A Lucrative Cure and an Unexpected Visitor
The ones who emerged from the dungeon were three players sporting utterly exhausted expressions. They were Kim Tae-hyun, Lee Da-bi, and Cain!
"Ugh. From now on, when you make something, can you please design it so it doesn't explode?"
"Shut it. If not for that explosion, we wouldn't have cleared them out so easily."
Scolding the grumbling Cain, Tae-hyun checked the items he had received.
◈ Description: A volatile bottle containing the Boiling Ultimate Plague.
◈ Effect: If you possess the Engineering skill, you can use this bottle to craft a highly destructive plague bomb.
◈ Description: The essence of plague dispelling crafted by a demon.
◈ Effect: When poured into a well, lake, or any body of standing water, it creates a permanent spring that lifts curses.
Since he had assigned them such a difficult quest, Esla had handed over a remarkably generous reward. The Plague Dispelling Essence, in particular, was an incredibly powerful item that would permanently transform any body of standing water into a curse-cleansing spring.
The moment Tae-hyun saw this, inspiration struck him like a bolt of lightning. The Valley of Despair and Sorrow! What if he created this curse-cleansing spring right inside his territory? Players would flock to it on their own accord, no matter how far away they were or how tedious the journey might be.
It was a golden opportunity to grow his territory effortlessly! Developing a territory was an incredibly difficult and complex endeavor. Currently, players who had managed to secure small fortresses or villages were resorting to all kinds of desperate measures to expand them—slashing taxes to the bone, and even hosting real-life promotional events!
While owning a territory yielded massive profits, that was only true once it reached a certain size. Before reaching that self-sustaining orbit, a territory was nothing but a bottomless money pit.
Yeah, after all that suffering, I deserve a reward like this. That's the only way the world stays fair, right? Tae-hyun thought, without a single shred of shame. If the people who had been swindled by him heard this, they would have collapsed from a sudden spike in blood pressure.
"Hello? Kim Tae-hyun?"
"Hey, let's move fast."
"Excuse me? Do you not see me here? Kim Tae-hyun!"
Spotting Tae-hyun's party emerging from the dungeon exit, Lee Se-yeon waved at them warmly. However, Tae-hyun, deeply lost in his own thoughts, completely failed to notice her. Meanwhile, Lee Da-bi and Cain, who had genuinely come within an inch of their lives inside the dungeon due to the explosion, simply kept their heads hung low in sheer exhaustion.
Pop. A tiny vein throbbed on Lee Se-yeon's pale forehead.
"Didn't someone just call out to us?"
"Who would be calling us? There's literally no one else out here."
"...Triple Abyssal Arrow!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Dark arrows radiating a terrifying aura streaked through the air, slamming directly into the ground right at the feet of Tae-hyun's party. It was a powerful spell that tore the very earth to shreds!
"Aaaah!"
"What the?! Is it an ambush?!"
"I've been standing right here this entire time, you know?"
Lee Se-yeon placed her hands on her hips, speaking with an utterly dumbfounded expression. Ambush? She had been waiting out in the open the whole time! Only then did Tae-hyun finally notice her. As their eyes met, Lee Se-yeon offered a bright smile and waved.
"..." Tae-hyun blinked. He felt as though he was looking at a face that had absolutely no business being here.
"Lee Da-bi. I think I'm so tired that I'm having a nightmare."
"If you're having a nightmare, doesn't that mean our quest completion gets wiped out too?"
"Ah. Good point."
"And it's not a dream. Watch."
Slap! Slap! Lee Da-bi slapped Tae-hyun's cheeks, her palms making a crisp, resounding sound.
"How is it?"
"It doesn't hurt."
"Well, of course it doesn't hurt, this is Pan-On."
"Then why did you slap me?"
"...I just... wanted to try it..."
Lee Da-bi slunk backward. She had seized the opportunity on a whim, but now that she thought about it, she was terrified of the consequences.
"My turn! Let me slap you too!"
Cain, utterly devoid of any situational awareness, raised his hand and prepared to charge, clearly viewing this as his golden opportunity for revenge.
"The moment your hand touches my face, you're getting logged out."
"...I was just raising my hand for a high-five because I was so glad to see you."
Cain meekly lowered his hand.
THUD! One of the Death Knights slammed its scabbard heavily against the ground. A loud, echoing boom reverberated through the area. It was an order from Lee Se-yeon, annoyed that the three of them were chatting away while completely ignoring her.
"Wow, it's really been a while since I've been ignored like this. Excuse me, everyone? I am standing right here. If you ignore me one more time, I'm ordering an all-out attack."
"Who do you think you are, picking a fight with us? Do you have any idea who we are?!"
Confronted by this mysterious woman, Cain snapped and shouted back. After all, there weren't many players in the entire game who could defeat the trio of Tae-hyun, Cain, and Lee Da-bi. Furthermore, having just been cured of his curse, Cain's confidence was currently sitting at an all-time high of 200%!
"You don't know who I am?"
"No! Who the hell are you?!"
"Seriously? You've never seen my face before?"
"Why would I know your face... wait... uh... I feel like I've seen you somewhere..."
Because Lee Se-yeon was wearing disguise gear, he hadn't recognized her immediately. But peering through the gaps of her shabby equipment, her face was incredibly familiar!
"Cain."
"Yeah?"
"That's Lee Se-yeon."
"..."
His confidence evaporated in an instant.
Shuffling backward, Cain quietly slunk behind Tae-hyun's back. Watching this, Lee Se-yeon burst into laughter.
"Kim Tae-hyun, I saw him last time too, but he really is a riot. Is that why you keep him around?"
"No. He begged me with tears streaming down his face, saying he wanted to follow me around to atone for his sins, so I'm just letting him tag along."
"Who the hell ever said that, you son of a—"
"Want me to put you in the vanguard?" Tae-hyun whispered coldly.
"...Of course I'm following him to atone! Absolutely!" Cain swallowed his tears as he answered. Seeing this, Lee Se-yeon laughed even harder.
Absolute humiliation! Cain wept inwardly. To be disgraced like this in front of a celebrity player like Lee Se-yeon... Ugggh...!
He couldn't even argue back. Cain grew even more sorrowful!
In truth, Cain had also been a fan of Tae-hyun back in Pan-On 1. Fortunately, he kept that to himself. Had he let that slip, he would have been teased by Tae-hyun for at least a year!
Lee Se-yeon narrowed her eyes as she looked at Lee Da-bi. "Have we met somewhere before?"
"Ha, haha... No, we've never met. Truly!" Lee Da-bi avoided her gaze, sweating profusely. Strictly speaking, she had seen Lee Se-yeon's face from a distance during the previous Sadiq fire quest. However, for Lee Da-bi, whose life goal was to live a long, quiet, and uneventful life, Lee Se-yeon's attention was nothing but a burden!
Given the hostile relationship between Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon, getting on her bad side could mean instant annihilation for Lee Da-bi.
"Who is she?"
"The guild master of Power Warrior, a deeply rooted, massive, and prestigious guild."
"...I didn't mishear you, did I? Power Warrior?"
Even Lee Se-yeon had heard of the guild name Power Warrior. A gathering of absolute weirdos! A guild legendary for its bizarre antics!
"Don't underestimate Power Warrior. More than a few people have fallen victim to them."
At Tae-hyun's words, Lee Da-bi looked deeply moved. However, Lee Se-yeon merely shrugged.
"Well, who you hang out with is your business. But it's a bit surprising. Back in Pan-On 1, you..."
"Ahem! Ah-hem!"
"...Ah. I see."
Lee Se-yeon's smile deepened. She had realized it—Tae-hyun was hiding his true identity from Pan-On 1 from Lee Da-bi and Cain! To anyone else, it would have looked like a breathtakingly beautiful smile, but to Tae-hyun, it was pure malice. The smile of a devil!
"Shall we go somewhere else and have a little chat? It'd be for your own good, too."
"Tsk. Fine. Let's do that."
"!!!"
Cain stared at Tae-hyun in utter shock. The great Kim Tae-hyun, meekly complying with someone else's demands! Even if the opponent was Lee Se-yeon! During their last encounter, hadn't he flatly rejected her offer to join her guild and immediately initiated a fight?
Has he lost his mind? Did she catch him by the collar? If she's got dirt on him, please share it with me too!
"You've got a really sketchy look in your eyes right now."
"W-who, me?"
Caught red-handed, Cain stammered. Ignoring him entirely, Lee Se-yeon glided over and grabbed Tae-hyun's arm.
"Now then, shall we go talk?"
"Um, excuse me, if you happen to have any dirt on this guy, could you share it with me too..."
Cain's hesitant plea failed to reach either of them, scattering silently into the wind. Watching him, Lee Da-bi simply shook her head.
"No! Stop! Please don't do this to me!"
"You know, my stream is off right now, so acting like that won't do anything to my reputation..."
"Damn it."
Tae-hyun instantly dropped the act.
"You haven't changed a bit."
"Why did you call me over? For the record, I'm not giving you the crown."
"Wow, look at you being so bold and shameless before I even brought it up. I'm actually starting to get annoyed."
"It's in my hands, so it's mine."
"By that logic, since I'm holding onto you right now, does that make you mine? Hmm?"
Lee Se-yeon tightened her grip on Tae-hyun's arm.
"Where did you dig up that ancient joke..."
"Look who's talking!"
Lee Se-yeon stared at Tae-hyun, exasperated. She was normally not the type of person to engage in such childish bickering. Yet, whenever she dealt with Tae-hyun, she somehow always ended up arguing like a toddler!
"Let's talk about the Crown of the Forgotten Dead later. That's not why I came here today anyway."
"?"
Tae-hyun was slightly taken aback. She hadn't come for the Crown of the Forgotten Dead? If not for that, there was absolutely no reason for Lee Se-yeon to seek him out like this. What is it, then?
Tae-hyun had fully expected Lee Se-yeon to demand the Crown of the Forgotten Dead. Naturally, he had already prepared a countermeasure. Due to his class mechanics, Tae-hyun rarely dropped good items even upon death. Now that it was in his possession, Lee Se-yeon had virtually no way of taking it by force. Moreover, if Tae-hyun made up his mind to run, it was highly doubtful whether Lee Se-yeon could even catch him. When it came to pure survivability, Tae-hyun was easily among the top in the entire server!
The only option left for her would have been blackmail, and Tae-hyun had planned to counter-blackmail her using the Crown of the Forgotten Dead itself. But to think that wasn't her objective.
"I guess you haven't heard yet?"
"...Heard what?"
"The Frika Continent Arena League."
"?"
Tae-hyun had, of course, heard of the Arena League. "I know about that."
"No, I mean about participating. You haven't heard about the roster, have you?"
"...What roster?"
As Tae-hyun spoke, a sudden wave of dread washed over him. A deeply ominous sensation was creeping up his spine!
Instead of answering, Lee Se-yeon pointed her finger back and forth between herself and Tae-hyun. You and me!
"...No way. No way in hell. That makes absolutely no..."
"Ta-da! But it actually happened!"
"What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that?! There's no way PD Bae Jang-wook would pull a stunt like this without telling me..."
Tae-hyun froze. Recently, Bae Jang-wook had asked him if he could do him a favor. No way. Could it be?!
"No, no, that's impossible! Even he wouldn't go that far!"
It was an incredibly rare sight to see Tae-hyun this flustered. Watching him panic, Lee Se-yeon felt a surge of inexplicable, pure joy. This was too much fun!
She wanted to savor the moment a bit longer, but to move the conversation forward, Lee Se-yeon decided to reveal the truth.
"Of course, PD Bae Jang-wook isn't the type to force someone onto a show. He couldn't even if he wanted to. That's why I came to persuade you myself. I knew you'd never agree to it otherwise."
"So that was it?"
Tae-hyun let out a sigh of relief. For a second, he had genuinely thought PD Bae Jang-wook had laid a trap behind his back. To participate in the Arena League as a team with Lee Se-yeon!