You Don't Have Another Life, Do You?

"You don't, right?"

"..."

Even if they wanted to throw a tantrum, they couldn't do it after seeing a player vanish into thin air just now. Unless they had multiple lives, it was absolutely impossible!

"Hmph. What an idiot."

"?"

"As you know, Kim Tae-hyun is one of the top melee damage dealers in Pandemonium Online. When you're acting cocky in front of someone like him, you should keep your distance, cast your buffs first, and then speak. Otherwise, you end up dead like that."

"Oh... you seem to know a lot. What level are you?"

"Sixty-four."

"..."

The player who had been listening backed away with a look of sheer disgust. He had talked so big that they thought, Wow, he must be a high-level ranker, but he was just a lunatic!

But the level 64 player wasn't just any ordinary player.

"Over here! Over here!"

"Did Kim Tae-hyun really come??"

A group of players appeared in the distance. Surprisingly, among them was Silved, one of the rising rankers!

Seeing this, the crowd began to whisper in surprise.

"Is Silved here too?"

"I heard Silved was attacked and killed here?"

"What kind of rumors have you been listening to? Why would a ranker like Silved die?"

"Is that Silved's party? I'm so jealous."

Since Silved was a famous rising ranker, people assumed it was his party.

But they were wrong.

"You bastard! We told you not to move without permission! Do you want to die?"

"C-come on. Isn't this a bit much? Right now, countless people are watching my personal stream, and the Power Warrior image..."

"If we cared about our image, do you think we would have joined the Power Warrior guild in the first place?"

"Besides, you bastard, your stream is turned off right now. Did you think we wouldn't check that?"

"..."

Silved wasn't the party leader; he was a prisoner captured by them!

"?!?!"

"W-what is that?"

And the majestic party dragging Silved along was none other than the Power Warrior party led by Great Axe Warrior.

The level 64 player waved his hand excitedly.

"Over here!"

"Kim Tae-hyun really came?!"

"What is such a noble person doing in a humble place like this?"

The Power Warrior guild members whispered in surprise. They had assumed Tae-hyun would be outside clearing a quest with the King by now.

"They say he came to rescue the players trapped inside."

"As expected...!"

Hearing the explanation from the surrounding players, the Power Warrior guild members were deeply moved. To think he had such a warm heart...!

Silved, who had been listening, read the room and spoke up.

"Then can you guys untie me now?"

"No way, you bastard."

"Where do you think you're running off to? Do you want to die?"

The Power Warrior guild members replied coldly. Silved felt a surge of anger inside. As a rising ranker who received quite a bit of attention, this was the first time he had ever suffered such humiliation! Even when clashing with massive coalitions like the Guild Alliance, he had never experienced anything like this...

Tae-hyun recognized the Power Warrior guild members amidst the commotion.

"Oh. You guys were here too?"

"Yes, sir!"

"But what... are you doing with that?"

Tae-hyun asked, staring at the things dangling all over Silved. Weren't those... bombs?

"Yes, it is."

"I don't really want to ask, but what is that?"

"It's equipment that explodes when you pull this string!"

"..."

"..."

The surrounding players were horrified. There were plenty of cursed items in Pandemonium Online, but this went far beyond that!

"What if it explodes...? Take it off him for now."

"Ah. Yes, sir."

The Power Warrior guild members obediently untied him. Tae-hyun retrieved the Bomb Cloak. Why on earth did they make such a crazy item?

"By the way, have we met before? Your face looks familiar."

"...!"

Silved went from feeling grateful to furious. It hasn't even been that long since we met!

Before Silved had aligned himself with the 1st Prince of Erangse, he was a ranker who used his contribution points to lead the Erangs Kingdom's legion. He had suffered a bit of a setback after running into Tae-hyun, but he certainly shouldn't have been forgotten like this!

"Kim Tae-hyun...! Don't pretend you forgot! We...!"

"We?"

Silved hesitated mid-sentence. Come to think of it, it wasn't a pleasant memory. If he spoke up, wouldn't they force him back into the Bomb Cloak?

The Power Warrior guild members behind him spoke suspiciously.

"Why is he pretending to know you?"

"Who knows. Maybe he's trying to scam us."

"...We haven't met, but still, there's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no way you don't know me!"

"..."

The surrounding air grew cold. Aside from the Power Warrior guild members, even the ordinary players began to whisper.

"Is he seriously bragging about being famous in front of Kim Tae-hyun?"

"I've never seen such a lunatic."

"He must be out of his mind..."

Utter humiliation! Silved trembled with rage.

"But why were you holding him captive anyway?"

"Ah. Well, that's..."

Originally, the Power Warrior guild members led by Great Axe Warrior had intended to PK Silved. Since Silved had plenty of gear and a decent amount of Infamy, he was basically a walking treasure chest.

But Silved had desperately negotiated.

"Oh... there's a quest like that?"

"This is perfect. Since you're here, Tae-hyun, we'll hand this guy over to you."

"No, you guys worked so hard for this. I can't just take him."

"Don't worry about it. Think of all the things we've received from you so far. This is the least we can do..."

Tae-hyun and the Power Warrior guild members exchanged heartwarming remarks. Of course, from Silved's perspective, the conversation was utterly absurd.

The quest is mine, you bastards...!

Still, this is a relief.

Silved let out a sigh of relief. Unlike the crazy Power Warrior bastards whose eyes, voices, and every action practically screamed madness...

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Tae-hyun was at least someone trustworthy. He was one of the top rankers in the world, after all. A person like that wouldn't do crazy things like those Power Warrior lunatics.

Besides, since Tae-hyun said he came to rescue the players, Silved could use this opportunity to escape outside.

"Anyway, Silved. Thanks."

"Uh... thanks for what?"

"You said you'd share the quest to enter the 1st Prince's quarters, right? I'll gladly accept."

He had been looking for a way to enter the center of the fortress, so finding such a quest was incredibly welcome news for Tae-hyun.

"C-come on, wait a minute."

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"If you have a problem, want to borrow this cloak again?"

Before Silved could even utter a word, the Power Warrior guild members looked ready to pounce on him. Tae-hyun held them back.

"Don't be so harsh. Sure, a lot of people were tricked into coming here because of what that Shield guy advertised, but..."

"It's Silved, not Shield."

"Right, Silved. Anyway, things like that happen all the time in Pandemonium Online."

Usually, when someone treats you coldly and then suddenly shows a bit of warmth, it feels incredibly touching. Hearing Tae-hyun speak up for him in this situation made Silved feel deeply moved, completely forgetting all the abuse he had suffered so far!

"Then, I'll go rescue and escort the players out—excluding Silved—so everyone wait here."

"Yes, sir!"

"..."

Silved, who had been standing quietly, suddenly realized something was off. He had been moved, but in the end, he hadn't actually gained anything...?

After safely escorting all the players and receiving an endless stream of gratitude, Tae-hyun returned.

"So, what are the conditions for the quest to enter the 1st Prince's quarters?"

The place where the 1st Prince of Erangse resided was a tower located right in the middle of the vast fortress. The guarding NPCs were so formidable that even Tae-hyun hadn't easily dared to infiltrate it! If he could get inside, he would be grateful for any quest.

"It's a bit tricky..."

"Just tell me the conditions."

"First, you have to build affinity points with five noble NPCs of a certain rank or higher wandering around here to get their keys. It's incredibly difficult, so I've barely managed to get one so far. The remaining four..."

"I see. Black Rock Sect members, wait here. It'll be better if I go alone for this."

"?"

Silved turned his head. The servants dressed in rags who had been following Tae-hyun... At first, he had naturally assumed they were NPCs, but looking closely now... Huh? They're players?

"The B-Black Rock Sect?"

Silved was startled. He had heard of their guild before. The rising rankers who showed off their skills through solo play instead of joining large guilds usually got along quite well with the Black Rock Sect, a small but highly skilled friendly guild. He had even played in a party with them a few times...

Why is that bastard recognizing us and making a scene?

How embarrassing...

The Black Rock Sect guild members were furious at Silved's clueless reaction.

"You are the Black Rock Sect, right? It is you guys! Aren't you Phil?"

"...Ahem. Ahem."

"I'm disappointed in you, Black Rock Sect."

"This bastard was literally captured by the Power Warrior guild and forced to wear a Bomb Cloak, and he's talking about being disappointed in someone?"

A Black Rock Sect guild member snapped. Even if they were acquaintances, they couldn't tolerate such nonsense. Being captured by the Power Warrior guild and forced to wear a Bomb Cloak was infinitely more shameful than disguising themselves as servants!

But Silved wasn't talking about their servant attire.

"To think you'd serve under Kim ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tae-hyun. You guys used to act so cool, claiming you'd never bow down to anyone..."

"...We're not, you idiot!!!"

"Who is serving under whom?!"

The Black Rock Sect guild members flared up even more than before. What kind of crazy nonsense was this lunatic spouting!

"Do you really want to die?"

"A-ah... No? You didn't join him?"

"Our goals just aligned, so we're cooperating!"

"I-I see. My bad. I got confused because of your outfits."

"..."

"But how is Kim Tae-hyun planning to clear the quest alone? You need to raise affinity, so it shouldn't be possible to clear it by himself."

Raising the affinity of noble NPCs was an incredibly tedious task. Depending on the noble's personality, you had to complete all sorts of quests just to raise it a tiny bit. It could be hunting monsters, crafting requests...

So going to do that all by himself made absolutely no sense.

Just then, Tae-hyun returned.

"Did you go check the quest? Who are you going to start with?"

"I got all the keys. Lead the way to the passage entrance."

"...?!?!?"

The Black Rock Sect guild members weren't even that surprised.

"Well, if it's Kim Tae-hyun..."

"It's not surprising even if he does that."

Only Silved was left feeling like an absolute idiot. Am... Am I the one who's weird here?

Tae-hyun and his servants—no, his companions—dashed quickly through the passage. Fortunately, there was no surveillance in the underground passage, allowing them to make rapid progress.

Tae-hyun used his skills to find the fastest path leading to the exit.

"This is it. I'll go up first, so wait here."

Tae-hyun climbed up.

"You can come up now."

"Oh. I guess there's nothing to worry about."

"Thank goodness."

The others scrambled up after him. And then, they froze in sheer ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shock. The knights who appeared to be the 1st Prince's personal guards were all lying on the ground as cold corpses.

Even at a conservative estimate, their levels must have been over 600 or 700, so how on earth did he do this?!

Is this bastard Kim Tae-hyun really a monster?

Even so, how could he possibly do this all by himself in such a short amount of time?!

"They were already dead when I came up."

"...Ah!"

The players looked at each other sheepishly. Of course they were!