The Art of the Roadblock

The players, who had been happily speeding along, only realized something was amiss after completing a full lap. Since Kim Tae-hyun hadn't been chasing them, they had been pushing their mounts to the limit, only to spot a massive Mecha Basilisk standing right ahead of them.

'Did Kim Tae-hyun overtake us?! When?! Was there a shortcut?! No, that's impossible!'

'What the?! What's going on!'

While everyone was panicking, one quick-witted player realized the truth and screamed.

"Kim Tae-hyun, you crazy bastard!"

"??"

"He's blocking! Kim Tae-hyun is trying to block the track!"

Since the dawn of classic racing games, there were always people like this—those who derived more pleasure from blocking others than actually winning the race. Since the Sky Island Race was also a game enjoyed by players, it naturally had its share of blockers. Moreover, the Mecha Basilisk Tae-hyun was riding was exceptionally massive, making it perfect for blocking the road.

"You're here? I've been waiting."

"Kim Tae-hyun! How can a player of your caliber play so dirtily, you mmmph!"

"Good job, Nantione!"

The player leading the pack couldn't even react before being swallowed whole by the Basilisk. The skill Nantione had received, Gulp, boasted a terrifyingly destructive power that completely belied its cute name. Once caught, it was practically game over for the race!

The players trailing behind swallowed hard.

"Chains of Archisus!"

'Here it comes!'

The players gathered here were, by definition, racing experts. Since they had entered specifically to beat Tae-hyun, they were naturally confident in their skills. As such, they had already memorized the skill Tae-hyun had used during the first start.

'That bizarre, freaky skill that grabs you and drags you back!'

'It's similar to the one that bastard Cain uses, but if you get caught, you're screwed. We have to dodge it at all costs!'

The moment Tae-hyun shouted the skill name, the players immediately veered their mounts to the side or slammed on the brakes. Their speed would drop, but the priority right now was escaping Tae-hyun's skill.

'Please, just don't let it be me!'

'Target someone else!'

"...??"

The players squeezed their eyes shut instinctively. But something was off. No one was being dragged away.

"!"

Clink!

Tae-hyun actually cast the skill this time. He hadn't just shouted the name; he had unleashed the real deal.

"Hey!!"

The remaining players screamed in spite of themselves. They were utterly dumbfounded. To think that a ranker, whose name was always brought up whenever people discussed the greatest players in Pan-On, would resort to such cheap, underhanded tricks!

He had shouted the skill name just to fake them out. It was such a childish trick, which made falling for it all the more infuriating.

"My bad about that," Tae-hyun said shamelessly, driving his Basilisk forward.

Another player, who had slowed down to dodge the fake skill, was promptly devoured.

"Run! Open up some distance!"

"!"

The players activated their saved skills, barely managing to break free.

'I survived!'

'Kim Tae-hyun couldn't catch me!'

However, they failed to realize one crucial detail: once they completed another lap, they would have to face Tae-hyun all over again.

"..."

"..."

The faces of the players who realized this belatedly turned pale.

At the starting line, Tae-hyun was waving his hand as if telling them to hurry up.

"...I don't think we should let Tae-hyun participate in these anymore," Choi Sang-yun muttered, utterly dumbfounded.

The spectators watching the broadcast had a similar reaction. Before the race began, the crowd had been buzzing with excitement.

- Whoa. Kim Tae-hyun is participating? This is my first time seeing him in a race!

- We might never get another chance to see Kim Tae-hyun race in person. Keep your eyes peeled!

- When I have kids, I'm going to brag to them about watching today's race.

No matter what kind of competition it was, the moment Tae-hyun joined, it ceased to be ordinary. Everyone had expected a fierce, high-speed race where players clashed at extreme velocities.

...But what they were witnessing instead was Tae-hyun attempting to block every single competitor.

"Waaaaah! Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"

"Swallow all your rivals whole!!"

Of course, the crowd's reaction was explosive in a different way, but from the tournament organizers' perspective, they couldn't possibly let a blocker like him participate. What would happen to the tournament's integrity?

"Still, aren't you glad we found out in advance? If we had just let him enter and Senior did something like this..."

"...Just thinking about it gives me a headache."

The tournament would have been completely ruined.

"I was actually debating whether to have Tae-hyun make a guest appearance since the crowd would love it, but..." Choi Sang-yun smacked his lips.

He had been planning to persuade Tae-hyun to participate in at least one race, but watching this, those thoughts vanished instantly.

'He really is something else, though.'

Absurdity aside, it was a brilliant strategy. Engaging in a pure speed battle against players who were far more experienced in racing would have put him at a disadvantage. It was only natural for Tae-hyun to choose a strategy that favored him.

What was truly admirable was his ability to come up with such a strategy on the fly!

He had looked at the track, sized up the players, evaluated his mount, and immediately decided to play the blocker. Otherwise, he wouldn't have reacted so quickly.

Furthermore, even though Tae-hyun looked perfectly relaxed waiting at the starting line, doing something like this required immense guts.

Think about it. If even a single player slipped past, it would be game over. Tae-hyun was standing there with absolute confidence that he could block every single one of them.

- The last player is caught!!! Kim Tae-hyun takes the victory!!

- Who could have predicted this outcome!!

'...Wait. Who's doing the commentary?'

Tae-hyun, still on the track, looked up in confusion at the booming voices of the commentators echoing from above. This wasn't even an official tournament, just a casual ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠race, so who...?

Looking up, he saw members of the Power ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Warrior Guild. They had set up a makeshift commentary booth and were shouting into their microphones.

Tae-hyun was impressed. To think they had built such a setup at a racetrack that wasn't even theirs just to do business.

- We will now take a brief commercial break before the next race. Today's ad is for the Power Warrior Guild...

Along with the rewards for winning, a prize chest was granted. Tae-hyun opened it without hesitation.

'Why did I get this garbage...'

Tae-hyun was slightly disappointed. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Usually, what he wanted from chests were weapons or armor. In contrast, the rewards here were race-related items.

Of course, the Wings of Wild Acceleration weren't completely useless. Equipment with movement speed options always came in handy eventually—whether it was fleeing from dangerous monsters or quickly traveling to complete quests.

The problem was the warning that it was practically a curse.

'Just how hard is it to stop that the description calls it a curse?'

Tae-hyun pondered. Should he equip this or not? It seemed a bit awkward for him to use...

'Ah.'

Tae-hyun realized something. Come to think of it, since he would have to do a lot more racing in the future, there was someone who needed speed even more than he did.

"Nantione. Do you want to wear these wings?"

- Ki-it. Ki-it.

Nantione nodded eagerly, highly delighted by Tae-hyun's gift.

Tae-hyun was indeed pushing the princess to her limits, to the point where even Carbanog was concerned. First, riding on top of her to race was enough to give the Erance royalty a collective heart attack, but he had also modified her, attached boosters, forced her into heavy armor... and now, he was making her wear cursed wings.

- Ki-it?

"Nantione. Do you really think I gave you this item with malicious intent? Me, the Hero of the Continent, the Pope of the Archisus Church, and the King of the Atali Kingdom?"

- Ki-it...

Though Nantione had become a Basilisk, she was still an innocent princess at heart. In contrast, Tae-hyun was a seasoned, battle-hardened sca—no, king. Once Tae-hyun started talking, Nantione had no choice but to be swayed.

"Nantione. Don't you trust me?"

- Ki-it. Ki-it.

"Right? I knew you'd trust me. So, you'll wear these wings now, right?"

- Ki-it...

"..."

Lee Da-bi watched Tae-hyun whisper these sweet words with an incredibly complex expression. She knew he would do absolutely anything for a quest, but hearing him speak so sweetly felt incredibly jarring. There was no point in being jealous of an NPC, let alone a Basilisk, but still...!

"There, there, Nantione. Good girl."

- Ki-it. Ki-it.

"Tae-hyun, you've gotten really good at this," Lee Da-bi remarked. "At first, you were so flustered because you didn't know how to handle her."

"Oh, yeah. I searched the internet for how to raise cattle and horses. It turned out to be pretty useful."

"...!!"

Lee Da-bi stared at Nantione with a look of sheer horror. She felt so guilty for having been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠jealous just a moment ago.

'She's being treated like livestock...!'

'Not bad.'

Tae-hyun quickly grew accustomed to the races. Of course, he didn't win every single time. The tracks kept changing, and there were too many variables with skills and other factors. No matter how determined Tae-hyun was to block the road, some opponents were bound to slip through.

Nevertheless, Tae-hyun maintained a stable win rate.

He didn't need to win every single time. Winning once every three or four races was more than enough! That was his calculation.

'Even if I try to get first place every time, let alone someone winning consecutively, players who win once every three or four races are rare. This much is enough to secure the top spot.'

To become the lord of the city, one had to be the player with the most race victories each month. Tae-hyun suspected that becoming the lord was a prerequisite to clearing the quest related to the city's secrets.

'Since nothing has popped up yet, it's highly likely I'll only find out once I become the lord. After all, the quest did say I need to achieve outstanding results in the races...'

- Ki-it...

"What's wrong, Nantione? You don't want to go out there?"

- Ki-it. Ki-it.

"But if you don't go, I won't be able to participate in the race. And if I can't participate, I won't be able to clear this quest. Then, because we were slower than the evil villains of the continent, the kingdom will fall, the church will be destroyed, and the entire continent will be ruined. Are you really okay with that?"

- Ki-it...

Nantione stepped forward with a dejected look on her face.

"Hmm. Don't you think Nantione has gotten significantly stronger?"

- Master. Wouldn't it be better if I went instead of Nantione? I feel sorry for her.

Yong-yong looked at Nantione with pity. Born as royalty, she must have lived a life of absolute luxury without a single discomfort. Yet here she was, wearing mechanical armor, equipped with boosters and cursed wings, running intense races back-to-back. It was only natural for her to look depressed.

"No."

- Master... Is it because you're worried about me...?

"No, what are you talking about? It's because the upgrades I put into Nantione would go to waste."

- ...