A Taste of Unwanted Fortune

"You know, that chefs' guild that's close with the Guild Alliance," Lee Da-bi said.

"?"

"The guild that Tae-hyun-nim kicked out by lacing poison in their food."

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"Ah!"

"?"

"???"

"?????"

Lee Se-yeon, Ryu Tae-su, and Ryu Da-young, who were standing behind them, looked utterly dumbfounded. He laced what with what?

"So they're still playing Pan-On," Tae-hyun remarked.

"They're a pretty successful guild, so they probably haven't quit yet."

"I should go say hello."

"Ah. I don't think that's a very good idea..."

Lee Da-bi panicked. Even if Tae-hyun meant it as a friendly greeting, there was no way the other side would take it well. They would almost certainly interpret it as a declaration of war!

Chao huffed and puffed, glaring at the rankers. He had paid a fortune in gold to hire them, but they were performing far worse than expected.

"You couldn't even catch a single beast?!"

"We told you! That thing has way more skills than we thought, and it's incredibly strong. You should be grateful we kept you alive..."

"Gr-grateful? If you're getting paid top dollar, you should deliver! The damn thing ran away, so who knows when it'll show up again!"

"If we wait, it'll show up eventually!"

The rankers snapped back in irritation. This is why crafting classes are the worst! If they were so good at running their mouths, they should fight themselves instead of whining from the back. It was infuriating.

"Ch-Chao-nim, please calm down."

"Indeed. Have some of this..."

The other members of the Restaurant Guild stepped in to soothe Chao, handing him a drink. Sipping on the expensive green tea, Chao finally managed to calm his nerves.

"Are you the only ones allowed to eat?" one of the rankers grumbled.

"Buy it with your own money!" Chao snapped.

"Unbelievable, how petty..."

The rankers muttered under their breath. It was true they had let Goladon slip away, but it wasn't because they had made a mistake or let their guard down. The monster was simply stronger and possessed far more skills than anticipated. In a situation like that, even rankers had their limits. The smart move was to fall back, bide their time, and try again.

Yet the Guildmaster of the Restaurant Guild was throwing a tantrum, screaming, "It's because you slackers let your guard down! You incompetent fools!"

—This guy is so obnoxious. Should we just leave?

—We already took his gold, so we should at least do our best. It'll be a pain if he writes a post on the Incident Board.

—Ugh...

The rankers did have some semblance of a conscience. If it had been Tae-hyun, he would have slaughtered them all while saying, "Let me teach you whether I'm incompetent or not by PK'ing you," but these rankers were still decent souls who cared about public opinion on the forums.

"That skill Goladon used was pretty unusual, wasn't it?"

"It cleansed all its debuffs and temporarily disabled our skills. It was a total cheat skill."

"We'll have to watch out for that. Keep some distance..."

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Thud—

Meanwhile, Tae-hyun's party landed on the ground. The rankers looked up, bewildered. Huh? They look familiar...

"Long time no see, Restaurant Guildmaster... uh... hmm..."

Tae-hyun hesitated mid-sentence. Lee Da-bi quickly whispered from behind him.

"Chao."

"Chao-sir."

"Drop the 'sir'."

"Ah. Chao."

"...*Pfft!*"

Chao, who was sipping his tea, spat it out. At first, he wondered who it was, but seeing that distinct dragon and his gear... It was Kim Tae-hyun!!

"K-Kim Tae-hyun!"

"Yeah. How've you been? Are those players behind you rankers from the Guild Alliance?"

"What are you talking about?!"

"Absolutely not!"

The rankers bristled. Who are you calling Guild Alliance?!

"Wait, are you really Kim Tae-hyun?"

"Is there a fake Kim Tae-hyun? Yes, I'm Kim Tae-hyun."

"Whoa... ohhh...!"

"He says he's the real Kim Tae-hyun!"

The rankers whispered among themselves. They knew he played in the Atali Kingdom, but they never expected to actually run into Kim Tae-hyun!

"C-can we take a picture together?"

"Well, I don't mind..."

"Hey! Record a video of me!"

"Me too! Me too!"

Before Tae-hyun could even finish his sentence, the rankers rushed over and struck poses beside him. They were acting exactly like starstruck fans!

"I'm Lee Myung-soo, this is Duncan, and that guy over there is NoHeals."

"The last guy probably shouldn't be a Priest."

Chao was furious to see the rankers ignoring the hunt and crowding around Tae-hyun instead.

"What do you think you're doing?! We don't have time for this, we need to chase it!"

"Ah, just wait a second."

"We have to enjoy life's little moments."

The rankers remained completely unfazed by Chao's rage. Surely this was a basic human right! Even if he posted about this on the Incident Board, people would understand.

"So you guys really aren't with the Guild Alliance?" Tae-hyun asked.

"Of course not! Please don't insult us like that!"

The rankers shuddered in disgust. Guild Alliance?! Seeing their reaction, Chao felt a surge of indignation.

"Hey, what's so bad about being mistaken for the Guild Alliance?"

"Shut up. I heard even the rankers inside the Guild Alliance are embarrassed to admit they're in it."

"Exactly. Who's uncool enough to belong to the Guild Alliance these days? The trend now is to fly solo, just like Kim Tae-hyun-nim here."

"...?"

"???"

Tae-hyun, Lee Se-yeon, Lee Da-bi, and the rest of the party were utterly dumbfounded!

"That... was a trend?" Tae-hyun muttered.

"This is news to me," Lee Se-yeon said.

"I'm hearing this for the first time too," Lee Da-bi added.

Among the rising rankers, massive coalitions like the Guild Alliance were considered outdated relics. Instead of joining such places just to act high and mighty, it was much better to manage your own brand and build a reputation as an elite player. It was far better for one's image!

"What do you mean Kim Tae-hyun has a good image?! Have you all collectively swallowed poison?!"

Chao roared in fury. He held a massive grudge against Tae-hyun. Even if the entire world became Tae-hyun's fan, Chao would be the lone hater writing malicious comments!

Watching from behind, Ryu Da-young drew her weapon and suddenly began channeling a skill. Ryu Tae-su stopped her in a panic.

"What are you doing, sister?!"

"...He's insulting him. Are we not fighting?"

Ryu Da-young spoke bluntly, looking genuinely confused. Her words struck Ryu Tae-su like a bolt of lightning. Wait, she's right.

"...You make a good point!"

"What do you mean a good point?! Stop her, you idiot!" Lee Se-yeon scolded them, exasperated. Why on earth were they trying to start a fight when there was absolutely no reason to?

The moment Tae-hyun's party drew their weapons, Chao snapped back to reality. He had let his anger get the better of him, but running his mouth in front of Tae-hyun was a one-way ticket to disaster.

"O-of course, Kim Tae-hyun is very popular."

"Why the sudden change of heart? Did you swallow poison?"

Chao bristled at Tae-hyun's sarcasm. This bastard, seriously...

"Y-you guys. I paid you gold, so you'll protect me if Kim Tae-hyun attacks, right?"

"What kind of nonsense is that?"

"Did you lose your mind? We agreed to help you catch Goladon, not fight Kim Tae-hyun."

"......."

The rankers replied instantly, without a single second of hesitation. Chao gnashed his teeth. You disloyal scoundrels...!

"G-Guildmaster. Now is not the time to act tough."

"Let's just apologize to Kim Tae-hyun."

"...I'm sorry, Kim Tae-hyun. I was in the wrong."

"I have no idea what you're apologizing for, but since you are, I'll accept it. I'm thirsty and hungry, so bring out some food and drinks."

"...???"

Chao's hands moved on autopilot, retrieving food from his inventory, utterly dazed by how naturally and smoothly Tae-hyun had just extorted him.

"Is Goladon really that strong?" Tae-hyun asked.

"It's insane. It's no ordinary demon."

As they spoke, the rankers suddenly realized something was off.

"...W-wait, aren't you Lee Se-yeon?"

"And that's Ryu Tae-su... and Lee Da-bi... gasp, is this the Korean National Team?!"

"It must be the national team!"

The rankers were quick-witted. There was only one reason players of this caliber would be traveling together: they were the National Representatives!

Representatives from other countries also formed parties and traveled together. It was great for promotional videos, but most importantly, it built team synergy.

Tae-hyun nodded as he sipped the tea served by the Restaurant Guild members.

"Hmm. The aroma is quite nice."

"Th-thank you."

"But there is a major problem with this tea."

"I-I'm sorry?"

"The problem is that I'm only getting to drink it now."

"Th-thank you."

"Because if I had drunk this earlier, your skills..."

"Stop it already," Lee Se-yeon said, slapping the back of Tae-hyun's hand. Why was he playing around when they just needed to gather information?

"But this is the fun part... Anyway, why are you guys traveling together?"

"For gold, obviously."

Currently, the Restaurant Guild was no longer allied with the Guild Alliance. They were practically strangers now! When the Guild Alliance became too busy with their own affairs to offer any real support, a disgruntled Chao had broken away. As a result, he had to pay out of pocket to hire rankers.

"Wow. So that's the story."

Hearing about someone else's misfortune was always entertaining. On top of that, the refreshments served alongside the gossip were highly effective. Since they were made with top-tier ingredients by master chefs, they were bound to be exceptional.

Ptooey! Tae-hyun spat out the cookie with a grimace, but his Luck had already increased.

"Who made this?" Tae-hyun demanded.

"I-I did..." Chao stammered.

"This bastard dares..."

"What? Did he poison it?!" Lee Se-yeon flared up at Tae-hyun's reaction. She immediately pointed her staff at Chao.

"I-I didn't! Why on earth would I poison it?! I value my life too!"

"Hah. You probably thought taking Kim Tae-hyun down with you would be worth the sacrifice."

"No! Why would I do that?! I'm not Su Ning! Believe me!"

Lee Se-yeon sneered coldly, completely ignoring his pleas. Seeing her like this, Lee Da-bi felt a shiver run down her spine and whispered, "Se-yeon-ssi is really terrifying when she's angry."

"She's always been like that," Tae-hyun replied.

Hearing their exchange, a Restaurant Guild member thought to himself: Isn't the guy standing right next to you way scarier? No matter how they looked at it, Kim Tae-hyun was far more terrifying than Lee Se-yeon...

"Tae-hyun, are you okay? Is it poison?" Lee Se-yeon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠asked.

"It's not poison. My Luck stat went up."

"Ah, I see. ...Wait, what?" Lee Se-yeon doubted her ears for a second. What did he just say?

"It's not the stat I wanted."

"S-see! I told you I didn't poison it! Why didn't you believe me?! Just because you're rankers doesn't mean you can do whatever you want!!" Chao grew bold and barked back at Lee Se-yeon.

But Chao was still making a grave mistake. He had forgotten that while her reputation was often overshadowed by Kim Tae-hyun, Lee Se-yeon had been an incredibly ruthless and terrifying player back in Pan-On 1.

"It's your fault for acting suspicious enough to cause a misunderstanding. Where do you get off running your mouth? Keep quiet, or I'll log you out of the game permanently."

"......."

What is she, another Kim Tae-hyun...? Chao cursed Lee Se-yeon in his mind. Her shamelessness was on par with Tae-hyun's.

"Exactly. That's why you should have served us with sincerity instead of lacing your food with weird things in the past," Tae-hyun chimed in.

Look who's talking! Chao's blood boiled even more. Sure, the Restaurant Guild had pulled plenty of underhanded tricks... but they were nothing compared to him!

"Anyway, since you're not with the Guild Alliance anymore, and you're only doing this for gold... can we hire you guys to help us hunt Goladon?" Tae-hyun asked the rankers.

"?!"

"W-wait a minute...!" Chao panicked and tried to intervene. What on earth were they doing right in front of his face?!

But the rankers, completely thrilled, covered Chao's mouth.

"Please, go on!"

"If we pay you gold, can we hunt it together?"

"No, I meant we would pay you..." Tae-hyun began.

"Ah, I see! We just need to pay you gold! That's what you mean, right?!"

"......."