The Art of the Kick
"Get close! It's letting me evade again!"
"S-sorry."
When the notification popped up, Tae-hyun urged Evangeline to close the distance. Dazed, she complied, but then froze.
Wait, why am I doing what he says?
"Hey, you—"
"Whoops, out of the way!"
Tae-hyun kicked her. Evangeline, cut off mid-sentence, went rolling across the floor.
You have successfully continued fighting with low HP.
Your Endurance has increased.
As his HP hovered on the brink of death, he ruthlessly kicked Evangeline—the source of all misfortune—far away to boost his Luck again!
"Hey!!!!"
"...?"
What infuriated Evangeline the most was that Tae-hyun was looking at her with a genuinely puzzled expression that said, What's your problem?
"Tell me already! I've been doing everything you said!"
"Huh? Tell you what?"
"Why you're perfectly fine!"
Evangeline glared at Tae-hyun. Standing right next to him only to be kicked away whenever things got dicey was not a pleasant experience. Yet, the only reason she endured it was curiosity. Just what extraordinary, amazing method did Tae-hyun possess to be immune to her misfortune?
"Ah. My Luck is just a bit high."
"...That's it?"
"That's it."
"Are you kidding me?! You expect me to believe that's enough?! Just how high is your Luck? Is it over 1,000?"
Evangeline's Luck was locked at -999. It made no sense that a single stat could completely shrug off that level of misfortune. Most players didn't even touch Luck. Even the eccentric players who invested heavily in it only had a few dozen points at most!
"It is."
"?!?!"
But the answer that came back was shocking.
"It's... over that?"
"Yeah."
"How high is it?"
"I can't tell you that, but it's definitely over 1,000. Think about it. It has to be at least that high to not be affected, right?"
Hearing it, Tae-hyun's words actually made sense. To remain unaffected by -999 Luck, his stat would indeed need to be higher than that. Still, it was hard to believe. Just how on earth did he raise his Luck that high?
Evangeline tilted her head in confusion over and over, but of course, she couldn't find an answer.
"Now, since you know the reason, get back over here."
Tae-hyun gestured to Evangeline. It was a gesture like calling a dog! Like a master being unusually kind to his pet dog as the dog days of summer approached.
Evangeline hesitated. There was absolutely no reason to be afraid, yet an inexplicable sense of dread welled up inside her.
"W-why?"
"What do you mean, why? Didn't you promise to help me clear this dungeon if I told you?"
"...I did..."
The memory came rushing back!
"But I thought you had some grand, amazing secret..."
If Tae-hyun had been avoiding the bad luck using a skill or an item, Evangeline had planned to get her hands on it too. Then her days as a lonely solo player would finally be over! But the answer was something she had never even imagined. Pure, raw stats.
"That's just how the world works. That's why you should think before you make promises. Stop whining and get over here."
"I'm coming! I always keep my promises!"
Evangeline huffed and stomped back to stand beside Tae-hyun.
"...?"
"Why are you staring?"
Tae-hyun flinched slightly as Evangeline stared intently at him. Being stared at by someone wearing a bizarrely rusted suit of full-body plate armor was incredibly intimidating.
"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before. Have we met?"
The aftermath of the Katerand Island quest and the Valley of Despair and Sorrow quest broadcasts! Although Evangeline lived abroad, the popularity of Fantasy Online 2 was global. Naturally, videos of Tae-hyun's exploits were circulating internationally. Evangeline had indeed seen screenshots of Tae-hyun before.
However, Tae-hyun didn't panic. His current appearance was different from his look in the broadcasts. Panicking in a situation like this would only invite more suspicion. He had to counterattack.
"Are you... trying to hit on me right now?"
"What?! No!"
How shameless! Truly a vampire!
"I said no! You half-grown lizard, I swear!"
Evangeline glared angrily at Yong-yong.
"I'm serious, I really think I've seen you. What country are you from?"
"Korea."
"Ah, North Korea!"
"...That's the North. I'm from the South, you dummy."
Embarrassed, Evangeline patted her helmet.
"Sorry. I'm Canadian."
"Ah, so you're American."
"I'm Canadian! Not American!"
"Make sure you distinguish between North and South Korea from now on. That is, if you don't want to be treated like an American."
"..."
Tae-hyun was someone who never forgot a slight.
"Anyway, tell me about the quest. What happened to Marquis Marden?"
"Huh? Oh-ho. You said you didn't care, but you're actually curious about the quest, aren't you? What should I—"
Thud!
Tae-hyun kicked Evangeline backward. Evangeline cursed as she rolled away.
"Do you seriously want to PK?!"
"I just saved you from a trap."
"...!"
At Tae-hyun's words, Evangeline blinked and checked the ground ahead. Right where she was about to step, there was a massive pitfall! Traps, which hadn't appeared until now, were finally starting to show up.
"How did you know?"
"Gut feeling."
Is this guy even human?
Thinking this to herself, Evangeline stood up and walked forward again. Surely the path Tae-hyun had already walked would be safe, right? But she had forgotten one thing. Tae-hyun's Luck was over a thousand, and her Luck was -999!
Click!
"Kyaaaaaah?!"
Grab!
"Ah. I forgot to tell you."
Tae-hyun swiftly grabbed Evangeline's hand as she plummeted. The moment he let go, she would surely fall to the bottom!
"There was a trap there too."
"Y-you should have t-told me beforehand!"
"My bad, my bad. I'm only human, I forget things sometimes."
"Pull me up!"
"Hmm. Hold on a second."
"?!"
When Tae-hyun didn't pull her up and just held her hand, Evangeline suddenly grew anxious.
"Hey. Don't tell me you..."
"So, what was that quest about again?"
"...!"
Evangeline realized. The bastard in front of her was an absolute scumbag!
"Senior, isn't this a bit too harsh?"
"Huh?"
When Jeong Su-hyeok whispered his question, Tae-hyun stopped swinging his hammer. In front of him lay the completely pulverized remains of an undead spearman. He had beaten it until it was practically dust!
"Did I beat it too hard? Got it. I'll go easier from now on. I didn't know you had a weak stomach."
"N-no, that's not what I meant..."
Jeong Su-hyeok pointed at Evangeline. Though her face was hidden behind her full-body armor and helmet, her entire body radiated pure fury. Even when spoken to, she would just huff and turn her head away!
But Tae-hyun didn't care.
"Why? She's fighting well."
Even if she was mad and refused to speak, she still came when called and went where told. That was more than enough for Tae-hyun. Besides, he had already extracted all the information about Marquis Marden!
She said Marquis Marden is asleep at the bottom of this underground dungeon, right?
Dangling over the trap, Evangeline had ultimately spilled all the details of her quest to Tae-hyun. What he learned was that the boss monster of this Marden Castle underground dungeon was none other than Marquis Marden himself! A long time ago, Marquis Marden had become a vampire, fallen completely to corruption, and slaughtered countless people. Thus, Evangeline, as a true descendant of the ancient vampires, had received a quest to eliminate him.
It's not like this is some 'good vampire versus bad vampire' story...
The quest itself wasn't the problem. The problem was Tae-hyun.
Is the Authority of Akisus really here?
No matter how much he thought about it, the quest details made him increasingly anxious. He couldn't see how the Authority of Akisus fit into a showdown between the corrupt Marquis Marden and the ancient vampire descendant Evangeline.
Still, they couldn't back down now. Regardless, the speed at which Tae-hyun's party was clearing the dungeon was incredibly fast. While other parties had to throw their bodies at the walls to find the path, Tae-hyun used his Divine Foresight skill to find the absolute fastest route. Even though the appearing enemies were growing stronger, it wasn't an issue. In fact, they had gained a powerful asset in Evangeline. They were practically unstoppable!
You have successfully fought with low HP for a record-breaking duration.
Oh, this is nice.
Tae-hyun didn't care in the slightest about Evangeline, who was radiating anger right next to him. He focused entirely on his rising stats, skills, and the title window.
"Ugh! Seriously!"
Unable to bear the suffocating silence any longer, Evangeline was the first to speak. Given her personality, she couldn't stay quiet for long.
"You! Where are your other party members?"
"They aren't... exactly party members, but I do have some porters."
"Porters? You hired NPCs? Isn't it hard to find porter NPCs who can survive all the way down here?"
"It is hard. That's why I left them upstairs."
Evangeline had absolutely no idea that Tae-hyun was using actual players as porters instead of NPCs.
"Welcome! We repair equipment!"
"We offer all kinds of buffs! We even have certifications from the Genoma City Blacksmith Guild! You can trust us!"
"?!"
The parties who had been fighting fiercely in the underground dungeon and came back up to rest were shocked. These people definitely weren't here when they first entered! Judging by their words, they seemed to be blacksmiths and merchants.
"Y-you came all the way here to do business?"
"How?"
"That doesn't matter! What matters is that we came here for you!"
Hearing Woo Jeong-sik's smooth sales pitch, the other two blacksmiths stared at him in shock. This man, who usually did nothing but grumble, actually had this side to him?
"What? I used to do some merchant work back when I was low-level. Is this not allowed?"
"N-no, it's great."
"Keep going!"
Woo Jeong-sik turned his gaze back to the players. His eyes were so intense they practically spat fire.
"Even at this very moment, other parties are wasting precious time traveling back and forth to the surface. Am I right?"
"W-well, yes."
"But what if you repair your equipment, buy items right here, and go straight back in? You'll be miles ahead of the competition!"
His silver tongue was incredibly persuasive. Listening to Woo Jeong-sik, the party felt that if they didn't get their gear repaired and buy items right now, they would fall hopelessly behind. And in reality, they were falling behind. Because Tae-hyun was currently tearing through the dungeon at an insane speed. But of course, they had no way of knowing that.
"Give it to me! I'll buy!"
"Please repair my gear too. You really have a certification from the Genoma City Blacksmith Guild, right?"
The party members handed over their equipment, half in doubt. Of course, the disaster they feared didn't happen. Despite everything, these blacksmiths possessed solid basic skills.
"Ah, right. We'd prefer to take junk items dropped from this dungeon as payment instead of gold."
"Huh? Why is that?"
"We have a use for them. There's something we're trying to craft."
"Ah, is that so?"
Merchant and blacksmith classes were completely uninvolved in the race to clear the dungeon. Thus, the players handed over their junk items without much suspicion. Saving gold and clearing inventory space—it was a win-win!