The Art of the Human Shield
The sailor NPCs shouted and clamored noisily, but the other players didn't seem particularly surprised.
"What, pirates?"
"Sweet. Let's grab some easy EXP on the way."
"I'm gonna go rest in my cabin. They barely give you anything for killing those guys anyway."
"Hey, every little bit of EXP counts when you're trying to level up. Besides, pirates sometimes drop really good loot."
"Only if you're lucky. People like us never get anything."
On the sea route from the ports of the Espa Kingdom to the Prica Continent, there weren't many strong pirates. In other words, the pirates appearing now were just the weak, run-of-the-mill variety that popped up from time to time. A welcome sudden event that practically handed out free EXP and loot!
"P-Pirates?"
"They're probably nothing special. If strong pirates spawned around here in the first place, there's no way so many players would be able to make it to the Prica Continent."
"I just... happen to have some bad memories when it comes to pirates..."
"...?"
"A ship belonging to a company I once contracted with got hijacked by Somali pirates."
"..."
Tae-hyun stared at Chairman Yoo, utterly dumbfounded. "Sir, you do realize this is a game, right?"
"I'm telling you, don't underestimate those pirate bastards! Hurry up and find a way for us to escape."
"No, I'm saying we don't need to escape. There's no reason to be scared. Most of the players on this ship are high-level."
The players traveling to the Prica Continent were usually quite skilled. They were either participating in the arena tournament or targeting high-level quests on the continent. Neither was something you could easily do unless you were a high-level player.
Of course, there were low-level players like Chairman Yoo who were traveling just to watch the upcoming arena tournament in person. But even excluding them, the overall combat power on this ship was more than enough. It was strong enough to completely grind any half-baked pirate NPCs into dust.
"Is that so? Are you sure?"
"Yes, yes. As you'll see, the players who want to farm some EXP or gold will take care of the fighting on their own."
Cain asked, "What should we do?"
"Let's just stay quiet. I don't want to draw any unnecessary attention."
Ever since the raid on his territory, Tae-hyun had become a bit more cautious. For now, let's just assume everyone I meet in Pan-On is an enemy! Even if a complete stranger jumped him shouting, "I'll get my revenge for what you did in Pan-On 1!" Tae-hyun probably wouldn't even blink.
"Pirates! Are there any adventurers willing to fight alongside us?!"
"I'm in!"
"Me too."
"Count me in!"
Players looking to clear the sudden quest began raising their hands. Watching them, Tae-hyun, Cain, and Lee Da-bi quietly prepared to slip into the cabins.
Sliiiide—
"??"
"The ships... there are more of them?"
In the distance, the number of pirate ships began to multiply. The single pirate ship became two, then four... and soon, a massive pirate fleet loomed on the horizon!
"..."
"..."
Everyone's faces turned pale.
"What the hell is this?!"
"N-No way. This makes absolutely no sense! Why are pirates like that appearing here?!"
"That flag... it's Gardu's flag!"
A player who had spent a lot of time sailing the seas of the Espa Kingdom recognized the pirate flag. The flag of the Great Pirate Gardu! Hearing that name, Tae-hyun flinched. Gardu... he was definitely the one Tae-hyun had promised to deliver the Fake Map to before running away! Naturally, the pirate would be grinding his teeth in rage, having been scammed not once, but twice.
Tae-hyun made a cold assessment of the situation. We're screwed. So many chaotic things had been happening lately that he had completely forgotten about Gardu. Boarding a ship in the waters of the Espa Kingdom without a second thought was practically begging to be killed!
I did make some fake maps... but would that even work now? Tae-hyun racked his brain. He had indeed crafted several Fake Maps to use at some point, but he hadn't made them for a situation like this. They were meant to be used under much safer, more plausible circumstances! If he got captured by Gardu now and just handed over a map, the chances of it working were slim to none.
My Speech skill is Advanced, but... would it work? No, that's too much of a gamble. Tae-hyun decided to run for now. To pull off a successful scam, he needed to be the one controlling the situation. In a crisis like this, trying to talk his way out would only backfire. For now, his only option was to flee!
"Adventurers who are willing to fight, please step forward!"
"Are you insane?! How are we supposed to fight that?!"
"Don't even think about fighting! Step on it! Full speed ahead!"
"How can we be this unlucky? Why the hell are we running into Gardu here?!"
The players yelled at the crew to speed up. They had absolutely no idea that Gardu had come all this way solely because of Tae-hyun!
"But there's still some distance between us! If we pull away, they might stop chasing!"
"Y-Yeah, exactly! It's not like we have some personal grudge against Gardu. Why would he keep chasing us? Usually, if you get far enough, they just give up and leave!"
The players were desperately high on copium! But Tae-hyun, who knew the grim reality, couldn't join in on their wishful thinking.
"..."
His brain was working at full capacity to find an escape route!
"What if we escape on Yong-yong?" Lee Da-bi whispered.
Hearing her suggestion, Tae-hyun looked up at the sky. In the past, it would have been difficult, but Yong-yong had grown exponentially after their trip to the Demon Realm. He was now fully capable of carrying Tae-hyun's group and flying all the way to the Prica Continent! However, Tae-hyun couldn't make a decision so easily.
A boss monster of Gardu's caliber probably won't let us just fly away... He had a strong feeling that if he took to the skies alone, he would immediately become a giant target for concentrated attacks. One of the advantages of being on this ship right now was the sheer number of other players! Abandoning his human shields—er, his helpful fellow players—and flying off could be extremely dangerous.
Divine Foresight! This was the perfect moment to use his cheat skill, Divine Foresight! But as soon as he did, Tae-hyun hung his head in despair. Sadly, the skill was giving him a clear warning: If you fly into the sky, you will die!
"Ugh..."
"Is it impossible?"
"Yeah, looks like it."
Now, all they could do was pray that this ship could somehow outrun Gardu's pirate fleet.
Still oblivious to the true gravity of the situation, Chairman Yoo asked in confusion, "I thought you said they were nothing special?"
"Haha, well, isn't that just how life goes? You think, 'There's no way I'll get caught by pirates like that,' and then you do. Just like how you think, 'There's no way I'll get hit with a fine,' and then you do."
"I told you that fine wasn't my fault! You little rascal!"
Tae-hyun never missed an opportunity to bring up the fine, bringing it up at every turn! Chairman Yoo glared at Tae-hyun, his fists trembling with rage.
"But something is strange. The way you and your friends are reacting compared to everyone else is..."
"...!"
Chairman Yoo certainly had a sharp eye. Even if he didn't know much about the game, he had noticed the distinct difference between the general panic of the other players and the specific, tense reaction of Tae-hyun's group.
"You guys aren't the reason those pirate bastards are chasing us, are you?"
A razor-sharp and incredibly accurate deduction!
"Hahaha, of course not! How could that possibly be the case?"
"...Is that so?"
Chairman Yoo tilted his head in doubt before turning his gaze back to the sea. The pirate ships were rapidly closing the distance, picking up speed. Seeing this, Tae-hyun whispered to Lee Da-bi.
"Wow, look at how sharp the old man is. He's on a completely different level than Cain. He's easily worth two Cains."
"Wouldn't he be at least three Cains?"
"Hey! I'm standing right next to you! Stop using my name as a unit of intelligence...!"
While Cain protested in indignation, the pirate fleet continued to accelerate.
— "O-Oh no... The pirate ships are catching up!"
— "Catch the wind! Catch the wind!"
— "The pirate mages are casting spells! They're too fast!"
The despair-filled voices of the crew echoed across the deck. It didn't take a genius to understand the situation. They were going to get caught! At this, the players' reactions began to shift.
"Hey, I think we're going to get caught."
"Maybe it's better to negotiate instead of fighting."
In Pan-On, combat wasn't the only way to resolve a conflict. As the saying goes, even if you're dragged into a tiger's den, you can survive if you keep your wits about you. No matter how powerful a boss monster was, death wasn't always the only outcome. The players here had no personal grudge against Gardu. Bowing down, offering him what he wanted, and being let go was a perfectly viable option!
But not for Tae-hyun. If they entered negotiations with Gardu, it was a guaranteed, one-hundred-percent disaster! He had to drag the other players into this somehow.
Tae-hyun quickly leaped up and climbed to the top of the mast. He pulled out his musket and even activated his skill!
Click!
If someone hates you, make sure they hate you even more!
It was a chaotic scene. The players below had no idea that Tae-hyun had climbed up and was about to pull off something absolutely insane.
Bang!
"?!?!"
Startled by the sudden noise from above, everyone whipped their heads up.
"Hey!!! What the hell are you doing?!"
"Why are you attacking first?!"
But Tae-hyun replied with shameless confidence, "The pirates are coming, of course we have to fight!"
His unyielding determination to use them as shields shone through!
"Fight?! Fight what?!"
"Do you seriously think we can win against that?!"
"We should be begging for mercy, and you decide to launch a preemptive strike?!"
"Hey, hey, it's fine! They're still too far away anyway, so an attack like that won't even hit..."
They were right. Tae-hyun's Marksmanship skill was low, and his weapon was just a crude piece of junk he had hastily thrown together in the last dungeon. But Tae-hyun possessed a weapon far more devastating: his absurdly high Luck stat!
Swiiish— Thwack!
The flying bullet pierced straight through the pirate ship's flag and flew directly toward Gardu's face.
Clang!
Of course, it didn't leave so much as a scratch on Gardu, but as a provocation, it was more than enough.
A random buff has been applied to your equipment due to your skill.
A skill has been applied to your weapon.
You have successfully hit a target that was impossible to hit from this distance. Your Marksmanship skill increases significantly.
And then, a system message popped up for every single player on the ship.
You have attacked the pirate flag of the Great Pirate Gardu. Gardu is extremely enraged.
The Great Pirate Gardu orders an all-out attack!
"Bury them all at the bottom of the sea!"
Seeing this, everyone screamed in unison, "YOU BASTARD!!!!!!"
"Haha! Let's fight! We can't just surrender to pirates! Everyone, let's fight together!"
"What a lunatic! Who the hell are you?! Are you a pirate spy?!"
"Catch that bastard first!"
But Tae-hyun had already nimbly slid down and activated his Stealth skill, vanishing into the crowd. It was a truly devilish drag-down-to-hell tactic! Watching this unfold, Chairman Yoo couldn't help but marvel inwardly. This kid has a god-given talent for making other people's lives miserable!
"If it's come to this, I'm getting out of here!"
"Where are the lifeboats?!"
"Looking for someone to escape with on my turtle pet! Offer gold first!"
Splash! Splash!
In an instant, the deck turned into a chaotic madhouse. From players panicking over what to do, to those jumping straight into the sea to get a head start on escaping! This was exactly the kind of atmosphere Tae-hyun had been hoping for.
Perfect. If things go like this, I can slip away! His plan was to use the scattering players as shields and escape all by himself!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The magic cannons of Gardu's pirate fleet roared, spitting fire. The players swimming in the sea thrashed about in sheer terror.
"I have no choice, then."
"...?"
"T-That person... it's Crawford!"
"Crawford! Crawford!"
Tae-hyun, who had been keeping a close eye on the situation, tilted his head in confusion at the sudden cheers. "Who's that?"