A Father's Sulking, A Rival's Despair
Lee Da-bi quickly changed the subject. "More importantly, isn't it awkward at home when you fight with your father like this in the game?"
"Huh? We fight all the time, so not really..."
"..."
"But I really don't know how Dad figured it out."
"A family's intuition, perhaps?"
"Hmm, Dad does have a pretty sharp intuition for things like that."
"Because you're family."
"Though, when I was badmouthing him at the soondae soup restaurant, he immediately knew it was me."
"..."
"But he started it first, you know?"
"I-I don't think that's the important part... Is it really okay to do this?"
"Ah, it's fine, it's fine. At this rate, his sulking is only at Level 1."
"Le... Level 1?"
"Level 1 is the sulking level that triggers when I tease him in a game, or when I don't hold back and beat him in a sparring match."
"What happens then?"
"He'll do things like swipe the side dishes right from under my nose at dinner, or invite a pro fighter from his friend's gym instead of sparring with me, or turn off the bathroom lights from the outside while I'm showering."
...How petty!!
Lee Da-bi felt her illusions shattering. What kind of father-son duo was this!
"May I ask what Level 2 is?"
"Level 2 is triggered if I go on a broadcast and tease him nationwide, or if I get caught badmouthing him at his favorite local restaurant."
Seeing Tae-hyun and Da-bi chatting so intensely while driving, the Woodstock guild members grew curious. What on earth were those two discussing with such serious expressions?
"They must be brainstorming a way to get us out of this situation, right?"
"Absolutely! It has to be!"
The Woodstock guild members were running their hope circuits at full capacity!
Completely oblivious, Tae-hyun leisurely continued his story.
"In those cases, Dad takes more direct revenge. He finds things I hate doing and forces me to do them."
"Like what?"
"In the past, he used to make me play his game account for him. But since I was too good at it, he stopped doing that and now just improvises on the spot. Last time, he even went on a broadcast. He's usually someone who hates that kind of stuff..."
Da-bi remembered that incident too. Kim Tae-san had appeared on a show intending to slander Tae-hyun, only to end up accidentally creating a heartwarming father-son image!
Since then, Kim Tae-san had refused to appear on television. Despite the high ratings prompting the broadcasting station to make various offers like "Please come on just one more time," Kim Tae-san had declined out of sheer embarrassment.
"I-I see. Is there... a Level 3 by any chance?"
"Level 3 is when he's truly, deeply upset. I experienced it when I went to a different university instead of the one he wanted me to attend. When that happens, he plays dirty and mobilizes Mom..."
Whoosh—! Boom!
You have successfully evaded the homing magical javelin.
Your Driving skill has increased significantly.
"Whoa, why are you throwing things like that?!" Tae-hyun yelled.
"Shut up, you punk!"
The javelin grazed past the side of the cart. It was imbued with a powerful skill, triggering a massive explosion the moment it struck the ground.
"How dare this brat interfere with his own father, who is as great as the heavens?!"
"Well, I didn't exactly mean to..."
The Orc Ahjussis, who were listening to their exchange, chimed in.
"Tae-hyun, you're in the wrong this time!"
"That's right! Do you have any idea how disappointed your father must be?!"
It was the kind of meddling that made the listener cringe!
Kim Tae-san, who was leading the chase, roared.
"Everyone, shut up!"
"He said everyone shut up!"
"The Boss wants us to be quiet!"
"The Boss wants to have a one-on-one argument with Tae-hyun, so everyone shut up!"
"..."
Kim Tae-san covered his face with his hands. These dense, useless, exasperating bastards!
While the two of them engaged in their pointless bickering and high-speed chase, something else was happening on the plains of the Auston Kingdom.
"What? The Woodstock Guild Leader escaped? He actually pulled it off."
"We hear he's currently in a high-speed chase with the Choigang Jizon Mussang Guild."
"Really? Leave him be. That arrogant bastard needs to suffer a bit to wake up."
Su Ning still held a grudge. Let him get what was coming to him! Even if they were in an alliance, they were still rivals. If the other party lost their influence, it was a net gain for him.
"B-but, the thing is..."
"...?"
"We received information that he's fleeing together with Kim Tae-hyun..."
"What kind of bullshit is that?!"
Su Ning bolted upright from his seat. It had to be false information. The Woodstock Guild Leader fleeing with Kim Tae-hyun?!
"Does that even make sense?!"
No matter how he thought about it, it was utterly nonsensical on multiple levels. First of all, there was no way that bastard Kim Tae-hyun would help the Woodstock Guild Leader. Second, even if Tae-hyun did offer help, there was no way the Woodstock Guild Leader would just blindly accept it.
If he has a brain, he should find it suspicious!
However, reports kept flooding in. Players out on the plains were filming the exciting chase and uploading videos, leaving Su Ning with no choice but to accept reality.
The Woodstock Guild Leader was indeed with Kim Tae-hyun!
Though they were disguised, there were very few Engineering players capable of crafting motorcycles like that, and Kim Tae-san's voice shouting Tae-hyun's name was clearly captured in the audio.
Moreover, watching the video, Su Ning felt it in his bones.
Only Kim Tae-hyun was capable of pulling off such ridiculous antics!
Ding—!
Player [Woodstock] has blocked you.
Su Ning trembled with rage. What infuriated him most was the sheer absurdity of the situation. At this point, the Woodstock Guild Leader wouldn't listen to any persuasion.
And honestly, Su Ning couldn't blame him. One side had coldly rejected his plea for help, while the other had personally come to his rescue. No matter what anyone said, it was only natural that the latter would look like the good guy!
"Damn it! We should have helped the Woodstock Guild!"
"Please calm down, sir. We couldn't exactly help those who refused to cooperate with us, could we?"
"That's true. But in the meantime, that bastard Kim Tae-hyun has completely hooked the Woodstock Guild Leader! That dirty, scheming, underhanded punk! I thought he was busy playing in the arena tournament on the Prica Continent...!"
Su Ning gnashed his teeth. While everyone else was obsessing over the arena tournament and crowning the world's strongest player, Su Ning had focused solely on building his power. After all, participating in the tournament naturally slowed down a character's growth.
He had been pleased to hear that Tae-hyun was participating in the tournament, thinking it would keep him occupied, but now the man had suddenly appeared here.
"Why don't we bring this up to the Guild Alliance first?"
"The Guild Alliance?"
"Yes. It's clear that the Woodstock Guild Leader has aligned himself with Kim Tae-hyun. We have plenty of evidence. We can easily corner him."
"Right... That makes sense."
Su Ning nodded. Anger was anger, but business was business. What they needed to do right now was attack the Woodstock Guild Leader! Since he had joined hands with Tae-hyun, he was now their enemy.
However, Tae-hyun had already anticipated this much.
Su Ning's jaw dropped as he read the guild leaders' messages. These... these absolute bastards...!
"T-that's amazing. I can't believe it actually went exactly as you said."
"See? Do you really think those guys who hesitated to help you would mobilize just to attack you? Only someone like Su Ning would do that. Everyone else is too busy managing their own territories. Managing a fief isn't so easy that you can just afford to waste resources elsewhere."
The other guilds were currently fully occupied with managing the territories they had managed to carve out. In this situation, they had no desire to help other guilds, nor did they want to provoke a conflict. Especially not when Tae-hyun was involved with that guild!
Naturally, no guild was willing to accept Su Ning's proposal.
"But then..."
"...?"
"How do you plan on shaking off those Orcs behind us?"
Indeed. Even while Tae-hyun and the Woodstock Guild Leader were waging their public relations war, the Orc Ahjussis were still hot on their heels. Talk about persistence—they had been chasing them for over an hour!
"Honestly, I thought those Orcs would have dropped out first."
One of the biggest advantages of Engineering mounts was their vastly superior endurance compared to biological mounts. In a chase like this, it was an overwhelming advantage!
And yet, those wolves showed absolutely no signs of tiring. What on earth had they been feeding them?
"They're not going to drop out! Do you have any idea how expensive those wolves are?!"
"Ah, is that so? No wonder Da-bi was looking at me like that. Hmm... Well, if worst comes to worst, we'll just have to fight."
"By the way, do you even know where we are?"
"The Auston Kingdom, obviously. Huh? This hill looks strangely familiar. Except the color is a bit different."
"This is where you extinguished Sadiq's Flame..." the Woodstock Guild Leader said, looking utterly dumbfounded.
To think he couldn't even remember the location of a massive quest that other players would brag about for years!
"Ah, was it here? The fire spread over such a massive area... I was a bit out of it back then. Honestly, I've rarely had any good experiences in the Auston Kingdom."
The plains where Sadiq's Flame had once raged. Tae-hyun suddenly felt a wave of nostalgia. How beautifully he had played the princes against each other and milked the cities of the Auston Kingdom dry!
"I don't think that's a memory that warrants such a sentimental expression," Da-bi remarked.
"Why are you meddling in my memories?"
"Because there are a lot of eyes glaring at us from over there."
"...?"
Tae-hyun looked up.
The once-peaceful plains had turned a dark, ominous purple. At first, he thought it was just the lingering aftereffects of Sadiq's Flame passing through, but...
Grrrrr...!
I smell divine power... especially a cursed divine power...!
On top of the hill, massive, dog-like demons walking on all fours growled as they spotted Tae-hyun's fast-moving party.
Tae-hyun clapped his hands in realization.
"Ah, so those are the demons they said kept appearing in the Auston Kingdom!"
Roar!
Along with Tae-hyun's words, the demons began to leap down from above.