A Sinister Plot and a Live Stream
"Are these idiots completely brainless?! Galgral only appeared because of Kim Tae-hyun in the first place!"
Tae-hyun was the one who caused the disaster, yet the other guilds were the ones taking the heat. Su Ning was absolutely furious at this absurd situation. But public opinion never flowed logically. Once someone gained momentum, everything they did seemed to turn to gold!
The large guilds had already accumulated resentment from other players due to the heavy taxes they levied to develop their territories. In contrast, Tae-hyun was screwing over those giant guilds and immediately preparing for the Galgral raid while everyone else hesitated. The comparison was inevitable.
"What are we going to do about this? Am I supposed to just sit here and watch this crap?"
"There's nothing we can do right now. You have to endure it, Guild Master!"
"Endure it?! Those bastards just blew up Kadalta Castle, and you want me to endure it?!"
Out of all the territories secured by the Suning Guild, Kadalta Castle was the most lucrative. And that entire castle had been completely obliterated. Just thinking about it made Su Ning kick his blankets in rage in the middle of the night!
"Why is it that Kim Tae-hyun does all the dirty work, but we're the ones getting cursed out?!"
It was a cry of pure, unadulterated grief! Yet, there was absolutely nothing he could do.
"What about sabotaging them? If they actually manage to take down Galgral..."
"Wouldn't sabotaging them be too risky? They have Lee Se-yeon, Kim Chul-soo... and if we interfere, the other players and guilds won't look kindly on us..."
Although everyone was hesitating to raid Galgral, they were all secretly hoping *someone* would step up and kill it quickly. A demon like Galgral was a loose cannon; there was no telling where he might strike next. In truth, Galgral had only come here to find the Archisus Church, but the vast majority of players were completely unaware of that. Therefore, if they sabotaged the raid, the other guilds would undoubtedly turn their wrath on the Suning Guild.
"You're not even going to raid it, so why are you getting in the way?!"
"Since you ruined their run, you go kill it yourself!"
This incident made one thing abundantly clear. Though they called themselves a Guild Alliance, it was ultimately a fragile coalition that could shatter at any moment. The relationship between the Woodstock Guild and the Suning Guild was proof enough. If push came to shove, members of the alliance would gladly turn on each other.
Su Ning fell deep into thought.
I had it all wrong. These bastards are utterly useless when it comes to dealing with an enemy like Kim Tae-hyun. As long as it doesn't affect them directly, they'll just sit on their hands...
As long as they weren't the ones suffering, the large guilds actually took secret pleasure in seeing their rivals get hurt. To make matters worse, Tae-hyun was infuriatingly selective; he wasn't picking fights with the entire Guild Alliance, but only targeting those who were already his sworn enemies, like Su Ning. Because Tae-hyun played it this way, mobilizing the full might of the Guild Alliance to crush him was practically impossible.
"It seems you're in need of some assistance?"
"Who's there?"
Su Ning turned his head toward the unfamiliar voice. Standing by the doorway was a face that looked vaguely familiar.
"Who the hell are you? Who let this guy in?"
"Ah, he said he wanted to see you, Guild Master... It's Jekas. Don't you know him?"
Jekas. A famous explorer and streamer. And the very player who, while trying to clear the Plague Curse quest, became absolutely convinced that Tae-hyun's true identity was the infamous Tae-hyun from Pan-On 1! Of course, Tae-hyun had suppressed those rumors using the Power Warrior Guild, and when assassins came looking for him, he slapped them with forced quests and sent them right back to Jekas.
"Kim Tae-hyun!!! I will never forgive you!!!!"
Tae-hyun had piled fresh resentment on top of Jekas's old grudges from Pan-On 1! Thanks to that, Jekas had temporarily suspended his broadcasts and was currently lying low.
"I've heard of Jekas. What brings you here? If you're an explorer, shouldn't you be off in some far-flung corner of the world?"
"I came because of Kim Tae-hyun."
"...!"
Su Ning's eyes widened.
"Because of Kim Tae-hyun?"
"Guild Master Su Ning, you and I share a common bond. What do you think it is?"
"...A mutual hatred of Kim Tae-hyun?"
"Exactly!"
Nothing brought people together faster than a shared enemy. In that regard, Su Ning and Jekas connected instantly with a single look.
"That bastard is seriously...! Do you have any idea what he did, summoning a demon right in the middle of the arena?!"
"That's nothing compared to what he did to me! I went to clear the Sadiq's Flame quest, and..."
For the next hour, the two did nothing but curse Tae-hyun's very existence! By the time they finished talking, a passionate bond of friendship had forged between them.
Clasp! They shared a firm, powerful handshake!
"I came because I heard Kim Tae-hyun is running rampant in the Auston Kingdom again."
"Yes, he is. That absolute cockroach of a man..."
Su Ning gnashed his teeth. In particular, the sheer patience Tae-hyun displayed by hiding a demon inside Kadalta Castle and waiting all this time to unleash it was downright chilling. Even though they were enemies, being subjected to such underhanded tactics made fear creep in before anger. Honestly, he was starting to lose confidence in his ability to face him!
"Do you know why Kim Tae-hyun is so strong?"
"...?"
"Because he accurately reads his opponent's weaknesses and targets exactly what they hate most. To deal with a guy like that, we have to strike him where it hurts."
"His territory?"
"No. I tried probing it once, but it's impossible. He's already prepared for that, so we won't get anywhere."
Jekas shook his head as he recalled Tae-hyun's territory. Compared to the territories of the major guilds in the Auston Kingdom, Tae-hyun's territory was lacking in many ways. It was a territory specialized solely for the Archisus Church! Yet, despite its humble appearance, its defensive capabilities were monstrous. Once Jekas confirmed that the noble's knight order from the previous raid was still stationed there, he completely abandoned any plans of attacking. That knight order was not something a mere handful of players could ever hope to handle.
"Then what?"
"What he fears most are rumors. Specifically, the rumors from Pan-On 1!"
"Ah, I've heard about that... but is it actually true?"
The rumor that Tae-hyun was the notorious ranker hunter, Kim Tae-hyun, from Pan-On 1. That rumor had been spread and debunked so many times by now that very few people took it seriously anymore. Even Su Ning had his doubts.
"It is him! I am absolutely certain of it!" Jekas declared, his voice trembling with intense fury.
"O-Oh... right..." Su Ning nodded, slightly taken aback by Jekas's sheer intensity. Jekas's aura was just that intimidating.
"These rumors were buried far too quickly and unnaturally. He definitely pulled some strings behind the scenes."
...Does he really have the power to do that? Su Ning tilted his head in confusion. He hadn't realized that the Power Warrior Guild was backing Tae-hyun from the shadows.
"But why would he be so afraid of a mere rumor?"
"It's obvious if you think about the sheer number of enemies Kim Tae-hyun crushed and humiliated back in Pan-On 1. Do you have any idea how many of those players are currently playing Pan-On 2? If even half of them band together to hunt him down, Kim Tae-hyun will be forced to quit the game entirely."
Jekas's words were somewhat exaggerated, but they weren't entirely wrong.
"Hmm... I see. That would certainly be terrifying. But would all of those people really come after him?" Su Ning remained skeptical. After all, the Guild Alliance had been formed under the banner of "Let's crush our common enemies together!" yet the moment a real threat appeared, everyone made excuses to save their own skins. Humans were incredibly weak when their own self-interests were on the line. No matter how deep the grudge, would they really go out of their way to fight a monstrous opponent like Tae-hyun? Especially when there was absolutely nothing to gain?
"They will," Jekas spoke with absolute conviction.
"R-Really?"
"Only those who have suffered under him understand. Imagine experiencing ten times the humiliation you just went through, Guild Master Su Ning. How would you feel?"
"Uh... well..." Just the thought of it was horrifying! Su Ning was left utterly speechless.
"And then, Kim Tae-hyun shows up in the next game you play. Would you really just let him be?"
"...I'd hunt him to the ends of the earth."
"Exactly."
Internally, Su Ning was dumbfounded. Honestly, he felt like the suffering he had endured so far would easily rank near the top of any list. Yet there were countless people who had suffered ten times worse? It was hard to believe.
How is that even possible?
"We need to turn that rumor into an undeniable fact."
"How?"
"Hehe... I have a plan."
Completely unaware of the sinister plot brewing in the distance, Tae-hyun was busy chatting with Kim Chul-soo.
"Tae-hyun! Could you answer some of these questions too?"
Kim Chul-soo currently had his personal stream running. Thanks to that, the viewers watching Chul-soo's stream had spotted Tae-hyun and were bombarding the chat with questions! Unlike other famous players, there was almost no way to directly contact Tae-hyun or ask him questions. The only bridge was the Power Warrior Guild! But considering the chaotic reputation of the Power Warrior Guild, trying to get a serious answer out of them was practically impossible.
Tae-hyun looked utterly exasperated as the questions flooded in. But considering Kim Chul-soo had traveled all this way to meet him, it felt wrong to just ignore them.
"Wait, wait, hold on! Tae-hyun only takes questions through our guild channel!"
Good job, Lee Da-bi! Tae-hyun cheered for her in his mind. As expected, Lee Da-bi was always the one to step up in moments like this!
Kim Chul-soo replied with a flustered expression.
"Ah, is that so? I'm sorry. I didn't know..."
"It's fine! You didn't know. Let's just call it even if you agree to guest-star on our guild's stream next time!"
"Is that all? Sure, I'll do that."
"Lee Da-bi?!"
Tae-hyun thought she was stepping in to protect him, but she had actually just used the opportunity to strike a business deal!
"Yes?"
"I thought you were trying to save me..."
"...Ahaha..." Only then did Lee Da-bi realize what Tae-hyun had expected, and she quickly turned to make her escape.
"Too late, kiddo."
Tae-hyun grabbed Lee Da-bi to keep her from running away, then began answering the questions.
"How did I clear the Plague Curse quest? Easily. That guy Jekas was completely useless. He did nothing but get in my way, so I had to carry the whole thing myself. And yet, he's running around spreading fake rumors about how I stole his quest. He's a real piece of work, isn't he?"
"No, I'm not a Lazedan Blacksmith."
"Focusing on mechanical engineering? I wouldn't really recommend it. But if you're dead set on it, you should head to the Valley of Despair and Sorrow. There are plenty of mechanical engineering blacksmiths over there."
Every time Tae-hyun answered, the chat exploded with reactions. It was so intense that the stream briefly lagged! Questions were flying by so fast that Kim Chul-soo was having a hard time filtering through them.
"U-Uh... I'm so sorry. The questions are coming in way too fast... and I have to filter out the weird ones."
"Weird ones? Come on, those are the best part."
Unlike the sensible Kim Chul-soo, Tae-hyun loved throwing fuel on the fire.
"What kind of questions? Let me see."
"Ah, that one is..."
"...!"
"!!!"
The moment they saw that question, the surrounding players froze. What a perfect question to start a massive fight! Furthermore, it was incredibly difficult to objectively rank a player's strength. That was why Kim Chul-soo had tried to skip it, but...
Tae-hyun answered without a moment's hesitation.
"Me."
Both Cain and Kim Chul-soo stared at Tae-hyun, utterly dumbfounded. Why on earth would he answer a question like that so bluntly!
"Hey, why would you even answer something like that?"
"Because I'm stronger than you?"
"...Well... that's true, but still...!"
Cain felt like he had been punched in the gut with an undeniable truth.
"I can't agree with that statement."
"?!"
"The strongest one is me."
The moment Lee Se-yeon appeared on Kim Chul-soo's stream, the chat boiled over once again.
Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon locked eyes. Their gazes clashed in midair! Then, both of them shrugged in unison.
"Well, it's not like we can settle it right now."
"We'll settle it eventually."