The Fisherman of Time

"A team where everyone is incredibly skilled, but teamwork is practically nonexistent. The pool of players willing to join a team like that is bound to be small."

Of course, bypassing the qualifiers and going straight to the main tournament was a massive advantage. However, for a five-person team to feature such formidable players as Lee Se-yeon and Kim Tae-hyun was also a burden for anyone else. Since they were both players with absolute confidence in their own skills, coordinating teamwork or devising strategies would inevitably be difficult.

That was why many of the major guilds were currently forming tight-knit teams of rankers and supporting players to aim for the qualifiers.

Rather than an invited team where we can't see the big picture, we'll go with a solid, predictable team!

To Choi Myung-sung, this was a highly rational approach. Although people were misled by existing fame and reputation, the Prika Arena rendered levels and equipment meaningless. In other words, there was no need to be so obsessed with individual famous players!

If so, a team of five tightly-knit, well-coordinated players might actually have a higher win rate. While everyone else expected Kim Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon's team to do well, Choi Myung-sung believed that the Korean team would be the most disadvantaged in the main tournament. They would be the only team in the finals that had gathered purely by numbers without any chance to build chemistry.

A blunder by MBS, who only cared about name value and box office success!

But... I still want to see Kim Tae-hyun win.

Fanboyism carried over from Pan-On 1! Even though he knew they were at a disadvantage, Choi Myung-sung wanted Kim Tae-hyun to win. Just as in Pan-On 1, Kim Tae-hyun always found an unexpected way out of disadvantageous situations. Even if his level was lowered and his equipment stripped, that wouldn't change.

I believe in you, Kim Tae-hyun!

"Ugh..."

"Defuse the bomb, you bastard!"

"That's not what's important right now."

"Then what is?! Seriously, people need to know what you're really like! Do you know what they say about us? They say Cain is taking advantage of that sweet, innocent Kim Tae-hyun and sucking him dry! It makes me so frustrated I want to cry!"

"Pfft!"

Lee Da-bi, who was listening nearby, burst out laughing. Hearing it put that way, she realized it really could look like that to outsiders.

"..."

As Cain glared at Lee Da-bi with a burning gaze, she awkwardly whistled and looked away.

"Lee Da-bi, has Cain really been deceiving me and sucking me dry?"

"Well, since he's participating in the tournament this time, in a way, maybe?"

"I'll have to be careful from now on."

Seeing the two of them ignore him and chat among themselves, Cain clutched his chest. How did I end up hanging out with these two wicked, soul-crushing humans!

"Don't worry, if I don't detonate that bomb, it'll just disappear after a while anyway."

"...Isn't the fact that you put it on me in the first place the problem? Huh? Am I the crazy one here?"

"More importantly, the issue right now is Saruon. That guy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠packed his bags and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠left, saying he was going to my territory..."

Saruon, who had departed before anyone could stop him! Tae-hyun felt a headache coming on again.

- Territory Check.

...Is it even possible to turn a profit here?

Since he had inherited a completely ruined territory, it was currently just a massive gold sink. It was only thanks to Pelmas running massive scams and sweet-talking various crafting players into working for dirt-cheap rates that it was only this bad; otherwise, the deficit would have been far worse.

Well, the Archisus Church Paladins have been hired, and the essential buildings are being constructed... but wow, there's still such a long way to go. Can I really turn this into a city?

Cities in Pan-On had everything. There was a reason some players never even went out to the fields and just hung out in cities.

If something seems completely impossible, maybe it's better to just give up on it early.

Selection and concentration. That concept applied here as well.

"..."

Seeing the arena-related message among the many notification windows, Tae-hyun's expression turned complicated. The result of a reckless, impulsive splurge! Unlike the other buildings, this arena was built purely to satisfy Tae-hyun's personal taste.

Will I even be able to use this for anything...

Tae-hyun made a decision. He would only build the basic essential structures in the Valley of Despair and Sorrow, and make everything else related to Archisus. Otherwise, it would just be a subpar imitation of other cities. The goal was to make it the symbolic city of the Archisus Church!

Wait, the symbolic city of the Archisus Church...

A scene suddenly flashed through Tae-hyun's mind. Statues erected everywhere, and people weeping in front of them as they opened gacha boxes and crafted items!

...N-No. There's no guarantee it'll turn out like that...

"Why the hell is this guy so fast?!"

Huh?

Although he was flustered by how quickly Saruon had arrived, Tae-hyun decided to build it immediately since it was a special building.

- Construct.

Because having more of anything was always good! It was best to grab special buildings whenever the opportunity arose.

However, Tae-hyun had forgotten one thing. Saruon was an NPC related to engineering, and a forge built by such an NPC would naturally be an engineering-related forge.

And what happens when you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠build such a facility?

Naturally, engineering players would start flocking to it!

"Hello."

"Ah, yes. Hahaha. Hahahaha."

Chairman Yoo let out a silly laugh. If anyone who knew him in the real world had seen this, they would have looked as if they had seen a ghost. To think that Chairman Yoo, who was known as the "Tiger of the Business World" for his fiery and explosive temper, would show such a side!

But if they knew who he was talking to, everyone would understand. It was, of course, Yu Ji-soo.

"...No matter how much I think about it, something feels off..."

Yu Ji-soo felt a lingering sense of suspicion. However, she never imagined that the man in front of her was her grandfather. After all, he had always been so far removed from gaming in real life.

"So, how are things going with that boyfriend of yours?"

"I told you, he's not my boyfriend! A-And please don't ask about things like that."

Yu Ji-soo shook her head, her face flushing red. Seeing this, Chairman Yoo's inner rage flared even hotter.

If I ever catch whoever that punk is, I'll feed him to the fish in the lake...

"More importantly, do you really do nothing but fish?"

"Well, I find it quite enjoyable."

"There are plenty of other fun things to do... Come to think of it, my grandfather is absolutely obsessed with fishing too."

"...!"

Chairman Yoo broke out in a cold sweat. Did she notice something?

But looking at Yu Ji-soo's expression, she seemed to have said it without any deeper thought. Chairman Yoo let out a sigh of relief.

Then, he grew slightly curious. What did his adorable granddaughter actually think of her grandfather?

"What kind of person is your grandfather?"

"He's a good person."

Chairman Yoo's lips curled up into a massive grin.

"He's always so nice to me, which is great, but sometimes it gets a bit overwhelming."

"W-What? Why is that?!"

"...?"

"Ahem, cough. Do tell."

"He keeps asking me if I have a boyfriend, and he always says all guys are wolves..."

"Because it's the truth!"

"Pardon?"

"N-Nothing. Go on. Please continue."

Chairman Yoo took a deep breath to compose himself.

"I know he's just worried about me, but I'm all grown up now."

No, you're not!

"So that kind of worrying is..."

"S-Surely it's just because your grandfather cherishes you so much, Miss Ji-soo?"

"No, I get that, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it's just too much."

"But that's just his affection—"

"No, it's excessive."

Yu Ji-soo cut him off firmly! Chairman Yoo slumped his shoulders and nodded dejectedly.

"I see..."

Sensing that the atmosphere around him had turned strangely gloomy, Yu Ji-soo tried to change the subject.

"So, are you just going to keep fishing here forever?"

"That was my plan, yes."

"Fishing is great, but you should probably raise your level a bit. Or move to a different area. The monsters around here are quite strong, so it's tough to just fish. Besides, I won't be around here for a while, so I won't be able to help you."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm planning to head to the Prica Continent."

"The Prica Continent... Ah, is it because of the Arena tournament?"

"Oh? You know about it? I didn't think you'd be interested in that sort of thing..."

"Of course I know that much!"

In truth, he had only overheard it from two players he ran into recently, but Chairman Yoo pretended as if he had been highly interested all along.

"Are you participating?"

"Yes. Together with my guild members..."

As she spoke, Yu Ji-soo's face flushed red. If they entered and made it through the qualifiers, she might get to meet Tae-hyun in the main tournament.

Why is she blushing?

Chairman Yoo felt an inexplicable, ominous foreboding.

"I heard there's an invited team. What about joining that invited team?"

"You can't just join that team. Besides, I've already promised to enter with my guild."

"I-Is that so?"

Chairman Yoo smacked his lips in disappointment. If she had expressed any desire to join, he would have immediately contacted MBS and pressured them to slot Yu Ji-soo in!

"Anyway, fishing is fine, but if you want to keep fishing in peace, you should really think about leveling up a bit."

"Y-Yes. Thank you."

He wanted to follow her, but if he said he was coming along, he would either get caught or cause a massive misunderstanding. Swallowing his tears, Chairman Yoo waved goodbye to the departing Yu Ji-soo.

Now, his only remaining friend was his fishing rod!

Yes, as long as I have this fishing rod, I...

"??"

Chairman Yoo tilted his head in surprise. But everyone he could ask had already left!

Well, seeing it pop up like this, it must be something good...?

Chairman Yoo didn't know much about hidden classes. He simply figured that since it had "Fisherman" in the name and a special message window had appeared, it must be a decent class!

"Alright! I'll change classes!"

"??"

Without knowing what it actually was, Chairman Yoo simply did as the message window instructed. Anyone else would have checked their status window in excitement to see what new skills they had acquired...

But Chairman Yoo had absolutely no idea what kind of class he had just obtained.

A Heroic class, no less!

It was one of the absolute highest-tier classes among all known fisherman classes.

Regardless of that, Chairman Yoo simply wandered around the village, grumbling as he searched for the retired fisherman.

"Why did these developers make the roads so damn complicated? They could at least put up some signposts... Tsk."