A Voice Dripping with Resentment
A voice dripping with resentment echoed through the air. Tae-hyun turned his head toward the sound. Standing there was a group of guys he had definitely seen somewhere before. It was Chao, his guild members, and several players he had never seen before!
"What's this? Did you call me over to say hello because you missed me?"
"Yeah, I called you over to say hello... NOT! You bastard, Kim Tae-hyun! Are you seriously going to play dumb?!"
"About what?"
"You ruined my quest!"
Chao shrieked at the top of his lungs, glaring at Tae-hyun. The guild members standing beside him averted their eyes in sheer embarrassment.
Wait, why is he blaming Kim Tae-hyun for us failing the royal palace quest?
How should I know? I'm telling you, the Guildmaster is losing his mind. He's been conned by Kim Tae-hyun so many times he's completely lost his sanity.
Should we... maybe leave this guild?
Unaware of his guild members' internal crises, Chao hopped up and down, glaring at Tae-hyun. No matter how much he thought about it, Tae-hyun was the only possible culprit!
"Wow. You're pretty sharp. How did you find out?" Tae-hyun replied, looking genuinely impressed.
"!?!?!?!?!"
"What?!" The guild members standing behind Chao were even more shocked than their leader.
"It really was Kim Tae-hyun's doing?"
"And here I thought the Guildmaster had finally gone crazy, mmpf—"
Whip! Chao whipped his head around, and the speaking guild member instantly shut his mouth.
"What did I tell you! I told you it was Kim Tae-hyun, you dipshits! Why doesn't anyone believe me?!"
"W-We're sorry..."
Believing you would've been weirder!
As Chao and his guild members bickered noisily, Tae-hyun gave them a casual wave and turned to leave.
"Well, take care. See you around."
"Yeah, get lost... WAIT, NO! You bastard! You dared to bribe the NPCs just to screw me over?"
"Bribe? I didn't bribe anyone."
"...?"
"It wasn't a bribe. I disguised myself as an NPC and went in."
"..." A sudden silence fell over the area. The players who heard Tae-hyun's words doubted their own ears.
"What did you say?"
"I said I disguised myself as an NPC. Don't you remember the guy who ate your food and threw a massive fit?"
"...!!" Chao's eyes widened. No way. Could that NPC have been...!
"I thought you figured it out because of that, but I guess not. How did you figure it out, then?"
"Y-You... you absolute bastard...!"
"Wait, so you didn't even know I slipped something into your dish?"
"What?"
"The other NPCs got paralyzed after eating your food. Why do you think that happened?"
"If it wasn't a bribe..."
"Obviously, it's because I added a little extra ingredient to your dish."
"..." Chao had come to get his revenge on Tae-hyun, only to learn a shocking new truth that made his blood boil even hotter! Watching this unfold, Cain shook his head.
That guy is already a certified mark!
As a senior victim of Tae-hyun's antics, Cain deeply sympathized with Chao's plight. The man was on the verge of exploding from a volatile mix of rage, injustice, and sheer humiliation! However, rushing in without keeping a cool head was nothing short of suicide. Even with a calm mind, the chances of winning were slim, but attacking in such an emotional state made it utterly impossible.
You should've come back after getting stronger, you idiot! Cain thought, a sentiment that would have undoubtedly doubled Chao's blood pressure had he heard it.
"You... you put another ingredient in my dish?!"
"You heard me the first time, so why are you acting like you didn't? I said I put it in." Tae-hyun replied, his expression completely deadpan. His nonchalant attitude only fueled Chao's fury.
"You bastard! How dare you mess with my cooking!"
"Out of all people, aren't you being a bit shameless saying that?" It was a fair point. Hearing Tae-hyun's words, one of Chao's guild members unconsciously nodded in agreement. Spotting this, Tae-hyun pointed a finger right at him.
"Hey, that guy just nodded."
"?!" Never in his wildest dreams did the guild member expect Tae-hyun to tattle on him in this situation. His face turned pale. As Chao glared at him with bulging eyes, the guild member frantically waved his hands in denial!
"Anyway, thanks. I got a great reward from the quest. And thanks to you, the other players didn't suspect a thing. Honestly, you should've lived a nicer life." Tae-hyun's provocation didn't just rub salt in the wound; it gouged it open and poured a whole shaker in. Chao ground his teeth and spat out:
"Fine, keep running your mouth! I'm going to wipe that smug smirk off your face in just a second."
"...?" Tae-hyun tilted his head. "And how exactly do you plan on doing that?"
Chao was a chef player, and most of his guild members were chefs as well. In terms of combat power, they were leagues below Tae-hyun! That meant the only actual fighting force here was the group of unfamiliar players Chao had brought along...
Are they high-level players? Do they have some kind of trick up their sleeves? Tae-hyun tensed slightly. One could never let their guard down in Pan-On! Besides, Tae-hyun was a fairly well-known player by now. Anyone coming to pick a fight with him had to have at least one hidden trump card.
"Hehehe... Kim Tae-hyun. Keep bluffing all you want. We already know your secret. We overheard your conversation earlier."
"??"
"We heard that your party members are cursed!"
"Huh?" Tae-hyun realized there was a misunderstanding and opened his mouth to clarify. He was about to say, 'The ones cursed are Cain and Lee Da-bi here, not me, you idiot.' But Chao was too swept up in his excitement to give Tae-hyun a chance to speak.
"Did you think we wouldn't notice if you bluffed? We know your HP is currently at 1! In other words, a single clean hit will kill you instantly!"
Shring— The players standing beside Chao immediately drew their weapons. Watching this, Cain shook his head in pity.
"Idiots..." In the end, the only one suffering in this situation was Cain! Damn it, those potions are so expensive! But even if it was a waste, he had no choice. If he didn't chug them, he would die instantly.
"Now, Kim Tae-hyun! What do you say! Are you still going to bluff?!"
"Are those guys not cursed?"
"Haha! Do you think we're as stupid as you? None of us are cursed!"
"Oh, really?" The moment the words left Chao's mouth, Tae-hyun grabbed Cain and hurled him forward. "Go, Cain!"
"You son of a—!" Cain screamed as he flew through the air. In the past, he would have cursed and panicked, but he had accumulated far too much experience being victimized by Tae-hyun. He was now fully capable of playing along with whatever absurd situation Tae-hyun threw him into! As he soared, Cain instantly realized what Tae-hyun wanted.
Crash! "A-Avoid him!" The waiting players shrieked in terror. If they collided with Cain... the curse would definitely spread!
"Where do you think you're going, you bastards! You need to suffer too!" Cain shouted gleefully, stretching out his arms. He was going to vent all the frustration he had built up from Tae-hyun's abuse onto these poor souls!
You have made contact with an individual infected with the Boiling Ultimate Plague.
You have been infected with the Boiling Ultimate Plague.
The notification window popped up instantly. The newly cursed player screamed in utter despair. "Noooo!" They had managed to avoid it so well until now!
"I'm not done yet! Slave's Chain!" Clang-clang-clang! Normally, it was a skill used to grab a target and pull them forward, but in this current situation, it was the most terrifying weapon imaginable.
"Everyone, dodge!" "If you get hit, it's over!" The players who had come to attack completely forgot about fighting and scrambled in every direction to escape Cain.
"Hmm. Cain looks a bit lonely fighting all by himself."
"He does, doesn't he?" Tae-hyun stared intently at Lee Da-bi. Feeling his gaze, Da-bi let out an anxious chuckle.
"Y-You don't mean..."
"You go too, Da-bi!" "Wait, aaaaah!"
—Archisus's Blessing! After throwing the two of them right into the middle of the enemy forces, Tae-hyun activated Archisus's Blessing. It was an incredibly broken skill that allowed party members to evade every single incoming attack, no matter how low their HP was! Taking advantage of this, Da-bi and Cain crashed into the enemies at random, spreading the curse like wildfire.
"You idiots! Stop trying to dodge and attack Kim Tae-hyun! A single hit will take him down!" Chao stomped his feet and shrieked. No matter what casualties they took, they just needed to land one hit on Tae-hyun. Honestly, even if a few of them died and got logged out, taking down Kim Tae-hyun would be an astronomical gain! Yet, despite bringing them all this way, they were flailing around without landing a single proper attack.
"No pay if you don't attack him properly! Hurry up and strike!" At Chao's threat, the other players snapped out of it and pulled out magic scrolls. The players who had already collided with Cain and contracted the curse had absolutely nothing left to lose.
—Lesser Curse of Weakening!—Lesser Curse of Ankle-Grabbing! There was only one reason they pulled out scrolls instead of casting spells or using skills: to bypass Tae-hyun's evasion and quickly deal damage. Since they only needed to shave off a single point of HP, fast attacks with high accuracy were their best bet!
"Go!" Thud-thud! As the scroll curses struck Tae-hyun, a puff of blue smoke erupted around him. Seeing this, the players erupted in cheers.
"We got him!"
"It hit him clean!"
"Guys?"
"See? Kim Tae-hyun is nothing special!"
"We actually took down Kim Tae-hyun! Are you recording this? Upload it right now!"
"Guys? Can you not hear me?"
"No one has ever managed to kill Kim Tae-hyun, but we just—"
"Guys. I'm talking to you!" *Thud-thud-thud-thud!*
"?!?!"
HP: 0 / 12,450
Your HP has reached 0. You have died.
"Ah. Right. Your HP must have been pretty low. I forgot about that." A perfectly fine Tae-hyun strolled out from the smoke. Meanwhile, one of the players who had been struck collapsed and died instantly!
"W-What?"
"What do you think? I'm not cursed. I could have easily dodged your attacks, but..." Tae-hyun trailed off, raising his sword. The players swallowed hard at the sight.
"But?"
"Yes, but. Why do you think I let them hit me?" Tae-hyun pointed his sword at one of the players and asked. Completely forgetting the gravity of the situation, the pointed-at player blurted out:
"U-Uh... uh... Ah! To avoid the PK penalty?"
"Bingo." *Slash-slash-slash!*
To Tae-hyun, who possessed numerous ways to deal explosive burst damage, these players whose HP had been reduced to 1 by the plague were nothing more than walking target dummies.
"T-This is insane..." Chao's jaw dropped. Even though he had recruited these players in a hurry, they were still high-level players well over level 100. Yet, they were wiped out in a single blow without being able to do a single thing. They had walked right into their own trap! Had they attacked without being infected by the curse, the fight wouldn't have been this ridiculously one-sided.
"I'm usually a fan of striking first, but I've been managing my Infamy lately... So, who's next?"
"Aaaah!" As Tae-hyun pointed his sword, the targeted player shrieked and scrambled backward. With only 1 HP left, even a gentle breeze would kill them! Seeing this, the corners of Tae-hyun's mouth curled into a wicked smirk.
"Boo!"
"Aaaah! Spare me!"
"Didn't you come here to kill me?"
"T-That guy paid me to come! I don't have any grudge against you!"
"You came to kill me, but you don't hold a grudge?"
"I-I'm sorry! That was my mistake!"
"Alright. I forgive you."
"...?"
"What, you don't want to be forgiven?"
"N-No, thank you?"
"See? Isn't this great? I forgive you, and you thank me."
"...???"
"You like it too, right?"
"I... I guess so."
"Great. Now go over there and give that guy a hug." Tae-hyun pointed at Chao. Throughout the entire skirmish, nobody had paid any attention to the chef players.
"U-Uh... what?"
"It's not fair if you're the only one cursed. He's the one who dragged you into this. Aren't you resentful?"
"Not... not really..."
"Oh, really? Then let me give you a reason to feel resentful." Tae-hyun raised his sword.
"I'm resentful! I'm so resentful!!"
"Good. That's the spirit. Now go give him a hug. That should make you feel much better."
"..."