The Art of Stalling

If there had been other people around, they would have grabbed Kim Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi and yelled, "Get a grip!" But unfortunately, only Tae-hyun and Da-bi were here.

"That actually makes sense," Da-bi said.

"Right? There's really no reason to lift the curse, is there?"

"Yeah. She'll definitely get weaker if we cure her..."

"Plus, keeping her cursed has another benefit."

"What's that?"

"If we don't lift the curse, we can delay our conflict with the Erangs Kingdom."

Come to think of it, if he lifted the curse on the Second Prince's daughter and married her, he would be irrevocably aligned with the Second Prince. No matter how high Tae-hyun's Speech skill was, he wouldn't be able to just say, "Oh, we're not actually close," and get away with it.

No matter how tempting the Erangs royal family's unique skills and items were, the risk was far too high. But what if he stalled without lifting the curse?

"To proceed with the marriage, you must first lift the curse. Please, do it quickly."

"I'm trying my best, but the curse just won't budge..."

"Ah, I see. It is indeed a powerful curse, so it cannot be helped."

"By the way, what kind of skills are passed down in the Erangs royal family?"

He could easily milk them for all they were worth like that.

Lee Da-bi tilted her head as she listened. The more she heard, the more it sounded like...

Marriage fraud...

While Da-bi was lost in thought, Tae-hyun addressed the Second Prince.

"Your Highness, the Second Prince. I've met her, but..."

"Ahem. Of course, I understand how you feel."

Before Tae-hyun could even finish, the Second Prince rushed to make excuses.

"Even if she is cursed, I'm sure her appearance must seem quite hideous and threatening to you."

"Ki-it!"

Right on cue, the Basilisk flicked her tongue and let out a chilling hiss.

"Uh, quiet down. We are in the middle of a conversation."

"Ki-it!"

"But what can I do if you look so hideous and threatening!"

"Ki-ii-it!"

"Y-you insolent child! How dare you threaten your own father! Do you think I'll be intimidated by that?!"

He looks absolutely terrified, though?

The Second Prince had already retreated about ten steps.

"...At any rate, she was originally a truly kind and beautiful child! It's only because of the curse that she became like this. Please believe me. Once the curse is lifted, she will return to being more beautiful than anyone else on this continent."

The Second Prince pleaded desperately.

But the Archisus Paladins were cold ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and unyielding.

"I don't know where this royal runaway from the Erangs Kingdom gets the nerve to wag his tongue like that!"

"Isn't that thing more likely to eat His Holiness before we can even lift the curse? Frankly, how do we even know if that's really the Second Prince's daughter? We have a Wyvern sitting in the back of the Valley; I could bring that over and claim it's a princess of the Ancient Empire!"

Having taken after Tae-hyun, the Archisus Paladins spoke with sharp, razor-edged tongues. Hearing this, the Second Prince's face flushed red and purple as he trembled with rage. No matter the circumstances, this was going way too far!

"She is absolutely not a mere Basilisk, Your Holiness!"

"And why should His Holiness have to personally find a way to lift the curse before we can even form an alliance? What a massive loss! Even our order doesn't do business like that!"

"Enough," Tae-hyun interjected. "He has traveled a long way. Speaking to him like that will only hurt his feelings."

The Second Prince was slightly taken aback by Tae-hyun's sudden kindness. As expected of a king, is he showing proper respect to fellow royalty?

"Your Highness. I believe that this mons—cough, I mean, your daughter, is indeed cursed."

"T-thank you!"

"This mons—actually, I should just ask for her name."

"Didn't you just try to say 'monster'?"

"No, I didn't. What is her name? Should I just call her Basilisk?"

"...It's Nantione."

"Nantione the Basilisk?"

"Why do you keep appending 'the Basilisk' to her name? There's no reason to do that, is there?"

"Ah, my apologies. At any rate, I will do my best to lift the curse."

"Thank you!"

"Once we lift this curse, let us discuss our alliance and how we shall fight together."

"Thank you, thank you! Truly, thank you! Nantione, go with His Majesty and seek a way to break your curse."

Flash!

Nantione brought far more buffs than Tae-hyun had anticipated. The combination of Erangs royal bloodline and a Basilisk form was an absurdly broken synergy that couldn't be found anywhere else. Fittingly, she bestowed incredibly powerful buffs upon Tae-hyun.

"...Do you happen to like demon meat? Want some?"

"Ki-ii-it!"

"Hmm. I guess she doesn't. I thought a Basilisk would love it."

"I'm pretty sure even a Basilisk would find demon meat disgusting," Da-bi remarked.

"This is way more impressive than I expected..."

Lee Se-yeon looked around in astonishment.

Spada City. Among the cities on Sky Island, it was one that had recently been gaining massive popularity. The reason was none other than the city's famous attraction!

Not only did the city's lord change every month to whoever had the most victories in the Sky Island Race, but winning a race also granted various benefits within the city.

Players were granted access to previously restricted facilities, and NPCs who had just been shouting, "Get lost! I have nothing to sell to a slowpoke adventurer like you!" would suddenly welcome them with open arms, saying, "Welcome! I have items reserved just for you!" The entire city was practically obsessed with racing.

This much was fine. It wasn't like Spada was the first bizarre city in Pan-On. With so many diverse locations, a place like this was bound to exist. However, lately, this city had been constantly featured on players' personal streams, rapidly growing in popularity.

The fact that even high-ranking players were participating and talking about it meant it wasn't just a niche trend; it was a certified hit. There was undoubtedly a reward waiting that was highly attractive to rankers.

"Guild Leader, there are way more people here than I thought. The person who just walked past was a ranker."

Lee Se-yeon was visiting Sky Island with her guild members. She was searching for useful skills for herself as a Necromancer, as well as for her guildmates.

"Should I try asking the NPCs?"

"Go ahead."

An Explorer class guild member, who had the best reputation management and the highest Speech skill, stepped forward. Since Se-yeon was a Necromancer, she faced numerous penalties when interacting with NPCs.

"Ahem. Excuse me, shopkeeper. May I ask you a question?"

The Explorer from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Se-yeon's guild was highly experienced. He politely made his inquiry while subtly showing off gear that boosted his Speech and Reputation stats—a clever trick to signal what kind of adventurer he was!

"You are..."

"Oh, it's nothing. The achievements I've accomplished were merely due to good luck. I'm a bit embarrassed that you recognize me, but..."

The Explorer was so accustomed to succeeding in these interactions that he got ahead of himself before even seeing the NPC's reaction.

"...Who is this absolute nobody trying to act friendly with me?"

"Pardon??"

"I've never heard of your name in my life."

"N-no, wait. Let me tell you about the quests I've completed..."

"That sounds like stuff that happened down on the lower continent. Why on earth should I care about that?"

"Well, I, uh..."

The Explorer was flustered. It was his first time being treated so coldly by a merchant NPC when he hadn't even done anything wrong.

"Move aside, will you?"

"??"

As he stood there, frozen under the NPC's harsh glare, another player nudged him from behind.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing? Can't you see I was here first?" the Explorer snapped.

Cutting in front of someone who was already talking to an NPC was practically an invitation to fight. Moreover, the interloper didn't even look that high-level—maybe around 50 or 60? In contrast, the Explorer was a high-level player elite enough to belong to Lee Se-yeon's guild. Usually, he would be the one picking fights, not the other way around. What gave this guy such confidence?

"If you've got a problem, challenge me to a race."

"...What?"

"I've never seen your face at the stadium. You're new to this city, aren't you? Well, I've participated in the race no less than 198 times."

"...So what?"

"In this city, the one with the best racing skills is king. A complete novice who hasn't even raced once, like you, should go wait outside!"

"Well said, adventurer. Now there's a man who knows how things work around here."

Even the shopkeeper nodded in agreement. The Explorer felt his jaw drop at the sheer absurdity of it all.

"What are you waiting for? Move it."

Ugh...!

He wanted nothing more than to force-logout this punk right then and there, city safety zones be damned, but he couldn't cause trouble for his guildmates. Swallowing his anger, the Explorer stepped outside.

"...I'm telling you, they're all insane!"

"Wow. That's way worse than I expected."

Lee Se-yeon fell into thought as she looked at her guild members. To get recognized in this city, let alone claim any rewards, it seemed they would have to participate in the race. The question was, who among her guildmates was the best racer?

"Everyone has a mount, right?"

"Of course, what kind of question is that?"

"Who here thinks they're the fastest?"

At Se-yeon's question, every single guild member raised their hand. As expected of high-ranking players, their pride was second to none!

"...Fine, let's all participate together, and we'll focus on progressing the quests around whoever wins."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"By the way, Guild Leader, is it true that the PD practically begged you last time?"

"Ah, you mean the cooking battle with Kim Tae-hyun?"

The guild members nodded knowingly amongst themselves. They had found the broadcast incredibly entertaining as well.

"Are you going to be on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the show again next time? I heard the PD practically begged you."

According to rumors, the PD had sobbed, pleading, "If you two just appear together one more time, I'll never pester you again!"

"That's just a wild rumor," Se-yeon replied.

"Ah, really?"

"He didn't get down on his knees and beg. He just cried."

"..."

"..."

So he really did cry while begging! Just how massive were the ratings for that episode...?

"Besides, it's not like I can just go on the show whenever I want. I have to appear with Kim Tae-hyun."

"True, Player Kim Tae-hyun must be incredibly busy. He has to manage his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gaming team on top of all his quests."

"Watching him from the side, it really is no joke. But then again, he brought it on himself..."

Even in Se-yeon's eyes, Tae-hyun was stretching himself far too thin. But what could be done? He was the one who chose this path. And he had already proven his unwavering skill in the tournament, showing he wouldn't be shaken by such burdens...

As they chatted, a sudden commotion arose behind them. Se-yeon casually turned her head.

Walking down the street was a group of very familiar faces—accompanied by a massive Basilisk.

"...????"