The Trap of the Alliance

Under normal circumstances, such persuasion would have failed. Large guilds were typically selfish, rarely taking action unless danger was knocking directly at their own front doors. However, this situation was rather unique. One of the main reasons was their opponent: Kim Tae-hyun. If it had been any other player, it might have been different, but Tae-hyun's track record up to this point was simply... too spectacular. For a mere solo player without a single guild to his name, he had caused all kinds of massive incidents, leaving the large guilds with no choice but to fear him.

'Will Kim Tae-hyun really be satisfied with just destroying the Suning Guild?'

'Now that he has Galgral, won't he run even wilder? I heard he's doing incredibly well within Galgral's demonic army.'

When not only Su Ning but also Jekas stepped forward to earnestly persuade the guild leaders, the large guilds began to waver. On top of that, Su Ning drove the final nail in the coffin.

As a result, this was the outcome. Unaware that the other large guilds had grown terrified and joined forces, Tae-hyun had been running wild with glee! Of course, it hadn't been easy. Even after reaching a consensus, various issues had cropped up.

Su Ning wasn't particularly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠good at persuading people. Jekas had stepped in to cover for those shortcomings. Under normal circumstances, this precarious plan would have fallen apart halfway through, but in the end, it succeeded!

"Kim Tae-hyun ran wild in a much more spectacular fashion than I anticipated, which made persuading them quite easy. The large guild leaders were strangely terrified..."

"Of course they'd be terrified," Su Ning agreed, nodding.

From the perspective of someone who had actually suffered through it, it was enough to make one cry tears of blood. A territory worth hundreds of millions, even billions of won in real-world value, was being completely plundered by a single guy. In fact, because of Tae-hyun's rampage in Abalab City of the Espa Kingdom, guilds still hadn't been able to re-establish themselves there! Although there were more guilds in the alliance that hadn't been victimized by Tae-hyun than those that had, that only made them more terrified. Because they hadn't experienced it firsthand, their fear of the unknown grew even larger!

"But can we really corner Kim Tae-hyun like this?"

"It might take some time, but it will definitely succeed. A few of the rankers over there are guys who got absolutely wrecked by Kim Tae-hyun back in Pan-On 1. Once they start fighting him, they'll feel it. They'll realize something is off."

"Is that even possible? They can notice something like that just by fighting?"

"If it were anyone else, they might not notice, but if their opponent is Kim Tae-hyun, they absolutely will. No matter what class he plays, there is something uniquely distinct about Kim Tae-hyun. Players of ranker caliber will definitely pick up on it."

Jekas's plan was simple. To widely spread the truth that Tae-hyun was indeed the legendary Kim Tae-hyun of Pan-On 1. That was all. Jekas firmly believed that, considering what Kim Tae-hyun had done back in Pan-On 1, simply exposing his identity would be enough to slowly strangle him!

When Jekas first declared, "That guy is the Kim Tae-hyun from Pan-On 1!", he thought things would be much easier. He was a ranker, and Tae-hyun had plenty of suspicious aspects. However, that declaration had been skillfully buried—so thoroughly that he suspected some powerful force was pulling the strings from behind! Instead, public opinion shifted to frame Jekas as a jealous loser who was slandering Tae-hyun because his quest had been stolen.

When the players who had gone to raid Tae-hyun's territory received a forced quest and returned to attack Jekas instead, Jekas finally realized. He could never defeat Tae-hyun in this manner. In PvP or any battle that involved exploiting an opponent's weaknesses, Tae-hyun was a god. No one had ever beaten him in Pan-On 1, and there was no reason to think things would be any different now.

Jekas decided to accept that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reality. He had to fight Tae-hyun not in the areas where Tae-hyun excelled, but in a place where Tae-hyun had no control.

'If I pit Kim Tae-hyun against the rankers from Pan-On 1, some of them are bound to notice. It would be difficult if it were just me, but if other rankers also start calling him suspicious, even Kim Tae-hyun won't be able to clean up the mess!'

Although it seemed like a plan that would take a long time, Jekas was willing to be patient. He would do absolutely anything if it meant landing a solid blow on Tae-hyun!

However, even Jekas hadn't anticipated this. He never expected Tae-hyun to ignore Galgral, the actual target, and instead go around sweeping the entire surrounding area clean! But thanks to that, they had been able to gather the rankers like this.

Looking at the shattered fortress, Su Ning asked, "I even called in the rankers from my own guild. We can definitely catch him, right?"

"We won't lose. But as for whether we can definitely catch him... I'd say it's fifty-fifty."

"What? Even after he caused such a massive ruckus trying to catch Galgral, it's still fifty-fifty? He must have used up all his skills and hasn't even had a chance to recover!"

"He could always escape. He has other rankers with him too. Besides, Kim Tae-hyun is the type of guy who can easily overcome that level of disadvantage. Still, don't worry. There's no way he can fight and defeat all the rankers gathered here."

"Mmm..."

Su Ning let out a troubled groan. He was already well aware of Tae-hyun's absurdly high evasion rate. In fact, the rankers gathered here had all prepared countermeasures specifically for that. If Tae-hyun made up his mind to escape, he was an incredibly difficult opponent to pin down!

"What if we just go in right now?"

"Going in before Galgral is defeated is madness. You'll only end up being used by Kim Tae-hyun."

"That's true," Su Ning agreed.

The rankers listening nearby stared at the two of them as if they had lost their minds. They were talking about utilizing a boss monster as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Unaware of the whispering behind his back, Su Ning continued speaking.

"We have to catch him for sure..."

"Just getting the rankers to fight Kim Tae-hyun is enough to achieve our goal."

"That's way too weak! Do you have any idea how much I invested in this operation?"

"Well, you're not actually going to pay them anyway, are you?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down," Su Ning hissed, warily glancing around. He was planning to stall and delay paying the fees he had promised to the other guilds' rankers.

"Don't worry. Just by coming this far, Kim Tae-hyun has already been backed into a corner."

The rankers gathered outside the fortress. Su Ning and Jekas. And the brief snippets of information filtering in from the members of the Power Warrior Guild. With just that, Tae-hyun finished assessing the situation.

'I ran too wild.'

While Tae-hyun had been busy destroying the guild's territory, Su Ning had swallowed his tears of blood and hired the rankers. Tae-hyun had let his guard down, assuming the large guilds were too selfish to act. They might not move on their own, but as long as the price was right, gathering rankers was entirely possible. In truth, their sheer terror of Tae-hyun was a massive driving factor, but Tae-hyun hadn't realized that part yet.

"What are you going to do?" Lee Se-yeon asked. "I'm sorry, but I have no intention of dying here with you."

"Strictly speaking, don't they want to catch you too?"

"If you and I run in opposite directions, do you think they'll chase you, or do you think they'll chase me?"

"Damn it. I can't argue with that."

Tae-hyun had to admit it. Between himself and Lee Se-yeon, he was by far the more tempting prey.

"Since they aren't coming any closer, they must be waiting for us to fight Galgral and tire ourselves out."

"I'll help you!" Kim Chul-soo offered. "If we defeat Galgral and I immediately cast healing spells..."

Tae-hyun looked at Kim Chul-soo with a look of utter incomprehension. If Tae-hyun were in his shoes, he would have already yelled, "Smell ya later, losers!" and bolted!

"Thank you. But I've already made a plan."

"?"

"We defeat Galgral immediately, and then we get out of here."

Looking at the rankers outside the fortress, they clearly believed defeating Galgral would take a lot more time. That was why they were waiting and keeping their distance. If they could defeat Galgral right this second, they could buy enough time to escape. Of course, that was assuming they *could* defeat him immediately!

"The plan is great, but we can't defeat him right away, can we? Do you see how busy my hands are right now?" Lee Se-yeon pointed out.

"I'm busy moving too, you know?"

"...How are you two even able to move like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that while chatting?"

Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon were casually attacking Galgral while having a conversation. For others, just keeping up with Galgral's movements was overwhelming, yet these two were dealing with him while bickering. Not only Kim Chul-soo but the other players also wore expressions of sheer disbelief.

"Cain, pull him in. Elder, bind him. We need to end this in one shot."

Tae-hyun immediately swapped his weapon. He had wanted to save it, but now was not the time for frugality. He had to defeat Galgral quickly and escape. The fact that so many rankers had gathered out there meant they were confident they could handle them. There was nothing stupider than fighting when the opponent held all the advantages. He had to get out. It was painful to waste an Orichalcum Arrow, but trying to save it now would lead to absolute ruin.

Cain swiftly activated his skill. Galgral, who had been surrounded by other players to block his escape, was instantly dragged right in front of Cain.

"%$##@%!"

Letting out an incomprehensible, monstrous shriek, Galgral lunged at Cain. At that exact moment, Chairman Yoo whipped his fishing line. Instantly, Galgral's movements ground to a halt.

Snare!

Their teamwork was flawless! Anyone watching would have assumed they had been playing together for years.

Watching from behind, Executive Director Kim was both deeply impressed and utterly bewildered. Just when had Chairman Yoo started playing this game to have such perfect coordination? He was even perfectly in sync with that strange young man named Cain, who had bizarre ears and a weird ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nose, let alone the young man named Tae-hyun. For someone who knew absolutely nothing about games, it was a sight that defied belief!

*Click—*

Paying no mind to what was happening behind him, Tae-hyun immediately loaded his arrow. Unlike other arrows, this one absolutely could not miss. The moment it missed, everything would go down the drain! When he recalled the sheer suffering he had endured just to obtain this single arrow...

'And Orichalcum isn't even sold on the auction house.'

To end it in a single blow, Tae-hyun unleashed all the skill stacks he had accumulated up to this point.

*Thwack—*

The arrow shot forward from his crossbow like a beam of pure light. The bound Galgral tried to dodge immediately, but it was already too late.

*Crunch!*

The arrow found its mark with absolute precision!

"Kuaaaaah!"

Tae-hyun felt a bitter taste in his mouth as he watched the Orichalcum Arrow dissolve into a brilliant flash of light. But at least he had defeated Galgral...

'Wait a minute.'

The notification confirming the kill wasn't appearing. Lee Se-yeon had also realized this, her face tightening with panic.

"We didn't get him?"

"He survived that? That's impossible..."

*Clang!*

With a shattering sound, Galgral broke free from the fishing line. Chairman Yoo cried out in shock.

"Unbelievable! There's no way he could have broken out of that..."

"Block him and attack! No matter how tough he is, he took that hit directly, so he won't last much longer!"

"No, he's running away!"

"What?"

Tae-hyun was also caught off guard; he hadn't expected a boss monster like Galgral to actually flee. Having slipped out of the fishing line, a battered and bloodied Galgral bolted. It was a situation no one had anticipated. Seizing the moment of confusion, Galgral desperately tried to make his escape.

"U-Uh..."

And right in Galgral's path of escape stood Executive Director Kim. Terrified by the sight of the massive demon charging straight at him, Executive Director Kim let out a bloodcurdling shriek.

"Aaaaack!"

And then, he ripped a scroll.