A Declaration of War and Eternal Winter

Cain wanted to say something, but he held his tongue. The members of Team Blue were currently watching the two of them with highly intrigued eyes! Getting into an argument here would only invite unnecessary misunderstandings.

"Um, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Back on Katerand Island, when you summoned the Gold Dragon..."

The players gathered here were all essentially Pan-On addicts. When they asked about things they had always been curious about, Tae-hyun answered them readily. Of course, he didn't answer every single question. He smoothly dodged the more sensitive ones.

"Now, now, everyone. Each team will have official interviews with the broadcasting station later anyway, so there's no need to do this here."

Kim Chul-soo stepped in to mediate as the conversation threatened to drag on. He had only brought them over for a brief introduction, not to host an open Q&A session.

"I have a question too."

"?"

A prickly-looking man raised his hand. While everyone else had been asking questions in a friendly atmosphere, this man had been standing there with a sullen expression the entire time.

"It makes sense for Kim Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon to be on the Korean national team. The same goes for Kim Chul-soo. Do Dong-su also ranked first in the voting. But does Cain over there really have the qualification to be on the Korean representative team? Isn't that a bit much?"

This bastard...

It was framed as a question, but it was a direct attack on Cain. In fact, it was a criticism that had surfaced a few times before!

As Cain stepped forward to defend himself, Tae-hyun lightly tugged his arm. You stay back.

"What do you mean, 'a bit much'? He's far more qualified to be here than a guy like Do Dong-su."

"Are you saying Cain is stronger than Do Dong-su?"

"Stronger... fights better... No, he's just more useful."

Tae-hyun, who had been trying to put it nicely, gave up.

"Hey!!" Cain yelled.

"And besides, 'Korean Representative Team' is just a name the broadcasting station threw together. It's not like this is some official government-sanctioned event. MBS practically begged us, saying, 'Please, just appear on the show once,' so we're doing them a favor. Can't I even choose my own teammates?"

It was an incredibly arrogant statement. Yet, coming from Tae-hyun, it didn't sound arrogant at all. Tae-hyun was a person whose very presence lent weight to his words.

"I chose Cain because our synergy is great. Whether he's qualified to represent Korea isn't his problem. If you have a complaint, go take it up with MBS for choosing that name. What's your name, anyway?"

"I-I'm Lee Ju-hyeong."

"Watch your back, Lee Ju-hyeong. Cain said if we face each other, he'll crush you first."

When did I say that?!

Cain, who had been standing quietly behind Tae-hyun, flinched in shock and nudged Tae-hyun. He whispered desperately, keeping his voice as quiet as possible.

"When did I say that, you crazy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bastard!"

"What? You'll finish off a guy like Lee Ju-hyeong in one blow? Hey, isn't that a bit harsh?"

"Hey!!"

"Ah, two blows? You could do it in one, but since it's rude, you'll take two? Got it. You don't have to say any more."

Cain looked like he was about to lose his mind. Stepping forward now to shout, "I didn't say that!" would not only be useless but also incredibly embarrassing. Tae-hyun was ruthlessly exploiting the situation to declare war!

Thanks to that, the players of Team Blue were now glaring at Cain with challenging, defiant eyes, as if saying, Just try it.

"I'm sorry. Our Ju-hyeong said something very rude," one of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other Team Blue members apologized.

"Ah, it's fine..."

"I thought Ju-hyeong was the most confident person here, but I guess I was wrong. The real deal was right here."

"..."

Cain let out a deep sigh internally. All those eyes staring at him...

"We won't lose that easily," Lee Ju-hyeong muttered.

"...Hoo, do your best!" Cain blurted out.

Ah, whatever! Cain decided to just let things run their course, threw out a parting shot, and walked out of the room.

The rumors spread like wildfire! For the players of each team who were waiting bored in their dressing rooms, there was nothing more exciting than gossip like this. In an instant, the rumors grew legs. By the time they finished circulating, the story had morphed into: "Cain said no one can beat him! Tell them all to bring it on!"

The broadcasting station staff were deeply disappointed when they heard the news. They should have captured that on camera! It was a rumor that would have made Cain faint if he heard it.

"Argh... argh... argh..."

"Stop making weird noises," Tae-hyun said.

"It's because of you!!"

As they moved to another location, Cain let out one heavy sigh after another.

"They were looking down on you. I couldn't just stand by and watch. Cheer up."

"Thanks... Wait, no! No matter how I think about it, I shouldn't be thanking you! We could have solved this in a different way!"

"Cain, since when did you handle things so softly? If someone dislikes you for no reason, you have to give them a reason."

"Where does that kind of logic even come from?!"

"My dad told me that."

"..."

An extraordinary household education since childhood! Cain gave up arguing and sighed. There was no point in arguing with Tae-hyun anyway. What was done was done. All that was left was to fight with everything they had!

What if we lose after all this?

The anxiety was already creeping in. Seeing Cain looking like a walking corpse, Kim ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Chul-soo stepped in to smooth things over.

"Now, now. It's okay. It'll all work out."

"The rumors have already spread everywhere, what do you mean work out..."

"You can just watch your words from now on!"

"Do you think Kim Tae-hyun over there will let me?!"

Kim Chul-soo had no reply to that.

Regardless of their despair, Tae-hyun asked shamelessly, "So, who's the next team?"

"Ah, we were going to meet Team Eight, but..."

"Then let's go!"

"Th-That... maybe we should just wait in our dressing room?" Kim Chul-soo hesitated. He had an ominous feeling that something terrible would happen if Tae-hyun met Team Eight.

"Why?"

"Uh... well... s-suddenly, my stomach hurts..."

"..."

Cain looked at Kim Chul-soo with pity. How could someone be so terrible at lying...

"Is that so? Then let's head back."

It worked?!

Cain was even more shocked. To ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠think such a pathetic lie actually worked!

Patter, patter—

From the opposite end of the hallway, a team composed of foreigners was walking toward them. They were clearly one of the international teams competing in this tournament. Seeing Tae-hyun's group, they waved and greeted them.

"Oh, nice to meet you! You're the team competing this time, right?"

Rapid-fire English poured out. Cain and Kim Chul-soo broke into cold sweats and averted their eyes. But the opponent was merciless. He immediately grabbed Cain's hand and shook it.

The relentless attempt at communication! Cain trembled as he replied.

"Uh... uh... S-Sorry, I can speak English..."

"That means you can speak it."

Cain glared at Tae-hyun, who had pointed it out, with a tearful face.

"Tsk, tsk. What have you been doing instead of studying English? This is the global era."

"Then you do it!"

"Nothing to it."

Tae-hyun stepped forward and began to speak. Watching Tae-hyun rattle off English without a single stutter, Cain suddenly remembered.

Ah, right. This bastard entered Hankook University at the top of his class...!

It was easy to forget when they were fooling around together, but Tae-hyun was originally an elite!

"By the way, are you an invited team, or did you pass the qualifiers?"

"We're an invited team."

"Oh, which country? The US?"

"No, Canada."

"Canada? Wait, if it's Canada..."

Before Tae-hyun could finish, a woman behind them shouted loudly.

"It is you! I knew it! You look a bit different from your Pan-On avatar, so I was confused!"

It was Evangeline. She stepped forward, grabbed Tae-hyun's hand, and shook it up and down.

"You look better in real life."

"Is that the first thing you say when we meet?"

Just like Tae-hyun, Evangeline looked almost identical to her in-game character. If he had to nitpick, maybe she had a few more freckles in real life?

The Canadian team members kept talking to Tae-hyun. It was a conversation very similar to the one they had with Team Blue. What was his class, how did he build his character, what happened in that part of the quest last time...

"Hey, let me talk too..." Evangeline muttered.

"You can talk to him later."

"Yeah, aren't you two close friends?"

Close friends? Tae-hyun stared at Evangeline, his eyes asking what on earth they were talking about.

In response, Evangeline sent him a desperate look.

I couldn't bring myself to tell them I have no friends!

"..."

Tae-hyun gave her a look of pure pity. Seeing that, Evangeline thought to herself: This is so humiliating...!

It was all because the topic of friends had come up while she was talking with her Canadian teammates.

"Did you resolve your misfortune penalty?" Tae-hyun asked.

"No... but it doesn't get in the way of fighting."

"Must be tough. I hope it works out well."

Tae-hyun spoke to Evangeline in a flat, robotic tone. Of course, Evangeline noticed immediately.

"Didn't you say you could find a way to resolve it?"

"I'm looking, but it's slow. Why don't you try looking for it yourself?"

"You call that advice?!"

As always, Tae-hyun had a talent. A talent for making people absolutely furious!

"And now it's suddenly starting to snow, so things are getting messy... Ugh. This misfortune penalty is so annoying. It's completely useless except when fighting."

"At least it helps when fighting, so that's a relief."

"...I really hope we face you guys. Seriously!" Evangeline threatened before disappearing with her teammates.

Cain asked curiously, "What did you guys talk about?"

"She said she has no friends."

"!?"

"By the way, when are you going to bring out that Authority?" Tae-hyun asked.

"Did I leave it with you? Huh?" Cain snapped, feeling a surge of anger at Tae-hyun's casual tone, as if he were asking when Cain was going to return a borrowed item. Who was he suffering all this for right now!

"You need to bring it quickly to make it in time."

"You make it sound so easy... ugh..."

"So how far along are you?"

"I think I've cleared about half. That dungeon is seriously brutal. And that Galakpad guy is a total psycho!"

"R-Really?"

Tae-hyun flinched. Hearing it directly from Cain gave him a strange feeling. Was Galakpad really that weird?

"Every time I say anything, he beats me up and torments me for being impious... Sigh, don't get me started. And last time, he triggered a really weird trap..."

"What trap?"

"We entered this weird room in the dungeon. It was so huge and the monsters were so strong, I thought it was the end. But it wasn't. After we barely managed to defeat it, the boss vanished saying, 'I shall bring eternal winter to the continent!'... seriously."

"..."

Tae-hyun froze. What did he just say?

"Cain. Say that again."

"What?"

"The boss monster you defeated vanished saying, 'I shall bring eternal winter to the continent'?"

"Yeah."

"And after that? Nothing else happened?"

"Nothing. It was probably just an empty threat."

"Do you know it's snowing in Pan-On right now?"

"Snow? Hey, if you came to where I am, you'd see what real snow looks like. It's absolutely dumping."

"No, it's snowing in the Central Continent too."

"...Huh? Really?"

It seemed Cain had been so focused on clearing his dungeon and preparing for the broadcast that he had no idea. And indeed, with a dungeon clear and a broadcast to worry about, it was easy to be distracted.

Cain's face turned pale.

"N-No way... Did I trigger..."

As the two of them stopped in their tracks, Kim Chul-soo, who was walking ahead, turned around and asked, "What are you two talking about?"

"......Nothing!"

Their voices overlapped in perfect unison.