Do the Opposite of What They Expect
Do the opposite of what others expect. He could have pushed his specialty out of sheer pride, but Tae-hyun didn't care about things like that. Whatever, let's just keep going like this!
"Song Yimou! Do something!"
Because Tae-hyun refused to step forward and instead focused on dealing stable damage while relying on his teammates' support, the Chinese team was falling behind in total damage output. To make matters worse, Song Yimou had been brought in specifically to counter Tae-hyun, making him highly vulnerable in a situation like this.
"Target Kim Tae-hyun!"
"U-Understood!"
Even though Tae-hyun hadn't entered their formation, Song Yimou aimed his prepared spell at him. In that exact instant, Tae-hyun slipped right behind Ryu Da-young. It was an exquisite movement that completely disrupted the enemy's aim!
Target lost. Spell canceled!
"!!!"
Song Yimou was stunned. Was that a fluke?
In the meantime, Tae-hyun popped back out and began pummeling the enemy tank again.
Thwack! Thud! Bam! Whack!
"Stop... hitting me... you... bastard!"
He beat the tank so mercilessly that even the Korean fans were starting to feel bad. "Wow, don't you think that Chinese tank is a bit pitiful?" they muttered. It would have been better if he just died to end the suffering, but because he was heavily buffed and receiving constant heals, he couldn't even die. Yet, he couldn't just stand there and take it either. Tae-hyun was a man who constantly aimed for vital points and tried to break equipment. The tank had to focus all his mental energy just to minimize the pain of each blow.
Urgh, ugh, damn it... what are the others doing?
Song Yimou prepared his spell once more. The moment he did, Tae-hyun lightly hopped and hid behind Ryu Da-young again.
Spell canceled—
"What are you doing?!"
"Kim Tae-hyun keeps dodging! He's moving behind their tank!"
"It must be a coincidence! Prepare it again!"
Song Yimou, his face a mask of confusion, prepared his spell once more, but the result was exactly the same. By this point, even the spectators watching from the outside began to notice.
He's dodging it on purpose!!
The coach of the Chinese national team, Wu Zhongyuan, was so shocked he felt like fainting. Of course, reading an opponent's movements and dodging in advance was a basic skill for any high-level ranker. Especially when facing an opponent with devastating single-hit spells like a mage, reading their intentions was crucial.
But Tae-hyun had absolutely no idea who Song Yimou was. He was a player the Chinese team had fielded for the very first time in this round. Dodging the spells of an unknown player with absolute certainty in the middle of such a chaotic team fight? How was that even possible?
Did our information leak?!
"That player over there hasn't done anything since a while ago! Maybe he's not a big deal?" Ryu Da-young asked.
"No. I think he's a secret weapon brought in specifically to target me," Tae-hyun replied. "The way he's been stealing glances at me this whole time is incredibly suspicious."
Ryu Da-young couldn't believe it. He can tell just by that?
"Retreat! Fall back!"
With their skills on cooldown and their MP running dangerously low, the Chinese team finally began to withdraw. However, the eyes of the Chinese players were burning with intense anticipation.
This is the exact moment that bastard Kim Tae-hyun will charge in!
Come on, Kim Tae-hyun!
They were players who had prepared for this exact scenario countless times. They would feign a retreat to lay a trap, and the moment Kim Tae-hyun tried to flank them, they would hit him with a barrage of curses and burst him down!
Unaware of the hidden danger, the fans cheered wildly.
Since he hadn't shown any flashy combat earlier for some reason, surely he would show them something spectacular now?
...But Tae-hyun didn't give chase.
"Wow. Are those guys crazy? Just how many traps did they bring with them?"
"Is it really a trap?" Lee Se-yeon asked.
"Yeah. Their eyes were practically begging me to follow them."
Lee Se-yeon shuddered at Tae-hyun's words. The ones who prepared multiple layers of traps are insane, but the guy who sensed it purely by instinct and backed off is just as monstrous...
"Anyway, since the enemy has retreated, we have the advantage," Lee Se-yeon said. "I'll summon the undead immediately to solidify our defense. Everyone, get ready to recover!"
Meanwhile, Tae-hyun quickly scanned his surroundings. True to the map's nature, there was a decent amount of scrap metal and miscellaneous junk lying around. Tae-hyun exchanged a glance with Lee Se-yeon and nodded.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Taking advantage of the brief lull, Tae-hyun immediately began crafting!
Your Engineering skill is extremely high...
Additional bonus applied...
...
Trap completed!
Trap...
Honestly, even though it was a trap, its damage wasn't that high. While his Engineering skill was exceptional, the materials used were crucial. Since he had crafted it as quickly as possible using makeshift materials found on the spot, the damage was bound to be weak.
But that doesn't matter.
What Tae-hyun was aiming for was something else entirely: psychological warfare!
Having hunted down numerous rankers as a blacksmith back in Pan-On 1, he knew this truth all too well. Once opponents fell into a state of paranoia, they could never play at their best again.
There's a trap here, so does that mean there are others? What if there's an even stronger trap waiting? What on earth did that bastard Kim Tae-hyun set up?
...Once these thoughts began to race through their minds, their footsteps would inevitably slow down.
— "Player Kim Tae-hyun! Instead of chasing, he is crafting a trap!"
— "While production classes might seem unsuited for combat, we've surprisingly seen production skills used several times in this World Cup! Perhaps these crafting skills will shake up the meta of the tournament."
Even if they weren't like Tae-hyun, who had maxed out his Engineering and Blacksmithing skills, raising a production skill to just the Intermediate tier made it quite useful. Indeed, there had been several attempts by other players to craft makeshift traps like this. It was all due to the influence of Tae-hyun, who frequently utilized production skills during matches.
— "It seems he chose not to pursue them in order to set up this trap."
— "Indeed. When Player Kim Tae-hyun didn't give chase, I wondered if there was some sort of issue. But surely it won't just end like this?"
— "If it did, he wouldn't be Kim Tae-hyun. In my opinion, he is using this as a feint to catch the opponent off guard when they lower their defenses."
— "Ah! That is a highly plausible strategy!"
Please, let that be the case, the Chinese coach, Wu Zhongyuan, thought anxiously. Amazingly, they had even prepared for the scenario where Tae-hyun used a feint to catch them off guard. It was a preparation so meticulous that if Tae-hyun had heard of it, he would have exclaimed, Are you insane? Just how much did you prepare?
His players would absolutely not let their guard down. If only Tae-hyun would bite the bait just once...!
...But Tae-hyun truly had not a single shred of intention to counterattack.
— "The monsters are appearing! The temple monsters have spawned! Because of the trap, they've changed direction and are heading straight for the Chinese national team! Oh! This is a massive setback for the already struggling Chinese team!"
The victory condition was simple: capture and hold the central base for a set amount of time without interruption! That was why, after securing the base, the Korean team chose not to pursue the Chinese players and instead focused on accumulating capture time.
Seeing that Tae-hyun wasn't chasing them, the Chinese players finally finished regrouping and prepared for a counter-offensive... but unfortunately, luck was not on their side. They ran right into the temple monsters. It was a disastrous situation that completely halted their progress when every second counted!
If we play this right, we can win without lifting a finger!
Tae-hyun exchanged glances with his teammates.
Let's just lock it down like this!
If they just stalled for time, they could easily take the first round. Who cared if their kill or death counts were low? A win was a win!
"Maintain the formation! We don't know when they might launch a surprise attack!"
"We're on it!"
The warriors let out a battle cry!
The onslaught begins!
Despite the warriors' attacks, the Chinese players stubbornly maintained their defensive formation. They did so because they had no idea when or where a surprise attack might strike. Watching this unfold, Coach Wu Zhongyuan leaped to his feet and screamed.
"Just abandon the formation and move, you idiots! You're wasting all our time!"
He understood that they didn't want to waste the strategy they had prepared so hard, but now was not the time to be worrying about Tae-hyun. They had already lost far too much time. They needed to scatter, penetrate the enemy lines, and somehow drag the match into a chaotic brawl to stop the capture timer!
...Yet, the Chinese players continued to move with flawless, rigid coordination until the very end. The coach felt like his insides were burning up with frustration. Of course, it was largely because of his own overly strict instructions, but his mind was too frantic to realize that now.
Those absolute fools...!
"There's not much time left! Hold the line!"
The Korean team went into full stall mode. With traps and undead summoned in front of the base to block the path, breaching their defenses in such a short time was practically impossible. The Chinese players threw everything they had at them, but the Korean players stood firm like an immovable wall.
— "Is it going to end like this?! Is it really over?! 10, 9, 8... 3, 2, 1! Ahhhhh! What is this?! What on earth is happening?!"
— "Round 1 ends just like that! Who could have ever predicted a finish like this?!"
The caster shouted in an excited voice. Regardless of who won or lost, no one expected a round to end in such a quiet and peaceful manner!
— "The Korean national team takes Round 1 with an unexpectedly defensive and stable playstyle! This puts immense pressure on the Chinese team moving forward!"
— "Uh... it looks like the Chinese coach is screaming at his players right now."
— "Well, it's probably because things went completely contrary to their expectations. During the match, there was a lot of speculation about whether Kim Tae-hyun was in poor condition, facing some issues, or simply playing scared. But that wasn't the case at all! It seems Player Kim Tae-hyun had this entire picture painted from the very beginning! Truly terrifying!"
— "Whether you kill all five opponents or none at all, a win is still a win! Absolutely brilliant!"
The commentators poured out belated praise. The reactions of the fans watching the match were much the same.
It was only natural for people to be bewildered. The flashy, aggressive flanking plays he usually showed were nowhere to be seen; instead, Tae-hyun had stuck close to his teammates the entire time. However, the moment Round 1 concluded, the public sentiment shifted entirely.
Indeed. For the Korean fans whose team had already secured a spot in the Round of 16, there was only one thing sweeter than victory: the misfortune of others! Handing Round 1 to the Korean national team meant the Chinese team now had to win both Round 2 and Round 3. Even if they banned Tae-hyun in Round 2, he would be back for Round 3. Having lost the first round, their prospects for the third round were grim...
It wasn't just the fans watching online who were chanting this. Even the spectators in the stadium began to loudly chant about the group stage elimination. It was so loud that the broadcasting casters started looking around in embarrassment!
The American fans in the crowd happily joined in, chanting "Eliminated!" at the top of their lungs. It was unusual enough for so many people to gather in a stadium just to watch a match between two other countries, but hearing them chant about group stage elimination in unison was an equally bizarre spectacle.
— "Will the Chinese national team be able to show us something in Round 2? Ah... wait, what? The Chinese team is not banning Player Kim Tae-hyun! They are banning Player Lee Se-yeon instead!"
— "Th-That is shocking! What on earth are they thinking?!"
"What are they even doing?"
Even Tae-hyun was taken aback by this bold strategy.
"Maybe they're gambling?" Lee Se-yeon suggested. "Since they're going to be eliminated anyway if they lose in Round 3..."
"But don't most gambles end in failure?"
"Well, that's true."