Swordsmanship 101: Survival of the Fittest
"One popcorn, please."
"...You're buying one?!"
Lee Da-bi was startled. Wait, wouldn't it be better if Tae-hyun made it himself? Since Tae-hyun had his own cooking skills and needed to craft things to level them up, he rarely bought food. Lee Da-bi also usually made her own food to save gold... which meant neither of them ever had a reason to buy anything from the Power Warrior food stalls.
"They came all this way to set up shop, so I wanted to show some support."
"Tae-hyun...!"
"Why are you getting so touched over something like this?"
"No, I was going to say you don't need to be that nice to them."
"...You know, sometimes you can be surprisingly cold."
"? Really?"
Lee Da-bi tilted her head. Treating her guild members this way was so natural to her that she had never really thought about it.
"You guys should buy some popcorn too. The Power Warrior kids are really good at making it."
Having engaged in popcorn wars with competitors during countless quests, the Power Warrior chefs had acquired all sorts of know-how and secret skills. Using top-tier ingredients like Highest-Grade Butter and Secret Caramel Syrup in the perfect proportions was just the baseline... As the competition grew fiercer, they had even begun crossbreeding corn themselves.
These were the fruits of their labor, harvested alongside the guild's farmers: Grape-Flavored Corn and Chocolate-Scented Corn!
"Impressive, isn't it?"
"It is impressive, but... is that how farming is supposed to work?"
Lee Se-yeon asked, looking thoroughly confused. Normally, when a farmer cultivated crops, their goal was to grow the highest-grade plants, not to make corn grow from grapevines.
"The farmland around the Valley has received so many blessings from the Archisus Church that random mutations like that happen all the time."
"..."
"..."
Ryu Tae-su swallowed the words Isn't that just a mutation? that rose to his throat. Then again, the Valley did actually have its fair share of mutants...
"Ki... Kim Tae-hyun?"
"Kim Tae-hyun is here to eat popcorn!"
"Grab the megaphones and spread the word! Kim Tae-hyun is here!!"
Seeing Tae-hyun appear, the Power Warrior guild members excitedly began shouting advertisements.
"What? Kim Tae-hyun is here?"
"Is it so good that even Kim Tae-hyun buys it?"
The crowd buzzed. Even passing players who had been minding their own business stopped in their tracks. If Kim Tae-hyun is buying it, does it have some insane buff effect? Seeing players swarm like a massive cloud in an instant, the Power Warrior guild members gasped in admiration. Even the Pied Piper of Hamelin couldn't have gathered a crowd this fast.
"Please enjoy, Lord Tae-hyun. You too, Guild Master."
The guild members handed over the popcorn without taking any money. This was the ultimate sign of respect from the Power Warrior guild. They were actually giving it away for free!
"The rest of you have to pay."
"...I was planning to."
Lee Se-yeon spoke to the guild members, looking utterly dumbfounded. It wasn't like she had any intention of stiffing them, but it had been a very long time since anyone had so boldly told her, "No dine-and-dashing allowed." When was the last time a top-tier ranker like her had heard such a thing!
"I-I'm sorry. My guild members are a bit..."
"No, it's fine. Guild members never listen anyway."
Lee Se-yeon nodded in understanding. Even as the leader of an elite, small-scale guild, she occasionally had her fair share of headaches because of her members. For a massive guild with as many people as Power Warrior, it must be exponentially harder.
"Which quest did that guy, Kim Tae-hyun, do first?"
"Probably swordsmanship..."
The players who had lined up behind Tae-hyun, holding their popcorn, whispered among themselves as they watched him. Although they had all entered the Ancient Empire University together, none of them had any intention of engaging in friendly competition.
I have to learn the skills before anyone else!
And if possible, I hope the other bastards fail to learn them at all!
In Pandemonium Online, another person's happiness was always your own misery. This was especially true for the players who had managed to enter the Ancient Empire University—they were high-level players and top-tier rankers locked in fierce competition. Not only were they rivals, but many of them had already clashed multiple times in the outside world. If a quest didn't have a player limit, that was one thing, but if it was a first-come, first-served quest... the moment someone else cleared it first, you were left in the dust!
In that regard, the one they were most wary of was Tae-hyun's party. They had entered much earlier than everyone else! On top of that, Tae-hyun was one of the most renowned high-difficulty quest specialists in Pan-On. Hadn't he cleared multiple Legendary-difficulty quests back-to-back, leaving everyone else dumbfounded?
"Kim Tae-hyun. Can I ask you something?"
One of the rankers cautiously spoke up. Fortunately, combat was currently prohibited inside the university. He had calculated that Tae-hyun wouldn't beat him up for asking.
"?"
"How many quests have you cleared since you got here?"
"Over ten, I think."
"...?!?!?"
It wasn't a particularly difficult question, so Tae-hyun answered honestly, but the impact of his words was colossal.
Hey, did you hear? Kim Tae-hyun cleared over ten quests!
He got over ten Arcane skills?!
He must have gotten at least two or three swordsmanship skills. This is insane!
The players whispered in sheer horror. Tae-hyun was already notorious for his devastating burst-damage skills. If a monster like him had acquired two or three more Arcane swordsmanship skills... they didn't even want to imagine it.
"...Let's move!"
"We need to get those skills fast! Tell the others to stop sightseeing and get back here!"
"We can't afford to waste any time!"
The players steeled their resolve. This was no time to sightsee or record videos just because it was a new area. They had to get those skills!
"I found a swordsmanship professor! They say he's teaching at the Swordsmanship Training Ground east of the plaza!"
"Oh! I'm on my way!"
With dozens of players searching, the professor NPC was discovered in no time. Watching the players swarm toward the location, Tae-hyun spoke.
"Hmm. I should probably learn some swordsmanship skills too, right?"
"It wouldn't be a bad idea to go and learn together."
Although he had spent most of his time learning magic and Engineering, Tae-hyun's primary offensive skills were actually rooted in swordsmanship. He couldn't afford to neglect his sword skills. Among his companions, the ones who primarily used swordsmanship were the siblings Ryu Tae-su and Ryu Da-young.
"It seems the most common NPCs in this university are the ones teaching swordsmanship."
"I guess that makes sense, since it's swordsmanship."
As the most mainstream skill category, there was an abundance of professor NPCs. While there only seemed to be one professor each for Engineering and Cooking, there were several diverse instructors for swordsmanship.
"I've been looking for Berserker-type swordsmanship, and my sister has been looking for Paladin-type, but you, Lord Tae-hyun..."
"Well, I'm not really bound by those kinds of restrictions."
Since Tae-hyun wasn't a swordsman class to begin with, he didn't need to match his skills to a specific archetype. He had the freedom to look at a swordsmanship skill and simply learn it if it seemed useful, or ignore it if it didn't.
"Since the players are finding and cataloging everything on their own, it'll be pretty convenient to just follow them and learn."
Having a crowd of players around certainly made things easier in this regard. Information was being uploaded and shared at lightning speed. No matter how high Tae-hyun's *Speech* skill was or how good he was at clearing quests, there was a limit to what he could accomplish wandering around alone.
"So the place where everyone is swarming right now is the Swordsmanship Training Ground east of the plaza..."
"Let's head over there, then."
"Da-bi and I will go clear some other quests. You three go ahead."
Lee Se-yeon and Lee Da-bi, who had no need for swordsmanship, split off to do other things, while the remaining three headed toward the training ground. What kind of quest awaited them?
"Die, you bastard!"
"Go ahead and hit me. See if you can handle the consequences!"
"You know what happens if you attack here, right? Do you want to get beaten to a pulp by the knights?!"
"Get lost, you Guild Alliance bastards! The wounds you gave me are still throbbing!"
"Look, it's Smith! That shameless bastard Smith, showing his face after crushing us like that!"
The crowd roared. The training ground was in utter chaos. Tae-hyun looked around with a grimace. Why are there so many familiar faces here? He saw Su Ning, he saw Smith, and it seemed like every ranker who was anyone had gathered. Had there ever been a time in Pan-On when so many rankers were in one place?
Wait. Even Dad is here?
Tae-hyun was dumbfounded when he spotted Kim Tae-san whispering with the Orc Ahjussis. They were supposed to be in either Erangs or the Atali Kingdom, so when on earth did they...?
"Ah! Tae-hyun!"
The moment Kim Tae-san spotted Tae-hyun, he ran over. As the Orc Ahjussis swarmed around Tae-hyun, the nearby players began to whisper.
"What's up with those Orcs? Are they trying to attack Kim Tae-hyun?"
"Unless they're insane, there's no way they'd do that here..."
"No, those Orcs are known for doing crazy things. It's entirely possible."
"Really? Are they actually going to fight? I hope so."
The players were practically drooling for a fight! Even if they weren't the ones fighting, it would be a massive win for them if someone else got kicked out for starting a brawl. Completely oblivious to the predatory stares of the crowd, Kim Tae-san asked in an expectant voice.
"I heard you know about some hidden, high-yield quests here at the Ancient Empire University. What do you got?"
"I don't have anything like that."
At Tae-hyun's flat response, Kim Tae-san nodded as if he had expected this.
"I knew you wouldn't spill it easily. Fine, here. Take this gold..."
"No, forget the gold. I've literally done nothing but grind magic and Engineering since I got here."
"...Huh? Really? What about swordsmanship?"
"I didn't have time for swordsmanship."
"Does that even make sense? Did the quest-giving NPC lock you up and forbid you from going anywhere else?"
Without realizing it, Kim Tae-san had hit the nail right on the head.
"Yes."
"...Wait, seriously? That guy is completely out of his mind!"
Kim Tae-san gasped in shock, realizing Tae-hyun was telling the truth. No matter how dedicated an instructor was, blocking a player from going anywhere else was insane. The NPC was definitely a lunatic.
"But boss, we don't learn Engineering anyway."
"True. Engineering is only for crazy bastards, so I guess it makes sense that the NPC is a bit of a lunatic too."
"..."
Tae-hyun, the supreme leader of those "crazy bastards," wore a deeply displeased expression. Have my dad and his friends been talking about me like this behind my back?
"I wanted to get a free ride by asking Tae-hyun, but I guess we'll have to find it on our own feet."
"Well, it can't be helped."
The Ancient Empire Royal Guard Commander has appeared!
As the NPC materialized before them, the players who had been clamoring so loudly fell silent all at once. None of them wanted to risk getting penalized.
At the words of the Ancient Empire Royal Guard Commander, the gathered players either sighed in relief or smirked triumphantly. They were now certain they had made the right choice.
With a title like 'Ancient Empire Royal Guard Commander,' there's a 99% chance he'll give an Arcane swordsmanship skill.
With that kind of status, it's practically guaranteed.
There was a famous maxim regarding quests in Pan-On:
"If you're going to clear a quest, make sure it's from an NPC with a clear, high status!"
Tae-hyun's habit of selectively clearing quests from all sorts of bizarre, sketchy characters was an extreme exception. Normally, reputable and trustworthy NPCs handed out the best quests. From that perspective, the Ancient Empire Royal Guard Commander passed with flying colors in both name and appearance. He exuded the aura of an absolute master just by standing there!
"Yes!"
"We are ready!!"
The players roared in unison.
"...?"
The players doubted their own ears for a second. What did he just say?
Critical Hit!!
Critical Hit!!
...
[TARGET ELIMINATED]
And the very first one to move was Tae-hyun.