Everyone Wants a Piece of Kim Tae-hyun

Of course, some bastards might pick a fight or try to talk to him. Just moments ago, crazy fools had swarmed him like moths to a flame. But that was when Tae-hyun was still a free man; now, everything was already wrapped up. Besides, Chairman Yoo's fleet was massive. Who in their right mind would ram into this? Even if there were, it would only be one or two truly insane people...

"I figured as much. Now! Bring out the decoys!"

However, Chairman Yoo shared a similar train of thought. It was the exact same in the real world. How many times had he seen people shake hands because they had to cooperate to achieve a goal, only to turn into fierce competitors the moment it was done? Humans were inherently untrustworthy!

'We might have brought a lot of ships, but if you combine all the bastards gathered here, they outnumber us. Anything could happen.'

Chairman Yoo, who had started as a complete Pantheon novice, had somehow transformed into a thoroughly seasoned, veteran player. He prepared for every possible scenario!

"What do you think? Don't they look just like you?"

"...?!"

The guild members gasped in surprise. Players who looked remarkably like Tae-hyun emerged from below deck. On closer inspection, their faces and gear had slight differences, but in the midst of chaos, it would be almost impossible to tell them apart.

"These are the elite talents of our group who took a vacation just for this quest."

"What group?"

"...Ah, no. It's nothing."

Chairman Yoo quickly corrected himself. He had almost accidentally revealed his real-world identity.

"He probably means a group of middle-aged uncles," Tae-hyun chimed in, covering for him.

At those words, the guild members nodded in understanding.

"Ah. That kind of group."

"You didn't force your kids to do this, did you? No matter how important it is, forcing people to play ruins the fun."

"I told you, it's not like that..."

Tae-hyun scanned the fakes with an amused expression. They were surprisingly well-made.

"Wow. How did you make these?"

"Pretty good, right? Let me tell you how..."

Chairman Yoo proudly began to explain. He had put a lot of effort into this. He had mobilized all sorts of crafting classes—painters, blacksmiths, and more—to forge fake armor and disguise their faces!

"Hmm. You there. Your eyes need to look a bit dirtier."

"Yes, sir! I'll get right on it!"

"Glare more, like you're about to murder someone."

"..."

Listening from the side, Tae-hyun wore a thoroughly displeased expression.

"I think they look dirty enough as it is?"

"No, the eyes are slightly off. They might get caught."

"This should be more than enough..."

"What do you boys think?" Chairman Yoo asked the guild members.

The guild members nodded, agreeing with the Chairman.

"They look good now, but a dirtier look in the eyes would definitely help."

"They seem to lack bloodlust."

"..."

Tae-hyun glared at them. The Black Rock Sect guild members flinched. What did we do wrong?!

"Ahem. Anyway, that's not what's important right now. Honestly, I don't think we need to go this far. Would they really attack in this situation...?"

Would they actually launch an attack? The guild members were skeptical. The Plague Fleet was still lingering behind them, Chairman Yoo's fleet was formidable, and above all, this was a rescue quest that had just concluded... Would they really start ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a fight? With so many eyes watching?

"You Arantis fishermen bastards! Hand over Kim Tae-hyun right now! Kim Tae-hyun belongs to everyone!"

Hearing this highly creative shout from outside, Tae-hyun spat out the tea he was drinking. Who belonged to whom?

"Arantis fishermen, listen up! We all have a right to Kim Tae-hyun! We also participated in the rescue!"

"Don't monopolize him! Let's share him fairly!"

"..."

Tae-hyun shook his head in disbelief. Chairman Yoo stepped up to the ship's railing and shouted back:

"Understood! Since you participated in the rescue, you indeed have a right! Let's decide who gets Kim Tae-hyun once we reach land!"

The gathered guilds began to murmur at Chairman Yoo's response. They were slightly swayed by his words. Of course, Chairman Yoo had no intention of doing any such thing. The moment they hit land, he planned to grab Tae-hyun and sprint straight for the Erance Royal Palace.

"...Don't be fooled by his words!!!"

"!"

Naturally, skeptics emerged from among the guilds. One of them was, of course, the Guild Alliance! Those who backstabbed others the most were always the ones who couldn't trust anyone else in these situations.

The Guild Alliance did not trust Chairman Yoo. Actually, whether they trusted him or not didn't matter. If they just took Tae-hyun right now, everything would be solved.

"Those Arantis fishermen are lying! How can we trust them!"

"Wait... how did that bastard read my mind?" Chairman Yoo asked Tae-hyun, genuinely surprised.

Tae-hyun replied nonchalantly, "They're selfish bastards by nature, so they probably assume you're thinking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the same thing."

"Tsk." Chairman Yoo clicked his tongue in disappointment. If things had gone smoothly, it would have been so easy...

"Arantis fishermen! There are dozens of guilds gathered here! Let's fairly contest the right to Kim Tae-hyun!"

One of Chairman Yoo's fishermen subordinates snapped and yelled back:

"Is that all you can say with that mouth of yours? Where Kim Tae-hyun wants to go is up to Kim Tae-hyun!"

"How do we know you didn't threaten Kim Tae-hyun into staying with you?!"

The sheer shamelessness of the Guild Alliance left everyone speechless. Even the other guilds that had joined them to apply pressure looked at them as if to say, 'Uh, isn't that a bit of a stretch?' Tae-hyun was hardly the type of person who could be threatened by anyone...

"Hmph. If you want to take him so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠badly, then try taking him by force!"

"!"

With his shout, Chairman Yoo gave the signal. Instantly, the disguised fake Kim Tae-hyuns scattered in all directions, boarding different boats.

"!!!"

"Pursue them!"

"There are multiple Kim Tae-hyuns!!"

"Try and find him if you can!"

Chairman Yoo's fleet began to accelerate. The gathered guilds frantically gave chase, unleashing their attacks.

Boom! Crash!

"Hey, you crazy bastard! What if you hit Kim Tae-hyun?!"

"If it's Kim Tae-hyun, he won't die from something like this anyway, right?"

"That's... surprisingly logical?"

"Guild Master! Snap out of it! Kim Tae-hyun might not die, but he might kill us! We have to attack moderately! Tell everyone to stop using AoE skills!"

The Guild Master snapped to his senses at his member's warning. It was true. Tae-hyun wouldn't die from these attacks, but an enraged Tae-hyun could easily turn around and slaughter them all.

"Stop using AoE skills! Get close and block them!"

"Throw the grappling hooks! Slow them down!"

Hundreds of ships spun, surged forward, collided, and fought to hook onto one another on the open sea. In the midst of this utter chaos, Chairman Yoo steered his ship with gritted teeth. He would get him out of here, no matter what!

Watching the spectacle from inside, Tae-hyun thought to himself:

'Did I accept that advertisement for nothing?'

All this madness over a single ad!

The ranker, Lin Yao, landed on the ship's deck.

'Is Kim Tae-hyun here?!'

Dozens of players were already fighting on the deck. It was a chaotic battle between the fleeing Arantis fleet and the pursuing allied fleet!

The allied fleet had only one goal: find Tae-hyun by any means necessary and snatch him away.

"There's Kim Tae-hyun!!"

"Catch him!!"

"...Wait. There's no way Kim Tae-hyun would be caught this easily! This guy is a fake!"

"Bwahaha! You guessed right, you fools!"

"Why did they even go so far as to make fakes?!"

The Guild Alliance members were utterly dumbfounded. This was just too much!

And even more desperate than the guilds were the players participating in the tournament.

"Judge!!! Where are you?!"

"Please don't do this to us!"

Since they absolutely had to get a high score, they were desperate enough to tear off even a sleeve of Tae-hyun's clothes. They cursed the judge who had given them such a bizarre mission.

'That lunatic Ames.'

'He was the head coach of the Tigers, is he senile?!'

'And Kim Tae-hyun is literally using shadow clones...'

They resented the judge for giving such a mission, and they resented the judge who was hiding so diligently.

"Let's clear out the other guys first!"

Slash!

"Aaargh! You bastards are showing your true colors already?!"

With only fake Tae-hyuns appearing and the confusion mounting, infighting finally broke out within the allied fleet. It was a free-for-all PK!

"You bastard! You're hiding Kim Tae-hyun, aren't you!"

"N-No! What are you talking about!"

"Guys! The Guild Alliance is hiding Kim Tae-hyun!!"

"What kind of bullshit is that! We don't have him! We're innocent!"

"I knew it since the Guild Alliance scouted Kim Tae-hyun for the tournament! They bribed him with money!"

"We didn't!!"

Hundreds of ships wasted time fighting among themselves. Meanwhile, Chairman Yoo quietly slipped away from the sea on a small boat.

He laughed merrily. He had successfully played every single player gathered there!

"Bwahaha... Bwahahaha! You wet-behind-the-ears brats. Go back and read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms!"

"Sir, please lower your voice. It's embarrassing..."

"Thanks for your hard work. If you go to the Sky Castle in my territory, the blacksmiths there will help you."

"Th-Thanks, Kim Tae-hyun."

"My pleasure. I hope you make the sword you want. Oh, by the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way, there's a self-proclaimed dwarf elder named Bekelf there. Just ignore him. Even if he begs you to help him escape, don't listen."

"...?"

The Black Rock Sect guild members flinched at Tae-hyun's suspicious words. They felt as if they had just brushed against some hidden darkness lurking within the Valley!

"And don't bother going to the Demon's Forge."

"Of course. We have no interest in bombs."

"Not just the Demon's Forge. Don't pray to the statue nearby, don't buy anything from the shop next to it, don't eat anything from the stalls..."

"...Wait, isn't the Valley supposed to be a peaceful territory?"

"Haha. Of course it is."

It was a peaceful territory, but why were there so many warnings?! It was incredibly suspicious, but they had no choice. The Black Rock Sect was the one who needed help.

"It's not particularly dangerous. It's just that the territory's NPCs have been very eager to recruit talent lately."

The Valley was teeming with all kinds of (weird) races. If you wandered around even a little, you would meet all sorts of bizarre NPCs.

Starting from the Demon's Forge, the stronghold of the mechanical engineering blacksmiths, to the Dwarf Smithy where the dwarf blacksmiths resided, the Flame School Magic Tower of the fire mages, the Emperor's Tailor Shop of the goblin tailors, the newly expanding Paladin Training Ground of the Archisus Paladins, and the Colosseum where the Archisus Gladiators did nothing but fight all day.

Lately, as these special buildings multiplied and competition grew fierce, the NPCs had been actively trying to recruit any talent within the territory.

The Black Rock Sect members were high-level rankers. If they got caught, the NPCs would grab onto them and try to recruit them by any means necessary. Especially the Black Rock Sect's blacksmith, who was a famous ranker blacksmith...

"Got it? Just keep those 28 precautions in mind, and nothing dangerous will happen. Easy, right?"

"..."

'Once this job is done, I am never coming back here again.'