A Poisoned Chalice
"N-no way. It's just a coincidence. I mean, that monster didn't even look that strong, you know? Monsters say that kind of stuff all the time when they die. 'I will destroy the world!' and all that," Cain whispered desperately.
The dungeon monster they had defeated without a second thought—the mere idea that it had caused a continent-wide catastrophe made his head spin.
"Keep your voice down."
"It... it can't be, right?"
"Well, maybe it is, maybe it isn't. The important thing is that if we keep our mouths shut, nobody will ever know. Let's just stay quiet."
Tae-hyun already had plenty of enemies. There was no need to add more to the list. Besides, since Cain was widely regarded as Tae-hyun's right-hand man (no matter how much Cain denied it, nobody believed him), whatever trouble Cain caused would inevitably drag Tae-hyun down with him.
"Wait... now that I think about it, can't we just pin this on someone else?"
"..."
Watching Tae-hyun take it a step further, Cain realized something. No matter how hard he tried for the rest of his life, he would never be able to match Tae-hyun's sheer wickedness!
"I'm back... Wait, who are you?!"
"If you don't know who I am, I guess I can just leave. See ya."
"I'm kidding! It was a joke! But seriously, you look really good like that."
Lee Se-yeon pointed toward Tae-hyun's eyes. With the sharp, fierce look gone, his entire impression was completely different.
"Why is everyone I meet today saying the exact same thing?"
Tae-hyun still didn't realize how much his appearance had changed. He simply assumed that everyone, starting from the stylist, was just showering him with empty, forced compliments!
"Anyway, the opening ceremony starts in thirty minutes. Why are there only four of us here?"
"Ah. Do Dong-su went to the restroom."
"The restroom?"
"Yeah. Seeing how he's still not back, he's probably sh—"
Slam!
"..."
The door burst open, and Do Dong-su walked in, glaring murderously at Tae-hyun. Of course, a mere glare wasn't going to intimidate someone like Tae-hyun. When Tae-hyun stared right back at him, it was Do Dong-su who ended up flinching.
Do Dong-su quickly averted his eyes!
Tae-hyun spoke to him in a sweet, gentle tone.
"Did you have a good time in the restroom?"
Naturally, Do Dong-su didn't reply.
An awkward silence filled the room. Lee Se-yeon pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a deep sigh. Even though she had arrived late, she could easily guess what had just transpired.
Clap, clap!
Lee Se-yeon clapped her hands to clear the heavy air.
"Alright, everyone. The opening ceremony is about to start, so let's focus."
At her words, everyone's faces stiffened with tension. Except for Tae-hyun, of course. It was only natural, as none of them besides Lee Se-yeon had ever appeared on a live broadcast of this scale. Do Dong-su, Kim Chul-soo, and Cain had experience with personal streams, but nothing like this.
"There's no need to be nervous. Once the opening starts, the casters and commentators will handle all the talking. Just avoid making any major blunders."
As she spoke, Lee Se-yeon shot a pointed look at Tae-hyun.
Please, don't cause any trouble!
Tae-hyun shrugged innocently.
Who, me?
"Each team will be introduced, and the schedule will proceed as planned... You've all seen the schedule, right? Oh, and you've already prepared your answers for the interview questions, right?"
"Yes."
"...Of course."
"Huh?"
While Kim Chul-soo and Do Dong-su nodded, Cain panicked. What interview questions?
In his panic, Cain stared at Tae-hyun.
Did you know about this?
Nope. News to me too.
Noticing the strange look passing between the two, Lee Se-yeon turned to Tae-hyun and asked, "Wait, wait. What's going on? Why doesn't Cain know?"
"Probably because he never received them."
"I sent them to you! I told you to read them!"
"Ah, so that's what those were..."
Lee Se-yeon had sent several emails to prepare them for the tournament's opening ceremony. Naturally, Tae-hyun hadn't opened a single one. If Lee Se-yeon found out, she would have grabbed the back of her neck in sheer fury.
"I asked if I should send them to Cain separately, and you said it was fine!"
"Well, if I didn't read them, it's only fair that Cain didn't have to either. Right?"
Tae-hyun slung an arm around Cain's shoulder. Of course, Cain wasn't about to just play along.
"What do you mean 'right', you crazy bastard?!"
"It was probably just a useless email anyway. What was even in it?"
"The questions they're going to ask during the interview today."
"See? Nothing major. We can just listen and answer naturally."
"..."
Lee Se-yeon felt a sudden wave of anxiety. Of course, Tae-hyun wasn't entirely wrong. The broadcasting station wouldn't ask the players any difficult or controversial questions. Most of the players here didn't have the media training to handle tough questions anyway. They would surely stick to easy, standard questions...
And yet, she couldn't shake her unease!
While Lee Se-yeon fretted, Cain desperately tried to cram at the last second.
"I-I want to read it now...! Please, give it to me!"
"Is everyone ready?"
But his attempt was cleanly cut short by a broadcasting staff member who had just walked in.
As the lights flared to life in the darkened studio, a deafening roar of cheers and applause erupted from the crowd. The massive stage, specially constructed for the tournament, was packed to the brim without a single empty seat. Even though today wasn't even the day of the actual matches, an incredible crowd had gathered. It was a testament to Pandemonium Online's absolute dominance over the gaming industry.
"Hello, everyone! I'm Kim Su-a. The first-ever Arena Tournament of Pandemonium Online 2, a global sensation, is finally here! The heat in the venue is absolutely incredible today, with every single seat filled. It makes me feel like I need to give it my absolute all! Now, without further ado, the MBS Prika Arena Tournament begins now!"
Once again, cheers and applause shook the stadium. Then, players from each team began walking out of the tunnels.
"Team Blue! Go Team Blue!"
"Won-cheol! We're counting on you!"
"Don't lose to those guys who got in easy on invitations! Team Eight!"
"Lee Se-yeon! Lee Se-yeon!"
"Wow, Kim Tae-hyun is actually handsome!"
"Where's Cain? I don't see him!"
"GodSteven! Crush them all!"
As the faces of the players appeared on the screens, the crowd's reactions grew even more feverish. Prompting them further, Kim Su-a continued:
"The teams who fought their way through the grueling qualifiers are now standing before us. Everyone, please give them a warm round of applause!"
While Kim Su-a hosted from above, the players standing on the stage froze up, stiffly looking around. The cheering crowd in the distant stands felt incredibly overwhelming. Except for Tae-hyun, of course. Tae-hyun was merely looking around while trying to suppress a yawn.
Did I not sleep well? Why am I so tired?
Grab.
"?"
Cain grabbed Tae-hyun's arm. Tae-hyun tilted his head.
"What are you doing?"
"M-my legs... they're shaking..."
"..."
Tae-hyun was about to scold him but stopped himself. The cameras were rolling, so he decided to play nice! Thanks to that, the cameras captured a vivid shot of Tae-hyun warmly supporting Cain, which was broadcasted directly to the audience.
"Tae-hyun! You guys look great together!"
"...?!"
Tae-hyun flinched as a familiar voice echoed from the stands. Lee Da-bi was sitting in the audience, having brought her younger sisters along.
A flurry of texts was exchanged in a brief moment! Meanwhile, Kim Su-a was wrapping up her brief introduction of Pandemonium Online and the Arena.
"One of the reasons this tournament has generated so much buzz is the prize pool, isn't it?"
"That's right! While Pandemonium Online itself is incredibly popular, nothing fires up gamers quite like a massive cash prize."
The two men sitting next to Kim Su-a smoothly chimed in. Bae Joong-hwan and Bae Joong-yeol. As MBS's star game commentators and former professional gamers themselves, the famous pro-gamer brothers showed off their flawless chemistry.
"The grand prize is a whopping 1.5 million dollars! It's incredibly rare for a single tournament to start with this kind of prize pool before an official pro league has even launched. Back when I was playing professionally, the grand prize was a hundred thousand dollars. Even then, everyone was making a huge fuss about how massive it was."
"Fifteen times. Simply put, it's fifteen times larger. That just shows how much anticipation there is for this Pandemonium Online tournament, doesn't it?"
"Yes. To be honest, even we didn't expect the response to be this explosive at first. But once the tournament kicked off, the passion has been absolutely scorching."
The reason the prize pool had grown so massive was simple. Sponsors who recognized the immense potential of Pandemonium Online esports had rushed to pour in their money.
Lee Da-bi's eyes were practically flashing with dollar signs.
While the two of them bickered over text, the other players on stage stood in rigid, disciplined postures, staring intently at the screens. The broadcast smoothly transitioned to introducing the match schedule, format, and the completely randomized maps.
"Now, then... will the representatives of each team please step forward and draw a ball! The bracket will now be decided!"
Gulp.
Tae-hyun could clearly hear Cain swallowing his spit from right next to him.
"Hey, stop being so nervous. It's getting embarrassing."
"I-I-I'm not nervous, okay? Please let it be an easy opponent, an easy opponent..."
"Who's an easy opponent?"
"Well, obviously Team... Wait a minute. If I tell you, you're just going to go and tell them, aren't you?!"
"You've gotten a bit sharper."
Listening to their banter, Kim Chul-soo whispered quietly, "E-everyone. You do realize this is all being recorded right now, right?"
"Ah, they'll edit out this kind of idle chatter."
Tae-hyun waved his hand dismissively, confidently assuring him.
"It's not like they have enough broadcast time to air every single piece of small talk. Right?"
Tae-hyun's prediction was completely off. This kind of natural, unscripted banter between teammates was exactly the kind of footage the MBS staff desperately wanted to capture for the opening!
Right now, the other teams were standing completely rigid, not exchanging a single word. The staff members were practically weeping at the lack of screen presence! Thanks to that, the contrast was even more striking.
Perfect. We can easily build some screen time around these two.
Kim Tae-hyun and Cain have already gone viral before, so their dynamic is already established... Excellent. What a relief.
Completely unaware of what the staff was thinking, Tae-hyun continued to chatter away with Cain. Even the audience in the stands began to focus their attention on them, whispering, Huh? They're the only ones talking so casually.
"Now, player Lee Se-yeon is drawing a ball! The result is... Ah, the first match! The team that will grace our glorious opening match is the Korean National Team!"
"An absolutely formidable team! They've gathered nothing but top-tier players. Lee Se-yeon and Kim Tae-hyun go without saying—any Pandemonium Online player who doesn't know those two must be living under a rock! And the other members are no pushovers either!"
"But they can't afford to let their guard down. The Arena is always full of variables! Furthermore, the Prika Arena scales everyone to equal levels. Any outcome is possible!"
"I'm incredibly curious to see which team will face off against this Korean representative team. It's bound to be a tough match, but if they can pull off a victory, that team will instantly become a favorite to win the whole thing! It's like a poisoned chalice!"
Man, they're loud, Tae-hyun thought to himself.
"Ah!! Team Blue! They've drawn the first match!! Facing off against the Korean National Team is Team Blue!"
Whiplash.
The players of Team Blue all snapped their heads around at the exact same time. Glaring straight at Cain!