A Constructive Way to Resolve Misunderstandings

But they had no choice. Tae-hyun's infamy was simply too high to ignore! To the NPCs of the Sun Bandit Clan, Tae-hyun looked like a superstar just by standing there and breathing. Since such an esteemed figure had graced their humble abode, they had to serve him by any means necessary.

"We... we heard something new appeared in the dungeon depths... so we were on our way to check it out..."

Closs swallowed his tears and spat out the information. No matter how important the quest was, it wasn't worth his life. Dying here would cause far too much damage.

Tae-hyun understood immediately.

"Oh. A hidden dungeon?"

"Well, it's not necessarily a hidden dungeon. It could be something else, or maybe nothing at all..."

"The way that guy talks is highly suspicious! Let's kill him!"

"Kill him! Kill him!"

With every word spoken, the plunderer players chanted in unison to execute him.

"Everyone, quiet."

"Yes, sir."

"I see. So our paths just happened to cross by chance?"

At Tae-hyun's question, the members of the Rudolf Guild nodded their heads furiously.

"We almost had a massive fight over a simple misunderstanding. I'm not some heartless monster who goes around ruining other people's quests, you know."

"Ooh...!"

"His character is on a completely different level from the trash around here!"

The guild members were genuinely moved. In this area, level was inversely proportional to personality. High-level plunderers were usually the absolute scum of the earth.

The plunderer players could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only look on in sheer disbelief at Tae-hyun's words.

Didn't you just beat the absolute living daylights out of us?

He seems completely heartless to me...

Of course, they had been the ones to block his path first, but that was that, and this was this.

"In that case, let's clear the quest together."

"...Huh?"

"What? Is there a problem?"

The Rudolf Guild members panicked at Tae-hyun's suggestion. If they refused... it felt like the mob of thugs standing behind him would swarm and tear them apart. But accepting it felt incredibly bitter. This was a quest they had intended to monopolize.

Closs gave up. Since things had turned out like this, they had to be grateful just to be alive. Monopolizing the quest was now a pipe dream!

"Boss! A viewer watching my stream right now says those Rudolf bastards were planning to ambush you!"

"W-what are you talking about?! That's not true! It's not!"

As they descended deeper into the dungeon, they encountered a few more parties grinding there.

"This spot... doesn't seem to be ours after all. Now that I think about it, it suits you gentlemen much better!"

"Hey! Get lost! ...Ah! I wasn't talking to you! I was talking to my party member! Hey! I told you to get lost over there!"

Is there really not a single sane person in this place?

Then again, with so many plunderer players running amok, normal players likely avoided this place altogether. Even so, every single person they ran into seemed to have a screw loose...

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

At first, some tried to pick a fight, but the moment they saw the sheer number of players marching behind Tae-hyun, they instantly bowed their heads in terror. And with every floor they descended, the crowd only grew!

Jackal asked in a flustered voice.

"H-hey. Is there really a reason to drag this many people along?"

"Isn't it easier to do quests when you have more people?"

"...You're telling me that's the actual reason?!"

Jackal was horrified. Sure, having a large crowd made killing boss monsters easier and clearing quests smoother. But there was a limit. Besides, weren't all these guys basically the human equivalents of group project landmines? Gathering them all together would just trigger a chain explosion, not a successful...

"It's fine. As long as you manage them well, it's not a problem."

I have a feeling this is going to end in a massive disaster...

The others shared Jackal's sentiment. The crowd had already swelled to dozens of players. Dragging along every single person they met on their way down and forcing them into the party! Had there ever been such a massive gathering of players in this region before?

The viewers, who had initially been spamming "Why aren't they fighting?", "Hurry up and fight!", and "Die already!", were now thoroughly intrigued. Why on earth was he gathering so many people? What was he planning to do?

"Hmm. By the way, about the Rudolf Guild..."

As Tae-hyun spoke, Closs tensed up. This mysterious stranger. Judging by his actions, he was undoubtedly a ranker. And likely one of the top plunderers! Otherwise, how could he suppress so many thugs with such effortless ease?

"Is your guild name really inspired by Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer?"

"...No, it's not!!!"

"Oh? It's not? Since they called you Closs earlier, I just assumed."

Tae-hyun had wondered if a bunch of Santa Claus enthusiasts had banded together to form the guild, but judging by the reaction, that wasn't the case.

Closs fumed with rage.

"Our Guild Master's name is Rudolf! I have absolutely nothing to do with Santa!"

"Alright, alright, man. I was just asking."

"S-sorry. It's just... so many people make fun of us for this... Our Guild Master picked such a bizarre name, and it's caused us nothing but trouble."

"Well, it's not like weird guild names are rare in Pan-On."

"Still, I doubt there's any guild as weird as ours."

"Actually, there is."

Tae-hyun spoke with absolute gravity. "There's this guild called Holy Knight Size King..."

"Looks like we need to find another way."

"Should we head back up and try the other path we passed earlier?"

A few plunderer players offered their suggestions. Having spent plenty of time in dungeons, they were quick to adapt. However, Tae-hyun shook his head.

According to my Advanced Tactics skill, we have to go this way.

The skill indicated that this was the optimal route under the circumstances. Taking a detour to find another path would yield no benefits.

"We're breaking through this path."

"Ah. Do you have a scroll or something?"

"No."

"Huh? Then how are we going to break through?"

Tae-hyun pointed his finger at the crowd.

"...???"

"Is it a skill that requires multiple people to cast?"

"No. I mean you guys are going to dig through it."

"..."

No way... Surely not...??

"Seriously, why did we have to run into a psycho like him..."

"Shh! Keep your voice down. Didn't you see what happened to the guy who tried to talk back earlier?"

The plunderer players swung their pickaxes and shovels with all their might. They were clearing the debris of the collapsed passage to forge a path. So this was why ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he had gathered so many people!

"I can't take this anymore! Everyone! Our numbers have tripled since earlier! If we all attack at once, even he won't be able to—Aaargh!"

"Anyone else want to die next?"

"..."

"..."

Manual labor was the absolute last thing plunderer players wanted to do. After all, they chose to attack others and steal their items precisely because they hated doing honest work. But sometimes, one had to work even if they didn't want to. Specifically, when a lunatic was glaring at them from behind with a weapon drawn.

"Man, you're terrible at this. If you swing the pickaxe like that, the debris won't break. It's just glancing off to the side."

"Are you saying a prayer every time you scoop? Hurry up. I know you still have plenty of stamina left."

"Look at this idiot. Even Cain would do a better job than you. Do you have any idea how good Cain is at shoveling?"

Tae-hyun nagged them with the expertise of a master. He was already a natural at cracking the whip, but living with the pro players in the team house had elevated his skills to a whole new level. Even though dozens of players were crowded together swinging pickaxes, he was capable of scanning every single one of them and pointing out their individual flaws!

Is his class some kind of f*cking slave driver?

Cain doing manual labor? That's ridiculous. Is this guy an impostor?

Who cares if he's an impostor or not? What matters is that he can kill us all in a heartbeat.

Oh... raising my tactical skill was definitely worth it.

Tae-hyun was pleased with the surprisingly useful skill. Normally in Pan-On, gathering a massive crowd of people didn't automatically solve problems. If there were too many people, a chaos penalty would be applied. To avoid this, one had to raise their tactical skills...

Thanks to Tae-hyun's exceptionally high tactical skill, there was no penalty even when deploying a massive workforce for construction. He could throw in as many people as his tactical skill could handle without any issue.

"Good job. Let's head in."

"Waaaaah!"

As the path opened, the plunderer players hugged each other in celebration. Normally, they would draw their swords if their shoulders so much as brushed, but after sweating together for hours with shovels and pickaxes, an unexpected bond of friendship had blossomed. Was this the beauty of a constructive life?

"Oh. There's another one. Pick up your pickaxes again."

"..."

"The hidden dungeon is nearby."

"I see. Everyone looks quite excited, don't they?"

"Ah... yes. We are incredibly excited."

I want to go home.

Once I get out of here today, I'm leaving the Espa Kingdom for another kingdom. Maybe I'll head to the Atali Kingdom. I heard the Valley there is nice...

Now that I think about it, maybe being a plunderer isn't my true calling.

Hidden dungeon or not, the plunderer players just wanted to run away. Their spirits were already completely shattered. Regardless of their misery, Tae-hyun focused on finding the path.

"...?"

The deepest floor of the dungeon that Hammerman's party had passed through was merely the entrance. Venturing further inside revealed not only the path to another underground village but also a monster nest created by some absolute lunatics.

Why on earth did that crazy bastard go down there?

Tae-hyun grumbled, though in truth, it wasn't the secret assassin's fault. Logically speaking, someone else must have set up a monster nest right above a perfectly peaceful village.

But going to a village... Did he go there to retire? Why in a place like this?

...That actually makes perfect sense.

The Archisus Cult plus an assassin. It was a combination practically designed to generate an infinite number of enemies. The sheer amount of resentment they would accumulate would normally require fleeing across the ocean to retire in peace! It was entirely understandable why they would choose to retire in a hidden underground village like this.