"Wait, Is That Kim Tae-hyun?"

"Oh, is that player Kim Tae-hyun?" one of Lee Se-yeon's guild members spoke up first, recognizing him.

Tae-hyun waved back with a bright, welcoming smile. "Hey, you're in Se-yeon's guild, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Tell Se-yeon not to let her guard down. I'm winning our next match."

"She's standing right behind you, though?"

"..."

Tae-hyun felt a sudden wave of embarrassment. Well, how was I supposed to know she was right behind me?!

Se-yeon stepped forward, waving her hand just like Tae-hyun had. "Aren't you supposed to be managing your territory in the Valley?"

"I was, but I took a little break to come here."

"Really? But..."

Se-yeon double-checked the monster standing behind Tae-hyun. She had no idea why he had dressed a Basilisk in fine silk robes, but it was definitely a Basilisk.

When on earth did he tame that?

Taming monsters in Pan-On wasn't entirely impossible, but the stronger the monster, the harder it was to tame. In that regard, a Basilisk was a creature that should have been impossible to tame at the current player level cap. How did he pull it off?

Then again, he does have all sorts of bizarre skills...

"Where did you get that?"

"Ah, this Basilisk?" Tae-hyun looked at the Basilisk and said, "We're just getting to know each other before we start dating."

"..."

"..."

"...?????????"

Everyone, including Se-yeon and her guild members, was utterly shell-shocked. What?!

"So... uh... with Da-bi...?" Se-yeon asked in a flustered voice. As luck would have it, Lee Da-bi was standing right next to the Basilisk.

"What are you talking about? Does Da-bi look like a Basilisk to you? That's incredibly rude," Tae-hyun said, looking utterly appalled.

"N-no, that's not what I meant! I didn't mean Da-bi looks like a Basilisk."

"Then what did you mean?"

Da-bi, her face flushing bright red, nudged Tae-hyun in the ribs and whispered, "I think she thought you meant the two of us are dating..."

"What? Se-yeon isn't that stupid, is she?"

"I'm pretty sure this one is on you, Tae-hyun... But anyway, anyone can make a mistake."

Tae-hyun looked back at Se-yeon, still sounding incredulous. "If that's really what you thought, that's so disrespectful to Da-bi."

You are the last person who should be saying that! Se-yeon's guild members screamed internally. No matter how good Kim Tae-hyun was at the game, he was one hundred percent in the wrong here. Even if they asked Cain, he would agree that Tae-hyun was the one at fault.

"Then what did you actually mean?"

"I meant I'm getting to know this Basilisk."

"...Ah!" Se-yeon nodded as if she finally understood.

"???" The guild members were dumbfounded.

Guild Leader, please don't just keep it to yourself. Explain it to us too...

More importantly, how on earth did you understand anything from that explanation?!

"Ah, you got a quest where you have to date a Basilisk."

"Exactly. I knew you'd get it. Why were you talking nonsense earlier?"

"My bad, you jerk."

Se-yeon had pieced together about half of what was going on. She didn't know the details, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but he had apparently triggered some quest to date a Basilisk! Though she had absolutely no idea how or why someone would ever get a quest like that...

"There's actually a very ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠long story behind this," Da-bi interjected, stepping in before Tae-hyun could be branded a complete lunatic.

"What kind of story...?"

"Well..." Da-bi gave a brief, summarized explanation. An NPC from the Erance royal family had come to propose marriage, and since the buff was just too good to pass up...

"Ah. Well, in that case, you have to do it." Se-yeon accepted it within a single second.

Da-bi stared at Se-yeon with a look of profound alienation. I thought Se-yeon would at least try to talk some sense into him!

Of course, to any normal outsider, Da-bi—who had also accepted this logic after hearing the explanation—was just as bizarre.

"But if that's the case, isn't it better not to lift the curse? Keeping the curse active while reaping the buffs seems way more profitable."

"...That's exactly what we're doing."

Hyeon-ah, who had been listening from the side, tilted her head and asked, "Isn't that marriage fr—"

"It's a quest. Anything goes."

"Sis!?"

"So, did you come here because of that Basilisk?"

"Ah, no. The Basilisk is just tagging along... I came for the race."

Indeed. The preparations for the racing tournament, spearheaded by Jeong Su-hyeok and Choi Sang-yun, were reaching their peak.

The two of them slumped at the unexpectedly low expectations.

Tae-hyun and Choi Sang-yun immediately caught on and nodded. Experienced Pan-On players could estimate the value of a quest just by reading a single paragraph.

If it started with "Royal Family," the rewards were bound to be good. If it contained words like "stingy" or "miser," the rewards would be terrible. And if it started with "Archisus," there was a high probability it would have an absurd, unfair difficulty...

Most importantly, this quest was related to the Ancient Empire.

An Ancient Empire quest?

Having already reaped massive profits from Ancient Empire quests, Tae-hyun found this impossible to ignore. Above all, Sky Island was a place where a vast number of ruins from the Ancient Empire remained intact. Even when the continent below was ravaged by destruction, Sky Island had remained relatively safe!

A quest and a tournament. Tae-hyun had more than enough reasons to go.

But how did she know to come here? Tae-hyun looked at Se-yeon with curiosity. Had other players received the quest too? That was possible, but if not, her intuition was incredibly sharp. Either that, or she was just extremely lucky.

-Ki-it.

"Right. You're hungry?" Tae-hyun pulled out some beautifully cooked food and handed it to the Basilisk.

To maximize the effects of her overpowered skills, he needed to get closer to the Basilisk. Among the various skills Tae-hyun possessed, the best one for this situation was, without a doubt, his cooking skill.

From dishes made with grains harvested by the sweat of the Valley's farmers, to high-grade meat stews, soups, and so on.

Normally, Tae-hyun prioritized the stat buffs of his dishes over their taste, but he made an exception for the Basilisk. He had to win her over first!

-Ki-it. Ki-it.

"Here, eat this white rice too."

-Excuse me, Master. Why are you only giving white rice to that Basilisk? Heuk-heuk complained in an incredibly aggrieved voice.

Tae-hyun's divine beasts did get fed his cooking quite often. They ate when they rested, when they traveled, when they needed to recover... Tae-hyun was a man of meticulous calculation in these matters.

The problem was that taste was never part of his calculations.

-Heuk-heuk. Here, drink this. It has great options for you.

-Ke... Kegh... Broccoli... carrots... What on earth did you put in this...?

-Good medicine is always bitter.

-With your skills, Master, couldn't you make it taste good too...?

-Sorry, but my skills aren't that advanced. Just deal with it.

Liar...! No matter how they looked at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it, he was clearly sacrificing taste because he didn't want to waste time on it.

The dragons had been forced to endure these bitter, awful tastes all this time, so seeing a mere snake that had rolled in from who-knows-where get fed only delicious delicacies made their blood boil.

-A mere snake that can't even fly properly!

-Master. Honestly, aren't dragons far more elegant and dignified beings than a Basilisk?

-Kyaoo! Even Bulbul-i nodded and joined in.

Tae-hyun asked, looking puzzled. "But I always feed you delicious things?"

-Kyaoo? Bulbul-i paused, realizing that was actually true. The baby dragon quietly shuffled over and stood on the Basilisk's side.

-...Hey!

-How dare you betray your fellow dragons and side with a Basilisk! The two older dragons were appalled, but Bulbul-i just snorted. He didn't owe either of them anything anyway.

Nantione the Basilisk, finding Bulbul-i adorable, lowered her head and let the baby dragon climb onto her back.

-Does a Red Dragon have no pride?!

-Kyaoo!

-Ki-it.

"Alright, stop fighting. I'll give you guys something delicious too," Tae-hyun said, stepping in to stop the bickering. Come to think of it, he really hadn't paid much attention to taste while trying to restore the dragons' strength. He had just assumed that since they were dragons and not players, they wouldn't mind!

"Here you go." Tae-hyun pulled out some dishes from his inventory and set up a lavish feast. Seeing a menu completely different from their usual fare, the dragons began to scarf it down with deeply moved expressions. Chomp, chomp, gulp—

-...?

-???

Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk paused mid-bite, looking back and forth at each other.

"Is something wrong?"

-The taste... is it just me, or is this way too greasy...?

-It tastes... unhealthy, Master.

Tae-hyun was taken aback. What...? "Hey, that's perfectly normal food."

-Is it?

-No... it's far too stimulating...

Just in case, Tae-hyun pulled out the dishes he usually fed them—bitter, healthy, stat-boosting meals. Even as they grumbled, the dragons ate them right up.

-This is too bitter, Master.

-Indeed. It is terrible.

"...Then why do you keep eating it?"

-...Wait, why are we? The two dragons only realized it just then and gasped in horror. Their palates had been completely ruined!

Watching this bizarre spectacle, one of Se-yeon's guild members suddenly had an idea. "By the way, Guild Leader. Do you think we could get some Basilisk venom or scales?"

Since it was an incredibly rare monster that was hard to come by, it would be a shame to miss out on such an opportunity.

"Why don't you ask Tae-hyun yourself?"

"But you're the closest to him, Guild Leader."

"He's not the type to just give things away just because we're close... But fine, I'll ask."

At Se-yeon's question, Tae-hyun readily nodded. "Sure, take some. It's not like she's going to run out of them."

"Really? Than—"

-Ki-iiit! The Basilisk hissed fiercely, warning them to stay back.

...So her name was Nantione.