The Perfect Bait
Contrary to his arrogant demeanor, Jang Ssu-an's investigation was surprisingly meticulous. He had thoroughly analyzed the Korean representative team's main tournament matches, their practice games, and the individual combat styles of each player.
The conclusion he reached was simple.
This team is a complete mess!
The shock of the first match had been so great that everyone else had missed it, but Jang Ssu-an saw something different. Kim Tae-hyun's team showed absolutely zero teamwork. They were just five individuals acting entirely on their own!
If they had planned it beforehand, there was no way Do Dong-su would have panicked so genuinely when Tae-hyun set the forest on fire. If that was acting, Do Dong-su deserved an Academy Award.
In truth, even Jang Ssu-an had been shocked. How could a team invited to the main tournament have such atrocious teamwork? It defied belief. It was hard to explain unless they were a group of people who despised each other and had been forced together.
But no matter how many times he replayed the footage, the conclusion remained clear.
They were a total trainwreck!
"Do Dong-su keeps moving first. If he's just acting on his own, it would be best to target him," one teammate suggested during their meeting.
"Lee Se-yeon and Kim Tae-hyun have too many hidden cards, making them tricky to deal with," Jang Ssu-an replied. "In contrast, Do Dong-su's skill set is relatively well-known, and he's an easy target."
"If we take down Do Dong-su first and drag them into a long, drawn-out battle where we have the advantage, I think we can win."
Jang Ssu-an and his team had already made up their minds.
"Don't let your guard down," Jang Ssu-an cautioned. "It seems Team Blue tried a similar strategy against them, but that fiery variable threw everything off."
"The map was terrible for them. But this time, we didn't get the forest map."
"Exactly. Surely Kim Tae-hyun won't be able to pull off the exact same trick twice. Let's run a few more practice rounds and wrap things up."
Though he didn't want to be careless, Jang Ssu-an couldn't find a single flaw in their strategy no matter how much he thought about it. How could they possibly lose to such a fractured team? He couldn't even begin to imagine a scenario where they would fail.
I'm going to win. And then, I'll soar! I will become the new face of Pandemonium Online!
This bastard is spinning his delusion wheels again, Su Ning thought, looking at Jang Ssu-an with sheer exhaustion.
Jang Ssu-an suffered from a severe case of... prince syndrome. He was a man who lived entirely for his own self-importance.
He's not a bad guy at heart... Well, actually, his personality is pretty rotten. But he's not completely useless, so seeing him act like this...
Su Ning's anxiety was mounting like a mountain.
Their plot to target Cain had failed. Tae-hyun's team was on a winning streak. And now, Jang Ssu-an, who was supposed to face Tae-hyun's team in the quarterfinals, was sitting there thinking, I am perfect. Defeat is impossible.
The type of person Tae-hyun preyed on most easily was someone blinded by absolute confidence. Su Ning knew this firsthand because he had been that exact person!
The problem was that Jang Ssu-an rarely listened to Su Ning. There was no way to convince him.
"Sigh. Fine. Do whatever you want. Just be careful. Kim Tae-hyun isn't just good at playing the game; he's a master at creating unexpected variables. Got it?"
"Ah, how many times do I have to tell you? I already know," Jang Ssu-an snapped. "Go back and manage your own territory. Didn't I hear it got absolutely trashed recently?"
Grind!
Su Ning wanted to unleash a torrent of curses, but he held it in and walked out.
Left alone, Jang Ssu-an clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"How did he end up like that? He used to seem a bit more decent. Well, I suppose everyone has their limits."
If Su Ning had heard that, he would have immediately requested a duel to the death.
Pitter-patter—
"Guild Master!"
"?"
One of Jang Ssu-an's guild members rushed in, panting.
"Have you heard the news?"
"What news?"
"The Sword of Burning Cries has been found!"
"What?!"
It was one of the pieces of equipment Jang Ssu-an had his eyes on for a long time. A weapon that could multiply his fire damage several times over!
Of course, equipment didn't matter inside the Prika Arena, but the arena was only a tiny fraction of Pandemonium Online. Once they stepped outside, levels and gear were absolute.
However, Jang Ssu-an had yet to clear the related quest. There was simply too little information. He didn't know where it was, or if a crafting recipe even existed.
He had checked the auction house and even commissioned players who sold information, but nothing had turned up. He had practically given up hope, and now this news had suddenly dropped.
"Where? Where is it?"
"It's not far from here. They say it was discovered in a dungeon near the southern Karp Mountains."
The Karp Mountains. It was a fairly famous location even within the largely unexplored Prica Continent. It had recently hosted a massive, server-wide quest—the subjugation of the Sadiq Church headquarters, led by none other than Kim Tae-hyun!
And now, the Sword of Burning Cries had been found in a hidden dungeon nearby.
Ah, because more players are exploring the Prica Continent now, hidden dungeons are finally being discovered! Jang Ssu-an concluded.
If Su Ning had been by his side, he would have immediately been suspicious: Hey, why is the exact item you've been searching for suddenly appearing right now? But Jang Ssu-an lacked that skepticism.
"What about the dungeon right now?"
"I'm looking at the community boards. It hasn't attracted a huge crowd yet. About five or six parties seem to have gathered to challenge it... but no one has cleared it yet."
"Let's go!"
"Huh? Right now?"
"There's plenty of time before our next match. We can easily clear it and make it back. Do you think I can't do it?"
"No, Guild Master! If it's you, it'll be a breeze."
"Exactly. Of course I can do it!"
Jang Ssu-an laughed heartily.
* * *
"I hope he takes the bait."
"We've done everything we can," Lee Da-bi said, nodding.
Just as the Chinese national team had narrowed their target down to Do Dong-su, Tae-hyun's team had narrowed theirs down to Jang Ssu-an. He was their most viable target!
First, they confirmed that Jang Ssu-an had been desperately searching for the Sword of Burning Cries. Then, they laid a trap tailored specifically to him.
By discussing it casually on the boards as if it were no big deal, anyone actively searching for the Sword of Burning Cries would inevitably bite the bait.
The only question was when the target would react! If they only saw it after the match, or if they saw it but decided to move after the tournament, the plan would fail.
"But what kind of dungeon is this anyway?"
"It's just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill dungeon. One of our guild members found it, but they haven't cleared it yet."
Tae-hyun and his companions were currently hiding near the dungeon entrance. They weren't alone; several other parties composed of Power Warrior Guild members were stationed nearby.
They had disguised themselves to look like random parties who had come to clear the dungeon.
Anyone looking at this scene would naturally think, Ah, if I don't hurry, someone else might snatch the Sword of Burning Cries!
"Why didn't they clear it?"
"Well, the dungeon level seemed pretty low, so they probably figured it wasn't worth the effort. The monsters near the entrance are just bear-type monsters, around level 60 at best."
"That is a bit low. If the entrance is like that, the deeper areas probably won't scale up too much."
The monster level was low, but that didn't matter. As long as they could lure the target inside, Tae-hyun would handle the rest.
"They're coming!"
"...Perfect! Everyone, hide!"
Tae-hyun ordered the other players to conceal themselves while he slipped into one of the active Power Warrior parties.
To any outsider, it was a flawless disguise!
"Hey, we got here first!"
"First come, first served doesn't apply to dungeons! The strongest clears it first. We're going in, so do whatever you want."
"You bastards... you better watch your backs!"
"What? You want to go right here, right now?"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down. It's too hard for us to clear this alone anyway. Let's team up."
"With you guys? Are you insane? Not a chance in hell, so keep dreaming."
"..."
Arriving at the scene, Jang Ssu-an knitted his brows. To put it simply, the atmosphere at the dungeon entrance was an absolute circus.
Looks like a dispute broke out.
Judging by their appearances, the parties seemed low-level.
That guy's armor has a level requirement of 80... Are they not even level 100 yet? That's pathetic. I guess the Prika Arena is drawing in every random scrub.
Normally, this was an area only high-level players would frequent. These people had clearly come to watch the Prika Arena tournament, heard the rumors, and decided to try their luck at the dungeon.
One party was arguing they should go first because they arrived first, another was insisting on pushing through regardless, and a third was trying to convince everyone to cooperate...
It was the classic comedy of errors commonly seen in low-level zones.
Jang Ssu-an shook his head. There was no reason to waste time watching this nonsense.
"Pathetic. Alright, let's head in."
"W-Wait. We were here first..."
"What did you say?"
"Eek!"
When Jang Ssu-an glared, the opposing party leader flinched and shrank back.
With his flashy, high-end gear and the unmistakable aura of a high-ranking player, his presence was overwhelming.
As the opponent backed down, Jang Ssu-an swept back his bangs as if it were only natural.
"Move if you don't want to die. We're passing through."
"..."
Jang Ssu-an's guild members looked slightly embarrassed. Did he really have to strike a pose like that? Their guild leader was a capable man, but his greasy theatrics at times like this were hard to stomach.
"P-Please wait a moment!"
"?"
A player from another party approached and spoke up.
"Let me guide you!"
"You?"
"Yes! Our party has actually attempted this dungeon a few times! Rather than wandering around and getting lost, it would be much better to have our help... hehe..."
As the player rubbed his hands together obsequiously, Jang Ssu-an adopted a thoughtful expression.
It was true that saving time was his top priority. The next match was only a few days away. He wanted to finish this raid within a day, or at most, three days.
Seeing these scrubs running around trying to clear it, it can't be that difficult of a dungeon.
"Fine. What do you want in return?"
"Just the trash drops from the monsters will be plenty!"
Jang Ssu-an let out a smirk. He liked players who knew their place.
"Very well. I permit you to guide us."
"Thank you so much!"
Tae-hyun grinned inwardly. He always loved players who fell for his tricks so easily.
Watching Tae-hyun completely deceive Jang Ssu-an from afar, Lee Se-yeon shook her head.
This is exactly why he keeps making enemies...
Once this was over, there would undoubtedly be another person who would fly into a violent rage at the mere mention of Kim Tae-hyun's name.
* * *
Boom! Crash!
Mighty Blow
As he unleashed the wide-range skill, a brilliant aura erupted from his massive greatsword, sweeping across a wide area.
"Graaaawr! Screeech!"
The red-furred bears caught in the blast shrieked and collapsed.
"You guys were struggling against trash like this?"
"Haha, they were a bit too tough for us..."
The guild members following Jang Ssu-an looked at Tae-hyun and the Power Warrior guild members with utter disdain. If they were struggling against monsters of this level, they had no business playing on the Prica Continent.
Advancing smoothly without a single hitch, Jang Ssu-an turned to his guild members.
"This is too easy. It doesn't make sense. How can a dungeon containing the Sword of Burning Cries be this simple?"
"It might be the first dungeon in a chain quest," a guild member suggested.
"True, that makes sense. This is going to be tedious..."
It was common to enter a dungeon expecting a legendary weapon, only to find a quest update or a clue instead. It wasn't something to get discouraged or frustrated over.
Tae-hyun asked with an innocent, wide-eyed expression, "What is the Sword of Burning Cries?"
This guy...
The Power Warrior guild members watching from behind felt their hearts leap into their throats in sheer suspense.