A Necessary Evil

"Anyway, I'll make sure to pass the message along to Player Kim Tae-hyun." Bae Jang-wook tried to wrap up his conversation with Gabriel.

"That's not something I can disclose," Bae Jang-wook replied cautiously.

"You want me to tell him that?" Bae Jang-wook tilted his head, not quite understanding. Why would he want to pass that along?

"Ah, right. I'll pass it along..." Bae Jang-wook tilted his head as he replied. He highly doubted Tae-hyun would change his mind after hearing that.

Bae Jang-wook contacted Tae-hyun and explained the situation.

"...And that's what he said."

"I don't even know who that is."

I knew it!

A response without even a second of hesitation! In Bae Jang-wook's mind, Gabriel was rapidly solidifying his image as a stalker. Well, he practically was one!

"I seriously have no idea what his deal is," Tae-hyun muttered.

"W-well, anyway, I've delivered the message as requested."

"Yes, I heard."

"By any chance, do you feel like giving up on the plague curse quest now?"

"No? Not at all?"

I knew it! Bae Jang-wook nodded. There was no way Tae-hyun would be swayed by such words.

"I mean, it's nice that everyone else is in a state where they'll die in one hit, but the people who aren't affected by the curse are still fine anyway. Besides, I need to clear the quest to get my rewards..."

If Su Ning or Tae-hyun's other enemies were infected with the plague curse, they would have gleefully gone on a PK spree. But hearing the situation from Chao, Tae-hyun realized there was no need for that. His enemies were too busy acting selfishly to even unite their efforts. In that case, there was no point in dealing with them; it was best to just secure his own profits!

"Ah, and this player, Gabriel, also asked me to pass this along."

"...?"

What Gabriel had separately asked to deliver was the strategy for the dungeon. The strategy for the dungeon where he had found the plague curse!

"He said that even if you don't resolve the curse itself, you still need to cure the curse you're currently afflicted with, so he wanted me to tell you..."

"What is wrong with that guy, seriously? Anyway, got it."

Bae Jang-wook swallowed hard. From here on, it was the real deal. It was time to pull Tae-hyun into the plan he had formulated!

Bae Jang-wook was tense. Tae-hyun was incredibly sharp. If he rushed and got caught, the plan would fail instantly.

"Also, we won't be broadcasting my conversation with Gabriel."

"Huh? Is that okay?" Tae-hyun tilted his head. With the plague curse being the hottest topic right now, a conversation with Gabriel was a prime opportunity to grab everyone's attention. Why would a broadcasting station give that up?

"If we release it, it might get in your way, Tae-hyun-ssi."

"Really? Thanks. You didn't have to go that far, though."

"Haha, you are a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠very important figure to our station, Tae-hyun-ssi. If we got greedy and ended up hindering you, that would be a much bigger loss for us."

Bae Jang-wook lowered his posture even further. Human psychology was a complex thing; if someone went out of their way to treat you exceptionally well, you naturally felt the urge to return the favor.

"Hmm, I do feel a bit bad about this, though..."

"In that case, would you mind doing me a small favor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠next time?"

"A favor?"

When Tae-hyun didn't immediately agree and instead questioned him, Bae Jang-wook flinched. Did he catch on?

"My dad told me never to accept favors blindly."

"..."

"Well, I guess it's fine. What kind of favor is it?"

"An appearance on a broadcast."

"What? It's not like going out into the real world to chat with celebrities, is it?"

Bae Jang-wook was momentarily speechless. Why would he make him do that!

"O-of course not."

"If it's not that, then sure..."

Yes! Bae Jang-wook cheered inwardly. The ever-vigilant Tae-hyun had actually taken the bait.

The broadcast Tae-hyun would be appearing on...

Was none other than the Prika Continent Arena League broadcast! And alongside Lee Se-yeon, no less!

Bae Jang-wook could not give up on the two guaranteed box-office hits: Lee Se-yeon and Kim Tae-hyun.

Seriously, why did Lee Se-yeon insist that she wouldn't do it unless it was with Kim Tae-hyun... She has her own team!

Kim Tae-hyun was a solo player, but Lee Se-yeon wasn't. He couldn't understand why she insisted on teaming up with him, making things so difficult.

Between the plague curse and this, people really love to make me suffer.

Bae Jang-wook sighed. The Prika Arena Pro League was giving him a massive headache, but he couldn't deny his excitement. The media and other countries were already showing immense interest.

Everyone instinctively felt it. If this tournament concluded successfully, the Arena League, which had failed in Pan-On 1, might truly take off this time.

Famous foreign player teams were already reaching out first, asking if they could participate as invited teams...

Tae-hyun-ssi, I'm counting on you!

"Why did I suddenly get a chill?"

Tae-hyun tilted his head as a sudden cold shiver ran down his spine.

"Do you have a cold?" Lee Da-bi asked.

"If I did, a status effect would've popped up. Strange. Is someone targeting me?"

Usually, this sensation meant someone was plotting against him. His highly sensitive intuition! That was one of the secrets to how Tae-hyun had survived all kinds of traps until now.

"Well, it wouldn't be surprising if someone was targeting you, Tae-hyun-nim..."

"You really have a knack for delivering painful truths, don't you?"

Tae-hyun silenced Lee Da-bi and checked the quest. Once he joined the party, the quest received by the party leader was shared.

Because the party leader belonged to the Demer Church, a Demer Church window appeared. From Tae-hyun's perspective, this wasn't bad. The Demer Church was one of the few religious orders he was on good terms with!

The other churches are the weird ones.

"Which dungeon should we enter?"

"There are so many dungeons... It doesn't seem to make much of a difference which one we choose, so shouldn't we just run through as many as possible?"

"The Espa Kingdom's underground dungeons are famous..."

While Tae-hyun was checking the quest window, the party members were chatting amongst themselves. Compared to other parties, the atmosphere was much more harmonious and relaxed! The reason was simple: they were all infected with the plague curse. Since they were in an overwhelmingly disadvantageous position compared to other parties, they didn't have high expectations to begin with.

"The dungeon entrance under the eastern Goblin Hill has already been thoroughly explored. I don't think we'll find anything new even if we go back in there."

"What about the dungeon entrance near Orc Bridge?"

"Isn't that place too famous as well? I feel like going to well-known dungeons is pointless. Other people must have completely cleared them out already."

There were countless dungeons beneath the Espa Kingdom. You couldn't walk two steps without tripping over a dungeon entrance! The lore stated they were all part of a labyrinth built by ancient dwarves, but to the players, it was just annoying. There were so many dungeons that it was hard to tell which ones were good and which ones were bad!

Some dungeons could be cleared in 30 minutes with mediocre rewards, while others took hours as a baseline and required thorough preparation just to enter...

As a result, players active in the Espa Kingdom made it their daily routine to identify and conquer these dungeons. Obtaining information on good dungeons was a skill in itself!

"But the people who entered here before were probably mechanical engineering blacksmiths, right? Wouldn't they have been unable to enter the difficult dungeons?"

"Maybe they used some special method?"

The party members went in circles, unable to reach a conclusion. Seeing this, Tae-hyun chimed in.

"If we don't have any concrete information, wouldn't it be faster to just run through the dungeons as we find them?"

"I suppose so?"

"Shall we do that, then?"

The chatting party members nodded, agreeing that it was time to move.

Following behind them, Tae-hyun fell into thought.

A dungeon where engineering skills are important, huh...

Gabriel had sent Tae-hyun information on how he cleared the dungeon.

This was incredibly crucial information. The problem was...

You should have told me which dungeon it was, you idiot!

Because he had spoken in a rush, Gabriel had forgotten to mention which dungeon they needed to enter! In the end, they had no choice but to search them all.

Even my Divine Foresight skill isn't working very well right now...

Instead of a single path, the skill displayed multiple glowing routes. It seemed to be because there were simply too many dungeons in the area.

Murmur, murmur—

"?"

As they headed toward the nearest dungeon entrance, they heard voices up ahead. A party of over ten players had already arrived. It looked like they had also come to search this dungeon.

"Excuse me, we got here first. Why don't you guys find somewhere else?"

The opposing party leader stepped forward and spoke. His words were polite, but his attitude was arrogant. His entire posture practically screamed, What are you going to do about it if you don't leave?

Naturally, the leader of Tae-hyun's party wasn't about to take that lying down.

"You do know that blocking a dungeon is bad manners, right? Who are you to block people from entering?"

"Ah, who doesn't know it's bad ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠manners? We're only doing this because we're in a hurry. Our party was just formed, so our teamwork isn't great yet. If we go in together, someone might get hit by a stray skill. We're doing this for your own good."

"For our own good? For our own good?!"

"Aren't you guys infected with the plague curse? If you get hit by a stray skill, you'll drop dead instantly. Just go to another dungeon. Don't die in the same dungeon as us for no reason."

The opposing party leader sneered, a smirk playing on his lips. It was a smile designed to infuriate anyone who saw it! They clearly knew that Tae-hyun's party was composed of players infected with the plague curse.

They must have seen us recruiting party members in the square.

That explained their confidence.

"Ugh..."

At the opposing party leader's threat, the party members ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flinched.

Meanwhile, Tae-hyun sent a whisper to Cain.

Cain reached out his hand and aimed at the opposing party leader. Then, he activated his skill.

Clang! Clatter!

A chain connected Cain's arm to the opposing party leader's arm, dragging the leader straight forward.

"?!"

A sudden ambush. The opposing party leader quickly raised his shield, preparing to block any incoming attacks. It was a remarkably fast and impressive reaction for someone caught off guard!

But Cain wasn't aiming for an attack.

What Cain wanted was...

Grab!

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere instantly turned ice-cold!