Keep Guarding If an Enemy Shows Up, Right?

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At Rufo's question, Tae-hyun shook his head.

"...?"

No?

Rufo turned to look at Jeong Su-hyeok. At a glance, he looked incredibly weak for a mage. Even if he kept defensive magic on himself ahead of time, he looked like the kind of person who'd die after taking just a couple of hits.

"You're telling me not to protect him?"

"We've come this far. He should be able to take care of himself."

Rufo stared at Jeong Su-hyeok in disbelief. Surely there was no way this guy would agree with something like that...

"Of course! I'll do my best!"

"?!"

"See? Isn't that nice and spirited? Yeah, work hard like that."

As he walked, Jeong Su-hyeok cast a barrier ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on himself.

Mages normally used defensive magic right before monsters appeared and combat began. That was how they got the most out of it.

But Tae-hyun had told Su-hyeok something different.

Even if someone lacked talent, that wasn't a reason they couldn't fight.

Even in a situation where a few bad hits could kill him instantly, Jeong Su-hyeok didn't care and shouted back with stubborn resolve.

When they reached another fork in the path, Tae-hyun used Divine Foresight.

He'd been using it to navigate for a while now.

In terrain this complicated, it was practically a cheating-level skill.

Other parties had challenged the dungeon over and over, retreating repeatedly just to piece together ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a map, but Tae-hyun was simply making his own path forward.

I really shouldn't be lecturing Jeong Su-hyeok. I'm wasting a fair bit of mana too.

Tae-hyun thought to himself.

Divine Foresight was a skill that consumed no small amount of MP. Even when used only at the necessary moments, his mana was draining fast.

Of course, he had brought plenty of MP recovery potions, but he couldn't start using them already if he wanted to save them for when things got truly urgent later.

I wish I could get some more gear with mana recovery options on it besides the Earring of Mana Recovery.

Increasing mana recovery speed was one of the more valuable options among item affixes. Once it appeared on an item, it was worth whatever price the seller asked.

And Tae-hyun had once had a chance to get a ring that boosted mana recovery speed.

The ring a guild had emptied its entire treasury to make.

The ring the Sadiq Church had raided and stolen.

The moment he thought of it, his fist clenched tight.

Clench!

Veins stood out on the hand gripping the Ancient Hammer, and Jeong Su-hyeok, watching from behind, tilted his head.

Is Sunbae nervous too?

"They're here!"

"Good. Let's do this."

Tae-hyun spoke confidently and charged in.

Two Marden Undead Spearmen were blocking the corridor.

Stab stab stab—

The undead spearmen thrust sharply with their lances, but Tae-hyun didn't care in the slightest.

If anything, he pushed even farther forward.

Whum, whum, whum—

After spinning the hammer two and a half times, Tae-hyun smashed one of the undead spearmen with it.

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!

A stat that, thanks to his passive skill, he could raise far more easily and far higher than other players.

On top of that, critical hits born from overwhelming Luck, plus buffs.

And finally, the Ancient Hammer, with its absurd attack power—though it couldn't damage living creatures.

Rumble...

In this underground dungeon, Tae-hyun was no different from a butcher.

What was more, the Marden Undead Soldiers couldn't land a proper attack on him.

At best, the curses they cast only lowered movement speed.

And their accuracy was terrible too.

Every single incoming attack was dodged.

This was about as bad a matchup as it got—for the monsters.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Watching Tae-hyun sweep away the undead soldiers with his hammer like he was playing whack-a-mole, Jeong Su-hyeok's jaw dropped.

"So that's... what a professional broadcaster looks like...!"

If Bae Jang-wook had been there, he would've said, No, that's just Kim Tae-hyun being Kim Tae-hyun. Other people don't do that.

KRAK!

Meanwhile, danger came for Jeong Su-hyeok as well.

Without warning, a stone wall panel in the corridor opened and an undead monster sprang out from inside.

"Aaaah!"

Jeong Su-hyeok jolted in shock, then quickly remembered what Tae-hyun had told him.

What did Sunbae say I should do in a situation like this?

No, not that one!

"Aaaah!"

With a shout, Jeong Su-hyeok swung his staff.

Lightning gathered at its tip, then shot forward.

It was the strongest spell among the ones he'd learned while running errands at the Magic Tower.

Bzzzt!

As soon as it was struck by lightning, the undead spearman froze for an instant.

Not missing that opening, Jeong Su-hyeok immediately prepared another spell.

He didn't think about dodging, defending, or anything else at all.

He devoted himself entirely to offense.

Bzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzzzzt!

Take a few steps, stop. Take a few steps, stop.

It was only possible because there was just one enemy and the corridor was narrow, but Jeong Su-hyeok was thrilled.

He was fighting in a way that made use of his strengths.

"...!"

At last, the enemy collapsed.

Jeong Su-hyeok jumped up in joy.

"Sunbae! I leveled up!"

"...What?"

Tae-hyun, who had been smashing undead left and right with his hammer, turned around.

He had just taken down nearly dozens of them, and his EXP bar had barely moved. But Jeong Su-hyeok killed one monster and leveled up instantly?

"...Congrats."

"Thank you! It's all thanks to you, Sunbae!"

Should I just shove him out front...?

Even knowing there was no malice in it, Tae-hyun felt a surge of resentment.

"What is it?"

"Help?"

Tae-hyun looked around, hammer in hand.

The place was littered with undead corpses that had been completely smashed apart and scattered everywhere.

It didn't exactly look like he needed help.

"Ah. Right. Sure. And what exactly can you do?"

"...!"

Tae-hyun was briefly surprised.

Yong-yong had grown so much weaker that he'd forgotten, but Yong-yong was still a Gold Dragon.

He surely knew plenty of spells.

But whether human—or dragon—you had to hear the whole thing before making up your mind.

"...Right..."

"Sure. Then you go over there."

Tae-hyun picked Yong-yong up and threw him.

Yong-yong flapped his wings in midair.

"Because those guys need help more than I do. And you'd just get in the way of my hunt."

Tae-hyun sent Yong-yong toward Rufo and Jeong Su-hyeok.

He didn't need any help anyway, so it was better to keep the three of them bundled together.

And, to be completely honest...

If I don't need help, why would I let him steal my EXP?

His competitive fire had been lit by seeing Jeong Su-hyeok level up instantly.

At the very least, he was going to gain one level in this dungeon before leaving.

Thinking that, Tae-hyun tightened his grip on the hammer.

"Hoo..."

Tae-hyun let out a sigh as he looked up at the corridor ceiling.

At the moment, their dungeon progress was going extremely well.

While other parties were struggling and wasting time, Tae-hyun was cutting forward in a straight line.

That didn't mean the quality of the hunting was lacking, either.

Every time a monster appeared, Tae-hyun rampaged through them like a storm.

Eventually, he even put away the Ancient Hammer and started using weapons modified through Engineering.

It was a ridiculously luxurious way to fight, but Tae-hyun was confident.

In short, Tae-hyun was pushing forward while squeezing absolutely everything he could out of the situation.

And yet...

"Sunbae! I leveled up again!"

"..."

There was Jeong Su-hyeok at his side, smiling innocently.

Rufo, Yong-yong, and Jeong Su-hyeok made a surprisingly good team.

While Tae-hyun ran wild on his own, they fought in their own way well enough.

They took down monsters that suddenly appeared from behind, or enemies that slipped past Tae-hyun and came toward them...

The number they killed was nowhere near his, but even that was enough for Jeong Su-hyeok to keep leveling.

It should have been something worth celebrating, but Tae-hyun felt weirdly wronged.

The human heart was just like that sometimes.

"Huh? Sunbae."

"What?"

Tae-hyun's voice came out a shade sharper than before.

For a moment, Jeong Su-hyeok thought he must have imagined it.

After all, there was no way someone as perfect as Tae-hyun would get irritated at him for no reason.

"Isn't that thing sitting over there in the corner of the corridor a monster?"

"Why would a monster be sitting still like— wait, it really is there?"

Tae-hyun blinked.

In a recessed part of the dark corridor wall sat a person clad head to toe in full plate armor.

"No, not a monster. Looks like a player."

With undead monsters constantly appearing all around them, it had been easy to mistake at first, but Tae-hyun quickly realized it wasn't one.

It was understandable that Jeong Su-hyeok got confused.

The player's full plate armor was so dark, grimy, and dull it looked like some kind of monster.

"Do you think he got here before us?"

"Probably. But why is he alone?"

Tae-hyun was the weird one here, not the standard.

Unless you had a cheat-tier matchup advantage like he did, this was the sort of place normal people pushed through in a party.

Soloing this dungeon?

Tae-hyun found it strange.

Sure, nothing was impossible in Fantasy Online, but lunatics on his level were hard to come by.

"Maybe all his party members died?"

"Maybe. Doesn't feel like it, though. Should we ask?"

Tae-hyun strode forward.

The player in full plate seemed to hear them, because he immediately stood up from where he'd been sitting.

"Don't come any closer!"

"...?"

Tae-hyun tilted his head.

"Did you reserve the hallway or something?"

"The hallway isn't the issue. I'm telling you to leave and not come near me."

Up close, the full-plate player looked even more grotesque and bizarre.

Tae-hyun couldn't tell what exactly was stuck all over his armor.

As a blacksmith, he felt an overpowering urge to repair and service the whole mess.

"You're not saying we can't pass. You're saying don't come near you?"

"That's right."

"Mind if I ask why?"

"Because you'll get hurt."

"...You trying to PK?"

Tae-hyun's voice dropped lower.

His face was hidden, but the corners of his mouth had curled up.

One of Tae-hyun's favorite things in the world was crushing and trampling arrogant players.

"I'm not saying I want to PK you."

"...?"

Tae-hyun was momentarily confused.

Then what the hell did he mean?

"Then why would we get hurt?"

"I don't intend to hurt you. But if you come close to me, you will get hurt. It's not something I can control. So don't come near me and regret it later. Back off."

"Ah. Got it."

Tae-hyun nodded.

His gaze had changed.

From the eyes of someone ready for a fight...

...to the eyes of someone looking at a kid with something seriously wrong with him.

Tsk. I don't know how old he is, but he's still stuck in eighth-grader syndrome.

A thought so rude that if the other player had heard it, he would've started shaking and sent a PK request on the spot.