Reality Is Always Cruel

But reality was always a cruel thing. Not everyone cleared quests step-by-step, fair and square. Some people simply skipped every single stage and stumbled right onto the finish line!

"Now that I think about it, where is the Sadiq Church located? I'm not very familiar with the local geography..."

"Oh, heavens! I shall personally guide you there!"

The village chief bowed and scraped at a single word! Now that he firmly believed Tae-hyun was a holy knight of the Sadiq Church, it felt like even if Tae-hyun asked, 'Where would be a good spot to set the Sadiq Church building on fire? Ah, not that I'm actually going to burn it down, I'm just curious,' the chief would readily supply the answer.

"Surely we don't have to walk all the way to the Sadiq Church?"

"Oh, absolutely not! We couldn't possibly let a holy knight walk! I will have a carriage prepared for you at once!"

"And surely we aren't expected to travel to the Sadiq Church all by ourselves? Monsters might appear along the way."

"Oh, of course not! I will gather the finest warriors of our village to escort you!"

"..."

Chairman Yoo, who had been fishing on the beach while Tae-hyun ransacked the warehouse and ran his scams, watched the conversation with an utterly flabbergasted expression.

Is Pan-On really this kind of game?

The Pan-On that Kim Tae-san and others had described was supposed to be a world brimming with dreams, hopes, and grand adventures. Yet, the world Tae-hyun was currently demonstrating was something far more underhanded and downright dirty!

While Chairman Yoo reeled in disbelief, Tae-hyun was busy tearing, chewing, tasting, and thoroughly enjoying every last resource the village had to offer.

"Wow, this is amazing! Is this what the taste of power feels like?"

Lee Da-bi was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠absolutely ecstatic. Her merchant-exclusive bag was bulging to its absolute limit. It was painfully obvious how tightly she had packed it; she had clearly swept up every single piece of junk and miscellaneous item in the entire village.

"Let's make a run for it! Hurry!"

"Hey, not yet. We need to borrow their blacksmith workshop and craft some bombs before we leave."

While Lee Da-bi wanted to take her loot and flee before their lies were exposed, Tae-hyun was in no rush.

They had been lucky enough to teleport directly into a village that worshipped the Sadiq Church, skipping numerous quest stages in the process. However, the Sadiq Church remained a formidable foe.

They possessed countless holy knights, priests, and demonic beasts, and their core NPCs—the Holy Knight Commander and the Archbishop—were still alive and well.

Under normal circumstances, they weren't opponents Tae-hyun's party could hope to face, but...

Tae-hyun had absolutely no intention of backing down. If his own strength was lacking, he could simply borrow someone else's!

Who should I drag into this to spark a truly legendary clash?

It was a truly diabolical train of thought.

"You rascal, if you keep living like that, you're going to get punished by the heavens."

"You mean like the penalty fine you had to pay, Elder?"

Grind!

Once Tae-hyun grabbed hold of a weakness, he truly intended to milk it dry. Chairman Yoo barely managed to maintain his composure as he spoke.

"You see... if you... keep deceiving others... you will incur their resentment... and once you incur enough resentment, it will eventually come back to haunt..."

The sound of teeth grinding echoed sharply between his words!

"I've already accumulated so much resentment that adding a bit more won't even register."

At that moment, a whisper arrived for Tae-hyun.

It was a voice that sounded incredibly familiar! Tae-hyun felt a shiver run down his spine. The only person who would call him so familiarly was, without a doubt...

It was Lee Se-yeon. Tae-hyun closed his eyes. He let out a deep sigh and looked at Chairman Yoo.

"Do you think it's not too late for me to start living a good life?"

"!?"

An entirely unexpected moment of self-reflection! Chairman Yoo was startled, wondering if the boy had eaten something bad.

Lee Se-yeon waved to the crowd as she sent the whisper to Tae-hyun. People in the arena who recognized her were cheering loudly. If she uttered a single word here, Tae-hyun's identity would be instantly exposed!

Bae Jang-wook! Tae-hyun ground his teeth. In truth, PD Bae was entirely innocent in this. After all, Lee Se-yeon and Tae-hyun were teammates. It was only natural for teammates to have each other's contact information!

Tae-hyun spoke to Lee Se-yeon in an irritated tone.

His tone was sharp enough to make anyone lose all affection! Yet, Lee Se-yeon wasn't fazed in the slightest. If anything, his prickly attitude only fueled her competitive drive. It was the classic 'You're the first person to ever treat me like this!' trope.

Though Tae-hyun would deny it to his grave, he and Lee Se-yeon were remarkably alike.

While Tae-hyun was busy whispering with Lee Se-yeon, Chairman Yoo struck up a conversation with Lee Da-bi with a grave expression.

"Why is that rascal acting like that all of a sudden?"

"I think he's whispering with someone right now."

"For that kid to suddenly repent and reflect on his life... just who could his opponent be?"

"Shall we try to guess based on his expression?"

Lee Da-bi pointed a finger at Tae-hyun's face. His features were twisted in a massive scowl, and his eyebrows were twitching violently! He looked exactly like someone who had just run into their mortal enemy.

"For starters, it's clear they have an incredibly terrible relationship."

"Indeed. He's making his dislike painfully obvious."

Cain, who had been listening to their conversation, chimed in.

"And the other person must have an incredibly twisted and obnoxious personality, too."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because if they weren't, there's no way Kim Tae-hyun would be squirming like this."

"Ah, that makes sense!"

Lee Da-bi clapped her hands in admiration.

"Then the person is..."

"Someone who is on terrible terms with Kim Tae-hyun, with a twisted and obnoxious personality..."

The three of them imagined what this person looked like. The image conjured in their minds was someone incredibly fierce and villainous!

"Tae-hyun, who are you talking to right now?"

"Huh? Lee Se-yeon."

"..."

Despite Tae-hyun's verbal abuse, Lee Se-yeon remained unfazed. There was only one reason she had contacted him: to prevent any potential escape on his part.

Most people would think, 'Come on, would he really break a contract and back out of a promise after going all the way to the broadcasting station?'

But Lee Se-yeon knew better. Tae-hyun was not a man who could be judged by the standards of ordinary people!

If things didn't go his way, he was entirely capable of just paying the penalty fee and vanishing off the face of the earth.

Whether she revealed his identity as the legendary Kim Tae-hyun of Pan-On 1, or whether his relationship with the broadcasting station went down the drain, none of that would matter to him.

Once a certain line was crossed, Tae-hyun was the type of person who would do whatever he pleased, regardless of profit or loss!

I need to coax him gently so he doesn't run away.

Lee Se-yeon planned to persuade Tae-hyun using a carrot-and-stick approach. Since she had only used the stick so far, it was time to soothe him with a carrot!

Otherwise, he might truly make a run for it.

Lee Se-yeon's skin was just as thick as Tae-hyun's. Ordinary insults wouldn't even leave a scratch on her!

Tae-hyun gave up on attacking and smacked his lips. Since it had come to this, he decided to cut straight to the chase.

No matter how well she knew him, she couldn't possibly take that literally. Lee Se-yeon assumed Tae-hyun was just being sarcastic.

But I'm not being sarcastic.

Tae-hyun felt a bit bitter. What a tragic era, where people wouldn't believe you even when you told them the absolute truth!

Calling the grand arena tournament 'that kind of stuff.' Lee Se-yeon was utterly dumbfounded. She only tolerated it because she knew him; if anyone else had heard that, their jaw would have hit the floor!

Tae-hyun's obnoxious nature was flaring up again! But Lee Se-yeon remained steady. If she lost her cool here, she would be playing right into his hands.

An immaturity that defied all imagination! Lee Se-yeon was beyond flabbergasted; she was utterly dumbfounded. Tae-hyun truly spared no effort when it came to provoking his opponent.

As Tae-hyun gleefully teased Lee Se-yeon, a sudden thought struck him.

Wait, if Lee Se-yeon is at the arena, isn't she actually pretty close to where I am?

Lee Se-yeon was one of the top Necromancers on the server. And a Necromancer, even traveling alone, was a literal one-man army!

Tae-hyun's scheming mind began to spin at high speed.

Seeing Tae-hyun suddenly cooperate, Lee Se-yeon let out a sigh of relief. So he does care about the tournament after all!

Lee Se-yeon tilted her head. The Sadiq Church. She had heard rumors that they occasionally appeared on the Prica Continent.

I heard Kim Tae-hyun was in his territory on the main continent until recently because of some plague curse quest. How is he already clearing a Sadiq Church quest on the Prica Continent?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Lee Se-yeon knew all too well what kind of quest dealing with a hidden religious order entailed. It was bound to be an epic chain quest starting with tedious information gathering!

Lee Se-yeon was shocked once again. No matter how she looked at the timeline, it should have been impossible to locate the Sadiq Church so quickly. Yet, he had already found it?

How on earth did he find it?!

It was a speed that would have been impossible unless he had planted a spy inside the Sadiq Church itself!

Other people might be fooled by Tae-hyun's public image, but Lee Se-yeon certainly wasn't.

To make sure Kim Tae-hyun doesn't run away...

Lee Se-yeon scanned her surroundings. Just then, an excellent idea popped into her head.