Say 'Demons are Total Bastards'
However, the noble NPCs were far more persistent than he had anticipated. Even when Tae-hyun tried to excuse himself, they clung to him tenaciously! When even his Advanced Rhetoric skill failed to shake them off, Tae-hyun felt a rare pang of fluster. What is wrong with these people?
"Let us speak more of gastronomy, of the culinary arts, Baron Terand!"
"I was deeply moved by your passion for cooking!"
"..."
Only then did Tae-hyun realize the truth. There was only one reason these NPCs refused to let him go: he had left far too powerful of an impression! Swept up in their admiration, the moved nobles were desperately trying to keep the conversation going.
Are you kidding me...?
He had never imagined that his own theatrical performance would come back to bite him like this. Though flustered, Tae-hyun's mind raced. What was the best way out of this situation?
Hey!
At that exact moment, a whisper buzzed in.
Where the hell are you and what are you doing?! Did you go into stealth or something?
The whisper came from Cain, who had just arrived at the edge of the plaza using his movement skills.
Even though he had reached the plaza, Cain couldn't spot Tae-hyun anywhere. Of course, Cain lacked the cognitive capacity to suspect, 'If it's Kim Tae-hyun, he's probably disguised as a noble and blending in among them.'
"This is definitely the place. Why can't I see him? He's not even in the crowd."
"Maybe he disguised himself?" Lee Da-bi suggested.
"As who? There are only noble NPCs and high-level chef players over there. Those chefs are high-level, so there's no way Kim Tae-hyun could disguise himself as one. Look at where they are."
"What about those nobles?"
"...Be realistic, please."
"Right?"
Cain and Lee Da-bi shared a chuckle.
"I should just send him a whisper."
"You should have done that from the start."
"You don't get it! If I whisper him over something trivial, that jerk nags me to death...!" Cain replied, his voice dripping with sorrow.
Cain's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Sure enough, among the cluster of noble NPCs, there was one raising his hand!
Cain panicked. Cause a scene? Here?
The plaza was packed with players who had gathered to watch the cooking festival. Not only that, but numerous NPCs managing the event were crawling all over the place. How on earth was he supposed to cause a distraction in a place like this?
"I am Cain, the Guild Leader of the Red Zone!"
"!?"
Lee Da-bi whipped her head around to stare at Cain in sheer shock. What is wrong with this guy all of a sudden?
"I am Cain, the Guild Leader of the Red Zone!!"
"What are you doing?!"
"I am Cain, the Guild Leader of the Red Zone!!!"
By the third shout, Lee Da-bi stopped asking questions and quietly began to back away from him.
Buzz, buzz.
As Cain continued to bellow at the top of his lungs in front of the plaza, the surrounding players began to murmur and gossip.
"Isn't that Cain?"
"Cain? Who's Cain?"
"You don't know Cain? He's the guy who always runs around with Kim Tae-hyun!"
"Ah, that guy..."
"Who's Kim Tae-hyun?"
"A famous Korean player."
"Korea? Why do they have so many famous players anyway?"
With so many players gathered, there were naturally some foreign players who had never heard of Tae-hyun. While the crowd gossiped, the royal guards, drawn by the commotion Cain was causing, began to charge over.
"What is the meaning of this racket!"
"I! Am! Cain!"
"Wait, that's him! He's the one with the bounty on his head!"
"...You actually remembered that?!"
Cain grumbled as he spun around and bolted. He hadn't even done anything major in the Erangs Kingdom! Although he could pay a gold fine to be released if caught, Cain had absolutely no intention of parting with his hard-earned money.
"Seize him!"
"What's going on? What's happening?"
"Haha! Catch me if you can!"
In an instant, absolute chaos erupted around the plaza. Even the nobles who had been pestering Tae-hyun turned their attention toward the commotion, shuffling over to get a better look!
Now's my chance!
Tae-hyun swiftly slipped away from the plaza. No one paid him any mind, so blindingly fast was his escape. He felt a slightly stinging gaze from Ju Hyeon-yeong boring into his back, but he brushed it off as his imagination.
It's just my imagination. Definitely just my imagination!
"Wow, great job, Cain. I knew I could count on you!"
"That was amazing, Cain!"
Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi clapped and showered Cain with praise. However, Cain's sour expression remained unchanged.
"Why the hell were you disguised and hiding in a place like that anyway?!"
"Haha, things happen in life. Just like how you ended up with a bounty in the Erangs Kingdom."
"I told you, that was in the past!"
"Well, those guards didn't seem to have forgotten. Anyway, we've gotten everything we could out of this cooking festival, so let's move out immediately. No good will come from lingering here."
"Agreed," Lee Da-bi said.
"But I didn't get to eat any of the food?!" Cain wailed, the only victim of injustice since he had been too busy searching for Tae-hyun to grab a bite.
"Da-bi! You didn't get to eat either, right?!"
"Huh? I ate plenty, though?"
"...!"
Unlike Cain, Lee Da-bi had been constantly snatching and eating food even while on the move. Her tenacity was on a completely different level!
"You cheap, backstabbing...!"
"What?! Cain was there?"
"Yes. Apparently, he caused a massive scene in front of the plaza..."
"...It's Kim Tae-hyun!"
"??"
"That bastard Kim Tae-hyun definitely had a hand in this!"
Chao slammed his fist onto the table, his voice trembling with fury. Of course, to his guild members, this looked like nothing more than their guild leader finally losing his mind.
Yet, Chao's deduction was entirely correct. He just had no way of proving it to his guild members!
"You bastards... you don't believe me?! Think about it! Has Cain ever gone anywhere without Kim Tae-hyun recently?"
"Well, no."
"Exactly! Which means Kim Tae-hyun must have been nearby. And why would Kim Tae-hyun be here?"
"Beats me...?"
"He obviously came to keep me, his most formidable rival, in check! He must have caught wind of the fact that I'm working on the Royal Palace quest here!"
"..."
The guild members' gazes grew even colder as they stared at Chao.
"Um, Guild Master. Isn't Kim Tae-hyun busy clearing quests in the Demon Realm?"
"He must have finished and come here!"
"So, you're saying he was in the middle of a Demon Realm quest, heard about you, came all the way here to keep you in check, and..."
"...And bribed those noble NPCs!"
"..."
The temperature of the room plummeted to sub-zero.
"Ah... yes... of course. If you say so, Guild Master..."
"You bastards! I'm telling you I'm right! Otherwise, none of this makes sense!"
"Sure, let's just say you're right."
"Hey!!"
Chao fumed, utterly betrayed by his own guild members' lack of trust. There was only one logical response left for him: summon the leaders of the giant Guild Alliance once again!
One of the players commissioned by the Guild Alliance was Jack. Jack had reported back to them:
I followed him as closely as possible, but the ship Kim Tae-hyun was on suddenly vanished into thin air!
Jack was telling the absolute truth, but to the other players, it sounded like, 'Is this punk pulling our leg?' Since a player of Jack's reputation had zero credibility to begin with, they believed him even less!
These ungrateful bastards...
Chao gnashed his teeth. Even though they were a massive Guild Alliance, they were far from unified. Among them, players like Chao and Su Ning, who had personally suffered at Tae-hyun's hands, harbored deep-seated grudges. However, the guilds that had never crossed paths with him had no real hostility toward him. To them, maximizing their own profits was the top priority.
Grrr...!
Chao clenched his fists. It was definitely Kim Tae-hyun's doing. Every fiber of his intuition screamed it. But he had absolutely no way to convince them!
These idiots won't wake up until they get screwed over by Kim Tae-hyun themselves!
Chao gave up trying to persuade them. He knew he couldn't convince these guild leaders right now. Besides, the timing was terrible. The reason they were acting like this was...
It's because of the Frika Continent Arena League!
The Arena League was starting up again in Korea. Although the league had failed once back in Pan-On 1, sharp-witted players could sense it: this time, things were going to be different.
If so, this Arena League was a monumental opportunity. If they got in early and established a foothold before anyone else, they would hit the jackpot once the professional league grew. In any game, the players who were there at the birth of the league always left the strongest impression.
What's so great about a Korean tournament anyway...? If the league is bound to grow, more leagues will spring up if we just wait!
Most of the teams participating in the qualifiers for this Arena League were Korean. It was only natural, as the tournament was hosted by a Korean broadcasting station. However, what the leaders of the Guild Alliance were aiming for wasn't the qualifiers. It was the seeded, invited teams!
Clawing through the chaotic qualifiers packed with countless teams was difficult, no matter how skilled a team was. Even if levels and stats were standardized, the skills in Pan-On were simply too bizarre and unpredictable. The most ideal path was to bypass the qualifiers entirely and advance straight to the main tournament. That was the privilege of the invited teams.
Receiving a direct request from the broadcasting station saying, 'Please participate directly in the main tournament, skipping the qualifiers.' That was exactly what Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon had received.
Currently, the Guild Alliance leaders were gathering members specialized in PvP and grinding the Arena. Once they accumulated enough Reputation, an invitation would naturally follow! They planned to secure that invite and head straight to the main tournament. Naturally, they had no spare attention to waste on keeping Tae-hyun in check.
Chao gnashed his teeth. If he had one wish, it was that these selfish bastards would also get thoroughly and equally screwed over by Kim Tae-hyun!
"It should be around here..."
Tae-hyun looked around. He was currently standing in the shopping district in front of the Erance Royal Palace. He was looking for the demon blacksmith, Saruon! He had come to progress the quest he had received back in the Demon Realm.
Ideally, I hope it's a massive, powerful bomb skill.
With an Engineering secret skill, various possibilities were open, but Tae-hyun only wanted one thing: a massive, devastating bomb! Of course, a massive, devastating bomb was already being manufactured elsewhere—in a place Tae-hyun couldn't possibly imagine.
Divine Foresight.
Tae-hyun activated his skill to check the path. Although using this skill blindly had previously led him to impersonate a noble... it was still an incredibly useful skill.
Divine Foresight
Is it here?
Click.
Opening the door and stepping inside, he saw an ordinary-looking merchant. He was a run-of-the-mill merchant NPC you could find anywhere! No matter how one looked at him, he didn't seem to have any connection to demons. Yet, Divine Foresight was pointing directly at him.
Tae-hyun pondered for a moment. What should he do?
Step, step, step.
Tae-hyun walked up and stood right in front of the merchant. Then, he spoke.
"Say 'Demons are total bastards.'"