"No, Seriously, Can He Actually Turn Things Around Here?"
'No, seriously, can he actually turn things around here?' Tae-hyun fell deep into thought. 'Does Penguin Panda have something up his sleeve? Well, if he's a ranker who made it this far, he might have a hidden trump card...'
"KingTaehyunNo1 has stopped right in front of them! He's taunting his opponents! What absolute confidence! But this might be too arrogant. If they turn the tables on him now, it'll be fatal!"
KingTaehyunNo1 stopped and began waving to the players behind him. That cocky gesture infuriated everyone from the competitors to the fans.
Of course, it was mostly the Chinese players and fans who were throwing a fit, but anger was anger nonetheless. If he got overtaken now, he would surely face a mountain of ridicule on top of their wrath.
"He's certainly confident," Lee Da-bi remarked.
"You shouldn't pull stunts like that before you've actually won..." Tae-hyun said.
However, rendering Tae-hyun's words entirely moot, KingTaehyunNo1 utilized his massive lead to secure a clean victory.
"KingTaehyunNo1 takes the victory! He's waving to the fans! He looks a bit cheeky, but isn't that just part of his charm?"
"The fans are cheering wildly as well!"
'I think there are way more people cursing him out, though.' While fans from other countries cheered and thought it was a decent show, the Chinese fans were mostly spamming things like, "Watch your back at night, you little punk!" That was how grating he had been. It wasn't enough that he won; he had to win in the most obnoxious way possible.
The tournament progressed rapidly. Since eight players competed at a time and only the winner advanced, the pace was bound to be fast. All sorts of mounts and strategies made their appearance. Naturally, members of the Power Warrior Guild participated as well.
"Excuse me, sir. Could you please not fly that rocket anywhere near me?"
"I will literally pay you if you stay away from me."
Other participants addressed the Power Warrior guild members with the utmost politeness. They avoided them not because they were afraid, but because they wanted to avoid getting dirty. If it were someone like Choi Sang-yun or Jeong Su-hyeok from Team KL, they could pilot those rocket-like Engineering mounts with enough skill to avoid collateral damage. The Power Warrior guild members, however, possessed no such driving skills. Instead, they made up for it with sheer madness.
"If you attack me, we both go down! See this self-destruct button right here? One press and we're both history!"
"Do you know what this mount is called? It's called 'Let's Die Together'! It comes with a built-in self-destruct skill every single round!"
The Power Warrior guild members, who threatened to drag everyone down with them if anyone dared to use an item or skill on them, were the definition of terror. Because they were the type of lunatics who would actually do it!
"It's... it's Kim Tae-hyun!!!"
"Kim Tae-hyun is here!!! Everyone, back off!"
"...No, wait. I'm not with them," Tae-hyun defended himself in a flustered voice.
He didn't want to be associated with the Power Warrior guild members, of all people.
"Lord Tae-hyun! You've arrived!!"
"Over here, sir!!"
"Guys, if you act like this, people are going to get the wrong idea," Tae-hyun said with a grimace.
This was supposed to be a fair tournament, and he didn't want to be accused of match-fixing by colluding with a group of players. Especially since he was technically on the hosting side as a member of Team KL.
"Nonsense! Anything for you, Lord Tae-hyun!"
"Also, I'm not participating."
"!!"
After much deliberation, Tae-hyun had decided to sit this tournament out. While his participation would have generated massive hype and drawn in even larger crowds, the event was already highly successful without him. There was no real need for him to join. Furthermore, winning too much as one of the hosts might raise unnecessary complaints...
"Sniff...!"
"We will do our absolute best to win this tournament for you, Lord Tae-hyun!!"
"...Y-yeah. Thanks."
The surrounding players were shocked by Tae-hyun's words. Kim Tae-hyun wasn't participating?
"Hey, did you hear? Kim Tae-hyun isn't playing."
"Isn't that... a massive relief?"
The players waiting to register didn't know whether to celebrate or be disappointed. Facing a monster like Kim Tae-hyun in a race was incredibly stressful, so his absence was good news, but at the same time, they wondered when they would ever get another chance to compete against him.
"Man, I literally signed up just to go head-to-head with Kim Tae-hyun."
"Stop joking. As if you could ever beat him."
"Hey, even if I lose, it's an honor! Just being on the same screen is a win. And on the off chance I actually beat him? I'd brag about it for the rest of my life."
Hearing that, the other players looked intrigued. It made sense. If not now, when would they ever get to test their mettle against Kim Tae-hyun?
"Player Kim Tae-hyun! Please participate!"
"Exactly! We registered just to see you play!"
"What are you guys talking about?! He said he doesn't want to!"
The players who were seriously aiming for the championship title nearly lost their minds at the crowd's reaction. They had been biting their lips to suppress their grins when they heard Kim Tae-hyun was sitting it out, and now these idiots were trying to drag him back in!
"Kim Tae-hyun isn't playing?!"
"Isn't that a good thing, sir?"
"A good thing?! I needed to defeat Kim Tae-hyun!"
"I-Is that really true?"
"...What's with that look?"
"O-Oh, nothing."
Lin Yongli, a player for China's Chengdu Bears, glared at the teammate who was looking at him with blatant skepticism.
"But still... can you really beat Kim Tae-hyun?"
"This isn't the Arena."
"Even if it's not the Arena, Kim Tae-hyun is still Kim Tae-hyun..."
The teammate had recently watched several videos of Tae-hyun's matches. The way he blocked paths right from the start and ruthlessly eliminated surrounding players was mind-blowing. He truly lived up to his reputation!
"...I know that. But this race isn't as mechanically demanding as the Arena. There are plenty of variables."
From mounts to skills and items, there were too many random factors, and the pace was incredibly fast. In fact, even the great Kim Tae-hyun hadn't won every single race he participated in. Knowing this, Lin Yongli and several other Chinese players had already formed a pact.
"We must defeat Kim Tae-hyun at all costs!"
"If we end up in the same match as him, we'll team up to shut him down!"
It was a classic case of Teaming. Forming unofficial alliances to eliminate others in a solo free-for-all race! It was a clear violation of the rules, but the prize of defeating him was simply too tempting.
Ever since their shocking elimination from the World Cup, the Chinese national team players had been treated like treasonous criminals.
The atmosphere was so brutal that players who had been left out of the national team were secretly breathing sighs of relief. The defeat was so shocking that even the government had slashed its esports funding. While venting their frustration here after getting slapped over there might seem petty, the Chinese players desperately needed a victory of some kind. Otherwise, even if the media wanted to spin things in their favor, they would have absolutely no ground to stand on.
"We absolutely had to beat Kim Tae-hyun... Do whatever it takes to get him to participate!"
"W-what kind of power do I have to make that happen? Can't we just aim to win the tournament normally?"
"I told you, the chances of winning the entire tournament are even slimmer!"
With eight players in a race and only one winner advancing, how much luck would it take to win the whole thing? More importantly, winning a tournament without Kim Tae-hyun in it cut the prestige of the victory by more than half. If Kim Tae-hyun were present...
...They could have painted over their past failures with gold, shifting all the blame onto the previous national team roster. On the other hand, if Kim Tae-hyun wasn't there...
...Such cold ridicule was bound to rain down on them. It wouldn't matter if they argued that several famous 1st Division players had participated. Most Chinese fans only remembered the names of their own players and Kim Tae-hyun.
"We have to get Kim Tae-hyun to play. Spread the word among the players and start a petition or something."
"I-I heard Korea has something called a national petition. Should we submit one there?"
"I don't care what it is, just try every possible method!"
"KingTaehyunNo1 secures yet another victory! We can say this with absolute certainty: he is currently the player with the most momentum in this tournament!"
"Wow, we were disappointed when Kim Tae-hyun announced his absence, but who knew we'd get a rising star like this?"
"Prominent rankers are dropping like flies. But don't worry, everyone! In this race, you never know who will win until the very end!"
"Who else is participating in this race?"
"We have Gonzalez from the Texas Cowboys. He's a player who has shown great performance in the Pan-On League. With his high Dexterity stat, he's exceptionally good at adapting to chaotic situations."
"Next to him is Huang Ronghao from the Hangzhou Wyverns! Although he's been in a bit of a slump this season, he's a player with undeniable potential. This is going to be a tight race!"
"Who is that player with their face covered?"
"Ah, that player is representing a guild. They covered their face, claiming they came to make a name for their guild. They promised to take off the mask once they either lose or win the championship!"
"Who is that?" Tae-hyun asked.
"There are so many weirdos in our guild that I don't even know all of them. They're probably just doing it for attention," Lee Da-bi assessed coldly.
In reality, the Power Warrior player was incredibly popular.
'Wait, hold on. Those are Power Warrior guild members cheering, aren't they?' Tae-hyun realized the identity of the crowd shouting from the stands. What a terrifying bunch!
"Excuse me... Player Kim Tae-hyun."
"?"
Tae-hyun, who was currently munching on popcorn with Lee Da-bi in the spectator stands, looked up in confusion at the people approaching him.
"We're huge fans!"
"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you."
"We really, desperately want to see you race! Could you please do just one special exhibition match after the tournament ends?"
"Well... I haven't really thought about it."
"Actually, the person who sent me is incredibly wealthy. They said they are willing to donate an astronomical amount to this tournament, as long as they can see you play."
"..."
"...???"
Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi exchanged looks.
'Is this guy a scammer?'
'Definitely a scammer.'
Neither Tae-hyun nor Lee Da-bi was foolish enough to fall for such a sketchy offer.
"Even if you say that while the tournament is ongoing..."
"No, it's the truth! Please believe me! I can connect you with the investor right now! They can wire the funds immediately!"
"He seems like a real weirdo," Lee Da-bi whispered.
"I agree," Tae-hyun muttered.
Met with their deeply suspicious glares, the employee sent by the Chinese esports organization beat his chest in frustration. He had actually come with official authorization...!
"Please, just hear me out!"
"What, did they plant a bomb under the racetrack or something? Why is he acting like this?"