Is... Is This Really Okay?

"Is... is this really okay?" Ryu Da-young asked, her voice tinged with panic. They had agreed to cooperate with the other two guilds, but drawing aggro and dumping it on one side like this...

"Why?"

"What's the problem?"

Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon both wore expressions of genuine, unadulterated confusion, as if to say, What's wrong with that? Their reaction only left Ryu Da-young even more flabbergasted.

"I mean... if the other guild protests..."

"If they don't like it, they can do it too."

"Kim Tae-hyun is right about this."

When Lee Se-yeon—whom Da-young had considered the voice of reason compared to Tae-hyun—backed him up so easily, Da-young began to question her own sanity. Is this really how things work?!

"It's not like we're clearing this together. We're competing against each other, so this much is fair game."

"Exactly."

Lee Se-yeon agreed, immediately summoning her undead. Giant undead bats materialized in the air, swooped down to draw the soldiers' aggro, and then flew straight toward the other guild's position.

"I... I thought I was supposed to be the one tanking."

"Come on. Just because you're a tank doesn't mean you have to tank every single second. You do it when it's actually necessary."

"She's right. Save your HP. You'll have plenty of chances to use it later."

Ryu Da-young nodded, her expression a complex mix of bewilderment and resignation.

"Is it just me, or does it feel like the number of soldiers has increased?!"

"Don't tell me those Black Claw bastards are redirecting their mobs to us?"

"No way. They wouldn't dare..."

The members of the Ninetails Guild looked suspicious, but they couldn't be sure. After all, further away, the Black Claw Guild was also locked in a fierce, desperate battle against a massive horde of soldiers.

"Soldiers are pouring out of the inner castle!"

As they breached the outer walls and drew closer to the inner castle, the quality of the enemy soldiers spiked dramatically. Bastos, a high-ranking player and leader of the Ninetails Guild, looked around and roared.

"Hold them off! Buy us time until we can get inside!"

"Yes, sir!"

As expected of a major guild, they had a contingency plan for this. While the main force held the line and drew attention, a select group of rankers would slip away and flank the enemy. Bastos and his elite rankers quickly slipped into a side alley to take a detour.

"Why is this wall collapsed?"

"Must've been a battle here."

"But no one should have fought here yet..."

The rankers muttered in confusion as they bypassed the rubble. Naturally, a similar scene was unfolding on the Black Claw Guild's side.

"We have to get into the inner castle first, no matter what! We must occupy the interior! We cannot lose the Lordship!"

"You all know it'll be an absolute embarrassment if we lose to those Black Claw bastards, right?!"

Unlike Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon, these players harbored no real wariness toward the Hungry Chaos. They had never faced it directly! Having only watched it through streams and videos, their complacency was, in a way, inevitable.

Watching top-tier rankers like Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon easily dismantle the minions of the Hungry Chaos had given them a false ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sense of security. Ah, is that all it is? They're strong, but we can handle that level of difficulty, they mistakenly believed.

But they were dead wrong. When Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon fought the Hungry Chaos, they threw absolutely everything they had at it, leaving no skill unused.

"We've found the inner castle gate! Enemies spotted!"

"Use your skills! We're breaking through!"

Elite guards stood firm before the inner castle gate. Of course, the guild rankers had no intention of engaging them in a prolonged battle. With endless reinforcements on the way, the smartest move in a siege like this was to force their way inside and seize the interior.

"Sacred Charge of Honor!"

"Power of Unity!"

With a deafening roar, the rankers launched their coordinated charge straight at the elite guards. Having executed this maneuver countless times before, they didn't have a single shred of doubt that they would break through.

*CRASH!*

"!!!!"

"Gah!"

Screaming in agony, the rankers were sent flying backward. The massive chunk of HP they had instantly lost was shocking enough, but what truly paralyzed them with disbelief was the fact that their charge had failed. This got blocked?

"What are those idiots doing?"

"We'll show them how it's done!"

"Hey! No, wait! Something's wrong!"

Rankers from another guild, arriving late to the scene, immediately prepared to charge. No matter how hard those nearby tried to warn them, they refused to listen. Who are they to try and hold us back!

"How dare you mere adventurers attempt to set foot inside this castle!"

"!??"

"Wow. That is no joke."

Tae-hyun clicked his tongue as he watched the rankers get bounced off the inner castle gate from afar. To be repelled so effortlessly even after stacking multiple buffs for an explosive charge... the enemy's defensive power was clearly off the charts.

At this rate, they might even survive my bombs.

Bolstered by the elite status of Scalo Castle, the inner castle buff, and the blessing of the Hungry Chaos, these guards possessed the durability of legendary champions rather than mere soldiers. If a coordinated charge by elite rankers was deflected like a pebble hitting a wall, Tae-hyun's bombs would likely do little damage.

"I will go out."

"Huh? No. Why?"

"Why would you do something so reckless?"

Both Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon immediately stopped her. Ryu Da-young looked at them, utterly bewildered.

"But... isn't that... my role?"

"There's no need to pick a fight when you can just avoid it."

"..."

They were going to avoid this too?! Ryu Da-young was stunned once again. Despite having partied with them for a while now, she still found it incredibly difficult to adapt to their mindset. How on earth are they going to bypass that?

"Looks like I'll have to be the bait," Tae-hyun decided quickly.

Ryu Da-young stammered in panic, "But I'm the tank, so I should be the bait—"

"But it can't be helped in this case. Listen closely."

With his Speech skill, a passive 300% aggro generation against the Hungry Chaos, and a whopping 500% aggro generation against the Castle Lord, there was absolutely no contest. The moment the enemies laid eyes on Tae-hyun, they would lose their minds and charge him first.

"Besides, your only job is to protect Lee Se-yeon from anyone who gets ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠too close. We don't always have to do things the conventional way."

"U-Understood."

Lee Se-yeon spoke up to clarify.

"Once you act as bait and break their defensive line at the gate, what's next?"

"I'll slip inside and cause absolute chaos. By the way, can I strap some bombs to your undead?"

"...You only brought this up because you wanted to do that, didn't you?"

Lee Se-yeon began to regret ever showing him the concept of undead bombs. Yet, she couldn't deny that it was an incredibly efficient combination. The main weakness of an undead horde tactic was its lack of explosive, concentrated burst damage. Strapping bombs to them solved that weakness in an instant. If she kept her elite undead separate and used the low-grade undead in the front lines to block paths and detonate...

"Fine. Do it quickly."

"You're really letting me?"

Tae-hyun was genuinely surprised. He had fully expected her to refuse. Lee Se-yeon shot him an exasperated look.

"You're literally putting your life on the line as bait. Did you think I wouldn't even grant you this much?"

"Yeah."

"...Hurry up and strap the bombs on before I smack you."

With Lee Da-bi not around to keep them in check, Se-yeon felt an especially strong urge to hit him. Ryu Da-young watched their exchange with a look of sheer anxiety, genuinely worried that a physical altercation was about to break out.

"You two... aren't fighting, right?"

"We're not fighting!"

"Who's fighting??"

Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon both felt a brief pang of self-reflection. Ah, I guess it really does look like that to outsiders!

"Your parents are b—"

"?"

"Wait, Kim Tae-hyun... just because your taunt worked earlier doesn't mean you can just go wild like—"

The rankers stared in utter disbelief as Tae-hyun suddenly appeared and began shouting insults. No matter how confident he was in his taunt skills, who in their right mind would fall for such a childish, half-baked provocation?

"It's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the King of Atali!!! Capture him!!!"

"He is the enemy of our Lord, the Hungry Chaos!!! Kill him!!!"

Yet, the moment they saw Tae-hyun, everyone from the Castle Lord to the warriors of the Hungry Chaos completely lost their minds. He was a man uniquely despised by all sides for entirely different reasons!

"Break formation and seize him!!!"

"Yes, sir!"

*Clang, clang!*

The elite guards, who had stood like an immovable iron wall just moments ago, broke their perfect formation and began chasing after Tae-hyun. The rankers were dumbfounded. How was this even possible? It wasn't like he had leveled his taunt skill to a Legendary rank!

"Kim Tae-hyun...! Thank you!!"

"Honestly, I never expected you to sacrifice yourself like this!!"

For now, the rankers were deeply grateful. Whatever his motives, opening the inner castle gate in such a desperate situation was a massive favor.

But something was off. Tae-hyun was... running straight toward them.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

"Since we're clearing this quest together, let's fight together!"

"No! Go toward the guild members in the back! We're the infiltration squad!"

No matter how desperately the rankers protested, Tae-hyun completely ignored them. With delicate, calculated movements, he ran in a path that perfectly dragged the elite guards right into the rankers of both Black Claw and the Ninetails Guild! In an instant, the players and the castle guards were thrown into a chaotic, messy brawl.

"You don't have to thank me!"

You absolute son of a bitch.

He dragged the entire army to us and now he's acting like he did us a favor...!

Hearing Tae-hyun's shameless shout, the rankers had to swallow their rising curses. If they dared to speak their minds, they knew Tae-hyun would probably feed them to the mobs first!

...But grievances aside, the buffs Tae-hyun was radiating were incredibly sweet. From his high-level tactical skills to his class skills as the Avatar of Archisus, the stat boosts were so massive that the rankers, despite their scowling faces, couldn't help but feel their lips twitch upward in satisfaction.

Among everyone present, Tae-hyun boasted the most overwhelming damage output. His explosive strikes tore through the heavily buffed royal guards as if they were paper! While the guards aggressively counterattacked the other rankers, the moment they faced Tae-hyun, they immediately raised their shields and desperately tried to turtle.

Yet, Tae-hyun slipped his blade and skills through the tiniest gaps with uncanny, ghostly precision. Watching him operate like a flawless machine in the midst of such chaotic warfare was enough to send shivers down one's spine.

"Bastos!"

"?!"

Bastos, the leader of the Ninetails Guild, flinched when Tae-hyun suddenly called his name. Why is he calling me?

"I'm counting on you!"

"Uh... okay! But for what?"

*BOOM!*

A Centurion charged forward and slammed directly into Bastos. As he was sent flying, Bastos screamed curses in his head.

You absolute piece of shit!!

So that was what he was counting on him for—to tank the boss!

"I literally warned you, so why didn't you block it?!"

He didn't even have the luxury to yell back. Bastos scrambled to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠raise his shield in a panic.

The rankers from the Black Claw Guild looked at Bastos with eyes full of pity and profound sympathy. They nodded as if they completely understood his pain. Overwhelmed with emotion, Bastos nodded back.

In that single, fleeting moment, a deep, unspoken bond formed between the rankers of the two rival guilds. It was a development that neither guild leader could have ever anticipated. Bound by their shared terror and hatred of Kim Tae-hyun, the two guilds had finally become one.

"Over here! Let's pool our tanks together in one spot!"

"Healers, just spam your buffs in the center! Don't waste time looking for your own guild members!"

"Ah. Is the gate open? Guess I'll head inside then."

"..."

As they watched Tae-hyun shamelessly abuse his high evasion stat to slip past the frontline and sprint ahead, the rankers glared at his retreating back with eyes that could kill.