of lunatics are these guys?! This was a level of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unhinged gameplay that no self-respecting ranker would ever attempt. Even if it was just a game, eating dirt to survive was pure madness.

Tae-hyun listened with genuine interest before asking one last question.

"But why are you only wearing the Red Desert Lizard leather? Is there a reason you aren't wearing any cloth gear underneath?"

"Ah..."

"Well..."

"We sold all our other gear to afford this leather."

They answered with absolute pride! Lee Da-bi looked away, dying of embarrassment.

Dozens of system messages popped up to welcome them. They all boiled down to the same basic warning:

This is an incredibly hot and grueling place, and moving fast will make it even hotter and more grueling!

"?"

"What are you planning to do?"

When Tae-hyun stopped in his tracks, the guild members asked in confusion.

"I'm thinking of digging a hole and going underground..."

"No! That's too dangerous!" the guild members shrieked in horror.

First-timers often had the same bright idea: Hey, if it's this hot on the surface, can't we just dig a hole, go underground, and wait it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out?

But that was a trap. The moment you started digging, your HP and stamina would drain at an astronomical rate, not to mention the various debuffs you'd trigger. You'd collapse before you even finished digging!

Since this was Tae-hyun's first time in the desert, he had no idea how quickly it could sap a player's life force.

"Hmm. Let's give it a try first. If it doesn't work, I'll stop. Cold Curse, Flame Regeneration..."

Tae-hyun activated Cold Curse. He would take some damage, but he could afford that right now. Then, he activated Flame Regeneration, an authority of Sadiq! His plan was to absorb the blazing heat of the desert to heal himself.

Slash! Dig! Dig!

"We'll help too!"

The Power Warrior explorers rushed forward, brandishing their pickaxes. Although they carried pickaxes, they had never used them to dig tunnels before—they were meant for mining exposed ores or rocks. But since Tae-hyun was doing it, they couldn't just stand by and watch. They had to contribute.

"Cold magic won't do much good here—"

"???"

Wait, what...?

The guild members couldn't see it, but Tae-hyun was actually recovering health.

"Undead. Cling to each other and build a tower."

...??

Though utterly bewildered, the undead obeyed Tae-hyun's command. The skeleton warriors, who were the most numerous, clattered together and quickly formed a structure. A tower of bones! It looked incredibly macabre, but it successfully blocked out the blazing sun.

Everyone was left speechless by his bizarre utilization of the undead. No way... Seriously?!

Before they knew it, Tae-hyun had dug so deep that he was completely out of sight. Amazingly, he hadn't collapsed, nor had his HP run out.

"Come on down! The path is ready!"

"...!!!"

The guild members stood frozen, their jaws dropping. Once again, they were reminded of a fundamental truth.

Right... that's Kim Tae-hyun for you...!